Week 20 Dish 1: Vegan yule log

Happy New Year everyone (for tomorrow)!! It's New Year's eve, and I'm sure everyone is getting ready to go out and party!! Or, as I'm doing, have a house party. Frankly in this weather, I feel that a house party is the way to go. It should be a brilliant night - with good friends, good food, and lots of alcohol!

Of course as is the norm these days at my house, when I have people over I plan a yummy dessert. Today is no exception as I have made a completely vegan yule log!! I may be a bit late for Christmas, but it's the perfect way to end the year before everyone begins their new year healthy eating resolutions :D Let's see how fast it gets eaten :p.....

Ingredients
For the cake
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soya milk
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cider vinegar
Icing sugar for dusting
For the filling
225g extra firm tofu, patted dry
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup non-dairy dark chocolate chips
2-3 TBSP warm soya milk
For the ganache topping
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup soya margarine, softened
1/4 cup soya milk
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a baking tray (with raised edges) with grease proof paper.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl.
3. In another bowl combine the oil, milk, orange juice and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients and combine.
4. Stir in the vinegar, pour into the tray and put into the oven as fast as possible. Bake for 25 minutes.
5. Place a piece of grease proof paper bigger than the tray on the work surface and dust generously with icing sugar. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, carefully invert onto the prepared paper and remove the bottom lining paper.
6. Roll up the cake with the paper inside (all while still hot) and then allow to cool completely. Don't worry about any cracks.
7. For the filling, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot with simmering water.
8. Add the tofu and vanilla extract to a food processor and puree till smooth. Add as little warm milk as necessary to help the food processor if it's having trouble. Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until well combined. Put into a container and cool in the fridge but don't let it solidify!
9. Next, prepare the topping. In a large bowl, use an electric beater to cream the sugar and margarine until thick but well combined. Add the milk, cocoa powder and vanilla and continue to mix until smooth.
10. Once the cake has cooled completely, unroll carefully. Cover with the filling and then roll up once more, this time without the paper. Place onto the serving plate.
11. Finally, cover with the chocolate topping and use a fork/ toothpick/ chopstick to create the bark-like pattern. Decorate with powdered sugar and anything else you feel like using. YUM!!!

Original recipe: Yule log cake, chocolate ganache topping, tofu chocolate frosting filling (I used different bits from different recipes because those are the ones I found easiest)

Week 19 Dish 2: Vegan Christmas cupcakes

I know that Christmas is over but I have a few more Christmassy recipes planned - keeps the festive feeling alive :D. I wanted to make a classic Christmas cake but my family said that they can't handle more big desserts after all the eating we have done this past week so I decided to make cupcakes instead. They are still made from about the same amount of batter as a cake, but much less daunting to eat. I was a bit worried because the recipe I found had the milk measurement missing, but they turned out brilliantly!

Makes 12
Ingredients
1/2 cup mixed peel
1/2 cup glace cherries
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soya milk
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds/ linseeds (or 2 tsp egg replacer)
4 tbsp water
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
Method

1. Mix the dried fruit, peel and nuts in a bowl with the brandy and leave overnight.
2. Preheat the over to 180 degrees C and line a muffing tray with muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl mix the ground flaxseeds/ linseeds (or 2 tsp egg replacer) with water and leave to one side.
4. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, flour and spices. Then add the fruit mixture, oil, milk, and the flaxseeds/linseeds and water mixture and combine.
5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Once cool, feel free to decorate with chrsitmassy icing and decorations - perfect for the kids!!

Original recipe: Christmas cupcakes

Week 19 Dish 1: Vegan festive roast with gravy

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope everyone had a brilliant day, I definitely did; full of family time, TV and good food and alcohol - what more could you want? And of course today was filled with SALE shopping!! Ahh so many bargains, so many new things....pweeettyyyy...I'm not materialistic at all, honest! (But still, just have a look at my haul :p)

I have baked a lot of sweet dishes, which thankfully have mostly been very successful. But, it's Christmas and the Christmas meal is not just about the desserts (though they are definitely very important) - it's about a full meal including a yummy roast. So, I found and made a delicious vegan roast, which even my dad loved (and he didn't like my nut roast last year). I definitely can't take all the credit for this, my mum, sister and I all pitched in and made our Christmas feast together - so much fun! It's full of veggies but very filling and of course tastes amazing. I know it's a bit late for Christmas this year but give it a go when you get the chance!! :D

Serves 6-8
Ingredients
For the roast
230 g chopped mixed nuts
110 g red lentils
1 large carrot
2 celery sticks
1 large onion
1/2 large courgette
1 aubergine
125 g mushrooms
4 tbsp vegan margarine
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp chopped parsley
10 g chopped dried apricots
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
2 tbsp corn flour
1/4 pint water
Vegan pesto
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
For the gravy
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onions
5 crushed garlic cloves
1-2 tbsp plain flour (depending on how thick you like it)
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Method

1. Gently boil the lentils for 20 minutes. About halfway through the lentils' cooking timre, pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees C and grease a large bread tin or line with grease proof paper.
2. Chop the aubergine and courgette into small chunks. 
3. Roughly chop the carrot, celery, onion and mushrooms into small chunks and use a food processor to process until finely chopped.
4. Melt the margarine in a wok/ large pan and fry the vegetables for 5 minutes, stirring in the curry powder.
5. In a large bowl mix the mixed nuts, cooked lentils, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, parsley, apricots, corn flour and water, and mix well. 
6. Add the fried vegetables and combine. Press 4 heaped tbsps of the mixture into the tin and spread a layer of pesto on top to taste. Spoon in the rest of the mixture and smooth over.
7. Bake for about an hour or until just firm, covering with top with foil if it starts to darken too much.
8. Carefully turn the roast out into a serving plate. Allow to cool and to finish, sprinkle with pine nuts and serve with gravy.
9. For the gravy, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent.
10. Add the flour and soy sauce and mix to make a thick paste, then slowly add the stock while stirring with a whisk to avoid clumps.
11. Season with  basil, salt and pepper, then bring to the boil and simmer while whisking continuously for 8-10 minutes. It is then ready to serve with the festive roast!

Original recipe: Luxury festive roast

Week 18 Dish 2: Vegan mince pies

OH MY GOD homemade mince pies are amazing! I really don't know why I never made them before. As you saw in the previous post, vegan mincemeat is so so very easy to make. Once that's done you just make this really simple vegan pastry, and voila!! Vegan mince pies! This recipe does not make a sweet pastry, just a simple shortcrust pastry. Once you have a taste of these you really won't want to go back to shop-bought ones!

