Jun 20, 2017

cappuccino ice cream

A new thing with me: every week I am going to try to make some kind of sweet or desert for the family. This is a big step for me because I'm not one with a sweet tooth, but after a few decades of living with these folks, I now realize that they might be endowed with the taste for sweets.

Last week I made Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins from Everyday Vegan Eats, my first cookbook. This week I made ice cream. I made aquafaba ice cream and it is creamy and delicious! I tweaked a recipe from my book, Aquafaba and made, as per requested, Cappuccino Ice Cream.

The original version is Chocolate, and the recipe can be found HERE. It is on my publisher's site.




This version is soy based. Because I know there are people who are allergic to soy, people who are allergic to nuts and people who've just about had it with everything tasting like coconuts, I've included three versions of ice cream in my book, each with its own base: soy, cashew and coconut.

It is highly, HIGHLY important that you warm up your ice cream before eating it. If it is too frozen, it will not have the proper texture of creaminess. Leave it out about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature and the size of the container.

I store my ice cream in 1-cup containers that are about 3/4 full. The smaller containers are ideal because they are individual servings and you don't keep thawing and re-freezing the ice cream, which creates ice crystals. I got mine HERE.

Here is the recipe of the cappuccino ice cream in pictures:

(1) After cooking the base and whipping the meringue, temper the base by folding in a large scoop of meringue:


(2) After tempered, add all of the meringue and fold to incorporate well:


(3) Chill this overnight. After chilling, mix it gently because separation is normal:


(4) Add the mixture to an ice cream machine:


(5) At this point it is amazing as is, as soft serve, and you should enjoy it if you can:


(6) Or you can freeze it:


(7) If frozen make sure to warm it to the proper temperature before enjoying:






Cappuccino Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart 

Although this ice cream hardens in the freezer, it will soften perfectly after a few minutes out of the freezer because of the addition of glucose syrup. If you’d like to omit the glucose syrup, add three more tablespoons sugar to the base. 

Cream Base
1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch
3 cups plain unsweetened soymilk, divided
1/2 cup lightly packed mashed firm tofu, rinsed before mashing
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder
5 tablespoons nondairy butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated organic sugar
1/4 cup instant coffee granules (regular or decaf)
2 tablespoons glucose syrup or light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Meringue
1/3 cup aquafaba (see Note)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup granulated organic sugar

1. Cream Base: Combine the starch with 1/4 cup of the milk to form a slurry and set aside. Combine 1 cup of the milk, the tofu, cinnamon and psyllium husk powder in a blender. Blend until very smooth. With the blender running, add the melted butter in a slow, steady stream to emulsify.
2. Transfer the tofu mixture to a medium saucepan. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk, sugar, coffee, glucose syrup, and salt to the saucepan. Stir well with a whisk and bring to a boil over medium heat, making sure all the cocoa and sugar are dissolved. Add the starch slurry and reduce to a simmer, gently stirring until slightly thickened. Remove the cream base from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer the cream base to a medium bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Meringue: Add the aquafaba and cream of tartar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using a whisk, whip the aquafaba for 10 seconds. Using a balloon whip attachment, whip the aquafaba on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to whip for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until the aquafaba can hold stiff peaks and is climbing the side of the bowl. Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, over the course of 3 minutes and continue to whip until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 more minutes. 
4. Add a large scoop of the meringue to the cooled cream base and mix well. Add the rest of the meringue to the tempered cream base and fold to mix thoroughly. Chill in the refrigerator until completely cold, about 8 hours.  It is normal if the cream base has separated somewhat overnight. Gently mix the chilled base and, using an ice cream machine, churn the cream as instructed by the manufacturer.  Enjoy it as soft-serve immediately or transfer it to an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze. Allow the ice cream to soften 10 to 20 minutes before serving if completely frozen.

Note: Although aquafaba is best if homemade using the recipe provided in the book, you can use aquafaba from canned chickpeas. Use the organic, low-sodium, canned chickpeas and strain off the liquid into a measuring cup using a fine mesh strainer. Note the amount of liquid you acquired, then add it to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the liquid reduces by 1/3. Cool the aquafaba completely before using. 



