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VeganEtcetera

~ Eating healthily easily

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Category Archives: Uncategorized

Almond Cake with Lemon Icing- Vegan & Gluten free!!

01 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by Aissa in Cake, Cupcakes, Gluten Free, Uncategorized, Vegan

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

Sorry for the gap in posts! Life has been very life-y. I changed jobs, visited family and one of my wisdom teeth has turned out to be the source of all evil- currently quite uneven faced. So…. though I am seriously sugar free at the moment in order to give my immune system some chance of winning the battle against invading forces, here is the as promised the almond cake! Gluten free of course. The base recipe is similar to my last few cake ones, I guess I am really liking the texture the coconut oil gives to the cake. Springy and moist with good structure.

Almond cake!

Almond cake- wish I had vegan vanilla ice-cream with it

Almond Cake- gluten free & vegan of course!

  • A full cup or 200g of apple blueberry puree (or apple puree and add a some mashed blueberries)
  • 4 scant dessertspoons of org cold pressed coconut oil
  • Just under half a cup of rapadura / sucucant/ turbinado sugar
  • Half a teaspoon of apple cyder vinegar
  • Half a teaspoon of almond extract – 1tsp if you like it intense
  • A third of a cup of buckwheat flour
  • Two thirds of a cup of ground almonds
  • Half a cup of fine maize meal
  • A pinch/ eighth of a teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt/ fine sea salt
  • A generous tsp of vanilla powder/ a pod/ extract
  • 1 teaspoon of cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon of aluminium free baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of aluminium free bread / baking soda

Method:

Preheat your oven to 170C. Prepare a 20cm/ 7.5 inch cake tin

Put your fruit puree and coconut oil in a perspex / heat proof bowl and put it in the preheating oven for a few minutes to melt.

Meanwhile prepare all your dry ingredients. Sieve your baking powder and soda incase of lumps.

Take the oil and fruit puree out of the oven and mix in the sugar, stir until it dissolves. Next add in the apple cyder vinegar and almond extract.

wet and dry

wet and dry

Put your dry ingredients into the wet. Mix gently, just until there are no lumps.

Pour into you tin, make sure it is evenly spread. Place in the centre of the oven- or slightly to the right for me as the left is hotter.

Bake for 25mins (fan) or 30 min. Done when it is coming away from the sides and if you put a skewer in it and it comes out dry.

If you want to make cupcakes take 5mins off the baking time! O and put a dab of oil in your cupcake liners to stop them sticking to the paper.

Lemon Icing

  • 2 big teaspoons of org cold pressed coconut oil
  • The zest of an organic unwaxed lemon
  • Half a cup of vegan icing sugar
  • Five teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

Method:

Mash the coconut oil until soft. Add the lemon zest.

Press out any lumps in the icing sugar and add to the coconut oil. Mash press and mush them together. The sugar and oil take a bit of work, gradually begin adding the lemon juice and it will turn into icing.

Lemon icing

Lemon icing

I put it on the cake when it was still a little tepid- so it melted a bit. Normally I would advise leaving it cool completely- but actually the fact it melted a little into the cake was nice!!

I will also be putting up a fermented cauliflower recipe next- which I will be partaking in -lots – for the good bacteria, enzymes and yeasts! I will defeat you yet tooth!

Xs Aissa

 

24 Hour Origami Update!

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by Aissa in Uncategorized

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Charity

So here are the pictures of the 24 hour origami. I did sleep and eat and shower so it was more like 11 and a half hours! 🙂 It was good fun! Especially the community of people around the world doing their versions. Baking, crocheting, running, hugging setting up a soup station! It was lovely.

the start 3pm saturday

the start 3pm saturday

#e4k day two

#e4k day two

At about 170 butterflies

work station - the floor!

work station – the floor!

finished! 264 butterflies!

finished! 264 butterflies!

I am in the middle of stringing them together to make bunting or garlands. This weekend I will go through my wardrobe to see what clothes I no longer wear. I then plan to donate them to the local Women and children’s refuge.

24hr origami for Random Acts charity

24hr Origami Madness for The Random Acts charity

17 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by Aissa in Uncategorized

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Charity, Endure4Kindness

This weekend I will be doing this…

Origami for charity twenty-four hours- though I have permission to sleep so more like 16hours of origami! Butterflies, stars and flowers will be badly folded by my soon to be tired fingers 🙂   I will use a lot of recycled newspaper ( my local newsagent has donated some – thank you very much!) and I will delve into my hoarded bag of scrap paper too. Charity benefits – my flat benefits from a reduction of my precious collection:-) I will post pics of my silliness along the way- origami while baking? Origami yoga? That seems oddly appropriate ! Would love your support, I understand that not all can donate- or you have your own charities that you love and give to. But I would appreciate moral support too! I start Saturday afternoon and end Sunday afternoon.!

That link again: https://www.crowdrise.com/endure4kindness24hrorigami/fundraiser/aissalopez/setup_success/member

There will be hundreds more!!!!!!!!!

There will be hundreds more!!!!!!!!! #e4k @ my twitter

Here is another link about the event http://www.therandomact.org/events/endure4kindness/

and another about the charity http://www.therandomact.org/about/

e4k_banner_participant_2_preview

Delectable Duo of Juices!

21 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by Aissa in juice, Natural Health, Superfoods, Uncategorized, Vegan

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Juice, Natural Health, Superfoods, Vegan

I surprised myself with my juice this evening. The combination was refreshing and enjoyable. I felt like I needed a pick me up- a boost of vitamins and minerals I thought ‘I have these good organic things I will juice them!”

Organic goodies ready to go!

Organic goodies ready to go!

