Spiderman Returns: Happy 5th Birthday Vegan Son #3

Ah, another birthday, another cake. Vegan Son #3 requested the Spiderman cake I made for Vegan Son #2 last year. I like this cake because it has a simple colour scheme and the pan comfortably fits a double cupcake recipe. The webs are a little tedious, but all in all it is a relatively easy cake to make.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Bittersweet Chocolate

A while back we were invited to a birthday party. In preparation, the host sent me the recipe for the cake she was making for the party so I could bring a vegan version. The cake was fairly standard (an old family recipe), but the icing was a bit different because it had two eggs yolks. What caught my eye, though, was the addition of grated bittersweet chocolate to the batter. This is a fantastic way to make a cake that is somewhere in between chocolate and vanilla, but with a more sophisticated look and flavour than a marble cake. Rather than make it in a bundt pan (as the original recipe called for), I opted for cupcakes. I used Isa and Terry's vanilla cupcake recipe and folded 4 oz of grated bittersweet chocolate into the batter. The icing is a standard buttercream with a tinge of yellow colouring to match the colour of the egg yolks in the original, and the drizzle on top is a slightly thinned ganache. In the end, it looked almost identical to the original and was incredibly tasty.

Sweet Onion Relish

Sweet Onion Relish from Vegan Dad on Vimeo.

INGREDIENTS
- 9 lbs Vidalia onions
- 1/2 cup salt
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 4.5 cups sugar
- 1-2 tsp tumeric
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted red pepper, or pimento
- 1 tbsp pickling spice
(more or less this recipe)

Glazed Strawberry Pie with Shortbread Crust

My aunt made a pie like this on my recent trip to the southland (when you live in North Bay, Ohio is the southland) and I thought it would be even better with a shortbread crust. Sort of a tart meets pie meets shortcake kind of thing. Of course, you could just use a pre-baked or pre-made pie shell and be done a whole lot faster. The great thing about this recipe is that you don't cook the berries, giving that juicy fresh berry taste bursting in every bite. So, a big thanks to my aunt for the filling recipe. And be sure to savour every bite because a pie like this only comes around once a year.

INGREDIENTS
Shortbread crust
- 6¾ - 7 oz oz all purpose flour (conversion chart)
- 3 oz icing sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5½ oz cold Earth Balance margarine

METHOD
1. Sift flour, icing sugar, and salt into a bowl, then cut in margarine and work into a crumbly dough. Add more flour if too wet, or a few drops of oil if too dry.
2. Press mixture into a 9" pie pan. Cover the pie plate in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 mins.
3. Preheat oven to 375. When crust has cooled, prick the bottom and sides many times with a fork. Bake for 15- 20 mins, until a light golden brown all over. Remove and let cool. Make the filling.

INGREDIENTS
Filling
- 6 cups fresh whole strawberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water

METHOD
1. Mash enough of the berries to measure 1 cup. Place remaining berries in a large bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch, then gradually whisk in water and then crushed berries.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.
4. Cool for 10 mins, then pour over berries and gently turn to coat. Transfer to cooled pie crust and chill at least 3 hours or until set.

Kaiser Rolls

Happy Canada Day/Independence Day weekend to all my Canadian/American readers! This is a video double feature recipe to help you make some delicious buns for whatever BBQ adventures you are having this weekend. Both come from Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice and have been adapted and veganized as needed. The first is a pâte fermentée, a basic pre-ferment that can be used for a variety of recipes like French Bread (which I will post at a later date). The thing to keep in mind is that the pâte fermentée needs to be made the day before you want to make your rolls, but it can be kept in the fridge for 3 days. Next are the kaiser rolls. The video is a bit long (yet again) to show the technique needed to get that characteristic shape. Enjoy!

Pate Fermentee from Vegan Dad on Vimeo.

Kaiser Rolls from Vegan Dad on Vimeo.