Salud!: Vegan Picarones Cake

San Francisco isn’t quite the same without our Peruvian princess.  So we made plans with Kirsten to meet halfway in San Luis Obispo and spent last weekend in a suite at the most ridiculously tacky and wonderful hotel, the Madonna Inn.  I’ve been holding on to this recipe for months, and it was time to try my hand at this sticky and spicy flavored cake. 

Picarones are a Peruvian donut-like invention, and is Kirsten’s mother’s favorite.  One day I plan to visit and make her this cake to seek her approval.  The recipe comes from an article in VegNews magazine and was thought up by the lovely Vegan author Terry Hope Romero.  Being that she is a trusted author and chef, I made the cake without any substitutions.  This is the first time I’ve made a Vegan cake recipe that worked perfectly the way it was written. 

You’ll need to plan ahead for this recipe.  In order to cook the sweet potato and calabaza, start by cutting the pumpkin in half, pierce the vegetables with a fork, and place on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven set at 375°F until easily pierced with a knife (30-40 minutes).  Allow to cool, then discard seeds and scoop out the flesh.  Mash well and store in the refrigerator until needed.  The leftovers make a lovely soup. 

This cake would be amazeballs (as Kirsten would say) for breakfast with a cup of my favorite tea, Yerba Mate.  Give it a try.  You won’t be disappointed.  Seriously.

Vegan Picarones Cake

(based on recipe by Terry Hope Romero from VegNews Magazine, Issue #74)

Dry Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 1/4 tsp Baking Soda 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Sea Salt 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Wet Ingredients: 1/2 cup Sweet Potato, cooked and mashed 1/2 cup Calabaza Pumpkin, cooked and mashed 1/2 cup Canola Oil 1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar 1/4 cup Sugar 1/2 cup Soy Milk 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 1 tbs Lime Juice, fresh 1 tsp Orange Zest

Preheat oven to 320ºF.  Sift together dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Pour oil and sugars into a large bowl and beat with a wire whisk until well incorporated.  Add mashed sweet potato and calabaza, soy milk, vanilla, lime juice and orange zest to combine until smooth.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Pour into a 9-inch cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow cake to cool.

Brown Sugar and Spice Syrup

1/2 cup Panela (or Piloncillo), grated

1/2 cup Water

1/2 cup Orange Juice, fresh

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 Whole Star Anise

2 tbs Rum

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil for two minutes, constantly stirring.  Lower heat and simmer until reduced by one third (10-15 mintes).  Strain and cool to room temperature.  When cooled, poke holes in cake with a toothpick and brush with syrup until absorbed.  Reserve some syrup for spooning over cake when serving.