Spiced Cocoa Muffins

These chocolatey but earthy muffins are perfect for winter afternoon tea. My muffins came out a little cracked on top due to the fact that I am too lazy to move the racks in my oven. But they were still really delicious! The recipe is adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking (which is the best vegan baking book ever so you should all get it).

Spiced Cocoa Muffins

3 tsp ground flaxseed (or other egg replacer for 2 eggs)

4 tbsp water

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking/bicarb soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1 cup soya milk

1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

1/2 cup vegan choc chips

Preheat over to 200C (400F).

Whip together ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl.  Add milk and melted butter.

Mix the dry ingredients (ex choc chips) together in a separate large bowl. Add the liquid mix to this and stir until just combined. Stir in choc chips.

Spoon into pre-greased muffin pans. I normally fill 12 to just under the brim of the muffin tin. Put it in the centre of your oven and bake for 15-20 minutes (skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean except if it hits a melted choc chip!).

Take them out of the over, let them sit for 5 minutes and then cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Creamy Curried Lentil and Pumpkin/Squash Soup

Winter finally made it to Cambridge. It's been very mild and then suddenly we had ridiculously cold weather last week and then snow last night. I had never really seen snow fall properly so it was quite a treat. We spent the day frollicking in town. I even managed my first snow ball fight!

Selwyn College Old Court

But after a long day of walking around in snow it is nice to come home to a warm house and some yummy food. We had a butternut pumpkin/squash in the cupboard so I decided to make a yummy soup but with lots of lentils and chickpeas for protein (but with almost no fat)!

Creamy Curried Lentil and Pumpkin/Squash Soup

1 brown onion, chopped

1 leek (white and green bits), cut in half and then sliced

2 carrots, sliced

2 small gold sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 butternut pumpkin/squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped

1 cup of red lentils, prewashed

1 cup chickpeas, presoaked* but not cooked**

1 tbsp soya sauce

1/2 tbsp hot curry powder

1/2 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tbsp garam masala

1/2 tbsp hot chili powder

1/2 tbsp salt

black pepper to taste

Put the vegies, lentils and chickpeas in a large soup pan/pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 40 min-1 hour (or whenever the chickpeas cook). Blend the hot soup in the pot with a stick blender or transfer to a food processor/blender/liquidiser and then transfer back to the pot.

Keep the blended soup on a low heat and add the spice. Note that you are putting 1/2 tablespoon of each in. Simmer for another couple of minutes and then serve.

*a couple of hours soaking in some water should be fine

** if you only have cooked/canned chickpeas then just add them at the end instead of at the start

Phirni

Don't know what phirni is? Neither did I! But it's damn delicious and a great dessert for dinner parties because it can be made in advance.

Apparently, fir-ni, phir-ni or phir-nee, is eaten among the Muslim community of North India and also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is normally flavoured with cardamom, raisins, saffron, cashews, pistachios or almonds and can also have fruit pulp added!

This is just a basic recipe I found on the internet that I veganised for an Indian-themed dinner party that I had.The ground rice turns the hot liquid into a deliciously spice, gelatinous, cold pudding. Very yummy!

Phirni 

(advanced prep needed)

1/2 cup basmati rice (or some other long grained rice)

1 litre/ 4 cups of soya milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

pinch of saffron

1/2 cup mix of unsalted almonds and pistachios chopped coarsely

Thoroughly wash and drain the rice. Put it into a bowl and cover with water. Soak for 2 hours.

Drain and grind the rice to a very coarse paste. I did this with my mortar and pestle but it could also be done on a hard surface with the back of a spoon. The rice needs to be broken down into small pieces but doesn't need to be completely smooth. You want to be able to see the pieces.

Put the rice paste, milk, sugar, cardamom and saffron into a deep, heavy bottomed pan and cook on medium heat till the rice is soft. Stir often to prevent the milk from scorching or burning.

Reserve some nuts for garnishing and add the remaining nuts to the phirni. Stir well. 

Turn off the heat. Allow the phirni to cool, then chill in the refrigerator. You can either put it straight into the bowls you will serve it in (like I did) or put it into a bigger container and scoop the cold dessert out later into smaller bowls. I thought it looked nice in ramekins.

Garnish with remaining nuts.

Notes: 

• You can use brown long grain rice for this but I would suggest doubling the soaking time and making sure that when you cook the rice it is really soft before you refrigerate it.