Makes 12-15

You will need half of my vegan mincemeat recipe

Ingredients

200 g plain flour

100 g vegan margarine

3 tbsp ice-cold water

1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. Add the salt to the flour and mix. Then add the margarine and rub into the flour using your fingertips until it resembles bread crumbs.
2. Pour in the cold water and press the mixture together to form a dough.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C and grease a muffin tin.
4. On a clean, floured surface, roll the dough out fairly thin. Cut out large (~12cm - which I didn't have so I used a large flower instead!) circles and either smaller circles of funky shapes for the lids.
5. Carefully press the large circles into the muffin tin. Fill each with a generous dollop of mincemeat (I still had a bit left over at the end) and top with the smaller circles/ funky-shaped lids.
6. If you used circular lids, carefully pinch the edges of each pie closed and stab a fork in the middle of the pie to allow steam to escape. If you used funky shapes then no need for this!
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until a nice golden brown.

Original recipe: Mince pie pastry

Week 18 Dish 1: Vegan Christmas mincemeat crumble bars

Christmas is just around the corner, and I'm feeling really festive! We finally managed to put up the Christmas tree and of course I made a yummy Christmas bake. So now the house smells and looks as festive as I feel :D. The bake required mincemeat so I made homemade mincemeat, and lots of it! I've used half of it in my yummy recipe today - vegan Christmas mincemeat bars inspired by Mary Berry's mincemeat streusel. I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to make with the rest of the mincemeat! I used the same crumble recipe as in one of my very first recipes - vegan blackberry crumble bars and it turned out perfect. Can I say, homemade mincemeat is just so much better than the shop bought jars and it's so so simple - definitely worth it.

Makes 8-10 bars

Ingredients

For the mincemeat (this makes DOUBLE the mince necessary for this recipe. I used half (~500 g) for the bars and half for the next recipe which is coming soon)

450 g mixed dried fruit (or make your own with a mixture of raisins, currants, sultanas and dried cranberries)

50 g mixed peel

75 g dried apricots, chopped

50 g glace cherries, chopped

75 g candied mixed peel

1 large cooking apple, peeled and diced

50 g chopped nuts of choice (I used a mixture of wholenuts and walnuts)

100 g soft brown sugar

1 tsp grated lemon rind

1 tsp grated orange rind

1 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

100 g melted vegan margarine

4 tbsp vegan brandy, rum or sherry (I used Kingston black apple aperitif because that's all I had in the house)

For the crumble

2 cups oats
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed (I bought this from VB, too expensive in health food shops)

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients for the mincemeat together except the brandy in a large pan. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then stir in the brandy.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with grease proof paper.
3. In a large bowl mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, orange zest, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Pour in the coconut oil and mix to blend well. Reserve 3/4 cup of oat mixture for the topping.
4. Transfer the remaining oat mixture to the prepared baking dish, pressing firmly to the bottom to form an even layer.
5. Spoon the mincemeat in an even layer on top and then sprinkle with the remaining oat mixture.
6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in the dish on a wire rack for 30 to 40 minutes before cutting into bars. Christmas in a bar and perfect for tea time!

Original recipes: Mincemeat streusel and vegetarian mincemeat

Week 17 Dish 2: Vegan mulled wine chocolate cupcakes

I was inspired to make this recipe after a friend made a non-vegan version. I tried them yesterday and they were really delicious! Hope you enjoy them...

Makes 12
Ingredients
175 g plain flour
20 g cocoa powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
150 g soft brown sugar
1/2 tsp mixed spice
50 ml oil
175 ml mulled wine
Juice and zest of one orange
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 decrees C and line a muffin tray with cupcake liners (I used silicon cupcake cups).
2. Sift all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then all the rest of the ingredients and gently fold together until smooth.
3. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tray before removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Original recipe: Vegan mulled wine chocolate cupcakes
More Christmas themed recipes to come, hope you're excited! (Hint: pies and logs)

Week 17 Dish 1: Vegan mini gingerbread men

Christmas is almost here! This week I have had a few christmassy things going on, including netball Christmas dinner and Christmas bop (Christmas party at the union - we call them bops). They have really gotten me in the festive mood! That's why this week I decided to bake some Christmas themed treats :D. I made these gingerbread men for a secret santa gift for one of the girls on my netball team - she really loved them so I hope you all do too. I used a little cookie cutter but you can use whatever size/ shapes you like, and good fun for kids to cut as well as decorate so perfect for a family project!

I got 60 (!!) mini gingerbread men out of this recipe, but of course it depends on your cookie cutter size
Ingredients
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup treacle
1/4 cup soya milk
1 cup plain flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each ground nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Method

1. In a large bowl whisk together the oil and sugar. Add the treacle and soyamilk and blend well.
2. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add this to the wet ingredients and mix until a stiff dough is formed. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
3. If the dough is in the fridge for more than 1 hour, let sit for 10 minutes for 10 minutes to warm up first. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line two baking trays with grease proof paper.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out the shapes with your cookie cutters and place on the baking trays. Bake for 7-8 minutes (it took 7 minutes in my fan oven but may take a little longer in a conventional oven - they should be soft even after cooling). Cool for a couple of minutes on the tray then move to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Original recipe: Gingerbread cut out cookies

Week 16 Dish 2: Vegan spiced pear bread

SJT done!!!!!!!!!! It is such a relief! For those of you who don't know, it's the situational judgement test that all medical students have to take in their final year. It's not really an exam that can be revised for, it's more common sense questions. We get points out of 50 for the test, and this is added to the points out of 50 that we get for our degree/ educational achievements. We are then ranked alongside all other medical students who are applying for a junior doctor position base on our total points. And where in the UK we work as junior doctors depends on our rank - the people with the highest rank get their top choice etc. So basically, the exam I had yesterday decides the next two years of my life. Scary right? That's why I'm just glad that it's over - more time would not have given me a better score.

Anyway, on to the yummy stuff. Today was the first time since I begun this baking challenge that I really found it difficult to bake. I was out all day (went to an Anthony Horowitz event for his new Alex Rider book, followed by a Crisis at Christmas induction, and finally to see my 10-day-old baby nephew who is just too cute) and I just wanted to sit and do nothing. But, I did get my butt into the kitchen, and as usual ended with a yummy bake. Definitely worth it!! Another easy recipe that anyone can try :D

Makes one loaf
Ingredients
2 ripe medium-size pears
2 tbsp ground linseed
6 tbsp soya milk
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 heaped tsp cinnamon
1 heaped tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
Method

1. Chop the pears into 1/2 inch pieces. In a small bowl, mix the linseed and soya milk and let sit for five minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line an 8x4 inch loaf tin with grease proof paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the oil, vanilla, pear, sugar and linseed-milk mixture. The pears will get a bit smooshed but that's fine.
4. In another bowl mix the flour, spices, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. The mix will be very thick and seem a bit dry but when it starts baking all the pear juices will make the loaf nice and moist, so don't worry!
5. Spoon the batter into the loaf tin and bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Just like the pear muffins I made last week, the pear juices seep into the whole bread and make it moist, sweet and delicious. Let it cool a bit before slicing otherwise it will crumble, though not when completely cold - nothing like warm fresh bread!

