Don't you love the way rhubarb ripple sounds? Vegan ice cream is a tricky beast. A lot of them rely on coconut milk and oil, which makes every flavor taste, well, like coconut. Except, there is a Van Leeuwen ice cream near my apartment and their vegan flavors never taste too coconutty – unless they are meant to. So I did a little (very little) sleuthing to figure out their secret. Turns out they have a cookbook and their secret is a combination of cashews for chew and cocoa butter and coconut for richness. The combination is not entirely neutral in flavor, you can still taste the individual componenets if you think about it, but the texture is amazingly smooth and rich. I decided to play up the cocoa butter (white chocolate!) flavor in this recipe which pairs beautifully with rhubarb and makes a delightfully springy plant based treat.

There are a couple of spots left in my Fall Paris Workshop with Olaiya Land! We and I had such a long waitlist for our Paris workshop this Spring (thank you!) that we added another workshop this September 20-24. The format will be pretty much the same as the Spring version - think lots of pastry, delicious wine and cheese, market visits, prop shopping, and some solid photo, styling, and editing lessons in the city of light. This trip is for anyone looking to build their photography and styling skills (all levels welcome) and enjoy lots of beautiful food in one of the most amazing cities in the world. I am so excited to explore Paris in the fall, I am dreaming of the markets already!

Details this way!

White Chocolate Rhubarb Ripple Ice Cream (Vegan)

makes about 1 quart

ice cream base adapted from Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

The key to the texture of this ice cream is to make sure the mixture is completely smooth and emulsified at every step so don't skip on the blending steps. Also, the ice cream base is wonderful on its own or with a bit of chopped chocolate folded in.

Roasted Rhubarb Compote

1/2 (225g) pound thin rhubarb stalks

1/2 cup (50g) granulated sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

Vegan White Chocolate Ice Cream

1/2 cup (75g) raw, unsalted cashews

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (100g) cocoa butter

3 tablespoons coconut oil

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/4 cups full fat coconut milk

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

For the compote

Heat oven to 375ºF.

Slice the rhubarb into 2-3 inch lengths. Toss it in a baking dish with the sugar, and lemon juice. Roast until soft and juicy. Blend until smooth. Cool completely before using in the ice cream. It should be thick and jammy, if it seems liquidy cook it on the stovetop for a few minutes over medium heat to reduce.

For the ice cream

Cover the cashews with water and let soak overnight. Drain and rinse the cashews then add them to a blender with 1/2 cup water. Puree until completely smooth.

Combine the sugar with 1/4 cup water and cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat then whisk in the cocoa butter, coconut oil, and salt until melted and smooth.

Add the sugar mixture, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds into the blender and puree until smooth. Refrigerate until cooled completely then churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturers instructions. Spoon 1/3 of the ice cream mixture into a freezer safe container, dollop 2 tablespoons of the rhubarb compote over the top and swirl with a knife, repeat with more ice cream and rhubarb until you have used all of the ice cream. You will have some rhubarb compote left over. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

Chocolate Pound Cakes with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache | apt 2b baking co

Is it too late to jump on the matcha bandwagon? If I'm being honest, I had kind of written it off as a food-fad, but just because it's a fad doesn't mean it's not delicious! After having a little afternoon tea with my friend Hannah, where she served matcha alongside a delicious Japanese-inspired poundcake I became an insta-fan of it's slightly bitter, earthy flavor. The color is also totally stunning.

I am not a matcha expert - at all - but I did learn that there are many grades of matcha and for a recipe like this, definitely use a "cooking grade" matcha which will be quite a bit less expensive than the beautiful matchas one might use for tea ceremony. Cooking grade matchas have a stronger flavor that can stand up to other ingredients in sweets and drinks.

This chocolate pound cake is dark and dense, and most importantly not too sweet. The glaze is thick and lucious - sweet and buttery from the white chocolate with a hint of bitter earthiness from the matcha. I'm so glad that white chocolate is having a moment as well - with artisanal chocolate companies (like Askinosie) making really lovely white chocolates. I have been a white chocolate fan since my first Mrs. Field's white chocolate macadamia nut cookie from the mall.

Chocolate Pound Cakes with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache

makes 6-8 mini cakes or one small bundt

I used a mini Nordicware bundt pan and made 6 small bundts plus a couple of little cakes. Make sure that cocoa butter is the first ingredient in your white chocolate - Valrhona white chocolate feves work wonderfully here.

Chocolate Pound Cake

1 cup (125g) all purpose flour

1 cup (80g) dark cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 (300g) cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup (160ml) buttermilk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 325º and butter and flour the inside of your pans

Sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low until thoroughly combined. Then, scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn the mixer up to medium-high. Mix for 5 minutes or until the butter and sugar are light in color and very fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds in between each egg. Add the vanilla.

Alternately add in the flour mixture and buttermilk in three additions. Mix until just combined. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pans and slide into the oven. Bake until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the pans. Let the cakes cool in the pan for a few minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely before glazing.

Matcha White Chocolate Ganache

8 ounces (225g) high quality white chocolate

1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream, warmed slightly

1 tablespoon cooking grade matcha powder

1 teaspoon grapeseed oil

pinch salt

Finely chop the chocolate and add it to a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, making sure that the bowl rests above the water not in it. Melt the chocolate, then whisk in the warmed cream, matcha, oil, and salt. If the mixture seizes at all, add a bit more cream and whisk it over the heat until the mixture re-emusifies. The ganache should be a thick pourable consistency, but the texture varies quite a between different brands of white chocolate. If it seems too thick, add a bit more cream. Immediately pour the glaze over the cooled cakes.