VEGAN ICE CREAM BLOG

Carrot cake soy ice cream, among others...check it out!
Also- for fellow Bushwick dwellers: CakeWalk, a "vegan pastry bar and cafe," is about to open up on Bogart and Moore Streets!

KitchenAid Sale!

Amazon has a couple KitchenAid Mixers on sale for Mother's Day. The sale ends May 5th and includes:
KitchenAid KSM50HDPBK Heavy-Duty 5-Quart 10-Speed Stand Mixer, Imperial Black ($159.99)

KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixers, Empire Red ($189.99)

Kitchenaid Professional 5 Plus KV25GOXGR 5-Quart Bowl Lift Stand Mixer ($229.99)

JODI'S TRIBUTE DOTM

How gorgeous! I opened it up and thought it was flour falling out but no, it's egg replacer!!! Thank you Jodi, so much for a thoughtful and beautifully executed DOTM, our first vegan one too!! YAY!!!

GUESS WHAT I WILL BE?

Why, the crust on a pistachio crusted Key Lime pie!!!!

31 LAYERS

This cake, though you cannot see inside of it has thirty-one layers of crepes. I made it for my 31st bday
The only thing that made it difficult was timing. Agatha and I made the crepes and then immediately started to assemble the cake. However they were not fully cooled, so there was some slippin' and sliding. It was actually really fun to make. Let's do it Kat!!!

Maryland, my Maryland

My home state of Maryland has an official cake! Who knew? It's the Smith Island Ten Layer Cake...and the recipe/layering looks ambitious....any takers? Nicole, Nicole?

HUMBLE VANILLA

This is a vanilla bean cake, with vanilla bean buttercream and two layers of dulce de leche filling.....made for a co-worker's birthday. YUM

PIE CRUST SECRETS!! REVEALED!!

If you search this blog, I am sure you will find laments from me regarding my horrible previous luck with pie crust. I never tried Susan's vodka technique because I never keep vodka in the house. However I am here to tell you about a pie crust miracle. Of course it involves butter, as most of the best miracles do, but with a twist. An icy twist. I do not remember who told me this secret, but if I do, I will surely credit them. Are you ready, TA-DA! FREEZE THE BUTTER. I have tried again and again and it HAS NEVER FAILED. That is a secret weapon friends, never fail pie crust. Think about what you can do with that! I freeze it, then add it to my lil Cuisinart careful not to overmix like the mantra goes and it yields the most flaky puff pastry reminiscent crust and it tastes like a buttery kiss, OBSERVE.

salad for dessert!

Greek Winter Orange Salad
•a couple oranges, peeled and pith/seeds removed, cut into chunks
•a spoonful of olives (in olive oil preferred)
•drizzle of olive oil
•pinch of dried oregano
•sea salt
•freshly ground pepper
•crumbled feta (optional)
•thinly sliced fennel (optional)


This is considered a winter salad because oranges are harvested in the winter in Greece and greens are not available at that time. The salt and oil brings out the sweetness of the oranges, it's delicious. I lived off this salad this past winter, every night! (that and a chunk of crusty bread!)
In the summer, a favorite Greek salad includes: boiled potato, red onion, tomato, cucumber, olives, feta, oregano and salt and pepper....mmmmmmm.

Fennel fun!

I am always eating this fennel salad. It's so good and refreshing and healthy and satisfying...so much so that I yap about it all the time, hence why Nicole asked me to post about it already.
Here's a pic of it, pre-dressing. I don't really follow a strict recipe, but here goes:

• 2-3 heads of fennel, sliced thin or chunky, however you like
• one large or 2 small oranges, cut into pieces.
  
• handful of raw or dry roasted unsalted pistachio nuts

Dressing: 1 or 2 cloves of minced garlic, depending on your taste, the juice of 2 freshly squeezed lemons, olive oil, sea salt, pepper. For extra oomph, top with shaved pieces of parmesan cheese.

Sometimes I'll put in apples or pears in place of the orange...other ingredients that go well in this salad are mini-cucumbers, endive, and radishes. It's one of those salads that still tastes great (better, even) and maintains it's texture a day or two later.
I made this yesterday and mixed in some white cannelini beans and chunks of a good quality jarred tuna fish, like this, and BOY was it good. Buon appetito!

The BeaterBlade!!!

AHHH! It's like I just went to my elementary school science fair and discovered the coolest invention ever! THEY READ MY MIND!!!

TOO MANY LECHES!!!

Hello everybody. I made a TRES LECHES Cake. And boy was it LECHE. Muy Muy Muy leche. I feel like it was way too "milk logged" but some of the folks I served it to felt it was delicious. It was far superior at room temperature than fresh out of the fridge. Most likely a pitfall of the 12 hours this cake spends soaking up all of the milks overnight. I was looking to capture the perfectly ethereal version of this classic cake that I had at Kuba Kuba. But I guess you have to actually be some body's Cuban Mother to pull that off. Damn. Oh well. Back to the condensed milk aisle.

MARCH DOTMC

HOW CUTE IS AMELIA'S COCONUT PIE???

BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

This Simply Recipes post is too good not to share. Butterscotch is one of my very favorite flavors and can turn simple pleasures like vanilla ice cream or a plain unfrosted cake into spectacular ones. I am including the ingredients below, but you must check out the post for the step by step tutorial. EASY!

Butterscotch Sauce


* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar
* ¾ cup heavy whipping cream (not ultra-pasteurized)
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt