DAY ELEVEN: Cookie bowl mousse

We're now eleven days in to Vegan MOFO...wohoo !

Following the inspired success of the berry oat cups, I came across a folder on my computer labelled ‘cookie bowl  mousse’ that simple contained a series of unedited photos from a quick foodie experiment over the summer.  I’m not sure why these photos had been forgotten about, sitting there forlorn and waiting to be picked for a post…well now their time has come.

The super simple oatmeal cookie base strikes again, this time in the form of an edible bowl accompanied by a creamy, fruity mousse filling. You can definitely tell it was summer at the time!

So, this is another crazy simple winner for breakfast or dessert. Totally versatile…strawberry, mango, banana anyone? (Mmmm, banana and PB instead of the cashew butter!) You could also make smaller versions more reminiscent of the berry oat cups.

I can’t wait for the weekend now…I’m itching to get in the kitchen and experiment. I haven’t been able to do so for well over a week now as I've not had a chance since I've been back from my holidays. Expect a few new oaty ideas to be coming your way next week.

Oooo, I meant to say, if anyone has an oat themed ideas then feel free to suggest them in the

comments and I’ll see what I can come up with.

Recipe: Berry oat cups

Serves 1

Ingredients- oatmeal cookie bowl

¼ cup oats

2 tbs buckwheat flour (other flours would probably be fine too)

1 tbs ground flax

Ground cinnamon and vanilla extract to taste (approx. ¼ tsp each)

1 tbs agave

2-3 tbs vegan yoghurt

Ingredients- mousse

¼ cup silken tofu

¼ cup fruit (mango/banana/strawberries)

1 tbs cashew butter (optional for extra creamyness) or just coconut oil to help thicken

1tbs agave

½ tsp vanilla extract

1tbs tapioca flour (or alternative thickener)

Method

Mix and mash all the cookie bowl ingredients together well to form a thick sticky ball of dough. Using your fingers press the dough evenly around the inside of a lightly greased smooth bowl or silicone egg poach as I used.

Cook the cookie bowl in the microwave on full power for 90 seconds.

Meanwhile mix all the mousse ingredients together in a blender (ideally with whisk attachment) until smooth. Pour into serving bowls and chill for min. 30 mins prior to serving if you prefer a thicker consistency and a nice contrast to a warm cookie bowl. Alternatively serve directly into the cookie bowl straight away.

Top with fruit, chocolate, nuts, coconut flakes as desired.

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.

Cheesecakes Galore!

I’ve been going cheesecake crazy! Once I’d made the turtle cheesecake and realise it tasted so good…I simply couldn’t resist having a play with a few more flavours. So here you get a super sized post with:

Orange glazed cheesecake

Double strawberry cheesecake

Lemon chocolate mini cheesecakes

I figured since cheesecake was such a  summery dessert I’d get this post in whilst the sun was still here…no doubt it will hide away again soon, at least here in England (or we might be lucky like last year and have an October heat wave!)

So, you might have spied this little teaser a few days ago in celebratory Blog Birthday post! I shared that cake with my family (though I was sorely tempted to eat it all myself) the other two cheesecakes arrived shortly after.

I know that not everyone chooses to or can eat soy, so I am working on a soy free/cream cheese free version…watch this space. But until then you have another variation of the turtle recipe, although this time I added some polenta and nuts to the base to give it a little oomph. Play around with the base ingredients however you wish…it won’t mind!

Recipe: Cheesecake variations

Makes one 8” or two 4” pans (or 8-12 mini muffins cases)

Ingredients- cheesecake base

½ cup oats*

3tbs polenta

1 tbs finely crushed nuts

1tbs buckwheat flour (other flours would probably be fine too)

1 tbs ground flax/chia

Ground cinnamon and vanilla extract to taste (optional)

2 tbs cocoa powder

2 tbs agave or maple syrup (plus a pinch of stevia for optional extra sweetness)

Approx. ¼ cup vegan yoghurt (or regular yoghurt for non vegan)

Ingredients- cheesecake

1 package of silken tofu (I used Mori Nu)

½ cup cashew butter (or an mild light coloured creamy nut butter)

1/3 cup agave plus ¼ tsp pure stevia (add extra to taste if desired)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp orange or lemon extract (for the citrus cakes only)

1 tbs orange or lemon zest (optional for the citrus cakes only)

1 tbs ground chia (I used white chia for a lighter colour but it’s not necessary)

Toppings:

Chia jam (see note) and strawberries

Sugar free marmalade glaze

Dark chocolate drops and extra citrus zest

Method

For the base, mix all ingredients together until you have a soft sticky ball of dough. Press the dough into the bottom of a lightly greased cake pan (use one with a removal bottom for ease later on).

