SWEET POTATO SPICE CAKE WITH HAZELNUTS & CANDIED GINGER

This is the most decadent cake I've ever made and yet, the cake itself is fairly mild in flavor. This is also the first time I tried vegan cream cheese, which I'm happy to report - I love! It's been decades since I've enjoyed cream cheese frosting, now the story changes.

I was also surprised that somehow the candied ginger zing mellows out once combined with the cream cheese & hazelnuts. Overall I received super reviews from friends & family and the cake was gone in one night!

I finely diced the candied ginger (instead of the long strips shown above) which created I think a more decadent final look of the cake. Also I used a white sweet potato, but I think next time, I'll try  a yam as shown above.

Cheers! 

This cake is similar to carrot cake—grated sweet potatoes make it moist and rich. The cake can be made up to three days ahead, but frost and garnish it within 12 hours of serving.

Cake

·         ½ cup raisins

·         3 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 Tbs. baking powder

·         2 tsp. baking soda

·         1 tsp. salt

·         1 tsp. ground cinnamon

·         ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

·         ⅛ tsp. ground cloves

·         ¾ cup vegetable oil

·         ½ cup dark brown sugar

·         ½ cup sugar

·         1 cup plain almond milk

·         2 Tbs. lemon juice

·         1 medium sweet potato, peeled and finely grated (3 cups)

·         ½ cup finely chopped candied ginger

·         ½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Topping

·         1 8-oz. pkg. vegan cream cheese

·         1 Tbs. agave nectar

·         ½ tsp. vanilla extract

·         ½ cup finely chopped candied ginger

·         ½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

1. To make Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 10-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.

2. Place raisins in small bowl, and cover with boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes, then drain, and set aside.

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in bowl. Whisk together oil, brown sugar, and sugar in separate bowl; whisk in almond milk and lemon juice.

4. Stir flour mixture into oil mixture with spatula until thick batter forms. Fold in sweet potato, candied ginger, hazelnuts, and raisins. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center of Cake comes out clean. Cool pan 10 minutes on wire rack, then unmold Cake onto wire rack to cool completely.

5. To make Topping: Whisk together cream cheese, agave nectar, and vanilla in bowl until smooth; spread over cooled Cake. Decorate top of Cake with candied ginger and hazelnuts.

November 2013 p.70 Vegetarian Times

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-spice-cake-with-hazelnuts-and-candied-ginger/

My version

What's better than a hot bowl of homemade soup with freshly baked cornbread 

& poached pears ala mode 

on a cold winter's night?

 I promise, the last piece is for you...

Our bodies seem to know exactly what it needs.

On a very snowy December day, I made some vegetable & barley soup - a very large pot so that I could enjoy the left-overs. 

The base was from Bob's Mills 

Vegetable & Alphabet Dry Soup Mix. 

(They have many varieties & I look forward to trying them all.)

I added 1/2 c of pearled barley, 4 sliced organic carrots, 2 medium organic onions (so nice to work with - a different texture indeed), 4 organic potatoes, with the peels left on, salt & pepper, 3 bay leaves & 2 boxes of Imagine's Organic Vegetable Broth - yummy! The soup cooked in about 1 1/2 hours on a slower simmering heat. 

And for de taste de la resistance, desert was poached pears with sliced almonds (omitted on this serving) with a generous serving of Soy Delicious Vanilla Ice Cream. 

I've included the basic corn bread & 
poached pears recipes for you.

BASIC CORNBREAD 
(tweaked from Williams Sonoma recipe)

1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 c cornmeal (the finer the better)

1/4 c fructose

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

1 cup almond milk (you can use vanilla flavored if you like)

1 c Toffutti sour cream (tofu-based)

1/3 c corn or safflower oil

1 egg substitute, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil or spray 9-inch glass pan.

Mix together dry ingredients

Mix together wet ingredients (in a different bowl)

Combine by gently folding in the wet ingredients - do not over-mix.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake uncovered for about 35 minutes. Remove for oven & let stand for 20 minutes. Remove from pan & cut into 9 squares.

This cornbread is delicious when topped with margarine & honey!

POACHED PEARS WITH SLICED ALMONDS
(This recipe was tweaked from the Natural Choices Magazine, December 2012 issue.)

If serving 8, use:

4 pears

2 cups pear juice (I use Hansen's Organic)

2 T honey

1/2 c toasted sliced almonds (optional - but festive!)

Slice pears in half length-wise. Carefully remove the core from each half with a small spoon - easy to do - only a small amount needs to be removed)

Mix pear juice & honey in large saute pan or pot - bring to boil. (You'll need 2 pans as the pears need to lay flat.)

Add pears cut-side down - reduce heat to simmer (cook uncovered).

Gently press on pears after 40 minutes to see if tender.

Carefully transfer to serving plates.

Top with scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of leftover poached pear juice & top with toasted almonds.

This is a delightful desert - light, yet rich. Right before I begin to serve dinner, I begin poaching these pears - that way desert is still hot & ready to be served following dinner, & we all get to enjoy the sweet aroma of the pears while we enjoy our dinner.