Cardamom Orange Coffee cake (Vegan)

Oh my, num num.

You know what I love?  A cake batter that I can lick the spoon and a little more without concern of the instilled phobias passed onto me via mom, health class and the FDA.  I know my chicken buddies don't have salmonella - that is rather a factory farm poor care issue.  But the phobia lingers... I still lick the spoon of other cakes because I'm a pig... but still.

No guilt, no fears.

I looked and looked for an orange cardamom cake that sounded nice.  Nothing.  I got excited when I found a link to David Leibovitz' version and then it ended in a broken link.  Cuter, because of his cursing in French error page.  Alas,  no recipe sounded good and Liebovitz couldn't throw me a bone.

I wanted to bring something into the office, yeah I'm on occasion in an office these days.  It is a borrowed space and I like to leave treats in mortal fear that everyone there hates me.  There are a few nut allergies and a few vegans so to please all I made a No nut, no animal product dish.  Here is to hoping they like coffee, oranges and cardamom.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

What you'll need:
All in one bowl, the following:
2 Giant/Large oranges - zest into bowl and then juice well  (To maximize the juice yield from your oranges roll them around on your counter or cutting board until they are squishy then halve and pulverize picking out seeds)
1/2 Cup Olive oil
1/2 -3/4 Cup applesauce
1 and 1/3 Cup vegan sugar
1 TBSP Orange liquor, liquer ( I used some young and not ready yet 44 which has cinnamon,orange and coffee in it )
Whip smooth and add to dry ingredients once they are mixed and complete.

 ***UPDATE***
If it isn't a smooth/gooey pourable mix, then add in a little extra applesauce, water, tea, or liquid coffee to get the consistency to pour.  Since Orange sizes vary so wildly and juicers also do, then the amount of juice yield could be low one time and high the next.

All Dry ingredients in another larger bowl:
3 Cups flour total (Organic if you have it)
    I did 2 Cups unbleached white and 1 Cup whole wheat
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP coffee ground finely and sieved into the flour
1 tsp cardamom seeds from their pods.  I think about 12 pods?  I forgot to count while cutting them open.  It is a kind of joy to open the cardamom.  I ground the seeds in my coffee grinder with some coffee so the cardamom doesn't dominate my grinder.  If you have a dedicated grinder for spices then go for it.  My spice grinder is used for hot peppers... that and cumin will flavor everything.  So beware.

Nice color with flecks of coffee, and zest. Mmmm

The batter should run off the spoon easily and not have many significant chunks, but no need to beat too much.  It also pulls together so nicely and quickly that it doesn't warrant getting a mixer dirty.

Pour this into an oiled and floured pan.  I used a bundt pan and it took 35 minutes at 375.

Serve warm or the next day with coffee or tea.  I like it warm with the perfume wafting through the room!

Vanilla Ginger Mint Ice cream

Remember the directions from the Pumpkin Ice cream?  That will help with the how.

What you need:

• 1 pint half and half
• 1 scant TBSP vanilla
• 2 handfulls of fresh mint (of your choosing) chopped fine, or use mint oil
• 3/4 inch fresh ginger grated
• 1/3-1/2 cup Vegan sugar 

Whisk together ingredients vigorously then continue to your favored method of ice cream making.  (click the Pumpkin Ice cream link for the two I use)

Carrot cake

I think the best carrot cakes are made with a nice blend of spices not just cinnamon.  Cinnamon is surely a king spice but I believe a good carrot cake is a lot like a tea bread or spice cake (the base of most Christmas or European styled fruit cakes).  I'm not a big raisin fan and thankfully neither is Jason's grandmother who requested the cake for her 90th birthday - sans raisins.

