Vegan Celebration Trifle!

I made this monster-sized trifle to take to my mum's place on Christmas day. 
 

In all its glory, before chocolate grated on top

It was an architectural feat as well as a test of my organisational skills! 

Happily, none of the individual components are difficult at all. You just need to plan to make sure all the components are made and ready to go. I made all the different parts over a day in between preparing other dishes for Christmas, making granola for presents, etc. 

I have to stress that this trifle is really really worth making. It is especially great to feed a large crowd. The taste of all those layers together is decadently delicious.

Practically everyone asked for second helpings and for the recipe. I love that it is pretty, yet can be just slopped onto a plate gracelessly!

The bowl I used was very very deep!

This recipe is pretty versatile. You could add alcohol and different fruits!

Vegan Celebration Trifle  

Components

2 x round vanilla cakes (I used this recipe)

Double batch of vegan pastry cream (I used the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking, recipe also here)

2 x coconut thickened cream (I used Alpine Thickened Coconut Cream)

2 x large punnets of strawberries, sliced

2-3 cups raspberries mixed with a bit of sugar (I used frozen, defrosted)

About half a block of chocolate for grating

About 1 cup of black coffee

Construction 

I divided each component into three to make three layers. 

I did my layers in this order:

• cake, sliced to fit shape of your bowl 
• pour a few tbsp of coffee over the cake
• spread the pastry cream on top of the cake
• spread the thickened coconut cream on top of this
• place the strawberries around the side so it lines the bowl (this looks pretty in a glass bowl)
• add raspberries
• add grated chocolate
• repeat!

Christmas Menu Ideas

What are you cooking for Christmas? I haven't decided! 

I've been scouring other blogs for ideas, but there are so many delicious options to chose from! 

I don't have the pressure of preparing a full Christmas lunch, but I need some ideas for savoury and sweet food to take to numerous family Christmas gatherings.

Here's a list of the dishes I've blogged about that I've deemed *Christmas appropriate*

I hope this is helpful!

Vegan Sausage Rolls

Heavenly Tomato Tart

Vegan Quiches

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Hungarian Cabbage Noodles

Roasted Potatoes

Pumpkin Pizza with Cashew Cream

Quinoa Salad

Pumpkin Cous Cous Salad with Macadamias

Hungarian Chocolate Chestnut Cake (no bake)

Beetroot Chocolate Cake

Raw Chocolate Vegan Cheesecake

Raw Cheesecake

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Vegan Shortbread Hearts

Vegan Lemon Cheesecake (made with millet)

Vegan Bounty Balls

Vegan Raspberry Cake

Basic Vegan Fruit Cake

Raw Hazelnut Caramel Slice 

Pear Frangipane Tart

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas break. I'm looking forward to reading about and seeing all of the delicious food consumed!

Basic Vegan Fruit Cake + I'm on Instagram!

I used to feel a bit of an instinctive cringe when faced with fruit cake. The fruit cake I ate when I was younger was filled with dried citrus peel, which I dislike, and had a strong alcohol taste. It always seemed like a poor runner-up type of cake (not chocolate!), a cake for grown ups.

I love it now! It's just so festive, isn't it? It tastes like Christmas. I love the spiced flavour of the cake with the dried fruit. Or maybe I'm just old...

The great thing about this recipe is that it's a kind of "build your own" fruit cake. I adapted this recipe from a recipe someone shared with me years ago. You could vary the type and amount of dried fruits you use (more dried fruit for a denser cake), add other ingredients such as nuts or even chocolate and change around the spices.

You could ice the cake with a cinnamon icing (double the recipe for this one if you use it for this cake), a vegan buttercream icing or just sprinkle icing sugar on the top if you're short of time! 

I love using a combination of sultanas, dried blueberries and cranberries in this cake because I'm not a fan of the citrus peel and preservatives found in the standard mixed dried fruit you buy in the supermarket. 

couldn't resist the santa!

