dessert – Page 9 – morestomach

birthday | gingerbread cake

Published on December 15, 2014December 14, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach12 Comments

the fact is,
it’s a year later,
approximately 365 days later,
a sun’s journey around the sun later,
and i’m a year older.
damn, 29 thirty-seven looks good.

without further ado,
36 random things i’ve done this year,
in no particular order:

|| walked with elephants!
|| celebrated my beloved gpa’s life
|| hosted our very first dinner party, sitting on the ground and all!
|| hosted our nephews for a week over the summer. can’t wait to do it again
|| honeymooned in Thailand
|| had oysters and lobster in Boston
|| stood among sunflowers
|| new eyes!
|| like grown ups that we are, we now have a dressing room to get dressed in
|| witnessed a drive by shooting, at a gas station
|| won people’s choice in a pumpkin carving contest, that dw carved and i did nothing. that is called WINNING.
|| saw a blooming cereus
|| thanksgiving in ny
|| skeeball champs we are not, but what a season
|| middle school AND high school reunions, in 2 countries and three cities
|| matt nathanson in baltimore AND dc
|| fireworks at the inner harbor
|| wore shorts to work, got suspended for a week, without pay. it’s a long, stupid story.
|| recipe tested for a blog friend and LOOK! her cookbook is out!
|| we went full share with our CSA. just the two of us
|| babysat a baby. like, fed her, changed her and then put her to bed. technically, dw did the last two, but i was there.
|| watched a break dancing performance
|| tasted duck eggs for the first time ever
|| walked to indianapolis. again.
|| finally invested in a proper pair of rainboots
|| came out of the closet about my lurve for this girl
|| fell in love with this dude
|| and this dude
|| featured on apartment therapy, even if some of the commenters are dicks
|| featured on today.com
|| packed up mi amor and saw her off to her new home state
|| spent 24 hours in dubai
|| voted 2x
|| found a new job, put my notice in, got countered, and then accepted the counter
|| became a member of the aquarium
|| learned how to properly cook dried beans

last year’s list.

Gingerbread Cake
adapted from ashlae warner (oh ladycakes for westelm)

*note: dw baked this. he’s too good to me.
**note: this cake is very molasses-y, i enjoy snacking on it. the original recipe calls for it to be served with a side of whipped coconut cream, which would likely cut through the acridness, but i didn’t mind it.

2 cups spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
6 tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup sugar
1 flaxseed egg (1 TBL raw whole flaxseed, grounded + 3 TBL water)
1/8 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup hot water

preheat oven to 350F. prepare a round 8″ can pan, grease and line with parchment paper.

in a bowl, sift the dry ingredients and spices. in a larger bowl, add in the oil, molasses, sugar, powdered ginger, cinnamon and cloves, combine with flaxseed egg. dissolve baking soda in water and then add to the wet ingredients. add in the dried ingredients and whisk until just comboned, don’t get crazy though.

pour into prepared pan and bake for 32 minutes. the edges will pull from the sides of pan just slightly.

cool completely. tastes even better the next day.

BAM!

chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (vegan + gluten free)

Published on December 1, 2014November 26, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach10 Comments

it being the day after
the Biggest Eating weekend
Of The Year
i’m sharing cookies.
i know.
my bad.
just kidding.
i’m not sorry.
because these are good.
i know for a fact
that most of you are going
to be on a Baking Cookie Binge
in the next week or so,
rushing to the post office to
send them off
or sharing them in
some cookie exchange thing
which is all fine and shit,
but after all that toiling
you usually end up with nothing
(or some random people’s cookies)
(not a euphemism for anything dirty)
(get your head out of the gutter)
fear not,
these particular cookies?
they won’t ship —
they’re too delicate.
that’s not a bad thing.

chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (vegan + gluten free)
adapted from the bojon gourmet

note: as i said, my version came out soft & delicate, and i thought they’d firm up but they never did. they were almost cakey and very rich. alanna’s original recipe calls for the use of 1/2 cup of rolled oats and 1/2 cup quick oats (instead of the full cup of rolled oats i used), the latter ingredient absorbing a lot of the moisture.