Preheat oven to 350

Cake recipe:

• 4 eggs
• 1 - 1 1/4 cups olive oil (do 1 and if you need more then do it up!)
• 1 and 1/2 cups vegan sugar or unrefined
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 Cups unbleached white flour
• 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg 
• tiny pinch of ground clove
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 TBSP ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots (I use a lot of carrot in my carrot cake this will average about 2-4 carrots depending on size)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (as raw and unpasteurized as you can find)

Combine eggs, vanilla, oil and sugar beat lightly.  Combine all dry ingredients and finger toss.  Combine wet to dry and fold together until well blended but no need to whip too hard (cakes can fall when you whip in a lot of air).  If you spoon your batter into muffin cups then you can bake for 20-22 minutes.  If you want a big cake then it will take 40 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  I use a springform pan buttered and lightly floured with whole wheat. Bang out any excess wheat and it should slide right out.  Wait until thoroughly cooled before icing or it will melt right into the cake.  This cake is a really good one to wait until the next day to eat because it will be a little more moist and the spices will be a little stronger. But who can wait?

The cream cheese icing is a recipe of yogurt cheese:

• 1 container of whole milk yogurt (hung in a clean kitchen towel to drain for 4-8 hours)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 Cup or less room temp softened salted butter
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegan sugar or unrefined
• 1 and 1/2 tsp of arrowroot powder (this just thickens your icing the more you use the thicker it will be)

Once yogurt cheese has become dry and lovely from hanging.  Put into bowl along with vanilla and butter (if the butter is softened you can blend this immediately if not wait for butter to soften). On a low heat or in a double boiler (I use a saucepan and just remove from the heat as needed anytime there is fear of sticking) put sugar then crack egg over it and stir briskly to keep egg from sticking or cooking through.  You want the egg to foam and stay liquid.  Let sugar egg mixture cool.  Add to the butter, cheese, vanilla  and mix together using as much arrowroot powder as you'd like to get the consistency you like.  I like my icing to be soft peaks. Like whipped cream.  Once you refrigerate the icing it will act much like purchased icing.  You can even pipe it from a bag.  I prefer to just slap it on with a paddle.

Delicious.

Almond cheese cake

For the cheese portion of the cake I make yogurt cheese.  The yogurt cheese takes 4-8 hours.  So beware of that before getting too excited.  This is not a difficult recipe, but it is certainly for the more patient.  I just hang my yogurt as soon as I get home from the store so that I have it ready to go since I can throw it back into it's original container and keep it refrigerated until time of use.   The awesome part is that the total active time on this dessert is maybe 30 minutes.  So it isn't time consuming, it just requires patience.  And the reward couldn't get much better.

Oat flour oil pastry:
Which is flaky, delicious and alright for those avoiding cholesterol or animal products (for other pies and tarts).

• 1 heaping Cup oat flour  (pulse rolled oats until fine in a food processor)
• 1 shallow cup of whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 Cup -1/2 Cup olive oil
• pinch of salt

Blend all in a bowl until well combined the oil makes the flour stick to itself and you can pat out 4 small tart shells or one large one.  It is pretty easy to just press it into a tart pan without trying to roll it out which can take a little bit of wizardry to succeed.  Preheat oven to 450 bake 12-15 minutes checking to make sure its not over browning.  Take out let cool. Once the shell is cool - fill it with the blended filling.

Cheesecake soft filling:  (which you'll need to adjust for your tart pans size)

3/4 Cup whipping cream (liquid state)
3/4 - 1 Cup yogurt cheese  (solid state)
3 TBSP light brown sugar
1-2 TBSP honey or agave (agave is better for diabetics and can replace brown sugar as well in a slightly smaller amount)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract   (if doing fruit topping just use vanilla and leave out the almond)

Approximately 10 almonds for topping, chopped until able to be eaten easily with the cheesecake.

Beat the hell out of the whipping cream until smooth but quite thick, too much and it starts to look like it has curds.  In a bowl put your yogurt cheese, sugars, extracts and beat so that the sugars are well combined and smooth with no chunks. Fold in the whipped cream until thoroughly combined.  Spoon into your tart shell and cover with almond pieces.  Place into the refrigerator for at least one hour.  More time is better but I know it is difficult to wait.  2-4 hours is ideal.  It makes a really lush texture.

Even though the yield for the recipe above is for an 8 inch by 2 and 1/2 inch deep cheese cake... the pieces are rich, creamy and satisfying. Making 8 pieces like the one shown. So share it or horde it!

