Dairy-Free Coconut Tres Leches with Caramelized Bananas, Pineapple and Mangoes

I know, I know... Dairy-free "three milks" cake sounds impossible. But this one is really, really good.

Ingredients

1 white cake with almond extract added
1 can (14 oz) of Coco Lopez
1 cup almond milk, silk creamer, or coconut creamer
1 can coconut milk

For the topping
sliced bananas, pineapple, and mangoes
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP dark rum

Directions
Make your favorite white cake recipe. Or if you're running short on time, you can make a dairy-free boxed cake mix. Be sure to add a teaspoon of almond extract to the white cake before baking. You can also add pureed banana to the cake batter if you like. Bake the cake in a pan with tall sides. Once baked, turn the cake out of the pan and let it cool.

Mix the three milks in a bowl, and beat together until well mixed.

Cut the top (the side that formed the top crust when baking) off of the cake. (You can nibble on the crumbs as you work!) Then poke holes in the cake using a skewer.

Pour some of the milk mixture over the cake. Then put the pan back over the cake and invert it back into the pan. Poke more holes in the cake and pour milk on this side.

Let the cake rest and soak up the milks for at least a day. Add more milk to the top of the cake as needed, until all of the milk has been absorbed.

Before serving, add sugar and rum to a small pan. Warm on medium low heat. Add sliced bananas and pineapple to the syrup and let them caramelize (about 2-3 minutes). Serve each piece of cake with caramelized fruit, mangoes, and syrup. If you like, you can sprinkle toasted coconut on top.

This recipe is modified from the recipe from Lake Austin Spa as posted on Epicurious.com.

White Cake

This is my grandma's recipe for a basic white cake. Then she would add ingredients to make it a chocolate cake, banana cake, strawberry cake, pumpkin with chocolate chip cake, walnut cake... you name it!

For the Tres Leches recipe, I added almond and vanilla extracts.

Ingredients
2-3/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c non-dairy margarine
3/4 c almond or soy milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
other flavors (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat butter and sugar.
Sift together the rest of the dry ingredients, then add to the butter. Mix together until crumbly.
Add half of the liquid and one egg. Beat until creamy.
Add the other half of the liquid and two eggs. Add any flavoring and beat until creamy.

Pour batter into a greased and floured a cake pan.

Bake in a 9 x 13 pan for approximately 1 hour.
Bake cupcakes for approximately 35 minutes.

Let it cool completely before frosting.

Almond Macaroons

I made these cookies while visiting a friend in Albuquerque. These are so easy to make and so yummy that I just had to share! Also, they are gluten free!

Ingredients
3 cups blanched almonds (measure without packing cup)
1-1/2 cups white sugar
3 large egg whites
1 tsp almond extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place almonds in a food processor, and process for 1 minute. Add sugar and process for 15 seconds longer. Immediately add the egg whites and almond extract and pulse until the paste wads around the blade (10-12 pulses). Scrape the bowl with a spatula. Pulse until the mixture turns into a stiff but cohesive, malleable paste (similar in consistency to marzipan) about 5 seconds longer.

The size of the eggs and the amount of oil in the almonds can change the consistency of the dough. If the mixture is crumbly or dry, turn the machine back on and add water drop by drop until the proper consistency is reached.

Scoop slightly less than 2 Tbs of paste for each macaroon, and roll into balls. Place on parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets. When the dough starts sticking to your hands, rinse them off to ensure that the cookies turn out smooth and pretty.

Bake the macaroons until golden brown on the bottom, 20-25 minutes. If over-baked, the macaroons will dry out when stored.

Leave the macaroons on the parchment paper until completely cool. Store in airtight container or freeze cookies.

Easy Chocolate Mousse

In honor of my birthday this month, I am eating as much chocolate as I can! The darker the chocolate the better!

