baking, cake, chocolate, easy, vegan, vegan baking

Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake with Chocolate Buttercream (And How to Veganize A Non-Vegan Cake Recipe)

September 8, 2018September 8, 2018by Katherine Baker2 Comments

Do you ever just feel the need to eat deliciously rich, Bruce Bogtrotter-worthy chocolate cake? Because I do. That’s where this Vegan Chocolate Cake with Vegan Chocolate Buttercream comes in.

One thing a lot people don’t realize about vegan baking is that it’s actually quite easy to veganize a lot of “conventional” recipes with a few simple swaps.

Non-dairy milk for regular milk, vegan butter in place of butter, and an egg replacement (1/4 cup applesauce or canned pumpkin, 1 tablespoon chia seed or ground flax + 3 tablespoons of water, or 1/4 cup silk tofu, to name a few) for the egg, whipped aquafaba for egg whites, etc, and viola! You’ve veganized your desired “conventional” baked good.

Now, it may take a couple of attempts to figure out which replacements you like best, and/or which ones work best for your old favorite “conventional” recipes, but it’s truly not as scary as it sounds, and experimenting in the kitchen, though it can lead to some epic fails, can also lead to exciting new and wonderful creations of your own.

Continue reading “Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake with Chocolate Buttercream (And How to Veganize A Non-Vegan Cake Recipe)” →

20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, chocolate, dessert, no bake, sweet, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel Bites

August 12, 2018August 13, 2018by Katherine Baker3 Comments

I love a salty sweet treat. And these peanut butter chocolate pretzel bites are the epitome of a salty, sweet crunchy creamy dream snack.

Bonus: they couldn’t be similar to make. If you can make cereal, you can probably make these delightful nibbly desserts.

All you need is pretzels, peanut (or your other favorite nut) butter, chocolate chips, and some salt. And the only fancy equipment you need a microwave, microwave-safe bowl, and a refrigerator or freezer. Now let’s get into it.

Continue reading “Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel Bites” →

20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, almond, delicious, dessert, easy, side dish, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian

Nut Butter-Stuffed Chocolate-Dipped Dates

July 17, 2018August 2, 2018by Katherine Baker2 Comments

These nut butter-stuffed, chocolate-dipped dates are like a 14/10 on the amazing scale. 5 Ingredients. No fancy equipment or oven required. Insanely delicious sweet treat.

All you gotta do is crack open some dates, de-pit them, slather their insides with nut butter, squash a whole nut in there (optional, but recommended), dip in some melted chocolate, and finish with sea salt.

A short chill sesh in the freezer later, you have a treat that’s chewy, crunchy, creamy, salty, sweet, and chocolatey. It hits every desirable snack element in one swoop.

Honestly, the result is far better than it has any right to be. It tastes like a snickers but without any artificialness or sugar overload. They’re actually kind of like a lazy version of my favorite-ever Sunbutter Caramel Date Truffles with Sea Salt.

Continue reading “Nut Butter-Stuffed Chocolate-Dipped Dates” →

5-ingredients, baking, brownies, delicious, dessert, easy, fast, peanut butter, vegan, vegan baking

Salted Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (Brownie Mix Shortcut)

December 2, 2017by Katherine BakerLeave a Comment

The same says it all: salty sweet rich and decadent brownies swirled with luscious peanut butter and topped with peanut butter cups and crunchy sea salt. These salted peanut butter cup brownie mix brownies are tastebud heaven.

I made these a few weeks ago for Vegan Bites (which airs Thursday evenings on @spoonuniveristy Instagram stories) and wasn’t planning to put them on the blog, but the response to the episode was so positive I decided despite only having mediocre phone pics they deserved a place on kbaked.com.

You’ve probably noticed based on the title of the post that these brownies are made with a box mix. Now you may be saying “that’s cheating” or that “true bakers never use mixes.” To which I say your opinion is fair, however, I’ve come to find times and places for box mixes and like to keep them on hand for such occasions. They’re especially nice when you need to whip something up and find your baking pantry bare.

Making a cake for a special occasion is not, in my opinion, the place for a mix, but these brownies definitely are. All you have to do to make these is grab a box of brownie mix, some peanut butter cups, sea salt, oil/vegan butter, and an egg substitute, and you’re on your way to peanut butter cup brownie mix magic in a matter of minutes.