Cherimoya

 If you're new to discovering this fruit then you're at least in my company.  To learn about the cherimoya for me is to gain the knowledge that if things turned castaway I would search the island praying it had these growing on it.  The fruit is not just delicious but also full of vital stuff as well: fat (none of it saturated), fiber, carbs, and protein.  It is one of those fruits that's a meal which can sustain you.

On it's flavor; it is a combination of tastes which can only be described as cherimoya.  It tastes like a pina colada if it were one fruit - banana, yogurt, vanilla custard wrapped in pineapple.  It is an experience for sure.  It can be blended with a tea, it can be turned into sorbet, eaten straight.  I would not recommend heating this fruit as it would lose a lot of the qualities it is coveted for.  It is a very impressive fruit which makes entertaining absolutely within everyone's grasp.  It is at it's best raw, cooled and/or straight up.  I do think it is a good raw dessert.  A nice filling for a pie crust.  A nice accompaniment to strawberries, blueberries and I'm sure others.  It's a king among the fruits for sure.  The wiki for Cherimoya.

I'm looking into some cherimoya ice cream!

Oat Flour Oil Pastry crust fresh from the oven

Cherimoya with yogurt cheese, ready to blend

For good pie crusts I recommend three kinds in order of favorite first:

1. An oil pastry.  Which is flaky, delicious and alright for those avoiding cholesterol or animal products.  My favorite being rolled oats blended in a food processor into a flour and using:

• 1 heaping Cup of oat flour
• 1 shallow cup of whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 Cup -1/2 Cup olive oil
• pinch of salt

Blend all in a bowl until well combined the oil makes the flour stick to itself and you can pat out 4 small tart shells or one large one.  Preheat oven to 450 bake 15 minutes checking to make sure not over browning.  Take out let cool and fill shell with blended Cherimoya.  I like to blend a little yogurt cheese into it to amp up the creaminess. Chill in the fridge for 15 -60 minutes and top with strawberries.

2. A blend of oats, whole wheat flour, butter and sugar like a "crisp." Or brown Betty.  Which is lightly toasted until crisp then fill with raw cherimoya or top the cherimoya after baking the crisp parts. 

3. A raw crust of hazelnuts or almonds ground and blended with just enough of either honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar to bind the nuts and pat into a pan and fill with spoon blended cherimoya and top with other fruits.

Cherimoya seeds have a very high germination success rate and seeds remain viable for a few years after cleaning, drying and packaging (jar or envelope).

Bunny tails

A friend of mine requested more dessert entries for their Jer-Bear to eat, so here it is!  Bunny Tails made to order.

For those who make candy this is better because you don't need a friggin' thermometer to make it and nearly anyone can have them.  Allergies? simply change ingredients depending.  Diabetic?  Use a sugarless jam or preserves in place of the ultra sweet gooey ingredient and agave for the binder.

These are dates, peanut butter, honey and coconut.

You can make these out of :

A nut butter: Peanut, sunflower (which is exquisite but since it is thinner it needs to be combine with a little bit of another nut butter to help hold it's shape), almond butter, cashew butter but the best is anything ground FRESH.

A paste like dried fruit the larger the better: Dates, prunes, figs, raisins, currants... the gooy-er the better.

A sweet binder to aid in spreading and chopping:  Honey, Agave, Maple syrup a jam, preserves sugarless if you like or need.

A powder coating of: Coconut, ground nuts, cocoa powder/nibs.

The ratio is:

• 1 heaping cup dates (or what you are using) approximately 10 -12 dates.
• 1/2 Cup heaping peanut or other butter
• drizzle of honey

Spread on a cutting surface.  Chip chop chip.  Hip hop hip. Dice slice dice.  And mix the spread bits into one another.  Sprinkle with coconut or whatever OUTER covering to be contained within the little candy balls.  Then blend again.   With very slightly damp hands roll little balls out and set aside.  In a shallow dish have your coconut or whatever your outside layer will be.  Roll the little balls into it and voila.  Again you've done it, you've made something that costs a million dollhairs in the grocery store and all of 3 -5 bucks out of things you gathered in your home.  They keep in the fridge for a long time.  I haven't timed because nothing this tasty ever has time to go bad.  These are AWESOME for after school snacks, when you can't catch a moment to eat they're in the fridge awaiting you or when you want a sweet fix but don't want to house some nasty crap.

