(Vegan) Chocolate cake - the best ever!

 I've baked a vegan chocolate cake before and while it was good - it felt like a compromise. For my kids birthday I was looking for a recipe which would be as close to a non-vegan chocolate cake as possible. Since I've tried a few recipes from Nora Cooks, I thought I would give her chocolate cake recipe a shot. Sure enough it was the best ever chocolate cake (vegan or not)! I know that because DH who doesn't like chocolate cakes that much loved it and said he wouldn't know it was vegan! The cake was moist, chocolatey and just the right amount of sweet!

I followed the recipe to the T - for the cake as well as the frosting, except for a few replacements like replacing the almond milk with soy milk because that is what we have.

Ingredients

Chocolate cake

• 1 cup soy milk (we use the WestSoy soy milk which is just water and soybeans)
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Chocolate buttercream frosting

• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups earth balance vegan butter, softened, baking sticks preferred
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9X13 inch pan with parchment paper. I grease the sides with some oil.
  
• Add the vinegar to the soy milk, set it aside and let it curdle. Don't worry when you see it all curdled - that's how it's supposed to be.
  
• In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
  
• Now add the oil, applesauce, vanilla and soy milk/vinegar mixture. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer  until well combined. 
  
• Add the boiling water. I first boiled the water on stove and then measured 1 cup. Continue mixing till the mixture is well blended. The batter will be runny.
  
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
  
• If you want to frost the cake, let it cool first.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

• In a large bowl, add the softened vegan butter and mix with a hand mixer until creamed.
  
• Now add the cocoa and continue mixing until well combined. If you add the cocoa first and then add the butter, the cocoa blows off due to all the air. Creaming the butter first helps.
• Add half of the powdered sugar and half of the soy milk, and mix until combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix starting on low, and turn to high. Mix until fluffy and combined.
• If the frosting seems too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon or two at a time. If the frosting seems too wet and doesn't hold it's shape, add more powdered sugar until it thickens up. 

(Vegan) Badam burfi (almond fudge)

 I was looking for vegan sweets to make for Diwali and found this recipe for badam burfi. It looked straight forward to make and also didn't require too many ingredients. Let me tell you - it turned out so delicious! Heavenly! And you wouldn't even know it was vegan! In fact after eating it I was wondering why do even need to make it otherwise??

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/8 cup water
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1.5 tsp vegan butter
• 1.5 cup almond flour

Method

1. In a pan (I used a cast iron dutch oven) sugar, water and cardamom powder on medium heat.
2. Let the sugar dissolve and mixture come to a boil.
3. Add the almond flour and turn the heat to low.
4. Add butter and mix everything with a whisk so that there are no lumps.
5. Keep cooking till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and you can form a non-sticky ball.
6. If you can't form a non-sticky ball then the burfi will not set.
7. Once done, take it off the heat and put the mixture on a silicone mat (or parchment paper)
8. Knead the dough a little with greased hands. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water (just a little).
9. Put a parchment paper on top and roll the dough flat to 1/8 inch thickness.
10. Then cut into diamonds or squares of your choice.
11. Let it set. Burfi is ready!

(Vegan) Pumkin cupcakes

 We've been trying to switch to being vegan. Baking was one of those things which I thought would be so hard to do as a vegan. But I'm amazed at the weather of vegan recipes be it through blogs or through books. I found the recipe for these cupcakes at Nora Cooks. We've tried a couple of vegan recipes from her blog and they all turned out so delicious!

These cupcakes with maple frosting were so moist, fluffy and just delicious! Even DH who's not so fond of cupcakes, loved them! They were just right - be it texture or taste! We baked them with the kids so all four of us pitched in!

Yields: 12 cupcakes

CUPCAKE

Ingredients

• 7.5 oz pumpkin puree (we used homemade)
• 1/8 cup unsweetened applesauce (homemade as well)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• tiny pinch of cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit and line a cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk puree, applesauce, oil and sugar together until well blended.
3. Add rest of the ingredients.
4. Fill the cupcake molds half-full and bake for 18-22 minutes. Do the knife test - insert a knife into one of the cupcakes and it should come out clean.
5. Let them cool on a cooling rack.

FROSTING

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 1-2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (this does add a lovely hint so try not to skip it)

Method

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy.
2. Add sugar gradually (keep beating) till you get the consistency you want.
3. Add the maple syrup and mix it as well.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, frost them and enjoy them!

English muffin toasting bread

 

Just like the name says - it is a perfect bread for toasting and spreading with jam and butter! The coarse texture makes for a crispy toasted bread! So delicious!

