Busted by the Passover Police

Not a thing gets past you guys, my dear, astute readers. Rest assured, I wasn’t trying to pull a fast one on anyone, but somehow it managed to slip past my grasp that limoncello is made with vodka, and yes, vodka is in fact made with grain, rendering it chametz for Passover. Doh! Though this oversight can happily be corrected by simply substituting lemon juice for the alcohol, nothing could correct the composition of my finished cheesecake bites. A new dessert was needed for the approaching seder, and soon. So I took to the kitchen and made a lavish semi-freddo, a beautiful thing with ribbons of chocolate and emerald green pistachios… Using cornstarch (corn is considered kitniyot.) Strike two.

Despite the fact that I was bat miztvahed eons ago, I sure do suck at being Jewish.

Not one to give up, though, it was back to the drawing board. Frantically scrambling to mix and match the odd ingredients on hand into something both delicious and kosher, it seemed there was no good resolution in sight… Until I fell upon the leftovers from an experimental whipped creme. Made merely from nuts, this was just the ticket.

Folded in with ample amounts of melted bittersweet chocolate and fresh strawberry puree, this fluffy filling was right at home on top of a thin layer of fresh, sliced strawberries, all in an almond meal and cocoa crust. Nothing wheat-y, grain-y, or otherwise offensive here! Fingers crossed, I think that this one will finally appease the Passover police.

Happy Pesach!

Edited, because I woudn’t want to anger the hungry hordes…. I wasn’t planning on posting the recipe, since it was so last-minute and I’m not prepared to sign off on that whipped topping experiment, but I realized that by substituting a store-bought version, it should work out just as well. So, consider this an extra-special little Passover gift!

Yield: Makes 8 - 12 Servings

Strawberry-Chocolate Mousse Pie

Name: Strawberry-Chocolate Mousse Pie
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Jewish
Ingredients: 1 1/2 Cups Almond Meal; 1/4 Cup Natural Cocoa Powder; 1/4 Cup Vegan Butter or Coconut Oil, Melted; 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar; 1 Cup Fresh Strawberry Puree*; 1/4 Cup Light Agave Nectar; Pinch Salt; 12 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, Finely Chopped; 1 1/4 Cups Whippable Vegan Cream or Coconut Cream; 1/2 – 1 Cup Sliced Fresh Strawberries

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

Cocoa Crust:

1 1/2 Cups Almond Meal
1/4 Cup Natural Cocoa Powder
1/4 Cup Vegan Butter or Coconut Oil, Melted
2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

Strawberry and Chocolate Mousse Filling:

1 Cup Fresh Strawberry Puree*
1/4 Cup Light Agave Nectar
Pinch Salt
12 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, Finely Chopped
1 1/4 Cups Whippable Vegan Cream or Coconut Cream
1/2 – 1 Cup Sliced Fresh Strawberries

Instructions

For the crust, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and lightly oil a 9-inch round pie pan. Mix together all of the crust ingredients in a large bowl, and transfer the well-blended mixture to you prepared pan. Use your fingers and the palms of your hands to smoothly press it into the bottom and up the sides, making sure there are no bare patches. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the top edges are slightly deeper brown. Set aside and let cool.
Meanwhile, you can start to get the filling together. In a large, microwave safe dish, combine the strawberry puree, agave, salt, and chopped chocolate. Microwave for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring thoroughly at 30 second intervals, until completely melted and smooth. Set aside for the time being to let cool.
Pour the whippable cream into the bowl of your stand mixer, and whip on high speed for 3 – 4 minutes, until its about tripled in volume, light and fluffy. Take a dollop out and stir it into the chocolate mixture, just to lighten it up a bit. Now, move half of the remaining whipped “cream” and place it in the bowl of chocolate mix. Use a wide spatula to gently fold it in, being careful not to knock out the air
bubbles. Add in the remainder of the whipped “cream,” and fold once more.
Evenly cover the bottom of the baked crust with sliced strawberries, and then spoon the finished chocolate mousse on top. Decorate the edges with additional sliced strawberries, if desired.

Notes

*To make strawberry puree, just take about 1/2 pound of fresh or frozen and thawed strawberries, and blend them into smithereens in your food processor or blender. Strain, if desired (I was in a rush and didn’t; I don’t think the finished pie suffered because of it.)

