Friends Don't Let Friends: Not Have a Trifle or Make Them Miss Gluten

Today we went to a fabulous event put on by The Purple Pig Project, which raises money to give to animal rescue groups and sanctuaries.   It was hosted by a member of the group who always outdoes herself with hospitality and everyone brings amazing, all vegan, dishes to share.

I decided to get a bit crazy in the kitchen last night and we made a bunch of things to share with the group.

The first thing I made were my favorite Chocolate-Chip Walnut Brownies.  I did add in some extra dark cocoa to the cocoa mix and they turned out just as awesome as always.  (The recipe is via VegNews May/June 2009, Issue 67 and the link above.)

But of course I have to test some new recipes, so I made a gluten-free cornbread (trying to work gluten-free recipes into the repertoire) and a Strawberry-blueberry Vanilla  English Trifle.

Yep, they turned out pretty awesome.

The cornbread recipe is from Babycakes' first cookbook and is a bit sweet with a soft crumb.  It calls for being made in a loaf pan.  I haven't tried the more traditional square pan. 

Babycakes Gluten-free Cornbread

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup rice milk
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup corn flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil , plus more for the pan
• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 1/3 cup homemade applesauce or store-bought unsweetened unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tsp. pure pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 7x4x3-inch loaf pan with oil. (Note: I did not oil the pan, I lined it with parchment instead.)

Pour the rice milk and apple cider vinegar into a small bowl, but do not stir; set aside to develop into "buttermilk." In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir the batter until well combined. Pour in the "buttermilk." Mix gently until the ingredients are fully incorporated and a slightly grainy batter is formed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the corn bread on the center rack for 32 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 20 minutes. The finished corn bread will bounce back slightly when pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the corn bread stand in the pan for 20 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edge of the bread. Cover the top of the pan with a cutting board, and invert the loaf onto the board. (This last step is not needed if you line your pan.  I just pull it out via the paper.)

The English Trifle takes a few more steps as there are several components to it.  There's the cake, the whipped cream, pastry cream, lemon curd and the macerated berries.  You could leave some of the cream/curd components out but I'd at least do the berries, whipped cream and lemon curd, leaving out the pastry cream if you wish.   But all 3 does give you a delicious result. These recipes are from several sources so I will link as possible.

Here are the steps I took - The night before I, I made the following because they all need to cool/chill:

1. Lemon curd

2. Pastry creme

3. Cake - Victoria Sponge

The morning of, I :

1. Macerate the strawberries (save some just chopped to add on top along with blueberries, raspberries, etc., as you wish)

2. Make the whipped cream

3. Assemble

Lemon Curd

I love lemon curd and have made it a few ways.  The version I used here came from Bryanna Clark Grogan via her site - Vegan Feast Kitchen.

Some notes I would make about how I made this is, first I steamed the parsnips after cubing them.  This freed me up to do other work.  I would have let them drain a bit more than I did.  I also, if I'd had the time instead of making this the night before, would have run this through the VitaMix for an even smoother look.  I used 3 Meyer lemons and part of a standard lemon for the juice and the zest.  It turned out relish.

Pastry Cream

This pastry cream will be a great filling for eclairs and more.  I just loved it and it was super simple. 

This recipe was also from Bryanna Clark Grogan but it took a bit of sleuthing to track it down, since it seems to not be on her site.  I found it on VegSource.com. (not the prettiest site!) and it could not be simpler.  I did grind the cashews in my mini-processor before measuring but that's the only modification.  It was super easy to do and came together fast and was delicious. 

Victoria Sponge Cake

I've been wanting to try a recipe from one of my newest acquisitions - Ms. Cupcake: The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town.  This cake was so easy and great, I can't wait to make more of her recipes.

One note: Unlike its US counterparts, Ms Cupcake’s recipe book uses metric as well as cup measurements. According to Ms Cupcake , if you’re having trouble baking with cups, it could be because you’re doing it wrong. If you’re measuring flour, you have to pour the flour into the cup - not scoop because that compacts the flour and you end up with the wrong amount.

Ingredients

3 Cups + 2 Tbsp self-rising flour

1 Cup + 3 Tbsp (caster) sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 2/3 Cups soy or rice milk (I used rice as that's what I had on hand)

2/3 Cup canola oil (or other flavorless oil)

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Grease and flour 2 round 8", 9" or 10" cake tins (Note: I used 10" because I wanted a thinner cake to cut up and layer in the trifle bowl. I also lined the bottom of the pans with parchment.) and pre-heat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and baking powder together. Add the milk, oil and vanilla, stirring until just combined. Tap the bowl onto the work surface to stop the rising agents from working too quickly - you'll see any bubbles pop. Pour half the batter into each cake tin and tap the tins on the work surface to pop the bubbles again.

Bake for about 18 - 20 min or until a toothpick, inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 - 15 minutes in the tins and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Macerated Berries

No real recipe here. I took about 1 1/2 pounds of fresh strawberries, de-hulled them and cut them into quarters and then sprinkled with about 2 - 3 Tbsp of sugar and then the juice of 1 lemon. Stir and let sit in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble, at least 30 min.

Whipped Cream

I always keep about 2 cans of coconut milk in the refrigerator so I have it on hand for easy whipped cream. Let it sit and don't shake it at all! Scoop the solid coconut fat from the top of the cans of coconut milk into a bowl that has been in the freezer for at least an hour (I also keep my whisk attachment in the freezer too). Do not get any of the liquid into the solids, leave some of the solids in the can if you have to.

Whisk the solids briefly until it fluffs up and then add powdered sugar and vanilla extract to taste.

For this trifle, I would use about 4 cans worth of the coconut milk solids to ensure you have enough to cover 3 layers.

Assembly

I cut the two cakes into squares and then layered it into the bowl in the following order:

1. Cake

2. Whipped Cream

3. Macerated berries and fresh blueberries/raspberries

4. Lemon Curd

5. Pastry Cream

6. Cake

7. Whipped Cream

8. Macerated berries and fresh blueberries/raspberries

9. Lemon Curd

10. Pastry Cream

11. Cake

12. Whipped Cream

13. Fresh chopped berries

Dig in!

_______________

We also brought a savory dish to the gathering - a warm Sweet Potato and Chickpea salad (via Blissful Blog adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

We roasted our sweet potatoes for a bit longer than noted and added in some rice vinegar to taste for the dressing.

I traveled well and was delicious room temperature.  I think we need to make it again to have it more warm.

All in all, we ate a ton and are stuffed!  Our gatherings are good for the spirit but dangerous for my waistline!