laurkamkitchen

[laurkamkitchen]

Remake 19/1/24: Can't believe that it's been 2 1/2 years since I last made this!

This go-around, however, was not my best. I definitely should have let that first rise last a little longer. Without a true, thick Dutch oven, the crust, especially on the bottom, was definitely overbaked and perhaps even a tad burnt.

Still delicious though and a very easy recipe for what it is!

I think I’ve made this recipe before, but it’s certainly been a while. I also just haven’t made bread in ages and have been craving some cinnamon raisin, so I thought this would be a fun route to go down this weekend.

As you can see, I left ‘easy’ in the title here, because this recipe genuinely is so simple; it has very minimal prep time and comes together quite simply so long as you’re willing to make your dough the night before. This recipe also offers some great tips and advice throughout which is always helpful when you’re dealing with baking as sensitive as bread.

I made this in full but definitely overfilled my jug of water a bit, as my dough turned out pretty wet and sticky even after I added the suggested two extra tablespoons of flour. It rose pretty well, however, but I ran into another issue when I realized just before I went to bake that Matthew must have taken his Dutch oven, so I was going to have to find an alternative baking vessel. I ended up using his Le Creuset pot, which was unfortunately a rather tight fit for my dough and probably didn’t give it enough room to really expand during the baking process.

I kept to the set baking times here, especially after that last 10 when the top was starting to darken. I let this cool outside for maybe half an hour, but I was getting hungry and impatient and definitely cut into it before I truly should have. It was definitely underdone, a combination, I think, of its original wetness and the pot situation. But honestly I find underbaked bread indulgently yummy and really didn’t mind.

Again, this is a great super simple bread endeavor, one of those that seems impressive but in reality requires far less effort than you’d think. I’ll definitely return to it again at some point.

[laurkamkitchen]

This seemed like the perfect dinner to make for my mom and me, and it honestly turned out even better than I could have imagined!

I halved this using all nutritional yeast. I flipped the instructions around a little, prepping the roasted veg first. I also mistakenly added the nutritional yeast to the polenta with the broth and milk, but, ultimately, I don't think it made much of a difference. Rather than blend the polenta in the food processor, I just gave it a couple of quick pulses with the immersion blender — much safer and easier in my opinion.

When it came to the pesto, I was a little heavy-handed with the kale, so the final texture was a bit grittier than I would have preferred, even after adding a tablespoon of water. However, mixed in with the rest of the bowl, it was still delicious, so no regrets there.

This was much richer in flavor than I was expecting, and of course the variety of textures was also fantastic. Overall, this was also much less work than I'd been anticipating, so this truly was a win from start to flavorful finish.

[laurkamkitchen]

It's honestly been a while since I've made a recipe that has just totally blown my mind, and let me tell you, this is now one of my all-time favorite dinners ever!!

I halved this using a thick vegan yogurt and vegan feta, skipping the pomegranate molasses, and serving with one of my chickpea pancakes. For as much deliciousness as this packs, it's overall pretty easy; once the shallots are going and the roasted veg in the oven, it's really just a matter of mincing and mixing your garlic with the yogurt.

I really don't have much more to add here than pure praise. Every single bite was such a treat, oh-so-creamy and well-spiced. If we weren't heading out of cauliflower season now, I would honestly be making this again ASAP — I cannot emphasize enough what a huge fan I am.

[laurkamkitchen]

I think it’s only fitting that my first ever post on this blog, and the first recipe I’ve made this year, is this chia pudding. I have made this so many times now that it’s probably the only recipe I no longer need the instructions for (although it does help that they’re pretty straightforward).

I usually end up making a half batch of this, although I do keep the cinnamon and vanilla amounts the same as the full because, well, I love cinnamon and vanilla and they give this such great flavor.

The original recipe calls for fresh blueberries as a topping, but I’ll typically only add them if they’re in season, leaving them out and opting for other fruit that is, either as a topping or on the side depending on what it is.

The original instructions call for you to blend the initial ingredients, but I’ve found that if your almond butter is runny enough, a little whisking will still do the trick.

The same goes for adding almond milk upon consumption; when I make this at school, where the almond butter brand I buy tends to be more runny, it’s not usually necessary, but at home, where it tends to be much thicker, I usually add a lot and then stir. At the end of the day, it’s really all about personal preference and experimentation.

[laurkamkitchen]

I first made these scones right at the new year; in fact, they were my first breakfast of 2021 and were honestly the absolute best way to start it off. They didn’t get an entry here since I had made them the day before, but I’ve been craving some kind of blueberry pastry recently, and so they’re back.

This is by far my favorite scone recipe of all time, and maybe even one of my favorite recipes of all time in general. They’re so moist and melt-in-your-mouth good, which can be rare for scones, especially vegan ones that don’t have any  butter to help them along. And not only do they taste absolutely fabulous, but they’re also incredibly easy; this morning they took me less than an hour including bake time.

