Lemon Curd Cake with Coconut Glaze

Lemon curd

1 cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup water


1 cup sugar


4 tablespoons cornstarch


¼ teaspoon salt


Zest of 3 lemons

¼ cup coconut cream

2 Tbsp. vegan butter

Combine lemon juice, water, sugar, cornstarch, salt and zest in a saucepan. Whisk over a medium high heat until it starts to bubble (approx. 10 minutes). Let it boil for one minute. It should become thick and start to turn transparent. Remove from heat and whisk in the coconut cream and butter until completely combined. Let it cool to room temperature before using or storing in a jar.

Lemon cake

1 ½ cups coconut milk

½ cup soy/almond milk

1 ½ cups sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

¼ cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons lemon zest

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease and line two 9-inch cake pans.

In a large bowl whisk together coconut milk, soy milk, sugar, oil, lemon juice, zest and vanilla until well combined.

In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Mix in half the dry ingredients to the wet, then add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Pour the batter evenly between the two pans.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a kinfe comes out clean.

Let cakes cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely. 

Coconut glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

½ teaspoon coconut extract

Hot water

Whisk together sugar, oil, coconut extract and 1 tablespoon of water. Gradually add more water until you reach desired thickness. 

Pumpkin Pie

My first Thanksgiving, so I made pumpkin pie! I just used the recipes from Vegan Pie in the Sky but replaced soy milk with coconut milk for extra creaminess ;) 
I served it with Healthy Top whipped cream and the most amazing ice-cream ever from a little ice cream store in NYC called Stogo, which unfortunately has to close down :( 
But this ice-cream is my favourite ice-cream in the world- Ginger Vanilla Bourbon made with hemp milk!

Peach Oat Pancakes

A delicious summery breakfast!
(Ignore the ugly benchtop in the background- I just moved into this apartment in NYC and there aren't many areas with good light!)

1 cup oat flour or finely ground rolled oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour, spelt flour, or a gluten free blend
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon + 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
2 tablespoons sunflower/canola/coconut oil
1/3 cup water
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbls maple syrup 
1 or 2 fresh peaches, sliced


Whisk together all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined, adding more milk if the batter is too thin. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.

Pour batter into the pan, then press 3-4 slices of peach into the pancake.

Serve with extra peach slices and maple syrup :)

GF baked pumpkin spice donuts with maple glaze

I'm obsessed with baked donuts at the moment. I've been using the gluten free recipe from BabyCakes Covers the Classics to experiment!


The other day I tried replacing the applesauce in the plain donut recipe with pumpkin puree to make pumpkin donuts, and it worked great! I think any kind of fruit/vegetable puree would do the same thing.


And I decided to top them with maple glaze :)
I think chocolate icing/ganache would taste really good too!

Here's the recipe, adapted from the book:


1/3 cup coconut or canola oil
1 cup sugar
3/4 white or brown rice flour
1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill garbanzo and fava bean flour (If your in Australia most health food shops stock it)
1/2 cup potato starch (or cornstarch works too)
1/4 cup arrowroot
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water


Preheat oven to 160C (325F). Spray or brush donut pans with oil.


Whisk together sugar, the flours, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl.
Add the oil, pumpkin, vanilla and hot water and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined. Drop 2-3 tablespoons of batter into the moulds and use a toothpick to spread it evenly around.
Bake for 15 minutes rotating the pan halfway through, until the donuts are golden brown.
Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool another 15 minutes.


For the glaze:
1/2 cup icing sugar
3-4 tablespoons pure maple syrup (depending on how thick you want the glaze)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Whisk all ingredients together, then dip the donuts in the glaze and let it set on a wire rack.


Enjoy!

Chocolate peanut butter praline cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, crushed praline, ganache and a strawberry (just for decoration) :D

[recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World]

Chocolate cupcakes

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp apple cider/ white vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven o 350F (175C).

Whisk together soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl and set aside to curdle for a few minutes. 

Add the sugar, oil and vanilla and whisk until foamy.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add in 2 batches to the wet ingredients and mix until no large lumps remain.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full, and bake for 18 - 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool completely on cooling rack.

Peanut butter frosting 

(double this recipe if you want a thicker layer of frosting or are going to pipe swirls onto cupcakes)

1/4 cup margarine

2 tablespoons shortening (or more margarine is fine)

1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

1 tablespoon molasses 

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups icing sugar, sifted

1 - 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk

Beat together margarine and peanut butter, then add molasses and vanilla and beat till very smooth (2-3 minutes).

