“There is Nothing Like A Dream to Create the Future” – Victor Hugo. I think that’s so true. What we dream of, and what we think, absolutely sculpt our reality. I could get really deep with that whole thing, but I know you’re just really wanting to know if those are real, vegan, gluten free, Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls in the picture above, and I am happy to say, YES, they are!! As if vegan, gluten free chocolate cinnamon rolls aren’t enough, these babies actually have mini chocolate chips rolled into them, and they are glazed with a Chocolate Gourmet Espresso Glaze!! The rolls are great, but the glaze really takes these to the next level! So, these are pretty much proving that quote right… I have been dreaming of cinnamon rolls ever since I went gluten free about 5 years ago, and that time I saw a photo of cinnamon rolls baked in a cast iron skillet, I knew that must be in my future! So let’s talk about how to get these fluffy, chocolate COFFEE cinnamon rolls into your future….
Vegan Chocolate Lover’s Cake
Hi everyone! I’m so excited to share this recipe for Gluten Free, Vegan Chocolate Lover’s Cake! Do you have chocolate lovers in your house? Want a recipe that you can bring to any gathering? This is the one for you! This cake is soft and moist, it’s gluten free (but it doesn’t fall apart) and it’s decadent! The icing is light as a cloud and just as dreamy. This will easily become your go-to Chocolate Cake recipe, because everyone needs one of those! The best part is that no one will ever suspect that it’s gluten free and vegan! …
Vegan Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
It sounds to good to be true, I know, but here is the proof! Creamy, all natural, Vegan Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream does exist! Thanks to the amazing discovery of Aquafaba (literally “bean water”, from a can of beans), all kinds of wonderful things that used to require egg whites are now possible! This Vegan Swiss Meringue Buttercream is one of those things! This icing is like heaven on Earth, on your cake. Seriously! It is light, fluffy, and melts in your mouth. It goes on your cake like a dream too. I’ve made the Vegan (gluten Free) Chocolate Lover’s Cake seen above with this icing several times recently, in preparation for this post, and also for a birthday party and I’m happy to say that not only was it a huge hit, but it is now my go-to cake and icing recipe! It’s a cake that you can bring anywhere and because it’s dairy free and egg free, everyone will be able to enjoy it. They’ll love it too – I promise! Unless you know people who don’t like chocolate…. are there people like that? I’m going with not many!…
Fluffy Egg Free Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Yes, fluffy, egg free, gluten free chocolate pancakes are a real thing! I got you – you skeptic – you believer that all vegan/ gluten free pancakes must be gritty, flat, sad affairs. I’m here to tell you that you CAN have super fluffy, slightly crispy outside, moist, crumby inside, pancakes that are completely vegan and gluten free – ’cause that’s how we do it ’round here! This can be your next lazy Sunday breakfast, and if you just can’t wait until next Sunday ( I don’t blame you!), a quick and easy pancake dinner! For you do-gooders, out there, see my Cinnamon Blueberry Pancake recipe that is loaded with yummy, healthy blueberries! Ok, I admit that I am one of those, aforementioned do-gooders, that usually prefers fruit in pancakes over chocolate, but I’ve devised a work around! You see I live in a house full of chocolate lovers and if I were to set down a plate of blueberry pancakes, they’d be looking all around, knowing that I must have a big stack of chocolate chip ones hiding somewhere. So, I am sadly outnumbered around here. There is a perfect solution to that little issue. Serve these super fluffy, decadent stacks of chocolate chip pancakes dripping in syrup, with fresh strawberries! Problem solved, everyone VERY happy! I mean, chocolate + strawberries = match made in heaven right? So, a pancake this perfect must be hard to make right? No. Fancy starch, Nah. Crazy complicated gluten free flour blends that you need a degree in food science to make sense of, No Way! We are going to a very simple and readily available replacement for eggs, that you probably already have in your cabinet right now. So let’s get these super easy and delicious going right now!
