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Category Archives: Chocolate

Vegan Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies

15 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by Aissa in Biscuits, Chocolate, Cookies, Traditional, Vegan

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Biscuits, Chocolate, Cookies, recipe, Traditional, Vegan

Hi!

It has been a while ย ๐Ÿ˜ฆ sorry ! The last month and a bit life has been crazy but also exciting. I have left Dublin and I am briefly in County Cork with my big sis before I move to Sweden! I am going back to college to do a Masters in Photography… might mean improved pictures for the blog! How you guys stuck with me in the early posts I do not know! Everything looked so orange!!!!

I did make a final bake in our Dublin flat – “On the Move Coconut Macaroons” it was my second time making them, but they were a tad crumbly.. . so when I make them again and have the recipe perfected for nostalgia’s sake I will post a few pics from Dublin too.

I am still trying to pack and I leave County Cork tomorrow! But there is always time for a homemade classic chocolate chip cookies. I have no precariously balance baked goods on a windowsill… this time I put them in the garden and managed to keep them out of reach of my sister’s cute cat ๐Ÿ™‚

Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies in the garden :-)

So Celebrating my move northย Vegan Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies!

  • Two dessertspoons of natural smooth cashew nut butter
  • One rounded dessertspoon of organic raw coconut oil
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • A third of a cup of room temperature almond milk – don’t add it all yet
  • A quarter cup of coconut blossom sugar
  • A quarter cup of rapadura/ turbindo/ sucucant sugar *
  • One cup of unbleached white flour or half & half with fine wholemeal **
  • A quarter teaspoon of himalayan pink salt or fine sea salt
  • Half a teaspoon of low aluminium baking powder
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla powder/ more extract/ half a pod***
  • Approx. 30g or just over 1 ounce of chopped medium dark chopped chocolate. Mine was an organic 70% cocoa.

O I do love my footnotes !

* I could not get rapadura in my local health shop so I used organic raw cane sugar this time.

** I brought a bag of organic unbleached flour with me but could not get a fine wholemeal as normally I would do half and half. If you would like to do Gluten free I recommend half ground almonds and half a white gluten free flour mix.

*** you can NEVER have too much vanilla ๐Ÿ™‚ Though they are also lovely with some orange zest!

Method

Preheat your oven to 170C/ 325F could go up a few degrees if not fan assisted. Make sure your oven shelf is in the middle, the top shelf = burnt biscuits. Have your lined baking tray at the ready.

Grab a medium to large bowl. Put in your cashew nut butter, raw coconut oil and vanilla extract and mash together. Mash mash mash until a smooth mix, a la picture.

Cashew nut butter + org coconut oil + vanilla extract = smiley face

I forgot to take my almond milk out of the fridge so I added a drop of hot water to it and added in half. Important not to add cold non-dairy milk as it will make the coconut oil go solid again and you will get knobs of it in your mix :-{ ugh.

In another bowl bung in all your dry stuff. Sieve the baking powder if lumpy. Mix until all one colour. I used my sister’s lovely wooden bowl ๐Ÿ™‚

Dry stuff is my sister's lovely wooden bowl

Chop your chocolate, fine-ish and no need to be precise in the size of the bits- the unevenness gives them character and also varies the chocolate experience!

Roughly chopped chocolate

Now, add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. You can use your spoon at first, but it will remain bitty and flakey unless you get your hands in there. I find it is better if your hands aren’t too warm so run them under the cold tap for a sec before you start. Press and fold the dough together once or twice and then sprinkle in your chocolate. If the dough is a bit dry add a little more of the left over almond milk and mix and press the dough again. You just want there to be no flour-y bits and for the chocolate to be pretty evenly distributed. It makes for quite a wet batter.

By the rounded teaspoon place them on your baking tray. Give them a little squish down so they aren’t too high as with the baking powder they will rise a bit anyway.

IMG_20160814_121118This made fourteen cookies. My sister’s oven is hotter at the back, so I had to turn them after ten minutes. The oven is not a crazy uber volcano hot oven like my one in Dublin was and I opened it a million times so they took FIFTEEN minutes. I am going to say ten to fifteen minutes because of my impatience and the unfamiiar oven-ness. When they are browning at the edges they are done. Leave them sit on the tray for a five mins before attempting to eat, they need time to firm up.

Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies in the garden :-)

Ta-da! Viola! Vegan Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookies in the garden ๐Ÿ™‚

Look how safe those biscuits are, all on the ground not three stories up and half off a sloping windowsill. When I find somewhere to live in Sweden (O dear lord God I have nowhere to live!!) I will post as soon as possible, maybe with baked goods on a Swedish windowsill! ๐Ÿ™‚

Xs Aissa

After Dinner Mint Pie or Torte! Vegan, No bake & Gluten Free

28 Tuesday Apr 2015

Posted by Aissa in Chocolate, Gluten Free, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Tart, Vegan

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Cacao, Cacao Butter, Chocolate, Gluten free, No bake, Pie, Superfoods, Tart, Vegan

Chocolate, Coconut, almonds and mint, they are such a lovely combination! Pre my launch into an imformed healthy veggism* and then veganism I used to be fond of a after dinner mint chocolate. Who says I can’t have one??? and I’ll make it better too, added uber antioxidants from the cacao and minus the nasty processed sugar and artifical stuff! Ta-da! Vegan After Dinner Mint Pie!