For adults these pair AMAZINGLY with a spicy, fruity soft tannin wine.  I'm writing this entry drunk in fact.

For kids this pairs well with milks. Like PB&Js.

Rhubarb Cake

I bet I can make you cry.

This is one of those things that uses subtle color to send the senses thumping.  Rhubarb is one of hundreds of thousands of food/plant items that was used first for medicinal purposes and then later in food.  It aids in digestion.  I don't know which business end of the digestion it aids... whether in stomach issues or rear end issues.  But hell I can't be bothered with the specifics, it's tasty and that is the business end I'm about.

I was that kid who when I saw an upside down anything cake...I truly believed adults were magic.  All that was wrong in the world would be fixed and Lions would lay with lambs.  More like Castle Grayskull and Barbie might get along, at least until I was finished with a slice.   Plums, pineapple, it didn't matter.  A blond cake and a fruit top with soaked cake bits  in between in a well lit summer kitchen was heaven.  Only difference now is I get to control my heaven!

Rhubarb is everywhere right now and so it makes so much sense that heaven this time would be rhubarb related. Rhubarb, do you peel it or not?  Well the answer is Yes if it is woody, NO if it is young, fresh, or the skin isn't tough.  After baking in most cases you wont really taste the difference. It depends on how supple you need the rhubarb to be. 

Before jumping in, get your butter out meant for cake so it comes to room temp. Preheat your oven to 350 and butter whatever type of pan you're using.  If doing upside down then a single layer of a layer cake pan is in order with enough room for ingredients.  2 inches tall at least and around 9 inches in diameter.


Now for the cake to make you cry:

The upside down part (if you flip this puppy):

• 1-1 and 1/2 pound(s) rhubarb washed and diced. Approx. 3 heaping Cups or 5-8 stalks depending on size. You can get fancy and diagonal cut them or strips or tiny bits everywhere. You just don't want the bulby end (rhizome) or the leafy end toxic oxalic acid.
• I believe you can't over due the rhubarb.  I used about 2 cups for my cake and it really was NOT enough.  It does cook down quite a lot and for as good as the cake and crumb portion is, the fruit layer is the most important so don't skimp.
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup vegan sugar as long as each piece is thoroughly coated, you're good.
• Toss the rhubarb bits to coat itself in the sugar and let it hang out.

The cakey part:

• 1 and 3/4 Cup unbleached white flour (you know I'm really getting serious when I don't recommend whole wheat)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• pinch sea salt
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 stick butter (room temperature so it beats nicely)
• 1 Cup whole milk yogurt like a greek style ( I use Fage, but the most important part is whole milk - if you use a yogurt with low fat or soy you're upping the msg for the family as it is broken proteins and shouldn't be cooked furthering the breakdown) You can also make a thicker version of the thinner whole milk yogurts but we'll get into that later on.

Blend dry ingredients into one another reserving sugar and vanilla for the wet ingredients.  Beat butter and combine sugar and vanilla with the butter to cream,  adding eggs scraping bowl sides add a little flour then yogurt beating and repeating until all is combined.  Scoop this thick batter over your rhubarb and smooth the top as needed to bake evenly.

The crumb layer (last to go on and will act as a crust once flipped): 

• 3/4 - 1 stick Cold salted butter blended with
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup flour (I'll adjust as needed and save my extra crumb topping in the freezer for  other treats like cupcakes, muffins and crisps) No one complains if you use all of it on one cake!
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup vegan sugar the sugar ratio should match your flour ratio.
• 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt or more this is the zinger and should not be skipped.

Cut in the sugar and salt to the butter until crumbly and loosely toss until the batter is covered with little butter rocks of it.