This cake takes two hours to bake at a low temperature, but is very easy and quick to prepare.  

Basic Vegan Fruit Cake

3 cups self raising flour
2-4 cups dried fruit (I used 1 cup sultanas, 1/2 cup dried blueberries and 1/2 cup dried cranberries. More dried fruit creates a denser cake)
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
2 - 2 1/2 tsp of spices (I used 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp cardamom)
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 2/3 cups water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 heaped tbsp treacle or molasses

Preheat oven to 150C. 

Combine all dry ingredients. Stir in the water, oil and treacle/molasses until just mixed.

Pour into a greased and lined round cake tin (make sure it's deep enough, it's quite a high cake). 

Bake for 2 hours until firm, risen and golden brown. 

On a different note, I'm now on Instagram! 

One of my best friends from high school (she has nearly 30K followers!) signed me up when she was visiting recently. I seem to need to be dragged reluctantly towards new technology, but I'll admit that I'm having fun sharing and recording photos of my food that don't warrant a blog post of their own or I just don't have time to blog about. There are so many amazing photos of vegan food in Instagram - as if I needed any more fuel for my cooking obsession!

A Vegan Family Lunch

There is a scene in an episode of Six Feet Under where a "crunchy granola" vegan character serves some omnivores a "tofu meatloaf". It is subsequently secretly flushed down the toilet by one of the diners, who then (after one vegan meal) craves to eat something "that has walked the earth" from a fast food restaurant. Sigh! (although I do love the show...)

Well, thankfully my family is not this picky or clichéd! Nor am I, for that matter. I generally don't launch into a speech about the global slavery of animals at any chance (not that there's anything wrong with that).  

I've been vegan for about ten years now, so my family and friends are used to vegan food and are open-minded about trying my vegan versions of dishes. Having said this, I do agonise over what I will cook when I'm entertaining! In the end, I seem to cook a combination of new recipes I've had my eye on and tried and true favourites. 

Anyway, here's what I made for my mum and dad for lunch to celebrate Lexie's second birthday (I figure I'll give him a proper party next year when he can actually demand it!).

Starting with the most important (and prettiest) part of the meal, I made this pear frangipane tart from the PPK for dessert.

It was so hot in my kitchen when I was making this, not great when working with margarine, so I had to change around the quantities of a few ingredients. It turned out brilliantly, rich and almondy. 

I served it with the cashew cream from The Joy of Vegan Baking, which is cashews, water, oil, maple syrup, vanilla and salt blended until smooth and placed in the freezer to thicken. It was delicious!

My mum also made this amazing vegan cherry cake. I'll be sharing that recipe on the blog soon!

On to the savoury, I made this spinach, mushroom and sun dried tomato quiche from Oh She Glows. I've made this previously with great success. I love it!

I made the always popular sausage rolls from Where's the Beef. The. Best. 

I also made roasted potatoes from this recipe. Lovely and crispy.  

I made my favourite salad at the moment - kale and carrot salad with the balsamic vinaigrette from Appetite for Reduction. I can eat this dressing with a spoon! It's cashews, spring onion, balsamic vinegar, mustard, agave, salt and water blended until smooth.

So there you have it! A lunch that no one flushed down the toilet, to my knowledge...

Raw Rice Pudding

Here's something I've been enjoying for breakfast recently, adapted from a recipe in Rawsome Vegan Baking. 

It is kind of reminiscent of rice pudding due to the texture of the chia seeds and flavour of the cinnamon and sultanas. 

In any case, it's a really lovely and quick breakfast!

Raw Rice Pudding (serves 2) (adapted from the Chia Vanilla Pudding in Rawsome Vegan Baking)

1/2 cup soft medjool dates
1/2 cup whole almonds
1 cup non-dairy milk
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
1/4 sultanas, or to taste

Blend the dates, almonds and milk until completely smooth. Transfer to a bowl and combine with the chia seeds, cinnamon and sultanas. 