The recipe doesn’t clarify whether it’s wanting tinned coconut milk or not, but I’m assuming not, as both times I’ve made this, I’ve used the regular stuff from the carton, and it’s obviously still worked beautifully. I also, as I always do with baking recipes that call for blueberries, used frozen, as I find they hold their structure and sweetness better than the fresh stuff, which can often turn slightly sour in the baking process. They’re probably more difficult to fold into the dough (I honestly both times have ended up poking them in by hand), but I do think they just overall turn out better.

The brushing and sprinkling just before these go in the oven is, I think, absolutely essential, as it really gives them that extra special bakery touch. These may look small when they go in, but they rise a lot in the oven (there’s a whole tablespoon of baking powder in there, baby), so don’t worry there. Both times I’ve made these, I’ve sliced them in six rather than eight to fit them all on one baking tray, but that’s obviously personal preference. The end result is a group of roughly triangular scones that look absolutely artisanal.

This time, I took these out right at 20 minutes. I’m so glad I set my timer 5 minutes early, as I think they would really have started to catch had I left them in any longer. I think, though, this was because I pre-preheated (don’t ask) our oven, and she tends to get too hot when that happens.

I haven’t ever made the optional glaze, so can’t speak for it, but I highly recommend serving these with some vegan butter and homemade jam. They really are just phenomenal, better than a lot of non-vegan ones I’ve had in bakeries and cafes even here in Scotland, the scone capital of the world. They really are proof good scones can be vegan, and vegan scones can be good.

[laurkamkitchen]

Remake 14/1/25: This most recent batch might have been my best ever. I think the keys were (1) my coconut oil was the absolute perfect texture, borderline spreadable, and (2) using an ice cream scoop and not flattening so that they came out taller, thicker, and softer on the inside. God, I love this recipe!!!

I always, always take recipes which tout themselves as the ‘best’ of anything with a grain of salt, so while I was enthusiastic about trying this one, I still kept my expectations in check. However, I can say with full confidence that these are indeed by far the best vegan chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Honestly, no way would you ever guess that they were vegan. They have the exact texture I love in a cookie, very much like Nestle Tollhouse. I would usually save such praise for the end of a review, but I will go ahead and declare here that this will be the only ever basic chocolate cookie recipe I use from here on out.

Remus and I (well, mostly me) made about ¾ of this recipe using a mix of snapped dark chocolate buttons and M&S chunks. I honestly was most motivated to make this recipe since it called for both coconut milk and applesauce, both of which I have been trying to use up, but somehow that created the perfect combo for deliciously gooey cookies.

We ended up with about 15 cookies and perhaps did not give all of them enough room for spreading. Ever concerned about our over-hot oven, I pulled the first batch at 8 minutes, thought the ends were too crispy, and so went for 7 on the second. I think, however, just because they were so crowded, 8 was actually probably the right call. Yes, the edges were a bit crispy, but with 7, the middles perhaps were not baked thoroughly enough.

But you know what, they’re vegan, so who cares if they’re not fully baked! Then you just miss out on all that extra gooeyness. And gooey goodness is exactly what this recipe promises. I know this is now going to be a forever favorite.

[laurkamkitchen]

The day Remus and I were set to make this for dinner, the craziest thing happened – the recipe disappeared on me. Yes, dear reader, I hope when you click the link above, Rebel Recipes’s website is back online, but as of the time of this post, it is not. Thankfully in my case, however, I realized that I still had it open in another tab and was able to screenshot the information I needed and carry on with our dinner plan.

We made this in full using some of Remus’s fancy canned tomatoes and a big square of fromagerie-bought foccacia we’d had in our freezer for months. We got everything chopped and ready to go before we got started with the actual cooking, which made this a pretty smooth process.

Our bread was unfortunately a bit freezer-burned, but it was nothing a good soaking in all the rich goodness of this recipe couldn’t solved. And God, was it good – this really was utterly phenomenal, by far the best ratatouille I’ve ever had (and way better than that quinoa stuff we made a few weeks ago which was what I was trying to redeem myself from). I LOVED the tahini dressing and everything it added here. With some truly actual good quality bread, this would definitely be the ultimate comfort meal.

I am so, so glad I still had that tab open and was somehow still able to make this, despite the website issue – I would never have known what I would have missed, but that certainly doesn’t make me any less grateful for it now.

[laurkamkitchen]

I think it’s only fitting that my first ever post on this blog, and the first recipe I’ve made this year, is this chia pudding. I have made this so many times now that it’s probably the only recipe I no longer need the instructions for (although it does help that they’re pretty straightforward).

I usually end up making a half batch of this, although I do keep the cinnamon and vanilla amounts the same as the full because, well, I love cinnamon and vanilla and they give this such great flavor.

The original recipe calls for fresh blueberries as a topping, but I’ll typically only add them if they’re in season, leaving them out and opting for other fruit that is, either as a topping or on the side depending on what it is.

The original instructions call for you to blend the initial ingredients, but I’ve found that if your almond butter is runny enough, a little whisking will still do the trick.

The same goes for adding almond milk upon consumption; when I make this at school, where the almond butter brand I buy tends to be more runny, it’s not usually necessary, but at home, where it tends to be much thicker, I usually add a lot and then stir. At the end of the day, it’s really all about personal preference and experimentation.

[laurkamkitchen]

This was another recent instance where I had to outsource from my Pinterest archive for the exact kind of dessert recipe I was looking for. Somehow, out of all the little no bake truffles I have saved, none satisfied my criteria: cookie dough flavored, date-sweetened, and chocolate-coated. This, however, seemed promising.

I made it in full, nothing I haven't tackled before. The only problem I ran into is that the melted chocolate was super runny. It's possible that I may have over-measured my coconut oil a tad, but really, I just don't think that a full tablespoon, never mind an entire cup of chocolate chips, was really necessary here. Perhaps there's an error and this is really just meant to be a teaspoon?

But other than the excess chocolate, these turned out delicious, exactly what I was looking for. Nothing will ever beat my all-time favorite pumpkin version, but for an off-season dupe, these did the trick.

[laurkamkitchen]

I could have sworn I've made this before, but maybe it's just one of those that's become so familiar after sitting on my shortlist for so long. Regardless, I was looking forward to this and all the flavors it promised to pack, as well as the incentive of using up some lingering vegan yogurt.

I made about a third of this using tricolor quinoa, soy yogurt (not nearly as thick), and leaning a bit more into the sweet potato than the cauliflower. For the pepitas, I roasted my own pumpkin seeds with a little bit of salt.

My roasted veggies were done in just 20 minutes (I blame the fact that we're out of parchment paper and I've had to use tinfoil). Thankfully, I caught it this time, and from there quickly tidied while I waited for my quinoa to finish steaming.

Overall, this really delivered in every aspect, making for a super delicious meal. The spiced veg was just delicious, the dressing was amazing (I added a tad extra tahini and lemon juice), and I do love the added crunch of roasted pumpkin seeds to any bowl. This was pretty outstanding, and one I will absolutely be making again, certainly before this cauliflower season is over.

[laurkamkitchen]

I still had half a head of cauliflower leftover from the cauliflower tacos I made last week, so I decided to roast a big batch of it to throw on salads and whatnot, and, since turmeric and cumin are two of my favorite spices, selected this recipe from my Pinterest archive to do so.

I don’t really have any notes here beyond adding that this was super easy and turned out quite yummily, definitely one I’d be willing to put to use again.

[laurkamkitchen]

I think it’s only fitting that my first ever post on this blog, and the first recipe I’ve made this year, is this chia pudding. I have made this so many times now that it’s probably the only recipe I no longer need the instructions for (although it does help that they’re pretty straightforward).

I usually end up making a half batch of this, although I do keep the cinnamon and vanilla amounts the same as the full because, well, I love cinnamon and vanilla and they give this such great flavor.

The original recipe calls for fresh blueberries as a topping, but I’ll typically only add them if they’re in season, leaving them out and opting for other fruit that is, either as a topping or on the side depending on what it is.

The original instructions call for you to blend the initial ingredients, but I’ve found that if your almond butter is runny enough, a little whisking will still do the trick.

The same goes for adding almond milk upon consumption; when I make this at school, where the almond butter brand I buy tends to be more runny, it’s not usually necessary, but at home, where it tends to be much thicker, I usually add a lot and then stir. At the end of the day, it’s really all about personal preference and experimentation.

[laurkamkitchen]

I searched high and low for a brownie recipe that was naturally sweetened but not overtly gluten-free and finally came across this one which just seemed perfect!

I made this in full using 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and subbing in a little bit of semisweet chocolate since we didn't have enough unsweetened. Everything mixed beautifully and the batter was tasting delicious.

However, even though I knew I was using a 9x9 pan, I did not think about the fact that this meant it would bake a lot faster. I should have checked at 20-25 minutes; my toothpick after 30 had not a hint of gloop.

So sadly, these were a little overbaked and honestly quite crumbly, though still delicious. I would definitely be willing to give this another shot in order to get the texture right.

[laurkamkitchen]

Remake 2/1/25: Remake to accompany Remus's beef wellington and potato gratin.

We barely had any balsamic vinegar left, so I actually ended up making up my own glaze using soy sauce and a lot of extra maple syrup. It took a long time to thicken, but this was thankfully time I had. The end result had a texture almost like melted chocolate — I was so pleased with myself. A huge hit all-around.

You guys know I’ll take any excuse to roast a big batch of Brussels sprouts, and Thanksgiving offers up a perfect one. I made this same recipe last year, too, and find it’s a great crowd-pleasing take on a veg classic, simple and also with some delicious flavors.

I made this in full, and, since my sprouts were for some reason just massive, quartered rather than halved them. I used two baking sheets here, but honestly could have even gone with three, as everybody was pretty crowded on there. In rereading the instructions now, I am realizing I totally did not stir and rotate, which would have helped these roast a lot more evenly, but it’s definitely too late to do anything about that now.

These definitely were in for way longer than 30 minutes, mostly just because Remus’s oven is small and not very mighty and just overall has a hard time getting things to roast in a timely manner. As a result, I made the glaze perhaps a little early; I took it off the heat and set it aside while I was waiting on them, but it unfortunately hardened on me. Thankfully, though, I was able to pop it back on the stove and salvage it, only taking it off again when the sprouts were out of the oven and ready to be dressed.

These did not turn out nearly as crispy as I would have like, as we just did not have the time to really baby them, unfortunately. They were still delicious, though, and well-complimented, which, in the end, is all that matters to me.

[laurkamkitchen]

Sparkling Chocolate Truffle Champagne Cake Recipe

To make up for the disaster that was my Christmas yule log cake, I decided that for our NYE party, I needed to redeem myself.

I made this in full using Trader Joe's sparkling wine. As with most recipes, the prep time here is an outright lie — I spent a rough total of 4 hours in and out of the kitchen throughout this process.

The only issue that I ran into is that, due to its position in the oven, one of my cake layers turned out a bit lopsided, but I managed to even it out okay. As I usually do, I did get ahead of myself with the assembly process and decided to take a break to let the two layers I'd so far stacked have a little time to cool and set in the fridge.

From there, assembly was a breeze. I actually forgot to add the truffles in between the layers, but I think that worked out for the best. I instead had just enough room to arrange them in a circle around the top. With exactly 12, it was almost like a mini clock! After dipping them, I also had the foresight to top them with sprinkles and mini candied pearls, all on theme and all so cute.

My favorite element, out of all the layers and accoutrements here, was definitely the champagne buttercream. God, was that good! The fizziness sourness of the wine perfectly complimented the tart sweetness of the icing sugar. I've possibly never made such a delectable frosting.

The final result, after a few hours of refrigeration, was perhaps a bit stodgy, but our party guests loved it. This was a lot of work, but worth it — redemption in its absolute sweetest form.

[laurkamkitchen]

I think it’s only fitting that my first ever post on this blog, and the first recipe I’ve made this year, is this chia pudding. I have made this so many times now that it’s probably the only recipe I no longer need the instructions for (although it does help that they’re pretty straightforward).

I usually end up making a half batch of this, although I do keep the cinnamon and vanilla amounts the same as the full because, well, I love cinnamon and vanilla and they give this such great flavor.

The original recipe calls for fresh blueberries as a topping, but I’ll typically only add them if they’re in season, leaving them out and opting for other fruit that is, either as a topping or on the side depending on what it is.

The original instructions call for you to blend the initial ingredients, but I’ve found that if your almond butter is runny enough, a little whisking will still do the trick.

The same goes for adding almond milk upon consumption; when I make this at school, where the almond butter brand I buy tends to be more runny, it’s not usually necessary, but at home, where it tends to be much thicker, I usually add a lot and then stir. At the end of the day, it’s really all about personal preference and experimentation.

[laurkamkitchen]

It's been a long time since I've had a true kitchen disaster. Maybe that's why I felt ambitious enough to tackle this recipe, as structurally challenging as it may have been.

I made this in full, making the praline paste (though mine was more of a dust) the day before and subbing the applesauce for yogurt and the aquafaba for egg whites since we were out of chickpeas. Surprisingly, it was not these substitutes that caused me problems, as the sponge was pretty much perfect, if a tad underbaked. Rather, it was all the chocolate that I had issues with.

I don't know if it was because I didn't truly let my almond milk come to a full, rolling boil in either case, or if it came down to the chocolate I was using (Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips which I definitely did not finely chop), but I could not for the life of me get either the filling or the frosting to set, even after hour-long stints in the freezer and even, after I'd fully given up, a full night in the fridge. Both were just pure liquid, making a huge mess that was absolutely unservable, even to my family, never mind the extended group we were having Christmas dinner with,

So sadly, this did not make it and the whole soggy mess went straight into the bin the next day. I've been racking my brain ever since, as I really don't think the boiling or chopping mentioned above were errors enough to affect the consistency so irrevocably.

Though someday I would like to master a yule log cake, it may be another few Christmases before I once again feel empowered enough to do so. This was a humbling experience to say the very least.