I haven’t been on a pancake bender in a while. But I ate very lightly yesterday, and it’s gray and wintry here, so I woke up with pancakes on my mind.
A package of chopped dried dates and some already chopped and toasted nuts in the pantry, plus a fresh orange in the fridge, gave rise to to this delectable rendition. If it’s too late for you to enjoy them this morning, we still have a few winter weekends ahead or, if you live in the U.S. and have tomorrow off for President’s Day, sleep in and enjoy them for a late brunch. George Washington would approve, as his favorite recipe made by wife, Marta, was Hoe Cakes!
1/2 cup chopped dried dates
1/4 cup cream sherry (don’t worry–it’s non-dairy), brandy, etc. (I use cream sherry, but you may use fresh orange juice or even water keeping in mind that the flavor will be different than the original)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (white whole wheat or all-purpose flour would also work fine)
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup natural sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch ground mace or nutmeg
1 to 1 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk (plain or vanilla soy milk would also be good–regular or lite; you may require the larger amount if using whole wheat flour, as it seems to absorb more moisture)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, preferably dry-toasted for about 3 minutes in a small skillet over medium-high heat (pecans, almonds or cashews would also be good)
Zest of one medium-large naval orange (reserve a small amount of garnishing if desired)
Vegan butter and/or vegetable oil for frying
Maple Syrup
Optional Garnishes: orange zest, a few chopped nuts, and/or a very light sprinkling of powdered sugar
Preheat oven to warm. Place dates in a microwave-safe small bowl or cup, pour sherry or brandy over, and microwave for 20-30 seconds. Let sit while you prepare the pancake batter. In a medium mixing bowl, place both flours, sugar, baking powder, soda and nutmeg. Make a well in the center and pour in soymilk. Whisk together until well combined. Then stir in dates, nuts, and orange zest with a spoon or fork.
In a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the vegan butter, oil or a combination. (I like a combination: the oil reduces chances of burning while the butter contributes flavor.) Using a 1/4 cup measure, make pancakes, two at a time. Cook two-three minutes on the first side until you get a nice rise, a few bubbles appear, and the edges appear set. Gently flip and cook another couple of minutes on the reverse. Add butter and/or oil to keep skillet greased as needed. If pancakes are cooking too quickly, lower heat to medium, especially for second side. When cooked through, remove pancakes to plates or a serving platter, keep warm, and repeat with remaining butter and pancake batter.
Serve warm drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with optional reserved orange zest, chopped nuts, and/or powdered sugar.
If you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day this weekend, you’ll want to wake up your sweetie tomorrow with these not-too-sweet, but almost-too-good-to-be-true Red Velvet Pancakes.
The recipe isn’t in The Blooming Platter Cookbook(though 150+ mouthwatering recipes for special and not-so-special occasions are!), so just clickhere to go to the original post for the short back story and complete list of ingredients and instructions.
Ever since childhood, I have loved to have the occasional breakfast for dinner, especially in the winter. So, since Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday this year, and since–if you’re like me–breakfast during the week is a soy-something-or-other from Starbucks, why not enjoy these beauties for dinner with a side of fruit and a glass of soymilk?
I plan to post retro-recipes from my blog for other Valentines favorites along with a brand new creation, but I encourage you to search “Valentine” to see what goodies pop up that might grab your interest.
Here in America, Thanksgiving approaches. It is so many people’s favorite holiday, and for good reason. Non-denominational and, in fact, not necessarily religious in any direct way, it tends to be a gracious gathering of friends and family who come together to share a traditional meal of fall favorites while giving thanks to anyone for anything they choose.
Pumpkin dishes typically take center stage on the menu, but I crave them before, during and after. If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving late in the day, you might enjoy these pancake-fritters for breakfast; or if your clan breaks bread earlier in the day, try these treats the morning after. Or, heck, go ahead and make them today!
I call them “pancake-fritters” because they are a hybrid, but not by design, at least initially. Rather, the pleasant “stickiness” of the batter and the amount of sugar meant that my first batch, cooked as regular pancakes, had to be put down the disposal! I discovered that they have to be small, and they have to be pan fried in a bit more oil than what pancakes require to prevent them from sticking to the skillet and scorching.
