Monday 20 June 2011

Cookies

I'm in the process of trying to make the perfect moist, chewy cookie, so watch this space!

Jen x

Thursday 9 June 2011

Chocolate-Chestnut Torte

This is the most overwhelmingly indulgent food I've ever tasted. It's so simple, yet tastes spectacular!

This Chocolate-Chestnut Torte is like an incredibly rich and creamy chocolate cheesecake. And yes, it's just as delicious as it sounds!

The base is simply crumbed biscuits soaked in melted margarine & lightly baked; I used Speculoos biscuits, but a vegan digestive or oat biscuit would be just as good.



Then, the filling is melted dark chocolate mixed thoroughly with chestnut puree. I made my own chestnut puree by putting boiled, peeled chestnuts into soya milk, with a little sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and a couple of drops of vanilla extract, then leaving this to simmer for about 25 minutes. Finally, I blended it all into a paste.


The filling is spooned onto the base and a chocolate sauce drizzled on top. You can either buy a chocolate sauce, or make an extra-decadent one yourself by melting chocolate and stirring in soya milk to stop it from setting solid,  and a couple of drops of vanilla extract.


I topped them with decorative dark chocolate shapes and served them with a generous sprinkle of cocoa powder.




Next time, I'll work on making them less messy and a little more pretty-looking, so watch this space!

As always, remember, feel free to ask me for recipes, proportions, recommendations etc in the comments, and I'll gladly help as much as I can :)

Jen x

Chorizo al Vino

This is a classic Spanish dish; chorizo sausage cooked in red wine, with herbs & spices.

For the 'chorizo', I used Redwoods chorizo-style chunks. I put them in a terracotta dish with a cup of red wine, a pinch of salt, a pinch of marjoram and plenty of oregano, then baked this at a low-medium temperature for about 40 minutes until the 'chorizo' had absorbed all the flavour of the wine.


Jen x

PanCupcakes!

Inspired by a wonderful idea by Bakerella, I made a vegan version of her pancake mini-muffins, which I have christened PanCupcakes!

I made my usual vegan pancake batter, with vanilla & cinnamon, then, instead of frying it, I baked it in silicone petits-fours cases to make tiny little sweet, chewy pancakey cupcakes!




I then served them with a choice of lemon & sugar, or maple syrup. Either way was delicious, but they really must be eaten whilst still warm!



Delicious!

Jen x

Carrot & Coriander soup

I'm going to start today with something simple, but delicious; Carrot & Coriander soup.
It's simply carrots and onions cooked together in vegetable stock, with a teaspoon of non-dairy margarine melted-in. It's then partially-blended and copious amounts of fresh, chopped coriander is added.



I served this with excessively decorative bread & margarine...


Jen x