And yes OF COURSE you can make this cake with other fruits.  I don't recommend citrus because of its ability to break proteins like a kung fu master.  If a citrus cake you need?  Then Nigella Lawson has the best Clementine cake I've ever had and the almonds in it make it somewhat troublesome in the broken protein factor.  But if you're going to be bad this is the way to do it - not through a hot pocket or the dollar menu.

Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes for a bundt pan, 30 for a layer pan (approximately) until a toothpick comes out clean or the cake bounces back when pressed. The larger the diameter and thus the thinner the cake batter then the less the time.
 

Gorgeous, but... obviously needs more rhubarb.

I used a bundt cake pan, I recommend if you'd like to make it an upside down cake that you use a 2 inch tall (at least) X 9 inch round pan.  As bundt anything does NOT like to be flipped over.  The crumbs make an excellent show so I can't complain about my pan choices. 
This cake is high on the share-o-meter as it is rich in the creamy department and you may feel guilty for not sharing.  At my house... we just skip real meals and pile on the cake.  This can EASILY feed 10-12.

So simple Banana muffins.

No eggs?  No problem.  Eggs are often thought of as a must-have for baking.  This is because they are an excellent rising agent (I almost typed eggcellent, would you have ever forgiven me?).  Along with eggs, baking soda, honey, and yeast help as well.  So one part the egg does that yeast and baking soda don't do is also help bind the ingredients together.  For that bananas are wonderful, however they do not really aid in rising so along with them you'll need baking soda like in most egg baking as well.

You can also use bananas and/or applesauce in a pinch for recipes that require eggs when you are out.  Or a bit more oil than you'd like to use in a recipe?  Swap some or all of it out for applesauce.  If you want it to have LESS banana flavor use slightly greener bananas.  The less ripe the banana the less banana flavor, but they'll still bind like a champ.  I recommend if your plan is to stay away from the bad stuff (MSG, broken proteins or amines), then using just spotty bananas will suffice for banana flavored things.  It has really good flavor without too much of the bad stuff (blackened bananas are bad for you. sigh. I love them - but nature is right, rotten isn't good for me or you).

Banana anything is usually good but often not amazing.  Whenever folks would cook for me as a vegetarian they'd usually serve up a banana something for dessert.  And it was generally decent tasting but nothing to rave on about.  Bananas cooked in rum or over a campfire might send me, but alas no muffin did that.  It was always. "yum" in the tiniest print.  I think there are two fruits that go extraordinarily well with bananas: strawberries and blueberries, but they get to fight over who wins.  You win by eating them.  These muffins can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries OR fresh or frozen strawberries.  These have blueberry.  See the bounty!

So on with it.  Banana muffin time. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• 1 and 1/2 Cup whole wheat flour (as usual, you may use the flour you favor or do a combo)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp allspice (this is my favorite spice in this recipe and I feel makes it less ordinary)
• 1 Cup slightly heaping blueberries (or strawberries)
• 2 lightly spotted bananas
• 3/4 Cup olive oil (you can get away with less and always add up to the 3/4 to make sure the flour combines)
• 3/4 Cup vegan sugar ( or sneak less in there until the family noticeably gets irritated with you)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Yield is approx. 1 dozen

I had forgotten salt when making these on a whim, it was not missed -so I left it out.  I do find this recipe to be a tad sweet for me, Jason would not have me change it for the world so your family may also like it as is. I plan on probably sneaking less in next time as the bananas and the blueberries are quite sweet and don't rely as heavily on the sugar as other fruits may - like cranberries.

