So when I found out the quarterback of my flag-football team was vegan, I went on a quest to learn as much as I could about vegan baking. We have tailgate parties after each game and a lot of the time there wasn't much there that she could eat. I wanted to be able to bring yummy vegan junk-food that everyone would like, and that didn't require me to buy a lot of specialized ingredients that I would never use again. I adapted these from a recipe out of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine and they were the best thing I made all season.
Vegan Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate GanacheIngredients:
1 Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Devil’s Food Cake Mix*
1/2 cup melted vegan butter-substitute (I used Earth Balance)
3/4 cup vegan butter-substitute, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 TSP vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
2 TBSP soymilk
1/2 cup soymilk
1 pkg vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz)
*Most Moist Deluxe Duncan Hines cake mixes just accidentally happen to be vegan, which is fantastic for lazy bakers! Did you know you can make vegan cake/cupcakes by using a pack of cake mix and one can of soda? Mix and bake. Seriously, that's it. Any flavor cake, any flavor soda. This totally blew my mind the first time I tried it.
Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of 9x13 inch pan (if you want to make it easier to get out of the pan, line it with tin foil first)
2. In a large bowl, combine dry cake mix and 1/2 cup melted butter-substitute. Just go ahead and use your hands to mix this up because it's much easier and you're gonna get messy anyways. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Cool completely. Don't worry if it's a little lumpy or uneven, that's the beauty of layered bars, it'll all get spackled over later.
3. If you have a mixer, now is the time to use it. (If not, you're gonna need to break out some elbow grease, but your consolation prize is that you can use the same bowl from the previous step, so you have less dishes to wash.) Combine 3/4 cup butter-substitute, peanut butter, and vanilla. Mix until reasonably homogeneous. Beat in the powered sugar and the 2 TBSP soymilk. Spread mixture evenly over the cooled crust. Stick it in the refrigerator while you prepare the next layer.
4. In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup soymilk just to boiling over medium high heat. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Don't stir, just let it sit for 5 minutes. Then, stir until smooth. After that, leave it alone to cool for 15 minutes. Spread it over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until set. Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator.
