Cake 28, Bagels?

The question mark is more about the bagel-as-cake thing than about the are-these-really-bagels thing.

Bagels (definitely) Cakes (maybe)

I used a breadmaker to mix the dough (I love anything that makes my life easier), so I just chucked everything in and set it to "dough".
3 tsp surebake (or equiv) yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water (blood temp is about perfect)
2 Tb honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup wholemeal flour
2 Tb gluten flour (not really needed, I've never used it in all my years of bagel-making)
2 cups high grade flour

Measure the first five ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover and leave in a warm place (not hard at the moment...) and leave it for at least 15 mins. Stir in the other flour(s) to form a dough. Knead for 10 mins, then leave to rise for 30 mins in a covered oiled bowl, again in a warm spot.

Knock back the dough (aka briefly knead it to release any air bubbles) and cut into 8 or so equal pieces. Form into bagel shapes, and allow to rise for 10-15 mins. Meanwhile, turn the oven to 220C, and bring a pot of water to the boil (with about 5-10cm water). Lower the bagels in using a slotted spoon, in batches of 2 or 3, and cook for 30-45 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels (at this point I recommend prodding them, they have such a strange texture) and arrange on a well-oiled baking tray (mine stuck anyway). Brush with egg or milk, and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds. If you used oil instead, then these would be vegan (if they were for a vegan who ate honey).

Bake for 10-15 minutes until browned on the top and bottom.

I had mine with cream cheese and pastrami, and it was good.

Cake 13, Date Loaf (veganable)

Date loaf must be one of my all time favourite cakes, it's so moist and scrumptious. Also, by using olivani (or similar non-dairy margarine) instead of butter, it becomes a vegan cake.

Date Loaf

Preheat oven to 165 C. In a large pot, combine the following:
1 cup water
55g butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 Tb golden syrup
1 cup chopped dates
Bring to the boil, while stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Add:
2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
Mix, then pour into a lined loaf tin, and bake for 45-60 mins.

Cake 11, Vegan Orange and Chocolate (explicit content)

So I finally found that cake cookbook, and I'm making the only vegan one in it. It's quite similar to the other vegan one I made, but I'm following one of their variations (there are enough of these for the book to be called "500 Cakes"). 

Chocolate Fudge Cake (vegan) Orange variation

100g flour (about 3/5 cup)

3/4 tsp baking soda

4 Tb cocoa powder

130g sugar (just under 2/3 C)

160 ml water (about 2/3 cup, replace with orange juice)

4 Tb vegetable oil 

1 Tb white wine vinegar

(grated rind of one orange)

Preheat oven to 180 C, and line a 20cm tin. 

Sift flour, baking soda and cocoa into a bowl, then stir in the sugar. Pour in the oil, vinegar, juice and rind, and stir. Pour into the tin and bake for about 25mins. 

This could be interesting with a bit of Cointreau in the cake or icing. 

This is a pretty awesome vegan cake, it's very soft and fudgy. Mmmmmm.

And... this was our cheerleader......

Cake: A Retrospective

Since I was too busy sitting through an awful exam (bright side is that I will never have to read Pamela now), I didn't manage to make a cake. Bit of a fail for the 2nd day of my challenge, BUT I did learn how to make dumplings! Apparently I learnt fast :) The little couches for the little men to sit on weren't that neat, but they tasted pretty fab.
Anyhow, I thought I'd put up a picture of a cake that me and my friend made for another friend - it's the face of one of our lecturers. She was an awful lecturer, much better once rendered in cake form. Although to be honest, almost anything is better in cake form.

I think the snifters for eyes suit her. Incidentally, the cake I used was the vegan chocolate one. It's really nice when it's iced.

I'll be posting proper cakes (and more than one, to make up for yesterday) later on today, once I'm out of bed. It is my 21st birthday though, so I feel I can justify laziness :)

Cake 1, Day 1

I'll be stoked past my teeth if I can keep this cake-making habit up for a few months.

Since I'm meant to be studying for my final exam, I thought it best to start off with a cake that doesn't take too long. I've still managed to drag it out into a few hours worth of procrastination... This is my standard cake recipe, it's just so easy to make, and easy to adjust if you're missing an ingredient. It can overcome all kinds of things (sugar added at the last minute, grilling instead of baking, part rice flour instead of regular). This time I actually used half wholemeal flour, just to give the cake a heavier texture. Anyhow, here's the first recipe:

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Grease/line a large cake tin (it's quite a big mix) and preheat the oven to 190 C
Mix together the following ingredients in a large bowl:
3 cups flour (today I went half white, half wholemeal)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda (I recommend sifting this, otherwise you end up with little lumps of it all through the cake)
1 tsp salt

Next, mix the following wet ingredients in a separate bowl:
2 cups hot coffee (a great opportunity to use up those sachets of instant decaf)
2 tsp white vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil (use something which doesn't taste too strong, like canola or sunflower)
2 tsp vanilla

Pour the wet into the dry, and combine. Don't overmix. Pour into the tin, and bake for 20-25 minutes. I found it took a lot longer using the gas oven I have at the moment, but at any rate the cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

I thought mine turned out okay today, it's not too sweet, and the wholemeal makes it "dense and moist", according to my tasters.