Original recipe: Seasonal spiced pear bread

Week 16 Dish 1: Vegan baked mini apple donuts

Happy Hanukkah!! I have never really thought about Hannukah as I don't know anyone who observes it, but on my ENT placement last week one of the doctors was Jewish. So I thought, why not bake something to celebrate this festival? During Hannukah, there is a custom of eating food fried in oil to commemorate the miracle of a small bottle of oil keeping the flame in the temple alight for eight days. In the modern day, donuts have become of the foods that are eaten during Hannukah. I couldn't quite bring myself to make deep fried donuts so instead I ordered a mini donut tray and found a baked recipe. The original recipe was for large donuts but I adapted it slightly for mini donuts.

Just to warn you, I have an exam tomorrow (the SJT) that counts for 50% of the points in my application for a junior doctor position - so it's safe to say that that though these are baked and not fried, they are by no means healthy. Indulge with me! ;)

Makes 40 mini donuts
Ingredients
For the donuts
1 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup maple syrup/ agave/ honey
1/4 cup apple juice/ cider (this was apple cider in the original recipe but my mum isn't a big fan of alcohol in general so I substituted it with juice - but of course you can use either!)
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 tbsp canola/ rapeseed oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the apple cider glaze
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp apple juice/ cider
For the cinnamon sugar topping
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Brush a mini donut tray with oil (I have a 20-donut tray, so I did it in two batches).
2. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, apple juice/ cider, apple sauce, canola oil and vanilla extract. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and combine.
4. Spoon or pipe batter into the donut tray. Don't fill more than 3/4 full - this is quite tedious but persevere, it's worth it!
5. Bake for 6-8 minutes and allow to cool in the tray for a few minutes. Then, carefully remove from the tray and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
6. In the mean time make the glaze and sugar. In a shallow bowl whisk together the icing sugar and apple juice/ cider. In another bowl mix the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar topping.
7. Once the donuts are cool, dip them into the glaze and immediately sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Let the glaze harden and enjoy (or do what I did and eat 7. Talk about comfort eating)

Original recipe: Baked apple cider donuts

Very mini

Week 15 Dish 2: Vegan pear walnut muffins

I went to the Enchanted Woodland in Syon park earlier this evening. For those of you who haven't heard of it, Syon park is famous for having many different and rare trees, and every year for 3 weekends they open the park in the evening with all the trees illuminated in lights of different colours. It really looks spectacular!

(The photo really doesn't do the park justice)

Earlier in the day before my exciting evening I baked pear and walnut muffins. It's difficult to find exotic fruits now so I thought it would be best to make something with pears which are so readily available. This recipe doesn't have a huge amount of sugar and the batter (I licked the bowl at the end of course :p) was not overly sweet, but when I bit into the muffin the taste was so amazing! The pears had become really soft and tender and the sweetness really came through making the muffins divine, especially when hot and fresh from the oven. Oh so good!!

Makes 12

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup whole meal flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 cup finely chopped ripe but firm pears (about 2 medium pears)

1/3 cup walnuts pieces

3/4 cup soya milk

2 tbsp vegetable/ canola/ rapeseed oil

1 tbsp linseeds

4 tbsp water

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C and line a muffin tray with muffin cups.
2. Grin the linseed with water until smooth and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the pears and walnuts and toss gently to coat.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the soya milk, oil and linseed mixture, and pour this into the dry ingredients stirring until just combined.
5. Divide the batter equally amongst the muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack though I recommend you eat them while hot and fresh!

Original recipe: Pear walnut muffins

Week 15 Dish 1: Vegan carrot cake with cashew cream cheese frosting

Ahhh this week has been a bit boring... I'm on my ENT placement and it's really not an area I'm interested in. I've spent the week looking up noses, in ears and down throats - lovely. Thankfully it's only a week long so it's over. But of course, it hasn't put me off my baking!

This week my netball team had a team dinner, and though I couldn't make it (very sad) I contributed with vegan carrot cake! You really can't go wrong with carrot cake, everyone finds it yummy, so I though it would be perfect. I've been told that everyone loved it, and hopefully they weren't lying, so it's definitely one to try out! Other than the faff of grating the carrots, it's easy peasy...

Ingredients

For the cake

3 1/2 cups out flour (made by grinding oats in a food processor)

3 tbsp ground linseed

1 tsp heaped cinnamon

1 1/2 tbsp baking powder (though the cake doesn't really rise much)

2 1/2 cups soya milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp orange juice

1/2 tsp orange zest

1/4 cup melted vegan margarine

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

2 1/2 cups chopped grated carrots (use a food processor to further chop the grated carrots)

For the frosting

2 cups cashews, soaked 4 hours (use chopped cashews in warm water to make this faster)

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp liquid coconut oil

1/3-2/3 cup maple syrup/ honey/ golden syrup

Water as needed (use as little as possible)

Decorations as preferred - I used finely chopped walnuts and orange zest

Method 

1. Preheat over to 180 degrees C and line a 13x9 inch cake tray with grease proof paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oat flour, linseed, cinnamon and baking powder.
3. Fold I'm the soya milk, vanilla extract, orange juice and orange zest.
4. Melt the margarine and add the sugar to it. Melt it further if necessary to make a thick paste and add this to the bowl and combine.
5. Finally, fold in the carrots, nuts and raisins and pour the thick batter into the preparers cake tray. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
6. While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting. Blend all the ingredients in a blender until completely smooth, adding as little water as possible. You will have to keep stopping to give the ingredients a stir to encourage the blender.
7. Once the cake is completely cool, you can frost it using a palette knife and decorate as you like! 

Originals recipes: Vegan carrot cake, cashew cream cheese frosting

Week 14 Dish 2: Vegan cranberry walnut oat cookies

I finished my renal placement, it went so fast (probably because it was only a week long) but was pretty useful! I talked to a lot of patients with kidney transplants, on dialysis, and with lots of other signs. There was a patient with aortic regurgitation with a diastolic murmur and a collapsing pulse, which I have only seen once before. Definitely useful! Now I'm on to my ENT week, let's see how that goes....

To continue the sweet and sour theme (mostly so that I can finish the cranberries in the freezer) I decided to make cookies with cranberries as my second recipe this week. The original recipe said dried cranberries but the frozen ones work just as well, hope you enjoy them :D

Makes ~20 (depending on size)
Ingredients
2 cups oats
2 cups wholemeal flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup agave/ honey
3 tbsp golden syrup (optional, depends how sweet you want the cookies. I used 3 and next would probably use 1-2)
1 cup water
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped cranberries (fresh, frozen or dried unsweetened)
1/2 cup walnuts
Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line two baking trays with grease proof paper.
2. Mix together the oats, flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Then add the remaining ingredients other than the cranberries and walnuts.
3. Stir until almost combined, then add the cranberries and walnuts and finish mixing.
4. Scoop heaped tablespoons of the batter onto the baking trays. They do spread a bit so leave about 1.5 inch gap between them. I made 21 cookies but they were quite big so you can probably get about 30 if you want smaller ones.
5. Bake for 10 minutes (maybe less if they are smaller), allow to cool for a couple of minutes on the tray before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Sweet and sour goodness!

Original recipe: Vegan cranberry and walnut oatmeal cookies

Week 14 Dish 1: Vegan orange cranberry muffins

HALF WAY!!!!! That's right, as of the end of week 13, I am officially half way through my baking challenge and this is the first recipe of the second half! Frankly, I'm really proud of the fact that I've managed to keep it going for 13 weeks. I feel like I'm in my stride now, I can definitely do this. I've only got two more weeks of firms followed by 4 weeks of Christmas holiday, which will definitely make things easier.

So for the first recipe of the second half, I decided to bake something sweet and sour: vegan orange and cranberry muffins! We have had cranberries in our freezer for ages and my mum asked me to finish them so I thought this was the perfect recipe (though I didn't use them all - means I have to make them again, what a shame :p). Cranberries are always sour, but they just taste so good in these muffins. As usual, very quick and easy to bake so give them a go!

Ingredients
2 cups wholemeal flour
2/3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tbsp orange zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen), roughly chopped
1 cup pecans/ walnuts, roughly chopped
Method

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Line a muffin tray with muffin cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
3. Make a well in the centre and add orange juice, canola oil, orange zest and vanilla extract. Combine until half mixed, then add the cranberries and walnuts and finish mixing.
4. Fill the muffin cup 3/4 full and bake for 23-27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once cool enough to handle, transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. NOM NOM NOM!

Original recipe: Orange cranberry muffins

Week 13 Dish 2: Vegan pineapple cupcakes

Here's a second pineapple treat! :D

Makes 16-18
Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup soya milk
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup sugar
8 oz/ 125 g tin crushed pineapple, drained
Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line muffin trays with cupcake liners.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda,  and salt. 
3. In another bowl, mix the oil, milk, applesauce and vanilla. Stir in the sugar and pineapple until well combined.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, spoon into the cupcake lines and bake for 23-25 minutes.

Original recipe:Vegan pineapple cupcakes

Week 13 Dish 1: Vegan Pineapple coconut cookies

My GP attachment is officially over! I'm quite sad about it really, I have a brilliant time out in Somerset. All the doctors were juts so welcoming and I had so many of my own clinics. I learnt so much and felt like part of the team (cliche I know, but still true) because they got me so involved unlike many attachments when you're just put in the corner to observe. And of course the GPs I stayed with were so amazing! I already mentioned that they took me clay pigeon shooting, and during the rest of the trip they took me wine tasting, cider tasting and to pudding club! Pudding club was a very interesting experience, I tried so many and there was one in particular that I loved - apricot brioche tart. Unfortunately it's not vegan but I might still make it at some point when I feel like indulging. Safe to say I had lots of fun!

The doctors I stayed with had an amazing garden and grew many fruits, veg and herbs. It made me miss my tropical fruits so I treated myself to a pineapple tin this week after I saw this very scrumptious looking recipe. They came out quite different compared to the photos of the original recipe but yummy nonetheless! Again, these are one of my less healthy bakes, but it's good to treat yourself every now and then ;)

Makes 12
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegan margarine
225 g pineapple pieces, crushed (but not too much)
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (or nut of preference)
1 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
2. Cream the vegan margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the pineapple and beat until well mixed, followed by the baking powder and flour while mixing on low speed.
3. Stir in the chopped nuts and 3/4 cup of desiccated coconut.
4. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the rest of the coconut before placing on the baking tray about 2 inches apart. My batter was very wet, probably because I crushed the pineapple more than I should have so couldn't make balls. Instead I sprinkled a bit of coconut on the tray, put a dollop of batter on top of it and sprinkled more coconut on top. A bit tricky and messy but worked out in the end!
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Cool for 5 minutes on the tray then remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Original recipe: Vegan paradise cookies

Week 12 Dish 2: Vegan banana walnut muffins

As I mentioned before, I started experimenting with vegan dishes because my dad recently decided to become vegan. He actually make this choice early this year, but I was so busy with 5th year and looming exams (nightmare!) I never really baked anything vegan until July after my exams were finally over. What really inspired me to begin were 3 extremely overripe bananas; usually used to make banana bread but the recipe was not vegan. So I thought, it can't be that hard to find a vegan recipe can it? And it wasn't hard at all! I found so many, chose the simplest one with ingredients that most people would have, and voila! Vegan banana bread! Soon this became a standard treat I would bake if the bananas became too mushy (and thanks to the gorgeous summer we've had, this has been pretty common). I've since experimented with bars and cookies, but nothing beats a moist muffin! So here is the recipe, which can be made as a bread, muffins or cake.

Makes 12 muffins/ one bread loaf/ one 8 inch cake
Ingredients
225 g plain flour
3 heaped tsp baking powder
100 g brown sugar (I've been reducing this to 75 g)
3 tsp ground cinnamon or mixed spice or a combination of the two (I've been using 5 tsp and would recommend it to anyone who loves cinnamon)
3 large mushy bananas, mashed
75 g vegetable or sunflower oil (weight)
50 g walnuts (or other nuts or dried fruits)
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and get the muffin cases ready.
2. Add the mashed bananas, sugar and oil to a large mixing bowl and mix well.
3. Add the sieved flour, baking powder and cinnamon/ mixed spice and mix until combined.
4. Stir in the nuts/ dried fruit and spoon into the muffin cases.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
6. To make as a bread, bake in a greased and lined loaf tin at 180°C for 20 minutes, then check. If the loaf is browning, cover with foil and bake for another 40 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Remove from the tin after cooling for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
7. To make as a cake, bake in a greased 8 inch cake tin at 180°C for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the to and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Original recipe: Vegan banana bread
Like I said, a very simple recipe with scrumptious results! Because vegan muffins are usually made with oil, they are often more moist and soft than their non-vegan counterparts - try them and see for yourself!!

Week 12 Dish 1: Vegan red velvet cake with cashew cream cheese frosting

It was my sister's birthday yesterday!! Happy belated birthday Sis!! Unfortunately I'm away in Somerset at the moment, but I did go home last weekend so we celebrated her birthday on Sunday. I baked a cake (of course) and we went out for a yummy meal (cake first, then the meal - this is the way it should always be :p). The cake I baked for her was a vegan red velvet. The original recipe was for a two-tier cake but I knew that it would be too much for my family to finish especially with all the Diwali sweets I made, so I only made half the recipe, and as you can see below I made it in a skull cake tin - so cool!! I also left out the food colouring because I didn't have the right type, and didn't put on any frosting because it would just be too sweet for us. But the recipe below is for a two-tier cake with frosting. Enjoy!!