For the cheesecake, blitz all the ingredients together in a blender/food processor (I used my Thermomix) and then pour over the base layer in the cake pan(s). Add the sprinkling of choc chips and zest across the top of the batter (for the choc drop version).

Bake the cheesecakes for 15-25 minutes depending on the size of the tins ( the mini muffins took 15 minutes and my 4” tins took just under 20 minutes) Once just golden and a skewer come away clean they are ready- note they may be puffed up when you take them out of the oven (mine were which surprised me!) It’s ok they settle down flat again as they cool.

Chill for a few hours or overnight in the fridge. Once chilled add the citrus glaze or chia jam and strawberries, if using, prior to serving.

Note: to make chia jam, first seen on these pancakes, simple mash or blend a large handful of strawberries and then lix through chia seeds and a little extra agave if needed. Wait for the chia seeds to thicken the ‘jam’ mixture before using.

* 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.

Turtle cheesecake…healthy style!

Last week I asked followers of my Facebook page to suggest some naughty foods they wanted to be ‘healthanized’.  I always have tonnes of ideas of my own, but figured it would be nice to open up the question to you guys…what indulgent foods would you like a healthier version of? A little guilt free indulgence is good for the soul, right?

A few ideas to work on, but one that stood out to me right away was ‘turtle cheesecake’. Now, I’d never heard of turtle cheesecake over here in the UK (I am just behind the times or is it just a US thing!?) So intrigued by the name I set off to google it…woah! A cheesecake characterised by chocolate caramel and pecans!

The other reason the cheesecake appealed was because I have never actually made a vegan cheesecake (come to think of it I don’t think I even made regular cheesecake back in the day). Most of the recipes I came across were based on a blend of silken tofu and toffutti cream cheese substitute.  I don’t have a major issue with either of these products but out of choice I generally prefer to avoid cheese substitutes (since eat a vegan diet on a largely nutritional basis I feel that I may as well have the ‘real thing’ if I would otherwise have a fake manufactured version- but generally I do go for either). So the tofu was fine with me (but I am also investigating a soy free version). I teamed this up with cashew butter, but any mild tasting light coloured nut butter would be fine.

The base of this cheesecake worked really well and was based on my ever popular ‘healthy breakfastcookie’  I simply made the cookie dough without the baking powder, adding some cocoa powder to the mixture, and then pressed this onto the bottom of a cake pan (I used the ones with removal bottoms for easy removal after baking/chilling). The base is not crunchy so if you prefer some ore texture feel free to add extra crushed nuts.

The toppings were the hard part…chocolate caramel and pecans. Pecans no problem- healthy nut fats. For the chocolate I used dark chocolate drops sprinkled axcross the surface of the cake before it went in the oven, I then finished with some dark choc shavings just before serving. Shavings are great because the give the visual impression of there being loads of chocolate but a small square actually goes a long way. Lastly the caramel…I made the healthiest version I could think of, yes it does contain a lot of sugar but it is of the unrefined variety.

So there you have it….a healthy turtle cheesecake!

Challenge One completed…keep the suggestions coming!

You can find more of my indulgent desserts here.

Oh, one last thing- before you scroll down and roll your eyes at the long list of ingredients and instructions… the processes for each element  are really super quick and simple… it just reads like a lot! Promise!

