Desserts Cure Stress

Today has been a doozy! The only thing that got me through the day was knowing that dinner would be awesome and that we had cake waiting for us at home :)

Nick and I went out for some Thai at lunch (his choice) and it was great! Spicy and just what I wanted. We ate outside and had a great talk – there’s so much stuff on our plates right now, and it was nice to take some time to spend together.

Work was tough today. One of the hardest days I’ve had in a while. I rarely get phone calls, but today, my phone was ringing off the hook. Add to that an inbox that never emptied and a ton of letters to send…I was ready to pull my hair out!

But we made it through the day :)

And dinner was awesome.

And that cake was amazing.

Thank goodness for birthdays. I’m pretty sure desserts can help get rid of stress.

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I had some local cherries this afternoon while working away. This is the first time I’ve been able to get local cherries, and I will never buy any from the grocery store again. These were the best cherries Nick and I have ever had!

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For dinner, I made 2 dishes: one for me, and one for Nick. But they took the same amount of time so everything was ready at once.

My dinner was basically my Enchilada Pasta but without the corn.

For Nick, I used the same veggie filling (before I added the pasta) and layered his with diced chicken from last night, corn tortillas, and pepperjack cheese. While his dinner baked in the oven, I added the pasta to the pot of veggies/sauce and let them cook together until the noodles were done.

Easy!

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We had some corn and an avocado salad on the side (avocado, tomato, radishes, scallion, lime juice, cumin, salt, cayenne, cilantro).

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Nick’s comment about his dinner:

“This is awesome even with all these vegetables”. :)

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I guess the Birthday Boy can say anything he wants until the clock strikes midnight.

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Roxy finally decided to let me get a picture of her. She’s not a fan of the camera, for some reason.

As for dessert…

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I made a vegan chocolate cake, along with vegan chocolate icing, that is absolutely delicious. It’s extremely moist, thanks to the maple syrup in the batter, and has a deep cocoa flavor.

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I used this recipe for the cake (making just a few small changes) and made an icing just like my mom’s, but with one small substitution to make it vegan.

The icing was:

  • 1.5 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-3 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1-2 Tbsp coconut milk creamer

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Nick loves the cake – he said it’s one of the best cakes I’ve ever made, and I’m just excited to see how well it came out!

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Who knew maple syrup in cake could be so delicious? ;)

 

Time for me to unwind.

 

19 comments

  1. Yum yum! That cake looks excellent. I love vegan desserts

  2. I’m sorry work was rough. I blame it on the fact that it’s Tuesday and Tuesdays are just awful days more times than not…

    But yes, I can see how that cake would make everything better! lol

  3. Sorry you had a rough day but that cake looks worth it.

  4. Honestly, vegan desserts kind of scare me! I just worry that substituting non-vegan ingredients for vegan ones won’t yield good results. I think you’ve inspired me to try it though. the cake looks so rich and delicious! Awesome work and glad you’re day made a turn-around.

  5. A deep chocolate icing?! Ooooh yummy!

  6. I loove maple syrup so I’m guessing it is DELICIOUS in a cake! And I really want to try that enchilada pasta. Looks great :)

  7. That cake looks divine! I am jealous!

  8. Maple syrup is delicious in almost everything! haha :D That cake looks incredible! Good job making it all vegan, too.

  9. Oh my goodness, you really have quite a great invention going with that dinner, yuuum!

  10. that cake looks AMAZING! happy birthday to your man!!!

  11. Ur blog is amazing just had to tell U that… :-)

  12. It is funny that you titled your post “Desserts Cure Stress”.
    Did you know Stressed = Desserts (when you spell stressed backwards). I always remind myself of that! :)

  13. i put maple syrup in my scones once and thought the exact same thing! totally suprised how great it is in recipes :) i can always count on you for whipping up a great baked treat!

    im envious of ur local cherries.. still waiting over here for them! in time tho, in time hehe

  14. i had a bowl of local organic cherries that weren’t stellar, but all right – i know what you mean, though – when you get a really great bowl, life is a bowl of….well you know….

  15. Organic cherries, when you directly eat them from a tree..that’s the best I had ever :)
    mhm, cake looks awesome!

  16. Ooo that cake looks gourmet and gorgeous! Your baking skills always blow me away! :-)

  17. Love the cake Brandi! It looks amazing and totally decadent! :D

  18. that is the best vegan cake i have ever laid eyes on!

  19. just bookmarked so many of your recipes, the enchilada pasta, cinnamon buns, and now this cake – coconut milk creamer in icing? love it!

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