Ingredients
For the cake
440 g plain flour
300 g sugar
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
4 tsp cocoa powder
470 ml soya milk
155 ml vegetable oil
3 tbsp red food colouring - this should be a non-natural type for the colour to stay red. Apparently beetroot juice works too but I haven't tried it!
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the cashew frosting
2 cups cashews, soaked for 4 hours
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp liquid coconut oil
1/3-2/3 cup maple syrup/ honey/ golden syrup
Water as needed
Decorations as preferred e.g. nuts, raisins, chocolate etc
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees C. Line two 8 inch cake tins with grease proof paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cocoa powder. Create a well in the centre and add the milk, oil, food colouring, vinegar and vanilla. Mix until combined.
3. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two cake tins and place in the oven spaced evenly apart. Bake for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the cakes pull away from the sides of the pan.
4. Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the frosting. Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add as little water as possible. Set aside.
6. Once the cakes are cool, you can frost them. Place one cake upside down (slice off the rounded bit of the cake if it doesn't stand straight). Using a palette knife, spread some of the frosting, about 1/4-1/3, over the top of the cake. Carefully set the other cake on top, again upside down and with some of the rounded bit sliced off to help it sit straight if necessary. Cover the cake with the remaining frosting and decorate however you like!!

Original recipes: Red velvet cake, cashew cream cheese frosting

Vegan almond barfi

And here is the final recipe! It's really a halwa recipe, but you can set it and cut it into diamonds like I did, or serve it warm as halwa!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups almonds soaked overnight
2 cups water
2 pinches of saffron
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
Method

1. Line a 9x9 inch baking tray with grease proof paper.
2. Blend the soaked almonds with some of the 2 cups of water - use as less as possible to start of with to make the almond paste as smooth as possible. Add the remaining water.
3. Pour the paste into a pan and cook until the mixture thickens and dries. Add the sugar and mix well. then the oil. Continue cooking until the mixture becomes lumpy and thick.
4. Lastly add saffron and cardamom and mix in. Pour into the prepared tray and let cool for 30 minutes before refrigerating to cool completely. Cut into diamonds. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.

Original recipe: Almond halwa

This is the last of the 3 Indian sweet recipes - I hope you like them!

Vegan date fig barfi

My second vegan Indian sweet recipe is a sugarless vegan date fig barfi - delicious and not overly sweet like most Indian sweets are! Definitely an easy one to make, so go for it :D

Makes 12-16 squares (depending on how big you cut them)
Ingredients
1 cup dates
1 cup dried figs
1 cup water
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup cashews
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
Method

1. Soak the dates and figs in hot water for an hour. Line an 8x4 inch (or similar size) deep tray with grease proof paper.
2. Coarsely grind the dry almonds and cashew and keep aside.
3. Blend the dates and figs using some of the water used for soaking until coarsely chopped (the less water you use the easier the next step will be). 
4. In a pan, heat the oil at a low heat and add the date fig mixture. Cook at low heat stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Add in the almonds, cashews and cardamom powder and keep cooking until the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan. 
5. Spread the mixture into the pan. Let cool and refrigerate for an hour before slicing. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week!

Original recipe: Date fig barfi

Vegan kesar barfi

Happy Diwali and Happy New Year! It has been a very busy weekend for me. Saturday night was my final year dinner, and it was a really good night - and a bit emotional too! I can't believe I'm almost at the end of my 6 years at medical school. So many good memories :) Other than that, I also celebrated my sister's birthday yesterday because I'm away in Somerset during the week on her actual birthday. Which of course means I baked a cake for her (recipe coming soon). And as if that wasn't enough, I ambitiously decided to make 3 different indian sweets for Diwali! I don't make things easy for myself do I? So here is the first of the three sweets - vegan kesar (saffron) barfi!

Date fig barfi (left), almond halwa (middle), kesar barfi (right)
Makes 12-16 squares (depending how big you cut them)

Ingredients

3/4 cup almonds soaked overnight
1/2 cup fine semolina flour

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Pinch of cardamom powder

1/2-1 tsp saffron strands (to taste)

Pinch of salt

Method

1. Line a small dish with grease proof paper (I used a small pie dish).
2. Soak the almonds overnight. Peel and pulse into coarse crumbs (peel them by soaking in boiling water for 2 minutes, then press them and the almonds should pop out of their skin).
3. In a pan, dry roast the semolina on low-medium heat for 6-8 minute or until it's starts changing colour and in fragrant. Add the ground almonds and oil and mix well to form crumbs.
4. In another pan, mix the sugar, water, cardamom powder, saffron strands and salt. Bring to the boil on a low-medium heat until 1 string consistency is achieved (a few minutes). Add it to the semolina mixture and mix well until combined while on the heat.
5. Take off heat after a few seconds and pour into the prepared tray. Even it out and cut into squares before it hardens. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before breaking into pieces. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.

Original recipe: Kesar barfi

2 more recipes to come!

Week 11 Dish 2: Vegan pumpkin muffins (ghosts and pumpkins)

Happy Halloween!!!! Yes, I know I'm a day late but I just completely forgot yesterday.... I blame the excitement of going clay pigeon shooting!!! That's right, the GP took me clay pigeon shooting - it was so much fun (even though I was pretty rubbish haha). I definitely want to go again - who wants to take me next time? :p

The recipe for today is pumpkin muffins! 'More pumpkin?! Why!?' I hear you say....trust me, these are too good not to make (and I still have enough pumpkin left for one more recipe - I know you're excited :p). I made them for the GPs that I'm staying with on Tuesday and thought I would post them on Halloween (I'm sure you can understand why from the picture below) but it's a bit late now, oh well! I hope you appreciate the ghosts and pumpkin shapes, I bought the silicone moulds from aldi (cheap but fantastic).

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp mixed spice
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup soya milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
2 tbsp treacle
Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C and prepare a muffin tray with muffin cups.
2. Mix the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, soya milk, oil and treacle. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well combined.
4. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Original recipe: The best pumpkin muffins

This weekend is Diwali, so I hope to make some vegan Indian sweets - I'm quite excited!

Week 11 Dish 1: Vegan pumpkin pie

My surgery attachment is finally over! Not that I didn't enjoy it, on the contrary I feel like I learned a lot. Though watching surgeries got a bit boring, the medicine was very interesting! I think gastro medicine is definitely something to keep in mind (I was doing lower GI surgery). I've now moved onto my GP attachment which is in Somerset! A bit of an adventure for me since I've never experienced medicine out of London. I'm really enjoying it so far and hopefully will learn a lot too. 

Unfortunately this is making it quite difficult to do my baking but I baked a bit before I left home and I'm going to try and do a few bakes over this coming weekend since I'm back in London...for my final year dinner!!!! So so excited and really can't wait :D

The first bake for this week (which I did on Sunday and just haven't had time to put up) is a delicious spiced pumpkin pie! Really easy (like most of my recipes) and a huge hit with my family! 

Ingredients

For the crust

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 tbsp soya milk

For the filling

3 cups pumpkin puree

1/2 cup maple syrup/ honey

1/2 cup soya milk

4 tsp canola oil

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp corn flour

1 tsp agar powder (aka faluda powder, which you can buy from VB or other Indian food shop. This really is essential otherwise it won't set)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 9 inch pie dish with vegan margarine.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients for the crust in a bowl.
3. Add the soya milk and oil, and combine with a fork until dough-like (but quite crumbly).
4. Press into the pie dish until the base and sides are evenly covered (it's too crumbly to roll out).
5. For the filling, use a blender to pulse together all the ingredients.
6. Pour into the pie crust and bake for 60-65 minutes until the centre looks semi-firm not liquidy.
7. Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes, then chill for at least 4 hours before slicing and serving - simply divine!! Keep refrigerated until eaten (though I doubt it will last long...)

