2 Minute Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake

I have seen many recipes for the single serve 2 or 5 minute mug cake. I admit I was a bit leery of them; I didn’t think they could taste very good. Oh, how wrong I was.

A month or so ago I was craving some kind of chocolate dessert. One problem, I was out of eggs, a key ingredient. I look at numerous websites, looking at recipes, trying to find a non-egg version. No luck. No problem, I thought, I’ll just make up my own, which is what I proceeded to do. The first draft was pretty dry, but edible. So I spent a lot of time tweaking and changing ratios and ingredients, until I finally achieved what I was looking for, a dark, moist, chocolaty cake.

I have made it will all the add-ins I listed. Sometimes alone, others times I’d combine them.

Another thing I did was experiment with oats for flour, just to try to make it a bit more “healthy.”

The best thing about this recipe is that in under 5 minutes of a chocolate craving, you'll be digging into a delicious chocolaty delight.

Fresh Strawberry Cake

I’m still slowing getting back into the swing of things. It took me 2 days to recover from the drive up north for my uncle’s memorial. Then, we get back and I discover I’m out of one of my medications. I spent that day going through horrible withdrawal; shaking, headaches, rocking back and forth. Not fun. The pharmacy, God bless them, expedited my refill when I explained the situation.

Needless to say, during all this food was the last thing on my mind. But now I’m finally forcing myself to get some of my posts together.

I made this strawberry cake awhile ago, I just never got around to posting about it. I strayed a bit from the original recipe and I made the cake a few times before I got it right.

The crumb and texture is divine. You could use just about any fruit. I might try it with some peaches from the farmer's market.

Fresh whipped cream tends to get runny if it sits too long. I found by using powdered sugar and a bit of cornstarch I could get a whipped cream that would last the 2 days this cake lasted in our fridge.

Vegan Berry Cobbler

My wonderful sister has once again rescued me this week with a guest post. I'm still recovering from my minor surgery last Friday. It really made my week horrible. I woke up each morning with puffy lips, it hurt to talk because the knots/stitches rub against my bottom teeth and gums. My energy is so low, I'm barely able to make dinner for Mr.Surly. And I have to rinse my mouth out with this nasty prescription rinse to keep infection from setting in. I can't wait to get the stitches out tomorrow and return to the kitchen to bake up some yummy treats; perhaps even this delectable looking berry cobbler.

There was a special on berries at my grocery store, so I didn’t have to resort using any frozen. The berries this year (especially the strawberries) have been very sweet, which made this cobbler a delectable treat.

This cobbler is nice because it is neither complicated nor time consuming. I did have some problems keeping the whipped “cream” from being too runny, but it did turn out to be a nice dairy-free alternative. We did top some of them with vanilla ice cream (not vegan) and that was good too.

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

I have been a horrible food blogger. I barely cook anymore; too much energy is required. I made these cupcakes recently. I knew Mr.Surly wouldn't touch them because they have coconut in them. They were a great accompaniment to my morning coffee.

My frosting didn't turn out well, it was kinda runny. I needed to add more powdered sugar (I added less than what the recipe calls for), but I didn't because I didn't want an instant cavity from too sweet frosting. Luckily, these were rolled in toasted coconut so you can't even see the no-so-pretty icing.

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

I can't believe St.Patrick's Day is this Saturday! This week I'm slowly easing into to the Irish theme. I have been suffering from a horrible ear infection that is just wiping out my already low energy level. I feel like all have been posting is cupcakes and cocktails. I just don't have any energy to make dinner right now. So for the time being, maybe I should rename my blog "cocktails and cupcakes."

I have wanted to make these cupcakes for a long time, but Mr.Surly doesn't like coconut, so I knew I'd be stuck eating them. I decided to make them for this week since limes are green, even though they aren't Irish.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I have really been slacking in the kitchen lately. Poor Mr.Surly, I'm barely able to scrape together enough food to feed him; I just don't have the energy. I'm going through a "rough patch" medically, waiting for it to pass so I can get back in the kitchen. I have a long list of recipes bookmarked I need to get started on.

