Tahinopita

Tahinopita is Greek tahini cake -- a dense cake studded with raisins and nuts that tastes something like an enormous raisin cookie. It is "strict fasting" or "Lenten", meaning it contains no dairy, eggs, or oil and is suitable for "fasting" days in the Orthodox church.

makes one 8-inch cake

for the dough:
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 ¼ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. kosher salt
¾ tsp. cinnamon
¾ cup tahini (raw or roasted; roasted lends a nice flavor)
¾ cup orange juice
½ cup sugar
¾ cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

for the syrup:
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray an 8-inch round springform pan (or cake pan) with nonstick spray and dust with flour. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and set aside. Place the tahini in a large mixing bowl and slowly drizzle in the orange juice while beating with an electric beater. Add the sugar and beat well for several minutes, until smooth and lighter in color.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well. The dough will be thick like cookie dough, so stop if your beaters get bogged down. Knead in the raisins and walnuts.

Press the dough into the prepared pan, using a spatula or slightly moistened fingers to press the dough into place and smooth out the top.

Bake for 35 to 38 minutes, until golden brown on top. Let the cake rest in the pan for several minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Now, you can eat the cake just like this, or dust it lightly with powdered sugar, but if you want to be really Greek about it you'll make a sugar syrup:

Boil the sugar and water together in a small saucepan for about 10 minutes to form a slightly thick sugar syrup. Drizzle the syrup liberally over the top of the cake and brush on the sides.

Cut into wedges and enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Babka

My idea of heaven: rich, buttery bread dough filled with a swirl of chocolate and cinnamon and topped with crispy, sugary streusel. This dough also makes a lovely French brioche (see variation at the end).

makes four small 3"x5" loaves or 24 muffin babkas

for the dough:
¼ cup warm water
1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
½ cup sugar
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
¾ cup plain nondairy milk
4 TB plain mashed potatoes
8 TB nonhydrogenated margarine, at room temperature

for the chocolate filling:
one 12 oz. package vegan chocolate chips, ground in a food processor until finely chopped
¾ tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
4 TB nonhydrogenated margarine, at room temperature

for the streusel topping:
3 TB all-purpose flour
3 TB sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 TB nonhydrogenated margarine

If making small loaves, spray four 3"x5" loaf pans with nonstick spray. If making individual muffin-sized babka, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners and (important!) spray the muffin papers with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Measure out the sugar and sprinkle a pinch of it into the water. Allow the yeast to proof for five minutes.

Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt together, and in another bowl mix the nondairy milk and mashed potatoes together (no lumps).

Add all the sugar, flour mixture, and milk mixture to the yeast and mix on low speed for 3 minutes using the dough hook attachment. Turn the mixer speed up a notch and add the margarine a tablespoon at a time. Mix for 10 minutes. When you first add the margarine the dough will look like a mess, but hang in there and it will come back together into a smooth ball.

Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise for 2 1/2 hours.

While the dough is rising make the chocolate filling by combining all the chocolate filling ingredients and kneading them together with your hands until the margarine is completely incorporated. Make the struesel topping by combining all the struesel ingredients and working the margarine in with your fingers until well-combined and crumbly.

Scrape dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Press the air bubbles out and use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 16"x12" rectangle. Spread evenly with the chocolate filling.


If making four small loaves, cut the dough into four squares and roll each piece up cinnamon-roll style. Pinch the ends together to seal and place in the loaf pans.

If making muffin babka, cut the dough in half the long way and roll each rectangle up the long way. Cut each roll into twelve equal pieces and place each piece in a prepared muffin cup.

Crumble the streusel evenly on top of each muffin or loaf. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 40 to 50 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350º during this final rise.

Bake muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, loaves for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.


Variation: To make this dough into a lovely French brioche, add 1 tsp. vanilla to the dough. Leave off the filling and streusel, and bake in brioche molds. Baking time will depend on the size of your pans.

Vegan Lamingtons

Lamingtons are a traditional Australian treat made by dipping squares of sponge cake in chocolate icing and rolling them in coconut.

To make vegan Lamingtons, follow the directions for Vegan Twinkies. You can make the batter as cupcakes if you can't find a creme canoe baking pan, but don't try to make the batter as one large cake and cut it into squares -- heartbreak awaits. You can fill the cakes with strawberry jam or leave them plain, as desired.