1/2 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko) (truth be told, i had just barely 1/2 cup, so i supplemented with regular rice flour)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup smooth, unsalted peanut butter
3/4 cup plus 2 TBL agave (truth be told, i may have been shy with agave, and i supplemented with honey)
6 TBL melted but cool coconut oil
1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks, i use Enjoy Life
kosher salt for topping, optional

preheat oven o 375ºF.

line two or three cookie sheets with parchment paper.

in bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together.

in another, larger, bowl, stir together the wet ingredients. add in the dry ingredients and stir until combined, last adding in the chocolate.

using an ice cream scooper (mine is just shy of 1 TBL worth), form cookie doughs and place onto prepared cookie sheets. place about 2″ apart, they will spread some. top with salt & a few chocolate chunks.

bake for total of 10 minutes, around the 5 minute mark rotate pans.

cool completely, store in air tight container. they lasted a week at room temp in their containers.

(keep in mind, these do not have eggs or anything traditionally perishable)

BAM!

inside out peanut butter cups – raw & vegan

Published on October 27, 2014October 27, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach23 Comments

i’m fairly sure that when
i scaled back my dairy intake
my soul shrank a little
at the thought of never having
peanut butter cups again.
i truly believed i’d never eat them again,
at least not with dire consequences.
that is,
until i discovered justin’s ,
and then i tried my hand
at making them.
all was right with the world.
now i just eat spoonfuls of peanut butter
and shove chocolate chips in my mouth
and call it a day.
it’s called natural progression, friends.

halloween is at the end of the week
are you dressing up?
i think i am,
i’m pretty sure i am.
either way,
these are going to be around
and i’m going to shove them in my mouth.
breakthrough, y’all.

inside out peanut butter cups – vegan
raw, 4 ingredients
makes 6

PB layer
6 TBL creamy peanut butter, i use the wegman’s organic brand
4 TBL coconut oil, liquid but not hot
3 TBL powdered sugar

chocolate layer
4 TBL chocolate spread, i used SOOM‘s chocolate sesame butter
1 generous TBL powdered sugar

for the PB layer, mix everything in a bowl. make sure it’s fully incorporated. pour about 2 tsp of the mixture into silicone cupcake liners (if you use paper, put them in muffins so that they keep their shape). put in fridge to firm up, about 30 minutes. if you’re in a rush, put in freezer.

meanwhile, make the chocolate layer by mixing the chocolate spread with the powdered sugar. the consistency will be firmer than that of the pb, it’ll be almost like play doh.

when ready, take the cups out and add the chocolate layer. you can spread it out to make distinct layers, or keep the edges clear so that the pb can be poured over it to cover. up to you.

add the final layer of PB over top and fridge. when firm, take out of liners and serve immediately or keep in covered container, IN THE FRIDGE. these are not shelf stable and will soften at room temp.

BAM!

i received a jar of chocolate sesame butter, courtesy of SOOM. all words & opinions are my own.

blueberry swirl + coconut macaroons

Published on October 6, 2014October 5, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach16 Comments

“Mr. McDowell. Sir, I was wondering, did you happen to catch the professional football contest on television last night? Oh it was most exhilarating. The Giants of New York took on the Packers of Green Bay, and in the end the Giants triumphed by kicking an oblong ball made of pig skin through a big H. It was a most gripping victory.” – Coming to America

i get the basics of football,
what i don’t get,
i fake.
or ignore.
or if i’m feeling curious,
i ask what’s going on.
dw & i are casual ravens fans.
casual.
not rabid.
or biggest.
we know that if the ravens do well
then the city does well.
it also means the majority
of our friends will be nicer,
and our FB feeds aren’t
dotted with bad words.

these blueberry speckled macaroons
aren’t really seasonal.
they’re leftover blueberries
i froze right at peak,
saved for special occasions,
like watching our purple team
with friends,
who instead dotted our afternoon
with bad words.

blueberry swirl + coconut macaroons
adapted from my chocolate + coconut macaroons, which was adapted from the Splendid Table

*note: any bright hued berries will do, the more vibrant the color, the better. truth be told, sans berries and the end result is still delightful. in the original post, i used just one bowl. in this reincarnation, i dirtied the food processor set and an ice cream scooper.
**note: i have to painfully but truthfully admit, this isn’t an original recipe. it was inspired by things we make who adapted it from a resource i cannot bear to mention. it makes use of egg whites and raspberries and almond extract. un gamine dans la cuisine recently made a blueberry version, too.
***note: i only used sweetened shredded coconut flakes because that’s what i had on hand. typically i like to use a mix of sweet & unsweetened. keep in mind, if unsweetened flakes are used, sugar may need to be added. use your best judgement.