• You can add all sorts of different flavours. I tried almonds and cinnamon for Christmas and it was also really delicious. 

•  If your soya milk has a lot of added sugar then consider cutting back on some of the sugar you add.

Vegetable and Lentil Stew with Herb Dumplings

We are off to Denmark next week to spend Christmas with a friend and his family. But before we leave I thought I'd post this yummy winter stew.

My picture does not do this dish the justice it deserves. It's a really delicious, filling dish that's great for cold winter nights. It's based on the recipe for Mushroom Stew with Herb Dumplings in vegan.

I hope you all have a great Christmas and and I'll see you all in the New Year!

Vegetable and Lentil Stew with Herb Dumplings

1 potato, chopped
25 g shiitake mushrooms, halved

125g oyster mushrooms, sliced

600ml (1 pint) vegetable stock

200ml of water

125g puy lentils (dried)*

1 red onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

125g frozen peas

1 red pepper/capsicum, deseeded and chopped

125g cabbage, chopped

2 heaped tsp cornflour

2 tsp vegan bouillon powder**
2 tsp cocoa

1 tablespoon of molasses***

1 tsp vegemite****

2 tbsp tomato sauce

125ml sherry

Dumplings:

1 3/4 cup self-raising flour

1 tsp vegan bouillon powder**

1 tsp chopped sage

1 tsp chopped thyme

1 tsp chopped parsley

3 tbsp oil

1/2 cup soya milk

Place the potato, shiitake mushrooms and lentils into large saucepan with stock and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Mix all dumpling ingredients together in bowl. Make 12 balls (this is easier to do between 2 spoons or with 1 spoon and a hand. Two hands get rather sticky).

Add remaining vegetables to stew.

Mix the remaining stew ingredients into a small bowl. Then gradually add this to the stew. Stir constantly until stew thickens.

Sit dumplings on the stew and replace lid. Simmer for another 20 minutes until dumplings are cooked.

* We can never get dried puy lentils so use the canned ones. If you use the canned ones then don't put them in until the end just before you put the dumplings in. Alternatively, you can use red lentils or green lentils (the green ones will need pre-soaking, though, and may take longer to cook).

** If you can't get this, don't worry too much. We actually use this as the vegetable stock so just add a bit extra to make this. You could use dried vegie stock.

*** I use golden syrup instead of molasses. It's not really the same but it does the trick. 

****  Or whatever yeast extract you use.

Gazpacho

This recipe is super easy (as long as you have a blender/food processor), doesn't actually involve any cooking, uses up stale bread and tastes surprisingly delicious! It is based on a recipe I saw on River Cottage during their vegetarian season (on Channel4 for all you UK people). I made it much simpler by not caring about skinning and deseeding the tomatoes. If you want to do this I would suggest visiting the River Cottage website to see how Hugh does it. I also make my own croutons. He cheats.

 Gazpacho

3 thick slices stale white bread (around 100g), crusts removed*

200ml cold water

1 garlic clove, crushed

1.5 kg large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 red capsicum/pepper, deseeded and chopped

½ small red onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil for soup + 1 tbsp olive oil for toasting croutons

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper

shredded basil or chopped flat-leaf parsley

Take 2 of the bread slices and tear into pieces. Put the bread into a bowl with the crushed garlic and water. Leave to soak for 10 minutes.

Put the soaked bread and garlic, tomatoes, half the cucumber, red pepper, onion, olive oil, vinegar and sugar in a food processor (it should just fit). Process to a coarse purée and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill for 2–3 hours, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

Cut the final slice of bread into small squares. Brush the front and back with the oil and grill for a couple of minutes on each side to make croutons.

Serve the gazpacho topped with the croutons, shredded basil/parsley and the other half of the cucumber, chopped.

*I kept the crusts on for one of them (for my croutons) because they gave extra crunch.

Cinnamon Scrolls and Donuts (Doughnuts)

Yes, I make my cinnamon scrolls and donuts with the same recipe. Topologically and semantically I might get away with it: the donuts are torus shaped and made from dough. However, I'm not sure Homer Simpson would have given my donuts the stamp of approval.