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Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hi everyone! Look at these!! ^^^^Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies!!^^^^ yes, they’re vegan, and yes, they’re gluten free too! (All of my recipes for this blog are, BTW, in case your’re new here – and if so, Welcome!!) Ok, so now that we established that, let’s talk chewy, super chocolatety, soft, gooey, dessert type goodness! (I love Kale, and Tofu, and all of the usual yumminess that I post here, but sometimes, you just gotta do some dessert? Am I right?) Actually, the recipe for these cookies came about because I was going to make some of my Carrot Cake Bars to bring to my in-laws’ house for a Father’s Day celebration, and I didn’t want my hubby to be left out. He likes my carrot cake bars, but what he really loves is CHOCOLATE, and plenty of it. If dessert doesn’t involve chocolate, he doesn’t really care about eating dessert. (That’s probably why he wears the same size pants as the day I met him, 25 years ago!) My husband is an awesome Dad, and I have to spoil him on Father’s Day, so I wanted to make something super chocolatety for him! Regular chocolate chip cookies are great, but if you can get even more chocolate in there, well, even better right? So here you go… Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies!!
Because of my food allergies (I’m vegan, and I’m allergic to wheat and all cross reactive grains, millet, and potatoes! – Anyone else out there like me?!), it’s been a really long time since I’ve had a soft, chewy, cookie. I made these with my husband in mind, but I have to admit that they were so amazing that I had to eat some too. They were actually really popular around my house, and I didn’t hear any complaints when I made a 2nd batch after Father’s Day for the blog! My son’s friends loved them too, so these cookies have the teenage, non-vegan, gluten eaters stamp of approval! I’m pretty sure Santa would love these too! Really, how can you go wrong when chocolate is involved? One of the best things about these cookies is that they melt in your mouth. I use oat flour, so there’s no gritty, rice flour texture that some gluten free treats have, and they don’t fall apart either, just wait a few minutes for them to cool before you start removing them from the pan. 😉
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Vegan & Gluten Free Strawberries and Cream Scones
Vegan and Gluten Free Strawberries and Cream Scones?!!! Yes!! Ok, the first thing I have to say about this recipe is, I ❤❤❤ strawberries, photography, and anything pink or red, so shooting these pictures was A LOT of fun! Spring is definitely in full swing here in Southern California, and one of the best parts of this season, is fresh, juicy, organic strawberries! I live near the coast and they grow a lot of strawberries around here, so they are showing up in big gorgeous flats at the farmer’s markets, so how can you resist? I *might* have over bought this past weekend, and once I got them home thought, ‘what am I going to do with all of these berries?’! They don’t last long and I seem to be the only one in my house that is completely in love with them. This love of strawberries runs deep with me. When I was a kid, my favorite toys were my Strawberry Shortcake dolls. My favorite book was “The Strawberry Dress Escape” by Crescent Dragonwagon. My mom made dresses for me with strawberries on them, and my room was decked out with.. you guessed it… Strawberry Shortcake. Oh, and my favorite treats, Strawberry Ice Cream, Strawberry Milkshakes, Strawberry Pie, you get the idea… So when I got the idea for these Strawberries and Cream Scones, I worked on the recipe until it was up to my strawberry obsessed standards, and now I’m so excited to share it with you!! The recipe is easy to put together and they don’t take long to bake, so you need to make these ASAP! These yummy scones are prefect for serving for breakfast, brunch (Mother’s Day!) or at tea time… and you can eat them for dessert too, they are just that delicious!
