Peaches & Cream Trifle

It was time for the first picnic of the year and my mother-in-law and I were in charge of bringing dessert. What to make? What to make? ...Brownies? Not in the mood for chocolate (for once!). Cookies? Too predictable. Cake... pie... cobbler? No, no, and no. Nothing seemed right and then I remembered that my mother-in-law had recently gotten a trifle bowl which she hadn't used yet. I said that a peaches and cream trifle sounded good. Yep! Let's do it! So we proceeded to concoct our tasty experiment layer by layer.

This picture is the recipe we made but the recipe below has a few changes. When I made it, I cooked the peaches into a sauce with white grape juice concentrate and cornstarch. Next time I would do fresh peaches or sub for frozen peaches...ideally fresh, but early March is not the time of year for fresh peaches. :) I also didn't use coconut cream from the can but made a sauce out of water, cornstarch, and shredded coconut...not my fav...going back to the pure canned coconut cream from now on! Anyway, without further unnecessary jabber, I present to you........

Sorry for the not-so-pretty picture. I was at my mother-in-law's house
without my nice camera and we were also running late for the picnic! :)

Peaches & Cream Trifle

Vanilla Cake Layer
2 c. flour
2 Tbsp. oat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 c. cold water
2/3 c. sugar

Peaches Layer
2 quarts peaches, diced (fresh is best but may use frozen, drained if juicy)
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Coconut Cream Layer
2 cans of coconut cream
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. sugar or other sweetener to taste

Toasted Coconut
1/4 - 1/3 c. coconut (dried, shredded, unsweetened)

Instructions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees while mixing the cake together. Mix the wet ingredients (plus sugar) together and then mix the dry ingredients together separately. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined. Bake in a 9x9 pan for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan then dump onto a cutting board and cut into bite-sized cubes.
-While the cake is baking, toast the coconut on a baking sheet in the oven until golden brown
-Dice up the peaches and toss with sugar and lemon juice in a bowl.
-Open cans of coconut cream (buy at Trader Joe's or use full fat coconut milk set in the fridge overnight then open the can upside down, pour out the coconut water, and scrape just the cream out). Using and electric mixer whip the coconut cream together with the vanilla and sugar until smooth.
-Layer the ingredients in order (2 or 3 layers, depending on the size of the trifle bowl) - Cake - Peaches - Coconut Cream - repeat.
-On the last layer of coconut cream, make peaks in the cream with the back of a spoon.
-Top with toasted coconut
-Chill in the fridge until serving.
-Spoon out and enjoy!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake topped with Maple Glaze and Candied Pecans

Thank you nomnomnomblog for the recipe I slightly adapted! See original recipe here: http://nomnomnomblog.com/2012/10/31/happy-pumpk-o-ween/

I have had a bundt cake pan for over 4 years now and I finally decided to use it for the first time! I volunteered to bring a dessert to a party and it was a big hit by vegans and non-vegans alike! The cake turned out very moist but not dense and the glaze was the "icing on the cake"....oh wait, it was. :) Anyway, try it for yourself, you'll love this cake! Sorry for the cell phone picture but I was in a hurry to get to the party and eat the cake! Yum yum!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

3 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. bak­ing pow­der
1 Tbsp. pump­kin pie spice
1 tsp. cin­na­mon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. non-dairy milk
1/2 c. oil
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

1 recipe Maple Glaze (see recipe below)
1/2 cup chopped candied or plain/toasted pecans (for a great recipe for pumpkin spice & maple candied pecans see my post here -- These are what I used on my cake and they were fantastic!)

Pre­heat oven to 350. Lightly grease a Bundt cake pan.

Mix together the flour, bak­ing pow­der, pump­kin pie spice and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the pump­kin, sugar, non-dairy milk, oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Add dry to wet in batches and mix until just combined. Pour bat­ter into the bundt cake pan and bake for about 42-45 minutes or until tooth­pick comes out clean.

Let cake cool in the pan for about 5 min­utes and then gen­tly loosen around the edges with a but­ter knife. Turn cake out onto a cool­ing rack and let cool before transferring to a cake stand.

Driz­zle glaze over the cake no more than 24 hours before serving (but with enough time ahead of serving for the glaze to set/harden). Top with the delicious nuts, if using.

Store cov­ered loosely at room temperature.

Makes 12 servings

Maple Glaze
1 1/2– 2 cups pow­dered sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. soy milk
1/4 tsp. maple flavoring
Extra soy milk to make desired consistency (if too thick)

In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar (start with 1 1/2 cups) with the cinnamon then beat in maple syrup and maple flavoring. The goal consistency is thick enough to coat a spoon but thin enough to drizzle. If it's too thick, just add a little soy milk.

Pumpkin Spice & Maple Candied Pecans

Welcome to my new blog! Every blog has to start somewhere, right? Well this is my first post and it won't disappoint. (It's hard to be disappointed when the recipe contains the words pumpkin and spice!) Thanks for visiting my page. Enjoy the recipe!

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Remember those candied pecans that are so popular at Christmas time? Well now it's time to bring them in season even earlier. Welcoming fall tastes so good!

Pumpkin Spice & Maple Candied Pecans
From Trisha's Kitchen

3 c. pecan halves
3 Tbsp. Earth Balance buttery spread
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
5 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
3 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice


-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
-If the pecans are not already toasted, toast them in the oven on a baking sheet until aromatic (about 8-9 minutes).
-While the pecans are toasting, melt the Earth Balance on the stovetop then add brown sugar and maple syrup and stir occasionally until bubbling. Turn heat to low to maintain a gentle bubbling.
-Stir in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice, and continue stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
-When the pecans are done toasting add them to the stovetop and stir on low heat for 3 more minutes.
-On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, bake the pecans at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through.
-Let the pecans cool to room temperature then break them apart and store in an airtight container or just eat them up then and there!