VEGAN FEAST SUBSCRIBERS' COOKING AND RECIPE FORUM>

Wow Bryanna!

JulieH 163 posts Aug 17, 2005 6:55 PM	I haven't had much time to bake and cook for a while, but finally had a chance today. I made your buttery white cake (in a silicone pan with cupcake size brioche molds). They are absolutely yummy! Then I made your cashew pastry cream (substituting Bird's custard powder for the cornstarch) and filled the pretty cakes with pastry cream and a little homemade raspberry jam. They are AMAZING! You are a genius with vegan desserts!!! I didn't think that such a rich delicious creamy vegan pastry cream was possible. I do have one question for you. Would the pastry cream work with almond flour? Anyways, thanks for the FABULOUS recipes Bryanna!! Julie
Debbie 810 posts Aug 18, 2005 7:26 AM	Hi Julie, I also substitute the cornstarch with Bird's custard powder when making Bryanna's Cashew Pastry Cream. I filled fruit tarts with it. It was yummy! ---------- Debbie Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
Bryanna Owner/Moderator 1115 posts Aug 18, 2005 8:22 AM	I'm so glad you liked them, Julie! Did you take any pictures? About the almond flour, I have never used it, but I'm going to look for it. I prefer not to use cashews now, if I can help it, because I understand that there are severe health problems with the workers who peel them. if you try it successfully with the almond flour, could you let me know? thanks! ---------- "To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
JulieH 164 posts Aug 18, 2005 9:10 AM	I definitely will Bryanna. Bob's Red Mill carries almond flour, so when I have a chance to get by there, I'll give the recipe a try. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos. We're still trying to get all of our computer/camera stuff together from the move. But as soon as it's working, I'll make them again and take some photos. The silicone pans have some of the coolest shapes for the cakes. Plus the kind that I used don't have to be floured or greased. The pan just peels right off of them. Debbie, I'll have to try the fruit tarts. They sound delish! That pastry cream is amazing (and I really liked the "custard" flavor that the Bird's powder gave it). Julie
scj121 46 posts Aug 19, 2005 1:51 PM	Julie- That cake sounds good!! Which cookbook is it from? I want to try!!! Steph
JulieH 165 posts Aug 19, 2005 2:13 PM	Here you go Steph. I'm going to try making the pastry cream this weekend with blanched slivered almonds. BRYANNA’S LOW-FAT BUTTERY VEGAN WHITE OR YELLOW CAKE Makes 3/ 8” round layers or 2/ 9” round layers or 18 cupcakes If you make this exactly as directed, you’ll have a lovely, tender white or yellow cake (if you use Earth Balance it will be yellow; if you use oil or Canoleo it will be almost white) with a fine crumb and a buttery taste that belies the fact that it contains half the fat (at least) of most recipes for this type of cake. Light-colored cake pans are best for this delicate cake (dark pans may brown the outside too much). DRY MIX: 3 c. white cake flour (spoon it into the measuring cup and level the top with a knife) NOTE: You can get unbleached cake and pastry flour in health food stores (sometimes organic) 1 T. baking powder 3/4 tsp. salt BLENDED MIX: 1 and 1/2 c. lite soymilk (I use Vitasoy Original diluted half-and-half with water) 1/4 c. PLUS 2 T. extra-firm SILKEN tofu OR medium-firm tofu, crumbled 1 and 1/2 T. soymilk powder (bulk is okay) 1 and 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract OPTIONAL: 3/8 tsp. pure almond extract SUGAR/”BUTTER” MIX: 6 T. Earth Balance Natural “Buttery” Spread OR cold oil OR Canoleo or other light-colored vegan margarine 1 and 1/2 c. white beet sugar OR very light-colored, finely-granulated unbleached sugar (grind in a dry blender to make it finer, if necessary)—see NOTE* above Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the appropriate pans. Use light-colored pans and line the bottoms with waxed paper or parchement or oiled brown paper. Sift the Dry Mix ingredients into a medium bowl, mixing well. Place the Blended Mix ingredients in a blender and blend about 1 minute, or until perfectly smooth. In a smaller bowl, beat the Earth Balance and sugar with an electric hand-held mixer for about 2 minutes. Whiz the Blended Mix for a few seconds and then add it to the bowl with the Sugar/“Butter” mixture. Beat it with the elctric mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute, increasing it to high speed after 30 seconds. When nice and frothy, make a well in the center of the Dry Mix and pour in the liquids. Stir the mixture just until you can’t see flour anymore, then beat it with the electric mixer for about 5 seconds, no more. You want a smooth batter, but you want to