Week 26 Dish 1: Valentine's vegan chocolate chip cookie pie

2nd last official recipe!

For my first official recipe of the week, and a potential Valentine's day treat, I have found a yummy and fairly healthy chocolate-chip cookie pie! Aren't you just drooling after reading that? I was really looking forward to baking this and I am so glad I did. You won't believe what it's made of - beans. Yes, beans. You may be skeptical but let me assure you it's worth the risk. If you bake it for your significant other, or friends and family that you love, I promise they will love you more for it - don't knock it till you've tried it!

Makes 8-12 slices
Ingredients
1 cup oats
4 tbsp sweetener granules or sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
500 g white beans - I used drained tinned cannellini
300 g pitted dates
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup soya milk
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 10 inch springform cake tin (or two 8 inch ones).
2. Combine the oats, sweetener, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. In another bowl mash the beans and add the dates, applesauce, milk, oil and vanilla extract.
3. Spoon about 1/3 of the contents of each bowl into a food processor and blend until smooth, and scoop into a large bowl. Repeat the process twice more.
4. Stir the chocolate chips into the blended mixture and pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 35-40 minutes, then cool at least 15 minutes before removing. Store in the fridge. In my opinion it tastes best cold with the crunchy chocolate bits, YUM!

Original recipe: Chocolate-chip cookie pie

Vegan mocha muffins

Let my final baking challenge week begin! As promised, I am set to give you seven delicious recipes, one per day! For my first recipe I have chosen mocha muffins. I'm not the biggest fan of coffee but a close friend of mine from uni loves coffee and so I baked these for her.

Makes 12 small muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4-6 tsp instant coffee, depending on your taste. I followed the original recipe and only used 2 tsp, and I couldn't taste it at all
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup soya milk
1/2 cup oil
2 tbsp soya yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional, I didn't use any)
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C and prepare 12 silicon cups. If you use larger muffin cups you will probably get about 10 muffins.
2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, instant coffee, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl whisk together the soya milk, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Pour this into the dry and combine until almost mixed, then fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Fill the muffin cups almost to the top and bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Original recipe: Mocha chip muffins

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 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)

Vegan chocolate

I've wanted to try this recipe for a while, even bought the ingredients for it but only just got round to it. Now that I've done it, I don't know why I waited so long! It literally took 10 minutes to prepare, and then the solidifying time. So so easy (which is why I'm not counting it as one of my 2-a-week), and not to mention delicious. It's the type of chocolate that literally melts in your mouth, a bit like the centre of a truffle (the best bit in my opinion!). I never want to buy chocolate again - this is just too good.

(I used my new rose moulds - so cool right?)

Ingredients
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (cheapest from VB but you can also get it from health food shops for an extortionate price)
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp agave nectar (from health food shops)/ coconut nectar/ maple syrup/ honey if you're not vegan)
1/4 tsp stevia sweetener (I bought asdas own brand sweetener which is stevia, but I'm sure you can use truvia too!)
Method

1. Melt the coconut over a low heat and remove from the heat as soon as it's melted.
2. Sift in the cocoa powder and whisk until well combined.
3. Add the sweeteners and mix well.
4. Pour into moulds/ tray (and cut into pieces when solid)/ pour over dessert or fruit/ anything else you can think of. I will definitely be experimenting with it!

Original recipe: Homemade, raw, vegan chocolate

Like I said, this chocolate melts very easily so it needs to live in the fridge. SO SO GOOD!!!

(NOT VEGAN) Skull and crossbones baileys and hotchocolate jelly

As promised, here is my 5th dish! Like dish 4, this one is also NOT VEGAN. But as you will see, its a very flexible and adaptable recipe. In fact, it's not really much of a recipe at all, its more of an idea. When I first thought up this blog (only a week ago!) I got very excited and bought a few silicone tray moulds to experiment with. Being a medical student, I actually tried to find ones shaped like organs (LOL) but unfortunately could find any - so I got the next best thing, and it arrived a couple of days ago!!

Skull and crossbones!!
Ingredients
Baileys Irish cream
Hot chocolate
Agar-agar powder (1 g per 100 ml, from VB, really expensive in health food shops)
A funky silicone mould tray
A set of standard silicone muffin cups (or shapes of your choosing, as long as the funky ones fit into these)
(I haven't put any amounts because it depends on your moulds - you can measure how much water goes into them first so that you know how much you will need)
Method

1. Heat the Baileys in a pan. Add in 1 g of agar-agar powder per 100 ml (though I used 2 g per 100 ml of Baileys to make it set firmer and therefore easier to take out of such a tricky mould) and whisk until all the powder has dissolved. Pour into the mould and set in the freezer for 30-40 minutes or until well set.
2. Heat the hot chocolate in a saucepan with 1 g of agar-agar powder per 100 ml and whisk until all the powder has dissolved. Allow to cool until it begins to thicken.
3. Carefully remove the baileys from the mould (tip: pull the tray away from the edges of the jelly before you try to pop it out to reduce mishaps), put face down into the muffin cups and pour the hot chocolate into the gaps. Allow to set in the fridge and enjoy!!

You can easily substitute the Baileys and hot chocolate for two other drinks that go well together, and if you don't have a funky silicone tray, why not just do two layers in the silicone muffin cups instead? And if even that is too much faff for you, just mix the hot chocolate and baileys together!