Ginger Cake (vegan)

I was dreaming of sticky ginger cake when I decided to look for a recipe to make my own. Inspired by an Easy vegan ginger cake I made a few adjustments. It’s dairy-free but not gluten-free although the flour could be substituted for a gluten-free plain (all-purpose) one.

What a lot of cake! I didn’t have a large enough tin so ended up using 2 tins for the batter and then freezing about two thirds of the finished cake. The second tin was a deeper loaf tin so needed approximately 10-15 minutes longer in the oven than the stated cooking time below.

Before we get to the recipe here are a few notes:

It’s sugar laden – syrup, treacle and sugar – so I switched up the original caster sugar to light brown soft sugar for a less intense sweetness which worked well for my palate. If you fancy decorating it then you can sprinkle the cake with fine or icing sugar.

I was working with golden syrup and treacle from tins which took up most of my preparation time. I measured out the oil first so that the measuring container was coated before tackling the syrup and treacle. The oil coating made it easier to pour the sticky sweet liquids from the measuring container into the mixing bowl.

I don’t often use syrup or treacle but using a clean metal spoon to measure it out required twirling the spoon carefully over the tin several times to stop any drips before transferring into the measuring container. I used a second clean spoon to scrap the first one – this took patience!

Measurements are in metric and the ingredients are commonly found in British supermarkets. I don’t have mixed spice but it’s easy to whip up if you have the ingredients: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.

Otherwise it’s a simple method of first mixing the dry ingredients and then adding the wet ingredients and mixing everything until no lumps are left (take care not to over mix).

The fresh stem ginger infuses into the cake with time so it’s more intense after about a day.

Yummy!

Additional note: Add 30+ min for cooling to the total time.

Ginger Cake

 

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Prep time

10-20 min

Cook time

25-30 min

Total time

50 min

 

Vegan ginger cake recipe

Author: https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2019/02/05/easy-ginger-cake-vegan/

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 450 g plain flour sifted
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• 1¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 4½ tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp mixed spice (1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg, allspice, cloves)
• 160 g light soft brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 160 ml olive oil (or another neutral oil)
• 200 g golden syrup
• 200 g black treacle (molasses)
• 360 ml boiling water
• 1-2 handfuls peeled and chopped stem ginger
• (optional) fine sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Grease either one 23x33cm / 9x13inch rectangular cake tin or 2 smaller tins and line with a strip of baking parchment.
2. In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients i.e. sifted plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, mixed spice, sugar and salt.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl i.e. the oil, golden syrup, black treacle and boiling water. Whisk until there are no lumps of flour.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes. It is cooked when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
5. Leave to cool in the tin for 20-30 minutes then carefully turn the cake out onto a wire rack and leave it to completely cool.
6. (Optional) Dust with fine or icing sugar for decoration.
7. Cut into squares and serve or store in an airtight container.
8. For freezing, the cake can be wrapped and stored either sliced or whole.

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Plantain Brownies

I came across this tasty alternative brownie recipe when researching baking uses of plantain (cooking banana). Without the need for any type of flour (unlike the Avocado Brownies which require coconut flour) the ingredients are a little bit more straightforward and cheaper. I often buy 3-4 plantains for £1 at my local market Caribbean grocery food stall. Grocery shops that cater for Asian, Caribbean and African cuisine will sell plantain but you may even find it at some supermarkets.

The preparation method for these brownies is just as easy as the avocado version. Once you’ve measured out all the ingredients just blitz everything (except the choc chips) in a food processor. I don’t have a food processor so in my case I use a combination of blenders*.

Moist and chocolatey, these brownies have been just as popular, if not a little bit more so, than the avocado variety and are a big hit with my gluten-free and wheat-intolerant friends.

I’ve not yet tried the accompanying caramel sauce (which adds dairy) but it can be found with the original recipe on the So Let’s Hang Out website.

Date Purée

From dried dates to date purée

Dried dates will keep for about 6 months in an airtight container in the cupboard and up to a year after their “best by date” if stored in the fridge. I find that to use in some recipes, soaking them in warm water for a few minutes helps to soften them.  There are many dessert recipes that can use chopped or blended dates as a sweetener ingredient but my smoothie blender doesn’t work so well with low liquid mixes that a food processor would be more suitable for. So I looked for an option where I could more easily blend dates and came across this “date paste.”

