Christmas spiced butter

I originally got the idea for this recipe from a magazine I happened to be browsing through a few weeks ago, although I now have no idea where I was when I was browsing and I have no idea which magazine...sorry about that! But I can tell you this, it was such a super simple idea that basically consisted of softening some (non-vegan) butter and whipping into it some Christmas spices. 

I took this one level further by using melted coconut oil and folding in Christmas spices along with some blitzed up dried cranberries for a pretty sparkly berry effect. You could add more or less sweetener to taste depending on how sweet and indulgent you want to make it. I actually used about 1/4 coconut butter as I had a tiny bit of homemade stuff needing to be used but all coconut oil will be fine, I wouldn't recommend all coconut butter as the 'meat' content would not give such a smooth overall blend.

This would make the perfect last minute Christmas gift too, all wrapped up in a little canister with some ideas for use on a little label....imagine it melted and drizzled over pancakes, dolloped on top of a single serve sponge watching it melt over the top or even added too some oats and nuts to make a quick baked granola!

It's barely even a recipe, but of course I've added it below. Feel free to swap in your own favourite spices or add different dried fruits. I'd advise that any dried fruit is blitzed up into very small pieces or chopped very finely so that the resulting 'butter' is not too chunky to use.

Recipe: Christmas spiced butter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 tsp each cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger

pinch allspice

1tbs coconut sugar or rapadura (agave etc may also be fine but I opted for a granulated sweetener to mix through)

1 tbs very finely chopped dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)

Method: 

Melt the coconut oil and mix through all the ingredients. Spoon/pour into a small jar and allow to set. Store at room temperature.

Note: the top photos were taken when the butter had set and these photos were taken when the coconut oil was still liquidy, hence the darker colour.

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.

Gingerbread quinoa bake

Homemade mincemeat is definitely my new favourite thing around here. Once you've made a jar (which literally only takes minutes) you can store it in the fridge and then use it in everything. I did the same last Christmas and these were a couple of the resulting recipes from back then.

Gingerbread parcels

Mincemeat fruit loaf

Cranberries also seem to be a bit of a recurring theme at the moment, maybe it’s because they look like Christmas jewels and I like pretty seasonal photos!

But in actual fact this post is really in celebration of…ginger and quinoa. I almost reached across for the cinnamon when mixing together this batter then my fingers switched track and out came Mr Ginger accompanied by Miss Molasses, another fabulous combo for this time of year. Note I am very cautious with adding too much molasses as I find it easily overpowering to my taste buds, feel free to be more generous if that’s your thing.

The texture of this bake was spot on, really moist but light and cakey. If you are not accustomed to the taste of quinoa flakes you may pick up on a slight bitterness, I think the ginger works really well to compliment the quinoa. But feel free to modify the level of spice and agave to your own taste.

Perfect for breakfast or dessert…or both! The recipe can easily be doubled up for a larger pie dish.

Recipe: Gingerbread quinoa bake

serves 2

Ingredients

½ cup quinoa flakes

1 tbs ground chia/flax

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground ginger

Pinch stevia (1/6^th tsp)

3 tbs agave/maple syrup

1 tsp molasses

1/3 cup soy yoghurt to mix (or other yoghurt)

3 tbs apple puree (or more yoghurt)

2-3 tbs mincemeat for base (homemade ideally)

Handful of part-cooked fresh cranberries to decorate top

1 tbs crystalised ginger- chopped for top

Brown rice syrup/agave/maple syrup to drizzle (if desired- I omitted)

Method

Part cook the cranberries by cooking in the microwave (1 minute) or hob for a few minutes until the first few cranberries only just begin to pop their skins.

Meanwhile, mix all wet ingredients together in a small bowl before adding to the dry ingredients (other than base and toppings) Mix well to achieve a thick smooth batter consistency.