Recipe: Turtle cheesecake

Makes one 8” or two 4” pans

Ingredients- cheesecake base

½ cup oats*

¼ cup buckwheat flour (other flours would probably be fine too)

1 tbs ground flax/chia

Ground cinnamon and vanilla extract to taste (optional)

2 tbs cocoa powder

2 tbs agave or maple syrup (plus a pinch of stevia for optional extra sweetness)

Approx. ¼ cup vegan yoghurt (or regular yoghurt for non vegan)

Ingredients- cheesecake

1 package of silken tofu (I used Mori Nu)

½ cup cashew butter (or an mild light coloured creamy nut butter)

1/3 cup agave plus ¼ tsp pure stevia (add extra to taste if desired)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbs ground chia (I used white chia for a lighter colour but it’s not necessary)

Topping:

Generous handful of dark choc drops plus extra choc for shavings

Generous handful of pecan pieces

Generous drizzle of caramel sauce (see below)

Ingredients- caramel sauce

½ cup rapadura/sucanat/coconut sugar (I used coconut sugar)

½ cup soy yoghurt

½ tsp carob powder (optional for extra richness)

1 heaped tbs coconut oil

Method

For the base, mix all ingredients together until you have a soft sticky ball of dough. Press the dough into the bottom of a lightly greased cake pan (use one with a removal bottom for ease later on).

For the caramel, add the sugar and half of the yoghurt to a small pan over the stove and then gently melt the sugar over a low heat. Once dissolved, add the remaining yoghurt and carob if using. Whisk well whilst bringing the mixture to a simmer for approx. 3 minutes until you have a smooth rich caramel sauce. Stir through the coconut oil at the end of the cooking time. Pour into a tub and allow to cool until use.

For the cheesecake, blitz all the ingredients together in a blender/food processor (I use my Thermomix) and then pour over the base layer in the cake pan(s). Add the sprinkling of choc chips acorss the top of the batter.

Bake the cheesecakes at 180C for 15-25 minutes depending on the size of the tins (I used two 4” tins and they took just under 20 minutes) Once just golden and a skewer come away clean they are ready- note they may be puffed up when you take them out of the oven (mine were which surprised me!) It’s ok they settle down flat again as they cool.

Chill for a few hours or overnight in the fridge. Once chilled add pecans, drizzle over the caramel sauce and then add chocolate shavings to complete the look. Chill prior to serving (the caramel will firm up a little due to the coconut oil content).

 
* 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.

Raspberry ripple chocolate torte slices (fat free)

These chocolate torte slices are the perfect summery twist on my tried and tested chocolate brownie torte recipe. Super healthy and indulgent…yet light and fruity!

The perfect summer snack to put a smug smile on your face, knowing that you can indulge guilt-free without worrying about undoing all your hard ‘beach-body’ work.

These are also the perfect pick me up….or in this case the ideal ‘get well soon’ gift. The recipe below makes a small batch of 4 slices (you could easily double the recipe) as I created this recipe for a friend who was laid up and recuperating after an accident. The criteria was simple….low fat but not low taste!

I often use coconut oil or coconut butter in my recipes, as a healthy good fat which I rarely skimp on, but in this instance I wanted to lower the fat as much as possible or even eliminate it. The obvious choice was the brownie recipe, and so to change things up a bit and create a unique dessert, here you have the raspberry almond version. 

I used crushed frozen raspberries to mix through the batter as they hold up better when they are mixed through (although you can barely see the pieces in the photos). I also sprinkled a few extra pieces on the top and then once out of the oven I glazed them with a layer of sugar free raspberry jam.  I made sure these brownies were not too overly sweet as I love the richness of the dark chocolate and tartness of the raspberries contrasting with the sweet topping, but you can increase the agave/stevia slightly to taste. If you add more agave (up to 1/3 cup it might be advisable to increase the flour by a couple of tablespoons also).

These chocolate slices  are by nature more dense and gooey than cakey when bitten into, although they do have a lovely firm texture. I think they are best served warm as a dessert, maybe with a little vegan icecream or cashew cream with some extra berries on the side.

Recipe: Raspberry ripple chocolate torte

4 slices (approx. 3x9” pan)

Ingredients

½ cup silken tofu

¼ cup agave and a pinch of stevia

1 tsp almond extract

1/3 cup black beans

1tbs ground chia plus 2tbs hot water

½ cup wholemeal spelt (or GF mix)

¼ cup cocoa powder

¼ tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

¼ cup frozen raspberries- crushed

Handful cacoa nibs or dark chocolate chunks- optional

Handful flaked almonds

Handful frozen raspberries- crushed

Method

Blend all wet ingredients together in food processor until well mixed and smooth. Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then add the wet ingredients, mixing lightly until well mixed, add the cacao nibs (if using) and the ¼ cup crushed frozen raspberries last and fold through the mixture.

