This vegan caramel apple cream cheese spread will bring delicious substance to your party platter and can be prepared in minutes!

If you’re looking for an easy and flavorful vegan, refined sugar-free dessert appetizer at your holiday party, look no further than this caramel apple cheese spread recipe. It requires only a few ingredients and a hungry crowd to please.

What You’ll Need

Even though traditional caramel sauce is quite easy to make, it can be quite dangerous if you aren’t melting the sugar with caution. To avoid this step and to avoid the refined sugar inherent in regular caramel sauce, this recipe involves a homemade vegan caramel sauce based in coconut milk and dates.

Other than the caramel sauce, the only other ingredients you need are cream cheese and sliced apples for serving and dipping! You can find vegan cream cheese at health food stores – Kite Hill, Daiya, Tofutti, and Follow Your Heart make delicious versions. However, if you want to make your own vegan cream cheese, the recipe is below! The cream cheese recipe is easy to make, but it does require some forethought (about two days) and preparation (if you choose to go that route).

Vegan Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Spread

Serves four to six

Ingredients

• Homemade caramel sauce
• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
• 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions

Drain and rinse the cashews and place them in a food processor or high-speed blender. Add in the apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and water. Blend the mixture until smooth and creamy – about two minutes.

Spoon the mixture into cheese cloth and hang the cheesecloth with the cashew cream “cheese” so that is elevated above a bowl or pitcher that collects the moisture that drips from the cheese. Let the cheese sit in a warm place for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, transfer the cheese to a serving plate, shape it into a flattened ball, and then spread the caramel sauce all over its surface area. Feel free to add any chopped nuts or dried fruit atop the caramel sauce to add more texture and color.

Place the sliced apples around the cream cheese spread and serve! Enjoy!

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The post Dreams Come True With This Vegan Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Spread appeared first on EcoSalon.

There’s a lot of eating heading our way, with both Thanksgiving and Christmas on the radar. However, just because the holiday season can be a time of excess, doesn’t mean it has to be a time of waste. This pear ginger bread pudding recipe helps you to not only utilize leftover bread from any of your upcoming feasts, but also infuses your gut with some warm, comforting holiday flavors.

What I love most about bread pudding is that even though it has the texture and taste of a recipe only someone’s grandmother could whip up just right, it’s a comfort dish we can all master. In other words, you can’t mess it up. Chop, mix, pour, bake and boom! You’re done.

In this bread pudding recipe, fresh pears contribute an unmatched delicate, moist richness that is tender to the bite and is superbly accented with cinnamon, sugar, crystallized ginger, and dried apricots. The result is a truly indulgent dessert, but that’s kind of what we’re looking for until the new year!

Pear Ginger Bread Pudding Recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 cups stale white bread cubes
• 3 pears, cored, and chopped
• 1/4 cup diced crystallized ginger

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.

Roughly chop the apricots. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the apricots and bourbon. Let the mixture simmer for about five minutes, or until the apricots have softened considerably and absorbed the bourbon. Set the saucepan aside to cool.

In a large bowl, add the eggs, cream, milk, two tablespoons sugar, two teaspoons cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and cardamom. Whisk until well combined. Fold in the bread cubes until all the pieces are just coated. Let the bowl sit for five to ten minutes to allow for the bread to fully absorb the liquid.

Next, stir in the chopped pears and diced crystallized ginger. Transfer the mixture to the greased baking dish and use a spatula to spread the bread pudding evenly. Sprinkle the remaining one tablespoon sugar and one-half teaspoon cinnamon evenly across the top of the bread pudding. Place the dish into the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the bread pudding is golden-brown and set.

Let the bread pudding cool for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Garnish each slice with more cinnamon sugar and pair with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

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The post Ginger-Pear Bread Pudding Gives Leftover Thanksgiving Bread a New Life appeared first on EcoSalon.

Make this black cherry tart recipe and relish in the absolute holiness of the ruby red fruit and her best accomplice: chocolate.