Chocolatey goodness

Chocolatey goodness

Though there are three layers to make, really all you are doing is mushing stuff together, blending bits to something and melting a whole lot of things and pouring them ontop of eachother. What I am saying is- it is easy!! ๐Ÿ™‚

After Dinner Mint Pie / Torte

Almond Base

  • Two and a half dessertspoons of raw organic coconut oil
  • Four dessertspoons of raw dark agave
  • A quarter teaspoon of natural almond extract or five ground apricot kernals
  • A quarter teaspoon of sea salt or himalayan pink salt
  • One and two third cups of ground almonds
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla powder or one pod
  • One or two dessertspoons of fresh lemon juice

Coconut Peppermint Filling

  • One cup of dessicated/ shredded coconut
  • One and a half dessertspoons of raw organic coconut oil
  • Nine drops of food grade peppermint oil or a teaspoon of natural extract
  • This is an odd measure- 15 dessertspoons of non dairy milk

Raw Chocolate Layer

  • Three dessertspoons of chopped cacao paste
  • Two dessertspoons of chopped cacao butter
  • One dessertspoon of cacao powder
  • One and a half dessertspoons of raw organic coconut oil
  • A quarter teaspoon of himlayan pink salt or fine sea salt
  • A quarter teaspoon of vanilla powder or half a pod
  • Four dessertspoons of raw dark agave
  • Five dessertspoons of non dairy milk

Base Method:

Grab your 7.5 inc or 20cm tart tin/ pie dish!! Rub it with a little coconut oil or if using a spring form one line with grease proof paper.

Mash your coconut oil together with the dark agave first. Mix your ground almonds, salt and vanilla and add these into the wet. Mix and then get in there with your fingers and start pressing the mix together. It will remain a little crumbly. Sprinkle one spoon of your lemon juice in and press the mix again. You may or may not need another spoon. You just want to wet the ingredients enough that it will hold together when pressed between your fingers.

from another base recipe- but this gives you an ides

from another base recipe- but this gives you an idea- the base for this will be darker

Now press into your tart/pie dish. Attempt to do so evenly- it will look prettier when cutting it later! ๐Ÿ™‚ Cover it up and put in the fridge.

Coconut Peppermint Filling Method

You will need your blender or food processor for this bit. I imagine an immersion blender would do fine if you can figure out away to stop the coconut from flying all over the room!

Start with your coconut, coconut oil, peppermint and half the non dairy milk ( I used a light coconut one designed for use in cereals or coffee). Give this a blitz with your preferred pre-mentioned electric contraption. Gradually add more non dairy milk until you get the desired snow like consitancy.

Peppermint coconut snow!

Peppermint coconut snow! With very planned soft focus- really…

Take your base out of the fridge and gently press the peppermint coconut snow ontop. Again try and keep it even. Cover up again and put back into the fridge.

Coocnut moon!

Coconut moon!

Raw Chocolate Topping-hmmm

Chop your raw cacao paste and cacao butter. I use an Irish brand called Nua Naturals- it is where I get my vanilla powder and agave too!

The raw fabulousness

The raw fabulousness

Put some water on to simmer and find the right sized a heat proof bowl (e.g perspex ) to place ontop. The water should not touch the bowl or it will be too hot. Pop in your cacao paste, cacao butter and coconut oil. Once melted add the agave, gently stir in the cacao powder, salt, vanilla and non dairy milk of choice. The milk helps the chocolate layer be a little bit softer so that it possible to cut the torte / pie.

Take your nearly finished pie out of the fridge. Use a towel or oven mitt to pick your perspex bowl and pour the yummy gooey chocolate goodness over the snowy coconut layer. It looks so lovely as it coats it. I find it easiest to pick the pie dish up and gently tilt it this way and that until the chocolate has coated it all in a pretty swirling manner. I like to make a tent or tee-pee for my pie out of paper. This keeps it hidden and also reduces the risk of the top of the pie being marked by a collapsing cover.

Leave to chill for a couple of hours at least. You can keep it in the fridge but it really does need to be out at room temprature for a half an hour before serving. I find the the coconut layer goes so solid when refridgerated it will actually separate from the base upon slicing. At room temprature it softens and it all holds together like pies should!

The after dinner mint pie !

The after dinner mint pie !

Though rich and chocolatey the peppermint adds a freshness that keeps it from being too heavy! Hope you try it out . Xs Aissa

* I was ten when I turned veggie first, so my eduaction re ingredients was a gradual process!

Raw/No bake “Intensely Dark Decadent Cacao Fudge”- Vegan & Gluten Free

03 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by Aissa in Chocolate, Gluten Free, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Sweets, Vegan

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Tags

Cacao, Chocolate, chocolate fudge, Gluten free, No bake, Superfoods, Sweets, Vegan

Fair warning- this is a decadently intense chocolate experience. That said a little spoon of this dark fudgey goo hits the the chocolate/cacao craving nail right on the head! You will need a food processor or blender to make it as is. You could use ready prepared ground almonds chop some walnuts to a dust like consistency but you will get a lighter more of cake like version.

Anyone thinking that person spelled cocoa wrong? Cacao is raw cocoa, it has a slightly more complex flavour and a lighter colour. In it’s raw form more of the nutrients survive (esp antioxidants & magnesium) so you get all the fabulousness of cocoa with an extra health kick!

This Fudge is Filled with Filling nuts so is almost like protein chocolate fudge, if the richness doesn’t get you the amino acids will ๐Ÿ˜‰

Intensely Dark Decadent Cacao Fudge

  • One cup of whole almonds
  • Half a cup of walnuts
  • Half a cup of cacao powder
  • Four dessertspoons of dark raisins*
  • Two and a half dessertspoons of raw coconut oil
  • A quarter teaspoon of good quality sea salt
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla powder/ a pod
  • One dessertspoon of pure maple syrup
  • One dessertspoon of water kefir/ water**
  • Zest of an unwaxed organic orange- hold half a teaspoon back
  • Five walnuts chopped
  • A dessertspoon of desiccated/ shredded coconut

Method:

Ready your machinery and pop in the nuts with half the raisins and the coconut oil. Blend / pulse until they are chopped a bit. Add in the rest of your ingredients bar the last three.

Nearly raw fudge!

Nearly raw fudge!

