Vegan Summer! Traditional Plum Cake

By Pam Hadder

The arrival of prune plums from British Columbia is a luscious reminder of late summer's bounty.  For me it conjures memories of riding my bike down dusty gravel country roads and feasting on pflaumenkuchen (German plum cake) at a family friend's farm house.

I'm told that kuchen is the official state dessert of North Dakota, but the sugar-and-baking powder-laden recipes I've seen to support that claim are unlike the yeast-dough based version I knew and loved as a kid.  Although my Mom is of German heritage, her Russian mother never made kuchen in the home.  But Mom recalls that many of her relatives made it, using fruits in season.  

My favourite is the plum kuchen, pflaumenkuchen - like much European baking, it is not overly sweet, and this allows the fruit to shine, and you can enjoy it's natural sweetness.  Of course, I searched numerous online resources and "veganized" my recipe to eliminate eggs and dairy.  The result was absolutely delightful, and dear Mom is still talking about it over a week later!  Hoping you will try this recipe and enjoy it in the very best of health. xo

VEGAN SUMMER-TRADITIONAL PLUM CAKE
(Pflaumenkuchen)

Ingredients - Dough
1 pkg active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp)
1/4 cup warm water, with 1 tsp sugar
2 flax eggs or other vegan substitute (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup soy or almond milk
1/2 cup vegan butter (Earth Balance baking sticks)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 ground mace, or nutmeg
Zest of one lemon
Few drops canola oil

Ingredients - Streusel Topping
1-1/2 to 2 lb pitted, halved fresh prune plums
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
2 Tbsp. vegan butter or soft vegan margarine (I use Becel, vegan)

Method:
Add pkg yeast to 1/4 cup warm water with 1 tsp. sugar added; let stand 10 minutes. Prepare egg subs and gradually beat in the 1/4 cup of white sugar, beating until well combined and frothy (1 minute, with hand whisk). Place 1/2 cup vegan butter and soy/almond milk into a medium microwave-proof bowl and heat 4-5 minutes on med-high power to melt the butter into the milk - remove from microwave and allow to cool 15-20 minutes at room temp. Once milk mixture is lukewarm, combine 1 cup of the flour along with the vegan egg subs and yeast in a large bowl.  Add in the milk mixture along with the lemon, mace, salt and the remaining flour.  Stir briefly with a sturdy spoon to combine the dough ingredients.  When a ball starts to form, gently knead and combine the ingredients with your hands.  Turn the dough out onto a smooth surface and knead for 4-5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.  Place dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Wet a clean cotton tea towel and wring it out thoroughly, cover the dough in the bowl with the damp towel - towel should not touch the rising dough. Set dough aside and allow to rise - about 45 minutes. During this time, halve and pit the prune plums; set aside. Prepare the streusel topping also, combining sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl, and cutting the margarine in with a fork or pastry blender to resemble coarse bread crumbs; set aside.

Portion the dough in half and press into two 9" round cake pans - dough will be about 2" thick, just pat it into place as evenly as possible, creating a slight ridge on the perimeter of each to form a crust ring around the fruit. Arrange fruit by pressing the cut side down into the dough - dough will make squishy sounds as you push the fruit in, be sure to push them in quite firmly :) Using your hands, spread the streusel over the fruit.  Cover your cakes very loosely with plastic wrap (you don't want to lose that delicious streusel to the clingy plastic!). Allow to rise 45 minutes, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake cakes for 30 minutes.  Delicious right out of the oven with a dab of vegan ice cream or as-is - good cold and also freezes well.  Any leftover plums (pitted and halved) can be frozen for later use also.  Try substituting other fruit in season - apples, berries, peaches; etc.

Yield: two nine-inch round cakes - recipe is easily halved :)

Lemony Tea Cookies

By Pam Hadder

'Tis the season!  Before we know it there will be snow and ice and carols playing everywhere we go. Thus, while I have a few free moments, I am looking over a few good recipes for holiday baking and what I have found is that most of my "family favourites" can be easily adapted to fit the vegan diet.
This recipe for vegan Lemony Tea Cookies was created from a basic sugar cookie recipe I found online a couple of years ago.  These cookies are buttery (without real butter, naturally!) and so satisfying, AND the lemon is a refreshing change from the over-abundance of heavy, chocolate, caramel and mint flavours we typically see during the holiday season. These cookies are easy to adapt to suit your favourite tastes or what you have on hand - for example, chopped pecans and orange zest could be substituted for the lemon, or why not make them with lime zest and lime juice?  Happy baking - hope you enjoy these in good health xox  

Lemony Tea Cookies - Vegan

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup coconut oil, softened* (not melted - coconut oil is solid at room temp)
1/4 cup soy milk
1-1/2 tsp. lemon extract
zest of one lemon
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
*vegan margarine could also be used - personally I love the buttery flavour of coconut oil, but both work just great.  I recommend Earth Balance.

Method:
Wash and zest your lemon - if you don't have a zester, a fine steel grater will do. In a large bowl, combine the coconut oil, lemon extract, salt, and lemon zest.  Gradually stir in the powdered sugar and soy milk, beating until light and fluffy (I mix this dough by hand, but you could use a hand mixer also).
Combine the flour, corn starch, soda and cream of tar tar in a small bowl.  Gradually mix these dry ingredients into the creamy coconut oil mixture to form your cookie dough. This dough is quite dry, but depending on your flour and coconut oil, you may need to add up to an additional cup of flour - the finished dough will be similar to pie pastry.  Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill in for 30 minutes.  

When ready to bake - preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and begin rolling out the cookie dough (about 1/4" thickness, but experiment with different cutters and thicknesses of dough - a slighter thicker dough yields a chewy, softer cookie, and slightly thinner will make a crispier cookie; both are yummy!).

Place the cookies about 2" apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes - a lighter coloured cookie will be soft/chewy, and a lightly golden cookie will be crispier.  Allow to cool fully before icing.  My Lemony Tea Cookie glaze recipe follows, below.

Lemony Tea Cookie Glaze 

2 cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)

1 tsp. lemon extract

Juice of one lemon

Zest of one lemon

Hot water, as needed

Candy sprinkles or dusting sugar
(optional)

Method:
Zest and juice one lemon. Place the zest and juice in a medium sized mixing bowl along with one teaspoon of lemon extract.  Gradually beat in 2 cups of icing sugar - the consistency should be fluid/creamy but not runny. If the mixture is too thick, or if it thickens while you are working, just add a teaspoon or two of very hot tap water to restore the creaminess. Ice the cookies and sprinkle with dusting sugar or sprinkles - I use Hagel Zucker (German bakers' decorative sugar) because it reminds me of winter snow!). Allow the glaze to dry - it will be shiny in appearance and smooth to the touch.  Store in containers with tight fitting lids, placing wax paper between the layers.  If you are making these in advance, I recommend baking the cookies and freezing them WITHOUT frosting. Then make the glaze and frost them a week or so in advance of serving - these taste even better when the natural lemon oils have had time to permeate.