Wacky Cocoa Cake

Vegan and delicious

Prep time: 15 min

Baking time: 35-40 min

DRY INGREDIENTS

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar (I use only 1 cup and it tastes perfectly fine)

1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa powder*

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

WET INGREDIENTS

2 cups warm tap water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cups vegetable oil (I use just 1/2 cup, or even 1/4 cup)

2 tablespoons white vinegar (last item to add)

COOKING DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350ºF (176ºC). Grease and sprinkle flour on a 13x9x2 inch baking pan. (The typical rectangular one)

2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

3. Add wet ingredients, leaving vinegar for last.

4. Beat for 3 mins on medium speed or until thoroughly blended. Pour batter into a greased+floured baking pan.

5. Bake for 35-40minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for at least 10minutes before taking out of the mold.

6. Serve as is, or with frosting of choice.

(Do not use this recipe to make a non-chocolate version. The baking soda will make the cake taste like metal if not accompanied by the cocoa powder. If wanting to make a white cake, I recommend replacing the baking soda with baking powder but increasing the amount significantly because baking powder doesn't grow as much.)

*Or any 100% cocoa powder or 100% cocoa melted bar. About 2.5oz of the bar should be alright (?) but don’t quote me on that. I recommend the powder!

Queque de Chocolate

Vegano y delicioso

Para el queque de la foto dupliqué la receta y usé un molde redondo. Se demoró poco más de 45 min en hornear así de grande. Normalmente hace un queque rectangular como las “sheet cake” de EEUU y se cocina más rápido.

Preparación: 15 min See the source image

Horneado: 35-40 min

*OJO: Cuando la receta pide medidas en “tazas” o “cucharaditas de té”, me refiero a los medidores como los que se usan en EEUU. Por ejemplo, el típico jarrito pyrex trae medidas en tazas al igual que en ml. No son equivalentes a las tazas de la casa o a las cucharas que uno usa para comer.

INGREDIENTES SECOS

3 tazas de harina sin polvos de hornear

2 tazas de azúcar (Yo uso 1 taza y queda súper bien)

1/2 taza cacao en polvo 100%, amargo

2 *cucharaditas de té de bicarbonato

1 *cucharadita de té de sal

INGREDIENTES LÍQUIDOS

2 tazas de agua tibia de la llave

2 *cucharaditas de té de vainilla

3/4 taza de aceite (yo uso 1/2 o 1/4 taza)

2 cucharadas de vinagre de alcohol (agregar al último)

INSTRUCCIONES

1. Precalentar el horno a 350ºF (176ºC). Aceitar el molde y espolvorear harina por dentro. Recomiendo un molde rectangular de 13x9x2 pulgadas o el típico redondo con hoyo.

2. Mezclar los ingredientes secos en un bowl.

3. Agregar los ingredientes líquidos, agregando el vinagre último.

4. Batir por 2-3 minutos en velocidad media o revolver hasta que se mezcle bien, sin grumos. Agregar la mezcla al molde pre-aceitado y espolvoreado.

5. Hornear por 35-40min o hasta que al insertar un palito al medio, salga limpio. Enfriar por unos 10 minutos antes de desmoldar.

6. Servir tal cual o con decoración a elección.

(No recomiendo usar esta receta para hacer sin chocolate. El bicarbonato hará que tenga sabor a metal a menos que se acompañe del cacao en polvo. Si se quiere hacer una torta blanca, recomiendo reemplazar el bicarbonato por polvos de hornear, pero aumentando la cantidad porque el polvo de hornear no sube tanto como el bicarbonato.)

Overdue Pumpkin Pie

Milk-free, surprisingly quick and easy for a pie.

FILLING

* 1 Can of pumpkin that expired 2 years ago and has been sitting in your pantry.

* 2 eggs

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1 teaspoon vanilla

* 1/4 cup cornstarch diluted in 1/4 cup water.

* 1/2 cup sugar

* 1/2 cup of canned coconut milk (full fat)

Mix everything really well, dump in the crust mold, bake for 60 mins at 350°F.