© 2017 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Jun 17, 2017

"the vegan air fryer" + giveaway

The Vegan Air Fryer cookbook is here! Air fryers have become quite the rage and everyone from Becky Striepe of Glue and Glitter to JL Fields (the author of this new cookbook) has been frying up amazing dishes using little to no oil.

Even I have an air fryer (or two) and I, too, have been wondering when a vegan cookbook will hit the shelves. As it turns out, my publisher, Vegan Heritage Press, published the first vegan air fryer cookbook, written by JL Fields of JL Goes Vegan site: The Vegan Air Fryer [Amazon, B&N]


I have a very fancy air fryer (combo dehydrator, toaster oven, proofer, etc.) from Breville (thanks to in2insight!!), so I was very excited to see what kind of recipes JL created.

Fries, of course, would top anyone's list of things to make in an air fryer, and JL delivers with her Seasoned French Fries (page 44). The fries are made using fresh potatoes and a few seasonings. They come out beautifully crisp and delectable.

Since I am using a combo air fryer I had to up the temp on my oven and increase the time a bit, but this has nothing to do with JL's recipes, and everything to do with my oven. If you have a Breville Smart Oven, keep that in mind, but otherwise follow the recipe and you should be golden - very much like the fries.


JL has a few potato recipes in the book, which is not really a surprise since potatoes are perfect to cook in the air fryer. So, I couldn't resist making another potato recipe, this time these gorgeous Hasselback Potatoes (page 90).


And then there are recipes to accommodate sides such as those potatoes or Onion Rings (page 80), Cheesy Dill Polenta Bites (page 74), Balsamic Herbed Tomatoes (page 68) or Fried Avocado (page 53).

Such recipes as Mongolian Tofu (page 104), Tempeh Kabobs (page 110), Baked Spaghetti or this Chick'n Fried Steak (page 128), adds to your repertoire of cooking main-worthy meals in your air fryer.


No air fryer cooking is worth its weight in salt if it does not have a great selection of appetizers and snacks. The Vegan Air Fryer cookbook has those in spades. It includes Vegetable Egg Rolls (page 40), Jalapeno Poppers (page 47), Air-fried Pretzels (page 57) or Buffalo Cauliflower, below, (page 72).


The book is full of recipes to use in the air fryer, including many familiar ones that I, for one, was looking forward to seeing in such a book. And then there are more creative recipes to make in your fryer, such as Breakfast (Pan)cakes (page 26), Szekely Goulash Pastry Bites (page 52), Corn Dogs (page 116) and Doughnut Holes (page 20).

How about you take a recipe for a spin, and how about that recipe being the Doughnut Holes I just mentioned? Try the recipe and then enter the contest to win your own copy of The Vegan Air Fryer by JL Fields. Contest is open to US residents and will end June 26. Please leave a comment to enter and BE SURE I have a way to contact you. If I can't, I will choose another winner. Good luck!

Photo by Michelle Donner.





Doughnut Holes

These air-fried doughnut holes are fun to cook -- and eat. Enjoy them for breakfast or as a snack. They make for a great dessert, too. (From The Vegan Air Fryer, copyright © 2017 by JL Fields. Used by permission. Photo by Michelle Donner.)

2 tablespoons cold nondairy butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut sugar, divided
1 tablespoon Ener-G brand egg replacer powder or your favorite vegan egg yolk replacement
2 tablespoons water
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain or vanilla nondairy yogurt
1 to 2 spritzes canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine the butter and 1/2 cup of the sugar and mix well, using your hands until
clumps form. In a small bowl or cup, whisk the egg replacer with the water. Add it to the butter and sugar and mix well. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Fold in the yogurt. Mix until a dough is formed.

Roll pieces of dough into 18 (1-inch) balls and arrange them on a large baking sheet or piece of parchment paper.

Grease the air fryer with the oil. Preheat the air fryer to 360°F for 3 minutes. Transfer the doughnut holes to the air fryer basket. Cook for 8 minutes, shaking halfway through the cooking time. 

Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon on a plate. Roll the hot doughnut holes lightly in the cinnamon sugar before transferring them to a baking rack to cool.

Makes 18 doughnut holes