VEGAN GÂTEAU À L'ORANGE

[Orange Spongecake]

Scout suggested that we weren't making nearly enough desserts for this project...

...so we made this lovely orange cake...

...delicious and very, very rich...

...so we buttered (with Earth Balance) a pan and got cooking...

...using an organic orange...

...we grated the rind of one orange...

...it smelled so good...

...this is sugar and 'egg yolks' - really Ener-G egg replacer...

...you add the orange juice...

...and cake flour...

...sifted of course...

...mix that all up - and it looks like cake batter...but...

...then you have to mix in your 'egg whites'...and for this, I thought I'd try using Soy Isolate Powder - I read on some blog that I can't find now that you could use this powder to make meringues - so I got some just to give it a try...this is what it looks like whipped - not really impressive - but they said it wouldn't loose it's volume while cooking...so we'll give it a try...

...fold that in...

...pour into the prepared pan...and bake...

...It came out lovely - and then as it cooled it fell in the middle just a bit...

...on to the filling now...

Click here for recipe.

Substitutions:
EnerG egg replacer for egg yolk
Soy Isolate Powder for egg white

Vegan Gâteau Fourré à la Crème d'Orange

[Spongecake with Orange-butter Filling]

This is a a rich buttery pudding-like filling for the Gâteau à l'Orange...

...you start by grating another orange peel...

Then put a bunch of butter (Earth Balance) in a pan...

...with a bunch of sugar...

...some EnerG egg replacer and some orange juice...

...cook and stir until thickened...add the orange zest...

...place pan in a cool water bath and continue stirring until cool...

...prepare your cake - Julia suggests cutting a little notch in the cake so that you can re-align it later...

...slice the cake in half...

...remove the top layer to a cake rack...

...pour on the cooled filling...

...spread evenly...

...re-align the top...a recipe for Buttercream frosting actually follows this recipe - but I thought that would just be too too much - I'm probably wrong about that though - but anyway I decided to go with just a dusting of powdered sugar - one of Julia's suggestions...

...I looked for a pretty doily but couldn't find one so I just criss-crossed some skewers to make a pretty pattern...

...an sprinkled on some sugar...

...removed the skewers...

...cut the cake...

...and served...

...this was so delicious with with tea - and very very rich...

Substitutions:
Earth Balance for butter
EnerG egg replacer for eggs

VEGAN OEUFS POCHÉS

[Poached Eggs]

I've been a little bit intimidated by all of Julia's egg recipes - most involve poached eggs...

...but I was determined to make a vegan version of even eggs...

..they were nothing short of incredible - just like real eggs - jiggly and soft - with a slightly firm 'yolk'...

...first I thought about the white part (now I've never really eaten poached eggs - so I'm going mostly on what I've observed) - it should be slightly gelatinous and jiggly - but firm enough to cut...

...and it should be white - so I mixed about 1/2 cup of soy milk (it's white) with about 1/2 cup of water - 1/2 teaspoon of agar agar and 1/2 Tablespoon of corn starch - just cooked until it starts to thicken...

...now, on to the 'yolk' - it should be slightly firm and a little bit starchy feeling - so I thought of a potato to fill that role...

...I just mashed it up with a little bit of turmeric (for some yellow colour) about 1 teaspoon of Earth Balance and a sprinkle of salt...

...mix until uniform...

...form into little 'yolk' shaped balls...

...then I needed some egg shaped forms - and I found a couple of spoons that I thought would work...

...I added a layer of the white gel and then popped the 'yolk' in the middle...

...and spooned on a little bit more of the 'egg white'...

...then I made my little croustades...

...see how perfect these eggs look - glistening and wiggly - I slid it off the spoon onto the croustade...

...topped it with some Mayonnaise Verte...

...and see - it cut perfectly...

...and the first bite was - well - delicious...

...and so were all the bites...

...it was a perfect brunch - and I'll definitely be making 'eggs' again...

...I made a little video to show you the cutting and how perfect these 'eggs' were...

I hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we did.

Substitutions:
well - the entire egg was a substitute and I used Earth Balance on the croustades instead of butter...

Vegan Mayonnaise Verte

[Green Herbal Mayonnaise]

I've made mayonnaise Julia's way before - and this recipe just calls for the addition of a green herb purée - and Julia suggests that you serve this with eggs...

..so I chopped up some spinach, green onion, water-cress - but for the parsley and tarragon - I had to use dried herbs because that's what I had...

...then you just cook that together for a couple of minutes...

...and then force the soft leaves through a fine mesh seive - this was pretty time-consuming and she does say you can use a blender - but I was making the mayonnaise by hand - I think next time I will try the blender version for this...

...then you just mix the purée with the freshly made mayonnaise and you get a lovely green herbed sauce...

...now on to those eggs...

Recipe Link here

Substitutions:
Vegan Mayonnaise