Line the bottom of a small pie dish (approx. 15cm diameter) with the mincemeat mixture (or mix this through the batter- see note) spoon the quinoa batter over the top and smooth top with a spoon. Gently press the part cooked cranberries into the top of the batter and sprinkle with the finely chopped ginger pieces.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 for approx. 15 minutes until golden, check with a toothpick and if the mixture is still uncooked in the centre loosely cover with foil so that the top doesn’t brown and continue to bake for another 5 minutes until cooked through. (I had to cover mine)

Notes:

Instead of using mincemeat as a base, you could mix it through the batter and reduce the yoghurt slightly.  I used a small ceramic fluted pie dish and it was tricky to get the bake out neatly. It would be advisable to use a dish with a removable base and mix the mincemeat through the batter if you wish to remove it. Or do as I did and eat from the dish- I didn't eat it all by myself!

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.

Christmas breakfast baked oatmeal

Without a doubt this recipe will be my breakfast choice on Christmas morning…in actual fact I will probably double the recipe and treat my whole family to some warm comforting, creamy, fruity, spiced oats!

This recipe serves two to three, so if you are like I was this morning you can save whatever you don’t eat in one sitting for breakfast the next morning…serve either hot or cold.  Like many of my breakfasts this could easily become dessert, you may simply want to increase the sweetness a little more to taste.

I love the colours and textures in this beautiful dish, the mincemeat gives an amazing Christmas infusion. The best way is to make your own…see this recipe for a sugar free and fat free version, (so easy to make and stores in the fridge for ages), but you could use store bought at a push (it won’t be as healthy) or failing that just add extra dried fruit and spices and mix through a little grated apple, or apple sauce.

A ‘snowfall’ sprinkling of flaked almonds to the top completes the picture. (Oh…and if your are as obsessed with cinnamon as I am add a sprinkle more here also!)

Recipe: Christmas breakfast baked oatmeal

Serves 2

Ingredients

2/3 cup oats

1 tbs ground chia/flax

1 cup soy milk (or other)

3 tbs mincemeat (homemade)

½ heaped tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg (or to taste)

1 small nectarine (or any small orange)

Handful of fresh cranberries

Topping: 2 tbs flaked almonds and a little unrefined sugar if desired  

Method

Part-cook a handful of fresh cranberries (5 mins on the stove or 2 mins in the microwave). Peel and slice the orange into fingertip sized pieces.

Mix all other ingredients together in a small bowl. Spoon into a greased oven dish min. 20x10cm. and press the orange and cranberries into the top of the mixture. Dust with sugar to offset the slight tartness of the cranberries if desired.

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

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.

Valentine's cookie sandwich

My last Valentine’s recipe is here! I can’t believe how organised I’ve been. I usually miss the holiday themed recipe opportunities…or only realise at the very last minute, so I’m pleased with my early preparations.

Let’s hope as you are reading this that I am cosied up in a little cottage in the middle of Herefordshire…and not stuck in a blizzard somewhere, since the weather conditions at the time of writing (just gone midnight into Friday morning) were somewhat suspect with snow and ‘freezing rain’ forecast…hmmm not the best start to a holiday!

For this final recipe I just couldn’t get this fudge out of my mind- it is simply so good and so easy to make! Here I’ve rolled it out so that shapes can be made with a cutter and it performs the job just beautifully. Sprinkle with a little coconut and stop here if you like.  But I didn’t want to stop there, I wanted to add a little bit of pink!

I played around with the ‘pink’ options for quite some time. I wanted to create a similar raw ‘smoosh’ recipe so that the whole process was very quick and simple. To take a pink dye the basic dough needed to be light in colour so the two options I trialled were marzipan and cookie dough.

The marzipan still needs a little more work in my opinion as I think the almond flour makes the marzipan stick the roof of your mouth a little as you eat it but the marzipan recipe original seen here was too oily for rolling. The overall taste is good and it forms the shapes well, but for me the texture is not 100%- but then again I am very picky when it comes to textures. I preferred the cookie dough option and this worked best with the chocolate layer on the outside as the cookie dough is very soft and quite sticky whilst the fudge is firmer to touch and so seemed to work best that way round. As you can see I have tried various options here- feel free to vary things and experiment with your own layering!

