Tag: mousse

Pesach Parfait

Passover is one of the most joyous occasions on the Jewish calendar, commemorating and celebrating the perilous escape from slavery in Egypt, so why are the desserts so morose? Bearing some of the most strict dietary constraints, particularly for observant Ashkenazi Jews, it’s more like a modern take on that same subjugation. Flour, leaveners (baking soda, baking powder, yeast), and kitniyot (beans, rice, corn, peas) are all off the table for a full week. Regular plant-based meals are tough enough under these conditions, but try baking a cake without any of the above, while side-stepping the traditionally egg-laden alternatives, and you’ll quickly see where most pesadik sweets go awry.

Seder Satisfaction

Though I can’t claim to be so stringent in my own home, I do try to play along for at least the Seder. Having a good few years of experience under my belt now, it’s not so challenging to come up with something satisfying to close out the festive meal. It just takes a change in perspective, to stop thinking about what you can’t have, and to focus on what you can. It’s the same sort of challenge for anyone new to veganism, I’d imagine. Consider the following:

Naturally Vegan Desserts For Passover

Without any sort of modifications, you can easily whip up any of these treats to enjoy throughout the week of Passover. There are hundreds of thousands more when you start to consider easy swaps to make cobblers with almond meal toppings, pies with raw nut-and-date crusts, and beyond.

Mousse Without Compromise

Introducing these stunning parfaits as a Passover desserts does them a disservice, based on the baggage such a label would come with. Rather, the layers of rich dark chocolate, giving way to a lighter, fluffier raspberry cream, then finished with light yet decadent coconut whipped cream, belong in their own category of indulgence. Beautiful and delicious enough to serve all year round, with or without dietary restrictions, they’re crafted without compromise, as a good recipe should be.

Making A Perfect Parfait

Whereas most vegan mousses would start by using a base of tofu, this approach taps the fatty goodness of avocado to accentuate the buttery notes of bitter dark chocolate. On top, fresh berries contribute a jammy, tart, and tangy flavor, balancing out the sweetness with elegance. The whipped cream seals the deal, completing the strata with a cloud of velvety coconut foam.

Don’t Pass Over This Recipe

While the Passover Seder is a retelling of the story, full of sacrifice and strife, you’re not supposed to suffer through the meal. Finally, here’s a dessert that you’d actually want to eat, even after the plagues have passed by.

Continue reading “Pesach Parfait” →

Hannah (BitterSweet)8 Comments

Take It Easy

In a world rampant with tough choices and difficult situations, just getting a decent meal on the table shouldn’t take a herculean effort. Take it easy, and take a page from Laura Theodore‘s Vegan-Ease. This veteran cookbook author knows her way around the kitchen, boasting a solid arsenal of crowd-pleasing recipes. I’ve had the distinct pleasure of cooking from her archives on multiple occasions, and am confident there’s not a single failure nor even slight disappointment in the bunch. While so many people promise quick, easy, healthy dishes, few actually deliver like Laura can.

Already an essential resource, Vegan-Ease has been re-released in a first edition softcover just a few weeks ago. If you somehow neglected to stock your bookshelf with the original, prepare to immerse yourself in chapter after chapter of Laura’s creative, inspiring, yet completely practical culinary concepts. More than mere recipes, you get a full-featured guide for how to put a meal plan into action, along with shopping lists, nutritional information, and helpful advice every step of the way. Naturally, it’s great for new vegans or uneasy cooks, but there isn’t a soul out there who couldn’t benefit from simpler, more satisfying meals. Each recipe is ranked by “ease factor” so you know what you’re getting into before even pulling out a knife.

Though there are over 130 recipes spanning from breakfast to dinner and everything in between, I’m naturally drawn to the back of the book first, starting with dessert as my entree. Fool-proof, crowd-pleasing, and devilishly decadent, one of my favorites out of a plethora of winners is the understated and underrated Peanut Butter-Chocolate Mousse. Greater than the sum of its parts, scant, simple ingredients come together in some magical alchemy to create a sweet treat that defies expectations. Willpower be damned, each luscious spoonful seems to disappear in the blink of an eye. Effortless to prepare at a moment’s notice, the real danger is that it’s almost too easy to make. There’s no reason why you can’t always have a little bowlful of indulgence whenever the craving strikes.

Continue reading “Take It Easy” →

Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments

Cupcake Evolution

Although there are still some conflicting stories about how the ever-popular cupcake came about, it’s generally agreed that they got their name by the method they were made: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of four, and so on, all in nice even cup-based measures. Eventually, it seems like younger generations that have become removed from the baking process only saw the product, and assumed that they were named because they were all baked in little cups, thus their small size and shape. These days, most people just think of cupcakes as miniature cakes, and not much more. If you ask me, the cupcake still has a bit more evolving to do, and the next step is pretty clear, isn’t it?

Naturally, it only makes sense that they become literal cups made out of cake!

Browsing through a quirky little junk store, a pile of silicon ice cube trays and various molds caught my eye, and I dug in, thinking of the adorable frozen shapes I might plop into cold drinks. However, it was the shot glass mold that grabbed my attention, and after confirming that it was oven safe up to about 500 degrees, I began scheming my grand cupcake plan.

Going with Asian flavors, I whipped up a quick matcha cupcake batter, pouring it into the molds and placing a sheet pan underneath just for insurance. As predicted, it did bubble up but not over, and so the mushroomed ends simply needed a trim once cooled. The tricky part came when it was time to remove them. Despite a liberal spray of cooking oil with flour, those cakes refused to loosen their grip on the silicon, and my first victim tore horrifically. Thinking on my toes, I tossed the remaining cups into the freezer, forgot about them for a few hours, and was able to take them out intact once fully frozen.


Filled to the brim with sweet adzuki bean mousse, the presentation was almost as good as the taste! This is one format that the frosting-lovers among us would adore, since the deep pocket allows for far more filling than any standard cupcake. While it may take a bit more effort to make, this latest evolution of the cupcake might be it’s most impressive yet. I won’t tell if you just use this mousse in any old cake though, since it’s far too good to be contained to just one type of baked good!

Yield: Makes About 2 1/2 Cups

Adzuki Bean Mousse

Adzuki Bean Mousse

Think beans can't become a decadent dessert? Think again! This mousse is rich and velvety, thanks to the earthy depth of sweet adzuki beans with the silky smoothness of tofu.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 Cups Cooked Adzuki Beans
  • 5 Ounces (Half of a 10.9-Ounce Package) Firm Silken Tofu
  • 1/4 Cup Plain Soymilk
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Packed
  • 2 Tablespoons Instant Clear Gel

Instructions

  1. Toss your cooked beans and tofu into a food processor or blender, and crank up the power. Once the mixture is mostly pureed and there are no more chunks of tofu remaining, add in the soymilk and vanilla, and pulse to combine.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and instant clear gel, and slowly sift these dry ingredients into your machine while the motor is running.
  3. Once fully incorporated, continue blending for a minute or two to dissolve the sugar, scraping down the sides as needed, until the mixture feels mostly smooth and slightly thickened.
  4. Pipe into or on top of cupcakes, or eat with a spoon. Those beans make it much healthier than your average mousse, after all!

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:

5

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 268Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 28mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 7gSugar: 19gProtein: 16g

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.

© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: Japanese / Category: Miscellaneous Desserts

 

Hannah (BitterSweet)66 Comments