Pretty Sweet Fitness: Vegan Coconut MoundsIngredients:3 cups unsw...

Pretty Sweet Fitness:
Vegan Coconut Mounds



Ingredients:

3 cups unsw...: Vegan Coconut Mounds Ingredients: 3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut 1-1/2 cups homemade sweetened condensed milk ( ...

Vegan Coconut Mounds

Ingredients:

3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1-1/2 cups homemade sweetened condensed milk ( for this you will need two 13.5oz cans of FULL FAT coconut milk and 1/2 cup agave nectar)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups dark chocolate

Method:

Prepare your sweetened condensed milk. In a saucepan, whisk 2 cans of coconut milk with 1/2 cup agave nectar. Bring to a boil over medium heat whisking regularly.

 Lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the mixture has thickened and reduced to half. Make sure to whisk the mixture often. Remove from heat and allow to cool for half an hour.

If prepared in advance, this sweetened condensed milk can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

Preheat oven to 300F. Line two aluminum baking pans with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. In a bowl, combine the shredded coconut, the condensed milk, vanilla and salt. 

Use a mini ice cream scooper or drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared pan.

 Bake for about 45 minutes or until dark golden brown. Remove the mounds with a spatula and allow to cool on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Use your hands to dip the mounds into the chocolate and place on the wax paper lined sheet. Refrigerate until set about 30 minutes. Store in an air tight container.

Try not to eat all of them by yourself! They're much better when shared in good company:)

Frosted Cupcake Cones

 The first time I saw these cupcake cones was back in the 70's when my aunt made them for my cousin Allie's birthday. I was completely mystified as to how the cake got into the cone. And when I asked her how she did it she just said "it's magic". I suppose for a little kid it really is like magic, and if you were to ask the five teenagers I made these for the other day,  they'd tell you these cupcake cones are pretty cool too. I've tried to make these a couple of times already and failed miserably because I kept filling up the cones with way too much batter. I finally got the right formula though, and I'm now ready to share it.

  A couple of notes before you begin: I have found that Betty Crocker cake mix works best. Use 3 whole eggs or its equivalent in Ener-G egg replacer if you're going the vegan route. Read ingredients list on cake mix boxes and frostings carefully, as some of them do contain milk ingredients. As for the liquids, canola oil is my preferred choice and I find that water works better than milk. There are options for lower cholesterol and lower fat recipes on the back of the cake box, but they don't particularly work well for this recipe. Most of the sugar and calories will come from the frosting on top anyway. One of these days I'll have to be true to the name of my blog and post a pretty, sweet and fit recipe. But for now, with my daughter's birthday party coming up,  I'm just going to keep things pretty and sweet.

Frosted Cupcake Cones 

By Kristine

What you need:

1 box cake mix
water
canola oil
3 eggs or Ener-G egg replacer
32 flat bottom ice cream cones
2 tubs frosting
sugar sprinkles

*Arrange 19 cones side by side in a 9"x13'' cake pan and the remaining 13 cones in another smaller cake pan. No matter the size of the cake pans you use, make sure the cones are lined up close enough together so that the top rims are touching. This way they'll be secured in place and won't tip over once you've filled them with batter and transport them to your oven to bake.


* Preheat oven to 350.

* Prepare cake mix as per instructions on the box.

*Note: If you're using egg replacer, beat the powder and water in your stand mixer first. Beat until foamy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl once or twice. With mixer running, gradually add water, oil and cake mix. Beat on high for 2 minutes.




*With a ladle, fill cones to just half way. Fill them up any more than that and you'll end up with a huge mess I promise you!

*Bake for 35 minutes. I used egg replacer, so the baking time will definitely vary if you're using eggs. Check with a wire cake tester for doneness.

*Transfer cones to wire rack to cool for about an hour.

*You can simply frost these by using an offset spatula but I like to use a piping bag with either the star tip or tube tip. You will need two tubs of frosting to cover all the cones. Be generous with the frosting because the cake will settle, forcing the frosting down with it. Decorate with sprinkles. I made my own sugar sprinkles with blonde cane sugar and my homemade vegan food colouring. I'll post about that once I get the exact measurements right. Keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to three days.

ENJOY!

    DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COCONUT BISCOTTI

   I'm pretty excited to share my first post on the blog tonight. To start things up I decided to go with a recipe for my Double Chocolate Coconut Biscotti. The idea to make these came to me while leafing through one of my old baking books. I came across a recipe that called for a box of cake mix as an ingredient to make drop cookies. For all the healthy, low sugar, raw, vegan, non-GMO, all natural and organic baking I do, I've always been and will forever be a fan of cake mix. Ever since my childhood I've been experimenting with cake mix, adding flavourings and spices to it, swirling or layering two flavours together, adding gelatine or pudding to the mix. The novelty of being able to add a couple of ingredients to cake mix to come up with something totally magical still hasn't worn off for me.

   So back to the cookies, I've been making biscotti for years and love them not only for their capacity to be dunked in a glass of milk or coffee, but also for their elegant shape. So with a little experimentation I came up with a biscotti recipe using my top two favourite foods, chocolate and coconut.

   This recipe is vegan as most of my recipes are. Replacing eggs is a cinch with the several egg replacers on the market today, as is replacing butter, margarine and shortening. Earth Balance makes vegan margarine and shortening, and the Becel brand has come out with a vegan margarine as well. The beauty of this recipe is that it can be altered to suit any taste. I think next time I'll try using vanilla cake mix with orange zest and slivered  almonds, or maybe I'll do white cake mix with Oreos baked right in, or maybe... the possibilities are endless really!!! Enjoy the decision making process and have fun creating your own favourites.

For this recipe I used Ener-G brand egg replacer which I found at my local health food store. The cake mix is Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge. At the bottom of the ingredients, it states: may contain milk. That's good enough for me as I have no allergies. For the syrup I wanted to continue on the theme of coconuts by using coconut nectar but it isn't easy to find. You can try replacing it with agave syrup, maple syrup or brown rice syrup. I also used Earth Balance Organic Coconut Flavour Spread. But you can easily substitute this with Earth Balance Buttery Spread or Becel if you're keeping it vegan.                                                                      

 As far as chocolate chips go, be sure to read the ingredients on the package as even some brands of dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips are not vegan. I used regular chocolate chips this time but I think the mini size would work even better. The coconut flakes are by Bob's Red Mill and I like them because they're unsweetened and the flakes are pretty big giving the biscotti some added texture.

Double Chocolate Coconut Biscotti 

by Kristine Lee MacIntyre

Ingredients

1 box Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Earth balance Coconut Flavour Spread or margarine, melted

 Ener-G Egg replacer (follow directions for the equivalent of 2 eggs)

1/4 cup coconut nectar or agave syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp coconut extract

1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

* In a stand mixer, beat the Ener-G egg replacer with water until foamy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl once or twice. While mixer is running, add cake mix, flour, melted margarine, coconut nectar and extracts. Beat until smooth, again you'll need to interrupt this process a couple of times to scrape down the sides of the bowl with your spatula. 

*With a wooden spoon, fold in the coconut flakes and chocolate chips. You may have to use your hands to work the ingredients into the dough.

*Divide dough in half. On 2 greases baking sheets, shape each portion into a 12-in. x 2-in. log.

*Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 mins or until firm to the touch. Allow to cool on the pans for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 250.

*Transfer logs to a cutting board and cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 1/2-in. slices. Place biscotti back on baking sheets with cut side down. Bake for 30 minutes then turn the oven off and allow to cool in the oven over night. 

*Store in an air tight container up to six weeks. Enjoy:)