I’ve found that using soy yogurt with whole flours somehow improves the texture of the final product. I checked out a few recipes in cookbooks before improvising this recipe, but I think the idea of using tapioca starch definitely lurked into my mind from the Post Punk Kitchen Blog‘s Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from a few weeks back.

The Cookie Dough (20 medium cookies):

• 3 to 3 and 1/2 dl whole wheat flour
• 1 and 1/2 dl walnuts, chopped
• 1 dl canola oil
• 1 dl plain soy yogurt
• 2 dl brown sugar (I used yummy raw sugar from Bolivia)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

First, I whisked together the soy yogurt, canola oil, sugars, and tapioca starch. Actually Heikki helped me with this step when I got tired of whisking – it takes a bit of time until all the sugar is dissolved. Then I combined 3 dl of the whole wheat flour with the baking soda, and Heikki chopped the walnuts. Now, I added the flour mixture to the wet mix bowl, stirred until combined, and added the walnuts. The dough seemed a little too sticky so I added another 1/2 dl of flour, and the dough was ready.

There’s been a lot of talk about refrigerating the cookie dough after an article about perfect cookies appeared in the New York Times, but I didn’t have time for this step. I will try that trick some time soon for sure!

So I just rolled the dough into 20 balls and flattened them with a fork on two cookie sheets covered with baking parchment. Then I baked the cookies one sheet at a time for 8 minutes, until slightly browned on the bottom side. Overbaking makes the cookies dry out, so it’s best to be careful – they didn’t look quite baked enough after eight minutes, but they were!

I’m increasing the amount of spelt flour in this recipe little by little, maybe I’ll use a half and half ratio next time. This bread is such a favorite and I don’t want to change it too much!

The Bread:

• 2 dl oat milk
• 2 dl water
• 11 g dry yeast
• 7 dl wheat flour
• 2 dl spelt flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dark syrup
• 1 dl sun-dried tomatoes in oil, rinsed and chopped
• 1 dl walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 dl sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

I made the bread exactly like the Olive Tomato Bread, only using the above ingredients. We only had 2 dl oat milk left so I used some water to make up for the rest of the fluid, and we had walnuts instead of cashew nuts. I also added sunflower seeds to the dough, and used a little more flour since part of it was spelt. I also chopped the tomatoes only coarsely, not as finely as I did the last time. This didn’t give the bread the nice orange color that very finely chopped tomatoes do, but bigger tomato pieces mean more flavor when they’re bitten into!

This dough is not stiff at all, so I kept my hands and the working surface floured at all times to avoid sticking, and kneaded the dough carefully to get the gluten to develop.

The Topping:

• 2 tablespoons soy yogurt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

I just mixed all the topping ingredients and brushed it over the bread before baking. The yogurt really keeps the seeds on the bread, even when it’s cut!

The ingredients were improvised from what we had in the house, and we managed to use up a few items that had been sitting in the fridge since pizza night; half a bell pepper and a small chunk of Cheezly vegan cheese. I don’t think Cheezly contributed to the taste very much. The quiche was delicious, and with some more elegant garnishes could very well be served to guests as well. I had a slice for lunch the next day, as pictured above, and the flavors were even better after a night in the fridge.

Crust:

• 3 and 1/2 dl wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 dl liquid vegan margarine
• 1 dl plain unsweetened soy milk

First, I mixed the flour, salt, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Then I poured the margarine and the soy milk in the bowl, and mixed the dough with my hands until it formed a firm ball. Now, I rolled it out with a rolling pin to form a round shape a little larger than our pie tray. After Heikki had greased and floured our pie tray, I placed the crust in it and evened up the edges.

Filling:

• 2 small onions, finely diced
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil for frying
• 2 dl walnuts
• 350 g firm silken tofu (we had 1 package of Mori-Nu)
• 20 g Cheezly Edam (optional)
• 1 dl soy milk
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

First, Heikki diced and fried the onions in olive oil until they had browned a bit. Meanwhile, I placed the walnuts, the tofu, soy milk, lemon juice, and vegan cheese in a bowl, and mixed them with our immersion blender until the mixture was smooth and light brown. Now, I added the rest of the ingredients, stirred with a spoon to combine, and adjusted saltiness. Then I poured the filling in the crust.

Garnish:

• 1/2 small red bell pepper

Heikki sliced the bell pepper thinly, and I arranged the slices over the walnut filling.

Now, we baked the pie on the middle rack of the oven, in 175 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Then we placed the pie on the lower rack of the oven, baked an additional 10 minutes, and let it cool down for 15 minutes.

I’d cooked some ginger tea earlier on the baking day, and had some left, so I used it to give some extra taste to these muffins. The tea was just a bunch of sliced ginger and some grated lemon peel, cooked for half an hour in about 1 liter of water. The taste of ginger wasn’t very obvious in the baked muffins, and I think the tea just added a little depth to the overall cinnamony spiciness. It could easily be replaced with about 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder for the taste, and an extra 1 dl of soy milk for the liquid.

