First, place the avocado in the food processor.

Then add in the maple syrup, coconut butter, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, and balsamic vinegar.  I was surprised this recipe called for balsamic vinegar, but I think it helps it from  being overly sweet and makes the flavor more complex.  In other words, it gives the mousse a little extra something special!

Then combine the ingredients in the food processor.

And last but not least, add the cocoa powder to give the dessert its delicious chocolate taste!

The end result is a heavenly looking chocolate dessert.

Simply spoon in out into a container and enjoy!!

The post Vegan Chocolate Mousse appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

First, gather up the ingredients for the Raw Balls.  I always enjoy seeing the natural and fresh ingredients laid out on my kitchen counter.  No refined sugar here!

The first step is to grind the walnuts in the food processor.

Then add the dates…

And mix together!

Then add the carob powder and the almond butter to the mixture.

Finally, add in the almonds.

Make sure not to over process the almonds!  These balls taste great when there are small almond chunks mixed in for added texture.

Next, it’s time to roll the mixture into small balls.  It helps if you wet your hands before trying to do this as the mixture is sticky.  Spread out the coconut flakes on a flat surface and lightly roll the balls until covered in a snowy white layer.

Store the Raw Balls in the freezer, and enjoy!

The post Vegan Raw Balls appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

First, it’s time to round up the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake ingredients.

Place the rice milk, apple cider vinegar, and poppy seeds in a bowl without stirring, and set the bowl aside.

Measure out and mix together the lemon poppy seed cake dry ingredients — the gluten-free flour, brown rice flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt.

Then it’s time to add the wet ingredients — coconut oil, agave nectar, apple sauce, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon peel.

Finally, add in the poppy seed mixture and combine.

Grease the loaf pan (I decided to make mini loafs!) with coconut oil, and pour the batter in.  My batter was runnier than other loaf and cake batter I have made in the past.  But don’t worry!

My mini lemon poppy seed cake loaves turned out very well — they were super moist and a delightful contrast of sweet and tangy flavors.

I will for sure be making this lemon poppy seed cake again soon!!

The post Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

Raspberry Cake:

First up is the raspberry cake.  Take a bag of frozen raspberries out of the freezer and allow to thaw.

Place the raspberries in a food processor and puree.

Then it’s time to gather and combine the remaining cake ingredients.

Add the raspberry puree…

And you will end up with a beautiful (and tasty!) red batter.

Lightly grease and flour your cake pans.

And divide the batter evenly between the two pans.  You can begin to bake your cakes while you make the frosting.

Frosting:

This frosting was easy to make and unlike any other I had made before.

For starters, you will need a saucepan! Who knew that when you combine cornstarch and non-dairy milk over heat, it takes on an entirely different texture?

As you let that the mixture in the saucepan cool, cream together the sugar and Earth Balance.

Then add the saucepan mixture to the mixer.  Blend the icing for a few minutes until thoroughly combined.

NOTE: I think this is where I took a mis-step while making my cake.  My frosting didn’t come together as well as I had hoped, but I only mixed the ingredients together for about 20 seconds.  I suggest taking seriously Ms. Kaminsky recommended blending time of 2-3 minutes.  You will likely end up with a much smoother icing than I did!

Then it’s time to make the cake!!  Place one of the cakes on a plate or cake stand, add a layer of icing, and add the second cake on top.

Ice the outside of the cake and adorn with fresh blueberries in any way you wish.  I loved the light, fresh flavor of this cake.  Perfect for a hot summer day and a great alternative to red velvet.  I also think that the recipe would be great as cupcakes!   I hope this recipe makes your 4th of July brighter and happier!

The post Red, White, and Blue Vegan 4th of July Cake! appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

Now for the delicious crisp recipe!!

First, gather your ingredients.  One of the best things about this recipe is its simplicity.  Chances are, you have many of the necessary items already sitting in your kitchen!

Chop the strawberries and…

the rhubarb into small pieces.

Place the fruit in a bowl, add the agave, and combine.

Now it’s time for the topping (ie everyone’s favorite part!).  Add the oats, brown sugar, spices, and non-dairy butter to a bowl…

And combine!

Add the fruit layer to the pan.

Then sprinkle on the crisp’s topping.  After a short time in the oven, your crisp is ready to eat!

Since finding this recipe, I have made it twice.  The first time, I put the crisp in an 8 X 8 baking dish, and achieved excellent results.  On my second go around, I divided the fruit and the topping mixtures into 4 ramekins and was equally as thrilled.  I have a feeling this dessert will be making an appearance at my next dinner party!

The post Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

First, gather the ingredients for the Vegan Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins!

And measure out all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients together, and set the bowl aside.

Next, it’s time to measure the wet ingredients.

And blend them

Then slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

And of course you can’t forget to add in the chocolate chips!

Measure out the Vegan Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip batter into the muffin pans.

While the muffins are in the oven, enjoy the aroma wafting through your home!  After a short time, you will end up with a delicious array of baked muffins.

