Double layer chocolate cake

Had friends over for dinner. When I asked dietaries one of them replied 'I don't eat fruit'. There goes my classic 'cointreau-soaked berry' dessert.

So I baked a cake instead. This was INSANELY easy and SO RICH. Did I eat more for afternoon tea today, well that would be telling....

OG recipe here. 

The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake

The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake- A quick and easy recipe, made in 1 bowl! This really is the best chocolate cake ever, vegan or otherwise. It's super moist, rich and full of chocolate. 

Prep: 20minutes mins

Cook: 35minutes mins

Total: 55minutes mins

Servings: 16 servings

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Ingredients 

 

Chocolate Cake

• ▢1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• ▢1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢2 cups all purpose flour
• ▢1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• ▢3/4 cup cocoa powder
• ▢2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢1 teaspoon salt
• ▢1/2 cup canola oil OR melted coconut oil
• ▢2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• ▢1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢1 cup boiling water

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• ▢1 cup cocoa powder
• ▢1 1/2 cups vegan butter, softened baking sticks preferred
• ▢4-5 cups powdered sugar
• ▢2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ▢1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

Instructions 

For the Chocolate Cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 9-inch cake pans. I also line them with parchment rounds and lightly flour for easy removal of the cakes later.
• Measure 1 cup unsweetened almond milk and add the tablespoon of vinegar to it. Stir slightly and set aside to curdle.
• In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well to combine.
• Now add the oil, applesauce, vanilla and almond milk/vinegar mixture. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer (or stand mixer with the paddle attachment) until well combined. 
• Lower the speed and carefully pour in the boiling water, continuing to mix into the cake batter until combined. The batter will seem very runny at this point; that is how it should be, trust me!
• Divide the batter evenly between your cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. After 10 minutes of cooling in the pan, carefully remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely before frosting.

For the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• Add the cocoa powder to a large bowl (I just wipe out the cake bowl and use it for the frosting). Whisk well to remove any clumps.
• Add the softened vegan butter and mix with a hand mixer until creamed and well combined.
• Add half of the powdered sugar and half of the almond milk, and mix until combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix starting on low, and turn to high. Mix until fluffy and combined.
• If the frosting seems too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon or two at a time. If the frosting seems too wet and doesn't hold it's shape, add more powdered sugar until it thickens up. 
• Frost the cake using an icing spatula or just a butter knife.

Braised fennel

 Made this as a side dish for Xmas lunch and it was exquisite. Used sake instead of ouzo and some star anise. Incredible.

It took a smidgen longer to simmer, so just give yourself a happy hour to have it all done. x

OG recipe here

Braised Fennel

PREP TIME5 mins

COOK TIME35 mins

TOTAL TIME40 mins

SERVINGS4 servings

The purpose of the liqueur is to intensify the licorice flavor of the fennel. If you don't have anise-flavored liqueur, or are avoiding cooking with alcohol, you can achieve a similar effect by adding a star anise pod to the stock when you are braising. If you aren't a fan of the licorice flavor, then just skip this step.

Ingredients

• 2 large fennel bulbs, rinsed clean

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2 tablespoons ouzo, pastis, sambuca or other anise-flavored liqueur

• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock

• 1/2 cup water

• 2 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds

• Zest from 1 orange

• Lemon juice

Method

1. Prep the fennel bulbs:

   Cut the tops off the fennel bulbs, chop 2 tablespoons of the fronds and set aside. Slice the fennel bulbs in half, lengthwise, through the core. Slice each half lengthwise into quarters (you should get eight pieces total out of each fennel bulb), leaving some of the core attached so the pieces don't fall apart as they cook.

   How to Cut Fennel

   READ MORE:
2. Brown the fennel quarters in butter on two sides:

   Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and place the fennel pieces in the pan in a single layer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the fennel pieces, without moving them, for at least 2 minutes.

   Sprinkle the salt and sugar over the fennel (the sugar will help with caramelization).

   Check for browning, and cook for another minute or two if they're not browned yet. Turn the fennel pieces over and brown the other side.
3. Add ouzo, then stock and water:

   When both sides of the fennel are nicely browned, add the ouzo to the pan. Increase the heat to medium high. The ouzo should boil down quickly. When it is almost gone, add the stock and water.
4. Cover and simmer:

   Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat down to low, cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Uncover, reduce liquid to a glaze:

   Remove the cover, increase the heat to high and let the stock cook down until it is a glaze. Add the fennel fronds and most of the orange zest and combine gently.

   Serve garnished with the rest of the zest and a few splashes of lemon juice.

Cannellini-Bean Pasta With Beurre Blanc

 

I made my first-ever vegan beurre blanc last night! And it was delicious!

Given the dairy element in this recipe I sought out a vegan beurre blanc recipe which had a slightly different prep method - it's here and I added garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder and fresh parsley at the end.

For the Beurre Blanc Sauce:

• 1/4 cup vegan dry white wine
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1/2 cup cold vegan butter, cubed
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh fennel fronds, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly cracked pepper

• For the Beurre Blanc Sauce:

  1. Heat saucepan on medium-high.
  2. Add white wine, vinegar, and shallots. Let boil and reduce down to 2 tablespoons of liquid. Take off heat and let cool for about 1 minute.
  3. Put saucepan back on burner without turning on the heat. Throw in a few butter cubes at a time and whisk until butter is melted. Continue until all butter is melted.
  4. Add herbs, salt, and pepper. Mix.
  5. Cover, turn heat to very low, and let sit.

