Herbnstyle

We have officially made it to spring! Showers and flowers… bugs and bunnies.

Today I’m bringing a great Easter and spring classic dessert. This sweet and savory treat used to be one that my younger self didn’t appreciate however as we grow we learn not to sleep on Carrot Cake.

I have my moist and flavorful Vegan and Gluten-free Carrot cake with a vegan brown sugar cream Cheese Frosting!

*This recipe is top 8 allergy-friendly!

Ingredients:

• Gluten-Free Flour
• Granulated Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Salt
• Vanilla
• Flaxseed
• Water
• Cooking Oil
• Applesauce
• Carrots
• Butter
• Vegan Cream Cheese
• Confectioners Sugar

Materials:

• Mixing Bowl
• Whisk
• Baking Pan
• Measuring Cups and Spoons

Dairy-Free Carrot Cake

Chastiti Johnson

Allergy-Friendly Carrot Cake

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 people

Equipment

• Mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• 2 Small Round Cake Pan
• Spatula

Ingredients

  

• 2 cup Gluten-Free Flour
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1½ tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 3 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• ½ tsp Salt
• 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 4 tbsp Flaxseed Meal
• ⅜ cup Water
• ⅔ cup Cooking Oil
• ½ cup Applesauce unsweeten
• 4 cups Shredded Carrot loosely packed

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing

• 8 oz Dairy-Free Cream Cheese
• ½ cup Brown Sugar
• 2 cups Confectioners Sugar
• ¼ cup Vegan Butter softened

Instructions

 

• In a small mixing bowl, combine flaxseed and water and let sit for 5 mins
• Preheat oven to 350°
• Whisk together flax seed mixture, sugar, and brown sugar
• Next, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla, oil, and applesauce
• Fold in carrots, and pour half of the batter into a greased or lined cake pan, and pour the remaining batter into 2nd pan
• Place cake pans into the oven to make for 26-30mins
• While the cakes are baking, in a medium mixing bowl cream together butter and cream cheese
• Next, whisk in powder sugar and brown sugar until icing is an off white color
• Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for 15-20mins
• Place cake in serving dish and layer with half of the icing and 2nd cake and top with remaining icing using a spatula
• Allow icing to set, slice cake, and serve

Keyword Allergy Friendly, Carrot Cake, Dessert, Gluten Free Baking, Pastries, Vegan Cakes

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Now I know snowball cookies are typically made for the holidays or in the middle of winter however no one said we couldn’t add a touch of spring to the mix. Citrus flavors like lemon or key-lime really get me excited for the spring and summer. But since I have already brought you all my Lemon Icebox pie(click here) and Lemon bars(click here) I wanted to bring another light and citrus recipe.

We have key-lime snowball cookies! With the sweet flavors of the classic shortbread from a wedding cookie and the light citrus flavors from the key-lime, this is a great quick and easy mini dessert that I would call guilt-free. I have for you all my vegan and gluten-free key-lime snowball cookies!

http://https://youtu.be/ArI8oKkthxQ

Ingredients:

• Gluten-Free Flour
• Arrowroot Powder
• Vegan Butter, Unsalted
• Confectioners Sugar
• Key Lime Juice
• Key Lime Zest

Materials:

• Food Processor w/ Dough Blade
• Measuring Spoons and Cups
• Baking Pans
• Parchment Paper
• Plastic Wrap
• Sifter
• Zester

Combine gluten-free flour and arrowroot powder in a small bowl and set aside;

Using a mixer combine powder sugar and butter until creamed, then add in lime juice and lime zest and mix until evenly combined.

Begin to add in flour and arrowroot mixture until a soft cookie dough texture is formed.

Store cookie dough in the refrigerator for an hr, then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out cookie dough into the size of small snowballs and place onto a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper and place snowballs into the oven and allows to cook for 15-17mins.

Once cookies have baked and are lightly brown on the bottom remove them from the oven and allow to cool for 3-5 mins.

