Fudge Brownie Torte (vegan, gluten-free)

Oh. My. Goodness.

Yep, I did it. Not only is this DELICIOUS, but also vegan and gluten free. You may just want to make two while you're at it.

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FUDGE BROWNIE TORTE

Gluten free, can be soy free (use a soy free vegan butter) and vegan.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

You will need at 10" springform pan or tart pan. Place your pan in the freezer to chill at least 10 minutes prior to prepping it by lightly coating with chilled vegan butter and dusting with rice flour.

Brownie Layer Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

1/2 cup vegan butter (like Earth Balance), melted
1/3 cup coconut sugar
2 flax "eggs" (see recipe notes)
1 tsp vanilla

Dry Ingredients

1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup garbanzo flour, sifted
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Method

Preheat oven to 350˚ F.

Combine wet and dry ingredients in two separate bowls, then combine wet and dry mixtures and whisk well until all dry ingredients are moistened. Spread brownie mixture into prepared pan (see above) and bake for 20 minutes, or until brownie layer begins to pull away from the edges of the pan. Do not remove from the pan, cool completely.

Fudge Layer Ingredients

4 avocados, pitted and peeled

2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 cup coconut sugar

2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1 tsp vanilla

Place all 5 ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Layer the avocado mixture on top of the cooled brownie layer. Scroll down for final instructions...

Cover and place the torte in the freezer for at least 1 hour before serving, removing springform or outer ring of tart pan and thawing about 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Store leftovers (as if!) covered in the freezer.

YUM!!!

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RECIPE NOTES

To make 1 Flax "Egg" for binding (you will need to DOUBLE this recipe as you need 2 flax eggs for this recipe): Combine 1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp warm water, process in food processor for about 1 minute or until it reaches an egg-like consistency

© 2014 Ahimsa Kitchen and Marty Tribble | Reproduction of this post without written permission is unlawful.

Strawberry Shortcake

PLEASE NOTE: This recipe was posted prior to Marty's transition to a gluten-free diet. It will be re-written soon to fit into the gluten-free model of this blog!

This dessert was an all-time favorite growing up. It represented the true return of Summer in the flavor of the sun-kissed strawberries. This vegan variation is, in my opinion, even better than what I remember tasting as a child (don't tell my Mother...:)). I found the original recipe for the yummy shortbread and strawberry sauce at www.vegalicious.com, but have altered the ingredients to suit my dietary preferences and re-written the instructions in my own words. This recipe yields 8 servings.

Shortbread Recipe

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2 cups all purpose organic, unbleached flour
1 Tbs. aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
4 Tbs. cold vegan butter, like non-soy Earth Balance
2 Tbs. raw sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter, add the cold vegan butter, cutting the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in sugar. Add coconut milk and combine just enough to form a soft dough.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Kneed dough 6-8 times to form a soft dough. Pat or roll dough to a square or rectangle shape (I do this by hand, no roller), adding a small amount of flour to dough surface if sticking. Cut dough with a knife into 8 rectangles or squares. Place squares onto a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until just starting to brown (try to avoid a hard bottom crust).

Cool completely before assembling shortcakes to serve.

Strawberry Sauce

1 pint organic strawberries, washed, topped, and diced small (maybe reserve a few berries for garnishing)
1 - 2 Tbs. raw sugar, based on desired sweetness

Combine diced strawberries and sugar in a small bowl, cover and chill until ready for use.

To assemble your shortcakes, slice each shortcake in half vertically, like you would slice a biscuit to butter it. Place lower half of the shortcake on your serving dish, add about 1/2 cup of the strawberry sauce, and top with the second half of your shortcake. Garnish with reserved sliced strawberries and serve with a dab of vegan whipped cream topping or a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream. Serve immediately and enjoy thoroughly. :)

Remember, use local and organic foods as much as possible. This is just as important as our choice to remove/reduce animal products from our diet!


*contains gluten, soy-free

Vegan Pineapple Cake

PLEASE NOTE: This recipe was posted prior to Marty's transition to a gluten-free diet. It will be re-written soon to fit into the gluten-free model of this blog!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare and grease two 9" round cake pans or equivalent. (Note: I recommend using a non-hydrogenated, organic vegetable shortening or vegan butter substitute and then a light dusting of flour to coat the pans, as using canola oil on the pans left the bottom of the cake over absorbed with oil.)

Combine in a medium sized mixing bowl:

• 3 cups coconut milk
• 3/4 cup vegan butter (like Earth Balance soy-free)
• 1 T vanilla extract

Combine in a second, larger mixing bowl:

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup agave nectar (depending on desired sweetness)
• 4 1/2 cups unbleached naturally white flour
• 1 1/2 T baking powder (aluminum free)
• 1 t salt

Additional ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (medium diced)
• 1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until smooth (electric mixer or by hand). Add pineapple and stir in by hand.

Pour batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. If using a glass pan, muffin cups, or mini bunt pan, baking time will need adjustment. (Note: I found that when the cake begin to lightly brown and pull from the sides of the pan, it was perfect.) Remove from oven and COOL COMPLETELY.

Remove cake from pan and frost and top with toasted coconut flakes or simply dust with powdered sugar if desired. (Note: I found this cake was similar to pound cake, and felt it was perfect without frosting, but was also nice with a glaze as below.)

Optional Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla (or lemon or orange extract, depending on flavor preference)
• 3-5 teaspoons coconut milk (or lemon juice or orange juice if using a citrus extract)

Combine until smooth and pour over cooled cake no more than a few hours before serving, as glaze will tend to melt/sweat after storage overnight.


Remember, use local and organic foods as much as possible. This is just as important as our choice to remove/reduce animal products from our diet!


*contains gluten, soy-free

Note: this recipe was derived from an original recipe found on naturallyvegetarianrecipes.com.