Raw cocoa-berry cookies!

Happy commercialised love day everyone!
I wanted to make something sorta valentines-themed, but I don't own any heart-shaped cookie-cutters or chocolate moulds. So I went for crazy red/purple-coloured cookies instead!

These are super soft and chewy, so I could've rolled them into balls and called them energy-balls. But hey, I decided to flatten them and call them cookies!

These are really simple to make, packed full of goodness (vitamins, antioxidants, protein, omega-3s...), and absolutely delicious. The tang of the berries goes perfectly with the bitterness of the cocoa.
I defrosted frozen berries, as that's all I had to-hand, but I'm sure fresh ones would be even better.

Recipe
1. Put 3/4 of a cup of oats into a blender, and blend to a coarse flour-like texture. Put aside in a large bowl.

2. Blend the following until it becomes a gooey paste. Then add it to the oats & stir well with a fork.

• 1 cup mixed red berries (e.g. blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, blueberries...)
• 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp.) agave nectar
• 1/2 tablespoon melted coconut oil (this is all I had, but use a little more if you want these to be firmer)

3. Blend 1 cup of mixed nuts & seeds, of your choice.
I used walnuts, cashews, almonds, and an omega seed mix that included pumpkin seeds, sesame, golden linseed and sunflower seeds. At first, it will become a chunky mixture, then a coarse flour, then the oils will start to come out & it'll start sticking together a little. Keep blending, stirring intermittently, until you reach this point. Then add it to the bowl with the previous ingredients.

4. Blend these ingredients into a chunky jam-like texture. This is the last stuff you have to blend, I promise!

• 7 stoned dates
• 1/2 a cup of sultanas and/or currants.

5. Add this to the bowl and stir everything together thoroughly with a fork, along with the following:

• 2 Tbsp. dessicated coconut
• 2 Tbsp. raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch cinnamon

6. Finally, roll it into balls and flatten them into discs of around 1cm in thickness and 4cm in diameter. Then coat in dessicated coconut. Alternatively, just leave them as balls and roll them in the coconut.

7. Refrigerate for about half an hour. Then EAT.

Jen x

Raw chocolate brownies!

I have something to admit.
Over the last 9 months or so, I've fallen in love with exercise.
I'm working out 5 days a week now, so my diet has changed too.
I've cut down massively on refined sugar, white carbohydrates, fats and processed foods. Instead, I'm eating a diet high in protein and with vast quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables.
So what do I do when I want a treat, or my partner pesters me for junk food? The answer's pretty simple really. Go RAW!

These chocolate brownies are one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten, are quick and easy to make, and are actually pretty good for you! What more could you ask for?!

Recipe

1. Put 1 cup of walnuts and 4 Tablespoons (Tbsp.) of oats in a blender, and blend to a coarse flour-like consistency. Put aside in a large bowl.

2. Blend the following into a thick paste:

• 2/3 cup sultanas
• 1/2 cup stoned dates
• 3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 1.5 teaspoons (tsp.) vanilla extract

3. Add this to the bowl and stir the two mixtures together, along with...

• 2 Tbsp. dessicated coconut
• 2 Tbsp. fruit syrup (or agave nectar)
• pinch cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. raw cacao powder

4. Press into a baking tray, lined with baking paper. It should be about 1-2cm thick throughout.

5. You can either leave it as it is, or make a raw chocolate/ raw nut butter topping. I actually cheated here and used non-raw ingredients, as it's all I had. I spread it with a mixed roast nut butter (cashew, almond, hazelnut & peanut), then sprinkled with more dessicated coconut & dark chocolate chips.

6. Refrigerate until set, then cut into squares with a sharp knife.

I then cheated again and served these with vanilla Swedish Glace.

Jen x

Mint Choc Chip Whoopie Pies!

Who doesn't love mint chocolate chip? Seriously, who? I will find you and...
Never mind, on with the recipe...
Oh, and these are awesome.

1. Mix the following in a large bowl & stir well with a fork

• 6 Ounces (oz) plain flour
• 5.5 oz white sugar
• 2 heaped tablespoons (ideally Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
• 1.5 teaspoon (tsp.) baking powder
• pinch cinamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 1-2 tsp. egg replacer

2. Knead-in 5.5 oz non-dairy margarine.

3. Gradually stir-in 3/4 of a cup of rice or soya milk. (I actually used a coconut flavour rice milk. Definitely worth it, if you can find it!)

4. Spoon little dollops of the cake batter onto baking sheets, lined with greased baking paper. They should be about 2 inches in diameter, and at least 1 inch away from each other.

5. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, then bake for 12-16 mins, until cooked throughout, but not crisp. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.

6. Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Mix the following in a bowl with a fork, then stir-in a handful or two of chopped (dairy-free) dark chocolate...

