Babycakes: Recipes from New York's Most Talked about Bakery. Erin McKenna with Chris Cechin - Hardcover

ERIN MCKENNA is the chef and owner of BabyCakes NYC, a bakery with outposts in New York City and West Hollywood. She received the prestigious Best Cupcake award in 2006 from New York magazine. Erin has been a guest on Martha Stewart Television and Food Network and has been featured in the New York Times, Food & Wine, Modern Bride, VegNews, Harper’s Bazaar, In Style, and O, the Oprah Magazine.

Blondies

This recipe’s dynamic is hard to explain, and I really like that. This is the charm of the blondie. The vanilla and chocolate have a subtle repartee, with neither really dominating nor giving way to the other. Initially, the vanilla seems to cede center stage to the chocolate, but if you pay close attention, you’ll notice how the vanilla rounds out the chocolate with a seductive mellowness, ultimately creating balance. Making them bite-size gives a great crunchy texture, but you can also bake them in a cake pan and serve them as squares. Either way, blondies are best served warm.

   · 1/2 cup garbanzo–fava bean flour
   · 1/2 cup brown rice flour
   · 1/2 cup potato starch
   · 1/4 cup arrowroot
   · 1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice
   · 2 teaspoons baking powder
   · 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
   · 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
   · 1 teaspoon salt
   · 1/2 cup coconut oil, plus more for the tins
   · 1/3 cup homemade applesauce or store-bought unsweetened applesauce
   · 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
   · 1/2 cup hot water
   · 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease three 12-cup mini-muffin tins with oil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, potato starch, arrowroot, evaporated cane juice, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the ½ cup oil and the applesauce, vanilla, and hot water and stir until the batter is smooth. Using a plastic spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips just until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Using a melon baller, scoop the batter into each prepared mini-muffin cup. Bake the blondies on the center rack for 9 minutes, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 5 minutes. The finished blondies will be golden brown and firm to the touch.

Let the blondies stand in the tins for 10 minutes. To maintain freshness, leave the blondies in the muffin tins until ready to serve. Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.