30 January 2008

Five for Five

I know I've already raved a few times about my new cookbook Veganomicon. But I just thought I'd share with you the fifth scrumptious recipe that I've made from this book in less than a month. So far, I've tried the Lemony Roasted Potatoes, Lower-fat Chocolate Bundt Cake, Lasagna Marinara with Spinach (seriously, I think this was the best lasagna I've ever tasted), Tangerine Baked Tofu, and now Vanilla-Yogurt Pound Cake.

Oh yes, vegan pound cake. Who'd have thought it was possible? I went through a serious pound cake thing a few summers ago when I lived in Berkeley and could use fresh plump blueberries from the Farmer's Market. Oh, my mouth is watering right now. Okay, well there were no fresh blueberries in this one because, well, it's winter in Minnesota and nothing is fresh. Not even the snow.

I made this one for my friend Milena's birthday party on Saturday night. I was a little disheartened that the center sunk down, but I covered it up with this chocolate glaze and later some sliced strawberries (which I actually felt really guilty about buying. see above about the winter in Minnesota thing) at my mom's suggestion. Anyways, I didn't try a piece from the center, but I can only assume that I just didn't bake it quite enough and it was maybe a bit gummy in the middle. But I got no complaints, so maybe it's supposed to sink, who knows? So here's the recipe. Give me a shout if you try it and tell me what you think.

Vanilla-Yogurt Pound Cake (from Veganomicon)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt
1/2 cup blended silken tofu (blend the tofu first, then measure)
3/4 cup vanilla or plain soymilk (I used plain oatmilk)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract or grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. orange extract or grated orange zest
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tbl. arrowroot powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine the soy yogurt, blended silken tofu, soymilk, sugar, oil, and extracts/zests. Use electric beaters and beat until smooth. Sift in the flour, arrowroot powder, baking powder and soda and salt. Stir to combine, then beat with electric beaters until a thick batter forms, but don't overmix. (At this point I added about 1/2 cup each of chocolate chips and chopped walnuts). Pur the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes until toothpick comes out clean (again, I think mine was a bit undercooked at this point, so it may take longer). Let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy.

Just for your viewing pleasure, this was the present I made for Milena in addition to the cake. She has a thing for squirrels.


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