Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cashew Caramel Icing

***I did this post a little over a year ago for the NY-based organic meal delivery company, Sakara Life, but thought with the holidays at our doorstep, some of you might be looking for some "healthified" menu options. Hopefully I can once again keep up with blogging. I really do like it, I swear!***

It was my birthday this past Tuesday (no it wasn't), and after a weekend spent celebrating in the city, I welcomed a relaxed night in and a big bowl of pasta. Ever since I was little, my birthdays have been spent at my house with my closest friends and family and an Italian inspired meal. Keeping this tradition alive allows me to scam my way into two birthday parties: one spent over-drinking, and the other overeating. Birthdays are for splurging. I spend the remaining 363 days of the year binging on green juice and superfoods, so I really don't feel guilty. Besides, splurging for me usually means a little organic cheese or a vegan dessert. When I was younger my annual birthday meal was my mom's baked ziti. It has since grown up into my sister's penne a la vodka, and I really can't imagine it growing into anything else. Her vodka sauce is hands-down my favorite thing to eat. This year we served it over fusilli pasta and also as a bed for roasted fennel stuffed mushrooms (also amazing). I made the salad - a kale, currant, and pecorino mix, and also the cake. Yes, it's a little sad that I made my own birthday cake, but I really can't think of who else I'd trust with the challenge. Inspired by my favorite season, I went with a pumpkin spiced cake and a cashew date frosting. I'm always a little nervous when it comes to vegan baking, which is why my usual desserts are typically raw, but every birthday deserves a proper cake, especially when it's being served to non-vegans. Thankfully it was a big success. The cake was perfectly fluffy and moist, but the frosting really stole the show. I made the cake the night before and wrapped them in plastic on my counter. The frosting I made the next morning, and let sit in my fridge to thicken up a little until dinner. After soaking the cashews overnight, the rest of the frosting came together quickly with the help of a quality blender. I knew I'd love it as I added each ingredient to the machine. Cashews, dates, coconut milk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt blended together to create the most perfectly sweetened, caramel-like creme, without any of the unhealthy culprits in your usual confection. Cashews are the ultimate when it comes to creating nutritious desserts. They contain the same heart-healthy unsaturated fat as olive oil, and are a great source of copper and manganese. The soaking also allows for easier digestion, and basically a healthy substitute for the butter usually used in frostings. A few too many spoonfuls were sacrificed before landing on the target. And as a self-declared frosting lover, I obviously had to make way more than was required for an 8-inch cake. The stellar ingredient list is all the more reason to have an extra scoop of frosting and a slice of cake for breakfast, which is exactly what I did every single day this week. The frosting also made for a delicious fruit dip, a faux yogurt in a breakfast parfait, and the obvious decision for a spoonful every time I opened the fridge.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Makes one 8-inch double layer cake

2 1/4 cups light spelt flour

3/4 cup coconut sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

a few pinches of ground cloves

3/4 cup pumpkin puree (100% pumpkin)

1 cup vanilla almond milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil two 8-inch round cake pans, and line the bottom of each with parchment paper. Lightly oil the parchment paper (I use coconut oil spray), and dust with some extra spelt flour.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, spices, baking powder and baking soda.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, almond milk, vanilla, maple syrup, and lemon juice. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, along with the coconut oil, and whisk just until combined. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and let cool in pans on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the pans, peel off the parchment, and cool completely directly on the rack. Frost immediately, or wrap in plastic overnight.

Cashew Caramel Icing

Cut this recipe in half if you don't want to eat frosting all week (is that a real thing?)

2 cups cashews, soaked overnight

16 medjool dates

1 1/2 cans coconut milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pink himalayan salt

Process everything in a blender or food processor until smooth. Refrigerate for a few hours if desired.

A Flan for Eddie

Did You Know? The name "Flan" begins with a word in old French "flaon," which comes from the Latin "flado," meaning "custard." According to Platina's De Honesta Voluptate, an Italian cookery text published approximately 1475, custard-type dishes were considered health food. In addition to being nourishing, they were thought to soothe the chest, aid the kidneys and liver, increase fertility and eliminate certain urinary tract problems.

My Uncle Eddie has been one of my biggest fans of Buff Chickpea, spreading the love to all of his friends, who couldn't be nicer with their feedback. He is always emailing me with praise for my latest recipe addition, both his own and from his friends. When I last spoke with him, he mentioned something about a flan, but school was just beginning again for Spring semester, so I sort of put it in the back of my mind. When my sister told me we would be going to my Uncle Garrett's house for lunch last Sunday, and that Eddie would also be going, I remembered the flan he had such high hopes for.

I had never made anything like this before, so I was a little nervous as to the outcome. Would it set up in the fridge? Would the caramel stick to the bottom of the dish? Would I be able to invert the flan onto another dish without a huge collapse? Yes, yes, and yes. The flan could not have been easier to make, and was even easier to flip out of the glass pan, with Eddie's help, making for quite the presentation.

The final product resulted in an incredibly smooth and creamy custard. I was hesitant about the texture, but my first bite erased any and all initial doubts. Sweet, but not overly so, and enriched with vanilla and hazelnut undertones, it reminded me of a lightened creme brulee. Popularized by the Latin community, my Uncle assured me I had created some stiff competition for his flan-obsessed friends. Competing for the perfect flan has resulted in a number of taste testings by my uncle, and when he told me his friends had some work to do to catch up to me, I couldn't have been more pleased.