Original recipe: Voluptuous Pumpkin Pie

Week 10 Dish 2: Vegan baked pumpkin cheesecake

I'm continuing with the pumpkin theme with a baked pumpkin cheesecake (my huge pumpkin yielded 15 or more cups of pumpkin pure)! This is my first baked vegan cheesecake, made with tofu. Sounds a bit weird right, tofu in cheesecake? That can't be nice...can it? Wrong wrong! It's pretty amazing how yummy it is! If you really think about it, tofu hasn't really got much taste, so it's perfect to make the cake nice and firm, and easily flavoured. So don't knock it till you've tried it...I'm taking it to my friend's for dinner so I hope everyone loves it, fingers crossed (I'm not really worried :p).

Ingredients
For the crust
1 1/4 cups finely ground digestive biscuits (I used Asda's own brand, which seem to be vegan from the ingredient list)
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp metled coconut oil
1 tbsp soya milk
For the filling
1/2 cup whole cashews soaked in water for ~4-5 hours (overnight would be good too but if you've forgotten, roughly chop them and then soak for 2-3 hours to make it easier)
1/4 cup mashed banana (about half a banana)
340-400g pack firm silken tofu, drained
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
3 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
For the topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp vegan margarine
1 cup pecans. roughly chopped
Method
The crust

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 9 inch springform cake tin with vegan margarine.
2. In a bowl mix together the ground biscuits and sugar, then add the coconut oil. Combine with a spoon then add the soya milk and continue to stir until completely mix (should be crumbly but sticky).
3. Pour crumbs into the tin and press firmly into the bottom to form an even base. Bake for 10 minutes until firm and allow to cool. Keep oven at same temperature for the cheesecake.

The Filling

1. Drain the cashews and place in a blender with the banana, tofu, sugar, coconut oil, cornflour, lemon juice, vanilla, orange zest, and salt. Blend until completely smooth.
2. Set aside 1/2 cup of batter. Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to the remaining batter and blend again until smooth. Poor into the cake tin on top of the crust. 
3. Spoon dollops of the reserved batter randomly onto the cheesecake, then poke the end of a chopstick into the dollops and gently swirl to create a marble pattern.
4. Bake the cheesecake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven halfway and sprinkle on the topping (instructions below) before returning to the oven to continue baking. It is done when the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden. Allow to cool for 20 minutes, removing the sides of the tin as soon as you can. Transfer to the fridge to complete cooling for at least 3 hours (overnight is better). Slice with a thin sharp knife dipped in cold water to serve! Doesn't it look amazing?? Tastes even better...

The topping

1. In a bowl mix together the margarine and sugar until well combined, then add the chopped nuts and stir to coat with the mixture. This is now ready to use.

Original recipe: Pumpkin cheesecake with pecan crunch topping

I have to say, all the pumpkin recipes (including the bread) are from Post Punk Kitchen - all their recipes just look so amazing! Definitely check out their site if you get the chance!

Week 10 Dish 1: Vegan pumpkin bread

Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! I've made it to week 10, double figures! And guess what is coming up soon? Halloween!!! And so I decided to buy a pumpkin and use it in my bakes. I first made it into pumpkin puree (I will put up instructions soon). It was definitely...educational - but a whole lot of effort. It's worth it if you have the time, but I would definitely buy tinned puree next time. I now have about 10 cups worth of pumpkin puree (it was a MASSIVE pumpkin) in my fridge and freezer ready to be used and I'm really looking to baking a few pumpkin recipes!

For my first recipe I decided to go for pumpkin bread. And oh my god it turned out so well! Moist and delicious, and as long as you've got pumpkin puree on hand it also very very easy. Please do give it a go!

Makes 2 loaves
Ingredients
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 1/2 cups plain flour (can substitute with some/ all whole wheat flour)
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil (can replace with some unsweetened apple sauce)
2/3 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup desiccated coconut
Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line two 8x4 inch loaf tins with grease proof paper.
2. Spread walnuts in a single layer on an ungreased baking tray and toast in the over for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly browned. Leave aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix in the pumpkin puree, oil and coconut milk until combined. Fold in the nuts and desiccated coconut.
4. Divide the batter between the two tins and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes - until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
5. Remove from the oven, cover tightly with foil and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Remove foil and turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Tent loosely with foil and allow to cool completely. (All this foil business keeps the bread so moist, trust me it's worth it!)

Original recipe: Super moist pumpkin bread

Vegan strawberry banana milkshake/ smoothie

As promised, here is the strawberry banana smoothie recipe. I decided not to make it with oats this time because I wanted something that wasn't so filling (but feel free to add them if you would like for a yummy filling breakfast smoothies). It's a very flexible recipe, you can add whatever fruit you want. I would recommend having at least one banana because it gives the smoothie a nice creamy taste. You can also change the amount of milk to make it as thick as you want - enjoy!

Serves 4
Ingredients
1 large ripe banana
3-4 cups strawberries
3 cups soya milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp maple syrup/ agave nectar/ honey
Method

1. I don't think this needs explaining really but here goes...Put everything in the blender and pulse until smooth. Drink!! 

Week 9 Dish 2: Vegan strawberry banana coconut cookies

Seems like it's a cookie week for me! Cookies are just so easy to make and perfect to snack on. I still had 3 more very ripe bananas to use (I don't like wasting good food) and managed to buy some more strawberries, which were also starting to go bad. So I found a recipe which used both. I still had more bananas and strawberries than the recipe needed so I decided to make a strawberry banana milkshake too (recipe coming soon). Safe to say my family loved both the recipes, I mean, you can't go wrong with strawberries can you?!

Makes 18-24 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups oats (make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free oats!)

1/4 cup oat flour (or process some oats into a fine powder)

1 cup desiccated coconute/ coconut flates

2 tbsp ground flaxseeds/ linseeds

1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped

1/4 tsp salt

2 medium bananas, mashed

2 tbsp maple syrup/ agave nectar/ honey

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup roughly chopped strawberries

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking trays with grease proof paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, oat flour, desiccated coconut, flaxseeds/linseeds, almonds and salt.
3. Stir in the bananas, maple syrup, coconut oil, strawberries and vanilla until well combined.
4. Form 2 1/2 inch balls with your hands, place onto the trays and flatten gently. You don't need to leave a lot of space between then, they don't spread at all.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Original recipe: Strawberry coconut breakfast cookies

Vegan, gluten free, no-bake pecan pie bars

It's my team's first netball match today, wish us luck! One of my teammates cannot eat gluten so I decided it's time for a gluten free recipe. Like my raw cheesecake, this is another no-bake yummy recipe which has absolutely no gluten! I hope my teammates like it, they are going to try it later today.