It may seem like it it is not going to come together, gradually add in the water kefir/water. The texture will begin to change, you will prob just be pulsing it a bit at this stage. Transfer the fudgey-ness to a bowl add in the orange zest and mix it through. Keep half a teaspoon of the orange zest back, as you will be putting it on top later.

OOooOoo look how dark it is!

OOooOoo look how dark it is!

I used a 15cmx15cm (5.9inc x5.9inch!) perspex container. I gave it a little wipe with coconut oil to make it easier to remove the fudge. No-one wants delayed access! Plop half the goo in the middle and spread evenly. Add on your chopped walnuts and gently layer more of the fudge on top. Decorate with your orange zest next. Finally sprinkle on your desiccated coconut, press this into the fudge so it can’t go anywhere. Cover and put in the fridge for ten minutes. Take it out and use a knife to cut your little squares of dark delight! Pop back in the fridge and leave to set for another forty five minutes or so.

Intensely dark fudge :-)

Intensely dark fudge ๐Ÿ™‚

It is fast and easy to make and will keep fantastically in the fridge or freezer. So can be made well in advance or be an emergency chocolate store! Xs Aissa

*Footnotes*

* I used these fab organic Black Beauty raisins from Uzbekistan! I was gifted them ๐Ÿ™‚ they had no oil and were really juicy. I think a good substitute would be Jumbo Chilean Black raisins or Muscatels

**Water kefir, why not get some live bacteria, good yeasts and enzymes in your fudge? Kombucha might work too…

Cacao Nut Bites – Vegan & Gluten Free

13 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by Aissa in Chocolate, Gluten Free, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Sweets, Vegan

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Tags

Cacao Butter, Chocolate, Gluten free, No bake, organic coconut oil, Superfoods, Sweets, Vegan

These are mainly nuts and seeds, as a result they are high in protein, healthy fats and are super filling. Be great to bring if you were going on a big hike, mine was mainly from the kitchen to the couch whileย going back and forth for more!ย People think making your own raw chocolate is some complex mystery.ย It isย actually really easyย and it meansย you can control the flavour, sugar content andย get all those lovely antioxidants and minerals in the cacao too! Hmmm chocolate.

You will need a strong food processor or blender to follow the recipe exactly, I willย give alternatives in the footnotes if you are with out these contraptions. I used a 15cm x 15cm (almost 6inc x 6inc )ย perspex dish,ย so it made nineย good sizedย Cacaoย Nut Bites.ย They are very fast to make and the joy of raw vegan baking is you can taste everything along the way. ๐Ÿ™‚

Cacao Nut Bites

The Base*

  • 125g/ three quarters of a cup of whole almonds
  • Twelve whole brazil nuts
  • One flat dessertspoon of organic coconut oil
  • One teaspoon of vanilla powder
  • An eighth of a teaspoon of fine Himalayan pink salt or good sea salt
  • One dessertspoon of good quality maple syrup

The Sprinkle layer

  • Three dessertspoons of sunflower seeds
  • Approx. twenty organic dried mulberries

The Topping

  • One dessertspoon of organic coconut oil
  • Roughly one and a half dessertspoons of organic cacao butter
  • Roughly three dessertspoons of organic cacao paste
  • One teaspoon of organic cacao powder
  • Less than an eighth of a teaspoon of good fine sea salt
  • Two dessertspoons of good quality maple syrup

The very simple Method

Starting with the base, through everything into your food processor and blend until it starts to get a bit sticky. I find you still need to work it a bit with your hands, in order to help it all stick together. Just press it into your container- as evenly as possible.

Base ingredients

Base ingredients

Sprinkle your sunflower seeds and mulberries on top and put it all in the fridge while you make your raw chocolate!

Avec toppings

Put a saucepan half filled with water on to your hob. Bring it to a simmer and pop a perspex bowl (that will fit ) on top. The water should not touch the base, or it will be too hot and burn the precious chocolate. Melt the cacao paste and butter and coconut oil, take off the heat for maybe thirty seconds (something about cacao crystals realigning) . Put back on the heatย and add in the cacao powder, saltย and maple syrup. Mix and melt together.

melting

Take yourย base out of the fridge. Using a oven glove or tea-towel grab your bowl of melted goodness and pour it over everything. You may have to move your mulberries a bit after to make sure they are evenly spread. Put back in the fridge to set. It would probably be a good idea to take it out afterย five minutes and score the top in the way you plan to cut it. The chocolate sets quite hard!

hmm melted chocolate

hmm melted chocolate

Hope you try them, I found the brazil nuts bring something more interesting to the flavour. Who knew sunflower seeds and chocolate would be such a good combination?

Xs Aissa

*Footnotes

No machine? No fear! You can use ground almonds instead of the whole ones. You can use a big dessertspoon of brazil nut butter or cashew nut butter instead of the other nuts.ย Finally addย barely an eighth of a teaspoon of natural almond extract to your coconut oil. Mash the oil, nut butters, maple syrup, almond and vanilla extract together first. Add in the ground almonds and salt, mix and press it altogether.

Minty Chocolate Brownies Vegan & Gluten free plus Yin Yoga

16 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by Aissa in Cake, Chocolate, Gluten Free, Natural Health, Traditional, Vegan, yoga

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Cake, Chocolate, Chocolate Brownies, Gluten free, Natural Health, Vegan, Yoga

So I made these chocolate brownies during the week. Super fast and supremely easy! Mint, vanilla and chocolate such a delectable combination…that said if you are not a paid up member of the “Mint Lovers Club” you can always add orange zest and a splash of juice for chocolate brownies with a fruity twist!

You will need a 9inch (22cm) squared cake pan, you can use smaller for a higher rise. I like them bite size- what make it more complicated to eat?!!

