dessert

Recipe – Wakey Cake

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The following recipe is one of the favorite desserts from the 2006 Steps to Life Camp Meeting.

Wacky Cake

3 cups flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup carob powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons Featherweight Baking Powder

2 cups water

1/2 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 to 3 cups chopped walnuts

Mix all dry ingredients together, except sugar. Mix liquids and sugar together. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Beat for 1 to 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes in a treated 9-inch x 13-inch pan. Continue baking until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

3/4 cup double strength soy milk or creamer

1/4 cup soy margarine

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup honey, Sucanat, or Turbinado sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup coconut

Combine milk, margarine, cornstarch, and sweetener in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in remaining ingredients and spread on the top of the cake.

Note: Sweet desserts should be eaten only in small amounts and in moderation.

Recipe – Lemon Dessert

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Lemon Dessert

1 package Mori-Nu Extra Firm Tofu

2 – 3.4-ounce boxes Instant JELL-O Lemon Pudding

1/3 cup lemonade concentrate

1 cup soy milk

Mix together in food processor or blender until smooth. Pour into a baked graham cracker crust. Chill for a few hours or overnight before serving.

Gelatin Dessert

12 ounces kosher gelatin (your choice of flavor)

1 1/2 cups boiling water

20-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 cup mashed bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix gelatin with the boiling water until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients; chill until solid. Top with non-dairy whipped topping. Note: Pecan halves may be put on top of the dessert instead of mixing in walnuts, and then add the whipped topping.

Recipe – Granola Crumb Crust

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3 cups ground Granola

2 tsp. Cinnamon Substitute

2 Tbsp. Oil

4 Tbsp. Water

2 Tbsp. Honey

Blend 2 cups of Granola on high until fine. Repeat until there are 3 cups ground. Put granola in a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Add honey if unsweetened granola is used. Shape into a 9-inch pie dish or the bottom of a 9 x 13” glass baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Food for Life – Donna’s Peppermint Slice

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“We don’t make the health reform an iron bedstead, cutting people off or stretching them out to fit it. One person cannot be a standard for everybody else. What we want is a little sprinkling of good common sense. Don’t be extremists. If you err, it would be better to err on the side of the people than on the side where you cannot reach them. Do not be peculiar for the sake of being peculiar.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, 12.

“We have always used . . . some sugar. This we have never denounced, either in our writings or in our preaching. . . . The time has not yet come for sugar . . . to be wholly abolished from our tables.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 330.

“Do just as Jenny would have you, my own dear boy. Here is a peppermint, Willie.—Letter 9, 1859. (To ‘Dear Little Willie,’ September 26, 1859.)” Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, 121.

“In the last box we sent to Battle Creek were some little trinkets for you and a little box of candy. You must eat it only when Jenny thinks it is best. Eat a very little at a time. . . . Letter 10, 1859. (To ‘Dear Little Willie,’ 1859.)” Ibid.

Donna’s Peppermint Slice

Base

2 1/2 cups crushed Weetbix, Weetabix or other whole grain flake cereal

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4-1 cup oil

2 Tablespoons honey

1 1/2 cups coconut

3 Tablespoons carob powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup raisins or sultanas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Warm honey and oil together. Add to rest of ingredients. Press into tray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10–15 minutes. Put in refrigerator to cool.

Peppermint Layer

3 cups cashews

8 drops peppermint oil

1/2 can coconut cream

1 cup honey

Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Pour onto base and chill.

Carob Topping

1 1/2 cups carob chips

1/2 can coconut cream

Warm in a double boiler until carob is melted. Spread on top of other layers. Refrigerate to set carob.

When set, cut into slices and freeze. A real treat to eat straight from the freezer!

Judith Higgs and her retired husband live on a small property near Tamworth, N.S.W., Australia, where they enjoy the benefits of country living. They are involved in a Bible Correspondence School, sending lessons all over the South Pacific. Judith also volunteers many hours of time transcribing tapes for Steps to Life.

Do you have a favorite vegan recipe you are willing to share with LandMarks’ readers? Send it to us with a photo of you, if available, and a two or three line bio. We will consider all submissions. Send to the address below or by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

LandMarks Recipes

Steps to Life Ministry

P.O. Box 782828

Wichita, KS 67278

Recipe – Brownies

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¼ cup canola oil (or soy butter)

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup raw sugar or date sugar

1 egg (or substitute)

3 Tbsp. milk (soy or nut)

½ tsp. sea salt

1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla

1 tsp. ground coriander, optional

½ cup carob powder

1 ½ tsp. Rumford baking powder (or 1 Tbsp. EnerG®)

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream first three ingredients until smooth. Add next six ingredients. Beat well. Sift baking powder and flour; stir flour and nuts into mixture. Spread batter in 9″ x 9″ pan coated with non-stick spray. Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Adapted from: A Good Cook … by Rosalie Hurd, B.S. and Frank J. Hurd, D.C., M.D., College Press, Collegedale, Tennessee, 2008, 624.

