Vegan cheesecake

*** Vegan cheesecake ***

Dairy free, soya free, egg free and easily made gluten free.

One can of coconut milk (400g)
200g dairy free chocolate
2 tbsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)
250g biscuits (any biscuits will work – a mixture of digestives and ginger biscuits is nice)
100g dairy free butter

Method

Store can of coconut milk in fridge over night. This will allow the cream to rise to the top.
Crush biscuits in blender. Melt the butter and add to the crushed biscuits. Place crush biscuits in bottom of cake dish.
Melt the chocolate – set aside to cool.
Using only the cream of the coconut milk (not the water), whisk with the sugar.
Add melted chocolate to coconut milk (need to have cooled slightly) and mix well.
Spread across top of crushed biscuits. Place in fridge for a few hours to set.

Alternatives:
• Use gluten free biscuits in base.
• Use 2 cans of coconut milk (800g) and 400g of chocolate to make top thicker.

Possible to freeze and will keep in freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight before using.

Strawberry Cheesecake.

Vegan chocolate avocado cake

*** Vegan chocolate cake ***
Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free

Very moist cake

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
300g brown sugar
300g gluten free flour
50g cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
2 tsp baking powder
Half tsp of salt
400ml milk (rice milk is best in vegan baking)
170g dairy free butter

Method
• Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius.
• Put avocado and sugar in food processor and blend well.
• Add all other ingredients and blend well.
• Divide between 2 lines cake tins.
• Bake for 30/35 minutes.
• Leave in tins until cool.

Decorate as required. I used vanilla buttercream and chocolate buttercream.

Vegan ganache can also used to decorate.

Milk – Rice milk is best in vegan baking as it holds air better than many alternative milks.

Brownies – no added sugar

*** Sugar free brownies ***
Dairy free, egg free and gluten free and sugar free

Ingredients

100g Sweet potato (peeled and chopped)
2 apples (peeled and chopped)
120g flour (I use gluten free flour, any flour will work)
30g cocoa powder
50g nut butter
20g dairy free butter

Method
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
• Boil the sweet potato and apples until soft and remove most of the water but leave about 2 tbsp of the water in the pot.
• Add the butters and let them melt.
• Puree with hand blender.
• Mix in the flour and cocoa powder, mix well. Put in baking tin but do not flattened down.
• Bake in oven for 25 minutes.

Alternatives

Add 50g dried raisins/dried fruit/dairy free chocolate chips add after flour & cocoa.
1 tablespoon of golden syrup/honey/maple syrup, add with the butter
Add 50g chopped hazelnuts, add with the flour

Vegan lemon cake

Lemon Squares
*** Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free ***
Low sugar
—————————————————-
275g self raising flour (I use gluten free flour)
100g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 lemon zest and juice
100ml oil
170ml milk (I use rice milk)

*** Method ***

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius
Sieve the flour, baking powder.
Add the sugar and mix well.
Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
Line baking tray and pour in mixture.
Bake in oven for 18/20 minutes.

Vegan nutty chocolate cake

*** Nutty chocolate cake ***
Dairy free, soya free and gluten free

200g dairy free butter (I use Stork margarine)
100g caster sugar
100g cornflour
170g plain flour (I use gluten free)
30g cocoa powder

400g dairy free and Soya free chocolate
250g dairy free butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
50g walnuts (crushed)
50g cashews (chopped)
80g small marshmallows

*** Method ***

Base
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
• Cream the butter and sugar together
• Add the cornflour, flour and cocoa powder and mix well
• Press the dough into a lined tin.
• Bake for 15/20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and set a side to cool

Topping
• Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together over a low heat or gently in microwave
• Let it cool for a while and then add the nuts and half the marshmallows

• Place topping on base.
• Sprinkle with remaining marshmallows and some chopped nuts.

• Place in fridge to set

For these to be vegan, vegan marshmallows are required.

Apple muffins

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

Really moist buns

*** Ingredients ***

125ml golden syrup
80ml milk (any alternative milk)
60ml flavourless oil (sunflower oil, vegetable oil, rapeseed oil)
125ml yogurt (I use koko yogurt)
180g self raising flour (I use gluten free self raising flour)
1 tsp baking powder

1 medium cooking apple

** 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.
Slice/finely chop the apple and fold into mixture
Put in bun cases and bake for 18/20 minutes. The recipe makes 10 muffins.

These freeze well and an easy snack.

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.

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.

Nutty banana bread

*** Nutty banana bread ***
Dairy free, soya free, egg free and gluten free.

Easily made free of added sugar

Ingredients

2 ripen bananas well mashed
200g self raising flour (I use Aldi gf self raising)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey (optional)
50g chopped nuts
70g dairy free butter (I use Stork margarine)
30g nut butter

** Method **

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius
Sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together.
Mix in the mashed bananas
Add the chopped nuts and honey
Melt the butters and add. Mix well.
Place in loaf tin and bake for 40/45 minutes.

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.