Novel Eats » Daring Bakers

Apple Strudel

Samantha — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:50:01 +0000

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

I love it when I see a new Daring Bakers challenge that allows for easy veganizing and gives me a chance to try something truly new. This month's challenge was all about the phyllo dough – you know, that paper-thin (or thinner than paper-thin) stuff you buy in boxes in the frozen foods aisle at your local grocery store. As with pretty much most challenges, we had to make the dough. The other stuff, the filling, was a piece of cake. Related posts:

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake with a Shortbread Crust

Samantha — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:54:54 +0000

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

As you may know, I've made vegan cheesecake a few times. Every time I've made cheesecake, however, I have never made my own crust. This month's Daring Baker's challenge has given me the motivation and opportunity to make my own crust, which I think turned out great. Related posts:

Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake

Samantha — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:35:00 +0000

A few years ago I worked as a receptionist at a fine stringed instruments dealer. It was a very interesting cultural experience, because we sold extremely expensive violins, violas and cellos to people with a good deal of money. It was, and has been so far, my only true exposure to this slice of the music industry. It was also a very interesting and enjoyable foray into fine chocolates, desserts and other culinary delights. This was prior to my swearing off of cheese, milk and other dairy items, so I'll confess that I had quite a few non-vegan experiences (and one non-vegetarian one, which I didn't realize until later – um yeah, imitation crab is still real fish, FYI). Related posts:

Tuile Cookies

Samantha — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:58:46 +0000

Many of the challenges that we have had so far with The Daring Bakers have seemed to be more complicated both by number of ingredients and the feat pulling it all together. This month's challenge seemed to focus less on ingredients and more on the method. It’s been a nice change of pace this time around, because I do feel like I have learned something new – although it's clear I need a bit more practice before I perfect these cookies. Related posts:

Homemade Vegan Pizza

Samantha — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:23:19 +0000

I used to love pizza. When I was a kid I loved going to Pizza Hut, getting vegetable and cheese laden pizzas, and then later in high school ordering, with frequency, banana pepper pizza from Papa Johns. The last few years, though, not including my vegan lifestyle, I have grown to not really favor pizza that much. I'm not sure why, but I have a feeling it might have to do with my days in college where I'd get more gourmet versions of it: baby mozzarella, fresh garlic, tomatoes, and basil leaves. Related posts:

Lavash Crackers with Artichoke and Sundried Tomato Dip

Samantha — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:29:33 +0000

This morning I thought I'd check in on the Daring Bakers website to see how much time I still had to make this month's challenge. I discovered that today was my deadline! I had actually hoped to get this one created earlier in the month, but we had family over, then I was sick last week - and sadly I'm still sick. I am on the verge of wellness, so I figured that I could still make and post these lavash crackers and dip today. And hooray! Here we are! No related posts.

Vegan Chocolate Eclairs

Samantha — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:03:22 +0000

It's that time again - when hundreds of Daring Bakers bloggers are challenged to create a recipe and hope that the results are somewhat different yet unique at the same time. For vegan and other dietary lifestyles that don't include the standard ingredients that most of the bakers have no problem using, it's that much more of a challenge. If only you could read some of the conversations going on behind the scenes during each month. People feverishly trying to figure out good replacements for eggs or flour, or lamenting about their second or third try in the month because the first miserably failed. But I come to you here on my first try, and I lament that these chocolate eclairs are not really eclairs, but rather miniature cookies (I say this not because I tried to make them cookies, but more or less to comfort myself and live in denial.). In the words of my husband, who after his first bite made a face and exclaimed with irritation, "These aren't eclairs!" (Yet he managed to eat at least half or two-thirds of them.) Related posts:

Vegan Danish Braid

Samantha — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:43:56 +0000

Ever since I saw what this month's challenge would be with the Daring Bakers, I kept trying to decide if I would do it or not. It wasn't so much because it was challenging and time consuming. It was more about the fact that I've already gained a couple of pounds recently and it was clear this was going to be a calorie-filled pastry. Sure, I can share my creations with other people, but usually my husband and I willingly devour what we make. Related posts:

Vegan Opera Cake

Samantha — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:32:04 +0000

As an average baker, it was a little overwhelming to see The Daring Bakers' latest challenge. As a vegan, it was absolutely frightening. Two words: Opera Cake. Don't know what an Opera Cake is? Well, essentially it is a lot of layers of cake and cream and sugar topped off with a glaze. If you're lucky it will take approximately four hours to construct, and if you're good it will look perfect when cut. And why was this frightening for me as a vegan? Well, aside from the necessary endurance factor, it had around 14 eggs in the original recipe (six of those are egg whites, so if you want to get really technical...). It was pretty clear that this cake depends heavily upon our fine feathered friends. But what is a challenge if it is not challenging?! Related posts:

Vegan Cheesecake Pops

Samantha — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:46:39 +0000

Lest you think that I have been unusually obsessed with making vegan cheesecake lately, let me reassure you. I have and I haven't. :) First off, my husband made that vegan chocolate cheesecake and I am the one who made the raspberry sauce. Secondly, I did make the vegan peanut butter chocolate cheesecake but it was for my husband's birthday. Finally, I take no blame for making these cute little creamy pops. I had been seeing banners for The Daring Bakers on other cooking blogs for a while, and finally decided to investigate further. I hadn't realized it, but being a member of The Daring Bakers means you have to participate in monthly baking challenges. I'm always up for a challenge, so I decided to join. So there you go. The Daring Bakers are at fault for making me make cheesecake again. I'm not upset about it at all though. Related posts: