Cinnamon Cake (pareve, vegan option)

This is my new go-to cake. I make it wheat-free (using spelt flour) and nut-free.

Makes one 9 x 13 inch baking pan, or 2-3 loaf pans

2 eggs (or 4 tablespoons flaxseed mixed with 1/2 cup hot water, allowed to cool for 10 min)
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup water + 1 tsp vinegar (I made it with water and vinegar)
3  cups flour (I used whole spelt, you can make it with whole wheat or white wheat, or a mix too)
pinch of salt
3 tsp baking powder

Topping (option 1): 150g walnuts, crushed coarsley
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
 OR
Topping (option 2): 
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon oil
mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, sugar, and water-vinegar mixture. Combine flour with salt and baking powder. Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Mix well to combine (this is best done with a mixer or a whisk).
Pour HALF the batter into 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
 
Mix topping together, and sprinkle half over batter. Cover with remaining batter. Cover the top of cake with remaining topping mixture.
Bake for about 1 hour at 175 C (check with toothpick to make sure it's done)
Allow to cool before cutting.
Enjoy!

Vegan Kishke

This kishke recipe was inspired by a facebook post by my friend Devra. I don't remember her recipe anymore, but she posted about making some vegetarian kishke for her cholent. I decided it needed to be healthified, and needed some garlic too, and after a few different attempts, my family decided this one worked well!

So here's my recipe for Vegan Kishke (not only vegan, but also nut-free and can be made wheat free - that's how I do it) - you'll stop buying store bought kishke once you see how easy it is!



1 onion
10 garlic cloves
6 carrots 
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 cup oat bran or wheat bran
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
small amount of water, if needed 

Place onion, garlic, and carrots in food processor (fitted with the bottom blade) and pulse till chopped.
Add the rest of the ingredients and process for a few minutes until well combined, adding water if needed to get a smooth consistency.

Spoon 1/3 of the mixture onto a piece of aluminum foil and wrap tightly. Repeat until you've wrapped 3 kishke  packages, using up all the mixture. 

Place in freezer, and keep frozen until you're ready to use it.

To cook, add the frozen (do not defrost) kishke to your cholent pot right before Shabbat starts (I made a vegan cholent - find the recipe here). It will cook and be perfect by the time you serve your cholent for kiddush or lunch! I use one per week, unless we have a lot of guests. If you eat a lot of kishke, you'll want more than one, I assume.

Enjoy! Let me know if you try it out!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Squares (Gluten free, as well)

It's been a few months since I decided to go wheat-free as an experiment. And I finally decided that if I was going to make dessert, it should be something I can eat, too.
This may not have been my best decision - it is so much easier for me to exercise willpower when something is COMPLETELY off limits. But when it's allowed in small quantities? Uh oh.

But I did it. I made nut-free, pareve, wheat-free chocolate chip squares.
And they are pretty good, if I say so myself, and even got Michael's approval... So I'll share the recipe with you! (and since it's nut-free, unlike many wheat-free baked goods, it's pretty frugal!) (Oh, and all you need is a bowl and a wooden spoon to mix these, no fancy mixer required, because some days I am just too lazy to pull out the KitchenAid!)

Vegan, Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Squares

4 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 cup warm-to-hot water
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar (I used raw cane sugar)
1 cup potato starch
1 cup chick pea flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
chocolate chips, as many as you like - I used 1/2 a bag

First, mix the ground flaxseed with the water and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Then add oil, vanilla extract, and sugars. Mix well. Add remaining dry ingredients (except chocolate chips), and mix well with a spoon. Fold in chocolate chips. 
Transfer to 9X13 inch baking pan (you can use a bigger pan and make thinner squares - totally up to you!) and bake at 175 C for about 25 min. Make sure it's done (you want the pan to be fully set - no jiggly middles - when you take it out) before you remove it from the oven! BUT if you underbake it, you're ok. There are no raw eggs to worry about!

Enjoy your "shehakol" chocolate chip squares! (Perfect for sukkot outings where there's no guarantee you'll have a kosher sukkah!) 

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