Cakes of Biblical Proportions

Some cookbooks are more aspirational than inspirational. You know the sort; heavy, hard covers with glossy photos splashed across the pages. If not for the text, they could qualify as art projects, printed and bound for posterity. Laid out deliberately in plain view for guests to notice, appreciating your good taste, such things are pure beauty have plenty of value all the same.There’s a place on every well-appointed bookshelf for recipes dedicated to 10 minute meals and entirely unobtainable food porn.

On rare occasion, if you’re lucky, you’ll come across a cookbook that fits both descriptions. Filled with lofty pastry goals that look like the stuff of sweet dreams, yet written in such a way that you could genuinely recreate these edible sculptures in real life, Sara Kidd bridges that gap with her groundbreaking release of The Vegan Cake Bible.

Deserving of culinary worship, these are not your mom’s bake sale tray bakes. We’re talking Caramel Swirl Bundt with Nougatine, Almond Sponge with Caramelized Apple & Ginger Meringue Buttercream, Vanilla Malt Marshmallow Birthday Cake, and beyond. By including a full breakdown of each individual component, you can easily mix and match to create the unique combination you’re truly craving.

Roast Carrot Cardamom Cake

It’s not just a set of instructions, but a full education that could rival the popular virtual pastry courses offered by highly esteemed culinary schools. We’re talking about the nitty gritty behind food science, shedding light on why ingredients interact the way they do, creating unique textures and flavors to better harness that power. Sara won’t leave you hanging when it’s time to stack things up, with tips and tricks to build sound foundations for towering cakes, no matter how tall. Naturally, plenty of time is given to decorating skills that go beyond a basic piping bag, creating treats as beautiful as they are delicious. There’s even a chapter about transporting your cakes when it’s party time!

As a certified Old Vegan™, I wish I had such a complete guide when I was blindly mashing bananas into everything, hoping and praying the results would be reasonably edible. Never could I have even imagined these feats of cake mastery, made accessible to anyone bold enough to call themselves a Baker. Though initially daunting, I promise, these luscious, layered creations are within your reach.

What’s even more incredible is the unbelievable number of gluten-free options all throughout these colorful pages. Her Gluten-free Vegan Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd and American Buttercream is a case in point, which she generously granted me permission to reprint here. However, I don’t think my little recipe card could do it proper justice; there’s so much more description within her original post, that I must implore you to make that one extra click to get all the info.

While you’re over there, don’t miss Sara’s full archive of sweet recipes, videos, and even baking classes for hands-on experiences with the master herself. Anyone even remotely interested in sweets will relish such an indispensable resource. Treat yourself, or someone you love, to the gift of truly incredible vegan cakes today.

No Chill

Everyday, there’s a new absurd, excessive food trend blowing up on the internet. For as many as of these over-hyped edibles as we love to hate, it’s impossible to deny the appeal of a select few crazy concepts. Thanks to the advent of flexible silicon molds, no food is safe from doughnut-ification. It didn’t take long for visually stunning sushi doughnuts to emerge as a clear winner, captivating hungry followers across all social media platforms, but the hits keep on coming.

Trust me, ice cream doughnuts are more than just another excuse to capitalize on the irresistibly attractive ring shape. Haters will be the only ones with no chill, because these frozen treats are as much fun to admire as they are to eat! Pretty in pink, the glaze is actually a beet-tinted approach to magic shell, flavored with vanilla and finished with those classic rainbow sprinkles. It just wouldn’t be a doughnut without them.

…Or would it? Almost as soon as the initial batch was devoured, I realized the opportunity that had been missed. Cinnamon sugar doughnuts, singing of warmth and comfort, are equally worthy candidates of imitation. Contrasting against the cold, creamy base, the spiced coating seals in a frozen surprise for the unsuspecting eater. Far more refreshing than the usual oily cake, it may even have an edge on the traditional treat, especially as temperatures outside skyrocket.

These treats were inspired by the call to action from Go Dairy Free and So Delicious to celebrate #FrozenFridays this summer. It’s hard to improve on their creamy dairy-free desserts, but simply playing with the presentation turns an everyday sort of indulgence into a candidate for the next big Instagram obsession. Absolutely any flavor will work, so go wild and play with colors and textures, dressing up your doughnuts with edible extravagance befitting the “So Delicious” title.

Ice Cream Doughnuts

1 Pint So Delicious Very Vanilla Cashew Milk or Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Doughnut Glaze Magic Shell:

1/2 Cup 100% Food-Grade Cocoa Butter, Melted
1 Tablespoon Refined Coconut Oil, Melted
1/4 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
2 Tablespoons Arrowroot
1/2 Teaspoon Beet Powder (Optional, for Color)
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Pinch Salt
Rainbow Sprinkles

Cinnamon Crumb Coating:

4 Ice Cream Waffle Cones
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 Cup So Delicious Original Culinary Coconut Milk (Full-Fat Coconut Milk)

To make the ice cream doughnuts, have silicon doughnut molds at the ready and soften your pint of ice cream. Once thawed to the point of being spreadable but before it completely melts, smooth the ice cream evenly into your mold, taking care to fill any voids. Lightly tap the mold on the counter to remove any air bubbles before quickly sliding it into the freezer. Let chill until frozen solid; at least 4 – 6 hours but ideally overnight.

For the magic shell, mix together the melted cocoa butter and coconut oil before whisking in the confectioner’s sugar, arrowroot, and beet powder. Whisk vigorously until completely smooth and the beet powder has fully dissolved. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Retrieve your ice cream doughnuts from the freezer and pop them out of the mold. Either dip each one or drizzle with the magic shell before quickly topping with sprinkles; the glaze sets up almost immediately, so you need to be fast! Serve right away or return them to the freezer until ready to enjoy.

