Tag: dessert

As Good As Ten Mothers

Instantly, his face contorted with a mixture of skepticism and disgust. Though I knew the concept was a bit unconventional, I didn’t realize just how contentious it could be. Just one mention of the recipe sent this man into a fit of mock dry heaves, illustrating the depth of his disapproval with comic effect.

That’s when I knew I had to make it.

More infamous than any other single element of the Gilroy Garlic Festival, garlic ice cream has become the main event for many. Tiny cones of soft serve can be found in every corner of the pungent fair grounds, delighting and appalling in equal measure. Gaining mainstream traction, or at least dubious acceptance, purely as a novelty, the idea nonetheless captured my imagination. Rather than playing it up as a token offering merely for shock value, my goal was to truly celebrate the sweeter side of garlic.

Slowly roasted to golden caramelized perfection, the cloves lose their assertive, harsh bite, bringing their natural sugars to the fore. Every cook and eater the world over has experienced this glorious transformation and knows the magic well. The real secret ingredient in my blend, however, is black garlic. Aged for at least 30 days, the cloves turn into spreadable nuggets of pure garlic candy. The mysterious process transforms the ubiquitous seasoning into an entirely new ingredient, difficult to describe but impossible to forget. It’s the key here to balancing out the more savory undertones of the garlic, while maintaining its integrity. The end results should still taste like garlic, after all- Not like syrupy scampi sauce.

Crunchy garlic chips aren’t necessary to enjoy the full effect of this ode to garlic, but they do undeniably elevate it to a higher level, fit for a fancy affair if you should be so bold. Though they make the scoops look tiny, go for the giant, oversized cloves found in elephant garlic, which are easily 4 times the size of the average bulb and far milder in flavor. They’ll add a satisfying crunch to contrast with this creamy, cool treat.

Granted, this unusual frozen dessert will not be for everyone, like my aforementioned critical friend. Proceed with an open mind and a genuine love of garlic, and you will be in for a treat.

In reference to the post title, if you didn’t see the eponymous documentary, you really must do yourself a favor and download it, posthaste. Another friend on mine, not featured in this brief story, has told me that it was what inspired her to move to California many years ago.

Garlic Ice Cream

3 Cups Plain Non-Dairy Milk
1 1/2 Tablespoons Arrowroot
2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Tablespoons Light Agave Nectar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cup Vegan Cream Cheese
1 Tablespoon Black Garlic, Mashed
2 Teaspoons Roasted Garlic, Mashed

Garlic Chips (Optional):

2 – 3 Cloves Elephant Garlic
Olive Oil Spray

To make the ice cream, simply toss all the ingredients into your trusty blender or food processor. Thoroughly puree on high speed for for 2 – 3 minutes, until completely smooth. Pass the mixture through a fine strainer to ensure a flawlessly silky texture, if desired.

Transfer to a medium saucepan and set over moderate heat. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture just comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and let cool. Chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator before churning in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Spoon the soft ice cream into an airtight container, and let set in the freezer for at least 3 hours before serving, until solid enough to scoop.

For the garlic chips, peel and slice the giant cloves of elephant garlic as thinly as possible. If you have a small mandoline to ensure consistency, now is when you want to break it out. Lay out the slices in one even layer on a silpat- or parchment paper-line baking sheet, making sure that none overlap.

Lightly spritz with olive oil to evenly coat the pieces. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees 15 – 30 minutes (depending on the thickness of your slices), rotating the pan and flipping over the slices every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooking, until golden brown and crispy. Let cool and store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 – 3 days, maximum. Top scoops of ice cream with garlic chips as desired.

Makes About 1 Quart Ice Cream

Printable Recipe

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Hannah (BitterSweet)

Summertime Snow Day

“Healthy” ice cream is all the rage these days, churning up new pints that promise more protein than your average energy bar, often with an equally chalky flavor to match. Seeking to redefine the category without the hype, Snow Monkey has an ambitious goal of crafting a frozen treat that is both delicious and nutritious. Superfoods like hemp seeds and sunflower butter blend into unconventional treats, taking a wholesome and unrefined approach to the concept, unlike the icy alternatives.

Fully loaded with 20 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber all told, eaters are encouraged to indulge in the entire pint without remorse. That would be one hefty snack, if not a full meal, as this is one genuinely satisfying and energizing scoop. I daresay the Goji Berry variety may just be the new acai bowl, brilliantly purple and every bit as refreshing, fruity, yet subtly tangy and tart. I must say, however, that the Cacao was easily the winning flavor between the two. Gentle, measured sweetness allowed the natural bitter edge of the chocolate to remain, granting it a greater depth and dimension than most purely chocolate treats are allowed. Reminiscent of chocolate sorbet, it’s light, easy to eat; a refreshing way to refuel without weighing you down.