I forced myself to make these cupcakes because I have been craving chocolate and peanut butter. Maybe because Target is in Easter mode and I saw my favorite treat; Reese peanut butter eggs. But since my stomach can't handle them right now, I thought I'd try to incorporate these flavors in cupcake, not candy, form.

The result was phenomenal. The cupcakes are moist and spongy, and the frosting tastes just like bakery icing--extremely sugary sweet, which complemented the cupcake perfectly. I even left out some of the sugar the recipe called for in the icing. I'm glad I did that, otherwise, to me, the frosting would have been too sweet and sugary.

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cake

I should call this cake death by chocolate it's so rich. The first time I had this recipe was 2 years ago, when I was gluten free (for my elimination diet). It was love at first bite. I like that this flourless cake doesn't have a lot of butter in it. A lot of flourless chocolate cake recipes call for 2 sticks of butter--no thank you, my stomach would be in knots for days.

This recipe is perfect. The cake is so dense,moist, and delicious. It's wonderful served with whipped cream and raspberries. A note about the cake; it rises when it bakes and falls when it cools, resulting in a crackled top. But don't worry, the cake will be gone before anyone notices a cracked top.

Tiramisù

Here is another recipe typed up from my sister. We both love tiramisù. I remember the summer I spent in Italy, I ordered tiramisù while out to dinner with my cousin and her friend while visiting Milan. The waiter, who had been friendly and joking with us American girls, stood behind me and, putting his arms around me, picked me up. I was confused. He then explained to us that, in Italian, tiramisù, literally means "pick me up." Don't worry if you find this dessert a bit runny, authentic Italian tiramisù should be that way. It's an involved recipe that takes a bit more effort to make, but in the end it's worth the extra work.

Also, sorry about the crappy photos. I forgot to take my camera flash to Philly, so the photos didn't turn out well. But don't worry, it still tasted amazing.

And now onto my lovely sister for the recipe.....

Tiramisù is one of my favorite desserts. I’ve started with Williams-Sonoma’s recipe and found it made WAY too much, so after many experimentations, I came up with these ingredient proportions that make just the right amount for me. This recipe is a commitment; however, even with using an electric mixer to perform the whisking, be prepared to use a lot of cooking bowls and utensils (for those more along the lines of being culinary neophytes, although it may be tempting to just reuse your whisk(s) and bowls between steps, remember the cream and egg whites (separately) should be whisked in a clean bowl with a clean whisk. Get a sink full of soapy water and wash things in between steps (running under cold water for the final rinse) if needed.

So yes, afterward you may find yourself surrounded by a mound of accouterments, but since this delectable treat won’t be ready for 4 hours, this can be time well-spent.

No Bake Cookies

I haven't had a no bake cookie in a long time; I almost forgot about them. I remember when they were popular back when I was growing up; we used to make them often. I love chocolate and peanut butter, separately, together. Recently, I came across this recipe from my aunt for them and thought they would be perfect to make during these hot, summer temperatures. As an added bonus, they are quick to make, which is necessary for me, since recently I have been feeling more sick than usual.

I was a bit worried about making them with natural peanut butter and, as feared, they turned out to be runny. No problem, the next time I made them (the first batch didn't last long) I added more oats and it took care of the problem. I ended up with beautiful, delicious no bake cookies.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

I have been trying to make some kind of new dessert this week. Monday, I tried to make a pie, but the filling didn’t set so it was really runny. I just chalked it up to being crazy on meds and forgetting to add some important ingredient. Besides, I’ve never been successful in making a fruit pie, despite numerous attempts. Tuesday, I decided to stick to what I know and make some biscotti.

This is how it turned out:



Disastrous, but delicious.

Still undeterred, I decided on Wednesday to make cupcakes. Finally, success! Third time must be the charm.

And the best thing about making eggless cupcakes; licking the bowl and not worrying about salmonella.

Oatmeal Date Bars

I was excited when I saw these date bars while awhile ago. It’s hard to find approved desserts on my restrictive, low oxalate diet, and I absolutely love dates. Browsing the ingredient list I deemed these to be low oxalate as long as I left out the lemon zest.

