Grain Chemistry No. 2; Party Animals No. 14: (Mostly) Homemade Vegan Double Chocolate Stout Mallomars

While whipped farina certainly has its limitations, it turns out that making a fluffy, if relatively airy and delicate, marshmallow creme to be piped on vanilla cookies and covered in chocolate is not among them. To offset the effort of making the creme at home, we went for convenience in the base cookie by grabbing a bag of Mi-Del brand vanilla snaps from the grocery.

We made our creme with Young's Double Chocolate Stout for a St. Patrick's Day gathering, which dramatically deepens the chocolate flavor in the finished treat. A lighter, more traditional vanilla mallomar can be made by simply replacing the beer with water.  For yet another variation, you can double down on the lemon note in the creme  by replacing the vanilla snaps with Mi-Del brand lemon snaps and garnish with lemon zest before the chocolate sets.

Vegan Double Chocolate Stout (or Vanilla or Lemon) Mallomars

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makes 30-36 cookes, depending on how much creme you pipe on ; marshmallow creme adapted from here

2 tsp agar powder

3 TBSP cold water

juice of 1 lemon, plus enough chocolate stout beer (or water) to yield a total of 1 1/2 cups liquid (about 1 1/4 cups of beer--we used Young's Double Chocolate Stout) [Note: reserve the lemon zest for garnish if you're making the lemon variation.]

1/4 cup wheat farina (Cream of Wheat brand cereal) 

1 cup natural cane sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

about 3 dozen Mi-Del brand vanilla (or lemon) snaps

10 oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces (we used 71% Equal Exchange brand)

1 tsp vegetable oil

Combine the agar and cold water in a small bowl and set aside.

Bring the lemon juice and beer to a boil, whisk in the farina, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking, until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Transfer the hot mixture carefully to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip on medium for two minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 10 minutes.  It will have increased in volume and greatly lightened in color.

Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar and 1/4 cup water and heat until it reaches 235 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and agar sludge. Add the syrup to the whipped farina and whip for another 2 minutes on medium-high, until fluffy. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for 30 minutes.

Layer a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper and lay the cookies out on it. 

When the creme has chilled, transfer  to a piping bag and top each cookie with about 1 TBSP of creme, or to your liking. Let the cookies sit in the refrigerator for 2 hours to let the creme set onto the cookies. 

When ready to coat, gently melt the chocolate in a double broiler and stir in the oil. Place one cookie in the pot with the chocolate, spoon chocolate over the top to coat and remove with a fork, letting excess chocolate drip back into the pot. Return the coated cookie to the paper-lined cookie sheet and repeat with remaining cookies. Store in fridge to let the chocolate set. Remove from fridge half an hour before serving.

Grain Chemistry No. 1: Savory Carrot Souffle

In case you didn't know, wheat farina--found dirt cheap in any chain supermarket in town under the Cream of Wheat brand of fortified wheat cereal--when whipped hot, will gain crazy volume. (There's even a tasty, and apparently traditional Latvian, dessert mousse made of it.) Those stretched proteins can give loft to some baked items, like these flavorful, colorful little carrot-spinach dishes. Because the pureed carrot base is so dense, these souffles will puff only gently, but even without dramatic lift, the farina gives these a decidedly fluffy mouthfeel that we're pretty sure is destined for this year's Thanksgiving table. Or any brunch table between now and then.

Savory Carrot Souffle

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yields 1 large or 8 individual souffles in 8-oz ramekins 

2 lbs carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

3 TBSP ground flax

3 TBSP water

2 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

handful fresh baby spinach (or fresh spinach, chopped) 

1 cup nondairy milk

1 cup oat bran (bread crumbs should work, if you prefer) 

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 TBSP vegetable oil

1 tsp prepared yellow mustard

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried dill weed

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

juice of 1 lemon, plus enough water to make 1 /12 cups total liquid

1/4 cup wheat farina

Boil the chopped carrots until tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix 3 TBSP ground flax with 3 TBSP water and set aside. 

Heat the 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from heat.

In a mixing bowl, combine the milk, oat bran, salt, cayenne, and black pepper. Stir in the flax mixture, then add the onions and spinach and stir to combine. 

When the carrots are ready, drain and puree them with the 2 TBSP oil, mustard, oregano, dill, and paprika. Stir the carrot puree into the onion-spinach mixture and set aside. 

Bring the lemon juice and water to a boil. Whisk in the farina, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Quickly transfer to a stand mixture with the whisk attachment and beat on medium for two minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for another 8-9 minutes, until glossy and increased in volume. 

While the farina is being whipped, preheat the oven to 350.

When the farina is ready, fold it into the souffle base. Transfer to lightly greased souffle dishes and bake for  25-30 minutes, until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.