Showing posts with label espresso. Show all posts
Showing posts with label espresso. Show all posts
Monday, April 22, 2019
TWO CREAMY CAPPUCCINO PUDDINGS AND MY SAD TALE
It's been ages since I blogged-- 2 months, actually. I have been battling with nerve pain from a case of shingles for about 4 months now. I haven't mentioned it because it's not exactly a pleasant subject. It's not that I can't function, but it does affect my productivity and energy level. I hope to be back experimenting and writing before too long.
Until then, here I offer you two easy and delicious puddings that I developed for my old Vegan Feast newsletter. Either one will make a pleasant ending to a meal, or even a tasty afternoon pick-me-up.
Printable version of both recipes
BRYANNA'S CHAI CAPPUCCINO PUDDING
Pour the mixture into 4 small pudding dishes, small glass coffee mugs, or cappuccino cups. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.
Before serving, smooth 2 tablespoons of the whipped topping over the top of each serving of pudding. Sprinkle each with a little grated dark chocolate, cinnamon, or cocoa powder. Serve cold.
BRYANNA'S CHAI CAPPUCCINO PUDDING
Serves 4
This spicy and unusual pudding would make a nice light dessert to
follow a rich Indian meal, or any meal, really.
1/2 cup creamy
nondairy milk
1/2 cup extra-firm silken tofu (can be Lite [reduced fat] variety)
1 cup strong chai tea (unsweetened)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 pinch salt
Your favorite vegan whipped topping
Garnish: cinnamon sugar and cinnamon sticks for garnish
Whip the creamy nondairy milk and tofu together to make a smooth
cream, using a hand immersion blender, or blender. Add the chai,
sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
Scrape the mixture into a microwavable 1 1/2 quart bowl or pitcher
and microwave at full power for 1 minute. Whisk and cook 1 more
minute, or until thickened and translucent. Whisk in the vanilla.
Alternatively, you can cook the pudding, stirring constantly,
in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until thickened and
translucent.
Pour the mixture into 4 small pudding dishes, tea cups,
or cappuccino cups. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.
Before serving, smooth 2 tablespoons of the whipped topping over the
top of each serving of pudding. Sprinkle each with a little cinnamon
sugar and insert a small cinnamon stick into each dish. Serve cold.
Nutrition Facts (using Lite [reduced fat] extra-firm silken tofu)
Nutrition (per serving): 214.1 calories; 21% calories from
fat; 5.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 150.6mg sodium; 225.1mg
potassium; 37.1g carbohydrates; 1.4g fiber; 28.9g sugar; 5.7g
protein.
**********
BRYANNA'S CREAMY CAPPUCCINO
PUDDING
Serves 4
This is good enough for company-- a perfect light dessert after an
Italian meal.
1/2 cup nondairy milk
1/2 cup extra-firm silken tofu (can be Lite [reduced fat] variety)
1 cup strong espresso coffee (unsweetened)
(The espresso should preferably be freshly-made, but it can be made from a good Italian instant espresso powder, such as Ferrara, Medaglio D'Oro, Café Bustelo or King Arthur.)
(The espresso should preferably be freshly-made, but it can be made from a good Italian instant espresso powder, such as Ferrara, Medaglio D'Oro, Café Bustelo or King Arthur.)
1/3 cup unbleached sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
OPTIONAL: 1 tablespoon liqueur (such as Amaretto, or any that
you prefer)
Your favorite vegan whipped topping
Garnish: grated dark chocolate, or cinnamon, or cocoa powder for garnish
Whip the soymilk and tofu together to make a smooth cream, using a
hand immersion blender, or blender. Add the coffee, sugar,
cornstarch, and salt.
Scrape the mixture into a microwavable 1 1/2 quart bowl or pitcher
and microwave at full power for 1 minute. Whisk and cook 1 more
minute, or until thickened and translucent. Whisk in the vanilla,
and optional liqueur, if using.
Alternatively, you can cook the pudding, stirring constantly, in a
small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until thickened and
translucent.
Pour the mixture into 4 small pudding dishes, small glass coffee mugs, or cappuccino cups. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.
Before serving, smooth 2 tablespoons of the whipped topping over the top of each serving of pudding. Sprinkle each with a little grated dark chocolate, cinnamon, or cocoa powder. Serve cold.
Nutrition Facts (using Lite [reduced fat] extra-firm silken tofu)
Nutrition (per serving): 178.1 calories; 26% calories from fat; 5.7g
total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 155.8mg sodium; 261.4mg potassium;
26.9g carbohydrates; 1.4g fiber; 19.0g sugar; 5.8g protein.
Enjoy!