Beat in sugar and add 1 tablespoon of milk, and then the other if needed, and beat until frosting is very fluffy.

Peanut Praline

1 cup lightly toasted peanuts

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

dash of salt

Line a tray with baking paper and set aside.

Pour sugar, maple syrup and salt into a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Stir over a medium heat with a wooden spoon till sugar starts to melt and bubble (about 5 minutes). Keep stirring and cook another 3 - 4 minutes until mixture is thick, amber brown and smells like caramel.

Remove from heat and quickly stir in peanuts, making sure to coat each nut.

Immediately spread it out the baking paper.

Allow to cool and harden completely.

Once cooled, break up into smaller pieces and pulse in a food processor until the praline looks like coarse crumbs. 

Chocolate ganache

1/4 cup soy milk

4 ounces (115g) semisweet dark chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

In a small saucepan, bring milk to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and stir through the chocolate and maple syrup with a rubber spatula, until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is smooth and shiny. Set aside at room temperature till ready to use.

Chocolate, banana, oat pancakes

These are so delicious, and healthy!
I've made these a couple of times before (and posted them on my tumblr blog here), but they were just banana oat, this time I added cacao!
They are pretty dense and moist pancakes, sort of like banana bread. So if you wanted a more cakey texture, try just using 1 banana and increasing the flour to 3/4 cup.

1 1/4 cup oats

1/2 cup flour (I used spelt flour)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder or raw cacao powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup non-dairy milk

1/4 cup maple syrup or agave 

1 tablespoon oil (I used peanut)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 medium ripe bananas

Blend all the ingredients in a blender for a few seconds, except the bananas. Then add the bananas and blend until smooth (about 10 seconds).

(If you don’t have a blender you can mash the bananas well with a fork and then whisk everything together).

Cook over a medium heat, and serve with maple syrup, banana and/or berries!

Earl grey shortbread cookies

These shortbread cookies were inspired by the Earl Grey Cupcake from Mister Nice Guy Cupcakes! They're not too strong, so even if you're not a fan of earl grey tea, you might still like these!

They just have a subtle earl grey flavour that comes out when you bake them, and a hint of lemon.

I used this recipe from Martha Stewart, and just replaced/added a couple of ingredients.

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves (from about 4 bags)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegan margarine 

1/2 cup coconut oil (or shortening), softened, but not fully melted

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F).

Whisk together flour, tea, and salt in a small bowl.

Put margarine, coconut oil, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat for a few minutes until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in flour mixture until just combined.

Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a log, 3 - 5cm in diameter, on baking paper or glad wrap. Put the logs in the freezer for half an hour till they are firm.

Cut logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets.

Bake cookies for 12 – 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden. Let cool completely on wire racks.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (gluten free)

Whoopie Pies are an American baked dessert that is kind of like a cookie and cake combined.
I'm leaving for the USA in 10 weeks, so I made them to get into the American spirit!

This recipe is from Babycakes Covers the Classics, but I changed it a bit to make them spiced pumpkin whoopie pies (for an autumn-y flavour) instead of chocolate, and filled them with cream cheese frosting.

The actual cookies are gluten free and sugar free, so to make them 100% sugar free you could use a different filling such as the Babycakes vanilla frosting.

It was a really dark and rainy day when I made them, so it wasn't a good day for photo lighting!
But a great day to stay inside with a cup of tea and a whoopie pie :)

Ingredients

2 cups Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour (or you could use spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour & xanthan gum)

1/4 cup arrowroot

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup canola oil

2/3 cup agave  nectar

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cream cheese frosting
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 160˚C (325˚F). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, arrowroot, baking soda, xanthan gum, spices & salt.
In another bowl whisk together the oil, agave, pumpkin puree and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until it forms a smooth dough.
Drop teaspoons of the dough onto the baking trays 2 - 3cm apart, and flatten them to help the cookies spread.


Bake for 7 minutes, rotate, and bake for another 5 minutes until the cookies are firm to touch and golden. Let them cool for 15 minutes.


To make the frosting: Beat together the margarine and cream cheese, then gradually beat in the powdered sugar, then vanilla, and beat until smooth.


Spoon a tablespoon of frosting onto the flat side of one cookie, and sandwich with another cookie.


[Makes 12]

I found this great autumn leaf plate in an op shop. I thought it matched the pumpkin whoopie pies well :)

DONUTS!

