This is the world’s best dessert. I think I’ve been searching for it ever since I was born, and the desire to taste this kind of magnificence is what has led me to spend so many hours of my life in the kitchen.

More than anything else I love chocolate. And I really love soft, succulent, rich and melty chocolate with a high fat content and a deep, intense but sweet flavor. Before I created this dessert I always had to choose between flavor and texture, it seems I could never get the exact right combination…until now.

It is even richer than a silk pie, more luscious than a mouse, far richer than pudding, and infinitely more delicious than just plain chocolate. If chocolate had a soul, this would be it.

And the recipe couldn’t be easier.

Chocolate Pots de Creme – makes 4 servings
1  14 ounce can of full fat coconut milk
5 ounces dark chocolate, I prefer mine to be sweet, not too bitter (EDIT – I’m working on the amount of chocolate, I think there needs to be more than 5oz to create the firm, mousse like texture I’m going for. I’ll update soon!)
2 Tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

- Break the chocolate up into pieces, put it into a food processor along with the agave nectar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon – don’t process it yet! Just wait….

- Bring the coconut milk up to a simmer on the stove, and then pour it over the ingredients in the food processor

- Blend everything together until smooth and creamy, pour into ramekins or coffee cups if that is all you have, and chill for about 5 hours until firm and creamy.

* I am the world’s foremost hater of all things coconut, but coconut milk is really growing on me. It is light and fragrant and not at all coconuty.  Believe me, in this dessert you can’t even taste it!

After 3 years of horrible, heart breaking deprivation I can enjoy one of my very favorite treats again: vegan ice cream!

My beautiful and oh so easy to use Cuisinart ICE-30BC finally arrived in the mail a few days ago (they don’t sell ice cream makers here!) and I have been falling in love with it ever since. Ever since we moved back to the Middle East the one vegan treat that we haven’t been able to find that we love dearly is vegan ice cream! I’ve searched every where and it just doesn’t exist, and unlike products like nutritional yeast, it is not something you can order online. So, I’ve done without. Until now!

You are probably shocked that my first batch of ice cream wasn’t chocolate with chocolate ripples with chocolate fudge with chocolate sprinkles. You know how crazy I am about all things chocolate. But, I had a can of candied chestnut puree sitting around that I was desperate to use. When I tasted it and realized it had the same rich, dark flavor as brown sugar and toffee, I knew it would make the perfect ice cream flavor. So, Chestnut Brown Sugar Ice-Cream was born!

You will notice that I use coconut milk in this recipe, and you might be surprised because if there is one thing I loathe it is coconut. But I knew that the best ice cream has a high fat content, and soy creamer is hard to come by in this part of the world, so I figured coconut milk would be a good stand in. And oh was I right. It gives the ice cream a depth of richness that really makes this treat indulgent, and shockingly I actually, dare I say it, liked the mild hint of coconut sweetness. I know, I’m as surprised as you are.

I hope you give this recipe a try, it is SO easy and incredibly delicious!

Chestnut Brown Sugar Vegan Ice-Cream – makes 2 quarts
2  14oz cans of full fat coconut milk
2 cups of soymilk
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of candied chestnut puree
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp cinnamon
1 generous pinch of nutmeg

Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and pour into your ice-cream maker. Follow the instructions specific to your ice-cream maker and enjoy! (Mine required that I let it spin in the machine for 25 minutes and then it was done, but still very soft and creamy, like frozen yogurt. I let it sit in the freezer for a few hours to firm up to the consistency I desired.)

*Volvo Update*

Thank you so much for all of your support and kindness, everyone. Volvo is still doing the same, he seems happy and pain free and he is eating and enjoys hanging out with our other dogs. Unfortunately, it seems like he is developing a cough which isn’t a good sign and is common when dogs lose their ability to move around on their own. We are enjoying the last bit of time we have left with him and keeping him comfortable and very well fed. He is loving all the extra attention, but mostly the extra treats!