My love for cherries runs deep. And whenever I can feature them in my desserts, I jump at the chance. This chocolate black cherry tart recipe is dense in flavor and strikes the perfect balance between the flavors.

Growing up, I spent my summers on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, where my aunt lived, and every morning we’d stuff a bunch of local cherries into flimsy plastic bags and schlep them to the beach. For six to eight hours every day, in between throwing my body against the waves of the Karadeniz, prancing around with my shovels, backgammon racket, buckets, and other seaside accessories flailing left and right, and chasing whatever friend or dog crossed as far as the outermost spectrum of my peripheral vision, I fueled my abundant energy exclusively with cherries. I must have gone through several pounds of the plump crimson jewels each and every day.

Today, whenever I cross a cherry, I equate it with exuberance and joy. Sure, my associations are nostalgic in nature, but there’s a lot to be said of the fruit’s ability to rejuvenate the body (nutritious AF) and soul (better sleep!).

Chocolate Cherry Tart Recipe: Nutritional Breakdown

A traditional tart recipe involves a white flour and butter-based crust as well as a white sugar-based fruit filling. Even though fresh fruit is often featured in traditional tart filing, the presence of white sugar can override any expected nutritional benefits. This tart recipe, however, doesn’t take away from the cherries’ health perks. Instead, it magnifies them!

Cherries are nutrition powerhouses and are particularly praised for their high antioxidant content. And while cherries may indeed live up to their free-radical-damage-reversing reputation, they offer so much more than that! One cup of fresh cherries contains 51 calories, 1.6 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of protein, 180 milligrams of potassium, 26% of the RDA of vitamin A, and 17% of the RDA of vitamin C. Cherries are rich in anthocyanins, quercetin, hydroxycinnamates (phenolic compounds), potassium, fiber, vitamin C, carotenoids, and melatonin (phytochemical). They may also help to prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammation, and Alzheimer’s.

Cherries have a high antioxidant activity, induce a low-glycemic response, inhibit COX 1 and 2 enzymes (these guys cause an inflammatory response in the body), and bear other anti-carcinogenic effects.

According to 2012 study published in the European Journal of Nutrition, cherry juice “provides an increase in exogenous melatonin that is beneficial in improving sleep duration and quality in healthy men and women and might be of benefit in managing disturbed sleep.”

To keep up to par with cherries’ inherent glory, this tart recipe takes every opportunity to be as clean, nourishing, and healthy as possible. The crust is made with coconut oil, lower-glycemic maple syrup, applesauce, coconut flour, tapioca starch, and cocoa powder. The filling is then a simple mixture of black cherries, coconut oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, and maple syrup. All of these ingredients are a few body-nurturing notches above white flour, white sugar, eggs, and butter.

The result is a tart that is animal friendly, gluten-free, and super yummy. Indulge!

Cherries: Which Ones To Choose

There are more than 50 varieties of sweet cherries, the most popular being the Bing, Chelan, Lapins, Rainier, and Tulare varieties. Sweet cherries are often enjoyed raw or used in baking, such as in this cherry chocolate tart. Darker sweet cherries tend to have a deeper, more intense flavor. Then there are sour cherry varieties, which are more commonly consumed dried, frozen, or blended with other fruit juices.

Sweet cherries are available from May to August, while sour cherries are usually only found for a week or two in the middle of June in warmer areas or as late as July or August in colder regions.

When shopping for this recipe, look for “black” cherries, or sweet cherries that are deeper in color – more vivid red – than the others. To measure freshness, look for shiny and plump cherries that feel heavy for their size, have fresh-looking stems, and show no soft or browning spots. Before using them, be sure to rinse them thoroughly and pat them dry.

Chocolate Black Cherry Tart Recipe

Serves six to eight

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup almond milk

For the filling

• 2 cups black cherries, pitted and sliced in half
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Use coconut oil to grease a tart pan.

For the crust, combine all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse them together until well combined and starting to hold together. Remove the mixture from the food processor and use clean hands to press it into the bottom and slightly up the side of the tart pan. Pierce across the bottom of the crust with a fork. Place the rust in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

For the filling, in a small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, cocoa powder, male syrup, and salt. Arrange the cherries evenly across the tart and pour the chocolate mixture over the cherries.