Granted, Snow Monkey hasn’t hit on the fabled perfect food quite yet. Don’t dig in expecting a decadent ice cream experience, as this powerful formula was conceived of less as an indulgent dessert, but more as high-octane frozen fuel to suit an active lifestyle. Not quite creamy in the traditional sense, but smooth and silky, thick enough to linger momentarily on the palate, it’s a tasty reward that comes close, but may not quite fulfill every sweet tooth’s craving. The banana-forward flavor is another potential barrier to mainstream acceptance, owing much of its sweetness to the pureed fruit.

For a healthy treat, there’s no comparison; I’d dig into the freezer for a spoonful rather than another bite of a boring granola bar, any day of the week.

Hannah (BitterSweet)

The Loaf of My Life

Darkly burnished to a deep caramel color, the exterior crackled with every bite, crisp crust shattering upon impact into a thousand explosively flavorful crumbs. Venturing deeper into the slice, the chewy matrix of long-fermented wheat gluten tangled into a soft, springy pillow cradling a shallow pool of hummus. This was my first experience with Tartine bread, and it was nothing short of transcendent. Even this most basic loaf, a simple staple made of only flour, water, and salt, conveyed a passion for the craft that translates to a remarkable finished product. For better or for worse, I was hooked.

The trouble with falling in loaf (yes, pun intended) with one of these beauties is that it spoils you, making it difficult if not impossible to enjoy the average supermarket loaf ever again. Then, to get your fix, you have to seriously commit yourself to this new relationship; each handsome slab of yeasted glory is a full three pounds by weight, which is no small undertaking for a single eater.

No matter how many sandwiches I made, the loaf never seemed to dwindle. Wasting such a gem would be unthinkable, so it was high time to seek alternative eating options.

Bread pudding is capable of condensing unreasonable servings of bread into deceptively small portions, making the dessert ideally suited to this task. After the third or fourth forkful, the full slice equivalent will be the last thing on your mind, drowned out by the comforting scent of cinnamon and ginger, carried by a wave of succulent summer peaches. Comfort food isn’t just for the colder months, although with that said, I can just as easily envision this same satisfying formula with apples, pears, or a perfectly autumnal combination of the two.

Turning on the oven in the heat of August may give you pause, but don’t let it stop you entirely. Just make sure you have plenty of vanilla ice cream on hand to cool things down.

Southern Peach Bread Pudding

3/4 Pound Crusty Bread, Sliced into 1-Inch Cubes (About 7 – 8 Cups)
1 Tablespoon Arrowroot
1 1/2 Cups Fresh Peach Puree*
1 Cup Plain Non-Dairy Milk
3/4 Cup Coconut Sugar or Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil
2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Chopped Peaches
1/4 Cup Chopped Pecans

*To make peach puree, simply pit fresh peaches and toss them in your blender, processing until completely smooth. Peel the fruits first if the skins are particularly tough or your blender is a bit under-powered.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Toss the bread and arrowroot together in a large bowl, mixing well to coat the pieces with starch. Set aside.

Separately, combine the peach puree, non-dairy milk, oil, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, stirring until the mixture is homogeneous. Pour the liquid mix all over the bread, and let stand for about 10 minutes to soak in a bit. Gently fold in the chopped peaches, making sure that they’re well distributed throughout.

Transfer to you prepared baking dish and sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, until golden brown all over. The edges should appear set, but the interior will remain quite soft and moist; be careful not to over bake it.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. You can either take the time to make nice, neat slices, or just grab a large spoon and scoop it out onto plates. Either way, it’s best served warm, and with a generous serving of vanilla ice cream melting over the top.

Makes 10 – 14 Servings

Printable Recipe

Hannah (BitterSweet)

Let Them Eat Cornbread

Unwittingly, shamefully, it seems I’ve committed yet another culinary corruption. It was a crime of passion, as most are, born of unrequited cravings stemming from a deep, indecipherable source, compelling yet not entirely comprehensible. True love could hardly be described as rational, illuminating a clear path towards happiness, which is how this particular journey somehow got derailed into delinquency.

Cornbread, soft and sweet, haunted my dreams. Containing an impossibly dense yet fluffy crumb, melting away to a light, satisfying coarse grit on the tongue, this was the stuff of legend, a memory logged long ago during those early formative years that lack clear timestamps. It wasn’t any old Jiffy mix calling to me from beyond the periphery of cognition. It was cornbread you eat as an event by itself, not a mere side dish to a grander spread; cornbread that stole the show.

Without a second thought or further consultation, propelled by sheer passion and blissful ignorance, I tore into the cabinets to assemble my team. Cornmeal, coconut milk, olive oil, and sugar; all guilty by association. Any born and bred southerner could see in an instant where this is going by now, but in the heat of the moment, this uninformed Yankee hadn’t a care in the world.