Makes 16 squares/ small slices

Ingredients
For the crust
1 cup dates, pitted and soaked in water for 5 minutes if dry
1 cup pecans (I used walnuts)
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
For the filling
1 cup dates, pitted and soaked in water for 5 minutes if dry
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup water, or more as needed for blending
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup additional pecans peices (or whole pecans if you prefer) for topping
Method

1. Line an 8x8 baking dish (I used a pie dish) with grease proof paper for easy removal of the bars.
2. In a food processor combine the crust ingredients and blend until a sticky dough is formed. Press into the lined baking dish until even. Place in the freezer to set.
3. Combine the filling ingredients (except the extra pecans for topping) in a blender until smooth - you will need to keep stopping and scraping down the sides to allow everything to blend smoothly.
4. Remove the crust from the freezer and spoon on the filling using a spatula to smooth the top. Sprinkle the extra pecans on top and press into the filling slightly. Return to the freezer and set for at least 6 hours before cutting and serving. Store in the freezer too!

Original recipe: No-bake pecan pie bars

Week 9 Dish 1: Vegan banana nut cookies

Ahh my days are getting busier and busier. Netball season has started again and with 2 matches and one training session a week, free time is getting harder and harder to come by! But baking is pretty high on my priority list (can't give up all the yummy goodies) so I hope I can keep up with my two recipes per week.... I'm quite excited about some future bakes I have planned for Halloween and Diwali, which are both coming up. I managed to buy some very fun muffin and cake moulds, hope you're all excited too!

This week I once again had overripe bananas that needed to be used. I thought about making the bars from week 7 again because they we so quick and easy and yummy to boot, but then I found this recipe. It's pretty much the same as the bars but since it's cookies I think it's fair to use it as a whole new recipe (bit of a cheat I guess, cheeky me :p). As with the bars, this recipe contains absolutely NO ADDED SUGAR - it is sweetened with mushy bananas, making it as healthy as it is yummy :D.

Makes 24
Ingredients
2 cups oats (make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free oats!)
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 large ones)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and stir well.
2. Mix the banana, oil and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and add to the dry mixture. Combine well and let stand for 15 minutes. 
3. While you wait, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line two baking trays with grease proof paper.
4. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough on to the baking trays and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Original recipe: Banana-nut cookies

These are just so yummy, they will be gone before you know it! In my opinion this is definitely a recipe you don't want to miss - let me know if you agree when you've tried them :D

Week 8 Dish 2: Vegan piña colada cupcakes

For my friends birthday, I decided I finally need to take the plunge and do some decorating! As you can see from my previous posts, I'm not really one for icing and frosting etc. I prefer something yummy, healthy and quick. Though decorations are definitely yummy, they are not healthy and definitely not quick to do. But if there's anything that makes it worth the time, it's a close friends birthday! So here is the recipe for my first alcoholic bake, piña colada cupcakes!

Makes 14-16

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

2 cups plain flour, sifted

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup coconut milk

5 tbsp coconut rum

1 tsp coconut extract

For the icing

1 cup vegan margarine

2 cups sifted icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 tsp coconut extract

2 tbsp coconut rum

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Glacé/ maraschino cherries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a muffin tray with cupcake liners. 
2. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and leave to one side. 
3. In blender, blend together all the pineapple and other wet ingredients until completely smooth. 
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Spoon into the cupcake liners and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
5. For the icing, beat all the ingredients except the desiccated coconut and cherries together until smooth and fluffy and pipe onto the cupcakes when they are completely cool. Sprinkle with the desiccated coconut and top with a cherry to decorate. If you have umbrellas, you can use them, or even a pineapple piece! 

Original recipe: Pina colada cupcakes
They look so pretty, don't you think? I'm not the best at piping, but I guess only practice can help with that. Maybe I'll do a few more decorated bakes in the future....

Week 8 Dish 1: Vegan plum cake

I love fruits - which I'm sure you've all noticed with all my fruity bakes. But I really do love fruits, so I've been working my way through as many as I can. This week I've baked with a new fruit - plums! I bought them from Aldi - it was one of their Super 6 last week. I actually bakes this on Tuesday after Bake Off but I've been so busy that I just haven't had a chance to post it up - sorry for making you all wait. I also managed to find cheap strawberries again from another fruit shop but decided that I want to eat them this time rather than make a baked good. So here is the recipe for the very simple, not too sweet plum cake!

Ingredients
1 tsp dry yeast
1 tbsp warm water
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
3/4 cup sugar (this amount just gives a slight sweetness, double if you want a sweet cake)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon (this gives a very strong flavour so reduce to 1 tsp if you prefer)
1 1/4 cups soya milk
5 tbsp melted coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
8 plums, sliced or quartered
1 tsp grated orange zest
Method

1. Dissolve yeast in the tablespoon of warm water and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease and flour a 9-inch cake dish.
2. In a large bowel, mix the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Stir in the milk, coconut oil, vanilla extract, yeast mix and orange zest and fold in until combined. The batter should be fairly stiff.
4. Spoon into the cake dish and arrange plums atop batter, pushing them in slightly.
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown on top, or until tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack. Serve while still warm or when cool.

Original recipe: Vegan plum cake

I'm making my next dish tomorrow morning, and let me tell you it's going to be amazing!! It's a treat for my friends who are doing their joint birthday celebration tomorrow, can't wait to see what they think of it!!! :D

Vegan crispy courgette crostini

I think it's about time for another non-baked, savoury dish to break up all the sugary dishes! This simple dish is perfect for a quick snack, especially if you're entertaining and want to try something new!

Serves 6
Ingredients
1 courgette (~200 g), grated
1 tsp salt
1/2 apple, peeled and grated
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
2 spring onions, finely chopped
6 slices of vegan french bread
1 garlic clove, crushed
pepper
Method

1. Coarsely grate the courgette and spread over a clean, dry tea towel. Sprinkle with the salt and set aside for 5 minutes. Wrap the tea towel around the courgette and squeeze to remove as much juice as possible.
2. Transfer the courgette to a mixing bowl and stir in the apple, mint, spring onions and garlic
3. Toast the bread lightly on both sides and top with the courgette mixture. Grind pepper over them before serving.

I never really would have thought that apple and courgette go well together but it tasted surprisingly good! Definitely one I will try again.

Week 7 Dish 2: Vegan fresh strawberry crumble bars

It's the end of another week and what an eventful week it was! Highlight was definitely Malaysia night 2013 which was yesterday (4th October) in Trafalgar square. Brilliant atmosphere, some good entertainment, and most importantly yummy Malaysian food! I never knew that this was a yearly event, but now I do I will definitely be on the lookout for more events like it!

I've cut it close again this week, just finished my second recipe of the week today. This time it was because I bought a pineapple (yum) and wanted to make something from it but it still hasn't ripened! So I will have to use it next week. Instead, I came across some cheap strawberries (double yum) - 3 punnets for £2, bargain - and of course I made something scrummy from it. It was a big hit with my family, my dad even had 2 helpings! Win! Definitely give it a go....

