It is fair to say that I am officially obsessed with these.

Amber Shea of Almost Vegan came up with an amazing recipe for a raw blondie that is to die for! Somehow, it actually tastes baked although it’s completely raw.

You may check out the recipe and think, “Whatever, just another Larabar configuration,” but you’d be wrong. The mixture is drier than a Larabar, so it has a crumbly bread-like texture that really feels like a chewy blondie when you bite into it. The brown sugar gives it an unmistakable dessert-like quality, rather than a fruity energy bar. And the salt! I don’t know how but the salt really does the job of imitating a golden buttery baked good quite well.

I just made myself a stash of these to last me a while. I actually ran out of dates and subbed apricots for the version you see pictured, still insane but not as good as the original. I eat it directly out of the ramekin rather than plating it cause I just can’t wait.

I don’t follow a raw foods diet at all, but whenever I see a recipe like this that allows me to enjoy all the pleasures of a rich dessert while giving my body a dose of whole and healthy foods, I get excited.

OMG, make yourself one. You won’t be disappointed!

January 27, 2011 Alayna Discussion 10 comments

Can you guess which one of these bad boys got roasted and baked into a yummy bread today?

If you guessed the kabocha squash, and not either of those other shady-looking hooligans up there, you win!

Mmmmm, sweet and fluffy bread…

I have been racking my brain for what to do with that kabocha for weeks now. Then I remembered the vegan pumpkin bread that I made a while back and thought, “Hmm…I wonder how that would taste with kabocha instead?”

First, I made kabocha puree with the exact same method I use to make pumpkin puree.

I followed the same recipe as the pumpkin bread, but here are the ingredients again anyway:

• 1 cup kabocha puree
• 1/4 cup softened Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup flax meal
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Lucas took great interest in the whirring sounds coming from the stand mixer.

He was very suspicious and glared at it with malice as I added my dry ingredients to the wet.

When the batter was mixed I tossed in a few handfuls of pecan pieces, somewhere between 1/2 cup and 3/4?  I’m not sure how much really. It usually won’t affect a recipe to add as much mix-ins as you like.

Those got stirred in by hand…

The mix was scooped into a buttered and floured loaf pan.  I sprinkled a bit of sugar on top before baking it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Out came this hot, fluffy pillow…

I let it cool to the touch before turning it out onto a cooling rack.  Then, the slicing!

Yum! This one was even better than the pumpkin bread. The texture was fluffier and lighter and the flavor was more earthy and intense.

Kabocha pecan bread

A fluffy autumnal vegan snack bread with flavors of savory kabocha and nutty pecans.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1 cup kabocha puree
• 1/4 cup softened Earth Balance (or butter)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup gluten free all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup flax meal
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 cup pecan pieces

Cooking Directions

1. Cream together butter and sugars with a mixer.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together and add to the creamed butter and sugar.
3. Slowly pour in almond milk while mixing on a low setting.
4. Stir in pecans by hand.
5. Pour batter into a buttered and floured loaf pan, top with a sprinkle of sugar for added crunch.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
7. Turn out and let cool on a rack completely before slicing.
8. Store in refrigerator.

Thinking very seriously about whipping up some of that cinnamon “cream cheese” frosting that I used on my apple bars to top this with!

November 28, 2010 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 8 comments

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!