I did make a few tweaks. I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and ½ tsp vanilla to the date paste. I sprinkled a bit more cinnamon in the flour/oat combo. And I had to leave out the lemon zest. :(

These bars turned out to be really yummy, a bit on the sweet side. Next time, I will decrease the amount to sugar to ¾ c, decrease the flour to 1 c and up the oats to 2 c, because I love oats, but that’s just me. Also, I'd love to add some finely chopped walnuts or almonds to these. Once I'm off the low oxalate diet, I want to try the recipe with these tweaks and ,of course, add in the lemon zest.

Lemon Macadamia Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

All right, I’ve finally put aside the post-wedding things, for the time being, and got back in the kitchen to make something. It has been really crazy taking care of all the paperwork, combining things, etc. I’m keeping my last name, so at least that gets me out of more forms. 

These cupcakes are not low oxalate-friendly because they contain macadamia nuts. But I felt like cheating because the recipe sounded so delicious. I never thought I would find a cupcake refreshing, but that’s exactly what I told Mr. Surly as I tried my cupcake. Very lemony. And I love the chunks of crunch macadamia nuts to contrast with the soft texture of the cupcake. 

I found the buttercream a bit too sweet, so I'm glad i didn't ice my cupcakes too thick. I left the zest out of both the cupcakes and icing, since on my low oxalate diet, lemon juice is allowed, but not lemon zest. But feel free to add ½ Tbl lemon zest to the cupcake batter and 1 tsp lemon zest to the frosting. I’m sure they would taste even better that way. 

On a side note, I can’t believe tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby! I have a friend who lives in Louisville and I have had an authentic Mint Julep at Churchill Downs. I ended up winning $8 at the race that day, so I was happy. So that is my mission before the derby tomorrow. To make the perfect Mint Julep. I have 3 versions, and I’ll share them with you next week.

Tea Scented Glazed Sponge Cake

While searching for low oxalate desserts I came across this Emeril recipe. Sponge cake is on either my good list or limit list; I can’t remember. I just know it’s low oxalate. As usual, I halved the recipe and made a few minor changes. I have never made a sponge cake before so I wasn’t sure how much it would rise while baking. Therefore, I poured it into two 4 ½“ springform pans. Turns out I probably could have gotten away with pouring it all it into one small pan; the cakes were pretty thin. But with two cakes, I decided to make two kinds of glazes. The honey cinnamon glaze was definitely our favorite. When Mr. Surly was eating it he said it “tasted like Christmas.” The other glaze I made was just a lemon, vanilla, milk and powdered sugar glaze. Not bad, but nothing to get excited about. I served it with powdered sugar and a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Yum. I can’t wait to make this again and experiment with different herbal teas.

Berries would be a great accompaniment to this. Unfortunately for me, berries are high oxalate, so I can't have them. But you should serve it with berries and think of me as you savor each berry, and I can eat vicariously through you.

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I meant to post these earlier, but have just been feeling really run down and lethargic lately. I have some pictures I need to edit and posts I need to write. I woke up this morning and didn’t realize until I went to the grocery store that it was St. Patrick’s Day. Ooops. So I hurried to get this recipe posted today.

I originally wanted to make chocolate stout cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day, but I didn’t have all the ingredients. So, instead, I decided to make these mint cupcakes. I figured the green icing would be Irish enough.

I knew I would not be allowed to eat these, since chocolate is on my “foods to avoid” list. Let me tell you, it’s really hard to give up chocolate and cocoa. But, if it makes me feel better, it may be worth it. I’m still trying to figure out the whole low oxalate thing, so I decided to cheat and eat one of these cupcakes. I mean, how could I post a dessert I hadn’t even tried? Yum, it was delicious. I love the combination of chocolate and mint.

