Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

 

First off: I know these are far from grain free (or even vegan, like my usual posts) but hey, not everyone is perfect. Irregardless, these cupcakes are amazing and worth every bite. I have made cupcakes using Guinness and dark chocolate in the past, and they have always turned out wonderfully. Today when I found a plethora of pumpkin-flavored products at the grocery store, including the new seasonal pumpkin wheat Shock Top, I just had to figure out something to bake. So I created this recipe to keep the beer and cupcakes theme alive through fall!

What you'll need:

(You don't actually need the coffee... but how delicious does THAT sound?)

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

• 6 oz Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat (or any other pumpkin ale)
• 1 stick butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
  

For the icing:

• 1 (8 oz) packet of cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick of butter, softened 
• 3/4 to 1 cup confectioners sugar (you may adjust this based on your sweetness preferences)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoon caramel sauce (homemade or store bought), plus extra for drizzling 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, for garnishing

**For the caramel, I made my own... but it burns very easily on the stove if you aren't extremely attentive when making it, so I would recommend a store bought version.

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.  Line your cupcake pan with papers, or grease with oil. In a medium skillet or sauce pan, melt your butter cubes over medium heat. Add the pumpkin ale, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg, greek yogurt, and pumpkin puree together until smooth. Add this to the butter-ale-mixture and stir.

3. Add the butter-ale mixture to the flour mixture, and beat until combined. Divide the batter evenly amongst a 12-cupcake tin. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cupcake comes out evenly.

4. While your cupcakes are baking, prepare your icing. With an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese and butter together. Add the vanilla and caramel, and mix until combined. Place in refrigerator to cool.

5. When your cupcakes are done baking, allow them to cool on a baking rack for about 20 minutes. Once your cupcakes and icing are cool, ice your cupcakes. Drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy!

Individual Cherry Pies- Grain Free and Vegan!

Lately I have been having way too much fun with grain-free flours. Today, I made individual cherry pies! These pies are grain free and vegan, and contain no processed added sugars. The best part is, I made this recipe myself (proud moment in a young chef's life)! The crust was my favorite part! I definitely recommend trying these if you've thrown grains out of your diet but still need something to soothe your sweet tooth :]

What you'll need:

The recipe can either make one regular 9.5 inch pie, or can be divided into 4 ramekins for individual pies.

For the crust:

• 1 c almond flour
• 1.2 c pecan flour
• 1/4 c coconut oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the filling:

• 4 cups pitted tart cherries (I used fresh)
• 1/3 c agave nectar
• 1 Tbsp garfava flour, for thickening

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 deg F. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the crust. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Mix the wet and dry together until they form a wet dough

2. Mold the dough into a 9.5 inch pie dish or divide amongst 4 ramekins. Press the pie crust onto the dishes, forming an even, thin layer. Bake the pie crusts for about 10 minutes, or until golden.

3. While your crust is baking, place the cherries and the agave for the filling in a small pot. Over medium low heat, cook the cherries until most of their juice secretes out. Add the garfava flour to thicken and immediately stir. Pour the mixture into your ramekins or pie dish.

4. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on your crust to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove from oven and let cool before serving. Enjoy!!

Grain-free Tortillas with Almond Butter & Figs

I've been doing a grain-free diet for a while now, but I hadn't ventured into making any bread-like substitutes until today. And I've never been so happy! These tortilla/crepes are super easy to make, and use garfava flour (a mixture of garbanzo and fava beans) instead of any grain flours. They completely satisfy carb cravings, and hold up very well when folding or using them as wraps. I already can't wait to play with the recipe and make all sorts of creations!

What you'll need:

For 1 Tortilla:

• 1/4 c garfava flour
• 1/3 c water
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp almond butter
• 3 black mission figs, sliced
• oil for coating

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Coat a 8 inch round pan with oil of your choice. Place the pan in the oven for a few minutes to heat the oil.

2. Combine the garfava flour, water, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine.

3. Remove the pan from the oven, and pour the batter into the pan. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the crepe has solidified completely.

4. Spread a thin layer of almond butter over the tortilla, and top with the fig slices.

Enjoy!

Walnut-Basil Pesto

My Mom's garden is absolutely loaded with fresh basil, so I figured for my afternoon de-stress session I'd put it to good use: a walnut-basil pesto. It is very fragrant and tasty, as well as very quick and easy to make. Absolutely perfect on a slice of toasted bread or to toss some pasta in!