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Vegan Gluten Free Cinnamon Blueberry Pancakes
Pancakes come in all shapes and sizes, but I have to say that my favorite ones, are of the fluffy, pillow-y variety! So how do you make them fluffy, when you are making vegan, gluten free pancakes? Well, when I went to work on this recipe, that was priority number one! Priority number two is that they needed to incorporate aquafaba. Why? Because I have to say that I’m fascinated with it! So, for those of you not in the know about this yet, I’ll give you a very quick primer. Aquafaba is the latest and greatest egg-replacer that you probably have in your cabinet right now. The vegan community is buzzing about it! It was discovered about a year ago, and it’s been revolutionizing the way people bake without eggs. It’s basically just the bean brine that your canned beans come packed in. Mind blowing, right? Yes, it’s really that simple! Now, people are taking it a little (or a lot) further than that, and actually whipping it into a thick, creamy consistency and baking it into meringues, icings, and all kinds of wonderful creations! It’s really quite amazing, and a lot of fun to experiment with. In a lot of recipes however, you can just substitute one egg with 3 Tbsp. of the liquid (no whipping required) and it works great. This pancake recipe is sort of a hybrid, in that it takes just a short whisking, but the results – light, fluffy, gluten free pancakes on your plate are so worth it! If you are adventurous and give this new aquafaba thing a try, definitely leave a comment at the end of the post and let me know what you came up with. If you ‘d like to connect with other aquafaba experimenters, pop onto Facebook and check out the Vegan Meringue – Hits and Misses group, it’s a pretty active group and it’s fun to see what works and what doesn’t. And if experimenting in the kitchen isn’t your thing, or you just don’t have the time, then don’t worry friends, I got your back! I do the experimenting, and you get yummy, tested recipes! If you want to get those yummy recipes right in your inbox, and never miss a single one – sign up for my email list. It’s right over there ——> to the right —–>in the sidebar! So, back to what’s really important here…. Yummy, Fluffy, Cinnamon Blueberry Pancakes!! Make them this weekend for breakfast, or dinner. You can even freeze some them and pull them out on a week day for a quick, filling breakfast before work or school. And while you’re in the pancake making mood – definitely make up a quick batch of this crispy Vegan Bacon (yessssss!) to go with your pancakes! 😋
Tofu Bacon is the perfect compliment to these pancakes!
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Classic Chili (Veganized!)
What comes to mind when you think of Chili? Comfort Food, right? Chili has that wonderful, comfort food ability to make you feel that all is right with the world! It’s warm, it’s filling, and most of us grew up eating it, so there’s that home cooked meal – memory thing built into your thoughts on chili! That’s why, when I decided to make a post about chili, I decided to do a classic chili. Sure, we could get fancy and add all kind of new fangled chili ingredients, like lentils, and mangos or something, but when it comes to chili, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Am I right? Let’s go with yes, at least for the duration of this post… 🙂 This recipe is not spicy either, so you can add your own heat when you’re cooking it, or if you have kiddos at the table, you can let each person spice it to their liking. I like Frank’s Red Hot Sauce with mine, and the hubby goes Tabasco or some kind of local, artisan hot sauce, he’s a bit of a connoisseur of hot hot sauces! My boys like it just as is. Another great thing about chili is that it is so versatile. I’m talking in a bowl, on top of chips with melted cheese, on a baked potato, on a veggie dog, you know where I’m going with this right? Yes! Tell me what you like to eat chili on or with, so we can all get inspired together!!
As you can see from the photos, I made some yummy (vegan/GF) cornbread with this batch! Recipe here! It takes just a few minutes to whip up, and you will be so glad you did!
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Melt in Your Mouth Vegan Cornbread
Sometimes I make some bold claims with my recipe titles, like The Best Stuffed Mushrooms Ever or my Super Amazing Green Smoothie, but it’s just because I get really, really excited about yummy recipes, and this Melt in Your Mouth Vegan Cornbread, is no exception. It’s really that good, and I promise, it will live up to it’s title! It’s Vegan and Gluten free, and it is AWESOME with chili, soup, or even as a snack with some butter, or jelly. I made mine in a cast iron pan because this one is so cute, and I needed an excuse to use it, but also because it was kind of a bucket list thing for me. I once saw my step-mom’s father, who was a real character BTW, make corn bread in a cast iron skillet, and I was VERY impressed! I had never seen anyone do this before, and it was really, super cool. I was about 10…. Is it normal for an 10 year old to get that impressed by a cooking technique? Um, ok. Moving on…. I LOVE learning new stuff and especially when it’s kitchen and/or photography related. Anyways, this cornbread recipe is super easy and fluffy and yummy, and today, my friend, YOU might learn something new!! I can’t wait to tell you about it, so let’s dig in!