Recommended Products

Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 458Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 57mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 8gSugar: 14gProtein: 8g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

Printable Recipe

April 18, 2011December 15, 2021

Hannah (BitterSweet)37 Comments

Real Easter Bunnies Don’t Lay Eggs

They make chocolates instead. Really, doesn’t it just make more sense? For such mammals to lay eggs is a biological impossibility, but the cleverest of rabbits explore their creative talents and craft cacao into treats for children- Now that sounds downright reasonable in comparison. I can see it now: Gifted little bunnies across the globe secreting away sugar and cocoa in their homely burrows, creating magic for the good little boys and girls everywhere, much like Santa might prepare for Christmas. At least, that’s what I’d like to believe. It’s much more optimistic than labeling the inclusion of so much cheap candy as merely a thinly disguised marketing ploy, capitalizing on yet another holiday that might prompt parents to spend ungodly amounts of money on unnecessary junk.

Indeed, I’ve been a very busy bunny this year, working hard to appease the younger (and older!) set who may not appreciate the same dark, bitter chocolate that I tend to favor. It’s a damn shame that there aren’t more light, sweet chocolates for vegans and the generally dairy-intolerant to enjoy. Though it doesn’t have the same reverence as “pure” chocolate, there is absolutely a place for it both in pastry and in the everyday candy dish, so cacao snobs need not get their beans in a bunch. It’s just another flavor, and another treat that I simply can’t leave be until I feel confident it can be enjoyed by all.

Homemade Vegan Milk Chocolate

And thus, I present a sweet and simple method for homemade “milk” chocolate. Yes, I will tell you straight off, it will be ever so slightly grainy no matter what you do. But yes, it will have a lovely snap between the teeth. And yes, it tastes sweet and milky, just like I recollect the original inspiration to be. And finally, yes, it is absolutely delicious and borderline addictive, which is really saying something for this deep, dark chocolate fiend.

A Treat For All Seasons

Whether it’s for Easter, or any day before or after, I would recommend you give soy-milk chocolate a chance. As long as you use real ingredients, (unlike the wax and crap that goes into much of the commercially produced milk chocolates) you can create confections every bit as fine and ambrosial as “gourmet” dark chocolates.

Yield: Makes 2 (2.5-Ounce) Bars

Soy Milk Chocolate

Make your own creamy, sweet milk chocolate, without any dairy! These chocolate bars are perfect for snacking, baking, and melting.

Ingredients

2 Ounces (1/4 Cup) Pure, Food Grade Cocoa Butter, Melted
3 Tablespoons Powdered Soy Milk*
1 Ounce 100% Cacao, Unsweetened Baker’s Chocolate
1/2 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Powder**
Pinch Salt

Instructions

Set a small sauce pan over low heat, and place the cocoa butter inside. Allow it to fully melt if you measured it while solid, by weight. Once it has reach a completely liquid state, add in the soy milk powder, and allow it to cook, stirring constantly but slowly, for 5 minutes. This will help it to dissolve more fully, and create a smoother finished bar.
Roughly chop the baker’s chocolate, and add the pieces into the pot, again stirring until melted and incorporated. Now, turn off the heat, and with a whisk, quickly mix in the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, powder, and salt. It may take a bit of vigorous whisking to get all of the sugar combined, but remain diligent and the mixture will even out.
Once completely smooth, pour the chocolate liquid into molds of you choice (I used two standard chocolate bar indentations, but you could also make small bonbons, or even use silicon miniature muffin pans. Just don’t use metal tins, because the chocolate will be very difficult to pop out once solidified.)
Let cool to room temperature, and then very carefully move the molds into a level surface in your fridge. Let chill until the chocolates have set, about 1 or 2 hours, and then wrap individually and store in an air tight container, either in a cool, dark place, or back inside the fridge.

Notes

*If soy allergies are an issue, you can substitute coconut milk powder.

**DO NOT use liquid vanilla extract; it is not the same thing! You can, however, add the scraped insides of a whole vanilla bean, if powder is unavailable.

Fine and Dandy

Indelibly imprinted into my developing, maliable mind at a young age was the fact that Easter meant marshmallows, and more to the point, marshmallows shaped like adorable bunnies and chicks, covered in sugar, and completed with beady little sugar-based eyes. Strangely fascinated by these florescent, saccharine candies, their inexplicable attraction grew as I saw them as less than an edible foodstuff, but as a toy to deconstruct and explore the inner workings.

Much like the child who is driven to pull apart the brand new flat screen tv in order to perform a technological lobotomy, I couldn’t leave those curious candy pillows alone until I found out what made them tick. Or why they existed in the first place, since they clearly weren’t meant for consumption. Early videos saved somewhere deep in the nether regions of digital storage have recorded evidence of just this; Frame after frame of my eager hands setting innocent-looking Peeps on fire, investigating the effects of microwaving, and my favorite, enlisting the help of my dad to run over them with his car. The mental image of that Peep pancake clinging with ferocious stickiness to the wheel of that tire will likely stay with me forever. For years afterward, I couldn’t pass by a display of those multicolored oddities without quietly poking them, still springy and squishy despite the plastic barrier.

