Vegan MoFo! Day Two: Iced Pumpkin Loaf

Hey there MoFoers! Is it just us or are you having a hard time believing it is already October? The weather has yet to chill out much for us in Florida, but the smell of Fall is definitely in the air.

It’s always nice to pull out all the spices of the season and prepare for the next 3 months of glorious baking ahead- and we figure there's no better way to kick off baking season than with pumpkin themed treat!

If you haven't noticed from our Instagram pictures of our Sunday brunches full of French presses- we are both big coffee fans. Every now and then you may even catch us at a Starbucks.

Sunday brunch with Peach!

(Not following us on Instagram? Find us! #twoveganladies)

And if you're like us, when you stumble into a Starbucks looking for a quick fix you may find yourself taking in the scent of defrosting seasonal pastries like the signature pumpkin loaf and wishing the whole world could just go vegan already so you could order one up and take it to go.

Unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet (one day!)- but we have the next best thing: homemade Veganized Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf, complete with a cream cheese icing.

Recipe makes enough for one loaf or one dozen muffins. (We highly recommend double batching, they are just that good!)

You Will Need:

Dry Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups raw or turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves


Wet Ingredients
1 cup pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses

Firstly, preheat your oven to 400ºF.

Then, sift your flour and mix it with your sugar in a medium sized bowl. Stir well, then add baking powder and salt. 

Next, add the spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, ground cloves) and give it a stir.

Now, in a separate bowl blend all wet ingredients. 

Once thoroughly mixed combine wet and dry ingredients and there it is -your batter! 

This batter comes out pretty wet so you really don’t need to grease your loaf pan. All pans are a bit different though, so just use your judgment. 

We like our pumpkin loaf super moist and gooey in the center so we bake it for 20-23 minutes, but for a more traditional and throughly cooked Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf bake for about 30 minutes. 

 

Once you pop your pan in the oven it’s time to make the cream cheese icing! 

What you will need:

1 cup Firm Silken Tofu
2 Tablespoons Earth Balance (We like soy-free the best)
1 Tablespoon Sugar
½ teaspoon Sea Salt
Lemon Juice (up to two tablespoons)

First. pull out the food processor. 

Next, add tofu and blend for a bit. 

Then add everything else aside from the lemon. 

Now, when it comes to the lemon juice it gets tricky. This ingredient gives a sharp taste, but in our opinion it is the most important element to the recipe. Start with ½ teaspoon at a time. We wouldn’t add more than 2 tablespoons altogether, but taste as you go to make sure it doesn't end up tasting like tofu lemonade. 

*Note, this icing will end up solidifying once chilled so the flavor will seem more full- especially as a pumpkin loaf topping. So don't be too worried when you taste it in its more warm and liquidy form.  


Blend all ingredients in the food processor until super smooth and creamy and set to side. 


Back to the Loaf

Now, it's time to take the loaf out! Let cool for a few minutes then slide out of loaf pan. 

You really should wait to add the topping once the loaf has completely cooled, but we'll forgive you if you can’t wait. Your icing may get a tad melty though!

Spread icing evenly over top of loaf and sprinkle toasted/salted pumpkin seeds and a little cinnamon or nutmeg. Let sit in refrigerator for 1-2 hours then cut into slices that are about 1/2 inch thick and serve (cold or room temp, your choice).

Also, if you want you can try this recipe in muffin form baking for 18-20 mins and top in the same fashion expcept keep your icing towards the center to get that classic Starbucks pumpkin muffin look.

We adore these pastries and love sharing them with friends over a cup of tea or a homemade pumpkin spice latte. 

Pumpkin spice latte you say? Oh! Sounds like we have a new recipe to share. 

Happy Fall and Baking everyone!

With peace, love, and compassion-
The Two Vegan Ladies

Happy Birthday! Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes!

1. Today is a special day around The Two Vegan Ladies household. It's Jenna's Birthday! For the occasion we're doing a lot of different things to celebrate including going out to our favorite all-vegan restaurant with family, spending the day at a water park, and making delicious homemade vegan chocolate cupcakes! 
2. There's a lot of different recipes out there for animal-free cupcakes. A lot of people suggest applesauce or flaxseed to replace the egg typically suggested for cake recipes. We've tried a lot of them with varied results, but in all, when we're wanting chocolate cupcakes- this is our go-to recipe.

What you'll need:

1 cup almond milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup raw sugar

1/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract or more vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

First, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper, foil, or reusable liners. Reusable liners you say? Yes, they do exist! Check them out: Reusable Baking Cups The good part about these is you can just pop the cupcake out!

Now, whisk together the almond milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for five minutes to curdle. 

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Next, add the sugar, oil, and extracts to the almond milk mixture and beat until foamy. 

Now, add all together and beat until there are no lumps.

Pour mixture into liners. Fill each cup about 3/4 of the way full. 

Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Test by sticking a toothpick in the center and making sure it comes out clean. 

Once baked, transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

So then what about frosting?

Well oddly enough a lot of store-bought frostings are already animal product free. Like the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls- "so fake, it's vegan!" For instance the Pillsbury Cream Cheese frosting... vegan. That's correct. It contains neither cream nor cheese! 

So either take a look at the back of a canned icing (be mindful of whey, carmine if it's tinted redish, and casin)  or try this recipe if you feel like going for something homemade!

This is buttercream type icing. Like what you would taste on a typical birthday cake.

What you'll need:

1 cup shortening 

3 1/2 vegan powdered sugar (any organic powdered sugar will be vegan)

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 almond milk

Beat the shortening and powdered sugar toegther until well belnded. Add the vanilla extract and almond milk and beat for another 5 minutes or until fluffy. 

And don't forget the sprinkles!

With peace, love, and compassion-

The Two Vegan Ladies