The pasta recipe was fucking amazing. I added some Daiya shreds in at the end and kale chips on top and it was just so creamy and incredible. Also a splash more water as I added more than 1 cup of pasta. Other than that, 10/10 can't wait to cook again.

OG recipe https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020546-cannellini-bean-pasta-with-beurre-blanc

This recipe, like so many great straightforward, inexpensive go-tos, starts with little more than a can of beans — then transforms it into a luxurious meal. Jack Monroe, the British food writer, uses a classic beurre blanc to do that work, simmering a splash of wine, vinegar and butter together, then tipping it into a pot of boiling beans and pasta, letting the liquid reduce to a starchy, nearly creamy consistency. If you think of beurre blanc as fancy and fussy, this simple, unexpected use for it may change your mind. You can also build on the basic recipe, adding a bunch of chopped chard or mustard greens in with the sauce, or covering the top with torn herbs.

INGREDIENTS

Yield:2 servings

• 1(15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed
• 3cups chicken or vegetable stock
• ¼cup white wine
• ¼cup white wine vinegar
• 1shallot or small white onion, finely chopped
• 3tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1cup small pasta, like shells
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• Grated Parmesan, Pecorino Romano or other strong hard cheese, to finish

PREPARATION

1. Step 1

   Add the beans and stock to a large pot, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, and let simmer for 20 minutes.

2. Step 2

   While the beans cook, combine the wine, vinegar, shallot and butter in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-low for about 15 minutes, shaking the pan as the liquid reduces to keep it from burning. Turn off the heat, and set the beurre blanc aside.

3. Step 3

   Stir the pasta into the beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked through, about 10 more minutes. Stir in the beurre blanc, and season generously with salt and pepper. Serve with a little grated cheese on top.

Fennel blue cheese bake.

Via those What's the Beef humans. This was an ungainly looking dish so maybe not a special dinner party vibe, but fucking delicious for a weeknight home meal. I added some shreds to the mix and the almonds were smoked and chopped but apart from that was as is. x

*

Roasted fennel with apples, almonds & blue cheese

(a slightly adapted recipe from Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg's Six Seasons)

olive oil

1 pack of veggie sausages (400g)

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 big bulb of fennel (approx 600g)

1 large apple

1/2 cup toasted almonds

1 teaspoon dried thyme

150g creamy blue cheese (or taleggio), torn into little bits

salt and pepper

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon butter

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C.

Trim the green stalks and root end off the fennel and cut the bulb lengthwise into 8 pieces or so. Peel and thinly slice the apple. 

Break up the sausages into kind of bite-sized pieces and fry in a large frying pan with the olive oil and fennel seeds, for about 5 minutes until lightly browned (this is not an especially crucial step with veggie sausages I expect). Set aside. 

Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan along with the garlic and cook it very slowly, for 5 minutes or so until it just starts to brown up. Add the chill flakes and sliced fennel and stir together. Pour in about 1/2 cup of water and over the pan, simmering and steaming the fennel until it softens. Add more water as needed, it took us about 10 minutes to get things pretty soft. 

Stir through the sausage, apple, almonds, thyme and about half of your cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Pour the mix into a baking dish, top with the leftover cheese and the breadcrumbs and dot with the butter. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are nice and golden and everything is hot through. 

Leave to rest for 5 minutes and then serve. 

Broccoli avocado salad

 This was delicious. Steamed the broccoli in oil and garlic, then some Massel chicken stock. Added some white miso to the dressing and sliced pickled onions to the salad. Would be good with toasted walnuts too. 

BROCCOLI AND DRESSING

1

avocado, halved

1

small garlic clove, finely chopped

¼

cup tahini

1

teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

7

tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

⅓

cup cilantro leaves with tender stems, plus more for serving

8

tablespoons olive oil, divided

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

1

pound broccoli (about 2 medium heads), stems peeled, heads halved lengthwise

1

medium red onion, sliced into ½-inch rings

1

tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Preparation

1. BROCCOLI AND DRESSING

   Step 3

   Prepare a grill for medium, direct heat. Purée one avocado half, garlic, tahini, lemon zest, 5 Tbsp. lemon juice, ⅓ cup cilantro, 4 Tbsp. oil, and 2 Tbsp. water in a blender, adding a splash of water if needed, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

   Step 4

   Toss broccoli and onion with 2 Tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning occasionally, until broccoli crowns are dark brown in places and stems are crisp-tender, 5–7 minutes. Let cool slightly.

   Step 5

   Coarsely chop broccoli and onion. Toss in a medium bowl with remaining 2 Tbsp. lemon juice and 2 Tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper.

   Step 6

   Spread tahini dressing on a serving platter and top with broccoli mixture. Drain some of the pickled jalapeños (you will have extra). Top broccoli mixture with remaining chopped half of avocado, sesame seeds, drained jalapeños, and more cilantro.