I've been looking for (and unsuccessfully trying) to make a dairy-free chocolate mousse that's as good as the full-cream version. This recipe was originally for vegan chocolate mousse pie, but the filling is delicious by itself. It's deliciously chocolaty and smooth, and between the protein in the tofu and the antioxidants in the dark chocolate, it's practically good for you! But you don't have to tell anyone that it's vegan.


It's also one of the simplest recipes that I've seen.

Ingredients
1 14oz package silken tofu
1-3/4 cups chocolate or 8.8 ounces dark chocolate (it recommends 70 percent, but I like to mix in a little extra dark too)

Directions
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat.
Place the tofu in a blender and blend for about a minute until smooth. Keep the blender running and pour in the melted chocolate. Blend until smooth.

Pour into serving dishes and refrigerate at least an hour.

Original Source: Kripalu Recipes online.

Cranberry-Ginger Muffins

I fell in love with the cranberry sauce recipe from Lilly's Table. The combination of tangy cranberries, spicy ginger, and sweet and bitter orange is mouth-wateringly delicious. I eat it by the spoonful!

Then one day I thought, "I wonder if I could use the cranberry sauce to make muffins." Voila, the cranberry-ginger muffins were born. They've received rave reviews, including, "This is the best muffin you've ever made!" I hope that you enjoy them as much as we did.


Making the Cranberry Sauce
12 ounces cranberries, standard size bag
1 whole orange, thin skinned
3/4 cup sugar (to taste)
1/4 cup candied ginger, roughly chopped
1 inch piece fresh ginger, finely minced
1 tsp ground ginger

Rinse the cranberries. Cut the orange into eighths and remove any seeds. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse lightly until everything is well chopped.

Ingredients for Muffins
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/2 cup of non-dairy butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup cranberries halved

Ingredients for Crumble Topping
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup non-dairy butter
orange peel and ginger to taste

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars and eggs together. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, powder, soda, and salt (if using). Then add flour mixture to egg mixture, until most of the lumps are gone. Stir in the cranberry sauce and fresh cranberries. NOTE: The cranberries will turn the batter pink/red the more that you mix it, which then turns blue-ish when you bake it!

Start by using a fork to cut the butter with the other ingredients for the crumble topping. Remember the goal is large crumbs for the topping, so I like to use my fingers to ensure that I do not over mix.

Pour the batter into lined muffin cups. Sprinkle with crumble topping. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

If you like this cranberry sauce recipe, check out Chef Lilly's other delicious recipes at Lilly's Table. It's $12 per month to sign-up, but it's totally worth it!

Ginger Chocolate Chip Biscotti

These deliciously crunchy cookies are perfect for dunking in a "cuppa" (Australian for a cup of coffee or tea).
Apparently I'd printed this recipe many years ago (2002 to be exact) from the Cooking Light web site. To my surprise it was dairy-free already!

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 TBS chopped crystallized ginger (can sub finely chopped fresh ginger, or ginger juice to taste)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together eggs, egg white and vanilla in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and crystallized ginger.

Divide dough in half and roll each piece in your hands to make a 12" log. Note: the log will spread out and become wider during baking. Place the logs on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes. Then remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, but leave the oven turned ON.

Once the logs have cooled enough to touch, cut each log into slices. Place the slices on the baking sheet and return to the oven. Turn the oven OFF immediately, but leave the biscotti in the oven until the oven is cool. The biscotti will become dry and crunchy.

You can also try adding different flavors, chips, nuts, etc. such as almonds, pistachios, lemon, orange... use your imagination!

Rice Crispy Treats

So simple and gooey, who wouldn't love 'em?!? Just substitute non-dairy butter for the real stuff. I used to make these regularly for my old boss. (Bribery, who me?)

Ingredients
1 package marshmallows (10 oz.)
3 TBS non-dairy butter
6 cups rice crispy cereal

Directions
Melt butter in a pan over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the rice crispy cereal. While still warm, use your hands to press the sticky goodness into a pan lined with wax paper.

Note: You may want to spray your mixing spoon and hands with cooking spray.