Food – Veganized Desserts

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Like any other diet, a vegan diet can be complete and balanced or incomplete and unbalanced. Unfortunately, vegan eating is not a guarantee of good health. We still need to pay attention to our choices, watch our portion sizes, limit junk and processed foods, and ensure adequate intake of a few nutrients not easily available from vegan foods. How might desserts fit in a complete and balanced vegan diet?

It wasn’t so long ago that vegan desserts were viewed at best as an amusing oxymoron and at worst as some sort of gastronomic punishment. Perhaps you have not felt well after eating sweet, sugary desserts and even suffered from stomachaches or became moody and exhausted. It makes so much sense that food and your health would be related. Without dairy, eggs, and processed sugar in your diet, you can feel really good. By giving all the desserts you have loved a plant-based makeover, you can veganize desserts!

Perhaps you remember the dark days, when vegan sweets were dry and brown and tasteless. A few years ago, I would have recoiled at the thought of a vegan dessert—no butter, milk, or eggs? But sometime in the last few years, that began to change. The reasons include everything from a growing awareness of organic, healthy eating to the rising number of people diagnosed with food allergies every year (the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network estimates that some 12 million Americans have food allergies) to advances in vegan baking techniques and aesthetics.

Now everyone with a real sweet tooth, including those who are lactose or gluten intolerant, reducing cholesterol, or simply prefer healthy, natural ingredients without sacrificing taste, truly can have their cake and eat it, too. One thing remains constant—if you want to sell someone on vegan dessert, it has to be delicious.

Not only do vegan desserts taste good and, yes, sometimes even better than their dairy-filled counterparts, but you probably won’t even know that what you’re eating is vegan unless someone tells you. You simply need to create the vegan desserts by translating conventional, non-vegan recipes and shun popular dairy-free substitutes like egg replacers in favor of ingredients like bananas and sweet potatoes (both of which replicate the thick moisture of eggs).

Baking Without Eggs

Applesauce: Add 1/4 cup in place of one egg. Holds things together and adds moisture. But to help things rise, might need to add more baking powder (about 1/2 teaspoon).

Banana: Use 1/2 banana, mashed, for one egg in sweet baked goods. Also add about 1/2 teaspoon extra baking soda.

Tofu: Use about 1/4 cup mashed silken tofu for one egg. Also add 1/4–1/2 teaspoon extra baking powder.

Prune Puree: Puree your own, purchase pureed prunes, or even use baby food prunes. Use 1/4 cup prunes plus 1/2 teaspoon extra baking powder for one egg.

Baking Powder: Add an extra 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 2 Tablespoons extra liquid to replace one egg.

Flaxseed: Grind 3 Tablespoons flaxseed to a very fine powder. Add 1/2 cup water and blend until mixture becomes thick. Use to replace two or three eggs.

Powdered Egg Replacer: A boxed powder mix available in natural foods stores. Just blend with water to replace eggs in a recipe.

Recipe – Cherry-Raspberry Buckle

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Buckles are a traditional fruit-studded dessert that’s like a soft, moist cake. This recipe uses a combination of cherries and raspberries, but try any fruit combination that sounds good to you. Just don’t exceed the total of 3 cups fruit—too much fruit will make the cake too wet.

1 ½ cups white whole-wheat flour

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free)

1 egg replacer

½ tsp. ground cardamom

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. salt

1 ½ cups halved pitted sweet cherries

½ cup soy milk

1 ½ cups raspberries

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

½ cups light olive oil

2 tsp. raw cane sugar

2 Tbsp. sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a large bowl. Whisk milk, applesauce, oil, granulated sugar, egg replacer and vanilla in a medium bowl until blended. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently fold until blended. Sprinkle berries and cherries on top and fold just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with almonds and raw sugar (if using).

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool for about 30 minutes before serving.

*Be mindful that this is a dessert and should be eaten in moderation.

Recipe – Raspberry-Vanilla “Ice Cream” Sandwiches

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Recipe
Raspberry–Vanilla “Ice Cream” Sandwiches
2 cups cashews 2 pinches salt
2 cups water 2 ½ Tbsp. melted coconut oil
½ cup maple syrup 1 ½ tsp. ground cardamom
1 ½ Tbsp. vanilla extract 2 cups raspberries, lightly mashed
Seeds of one vanilla bean
Brownie Crust
2 cups almonds 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Medjool dates 2/3 cup walnuts
1 ½ cups raisins 2 pinches salt
½ cup carob powder 1 ½ tsp. water
Prepare the “ice cream”: In a high speed blender, blend the cashews, water, maple syrup, vanilla extract and scraped insides of the vanilla bean until completely smooth. Add the salt and coconut oil and blend to incorporate. Chill the liquid in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. Process the chilled, thick cream in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Prepare the brownies: Grind the almonds into flour in a food processor. Add the dates and raisins. Process until they are completely broken down. Add the remaining ingredients and process to combine. Press half of the dough into an 8–inch–square pan. Set aside remaining dough and refrigerate until ready to use.

