Sweet Secrets: This treat was for us, but is too good not to share

Our sweet owner and chief baker, Ilana Kadonoff, has been vegan for much of her life. It was her love of delicious sweets that inspired her to start Sweets from the Earth in the first place. Any treats that look or sound tasty, or which she remembers as being incredibly delicious, she can make taste just as good (and often even better) with all natural, plant-based, GMO-free ingredients.

Challah Standard Braided -Loaf-lo-resWhich brings us to her original recipe, vegan Challah. We can all agree that there’s nothing better than warm challah, and after giving up the egg bread recipe she enjoyed as a child, Ilana spent months in the kitchen experimenting with recipes, until the glorious day on which it was perfected. As with all our baking, our Challah is Kosher Pas Yisroel, vegan, and this special bread is also organic, sesame-free, and baked in our nut-free facility in Toronto.

Sweet Secrets is a series we created to share fun and quirky unknown facts about our sinfully delicious desserts. Challah is not available year-round, but may be special-ordered directly from us and picked up at our office at 234 Canarctic Drive.

Mix it Up: Cookie Crusts

Thinking of making a homemade ice cream cake or cheesecake? We’ve got the perfect crust for you!

Although there is no traceable history of the springform pan, this handy piece of bakeware has been used across the world to create beautiful cakes, tortes, and frozen desserts. The sides can be unlatched to release from the base of the pan to reveal a smooth, clean edge on your baked goods. The most common is the nine-inch round, but they’re also available in smaller circles, squares, rectangles, and even hearts.

The secret recipe:

  1. Preheat your oven to 325° F.
  2. Grease your pan. We recommend a springform pan if you want to display the end result in something other than what you baked it in. Although a bit more difficult during the removal stage, a pie plate, or any baking dish will do.
  3. Crumble your cookies. Quantity depends on the size of the pan you are using. Pulse cookies in a blender or food processor until the consistency of coarse sand.
  4. Add oil if needed. Some cookie flavours, like the Flourless Cashew, will naturally bind together, and others will be more crumbly. If yours is on the crumbly side, add a bit of coconut oil, Earth Balance, or your preferred oil into the mix. For a chocolatey flavour, use chocolate chips instead of oil. If looking for a nut-free option, we recommend using our crunchier boxed cookies.*
  5. Form your crust. Press the mixture evenly into your pan.
  6. Bake until golden brown. Approximately 8-10 minutes, though time will be determined by the size of your crust.
  7. Let cool, then enjoy building your cake upon your delicious homemade cookie crust!

Tips + tricks:

  • Substitute coconut oil in this recipe with applesauce!
  • To make an ice cream cake, remove the ice cream from the freezer and let thaw until you can evenly distribute across your crust. Put back in the freezer covered, and leave overnight. Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving.

*If using our individually wrapped grab & go cookies, we advise drying them out a bit in a 200 °F oven for around 15 minutes before grinding them up.

Mix it Up is a series we created to share new and creative ways to enjoy our sinfully delicious sweets! Take a picture of the cookie crusts you make with our cookies, and post and tag us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest so we can see your delicious creations, try them ourselves, and share with others too.

Sinfully Delicious Challenge from SFTE: Sweets with Zucchini

We love baking desserts with vegetables. Zucchini is a magical veg that hides its flavour but makes your baking delicious and moist. The fact that there are the vitamins and nutrients from the veggies in your treat is an added bonus. Have a child who’s a picky eater? Maybe it’s time to try veggies with dessert.

This month’s challenge:

Show us your sweets with zucchini! We want to see how you enjoy zucchini with dessert, whether it’s enjoying our Chocolate Zucchini Loaf or Muffins, or something you’ve baked or created yourself. We will be selecting a winner to receive a $25 Sweets from the Earth Gift Certificate!

You can submit your photos in any of the following ways:

  1. Follow us on Instagram @SFTEBakery, post your photo and tag us, and include the hashtags #SinfullyDelicious and #ZucchiniDesserts
  2. Follow us on Twitter @SFTEBakery, post your photo and tag us, and include the hashtags #SinfullyDelicious and #ZucchiniDesserts

Deadline to submit entries for this month’s challenge is September 30, 2016 (be sure to check back for next month’s challenge, too!). Make sure your accounts are not set to private so we can see your sweet posts. You can find our sinfully delicious desserts at these fine retailers.

Sweet Inspiration:

Our Chocolate Zucchini Loaf  is made in our own dedicated peanut and nut-free vegan facility in Toronto.nf-loaf-choc-zucchiniAs a vegan company, we are always excited to share as much plant based power as possible. We look forward to seeing what you come up with and sharing the inspiration with the rest of our sweet community!

Sinfully Delicious Challenge details + FAQs.