Encrusted with a crunchy crumb topping and pock-marked with juicy red berries, still hot from the kiss of the oven, it was a sight to behold. Exactly what I had always wanted out of a cornbread without being able to fully verbalize the details, it exceeded expectations in a single bite. Though considerably more decadent than perhaps originally intended, one could hardly hold such delicious extravagance against it.

Hardly an hour passed before I settled in with a glossy food magazine that by some ironic twist of fate focused in on cornbread. Unscrupulously, the author decried the sugared excesses of modern cornbread recipes, claiming that true cornbread should remain entirely austere; unsweetened, unembellished, little more than baked corn puree. Strongly worded with equal parts revulsion and horror, I immediately understood the error of my ways.

Cake. This is corn cake. Are we clear? A mighty fine corn cake at that, but under no circumstances should it be categorized as cornbread. Can I plead innocence if we reconsider the end goal? Don’t call it a side dish and don’t invite it to dinner. Honestly, it won’t be offended! Rather, save it for a midday snack with a glass of iced tea, after the main meal with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or heck, save yourself a wedge for a rich breakfast treat in the morning.

Truth be told, this crime occurred so long ago that my original corn cake was prepared with red currants, found during a very brief seasonal window, and I was too ashamed to admit my wrongdoing at the time. Thankfully, I can attest that this treat won’t suffer the least bit if you swap them for ripe raspberries, or omit the fruit addition entirely. It’s highly flexible and fairly infallible, even if you prepared it as individual cupcakes. Just remember that this is a cake, through and through, and you’ll be golden.

Cornbread Crumb Cake

Crumb Topping:

1/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Coarsely Ground Yellow Cornmeal
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Cornbread Cake:

1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
2/3 Cup Finely Ground Yellow Cornmeal
1/3 Cup Coarsely Ground Yellow Cornmeal
2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Cup Fresh Red Currants or Raspberries (Optional)
1 Cup Light Coconut Milk
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees lightly grease an 8-inch round baking pan; set aside.

Begin by making the crumb topping first. Combine the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Drizzle the olive oil all over and use a fork to mix, forming chunky, coarse crumbs. It may seem dry at first but don’t be tempted to add more liquid; slowly but surely, it will come together, and there’s no need to stress if it remains fairly loose. Set aside.

Moving on to the main cake, in a large bowl, mix together the flour, both types of cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt, stirring to thoroughly combine. Add in the currants or raspberries if using and toss to coat. This will help prevent them from simply sinking to the bottom during the baking process.

Separately, whisk together the coconut milk, olive oil, apple sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Once smooth, pour the liquid mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients, and use a wide spatula to gently incorporate, being careful not to crush the berries or over-mix the batter. It’s perfectly fine to leave a few errant lumps in the matrix.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle evenly with the crumb topping.

Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for at least 20 – 30 minutes before slicing and serving, if you can bear the wait. It’s also fabulous at room temperature and can (theoretically) keep for 3 – 4 days if kept wrapped or sealed in an air-tight container.

Makes 8 – 12 Servings

Printable Recipe

Hannah (BitterSweet)

Bringing the Heat

Fire engine red bottles emblazoned by high-contrast white text and capped with neon-green lids roll rapidly off the production line, unmistakable even at breakneck speed. At last count, the Huy Fong sriracha factory churns out over 3,000 bottles an hour, 24 hours a day, six days a week. In case you’re still crunching the numbers, that adds up to literal tons of sriracha, not just every year or every month, but every week. The world has developed an insatiable appetite for this distinctive hot sauce, elevating it over the course of a few short decades from obscurity to utter ubiquity. A decent restaurant with a selection of condiments will carry it, right alongside the salt and pepper shakers. A house is not a home unless there’s at least one bottle chilling in the fridge or kicking around in the pantry. No one is immune to the universal appeal of perfectly balance sweet, spicy, salt, and savory flavors found in each fiery drop.

Many people, myself included, would put sriracha on anything edible, at least once. I have yet to find any truly distasteful pairing, running the gamut from breakfast pancakes to midnight snacks. It’s just a shame that the typical liquid format doesn’t lend itself well to more delicately honed ratios of confectionery, preventing it from spreading the spicy love across all forms of food… Until now.

Hot sauce heads and sweet tooth lovers, unite! Dry, powdered sriracha seasoning from Rodelle is about to become your new best friend. Though best known for their ambrosial vanilla offerings, Rodelle shows off their feisty side with this unbeatable blend of chili peppers, garlic, powdered vinegar, and sugar. Ideal for applications where additional moisture would definitely dampen spirits, such as sprinkling over fluffy popcorn or finishing off crisp bruschettas, for starters.

