Strawberry Shortcake With Whipped Coconut Cream

My favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake.  Actually, I'm pretty sure most desserts are my favorite.  Today, as I was in between things I spent some time looking at food porn on Pinterest.  It got the better of me, and I decided that I had to make something new.  I have had a bottle of strawberry extract in my baking cupboard for over a year (ok, more like two) and have never found a reason to use it.  I also had several cans of chilled coconut milk and a big bag of strawberries left over from Sunday's garden party.  So, with the perishable ingredients in desperate need of a reason to have lived, I decided to make strawberry shortcakes.

This was a very quick dessert to whip up, taking only about 30 minutes total.  This recipe makes 8 shortcakes.


Strawberry Shortcakes with Whipped Coconut Cream
recipe by Emily Haydel


Ingredients:


For the shortcake:

2 cups   all purpose flour
4 Tbs    baking powder
3/4 tsp   salt
2 Tbs    sugar
2 Tbs    earth balance (or other non-dairy margarine)
2 Tbs    earth balance (melted)
2 Tbs    non-hydrogenated shortening (I use spectrum brand)
3/4 cup soy creamer
1 pint    strawberries tops removed and sliced

For the whipped coconut cream:**

2 cans      full fat coconut milk chilled in the fridge over-night
1/2 tsp     xanthan gum (you can find this in the baking aisle of most health stores)*
3/4 cup    powdered sugar
1 tsp        vanilla extract (Or extract of your choice.  For this recipe I used strawberry AND vanilla)

Directions for the whipped coconut cream:

1.  Remove cans from the fridge carefully- hold them level and don't turn upside down

2.  Open the cans.  The coconut milk will have separated.  The cream will be at the top.  Scoop this out into a mixing bowl.  Do not add the coconut water, you want this to be thick and creamy.

3.  Whisk the coconut cream in the bowl until it is smooth.  Add the xanthan gum, powdered sugar and whisk again until  the mixture becomes thick and fluffy

4.  Add the vanilla (or other extract) and whisk again.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Directions for the shortcakes:


1.  Heat oven to 450 degrees F


2.  Put the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to blend.

3.  Add earth balance and shortening and pulse until the flour looks a little grainy, like course cornmeal.

4.  Pour flour mixture into a bowl and stir in soy cream.

5.  Drop by heaping spoonful onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Brush on melted earth balance.  Bake for 15 minutes.

6.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire cooling rack.

7.  Suddenly remember you need to get the dog to the vet's in 10 minutes.

8.  Rush around like a crazy person looking for your phone and keys.

9.  Find your keys and give up on the phone, take the dog to the vet

10.  Return from the vet with a healthier dog, wash your hands, and return to the kitchen to assemble your shortcakes.

11.  Slice the shortcakes horizontally.  Place a layer of sliced strawberries on the bottom layer.  Put a heaping spoonful of the whipped coconut cream on top of that.  Top with another layer of strawberries and replace the cap of the shortcake.  Serve at once and call it dinner, if you like.

*A word about xanthan gum:  Xanthan gum is often used in baking as a binding agent.  It is quite expensive, but a very little goes a very long way.  I use it pretty frequently in things that need to have a thick, custard-like texture.  I'm going to keep using it because it gives me an excuse to use the letter "x" in my blog.


**Whipped coconut cream is my vegan answer to whipped cream.  It has a slight coconut flavor to it that I think works well in fruity and chocolatey concoctions.

Picnic Bakery Hosts A Garden Party

Emily of Picnic Bakery

I spent the past month composing a playlist full of songs about sunshine and gardens.  This was my version of a prayer to the weather gods, and I am so pleased to report that it worked like a charm!  This past weekend, San Francisco had the VERY rare true summer weather.  I mean, it was actually hot enough for summer dresses.  You're welcome, San Francisco.  If anyone is interested in this magical musical cure for fog, you can play it here: Picnic Garden Party Playlist.  It's three hours of summery lyrical cheer.  

So, why was I so concerned with this weekend's weather?  Well, I had a garden party/photo-shoot planned for Picnic Bakery.  Thanks to the attendance and help of several beautiful, stylish, and hungry people, the party went off without a hitch.  

I spent two days of non-stop baking for this event.  I was actually in a baking trance.  I'm not kidding.  At the end of day two, I walked into the bathroom and realized I hadn't seen the room all day.  I slowly climbed into the shower to let the flour and sugar run off.  That's when, due to a pain on my foot, I discovered that not only had I developed a blister without noticing, but it had also popped.  It was like a spell had lifted and suddenly EVERYTHING hurt.  I proudly whined about all my hard work and battle wounds for the rest of the night as I made bunting with my very tolerant and very helpful boyfriend. 

