Have you ever experienced one of those moments when a light-bulb goes off in your head and you make the connection of something that is pure genius? Yesterday I had the pleasure of experiencing one of those moments. Chocolate-coffee waffles (vegan) topped with non-dairy ice cream. I am in heaven.

Dark, chocolate-y waffles meet the sweetness of vanilla ice cream, creating an out-of-this-world experience in your mouth. Please, retire to your kitchens my friends and make these waffles. You won’t regret it.

Vegan Chocolate-Coffee Waffles

Makes 2 Belgian sized waffles

Original recipe from here.

• 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• several drops of stevia or 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tbsp. ground flax seed + 9 tbsp. water
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/3 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond milk (or any other non-dairy milk)
• 1/2 tbsp. instant coffee
• non-dairy ice cream (Optional, but highly recommended)

In a mixing bowl combine your stevia or sugar, flax seed + water, apple sauce, vanilla and milk. Add in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and instant coffee. Mix ingredients until fully combined.

Set aside your waffle batter for 5 minutes. While your batter is setting, heat up your waffle maker. Once your waffle maker has been heated, spray with non-stick spray and spoon the batter onto the heated pan. Cook each waffle for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place waffle(s) onto a plate or bowl. Enjoy.

Feel free to top your chocolate waffles with vegan ice cream.

A while ago I received an email from the people at Third Street Chai wondering if I’d be interested in reviewing one of their products even though they sell tea, and I’m a coffee blogger. Despite the fact that I mainly do coffee related entries, this is a blog that is also dedicated to anything Starbucks. Starbucks happens to sell Tazo’s chai tea lattes, and with this review I’m going to be comparing Third Street Chai’s chai tea latte to Tazo’s chai tea latte.

Third Street Chai shipped me their Festivus chai tea latte mix. Like Tazo tea, Festivus is a concentrated tea mix that you combine with equal parts milk or non-dairy beverage equivalent.

Festivus is an interesting beverage. Black tea and notes of cardamon are very prominent. I’d say that the black tea essence is what I taste more than the other flavor components. Although there are hints of nutmeg, honey and cinnamon as well. Tazo’s chai tea latte mix prominently tastes like a variety of spices versus the black tea note in Festivus.

Which chai tea latte do I prefer more than the other? None. Both chai tea lattes I personally find to be unique in their own way, but delicious nonetheless. You can find Third Street Chai’s Festivus latte mix at your local Whole Foods store.

Along with the Coffee Grinder Tablets, Full Circle sent me their Coffee and Espresso Equipment Descaling powder. A lot of people use vinegar and water to clean their coffee machines as a natural remedy, but vinegar doesn’t actually get your machine as clean as it can be. Full Circle’s descaling powder descales your machine and leaves you with supremely flavored coffee.

The descaling powder is real simple to use. You mix it with water, pour the water into your machine, brew it like you would coffee (without the coffee grounds), and then brew it again with water. Easy, simple, all natural, and no strange odors. I’d say that this product is a win.

[I sincerely apologize for the quality of these photos. I was left with my phone's camera which is lackluster in every aspect.]

A few weeks ago the folks from Full Circle coffee cleaning products contacted me in regards to sampling their products. I raved internally at the offer since I’d just seen Full Circle at Williams Sonoma weeks previously and had been questioning as to how well they worked.

Full Circle offers Grinder Cleaning Tablets, Coffee Machine Cleansing Powder, Coffee Machine Descaling Liquid and Powder, and Espresso Machine Cleansing Tablets. All of their cleaning products are all- natural, biodegradable, odorless and 100% phosphate free. They are priced at $9.99 per box, which isn’t a lot considering that you get several cleaning sessions from each package. Williams Sonoma appears to be the only distributor I’ve come across.

Most of my excitement stemmed from the Grinder Cleaning Tablets. Have you ever tried to clean your coffee grinder with soap and water? Please, don’t. Coffee grinders are a piece of equipment that can’t be wet since the blade is closely attached to the electrical mechanics of the device. Full Circle’s cleaning tablets make it possible so that you can rid the buildup in your grinder without ever even coming close to a running faucet.

This product is real simple to use. You simply grind a packet of the tablets in your coffee grinder (like you would coffee beans), dispose of the ground tablets (which is now powder), grind coffee beans in your grinder, and then dispose of the ground coffee beans. For some reason I was thinking the product would have a potent odor, but it doesn’t. Unless you thrust the tablets right beneath your nostrils you won’t be able to detect any smell. I highly recommend this product to fellow coffee grinder users.

I promise I’m still alive. I haven’t disappeared off of the face of the earth just yet. All of my time has been spent towards school projects and work as of late. But I have officially returned bearing the gift in the form of a recipe for Vegan Mocha Almond Latte Cupcakes.

Since I’ve officially made the switch to vegan I’ve been playing with recipes more. I feel as though that there needs to be more vegan friendly recipes out there; including recipes utilizing coffee.

These cupcakes are a moist chocolate cake with a hint of coffee flavoring and are topped with an almond frosting. When I made these I didn’t realize I was all out of sliced almonds, but I insist you top yours with them. Sliced almonds take the level of presentation to a whole new level. Plus they let your friends and/or family know that the frosting is almond flavor and they won’t bite into the cupcakes with a shock at their finding.

