Citrus Scones

 

If you haven't noticed by now that the majority of my blog entries are some sort of sweet, they are because I'm still a kid at heart.  I remember growing up, I would always search the house for dessert and once ended up with 6 brownies in my lunch box for school.  My mom still tells the story of me robbing the pantry of all sweets and leaving none for my siblings.  When I'd get in trouble for this act of tyranny, I'd tell myself that when I got older, I'd make all the desserts I want!  Well today I do bake like a crazy woman, feeding my inner child, but because of that middle aged decrease in metabolism I have slowed down a bit on my consumption of these goodies... ( and of course I do feel sorry for my childhood gluttony!)

 

 

Today I made scones for our lazy Sunday.  I wanted a nice treat to follow up with my nice spot of tea.  I wanted to use the lemons and grapefruit that I had on my counter especially since I'm in love with citrus.  And because lately I've been having a bit of issue with gluten, I wanted to make these gluten free too.

 So here we go...

Me in my bake happy state is hoping you enjoy this tasty breakfast treat.

 

Citrus Scones Recipe

 

1 16oz box (2 3/4 cup)of Gluten Free Flour mix  (tip* reserve about 2 Tbs of mix for flouring your counter and baking pan if you don't have any more to use)
1/3 cup Granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegan butter
3 tsp ener-g egg powder
1 tsp chia seeds
3/4 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
1/2 tsp cornstarch
3 ounces tofu (soft)
1/2 cup- 3/4 cup Coconut milk ( I use canned coconut milk that has cream on the top. I make sure to mostly use the creamy part for this recipe...Do NOT use cream of coconut.)
lemon zest
grapefruit zest
juice from the grapefruit and lemon

1 tsp course granulated sugar for sprinkling

Glaze
Remaining juices, remaining zest
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Mix all dry ingredients, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, egg powder, chia seeds, cornstarch in a bowl. Add butter and mix until butter is the size of small peas. Do not over mix and make sure butter is very cold. Stir in 3/4 of the zest from the grapefruit and lemon (reserving 1/4 of the zest for the glaze.) Mix in another bowl, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tsp of the grapefruit juice and 1 tsp of the lemon juice (reserving all the rest of the juice for the glaze) and tofu . Add wet to dry stirring just until incorporated. Should slightly resemble a pie crust dough. If dough doesn't stick together, add a bit more coconut milk, a little at a time, until it holds together.
On floured counter, divide into two halves and make into the shape of disks about 1- 1 1/2 inch high.  Use a little remainder of the coconut milk to brush the tops of disks and sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar. Cut each disk to make 6 pieces. Place pieces onto a cookie sheet, slightly apart to give room for baking all sides.  Bake in preheated oven set at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. These should be slightly brown.

 

 



 

Allow to cool a bit while making Glaze. In a bowl, mix juice and zest and add 1/3 cup of powdered sugar at a time, mixing well using a whisk.  You want this to have a nice semi thick consistency that will slowly drizzle over the warm scones. *(use a cookie cooling rack to keep the scones from sitting in the syrup.)  Once the glaze is almost dry, your scone is ready to devour.... enjoy!

 

 

Lemon Chia Ricotta & Berry Crepes

So help me, when I crave something, it drives me crazy.  Crazy to the point of obsession is realistically what happens when I really really want something.  A few weeks ago, the hubby and I, along with my grand baby, went to the mall.  Inside the mall is a cute little french bistro type crepe place with a window to watch the crepe making process.  Hubby and I ordered a delicious coffee while I dreamed about making a crepe someday soon.  Well after much pondering and a failed attempt at the first couple, here is my recipe...Chia seeds included!

 

At first I made my beautiful food, took photos and went on to eat these yummies. This is the first time I had taken photos and not checked them before I ate the goods.  I guess I was too excited and missed the part that white crepes in indirect sunlight do not show up...at all. The screen was all white with a nice outline of something that resembled a crepe! 

Well, to my horror, and my tummies delight, fortunately I had some left overs to recreate my photos.  And as for my tummy...seconds of this lovely lemony delight with fresh bursts of flavor and fruity ricotta cheesy goodness along with a little crunch from the chia seeds was perfect.

 

I was happy! And full!

