Sweets

This year’s pandemic force us to spend significantly more time at home.

I’ve been trying to stay positive, quietly crossing off things on my list.

Apparently, I had more time to prepare for Christmas, and I finally decided to make a yule log this year.

It was not every year, but my mother would make a yule log for Christmas every few years or so, and when she did, I would get so excited.

There is something so special about this cake.

This was a coffee cake with chocolate coconut cream frosting.

Like any other cakes I make, I keep the decoration simple.

Unfortunately, my cake broke while it was being rolled.

But I used a few tricks to keep the shape intact.

I wasn’t sure about posting this picture of a slice because nobody would know from outside as it’s completely covered with the cream.

But hey, it’s reality, and I’m not here to claim I’m the perfect cake maker (lol).

We’ve had these stockings for years.

R is for me, and T for my hubby.

I bought this one when my sister came to visit us in Minnesota a few years ago.

Actually, R, T, and K cover the initials of my entire family members!

Many of the ornaments are from my mother-in-law, including this one that she gave us the year when we were married.

Others are from our travels.

I used the recipe, https://www.fragrantvanilla.com/vegan-mocha-roll-cake/ .

I used the filling to cover the outside instead of using ganache, but other than that, only a few minor changed were made.

I’ve used her other recipes to make cakes in the past, and they were all delcious.

I love the ingredients that she uses, the cake sponge has the perfect texture, and the cream/frosting/filling is super delicious.

If you are not a big fan of the traditional frosting, like me, you should definitely try hers!

I was never a big candy bar person even before we changed our diet.

There were a few I would pick up at the cashier (they know exactly where they place them to sell!), but Snickers was NOT my favorite.

But I was excited to try this vegan version of Snickers, mostly because I liked the ingredients.

First of all, this is raw and vegan.

And it doesn’t end there.

No added oil or sugar in these!

But most of all, these are delicious!!

My husband was never a big Snickers eater, but we both liked these so much, better than the real thing.

Loved the combination of chocolate and peanuts.

They are sweet, but they are “feel good” sweet, if you know what I mean.

I also liked that the “caramel” part was creamy and smooth, but not “stick-to-teeth” sticky.

I followed the recipe from https://carolineschoice.com/sweet-vegan/ e-cookbook.

Highly recommended!

I am so excited!

Well, as you can see, now I get to make custom designed cookies.

This is what made it all possible.

A 3D printer is a new addition to our house.

Don’t ask me how it works.

It’s my husband’s department.

But he did such a great job making these, especially when it was his first time using a 3D printer.

I can’t wait to make more fun designed cookies.

Persimmon is something that is cherished as an autumn food in Japan.

I was never a big fan of persimmon when I lived in Japan.

But the past few years I have started really liking it, and I now look forward to seeing them this time of the year.

It’s so pretty when you slice them.

It looks like a flower design.

I was excited when I bought the 9-set Star Wars cookie cutter set, but what really sold me was the Yoda one.

What can I say.

I’m a Yoda fan.

This time I made sure Yoda got the right color (Mathca) and appropriate icing.

I need to work on my icing skills, but it’s a good start.

I used to be a big magazine buyer.

Going to a booksttore, browsing the magazine section, bringing home some food magazines, going through them, and getting ideas…

The whole process used to excite me so much.

Then, the magazines became thinner and thinner, and the content became less and less interesting.

Before I knew it, it was not fun anymore, but rather constant disappointment.

Around the same time I found joy in finding food ideas online (like many others did).

One of my go-to places is Instagram, and I follow several people for food ideas.

I’ve been following Caroline https://carolineschoice.com/ ‘s account for a while, mostly because I like her positive energy, but then recently I found out that she published an e-cookbook where she shares her vegan, gluten-free, sugar/oil-free sweets recipes.

I don’t buy cookbooks very often, but her big smile (when she eats her creations) convinced me!

I just got it, but I was too excited to wait, so I found a recipe which allows me to make with what I had, without making a trip to a grocery store.

“Salted Caramel Cups.”

I used her recipe as a base and made this mocha version.

I made my caramel the “mocha” flavor by adding coffee.

I also added a little salt to the crust and the filling.

DELICIOUS!

Super satisfying, yet, it doesn’t give me the unpleasant feeling I often get when I eat sweets with a high sugar content.

I was not planning to make any sweets, but since I had a lemon in the fridge I wanted to use up, I decided to make a small cheesecake.

The cheesecake is so creamy and delicious as is, but I decided to serve it with tangy blueberry coulis.

I love vegan cheesecake.

Rich, creamy, and so satisfying, yet not heavy at all.