WARNING: THIS CAKE IS FOR SERIOUS CHOCOLATE LOVERS ONLY. IT MAY CAUSE FITS OF ECSTASY, UNBRIDLED PASSION, AND SEVERE DROOLING. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

To call this a cake isn’t really accurate, it is more like a cross between the deepest, darkest chocolate cake you could ever imagine, and a dense, chewy, fudgey brownie. This is no light and fluffy wimp of a cake, no,  this cake is intense and brooding, chewy and dense with the biggest power punch of chocolate I could finagle into the batter. The ganache topping is as pitch black as midnight, and just as mysterious. Dark chocolate has never had it better than to be spread generously onto the two sumptuous layers of this magnificent cake. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pudding Cake – makes 2 cake rounds
1 and 1/2 cup chocolate soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup Provamel chocolate soy pudding
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 and 1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups AP flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

- Pre-heat the oven to 350F and lightly spray with cooking oil 2 round cake pans

- Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda

- Combine the soy milk, vinegar, oil, pudding and sugar into a large bowl and beat together till the sugar is mostly dissolved

- Pour the soy milk mixture into the flour mixture and combine completely

- Pour half of the mixture into each baking pan and bake for 24 – 25 minutes. Check with a knife or toothpick into the center of each cake to make sure they are completely done. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes before removing from their pans and placing on cooling racks

Midnight Ganache Topping
500 grams of high quality dark chocolate
3/4 cups chocolate soy milk
4 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp agave nectar

- Bring the soy milk to a gentle boil in a saucepan, then add the chocolate and maple syrup and agave nectar. Stir continually and once the chocolate has melted completely remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature

Assembling your Cake
- Spread 1/3 of the ganache topping onto one layer of cake, place the other layer on top of that and pour the rest of the ganach on top of it. I let the ganache dribble down the sides and don’t worry about it looking too perfect.

Gather round dear readers, because this is a post that is YEARS in the making. Yes, years.  You see, chocolate chip cookies are my all time favorite cookies ever. There is something so perfect about the simple combination of slightly sweet dough and decadent chocolate that just makes my tastebuds sing.

But you’ve got to be careful not to let the simplicity of the chocolate chip cookie fool you – making the perfect chocolate chip cookie can be quite challenging!

I’ve made dozens and dozens of batches over the years, and while, yes, I’ve enjoyed them all, they were not THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES IN THE VEGAN UNIVERSE. Some batches were too sweet, some didn’t have enough chocolate, some of the cookies were too flat, some were too bland, some too crispy, some not cakey and soft enough, and some were just plain boring. It was through sheer determination and a lot of trial and error that I finally achieved chocolate chip cookie nirvana.

These sweet chocolate filled discs of perfection are ever so slightly crisp on the outside, but instantly yield to a soft, cakey, chewy center of dough that is mellow and subtly sweet with lots of brown sugar flavor. The dark chocolate chunks stud each cookie evenly and melt slowly in your mouth, combining with the sweet dough to create a swirling mix of heaven. Really….make these cookies now!

Ingredients (makes a bit more than 2 dozen large cookies)

1/2 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water
2 tsp vanilla soy milk (yes, vanilla soy milk, NOT vanilla essence)
2 Tbsp applesauce
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup pastry flour
1 tsp salt
1 and 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips

- Pre-heat oven to 350F

- In the microwave at 15 second intervals melt the vegan butter until it is extremely soft. You don’t want it completely liquefied just very, very soft.

- Combine the softened butter with the shortening and combine completely, adding both sugars and agave nectar.

- Sift together the flours, salt, and baking soda

- Put the flax water mixture in the microwave for 20 seconds and then pour into the butter mixture, combining completely

- Add the soy milk and applesauce to the butter mixture

- Slowly pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture and stir completely, lastly folding in the chocolate chunks

- Roll the dough into balls with your hands (the dough should not be very sticky and it should be easy to roll into balls) and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets and put into the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking.

- Bake for 10 – 11 minutes. The cookies will still be very soft to the touch when you pull them out of the oven, that is what you want. Leave them on the pans for 10 minutes to firm up and then cool on cooking racks.

*****

And an extra big congratulations to Mara from Vegan Gluten-free Cooking because she is the winner of my Grand Opening Giveaway #3 and has won 2 boxes of vegan, organic, fair-trade chocolate from Sweet Earth Chocolates. Congratulations!

Gingerbread is one of my very favorite desserts, and this is definitely the best batch I’ve ever made. It is decadently moist and rich, luscious and spicy, with just enough sweetness to keep you going back into the kitchen for slice after slice. The flavors are incredibly dark and complex, the kind of dessert that has you closing your eyes after every bite just so you can figure out all the intense layers of spices and texture that are dancing on your tongue.