La Golondrina Cafe's Flan
Adapted from the Los Angeles Times

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)
5 eggs
2 1/2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
1 1/2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
1 3/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon amaretto
1 tablespoon vanilla

In a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the sugar with the orange juice and one-fourth cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to cook until the sugar caramelizes and turns an amber color, then remove from the heat and immediately pour into a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish and allow to cool to room temperature. It will harden to the bottom of the dish. Don't worry, as it cooks and cools, it will turn into a syrup and make for easy removal out of the dish.*

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, then whisk in the condensed, evaporated and regular milks. Whisk in the amaretto and vanilla, and then pour into the baking dish over the caramel.

Place the dish inside a large roasting pan (the roasting pan must be big enough so that there is a 1-inch clearance on all sides) and fill it with enough hot water so that it comes halfway up the side of the glass baking dish. Place the pan in the oven and cook 2 hours, until a knife inserted near the center of the flan comes out clean. It will be quite jiggly at this point, but will set as it cools. Remove the flan from the water bath and allow to cool, then place in the refrigerator, loosely covered, to chill until cold, preferably overnight. Invert onto a platter and serve immediately.

*As this was my first time baking flan, I was nervous about getting it out of the glass dish when it came time to invert it. To my delight, it slid right out, no problem. But in case there were any issues, I had made a caramel sauce and whipped cream to hide any blemishes. An excellent addition, but not needed by any means. The syrup that emerged naturally from the flan itself was more than enough to drizzle on top of each serving.

To return the proud uncle love, I encourage all of you to check out "The Calico Buffalo," seen in the right sidebar. It's a wonderfully composed book, with a beautiful message, written and illustrated by my extremely talented Uncle Eddie.

Caramel Toffee Cheesecake

Did You Know? Milton Hershey did not initiate his chocolate empire with chocolate, but with caramel. The chocolate took off in his search for new coatings and toppings for his caramel candies.

It was my best friend's 22nd birthday the other week, so I knew I had to make something sweet and special to celebrate the occasion. She always goes above and beyond for me, so I really wanted to make something she would love. I remembered bringing her home dulce de leche cheesecake one year from The Cheesecake Factory, and how she completely loved every bite of it. She had never ordered that flavor, and it quickly became her new favorite. Upon remembering all of this, I knew I had to start my quest for the dulce de leche cheesecake recipe, or something very close to it.

I was surprised at how few caramel cheesecake recipes came up when I Googled it. There was an overload of caramel apple cheesecake recipes, but only a few plain old caramel ones. I noticed that Tarah, from Genesis of a Cook, had one posted, so I clicked on hers first, mainly because I like to support blogs I read, but also because all of her recipes are really amazing. "I remember the first cheesecake I ever had was a Caramel Cheesecake...at the Cheesecake Factory..." was how she started out, and I knew from there this was the recipe for me.

Although my camera doesn't like when I cook or bake at night, I love it, so I made this cheesecake a couple nights before the big day (I think the flavors develop so nicely when made a couple days in advance). I've made a lot of cheesecakes in the past, but none with my new Kitchen Aid, so I was really excited. I don't know if it's my undying love of this new mixer, but somehow it makes baking a whole lot easier.

As for the cheesecake? I think it stole the show. Sorry Britt, but it was too good. Smooth, rich, and sweet, this cake was definately the crowd favorite. Blanketed by a layer of silky caramel, and flecked with buttery pieces of toffee, I don't think you could ask much more from a dessert.

So as you might have guessed, the cheesecake provided us with a solid stomach to combat our long night of bar hopping with. All in all, a perfect 22nd birthday if you ask me. Until next year...

Caramel Toffee Cheesecake
Crust
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling
2 lbs. cream cheese
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp. flour
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup toffee pieces

Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, 2 tbsp. of sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 10 inch spring form pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.

For the filling, mix the cream cheese and sugar with a paddle attachment on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add in the flour on low speed. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and the bottom after each egg. Add the egg yolks and vanilla. Fold in the toffee pieces.

Wrap aluminum foil around the outside of the spring form pan, then pour the filling over the crust. Bake in a water batch for approximately 1 1/2 hours. A knife inserted should come out clean when cake is done. Cool the cheesecake to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight. Don't remove the aluminum foil until you are ready to serve, and top with the caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce
Heat sugar on high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2 quart sauce pan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir constantly with a whisk. As soon as the sugar crystals begin to melt (should be dark amber in color), add the butter to the pan (if you don't do this immediately, the caramel will taste burnt). Continue to whisk until butter has melted.

Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then pour over the cheesecake. You'll have a good amount, which you can serve alongside, or save for ice cream later on. Just microwave any extra caramel for a few seconds to loosen it up again (after being refrigerated).

Try your luck at a few awesome giveaways from around the web:
Oh She Glows is having another Honest Foods Giveaway (ends today)
All About Cakes is giving away a Cake Decorating Set (ends the 30th)
Veggie Belly is giving away your choice of Malbec Jam or Dulce de Leche (ends the 24th)