Makes 10 bars
Ingredients
For the crust
6 tbsp soya margarine, chilled
1 cup plain flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
For the filling
3 1/2 cups chopped strawberries (about 500-550 g)
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
For the topping
1/3 cup plain flour
2/3 cup oats
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup light brown sugar
6 tbsp soya margarine, chilled
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line an 8x8 baking dish with grease proof paper.
2. Using your fingertips, combine the crust ingredients until like bread crumbs. Press into the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes until slightly browned. Remove and set aside.
3. Combine the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl. Add the flour and mix until well blended. Set aside.
4. For the topping, once again use your fingertips to combine the ingredients until like oaty bread crumbs.
5. Spoon the stawberry mixture over the crust, top with the crumbly topping and sprinkle with the ground almonds.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. To be completely sure, refregerate for 30 minutes too. Tastes really yummy while still warm but its very gooey :D - so up to you!

Original recipe: Fresh strawberry crumble bars

Week 7 Dish 1: Vegan banana oat bars

Happy world vegetarian day! I didn't actually know that such a day existed until a friend of mine pointed it out to me today. It is on October 1st every year, was established in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society and is followed by Vegetarian Awareness Month. This ends on November 1st with World Vegan Day. Yep, you learn something new every day!

This week I started my surgery placement, which as I said before is not something I'm very interested in. But, it hasn't been too bad so far, and the consultant really makes it worthwhile by teaching us a lot. So I'm pretty happy! We also had a charity cake sale in the hospital today, and I thought I need to bake something myself! So, here is my (probably) most healthy baked recipe to date, with absolutely no sugar and only a tiny bit of oil in it - vegan banana bars. Did I mention it's also a ridiculously quick and easy to make?

Makes 12 squares
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas - about 3 large bananas (I only had 1 1/4 cups worth of bananas so I topped it up with unsweetened apple sauce. This makes it a bit less sweet so you can add a bit of honey/ agave nectar/ maple syrup to taste)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed/ linseed
1/4 cup canola oil/ rapeseed oil (you can even substitute this with water like in the original recipe to make it even healthier, just will be a little less moist)
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground mixed spice
3 cups oats (make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free oats!)
1/2 cup walnuts (or any other nuts)
1/2 cup raisins
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a 9x9 inch baking dish with grease proof paper.
2. Combine the mashed banana, ground flaxseed/ linseed, water, oil, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice in a big bowl and stir well.
3. Add the oats, walnuts and raisins and combine well. Spoon into the baking dish and press well. 
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into squares, place upside down on another tray (lined with grease proof paper) and bake for a further 15 minutes. Turn over and bake finally for 5 minutes.
5. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Original recipe: Banana walnut oat bars

Vegan, gluten free cashew cheesecake (no-bake!)

I have been meaning to try this recipe for a while. I absolutely love cheesecake and it's always my dessert of choice when I'm out for a meal. So I was a bit apprehensive about how this would turn out, and boy was I shocked at how good it tastes!! Simply delicious! And my whole family loved it too! I am definitely going to experiment with flavours in the future, so watch this space. In the meantime, I urge you to try this recipe, it's really worth it. Just bear in mind it does need at least 4 hours of cashew nut soaking beforehand and about 2 hours after for it to set.

Ingredients
For the crust
1/2 cup walnuts (or pecan, or almond, or other nut of preference) - no soaking required
1/2 cup soft pitted dated, soaked for 5 minutes
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
pinch of salt
For the filling
2 1/4 cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight, then drained)
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (this is what helps hold it together so don't substitute it for anything else)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Prepare the crust first. In a food processor, chop the dates, nuts, desiccated coconut and salt. Process until it holds together when you press it between 2 of your fingers. I didn't soak the dates beforehand so I needed to add a little bit of water. Set aside.
2. Add the cashews, agave nectar/ honey, coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla into a blender and blend well. Make sure it's completely smooth - blend more to be on the safe side.
3. Press the crust into the bottom of an 8 inch spring form cake tin. Pour the filling on top and freeze for at least 2 hours. To serve, let it thaw for about 30 minutes and cut into slices - I did 12 because it is quite heavy and filling, but do 8 if you prefer bigger ones :)

Original recipe: Raw cashew cheesecake
Store any leftovers in the fridge if it's not eaten straight away.

Week 6 Dish 2: Vegan tear-and-share apple scones

Had such a good day today, started off with a bit of a lie in, went for a run in the morning and then watched the new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Elementary! I followed this with some cardio and gastro revision, and ended the day with some baking of course. Relaxing, fun and productive - what more can you ask for! This time I baked scones with a twist - tear-and-share. They are apple ones thanks to yet another bag full of cooking apples that my mum got as a gift. I added more apple than the original recipe asked for so I was a bit worried that they would turn out a bit soggy but they haven't. They are crunchy on the outside with a moist, soft inside and not too sweet which is perfect. Here's the recipe.

Makes 12
Ingredients
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp demerera sugar (or brown sugar)
2 cups wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon (I double this from the original recipe but if you're a big cinnamon fan it could probably do with 3!)
1/3 cup softened coconut oil (from VB)
2 cups apples, peeled and shredded with a bit of the juice squeezed out and discarded to prevent soggy-ness
1/2 cup soya milk
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C and line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and cinnamon until well combined. Add the coconut oil and use your finger tips to combine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in the apple and milk. It should be a little crumbly but fairly easy to handle (not very sticky). If too sticky add a little flour and if too dry add a little milk. Form into two balls.
4. Gently flatten the two balls of dough into disks on the baking trays until roughly 1-1.5 inches thick. Sprinkle them with the demerera sugar.
5. Cut or score the disks into 6 triangles (they look like little pizzas as you can see from the photo above) and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the scones are nicely golden brown. Keep the scones touching as they bake for a pull-apart effect and moist centre. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the tray then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Original recipe: Apple cinnamon vegan scones

Week 6 Dish 1: Vegan carrot raisin walnut muffins

It's my last week at my current placement. I'm quite sad because it's so close and convenient, and I feel like I've gotten to know the team so well! But I must move on...to surgery, with early mornings and a longer commute. Ah well!

This week I've started with more muffins! I love my muffins, fairly healthy, easy to take to work and quite filling too. I've been wanting to make these for a while but I keep buying exotic summery fruits that I have to use before they go rotten! Now that there's nothing exotic left (or not for a reasonable price anyway - I'm a student after all) I thought it's the perfect time for carrots to make an appearance. Again, an easy recipe with yummy results!

Makes 12
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup soya milk
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a muffin tin.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. Make a well in the centre and add the milk, applesauce and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
4. Add the carrots, raisins and nuts, and fold until uniform.
5. Put the batter equally in the 12 muffin cups and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Again these are really moist so store in the fridge after a couple of days if they haven't been eaten :D