I called it Sticky Fingers Gingerbread because it is so overflowing with moisture that your fingers really are sticky after eating it.

This is the recipe that inspired me to make my own gingerbread. As you can see, I veganized it, changed it up, and transformed it to suit my taste.

Sticky Fingers Gingerbread

1 cup vegan margarine

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup molasses

1 cup agave nectar

1 cup Sucanat (evaporated cane juice) or brown sugar

3 cups AP flour

1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 and 1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of cloves and nutmeg

7 Tbsp of water combined with 3 Tbsp ground flax seed

1/2 cup soy milk (room temperature)

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated

- Preheat your oven to 325F and line your loaf pan with parchment paper that sticks up and out of the pan by a few inches so you can remove the loaf easily when you are done baking it.

- Combine the butter, water, molasses, agave nectar, vanilla, and sucanat in a pan over low heat. Stir frequently until everything has melted together. Set aside and allow to cool a bit, but don’t let it get too cold – you want it slightly warm.

- Sift together the flour, baking soda, and dried spices

- Microwave the flax and water mixture for about 45 seconds till the mixture reaches an egg like consistency

- Into the slightly warm molasses mixture beat in the flax eggs slowly, add the room temperature soy milk, and fold in the dry ingredients and fresh ginger. Combine until smooth.

- Pour into lined loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. (I would suggest checking it at about an hour and proceed from there. You definitely don’t want your gingerbread over cooked! My oven took 70 minutes, just be careful with yours!)

***

Don’t forget to enter my Zukay Live Raw Salad Dressing Giveaway for your chance to win an entire case of Zukay Live Salad Dressing!

“Let is snow, let is snow, let it snow!”

I love that song but the sentiment is pretty far fetched here in Saudi Arabia. Luckily, I have found an even more enjoyable way to enjoy the snow – in the form of snowy drifts of white chocolate crumbles topping white chocolate infused vanilla cupcakes.

These are so moist and scrumptious! I whipped up a batch of white chocolate using Bittersweet’s brilliant and very easy recipe – you have got to try it, I was really impressed with how quickly and deliciously it came together. I then melted a tiny bit of the white chocolate and swirled it into my standard vanilla cupcake batter and baked the batch like normal. Then I topped each cupcake with snowy clouds of vanilla frosting and crumbles of more white chocolate and tiny silver sugar balls.

Hmmm….that reminds me of yet another Christmas carol…“Silver Bells….Silver Bells….”

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for your chance to win some great treats!

These dense, fudgey, over the top chocolaty brownies have been specifically designed to convince even the most die hard dessert lovers that raw treats can be just as indulgent and decadent as the standard sugar laden, over processed, nutritionally void fare we all munch on.

These brownies have two epically delicious layers. The bottom layer is dense and chewy, just like real brownies. I can’t believe how just a few simple and healthy ingredients like cashews and dates can transform into such a gorgeous dessert dish. The top layer is pure silky chocolate heaven, lighter and smoother than any other frosting I’ve ever made. No one would ever guess it is made from avocados!

Ingredients

Base
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1/4 cup raw walnuts
- 1 cup chopped medjool dates
- 3 Tbsp agave nectar
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- pinch of nutmeg

- Blend the nuts as much as possible in your food processor, then add the other ingredients and blend until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of a pie dish or a pan. I like to make the brownies about an inch thick.

Frosting (I would double this recipe if I were you – the more frosting the better! But I only had one avocado on hand so this is exactly what I did.)
- 1 avocado
- 2 Tbsp agave nectar
- 1 Tbsp cocoa
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt and cinnamon

- Blend everything up in a blender or food processor until thick and creamy. Spread onto brownie base and pop into the fridge for a few hours to set up. Enjoy!

I wanted to title this post A Tale of Two Balls but I suppressed my inner 13 year old, aren’t you glad?

I love dessert and I definitely have a sweet tooth, my favorite treat is chocolate! I go through bricks of that stuff a day just to satisfy my cravings. Unfortunately I’m also really sensitive to refined sugar and caffeine and eating massive doses of chocolate can leave me a bit jittery. So lately I have been expanding my culinary horizons and enjoying raw desserts galore, like these epically awesome raw balls.

