Eggplant Cake - you'll never know it's in there!

Ping Tung Eggplant Cake

            From the Baker Creek Vegan Cookbook by Jere and Emilee Gettle (www.rareseeds.com)

            My comments are in italics.  This cake is delicious.  The eggplant gives the cake a wonderful consistency, but you'll never taste the mild flavor of the Ping Tung Eggplants.  I've given it to many people to try and they never guess the secret ingredient and are shocked when I tell them the cake has eggplant in it.

 

1 cup canola oil, divided (I use grapeseed oil-it has a lighter taste, also, Canola- rapeseed- is 90% GMO’d and I avoid GMO foods when possible)

4 large or 6 medium Ping Tung (Japanese or Chinese type lavender colored fairly long and skinny eggplants)  peeled and chopped, about 6 cups

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups evaporated cane juice crystals (available where sugar is found in the grocery, if you want, you can use white sugar, but cane juice crystals are healthier and not GMO’d.  I haven’t made it with sugar, so I’m not sure if the proportions are the same.)

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ Tablespoons Ener-G egg replacer, dissolved in 6 Tablespoons cold water (This vegan egg replacer is powdered.  You can find it at places like Whole Foods market or online.  I use it in most of my baking to replace eggs)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 350F.

            In a large skillet, heat 2 TBSP of oil over medium-high heat and cook the eggplant, stirring occasionally, until tender, 7 to 8 minutes.  Remove from heat, cool slightly, and puree in a food processor (or with an immersion blender) until smooth, 10 to 15 seconds.  You should have about 2 cups of eggplant puree.

            In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flower, cane juice crystals, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, combine eggplant puree, remaining oil, reconstituted egg replacer, and vanilla.  Add to dry mixture and stir until well blended.  Pour into a well-oiled Bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes, then invert to a wire rack and cook completely.

 

The cake is slightly sweet and I don’t use any icing on it, but you can make a drizzle with powdered sugar and water if you’d like.

Harvest Vegetable Casserole (vegan)

I found the inspiration for this dish in the "Botanical Interests" seed catalog.  Unfortunately the recipe was not vegan, so I took care of making the adjustments.  Here it is:

Ingredients:
4 cups zucchini, cut into bite sized chunks
1 large red onion, sliced and the pieces separated
4-5 cups (about 2 bunches) Swiss chard, any color, stems removed
Olive Oil
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, or about 1/8 cup dried.  This will depend on your taste.
3 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
6 TBSP water
1 cup vegan cheese substitute like Daiya.  Read the label, make sure it doesn't have cancer causing Casein in it if you use another brand.  I used shredded, but you can shred or crumble it yourself from a block.
1/2 cup vegan Romano cheese substitute.
1 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into strips or smaller pieces
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (I use Panko but use about 1/2 cup)

Directions:
Heat about 2 tsp olive oil, add the sliced onion.  Caramelize by cooking on low heat and slowly for about 10-15 minutes.  The onions will reach deep, golden brown.  Remove to cool.

Heat another 2 tsp olive oil; saute Swiss chard leaves until just wilted.

Spray or oil (Earth Balance Vegan Margerine or Crisco) a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Put Swiss Chard, squash, and then onion into the pan in layers.  Combine water and egg replacer, mix well, then mix with cheeses and basil.  Spoon this mixture onto the vegetables.  Top the casserole with the sun dried tomatoes and breadcrumbs.

Bakc at 350F for about 40 minutes until the top looks brown and the cheeses melt somewhat.  .

This casserole won't come out of the pan in pieces like casseroles that have a lot of fat and dairy in them.  Just put a portion on the plate and mix it around.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!