Vegan Double Chocolate Waffles

I found this recipe in the Vegetarian Times magazine this month and just couldn't resist! The waffles are deliciously chocolaty, but they are not overly sweet. They are perfect served with maple syrup, fresh berries, ice cream or even just a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

The last time I made these I had a few extra zucchini laying around (a common problem this time of year). So I decided to add a some fresh, finely grated zucchini to see how it would come out. Yum! I preferred the waffles with zucchini.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup almond milk (or soy, or rice milk)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

5 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)

3 Tbs vegan chocolate chips or vegan semisweet chocolate chopped

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup boiling water

Option: 1/2 cup freshly grated zucchini

Directions

Preheat the waffle iron.

Mix almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a glass and let stand for 10 minutes. 

In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a larger bowl, combine cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Add boiling water and whisk until melted and smooth.

Whisk almond milk mixture into chocolate mixture. 

Then whisk in brown sugar, oil, and vanilla. 

Finally whisk in flour mixture. (Note: the batter will be extremely thick, similar to brownie batter.)

If adding the zucchini, stir it into the batter.

Coat waffle iron with oil or cooking spray. Spoon batter onto waffle iron and let cook for 3-5 minutes, until waffle is crisp. 

Since these waffles are vegan (and they do not have the egg which usually is the "glue" that holds the final product together), you will find that they fall apart easily. I had to cut the waffles into quarters and then carefully remove them from the hot waffle iron one-quarter at a time. Also, I've noticed with vegan baked goods that they are delicious fresh, but if you're not planning to eat them immediately you need to freeze them. Then you can pull the waffles out of the freezer and pop them directly in the toaster oven. Otherwise they dry out within a day.

Rosemary Cake

I was intrigued by a recipe in my Yoga Journal this month for a dairy-free rosemary cake. One of my good friends and I like to go on culinary adventures, so I invited her over for lunch and dessert (of course!). To save baking time (and reduce the length of time I had to leave my oven turned on during the summer heat) I made muffins rather than a loaf. The muffins were really good!

Ingredients
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary (luckily I had fresh dried rosemary from my farmers' market!)
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil a 10-inch loaf pan or muffin pan (makes 12 muffins).

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl until it becomes foamy and pale in color. Continue mixing while adding the EVOO a few drops at a time. Fold in the rosemary.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients. Then fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Pour into the pan and  bake.

If using the cake pan, the recipe recommends baking for 45-50 minutes. For the muffins I found 15-18 minutes to be perfect. The top will start to turn slightly golden brown, and a cake tester comes out clean.

We tried the muffins plain, which as I said earlier were delicious and didn't need any icing or frosting. However, I just happened to have a little left over almond-flavored (Tofutti) cream cheese frosting in the fridge. Add a few colored sprinkles and viola!