Vegan Mocha Almond Latte Cupcakes

Makes 12

Original recipe from here

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted
• 2 tbsp. ground flax seed
• 8 tbsp. water + 1 tbsp. instant coffee powder

Frosting:

• About 1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened
• 2 – 2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1-2 tbsp. water
• About a 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the granulated sugar, 1/2 cup melted Earth Balance, flax seed, and 8 tbsp. water + instant coffee. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until there are no lumps.

Evenly spoon the cupcake batter into your prepared muffin tin. Bake for about 18-22 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center of your cupcakes should come out clean when they are done. Let the cupcakes cool for about 30 minutes before frosting them.

Frosting:

In a mixing bowl combine the Earth Balance, 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 tsp. almond and 1 tbsp. water. Beat together the ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and thick. Give the frosting a bit of a taste test and see if you need an additional 1/4 cup of Earth Balance and/or another 1/4 tsp. of almond extract.

Using a knife spread as little or as much of the frosting as you would like on your cupcakes. Sprinkle a few of the sliced almonds onto each frosted cupcake.

Even though it may appear that I’ve vanished from the face of the earth, I am in fact still breathing and present. Due to midterms, filming on weekends and a reoccurring cold, I haven’t been able to spend much time blogging or baking. Although I did make my way into the kitchen this past week to cook up something fall-esque.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks are a popular beverage during the jack-o-lantern season. Taking into account their popularity, I did some researching and stumbled upon a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes. Since I prefer to bake vegan, I vegan-ized these little treats and made a dairy-free, animal cruelty-free delectable creation.

Did you know that I’ve never made a vegan frosting before until having baked these cupcakes? I’m not a big fan of frosting in general, which is why no frosting recipes (or recipes requiring frosting) have ever appeared on CoffeeVanilla until now. I’ll be one to admit that this frosting has slightly changed my perspective on frosting.

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

Original recipe from here.

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes

Cupcakes:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. salt

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

4 tbsp. ground flax seed

6 tbsp. water

6 tbsp. espresso

About 1/2 cup espresso (for brushing on the cupcakes)

Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup Earth Balance, room temperature*

1-2 tbsp. water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two muffin tins with muffin liners, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix together pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, oil, applesauce, flax seed, water and 6 tbsp. espresso. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Mix the ingredients together until fully combined.

Evenly spoon the batter into your prepared muffin tins. Bake the cupcakes for about 18-20 minutes. The cupcakes should be golden brown and a tooth-pick inserted in the center should come out clean. Using a pastry brush (or spoon), brush the remaining espresso over the cupcakes. Allow the espresso to sink in. Let the cupcakes to cool for about 20 minutes before preceeding.

Frosting:

In a mixing bowl, combine the Earth Balance and confectioner’s sugar. Using an electric mixer, mix the two ingredients together. Add 1 tbsp. of water and mix. Continue to add more water if needed to create a thick, smooth frosting. Spread the cooled cupcakes with the frosting.

*I like to leave my Earth Balance out on my kitchen counter when I first begin baking so that it will be softened by the time I get to making the frosting.

Before I dig into this review, I’d like to make note that flavored coffees aren’t high on my preference list. Rarely do I discover a cup of flavored coffee worth consumption. Although in some cases a flavored coffee will surpass my preconceptions directed at flavored coffees.

CoffeeAM shipped me two samples of their flavored coffees, Vermont Maple Pecan and Pumpkin Pie. Despite my previous opinions towards flavored coffees, excitement filled my every limb. Fall is my season of preference and anything remotely in relation to the season fills me with glee. Pumpkin Pie and Vermont Maple Pecan are two flavors I personally would deem as fall mascots.

Vermont Maple Pecan has a sugary, caramel and rich maple syrup mouthwatering aroma. Its fragrance is similar to that of a holiday Yankee Candle. Flavor wise, it presents an undertone of nuttiness with slight touches of brown sugar and caramel. Although the scent delivers a kiss of maple, I don’t detect any traces of maple within the flavor. Sadly, I do find that slight chemical aftertaste that is present in many flavored coffees – not as strong as some, yet still a key player.

Pumpkin Pie’s aroma is almost identical to Starbucks’ lush Pumpkin Spice Latte. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg – those found in a pumpkin pie spice bottle, are found in the flavor and aroma of this coffee. Oddly I did not detect any of the traces of chemicals as I did with the first coffee. Pumpkin Pie also makes lovely lattes.

Vermont Maple Pecan is a decent flavored coffee, but the chemical-y aftertaste is a bit too offensive for my personal preferences. Pumpkin Pie however is a wonderfully flavored coffee that I would be interested in purchasing for future use.

Another year has passed and we’ve once again embraced the return of the ever popular Pumpkin Spice Latte. Like many of you, I’m a fan of the seasonal treat. Pumpkin Spice Lattes bring me back to memories of early mornings, Thanksgivings of the past and huddling around campfires with friends. Living in Florida, it brings me that kiss of fall that we don’t experience in the form of cooler temps and darkening leaves.

Even the baristas at my local Starbucks, which I’ve deemed as another home, knows of my undying love for the lavish PSL. September 6th, when the beverage made its yearly appearance, I strolled into my Starbucks and the barista says, “You must be in for the Pumpkin Spice.” They know me so well there…

Tell me, what does the Pumpkin Spice Latte to you? What memories are relived from just a sip?

Do you have a coffee you’d like to see reviewed here on CoffeeVanilla? If that’s the case, send me an email at coffeevanilla1[at]gmail[dot]com. I’m open to reviews and would like to hear from you! Remember, I’m interested in not just brews but just about anything coffee related.