Minty Chocolate Brownies Vegan & Gluten free

  • Two generous dessertspoons of organic coconut oil
  • Two teaspoons of cashew nut butter
  • Half a teaspoon of peppermint extract or four drops of culinary peppermint oil
  • Half a cup of unsweetened almond milk
  • A third of a cup of a good quality raw agave
  • Two teaspoons of vanilla powder or extract or two pods
  • A scant third of a cup of rapadura /sucucant sugar
  • A third of a cup of pure cocoa powder
  • A rounded teaspoon of arrowroot powder
  • One and a half teaspoons of baking powder
  • Half a cup of ground almonds
  • Half a cup plus three dessertspoons of fine maize meal
  • A quarter teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt or good sea salt
  • 35g(1.25oz) of chopped up 70% dark chocolate
  • A quarter cup of warm water (boiled and left to cool a bit)

Method

Preheat your oven to 170C (fan) or 340F. Line your tin with paper and lightly grease with some coconut oil.

Grab a medium sized bowl and put in your vanilla powder/ pod (if using extract add it to the wet instead), sugar, ground almonds, maize meal and salt. Press out any lumps. Get a sieve and sieve in your cocoa powder, arrowroot and baking powder. Mix them all together evenly. Set to one side.

Chop your chocolate, it does not have to be super finely chopped as coming across the odd chunk is an extra treat! I used an organic one that has some wild harvest beans in it too..swanky. This is to be sprinkled on top of the brownie batter. Measure out your warm water.

Yummy chopped chocolate-

Yummy chopped chocolate-

You will need to melt the wet ingredients, so get a perspex bowl and put over a saucepan of lightly simmering water, it should fit safely and the water should not be touching the base of the bowl. Pop in your coconut oil and cashew nut butter first and once they have melted add in your peppermint extract, agave and almond milk. Once it is all melted together and your kitchen smells minty fresh take it off the heat.

golden melted gooey goodness

golden melted gooey goodness

Use an oven glove or towel to pick the bowl up and pour the lot into the middle of your dry ingredients. Fold the gooey mixture together – ย gently does it. You don’t want to knock air out, we are making brownies not bread! ๐Ÿ™‚ When combined (no big lumpy flourier bits and a uniform colour) Pour the (quite runny) batter into the cake tin. Quickly now- no dilly dallying- sprinkle your chopped chocolate ontop and press in ever so slightly. Pour your water over the top and put into the middle of your preheated oven.

Upside down chocolate brownie slab...is it just me or is that a face?

Upside down chocolate brownie slab…is it just me or is that an upside down face?

It takes twenty five minutes, fast…but you have to wait a good ten minute before removing it from your tin. I was impatient and as you can see by the picture it stuck a little. Gluten free equals handle with care. Once cooled a bit you cut it into bite sized chunks! Ta-Da! Brownies.

hmmmMmm brownie

HmmmMmm rich minty chocolate brownie

O and here is the Yin Yoga I did this evening. Lovely gentle Yoga practice for the start of the week. Not crazy push yourself advanced- but is in the holding of even the most simple pose that you find the beauty of a yin practice.

Xs Aissa

No Bake Salted Chocolate Banana Loaf. Vegan & Gluten Free

30 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Aissa in Chocolate, Gluten Free, No bake/ Raw, Sweets, Tart, Vegan

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Cacao, Cacao Butter, Chocolate, Gluten free, No bake, Sweets, Tart, Vegan

Raw Chocolate, banana, walnut and coconut make such a sweet melody of flavours. Do not be afraid of the amount of salt, it really is key to the recipe. As with a lot of raw recipes it takes a little planning but then it is quite simple to bring it all together. You need to soak the cashews and apricots over night so that they will blend easily. I was lazy almost every evening so I actually did this over three days!

I really want to start mastering the art of stevia use. When I first got into vegan baking stevia was not available in Ireland, due to a very weird ban! I actually bought it Berlin on a college trip! It was a disaster, I used far too much. I learnt my lesson so feel safe to trust the amounts I have used here.

You will need a blender- hand-held will do. A loaf tin, I used silicon, if using an actual tin one make sure to line it with paper so it is easy to take out.

No Bake Salted Chocolate Banana Loaf

Fudgey Apricot Almond Layer

  • Seven Un-sulphered Apricots soaked over night (use to less for a dryer texture)
  • Zest of a unwaxed orange
  • Two dessert spoons of tahini raw if preferred
  • Half a dessertspoonful of organic coconut oil
  • Four or five drops of a liquid stevia
  • One and a third cups of organic ground almonds,ย grind yourself for a raw version
  • One and a half dessert spoons of raw cacao powder
  • An eight of a teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt or sea salt

Method:ย  You will need to get the blender out at this point. I have an immersion hand-held blender and it does okay but if you have a jug better it will come together even better.

soaked apricots

soaked apricots

Smush your tahini, coconut oil, stevia and orange zest together. Chop your soaked apricots and add to the tahini mix. Now blend them a bit. In another bowl put your dry ingredients together i.e. ground almonds, salt and cacao. Add half to your wet mix and blend again. Add the other half. It is a bit dry for my blender at this point so I mix the second half through. Now press into your lined or silicon loaf tin and pop into the fridge.

Banana Cashew Coconut Layer

  • Half a cup of chopped cashews soaked over night. (make sure they are covered by the water as they will swell )
  • Two ripe bananas very well mashed
  • Two drops of stevia
  • One dessertspoonful of pure maple syrup
  • A teaspoon of vanilla powder/ two pods/ tsp of vanilla bean paste*
  • A third of a cup of desiccated coconut, roughly ground raw flakes for a raw version
  • Keep a rounded dessertspoonful of the coconut back for sprinkling

Method: Mash mash mash your bananas, add the vanilla, stevia, maple syrup ย and mash again! Now add the cashews. Using your blender and blend! Spread this on top of the fudgey layer. Cover and pop back into the fridge.

Pre the chocolate layer

Pre the walnut layer

Toasted Walnuts and Raw Chocolate Salted Layer

  • Eighteen walnuts chopped (allowing two for tasting to see if toasted)
  • A quarter teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt or good sea salt
  • ————————————————————–
  • A third of a cup of cacao paste chopped
  • Just under a third of a cup of cacao butter chopped
  • One and a half spoons of organic coconut oil
  • Five dessert spoons of rice syrup
  • Two dessert spoons of maple syrup
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla powder/ one pod/ paste
  • An eight of a teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt of good sea salt

Method:ย You will need two saucepans. Pick one to put hot water so you can melt your chocolate over it in a perspex bowl. Put it on a medium heat so the water simmer. Insure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl or it will be too hot. Put your cacao paste, butter and coconut oil into melt.

Avec toasted walnuts

Avec toasted walnuts

When your cacao-y mix is melted add the syrups and mix through. Add in the vanilla and salt next. Take off the heat. Leaving it off the heat for a bit before warming it up again helps the cacao butter crystals align and makes for a better chocolate. They say ten minutes but it was more like six or seven when I did it this time.

melty cacao-ness

Meanwhile put another saucepan on a medium high heat and start toasting your walnuts with the salt. They are done when they change colour a little, they inside become a little more yellow. Be careful not to overdo them, hence the tasting!

I picked my salty walnuts out and sprinkled them over the banana layer. I wanted some of the salt but not all, which is why I didn’t just pour them over it.

Put your chocolate back on the hit and give it a stir. It will become lovely and shiny after a minute or two. Using an oven glove or towel grab your bowl and pour the chocolate over the walnut layer.

hmmm yum

hmmm yum

 

Leave for a few seconds. Bang it flat on the table/ counter once or twice to leave air bubbles out. Now put in the fridge to set. I left mine for an hour and a half, but I imagine it would be ready after an hour. I think that after twenty minutes it would be worth taking it out and scoring the top where you plan to cut slices. I will do this next time to make it easier to cut.

close up

close up

It is fudgey, gooey, crunchy ,sweet and salty taste experience. I had mine with Irish salt caramel vegan ice- cream. Sooo good. It is super filling with all the almonds and walnuts so a little goes a long way!

Salted Chocolate banana Loaf

Salted Chocolate banana Loaf

I recommend storing it in the fridge so the banana gooey layer does not melt, though it is cold enough here enough that it would be fine! e.g. see below…

Yesterday's snow

Yesterday’s snow

O and this…

It's an Organic Lime Fish!

It’s an Organic Lime Fish!

Anyhooooow let me know if you try it out! Xs Aissa

 

 

 

Seasonal Chestnut Chocolate Tart / Pie- Vegan, Gluten Free & No Bake!!

01 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by Aissa in Chocolate, Gluten Free, No bake/ Raw, Tart, Vegan

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Tags

Cacao, Cacao Butter, chestnut puree, Chocolate, Gluten free, recipe, Tart, Vegan

Autumn and Winter are the times for chestnuts. You may even have a can of chestnut puree left over from the Christmas stock pile, or the cooked vacuum packed kind you can puree yourself. Organic Bergamot lemons have just appeared back on our shelves and I could not resist adding some zest to the chocolate mousse-y goodness of the filling. I have decided chocolate to be permanently in season, no arguments!

The recipe can be made lickety split! The longest part is waiting the three or four hours for it to set in the fridge or freezer, whilst you lick bowls,spoons and spatulas ๐Ÿ™‚

mousse filling

Chestnut Chocolate Filling!

 

ย Seasonal Chestnut Chocolate Pie / Tart

Prepare a 20cm/ 7.8inc tart dish by greasing lightly with a little coconut oil. If using a spring form tin line it with some baking paper to prevent sticking. You will need a saucepan and perspex bowl to melt your chocolate in. I use a handheld immersion blender and a coffee grinder for the nuts, if you have a jug blender that will do even better.

The Press In Base

  • One and a half cups of ground almonds
  • A third of a cup of walnuts
  • One tablespoon of cashews
  • Eight apricot kernels*
  • An eight teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt or fine sea salt
  • An eight of a teaspoon of cardamon powder
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla powder/ one pod/ one tsp of vanilla bean paste
  • Three drops of lemon oil/ a quarter tsp of extract
  • One and a half tablespoons of organic cold pressed coconut oil
  • One tablespoon of cashew nut butter
  • One and a half tablespoons of raw dark agave**
  • Two and a half tablespoons of maple syrup**

* You can use a quarter teaspoon of almond extract instead

** You could also soak six or seven medjool dates or un-sulphered apricots over night. Puree them and use them instead of the syrups.

Chestnut Chocolate Mousse-y Filling

  • One small avocado- mashed
  • Optional: Zest of one unwaxed organic bergamot lemon*
  • Zest of one unwaxed organic orange*
  • Five drops of orange oil/ one tsp of natural extract/ zest of another orange
  • One cup/ 225g of unsweetened chestnut puree
  • Juice of half an orange
  • Make up a quarter cup of raw dark agave and maple syrup
  • One scant teaspoon of vanilla powder/ two pods/ two scant tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 70g/ 2.5oz bar of at least 70% good quality dark chocolate
  • Three tablespoons of roughly chopped cacao butter
  • Optional: One tablespoon of cacao paste
  • One tablespoon of cocoa or cacao
  • A generous eight of a teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt or sea salt
  • Half a cup of non-dairy milk

*Organic as I do not want to zest chemicals

Base Method

Ready your ingredients and grab a bowl. I like to prepare the dry things first. Grind your walnuts, cashews and apricot kernels to a soft meal. Put in your bowl. Add in the ground almonds, salt, cardamon and vanilla powder. If using vanilla bean paste add it to the wet.

dry ingredients

dry ingredients

In another bowl mash your coconut oil, cashew nut butter, lemon oil/ extract, agave and maple syrup.

