Quick Party Eats - Plus Enter to Win $3,000 7

Holidays. No matter what culture or faith you practice, the end of the year, and into January, tends to be a whirl wind of errands and visits with friends, family and co-workers.

Photo Credit: glam.com

If you are not cooking that big feast, or baking up a storm - you may be expected to bring something to a party, or there is always the possibility of having unexpected guests.

Recipes for easy appetizers are always a nice thing to have on hand - and they allow you to tend to other things while a time saving recipe is ready in no-time .

Heinz & Ocean Spray teamed up to create a website geared just for that - easy, simple recipes that free up time, and tips for entertaining . They are even hosting a Sweepstakes to help you throw the Ultimate Party: Grand Prize is $3,000 in gift cards. 20 second prize winners will win a Rival 4 Quart Slow Cooker , to help with your future party plans. You can fill out an contest entry until January 31th, 2009.

Ultimate Party Meatballs

These Ultimate Meatballs are super simple to make - for any cooking level.

Ingredients:

• 1 16-ounce can Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce
• 1 12-ounce bottle Heinz® Chili Sauce
  
• 1 2-pound bag frozen, pre-cooked, cocktail-size meatballs
  

Procedure:

Combine sauces in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Add meatballs. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.
Makes 30 appetizer servings.


**Slow cooker Preparation: Place meatballs in a slow cooker. Combine sauces and pour over meatballs. Cover and cook 4 hours on HIGH.

*---------------------------------------------------------------*

Now you could really do these "Ultimate Meatballs" up right - make your own meatballs using prime cuts, create some fresh cranberry sauce (which is soo easy to do), etc - but the whole point of this recipe is to simplify and free up time in your kitchen. This recipe would make great snacks for Super Bowl on Feb. 1st 2009, (which falls on my husband's Birthday this year - hence even more reason for us to host a party).

When I was thinking about the meatballs, I wanted to include a vegan version. On the net there have been allot of different versions thrown around including what I call the trinity of vegan meat substitutions (tempeh, tofu , or textured vegetable protein). By far this recipe seemed the most pleasing to the eye, and it got some great write-ups on Josh & Chelsea's Blog. This recipe might be a little work, but these will definitely please. If you really want to save time look for Vegan meatballs in your grocer's freezer.

No Whey Jose Vegan Meatballs

2 cups TVP (textured vegetable protein)

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 stalks of celery, minced

1/2 cup onion, minced

1/2 cup mushrooms, diced (4-5)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon basil (if making Ultimate Meatballs, omit & use 1/2 tsp thyme)

1 teaspoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Procedure:

In a large bowl, combine TVP and broth to rehydrate. Add all other ingredients except nutritional yeast and oil.

Stir well to fully combine. Use your hands to roll golf ball-sized balls and press slightly to shape. (if you are having trouble forming into balls - add a little more broth and toss some nutritional yeast into the mixture)

Put nutritional yeast on a plate or shallow bowl and roll each meatball to cover. Spread olive oil on a baking sheet and arrange meatballs in a single layer.

Bake for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so, until golden brown. If using in a tomato sauce, add to the sauce 5-10 minutes before serving and carefully spoon them onto a plate to serve.

**If using with Ultimate Meatball recipe , add to the sauce 5 minutes before serving, strain extra sauce from meatballs gently by using a slotted spoon - arrange on serving tray.

Recipe © 2007 . No Whey Jose Blog. All Rights Stay with Original Author.

Related Posts:

• Vegan and Vegetarian Friendly Recipes featured on this blog

Cookie Recipes 49

Here is a list of cookie formulas I have featured on Renaissance Culinaire. Some are commercial baking formulas that can be reduced for home use. This page will continue to be updated as I add more recipes.

Espresso Shortbread by Claire Sutton

Sunflower Pops - Peanut Butter Cookies (has *Vegan / Vegitarian notes)

Tuile Cookies Curls

Short Dough Cookies

Recipe: Italian Turdilli

Authentic Scottish shortbread

Recipes for Frostings, Fillings and Icings 3

Here are variety of formulas for frostings, fillings or icings that have been featured on Renaissance Culinaire. This page will continue to be updated as recipes are added.