PIE CRUST

* 1 1/2 cup flour

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1 tablespoon sugar.

* 1/4 cup margarine (I used blue bonnet this time)

Mix everything in the food processor or with a handheld mixer. Do not mix or knead with hands: the warmth from hands will melt the margarine and we don't want that.

After mixing well, it will look like a clustery sand. Dump the mix on a large clean surface, quickly push it together with hands just to consolidate it into 1 ball of dough. Then use a rolling pin to spread the dough (do not heat it, work it cold). Once it's large enough to cover the entire baking dish and give it walls, put it in the dish. This time, my "dish" was a cheesecake tin. Cool in the fridge for some 30minutes before cooking it with the filling in it.

Empanadas de Pino

Chilean recipe for baked beef empanadas.

FILLING (ideally prepare all of this ahead of time, like the day before)

Pino recipe:

* 1kg beef that has been diced very small, or ground beef (lower fat % is better)

* 1 or more sweet onion chopped small

* Cumin, salt, pepper, paprika

Also for the empanada filling:

* 1 black olive per empanada

* 1/2 or 1/3 boiled egg per empanada

* 1 yellow raisin per empanada (soften them up with warm water)

Begin frying the onion in a deep pot first, covered, stirring often, until it starts to get juicy and caramelized. Then add the beef with everything else and stir often. The beef should be crumbly, not sticking together in big chunks. When it’s time to fill your empanadas, use enough liquid that the empanada will be moist inside, but not runny.

DOUGH

Step 1: Mix dry ingredients in a bowl

* 800gr flour

* 2 teaspoons baking powder

* 1 teaspoon salt

Step 2: Add liquid ingredients

* 1 bar of fleischmann’s margarine melted, warm (8 tablespoons). Most people back home use manteca (I think that’s shortening here?).

* 1 egg

* 300ml warm water (add bit by bit)

Knead until it becomes elastic and warm. Do not let it cool down at any point. Be careful to add too much water. It’s a good idea to warm up the counter space with a hot plate or boiling water before you start to knead (of course, if you use water, dry the space before you knead.) Keep dough covered while you cut it and make the circles with the rolling pin, so it doesn’t cool down.

Put together your empanadas, and before baking, paint them with a raw egg so they’ll be golden when they come out. Bake at 350F for 30-35minutes. Serve with pebre.

Cantonese egg tarts

Makes 18-24 small tarts.

PASTRY

* 1 Stick + 1 tablespoon margarine

* 1/2 cup icing sugar

* 1/2 egg white

* 1 egg yolk

* 1 2/3 cup plain flour

* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

To make the pastry, cream the icing sugar and the butter together until fluffy. Add egg ingredients and mix well. Stir in vanilla extract. Add flour and stir until crumbly. Form into a ball, refrigerate for 30 minutes.

FILLING

* 2 cups soy milk

* 3/4 cups granulated sugar

* 3 medium or large eggs

* 1 teaspoon rum (optional)

* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

While the dough is refrigerating, heat milk and sugar in a saucepan on low heat until sugar dissolves. When done, let it cool. Add eggs and whisk until mixed (not until frothy, just until combined). Add rum and vanilla. Run egg and milk mixture through a sieve three times to eliminate potential bubbles.

ASSEMBLE

To assemble egg tarts, make small balls of dough and flatten. Press dough-disc into the bottom of tart cups and bake for 10 minutes at 350F. Remove cups from the oven and spoon in egg mixture until 90% full. Bake again for 15-20 more minutes (watch carefully, tarts are done when a toothpick inserted in the center can stand on its own). Done!

IMPORTANT TIPS TO CONSIDER:

1) Don’t pour the filling into the tart cups. Spoon it in.

2) Watch the tarts carefully when they are in the oven. Take them out from the oven before they start to bubble. If you take them out after they’ve already puffed up and glazed over, the tops will be wrinkled when they dry.

3) If your crust burns while the filling is cooking, cover the edges with aluminum foil or do not pre-bake.

4) When filling cups with dough, allow the dough to extend past the top of the cup, as the dough will retract while it bakes.