My Plant-Based Family

Feeding My Family a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet, On a Budget

Dessert

Chocolate Cake:Gluten-Free and Vegan

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GF, V Chocolate Cake

If you have to avoid wheat/gluten then this is the cake for you. I developed a fascination for GF baking several years ago because I had two friends who couldn’t eat gluten and never got the good stuff at potlucks. I would try to always make something they could eat. They were always so appreciative even though I never loved my creations, they were happy to have whatever I brought.

Fast forward to spring/summer 2012 and I finally discover my son’s eczema is the result of gluten/wheat. He was just under 1 1/2 years old so he wasn’t eating a lot of cakes or cookies but he loved pancakes, banana bread, etc. I was determined that he wouldn’t have to do without “normal” food.

frosted chocolate cake

I have a list of favorites I intend to adapt so that they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and peanut-free. I want my little guy to experience donuts, birthday cake, and banana pudding without pain or illness.

I’ve been working on this cake for a while. I wanted to make it as allergy friendly as possible. I have a friend who can’t have apples or bananas so I had been making it without them but I couldn’t get the taste or texture right. I decided to abandon that idea (temporarily, I’ve got some ideas) because I needed to make a birthday cake for my 4 year old.

If you follow My Plant-Based Family on Facebook then you know that I shared this recipe with several people. I got great feedback from everyone who made it. Some people couldn’t make it because they couldn’t find all of the ingredients. I buy some of them from Amazon because I can’t always find them locally. You could probably substitute a store bought GF baking mix with good results.

GF Chocolate cake

Gluten-Free, Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 c brown rice flour
  • 1 c sorghum flour
  • 1/2 c tapioca flour
  • 3/4 c cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp xanthum gum OR guar gum
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 c warm water*
  • 3 tsp EnerG Egg Replacer*
  • 1 c turbinado sugar (I’ve also used agave nectar with good results)
  • 1 c unsweetened applesauce
  • 1-2 mashed bananas
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 c rice milk (reduce to 1 cup if you use agave nectar)
  • 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional but oh so good)

Do

  1. Preheat oven to 350° and spray two 8 or 9 inch pans with cooking spray. I’ve also made this in a bundt pan with good results (but longer baking time).
  2. In a mixing bowl add dry ingredients, brown rice flour through sea salt.
  3. In a small bowl or measuring cup mix warm water and egg replacer and set aside.
  4. In a medium bowl mix sugar through milk. Add “egg” and mix well.
  5. Stir wet mixture into dry ingredients until well incorporated.
  6. Add chocolate chips and stir until just mixed.
  7. Pour batter, dividing into two pans.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Serve

This cake can be frosted once cooled or enjoyed as is. It is birthday cake worth. I’ve also layered fresh strawberries between the layers and used both Avocado Mousse and Coconut Cream Frosting. My 2 year old got Cococonut Cream Frosted Mini Cupcakes for his birthday and my 4 year old got store bought frosting on his birthday cake; it should be noted that neither kid liked the store bought frosting. Lesson learned: Plant-based kids don’t need over processed, store bought junk food. 🙂

birthday cup cakes

Chocolate Mousse…How I Love Thee

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When I first posted this recipe for Chocolate Mousse it just happened to be on Food Waste Friday and it was right before Valentine’s Day. It really deserved its own post but I tried to do two things at once and always kind of regretted it. With the holidays right around the corner I thought it was only fair to give this delectable recipe it’s very own post. 🙂

avocado Chocolate Mousse

Let me tell you, everyone who has ever tried this has LOVED it! Even people who aren’t normally chocolate lovers LOVE this.

Before you attempt to prepare it make sure your avocados are nice and soft.

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe avocados
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup agave (you could maple syrup or date paste instead)
  • pinch of salt
  • a few drops of vanilla

Do

  1. Open avocados and empty them (minus the pit) into a blender/mixer/food processor.
  2. Blend until smooth.
  3. Add half of the cocoa powder and half of the agave along with the salt and vanilla.
  4. Blend until well mixed, taste and add more cocoa powder and agave until it is the flavor you like. You will not taste the avocado.
  5. Refrigerate until cold.

Serve

This could be served with almost any fruit, strawberries make a wonderful accompaniment. I’ve even frosted cupcakes too. I could eat it with a spoon but I’m wild like that. You will not believe something this creamy is dairy-free. For a frozen treat, freeze it by the spoonful (on a plastic spoon). You can also freeze it in a small bowl or cup, just let it defrost for a few minutes before enjoying.

This has a really long shelf life (when refrigerated) probably due to all of the sugar. I have done experiments but it’s safe to say it usually lasts well over a week. If it’s frozen I’d use it within a month. It seems to work best for me when I use my food processor but I have used my Magic Bullet with good results, it just takes longer.

Pumpkin Cake/Cupcakes

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Need some help figuring out what to do with all of that pumpkin you bought? Look no further!

pumpkin cake

Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients

  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cup pumpkin (or 1 can)
  • 1 cup maple syrup (I’ve also used agave OR 1/2 cup maple syrup  with 1/2 cup turbinado sugar)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Do

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. In a large bowl mix the first 5 ingredients.
  3. I medium bowl mix the remaining ingredients, except chocolate chips if using.
  4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
  5. Grease pan or use cupcake liners.
  6. Pour into pan and bake until done. 30-40 minutes for a 9 inch cake pan and 15-20 for cupcakes

Serve

This first time I made this I cake I ate all but 2 pieces by myself. I just could not resist it. I mixed up a little glaze but wasn’t crazy about it. The next time I made this I went with cupcakes and added chocolate chips and made this Chocolate Mousse to use as frosting.