I also pressed a little desiccated coconut on the chocolate sandwiches to give a pretty delicate finish…this was my favourite option!

Recipe: Valentines cookie sandwich

Makes anywhere between 20-40 heart sandwiches (depending on size of hearts and method used)

Ingredients- chocolate layer (fudge)

½  can black beans- rinsed and drained

1 small mashed banana

½ cup cocoa powder (or raw cacoa powder for an even healthier boost)

1/3 cup dates

2 tsp vanilla extract

½  tsp cinnamon

¼  tsp stevia

½ cup ground oats

2 tbs ground flax

2 tbs chia seeds

Ingredients- pink layer

Option A- marzipan

½ cup ground almonds

¼ cup almond flour

2tbs tapioca or arrowroot

¼ cup coconut butter

2tbs agave (tiny pinch spelt)

1 tsp almond extract (more if needed to taste)

1tbs water (as necessary to form dough)

1-2 drops red food colouring

Option B- cookie dough

2/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup oats
4tbs agave
1 Tsp vanilla extract

3tbs dried cranberries

1-2 drops red food colouring (for a stronger pink colour)

Method (for all):

Blend all dry ingredients in a food processor. Add wet ingredients and then blend again. The dough should be fairly tacky but not too sticky and should still be easy to handle.

Roll out, chill if needed and use cookie cutter to cut out hearts for each sandwich. Assemble in desired fashion and store in an air tight container.

 marzipan hearts with chocolate fudge centres

cranberry cookie hearts with a chocolate fudge centre

coconut chocolate fudge hearts with a soft cookie centre

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.

Scones- back to basics with a difference!

I like a challenge, the chance to do something a little different, the chance to explore a common theme with a little of my own imagination thrown in. I also enjoy seeing how others respond to an idea…

…for example if you were asked to make scones (aka American biscuits)  what would you come up with?

Sweet, savoury, a circle of wedges, round scones cut with a cutter, fruity scones, chocolate scones, scones served with jam and cream for afternoon tea, scones served as a side with a casserole or broth…the list goes on!

I have recently joined the Daring Bakers and this was my first monthly challenge….scones! The challenges are set on the 1^st of every month with a publishing date of the 27^th of every month. It’s been very interesting to check out the results of the other bakers and to see just how different the outcomes can be.

For me the basic scone recipe presents simply the principle, one which I can then tweak to create a healthy vegan adaptation.  I opted for sweet scones as would be traditionally served with jam and cream (or in my case sugar free jam and a dollop of soy yoghurt). This is the type of scone with which I am most familiar; I remember days gone by cuddling up on the sofa with a warm wedge of light and fluffy baked scone slathered in jam and squirty cream!

I haven’t had too much experience with baking healthy vegan scones (or any scones for that matter), other than the first batch I ever made- my Halloween pumpkin scones which were a resounding success! This gave me a little confidence boost and I was keen to get cracking!

Traditional scones, whether sweet or savoury, consist primarily of plain flour, butter and milk. I adapted the basic recipe to incorporate spelt flour, almond milk and coconut oil and I’m pleased with the overall result…a good base for many flavour combinations.  I had three attempts at this challenge, tweaking as I went and reducing the liquid slightly and adding a little baking soda along with the baking powder, and adding a little dried fruit.  The original Daring Bakers January recipe challenge can be found here.

So, question time...Do you call them ‘biscuits’ or ‘scones’? Do you prefer sweet or savoury? What’s your favourite flavour combination?

Recipe: Scones with walnut and cranberry

Makes approx. 6 wedges or circles (I made one batch of each)

Ingredients

1 cup mix of white and wholemeal spelt flours

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

Tiny pinch of salt

2 tables coconut oil (not melted)

Slightly over 1/3 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk of choice) plus extra for glaze

2 tsp agave syrup

¼ cup mix of chopped cranberries and dates (optional)

Method

Mix/sift dry ingredients well to maximise air in the mixture. 