Saturday, December 15, 2012
VEGAN ESPRESSO & TRIPLE-GINGER CAKE FROM "WORLD VEGAN FEAST"
This ginger cake is the cosmopolitan cousin of the familiar gingerbread many of us grew up with. The cake itself is very light in texture (you would definitely not call this “bread”!) and infused with a generous amount of both fresh and ground dried ginger. Topped off with a fluffy espresso frosting and a plenty of sweet-hot organic candied ginger, this cake always gets rave reviews (and recipe requests) at potlucks and community get-togethers. Tasters are pleasantly surprised at the pairing of coffee and ginger and keep going back for more. But, really, how many times have we enjoyed a cup of coffee with a ginger cookie or a piece of gingerbread? It seemed like a match made in heaven to me and I think I was right.
BRYANNA’S
From my book “World Vegan Feast” © Bryanna Clark Grogan 2011
From my book “World Vegan Feast” © Bryanna Clark Grogan 2011
Serves 9
Wet
Mixture:
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup fancy (light) molasses
1/2 cup soft brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup vegan butter (try my homemade palm oil-free Buttah) or oil
1/4 cup unsweetened smooth applesauce
1/4 cup nondairy milk
1/4 cup nondairy milk
3 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
Dry
Mixture:
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not use ordinary whole wheat flour or the cake will be tough)
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not use ordinary whole wheat flour or the cake will be tough)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Espresso
Frosting:
1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water
1 tablespoon instant espresso granules (or
2 tablespoons good-quality instant coffee granules)
2 tablespoons softened vegan butter (try my homemade palm oil-free Buttah)
2 3/4 tablespoons nondairy milk
2 cups organic powdered sugar
NOTE: If you have no instant espresso powder and you can make espresso at home, you can use 8 1/4 teaspoons cold liquid espresso as the TOTAL liquid and omit the nondairy milk.
NOTE: If you have no instant espresso powder and you can make espresso at home, you can use 8 1/4 teaspoons cold liquid espresso as the TOTAL liquid and omit the nondairy milk.
Candied
Ginger Garnish:
1 cup chopped candied (crystallized) ginger
Tip: Organic candied ginger has a stronger ginger flavor and “bite” to
it than the ordinary variety, so if you really like ginger, look for it!
Oil a 9-inch square cake pan and line the
bottom with baking parchment cut to fit. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large heatproof bowl, batter bowl or measuring pitcher, pour the boiling
water over the vegan butter (or oil) and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the
molasses, brown sugar, applesauce, milk and grated fresh ginger.
In another bowl, stir together the flours
with the baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt and allspice. Add this to
the molasses mixture in two additions, stirring until smooth. Transfer the
batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a cake
tester comes out clean when inserted into the center. Cool thoroughly on a
rack.
To make the Espresso Frosting, pour the
boiling water into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the
espresso or coffee granules and stir to dissolve. Add the vegan butter and milk.
Whisk together well. With a hand-held electric mixer or the whip attachment to
your mixer, gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the frosting is creamy
and smooth. Spread it immediately over the top of cooled cake (not the sides)
so that icing drips over the sides but does not cover them completely. Sprinkle
the top evenly with the chopped candied ginger. Cut into 9 squares to serve.
Enjoy!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
LET'S HEAR IT FOR GREAT HOMEMADE ESPRESSO-CAFE-STYLE COFFEE MADE WITH MANUAL EQUIPMENT; & HOW NOT TO CURDLE YOUR SOYMILK
Cappuccino with homemade soy milk
I was just reading about the recall of some 900,000 Tassimo coffee makers in Canada, and about 850,000 in the USA. This article goes on: "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says there have been 140 reports of problems with the Tassimo single-cup brewers dousing people, including 37 cases involving second-degree burns.
In one incident, a 10-year-old girl from Minnesota was hospitalized with second-degree burns to her face and neck. The commission also says the coffee maker's "T-disc" — the plastic disc that holds the coffee or tea — can burst while brewing and spray hot liquid. It says a 2-year-old girl in Canada suffered second-degree burns to her face.
Some four million packages of Tassimo espresso T-discs are also being recalled, and about half of those were sold in Canada. They were manufactured by Kraft Foods Global Inc., in Illinois, and were recalled after 21 reports of problems."
Now, far be it from me to say that electric coffee devices are no good. However, my husband has been making wonderful espresso-style coffee for years with no electric equipment, with stove-top espresso makers that last for many, many years if you treat them right. I'd just like to make the case for not bothering with another electric device which only has one use, takes up counter space, and has a tendency to break down after a very few years (never mind the possible dangers).
Another reason to consider switching to a stove-top version (perhaps when your electric one kicks the bucket) is the fact that these are sturdily-made from stainless steel, no plastic to throw away. And the Tassimo-- and other similar machines-- requires a plastic "T-disc" to hold little separately-packaged one-serving amounts of coffee-- more plastic to throw away. It's easy to grind your own coffee beans (organic, fair trade, preferably)-- it takes only a minute, even in a hand grinder-- and the coffee is fresh.
Another reason to consider switching to a stove-top version (perhaps when your electric one kicks the bucket) is the fact that these are sturdily-made from stainless steel, no plastic to throw away. And the Tassimo-- and other similar machines-- requires a plastic "T-disc" to hold little separately-packaged one-serving amounts of coffee-- more plastic to throw away. It's easy to grind your own coffee beans (organic, fair trade, preferably)-- it takes only a minute, even in a hand grinder-- and the coffee is fresh.