beat it as little as possible so that it will be tender. Divide the batter gently and evenly between the pans and smooth the batter gently with a rubber spatula so that it is a little higher on te sides than in the middle—this is so it will not rise into a “hump” in the middle. Place gently onto the center rack of the oven and bake the cake for 25 minutes; cupcakes about 15-20 minutes. Do not open the oven before the minimum time. Test with a cake tester. Do not overbake. Remove from oven to racks and cool in pans 10 minutes before removing carefully from pans. Cool completetly before frosting. TIPS FROM MIMI ON HOW TO GET A FLAT CAKE TOP(haven’t tried this yet): Having been a professional cake decorator for 10 years, here is a tip for achieving a flat cake top everytime: Take 2 paper towels, one on top of the other, and cut them in strips that are the height of the cake pan(s), usually 1-3". Pour the batter in the prepared pans, wet the strips with water, gently squeeze out excess water, then wrap the towel strips round the outside of the pan(s) and press them on so that they adhere to the pans. The coolness of the strips will prevent the edges of the cake from baking faster than the middle of the cake, thereby eliminating the ever-dreaded "hump." You needn't fear a fire in your oven, but at the same time, you don't want to leave the house while it's baking. The strips will dry and sometimes fall off, but I've never had a problem. If you have access to a cake decorating store, you can buy something called "Magic Strips" which serve the same purpose. Alternatively, if you want to recycle and use them, you can cut old kitchen towels in the same manner as the paper towels. Works like a charm! BRYANNA’S CASHEW PASTRY CREME Makes about 2 c. This type of pastry cream (usually thickened with flour and egg yolks and made with dairy cream) is used frequently in Italian desserts. Fortunately, we can use raw cashews to make an extremely rich-tasting creme that contains only about 2g of fat per 1/4 c.. 1 and 1/2 c. water 1/3 c. ground raw cashews (5 T. cashew pieces) 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 c. finely-ground unbleached sugar (OR use 2/3 c. maple syrup and reduce water by 2 T.) 1 and 1/2 T. cornstarch (or wheatstarch or arrowroot) 1/4 c. unbleached white flour (use only 2 T. for a thinner cream) 1 and 1/2 tsp. EACH vanilla and lemon extracts Make the cashew Milk first by blending the water, sachews and salt together in a blender until VERY smooth (there should be no graininess). Add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the flavor extracts. Blend until very smooth. Pour into a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan and stir constantly over medium-high heat until the mixture is quite thick, simmer over low heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flavoring extracts. MICROWAVE OPTION: Pour the blended mixture into a medium microwave-proof bowl or beaker. Microwave on HI for 2 minutes. Whsik. Microwave 1 minute more. Whisk in the flavoring extracts. Pour the mixture into a bowl or container, cover with waxed paper or plastic wrap (touching the surface), and refrigerate for up to a week. the mixture should be thoroughly cooled before using. To use for Tiramisú, omit the lemon extract and add 2 T. rum or Amaretto (or 1-2 tsp. rum extract). For a Dessert Sauce, add 1/4 c. non-dairy milk to each 1/2 c. of Crema Pasticerra.
JulieH 166 posts Aug 19, 2005 2:16 PM	Bryanna, will it work to substitute white (unbleached) pastry flour for the cake flour in the cake recipe? The only cake flour that I can find is bleached cake flour. Thanks!
scj121 49 posts Aug 19, 2005 2:23 PM	Thanks Julie! This is what I found about substituting pastry for cake flour from foodsubs.com: cake flour = soft-wheat flour Equivalents: 4 1/2 cups cake flour = 1 pound Includes: self-rising cake flour These substitutions will perform better if you also do this: (1) Mix the batter as little as possible. (2) Separate eggs, beat the whites, and fold them into the batter Substitutes: pastry flour (This has more protein than cake flour but less than all-purpose flour. Cakes made with pastry flour tend to be a bit less delicate and crumbly.) OR all purpose flour (Substitute 7/8 cup all-purpose flour for each cup of cake flour and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for every 7/8 cup all-purpose flour used. Cakes made with all purpose flour tend to be less delicate and crumbly.)
Bryanna Owner/Moderator 1126 posts Aug 19, 2005 3:24 PM	Julie, I generally use pastry flour myself. ---------- "To look like a goddess, eat like a peasant." Karen Andres
JulieH 168 posts Aug 19, 2005 4:02 PM	Thanks Bryanna!

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