So don’t be tempted to make these as larger pancakes or use less oil or yours will meet the same fate as mine. My second try is what you see pictured and well worth the failed experiment. The resulting pancake-fritters are a little oilier than a pancake, like a fritter or even a fried cake doughnut, with a crispy exterior and a soft and tender interior.
Pumpkin pancakes are a dime a dozen, so while a half-cup of leftover pumpkin initiated the recipe, the desire for a twist on a classic resulted in the addition of oatmeal and espresso powder inspired by my Baked Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal with a cup of coffee. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (or unbleached all-purpose)
1 cup old fashioned oats
4 tablespoon natural sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch sea salt
1/4 cup soymilk (I use unsweetened, but plain is fine)
2 teaspoons instant espresso
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional garnish: maple syrup plus a dab of vegan sour cream and a walnut piece per pancake
Preheat the oven to warm and line a plate with a double thickness of paper towel. In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 7 dry ingredients and make a well in the center. In a small bowl, whisk together soymilk and espresso powder to dissolve the latter. Then whisk in pumpkin puree and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and whisk all together just until combined. In a large cast iron skillet, heat about 1/8 inch of canola oil over medium-high. Make pancakes-fritters, 4 at a time, using 1 rounded tablespoon of batter, gently smoothing the top. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, loosening each pancake from the bottom of the pan with a metal spatula after a minute or less of cooking, just enough time for the pancakes to be set enough to gently lift. Reduce heat if cooking too fast. Remove to the lined plate, cover with more paper towel, and keep warm in the oven while you continue with the remaining batter in the same manner. Serve each garnished with maple syrup, a dollop of vegan sour cream and a walnut piece.
A big thank you is in order to Isa and all the good folks who are the driving force behind Vegan MoFo. Thank you so much for continuing to feed this fire and for making it so easy, not to mention gratifying, for all of us vegan bloggers and many, many readers to participate. What a beautiful thing.
Though MoFo officially ends today, I will still be here offering new recipes several times a week to Blooming Platter readers and subscribers. So I invite you to subscribe if you haven’t already. It’s now easier than ever and you can do it via email, no rss feed necessary. Just look over at the top of the right-hand sidebar and follow the simple prompts.
This version features a split pumpkin biscuit.
And now a sweet for the sweet, but, not so sweet that you couldn’t serve this warming dish for a fall breakfast or brunch, which is how I first enjoyed it.
I grew up loving my mother’s biscuit-style Strawberry Shortcake which, incidentally, she would sometimes allow my sister and me to enjoy for breakfast. So, my fall version of this treat is based on a sweetened pumpkin biscuit.
And it’s topped with a quick and spicy apple and walnut saute. Your kitchen will be perfumed with some of the best fragrances of fall.
Yield: 4 Servings
Note: the following is the Herbed Biscuit recipe from my new Blooming Platter vegan cookbook without the herbs, but with the addition of dehydrated pumpkin powder and a little natural sugar. Just click here to order the dehydrated pumpkin from Barry Farm. I am partial to it rather than pumpkin puree, as it adds lots of flavor and golden color, but no additional un-needed nor unwanted moisture which requires additional flour and, hence, a heavy biscuit. However, if you have a vegan pumpkin biscuit recipe you like, feel free to substitute. Just add about 2 tablespoons of natural sugar to a cup of flour.
My special biscuit method requires freezing the vegan butter and shortening, so don’t forget to pop it in the freezer the night before you plan to make them. And I highly encourage taking the tiny bit of extra time to employ my modified french puff pastry folding method. You won’t believe how buttery and flaky the two together will make your biscuit-shortcakes.
This version features an unsplit pumpkin biscuit.
Pumpkin Shortcakes
Note: this recipe makes about 10 biscuit-shortcakes, more than you need, but they are delicious plain and reheat nicely, so I predict you’ll be glad to have them on hand.
