dessert – Page 6 – morestomach

730 days later: anniversary

Published on September 28, 2015September 27, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach13 Comments

photo courtesy of luke eshleman & used with permission

darling love,
let’s always eat cake!

730 days down, infinity to go.

6″ double chocolate cake
adapted from movita beaucoup

*note: i have a tendency to bake my cakes under, i like the fudge like consistency. however, for icing/frosting/decoration purposes baking the cake till done or just slightly over is best, as it will make the cake sturdier. for real, do as i say, not as i do.

Yields one 2 layer, 6″ cake

1 cup AP flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup strong black coffee, cool
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 teaspoon chocolate extract

preheat oven to 350°F. grease + line two 6″ baking pans with parchment paper.

in a bowl add all the dry ingredients except the sugar, whisk to combine.

in a large mixing bowl, mix together the coffee, sugar, sunflower oil and chocolate extract until combined. add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

divvy up the batter evenly between the two baking pans.

bake for 18-22 minutes (aim for the full 22 minutes). cool for a few minutes, then remove from pans, remove parchment paper, and cool completely on a wire rack.

chocolate frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
healthy punch of salt
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature (i used Tofutti vegan cream cheese)

Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa and salt and set aside.

in a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until soft and fluffy.

add in the dry ingredients in increments, beating on low, until smooth and no lumps remain

BAM!

one year ago: chocolate tahini cake with rosemary infused buttercream

thai popsicles

Published on August 12, 2015August 20, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach15 Comments

it’s august,
it’s hot
i’m still obsessed with my
popsicle mold
i’ve made three flavors,
this one being dw’s favorite
and because anything the man loves
i want to recreate for him,
so i’m journaling it here.
for next blueberry season.
hoping your summer’s been loverly.

thai pops
makes 10

*note: if you can’t get your hands on Kaffir lime leaves, use organic lime rind, using as little of the bitter white pith as possible. it’s not exactly the same but it’ll still give you that bright citrus-y hint.

3 cups blueberries
10 Kaffir lime leaves
2 lemongrass sticks, gently bruised
1 can of full fat coconut milk
generous knob of ginger, peeled
sweetener of choice, like agave, sugar, honey, maple syrup, completely optional

you’ll be using two saucepans:

in first saucepan, gently simmer the blueberries with lemongrass and Kaffir lime leaves. it’ll thicken and bubble, let it hang out and infuse. if you think about it, using a fork squish the berries. simmer for about 15 minutes and allow to cool. i left it rough textured, but if you want it smooth, discard the lemongrass and Kaffir lime leaves and zip in vitamix or blender.

in 2nd saucepan, gently simmer coconut milk with ginger. if you want, you can sweeten with whatever sweetener of choice. the goal is to infuse the milk with just the hint of ginger, should take about 20-30 minutes on low. allow to cool. discard ginger knob.

pour into pop molds, alternating between flavors. there is no science to it, and it should be enough for all molds but as you can see, it’s entirely up to you how strong you want the flavors to be and how full you want the molds to be.

freeze at least 3 hours. to unmold, run under warm water and gently pull out.

BAM!

1 year ago: blueberry pie smoothie – vegan
2 years ago: vietnamese vermicelli noodle bowl

other blueberry recipes:
blueberry breakfast cookies – vegan
blueberry clafoutis – dairy free
blueberry jam danishes – vegan
blueberry pie smoothie – vegan
blueberry swirl macaroons – gluten free, dairy free
blueberry swirl muffins – dairy free

Strawberries + Kefir Popsicles

Published on July 8, 2015February 14, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach26 Comments

we’re currently on vacation
which means that i’ve been checked out
from everything:
work
work
work
life
but not when it comes to desserts.
these popsicles
were borne from necessity:
using up the last of the kefir
the last of the frozen strawberries
best of all,
these could be breakfast OR dessert.
happy summer break!

ps. i will be scarce for awhile.
but you can follow along with our adventures via my instagram

strawberries + kefir popsicles
makes 10

*note: i used up the last of kefir and a bowl of blitzed strawberries, the exact measurements for popsicle varied. use your best judgement.
**note: kefir is usually lactose free, or very low in lactose, which i am able to consume.
***note: i used these molds, which are my new favorite kitchen toy

approximately 1/2 cup kefir (my preferred brands are lifeway or green valley organics, whichever is on sale that week)
1/2 – 3/4 cup strawberries, sweetened with 1 TBL sugar or honey, vitamixed until smooth

pour each into pop molds, alternating flavors until all are used up and/or filled.

if you’re feeling fancy, use a skewer stick (in my case, a chopstick) to marble the mix together.

freeze at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

BAM!