Now let’s talk brownie mix. Some are better than others. Look for an ingredient list that contains things you’d add at home and doesn’t contain too many things you wouldn’t (like DATEM and mono- and do-triglycerides, etc). I like Trader Joe’s, Annie’s, and Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes. Also check the ingredient list for animal ingredients. You’ll find many are accidentally vegan, making your life a wee bit easier.

You’re going to cook the brownie mix according to the package with a few modifications, swapping animal products for non-animal products. While many mixes call for oil, should yours call for butter, simply swap in vegan butter (like Earthbalance).

Now on to the milk. Should your box’s recipe call for milk, simply add your favorite unsweetened non-dairy milk. I would go for the unsweetened, since box mixes tend to be far sweet enough already.

Lastly, the egg. This is the trickiest to swap but you can handle it. For quick breads, cookies, and muffins, swapping each egg with 1/4 cup applesauce or a flax or chia egg works fabulously. If you don’t mind a subtle banana taste, 1/2 a small ripe mashed banana will also work. For brownies, replacing an egg with a chia or flax eggs or 1/4 cup puréed silken tofu or canned pumpkin will do the trick. Cakes are a bit trickier and sometimes with delicate crumb, aquafaba is best, but know that chia and flax eggs will do just fine.

To make a chia or flax egg, simply combine 1 tablespoon flax or chia seeds + 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl and allow to thicken for at least 10 minutes. Fabulous.

Now back to brownies: despite this long and winding post these truly couldn’t be easier. Make the brownies according to the mix instructions with swaps mentioned above, swirl in 1/4 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter, and bake according to time listed on the package.

When there’s a minute or two left in the bake time, chop up vegan peanut butter cups (like Justin’s dark chocolate) and when you pull the brownies out of the oven to cool, sprinkle the cups over the top of the hot brownies. You’ll notice the cups will start to melt slightly; this is perfect. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt to finish, allow to cool, and enjoy, preferably crumbled atop your favorite non-dairy ice cream (I’m partial to Van Leeuwen or So Delicious Cashew Milk – particularly their Caramel Cashew Cluster ice cream myself).

I hope you make these or that this recipe has inspired you to use that box of brownie mix in your pantry that has been sitting there lonely for months.

Salted Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (Brownie Mix Shortcut)

Level: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 20-30 minutes
serves 12

Ingredients:

1 box egg and dairy free brownie mix (just check labels, many brands are vegan)
oil / water that the mix calls for -1/4 cup apple sauce, silken tofu, mashed sweet potato or 1 tablespoon chia + 2 tablespoons water per egg called for on box.
1/4 cup peanut butter (optional)
10-12 nondairy peanut butter cups (optional, I like Justin’s dark chocolate)
1-2 tablespoons flakey sea salt

Method:

Preheat oven and prepare mix per box instructions, subbing your egg replacement for eggs.
Pour into well-greased pan.
Swirl in peanut butter evenly throughout batter.
Bake per time called for on box.
Remove from oven. Immediately too with sea salt + chopped pb cups.
Enjoy! 🤗

5-ingredients, chocolate, delicious, dessert, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian, YouTube

Vegan Salted Caramel Date Truffles

September 4, 2017September 4, 2017by Katherine Baker8 Comments

Hey there! I’m really excited to share with you my first attempt ever at a hands-only video. I decided to revamp/revisit one of my old favorite recipes from my ebook, with a slightly modified recipe, new photos (the old ones were meh), and a brand new video!

Now I should disclaimer this by saying I KNOW I’m new to video and that I have improvements to make. But, I thought I’d give it a whirl. Only up from here, right?

These are easy to prepare, no-bake, and free of all major allergens. And they got that delicious salty/sweet thang going on that I so enjoy. I hope you make them and enjoy them too! I am ob.sessed.

Vegan Salted Caramel Date Truffles

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes, but need at least 1 hour to freeze
Servings: 6-8 truffles

Ingredients:

8 ounces pitted dried dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sunflower seed butter, plus an additional 3-4 tablespoons (divided)
1 cup dark chocolate or dairy-free chocolate chips
sea salt
hot water

Method:

Soak dried pitted dates in hot water for at least 10 minutes, until softened.
Drain dates. Transfer to a food processor. Add vanilla. Process until smooth.
Transfer date mixture to a bowl. Add 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter. Mix well.
Roll dough into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Freeze for 20 minutes.
Add an additional dollop of sunflower seed butter.
Freeze for 20 minutes.
Melt chocolate in 30-60 second increments in the microwave until melted. This should take about 90 seconds total.
Dip each dough ball into melted chocolate and return to baking sheet. You may also use a spoon to cover the ball.
Freeze for 20 minutes.
Enjoy. Store in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container or bag.

cookies, copycat, delicious, dessert, easy, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian

Vegan Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 21, 2017August 21, 2017by Katherine Baker8 Comments

I did the damn thing! I made a vegan Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie! Yippee!

