Sweet Summer Farewell!

Sadly, we’ve come upon that time to say goodbye to summer. But we’ve still got one big holiday weekend left before we need to pack our bathing suits away and bring out the sweaters. Check out past Labor Day recipes right here. This year I’ve decided on a desserts only post. It’s your final summer weekend so why not live it up, right? In addition, these are all no-bake to save you time as well as keep you cool ; ) Here are a few treats to make your last, long, summer weekend just a tad bit sweeter!

Chillin’ Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

2 1⁄2 cups vegan heavy whipping cream (recipe below)
1 bag (10 oz) vegan peanut butter chips
18 whole chocolate vegan graham crackers

Heat 2⁄3 cup of whipping cream until steaming. Add chips; whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk in remaining cream. Chill 15 minutes.  Then beat with mixer just until soft peaks form. Arrange 3 crackers, side by side, long edges touching, on serving plate. Spread evenly with 1⁄2 cup cream mixture. Repeat for 4 more layers; add 1 more layer crackers. Chill 1 hour. Chill remaining cream.

Once chilled, spread top and sides of cake with cream. Chill 4 hours or up to 2 days. Decorate with peanut butter chips, if desired. Slice with a serrated knife using a sawing motion.

Vegan Heavy Whipping Cream Recipe

1/2 block of silken tofu (extra firm)
3/4 cup vanilla soymilk
1/4 + 1/8 cup vanilla soy powder
1 tablespoon agave
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Blend together tofu, milk and milk powder. Let stand 5 min. to fully dissolve. Then blend in sweetener and extracts. On high speed, slowly drizzle oil into mixture. Continue slowly adding lemon juice. Refrigerate. This will continue to thicken in fridge.

Strawberry Stack Cakes

1 pt fresh strawberries, rinsed & sliced
One frozen poundcake, not thawed (Amy’s has a great vegan poundcake in chocolate, lemon poppy seed & orange)
12 or 16 oz vegan whipped cream (recipe above) or vanilla frosting

Cut cake in half horizontally. With cookie cutter, cut out 4 rounds from each half; cut each round into 3 layers. Then spread 1 Tbsp frosting/cream on each of 2 layers from one stack; top each with 4 strawberry slices. Reassemble, ending with unfrosted round. Repeat with remaining stacks.

Heat remaining frosting, stirring often, to melt. Spoon on stacks. Chill 10 minutes to set. Top with rest of berries.You’ ll need a 2 1/2-in. round biscuit or cookie cutter and a baking sheet. Slice enough strawberries to make 1 1/4 cups.

Dipped Oreo Pops

10 lollipop sticks
10 Oreo cookies or Newman O’s
1 1/2 cups (9 oz)  vegan semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 Tbsp solid vegetable shortening (Earth Balance is best)
Rainbow sprinkles

Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Insert a lollipop stick into cream filling of each cookie. Melt chocolate and shortening in a small bowl in a double boiler; stir until smooth. Dip 1 cookie pop into melted chocolate, letting top of cookie rest on bottom of bowl for support. Spoon melted chocolate over cookie to coat. Transfer to lined baking sheet, using a fork to support pop from underneath if needed. Sprinkle decor onto the dipped cookie. Let stand until set. Repeat with remaining cookie pops, remelting chocolate as needed.

Peaches & Ice Cream Ginger Pie

12 whole vegan cinnamon graham crackers (2 squares each)
5 Tbsp vegan butter, softened
1⁄3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
11⁄2 cups organic peach spreadable fruit jam
8 cups (4 pt) vegan vanilla (or peach) ice cream
1 firm-ripe peach

Coat a 9-in. pie plate with nonstick spray or vegan butter. Pulse graham crackers in food processor until fine crumbs form (13⁄4 cups). Add butter and 2 Tbsp crystallized ginger; pulse until crumbs are moistened. Press firmly on bottom and up sides of pie plate. Freeze 30 minutes until firm. Meanwhile, stir spreadable fruit and remaining crystallized ginger in a bowl. Scoop 1⁄2 the ice cream into crust to cover, placing scoops close together. Spread 1 cup ginger-peach mixture over top; cover and refrigerate rest. Freeze pie 1 hour, or until firm. Top with scoops of remaining ice cream. Freeze 3 hours until hard, or wrap airtight and freeze up to 2 weeks. Up to 1 day ahead: Peel, pit and thinly slice peach. Stir into reserved ginger-peach mixture. Cover and refrigerate until serving pie. About 20 minutes before serving: Transfer pie to refrigerator to thaw slightly. Spoon on ginger-peach sauce.

Chilled Lava Shake

1 1/2oz. Light Rum (optional if you want a non-alcoholic beverage)
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Cream of Coconut
1/2 Banana
1/4 cup Strawberry Puree (recipe below)
1/2 cup crushed ice
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend 20 – 30 seconds. Pour strawberry puree into a glass and then follow with the blended mixture. This creates the “melted lava” look.

Strawberry Puree
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1/4 cup organic sugar
water as needed

Mash strawberries and sugar together and heat in a sauce pan over medium heat. stir until blended and syrupy, add water if it is too stiff.

Enjoy your last summer weekend of 2010!!