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup plain or unsweetened soy milk
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (or 1 1/2 cups all purpose or white whole wheat flour + 1 tablespoon baking powder)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder (add only if using the self-rising flour)
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or your own mix of ground cinnamon, clove and nutmeg to taste)
1/4 cup natural sugar
4 tablespoons frozen vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons frozen vegan butter + 2 tablespoons refrigerated vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
Warm Spiced Apple Filling (recipe below)
About 1/4 cup of your favorite vegan whipped topping, sweetened cashew cream, or even vegan sour cream and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar into the soy milk and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder (3/4 teaspoon if using the self-rising flour and 1 tablespoon if using all purpose or white whole wheat), pumpkin powder, pumpkin pie spice, and natural sugar, and stir with a fork to combine. Make a well in the center. Spray your box grater very lightly with nonstick spray for easier clean up and then grate the frozen shortening and frozen vegan butter into the well. Whisk the soy milk mixture and add it to the well.
2. Incorporate the wet into the dry ingredients by stirring with a fork so that the warmth of your hands doesn’t melt the shortening and butter. Place the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a 9-inch square pan and place it in the oven to melt the butter. Remove the pan as soon as the butter has melted.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, pat or roll the dough to about 1-inch thick (1/4-inch thicker than for my biscuits). Fold it like a business letter: fold one side two-thirds of the way across and fold the remaining 1/3 back across. Pat or gently roll the dough out to a 1-inch thickness again, turn it a quarter turn and repeat about 4 more times. Do this fairly quickly so that the dough doesn’t warm up.
4. Lightly flour the work surface as necessary. The last time you pa the dough to a 1-inch, cut out biscuits wih a 2-inch biscuit, cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place each biscuit in the prepared pan and flip to coat both sides with melted butter. Bake the biscuits for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. While biscuits bake, make filling (recipe below).
5. When cool enough to handle, either place a biscuit on each of 4 plates; top with 1/4th of the Warm Spiced Apple Filling; garnish each serving with a tablespoon of vegan whipped topping, sweetened cashew cream, or vegan sour cream and a light dusting of ground cinnamon; and serve warm. Or, split the biscuits and place 1/8th of the filling inside and another 1/8th of the filling on top, garnish, and serve. Save the remaining 6 biscuits in an airtight container for another use.
Warm Spiced Apple Filling
1 tablespoon vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons chopped walnuts
2 medium apples (I like our local Winesaps), cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 cup natural sugar
1/4 cup ground cinnamon or to taste
1/4 cup ground ginger or to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground clove or to taste
1 tablespoon maple syrup
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add walnuts and toast, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove nuts to a paper towel-lined saucer. Add apple, natural sugar, and spices. Saute for about 3 minutes or until apples soften. Add maple syrup and cook another minute or two until apples are very tender. Add all but 1 tablespoon of walnuts, stir, and heat through. Remove from heat and use as directed above.
This recipe is a crowd-pleaser regardless of the season! And I’m posting it now so you can make sure to have all ingredients on hand by the time the weekend arrives.
The first iteration of it, which I created for The Blooming Platter Cookbook, appears in the spring section of the Brunch chapter, for it was made to be topped with fresh berries. When I tested the recipe in the summer of 2010, I served it topped with blueberries to my good friend Maggie Test (yes, that’s really her last name). She proclaimed its texture to be perfect, like a bread pudding for breakfast (though there is no bread in the recipe, only healthy oatmeal).
So, for the weekend house party my husband hosted for my birthday last May, I made it as our Sunday “morning-after” brunch dish. It was a huge hit with everyone and lent itself perfectly to people rising at different times, as servings can be popped into the microwave for reheating.
At the end of last week, the weather finally turned cool here in coastal Virginia and the leaves are beginning to turn right along with it. So, I found myself craving a warm comfort-food type weekend breakfast, but nothing too heavy. Baked oatmeal came immediately to mind. But, with berries long out of season, I thought of pumpkin of which I can’t get enough this time of year. I crave it in everything.