You must add the ganache to these cupcakes, trust me. Mr. Surly, being eager to eat this tasty treat, grabbed one of the iced cupcakes before I had added the ganache. He said it was just ok. Once I gave him the ganached topped cupcake to try, he declared them perfect; the ganache just tied all the flavors together. He really liked theses cupcakes a lot, he asked me if I had done anything different when making these. I told him I just followed the recipe. He just seemed to like these better than the previous cupcakes I’ve made. I think it’s just how all the flavors come together, complimenting each other.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I’ve been craving peanut butter lately, and was really excited to make these cupcakes. I’m pleased to say they did not disappoint. They are peanut buttery and very light. Still, I felt they were missing something. Instead of drizzling chocolate on top, I would like to try adding chocolate and/or peanut butter chips to the cupcakes. Also, some chopped peanuts would be good to add a bit of crunch; I love crunchy foods. I might even consider adding a bit of cinnamon. And I think buttermilk could be used instead of the curdled milk and vinegar. I will definitely make these again trying out these various variations.

Espresso Crème Brûlée

I love crème brûlée . My first attempt to make it last year was a disaster. The custard wasn't smooth and we couldn't get a nice, crusty topping. I was so happy when I saw a recipe for it in my Cook’s Illustrated cookbook. Their instructions are clear and easy to follow. I made these for Valentine’s Day and they turned out absolutely perfect. The custard was so creamy and smooth--I was sad that I had only made two. Usually, I’m unable to finish desserts and Mr. Surly eats the last couple bites. But I had no problem polishing off this dessert. I was going to use the other half of my vanilla bean to make vanilla sugar, but now I think I’ll just make two more of these. If I left out the espresso powder, this dessert would be approved to eat on my low oxalate diet. But since I haven't started that yet, I left it in; gotta get in all the "bad" high oxalate foods before I have to go low oxalate.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I love chocolate and peanut butter, separately, together, it doesn’t really matter. So I was devastated this week when I found out that soon, probably this week, I would need to go on a low oxalate diet; chocolate and peanut butter are two of the foods not allowed. 

This is the story of how it all went down. If you aren’t interested in my medical issues, just scroll on down to the delicious truffle recipe. 

It all started this week when my nephrologist was analyzing a urine sample I had dropped off at his request that morning. Around noon he asks me to immediately come to the hospital to get a CT scan; my urine had tiny crystals of oxalate suggesting I had a kidney stone. Half an hour later, the doctor is giving me literature on kidney stones, a fun funnel to strain my urine, a prescription and a low oxalate diet guide. Then he sends me down to radiology for my scan and I’m sent home. 

A few hours later the doctor calls to tell me I definitely have a small kidney stone. He tells me there is some underlying GI issue/syndrome that has caused my kidney stone, and quite possibly my gall stones back in 2009. As to what this undiagnosed issue is, he is unsure, but he will be discussing it with my GI doctor. Also, this stone is not causing my daily chronic pain, but it probably accounts for the severe night pain attacks I suffer where my body temp drops, I break out into a cold sweat, and it feels like someone is squeezing all the air out of me. 

 I admit I’m extremely nervous about passing this stone; I hear it can be quite painful. I’m drinking all kinds of fluids, juice, water, tea, Gatorade, even adding lemon to help breakup the stone and hurry along the process. I’ve got a bottle of painkillers within arm’s reach for when the pain starts. I just hate the waiting and not knowing when it will be over. 

Once I pass the stone, they will analyze it while I start on the low oxalate diet. Basically, all the foods I eat and love are going to be forbidden to me: green leafy veggies, sweet potatoes, whole wheat, berries, eggplant, chocolate, peanut butter, walnuts (any nuts), chai tea, etc. How could healthy eating cause a kidney stone? I don't understand. I have no idea what I’m going to eat. I’d just go back to being vegan, except soy and soy products are on the list of foods to avoid. But I’m used to rearranging my diet due to my GI issues, so I will just have to sit down and plan my meals more carefully. Until then I’m stuffing myself with all my food favorites, including these truffles. 

  

I Wanna Dip My (Cake) Balls In It!

Unless you watched The State you probably don’t get the title of my post.

Does anyone else remember the sketch comedy show “The State” that was on Mtv in the early 90’s? I think it came on after 120minutes. OMG, my sister and I loved that show. Barry and Levon were probably our favorite characters. $240 worth of chocolate pudding, anyone? We waited and waited for years for it to be released on dvd. It finally was back in may/jun of 2009. My sister pre-ordered copies for each of us on amazon and sent me mine while I was in the hospital recovering from my cholecystectomy (gall bladder surgery).