Add your dry ingredients to the wet ones. Give it a stir, you will need to get in there with your hands in order to get it to turn into a crumbly meal. It should stick together when pinched between your fingers.

crumbly base

You can now press it into the tart dish. Try and get it nice and even. Cover it with baking paper or foil. You can now pop it in the fridge or freezer while you make the delectable chocolate top!

The press in base

The press in base

Chestnut Chocolate Mousse-y Filling- Method

Put some hot water in a saucepan and keep it on a medium heat on your hob. Make sure you use a saucepan that your perspex bowl will fit over later when melting the chocolate.

In another bowl start combining your ingredients. If you have a jug blender you can add them all to this. Firstly mash together your small avocado, zests, orange oil /extract.

avocado & zest

Avocado and zest looking like alien goo

Next grab your can of chestnut puree. So pretty and smooth and shinny! Doing a good impersonation of chocolate. Mash this into the other ingredients, add the juice of half an orange and the agave and maple syrup. Using your blender, blend them all together to a soft fluffy puree. Leave to one side while you get ready to melt your chocolate.

chestnut puree

Giant can of puree! I will have to think of another recipe for the left overs!ย 

Roughly chop your bar of chocolate and add it to the perspex bowl on the saucepan. Add in the cacao butter and cacao paste if using, keep stirring until it melts. Turn off the heat. Add your vanilla powder/pod/ paste, the salt and the cocoa or cacao. Mix throughly. Gradually start trickling in the half cup of non-dairy milk. Stir it all together.

melty chocolate

Must not stick my finger in, must not stick my finger in

Take your base out of the fridge/ freezer and uncover it. Now using an oven mitt or towel pick up the bowl with the chocolate and carefully add to the chestnut-y puree, gently folding it through at the same time. Use a spatula to get the very last bit of the chocolate goodness.

Chestnut Chocolate Pie

Oooo!

Quickly, before it begins to thicken, pour the mousse on top of the base. Using a spatula spread it evenly. Do not be heavy handed, you want to keep the air in it. Grate a little extract orange zest on top. Cover it up again, try not to have it touch the pie filling or it will mark it, you could make a foil tent if you like. Leave it to set in the fridge or freezer. A minimum of three or four hours. It is even better if you can leave it overnight.

I store mine in the fridge. When you are serving it leave the slices warm up a little. You can taste it better when it is not too cold. I served mine with some shaved chocolate and a little coconut yoghurt. You could also use your favourite vegan ice-cream.

Perfect start to the new year! Yum yum.

Perfect start to the new year! Yum yum.

Happy new year to you all. I think it would be lovely to add tablespoon of Grand Marnier, let me know if you try that! Xs Aissa

 

 

 

 

 

No Bake! Fruity Mousse-y Chocolate Tart with a Bergamot Biscuit Base! Vegan &Gluten Free

27 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by Aissa in Chocolate, Gluten Free, Natural Health, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Tart, Traditional, Vegan

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Tags

Cacao, Cacao Butter, Chocolate, Gluten free, Natural Health, No bake, Superfoods, Tart, Vegan

I spent a bit of time trying to think of a catchy title for this torte! Antioxidant blast Cacao Tart? With a bergamot cookie crust? Clearly I did not come up with one. Suggestions welcomed! I love Bergamot as an aromatherapy oil and in season bergamot lemons are great in juices. Though not a big black tea drinker if there is a pot of earl grey brewing I’d partake in a cup! Chocolate… do I have to explain? Endorphins helloooo! I don’t object to the touch of caffeine either. When you go for the raw stuff you add higher levels of magnesium, all those fantastic antioxidants and the ability to make your chocolate, the way you like it! Want it intensely dark? Have more cacao paste. Lighter and creamier? Up the cacao butter! You can be in control of this magnificent food!! Exciting!

Pre the freeze!

Hmmm Choc-o-late ๐Ÿ™‚

Ace blogger Susan Jane White was in the shop recently and she brought up using apricot kernels as a natural almond flavour. I realised I have not mentioned them here yet! Apricot Kernels are super fantastic little nutty wonders! Intensely flavoured and therefor not to be overdone. They are nutrient packed and contain laertrile (found in apple pips & almonds too) in fact strictly speaking the advise is approx. 10 a day is more than enough. I use them in raw energy balls too, as alcohol based almond extracts can come off a little bitter in uncooked goodies.

I give a few options for complete raw-ness or alternatively more easily available ingredients at the end of the recipe in the footnotes.

Fruity Mousse-y Chocolate Tart with Bergamot Biscuit Base

The Base:

  • One dessertspoon of org raw coconut oil
  • Two dessertspoons of a runny tahini
  • Five drops of food grade bergamot oil/ lemon zest &ย a tsp lemon extract
  • Six or seven apricot kernels ground or half a cap of almond extract
  • One and a third cups of ground almonds
  • A quarter tsp of himalayan pink salt or sea salt
  • Two or Three dessertspoons of fresh lemon juice

Base method:

All you have to do is mash together the oil, tahini and bergamot and or extracts first. In another bowl mix your ground apricot kernels, ground almonds and salt. Now add the dry to the wet. You need to reaaallly mash them together. Press press press so the oils are taken up by the dry. It should have a little bit of a crumbly texture. To bring it all together and add flavour you start by adding one spoon of lemon juice. Use your hands to form the dough. When you squeeze a little of the mix between your fingers it should hold together. Add some more lemon juice if needed.

Now press it into your prepared tart tin/ pie pan. Try to do it evenly. This makes for a lovely thin crust. Cover it and pop it in the freezer while you prepare the topping.

Almondy bergomoty base

Almondy bergomoty base

Mousse-y Chocolate Topping

Mushy stuff that needs blending…..