Sift extra confectioner sugar over cookies until covered and top with lime zest for garnish.

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If you knew anything about me during my collegiate years, during the season of love (aka Valentine’s Day) I would always celebrate with my single girls by making a nice home cook meal. Today we call it Galentine’s! None the less, I have continued to carry on that tradition through the years even after college.

I started this tradition by making shrimp and grits or my personal favorite shrimp and polenta! As you may know, Polenta is a yellow corn grit that is enjoyed all through the south and often served with cheese. As good as my shrimp and polenta recipe was in the past, with my new discovery of my food allergies and intolerances, I have worked to create a dairy-free alternative to satisfy this classic cajun craving with my lactose intolerance. 

Here is my Dairy-Free twist to my Cajun Style Shrimp and Polenta!

*Polenta or Grits of any kind are derived from corn.

Warning: this recipe contains Shellfish (Crustaceans) 

Ingredients:

• Shrimp
• Bacon
• Polenta/Yellow Grits
• Onion
• Garlic
• Vegan Butter
• Arrowroot Powder
• Chicken Broth
• Lemon Juice
• Plant-Based Milk
• Vegan Cheddar
• Cayenne Pepper
• Old Bay Seasoning
• Adobo Seasoning
• Salt & Pepper
• Parsley

Materials

• Medium Mixing Bowl
• Spatula
• Medium Dutch Cooking Pot
• Medium Sautéing Pan
• Measuring Cups & Spoons
• Whisk
• Blender
• Large Serving Spoons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dairy-Free Shrimp and Grits

Chastiti Johnson

A Dairy-free twist on a Cajun classic

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

1 hour hr

Course Brunch, Dinner

Cuisine Cajun

Servings 4 People

Ingredients

  

• 1 Ib Jumbo Shrimp
• 4 strips Bacon
• ½ White Onion diced
• 2 cloves Garlic minced
• ¼ cup Vegan Butter unsalted
• 3 tbsp Arrowroot Powder
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Plant-Milk creamy, unsweetened
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp Old Bay
• ½ tsp Adobo
• 2 tsp Hot Sauce
• 1 tsp Salt & Pepper
• Parsley
• 3 stalks Green Onion chopped

"Cheese" Grits

• 1 cup Polenta/Yellow Grits
• 2 cups Plant Milk original, unsweetened
• 2 cups Water
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Vegan Butter unsalted
• 1 cup Vegan Cheddar Shreds

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, combine 1 cup plant milk and lemon juice and set aside in the fridge
• Optional: Season Jumbo Shrimp to your liking with cajun seasoning
• In a medium dutch pan, begin cooking bacon until crispy on both sides
• When finished cooking, remove bacon from pan, reduce stove heat, and begin cooking shrimp for 2-3mins on each side until light pink
• After shrimp is lightly cooked remove from pan and set shrimp aside in a warm place
• Begin cooking the grits: In a medium pot, bring water, salt, and plant milk to a boil on high heat
• Next, add diced onion and minced garlic to the pan and cook until onion is transparent
• When onions are transparent, add arrowroot to the pan and combine until onion is fully coated and oil is removed
• In the dutch pan, add chicken broth and whisk until thickened
• Once thicken, add milk+lemon juice mixture, butter, cayenne, old bay, adobo, hot sauce, salt & pepper
• When the water and milk begin to boil, stir in polenta and reduce pot to low heat and let simmer for 30mins, stirring occasionally
• While Grits cook, remove sauce from heat and pour into a blender and blend until smooth for 30-40 seconds
• After blending, return the sauce to the cooking pan and cook on medium-low heat adding in half of the cooked shrimp and half the chopped green onion to the sauce
• Once grits have thickened, remove from heat and stir in butter and vegan cheddar, and cover pot until melted
• When cheesy grits have finished cooking, prepare a bowl of grits top with shrimp sauce and garnish with leftover shrimp, green onion, and bacon crumbles and serve

Keyword Dairy free, Grits, Shrimp, Shrimp and Grits

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