Let the cakes cool completely; best to make them a day ahead.

Now have a large shallow bowl of finely shredded sweetened coconut at the ready, and make

Chocolate Icing

4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup nondairy milk
2 tablespoons nonydrogenated margarine
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the nondairy milk and margarine to a boil over medium-high heat. Transfer to the top of a double boiler or a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the powdered sugar/cocoa and the vanilla. Whisk until completely smooth. Keep the icing over simmering water as you work to keep it soft.

Dip each cake into the icing, using two forks to help turn and coat all sides. Hold the dripping cake aloft and let the excess icing drip off. Now use two more forks to roll the cake in coconut. Transfer to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining cakes.

Let the icing set for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a covered container and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Honeybee No-Bakes

These almond-buttery, coconutty no-bake cookies are a favorite of ours all year long, not just at Easter. Roll them into small balls and store in the refrigerator for a quick treat.

Just Like Honey is a honey substitute made from brown rice syrup, and it really does taste, well, just like honey! Agave nectar is another vegan honey substitute that is generally available at supermarkets and natural food stores.

makes about 33 honeybees

1 ½ cups oat bran
1 cup very finely shredded coconut flakes (sweetened or
unsweetened, your choice)
1/8 cup cocoa or carob powder, plus extra for decorating
1 TB vanilla extract
¼ cup almond butter
½ cup “Just Like Honey” or agave nectar
Sliced almonds

For this recipe the coconut flakes should be very small -- just a bit larger than the oat bran flakes. If they are too big, pulse them down to size in a food processor fitted with the metal S blade.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oat bran, coconut, 1/8 cup cocoa or carob powder, vanilla, almond butter, and liquid sweetener. Knead well with your hands until the mixture holds together well.

Pinch off bits of dough (about 2 tsp.), roll them into ovals and place them on the baking sheet. Dip your fingers into a bowl of water if necessary to keep the dough from sticking.

Dip a toothpick into cocoa or carob powder and press two or three lines into the top of each “honeybee” to create stripes. Gently insert an almond slice into each side to resemble wings.

Store in the refrigerator.

Vegan Croissants

This is my veganized, whole-wheatified version of a recipe from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book. My husband called these "uncommonly good", and promised to gain weight if I would make them more often.

makes 16

1 ¼ cups plain soy milk, warmed
2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast
1 TB sugar
1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 cup whole wheat flour (preferably graham flour)
¾ cup Earth Balance or other non-hydrogenated tub margarine, cold

Put the milk into a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and yeast and whisk to dissolve. Let the yeast mixture sit for a few minutes until foamy.

Mix together the flour, whole wheat flour, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and stir until a sticky dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a liberally floured surface and knead for a few strokes, just long enough to form a smooth dough. Add flour as needed.

Roll the dough out with a floured rolling pin into a rectangle, about 9 x 14 inches.

Put the margarine between two sheets of wax paper and roll out into a 6 x 8 rectangle. Peel off the wax paper and place the margarine on the bottom half of the dough. Fold the bottom, sides, and top half over the margarine, encasing it completely. Sprinkle the dough with flour, cover with plastic or place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

First turn: place the dough on a liberally floured work surface and roll out with a floured rolling pin using firm, smooth strokes. Roll out to 9 x 14, then fold the bottom and top halves in towards the center (like folding up a letter). Sprinkle with flour, cover with plastic again, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Second turn: repeat as above, refrigerating for 45 minutes.

Third turn: repeat as above, refrigerating for 45 minutes.

Shape the croissants: Line a baking sheet with parchment and spray with nonstick spray and set aside. Roll the dough out on a well-floured surface to about 10 x 20. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut into eight squares. Cut each square in half diagonally to form 16 triangles.

Pull the top triangle point out a little to lengthen, then start at the bottom of the triangle and roll it up tightly. Tuck the tip under and curve the edges in a bit to form a croissant shape (I give each one a little squish at the end to help hold the shape). Repeat with the remaining croissants, placing them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Spray the croissants with nonstick spray, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 ½ hours, until light and puffy.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425º.

Bake the croissants for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375º and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.