Place the tart into the refrigerator to set. After an hour or two, garnish the tart with a sprinkle of coconut flakes. Let the tart sit for 15 to 20 minutes to soften slightly before serving.

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The post Vegan, Gluten-Free Chocolate Black Cherry Tart appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re a sweet tooth like me but eager to keep your dietary lifestyle as clean and healthy as possible (also like me), then raw vegan desserts should be your new shtick. This raw vegan chocolate cheesecake recipe with orange is as decadent as desserts get, only free of refined sugar, white flour, dairy and eggs. Plus, it’s a no-bake cheesecake!

There’s no denying that this cheesecake recipe is high in calories and fats. The difference, though, is in the quality of the ingredients. Plant-based ingredients are digested much more easily and won’t wreak havoc on your gut, skin, and mood. So, even if one piece of this chocolate cheesecake recipe is quite dense and filling, it won’t weigh you down. Instead, it’ll lift your spirits.

What I love about this raw vegan cheesecake recipe is that it doesn’t just stick to chocolate and call it a day – it adds in a unique touch of orange that excites the senses and energizes the palate with each slow-motion bite. Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe with Orange

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

For the crust

• ½ cup pitted Medjool dates,
• 1 cup raw almonds
• ½ cup raw walnuts
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil

For the cheesecake

• 3 cups cashews, soaked in water for six hours or overnight
• 1 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• ¾ cup melted coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut flakes for garnish
• Extra cocoa powder for a dusty finish

Directions

For the crust, add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until the mixtures starts to clump together into a ball.

Press the crust mixture into the bottom of a nine-inch springform pan or a parchment-paper lined pan. Spread the crust along evenly across the bottom of the pan, but do not go up the sides. Place the crust into the freezer to harden while you prepare the cheesecake filling.

For the filling, drain and rinse the cashews and add them to a blender. Add in the orange juice, maple syrup, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and coconut oil. Blend until thick and creamy.

Pour the cheesecake filling over the crust and use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly. Place the cheesecake into the refrigerator to set.

Serve with a garnish of coconut flakes and a dust of cocoa powder. Enjoy!

Related on EcoSalon
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The post Vegan Chocolate Orange Cheesecake with Nut Crust appeared first on EcoSalon.

White sugar-free vegan pumpkin fudge recipe. Enough said.

Fudge is so dense, sweet, and creamy, you don’t need to overindulge to get your fix. Even so, each bite can pack quite the punch in terms of fat and calories. If you want the best of both worlds – a decadent and healthy treat – try your hand at this white sugar-free vegan homemade pumpkin fudge recipe. It is infused with a serious dose of seasonal flavors and will quickly become an autumn staple in your kitchen.

The only substitution I have tried with this fudge recipe is for the coconut sugar component. Instead of coconut sugar I have used coconut nectar and agave. The coconut sugar provides a welcome caramel taste, but I find that the coconut nectar and agave also do the job just right!

Vegan Sugar-Free Pumpkin Fudge Recipe

Makes 16 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 cup pureed pumpkin, canned or homemade
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons vanilla or unflavored protein powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch of sea salt
• ½ cup coconut butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Directions

Line a storage container with plastic wrap and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, protein powder, cinnamon, ginger, and sea salt until all is evenly combined and smooth.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the coconut butter and coconut oil. Mix until smooth. Stir in the pumpkin mixture and stir until well combined.

Transfer the fudge to the storage container lined with plastic wrap. Use a spatula to spread the mixture into the container. Cover with more plastic wrap and set the container in the fridge to harden. This will take a few hours.

Once hardened and prior to serving, flip the container and let the fudge pop out. Peel off the plastic wrap and cut the fudge block into 16 separate pieces.

Serve each piece with vegan ice cream on the side for extra decadence!