Combine dry ingredients except sugar (sugar always goes with wet ingredients).  Add the 1 Cup auxiliary fruit and toss to coat in flour.  Chop bananas in a separate mixing bowl until small bits, cover in the oil, sugar and vanilla.  Beat senseless until nearly fluffy like eggs or butter would be and once well combined scrape into the dry ingredients and combine well until no dry flour remains. I use a 1/4 Cup scoop to pour into paper lined muffin tin.  Cook for 20-30 minutes. My oven in Portland, Oregon took 28 minutes the longest of all my muffins your oven in Istanbul may take longer.  The tops should have golden brown kisses and start to crack with fault lines and when pressed spring back just so.  Then perfection.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

It rarely gets more simple than crisp.  Crisp is made of either crumbs of bread/crackers or a flour blended with oats, sugar, and butter.  You put this on top of whatever fruit you wish.  I like to make up an amount enough for about 3-5 medium sized crisps (each serving 4 heartily or 6 reasonably) and then keep that in the freezer and when I want a crisp I put a little flour over my sugared fruit, a layer of oats, a layer of crisp and another layer of oats.

I never use crumbs of crackers unless I've made them because I don't know what is going on in there otherwise.  I have used day old bread and think this is a favorite use for it aside from croutons and Italian bread soup.

The Crisp:

• 1 Cup flour (I use whole wheat)
• 1 Cup rolled oats, not instant (you can add a little steel cut pre-cooked oats for texture)
• 3/4 C Light Brown Sugar (you can use any kind of sugar you like, I use light brown because it contains only a little molasses as opposed to dark brown, and still gives a richer sugar flavor with using less of it)
• 1/2 stick or 1/4 Cup very cold butter (make sure the butter is not cultured, it is code word for headache/stomachache - Unsalted butters will often be cultured because it makes you feel like it tastes better when it is the fermentation creating the excitotoxin and salt is better for you than eating too much of the cultured butter) I prefer Kerrygold salted butter, and even their unsalted is cultured.
• The spices in the crisp are up to you. What follows are the standard ones.
• 1 scant TBSP cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg or more
• 1/2 tsp allspice (depending on the fruit I'll use more or less when making bulk I opt for less)

*this recipe is the large amount that I store in the freezer for quick desserts each time I make a whole crisp I use a third or a quarter of this recipe from the freezer - putting the rest back for later. 

The fruit:

• 1 1/2 C rhubarb (washed, diced into 1/8th inch coins)
• 1 1/2 C strawberries (washed, quartered)
• 1/4 C rolled oats
• 1/8 C flour (I use whole wheat)
• you can also add extra of any spice you wish

I wash, then dice 1/8th inch coins out of the rhubarb until I have a heaping cup or 1 and 1/2 cups (3-5 stalks depending).  Put into casserole dish without grease or oil I toss the rhubarb with the 1/4 cup loose light brown sugar. And top with 1 and 1/2 cup strawberries washed and quartered.  I then put a scant 1/4 cup flour sprinkled to top the fruit (this will help the fruit thicken and hold together).  Then a thin layer of rolled oats, as much crisp as you like, and a sprinkle of extra oats on top of that.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes checking on darkness of your crisp.  It should be golden with dark spots and a lot of red bubbling sauce around the edges.

  I like to serve a smaller amount of the good stuff along with a pile of fresh cut fruit.

Chocolate cherry muffins

I had trouble choosing whether or not these would be chocolate cherry muffins or cherry chocolate muffins, but since two kinds of chocolate are in these - Mr. Chocolate gets first billing.

For these bad mama jammas you may omit the sherry and still get good results although it does boost the cherry into a more complex, lovely realm with it added.  Really though, who has sherry unless you are a nerd?  Imagine a neon arrow pointing in my direction and on it, it might say "I know you are, but what am I?".  After all, I spend my time drooling while recalling recipes (not a joke, I've had a mishap or two) and waltzing aimlessly into SALT stores (also not a joke, stores that carry ALL MANNER OF SALTS!) so sherry you'd think would have been on my shelf long ago, but nope - I bought it last week because I wanted to see what it was about and then tried it in a couple of recipes.  This one yielded the most pleasing results.

I once tried these muffins with dried cherries and I must say being exhausted and working with both baking cocoa and dried fruit is a terrible idea.  Doing so practically guarantees your food will be careless (as I was) and the results even tasted careless.  IF you choose to use dried cherries, I recommend using either a tiny bit of hot water to plump them up (heat water... just enough for cherries to sit in while putting together other ingredients) OR you can use lightly-heated oil and put them into that.  I didn't use any of those methods for these muffins. I used frozen cherries which I had picked from my soon to be mother-in-law's cherry trees last summer.