  • A third of a cup of cashews-soaked in a cup of water overnight
  • A quarter cup of non dairy milk
  • One mashed avocado (ripe when dark sap green and there a little give when squeezed gently. Love nature! Hug an avocado!)
  • Two dessertspoons blueberries fresh or frozen
  • A quarter tsp of himalayan pink salt or sea salt

Your cacao chocolate mix that needs melting…

  • Three dessertspoons of chopped cacao paste liquor
  • Three dessertspoons of chopped cacao butter
  • One teaspoon of org raw coconut oil
  • Two teaspoons cacao powder
  • One teaspoon vanilla powder/ extract /two pods
  • A third of a cup of a mixture of raw dark agave & maple syrup
  • Two dessertspoons of date syrup

Mousse-y Topping Method:

Sooo first part. Drain your cashews. If you have a good blender all you have to do is pop all the “mushy” ingredients into it and blend! I have a hand held blender so I need to be a bit more gentle. Add your milk to your cashews and partial blend. Use a deep bowl- I did not and spattered myself and the kitchen with flying cashew bits! Mash the avocado and blueberries with a fork first. Add these to the cashews and blend to a creamy consistency. I attempted to cut the soaking time of the cashews to a few hours and they definately did not blend as well.

Mushy Galaxy of yummy goodness

Mushy Galaxy of yummy goodness

Second bit. Put a small saucepan of water on to a gentle simmer and pop a perspex bowl on top. The bowl should not touch the water, or it will get too hot. Start by melting your cacao paste, cacao butter and coconut oil. Once melted you can stir in the agave/maple/date syrup, cacao powder and vanilla. Take off the heat.

Cacao Cliff ready for chopping

Cacao Cliff ready for chopping

The yummy “no you can not stick your finger in it!” part. Take your base out of the freezer and uncover it. Stick a spatula in your blended ingredients. Using a towel/oven glove take your bowl of melted chocolate off the saucepan. Very slowly dribble your chocolate into the blended mixture. Fold it through with your spatula as you are pouring. It sets fast, you will notice this even as you spread it evenly over the crust. The cacao butter wants to be solid at room temperature. Cover it up again. Make sure it is not sitting on ย tart top or it will mark, a little tent or tepee or paper/ foil should do the trick. Leave to set and chill for at least a couple of hours.

Now take the bowl and stick your finger in it. Licking the bowl the joy of vegan baking!

Pre the freeze!

Pre the freeze!

I keep it the freezer, cyrogenicly perserving the tartย so it can be made in advance and has lasting power.ย It just needs fifteen to twenty minutes at room temperature to soften before serving.

I hope you guys like it. I think the bergamot’s bright sharpness really complements the rich chocolatey topping.ย Xs Aissa

Footnotes!!!

Depending on your cupboard stores you can swankify it by using all raw ingredients e.g. grinding your own almonds for the crust and using raw tahini or raw cashew butter in it. Stick to the raw agave/date syrup or you could soak about 8 medjool dates and blend them into the crust for sweetness.

If it is a bus, a bike and a swim to the nearest health food store there are options too. It really becomes a different tart but why should you miss out on tart just because its a triathlon to a gourmet shop??

You can dig the ground almonds from the back of the press. Use half a cap of almond essence instead of the apricot kernels. The zest of a unwaxed lemon and half a tsp of lemon extract can be used instead of bergamot. Maple syrup is in most supermarkets and this is an obvious alternative to the raw agave/ date syrup. The date does add to the fruity flavour of the mousse so maybe up the blueberries by the dessertspoon. Lastly you can use dark cocoa instead of cacao and a 100g/ 40z bar of good quality dark (72% or 85%) chocolate instead of the raw cacao. O and reduce the syrup by half in the liquid ingredients as the chocolate bar will already be sweet.!!! Phew…. maybe it is easier to don the wetsuit than to read through those instructions. ๐Ÿ™‚

Its Classic Chocolate Cake – gluten free & vegan & yummy!

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by Aissa in Cake, Chocolate, Cupcakes, Gluten Free, Traditional, Vegan

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Cake, Chocolate, Cupcakes, Gluten free, Traditional, Vegan, Vegan icing/ frosting

Classic Chocolate Cake, it also a classic vegan cake. Lots of vegan cakes use non dairy yoghurt instead of eggs or and apple puree, which I do in this. I have discovered the ingredients are somewhat flexible. If you find you have no yogurt you can use banana. Not enough apple puree, add more yoghurt and banana! The gluten free flour is easy to change about, though I recommend not going over a third of a cup of buckwheat as it can become sour.

I have been making various versions with various flavours for a while. The element which helped this chocolate cake to another level of yummy was the discovery of a method on theppk.com forย Chocolate Pumpkin Loafย . In the past I would to add hot water at the end, not the middle. It also inspired me to add some cinnamon! ๐Ÿ™‚

Classic Chocolate Cake

Classic Chocolate Cake- gluten free and gooey

  • A quarter cup of soya yoghurt ( I used cherry flavour)
  • A quarter cup of cold pressed light sunflower oil
  • A third of a cup of cocoa
  • A big dessertspoon cacao powder
  • A cup of apple puree (unsweetened)
  • A scant two thirds of a cup of rapadura / sucucant / coconut sugar*
  • * and take out 3 dessertspoons as it will be a tad to sweet otherwise!
  • A third of a cup of boiling water plus a a dessertspoon.
  • One cup gluten free flour. I used the brand “Doves” (which is a blend tapioca,rice,maize & buckwheat)
  • Half a cup of ground almonds
  • One teaspoon of vanilla powder/ two pods/ a dessertspoon of extract
  • A third of a teaspoon of cinnamon (you barely notice it so you can add more!)
  • A quarter teaspoon of himalayan pink salt/ sea salt
  • One teaspoon of g/f aluminium free baking powder
  • Half a teaspoon of g/f aluminium free bread soda/ baking soda
  • One teaspoon of cornstarch
  • Half a cup/ 50g of chopped 72% vegan chocolate- I used one sweetened with xylitol
  • Seven crumbled/ chopped walnuts or a few spoons of chopped cashews

Chocolate Icing/ Frosting

  • Two dessertspoons of organic raw coconut oil
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla powder/ extract/ one pod
  • Half a cup of vegan icing sugar
  • One big or two scant dessertspoons cocoa powder
  • A dessertspoon and a half of warm water

The Cake Method

Pre-heat your oven to 180C/ 355F. Grease a 20cm/ 7.5inch cake tin.