I have spent time living on the Upper West Side of New York City, and UWSers and tourists alike are all familiar with the famous Levain Bakery.

They have these ginormous, cookies that are unbelievable delicious, with a perfectly crisp exterior, and a gooey almost underbaked center.

I remember my first Levain Bakery experience. My mom was visiting me while I was at NYU and I had heard of this place called Peacefood on the Upper West Side (yup, before they had a downtown location!) that I really wanted to try. So I dragged her from the East Village to the Upper West and we had a delightful lunch at Peacefood. I got the Asian Greens salad and Chickpea fries (still two of my favs on the menu). And then I said, “hey, since we’re over here, we should go to this famous cookie bakery.” And she agreed.

We got one chocolate chip walnut, and one double chocolate. The OG stood out to me. It was almost like the double chocolate was so chocolately it didn’t let the other elements of the cookie shine. Anyways, I digress, that cookie stayed in my mind for a very long time.

Back in my NYU days, I rarely trekked up to the UWS, but during my MS at Columbia, I ended up reluctantly relocating there. And I ended up loving it. To this day, it is still one of my favorite neighborhoods in NYC.

But since my NYU days, I have gone vegan. Which means my options at Levain bakery include their whole wheat raisin walnut rolls (which TBH ARE SO GOOD), and a few other bread products.

So here we are. I veganized the Levain Bakery Cookie. And I’m pumped about it.

These vegan Levain Bakery style chocolate chip cookies are delicious. Full of chocolate chips and whole chunks of walnuts, they are a texture junkie’s dream. They also have that gooey middle thing going on in the best way possible. Paired with a glass of almond milk these are utter perfection. Now let’s get on to how I did the damn thing.

After doing some research online, I decided to play around and give them a whirl. A common characteristic I noticed in copycat Levain recipes was the use of cold butter. If you’re a baker, you know that typically cookies are made with room temperature butter. Yet all Levain cookies had this in common, so I went with it.

I also used half cake flour and half all-purpose. You can use all AP if you want. I also tried half bread flour with a pretty good result. Do you, honey. Use what ya got (with varied results).

I highly reccomend chilling the dough before baking. I think it helps them maintain that gooey middle quite a bit. If you’re low on time, pop them in the freezer for a bit.

Anyways, these are wonderful plant-based nuggets of joy and I really hope you make these vegan Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies! If you do, please let me know! Gimme an @ on Insta Gimme an @ on Insta or comment on this post. I love to see when people make my recipes!

Vegan Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
Servings: 10 giant cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup cold vegan butter (I used Earth Balance baking sticks)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (can sub additional all-purpose)
2 tablespoons ground flax
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water or unsweetened non-dairy milk
2 cups semisweet non-dairy chocolate chips (I used Trader Joe’s)
2 cups whole untoasted walnuts

Method:

Cube butter and place in a bowl. Add sugars and beat using an electric mixer on low speed for about 3-4 minutes until creamy.
Meanwhile, combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk together well.
Add half of flour mixture and water or non-dairy milk to butter and mix by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon. Mix until just barely combined.
Add remaining flour mixture and water and repeat.
Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Using an ice-cream scooper, scoop dough onto a silicone mat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet, with a generous amount of space between each.
Place cookies in the refrigerator for 40 minutes to an hour until dough is chilled. This will help the cookies maintain their shape in the oven, and give you that gooey gooey middle. If you’re short on time, pop in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove cookie dough balls from the refrigerator/freezer and place directly in hot oven.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until just brown on the outside, but still gooey on the inside.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes. This is essential! They must have time to firm up before transferring to a cooling rack.
Enjoy with almond milk. 🙂

20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, baking, cereal, delicious, dessert, easy, no bake, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian

Easy Vegan Puppy Chow

May 20, 2017May 20, 2017by Katherine BakerLeave a Comment

Puppy chow!! Aka muddy buddies (apparently). Aka the best darn sweet crunchy snack of all times ever period!I remember puppy chow sales being a thing when I was little. Were they a thing where you grew up? Because when I went to college I realized they aren’t a thing everywhere. In fact all 3 of my freshman year suite-mates hadn’t heard of puppy chow. How sad, I know.