The next morning,  Ralph and I loaded the car with boxes filled with desserts and glassware.  We headed to the Red Vic and set up two tables in a private garden behind the building.  It was a gorgeous morning to be in a flower garden:

Megan and Jenn were the first two people to arrive at the party. They had fascinators in their hair and an adorable vintage suitcase in tow. 

The fabulous Megan & Jenn

Of course, they were fabulous.  These ladies are always stylish, and I encourage you to check out their fashion and food blog, Pork Is The New Black.  They brought a suitcase filled with props for the photo-shoot, including the blue tablecloth in the above photograph and several pretty serving trays.  They kindly helped to hang tarps and bunting and set up tables.  

Soon, more people turned up and a party ensued.  There were lots of pretty floral dresses and lots of smiles:

To drink, we had champagne cocktails and Pimm's with lemonade and sliced fresh fruit:

I may have walked around with both.  At the same time.  Twice.  Don't worry, I switched to cucumber water after that.

Finally, let's talk about the desserts I made:

Chocolate Mousse Trifles~ Layers of chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, chocolate cookie crumbs, strawberries, and topped with whipped coconut cream:

Chocolate Mousse Trifles

Gingerbread tiny cakes~ spicy gingerbread with "cream cheese" frosting, topped with candied orange peel:

Gingerbread Tiny Cakes

Peach filled coffee cake~ a rich, "buttery" cake baked with sliced peaches and a cinnamon streusel:

Peach Filled Coffee Cake

Peanut butter pies~ Chocolate cookie crust filled with peanut butter mousse and topped with drizzled chocolate:

Peanut Butter Pies

Peppermint pandas~ Chocolate sandwich cookies with a peppermint filling:

Peppermint Pandas

The Spread

I also unveiled my new business cards at the party:

They (along with Picnic's logo) were designed by artist Laura Allen.  She does amazing work and I will be posting more info about her on a future date.  

The party has been over for two days and I'm still washing glasses and packing them away for the next big event.  I've still got six gallons of lemonade to drink.  I put the last of the leftover cake in the compost bin yesterday.  I don't think I'll try to get it back out.  

All of the photographs seen here are courtesy of Ralph Pyne.  Thanks, love!

Cake vs. Pie

Last night two of my friends hosted a Cake vs. Pie baking competition as a shared birthday party.  Everyone brought a cake or pie to enter in the competition.  I made a cake inspired by my favorite girl-scout cookie, the Samoa:

To make this cake, I layered the batters of half a yellow cake and half a chocolate cake into a glass pie dish and had a small round tart pan in the center to shape the cake with a hole in the middle.  It is frosted with a thick, sticky caramel glaze which I mixed with toasted coconut.  I used the remaining coconut to cover the top and make a crispy outer layer.  Finally, I carefully dressed the cake with a chocolate drizzle in the same style as its little cookie cousin.
Ralph decided to make a banoffee pie to bring to the party:

Banoffee pie is a graham cracker (biscuit) crust layered with sliced bananas, filled with thick caramel (toffee), topped with freshly whipped cream and a sprinkle of shaved chocolate.  Unfortunately, he accidentally bought regular condensed milk instead of the sweetened variety; and, after several hours of boiling, he opened the cans to find boiled milk instead of thick caramel.  It was very disappointing because he didn't have time for a do-over before the party.  Fortunately for me, he decided to make it today instead and I finally got to try the English delicacy.  I may or may not have eaten two slices and called it dinner.  This pie is amazing, but sadly not vegan.  I would like to say here that I will make a vegan banoffee pie one day; but, I'm truly doubtful that I could ever come up with a replacement for the creamy caramel center.
As for the rest of the competitors at the party, I have to say it was a very talented crowd.  Everyone brought something beautiful and delicious to the table:



It was a gorgeous spread.  There was even cake vodka:

Incidentally, it is an English vodka.  If you've read my previous post about the English calling everything either biscuit or cake, you will know why this is funny.
My Samoa cake was the only vegan entry and it was being judged against rich cheese cakes, so I didn't expect it to make it to anyone's top three list.  There were three awards:  best cake, best pie, and best over-all.  The best pie award went to the yellow-crusted pie at the bottom of the above photograph.  It was a chicken curry pie and people were raving about it.  Obviously, being vegetarian, I couldn't try it; but, I'm going to ask for the recipe to see if I can convert it.  Here is the sour cream cheesecake that (deservingly) won best over-all:

It was made from a secret family recipe that has been passed down through generations.  I wished my sister was there to try it.  She loves cheesecake more than I love dogs.  And that's a LOT.  Finally, the best cake award went to my Samoa cake!!!  It is now called Emily's award-winning Samoa cake.   It was very exciting to place in the top three when there were so many good things on the table to choose from.  Here's my cheesy grin and adorable hand-made ribbon (which will be going on the wall of my bakery when it opens):

Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberry Orange Scones

Having an English boyfriend makes for some interesting debates on what food should or shouldn't be (and how it should or shouldn't be pronounced).   English scones (pronounced sc-ON) are more like American southern style biscuits.  They aren't sweet; but, they're generally eaten with dollops of clotted cream and jam.  I imagine the final outcome to be quite similar to a traditional strawberry shortcake:
Meanwhile, the English use the word biscuit to describe, well everything:
Cookies are biscuits.