Assemble the sandwiches: Once the “ice cream” is done churning (the consistency will be like soft-serve ice cream), mix in the cardamom. Then, gently mix in the raspberries, taking care not to overmix or the berries’ color will bleed. Spread the “ice cream” evenly over the brownie, working quickly to prevent melting. Immediately transfer to the freezer until frozen, at least 6 hours. Once frozen, firmly press the other half of the brownie dough on top. Cut into 1 ½ x 2 ½-inch bars. Store in freezer until ready to enjoy. Makes 15 servings.

 

Food – Rah Rah – Raw Desserts!

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Your foray into the tasty genre of raw desserts may begin as a fluke, as one lady learned as she was preparing to host a dinner. The morning of this event, her oven and stove malfunctioned.

While she was able to prepare dinner on the grill, dessert posed a problem. Instead of making a peach-blueberry crumble, she decided to marinate peaches in fresh orange juice and serve them with a sprinkle of sweetened nuts and a dollop of cashew crème, made by blending cashews with maple syrup, vanilla and sea salt in her Vita-mix blending machine.

From this experience she learned that raw desserts, often defined as food prepared with whole-food ingredients in their natural state (nothing is heated above 118°F, to preserve nutritional value), can be just as delicious and elegant as traditional desserts—and they can be a lot better health-wise.

“When it comes to ingredients in the raw desserts repertoire, nuts take center stage. Typically ground in a food processor to create crusts for cookies, cakes and bars, they are also blended to form a base for ice creams, puddings and creams, giving them that smooth, buttery consistency often found in dairy-based desserts.

“Other mainstay ingredients are coconut oil, coconut butter (a creamy paste made from dried, ground coconut meat) and nut butters. For sweetness, unrefined favorites include fresh fruit purées, raisins, Medjool dates, coconut nectar, coconut sugar, stevia and maple syrup. The boiled sap of maple trees, while technically not “raw,” is often used because it is minimally processed; contains manganese, zinc and other minerals; and has a distinct, irreplaceable flavor.

“Any style of dessert, whether raw or cooked, wouldn’t be complete without chocolate. Whole-food forms of chocolate include cacao nibs, cacao butter and cacao powder.” Carob chips or carob powder may be used in raw recipes as a chocolate substitute.

“The technique of making raw desserts is fairly easy. Ingredients quickly come together in a food processor or high–speed blender, and are then set aside in the fridge or freezer.” Since nothing is baked, it is the great flavor of the natural ingredients that makes these healthful treats taste delicious. The Costco Connection, August 2015, E-Commerce & Publishing, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Seattle, Washington.

Recipe
Raspberry–Vanilla “Ice Cream” Sandwiches
2 cups cashews 2 pinches salt
2 cups water 2 ½ Tbsp. melted coconut oil
½ cup maple syrup 1 ½ tsp. ground cardamom
1 ½ Tbsp. vanilla extract 2 cups raspberries, lightly mashed
Seeds of one vanilla bean
Brownie Crust
2 cups almonds 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Medjool dates 2/3 cup walnuts
1 ½ cups raisins 2 pinches salt
½ cup carob powder 1 ½ tsp. water
Prepare the “ice cream”: In a high speed blender, blend the cashews, water, maple syrup, vanilla extract and scraped insides of the vanilla bean until completely smooth. Add the salt and coconut oil and blend to incorporate. Chill the liquid in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. Process the chilled, thick cream in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Prepare the brownies: Grind the almonds into flour in a food processor. Add the dates and raisins. Process until they are completely broken down. Add the remaining ingredients and process to combine. Press half of the dough into an 8–inch–square pan. Set aside remaining dough and refrigerate until ready to use.

Assemble the sandwiches: Once the “ice cream” is done churning (the consistency will be like soft-serve ice cream), mix in the cardamom. Then, gently mix in the raspberries, taking care not to overmix or the berries’ color will bleed. Spread the “ice cream” evenly over the brownie, working quickly to prevent melting. Immediately transfer to the freezer until frozen, at least 6 hours. Once frozen, firmly press the other half of the brownie dough on top. Cut into 1 ½ x 2 ½-inch bars. Store in freezer until ready to enjoy. Makes 15 servings.