Gluten-Free Vegan Tarte aux Fruits

I was invited to a BBQ dinner on Mother's Day, so I brought along a fruit tart as a small gift.  A few weekends ago, I was watching Hubert Keller make a Tarte aux Fruits in his show on PBS.  I thought, "Hey!  I could both Veganize and Gluten-free that recipe."  So I quickly got to work figuring it out.

There are 4 layers to the recipe.  First is the cake layer.  Keller's was a butter cake, but I've been wanting to try my hand at baking with almond meal, so I came up with an almond cake recipe.  Second, is a layer of pastry cream.  I already had a Vegan version, so I substituted the flour with rice flour.  Third is the toasted sliced almonds.  And lastly, the fruit and glaze to top the cake.  Hubert Keller's version had apples, bananas, grapes and other assorted fruit.  Berries were in season, so I thought I'd stick with them.

This tart was so yummy.  The cake was moist and slightly dense, which complimented the light and sweet berries.  I was especially happy with the gluten-free pastry cream.  A cousin has already requested this cake for her upcoming birthday.  Will post more photos in a few weeks.

Mother's Day 2012: Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

Vegan strawberry cake is so delicious that I wanted to create a gluten-free version.  Mother's Day was the next big holiday coming up, so I thought I'd give my Mom, Grandma, and Aunts a sweet surprise.

The gluten-free version was very good, but not quite as moist as the normal Vegan strawberry cake I had made for my cousin's birthday a couple weeks prior.  Nonetheless, I'm happy everyone was able to enjoy one of my creations (including myself), and my aunts told me my recipes keep getting better.

Cheers!: Gluten-Free Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake

Where it all "Vegan"

I can't believe it has been a year since my first successful Vegan cake!  I've learned so much through this journey and have received such wonderful support.  Regretfully, I must announce that this will be the last recipe I will post on this blog.  I will continue the fantastic hobby of baking and cake decorating, and plan to post future blog entries of cakes I've made and the wonderful people in my life, but they will be sans recipes.  I started this blog because I had a difficult time successfully baking the Vegan cake recipes I've found online and hope my recipes have been helpful to other Vegan bakers.  I also plan to revisit some of the recipes I wasn't content with and will update them for you.  As for the final recipe, we're going out with a big BANG!

Last weekend, my friends and I had our annual excursion to wine country.  Kelly and Serena had recently celebrated their 10 year wedding anniversary, and he wanted to surprise Serena with a heartfelt renewal of their vows.  It was incredible to see everyone work efficiently and harmoniously together to prepare the ceremony in such a short time.  The amount of talent within the group was remarkable.  From the flower arranging to the bridal makeup to the staging, seating and photography, every aspect was covered effortlessly.

As for the cake, I wanted to center it around the bride.  Serena, alongside many of my friends, enjoys very spicy foods.  We do all of our own cooking at the house in wine country, and there is rarely a meal served without a bowl of super spicy homemade salsa or a bottle of habanero sauce.

A few years ago, I had an interesting scoop of chocolate jalapeno gelato at a dessert shop in San Francisco.  Sounds bizarre, but it was exquisite, especially for a spice lover.  The flavor of jalapeno wasn't noticeable in the chocolate, but the kick of heat at the end surely was.  I wanted to somehow replicate this in a cake.  So I did some research into Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake recipes, and found they utilized cayenne pepper.  The amount used in the recipes ranged from a 1/4 teaspoon to 2 full teaspoons!  I went for the middle-of-the-road, feeling that 1/4 teaspoon just wouldn't make an impression on the crowd I was baking it for and 2 teaspoons might be too much for a dessert.  One teaspoon of cayenne pepper was definitely enough to give us a jolt of heat, but feel free to put less or more to your liking.

Kelly and Serena's ceremony was beautiful, and I am delighted to have contributed to their special occasion.  Watching the elated couple cut into the cake, and the compliments the cake received couldn't have made this amateur baker any happier.  

For those reading or following my blog, I wish you all well on your baking endeavors, and hope that you will try out these recipes and let me know how they turned out in your kitchen.  Cheers!

Gluten-Free Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake

Dry Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup (240g) Superfine Rice Flour 1/2 cup (60g) Potato Starch 1/4 cup (30g) Tapioca Starch 1/2 tsp Guar Gum 3/4 cup (60g) Cocoa Powder 2 tbs (15g) Corn Starch 1 tsp Baking Powder 2 tsp Baking Soda 1 tsp Sea Salt 1 tbs Cinnamon 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Wet Ingredients: 1/4 cup Soy Milk + 1 tbs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar 3 tsp Energ Egg + 4 tbs Water 2/3 cup Canola Oil 1 cup (8oz) Sugar 1/2 cup (4oz) Brown Sugar 1 3/4 cup Water 1/4 cup Unsweetened Applesauce 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 320ºF.  Add vinegar to 1/4 cup soy milk and reserve.  Stir egg replacer and 4 tbs water, reserve.  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.  Whisk in egg replacer mixture, water, applesauce, and vanilla to combine.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Lastly, fold in soy milk and vinegar mixture.  Pour into two 9-inch cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow cakes to cool.