Dog kibble is biscuits.

Crackers are biscuits.

Drugs are biscuits.

I'm pretty sure everything is a biscuit.  Except for cake.  Everything else is cake.
Brownies are cake.

Cake is cake.

Pudding is cake.

Although sometimes pudding is bread.

And pudding is cake.

Pudding is also meat.  Gross.

Got it?  Good.
That's enough culture.  Back to America and these beautiful sc-OH-ns.  I found this recipe here:  http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/dream-a-little-dream-of-scone/ and easily converted it to vegan.  These scones were not too sweet, had a moist texture inside, and a slightly crunchy outside.  This will be my new base for scones as they can easily be modified by adding different fruits and spices.
Orange Cranberry Scones
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt ---> DO NOT MEASURE YOUR INGREDIENTS OVER THE BOWL.  I can say with sheepish certainty that salty scones are not very satisfying.

5 tablespoons chilled earth balance

1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup soy cream
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt  into large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.
3. If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in earth balance until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger margarine lumps. Stir in chopped cranberries and orange zest. If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add cranberries and orange zest and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.
4. Stir in soy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
5. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Form scones by pressing the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turning the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, cutting the dough into 8 wedges with a knife or bench scraper
6. Place rounds or wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sunny Orange Layer Cake

The dreary fog has descended and the rain has commenced in our busy little city by the bay.  To keep spirits up and bring a little colour into our soggy lives, I decided to bake a much needed orange cake.  I know, it's not included in the "can eat" section of our diet; but, we needed to prevent scurvy somehow.  It's cake for survival, mates!
I got delightful results from converting a recipe I found on finecooking.com: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/orange_layer_cake.aspx
Here is my own vegan version of the recipe by Ris Lacoste:
Sunny Orange Layer Cake

Ingredients:
For the filling:

2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh orange juice (from about 3 large or 4 medium oranges), without pulp
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 Tbs. earth balance

For the cake:
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup earth balance
1/3 cup unhydrogenated vegetable shortening
2 tsp. grated orange zest (from about 1 large orange)
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 1/2 tsp Energ Egg Re-placer + 8 Tbs hot water + 1 Tbs vegetable oil (whisked until powder is incorporated)
1 cup fresh orange juice (from about 3 large or 4 medium oranges), without pulp

For the frosting:
6 oz. (12 Tbs. ) Earth Balance at room temperature
4-1/2 cups (about 18 oz.) confectioners’ sugar
Dash salt
1 tsp. grated orange zest
5 Tbs. fresh orange juice

For the garnish:
1 or 2 small oranges, sliced thinly, slices cut halfway through on one side, laid on paper towels to drain
7 or 8 sprigs fresh mint (pick pairs of leaves)

Directions:
Filling:
In a small saucepan, whisk the sugar, flour, xanthan gum.  Pour in the orange juice and whisk vigorously to combine.  Place pan over medium-high heat and whisk constantly until boiling.  Once mixture begins to boil, continue to whisk as mixture thickens for about one minute.  Remove from heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl.  Cover and refrigerate.

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 2 round  9" x 1 1/2" cake pans.
I recently learned a useful trick for removing cake from pans.  Trace the pan bottom onto parchment paper and cut out the rounds.  Place them in the bottom of the pan.  You don't need to grease them, and the cake will dump out beautifully when it's finished baking.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl,  (or kitchen mixer) cream the earth balance, shortening, and zest.  Gradually add the sugar.  Cream until light and fluffy.  Add the egg re-placer mixture and mix well.  Alternate between adding orange juice and flour mixture until all is well incorporated.  Don't over mix.  Batter will be very thick.  Pour into prepared pans.  It will seem like it's not enough batter, but remember this is a layer cake.  Pick up the pans and drop them on the counter to remove trapped air bubbles.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.  It doesn't get very golden on top, and that's okay.
Frosting:
Cream all ingredients except orange juice with an electric mixer.  Add the orange juice slowly until desired thickness is achieved.  Careful- too much orange juice will make the frosting separate a little and give it a slightly curdled look- DO NOT WANT!
Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Then flip out onto wire cooling racks.  Allow cakes to cool upside-down on the racks to help flatten them and make them look better when stacked.
If you are impatient: Once cakes are cool, flip one over onto a cake stand or plate.  Spread the filling on top of the cake.  Carefully place second layer on top.  Spread cake with a very thin layer of frosting.  Refrigerate for 10 minutes.  Frost the rest of the cake.  Garnish with orange slices and mint leaves.
Alternately: Once cakes are MOSTLY cool, flip one over onto a cake stand or plate.  Spread the filling on top of the cake.  Carefully place second layer on top.  Stick the cake in the fridge.  Go watch an episode of whichever British telly series you're currently in the middle of and enjoy a smallish glass of wine.  When the episode has finished, frost the cake- first smooth over a thin layer to lock in the crumbs, then cover the cake with the rest of the frosting.  Garnish with orange slices and mint leaves.

