First, I baked chocolate battered donuts with chocolate chips and then coated them with vegan butter and sugar.
Yes, they were already so good at this point, but I was not done.
This is a mixture of cardamom custard cream, whipped coconut cream, and coffee.
I wish I could eat this right now!
Scrumptious!!
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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
But the cream puff was one of the sweets that I would get excited when my mother made them.
The airy puffs stuffed with sweet cream…
Who could resist it?!
When I came to the States I quickly realized that it was not that easy to find cream puffs.
In Japan we call them “choux cream” and you can find them really anywhere.
So initially that’s what I was asking people about.
Then I found out that they do exist here in the States, but they use a different name, “cream puffs”.
However, even after I looked for them with the right name, I noticed that it was not something you can just get from any bakery or pastry shop.
A good thing was that my mother-in-law would make them.
I was really lucky because it’s not something everyone makes them at home here in the U.S.
But then we decided to become plant-eaters.
That became a problem because I had no idea how to veganize the cream puff recipe.
So, when I found out that someone did and included the recipe in her book, I bought the book mostly just for that one recipe.
This is my third time to make vegan (and gluten free) cream puffs using the recipe, and this time I decided to stuff them with cardamom custard cream and coconut cream.
I always liked my cream puffs stuffed with two kinds of cream.
These were scrumptious!!
You can’t make too many with this recipe, but that made us appreciate this delicate treat even more.
The recipe is included in the book, “Heta Oyatsu,” written (in Japanese) by Yuko Shirasaki.
*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
When we went to a farmer’s market in Hawaii during our vacation, we visited a jam vender, Akaka Falls Farm.
I already knew I wanted passion fruit jam, but I was also interested in getting one more.
My husband and I got to taste several different kinds of jam, and we both agreed that we should get the white guava jam.
It has a bright fresh sweetness with a nice mild flowery flavor, similar to pears, with a tropical touch.
These are my favorite banana pancakes, but the cocoa version this time.
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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
The colors are so vibrant and gives me the energy that I need in the morning.
I have such a hard time getting up in the morning.
My ideal routine would be getting up early so that after getting ready I would still have an hour to relax and do whatever I want to do, like exercise or read.
I envy people who does practice that kind of daily routine, but I’ve never succeeded.
A good thing is that I’m never late to anything, school or work.
So, at this point in my life, I just have to accept that this is who I am.
I made my favorite oatmeal bagels.
I realized that Costco now carries a different tofu.
They have been selling a box of four packages of firm tofu for a while.
Since their price was so good that I was quite regularly buying them.
But the last time I went there they still had a box of four packages, but their new tofu was SO firm, like a brick!
I wasn’t sure how such a firm tofu would work in this recipe.
It’s usually very easy to mash the tofu with my hand and make the smooth dough, but with the new Costco super firm tofu I needed to use all the muscles I had (My arms got sore afterwards…).
As you can see in some pictures, there were some small chunks of tofu left, not completely mashed, but this recipe is very forgiving.
They turned out great!
This comes in handy.
Here are the things I prepared for the sandwich.
Vegan omelet.
Kale pesto.
Tomato Jam.
I’m not always this organized, but once in a while I can be.
Now I’m ready to put everything together.
If this is not a good way to start a day, I don’t know what is! 🙂
*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
But it’s still one of the most visited posts on my blog.
I just recently received a message from someone, who told me that she has been trying the recipe several times but unfortunately without success.
I wanted to give her some advice, but since it was a while ago I made them, I couldn’t really remember much, so I decided to revisit the recipe and make some again.
I used the same recipe, which was referenced in my previous post, but here it is.↓
This time I paid a little more attention to each process, and I wrote down several things I wanted to keep as my own notes and also to share with others.
The tofu does not have to be “silken” tofu. Soft tofu works.
The recipe calls for salad oil, but olive oil (NOT extra virgin so that it doesn’t have a strong flavor) works as well. I believe I used salad oil last time, but this time I used olive oil instead only because that’s what I had. I did not notice any significant difference.
I do let the batter rest in the fridge for 24 hours as directed.
The batter has to be creamy but not too thick when poured into molds. It has to be thin enough so that you can “pour” into the molds from the bowl. In order to achieve the thickness, I add 4 to 6 tablespoons of rum. When the batter is too thick, it seems to result in a dense and gummy texture, without their signature interior look.
I greased the mold with oil before pouring the batter.
The oven temperature is important. I’m in the U.S., so I preheat my oven at 440F. Bake at that temperature for 9 minutes at 440F and then lower the temperature to 355F and continue to bake for 1 hour. I place the rack in the middle of the oven.
Once done, unmold right away. Cool them completely. I usually let them cool for 2 hours before I touch or eat them. They may seem soft when they are just out of the oven, but they will harden and create a nice crusty exterior while cooling down.
Eat and enjoy them the same day. They are not the same the next day.
These turned out great!
Exactly what you want for canelé, a rich dark colored crusty exterior and a custardy interior.
Scrumptious!
This time I also experimented a little.
The recipe calls for rice flour, but I also made another batch where I used all-purpose flour.
The batter became a bit thicker than the rice flour version, so I added a bit more rum.
But this turned out really well, too.
The interior was perfect, maybe even a bit better than the rice flour version, in all the areas, the look, texture, and taste.
On the other hand, the exterior had a lighter color and a softer crust, particularly on the top, unfortunately.
The top is the rice flour version, and the bottom is the all-purpose flour version.
Next time if I use all-purpose flour, I will raise the initial oven temperature a little more, or I may put the rack lower (so that the “top” will be closer to the bottom heat), or I may not use the sheet pan and directly put the mold on the rack, or all of the above.
These are so delicious, and it’s definitely worth a try.
Canelé has a special place even in the world of dessert, and I’m so happy that I can continue to enjoy it as a plant-eater.
I hope this post helps those who are interested in making vegan canelé.
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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
They use local fruit, and the first ingredient listed is fruit, not sugar.
This passionfruit jam is perfectly sweet and tart.
And yes, you can taste passionfruit.
Now I have to talk about the pancakes.
These pancakes are the easiest pancakes to make!
Mash two bananas until creamy (I use a hand blender).
Add rice flour and mix well; adjust the amount of flour to achieve the pancake batter thickness.
Add a little baking powder and salt.
I can usually make four pancakes, and they are perfect for the two of us.
The only sweetness comes from bananas, but trust me, you don’t need to add sugar!
I made these pancakes so many times while we were at the vacation rental just because they require only a few ingredients, and they are better than any pancake mix.
Look at them.
Aren’t they beautiful?
Here is another thing that helped my pancakes even more islandy.
Whipped coconut cream!
I absolutely loved the creamy coconut cream and sweet-tart passionfruit jam.
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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
I had a lot of fresh blueberries, and I thought this would be a good way to consume them.
Currently I’m trying a little trick that is supposed to keep the berries fresh longer.
I soaked the blueberries in water with a little distilled vinegar, rinsed, dried, and then put them in glass jars.
We’ll see if this really works.
You can see I really packed them with blueberries, but who would complain, right? 🙂
Lemon zest and thyme leaves added nice freshness to the scones.
These rice flour scones have the best texture, with crunchy outside and moist inside.
It snowed a bit yesterday.
I don’t mind snow so much (if I don’t have to drive), but these dark days are sometimes hard to deal with when they go like this without much sun.
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*I also have an Instagram account. ↓ There I post some pictures and videos that you don’t see here at the blog. If you followed me there as well, I would love that! When you stop by, say “hi! I would love to hear from you. Thank you.
