Caramel slices

** Dairy free and gluten free caramel slices **
These are also soya free and egg free

These taste great.

* Shortbread Base *
100g gluten free plain flour
100g cornflour
1 tbsp/15ml warm water
160g dairy free butter
80g icing sugar

* Caramel layer *
A can of condensed milk or condensed milk made with 1 can of coconut milk (400g)
90g caster sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup/golden syrup
125g dairy free butter

* Chocolate layer *
150g dairy free and soya chocolate
1 tbsp coconut oil (optional) – this makes it easier to spread on top

*Shortbread*

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Mix the butter and sugar together
Sieve in the flour and mix well into butter and sugar mix.
Add water and bring mix together. Don’t over mix.
Press into lined tin (8cm Square tin) and bake for 25/30 minutes.
Remove from oven, put aside to cool.

*Caramel*

Put the condensed milk, caster sugar, syrup and butter into a saucepan.
Stir constantly over a low heat until sugar melt. Stir constantly to prevent burning. this will take approximately 15 minutes.
The mixture will thicken as the sugar and syrup melts.
Continue stirring over heat until colour changes to a ‘caramel’. watch carefully as it can easily burn.
Leave a side to cool. Make sure it’s fully cool before putting on the shortbread. Spread across shortbread.

*Chocolate*

Melt chocolate (and coconut oil)
Ensure caramel is completely cold before spreading across it.

Leave to cool and harder before cutting.

The Caramel layer can be made without condensed milk but is more temperature sensitive

* Caramel layer *
400g canned coconut milk
260g caster sugar
30ml water
130g dairy free butter

Place tin of coconut milk in fridge over. This will allow the cream to rise to the top of tin.
Put sugar in saucepan and add water.
Mix until sugar is wet.
Heat over medium heat and boil to a caramel colour.
Do not mix as it will crystallise but shake saucepan to ensure that all the sugar melts.
Be careful not to burn but you need to bring it to a high temperature, otherwise it won’t set.
Take off heat and mix in coconut cream (you will be left with water in tin).
Stir quickly as you don’t want it to thicken too quickly.
Continue to stir until milk dissolves.
Stir in butter while still hot. Make sure butter melts fully.
Leave a side to cool. Make sure it’s fully cool before putting on the shortbread. Spread across shortbread.

Coconut cupcakes

*** Coconut muffins ***
Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free

Ingredients

200ml coconut milk
20ml cider vinegar
160g self raising flour
40g coconut flour
30g desiccated coconut
1 tsp baking powder
Half tsp bicarbonate soda
Pinch of salt
150g caster sugar
40g brown sugar
80ml melted coconut oil

Method

Preheat oven to 180C/355F
Mix the milk and cider together and set a side.
Sieve the flours and add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix well.
Add the oil to the milk and cider mixture and whisk.
Immediated spoon into bun cases (should make 12 muffins).
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

(If using gluten free plain flour then use a half teaspoon of xanthan gum or teaspoon of cornflour and an extra teaspoon of baking powder with the gluten free plain flour)

My go to Birthday Cake

*** Dairy free, soya free, egg free, nut free and gluten free ***

Chocolate cake

Ingredients

200g/2 cups gluten free self raising flour
50g/half a cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
100g/half a cup sugar
60ml/4 tblsp flavourless oil (sunflower/vegetable/rapeseed oil)
200ml/1 cup milk (any alternative milk)
20ml/1 tblsp/30g golden syrup or maple syrup or honey

Method

Preheat fan oven to 180C/355F.
Sieve flour, cocoa powder and baking soda together. Add the sugar.
In another bowl whisk the milk, oil and syrup together.
Add the liquid to dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour into lined or greases tin – 8 inch circular
Bake for 30 minutes.

If you double the quantities, you can make a sandwich cake. Put buttercream in the middle. Dairy free Butter cream

Or use a ganache to decorate Vegan Ganache

Alternatives

If you are using Plain gluten free flour, add 2 additional teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of bicarbonated soda and half of teaspoon of xanthan gum
Half teaspoon of xanthan gum can be replaced with a teaspoon of cornflour/cornstarch or potato starch.
Rice milk is best milk for vegan baking as it holds air better than other milks.
Recipe can be used for muffins. Bake for 18 minutes.

Dairy free Butter cream

***Dairy free, soya free, egg free, wheat/gluten free ***

Ingredients
250g df butter (soft stork margarine in gold foil).
500g icing sugar
1-2 tablespoons warm water

1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Method

Beat the margarine.
Sieve half the icing sugar in to the margarine and add water.
Beat well.
Add remaining sieved icing sugar and beat well.
Add a little more water if it’s too stiff.
Add vanilla essence or food colouring as required.
For chocolate buttercream, add a tablespoon of cocoa powder when sieving the icing sugar.

Raspberry muffins

****Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free ***

Really moist buns

** Ingredients **

50g raspberries

125ml golden syrup

80ml milk (any alternative milk)

60ml oil

125ml yogurt (I use koko yogurt)

180g self raising gluten free flour

1 tsp baking powder

** Method **

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Whisk the golden syrup, milk, oil and yogurt together.
Add to the flour and baking powder.
Mix well.
Fold in the fruit.
Put in bun cases and bake for 12/15 minutes.