Have you ever heard of aquafaba? Yeah, neither had I until a few ago, but since then it’s kinda been rocking my world! It’s a cool new way to replace eggs in baked goods, and it works GREAT!! The best part is that you probably have it RIGHT NOW in your cabinet? Ok, I’ll stop teasing you. Time to spill the beans… (A little Aquafaba humor, anyone?) It’s the liquid that canned beans come packed in! Whaaat??? I know it sounds crazy, but it actually works! This egg like liquid will actually whip up into a thick cream and can be baked as meringues (you have to add a few things), or used as is, straight for the can to replace eggs in baked goods. The liquid has a texture that is VERY similar to egg whites. I will definitely be posting more recipes using aquafaba soon! In the meantime, look up the Vegan Meringue Hit and Misses Facebook Group, and see all of the wonderful creations people are coming up with. I’ve seen Lemon Meringue Pies, breads, cookies, gingerbread houses, and even a gingerbread version of the Grand Budapest Hotel! Before you go crazy and start constructing your own version of the Empire States Building or something with your own aquafaba creation, let’s start with something a little more basic, and um, practical, and delicious with Chili!! Really, this is the perfect recipe to try it out with, it’s easy. Oh, and there’s no complicated Gluten Free flour blends or weird ingredients to source! Just two flours. That’s it.
Speaking of chili, it has lots of beans! Lots of beans = lots of aquafaba to play with! I made a big pot of chili, and I used some of the liquid from the beans to replace the eggs in this cornbread recipe. It was really that easy, you don’t have to whip it or anything, just put the liquid into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and it works it’s magic! Because I made chili, with kidney beans, the aquafaba had a slight pinkish tint to it, but it’s definitely fine in this recipe. If you were making a white icing or a meringue with the aquafaba, I’d recommend liquid from a can of garbanzo (chickpea) or cannellini beans, as it’s more clear.
In case you’re wondering why the butter (vegan margarine) looks curly like that, I grated it because grating your butter is supposed to help give your baked goods a fluffier texture. This has a fluffy texture. Not sure if the grated butter helped, but it was fun. You are supposed to freeze your butter first, and then grate it, and I kinda skipped that step, so it was a little messy, but whatever!
You can mix the batter by hand (that’s what I did here), or with a mixer. Either way, mix all of your ingredients until the batter is thoroughly mixed and the batter is thickened, about 1 minute by hand, half of that in a mixer, and then spoon into pan and bake. 
There’s really nothing to it! If you’re like me, you’ll be standing there, at the oven door, watching the cornbread get fluffy in the oven. Aquafaba is amazing, and so fun to play with! I can’t even wait to share my next aquafaba adventure with you! I’ll give you a teaser… it involves CHOCOLATE!! Lots of chocolate! Make sure you get on my email list, or follow me on Bloglovin’ so you don’t miss anything!! If you’ve tried this recipe, or another recipe with aquafaba, post it in the comments! I’d love to hear about your adventures too!
P.S. Click Here for my Classic Chili Recipe! It goes great with this cornbread!!
Melt in Your Mouth Cornbread
Author: Angel McNall, Cheftographer Blog
Recipe type: Baked
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Light and Fluffy, Gluten Free, and Vegan Cornbread. 
Ingredients
- 1½ C Corn Flour (not corn starch or cornmeal)
- ½ C White Sorghum Flour
- ¼ C chilled vegan margarine (such as Earth Balance Buttery Sticks), grated
- 1½ C unsweetened Almond Milk, Coconut Milk or other unsweeened, non-dairy milk of choice
- 2 t baking powder
- 1 t sugar
- ½ t sea salt
- ½ baking soda
- 7 Tblsp. aqaufaba
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450*. Grease cast iron skillet or 8x8 baking dish. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl, and mix for 30 seconds (by hand) or 1 minute in a mixer. When ingredients are thoroughly mixed and batter is thickened, add to pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through, and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission from Amazon. It helps me keep the blog running, so if you do purchase after reading my post, that’s awesome, thanks! Most importantly, I just want to inspire you, and be inspired by you. I never endorse products that I don’t use, or don’t believe in. When I do find something that I’m passionate about, or that I believe will help my readers, I like to share it! 🙂
Angel McNall is the author and photographer of High Vibe Lifestyle. For over 20 years, Angel has been teaching people how to live more vibrantly by eating a plant based diet, and using plant based medicine. 