Date Purée

 

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Prep time

8 hours

Total time

8 hours

 

Homemade fruit sweetener

Author: http://thehealthyfoodie.com/date-paste/

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 2 Cups

Ingredients

• 2 cups pitted dates
• ¾ cup water
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp Himalayan salt

Instructions

1. Pack the dates tightly into a Mason type glass jar (recipe makes about 2 cups).
2. Pour the water into the jar with the dates, cover and let soak overnight.
3. After the dates have soaked transfer the entire contents of the jar, including the water, to the bowl of your food processor or blender.
4. Add vanilla extract and salt and process until really smooth and creamy (3-5 mins).
5. Transfer back to the glass jar.

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• In recipes that require a number of dates to be blended with other ingredients. Note that the puree has a higher water content than using straight blended dates so adjust the recipe accordingly.
• As a substitute for honey or maple syrup.

Storage: refrigerate the date purée for up to 3 months

Sweet Potato Hummus

This recipe is from Cookie and Kate without any modification. It’s spicy and yummy (as is) and was a hit at a recent birthday party.

It goes very well with toasted plantain torilla as well as carrot and celery sticks.

Sweet Potato Hummus

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

A spicy snack made with chickpeas and sweet potatoes

Author: http://cookieandkate.com

Recipe type: Appetizer

Serves: 4 cups

Ingredients

• 2 Medium sweet potatoes
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Cups cooked chickpeas (or one can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained)
• 3 Tbsp sesame tahini*
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• juice of 1 lemon
• zest of ½ lemon
• ground sea salt, to taste
• 1½ tsp cayenne pepper (start with less, season to taste)
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp cumin

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C
2. Bake the sweet potatoes on the middle oven rack or in a baking dish for 45 minutes to an hour. They should yield to a gentle squeeze when they’re done baking.
3. While the sweet potatoes are cooling, toss all of the other ingredients into a food processor (you can save the spices for last and add them to taste).
4. Once the sweet potatoes have cooled enough to handle, use a knife or your fingers to peel the skin off of them.
5. Add the sweet potatoes to the food processor. Blend well, and serve!
6. Garnish options: a light sprinkle of cayenne pepper and sesame seeds.

Notes

Keep in the refrigerator and the spiciness should mellow overnight

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Dark Chocolate Chia Banana Bread

Although this isn’t much different from the original recipe that I found on PaleoOMG.com, I’ve made several versions including cupcakes with an experimental raspberry frosting made from avocado. The original topping makes the bread just a bit too chocolatey for me (yes, who’d of thought!) I’ve also successfully replaced the nut butter with an avocado and extra egg for the cupcakes shown below (see the recipe note).

The main photo (above) shows the recipe mix in 2 mini loaf tins and although you can’t see them I used blueberries instead of raspberries, only because that’s what I had in my freezer.

Optional Raspberry Avocado Frosting

Based on a chocolate avocado frosting recipe but green!

Ingredients

• 1 medium avocado
• 1/2 cup raspberry
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tsp solid coconut oil

Instructions

1. In a saucepan on a low-medium heat, mix together the raspberries and honey until the raspberries break apart.
2. In a blender add the avocado, raspberry mix, 1/4 cup honey, 2 tsp solid coconut oil and blend well.
3. Use on the baked cupcakes/muffins or loaf as required.

Since I don’t have a food processor I either use my stick blender, smoothie maker or just the old-fashioned large bowl and wooden spoon to blend the ingredients. For this recipe I managed to use the smoothie maker but had to stir in the dry ingredients with a spoon, then scrap down the sides in between pulse/blends a couple of times before it combined well for the final blitz blending. I always seem to this chocolatey, gooey mix all over my fingers… yum! (Don’t forget this has raw eggs so lick at your own risk!)

Dark Chocolate Blueberry Chia Banana Bread

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Author: PaleoOMG.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

• 1 Cup mashed bananas (2 - 3 bananas)
• 1 Cup nut butter (almond butter**, sunflower seed butter, etc.)*
• ¼ Cup honey
• 2 eggs*
• ¼ Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ Cup coconut flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ⅛ tsp cinnamon
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp raw chia seeds
• ½ Cup blueberries or raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• ½ Cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Place the bananas and wet ingredients (nut butter, honey and eggs) into a food processor and puree until smooth.
3. Then add the dry ingredients (cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt) to the food processor and puree until it is well combined.
4. In a large bowl fold in the chia seeds, berries and chocolate chips.
5. Pour mixture into a greased bread pan (9×5) and bake for 55-60 minutes.*
6. Once bread is cooked through, let cool on a cooling rack.

