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 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 4 Dish 2: Vegan Pineapple Pie

You know what I've learned so far from all this baking? The best bit (other than the end product and the general joy of baking) is licking the bowl when you've put the goodies in the oven. Oh so good!!! I don't think anyone can disagree...And the worst bit is cleaning up after, though I'm getting better at being tidier (my mum is very happy about this - though of course I always clean up after myself). 

Last week I managed to buy 2 pineapples with my mum for £1 - I think it's the last of the Summer wine really, I doubt we will continue to have many more tropical fruits available now! So, as inspired by this week's Great British Bake Off episode, I decided to make a pie! It's one that should be eaten cold, and turned out really well. Hope you think so too!!

Ingredients

For the cream

450 g fresh pineapple, peeled and chopped

250 g soya yogurt

100 g corn flour

100 g sugar

For the base

250 g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

100 g sugar

80 ml pineapple juice

80 ml canola/ rapeseed oil

Method

1. First make the cream. Mix the chopped pineapple, yogurt, sugar and cornflour and blend.
2. Once it's creamy, transfer to a deep saucepan and heat over a medium heat, stirring constantly until it's well thickened (about 5-7 minutes). Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. Make a well in the centre and add the juice and oil. Knead with your hands to form a soft dough.
5. Take out 1/3 of the dough and set aside. Place the remaining dough onto a piece of greaseproof paper and roll into a 1/2cm thin circle. Place into a 9 inch pie dish and cover the base and sides. Pit with a fork.
6. Roll the remaining dough to a circle large enough to cover the pie.
7. Fill the pie with the pineapple cream and cover with the rolled out dough. Cut four long lines on the top of the pie and brush lightly with 1 tbsp of soya yogurt.
8. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until well browned on top.
9. Allow to cool completely, then slice and serve!

Original recipe: Low-fat vegan pineapple pie

Taste of the tropics vegan smoothie

This my first variation on the 'Pretty in purple' smoothie. All I did was substitute the berries for equal amounts of mango and pineapple. I also used only one banana because the first time I tried it I felt that the banana was too overpowering. Now the flavour is just right!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup rolled oats

3 cups soya milk

2 cups mango pieces (fresh or frozen)

2 cups pineapple pieces (fresh or frozen)

1 banana

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp honey (or agave nectar/ maple syrup)

Method

1. Add the soya milk to the oats and allow to soak in the fridge overnight (though I only soaked them for a couple of hours out of the fridge so it was slightly warmer and therefore faster).
2. Put all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until mostly smooth, and it's ready to serve!

Original recipe: Pretty in purple smoothie