I used the recipe I created for my cookbook, simply reducing the cup of soy milk to 1/2 cup, and adding 1/2 cup pumpkin puree plus 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. Then, instead of studding the top with berries, I used nuts. Oh, and I topped the serving you see in the photo with some Vegan Pepita Caramel Sauce, but that’s just guilding the lily and, I have to admit, turns the dish into more of a dessert.
The only difficult aspects of this dish are 1) waiting 8 hours to bake it, and 2) not eating the entire recipe in one sitting!
Yield: 8 servings
6 ounces firm silken tofu
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup natural sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
2 tablespoons natural sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup coarse-chopped pecans or walnuts
1. Lightly grease a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan and set aside. Combine the tofu, soy milk, canola oil, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl and stir in the oatmeal. Spoon this mixture into the prepared pan, gently smoothing the top. Sprinkle the surface with the remaining sugar and cinnamon, cover with foil, and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
2. When ready to bake, remove the dish from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Sprinkle the top surface of the oatmeal with nuts, and bake for 25 minutes or until just firm. Serve hot. Cover the pan with foil if the nuts start browning too quickly.
Note: The oatmeal may be reheated by covering the baking dish with foil and placing it in a cold oven. Turn the oven temperature to 300ºF. and heat for about 20 minutes, or until warm. The oatmeal may alternatively be reheated in the microwave. Start with 30 seconds and add additional time as necessary.
So here it is! It is my pleasure to share this simple but special recipe inspired by a salad I enjoyed at a tiny bistro in Paris on my husband’s and my twentieth wedding anniversary trip two summers ago. That salad contained no Tempeh Bacon, nor does the recipe in the cookbook. But I love the addition, which I just created, so I’m thrilled to share it with you here.
Note that the recipe calls for starting with dried lentils, but I often just buy a 17.6 ounce package of Trader Joe’s steamed lentils, sold in their produce section, and use the whole package.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
2 1/4 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups green lentils, picked over, rinsed, and drained
3 tablespoons olive oil (or 2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 tablespoon walnut oil)
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large apple (any variety)
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 tablespoon snipped chives
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Optional: Quick Vegan Tempeh Bacon (recipe follows)
1. In a 2-quart covered saucepan over medium-high heat, bring water and bay leaves to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Stir in lentils and gently simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Check at 10 minute intervals, as lentils are easy to overcook; they should be firm enough to hold their shape when tossed with the other ingredients. Add more hot water if necessary to prevent sticking or scorching. (Skip these steps if using pre-steamed lentils.)
2. While the lentils cook, make the vinaigrette. In a large serving bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until well blended and slightly emulsified. Set aside.
3. Halve the apple lengthwise, scoop out the core with a melon baller or spoon, arrange each half cut side down on a work surface, and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices. Then stack several slices together on their sides and cut them into 1/8-inch matchsticks. Add to the bowl with the dressing as you cut them, and stir gently to coat in order to prevent discoloration. Stir in the onion and chives.
4. When the lentils are cooked, drain, rinse with cool water to stop the cooking, and drain well. Remove the bay leaf. (Obviously, skip this rinsing and draining step if using the pre-steamed lentils.) Stir the lentils into the dressing mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and add the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, to taste. Toss gently to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Cover and chill the salad several hours before serving to allow flavors to marry.
If including the Temp Bacon, add just before serving.
Quick Vegan Tempeh Bacon:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-8 ounce package tempeh (I use Trader Joe’s brand), sliced cross-wise into about 20 slices 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use a light variety)
2 tablespoons Liquid Smoke
2 tablespoons natural sugar
Sea salt
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tempeh slices to the pan and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of Liquid Smoke, 1 tablespoon of natural sugar, and a pinch of salt. Saute, without disturbing for 2-3 minutes or until caramelized, but not burned. Flip slices and repeat with remaining ingredients. Turn off heat. Flip slices one more time and allow them to sit for a minute or two just to absorb a little more of the flavors. Remove them from heat and serve immediately. (The pan drippings are really yummy. If I’m using, say, chopped onion in a recipe with compatible flavors, I like to add the onion to the skillet and stir them around to absorb some of the drippings which are too good to go to waste!)