Spoon the batter into a smallish tin or mini muffin pans, scattering the remaining frozen raspberry pieces and flaked almonds across the top

Bake in a preheated oven for approx. 25 mins (less time for mini muffins). Test with a toothpick in the centre to check when done.

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 4: Chocolate Yule Log

Yesterday was a full of crazy happenings in the kitchen… a chaos that took over much of the dining room as well!  The reason....? It was my work Christmas party and this year we were cooking a gourmet meal ourselves, and yes you guessed it I was in charge of ‘veg’. Piles of peelings and sprout leaves adorned all surfaces.

In amongst all of that I was also determined to create a festive dessert that would both look and taste the part.

….Please enter the healthy Christmas Yule log, complete with a sprig of holly (I picked this from a hedge outside after having already taken the first few photos and felt it needed something more!)

The meal was a great success, with everyone eating seconds and even thirds. The only down side to this was that no-one really had much room for cake further on into the evening! However those that did have a slice gave it their seal of approval.  I can also vouch for its ‘yummyness’ the second day in having eating a slice for breakfast ‘dessert’ today!

I used my chocolate frosting recipe with a little extra added coconut oil to create a slightly firmer frosting although that wasn’t really necessary.  I had also planned on using a ‘healthy’ vanilla frosting for the centre, but I have to admit here that timing got a little crazy and amidst all the rushing around I had to resort to a more speedy traditional ‘butter icing’ made with vegan spread and icing sugar. I have included below the recipe I would have liked to have used but please note I have not yet been able to test this. Let me know how you get on if you do use it as I plan on trying it out very soon. You could also add a layer of sugar free fruit spread along with the vanilla frosting if you wanted to go all out!

Recipe: Chocolate Yule Log

Ingredients

For sponge roll:

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

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.

For chocolate frosting:

The frosting is pretty much the same as this original recipe reprinted below for ease with an additional table spoon of coconut oil. Note- this recipe makes more than required for the cake (unless you frost very thickly!) so set aside for cupcakes or eat as a dessert, or I have even frozen it successfully.

350g (I carton) firm silken tofu (I use Mori nu)

1 tsp melted coconut oil

60g cocoa powder

25g coconut flour

40g agave nectar

1/4 tsp stevia powder

1tbs vanilla extract

For vanilla centre:

2 cups cashews, soaked overnight

1/3 cup water (add more for a runnier frosting)

3 Medjool dates (soaked 1 hour)

2 tsp vanilla

Pinch salt

2 tbs agave plus a pinch of stevia (to taste)

  

Method

To prepare the frostings, blend all ingredients listed together in a powerful food processor (to handle the cashews) until a smooth consistency forms. Spoon each into bowls and set both aside, if too runny place in the fridge whilst preparing the sponge.

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 10x15 inch pan with baking parchment.

In food processor, mix tofu, rapadura, agave, vinegar, water, vanilla and flax mix (see note below). 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. 

Note: In some recipes I noted that egg replacer was used instead of a ‘flax egg’. I don’t use egg replacer but this may help with the integrity of the finished sponge. If you decide to use egg replacer, in a small bowl, beat Egg Replacer and water together until soft peaks form and then fold into blended ingredients as the final step.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth batter evenly into pan; bake  for 10-12 minutes. 

(tricky part coming up!)

Take the cake from oven, loosen sides and carefully invert onto a tea towel or more baking parchment sprinkled with cocoa powder. Carefully peel off waxed paper. Sprinkle cake with more cocoa powder. Fold one end of towel over short end of cake; carefully roll up the cake, with tea towel inside it, trying not to crack the cake. (Do this while cake is hot.) Set rolled cake and towel aside on a rack to cool. Note- my sponge split a bit but once frosted and assembled it was barely noticeable so don't worry if this happens!

To fill the roll, carefully unroll cake, leaving it on top of tea towel. Spread cake evenly the vanilla frosting.  Carefully roll cake up again as neatly as possible. If desired cut end off of cake and attach to the side of the roll as a ‘branch’.

 

Fully frost the cake and decorate with cooked cranberries (as I did originally) or holly!