I made these for my last Healthy Cravings group, which I’ll write about tomorrow. Let’s just say they were a big hit. I cooked the cupcakes a little long and they stuck to the liners 🙁 so next time I’ll watch them a little more closely.

There is a little over a week left of the Vegan Month of Food, a.k.a. Vegan MoFo. I hope you’ve been enjoying all of the recipes. The Vegan MoFo ends October 31st. I’m excited to participate in the Virtual Vegan Potluck on November 1st. There are 105 participants this time so get ready for a ton of mouth-watering recipes.

Party Worthy Parfait

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Welcome back to day 2 of the Vegan Month of Food, a.k.a The Vegan MoFo. Today I’m setting my sights on the parfait.

Making parfait’s are super easy if you have kids they can help or make their own. If you own a large glass bowl or trifle dish they can make a perfect center piece for a party or make these in individual glasses like I did. These are healthy enough for an on the go breakfast but tasty enough for dessert too.

Parfait

Ingredients

  • Vegan yogurt (I use coconut, almond or soy milk yogurt)
  • Diced fruit of your choice (apples, berries, or bananas)
  • Granola
  • Nuts and/or seeds
  • Vegan chocolate chips (hey I’m not judging)

Do

  1. Layer granola, yogurt, nuts/sees, then fruit.
  2. Repeat step 1 two to three times to fill your container.
  3. Refrigerate until ready to serve

Serve

This was a big hit at my Healthy Cravings group served as a dessert. We ate the leftovers for breakfast and lunch for a few days after. A few of my favorite variations include Cinnamon granola with diced apples, Almond granola with mixed berries, granola with vegan chocolate chips and bananas. I like to top this with chia seeds right before serving. My son thinks they are sprinkles! 🙂

This recipe is kid friendly, omni friendly, and gluten-free if you use gluten-free granola.

What is your favorite parfait combination?

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk Peppermint (Black Bean) Brownies

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Last weekend I held my first Food Demo. I had 22 ladies and two cute little babies come to taste a while host of plant-based dishes. I had a great time and I think they did too! I’ve even been invited to do similar Demo’s at a couple of the ladies homes.

There was so much to do I didn’t get much of a chance to share the “why” of adopting a plant-based diet, I focused more on the “you can eat real, delicious food” on a plant-based diet.

Dinner was Mexican food; it’s something that we really like and seems “normal” to people who don’t normally eat Plant-based. I had wanted to prepare a lot of different kinds of foods but as more ladies RSVP’d I knew I wouldn’t be able to prepare/store/serve that many dishes in quantities large enough for everyone to enjoy. I had a few more ladies RSVP that were not able to come. We enjoyed:

We also had lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, and faux cheese sauce served with a choice of organic chips, corn or flour tortillas.  I demonstrated the faux cheese sauce for the group. One of my friends has been dairy-free for years, she LOVED it! There was also the obligatory veggie tray and hummus trio.

I also had a wide selection of desserts:

I had two ladies coming who are mostly gluten-free so I wanted to have at least one more gluten-free dessert. I came up with these brownies.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk Peppermint Brownies

Ingredients

  • 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2-3 very ripe bananas
  • 1/3 cup agave
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp peppermint extract (I spilled it and add way too much)
  • 1/4 cup raw sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks)

Do

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Process beans in food processor.
  3. Add the rest of ingredients except flour and chocolate chips.
  4. Process until smooth then transfer to a large bowl.
  5. Stir in brown rice flour then chocolate chips.
  6. Pour into non-stick pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until done.

Serve

I cut these into bite size pieces for easy eating. They could also be cut into big pieces and served with non-dairy ice cream or even blended into a shake or other ice cream treat. I think these will be a go-to recipe at Christmas paired with candy canes or even red and green sprinkles.

Chocolate No-Bake Bites

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When I want a delicious chocolate treat I reach for these Chocolate No-Bake Bites. They are the perfect summer treat when it is too hot to turn on the oven.

Chocolate No Bake Bites

Years ago, I would make the most delicious chocolate no bake cookies. You know the ones, they have a ton of butter, milk, peanut butter and oats. Yeah, I loved those!

This version is much healthier for you although not necessarily a “health food.”

I almost always have all of the ingredients I need (thanks to my pantry staples). These can also be made allergy-friendly by using gluten-free oats and a peanut butter substitute like SoyNut Butter or SunButter.

Chocolate No-Bake Bites

Chocolate No-Bake Bites
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp Cocoa
  • 2 Tbsp agave or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 banana
  • ¼ cup peanut butter (or other nut or seed butter)
  • 1 cup oats (use gluten-free if needed) added ¼ cup at a time.
  • ¼ cup vegan chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
  1. Mix together cocoa, agave, and vanilla in a medium-sized mixing bowl. This will take a little while to do but it will come together. Once these 3 ingredients are mixed together they look and taste like Hershey's syrup that we put on ice cream as a kid, it isn't quite as sweet but it is close.
  2. Mash in banana and stir.
  3. Mix in peanut butter, you can add another ¼ cup for a stronger PB taste.
  4. Stir in oats, ¼ cup at a time. If your mixture looks to dry don't use all the oats.
  5. Optional: add in the chocolate chips.
  6. Spoon onto a wax paper lined plate and place them in the freezer or far away from little hands that might dig in too early. You could smooth them into balls or flatten them into cookie shape if desired.

Chocolate No Bake Bites

I store these in the freezer and grab one or two out for an after dinner treat. I left a few on the counter and they did “set up” nicely but not as well as my old-fashioned dairy-filled version that is off-limits. My recipe made about 17 small bite sized cookies.

For more delicious desserts check out my Dessert Page!

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