1 year ago: diy copper pipe wall sconces
2 years ago: coconut egg curry, lactose free

other ice cream concoctions:
coffee chocolate chip ice cream – lactose free
peppermint chocolate chip ice cream – lactose free
spiced coconut pecan ice cream – dairy free
strawberry ice cream + almond waffle cones – dairy free
tangerine ice cream – lactose free
cayenne chocolate ice cream – lactose free
strawberry ice cream cookie sandwiches – lactose free

strawberry ice cream cookie sandwiches

Published on July 1, 2015February 14, 2016 by Lan | MoreStomach6 Comments

strawberry season has come & gone,
around these parts anyway.
they’re still available at markets,
fret not,
but once they’re no longer pick-able for us
the season is done.
what we do is we pick more than we’re able to consume,
freezing the rest
for smoothies
for ice cream
for breakfast
for dessert
this year’s yield ,
while beautiful,
did not taste as they looked.
as a result
this year’s batch of ice cream wasn’t the best.
in lieu of chucking it
i figured sandwiching them would solve mediocrity.
thank goodness i was correct.
*note: any kind of ice cream flavor,
at any level of mediocrity or awesomeness,
will work.

PS. happy independence week! be safe, be good.

strawberry ice cream cookie sandwiches
cookie recipe makes about 30 cookies

4 ounces room temp ghee
4 ounces coconut oil, softened, just on the other side of solid
3/4 cup sugar, scant
3/4 cup light brown sugar, scant
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups ap flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
super intense strawberry ice cream, or whatever flavor you want

in mixing bowl, with paddle attachment, cream butter + coconut oil + sugars. add the eggs, followed by the flour, salt and baking soda. scrape the sides of the bowl, you’re aiming for an incorporated batter.

cover and fridge, for at least an hour, up to over night.

preheat oven to 325, prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.

using a ice cream scooper (ours is just shy of 1 TBL), scoop out the dough onto prepared baking sheet. leave a few inches between cookies as they will spread.

bake for 12-14 minutes, i aimed for 13 minutes.

allow to cool completely on cookie rack, then freeze them.

to assemble, scoop out ice cream and sandwich between two cookies. consume immediately, or stick back in freezer, covered until ready to devour.

if you’re like dw, you could freeze the ice cream in a casserole dish. allow it to thaw a bit, then using a biscuit cutter almost the same size at the cookies cut out the ice cream.
then, if you’re like me, you could use an off-set spatula to smooth out any bumps that the biscuit cutter didn’t smooth out and run it along the edges.

BAM!

1 year ago: diy linen board
2 years ago: tiny, beautiful things – i read a book!

meringue cups + mango curd

Published on June 24, 2015June 23, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach14 Comments

growing up i never had dessert after dinner,
maybe an apple or orange slices.
sugar and sweets were for
Special Occasions,
they were not on the forefront of
gma’s menu planning for the week.
now that i’m ~~a grown up~~ in charge of my diet
dessert is a must.
on the evenings we don’t have
anything sweet to nibble on
i feel a loss,
like,
bereft.
my waistline has suffered
my sweet tooth is more ferocious
i don’t know which was worse –
with or without!
just kidding,
that’s a no brainer.

meringue cups + mango curd
gluten free, lactose free

*note: it was super hot and muggy the days i made these. if i were to serve this at a party, i’d make the morning of and pipe just before serving. you want the meringues to be light and crispy with just a touch of chew. doing it the way i did it allowed the meringues to be a little on the chewy side and not enough of the crisp. the winter, when the air is chill and dry, would be best for the over night method i used this time.

5 egg whites, at room temp
1/4 -1/2 cup sugar, sweetness level entirely up to you, depending on how sweet the curd is
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

preheat oven to 300F. prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.

in a clean mixing bowl using a the whisk attachment, mix the egg whites for about a minute. add the cream of tartar and then incrementally add the sugar. you’re going for stiff peaks, this could take up to 15 minutes. take your time, scrape the bowl to ensure you get all the sugar. you’re done when you’re able to turn the bowl over and nothing falls on your face.

fill piping bag, if you’re feeling fancy add a tip, though i don’t think it’s necessary. on the prepared baking sheet, pipe a base and then stick to the edge of the base and work your way up to make a cup/nest. keep going until done, i think i ended up with about 40.

bake for 20 minutes, lower heat to 250F and bake further 15 minutes. turn off off, ignore overnight.

mango curd
lactose free

1-2 mangos, depending on size, ending up with about 1 cup mango puree
1/8 – 1/4 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you want it to be
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lime
4 TBL ghee
juice of half lemon

in a sauce pan, mix the mango puree with the egg yolk on low heat. whisk steadily until warmed through, you don’t want to scramble the yolk. add in the flavors: sugar, salt, zests and lemon juice. raise heat to medium and keep whisking until further thickened. turn off the heat and add in the ghee, mixing thoroughly.

set aside to cool, if needed, strain through a fine mesh sieve.

allow to cool and then fridge. will keep for about a week.

to assemble:
you can be fancy and pipe the curd into the meringue cups, or you can be lazy like me and use a small spoon to fill the curd in.

BAM!