Remember this?

Well, I gave it another shot with fewer substitutions this time. It still didn’t come out quite right, though.

Looks beautiful…

…but it just didn’t ever get fluffy like a cake should be.

See how it’s thin and chewy like a cookie?

It tasted ok, but the texture wasn’t consistent. It was doughy on the inside and really crunchy around the edges.

I’m thinking that the eggs may just be crucial to the success of this recipe. When the month is over, I’ll post the original in all its glory.  If you’d like to try to veganize it and you have some success, please tell me what you did right!

Third time’s a charm?

November 27, 2010 Alayna Discussion Comments Off on Cake, take two…action!

I don’t know why, but I’ve been craving banana pudding for a week or so.  I thought I’d try to veganize it for Vegan MoFo and this is what I ended up with…

It was a little soupy and didn’t have the intense banana flavor I was hoping for.

Here’s what I started with:

• 3 bananas
• 1 package silken tofu
• about 2 tbsp. agave nectar
• a package of vanilla wafers that just happened to be vegan

I started by mixing the tofu, bananas, and agave together in the food processor.

I tasted the mixture and decided that it needed more flavor, so I added a sprinkle of cinnamon and about 1 tsp. vanilla extract.

I lined the bottom of a bowl with the wafer cookies…

….then added a layer of the pudding mixture and more cookies…

then more pudding and lots more cookies.

After the last of the pudding was added I crushed even more cookies on top.

Normally I would let something like this set up in the fridge first but I really wanted to try it so I dug right in.

It was good, but just not “bananaey” enough. I think that I would want more like 4 or even 5 bananas in it next time.

I had a bit this morning after it had set up overnight in the fridge and while the pudding was a much thicker and decadent consistency this time, the cookies had turned to mush. Surprisingly, I didn’t find it that gross though.

Overall I think I made a pretty tasty vegan nanner puddin’, but it could still use some tweaks to be perfect.

Any ideas on what you would have done differently?

November 15, 2010 Alayna Discussion 1 comment

We currently have more apples in our house than I know what to do with.

Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Rome Red Lady, Washington

Wait…that’s not true…I know exactly what to do with them. Make apple crumble!

Here’s a sneak peak…

You will never escape!

And here’s how you make it:

Start by peeling and coring 4 medium apples of your choice. I usually use all Honeycrisp because those are my favorites, but this time I just used up a few different varieties that we had in the fridge.

Chop them into smaller pieces and place in a baking dish.  Sprinkle on a little sugar so that the apple juices and sugar will make a syrup when heated.  I also added a few sprinkles each of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger. Mix it up with a spoon to distribute evenly.

Now for the topping. Into a mixing bowl, add the following:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 stick melted butter
• 2 tbsp. flax meal
• sprinkle of salt
• 1/2 tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg

I use this gluten-free flour by Bob’s Red Mill that I bought just to try.  It works very well and has a pleasant nutty flavor.

And for the first time ever I used Earth Balance to substitute butter. I’m cutting out more and more dairy from my diet every day.

I get my hands in there and work the butter through, breaking up any lumps. It should look sandy and just barely hold together when pressed.

Pour the topping over the apples and press lightly all over. Bake that sucker for 50 minutes at 350 degrees til brown and beautiful.

Absolutely amazing served hot out of the oven with a melting glob of cold vanilla ice cream on the side.

Or naked…

I’m gonna go get some right now!

October 15, 2010 Alayna Recipes 2 comments