Voila!  It takes a little time…but it is worth the effort!

On a side note, I think my love of vegetables is now becoming a little renown….since this was my Secret Santa gift this year!

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.

‘Super healthy- super decadent’ chocolate brownie torte

Following on from yesterday's little teaser.....

....This is a brownie recipe that has come about through reading many other blogs and online vegan recipes and combining what I consider to be all the ‘best bits’ to create a healthy brownie of my own. This was one of the first ‘healthy cake recipes’ I ever created and it has undergone various refinements over time to maximise the balance between yummy and healthy. I don’t know why it’s taken me until now to get it up on the blog- you saw a little sneaky teaser way back here at the beginning (ok so maybe it wasn’t so long ago but if feels ages to me!!)

It contains a lot of fruit and veg… maybe it can even count as one of your ‘five a day’…. now wouldn’t that be amazing!

I have called this brownie a ‘brownie torte’ because to me the classic non-vegan brownies that use eggs (and all sorts of other things) tend to have a very characteristic delicate dry flaky top, I’m probably not explaining that very well…hmmm.  The vegan brownie recipes I’ve tried and tested seem to have a denser more moist consistency and don’t have that flaky topping. That’s not to say they are in any way inferior but I wanted to simply make a distinction so as not to evoke any pre-expectations.  Also, as I like to serve my brownies warm with a decadent soft and fudgey centre, as opposed to a more cake like bite the ‘Brownie Torte’ title seemed so much more appropriate. It is typically the amount of ‘flour’ (either spelt of GF) used and the cooking time that dictates the ‘cakeyness vs torteyness’ and this has been noted below.

The inclusion of the balsamic vinegar, prune puree and cinnamon all help to bring out the best of the chocolate flavour. The can be omitted/substituted if necessary  (i.e sub the prune for more apple puree or soy yoghurt).

This recipe also uses beans. The 'bean' theme in healthy baking seems to have become quite popular.  I also used beans in this amazing blondie recipe. The general idea is to use black beans for chocolatey cakes and white beans for lighter coloured cakes.

Note- brownies also taste better the next day once the flavours have had a chance to fully infuse and the texture becomes more ‘fudgey’ (not sure why this is!). They also freeze well...so make a big batch!

P.S these pics were taken at the 'veg patch lunch' at work during the summer- hence the warm glow (I could do with a bit of that sunshine now!) On this occassion I also frosted the top with some cocoa and agave nectar, but its perfectly fine without.

Recipe: Chocolate brownie torte

Makes 16 squares

Ingredients

1tsp ground flax seed mixed with 1tsp hot water and 1tsp balsamic vinegar

¾ cup silken tofu (150g)

¼ cup tinned prunes with juice

¼ cup apple puree

½ cup agave syrup and ¼  tsp stevia (more agave or maple syrup to taste if needed)

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup drained black beans

1 cup wholemeal spelt flour or for GF sub see below* (use up to 1 ½ cups to get a more cakey brownie)

¼ tsp baking powder (use ½ tsp to make more cakey)

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

¼ chopped walnuts (or mixed nuts) optional

¼ cup dark chocolate chunks or cacoa nibs

Method

Mix the ground flax seeds with hot water and vinegar and set aside for 1 min. Blend all wet ingredients (including flax mix) and cocoa powder in food processor until very smooth. Mix all remaining dry ingredients (apart from nuts and chocolate chips) in a bowl and combine well. Pour wet mixture into dry and mix well. Add nuts and chocolate chips last and fold through. Pour batter into 8x8’ square baking tin lined with parchment paper. Bake for approx. 15 mins at 180C (bake for approx. 20 mins if you are going for a cakey brownie). Cool and cut into squares. Best stored in the fridge and heated for a few seconds in the microwave before serving!

Note: This mixture makes enough for a small 8x8’ pan at approx. 15mm thick. I have also made 1 ½ times this quantity and poured into a 9’ round cake tin cooked for 20 mins to get a slightly thicker slice and cut into wedges- when decorated with fruit and vegan cream this is a crazily decadent and rich desert!

* the spelt flour can be subbed with a mix of ½ cup almond meal and ½ gluten free flours- I use a mix of buckwheat and tapioca flour. I have tested this out and it tasted just as good as the spelt version!

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.