Baked donuts (or doughnuts... however you want to spell it) seem to be the latest craze right now, so I was really excited to try them out! Especially after my copy of Babycakes Covers the Classics arrived in the mail! :)

[ If you don't know about Babycakes NYC look it up, it's amazing! I will finally be able to visit the bakery this year because I'M GOING TO NEW YORK! YAY! ]

Anyway...
I rushed out to buy a donut pan and got baking!
I used the Babycakes gluten free recipe and they were delicious!
I mixed up the toppings from chocolate icing to vanilla glaze, coconut, sprinkles and cinnamon sugar, just to try it all out.

What I love most about baked donuts is they look so fancy, but are secretly really easy to make!
Here's how they turned out...

Sweet potato muffins with brazil nut crunch

These muffins were inspired by the sweet potato pie in Vegan Pie in the Sky! I made it for dessert on Christmas, and I loved the brazil nut topping on the pie and thought it would be great on top of a muffin!

The first batch of muffins I made the nut topping burnt a bit, so I tried turning down the oven temperature, and they worked out great.

Pecans or walnuts would also be yum for the nut topping!

[ Makes 12 small muffins or 6 - 7 large muffins ]

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour


1 cup sugar


1 tablespoon baking powder


1/4 teaspoon salt


1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


1/2 teaspoon nutmeg


1/2 teaspoon ground ginger


1 cup pureed sweet potato


1/2 cup coconut milk (or other non dairy milk)


1/2 cup vegetable oil


2 tablespoons molasses

Brazil nut crunch

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons vegan margarine


1 cup brazil nuts, roughly chopped


pinch of salt

To make the brazil nut topping, mash together the sugar and margarine then mix in the brazil nuts and salt.

For the muffins, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. In another bowl, whisk together sweet potato, milk, oil, and molasses. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.

Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle over about a tablespoon of the brazil nuts on each muffin, and push into the batter slightly.

Bake at 170°C for 20 minutes or until a toothpick poked in comes out clean.

Buckwheat Crepes

I've been making crepes for a while, ever since I bought a good crepe pan, so I though I'd try out something other than regular crepes! I adapted this recipe from Vegan Yum Yum to make buckwheat crepes :)

[ Makes about 15 crepes ]


1 cup soy milk
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup spelt flour (or all-purpose flour)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbls maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
A few tablespoons of water to thin out

Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl, except margarine, until combined. Then fold through the margarine. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or preferably overnight.

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (or Nutella)

I was really excited to try out Chocolate Covered Katie's recipe for nutella.

It turned out really well, except I added some extra agave syrup because I like things extra sweet :)

And I could have blended the hazelnuts for a bit longer to make it smoother, but it was still delicious.

I had mine on crepes! This is the best crepe recipe I've tried! I think the trick with these crepes is the longer you leave them in the fridge the better they work. But they still turn out well with only 30 minutes in the fridge. And it helps a lot if you invest in a good crepe pan, or non stick pan.

YUM!

Curry Laksa!

One of my favourite meals. I used the recipe from Appetite for Reduction, it's so easy and quick to make!

Chocolate Coconut Pancakes

I thought I'd start off this blog with some of my favourite recipes.

I decided to have my own pancake week a while ago where I made pancakes everyday for 7 days!

These were definitely my favourite.

The pancakes are chocolate with chocolate chips, and then they are topped with a scoop of coconut ice-cream, covered with chocolate coconut sauce and sprinkled with toasted coconut. Sounds good right? It is.

You can use whatever ice-cream you want really, but I think ice-cream made from coconut milk is the best. In Australia there’s this new brand called CocoLuscious, it’s made from coconut milk and it’s dairy, soy, egg, nut and gluten free! It tastes amazing and has a really good texture!

I always wake up wanting something sweet so I could easily eat these for breakfast, but they would also be a great dessert!

Recipe  (makes about 8-10 fat pancakes)

1 1/2 cups wholemeal spelt or wheat flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbls oil

1/3 cup water (plus more if you need to thin it out)

1 1/4 cups soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbls maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (optional)

Chocolate sauce

120g vegan chocolate (I use Whittakers 50% dark chocolate)

¾ cup coconut milk

¼ rice or soy milk

2 tbls maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Coconut ice-cream and toasted coconut to serve

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl.

In another bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and whisk until frothy. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just combined. Add more water if the batter is too thick, but you don’t want it to be too thin.

Fold in the chocolate.

Let the batter rest for 10 minutes before cooking.

To make the chocolate sauce, melt the chocolate with the coconut milk and rice milk in a small saucepan over a low heat. When it’s melted whisk in the maple syrup and vanilla.

To toast the coconut spread it out on a tray and put in a 160˚C oven for 4-5 minutes.