Notes

When I don't have any chocolate chips to hand I either leave them out or use cut up baking chocolate.
Bake in two 6×4 mini bread pans for approximately 60 minutes
Makes 14-16 cupcakes and bakes for approx 30 minutes
* Alternatively, substitute the nut butter with 1 medium avocado and use an extra egg. Bake at 160ºC.

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• 1/2 Cup rapsberries
• 1 Tbsp organic honey
• 1/2 Cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• 1 Tbsp almond or coconut milk

Instructions

1. In a saucepan or in the microwave, mix together raspberries and honey until raspberries break apart.
2. In a double boiler or in the microwave, mix together chocolate chips and almond milk until melted.
3. Add both the raspberry mixture and melted chocolate on top of the banana bread in any design you would like! Cut and enjoy!

Approximate sugar content in this recipe

• 1/4 cup honey ≈ 64.5g
• 2 bananas ≈ 56g
• 1 cup blueberries ≈ 15g
• 1 cup raspberries ≈ 5g
• Chocolate chips sugar content varies across brands so check the packet. If you use cocoa nibs then there is likely to be less than 1g sugar per 100g.

Almond Milk and Almond Meal/Flour

When I was working regularly in an office, in a 9-5 job, I used to buy almond milk from the supermarket/health food shop. A friend used to try and tell me it’s easy to make your own but when I looked it up I didn’t even have a blender to use. I eventually bought a stick blender (to make smoothies and blend soup when I was away from home) and used it to blend the almond and water. But I only had a sieve to strain the milk, which proved to be a messy and tedious process, even though the end result was a much nicer milk than the shop-bought version.

It took a while before I was able to find a shop that sold muslin (mesh) cloth but once I added this to my equipment I was making almond milk in the mornings 2-3 times a week, even before work, for my breakfast smoothie. When I finally purchased a smoothie maker (I have a Nutri Ninja which is smiliar to the more popular Nutribullet) it made the process even quicker.

I recommend you have the following equipment ready to make the almond milk:

Equipment

• Bowl or large glass jar
• Strainer
• Measuring jug (or a pot that the strainer can sit on)
• Blender or food processor (a smoothie maker or stick blender is fine)
• Fine-mesh nut bag or cheese cloth

Almond milk

 

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Prep time

12 hours

Total time

12 hours

 

Author: www.thekitchn.com

Recipe type: Beverage

Serves: 1 Cup

Ingredients

• 1 Cup raw almonds, preferably organic
• 2 Cups water, plus more for soaking
• Sweetener like honey, or maple syrup, to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with about an inch of water. Let stand, uncovered, overnight or up to 2 days. The longer the almonds soak, the creamier the almond milk.
2. Drain and thoroughly rinse the almonds under cool running water. They should feel a little squishy if you pinch them.
3. Place the almonds in the blender and cover with 2 cups of water.
4. Pulse the blender a few times to break up the almonds, then blend. The almonds should be broken down into a very fine meal and the water should be white and opaque.
5. Line the strainer with either the opened nut bag or cheese cloth, and place over a measuring jug. Pour the almond mixture into the strainer*. Press all the almond milk from the almond meal. Gather the nut bag or cheese cloth around the almond meal and twist close. Squeeze and press with clean hands to extract as much almond milk as possible. You should get about 2 cups. (See below for what to do with the leftover almond meal.)
6. Sweeten to taste (optional)
7. Store the almond milk in sealed containers in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Notes

Add vanilla and/or other spices to make a refreshing almond milk drink

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Almond meal, flour and butter

The leftover almond meal can be used (as is) in smoothies*, porridge or baked goods such as grain-free pancakes or muffins.

Almond Meal (dry)
To dry the almond meal for later use spread it on a baking tray and dehydrate in the oven at 90ºC for several hours (4-8 hours). Alternatively, you could use a dehydrator.