We use the big one when we have company, and the small ones when it's just one of two of us.
You fill the bottom part of the pot with water just to the little valve, add freshly-ground coffee (don't pack it down too much-- that firm packing is for the commercial steam machines), screw on the top part and set it on high on the burner. When it starts to make noise it means that the water is turning to steam and being forced up through the coffee. If your stove is electric, just leave it on the burner, but turn it off. The residual heat is enough to finish the process. If you have gas, turn it down a bit and keep an eye on it. Open the lid to see if the coffee has all come up, and enjoy!
 |
| DH even grinds his own coffee manually every time (takes only seconds) on this old Spong grinder that he's had for years. (The sound of grinding coffee is my morning wake-up call.) Missing from this photo: a little metal dish that fits into the gap below the grinding apparatus. Here's some history of the Spong, plus tips on using and a blog post about Spong grinders. |
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| The full battery of DH's stovetop espresso makers-- all in use at family gatherings. |
I don't drink much of coffee, but, when I do, only the best will do (my husband's), and I usually make a soy latte or cappuccino. To foam the milk for a cappuccino, I use a manual milk frother:
You add heated milk (or heat it right in the container in the microwave)-- just 1/3 to 1/2 cup...
This turns into...
...this!
Any store with cookware will have something similar-- this one was only $12.
Blue-striped cup,
rear left: homemade soymilk; white cup, rear right: Almond Breeze; front in
blue cup: Soy Dream (They all foam, but homemade soymilk or Soy Dream or Vitasoy are best; hemp milk foams, but is rather weak.)
Vitasoy Foam
Almond Breeze foam
Hemp milk foam
Some folks have told me that their coffee curdles with soy milk. Ours never does. We use dark roast, but not so dark that it tastes burnt (Starbucks tastes burnt to me). Brown (lighter roast) beans are actually more acidic than dark roast beans (and acid is what makes it curdle usually-- even some teas are a bit acidic. Warming the milk before adding to coffee also tends to prevent curdling. I found this on, of all things, the National Dairy
Council site (!): "...The acid in coffee, along with coffee's heat, favor
curdling of cream." From Oregon State U. site; "The phenolics and
acids in coffee may curdle the cream. This is especially true if the coffee is
hot ..."
Now, about the coffee: "The acid content in a
brew is also greatly dependent upon the roast degree, type of roaster, and
brewing method." (from http://www.coffeeresearch.org/) They show the types
of acids in coffee and point out that there is a maximum concentration of
acetic, malic, and citric acids in light roasted coffee. And: "In regards
to the concentration of citric, malic, lactic, pyruvic and acetic acid, Blank
found that a typical medium roast coffee consisted of 0.30%, 0.22%, 0.13%,
0.07%, and 0.27% of each acid, respectively (Clarke, 25). At very light roasts,
Blank found that the total concentration of these acids was around 1.58%, while
at dark roasts these acids could drop down to 0.71%."
They also showed that a quick-brewing method (such as the steam method of espresso, or the European plunger [French press] method) results in less acid in the brew. Also, oddly, less caffeine, even with the darker bean.
Here is the approximate caffeine content of a variety of coffee products. Keep in mind that the numbers provided are not exact:
Brewed (8 oz./250mL) = 85mg of caffeine
Instant (8 oz./250mL) = 75mg of caffeine
Decaffeinated, brewed (8 oz./250mL) = 3mg of caffeine
Decaffeinated, instant (8 oz./250mL) = 3mg of caffeine
Espresso (1 oz./30mL) = 40mg of caffeine
Cappuccino and Latte (1 oz./30mL) = 40mg of caffeine
http://www.truestarhealth.com/Notes/1718008.html
More advice from http://www.coffeereview.com/reference.cfm?ID=120: "Buy a moderately-dark- to dark-roasted coffee. Dark roasting reduces the acid sensation in coffee.
Buy a lower-altitude, naturally low-acid coffee brought to a moderately dark roast (full-city, Viennese, light espresso). To me, this is by far the best solution for acid-shy coffee drinkers. Naturally low-acid coffees include Brazils, most India and Pacific (Sumatra, Timor, Hawaii) coffees, and most Caribbean coffees.
It also helps to buy very good coffee, because the best coffee has been processed from ripe coffee fruit, and coffee from ripe fruit is naturally sweet and lacks the sharp, astringent sensation of cheaper coffee processed from less-than-ripe fruit."
http://www.coffeeresearch.org/ adds: "Acidity is typically a highly valued quality especially in Central American and some East African coffees." So you might want to avoid those.
And "Acidity has been correlated with coffees grown at very high altitudes and in mineral rich volcanic soils. The perceived acidity of washed coffees is also significantly higher than the acidity found in naturally (dry) processed coffees. This is likely due to an increase in the body of naturally processed coffees relative to wet processed coffees since body masks a coffee's acidity."
Enjoy!
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