Chocolate Mousse Filling

6 oz (1/2 box) Firm Silken Tofu
5 oz Vegan Chocolate Chips, melted in double boiler
1 tbs Agave Nectar

1/4 cup Soy Milk

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Pour into a medium sized bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Chill in the refrigerator until set (1-2 hours).  After chilling, beat with an electric mixer to loosen and to fluff until paler in color (4-5 minutes).

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Margarine

1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Shortening

3 cups Powdered Sugar

3 tbs Soy Milk
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Using an electric hand mixer, cream margarine and shortening until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar in stages.  Lastly, mix in soymilk and vanilla. 

Fab 40: Vegan Strawberry Cake w/ Chocolate Frosting

After seeing my Auntie Lyn's and Grandmother's joint birthday cake, my cousin Avigail contacted me and asked if I would make her a birthday cake as well.  Of course I was delighted to.  She requested her favorite flavor: strawberry cake with chocolate frosting.  Seems as though strawberry cake has become quite popular this year with lots of bakeries selling cupcake versions.  Fortunately, I already had this recipe in my arsenal.

I wasn't able to attend her celebration since I was out of town for the weekend.  It would've been nice to decorate the cake with some chocolate covered strawberries, but I had to deliver the cake more than a day in advance and was afraid they would go rancid.  Nonetheless, Avi told me that she loved the cake and her kids thought it was delicious.  Happy Fab 4-0 Avi!

Vegan Strawberry Cake w/ Chocolate Frosting
(recipe from previous post)

Mabuhay: Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake w/ Lemon Curd Filling

Lea, my cousin from the Philippines, was finally able to vacay and spend some time with our family in San Francisco.  She has been so sweet with her comments of my cakes on Facebook, and I was looking forward to making a cake for her visit.  Lea liked Percy's lemon birthday cake, so I thought I'd make her a gluten-free version.  This allowed me the opportunity to try my hand at a vanilla flavored gluten-free cake.

I've been wary to bake a gluten-free vanilla cake due to its simplicity in flavor.  Chocolate is safe with its ability to overpower any flavors from the gluten-free flours.  I wasn't sure if my vanilla cake would end up tasting like rice flour.  Luckily, it didn't, and the cake was just as moist and delicious as the wheat version.

The cake baked successfully on the first try.  But as always, I ran into trouble when Whole Foods didn't have my regular shortening in stock and I had to use another brand.  Frosting and decorating the cake was no easy task with a humid kitchen and a product I wasn't used to working with.  But in the end, what really matters is the taste.  The Vegan gluten-free vanilla cake with lemon curd and vanilla frosting was a hit.  I hope you give it a try.
 

Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake

 

Dry Ingredients:  1 1/2 cup (240g) Superfine Rice Flour 1/2 cup (60g) Potato Starch 1/4 cup (30g) Tapioca Flour 1/2 tsp Guar Gum 1/4 cup (30g) Corn Starch 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Baking Soda 1 tsp Sea Salt

Wet Ingredients:  1 3/4 cup Soy Milk + 2 tsp Raw Apple Cider Vinegar 2/3 cup Canola Oil 1 1/2 (12 oz) cup Sugar 1/4 cup Unsweetened Applesauce 4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 320ºF.  Add vinegar to soy milk and reserve.  Sift together dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Pour oil and sugar into a large bowl and beat with a wire whisk until well incorporated.  Whisk in soy milk, applesauce and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Pour into two 9-inch cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow cakes to cool.

Lemon Curd Filling 

1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Water
3/4 cup Sugar
2 tbs Corn Starch
Zest of 1 Lemon
Pinch Sea Salt
2 tbs Powdered Soy Milk
1 tbs Margarine

Whisk all ingredients except powdered soy milk and margarine in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  When it comes to a boil, stop whisking and allow to boil for 30 seconds.  Remove from heat and stir in powdered soy milk and margarine.  Place in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap to avoid skin being formed.  Let cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator and chill for 8 hours or overnight.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Margarine

1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Shortening

3 cups Powdered Sugar

3 tbs Soy Milk

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Using an electric hand mixer, cream margarine and shortening until light and fluffy.  Add powdered sugar in stages.  Lastly, mix in soymilk and vanilla.