Peach Snack Cake

I know a lot of bloggers are already moving on to Fall recipes now that it's September, but I still have one more summery recipe that I made a couple of weeks ago to share before I can even start thinking about Fall!

Both of my sisters have already tried their first Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes of the season (a sure sign for me that Fall has arrived!), but I'm still trying to make the most of things like corn, zucchini, and tomatoes. I do love Fall, but I also want to hold onto summer for as long as I can!

So before I get into baking with apples, I wanted to share this snack cake highlighting fresh local peaches.

I love making snack cakes because they tend to be super easy, requiring only one pan and a single layer, and I like being able to slice off as much or as little as I want at a time!

This peach snack cake is soft and fluffy inside, kind of like a muffin, with chopped walnuts throughout and a light oat crumble on top for a bit of extra texture. There's very little oil in it, which gives it a texture that I personally love in low-fat baked goods.

I also loved the pockets of juicy peaches in each piece, which helped add some sweetness to the cake so that I could keep the amount of sugar lower.

As far as cakes go, this is a pretty light and healthy option that would make a great after-school snack if you have kids, or a morning snack to eat at your desk.  September is looking to be a busy month, so I'll need lots of healthy snacks to get me through it!

Vegan Peach Snack Cake

1 tbsp ground flax

3 tbsp water

1 ¼ cup non dairy milk

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup cane sugar (use up to 1/2 cup total for a sweeter cake - I found mine not quite sweet enough with only 1/4 cup of sugar)

2 ripe peaches, diced

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Topping

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 tbsp cane sugar (can substitute brown sugar)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp softened coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 8x8” square pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, stir together the ground flax and water. Set aside to thicken as you prepare the other ingredients.

Mix the milk and lemon juice and let sit for about 5 minutes, then add the vanilla extract and melted coconut oil. Stir in the flax mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (whole wheat flour to cane sugar). Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and gently mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the diced peaches and walnuts.

To make the topping, mix together the oats, sugar, and cinnamon. Use a fork to mix in the coconut oil until most of the oats are moistened.

Pour cake batter into prepared pan, using a rubber spatula to smooth out the top if necessary. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the batter and gently press it down with your hands so that it sticks.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the top feels firm, the edges are lightly browned, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then invert the pan and let cool completely before slicing.

Makes 16-20 squares.

Note: I found this did not freeze very well, so it's best to eat it all within a few days!

Sweet Corn "Polenta" with Peach & Tomato Salsa

I've been trying to make the most of the local corn season this month, eating corn at every opportunity. I always love eating it right off the cob with some salt and pepper, but I also like to change things up sometimes, whether its eating the kernels hot off the cob, or adding them raw to a salad.

This corn "polenta" is a new method of eating corn that I just discovered last summer. Usually when you hear of corn polenta, it refers to cornmeal polenta with some corn kernels mixed in. This recipe, however, is actually polenta made purely of corn.

It turns out that if you cook corn kernels, blend them up, and then keep cooking the mixture on the stovetop, it eventually turns into a thick, porridge-like mixture just like polenta.

To round out the dish, I wanted to make some kind of tomato topping. Since I also had some local peaches on hand from the market, I thought that peach and tomato would make a good combination as a fresh salsa to mix into the polenta.

A handful of fresh basil and some balsamic vinegar added even more flavour, making this such a fresh and summery meal! The corn flavour really comes through in the polenta, and I liked that it was a bit lighter than regular polenta, which tends to be made with milk, butter, and cheese.

This was a bit on the sweet side overall, especially if you use a sweet corn, but I love sweet and fruity meals in the summer so it wasn't a problem for me! Feel free to add a sprinkle of cheese if you want a savory dimesion - I think goat cheese or feta would work well.

Hope you all enjoy the last long weekend of the summer! I'm sure mine will involve more corn :)

Sweet Corn “Polenta” with Peach and Tomato Salsa
Inspired by Five and Spice

2 ears sweet corn

3/4 cup water

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup diced peach

~2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Remove the husks from the corn and slice off the kernels into a large bowl using a knife. Run the dull edge of the knife down the sides of the corn afterwards to get all of the corn “milk” off of the cob. Place kernels and liquid in a medium sized saucepan and cover with ¾ cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then continue to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the corn kernels with a slotted spoon and transfer to a blender (do not discard the cooking liquid). Puree until smooth, then return to the pot. Cook on medium-low for another 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture is thickened and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and stir in olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping by stirring together the diced tomato, peaches, basil, and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer corn puree to a bowl and top with the salsa.

Serve warm.

Makes 1 serving.

Peach, Blueberry & Mint Cornmeal Cake

In my last post, I mentioned that I wanted to make a couple of recipes featuring fresh local blueberries that I picked up at the market.  After adding some of my blueberries to a fruity kale salad, I wanted to use the rest in some kind of baked treat.

When trying to choose a recipe, I went through some of my old saved bookmarks and came across a couple different recipes for peach cakes that I had wanted to make last summer but never got around to.  I decided that peaches and blueberries would make a great combination in a cake, so I combined two recipes from different blogs and added my own variations to come up with this vegan peach and blueberry cornmeal cake!

Each of the recipes called for adding a fresh herb to the cake - one used rosemary and the other used basil.  I liked the idea of adding another layer of flavour with fresh herbs, and since I had some mint leftover from my salad, I decided to use mint leaves in my cake.

I was nervous that the cake would turn out to be a disaster, but thankfully it turned out just as I was hoping! The cake itself was dense and moist, with a bit of crunchiness from the cornmeal that I really liked. Pretty much every bite was filled with juicy fruit, and I loved the combination of the sweet peaches with the blueberries.

I thought the mint added an interesting dimension too, but if you're not a fan of mint, you could easily leave it out and the cake would be just as delicious! Or you could try substituting the mint with another herb like basil.

If you like cornbread, I think you would love this cake - it's basically like a big piece of cornbread studded with summer fruits that you can eat as a dessert or even as a breakfast cake. I did reduce the amount of sugar because I figured with all the fresh fruit, I wouldn't want the cake itself to be too sweet, but if you have more of a sweet tooth, you might want to increase the sugar to make this more like a dessert.

Hopefully I'll be able to fit in a couple more peach and blueberry recipes before their season ends!

Vegan Peach, Blueberry & Mint Cornmeal Cake
Adapted from Bella Eats and deli-cute-essen

1.5 cups non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened coconut milk beverage)

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup light spelt flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup organic cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cane sugar (could use 3/4-1 cup for a slightly sweeter cake)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup peeled and diced ripe peaches

1 cup blueberries

1/3 cup fresh mint, julienned (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9 inch cake pan with cooking spray.

Stir together the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar and let sit for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours through to sugar) in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil, vanilla extract, and the milk-vinegar mixture.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the peaches, blueberries and mint.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, until the top is slightly firm, the edges are starting to pull away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out dry.

Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing. 

Makes one 9" cake 

*Note: I stored mine loosely covered in a large cake pan and it stayed good at room temperature for 2-3 days.  I don't recommend covering it with saran wrap as the cake will get very mushy. 

This was submitted to Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert & Dogs, and to Healthy Vegan Fridays.