I think Puppy Chow is a Midwest thing. I could be wrong. All I know is that everyone I know from the Midwest knows what it is, and I’ve met lots of coasties who do not. But that could be an anomaly.

If you look on the back of a Chex box for a puppy chow recipe, you may notice that that recipe contains butter and vanilla. I find these additions to be unessential. Like, when you’re eating puppy chow, I feel like they don’t add much.

At least to me. I just use peanut butter, chocolate, powdered sugar, and cereal, and I don’t miss anything. So I reason I’ll save vanilla and butter for instances where it really does add shine. Gotta save those valuable baking resources, amiright?

So here is my coincidentally, stripped-down, bare-bones, completely delicious vegan puppy chow recipe. If you’ve never had it, make it right the fuck now. Trust me.

This is another adapted recipe I posted on Spoon University, but here you’ll find it completely unabashedly dairy-free and with slightly different photos. Enjoy!

-Kbakes

PS: If you want more p chow in your life, check out this Puppy Chow Granola post!

Easy Vegan Puppy Chow

Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cook Time: nada
Servings: varies on how much you can eat at once (I can eat a lot of this at once)

Ingredients:

6 cups Chex or other plain cereal
1/2 cup peanut butter or other nut butter (almond or sunflower seed butter would also be yummy)
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (I use Trader Joe’s) or chopped dark chocoalte
1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar, depending on if you’re one of those people who likes a little or a lot of powdered sugar on your chow

Method:

Melt the chocolate in a large microwave safe bowl by heating in 30-second increments in your microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring between each until chocolate is almost (but not completely) melted. Add peanut butter to the bowl and return to the microwave and heat for an additional 30-60 seconds, until peanut butter is also melty.
Mix those two together. Enjoy the views and the smells.
Add cereal to bowl and mix gently. You want to coat the cereal with the chocolate/peanut butter mixture, but also want to be careful as to not crush the cereal.
Transfer to a large zip-lock, add powdered sugar, and shake it up until cereal is coated with powdered sugar.
Eat the shit out of that delicious puppy chow.

20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, baking, cereal, chocolate, dessert, easy, no bake, peanut butter, Uncategorized

3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheerio Bars

March 2, 2017April 19, 2017by Katherine Baker5 Comments

Hello! It me. I bring to you another dessert recipe from Wisconsin since my flight to NYC was canceled this morning due to the wind! Blah. I suppose this means even more time to experiment with dessert recipes since I will no longer have the opportunity to stuff myself with Van Leeuwen vegan ice cream this weekend (my absolute fav).

Now I will preface this recipe by acknowledging that I’m aware I did not break any culinary boundaries in creating these. And that’s fine. But these bars are beauties because they’re super duper easy and super duper delicious. They’re also vegan and gluten-free, if you’re into that kinda thing.

They’re also highly addictive. My mom ate like 3/4th of the tray in one sitting. We are definitely related. Chocolate is a food group, according to us.

So a lil history on these bars: they came about because as a constantly-on-a-budget TJs fanatic, I am always looking up ways to create cheap after-dinner sweet snacks. In grad school I starting buying bags of chocolate chips for $1.99 (yup, TJ’s chocolate chips are vegan) and boxes of TJ’s Joe’s O’s (which are the Trader Joe’s equivalent of Cheerios) also for $1.99. I would mix chocolate chips and Joe’s Os in a wee little bowl and nibble on the mixture while studying.

The mix is a bit sweet, a bit carby, chocolatey, and crunchy. It’s highly satisfying, easy-to-prepare, and cheap as can be! It really stretches out a bag of chocolate chips, and has the added bonus that Joe’s O’s are decently not-too-shabby-for-you, making it a snack that’s easy to eat every night without feeling icky.

ingredients-vegan-3-ingredient-peanut-butter-chocolate-cheerio-bars

Then one day last month, I was making puppy chow for my sister when she was in town, and I ventured to the grocery store to get a box of Chex. And then I got home and saw my Cheerios and I was like…I wonder if….!

And so this month, I tried it. I basically used the puppy chow idea (melted chocolate + pb) with Cheerios in place of Chex, but pressed them into a pan instead of coating them with powdered sugar.

The result is a crunchy, easy peasy snack that satisfies any crunchy chocolate peanut butter craving. They’re just damn good and damn delicious.

Anyways, without further audieu, I present to you…

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes, but at least 20 for refrigeration
Total Time: ~30 minutes
Servings: 12 bars

Ingredients:

4 cups plain Cheerios or Joe’s Os

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

sea salt (optional)

Method:

Grease a 12″x12″ inch pan.