Ideally, let it sit in the fridge for about half an hour before eating. 

Vegan Lemon Cheesecake made with millet!

I love it when I discover a new way to use a basic ingredient. A while ago I discovered that you can use uncooked soaked red lentils to make delicious koftas. And now, I know that cooked and blended millet can be used to make an amazing cheesecake!
 

topped with mango - yum!

You'd never guess that the filling of this cheesecake is made with millet. It has a beautiful light creamy texture, softer than the often firmer texture of raw cheesecakes made with cashews. 

The filling is made with cooked millet, a small amount of cashews, lemon juice, maple syrup and vanilla. It is not overly sweet but is perfect combined with the crust and fresh fruit. 

The crust is baked first, and is made of oats, walnuts, rice flour, cinnamon, oil and maple syrup.

And best of all - wait for it - Sylvia loved it! She ate hers with icing sugar and mango. I had to leave the room after she asked for a second piece to contain my glee so I didn't turn her off eating it! She actually asked me to take a photo of her half eaten piece for my blog, so here it is:

I had this cheesecake for breakfast this morning. Cheesecake healthy enough for breakfast - enough said!

This recipe for Lemon Teasecake is from Raising Vegetarian Children. I found the recipe for the filling online here (lime juice is used instead of lemon juice) for those interested in trying it with a crust of your choice.

Raw Banana Custard Pie

I made this pie last night in desperation for something sweet and healthy. Also to use up bananas that were going brown!

It was so good. I never get over the seemingly endless magical combinations of ingredients such as dates, nuts and seeds. And this coming from a cupcake fanatic with more than just one sweet tooth! 

The combination of banana and tahini in the filling reminds me of custard for some reason, especially when the pie is eaten before it has frozen too hard. Very silky and smooth. 

This pie comes together really quickly, if you don't count the freezing time. I don't mind fiddly raw sweet recipes if I have the time, but it is nice to make a straightforward one every now and then. 

If I was serving it to people, I would probably double the filling ingredients and decorate the pie with fresh bananas and shredded coconut.

Raw Banana Custard Pie (inspired by Chocolate Banana Cream Pie from Rawsome Vegan Baking)

Base
1 1/2 cups whole nuts (I used combo of cashews, walnuts and almonds)
1 cup soft medjool dates, packed
pinch of salt

Filling
2 large bananas
1/4 cup tahini (I used unhulled)
1/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/8 cup non-dairy milk
pinch of salt
dash of vanilla

To make the base, blend the nuts until they are a coarse powder. Combine with the dates and salt in a food processor until the dough starts sticking together. Press into a cake tin (I used a small round one). 

To make the filling, blend all filling ingredients together until smooth. Pour on top of the base and put in the freezer until firm (about 2 hours). 

Nutty Chocolate Slice

I didn't grow up eating "normal cakes" with spongy layers and fake cream icing. My mum made deliciously rich and dense Hungarian-style cakes loaded with nuts and real chocolate. 

Of course I did love eating these other kinds of cakes at birthday parties, etc - it was such a novelty!

This slice reminds me of my mum's baking. It is quite dense (it has no raising agent) and has a ganache icing. The rice flour gives it a lovely almost grainy texture, which is delicious with the nuttiness of the slice. 

Peter and I loved it and kept stealing pieces each time we walked into the kitchen. Sadly, Sylvia refused to try it (I think it was my enthusiasm - I still haven't learned) and Lexie licked the icing off and threw the remains on the floor with great gusto. But please, trust the adult's reactions!

Nutty Chocolate Slice (adapted from Hal's Maple Chocolate Flax Brownies from La Dolce Vegan!)

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup agave nectar (maple syrup would also work)
1/4 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil)
1/4 non-dairy milk 
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup each of whole almonds, walnuts and cashews
pinch of salt

Ganache icing
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp non-dairy milk
2/3 cup pieces of vegan chocolate

Preheat oven to 180C and lightly oil a cake tin (approx 8 inch).