Alternatives
– Add 50g strawberries

– Add 50g blueberries

– Add 50g dairy free chocolate

– Add 50g grated carrot

– Add 50g grated apple

– Replace 50g of the flour with cocoa powder

Golden syrup

A question regularly asked is what is golden syrup? The following information is taken directly from Wikipedia.

Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to honey and is often used as a substitute where honey is unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

It is not to be confused with amber corn syrup or amber refined sugar. Regular molasses, or dark treacle, has both a richer colour and a strong, distinctive flavour.

A common brand used is Lyle Golden Syrup.

Simple moist muffins

*** Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free ***

Really moist buns

*** Ingredients ***

100ml golden syrup/maple syrup/corn syrup.
80ml milk (any alternative milk)
60ml oil
125ml yogurt (I use koko yogurt)
180g self raising flour (I use gluten free self raising flour)
1 tsp baking powder

** Method **

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Whisk the syrup, milk, oil and yogurt together.
Add to the flour and baking powder.
Mix well.
Put in bun cases and bake for 18/20 minutes. The recipe makes 10 muffins.

For a cake, put in cake tin and bake for 30 minutes, test with skewer to ensure its cooked through.

For a sandwich cake, double the amount and fill with vegan butter cream. Dairy free Butter cream

Golden syrup

A question regularly asked is what is golden syrup? The following information is taken directly from Wikipedia.

Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to honey and is often used as a substitute where honey is unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

It is not to be confused with amber corn syrup or amber refined sugar. Regular molasses, or dark treacle, has both a richer colour and a strong, distinctive flavour.

A common brand used is Lyle Golden Syrup.

Vegan Chocolate Ganache

***Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free***

Ingredients

280ml/1 cup canned coconut milk – the coconut milk cream from a 400g of tinned coconut milk

30ml/2 tablespoons Coconut oil

300g/2 cups dairy free chocolate (broke in small pieces)

250g/2 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar) (you may need extra if it does not thicken)

Method

Place the coconut milk and coconut oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, do not allow it to boil.
Pour the hot mix over the broken chocolate and mix until all the chocolate as melted. This may take a few minutes
Whisk until full combine.
Slowly add the sugar while the whisk is going. Whisk at a high speed for about an minute.
Place in fridge for about an hour until it complete cools down. It should now have thickened.
Whisk again at a high speed, if it still isn’t thick, then slowly add some more sugar, until you get the required consistency.
Spread on your cake/cupcakes/buns.
It may also be used between two biscuits to make a biscuit sandwich.
Any left over ganache can be rolled and made into sweets.

Birthday cake – chocolate

Vegan Chocolate cake

*** Dairy free, soya free, egg free and wheat free ***

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

280g self raising flour

70g caster sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

Half teaspoon bicarbonate soda

Pinch of salt

Wet ingredients

375ml dairy free milk

120ml coconut oil melted

180ml apple puree

180ml golden syrup

2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar

Method

Preheat the oven 180 degrees Celsius.
Mix the dry ingredients together
Put the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk.
Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing constantly.
Immediately put into lined cake tin (or split between 2 tins if you want to make a sandwich cake)
Bake for 28 minutes, less time if you bake in 2 halves (sandwich cake). Be careful not to over bake.

Rainbow buns

*** Rainbow buns ***

Dairy free, egg free and gluten free

Ingredients

250g self raising flour (I use Aldi gluten free self raising flour)

1 tsp baking powder

125g sugar

60ml sunflower oil

200ml milk (any alternative milk)

20ml golden syrup

Food colouring

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
Sieve flour and baking soda together. Add the sugar.
In another bowl whisk the milk, oil and syrup together. (this is really important)
Add the liquid to dry ingredients and mix well but don’t over mix.
Split the mix in 3. Add about a teaspoon of food colouring to 2 of the portions.
Spoon separately into bun cases.
Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 12/15 minutes.

Simple Buns/Fairy cakes/cupcakes

*** Simple plain buns ***

Dairy free, egg free and gluten free

Ingredients

250g/1&half cups gluten free self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

100g/half cup sugar

60ml/quarter cup flavourless oil (sunflower oil, vegetable oil, rapeseed oil)

200ml/three quarter cup milk (any alternative milk)

15ml/1 tbsp golden syrup/maple syrup

1 tsp cider vinegar

Half tsp vanilla essence

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

• Sieve flour and baking powder together. Add the sugar. Mix together.

• In another bowl whisk the milk, oil, vanilla, syrup and cider vinegar together. (this is really important)

• Add the liquid to dry ingredients and mix well but don’t over mix.

• Put in bun cases (makes 10 cupcakes) immediately and get them into the oven as quick as possible .

• Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes.

If you double the quantities, you can make a sandwich cake, bake for 35/40 minutes. Put buttercream in the middle. https://freefromyummies.ie/2018/11/14/dairy-free-butter-cream/

32157213_201691197277733_5512050977739374592_o

Golden syrup

A question regularly asked is what is golden syrup? The following information is taken directly from Wikipedia.

Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to honey and is often used as a substitute where honey is unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

It is not to be confused with amber corn syrup or amber refined sugar. Regular molasses, or dark treacle, has both a richer colour and a strong, distinctive flavour.