Luckily, this bizarre obsession has come to pass, now that the Chicago Soy Dairy, masterminds behind the only jet-puffed vegan marshmallows, Dandies, has released their own, actually edible version. Dubbed “Tweets,” their soft pastel hues are in sharp contrast to their predecessors, and no longer appear to be the result of terrible nuclear fallout. Better yet, these subtle colors hint at actual flavors, and logical ones at that; Yellow chicks are lemon, orange bunnies, orange.

I only had the pleasure of sampling the pale but cheerful yellow mallow chicks, and while the flavor was very subdued, with just the barest hint of citrus essence, I could appreciate that it added more complexity to the confection overall. Far better than simply sugar-flavored treats, these gave me a reason to want to take a second bite. Where they really shine, however, is in the texture department. Crunchy on the outside thanks to the liberal application of granulated sugar, and fantastically soft but chewy on the inside, they are both fluffy and substantial all at once. All elements combined, that ends up as a rather terrifically addictive treat. Though they do lack the classic confectionery eyes, perhaps that’s a good thing- I have a feeling that a number of vegans might feel uneasy about chomping down on their Easter treats while the adorable marshmallows are staring right back.

April 14, 2011April 1, 2012

Hannah (BitterSweet)15 Comments

Flourless and Fancy-Free

Never has it been accused of being a particularly fun occasion, but Passover can be an especially loathsome event for those who already must seek alternatives to mainstream fare. After one dreadful and nearly deadly week of subsisting on nothing but cardboard incarnate matzo smothered in sticky peanut butter many years ago, the ritual simply became too much for me to bear.

Yes, I’m a bad Jew, and I don’t observe Passover beyond the initial sedar. I now know that there are plenty of good eats to be had for Jewish vegans during this period of repentance… But not so much here. That isn’t to say that it’s a meaningless date to me in the least, and I do at least try not to tempt my slightly more pious family with my typical barrage of wheat-filled baked goods. At the end of the day, it’s simply a matter of favoring health, rather than adhering to a tradition that doesn’t quite resonate with me, and to each their own.

To that end, it was a matter of luck that one of the most recent recipes that ended up being cut from Vegan Desserts fits perfectly into the requirements for this wheat-free holiday; The fact that it happens to be delicious for the remaining 51 weeks of the year is an added bonus. Combining simple but pleasing flavors, easy to whip up, and the perfect size to feed a small dinner party, the recipe could also be doubled to accommodate a larger crowd… Or so that you can freeze leftover mini cheesecakes to snack on throughout the week.

Being a light drinker myself, I could have easily gone years without even knowing about the astringent citrus liqueur known as limoncello, had it not been for a friend’s request to make something with it. After doing a bit of research, through both reading and tasting, it turned out to be a whole lot like concentrated lemon juice with an extra kick. To allow this spirit to shine, a blank canvas like cheesecake seemed to be an excellent fit, and by making it into small bites, you can enjoy a little burst of flavor whenever you please.

Yield: Makes 12 Cheesecake Bites

Limoncello Cheesecake Bites

Consider these mini cheesecakes little bites of lemony sunshine. They're flourless and gluten-free so everyone can enjoy!

Ingredients

Almond Crust:

1/2 Cup Almond Meal
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
2 Tablespoons Tapioca Flour
2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter or Coconut Oil, Melted

Limoncello Filling:

8 Ounces (1 Cup) Vegan Cream Cheese
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch [Not Appropriate for Passover] or Potato Starch
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup Limoncello
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 and lightly grease and flour 12 mini muffin cups.
For the crust, simply combine all of the ingredients to form a moist but crumbly mixture, and firmly press 1 tablespoon of this into the bottom of each mini muffin cup. Stash the pan in your freezer while you assemble the filling.
Beat together the cream cheese, corn starch, and sugar in your stand mixer on low speed, or with a wide spatula, until smooth. Pour in the limoncello and vanilla, mixing until thoroughly combined.
Distribute the filling between all of your crust-lined cupcakes, and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Like a standard cheesecake, they will seem very loose when fresh out of the oven, but continue to firm up as they cool, so be careful not to over bake them. The cheesecake bites will puff significantly in the oven, but will fall as they cool.
After chilling in the fridge for at least an hour, slip a thin paring knife down the sides of each cheesecake bite and use it as a lever to remove them. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Fresh Frozen

Fresh spring produce has only barely begun to trickle into markets, and in these parts especially, the best that one can really hope for are a few slender stalks of green asparagus. Though a lovely pick to be sure, that isn’t saying much, since asparagus is season-less according to my local grocery store… And whoever wrote up that chart of seasonal produce should really get their head examined, by the way. Regardless, the mere idea of spring veggies has me captivated, and I’ve become quite smitten with frozen fava beans after a number of surprisingly successful preparations. Besides being available all year ’round, [Unlike asparagus, apparently. Yikes…] they’re already shelled, so it takes half as much work to get them on the table. With a quick thaw in hot water, the skins practically slide right off, and they’re every bit as tender and delicious as those straight from the fields.