• Mocha Icing
• Vegan Mocha Icing
• Vegan Chocolate Ganache
• Banana Scented Marscapone
• Praline Paste
• orange white chocolate sauce
• Kirsch Scented Whipped Cream
• Spiced Brandy Caramel and Brandy Simple Syrup
• Vegan Spiced Brandy Caramel and Brandy Simple Syrup
• Meringue Mousseline buttercream.
• Heirloom Lemon curd
• Orange-Maple Butter

Vegan & Vegitarian Friendly Recipes 8

These recipes have either had vegan/vegetarian conversions or have notations on how to create vegan / vegetarian friendly versions from the recipe provided.

This page will continue to be updated as I add more recipes.

• Sassy Sunflower Cookies (Peanut Butter)
• Tomatillo - Avocado Salsa
• Pear Chocolate Belle - Helene
• Spiced Brandy Caramel and Brandy Simple Syrup
• Watermelon Gazpacho
• Mocha & Chocolate Cake
• Mocha Icing
• Vegan Chocolate Ganache
• Wasabi Asparagus Shitake Spring rolls
  
• Lime-Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce
  
• Green Tea Sesame Sauce
• Banana - Rum Napoleons
• Vegan Meatballs

Sassy Sunflower Pops Cookies - Healthy & Fun 25

Baking with kids can sometimes be challenging. Creating something while keeping kids occupied or interested is no simple feat. Creating a healthier cookies is on not only on parents minds but also on the minds of many health conscience individuals. I would like to introduce you to a great website with some really fun recipes. Sure to please any kid, even that inner child of yours.

...this will
tempt anyone



with visions
of healthy
lovely treats
to decorate &
devour

I was so excited to be picked for
blogging about the Snackivate website.
It came with perks from Kellogg's company -
namely 2 full size boxes of Kellogg's
Frosted Mini Wheats used to experiment
with the recipes on the site, and a cool
little plastic gadget that you put into
the freezer (the cup has gel within the
walls of the cup,to insulate the milk and
to keep it cool),which once frozen will
hold your milk,while the top (it screws
into the bottom) holds your favorite cereal.
This is a nice little gadget for mom's or
dad's toting kids around. Or even college ,
students or teenagers on the go, in be-
ween classes, who haven't the time to
grab a decent breakfast (I think we've
all been there).

The Snacktivate website is a place for anyone looking for health conscience lot's of downloadable recipes, ranging from all different meals of the day to sweet treats, some samples are pictured above, that would be fun to make with children. There are nutrition tips and more for parents, relatives and teachers. Below is one of the featured recipes from Snackivate website.

Recipe: Sassy Sun Pops
I have added some notes on making this Veg/Vegan friendly. You will need to experiment with different ingredients to find the best formulation for Veg/Vegan style cookies using this recipe.

Prep time: 10 min.
Bake time: 12-14 min.
Servings: 33

These cookies are baked at 350 °F for 12 - 14 min.
Materials Needed:Candy sticks, that are oven proof (you can find at your favorite craft store, i.e Micheal's)
Almonds
Flaxseed
Cookie Sheet
Cookie Ingredients:

• 2 cups (AP) flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine (soft) (supplement Earth's Balance stick for vegan cookies)
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs (if going veg/vegan there are many egg replacers out there, you may want to experiment with what works best in cookies for you - consider the extra dry ingredients by way of the cereal and try opting for something with more moisture content)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 60 frosted bite sized mini-wheats OR 60 un-frosted mini-wheats (unfrosted is the best vegan alternative due to the gelatin in the frosting) , crushed (pulse in a food processor, or put into a zip lock bag and beat w/ rolling pin)

Procedure:

1. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl, add peanut butter, Gran. Sugar, Brown sugar and mix on medium-high w/ electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs & vanilla. Beat well
4. Beat in crushed cereal and flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.
5. Drop by spoonful onto a cookie sheet . While pressing down, use back of fork to make across hatch into cookie dough.
6. Add oven proof cookie sticks by pressing stick into one side of the dough of each cookie.
7. TO create sunflower: press flax seeds into the center of each cookie dough round. Press raw whole almonds into the outer edges of each round to form the petals of the sunflower design.
8. Bake at 350 °F for 12- 14 min. or until golden brown, remove baked cookies with spatula from cookie sheets immediately and let cookies cool on wire wracks.