Rub through the coconut oil with fingers to achieve a breadcrumb like consistency, then mix through the dried fruit if using. 

Mix agave into the milk and add liquid to the dry ingredients. Use hands to create a soft dough ball that should be slightly sticky but manageable.

On a floured surface, knead dough into a circle approx. 2cm thick and either cut into 6 wedges or circles using a cutter. Brush a little ‘milk’ over the tops to glaze.

Lay close together on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 210C for 8-10 minutes until tops are golden. You may need to rotate halfway through to ensure an even rise.

Blog-checking lines: Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host.. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

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.

Christmas Day…done!

So how long did you spend in your jammies Christmas day morning?

This year I was actually pretty good and got dressed well before lunch…but not until I’d opened my stocking (which usually includes some underwear and socks!)

Christmas day was spent at home with my family- mum, dad, brother and sister. All the presents were piled under the tree and every year that still seems so magical to me! We spent quite a few hours in the run up to lunch giving out the gifts, interspersed with trips back and forth to the kitchen to manage proceedings.

This year I packaged my gifts in brown paper with a minimal amount of sticky tape to help the recycling process! …but I do love lots of ribbon- it’s not Christmas without lots if ribbon! Part of the gifts to my family were bottles of my homemade vanilla extract. I also decided it would be a novelty to give homemade ‘vouchers’ so they could choose they own personalised cakes from my growing list of recipes. It will be interesting to see what they choose!

We all pitched in to help with Christmas lunch.  My main task was the brussel sprouts …so…many….sprouts…to…peel! I blanched them and then pan fried them with shallots and chestnuts. 

My other self-appointed roll was as ‘dessert creator’. I wanted to provide a lighter healthy vegan alternative to go alongside the traditional Christmas pud. It needed to be something pretty fool proof and easy to put together (no dramas on Christmas day thank you!).

I decided upon a combination of many of the recipes I have posted in recent days. The ingredients list may look long but the method is actually so simple.

                                          

…light fat-free chocolate sponge (based on this recipe)

...chocolate chestnut frosting (previously mentioned here) or you could use your own favourite

…cranberry compote (based on this recipe) or any berries could be used

…all layered up to create one fruity luxurious Christmas chocolate cream sponge! 

I really love the tart berries combined with the sweetly smooth and creamy frosting, topping the light and springy sponge base.  The perfect end to a sumptuous satisfying dinner…even those who claim they ‘couldn’t eat another thing’ could squeeze in a pieces of this!

Recipe: Chocolate cream cranberry sponge

Makes one 10x15 inch pan (or a thicker sponge for a slightly smaller pan)

Ingredients

Sponge base: (this can be made a day in advance)

10 1/2 oz. firm silken tofu

1/3 cup rapadura

1/3 cup agave syrup

1 tbs vinegar

1 tbs water

1 tbs vanilla extract 

1 tbs ground flax mixed with 2tbs hot water (see egg replacer note below )

1 cup whole wheat spelt flour

¼ cup ground almonds

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½  tsp salt

1 tbs ground flax mixed with 2tbs hot water

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.

Chestnut cream frosting: (Can be made in advance)

I used a two-layered approach with my  chocolate frosting smoothed directly over the sponge (I had some reserved in the freezer) and then this chestnut frosting over that.

100g silken tofu

20g agave or brown rice syrup plus ¼ tsp stevia

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g chestnut puree (I used canned puree)

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbs cocoa powder

Cranberry compote:

Approx. 4 cups fresh cranberries

3 tbs rapadura (extra if you don’t like your cranberries too tart)

1/3 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 10x15 inch pan with baking parchment. In food processor, mix the tofu, rapadura, agave, vinegar, water, vanilla and flax mix. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ground almonds, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Pour the blended tofu mixture into flour mixture; stir together thoroughly. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth batter evenly into pan and bake  for 10-12 minutes.