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, agave, oil, milk and vanilla and put aside.

Place all the nuts in a blender and blend until they are powdery. Stir these into the mixture, along with the flours, cocoa and salt until just mixed. 

Spread the batter into the cake tin (the mixture will be quite thick). 

Bake for 20 minutes - no more or it will dry out. This slice is better slightly undercooked.

To make the icing, heat the oil and milk in a saucepan on the stove until almost bubbling, then add the chocolate pieces and stir around until it's all melted and thick. 

Spread the ganache icing over the slice when slice has cooled. 

No-Bake Raspberry Cream Bars (cashew-free)

I'm one of those people who cooks through a crisis. It's therapeutic and a great distraction. And out of tension and worry, lovely and nourishing food is created.

My dad recently had a pretty major operation and is still in hospital. I created these raspberry cream bars one night to cheer myself up (or numb my anxiety by eating, you be the judge!). 

I love using cashews for raw cheesecake type sweets, but I didn't have any handy this time. Using coconut milk makes these bars lighter and less rich than the standard raw cheesecake, but still lovely and creamy. 

Peanut butter, banana, raspberries and coconut - yum! 

Other recipes containing raspberries from the blog:
Raspberry Cake
Raspberries and Cream Overnight Oats

No-Bake Raspberry Cream Bars

Base
1 cup ground almonds (I used almond meal from a packet as I had some leftover)
2/3 cup soft medjool dates, packed
1/3 cup peanut butter
pinch of salt

1 banana, thinly sliced

Topping
1 cup of raspberries (if using frozen, thaw first)
1 cup coconut milk (from tin)
3 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
1/3 cup rice malt syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp icing sugar (or to taste)
juice of half a lemon

To make the base, put the ground almonds, dates, peanut butter and salt in a food processor and process until the mix sticks together as a dough. Press into your cake tin, cover with the sliced banana and put aside.

To make the topping, blend the raspberries, coconut milk, coconut oil, rice malt syrup, vanilla, icing sugar and lemon until completely smooth. It will be quite runny. Pour this on top of the base.

Put it in the freezer until the topping is set. After about 2 hours, it is set enough to eat but may still be a bit soft. I liked it like this, but it's also nice when left longer in the freezer and the topping has hardened completely. 

Store in the freezer. 

Vegan No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

The moment Sylvia and Lexie tried ice cream on a cone (from Vegan's Choice in Newtown), they fell in love. They got it all over their faces and clothes, didn't accept any help when it was dripping down their cones and our car was never the same again, but it was worth it to see their delight!

Now, whenever Lexie sees a picture of an ice cream in a book, he demands "Lexie, eat!" and proceeds to make his way to the kitchen (where an ice cream is supposedly waiting for him, I guess).

We don't buy ice cream much because it's either got a load of additives or is really expensive. So I thought I'd make a healthy and easy ice cream for the kids to enjoy in the heat. 

I made a very slightly different version of this ice cream last year for Sylvia when she asked for her Fancy Nancy parfait. I thought it would go well on a cone, and I was right! The kids loved this ice cream and so did everyone else. 

It's really creamy and scoop-able, and very simple to make. 

do you know how hard it is to take a photo of ice cream when it is being held by a hungry 4 year old?

Vegan No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

1 cup cashews (I didn't soak mine, however it would be a good idea as they will blend more easily)
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup maple syrup
 
Blend all ingredients until completely smooth. This took quite a few minutes for me. 

Put it in the freezer in a container, stirring every hour or so until it reaches desired consistency. For me this was about 4 hours. After this period, just leave it in the freezer and take it out of the freezer about 20 minutes before scooping and eating it. 
 

Vegan Blueberry Frozen Yoghurt Ice Blocks

As the weather is warming up, Sylvia has wasted no time in requesting ice blocks! 