The mix really worked! So here is the Delectable Duo of Juices!

The Large One

  • One purple kohl rabi
  • Half a blood orange ( I munched the rest )
  • One green apple
  • Two large pak choi leaves
  • One carrot
  • A small fingertip size of ginger

The Little One

  • Two pak choi leaves
  • Half an unwaxed lemon- I always juice it with the skin
  • A bunch of wheatgrass- about an inch in diameter.

 

The Large One is really lovely. The orange and kohl rabi give a lovely balanced sweetness to the green of the pak choi.

I drank the Little One with it and the the intenseness of the wheatgrass complemented the Large One nicely!

A Delectable Duo of juices!

Aww all cosy in my moodily lit sitting room!

Aww all cosy in my moodily lit sitting room!

Hope you all are doing good and give this a whirl! Xs Aissa

 

Gluten Free Lemon Cake

20 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by Aissa in Cake, Cupcakes, Gluten Free, Uncategorized, Vegan

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Cake, Cupcakes, Gluten free, Vegan

So my lovely” detox healthier me” plan went a little astray over the weekend. I was away with my sister and much fun was had, but a few alcoholic beverages were also had. 🙂 I had some superfood powders with me and took lots of spirulina so I was quite good really. In my holistic approach it is not healthy to be too strict either and it is rare I get too spend time with my big sis! So I am back on track again I will preparing myself a wheatgrass shot shortly.

For all you guys not detoxing here is a Lemon Cake! It is vegan (obviously), gluten free and sweetened with agave. The icing/frosting is made with icing/ confectioner’s sugar. But there are some alternative options as the bottom of the post in regards to sugariness.

Gluten free Lemon Cake 

  • Two thirds of a cup of soya/ coconut yogurt. Some coconut yogurts are very set so feel free so add a little coconut milk if nessacary.
  • One teaspoon of apple cyder vinegar
  • Juice and zest of one and a half organic unwaxed lemons

Mix these ingredients together and leave to sit and curdle while you prepare the other bits.

  • A generous half a cup of dark agave
  • A third of a cup of a light sunflower oil. I found I had run out of sunflower when I went to make this. I melted four scant dessertspoons of organic cold pressed coconut oil instead. The coconut oil changed the texture, it was more set than crumbly but tasted just as good.
  • A quarter cup of apple and strawberry puree. You could just use apple if you like.
  • One teaspoon of sieved cornstarch.

Mix these together in order, sieving in the cornstarch and then giving everything a quick whisk.

  • One and a half cups of fine maize meal
  • Half a cup of ground almonds- almond flour.
  • One teaspoon of vanilla powder. If you are using vanilla extract add it to the agave.
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • One teaspoon of baking powder
  • Half a teaspoon of bread soda/bicarbonate of soda/ baking soda. So many names for it!!

Preheat your oven to 170C / 340F if a fan oven, prob 180C/350F if not fan.

Prepare a 7.5 inch / 20cm cake tin. Put a square of baking paper in the centre and lightly grease.

Mix your soya yogurt, apple cyder vinegar and lemon juice. Leave to one side

Get a bowl and mix your agave, oil and fruit puree. Sieve in your cornstarch and give it a whisk for a minute.

In another bowl put in your maize meal, add your ground almonds and press out any big lumps. Add your vanilla powder and salt and give the ingredients a mix. Sieve in the baking powder and baking soda- I always sieve these as it is pretty horrid to come across a lump of them in your lovely cake. Now mix everything again!

Add your yogurt mix to your agave mix and give it a quick whisk. Quickly yet gently add your dry ingredients to the wet. Lightly fold the dry in, just until they are combined. NO OVER MIXING and leave your worries and tension to one side so you do not beat the cake batter up! Pour the batter into your cake tin and put it straight into your oven. Heed the advise, if you over mix the cake will be dense and will not rise.

It takes 30 minutes in my fan oven but it could take 35 in a normal one. It is done when it starts to come away from the sides, there are little cracks on the top and it is going a light golden colour. If it looks good take it out and stick a skewer in it, if it comes out dry then your cake is done. Leave it in the tin for 10 minutes to cool. Gluten free goodies can be a bit delicate and crumbly while warm. Treat it kindly when you turn it out to cool on wire rack.

delicately balanced on my windowsill!

delicately balanced on my windowsill!

If you were to serve it as little lemon fingers I think you could get away with just squeezing a little lemon juice on top. This was a birthday cake for one of the guys I work with. He doesn’t mind a bit of sugar so I made a Lemony icing!

  • Two and a half dessertspoons of coconut oil- mashed
  • Half a cup of icing / confectioner’s sugar – seived
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla powder or the scraped insides of a vanilla pod
  • Juice and zest of half an organic unwaxed lemon
  • One dessertspoon of warm water – cold water would make the coconut oil re-solidify.

Mash the coconut oil, sieve in the icing sugar and vanilla, mush mash and press so the fat is taken up by the sugar. Add your lemon juice and zest and give it another good mix. If it is still not forming a smooth spreadable mix you can add a dessertspoon of warm water. Make sure your cake is completely cooled before putting your icing on. I put a few little bits of lemon skin on a decoration.

Iced- in a slightly untidy manner and sitting in the morning sunshine. :-)

Iced- in a slightly untidy manner and sitting in the morning sunshine. 🙂

If you prefer your sugar in the agave fructose form I have made an icing with agave and coconut oil and arrowroot in the past. Elena’s pantry has one almost exactly like mine. The only adjustment I would make for this cake is reduce the coconut milk by a few dessertspoons and add the juice of half a lemon instead. http://www.elanaspantry.com/coconut-cream-frosting/

Hope you try it out. Xs Aissa

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