Almond Flour
To make the almond meal into a finer flour blend the dehydrated meal in a processor, but not for too long unless you want to make almond butter!

Almond Butter
Continue to blend the almond flour for several minutes until it breaks up to release the oils and eventually turns to almond butter. You will need stop intermittently and scrap down the meal from the sides. It could take 10-20 min for the almond butter to form, depending on the efficiency of your processor.

Storage
The oils in the almond can go rancid over time so it’s best to refrigerate nut products. Raw almonds (and other nuts) will keep fresh for longer in the fridge.

Store almond milk in an air tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can also be stored for a few months in an ice tray, in the freezer.

Almond meal/flour can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few weeks or in the freezer for several months.

Almond butter can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

* No need to strain the milk if being used for smoothies and/or porridge.

Shepherd’s Pie

I made this vegan pie for my brother’s 21st birthday and despite the initial turned-up noses to a vegan dish the guests returned for seconds. I keep trying to tell people that healthy, nutritious food can taste good but the test is in the eating!

My favourite version of this recipe is to use sweet potatoes in place of white potatoes.

Recipe preparation tips
I find that this recipe requires a lot of preparation especially since I make my own almond milk and cashew cream cheese. If you do this then soak the almonds and cashews overnight the day before use (or first thing in the morning if cooking the dish in the evening).

If you use dry lentils you’ll need to make sure they are cooked. I find 1/2 cup of dried lentils yields about 1.5 cups which can all be used in the recipe. Put the lentils to cook the same time as the potatoes.

Cashew Cheese
I found this cashew cheese recipe from Earthdiet.org and reduced the quantity specifically for use in the Shepherd’s Pie recipe as follows:

Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup of cashews soaked overnight
• 1/8 lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp of thyme
• pinch black pepper
• pinch of good salt
• 1/4 tsp of freshly chopped garlic (or powder)
• 1/8 Cup of water

Directions

1. In a food processor blend all ingredients together until a smooth consistency
2. Use as required in the recipe below

Almond Milk

This is the required amount for the Shepherd’s Pie recipe. For full notes on making almond milk (and what to do with the leftover meal) see the post on Almond Milk and Almond Meal/Flour

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup raw almonds, preferably organic
• 1 Cup water, plus more for soaking

Directions

1. Cover the almonds with water and soak in a bowl overnight.
2. Thoroughly rinse the almonds under cold running water.
3. Place the almonds with 1/2 Cup water in a blender and blend until smooth.
4. Strain the almonds.
5. Use as required in the recipe below

Shepherd’s Pie Serving Suggestion

Vegan shepherd’s pie with spinach and chopped red bell pepper. In this version (also shown as the main image) I used 3 large baked potatoes and added cayenne pepper to the mash.

Shepherd's Pie

 

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Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

 

Ingredients

• Mashed Potatoes (top layer):
• 5 russet potatoes (white all purpose eg King Edward)
• ½ Cup plain unsweetened almond milk (hemp milk for nut alternative)
• ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp Himalayan salt (or good sea salt)
• ½ Cup coconut oil or grapeseed oil
• 3 Tbsp vegan cashew cream cheese
• Bottom Portion:
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 2 carrots chopped
• 3 celery stalks chopped
• ½ Cup peas
• 1 tomato diced
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning (thyme, basil, rosemary, oregano, basil, marjoram)
• 2 cloves garlic chopped finely
• 1 Cup Portobello mushrooms
• 1 Cup lentils (pre-cooked)/ ½ Cup uncooked

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 200ºC
2. Rinse ½ cup dry lentils and cooked as instructed on the packet.
3. Peel, cut and boil potatoes.
4. Mash potatoes and mix in all other top layer ingredients
5. Sauté all bottom portion ingredients together (except lentils) until thoroughly cooked.
6. Add cooked lentils towards the end.
7. For Shepherd’s Pie:
8. Put bottom portion in an oven safe dish.
9. Put mashed potato layer on top.
10. Bake for 20 minutes

Notes

If the cocnut oil isn't already melted then add about 3 tbsp of solid form to the mashed potatoes and leave a few minutes to melt before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Try sweet potatoes in place of white potatoes.
Spice up the mashed potato by adding paprika or cayenne pepper

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The bottom portion (without peas)

With white potato

With sweet potato

Blueberry Spelt Flour Muffins

These use a smilier recipe as the Banana Spelt Flour Bread. The advantage is that you get a batch of mini-bread (muffins) that are great to take with you for a quick snack.

