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!!
ーーーーーーーーーー
*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.
This is a “lemon” butter cookie recipe, but I will use it to make other cookies, like vanilla, by just removing the lemony ingredients.
ーーーーーーーーーー
*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.
ーーーーーーーーーー
*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.
My husband decided to see his mother today, and I wanted him to bring something for Valentine’s Day.
She loves lemony sweets just like her son, and I decided to make cookies with the left-over lemon curd (see the previous post).
I decided to go with thumbprint cookies, but to make them heart-shaped.
It was trickier than I thought.
But hey, it’s homemade, so they are not supposed to look perfectly shaped, right? 🙂
I also decided to fill a half with mint chocolate and decorated with pink icing and cacao nibs.
I hope my mother-in-law likes them.
ーーーーーーーーーー
*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.
It’s somewhat translucent first (↓）, but it thickens and less translucent（↑） the next day.
Coconut cream and lemon curd together are such a dream combination!
Now we have to talk about the donuts.
These are vegan, gluten-free, baked donuts, and the sweetness only comes from banana.
So it’s relatively healthy, I think. ; )
I added a little ginger to these.
Now this is the fun part!
Dip the donut in the lemon cream.
Scrumptious!
I made these for my husband, but we both enjoyed them.
He got me these beautiful roses!
Happy Valentine’s Day.
ーーーーーーーーーー
*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 I talked about the black walnuts from my brother-in-law’s yard I finally cracked open, my mother-in-law told me they are good in chocolate chip cookies.
We had her and my father-in-law over for dinner yesterday, and I thought I would make the cookies so that they can try them.
They turned out great, and everyone liked them!
My father-in-law whose family had a black walnut tree when he was growing up told me that mine taste exactly how he remembered.
These cookies are wonderful with milk or black coffee.