Tip: If you don't want to waste the orange peels, candy them!  It's easy to do (although slightly time-consuming).

Gluten-Free Torte and a Never-Ending Cold

Dear Never-Ending Cold,
It is nice that you want me to snuggle in bed with the dog and be waited on for weeks; but, you really must be moving on.
Bon Voyage,
Emily
Spring is fast approaching!  And with the fluctuating weather, I seem to have attracted the inevitable never-ending cold.  I thought I might update my blog while I'm imprisoned by bedsheets and comforters.
I did some baking on Valentine's Day.  I had been wanting to find a good gluten-free recipe for a long time.  I've tried a few things over the years, but nothing ever made it in the taste department.  I'm very picky about taste.  If a recipe feels more like punishment than a treat, I won't even feed it to the dog.  I will not make things I don't love to eat.   This is why you won't be finding any walnuts in my baked goods.  I'm not sorry.
This time I attempted a gluten-free chocolate raspberry torte:
The filling is a rich dark chocolate ganache rounded out with a splash of raspberry chambord.  It is a perfect sinful death.  Grandma would approve.  The crust of the tart was made from buckwheat flour and a gluten-free four alternative.  I'm sorry to report, it is not worthy of the decadent filling.  It was dry, crumbly, and disappointingly flavored.  Being new to gluten-free baking, I can see now that it's going to be a challenge to find recipes I am happy with.  I just don't know enough about gluten-free substitutions, yet.  I will have to dedicate more time to the gluten-free challenge.  If anyone out there has any tips, please let me know!
Fortunately for Ralph, I was prepared for the gluten-free torte to fail; and, had an arsenal of peanut butter pies on stand-by.  They are his favorite.  I made one pie for us, one for our new downstairs neighbors, and one went into the freezer for our next diet cheat-day.  Since we didn't want to feel hokey or deal with the crowds on Valentine's Day, Ralph recreated a favorite dinner we once had at a local restaurant.  He made homemade pasta stuffed with ricotta and egg yolk in sage brown butter.   It was soooo good!  We followed that with the torte and pie:

Being a somewhat food-centric couple, this was a really nice way to spend our Valentine's Day.  Ralph ate the torte, even though he agreed the crust was lacking.  He's very noble, that way.  Cough.
There is also some news on the business front:

Picnic is officially a registered business in San Francisco!  I have been so excited for this document to come in the mail!  I'm also signed up for a food safety course and will be a certified food handler by the middle of March.  Things are coming together!  Stay tuned...I have a feeling there will be even more exciting news during the month of March.

Peanut Butter Pies and the Red Vic Movie House

I haven't been posting as much these days, partially due to the fact that I'm on a diet.  It's a very boring diet that mostly has to do with eating a lot of beans.  Here's what I've learned from the experience:
IT IS VERY HARD TO BE ON A DIET AND ALSO BE A BAKER.
Case in point:

Why was I cheating on my diet?  Because I had some very important baking to do.  These delicious peanut butter pies were part of a sample box I put together for an interview:



Yes, I said interview.  Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting an inspiring woman whose family is working on a wonderful project.  I'm hoping picnic will become a part of that project.  Even if it doesn't, they have my full support!  Here's what they are all about:

Betsy and Jack Rix, owners of the (recently closed) Red Vic movie house have unleashed their future plans for the history-laden space on San Francisco's Haight St.  Their intentions?  To create a food-centric incubator for budding entrepreneurs to get started before moving on to their own storefronts.
I was really excited to learn about their idea when I first read the article about it in the SFist:  http://sfist.com/2011/10/25/red_vic_movie_house_could_become_fo.php
But, I learned even better things when I went to the Red Vic's website to find their contact info.  They are also trying to "help create change in the local food system by focusing on local, sustainably grown food."  Not only are they trying to help baby businesses get off the ground, they're also trying to make a positive change in our food system.  I think I can get behind that!
Will picnic be one of the vendors there?  I really hope so.  If not, I will surely be visiting them when they open to support their cause!