This recipe is adapted from Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies a recipe © of Kellogg's NA Co. 2008. All Rights Reserved.


Hope you can recreate the fun time I had creating these with my 5 yr old daughter. It was a blast. She loved adding the spoons of dough to the cookie sheets and making the "sunflower" designs. Enjoy!

Recipe: Banana - Rum Napoleons 9

I am a fan of bananas, and this Banana-Rum Napoleon is a recipe to satisfy your dessert cravings, and it is low-fat to boot!

Thanks to ian_ransley for use of his photo.

I love napoleons, they work really well in a restaurant kitchen, because they are relatively easy to assemble, if you prep before hand, and the presentation looks very elegant, and your patrons or guests will think allot of time was spent
creating it.

Sweet Nothings
Low Fat
Low Calorie Desserts

This recipe is adapted from Sweet Nothings by
Jill O'Connor. It makes 10 portions.

If you aren't feeling like bananas - You can
substitute peach, nectarine, or a favorite
berry puree - and flavor
with a liqueur of your choice.

It is better to prep the pastry in
advance(up to 24hrs ahead),
to speed up the production of this dessert.
The cream filling cannot be made more than
2 hrs ahead of time if using the original recipe.

If using real cream, you must make right before serving.

For The Pastry

• 6 Sheets of phyllo dough (12 x 17 inches), thaw if frozen
• Butter flavored vegetable cooking spray.
• 6 TB granulated sugar

Tip: When working with phyllo dough - to thaw, allow the box of phyllo dough to rest out on a counter if the inside temp is relatively low, it will take 3-5 hrs for proper thaw. Otherwise put in the fridge 2-3 days ahead of time. Take out as many sheets as needed, then wrap the remaining in plastic wrap , tightly and use within 5 days. When you are working with phyllo dough it is best to have a tray to lay out the sheets, then keep totally covered, under a damp kitchen towel. If exposed to air, the moisture from the phyllo dough will be wicked out and it will become dry and brittle - which means non workable for you. So work quickly.

Procedure:

1. Preheat Oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet w/ parchment paper.
2. Place the first phyllo sheet on a clean flat work surface. Spray lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with 1 tsp of the sugar. Add a new sheet onto the previous prepared layer. Repeat as instructed above, using 3 of the 6 phyllo sheets only.
3. Cut the layered phyllo into ten 6 x 3 inch rectangles. Place rectangles on prepped baking sheet. Bake in oven until crisp and golden - 3-5 minutes. WATCH THE BAKEOFF - thin phyllo burns very quickly, so don't get distracted while waiting for them to brown.
4. Remove from oven and transfer phyllo triangles to a rack to completely cool.
5. Repeat the above 4 steps again with the remaining 3 phyllo sheets.

{There will be scraps - the books says to discard, but as anyone in the culinary trade knows - use everything you can, so save the scraps and bake last, use as garnish for another dessert, or a smoothy etc.}


For The Cream Filling:

• 1 1/4 cups pureed banana (1 1/2 - 2 large bananas) OR Measure out your favorite substituted puree - peach, nectarine, or a favorite berry puree.
• 1 to 2 TB freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 1/2 TB Dark Jamaican Rum OR If using other fruit, the use the liqueur of your choice.
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups low-fat non-dairy topping
• 4 medium bananas, sliced on the diagonal, 1/4 inch thick
• confectioners sugar for top of finished pastry

Procedure:

1. Place pureed fruit, lime juice, Rum or liqueur, vanilla and nondairy topping in a bowl. Fold together ingredients until thoroughly mixed.
2. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Dessert Assembly:

1. Just before serving place a phyllo rectangle onto a plate. Spoon 1/4 cup of the banana cream onto the pastry.
2. Top the cream with 8-10 banana sliced OR your substitute fruit pieces other berries.
3. Top the filling with a 2nd phyllo rectangle, sieve confectioners sugar over the top.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 until you have created 10 napoleons.