Ingredients

• 3 cups (361g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tablespoon (14g) sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 cup (227g) milk
• 1/4 cup (57g) water
• 2 tablespoons (25g) vegetable oil or olive oil

Method

• Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl.
• Combine the milk, water, and oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl, and heat. It should be hot, not lukewarm, but not scalding hot either.
• Pour the hot liquid over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. 
• Using an electric beater, beat at high speed for 1 minute; the dough will be smooth and very soft. If you don't have an electric mixer, beat by hand for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and starting to become elastic.
• Lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.
• Scoop the soft dough into the pan, leveling it in the pan as much as possible.
• Cover the pan, and let the dough rise till it's just barely crowned over the rim of the pan. When you look at the rim of the pan from eye level, you should see the dough, but it shouldn't be more than, say, 1/4" over the rim. This will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour, if you heated the liquid to the correct temperature and your kitchen isn't very cold. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Remove the cover, and bake the bread for 22 to 27 minutes, till it's golden brown.
• Remove the bread from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

Know my name

 Author: Chanel Miller

A memoir by Chanel Miller, earlier known as Emily Doe to the world. She was a victim of sexual assault at Stanford, California. She is neither the first nor the last such victim. However, she is one of the few who opened herself to the world. Many victims don't even report their cases. She reported it and then made her statement public and now has written the full story. 

One must read the book, to see the story from the perspective of the victim. Right from when the attack happened to how her life changes for not just next few months but for years to come; and her struggles in the court. It is not just her but everybody around her as well who is impacted. Slowly and gradually as she reveals what happened to some of her close friends she finds out how many of them have gone through it in the past but never told anybody. What happened to her was a fact and yet she had to fight a battle in the court. How the media talked about what would happen to the sports career of the attacker but nobody talked about how it had ruined the life of the victim. 

In cases of sexual assault while people do always pity the victim, they also almost always find ways to point finger at the victim. Things like she was wearing clothes that expose her body or she was drunk or she was out in the middle of the night. I always thought it was wrong to think like that and when reading Chanel's story I felt even more strongly for it. There is no excuse for such a crime - just like there's no excuse for any other crime.

Yet another (delicious) pizza recipe!

 Pizza is an all-time and everybody favorite in our house! I'm sure that must be true for most houses. DH and I are always looking for new pizza recipes to try. So when I saw this recipe for Crispy Cheese Pan Pizza I knew what we were going to make that weekend! This recipe does require you to plan-ahead; at least 24 hours in advance. The more the merrier!

We made two different pizzas from this recipe. I made 1.5 times the dough per the recipe and then used 1 part to make the pan pizza and the rest to make a regular pizza. While both were delicious, I liked the regular pizza more - look at that crust! Crispy on the outside and light and airy on the inside! The pan pizza was yummy too although I liked it as a bread.

The below recipe (quantity) is for making one pan pizza. Half of that quantity will give you one regular pizza.

Crust 

• 2 cups (240g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup (170g) lukewarm water
• 1 tablespoon (13g) olive oil + 1 1/2 tablespoons (18g) olive oil for the pan

Topping

• 6 ounces (170g) mozzarella, grated (about 1 1/4 cups, loosely packed)*
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup (74g to 113g) tomato sauce or pizza sauce, (we use tomato puree of san Marzano tomatoes and add a little bit of Italian seasoning to it)
• freshly grated hard cheese and fresh herbs for sprinkling on top after baking, optional*

Method

1. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.  
2. Place the flour, salt, yeast, water, and 1 tablespoon (13g) of the olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer or other medium-large mixing bowl.
   
3. Stir everything together to make a shaggy, sticky mass of dough with no dry patches of flour. This should take 30 to 45 seconds in a mixer using the beater paddle; or about 1 minute by hand, using a spoon or spatula. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to gather the dough into a rough ball; cover the bowl.
   
4. After 5 minutes, uncover the bowl and reach a bowl scraper or your wet hand down between the side of the bowl and the dough, as though you were going to lift the dough out. Instead of lifting, stretch the bottom of the dough up and over its top. Repeat three more times, turning the bowl 90° each time. This process of four stretches, which takes the place of kneading, is called a fold. 
   
5. Re-cover the bowl, and after 5 minutes do another fold. Wait 5 minutes and repeat; then another 5 minutes, and do a fourth and final fold. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest, undisturbed, for 40 minutes. Then refrigerate it for a minimum of 12 hours, or up to 72 hours. It'll rise slowly as it chills, developing flavor; this long rise will also add flexibility to your schedule.
6. About 3 hours before you want to serve your pizza, prepare your pan. 