What you'll need:

• 2 cloves garlic 
• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 3 cups fresh basil (loosely packed)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or omit for a dairy-free vegan option)
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Place the garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse till minced. Add the walnuts and pulse until finely chopped, but not ground into a powder.

2. Add the basil and pulse. Add parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, to taste. Pulse again.

3. While the food processor is on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The pesto with thicken and become creamy.

Serve with your favorite grain or eat with a spoon :]

Summer Creations

Zinnias from my Mom's Garden

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while... been having quite a lazy summer! To prove that I haven't stopped cooking (lord knows I haven't stopped eating), here's a few photos of things I've done lately. Recipes to follow, once I get myself back on track!

But first, here's a glimpse for you to see where my inspiration and ingredients have come from this summer: my mom's beautiful garden.

So many watermelons!

Zucchini flowers... absolutely delicious fried!

And now for the creations:

Spiked Blackberry Ginger Coolers

Alaskan Salmon Rolls

Classic Caprese

Vodka-spiked Strawberry Lemonade

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

Homemade Pancakes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce

Homemade Peaches 'N Cream Waffles

Prosciutto Tomato & Basil Omelet

Vegan Walnut Brownies

Cucumber Rolls

Many, many more to come!

Raw Coconut-Lime Cookies

My mom and I work a booth at the farmer's market here in Snellville selling a variety of baked goods, and vegetables and fruits from our garden, and it's been really fun in terms of expanding my creativity. I've been able to test out new things (some of which don't always pan out and my family members end up eating the rejects) but this was one of the recipes that I'm really happy with! These cookies are completely raw as well as grain, dairy, egg, and soy free. They are also sweetened with agave instead of added processed sugar. They are wonderfully reminiscent of a margarita, and a perfect snack you don't have to feel guilty about eating!

What you'll need:

Equipment:

• Food processor
• Dehydrator

Ingredients:

• 2 c raw walnuts
• 1 c unsweetened dried coconut flakes
• 1/2 c agave nectar
• Zest of 2 limes
• Juice of 1 lime 
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

What to do:

Place the nuts in the freezer to chill for a few minutes. In a food processor, pulse together the walnuts, coconut, and lime zest until mixed but still chunky.

Transfer the ingredients to a medium-sized bowl, and add the remaining ingredients. Combine well. Drop tablespoon-sized scoops of the mixture onto parchment paper-lined dehydrator trays. Press the cookies down with a flat utensil (I used as a spatula) with a piece of parchment paper between the two so the batter doesn't stick.

Dehydrate for about 5 hours. Then flip the cookies and dehydrate for another 5 hours. You can adjust the dehydration time by how chewy or crunchy you want your cookies.

Let the cookies cool, and then enjoy!

Not feeling up to making these yourself? Come buy a pack from me at the Snellville Farmer's Market! Saturday's from 7-12 in front of City Hall :)

Vegan Mediterranean Bread

Hello long lost food blog! I haven't posted in a while, and now I've got food how-to photos accumulating like crazy... so you can expect a few daily posts from me :]

I recently picked up a vegan baking book from the library, and decided to try out a few recipes. Unfortunately, I'm on a grain-free diet right now and wasn't able to actually try this one! But luckily, I've got a plethora of family members to test recipes out on. The bread comes out of the oven moist and fragrant, looking so rustic and beautiful. This is also a quick-bread with no yeast or rising time, so it's very easy to make!

What you'll need:

• 3 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1/2 c water
• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• 3/4 c whole-wheat flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp each chopped fresh rosemary and basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1/3 c finely chopped walnuts
• 1/3 c chopped olives (I used black, but I would recommend kalamata instead)
• 1/3 c chopped sun dried tomatoes

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking stone or loaf pan with canola oil. 

 

In a food processor, whip the flaxseed and water together until it becomes thick.

 

 

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt, and chopped herbs. In a separate bowl, combine the flaxseed mixture, almond milk, and olive oil.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and fold until three-quarters of the dry ingredients are moistened.

Add the olives, sundried tomatoes, and the walnuts, and fold until all of the dry ingredients are fully moistened. Don't worry, the batter is supposed to be sticky.

Scrape the batter into a loaf pan or onto a baking stone for a more artisan look. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack.

Serve with olive oil and enjoy!