Serving suggestion: If you would like to serve the salad over grilled apple slices as in the photograph, cut 1/4-inch thick apple slices and grill them in an oiled grill pan over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until tender, but not mushy, and nice grill marks appear.
But never fear, I’ve got the perfect fall recipe for when you need to dish up a little comfort, and who doesn’t need that these days?
Since hash is traditionally served with an egg, and I had a little savory cashew cream in my fridge, I wondered if I could flavor it with black salt, whose distinctly sulpher-y taste is uncannily reminiscent of an egg, and use it as a topping. Indeed! It was perfect.
Thank you, Isa, for turning me on to the wonders of Indian black salt, which is actually a beautiful gray color. Pick up a bottle at Indian markets or specialty food stores. I snagged mine at Napa Style (and probably paid a lot more) while on vacation in San Francisco this past summer.
Begin making the Cashew Cream the day before you plan to use it:
Cashew Cream
You will have lots of leftover, but you’ll be glad you do!
2 cups raw cashews, divided in half
2 cups water, divided in half
Sea salt to taste
In a covered bowl, soak 1 cup cashews in 1 cup water overnight in the refrigerator. Rinse and drain. Process the cup of soaked cashews with the additional cup of raw unsoaked cashews and the remaining cup of water in a food processor for several minutes, or until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add salt to taste, process just to combine, and store covered in the refrigerator.
Vegan Chorizo and Sweet Potato Hash with Black Salt Cashew Cream
Yield: 4 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large clove garlic
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (it is very important to patiently cut the dice this small
1-12 ounce package vegan Chorizo, casing removed (I use Trader Joe’s brand)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Garnishes:
4 or so tablespoons of plain Cashew Cream, seasoned to taste with a pinch or more of black salt (recipe above)
4 sprigs of fresh thyme (it’s especially pretty when in bloom)
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil to shimmering. Add onion and saute, stirring frequently, until softened and a little bit of color starts to develop, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, bell pepper, and sweet potato, and saute, stirring frequently about 5 minutes or slightly longer until the bell pepper is quite soft and the sweet potato is beginning to become tender. Crumble chorizo into the pan and saute, still stirring very frequently, for an additional 5 minutes or slightly longer until sweet potato is very tender. At any point, if the mixture appears to be drying out, you may add another tablespoon of olive oil or water, and/or slightly reduce the heat. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and heat through for another 30 seconds to a minute. Serve hot with dollops of the Cashew Cream mixture and a sprig of fresh thyme.
I know it’s just Tuesday, but I’m posting this now, so you can gather the ingredients and be all set come the weekend!
I love vegan French toast as it de facto lacks that “egginess” that I found unappealing in the dairy version even as a vegetarian. I similarly prefer baked to pan sauteed French toast, as the former lacks the equally unappealing greasiness of the latter. And, especially in the fall, I am crazy for all things pumpkin.
So my Baked Pumpkin-Bourbon French Toast is about as good as it gets for weekend morning fare at our house. I spike this iteration ’cause I’m a South’ren girl. But you can simply omit the bourbon. Or, you can substitute brandy or a nut-flavored liqueur if you like.
Note that I’m not a big breakfast eater, so these are very moderate portions. If you like to really get your breakfast or brunch on, just make more. Or serve something on the side like, say, some baked fresh and dried fruit.
Oh, and don’t forget the decaffeinated fair-trade coffee. It’s practically a must with this dish, as I find the body of coffee provides better balance with this dish than tea, though I’m usually a devout tea-drinker.
Yield: 4 servings
French Toast:
8 (1-inch thick) bias-cut slices of a long whole grain baguette (if bread is fresh, dry it out by placing it on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup soymilk (unsweetened or plain)
2 tablespoons chickpea flour
2 tablespoons natural sugar (or maple syrup which is not quite as sweet)
Optional: 1 tablespoon bourbon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or to taste (or a combination of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg)
Pinch sea salt
Vegan Pepita Caramel Syrup (recipe follows)
Optional garnish: a dusting of powdered sugar
Combine all ingredients except bread and syrup in a medium bowl. Pour the mixture into a shallow pan or food carton that will just hold all bread slices in one layer. Add the bread slices and let soak for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Flip bread slices and let soak for another 10 minutes. (You make soak each side longer if desired, but a total of 20 minutes should be the minimum amount of time.) Remove bread to baking dish and drizzle each slice with remaining custard. Bake for 20 minutes or just until set. Custard should still be moist. Serve hot drizzled with Vegan Pepita Caramel Syrup and dust with powdered sugar for a nice contrast if desired.