Ice blocks bring back memories of primary school for me. I remember eating those long thin ice blocks in the sweltering heat. I used to make sure that I had 40 cents in my pocket ready to buy them for myself and my best friend. Yes, they were 20 cents each - that dates me!

I love these frozen yoghurt ice blocks. They are fruity and creamy at the same time. You can make them chunky or smooth. 

I'll be trying many more fruit combinations over the summer!

Vegan Blueberry Frozen Yoghurt Ice Blocks (inspired by 5-Minute Healthy Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt)

2 cups frozen blueberries ~ or try another frozen fruit!
1/2 cup coconut yoghurt
1/4 cup rice malt syrup
squeeze of lemon juice

Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor to desired consistency, put into ice block moulds and freeze!

Related: Instant Raspberry Frozen Yoghurt

Raw Hazelnut Caramel Slice (100th post!)

This delectable, (practically) raw slice is my celebration of 100 posts on this blog! 

Good excuse, anyway...

It is seriously addictive. I made it last night and it's almost gone. Even Lexie, almost two, likes it!

This recipe requires no soaking and nothing too complicated. It is rich and sweet, yet feels so wholesome. The hazelnuts are so delicious with the peanutty caramel - swoon.

I hope you enjoy it, and thanks so much for reading and visiting my blog!

Raw Hazelnut Caramel Slice (inspired by Raw Millionaire's Shortbread from Milking Almonds)

2 tbsp shredded coconut for "flouring" pan

Base
1 cup roasted hazelnuts
1/2 cup ground almonds (I used almond meal from a packet as I had some leftover)
1/2 cup soft medjool dates, packed
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
1 tbsp maple syrup

Caramel
3 tbsp peanut butter
2/3 cup soft medjool dates, packed
3 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup water
Pinch of salt
Dash of vanilla

Chocolate topping
3 tbsp each of coconut oil (melted), cocoa and maple syrup

"Flour" your pan with the shredded coconut. I used an approx 9 inch square cake tin.

To make the base, blend the hazelnuts until they are powder. Transfer to a food processor with the ground almonds and dates and process for about a minute. Add the oil, salt and maple syrup and process until the dough starts sticking together. Press into your tin.

To make the caramel, process the peanut butter, dates, oil, maple syrup, water, salt and vanilla until smooth. This took a few minutes for me. Spread this on top of the base.

Put your slice in the freezer for about 20 minutes. 

To make the chocolate topping, whisk together the oil, cocoa and maple syrup. Spread over the top of the slice and pop it back in the freezer until the chocolate sets. 

Indulge!

Store in the freezer.  

My Top 5 Healthy Desserts/Snacks

My top 5 this week, anyway!

When you like sweet food as much as I do, it's a good idea to have a few healthy desserts/snacks in rotation. To be honest, I never miss the refined flours and sugars when I'm eating stuff like this.

1. Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough Bites

This dough was lucky to make it to ball form. A lot was eaten straight from the blender. 

2. Snack Pack Cheesecake

I love this idea of having ready made little raw sweet snack packs to take places. Even though I did eat them all at home. Standing at the fridge. 

3. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

These have chickpeas in them. So it's acceptable that I ate them for dinner, right? As stated in the recipe, these are best eaten warm so if you don't eat them all in one sitting after they're baked (ahem), warm them up in the microwave for a few seconds.

4. Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

I had some strawberries to use up so I used them instead of blackberries in the original recipe. As you can see in the photo, pieces were either frantically hacked off or eaten with spoon straight from the tin.

5. Peanut Better Balls

These only have a few ingredients, but are very addictive - a bit salty and a bit crispy. They would make great Christmas gifts! 

Easy Pink Kid's Cupcakes (no artificial colouring!)

When did I realise the power of the cupcake?

It was before I was vegan and a time of my life when I didn't enter the kitchen for any reason other than to boil pasta or make coffee. I visited a friend of a friend's place and she was making cupcakes to take to a party from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess. They looked beautiful in a simple and honest way. It struck me that they are such heartfelt gift or contribution to a party.  