To create a decorative pattern - such as a herringbone or cross hatch : heat a metal skewer over a gas flame or use a mini blow torch, until very hot. Quickly lay the hot metal skewer on the top of your napoleon for the desired marking, repeat until you have the desired effect.


For an nice presentation - garnish plate with drizzles of fruit puree; add a bit of mint, or some citrus zest curls.

105 calories per serving; 1.5 grams of fat - 13% calories from fat.

VEGAN:

This dessert can easily be converted into a Vegan dessert: Use melted Earth's Balance in place of the cooking spray - or use soy milk to brush over the layers of phyllo (you might need to adjust baking times, so watch the pastry closely). Replace the "non-dairy topping" with silken tofu. Yum!

Full FAT:
And for those of you who cannot stand fake cream - go ahead and use the real deal, just use heavy cream in place of "nondairy topping", as heavy cream has a higher fat content which will help stabilize it a bit better than traditional whipping cream. Whip this up right before serving, as real WC will separate quickly. You may need to adjust the amount of puree also - try a little at a time.

Original recipe© Jill O'Connor.

Blurb on Big Small Plates : Recipe for Tomatillo - Avocado Salsa 6

Cindy Pawlcyn Big Small Plates:




...I was inspired
by that funny movie
Mermaids, where Cher plays
a mom who can only cook appetizers...

Smaller Portions. Big On Taste.

I am a big fan of the bite sized sampler. I love dim sum.

At most decent restaurants you can satisfy hunger
with an order among friends made solely of appetizers.
When I think about small samplers, It is a feeling
much more nostalgic, it awakens memories of
toddler days, when little bits , here and there
were arranged in a goofy mosaic on my colorful
melmac dinning set, equipped with matching fork
and sippy cup. Little nibbler was I, and I enjoyed
this feast as I watched Sesame Street. My favorite
short was of the Pastry Chef, who in his chef
whites and hat, aided by snazzy jazz muzak, speedily
flat iced a cake on his Revolving Cake Stand.
That was a defining moment for me . I saw that and told
myself, yes, that would be someone neat to be.

In Cindy Pawlcyn's newest cookbook,
she explores the shrinking culinary world of mini plates. It is a trend I would love to see more of, especially as America's waste size keeps growing. Most restaurants have to relay their culinary flare plated with portions suitable for two people, eaten by one. Most customers tend to feel robbed if their portions play out into healthy sizes on the plate. The average person would vote quantity over quality --- in theory a better value, but for most avid foodies this is not the case.

Big Small Plates is a refreshing take on mini portions. Here Cindy uses ingredients to maximize flavor, and in the recipe below she includes some of my ♥ favorite ♥ ingredients. It is a ♥Vegan/Vegetarian friendly recipe.

Cindy's Backstreet Tomatillo - Avocado Salsa

Make sure you find the right ripeness in your avocados --- wiggle the stem, it should move gently, but not sink in totally.

Juiciness of tomatillos vary** --- you might need to add a tsp or more of rice vinegar and one additional tablespoon of olive oil.

If you want less heat in your salsa --- be sure to remove the jalapeño seeds.

• 8 oz. tomatillos, papery husk removed, cut into ½ - inch dice.
• 1 ½ avocados , pitted, peeled, and cut into ¼- inch dice.
• 3 scallions, white and light green parts only, minced.
• 1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded if you wish, and minced.
• 3 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
• ½ teaspoon ground toasted cumin seeds.
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar**
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

To make the salsa :

Combine all the ingredients except the vinegar and oil, in a bowl. Mix well but gently, taking care not to mash the avocado. Whisk together the vinegar and oil until emulsified, and add just enough of this to the salsa to moisten it. Reserve any leftover vinaigrette to use in other salad dressings.