For the cinnamon crumb coating, place the ice cream cones and cinnamon in your blender or food processor and pulse until very finely ground. Transfer to a shallow dish. Place the coconut milk in a separate dish, and dip each frozen doughnut into the coconut milk to ensure that the topping will adhere. Press the crumbs firmly into the doughnut until completely coated. Eat immediately or return the doughnuts to the freezer until ready to serve.

Makes 6 Ice Cream Doughnuts

Printable Recipe

No Churn? No Problem!

tIn the heat of the moment, or scorching rays of the sun, as it may be, it’s easy to get carried away. Serial shoppers and gadgeteers alike can relate, getting swept up by the temptation of shiny new toys and tools guaranteed to make life easier, cleaner, brighter, tastier, smarter, or generally yet indefinably better. While ice cream makers are seen as a superfluous luxury good for most casual kitchen creatives, rapidly advancing technology has brought the average entry-level machine down to pocket change territory.  Even for an impulse buy, you could do much greater budgetary damage with just a few fancy umbrella drinks on the beach.


No-Churn Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

As a self-professed ice cream obsessive, it should come as no surprise that I’ll always advocate churning your own frozen treats above all else. Sadly, I’ve come across scores of misinformed folks that think it’s an arduous process, not worth the time or effort, having never been fortunate enough to taste the fruits of that labor themselves. Lacking the proper equipment should no longer be a valid excuse for not diving in, or at least dipping a toe in, to the refreshing world of iced sweet treats.

Believe it or not, any ice cream base can be made without a machine, right here and now, with a wide range of alternative methods at your disposal. Start with a solid recipe and clear out your freezer; your summer is about to get a whole lot cooler.


Carrot Granita

1. The Granita Method: A traditional Italian method of making fruit-based ices much like instant snow cones, this method creates desserts with larger, crunchy ice crystals. That same idea can be used with an ice cream base, and naturally yield smoother, creamier results. Simply prepare your ice cream recipe of choice as directed, and chill thoroughly. Pour out the cold mixture into a baking dish. The exact size is not important, provided it can fit comfortably in your freezer on a flat surface. Don’t chance it and try to balance the pan on top of numerous unequally sized items; trust me, it’s a pain to clean melted and re-frozen liquids from inside a freezer! Simply bear in mind that the larger the pan, the greater surface space the base will have, and the faster it will freeze.

Place your baking dish filled with liquid ice cream base in the freezer, and let it sit for 30 – 45 minutes. At this point, it should begin to freeze around the edges. Take a fork and scrape up those ice crystals into the center. Place it back in the freezer, and repeat this process every 30 minutes or so until the entire contents of the pan has frozen; approximately 2 – 3 hours, depending on the temperature of the freezer and size of the pan. When ready, spoon into glasses and serve immediately, or it will ultimately freeze solidly into once piece.

2. The Cube-and-Crush Method: Easier than the granita method but similar in concept, this approach is much less hands-on, so you can occupy yourself with other projects while the actual freezing takes place. Additionally, this procedure yields ice cream that’s more like a soft serve texture. Pour prepared and thoroughly chilled ice cream base into one or two ice cube trays, and set them on a flat surface in your freezer. Smaller cubes are better, as they’ll freeze faster and put less of a strain on your blender. Allow at least 6 – 8 hours for the ice cream cubes to freeze solidly, but you can prepare them up to this stage a day or two in advance. When the need for ice cream strikes, pop out at least one tray of cubes at a time, and plunk them into your blender or food processor. Begin by pulsing to break them up, and then puree just long enough to get the ice cream smooth and creamy. Be careful not to overdo it, or the entire mixture will melt. Serve immediately.


Citrus Popsicles

3. Popsicle Method: This should be a foreign concept to precisely no one, but an idea worth revisiting. All it takes is chilled ice cream base poured into pop molds and frozen until solid. To get a stick to stand up straight, be sure to insert it about 30 – 45 minutes after first placing the molds in the freezer, so that the mixture has had time to thicken up a bit. If you don’t already own molds, seek those that are BPA-free, or rig your own by lining up paper cups on a baking sheet. Lollipop sticks or wooden popsicle sticks can be found in most craft or kitchen supply stores.

4. Coffee Can/Baggie Method: Although arguably the most involved of all four approaches, this procedure can be a fun activity for a crowd, and especially with young children. It makes the smallest amount of ice cream at a time as well, so you must start with a maximum of only 2 cups (1 cup) of prepared, chilled ice cream base. In addition to the edibles, you will need a cleaned and rinsed coffee can that once held 3 pounds of coffee (gallon baggie), and a second that once held 1 pound of coffee (1-pint baggie). Additionally, you should have at least 1 ½ cups (6 tablespoons) of rock salt, 10 cups of ice cubes, and strong duct tape on hand.

Pour the chilled base into the smaller can, and tape it up tightly. Place it in the larger can, and surround it with salt and ice, layering the two a few scoops at a time. Seal the larger can with duct tape as well, and start rolling! Roll the can on its side, shake it up, or toss it around continuously; anything to keep it moving. The ice cream should be rather soft, but ready to eat in about 20 – 30 minutes.

Even if you can’t spare the cash or counter space for a full-featured ice cream machine, that shouldn’t stop you from chilling out with a double or triple scoop treat this season. Skip the churn, but give it a whirl!