The cinnamon that is mostly used in Europe and in the United States is actually Chinese cinnamon, cassia, which is sold in grocery shops as cinnamon. I have used real cinnamon sometimes, and it does have a less bitter taste than the “poor-man’s-cinnamon” that cassia really is. But, real cinnamon is much more expensive than cassia, and especially in baked goods there’s not much difference. When I started making these muffins, I realized that we were out of ground cinnamon (well, cassia), and I ground up some cassia sticks we’d bought from the Asian store. Freshly ground spices are much more aromatic, and I think this produced more cinnamony flavor than I usually get from just two teaspoons.

Dry mixture:

• 3 dl spelt flour
• 1 dl wheat flour
• 3/4 dl granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon barley (or potato or corn) starch
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet mixture:

• 1 dl plain, unsweetened soy yogurt
• 1/2 dl canola oil
• 1/2 dl unsweetened soy milk
• 1 dl home-brewed ginger tea (or soy milk and powdered ginger)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Apples:

• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced

Topping:

• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely diced
• 1/2 dl raw cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 dl walnut, finely chopped

First, I peeled and diced my three apples. I diced the apple that went in the topping pretty finely, and left the ones that went to the batter in bigger cubes. I greased my muffin tin with a little vegan margarine, and preheated the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Now, I mixed the dry ingredients, then mixed the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and combined the two, being careful not to over-mix the batter. I folded in the apple cubes, and then mixed the topping ingredients in a small bowl. Now, I poured the batter in the muffin tins, filling them about 3/4 full, and then spooned about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of the topping over each muffin. I pressed the topping gently in the muffins with the back of my teaspoon.

Now, I baked the muffins in 200 degrees for 22 minutes, until the tops had browned somewhat. These muffins are delicious right out of the oven, when still warm, but they’re pretty great on the next day as well, when the moist apple bits and the yummy cinnamon have had time to team up. Compared to more bread-like muffins with a dense texture, like my carrot muffins or oat and spelt muffins, these were fruity, sweet, and soft – more like a dessert than a breakfast.

I adapted the recipe from the Jam-Filled Oat Bran Muffins recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Unlike in the pretty muffins in the book, the jam in my muffins decided to spurt out a little bit, but they tasted wonderful all the same. This recipe makes about 7 muffins.

Here’s what I used:

Wet ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 5 tablespoons water
• 2 dl oat milk
• 1/2 dl canola oil

Dry ingredients:

• 1 dl rolled oats, finely ground
• 1,2 dl spelt flour
• 1,2 dl wheat flour
• 3/4 dl raw cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 dl chopped walnuts

Filling:

• 7 teaspoons raspberry-blueberry jam

For the topping:

• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons margarine

First, I placed the flaxseed and water in our electric mixer and mixed for a minute or two, until it had a creamy and thick consistence. I haven’t used flaxseed as an egg replacer before, and here it worked very well. But I can imagine that in more delicate things it might have a little too much taste of its own, since it does have a kind of earthy, nutty flavor.

After making the flax egg, I ground the oats in our electric grinder. Then I mixed the wet ingredients in a small bowl. I mixed together the dry ingredients in a bigger bowl, poured in the wet mix, and stirred with a wooden fork just enough to combine everything.

Now, I mixed the topping ingredients in a small bowl and assembled the muffins. Since the jam burst out during baking, I probably wouldn’t follow my own advice in this, but here’s what I did: I greased and floured the muffins tins, and filled 7 muffin tins half full with the batter. Now, I placed a teaspoon of the berry jam in the middle of each muffin, and then covered the jam with the rest of the batter, at which point the muffins cups were completely full.

Now, I sprinkled each muffin with the topping, and baked them in 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.

To keep the jam inside the muffins, I suppose the amount should be reduced a bit. Before adding the jam, it might be a good idea to make a well in the center area of the muffin batter instead of just spooning the jam over the batter.

Obviously, coconut milk is not the most healthy ingredient, and it pretty much is the only source of saturated fats for vegans. On the other hand, non-vegans eat saturated fats all the time, and one batch of these delicious cookies won’t change that. What it could change is the attitude toward vegan baking as difficult and dubious, we hope. And, most importantly, home-made gifts are the best even without any health-related or ideological motivations!

Cookie mix ingredients:

• 2 dl wheat flour
• 1 and 1/2 dl spelt flour
• 1 dl granulated sugar
• 1/2 dl raw cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon & 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons egg replacer powder (we have NoEgg brand)
• 1 dl nuts (we had cashews and walnuts), chopped
• 100 g dark vegan chocolate, chopped

Also needed:

• 2 dl coconut cream (1 small can)

First, we chopped the nuts and chocolate. Then we combined the cookie mix ingredients in a small bowl, and then poured them in zip lock bags. We mixed just one batch at a time to make sure that the proportions would be right. Then we stapled a label with instructions on how to make the cookies on the cookie mix bag, and gift-wrapped it with a can of coconut cream.

