Beehive Honey & Lemon Poppyseed Hot Pudding Cakes-Plant Based

As a descendant of Utah Pioneers, I love to make these adorable little beehive cakes to honor my heritage, especially on July 24th, Utah's state holiday. I use cast iron molds which create an awesome light outer crust (our favorite part), and depending on how long you bake them, they come our more cakelike (longer bake), or hot pudding like (shorter bake).  

Following is a plant based version of this previous recipe. 

Ingredients:

2 cups aquafaba (chick pea/garbanzo bean juice)

2.5 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 T. poppyseeds

1/2 cup plant based milk

1.5 Tablespoons chia seeds

2 cups honey 

1 medium sized, ripe avocado

1 medium sized ripe banana

2/3 cup plain soy yogurt

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Zest of 1-2 oranges or lemons for added flavor (optional)

Syrup:

1/2 cup raw honey

1/4 cup coconut cream

1/2 teaspoon almond extract 

Preparations:

Whip aquafaba to medium soft peaks and set aside.

Mix wheat and oat flours, baking powder, salt, and poppyseeds together and set aside. 

Add chia seeds to milk, stir, and set aside

~ ~

In a mixing bowl, cream honey, avocado and banana together. 

Gently mix in aquafaba, yogurt, and vanilla. 

Add flour mixture. 

Mix in milk and chia seed mixture, along with orange/lemon zest (if desired)

Pour into prepared pans (lightly coated with coconut oil or coconut cream, then coated with whole wheat flour or lined with parchment paper or large muffin liners).

Bake at 350* for 60-70 minutes.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then invert and place on a baking sheet.  

Microwave raw honey and coconut cream for 3-4 minutes until combined and boiling - reaching a syrup like stage. Add almond extract. Spoon or evenly pour syrup over each individual cake, allowing excess syrup to pool around edges. Allow to cool.  

 

Chimichurri - I'm in love!

We had an amazing meal at a friend's house last week, where I was introduced to chimichurri sauce, and oh my heavens! It totally struck a chord with me. So much, that I replicated the exact same meal for our dinner the next night, and ate chimichurri with my next three meals as well. My mouth is watering again just thinking about it.

The great thing about this sauce, is that it is so versatile (and it keeps vampires away). It can be eaten on steak, grilled chicken, mixed into pasta, or that spaghetti sauce you were just whipping up, with eggs or potatoes, or on toast with eggs and avocados as pictured here.

1 bunch parsley - washed and minced
1 head of garlic (yep - a whole head, meaning all of the cloves) - finely minced, or processed through a garlic press
2-3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon or lime juice (key lime is my citrus juice of taste)
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil OR 2 teaspoons coconut milk, OR 1 tablespoon chia gel

Mix together in small bowl, and season with kosher or large grain salt, and black pepper (red pepper flakes may also be added for a little more zing, if the garlic isn't enough!)

Lemon Meringue Pie

It is Thanksgiving Eve, and as I began making my pies, I realized that I couldn't find my staple lemon meringue pie recipe, (my all time favorite pie...next to rhubarb) and that it wasn't on my blog.

So I frantically went to my cookbook cupboard and looked through everything -without avail.
To my catch all recipe drawer, nada.
Then my sister called and as we chatted, I began leafing through other cookbooks hoping to find something that would work in a pinch.  Finally, out of the corner of my eye, I spied the hot pink cover, with the black plastic binding roll.  Grandma H's cookbook.  Under my pasta maker and bucket of spools of thread.  Of course!
Grandma had 7 children, who in turn also had very large families, and every Sunday, we'd head to grandma's house for family dinner, and many fond family memories have come from food around grandma's table.  Later in her life, grandma became a caterer.
During the week leading up to Thanksgiving, grandma's garage would begin to fill with pies (a second refrigerator/freezer in the cold mountains). Her meringue tips always crested, and drops of sugar dew taunted me as I anxiously awaited grandma's lemon meringue pie.
My Thanksgiving just isn't complete without this pie

Sift and set aside
1.5 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flour (sifted)
1/4 tsp salt

2 cups boiling water
3 eggs - separated (save whites for meringue)
1.5 tsp grated lemon zest (rind)
6 Tablespoons lemon juice

Separate eggs and place well beaten yolks into a medium sized saucepan.
Beat in dry mixture of sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt.
Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and boiling water and cook over medium heat in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil and thickens.

Pour into a baked pie shell and allow to cool.

Meringue
Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry.
Add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and slowly add 6 Tablespoons powdered sugar, adding one tablespoon at a time.
Whip thoroughly.

Spread over cooled lemon filling, taking care that meringue seals all of the edges of the crust.
Bake at 325* for 20 minutes.

Cool before serving, and keep refrigerated.