 



 Lemon Chia Ricotta & Berry Crepes

Filling~

1/2 c sliced strawberries
1/2 c black or boysenberries
pinch of sugar
a drip of vanilla
1 c vegan ricotta cheese
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs coconut milk or your favorite type.

In a hot pan, slightly cook berries with a pinch of sugar and vanilla.  You just want the flavors to start coming out, about a minute or two on high heat and then set aside to cool.
In a bowl, mix ricotta cheese, sugar and milk.  Set aside while making crepes.

Crepes~

1 Tbs egg replacer
1 Tbs Chia seeds
1 C water
2 Tbs canola oil
2 1/2 C coconut milk (unsweetened)
Lemon zest and 1/2 tsp lemon juice.
2 C cake flour
pinch salt
Powdered sugar for sprinkling and Maple syrup for drizzling.

In a blender, mix egg replacer, chia seeds and water for a minute on high.  Add oil, zest, lemon juice and coconut milk and blend another minute.  Add cake flour, 1/2 cup at a time and blend on high.  Scrape down sides, add salt and mix another few seconds.  Spray a little cooking spray evenly over hot pan.  Wipe of excess and pour a little batter into the center of the pan.  Kind of like you'd make an omelet, using your wrist, lift the pan and slowly swirl the mixture to the outside of the pan in circular motions.  You want this batter to be really thin in the pan.  Cook about a minute until you see the edges lift.  I was able to grab the edge and flip the crepe by hand to cook the other side but feel free to use a spatula. Cook evenly on both sides and stack crepes on a plate as they've cooked.

 

To assemble, spread on a bit of ricotta mixture, a few berries and roll up.

 

 Sprinkle with Powdered sugar and Eat.  Or just look at them, and then eat them.  Yes, they're that pretty. And also drizzle with Maple syrup for another level of tastiness.

 

Dessert Crepe~

(or breakfast too)

 

Lay crepe flat on a plate.  Drizzle with a little lemon juice.  Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.  Fold in half and in half again. Drizzle with melted vegan butter and sprinkle with a little more granulated sugar.  Okay now eat...your life is now complete! (At least mine was!) 

 

Like Crepes?  Share what you like to fill yours with and inspire us all.

 

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 My Delicious Vegan Diary

Lemon Blueberry Scones

 

School's out, the children are bored, your friends want to get together...summer has officially begun.  Now's the time to plan that special get together or tea party with friends so you can keep in touch.  These Scones are the perfect treat that'll have your friends talking.  Better yet, skip the party and hoard these babies all for yourself for breakfast! Yeah, go ahead, you deserve it!

Gluten free, Egg free, Vegan Lemon Blueberry Scones Recipe

1 16oz box (2 3/4 cup)of Gluten Free Flour mix (I've used the "Gluten Free Pantry" Brand all purpose flour and I've also used their Perfect Pie Crust mix for these scones too) (tip* reserve about 2 Tbs of mix for flouring your counter and baking pan if you don't have any more to use)
1/3 cup Granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegan butter
3 tsp ener-g egg powder mixed with 3 Tbs water and 1 Tbs flax oil (set aside for 10 min)
1/2 cup- 2/3 cup Coconut milk ( I use canned coconut milk that has cream on the top.  I make sure to mostly use the creamy part for this recipe...Do NOT use cream of coconut.)
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon extract
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1 tsp granulated sugar for sprinkling

Mix top four ingredients. Add butter and mix until butter is the size of small peas. Do not over mix and make sure butter is very cold. Stir in zest and blueberries. Mix  all wet ingredients in another bowl. Add wet to dry stirring just until incorporated.  Should slightly resemble a cookie dough. If dough doesn't stick together, add a bit more coconut milk until it holds together.
On floured counter, divide into two halves and make into the shape of disks about 1 inch high. Place both disks onto lightly floured cookie sheet.  Use a little coconut milk to brush the tops of disks and sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar.  Cut each disk to make 6 pieces. Pull all pieces out and slightly apart to give room for baking all sides, but keep in its disk shape. This may bake back together slightly and this is okay. Bake in preheated oven set at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  These should be slightly brown.
Here is a super neat trick that I've read about and tried.  Place cookie sheet with scones, ready to go, into freezer for 30 minutes before baking. Place this immediately in hot oven and your scones will turn out even better. Enjoy!