Vegan Pepita Caramel Syrup:
1/4 cup vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup roasted and lightly salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds; I purchase Trader Joe’s brand)
2 tablespoons plain soy creamer
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, combine butter, maple syrup and pepitas. Simmer gently, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes or until thick and caramelized. Lower heat if necessary to prevent mixture from scorching. Add soy creamer–the mixture will bubble up–and cook for about another minute or until well-combined and heated through. Serve immediately over Pumpkin-Bourbon French Toast.
It’s simple to enter! Just add a comment to this post on one of two topics: 1) either share how you “MoFo” (do you blog, subscribe to MoFo headquarters rss feed, read more blogs than usual, cook more than usual, etc.); or 2) share your favorite way to enjoy apples in the fall.
I’d also love it if you checked out the book on Amazon, read one or two of the very generous reviews and, if you like what you see, “like” the book while on the Amazon site.
A winner will be chosen at random (using www.random.org–very cool site), next Sunday, October 9. Deadline to enter is midnight (wherever you are in the world), Saturday, October 8. Make sure your email address is accessible through your comment. The winner will be notified privately via email to provide me with your mailing address.
A quick note: I will respond to the comments at the end of the contest because if I respond as I receive them, it will throw the numbers off for the random calculation of a winner. So, I want you to know in advance that I appreciate you, and don’t want you to think I am being rude by not acknowledging your time and effort!
That’s all there is to it! Please spread the word. But first, check out this sneak preview recipe fromThe Blooming Platter Cookbook. I love re-imagining one dish as another, and my Baked Apples Baklava is a perfect and perfectly tasty example of that. And, though the presentation is elegant, the recipe is as simple as can be, provided you purchase the phyllo dough. If you decide to be an over-achiever and make your own, that’s on you!
Baked Apples Baklava with Cider Sauce
Yield: 4 servings
Baked apples are one of the wonders of autumn. In this dessert, tender stuffed apple halves are wrapped up like a beautiful package in buttery phyllo dough. They are as scrumptious for breakfast or brunch as they are for dessert.
Apples:
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon natural sugar
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
2 teaspoons agave nectar
2 large McIntosh or other sweet-tart red apples, stemmed
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup vegan butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon natural sugar
16 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
Cider Sauce:
3/4 cup apple cider
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick, halved
Optional Garnish:
Cinnamon stick halves
Walnut pieces
1. Apples: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar, apple pie spice, and agave nectar and set aside. Cut the apples in half lengthwise. Using a melon baller, remove the core of the apples in two scoops to make a generous void for the filling. Rub the cut surface of the apples with lemon juice. Press one-fourth of walnut filling into each hollowed out void.
2. Combine the vegan butter and olive oil in a small bowl. Unroll the phyllo dough and cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel. Remove one sheet of dough to a flat work surface and brush lightly with butter-oil mixture. Repeat with three more sheets, stacking them.
3. Place the apple half, filling side up, in the center of the stacked phyllo. Bring up one corner of the dough over the filling, then the opposite corner. Repeat with the remaining corners, smoothing as you go, to make a tight package.
4. Brush on a little more butter-oil mixture and place the apples, flat side down, on a baking sheet or stone. Brush the top with a little more of the butter-oil mixture, smoothing down the edges of the dough. Repeat with remaining apple halves, filling and dough. Sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Cider Sauce: In a 1 quart saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes. Cool slightly to serve. Remove the cinnamon stick halves before serving or use them as two of the garnishes.
6. To assemble: Arrange the baked apples on dessert plates drizzled with the Cider Sauce and garnished with cinnamon sticks and walnuts, if using.
Yield: 8 pancakes