Yes, I use frozen fava beans, and I’m not ashamed to say so. Besides, who could possibly turn their nose up at these edible emeralds when they clean up so nicely?

Writing a recipe for a salad seems rather silly- A bit contrived, really. Salads are meant to be a grab bag of what ever is fresh and available, so naturally, feel free to mix and match ingredients at will. The way the fava beans, greens, and bright, spicy lemon dressing melded was simply so divine, it would have been a shame not to record how it all came together.

Yield: Makes 6 – 8 Servings

Spring Fava Bean Salad

The way that tender fava beans, greens, and bright, spicy lemon dressing meld together in this mixture sets it apart from the average leafy green salad.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Spring Fava Bean Salad:

1 1/2 Cups Shelled and Skinned Fava Beans, Fresh and Blanched or Frozen and Thawed
1 Skinny Leek (1/2 Cup Thinly Sliced)
2 Tablespoons Toasted Pine Nuts, or Chopped Cashews
1 12-Ounce Bag Frozen Artichoke Hearts, Thawed
9 Ounces Fresh Baby Spinach

Spicy Lemon Dressing:

1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Zest
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
1 Teaspoon Nanami Togarashi, or a Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes, to Taste
Pinch Salt
1/4 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

Although you can probably figure out what to do with the above ingredients, here’s how it all goes down: Prep all of your veggies and toss together, leaving only the spinach separate. Set aside.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients, leaving the olive oil out until last, and slowly drizzle it in while continuously whisking to form a vinaigrette. Toss the bulk of the veggies with the dressing; You may have a little bit extra, depending on your tastes. Simply serve that on the side for guests to add as they desire.
Pile the plain spinach into a large bowl, and place the dressed vegetables in a mound in the center. Serve, and toss at the table, if you like.

Notes

In case you can't find frozen fava beans, feel free to use shelled edamame or lima beans instead.

Now Shmear This

Tofutti has become so ubiquitous in both specialty and mainstream grocery stores, it’s hard to imagine life without it. Many a vegan cheese cake has been born from those plastic tubs of non-dairy spread, and countless bagels topped with their creamy contents. So devoted am I to this classic staple, which has been around since the infancy of my veganism and beyond, it’s simply difficult to imagine having any other cream cheese in my life. Galaxy Foods wants to change all that though, and has officially entered the battlefield with their brand new vegan cream cheese.

The differences between brands are subtle, but noteworthy. Immediately upon peeling back the protective plastic, it was evident that the textures would be distinctly divergent. Much softer and easy to spread straight out the fridge, the Classic Plain from Galaxy definitely had the upper edge on consistency for everyday eating.

Delightfully but still mildly tangy and well-rounded, the stellar flavor makes this option a serious contender. With just the right balance of salty and sour elements, it’s a very pleasing and agreeable shmear overall. Truth be told though, while I would be perfectly happy eating Galaxy’s version, Tofutti might still be my personal preference in that department.

More importantly, however, how would this newcomer hold up to dessert applications? This was a job for my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe!

What had been a positive aspect previously was now a big negative- Too soft to properly pipe, thanks to that more spreadable texture, I tried to compensate with more confectioner’s sugar, but to no avail. The frosting remained more gooey than desired, and became too sweet through the process of trying to correct the issue.

Adding a bit more of a savory spin to things, the Chive & Garlic cream cheese introduces a few pale green flecks of herbs into the mix. Impressed by the concept but not so much the execution, I could barely taste either of the star ingredients. They’re subtle flavorings, to say the least. Taking that idea and running with it, though, I rolled balls of the cream cheese in a mixture of fresh chives, lemon zest, and chopped pine nuts, and was thrilled with the results. Perfect for serving at a party to spread on toast or crackers, those simple additions accentuated and greatly enhanced the existing herb essence.

Compared to existing non-dairy cream cheeses or tasted without any point of reference, this is unarguably a highly viable and tasty substitute to anything made with cow’s milk.

April 6, 2011

Hannah (BitterSweet)18 Comments