• 1.5 cups icing sugar
• 4 Tbsp. dairy-free margarine
• 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
• few drops green food colouring
• 1-2 Tbsp. soya milk

7. Refrigerate the icing until the cakes are fully-cooled. Then, spread a thick layer of icing between two similarly-sized cakes, and sandwich together.

They keep in the fridge for up to about 5 days, or can be frozen for eating later.

Jen x

Lazy Gingerbread Latte

This is just what you need in the British winter. And it barely takes much effort to make. Huzzah!

Just microwave about 2/3 of a cup of soya milk for 2 minutes. Add a shot/tablespoon of a caramel or biscuit coffee syrup. Add a few peeled and roughly-chopped chunks of fresh ginger. Then top with coffee. I used instant to be extra lazy!

...And I put it in an awesome vegan mug from Vx.

Jen x

Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cupcakes

These were a lot of fun to make. And Suki watched from the sofa hopefully throughout.

Simply make a bowl of your favourite vegan vanilla cake mix, and one of your favourite chocolate cake mix. You may want to make them a little thicker than usual, to ensure the two cake mixes don't mix together too much.

Pour by the heaped-teaspoonful into cake cases, in a ratio of about 50:50.

I'd usually use a skewer, but for these little cupcakes, I swirled the cake batters together with toothpicks. Try to keep most of the stirring towards the top of the cake, allowing the lower layers to stay more separate. Otherwise, you may risk stirring it together too much & the colours seeping into each other.
If you want a greater contrast and are willing to dabble in chemically ingredients (gasp!), then add a drop or two of black food colouring to your chocolate cake mix.

Bake at 180°C in a fan oven for 25 mins, or as per your usual recipe. When ready, a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean.

I didn't want to detract too much from the pretty marbling, so I went for a simple chocolate ganache topping. But you could always leave them un-iced, or top them more imaginatively!

Jen x

Beetroot Gnocchi

I love beetroot, and I love Gnocchi. And it turns out that beetroot gnocchi actually exists, so I figured I may as well give it a try...
Oh my, it was well worth it!
I made the gnocchi as follows, and served it with vegan pesto, spinach, sweetcorn and fried red peppers. I then topped it with my favourite vegan cheese.

Recipe
1. Peel 2 medium to large raw beetroots, and chop into cubes of 1-2cm. Then boil for 20-30 minutes, or until soft enough to mash.
2. Once boiled, drain them, add 2 teaspoons of non-dairy margarine, and mash them thoroughly.
3. In a large bowl, combine the following & stir with a fork:

• 1.5 cups plain white flour
• 1/2 a cup brown rice flour
• 2 tsp. egg replacer
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. nutritional yeast
• pinch oregano, pinch marjoram, pinch nutmeg.

4. Add the mashed beetroot to the large bowl and stir it all together. Once it starts vaguely sticking together, knead it thoroughly until it forms a single ball. Add up to half a cup of cold water if you really struggle to get it to stay together (ideally the pink water drained from the beetroots).

5. (Now this is the time consuming part, but where it all finally comes together!)
Take a handful of the mix at a time and roll into a sausage about 1.5cm in diameter, on a floured surface.

Using a sharp knife, chop the sausage into 1-2cm segments. Then repeat with the rest.

6. Roll each piece in flour and press one side with a fork to create a rough surface for sauce to stick to.

7. Add to a pan of boiling water and boil for 4-7 minutes, until they begin to float. Then drain & eat! Cook as soon as possible, especially if the room is warm, or they may begin to stick together.

Jen x

Chocolate Speculoos mini cupcakes

These are pretty quick & easy. This is partly because they're mini, so they take half the time to cook (and to cool!), compared to regular cupcakes. It's also because you use pre-made speculoos spread instead of having to make icing. Yippee!
If you're not familiar with it, speculoos is a caramelised biscuit, and it's delicious.

I just use my regular chocolate cake recipe for the cupcakes, which is...

1. Mix the following in a large bowl:

• 4oz plain flour
• 4oz caster sugar
• 4oz dairy-free margarine
• Egg replacer for 2 eggs
• 1 rounded teaspoon (tsp.) of baking powder
• 1.5 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. almond or chocolate extract
• Generous pinch cinnamon

2. Gradually add unsweetened soya milk, stirring well with a fork, until it becomes a thick batter of about the consistency of custard. This should be from 3/4 of a cup to about 1.5 cups of soya milk.

3. Spoon the mixture into mini baking cases, filling to 3/4 full. Use a mini cake pan, or silicone cups, to help them cook more evenly and retain their shape.

4. Bake at 180°C for 12-14 minutes.

When they're fully cooled, spoon a healthy dollop of speculoos spread on top of each and sprinkle with grated/curled dark chocolate. I topped these with mini spiced biscuits I got in the Netherlands, but you can always use large broken chunks of speculoos biscuits.

Jen x