Baked 'coconut cream' cheesecakes

More coconut cream concoctions...this stuff is totally amazing, please don’t roll you eyes at me as I go off on one again!  Try it first...please (if only to shut me up!!)

Ok, so now we've tried it as a creamy whipped topping, as a thick mouse, in a cream egg and as a chilled cheesecake. So how about cooking it?

Yes, you can bake this stuff too!!

My initial reason for doing this was to see whether I could make a light and not too thick mix and then bake it instead of freezing it and still be able to take it out of a pudding mold (i.e muffin case). Without baking these little beauties there would have been no way that I would have been able to remove them...that would have been an absolute mess!

It worked perfectly since the short baking time seals the edges and allows them to pull away from the muffin case or whatever silicone mold you use. Since the edges pull away I would suggest that you would also be fine with metal cake pans- just edge round using a knife to lever them out.

You can add any mix-ins you choose, I tried out a few options but creativity is virtually endless.  I would suggest serving these cheesecakes hot, just for a change and to make the most of the ‘just baked’ feel.

Oh, before I go....here is one more coconut cream idea... a chocolate cookie cream sandwich that I posted over here at the Real Food Source. I based the recipe on my popular chocolate quinoa cookies.

Recipe: Baked coconut cream cheesecakes

Makes 3-4 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients:

2/3 cup soy yoghurt (other yoghurts would probably work well)

3 tbs fine coconut flour

Stevia or syrup of choice to taste

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping mix-in options

2 tsp cocoa powder

Crushed frozen raspberries (frozen are easier to handle to create a mottled not blended look)

Blueberries (frozen are best to avoid burning during baking

Base: I used a variant of my breakfast cookie oat base without the choc chunks, or you could use a smoosh bar style base. Or go for no base at all!

Method

Combine all cheesecake ingredients in a small bowl and stir together well to from a thick paste. Add mix ins as necessary.

Press chosen base mix (if using) in the bottom of mini muffins or cupcake tins (use silicone for ease of removal) and then top with the cheesecake mix  and toppings. Bake for 5-10 mins at 180ºC just until the edges have baked and sealed and the mixture is heated through, no need to be golden. The baking will seal the edges and make for an easy removal.

Serve hot or cold.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

DAY TEN: Carrot cake baked oatmeal

The weekend before last, the morning before I was due to go on holiday…the very morning I had so much to do I told myself there was no way I would go into the kitchen and make a thing! I did venture into the kitchen, I just couldn't resist.

You see, a little idea had crept up on me, an idea that simply screamed ‘brunch’ and since I was hungry and the idea was simple I ended up in the kitchen whipping up a quick and simple baked oatmeal dish- carrot cake style. The perfect healthy filling mid-morning brunch, perfectly double portion sized so I saved the rest for the following morning for a hassle free breakfast before my flight. It was just as yummy served cold straight from the fridge! 

I’d come across various recipes for baked oatmeal in the past, not least from two of my favourite blogs Chocolate Covered Katie and Oh She Glows, but I’d never made a baked oatmeal dish of my own before. I’m often an impatient kinda girl when it comes to my breakfast so bowls of oats and two minute breakfast cookies are my usual style. But this was worth the short wait and the bonus of a ready-made breakfast the following morning... oh yeah!

You could sweeten this up with a little more agave or a pinch of stevia if you preferred, I wanted a very lightly sweetened breakfast snack so for me this was perfect. Add some choc chunks and a little more indulgence and you could also have yourself a dessert!

My oven dish was slightly too small (note the dribbles down the sides), so I packed the remaining mixture into a silicone muffin pan hence the muffin in the photos. You make all the mixture the into muffins if you fancied. I reckon this mix would make between 4 and 6 muffins depending on size of the pans.

Recipe: Carrot cake baked oatmeal

Ingredients

2 carrots grated

1 tbs chia/flax seed

1 cup soy milk (or other vegan milk)

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg or ginger

½ cup oats

2 tbs chopped pecans or walnuts

2 tbs dried cranberries (or raisins)

2 tbs desiccated coconut

1 tbs coconut sugar/rapadura/agave

Topping- sprinkling of desiccated coconut and coconut sugar

Method

Mix all ingredients together until well coated  and spoon into a greased oven dish*. Press down and smooth the top before sprinkling with a little extra desiccated coconut and coconut sugar (or other unrefined granulated sugar as desired).

Bake at 180C for approx. 20 mins until the topping is golden. Serve immediately.  This also tastes good cold the next day!

*my oven dish was approx. 20x10cm in size and I had a little mixture left over that wouldn’t fit in so I filled a silicone muffin case as well.

What Vegan MOFO means to me.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Breakfast crumble crisp

 So many ideas…!

That often happens, I have one idea of something to I want to bake, which then gives rise to another version which then inspires another recipe idea, and then I have a brainwave to make an old recipe even better by using the new ideas…etc etc, you get the picture. Not that I’m complaining though, I simply wish I had even more time (and even more money to buy all these ingredients).

Yesterday I had one majorly successful recipe…a burger trial (with one more variation left to try to make sure it’s the best it can be) until I will unveil all to the world. However that was followed by one major disaster recipe….it was my basic nutty granola to stock up my snack supplies but I burnt it big time and it was not salvageable. Sad times.

Anyway, now onto breakfast; this one is so good, so simple and more like dessert than breakfast but just as good for you as my usual bowl of fruity oats. Make a big dish full and have it as breakfast and then dessert in the evening! Perfect.

Meet the fruity breakfast crumble crisp.

A deep layer of juicy chunks of seasonal fruits topped with a thick layer of nutty, oaty crumble crisp. With most of the sweetness coming from the fruit itself and apple sauce in the topping, with just a smidgen of agave syrup, this is one virtuous crumble. I also added white chia seeds to the fruit mix to bulk up the sauce and also give an extra nutritional kick, but these are entirely optional.

Use whichever fruits you like- here I used apple, raspberry and blueberry, but you could use pear instead of the apple, plums instead of the berries or maybe even mango for a tropical trip...combine that with some coconut flakes in the topping!!

P.s it seems that my ‘mugcake’ poacher idea is finding a few fans! Thanks guys.

Recipe: Breakfast crumble crisp

Serves 3

Ingredients

Filling:

2 apples or pears cut into chunks (skin on)

½ cup blueberries or raspberries

Squeeze of half a lemon

1 tbs whole or ground chia seeds

½ tsp cinnamon

Pinch salt

1-2 tsp agave syrup (optional to taste)

Topping:

3 tbs apple puree

1 tbs coconut oil- melted

2 tbs agave syrup

1 cup oats

½ cup puffed brown rice (or other cereal)

1/3 cup nuts and seeds mix

½ - 1tsp cinnamon

Method

Mix all filling ingredients together in a medium bowl and spoon into the bottom of a smallish oven proof dish.

For the topping, in a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients together first and then add in the dry  topping ingredients. Mix until well coated then press down firmly and evenly over the fruit layer.

Bake at 180C for approx. 20 mins until topping is golden.

Serve with soy cream or yoghurt if desired.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.