Instructions on how to make the cookies:

1. Preheat the oven in 190 degrees Celsius and cover two baking sheets with baking parchment.
2. Pour the cookie mix ingredients in a bowl.
3. Open the coconut cream can and stir with a teaspoon until smooth.
4. Pour the coconut cream in the bowl with the cookie mix and mix with a wooden fork. Only mix just enough to incorporate everything, don’t overmix.
5. Use a little more than a tablespoon of the dough per cookie. You can round the cookies at the edges, but there’s no need to flatten them before baking. There should be about 9 cookies on each cookie sheet.
6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time, in 190 degrees Celsius, for about 12 minutes. These cookies shouldn’t get browned on top, only slightly on edges and in the bottom – this way they’ll be more yummy.
7. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and place the cookies to cool on baking parchment or a cooling rack, with the help of a cheese-cutter, a cake server, or a thin spatula. The cookies will be soft straight out of the oven, but their surface gets crispy when cooled.
8. Enjoy!
9. If you have leftover cookies, store them in an air tight plastic bag (in the cookie mix bag, for example).

One of our unsuspecting testers enjoys her tea with cookies.

The original recipe suggested using a 9-inch spring form pan, but we only had an 8 1/2 inch (22 cm) wide pan, which worked just fine. The cake came out slightly thicker, so we had to almost double the baking time.

Chocolate cake:

Dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 dl wheat flour
• 2 1/2 dl spelt flour
• 1/2 dl ground almond
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Heat and mix:

• 2,5 dl plain soy milk
• 2 dl cocoa powder

Wet mix:

• 1,2 dl canola oil
  
• 2 teaspoons egg replacer mixed with 3 tablespoons water
• 3 dl dark syrup
• 1/2 dl granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract

• semolina and vegetable margarine to coat the pan

First, I mixed together all the dry ingredients, wheat flour through baking soda.

Heikki heated the soy milk until bubbling, added the cocoa powder and whisked until it was dissolved. Then we combined the ingredients from canola oil through rum extract in a bowl and whisked well, and then added the cocoa powder and soy milk mixture. Now, we combined this wet mixture with the dry mixture and whisked for a little while until there were no lumps left in the batter.

I poured the batter into the greased and floured pan, and baked the cake at 175 degrees Celsius for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean. I then let the cake cool completely before frosting.

Rum chocolate frosting:

• 130 g vegan chocolate
• 1,5 dl vegan whippable cream (we had GoGreen Vispi)
• 2 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 1 dl (or more) confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

First, I melted the chocolate in a water bath, and mixed it with cinnamon, nutmeg, and rum extract. Then, I mixed the margarine with the confectioner’s sugar, until a crumbly consistency resulted – I think I had to add a little more sugar to make this happen. Now, I mixed this with the vegan cream. Meanwhile, the melted chocolate had cooled down, and could be added to the other ingredients. I beat the frosting with a hand held mixer for about 5 minutes, until it had a very fluffy consistency.

Caramelized cashews and walnuts:

• 1 dl cashew nuts
• 1 dl walnuts
• 1 tablespoon dark syrup
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon water

First, I toasted the nuts on a small non-stick pan until a little browned. Then I mixed the rest of the ingredients together, and poured this in the hot pan, stirring its contents all the time. When all the moisture had evaporated and the nuts were coated with shiny caramelized sugar, I spread them on aluminium foil, and let them cool down.

Drizzle on top:

• confectioner’s sugar
• cocoa powder
• soy milk

First, I sifted equal parts confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl. I probably used about 1/2 dl each. Then I mixed that with a little bit of soy milk, one drop at a time, until I had a consistency similar to melted chocolate.

To assemble:

I just spread the frosting on the cake with a butter knife, then distributed the caramelized nuts over the frosting, and finally drizzled the last topping with a spoon on top of it all.

The batter is sort of bread-like, I have never baked anything with both yeast and baking powder before. The inspiration came from the Pflaumenkuchen recipe at Vegalicious. My plums weren’t completely ripe, so I decided to coat them in ginger-sugar mixture before baking, which turned out to be a brilliant idea. We enjoyed the plum cake with oat vanilla sauce, but vanilla ice cream would probably be even better.

For the batter:

• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 3 dl oat milk
• 5 dl wheat flour
• 1 dl spelt flour
• 1 dl raw cane sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
• 5 tablespoons liquid or melted vegan margarine

Plum topping:

• 10-12 plums, cut in 6 wedges each
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried ginger

Walnut topping:

• 1 tablespoon liquid or melted vegan margarine
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon spelt flour
• 1 dl walnuts, chopped

First, I heated the oat milk until a little bit warmer than my hand. Then, I mixed it with the yeast. Now, I mixed all the dry ingredients (wheat flour through vanilla sugar) in a big bowl, and then mixed this with the oat milk mixture and vegetable margarine.

For the plum topping, I heated the sugar, ginger, and water in a small frying pan until the sugar was dissolved, and then let it bubble and reduce for a minute or so. I added the plum wedges and let them cook in the sauce for a few minutes, while I was preparing the walnut topping.

While the plums were simmering, I mixed the chopped walnuts with other walnut topping ingredients, until a crumbly mixture resulted.

Now, I lined a baking dish with baking parchment, and poured the batter in the dish. Then I poured the plums over the batter, and sprinkled the walnuts on top.

I baked the cake for 30-40 minutes in 200 degrees Celsius, until it was browned and all done.