A Long Weekend of Birthday Baking

Gaaaah, this post is about one month late but I still wanted to share three recipes I had tested out during the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Over that long weekend, I baked goodies as presents to three birthday girls: a childhood friend, a church friend, and my beloved grandmother. Without further ado, some eye-candy for you to indulge in.

Building the Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake

Once I confirmed that my childhood friend, Tiff, was a fellow fan of pumpkin, I decided to go all out for her birthday cake. We were celebrating her 'entrance into adulthood' with a 'baby turkey' (aka Costco rotisserie chicken) dinner, Disney movies, and a sleepover. Sounding epic? Just wait until you hear about this Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake I made her. Alternating layers of chocolate pumpkin cake and crustless pumpkin pie, glued together with whipped coconut cream. I could eat the whole cake and feel [almost] guiltless. I just got some teasing from my best friend, looking down on the cake just because I mentioned it's vegan. Whoa whoa now, don't hate on vegan food! Vegan food can be de-lish, as proven by this cake.

Completed Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake

It was my first time using and eating whipped coconut cream, oh my goodness, Coconut Crumpet went on a vacation to heaven. I stuck a can of Rooster Brand Gold Label Coconut Milk into the fridge overnight for the vegan whipped cream. I highly recommend using this particular coconut milk because of its high, high, high fat content. It's super rich, thick, and coconutty. All the coconut whipped cream recipes I've seen online use the 'full fat' cans of coconut milk, which yield about half a can of whip-able coconut cream. The Gold Label Coconut Milk yields more than 3/4 can of coconut cream!! It was enough to frost this loaf-sized cake. 

As for the actual cake part of the cake, I used a pumpkin chocolate brownie recipe and adapted this crustless pumpkin pie recipe. While the brownie turned out fine, I took my Rachel-ifying a little too far for the pumpkin pie layer. It was bubbling in the oven like a cauldron and rose about five times the height that it should have, then I almost burnt it, and all that height collapsed as it cooled and some batter stuck to the sides of my loaf pan. Thankfully, the taste was fine and it would be ready to become a cake with a bit of a trim.

On the same day as I decorated this cake, I baked up two more birthday presents. Some Cranberry Orange Ricotta Muffins for my grandma and Soft Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies for a church friend, who is a lover of peanut butter and chocolate.

Cranberry Orange Ricotta Muffins

These muffins follow the same recipe as this Blackberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins I already have on the blog. This ricotta muffin recipe yields the fluffiest muffins ever; it is a must-try! I replaced the blackberries with cranberries, lemon zest and juice with that of an orange, and sprinkled the tops with turbinado sugar before baking. The raw sugar gives a beautiful sparkle and delicious crunch to the finished muffins. It's just unfortunate the the sugar will dissolve by the next day...so no more crunch :(

Soft Baked Peanut Butter Cookies

And finally, a batch of soft-baked peanut butter cookies, packed with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips of course. These were soooooooooooo good~~ Totally my type of cookie: soft, thick, chewy, peanut-buttery... I'm drooling again. You probably want to know what recipe I used right? Well head over to Sally's Baking Addiction; she has a plethora of cookie recipes with a good mix of healthy recipes too! 

I altered a few ingredients as softened (not melted!) coconut oil replaced the butter and Reece's peanut butter chips and chocolate chips instead of M&M's. The base of the cookie can be made vegan with the use of coconut oil. 

Soft Baked Peanut Butter Cookies

Even though many peanut butter cookie recipes recommend sticking to the regular creamy peanut butter stuff that is laden with sugar, I went ahead and used my natural peanut butter. The trick is to make sure the separated oil is very thoroughly re-incorporated (stir it every time you open the jar) and the jar is kept in the refrigerator. By keeping the natural peanut butter cool, the texture becomes creamy instead of runny.

I forgot to press down on the cookie dough before baking, which is why my cookies look a lot smaller and fatter. That isn't really bad at all as there will just be more soft cookie inside to enjoy!

Well, I hope that these little posts of "what I've been baking" is interesting. Halloween is over and now we're charging full force into Christmas. While I had a fun Halloween dressing up as a minion (I have a slight obsession with those yellow pill-shaped creatures), Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. No arguing. I cannot wait for Christmas and all the festive deliciousness that happens during December; hopefully I'll be able to post about my successful recipes! Pumpkin pie anyone? The perfect Vegan Pie Crust can be made by following my recipe here. I'm still working on a perfect pumpkin pie filling so please check back soon! The Crumpets will try our best to post as often as we can between our busy schooling ;) We have lots to accomplish before we wander into the scarier-than-Halloween land of university...dundunDUNNNN..


Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Lotus Seed Paste Stuffed Almond Cookies

Lotus Seed Paste Stuffed Almond Cookies

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! It's the Asian Thanksgiving Day, the day where families come together and celebrate a bountiful harvest. Or the day we eat a lot of mooncakes if that's more significant.