Big Small Plates © Ten Speed Press

Other cookbooks big on little adventures:

Blogosphere blurb / Recipe: Pear Chocolate Belle - Helene 2

Culinary Revival --- That is what Renaissance Culinaire translates into to English. Now that my template is updated in "new" blogger, and it looks o.k I can now get down to the business of baking. After recoding the html and going through each post to label them individually, I realized that 2005 was the "golden" year of this blog. That this was a model for the blog that you readers loved so much --- and in all fairness I plan to deliver my posts in that spirit, once again. ---lets say VIVA BLOG CONTENT!

O.k I haven't a picture for this dessert... But I plan to bake it next week, so I will update the post with some assembly & finished dessert pics later.


Pear Chocolate Belle - Helene
This was adapted from an editorial in The Columbia.

Cake Ingredients:

¾ Cup butter or Margarine+ , softened
2 ½ Cups flour
1 Cup Brown Sugar+
½ tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Baking Soda
4 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate , melted
1 Egg , slightly beaten+
1 cup milk+
4 small, ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut in half. (or substitute for canned halves --- drain, and pat dry w/ paper towels)

++For Vegan/ Vegetarian :

Substitute Earth Balance (( in the block form)) in place of the butter.
Use 2 oz of Extra Firm Silken Tofu in place of egg.
Soy or coconut milk can be substituted for milk.
Substitute your natural sweetener ( I.\e Turbinado) in place of sugar --- adjust accordingly, more or less depending on the sweetener.


Cake Mix Directions :Preheat oven to 350ºF. Beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.
Add flour and sugar; beat on low speed until crumbly. Remove 1/3 cup of
the butter mixture; set aside. Add baking powder, baking soda,
chocolate, egg and milk to remaining butter mixture in bowl. Stir just
until dry ingredients are moistened.

SPREAD one-third of the batter into greased 9-inch spring form pan. Place pear halves,
cut sides down, in a circular pattern over batter. Drop spoonfuls of
remaining batter over pears; spread to evenly cover pears. Sprinkle
with the reserved crumb mixture .

BAKE 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.

Cake Finishing:
Using a pastry brush, brush the cooled cake with *Brandy Simple Syrup. Spoon slightly cooled **Spiced Carmel sauce onto the cake, allowing the caramel to drip over sides.



*Brandy Simple syrup
2 cups water
1 cup white sugar ( Or vegan sugar)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 cup brandy

DIRECTIONS:
In a saucepan, combine water, sugar and lemon zest. Bring mixture to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Strain into airtight container, removing the lemon zest. Allow to cool, then cover and store in refrigerator. When ready to use, mix in brandy. Brush onto cake

*Spiced Pecan Carmel
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
½ tsp Cinnamon
¼ nutmeg
Toasted Pecan halves

DIRECTIONS:
Put granulated sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and crumble brown sugar over. Melt sugar, undisturbed, over moderate heat until granulated sugar is mostly melted. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until a deep golden caramel. Carefully pour in cream (mixture will bubble up and caramel will harden slightly) and stir in nutmeg, cinnamon . Simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved and sauce is reduced to about 1 cups, about 10 minutes. Cool to just warm.

++Vegan Spiced Carmel Sauce:

2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
½ Cup soy milk
½ Cup vegan sugar
¼ tsp Nutmeg
¼ tsp Cinnamon
¼ Cup water + 1 tsp water
Toasted Pecan halves

DIRECTIONS: Stir cornstarch into soy milk and set aside. Place Vegan sweetener , spices and one tablespoon water in a non-stick saucepan. Over medium heat, stirring constantly color will appear light brown, add 1/4 cup cold water, allow the syrup to come to a low boil. Reduce heat and add soy milk while stirring. Once incorporated , gradually return to boil, stirring constantly until thickened & glossy / smooth. Add vanilla and remove from heat. Add toasted Pecans. {if too thick/sweet, add additional soy milk , stirring constantly.}

Recipe: Watermelon Gazpacho 5

I walk around . My nostrils flare with scents carried on the winter wind gusts - I know that spring is closer than ever. I am starved for spring! I want the gray bitterness to dissolve away. I need the breezes to be pleasant and the sun to warm my cheek. And I want to be thrown about with god's green tenderness.