Leave out the nuts if your allergic. Try a variety of add-in ingredients including other fruit (chopped fresh, frozen or dried) or chocolate chips. For the extra healthy and nutritious version of chocolate chips go for cacao nibs.

Banana Spelt Flour Bread

There’s nothing quite like freshly made, homemade bread. So here’s a wheat-alternative, low-gluten, yeast-free option.

I went off eating bread a few years ago, not long after a job where I was given sandwiches for both lunch and dinner for a couple of months. After several bread-free months I would eat the occasional freshly-made baguette but bread was definitely still off the table. With it went other wheat-based products including pasta, biscuits and cakes. But that was not the end of baked goods. Fast-forward several months more and I had started experimenting with wheat alternatives when my mum recommended I try spelt flour. After trying spelt bread I found this recipe as an alternative to using yeast.

Banana Spelt Flour Bread

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: nyoutritious.com

Recipe type: Bread

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas
• 3 Large organic free range eggs
• 130 g whole unrefined grain spelt flour (1 cup + 2 tbsp)
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil (or extra virgin coconut oil) (60 ml)
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarb soda
• Optional
• 45 g cashew nuts, chopped (1½ oz)
• 45 g walnuts, chopped (1½ oz)
• Cacao nibs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F)
2. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper or lightly oil and dust with flour (any type), shaking out any excess.
3. Whisk together eggs and bananas until a smooth consistency forms
4. Add olive oil, lemon juice & honey to the mixture and combine well before adding all the dry ingredients as well.
5. Fold in chopped cashews and walnuts with a spatula and pour the mixture into the loaf tin.
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with a cup of your favourite hot drink.

Notes

Try apple cider vinegar for lemon

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Role on the baked goods. Next up Blueberry Spelt Flour Muffins

Avocado Brownies

I’d never made brownies before trying these. They are now my favourite chocolate dessert. Rich and creamy from the avocado and full of protein, these treats will make you feel good. I use 90% chocolate which definitely pack a mighty kick. Blink and these babies are gone but don’t eat too many in one go if you want to sleep!

Chocolate also contains a chemical called theobromine, (from the Greek Theobromo) which, interestingly, is both a stimulant and a sedative. It provides mental and physical relaxation while also delivering an energy boost similar to the effect of caffeine.
www.gaiamtv.com/article/cacao-stimulant-or-superfood

I have a 9×9 inch pan so tend to use 3 avocados, an extra egg and a tad more honey and coconut flour without having to increase much else in the recipe. I prefer to melt my chocolate (with the coconut oil) in a bowl over hot water on the hob but you can melt it in the microwave by zapping for 20sec intervals and stirring in between.

Avocados need to be very ripe otherwise the brownie will have a bitter after taste. But don’t worry if you find an avocado is slightly underripe. You can use a little more of your chosen natural sweetener (honey or maple syrup) and 1-2 tsp of cinnamon to mask the under-ripeness. Alternatively, I found that 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper with a dash of ginger powder also does the trick!

Avocado Brownies

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: TGIPaleo.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 4 oz/ 110 g Baking Chocolate or Chocolate Chips
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 2 Large Avocados (1 cup puree give or take)
• ½ Cup Honey or Maple Syrup
• ¼ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (can be omitted)
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Flour
• 3 Eggs
• ½ tsp Baking Soda
• ½ tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Salt

Instructions

1. Melt the coconut oil and baking chocolate together in double broiler or a bowl/pan on simmering water on the hob.
2. Puree the avocados in a food processor until it is smooth and there are no lumps.
3. Fold the chocolate into the avocados in a large mixing bowl.
4. With an electric mixer, beat the remaining ingredients into the batter until smooth.
5. Grease an 8×8 pan, line with grease-proof paper and pour the batter, smoothing out the edges.
6. Bake at 180°C for 30 mins. Cool and serve.

Notes

To cool the cooked mixture in pan place the hot pan from the oven in ice-cold water for 5min. I use a shallow baking track filled with cold water. Then using the grease paper, turn out the brownie on a wire rack to cool further. Slice then serve. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days (although it will most likely be eaten within 2 days)

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