1 and 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat flour (I use Bob's red mill organic ww)
1 TBSP cinnamon (cassia is fine)
2 TBSP + 1 tsp baking cocoa powder (I use Equal Exchange)
shallow 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (I used Sunspire semi-sweet you can use Dagoba Dark is you prefer)
1 cup - heaping cup of cherries (if frozen set them in a low dish and add sherry to the dish over the top of them, let this sit while you work on the rest of the batter and come back to them)
3 TBSP rosso {the red}Martini Rossi sherry for the cherries (you wont become an alcoholic from baking with alcohol it bakes OUT and leaves just the wonderful notes and characters that are in it minus the inebriation, you'd have an easier time getting drunk from cough syrup than raw muffin batter) You can use cherry based wine instead - if you know of any that treat you well.
1/2 cup not packed but heaping light brown sugar
1/2 cup whichever favorite sugar (I used vegan sugar, you can use evaporated cane, raw or natural)
3 eggs
3/4 cup olive oil
350 for 20-24 minutes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If using fresh or frozen cherries put them into a shallow bowl and cover with (in this order) sherry, sugars, 3 eggs pre-beaten and leave to mingle on its own while you prep the rest.  In a mixing bowl, put your flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking cocoa and chocolate chips, and finger blend.  Back to the cherries... mix these with a little tossing and add 3/4 cup olive oil and spatula scrape this into your flour and blend well until everything makes a smooth rich cinnamon chocolate color.  I use a 1/4 cup scoop to scoop batter into paper lined muffin tins and this made 18 average sized muffins.

20-24 minutes until done.  In my electric oven (I miss the gas stove!) in Portland, Oregon it takes 22 minutes to perfection. For those of you in the Alps, I don't know what it takes so just poke it early and eat it when it is perfect!

Oh my!

Cranberry Apple Muffins (vegan with simple substitutions)

The base of this muffin can be used for several kinds of muffins just changing the fruit you put in it (Or chocolate and nuts instead of the healthier stuff).  Pumpkin and chocolate chip is a favorite non-fruit muffin.

1 1/2 Cup whole wheat (you can double the wheat in this and not change any of the spicing and get the base for other muffins, Pumpkin I just add more spices and leave it at 1 1/2c ww)
1tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 heaping TBSP cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Cup cranberries
1 granny smith peeled and chopped (I sometimes make just cranberry muffins if an apple isn't handy - I'll just make the 1 Cup cranberries a little more heaping!)

3 eggs (you can use applesauce instead or use 1/4 Cup applesauce to replace each egg you remove if you use applesauce you have to decrease the oil by a 1/4 cup - so 3/4 Cup applesauce and 1/4 Cup oil - if replacing all the eggs.)
3/4 Cup - 1 Cup vegan sugar or 1/2 Cup brown sugar plus 1/4 Cup other kind of sugar anything lighter in taste if using brown.  (you can use all light brown and it gives a richer earthier sweet, I do not tightly pack the brown sugar when measuring)  You can easily reduce the sugar by also using less cranberries as they can be REALLY tart.
1/2 Cup olive oil you can add more should your batter be dry, but I like to start out with less.

 

Preheat oven to 350. Okay, so dry stuff (not sugar) in a bowl, wet stuff and sugar in the other bowl.  Beat together wet stuff plus sugar. Pour cranberries into dry bowl... coat.  Pour apple chunks into dry bowl... coat.  Then rubber spatula the wet stuff into it and mix vigorously until all flour is blended into the wet and use a 1/4 cup measuring cup and scoop batter into the muffin tins.  I use unbleached paper liners to keep the muffins super portable and to avoid cleaning anything. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  I almost always use 22 minutes, maybe your stove is more awesome so always check them!  If you've used a good amount of sugar your muffin tops will be stiff and DELICIOUS! I also leave them on the counter uncovered so the tops stay firm and lovely. They are always eaten within the first night or the next morning anyway.