The 19-year-old baker Clara Polito shares her favorite recipes with us—and you won't believe they're vegan.
Baking wunderkind Clara Polito, the 19-year-old vegan baker and owner of L.A.-based baking company, Clara Cakes, sells her baked goods around town. Polito runs her business right out of her kitchen (in the Atwater Village apartment she shares with her mom,) and her first book, Clara Cakes: Delicious & Simple Vegan Desserts for Everyone, which is filled with vegan recipes, is out March 7th.
Polito shares her favorite recipes with Domino.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 baking pan with nonstick spray. Line pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup flour with the oatmeal, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the coconut oil and butter, pressing the mixture together with your fingers. Mix until it resembles crumbly cookie dough. If mixture is too dry to be pinched together, add a tad more butter or coconut oil. Press half of the oat mixture into pan. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the strawberry jam, fresh strawberries, oranges, and 3 tablespoons flour until evenly incorporated. Spread the preserves mixture over the oat crust. Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture on top. Bake until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Place on cooling rack and serve warm or fully cooled.
Tip: Be ready to eat this on a plate with a fork. While they're bars, the nature of the delicious cornmeal crust makes them a bit more messy and crumbly than most. Bonus points if you serve these with vanilla ice cream!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.In a medium saucepan, brown the butter by cooking for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the butter produces a nutty aroma and turns to a deep golden color. This typically happens after the butter's foam bubbles dissolve. Remove from heat and transfer to another bowl immediately, otherwise it'll burn. Stick in fridge. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In large mixing bowl, beat together the brown butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and applesauce until completely combined. About 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix together until dough forms. Scoop spoonfuls of cookie dough on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 6 to 7 minutes, or until edges are nice and brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 2 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack.