Chocolate peanut butter cup-cakes

I made these today. They're like a cupcake version of Chocolate peanut butter cups and are as delicious as they sound!

I started by making my usual chocolate cupcakes, as follows...

Mix the following in a bowl:

• 6oz plain flour
• 6oz non-dairy margarine
• 6oz white sugar
• 2 teaspoons (tsps) white sugar
• 1 heaped tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 level tsps egg replacer
• 1.5 heaped tsps baking powder.
• 1.5 cups unsweetened soya milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp chocolate extract (if you can find it!)

Stir/whisk thoroughly with a fork until it becomes a custard-like texture. Or, if you're feeling lazy, just throw it in a blender.

Fill cupcake cases 3/4 full and bake for approx. 25 minutes at 180°C.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Use a melon baller to scoop out a little bowl shape in each cupcake. Then fill this bowl with peanut butter. I used a mix of smooth and crunchy as I couldn't decide which would be best!

 

Cover with melted chocolate (I used plain) and refrigerate.
Try to resist them until they're set. Then devour!

Jen x

Raw(ish) chocolates with puffed spelt and red fruits.

These were inspired by this recipe on This Rawsome Vegan Life. (<--I highly recommend this site, by the way. It's a blog of awesome and inspired raw vegan recipes. Mmmm...)

I was rather low on food, so threw together some of the few things I did have. And it made these delicious, mostly raw, chocolate and puffed spelt discs. I then topped them with red fruits from the garden...

These were so quick to make, and taste amazing, yet are surprisingly healthy. Seriously, try them!

Recipe:
Throw the following in a blender:

• Approx. 40ml melted coconut oil
• 5-10g melted raw cacao butter
• 1.5 heaped tablespoons (tbsp.) cocoa powder
• 1 heaped tbsp. golden syrup (or agave nectar)
• Handful of dates (i.e. 8-10)
• 2 tbsp. mixed seeds (e.g. sunflower, pumpkin, sesame)
• 2 tbsp. barley milk (or any other milk substitute)
• Pinch cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon (tsp.) vanilla extract

Tip: To melt your coconut oil or cacao butter without burning or boiling it, try putting the jar/bottle in a bowl of boiling water for a few minutes.

Remove it from the blender once it reaches a consistency somewhere between melted chocolate and PVA glue (mmm.. :P), with coarse bits in. Pour it into a bowl and stir-in:

• 3 heaped tbsp. of puffed spelt (e.g. these, or any other puffed grain)

Press into the mould of your choice with a teaspoon. Use your fingers to form a dip on the surface, then refrigerate until set. Finally, remove from the moulds and fill with red fruits. EAT!

Jen x

Ginger Loaf Cake

A while ago, I saw a huge amount of ginger for a ridiculously cheap price. So I bought it and spent the next couple of weeks gorging on ginger-based goodness!

Here's the first of what I made:

Ginger Loaf Cake

I roughly used this recipe for proportions, but changed the butter for non-dairy margarine, the milk for unsweetened soya milk, and the egg for "No Egg". Of course, I also changed the dried ginger for about 3 tablespoons of fresh, peeled (and finely-chopped) ginger.
I also added a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and a pinch of ground nutmeg, and used golden syrup instead of treacle.
I also suggest cooking it for a little less than the recipe indicates.

This was so good that it only lasted a few hours in my house! So I made another...which didn't last much longer.

Jen x

Cinnamon Rolls

I accidentally made ridiculous quantities of cinnamon rolls today, using this recipe. More or less, anyhow. I added a little vanilla to the batter and a pinch of nutmeg to the filling.

Seriously, I made a lot...

Jen x

Peanut Butter and Almond Cookies

Mmm...
I basically used this recipe, but veganised it by changing the milk for unsweetened soya and the egg for one teaspoon of egg-replacer.
Then, for the shortening, I used both vegetable shortening and dairy-free sunflower spread. And I added flaked almonds.
They're soft and chewy, but the almonds give a nice crunch.

Turkish Sütlaç with Cinnamon baked Apples

Sütlaç is basically a Turkish version of Rice pudding. It's essentially made with milk and coarsely-ground rice, with sugar, vanilla and a little cinnamon and nutmeg. I made mine with soya milk, but made a little twist on the original by adding a sugar brûlée topping, and serving with Bramley apple slices, baked in golden syrup with plenty of cinnamon.

Jen x

Curry & Poppy seed Burgers.

I tried making homemade burgers again, this time using a little wheat gluten and egg-replacer to bind and the burgers and improve the texture. I also tried a different variety, these are curry and poppy seed soya burgers, and they are delicious!
I served them with a sprinkle of home-grown chopped coriander and basil, on a nest of quick-fried grated carrot and courgette and a mixture of lightly spiced brown rice and pearled spelt.

Jen x