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image: stuff and nomsense

The post Vegan Pumpkin Fudge: A Guiltlessly Indulgent Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

Quinoa is a superfood staple and is often consumed in place of rice. However, the versatility of quinoa is highly underrated, as it stretches into the dessert category quite seamlessly, like in this cookie recipe.

Quinoa’s nutty overtones and soft texture provide added flavor and texture to your favorite cookie recipe. This recipe for almond butter quinoa cookies is vegan, sugar-free and high in fiber and protein – it’s the perfect way to start the day or stave off mid-day hunger. Enjoy!

Quinoa Cookie Recipe with Almond Butter, Cacao Nibs, Coconut and Cranberry

Makes about 20-24 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups quinoa, cooked according to package instructions, then cooled
• 1/2 cup raw almond butter
• 1/3 cup raw honey or maple syrup
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs
• 1/4 dried unsweetened cranberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Fold all the ingredients together in a large bowl until evenly combined but not overly mixed. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and form small 1-2-tablespoon balls and place on the cookie sheet. Flatten the tops to the palm of your hand. Bake for 1 hour, or until aromatic and slightly browned, but not burned.

Aylin Erman is founder of GlowKitchen. There she shares step-by-step picture recipes of her plant-based creations. Aylin lives and works in Istanbul as a writer and editor at the country’s first-ever green-living and sustainability platform, Yesilist. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter to keep up with food news and recipes.

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Image: Kimberly Vardeman

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Fudge is just what the doctor ordered on a stressful day, when all you really need is chocolate and density to fill the hole of hunger. But wouldn’t it feel so much better to de-stress with a fudge recipe without, well, stressing about your diet?

This chocolate fudge recipe takes out that concern so you can indulge all you want. Have two pieces–hell, have three!–of this raw vegan chocolate fudge and you’ll be only adding more body-loving nutrients, live enzymes and anti-aging antioxidants to your diet.

In regular chocolate fudge, there is a lot of sugar and milk, both of which are not doing you any favors. This recipe is 100 percent raw, complemented by the healthy fats of coconut oil, nuts and the low-glycemic sweetening agent of maple syrup. Enjoy!

Raw Vegan Chocolate Fudge

Serves about 8-10

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup raw hazelnuts
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• Chopped nuts and dried fruit
• Dash of sea salt

Directions

Place all the ingredients except for the sea salt in a food processor and blend until smooth – this may take a few minutes – around 5-6 – so be patient. The mixture will clump up into a ball and then smooth out, resembling a nut butter. Transfer to a glass baking dish lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper and spread evenly. Sprinkle with whatever chopped nuts or dried fruit you like as well as see salt. Place into the refrigerator and let sit until solid. Remove, slice, and serve!

Photo Credit: Veganbaking.net

Related on EcoSalon:

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The post Raw Vegan Chocolate Fudge Recipe that Will Totally Melt in Your Mouth appeared first on EcoSalon.

Don’t let leftovers go to waste. 

How many times have you ordered Chinese or Thai food and ended up with more white rice leftovers than you know what to do with? Much of the time that rice just sits in the fridge, forgotten, until you spy it days later and end up tossing it because it’s “too old.” Not this time, people. We’ve got a way to salvage that rice before it heads to the dumpster… turn it into rice pudding! It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s the perfect way to recycle those unappealing leftovers into a sweet treat.

Ingredients:

• Leftover takeout rice (1 cup)
• 1/3 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups regular milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Dash of vanilla (optional)
• Fruit (optional)

Directions:

This post originally appeared in Sierra magazine.

Sierra is the magazine of the Sierra Club. Our motto: Explore, Enjoy, and Protect the Planet. Follow Sierra magazine on Twitter.

Image: rore

The post Recipe: Takeout Rice Pudding appeared first on EcoSalon.

Once a rare indulgence, brownies now deserve to be a regular treat!

While the exact numbers vary, a traditional brownie serving contains nearly 400 calories, half of which comes from fat. The recipe usually calls for butter, unsweetened chocolate, white sugar, eggs, and all-purpose flour, all of which add no nutritional value. This recipe is a sugar-free, vegan alternative to traditional brownies, using whole-wheat and maple syrup as the base. It’s a delicious and guilt-free way to get the dense chocolate taste you crave!

The sugar, dairy, and egg-free benefits of this recipe aside, these brownies contain one of the healthiest nuts – walnuts! Walnuts contain healthy omega-3s, which protect arteries and improve brain function. The nut also prevents gallstones, is a rich source of melatonin, which helps you sleep, contributes to bone health, stops weight gain, and helps treat diabetes.

Vegan Brownies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup canola oil (or coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients (but only 1/2 cup of the chopped walnuts) in a large bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until evenly combined. The mixture will be thick.

Spread into an ungreased 8×8 glass pan, top with the remaining 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20-25 minutes. To check if it’s ready, push down on the center with your index finger. If you sense resistance, it’s done.

Serve and enjoy some guilt-free chocolate decadence!

Bon Appetit!

Images: Jeffry W.,  Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Nutritional Breakdown: A Vegan Revamp on the Classic Brownie Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

The easiest and most enjoyable Fika food you may ever try.

Take a trip to Sweden, and seas of Chokladbollar (chocolate balls) will likely surround you. They fill the glass cases of bakeries, ine the shelves of shops, speckle department store cafes as a welcome Fika break from shoe shopping and even sit in grocery store aisles. It’s next to sinful and downright outlandish to visit this regal land without gobbling up a chocolate ball (or two, or six). But, like most fare in Sweden, chocolate balls fall far from being vegan.

But, make them yourself at home (in 30 minutes or less!), and you’ll discover it’s the easiest vegan dessert you’ve ever made—and gluten-free to boot. All it takes is a simple butter switch. As I whipped these up in Stockholm last week (not kidding), I played around with different proportions of ingredients until it tasted just right—mixing coconut butter with a Swedish vegan butter that the grocery store clerk warned was not made for baking. Yet it worked all the same. So much so that a Swedish friend declared them among the best he’d ever had.

And, while chocolate balls can be made in an endless variety of ways—kid friendly with just chocolate; adult friendly with liqueur or rich espresso—I love the blend of unsweetened cocoa powder, mixed with a couple squares of dark (70%) chocolate and a shot or two of espresso. Plus, espresso (in smaller doses, as in these chocolate balls), has been reported to help protect against type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, liver cancer, and liver cirrhosis, and dark chocolate boasts a host of phyto antixoidants for heart health and overall happiness.

So whip up some chocolate balls for a feel good Fika that makes every day a celebration.

The Original – Swedish Chocolate Balls
from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1 ¼ cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 tablespoon strong coffee
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2, 1 oz squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes

The Vegan & Gluten-Free Version – Swedish Chocolate Balls
Makes 24-48 balls, depending upon the size

Ingredients

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1 ¼ cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup coconut butter and ½ cup vegan butter (may need to add about ½ cup more, as I did, to ensure a sticky dough)
• 1 tablespoon espresso
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2, 1 oz squares dark or unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes (or more as needed)

Directions

1. Mix the oats, sugar and cocoa powder together in a bowl. Add the “butter” and use your hands to mix the ingredients together until a thick dough is formed.

2. In a separate, stove top pan, mix together the espresso, vanilla and dark chocolate. Mix together over low heat until the chocolate is melted. Pour over the chocolate dough mixture and combine until thoroughly blended.

3. Place the coconut flakes in a bowl or on a plate. Roll small pieces of dough between your hands to make small balls (or make any size that you wish). Roll the balls in the coconut flakes and eat immediately. For a firmer texture, refrigerate for 2 hours, and enjoy!

Note: This recipe is just the beginning. Create other varieties by adding in a tablespoon (or two) of arrak extract, a Swedish liqueur. Or, roll the chocolate balls in toasted almonds, sugar or another topping of your choice.

Images: Jennifer Barckley

The post Vegan This: Make Your Own Swedish Chocolate Balls appeared first on EcoSalon.