In a large microwave safe bowl, heat chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments until almost melted (roughly 90 seconds – 3minutes). When chips are almost melted, add peanut butter and microwave an additional 30-60 seconds, until chips are fully melted and peanut butter is melty.

Stir chocolate peanut butter mixture. Add cereal. Toss to coat cereal in chocolate mixture.

Press into prepared pan.

Place bars into the

Slice and enjoy.

20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, single-serve, snack, Uncategorized, vegan

Single Serve Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

February 17, 2017February 18, 2017by Katherine Baker9 Comments

Hello again friends.

I know, I know. I disappeared again. And I’m not going to make any excuses. I was busy doing what you do in your 20s: making mistakes, enduring set-backs, moving multiple times, and coming out stronger and more certain of who I am and who I want to be.

I also spent time writing a bunch more for Spoon University (check it out here), but after some soul searching and debating and squandering self-doubt, have decided to make my way back to blogging.

And after decided to come back to blogging, I spent a considerable amount of time debating starting a new blog or re-starting kbaked for like the 4th time. I ultimately decided on the later, but am planning to give it a serious lift in style, layout, and quality.

All while eating cookies, of course.

I love chocolate chip (oatmeal) cookies. I mean, do you know someone who doesn’t? If you do please let me know; I’d legitimately be interested in interviewing them. Send me their contact info ASAP.

Back to cookies: one of my favorite things to make because 1) They don’t take very long, and 2) Holy moly, delicious!

But when you live alone, sometimes you just want one or two. Because if you have a dozen, you most likely eat a dozen. And then you feel icky and out of balance. At least, if you’re me.

That’s why single serve cookie recipes are important to keep in your arsenal. The oatmeal is hypothetically optional, but highly preferable, in my opinion.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and my promise to blog more frequently in the coming months. It’s my goal to improve my content, layout, and start blogging about more than just recipes, but also nutrition, health, and life.

I hope you enjoy!

Single Serve Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 15 mins
Servings: 1

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoon non-dairy butter or coconut oil or nut butter or neutral oil like canola
2 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
1/3 cup all purpose whole wheat oat flour or any combination thereof
2 tablespoon rolled oats optional or substitute addition flour
1/2 teaspoon chia seeds optional
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon water or milk add more if dough appears too dry
Dash salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until just combined.
Roll dough into two medium or one large cookie dough ball and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 8-12 minutes until the edges begin to turn golden brown and cookie becomes fragrant.

Recipe also shared on Spoon University.

Check out some more noms on a link share on runningwithspoons.com!

20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, dessert

Salted Caramel Date Truffles (from my ebook!)

November 13, 2015November 13, 2015by Katherine Baker4 Comments

Hi everyone! If anyone is out there still.

I must apologize for my disappearance! I had a major cross country move, and then I started grad school for human nutrition at Columbia! I’m also working some and interning a bit with Spoon University. I’ve never been so busy in my whole life! But that said, I’ve really been missing blogging and am going to try my best to get back to it! Winter break will CERTAINLY be full of blogposts!

But I thought I’d share this Salted Caramel Date Truffle Recipe that’s from my ebook, (which you can buy here), and also featured on Spoon University, here.

These are honestly amazeballs. Like, way better than they have the right to be. With the salty crunch on the somehow seemingly sinful date filling, combined with the creamy nut butter, they blow the senses a bit, and create a cravable, not-actually-unhealthy treat.

You can use any nut butter you want, but for these, sunbutter is ma fav 😀

Enjoy! Ps I used Iron Salt on these babies (that’s the pretty pink stuff on top).
PPS – WordPress is being a pooper and I’m having mega-trouble uploading photos, so for now, I only have these two on here. Will add more laters!

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Level: Easy

Ingredients:

8-oz. dried, pitted dates or date pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup sunfloweer seed butter (can substitute almond butter or peanut butter)
1 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon coconut oil (optional)

Directions:

Soak dates in warm water until softened, at least 15 minutes.
Drain dates. In a food processor or blender, process dates and vanilla until a smooth paste forms. Add sunflower seed butter and ¼ teaspoon sea salt and continue to blend until well combined.
Roll mixture into small balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place into the freezer until set, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until melted (about 60-90 seconds total). Stir in coconut oil.
Remove truffles from the freezer. Dip each truffle in melted chocolate and return to baking sheet.
Sprinkle with remaining sea salt and return to the freezer until set, another 15-20 minutes.
Enjoy! Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.