Louie was a recurring character on The State who carried around ping pong balls exclaiming, “I wanna dip my balls in it!” to everything. If you want to check a sketch with Louie, and get a good laugh click here. Each time I dipped my cake balls, I kept chuckling to myself thinking of that skit.

Anyway, back to the cake balls. I went straight to the authority, Bakerella, for instructions. It didn't look too difficult, sounded like something I could handle.

It took me three days to make these, but not because they were difficult, but because I was sick. I baked the cake one day. Then the next day I broke it up. I started trying to crumble it with my fingers, but that wasn’t very effective. So I used my hand mixer--not such a good idea. I had pieces of cake flying out everywhere. Once I added the frosting that helped out a bit with flying cake crumbs.

When it came time to roll the balls, I used various sizes of heart shaped cookie cutters to make cute hearts. I also left some round balls as well for variety.


By the time I had all the balls rolled and the cleaned cake off the walls and floor of the kitchen I had no more energy to dip the balls. So I covered the cake balls with waxed paper and left them in the fridge overnight.

Finally, on the third day I was ready to dip and decorate. Having never made cake balls before, I tweeted out asking for any tips/tricks. Haley, from The Girly Girl Cooks advised me to put a bit of shortening in the chocolate to help thin it out. It worked great, thanks Haley, for the tip!

I used dark chocolate and red vanilla wafers to dip. Once the balls were dry I added detail. I put a couple Tbls of chocolate and vanilla chips in snack sized Ziploc bags, and cut of the tiniest portion of the corner to pipe on designs and words. I added a bit of red food coloring to the white chocolate chips to make some pink for piping.

Since it made so many I put some in the freezer so that I can pull more out as needed. I'm definitely hooked on the cake ball craze.


If anyone has any more tips/tricks/hints, please, leave them in the comments.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

This week has been incredibly busy for me; full of errands and appointments. It’s been pretty stressful, therefore I decided I needed a special treat; I went with my favorite cookies.

A few years ago, I worked with a girl named Zara. She was from Sri Lanka and was (and is) the most genuinely nicest person I have ever met to date. I never saw her upset, nor even irritated. She would often bring some kind of baked treat to our meetings; cupcakes, cookies, etc. One day she brought these cookies. I think they were gone within 10 minutes. Everyone loved them and no one could stop eating them. I begged her for the recipe and, lucky for me, she gave me a copy. Thank you, Zara, for the best cookie I’ve ever eaten.

Be careful if you make these, you won’t be able to stop eating them.

Triple Layer Cheesecake

I have wanted to make this cheesecake for a long time. I was just waiting until all the Christmas treats were gone. This recipe is courtesy of my grandma. Recently, I inherited all her recipes. After she passed away in 2007 they originally went to my aunt. A couple months ago I was craving my Grammy’s roast beef; it was her signature dish. Anytime I went to visit her (which was often) she would make it for me. I never thought to ask her for the recipe. Therefore, I emailed my aunt, asking if she knew how to make this delectable roast beef. Lucky for me she did. That email was all the incentive my aunt needed as an excuse to bring me over a box containing all Grammy’s recipes. My aunt was looking for someone to pass these recipes along to the “next generation” she said, and since I was the first to inquire about a recipe, and she lives near me, she gave me the whole stash; a whole treasure trove of recipes for me to sift through at my leisure.

Some of the recipes are typed, some handwritten, others were clipped from various newspapers ranging anywhere from 1941-2004. I came across this cheesecake and stopped. I don’t remember my grandmother ever making cheesecake. So this recipe intrigued me. I wondered where (or from whom) the recipe came and if Grammy had ever made it. It sounded rich and decadent, exactly the thing to curb my recent chocolate craving.

Since there are only two of us, I reduced the recipe by 1/3 to make one small, 4 ½ inch cheesecake. I’m so glad I didn’t make the full amount, this cheesecake is so rich that I could only eat a small sliver. Each of us had a piece and there is still ¾ of the cheesecake remaining, but we both agreed this was really, really good. If you want a full-sized, 9 inch cheesecake, multiply the ingredients by three scroll to the bottom of the post. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is not going to last much longer in our fridge.