Allow to cool before lifting from the pan. The sponge can be made up to a day in advance.

To prepare the frostings, blend all ingredients listed together in a food processor until a smooth consistency forms. Layer the frostings up on top of the sponge.

To make the cranberry compote, add the fresh cranberries to a small sauce pan along with the rapadura, cinnamon and water. Simmer and stir every minute or so for 10- 15 minutes until the berries have softened and formed a thick compote.

Spoon the compote on top of the frosting and serve immediately.

The dessert can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days.

P.S. I know I also promised a boxing day pasty recipe!  We made the pasties for lunch today and now I just need to get it all written up…I promise this is on its way! It maybe too late for your Christmas day leftovers but it is also the perfect recipe idea for any ‘roast’.

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.

‘Twelve Days’ day 1: Spiced cranberry orange cake

At my mum’s house, traditionally we wouldn’t put the Christmas decorations up until a couple of weekends before Christmas. However this weekend my sister had popped back home from uni and so with all the Christmas baking plans that I was busy drafting up we decided that we’d break that tradition and get full on into the swing. 

Yesterday afternoon was spent with boxes of decorations all around us on the floor- trying to decide which ones to use and which ones were just a bit too old/battered/silly to put up this year. Nostalgia usually gets the better of us and we end up with a Christmas tree ornament collection that looks so random it is almost an embarrassment to visitors who might not appreciate the odd shaped and badly stitched felt stocking that my brother made in primary school about 20 years ago!

So this year, we tried to keep to more of a theme with just a few of the most important nostalgic decorations allowed permission on the tree. It looks so much better!

We don’t go overboard on decorating the whole house from top to toe, but fairly lights are essential! I love fairy lights- I’d keep them up all year round if I could. They give such a warm happy glow to a space and make me want to twirl around the room! Ok, well maybe that is just me…?

Once the tree was up it was time to sit back with a glass of mulled wine. This year I thought I’d try making my own- it was based on a Jamie Oliver recipe that involves first making a syrup base to mix into the red wine. It was lovely, and I’ve bottled up the remaining syrup to have over Christmas itself. 

Along with mulled wine came dessert (of course we had dinner in between but I‘ve skipped that bit as it wasn’t so exciting!).This dessert becomes the first of the ‘Twelve Days’ of recipes and is super versatile in that it can be served warm as a dessert with custard, served cold as a slice of cake or even baked in muffin tins.

We ate ours warm with custard (Alpro soya custard in fact as I just didn’t have time to make my own).  Mmmm, it was good- dense, moist, lightly spiced and sweet but not overly so with a crisp tang from the cranberries and a warmth from the citrus and spices. Those who like a very sweet dessert may want to increase the sweetener slightly to compensate for the sharpness of the cranberries.  I imagine this cake would freeze well, but I can’t imagine this one being around long enough to test that out!

Recipe: Spiced cranberry orange cake

Makes one 7” cake

Ingredients

2 cups spelt flour

1/3 cup rapadura plus ¼ tsp stevia (add a little extra if a very sweet cake is preferred)

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp mixed spice

4 tbs apple puree

2 tbs coconut butter (melted) or coconut oil

2 tsp orange zest or 1 tsp orange extract

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 banana- mashed

Small tin of mandarins or two clementines peeled in to segments and roughly chopped

1 ½ cups fresh cranberries partially chopped

Method

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside.  Blend together the wet ingredients (other than oranges and cranberries) in a food processor until well mixed and then add to the dry ingredients. Lastly add the oranges and cranberries to the mixture and mix through gently to break up the oranges but do not over mix. Pour the mixture into a greased  7” round cake pan. Bake at 180C for approx. 25 minutes loosely covering the cake for the final 10 minutes if the top begins to brown before the middle is cooked through.

For a similar cake idea but with a lighter sponge see this post with apples and blueberries.

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.