As mentioned briefly, my main focus here was on dessert right from square one. Playing right into the fine balance of this brilliant sauce, white chocolate and sweet potato lend a measured sweetness that works beautifully to highlight sriracha’s unique tang and heat. Shatter through the snowy white shell with one swift bite to reveal a creamy filling, bold but not overbearing, bouncing from numerous flavorful high notes in each bite.

Prepare yourself for a new seasoning sensation. This is only the beginning of a beautiful relationship full of sweetness and spice, unrivaled by any lesser “rooster” sauce.

This post was made possible thanks to Rodelle and their superlative spicy contributions.

White Hot Sweet Potato Truffles

8 Ounces Vegan White Chocolate, Homemade or Store-Bought
1/2 Cup Sweet Potato Puree
1/2 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Molasses
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Sriracha Seasoning, Divided

Begin by melting the white chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring periodically until completely smooth. Coat the insides of two small silicone bonbon molds with the melted chocolate, smoothing it up the sides of each cavity to ensure even coverage. Tap out any excess before stashing the molds in your freezer to set the truffle walls. Set the extra white chocolate aside for the time being.

To make the filling, simply combine the sweet potato puree, confectioner’s sugar, melted coconut oil, molasses, vanilla, and 2 teaspoons of the sriracha seasoning in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined and smooth.

Once the white chocolate has hardened, pull the molds out and fill them most of the way to the top with the sweet potato filling. Top each truffle off with a final drizzle of white chocolate, spreading it out to cover and seal all that sweet heat inside. Finish by sprinkling the remaining sriracha seasoning evenly on top before returning the candies to the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

When the white chocolate has fully set, the truffles can be stored in a cool, air-tight container for 3 – 5 days.

Makes About 30 Small Truffles

Printable Recipe

Hannah (BitterSweet)

Strawberries, Scoops, and Social Hour

June gloom is a real weather phenomenon that plagues much of the California coast, just as we begin to settle into a comfortable summer routine. Low lying fog clouds the city streets, bringing with it a clammy, cold dampness that’s hard to shake off. Though the southern part of the state is frequently credited for this plague, bay area residents are just as well versed in the ways of the haze. Though the effect has been mild this year, it’s still routine to bundle up in long sleeves and a jacket before heading out each morning.

That said, no temperature is ever too cold to enjoy ice cream. The frozen desserts program is already in full operation over at Nourish Cafe, where I’ve begun churning away to share some of my favorite sweet scoops. These new blends are based on my original recipes from Vegan a la Mode, retrofitted to accommodate a wider range of palates, preferences, and behind the scenes, commercial production. You really come to appreciate the ease in which full ice cream parlors dish out dozens of flavors once you’ve spend the weekend cooking and churning gallons of just two creamy bases.

It’s a labor of love, because now I can share my passion for ice cream with a whole new audience. Fresh Strawberry and Citrus Zinger Ice Cream are the current frozen features, available 7 days a week, rain or shine, gloom or summer glow. As we bid farewell to June, there’s nothing stopping the tidal wave of ice cream indulgence, which is why we’re celebrating with a grand ice cream social. If you’re local to the bay area, meet, greet, and eat with us! While mingling and munching, I’ll share tips on how to make healthier vegan frozen treats and answer all your churning questions. Don’t miss this premier plant-based ice cream social, if only for access to the unlimited topping bar.

If you’re not local, I’m very sorry for your loss. However, I would never be so cruel as to tease you with unattainable delicacies, out of reach but for a select few. You can whip up that very same strawberry sensation anywhere in the world- Although I’ve scaled down the batch for you, just in case you didn’t need to make 100+ servings at once.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
Adapted from from Vegan a la Mode

1/2 Cup 100% Grade B Maple Syrup
1 1/2 Tablespoons Arrowroot
1 Pounds Fresh Strawberries, Hulled and Roughly Chopped
1 1/2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
1 Cup Full-Fat (Canned) Coconut Milk
1/4 Cup Plain, Non-Dairy Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Vigorously whisk together the maple syrup and arrowroot in a medium saucepan. Once the starch is incorporated smoothly without any remaining lumps, add the strawberries. Pour in the non-dairy milk, stir to combine, and turn on the heat to medium. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, stewing the berries gently for about fifteen minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, incorporate the vanilla and salt, and cool completely.

Chill in the fridge for at least three hours before transferring the mixture to your blender and thoroughly pureeing. If you don’t have a high-speed blender that will thoroughly pulverize all of the fruit into a silky-smooth custard, pass the base through a fine-meshed strainer and discard the solids.

Churn according in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or give an alternative freezing method a spin!

Makes About 1 1/2 Quarts

Printable Recipe

Hannah (BitterSweet)