Here is a recipe that awakens the spring from within & delights your palate.

Watermelon gazpacho

Adapted from a recipe found in Vegetarian Times

Do not puree the ingredients or this will have to be named "smoothie" instead!

• 6 Cups seedless watermelon cubes ( [1] 16 lb whole watermelon)
• 1/2 of a seedless cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 of an organic yellow bell pepper, seeded & chopped
• 3 scallions chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 2 TB lime juice or lemon juice
• 1 TB extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1 Cup cold raspberry-cranberry juice
• 3 TB chopped fresh mint

In a large food processor, combine 3 cups watermelon, the cucumber , bell pepper, scallions, garlic, lime or lemon juice, olive oil & hot pepper sauce. Process with short pulses until the mixture is just finely chopped.

Add the remaining watermelon, raspberry-cranberry juice, and mint. Process with pulses until just finely chopped.

Serves 8

Cake Recipe: EDITED Mocha & Chocolate - Vegan Style. 4

Well I really am interested in Vegan Baking. And today I will share my first recipe. And of course it is decadent & a lovely dessert.

This serves 10-12 people.

Mocha - Chocolate Cake:
Cake Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times magazine.

• 3 cups organic wheat unbleached wheat flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 cups natural cane sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 tsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in 2 cups water
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 TB cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 375°F. Have ready 2, 8 or 9 inch nonstick round cake pans.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt & sugar.

In a small bowl mix together the oil, espresso,& vanilla extract.

Pour liquid ingredients into the dry & mix with a wire whisk until well incorporated. Add the vinegar & stir quickly. You will notice pale swirls in the batter - due to the vinegar & baking soda reacting[chemical leavening].

Pour equal amounts of the batter in to the cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool in pans set on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Flip onto the rack & let cool completely.

Mocha Icing:

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup vegan margarine {edit:Preferably Earth's Balance Margarine, better texture, tastes better. Also in stick form the margarine has a higher melting point - it is better for icing because it keeps it's form. The tub form stays liquid & never truly thickens}

• 3 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder
• 2 TB soy cream(soy milk can be substituted) { use coconut milk + 1/8 vanilla extract}
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt chocolate & cool to room temperature. Beat the margarine until fluffy. Add sugar , espresso powder, soy cream and vanilla - beat until smooth. Then beat in the cooled chocolate.

Ganache:

• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 Tb golden syrup or brown-rice syrup { why use this? It effects the flavor}
• 1/3 cup soy cream

Process the chocolate in a food processor until finely chopped.

In a sauce pan, stir the syrup and cream together - bring to a boil. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle the hot cream over the chocolate, process until smooth.

EDIT:

For real vegan ganache that has texture & that holds up use this formula:

• [BP = Baker's percent]
• 1lb. Bittersweet chocolate [BP 100%]
• [BP 75%] 12oz of coconut milk solids ( let coconut milk sit in a container in refrigerator for a couple of days before use - the milk fats will float to the top of your container , scoop these off for use in ganache.)
• EDIT : Soy cream shouldn't be used. It doesn't taste right & effects the consistancy. Use canned coconut milk {tip: Shake can - if you hear liquids moving don't buy that brand. Get the brand with the least amount of sound. The sounds you hear are the coconut liquids. Less sound means the can contains more milk fats}
• 6 oz. cane sugar or Your favorite sweetener [BP 17% ? play with it...] (this is optional , be creative)
• 1 tsp of vanilla

In double burner slowly melt chocolate. When chocolate is no longer chunky & is easily stirred , remove from heat & double boiler. Let cool [luke warm to touch] . Add the coconut solids and vanilla & sweetener. Whip until incorporated and proper consistency. Allow to cool at room temp.

This ganache has a nice flavor & better consistency. The base Ganache recipe was adapted from Le Cordon Blue Professional Baking 3rd edition .

Cake Assembly:

Place one layer of cake onto a cake plate. Spread the mocha icing on top. Place the second layer on top of iced layer. Pour & spread the chocolate ganache over the sides & top covering both layers. Garnish as desired.

Save the extra mocha-icing for another use.