Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Donuts + Our newest addition :)

Before I share the recipe for these wondrous donuts, I would like to share a little tidbit of what has been going on in our lives; Michael and I got a puppy! Her name is Zoe and she is a 10-week old French Bulldog with the warmest and cuddliest belly we’ve ever seen. After much research we decided a Frenchie was the dog for us because they are companion dogs, smart, quirky and the perfect size. Little Zoe is something else too; she is a little monster that makes up for devilish antics by being… "So cute!" We learned very quickly that having a little puppy around requires adjustment, responsibility and patience; lots and lots of patience. Zoe's antics of choice are biting every little thing around the house and of course, being a little rambunctious beast. But you gotta love her! She really is great though and my heart almost always melts when she cuddles up with me, and the way she rolls around on her back while snorting like a piglet automatically makes me giggle. Some shots of the babe...

dat belly... <3_<3

She loves bedtime.

I'm obsessed with her double chin.

Zoe getting caught in one of her antics... I believe she was eating my in-laws houseplants again.

Now, back to the donuts! I originally found the recipe here.  I adjusted the recipe to be vegan and was extremely pleased with the results. To me anything coffee cake or that contains bananas, walnuts and chocolate is my kind of dessert. I find that these donuts are cozy, moist, sweet and downright delicious. The first time I made this recipe I baked it into a 6” inch cake pan, and baked the remaining batter into muffins. This time I decided to break out my donut pan because, well, I think everything tastes better in the shape of a donut! 

Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Donuts
makes a dozen donuts 

Topping:

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon cardamom

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons room temperature vegan butter

¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Dash of salt

Cake:

½ cup vegan butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¾ cup natural cane sugar

1 tablespoon chia seeds + 3 tablespoons water

¼ non-dairy milk + ½ teaspoon vinegar (or add a squeeze of lemon and let it sit for 5 minutes to curdle)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 bananas, mashed

Preheat oven 350. Lightly grease donut pan with cooking spray, vegan butter or coconut oil.

1. Make topping; mix all ingredients except chocolate chips together with the back of a fork or a pastry cutter until crumbled. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.

2. Combine chia seeds with water and set aside. Melt vegan butter in a medium pan over medium high heat. Set aside to cool.

4. Whisk flours, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt.

5. Once butter is cooled stir in sugar until well combined. Whisk in chia mixture, milk, and extract. Add bananas and stir to combine.

6.   Slowly stir in flour mixture just until combined.

7. Spoon the batter into donut pan until it’s about half full, then sprinkle some of topping and repeat, adding more batter and another layer of the topping.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool completely. Loosen edges of each donut with a butter knife and carefully invert. Serve or store in a container for up to 4 days.

-Jessica

Cranberry Orange Bread and Craving Some Memories

There’s nothing too exciting going on over here; Michael and I have been feeling under the weather these past few days and I blame it on this indecisive New Jersey weather. One day it’s snowing, the next day there’s sunshine and after that it’s snowing again and freezing cold. But don’t you worry, I’m not complaining! In fact I’m using this time to figure things out. As you may or may not know, I’m currently not working and won’t be living in Jersey for long. “What I do” right now is take care of our apartment, read, take pictures every now and then, and of course research information on how I can start an online baking business. I also have been thinking about taking natural nutrition courses online when we move to Pennsylvania. To be honest, I was pretty nervous about moving far away but now, I’m mostly excited for us to start a new chapter. I’m looking forward to the change of location, working from home and expanding my education. Oh, and other monumental events such as getting our first house, dog and some goats.

On another thought, is it just me or has Christmastime came out of nowhere this year? I’m usually more excited this time of year, but have been nonchalant and all “oh yeah it’s next week.” I’m kind of questioning my sanity. For example I haven’t stepped into the mall once this month and only made two batches of cookies. You read that correctly TWO batches! (They were oatmeal and snickerdoodle cookies in case you were wondering.) I am usually a beast when it comes to baking Christmas cookies. It must be the fact that I moved away and have not baked cookies with mom this year. She really made baking cookies a great memory for me. Aside from baking the cookies we'd have good conversation, hot chocolate and always made sure to eat the "reject" cookies. While I miss being home and baking with my mama, I am ready to make new traditions with my husband such as baking cookies with him, having a real Christmas tree and of course drinking hot chocolate together. The hot chocolate thing never gets old and eventually we’ll have children who love to drink it with us while we bake millions of cookies together. These are the cheesy daydreams that I live for, because the older I get the more I realize that Christmas isn't about buying gifts or receiving them, the tree or the music, it’s about being with your family and making memories with them. 

Oh wait. Before I go, I wanted to share this delicious cranberry orange bread I made last weekend. You can find the original recipe here, though I made a few changes if you look below. It was the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, not to mention it was incredibly moist and yummy! Everyone seemed to like it which was encouraging to hear after having a rough week.