You will need two bowls. In the first bowl put in your apple puree, yoghurt, oil and sieve in the cocoa and cacao powders. Give a good stir. If you are using vanilla extract not powder add it to the wet not the dry.

with the glorious cocoa & cacao

with the glorious cocoa & cacao

In your second bowl add the flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder,soda, cornflour and salt.

Now the clever bit. Add your third of a cup of hot water to your apple-y cocoa bowl. Stir it through. Add in your sugar and mix it again, making sure there are no lumpy bits.

Gently fold in half your dry ingredients. Add a dessertspoon of hot water and carefully give a stir. Add the rest of your dry stuff. Really be nice folding it in, fold in your chopped chocolate and walnuts. Do not over mix. You do not want to knock the air out.

Pour into your prepared cake tin. Put it in the middle of your oven. I put mine slightly to the right as the left is a bit hotter!

It usually takes 25mins. I peeped a couple of times and it took 30mins this time. It should be coming away from the sides of the pan, a little domed and cracking a bit. If you poke it with a skewer it should come out clean.

cake surface!

cake surface!

Leave it to cool for ten minutes before turning it out to cool on a rack. I left mine to cool on the windowsill – one of the first signs of winter!

When completely cooled you can ice it.

The Icing Method

Mash your coconut oil to soften. Sieve your icing sugar and cocoa in add your vanilla. Mash and press the mixture until a crumbly texture. Add one spoon of warm water first and mix again. Use warm water as cold water would make the coconut oil go solid again. You may or may not need the other half spoon of water. You want it to be soft and spreadable but not runny.

I plop all mine in the middle of the cake and sweep it to the edges with the back of a spoon or knife. This is enough icing for me, as you can see by the picture it is not smothered in it. You can always increase it by a third if you want a thicker layer.

iced!

iced!

Hope you try it out.

Xs Aissa

Last big slice! I then poured vegan cream over the top!

Last big slice! All it needs now is vegan ice-cream!

Orange that is Green juice + raw experiments +yoga

04 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Aissa in Chocolate, Gluten Free, juice, Natural Health, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Tart, Vegan, yoga

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Tags

Chocolate, Gluten free, Juice, Natural Health, No bake, Superfoods, Tart, Vegan, Yoga

Experiments in other people’s raw recipes!

So I was given the generous gift of “Rawsome vegan Baking” by a friend of mine. It is a beautiful book, everything is explained well and concisely. I am not kited out with dehydrators and vita-mixes but there is still a lot I can make or improvise around. One of the great guys I work with was leaving and I wanted to make something. This is always a risky thing to do. To make something for some one using a recipe from a new cookbook (or not cook as the case maybe)!!! It turned out lovely. I made “Avocado Mint Cream Bars with chocolate, two ways” on p.106. My only quibbles were I had to increase the ingredients to fit my tart pan. It says a 9inch square pan or 23cm is fine. I used a 7.5/8inch 20cm round pan and the measurements were definitely short. I had enough ingredients to increase the amounts but it made it a bit stressful. The avocado layer could have been thicker too. It was a little too sweet for me. I often find this though, I should have known to reduce the sweet stuff a little for my palette. Here is a picture

My Rawsome Vegan Life Avocado Mint cream bars

My Rawsome Vegan Life Avocado Mint cream bars

Here is a pic from Emily’s blog of what they should look like! Maybe it was the lack of a proper blender. Either way it tasted niceโ€ฆeven if it was less pretty ๐Ÿ˜ฆ

The real deal!

The real deal!

http://www.eatgood4life.com/avocado-mint-cream-bars/ Has written up the recipe if you want to check it out. In the original you can use fresh coconut meat instead of a banana. I being blenderless went for the banana option.

Yoga

I went for a more challenging routine today. I had the time, I’m off work today ‘cos it is a bank holiday here. It was good. I was very surprised at what I found hard. About 25mins in there is a pose where you squat and grab hands through one knee and attempt to stand up. The first time doing it you keep your legs in a half bend. I had to come out of the pose! Horror! Horror! My thighs could no take it! (Scotty from Star Trek voice!) But I kept going and attempted the full pose where you straighten your legs. SOOOO much easier. Therefor revealing my need to do more chair poses!

There is precise instruction on options to get into a head stand, also great description of getting into crow. Wish I’d seen the crow one back when I had been attempting it first! I did my head stand against the wall. Though I am getting more confidant and I didn’t lean against it. Glad I did as I wavered and wobbled a bit and needed something behind me! ๐Ÿ™‚

And finally juice. Orange that is green Juiceย 

  • Wheatgrass- a 1inch diameter bundle
  • Three or four chard leaves
  • One unwaxed red apple
  • One unwaxed big orange
  • Three inch piece of cucumber
  • Six mint leaves
  • A half inch piece of turmeric
  • A quarter inch piece of organic ginger (i.e not irradiated!)
  • Optional: shot of water kefir
Colours!

Colours!

This juice was like a trick. It tasted sweet and citrusy orange but was totally green. Enjoyable for that reason alone, but it tasted lovely too!

orange is green juice

orange is green juice

Hope that you try some of these things out! Xs Aissa

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