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Lemon Apricot Scones

Published May 16, 2009 Breakfast Pastry , Lemon , Scones 2 Comments

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Sari, Julie, and I made these scones for a potluck yesterday. They were light and delicately lemony on their own, but the lemon-vanilla glaze drizzled over the top gave them a bit of a sweet-and-sour bite. These scones would be perfect for breakfast, paired with tea or coffee, and were delicious as a dessert as well!

Here is the recipe we adapted (and veganized) from a lemon scone recipe from The Cheeseboard Cookbook.

Scone Ingredients:
3/4 cup dried apricots, chopped small
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
3/4 cup white sugar
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tblsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cold Earth Balance (or other vegan margarine), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups soy milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Glaze Ingredients:
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tsp. lemon zest, for sprinkling over scones at the end

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
Combine apricots, lemon zest, and sugar in a small bowl.

P1000734 Mix 3/4 cup of soy milk with the apple cider vinegar in a measuring cup. Set aside for a few minutes till it curdles. While you wait, sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl. Add the salt and lemon sugar to the bowl and mix on a low speed until combined. Add the margarine and cut it in on low speed for about 4 minutes, or until it is the size of small peas.

P1000738 Make a well in the center and add the soy milk and apple cider vinegar/soy milk mixture. Mix briefly, just until the ingredients come together; some loose flour should remain at the bottom of the bowl.

P1000746 Gently shape the dough into balls about 2 1/4 inches in diameter (they should have a rough, rocky exterior) and place them on the prepared pan about 2 inches apart. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool.

P1000757 To make the glaze, 5 minutes before the scones come out of the oven, pour the lemon juice and vanilla into a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the confectioners’ sugar to make a smooth mixture. Line a work surface with newspaper and place a wire rack on top. Transfer the scones to the rack. Let cool for 5 minutes, then use your whisk to drizzle the glaze over the top of each scone. We sprinkled a bit of extra lemon zest over the scones for a finishing touch. Let the glaze set before serving.

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Lemon Bars

Published April 25, 2009 Dessert Bars , Lemon 2 Comments

I recently found a tree in my neighborhood that is bearing the largest most beautiful lemons by the hundreds, and they are falling to the ground all over the place. To aid this problem, I have taken to pilfering a few lemons at a time during nighttime walks. What to do with them? Clearly, lemon bars were the answer. This recipe is from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. They are delicious and melt in your mouth and not-too-sweet, not-too-tart, perfectly balanced and gooey. Mmmm.

Chocolate Covered Biscotti

Published April 3, 2009 Chocolate , Cookies , Lemon Leave a Comment

I’m not sure this deserves it’s own separate post, but I dipped some of the cranberry pistachio lemon biscotti in dark chocolate and here are the pictures! We sprinkled some ground pistachios on top for a pretty garnish.

Cranberry Pistachio Lemon Biscotti

Published April 2, 2009 Cookies , Lemon 7 Comments

I adapted a biscotti recipe that I found on Bryanna Clark Groban’s blog, adding cranberries instead of ginger to her lemon biscotti recipe. I like these so much, and they were very easy, so I plan on making more biscotti soon, maybe trying out some chocolate flavors. For my first try, I think I didn’t bake them quite long enough because they are still chewy in the middle, but honestly, I like that better than the traditional super-crunchy biscotti texture–and they are still yummy when dipped into tea or coffee! We dipped some in chocolate, and you can look forward to seeing those pictures posted soon.

Lemon Bundt Cake with Cashew Icing

Published March 26, 2009 Cakes , Lemon 3 Comments

I made a lovely lemon bundt cake last night, and couldn’t decide how to ice it. Originally I thought I would cut the cake in half horizontally and spread some poppy seed filling in between the layers, and make a lemon glaze to pour over the top. However, the cake didn’t rise as much as I expected, and I didn’t think cutting it in half would work very well. So I re-evaluated, and became inspired by Hannah Kaminski’s Cashew Icing that she put on her own lemon bundt cake. I’m so glad that I decided to use her recipe, because it is thick, rich, and delicious to eat just on it’s own, and wonderful when paired with the summery lemon cake. I also made a sweet lemon sauce that I served with each slice.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Published March 22, 2009 Cupcakes , Lemon 3 Comments

Spring is here and what would be a better way to spend a day in the sun than with strawberry lemonade? I found this recipe recently, and was enamored of both the idea and the photograph of the cupcake. I have been waiting impatiently to try it out, and when I finally did, it certainly was worth the wait – the taste was heavenly! The coconut milk in the cupcake really added to the rich flavor and moist texture. I added extra lemon juice and zest to the cake batter, since I wanted a really tangy flavor. I made my own veganized version of a lemon strawberry buttercream, which looked beautiful with the chunks of strawberry and large strips of lemon zest mixed into the pale pink frosting (colored only by strawberry juice!). I also made a strawberry jam from scratch and piped that into the middle of each cupcake.