Last year, I brought a traditional mooncake to share with my school friends. Papaya Crumpet brought a Starbucks one (they're flavoured like Starbucks' drinks!) Unfortunately my family didn't buy or receive any mooncakes this year, so I have none to share. As a 'replacement', I created these cookies. They are flavoured like the Chinese almond cookies you find at the store and stuffed with a white lotus seed paste, the same stuff as in the mooncakes. 

Lotus Seed Paste Stuffed Almond Cookies

The process of shaping these little cookies took longer than I thought; the dough was slightly crumbly and I had to really press to make a disk of dough that didn't fall apart. The sealing of the edges was okay though. Since the dough doesn't spread at all in the oven, shape the cookies as you wish them to come out of the oven. My goal was to create a chewy and soft cookie. These are not super chewy but they aren't crispy at all. This cookie dough base is very simple and uses wholesome ingredients. It makes a small batch so be sure to double or even triple if you're looking to make a few dozen!

The faint hint of coconut and almond lets the sweet lotus paste filling take the spotlight. Lotus seed paste reminds me of my childhood, eating the steamed buns for dessert at dimsum. I think this cookie is a clever way participate in some Chinese festivities. The outcome was very good and my friends complimented on how good they tasted. I'm quite satisfied with them myself; be sure to eat them warm for the best taste! Microwaving the cookie for ten or so seconds will do the trick.

Lotus Seed Paste Stuffed Almond Cookies

Lotus Seed Paste Stuffed Almond Cookies

Cookie dough recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

Yield: 9 two-inch cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• A few grinds of Himalayan pink sea salt
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp + 1/8 tsp baking soda
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 2 to 4 tsp milk
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• Lotus seed paste (¼ cup will be sufficient; comes in a vacuum-sealed bag, similar to the packaging of red bean paste.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
2. In a small mixing bowl, sift together flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. 
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Smush dough into a single ball with a rubber spatula or hands.
4. Make somewhat circular disks using approximately one tablespoon portions of dough. Roll about a teaspoon of lotus seed paste into a ball, flatten and place in centre of cookie dough disk. Place another dough disk on top and seal edges. Press a single sliver of sliced almond on top as decoration.
5. Cover and refrigerate unbaked cookies for 30 minutes.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 11 minutes and broil on high for 2 more minutes. Avoid over-baking to keep cookies soft.
7. Enjoy warm (not burning hot!) and store in an airtight container.

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Continuing on with the strawberry shortcake theme, I baked up a small batch of these cookies to give away as thank-you gifts. It is my second time making this recipe and both times have been very successful and taste heavenly. Just beware of the fruit juice burning in the oven as the strawberries bubble away. These strawberry shortcake cookies are great way to use up a excess strawberries, although really, when do does one ever have too much fruit? There are two fruit monsters living in my house so fruit is consumed at astonishing rates. 

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Summer is the time to incorporate as much seasonal produce as possible. Berries are such a summer flavour; these cookies are sure to disappear very quickly from the cookie jar. Maybe I'll attempt using other fresh fruit the next time I make these. Blackberry honey cookies....mmm~~

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Nutella-stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt and Brown Butter

A classic with a classic-Can we call this a double classy cookie? 

Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Who says you can welcome the arrival of spring with some pumpkin goodies? Evidently seen by my stock of canned pumpkin in the basement, I love eating pumpkin no matter what time of year it is. 

On a lonely Friday night, I was motivated to do lots of baking. Maybe because I was avoiding my homework and studying responsibilities... These cookies were one of the goods that came out of the oven. They fill the house with an aromatic smell of warm spices, mmm~ I must inform you that these cookies require lots of chewing, prepare for a jaw workout! Nothing better than a good treat to go with some muscle toning right? I love texture and chewy things, so these cookies are totally up my alley. If you prefer less-chunky cookies, you have the option of grinding all the oats into flour and leaving out the mix-ins. Please don't be turned off by the less-than-appetizing colour seen in the photo, they taste amazing! Even Peanut Crumpet gave her seal of approval. 

These cookies get a little sticky the next day, so I give you permission to gobble up as many as you can in the first day. They're healthy anyways... Reheating them in the oven for 5 minutes before eating them will also help to dry the outsides. I always prefer warm cookies, imitating 'fresh from the oven' effect. 

Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from MD School Mrs.

Yield: 20 cookies

Ingredients

• ¼ cup flour
• 4 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 cup oats, divided
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp warm water (or another egg)
• 6 tbsp loosely packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• ¾ cup pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup applesauce
• a splash of vanilla
• ½ cup walnuts, toasted*
• ¼ cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
2. Combine 1 tbsp ground flax seed with 3 tbsp warm water in a small bowl to make the 'flax egg'. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to get thick.
3. In a food processor, grind ⅓ cup of oats into oat flour.
4. Combine flour, flax seed, oat flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. 
5. Whisk egg, flax egg, brown sugar, honey, pumpkin, applesauce, and vanilla in a separate bowl until well combined.
6. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until thoroughly combined. Fold in nuts and raisins.
7. Using a cookie scoop, drop the batter onto the cookie sheet about 1 ½ inches apart. You may choose to flatten the top a bit.
8. Bake for 12 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.

*To toast walnuts: Spread walnuts evenly over a cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 3 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they burn very quickly!

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