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Vegan Cooking
More Than Just Chocolate for Valentine's Day
By Ricki Heller
 February... for many of us, this month represents the long expanse between the revelry of New Year's and the heralding of spring that arrives with Easter or Passover. For those of us who experience snow-filled winters, February is the month we begin to wonder if we'll ever again experience the warm summer sun caressing our bare arms. It's the month when we really do feel the need for a national holiday. But for most of us, more than anything else, February represents one significant high point to the year, and we anticipate it eagerly: Valentine's Day.
Is there any better way to demonstrate your affection than with a delicious, decadent, chocolate treat? To many of us, Valentine's Day and chocolate are synonymous, as both perfectly encapsulate the original intent of the day: to express one's heartfelt feelings toward a loved one. No wonder this day is the best-selling day for chocolatiers the world over!
If you're considering making some home-baked chocolate treats for your sweetheart this year, why not show how much your care by choosing one of the following good-for-you recipes? Although chocolate all on its own contains some powerful antioxidant properties, each one of these treats includes the hidden addition of a nutrient-rich, unexpected ingredient (such as white beans or spinach), for an even greater health benefit.
And if providing your sweetheart with an extra boost of heart-healthy antioxidants in a gift of chocolate isn't true love, what is?
Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Traditional molten chocolate cakes with their soufflé-like texture usually include several eggs and a lot of butter in their list of ingredients. But now, here's a vegan version made without refined sugar, and with all the benefits of green veggies, to boot! Don't worry, no one will know the vegetables are there; they'll be too busy ooh-ing and ahh-ing over this decadent tasting treat.
Molten Centers:
- 2/3 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- 1/4 cup plain or vanilla soymilk
Cake:
- 2 ounces fresh or frozen spinach (you may include the stems)
- 1/4 cup soymilk
- 1 cup (about 3-1/2 ounces) raw zucchini, fresh or frozen, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup light or dark agave nectar
- 1/8 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup sunflower or other light-tasting oil
- 1 tablespoon finely ground flax seeds or meal
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee substitute
- 1 cup light spelt flour
- 1/2 cup whole oat flour
- 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray eight oven-safe large ramekins or custard cups and place on a cookie sheet.
For the molten center:
In a small, heavy pot, combine the chips, cornstarch, and soymilk. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Turn off heat and set aside.
For the cake:
In a blender or food processor, blend together the spinach and zucchini to a smooth puree. Add the agave, maple syrup, oil, flax, coffee substitute, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla, and blend to combine. Set aside while you measure the dry ingredients, or for at least two minutes.
In a large bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk together to combine.
Scoop about 1/4 cup filling into each ramekin, then place a large spoonful of filling over it (try not to touch the sides of the ramekin). Cover with more batter, to fill the ramekin about 2/3 full.
Bake cakes in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the edge comes out dry (the middle will remain moist, as that's where the molten filling is). Remove from oven and allow to cool ten minutes.
Turn the cakes out onto serving dishes. Serve immediately. Garnish with fresh raspberries and whipped "cream," if desired. Makes 8 servings. Recipe may be halved.
Gluten-Free Chocolate-Walnut Brownies
These brownies are everything they should be: fudgy, moist, and very chocolatey. The beans are not detectable in the final product, but their health-enhancing qualities will be!
- 2 cups well cooked, drained white beans
- 1/2 cup chocolate or vanilla soymilk
- 2 tablespoon tahini (sesame paste)
- 1/3 cup sunflower or other light-tasting oil
- 1 tablespoon Salba (ground chia seeds) or finely ground flax seeds
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon tamari soy sauce
- 1 cup Sucanat or unrefined evaporated cane juice
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped, if desired
Preheat oven to 325 F. Lightly spray a 9 x 9 square pan with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper.
In a blender (a food processor is not suitable for this recipe), blend the beans and soymilk until you have a perfectly smooth puree. Add the tahini, oil, salba, vanilla, tamari, and Sucanat, and blend again. Set aside for a few minutes while you prepare the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
Blend the liquid mixture again and check to see that the Sucanat has all dissolved (if it hasn't, continue to blend until it dissolves).
Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir to combine. Gently stir in the walnuts, if using.
Turn the mixture into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 45-55 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through, until a tester inserted in the center comes out barely clean (a few moist crumbs may stick to it). Cool in pan and frost if desired. Cut into squares. Makes 9 large or 16 smaller squares.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudgies
These cookies present the ultimate mixture of chocolate and peanut butter, with a base that's crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. No one will ever guess that they're housing some hidden eggplant in the batter!
- 1/2 cup natural crunchy peanut butter
- 2/3 cup Sucanat or other unrefined evaporated cane juice
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil or other light-tasting oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup pureed cooked eggplant (you may substitute another moisture-rich vegetable, such as cooked zucchini)
- 1-1/2 cups light spelt flour
- 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly spray two cookie sheets with nonstick coating, or line with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, cream the peanut butter with the Sucanat and oil. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, vinegar, and eggplant and mix to combine well.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir to mix well. You should have a slightly sticky dough, but one that still holds its shape.
Using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop, place mounds of dough on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Wet your hands and flatten the cookies slightly (to about 1/4 inch thickness) with your palms, or use the bottom of a glass dipped in water.
Bake in preheated oven about 12 minutes, rotating pans halfway, until cookies are puffed and cracked on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the sheets (they will firm up as they cool).
Makes about 30 cookies. These may be frozen.
Ricki Heller, PhD, RHN, is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and freelance writer who owns and operates Ricki's Kitchen Cooking Classes and Bake It Healthy, devoted to producing delicious baked treats free of wheat, dairy, eggs, or refined sweeteners. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and lab-border collie cross. Visit her on the web at www.rickiskitchen.com.
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