Enjoy the muffins immediately, or store in an airtight container!

The post Vegan Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

Gather up your ingredients…

First, place the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Then add the wet ingredients.

Mix everything together, and the dough for the Maple Walnut Cookies is ready!  Don’t worry if it seems a little more runny than typical cookie dough.  The cookies will firm up in the oven.

Scoop out cookie dough from the bowl with a spoon!  If you want, place a whole walnut on top of each cookie for added decoration

For an extra special treat, enjoy a warm cookie fresh from the oven.

I love making Maple Walnut Cookies all year round.  The walnut and maple flavors blend together perfectly to create an unbeatable treat.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

The post Vegan Maple Walnut Cookies appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

Gather your ingredients.  For me, there’s nothing worse than getting halfway through a recipe before realizing I’m missing something!

First, place the beets in a pot of boiling water — the water will likely turn red but that’s ok!  It takes a while to soften the beets, so I recommend starting with this step.

Did you know that beets have crazy health benefits?   They help lower blood pressure, boost stamina, fight inflammation, have anti-cancer properties, are rich in nutrients and fiber, and help with detoxification.  That’s pretty impressive for a vegetable! If you want to learn more about the benefits of beets, click here!

Once the beets are ready, place them in the food processor…

And pulse until pureed!

Next, melt the chocolate chips.

Place the canola oil, brown sugar, pureed beets, melted chocolate chips, and vanilla into a bowl.  I also like to throw in some extra chocolate chips (and no I don’t think an extra 1/2 cup is too much!), so that my cake will have small bursts of chocolatey flavor!

Mix the wet ingredients together and admire the beautiful dark red batter!

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) in a separate bowl.

And add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in small batches.

Once combined, it’s time to pour the batter into the bundt cake pan.  As you can see from my picture, the batter did NOT fill up my bundt cake pan.  If that’s the case for you, remember that your cooking time will be less.  Or you can always double the recipe for a full bundt pan and even more cake

And after a short stay in the oven, you’ll have a delicious looking cake!

Wait for the cake to cool a little before removing the it from the pan.  Then sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar!

Personally, I love the subtle chocolate flavor and thickness of this cake.  However, there are some easy and tasty substitutions you can also implement according to personal taste like…

– adding extra chocolate chips for extra bursts of chocolate flavor

– adding some cocoa powder for an overall bolder chocolate taste

– topping the cake with a vegan frosting or glaze

– making the batter into cupcakes

The post Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

So, when I walked into my vegan cooking class and my teacher, Liz Gary, announced the group of recipes for the day would include vegan brownies (which were also gluten-free), I knew I had to be assigned to the brownie group.  We used the recipe from BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery by Erin McKenna.  This was my first time using a recipe from the BabyCakes cookbook.  After making these brownies, it is high on my list to purchase!

First, we gathered the ingredients…

Including the apple sauce that would ensure the brownies were moist!

The dry ingredients went in the bowl first.  I would recommend taking a moment to smell the cocoa powder! YUM!

Then add the wet ingredients.

And mix together.  Looking at this picture of the vegan brownie batter is making my mouth water right now!

The only thing better than brownies? Brownies with chocolate chips!

Once the chocolate chips were mixed in, it was time to pour the batter into the pan.

Spread the batter evenly.  I was happy my class made a double batch of these brownies, because I had a feeling they were going to go fast!

The brownies went in the oven, and soon aromas of baked chocolate were wafting through the kitchen.  Heavenly.

The brownies were soft, moist, melt in your mouth, chocolate bombs.  I’m thrilled that I have a “go to” recipe for vegan brownies.  They will definitely be in my rotation for potlucks and dinner parties.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Happy baking!

The post Vegan Brownies appeared first on The Fussy Fork.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-eating-dates-4386.html

One of my favorite recipes using dates comes from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks’ Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets.

I have been very happy with all of the recipes I have made from The Joy of Vegan Baking.  The Date Bars – a sweet date filling sandwiched between delicious, oat layers – are no exception.

To get started, gather up your ingredients!

Remove the pits from the dates.  I suggest wetting your hands during the “de-pitting” process, as it makes the dates easier to handle.  I like to use either Medjool or Barhi dates, but I’m sure there are other types that would work as well!

Next, chop up the dates.

Add the dates, vanilla, and salt to the boiling water.  This is when delicious aromas will begin to fill your kitchen.  This date mixture tastes good on its own.  I highly recommend taking a time out for a taste test!

Assemble all of the ingredients for the oat layers in a bowl…

And combine!

Take half of the oat layer mixture, and press it into the greased baking pan.

Then add the date mixture…

And spread evenly.

Add the second oat layer on top of the date mixture, and press it down gently with your hands.

It’s now ready for the oven!

Keep in mind that it is best to allow the bars to cool before cutting.

The Date Bars are perfect for any time of the day.  Their coffee cake like consistency make them a great breakfast or brunch treat, and they work well as a mid-day snack or as a dessert at the end of a meal.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

The post Vegan Date Bars appeared first on The Fussy Fork.