For Pan Pizza

1. Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons (18g) olive oil into a well-seasoned cast iron skillet that’s 10” to 11” diameter across the top, and about 9” across the bottom. Heavy, dark cast iron will give you a superb crust; but if you don’t have it, use another oven-safe heavy-bottomed skillet of similar size, or a 10” round cake pan or 9” square pan. Tilt the pan to spread the oil across the bottom, and use your fingers or a paper towel to spread some oil up the edges, as well.  
2. Transfer the dough to the pan and turn it once to coat both sides with the oil. After coating the dough in oil, press the dough to the edges of the pan, dimpling it using the tips of your fingers in the process. The dough may start to resist and shrink back; that’s OK, just cover it and let it rest for about 15 minutes, then repeat the dimpling/pressing. At this point the dough should reach the edges of the pan; if it doesn’t, give it one more 15-minute rest before dimpling/pressing a third and final time. 
   
3. Cover the crust and let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature. The fully risen dough will look soft and pillowy and will jiggle when you gently shake the pan.
4. About 30 minutes before baking, place one rack at the bottom of the oven and one toward the top (about 4" to 5" from the top heating element). Preheat the oven to 450°F.
5. When you’re ready to bake the pizza, sprinkle about three-quarters of the mozzarella (a scant 1 cup) evenly over the crust. Cover the entire crust, no bare dough showing; this will yield caramelized edges. Dollop small spoonfuls of the sauce over the cheese; laying the cheese down first like this will prevent the sauce from seeping into the crust and making it soggy. Sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella.
   
6. Bake the pizza on the bottom rack of the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the bottom and edges of the crust are a rich golden brown (use a spatula to check the bottom). If the bottom is brown but the top still seems pale, transfer the pizza to the top rack and bake for 2 to 4 minutes longer. On the other hand, if the top seems fine but the bottom's not browned to your liking, leave the pizza on the bottom rack for another 2 to 4 minutes. Home ovens can vary a lot, so use the visual cues and your own preferences to gauge when you’ve achieved the perfect bake.
7. Remove the pizza from the oven and place the pan on a heatproof surface. Carefully run a table knife or spatula between the edge of the pizza and side of the pan to prevent the cheese from sticking as it cools. Let the pizza cool very briefly; as soon as you feel comfortable doing so, carefully transfer it from the pan to a cooling rack or cutting surface. This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.
   
8. Serve the pizza anywhere from medium-hot to warm. Kitchen shears or a large pair of household scissors are both good tools for cutting this thick pizza into wedges.  

For Regular pizza

1. Oil a cast iron skillet. Using your hands press the dough to cover the skillet. Cover and let rise for 3 hours.
2. After the rise let's get the pizza ready for baking. For the regular pizza we did the opposite of what is suggested for the pan pizza. We spread the sauce first and then the cheese.
3. We didn't add too many veggies as the original recipe warned against using raw veggies as it might make the pizza soggy.
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
5. Once done, we did spread it generously with basil. It was just so yummy!

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine

 Author: Gail Honeyman

Loved reading this book! 

Eleanor will strike most as an odd woman. Everything in her life is calculated, scheduled and organized. She has never taken a day off from her work. She does not talk to anybody unless she needs to - which doesn't happen often. That means after she goes home from work on Fridays she spends close to 72 hours without having spoken to anybody. She has never eaten a pizza except from the supermarket. There is good reason behind all of this.

All that is about to change as she bumps across Raymond, the IT guy at work and at the same time has a crush on a local singer. The latter, while not very productive in itself, motivates her to go out of her comfort zone and also talk to Raymond on things not related to work. As she ventures into areas which she hasn't explored before - like getting a new hairstyle or using a personal shopping assistant to select an outfit that suits her the most - she discovers new things. She finds out that she too can get compliments. That it feels good to get compliments. That she too can be a source of information and people are coming to her to ask where she got her hair done. 

On the other hand without realizing she's fostering a friendship with Raymond. It all starts when they both save Sammy, an elderly gentleman. As their relationship develops, there are so many emotions that she experiences for the first time and it makes her realize what she was missing in her life.

Everything was going well when suddenly her world falls apart. But there is much to learn there as well.

At every step Eleanor's willingness to change and learn is so inspiring! The book is full of good humor. After the first few pages itself, you can figure out that the book is written by a British author. The language is so beautiful and expressive. A good break from the conversational English that abounds in books these days.