2 large eggs
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut flakes
generous pinch of salt
good squeeze of half a lemon
zest of lemon, amount at your discretion
1 scant cup of thawed blueberries, give or take
if mixture seems a bit wet, add up to 1/3 cup almond or coconut flour. use your best judgement*

preheat oven to 350F.

in a food processor and whiz to break the flakes down a bit. if you need to, scrape down the sides. add in the zest & lemon juice and pulse to distribute the citrus love. scrape. add in the eggs, one at a time, whizzing and scraping in between.

scrape one last time.

now this is where it gets tricky. this is just an aesthetic thing but the goal is to have streaks of blue & white, so you’re not aiming to pulverize the berries and integrate them into the coconut flake mixture.

add in the berries, pulse a handful of times, just enough to break the berries, you want to stain the mixture, not dye it.

scoop with an ice cream scoop onto parchment papered cookie sheet.

bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown.

allow to cool on wire rack.

BAM!

my other blueberry treats:
blueberry breakfast cookies – vegan
blueberry citrus scones – dairy free
blueberry clafoutis – dairy free
blueberry donuts – gluten free, dairy free
blueberry jam danishes – vegan
blueberry swirl muffins – dairy free

365 days later: anniversary

Published on September 28, 2014September 28, 2014 by Lan | MoreStomach15 Comments

photo courtesy of luke eshleman & used with permission

365 days ago
you hit it
and thank gawd,
you didn’t quit it.

i was a notoriously shitty student
who never reached full academic potential,
especially in the subject of math.
you join the legions of teachers
and tutors
and professors
who make me realize
what a mockery i am with numbers,
because i cannot begin to count
the infinite sum of reasons
as to why i love you so.

to further my grievance,
i cannot even fall back on
the one thing i usually can rely on:
Words.
because you always get me tongued tied,
and because you started reading way before i did,
and your vocabulary is worth more than $5.

instead,
i will feed you cake.
because you are my heart,
you who by some grace
not only loves me,
but acts loving towards me,
you who i dreamed of for so long,
but my limited imagination
never could fathom
just how fucking awesome you are.

i love you dw,
i will always be your
Ride Or Die Bitch.

chocolate tahini cake + rosemary frosting
makes one 2 layered 8″ cake, entirely too big for two people, and yet, dw & i totally ate the entire thing. together.

*note: this is a riff on my sure-thing chocolate cake that i always fall back on because it’s amazing. the frosting has the heady essence of rosemary, dw calls it a mature flavor. if i make this again, i’d infuse it for a shorter period and make a bigger batch of frosting.

2 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1 3/4 cup AP flour
1 cup 2% lactose free milk, i used organic valley
3/4 + 1 TBL cup Cocoa
2 TBL canola + coconut oil, i used Spectrum blended oil
6 TBL tahini
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup boiling water

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

grease 2 round 8″ cake pans

in a large mixer bowl combine dry ingredients.

gradually add eggs, milk, oil + tahini. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.

remove from mixer; stir in boiling water. (batter will be thin).

pour into prepared pans.

bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans,or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

cool cake in rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans.

cool completely.

rosemary infused buttercream
makes enough to just crumb coat the two layers. i had high plans to decorate the cake, as i like to collect pretty attired cakes, but when i finished crumb coating i realized that i didn’t have enough frosting, and i was over it. as dw said: “it’s like you finished crumb coating the cake and you went FUCK IT & started putting dishes away.” he knows me so well and yet he stays.

2 sticks of vegan butter, divided, i used earth balance
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 lb powdered sugar
splash of liquid, water or lactose free milk

the night before, melt down 1 stick of vegan butter and add in the sprig of rosemary. don’t let it go too long, just enough to warm through. allow to steep overnight.

next morning, warm up just enough to fish the sprig out. allow to cool to room temp.

add to mixing bowl along with other stick of vegan butter.

whip up with powdered sugar, until reach desired consistency. add more or less liquid to loosen up.

BAM!