The chocolate peanut butter balls are my all time favorite raw balls EVER. They are lighter and less dense than most raw desserts I’ve tried and they are absolutely packed with intense chocolatey peanut butter flavor. Melt in your mouth delicious and much softer and creamier than the average piece of chocolate.

The pumpkin pie balls are perfect for this time of year. They are so soft and creamy, just like a bite of pumpkin pie and I made sure to fill them with all the traditional spices.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Raw Balls

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup oats
6 medjool dates (if they aren’t medjool increase the amount of agave)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp agave nectar
2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 Tbsp cocoa powder

- Blend the cashews, walnuts, and oats into an almost fine powder in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine totally until it is a moist and crumbly. Pack into balls with your hands and eat right away or store in the fridge to eat later.

Pumpkin Pie Balls

1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup oats
5 medjool dates
4 Tbsp pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of cloves
2 Tbsp agave nectar

- Blend the cashews, walnuts, and oats up into a fine powder in the food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until they form a moist, dense mixture. Form into balls and enjoy right away or store in the fridge until later.

Quick note!

There are dozens and dozens of raw ball recipes around the web, I’ve tried many of them but my recipes are, of course, my favorite! But I am so grateful for the inspiration that other people’s ideas and recipes give me and I’d like to acknowledge them. I think it is really important for all of us bloggers to support each other and give each other credit where credit is due. So, many, many thanks for my raw ball inspiration to Chocolate Covered Katie, Oh She Glows, Girl on Raw, and Loves Veggies, Yoga, Running, and Chocolate.

I know I’m an Aramco Brat because as soon as the weather drops below 100 degrees Fahrenheit I instantly begin thinking of Autumn and Christmas and curling up for cozy evenings with a good book. And what goes better with a good book than a cup of tea and some delicious cookies?

I’m really thrilled with this recipe because I have finally created my perfect cookie! I love cookies to be light and soft, almost cake like, and these cookies are all that and so much more! They have the flavor of a rich pumpkin pie with a lighter than air, fluffy soft texture. Would it be cheesy to say they are like tasty clouds of Autumn? I think so. I hope you make these cookies and let me know what you think, I love them! (And Cody devoured nearly a dozen and declared them to be delicious and said they reminded him of the puffy tops of muffins!)

Ingredients (24 cookies):

2 cups AP flour
1/4 cup whole meal flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
extra white sugar to roll cookie dough in

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper

- Combine in one large bowl the flours, salt, baking soda, spices, and white and brown sugar

- Combine in another large bowl the pumpkin, shortening, vanilla, and oil

- Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and combine well. It won’t come together very easily, you may need to use your hands to mix everything up really well.

- Pinch off the dough and roll into balls with your hands making them about the size of golf balls. Roll the dough balls through the extra white sugar.

- Place the dough balls on the parchment paper, press them into flat discs with your hand and use the tines of a fork to make a pattern on the top.

- Bake them at 350 for 10 minutes. Then remove them from the oven, let stand on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then place on a cooling rack till completely cool.

I love non-dairy milks of all kinds, in fact, dairy milk was always repulsive to me so the switch to a vegan version was easy. I enjoy soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, even quinoa milk, they are all delicious. But most often we buy soy milk to use in our baking, smoothies, cereal, every where we can think of. It dawned on us that we were spending a lot of money on pricey soy milks, which is not only an expensive habit but a wasteful one as well: think of all the packaging we were going through! And although I’m not one who believes that all soy is evil, I do believe that too much of any processed food is never a good thing. So, all of these things added up and we have begun to make our own almond milk and it couldn’t be easier or more delicious!

Step 1: Soak 2 cups of raw almonds in water overnight.

Step 2: Drain and rinse the almonds, add them to your food processor with 6 cups of water and a handful of chopped medjool dates. BLEND!

Step 3: Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth into a large bowl. Squeeze the almond meal very well to get out all of the delicious almond milk!

Step 4: You could drink the almond milk now, but I like to add it back into the blender and combine it with a hefty squeeze of agave nectar and cinnamon and nutmeg. The taste is subtle but just right for me!

Step 5: Chill and then serve with a stack of vegan cookies! (Yep, here in Saudi oreos are vegan! Make sure you check in your country though, because the ingredients do change depending on what part of the world they are manufactured in.)