Over the years, I have made many cupcakes and I never tire of seeing people's faces light up when they taste and see them. I've made them for friend's and family gatherings, work events and weddings. I'm kind of known for them - not through any skill, but the sheer frequency! People, vegan or not, love them. 

And they are easy and fun to make, eat and decorate.

They are even more fun to make now that I have a daughter to help me! Sylvia and I made these for her friend's birthday party yesterday. 

Sylvia told me the specifications: vanilla cupcake, pink icing, with strawberries and sprinkles. One of her more reasonable and achievable requests!

I used this recipe for the vegan vanilla cupcakes from It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken. They were lovely and light. The recipe for the icing is below. I don't mind using food colouring occasionally, but I love it when there is an alternative. You could make them pinker by adding more raspberry purée and slightly increasing the amount of icing sugar. 

Naturally Pink Icing (enough icing to pipe onto 12 standard cupcakes or 24 mini cupcakes)

1/2 cup vegan margarine (I used Nuttelex)
2 cups icing sugar
dash of vanilla
2 tsp raspberry purée (see below)

To make the raspberry purée: Blend 1/4 cup of raspberries (I used frozen). Pass them through a sieve and there you have your purée!

I made my icing in my food processor. Process the margarine around for a second. Add in 1 cup of icing sugar, the vanilla and raspberry purée and blend for a few seconds. Add the remaining cup of icing sugar and blend until smooth.

Other cupcake posts:
Vegan Wedding Cupcakes
Bananas 'n' Cookies Cupcakes
Quinoa and cupcakes for meat eaters

Spaghetti Pie

Why have pasta on its own when you can have it encased in pastry?

One day, I inexplicably felt like making a pie with a spaghetti filling. This filling would have been a fine dinner on its own. I may have had too much time on my hands to think of putting it in a pie, not something that happens often! 

This was one of those weird ideas that worked out really well. Is spaghetti pie even a thing? I have seen it as a crust but not a filling. 

Sylvia thought this idea was hilarious and loved the end product. Peter thought I had gone completely around the bend, but also loved the end product. Lexie was too confused to even try it!

This pie is definitely comfort food, and fun to make and eat!

Vegan Spaghetti Pie

Pastry (slightly adapted from barley poppy seed crust from Vegan Lunch Box)

2 cups plain flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Filling

Pasta
approx half a packet of angel hair pasta (about 250g I think)
2 tbsp olive oil 
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 zucchinis, grated
approx 2 cups passata/tomato cooking sauce
dried basil and oregano to taste
2 tsp sugar
salt to taste

White sauce 
2 tbsp vegan margarine
2 tbsp plain flour
approx 1 cup non-dairy milk
dash of garlic powder and salt to taste

Preheat oven to 190C.

Make the pastry: Combine flours, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the oil and mix with your fingers until the flour has formed small crumbs. Add the water and vinegar and stir with your fingers until the dough holds together. Knead the dough a few times and divide into two pieces. Roll out each piece on a floured surface to fit your pie dish and line your pie dish with one of them. Put the other crust aside and make your filling.

Filling: Cook the pasta - this only takes two minutes - and put aside. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the garlic, carrot and zucchini for about 10 minutes. Add the passata, herbs, sugar and salt and cook for a few more minutes. Add the pasta and combine. If you want it a bit more saucy add some more passata, but you don't want it too runny. 

Make the white sauce: Melt the margarine in a small saucepan. Add the flour and garlic powder and cook on low heat for a minute or two. Slowly whisk in the milk, only adding enough to reach desired consistency, until it thickens but is not too gluggy. Add salt to taste.

Fill the pie with the spaghetti mixture, spread the white sauce over the top and top with piecrust. Cut a small slit in the centre of the pie. 

Bake for about 35 minutes until lightly browned.