I love cookies and cake and muffins and all the really fatty, sugary stuff. It's really easy to eat something someone else made and not realise exactly how much fat and sugar goes into the product (and thus it's easy not to feel guilty about it). However, when you are physically mixing the batter and are measuring exactly how much oil and/or sugar you are using, you might not end up enjoying your lovely baked good in quite the same guiltless way.

This does not mean that the following donuts are healthy; everything in moderation. (Although, these donuts really need to be consumed on the day of baking (next day at the latest) so you might need to share in order to avoid eating them all yourself.) But these donuts are a lot healthier than your tradional donut from Krispy Kreme.

This dough recipe is based on the recipe for the dough for the Cinnamon Rolls in The Joy of Vegan Baking. In fact, my cinnamon scroll recipe is closely based around that recipe. I guess American cinnamon rolls are like Australian cinnamon scrolls and British Chelsea buns.

The dough you make will need 1-2 hours to rise so keep that in mind if you are pushed for time. You wil also need an electric stand mixer. If you don't have one you can do it just fine by hand but it'll be some work!

Also, don't be put off with the length of the recipe. It might look complicated at first glance but it is actually really simple once you have read through the instructions. And the results are well worth it!

Dough (for cinnamon scrolls and donuts)

(Dough needs 1-2 hours to rise so keep that in mind.)

4 1/2 tsp egg replacer (5 tsp ground flaxseed)

6 tbsp water

5 cups flour

2 1/4 tsp (7g sachet) active dry yeast

1 cup soya milk

1/3 cup vegan butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Whisk egg replacer/flaxseed together with water until thick and creamy.

Using your electric mixer with the normal paddle/mixing attachment mix 2 1/4 cups of the flour with the yeast. 

In a small saucepan heat the milk, butter, sugar and salt until butter is almost melted. Stir constantly. Pour into flour mixture in electric mixer and mix on low speed. Add the egg replacer mixer and turn to high/beat for 3 minutes.

Switch attachments to the hook-looking one. Put the mixer on low and mix in remaining flour gradually for 3-5 minutes until you have a moderately soft, smooth and elastic dough. You might end up with 1/2 a cup of flour left over. If you don't need it, don't use it. Your dough should be tacky but not sticky to touch.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in greased bowl. Let it rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place or until the dough has doubled in size. 

Once the dough has doubled, punch it down, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover with a clean tea towel and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then roll it out.

  

Cinnamon Scrolls

advanced prep required: scrolls needs about 1 hour to rise (this is in addition to the 1-2 hours above)

soya milk for brushing

Filling: 

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 cup vegan butter, softened

1/2 raisins

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or other)

Icing:

1 cup icing/confectioners' sugar

2 tbsp vegan butter, melted

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp soya milk

Prepare your dough as above.

Mix all the filling ingredients together.

Roll the dough into a 30cm square (12-inches for those of you still living in my grandma's era).

Spread the filling out over the dough. Do this evenly.

Roll the dough into a log (so that you can see the spirals at the ends). Pinch at the end to seal.

Slice the log into 8 equal slices (you should havd little flat cylinders with sprials of yummy filling showing). Place the slices on a greased tray or baking paper.* Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes-1 hour in a warm place until they double in size (keep this in mind when placing).

Preheat the oven to 190C (375F) and (uncover and) brush the scrolls with the soya milk. Bake for 25-30 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

To make icing combine all the icing ingredients in a bowl. After the scrolls have cooled for 5 minutes drizzle the icing over them. Serve warm. Best eaten day of baking (or next day at the latest).

*You can actually do all of this the day before and then put them in the fridge and carry on with the instructions from here.

(Healthier) Donuts

Prepare your dough as above.

Cut out donut shapes. I do this by using a wide glass for the outside circle and a small, sample-size jam jar for the inner circle. I'm sure you can also buy donut cutters or you could do it free-hand. You should end up with a bunch of donuts and holes. Keep both.

Place the donuts + holes on a greased or baking paper lined tray. Cover with cling wrap/film and let rise for 45min-1 hour. Donuts and holes should double in size.

Preheat oven to 190C (375F). Uncover the donuts and brush with soya milk. Baked for 10-15 minutes until the bottoms start to turn golden brown.

Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

If you want to ice your donuts then let them cool completely and ice with whatever your favourite glaze is (the icing for the scrolls will do with a bit of cocoa if you like chocolate). If you want the traditional cinnamon donut then let them cool a little (a few minutes will do) then give them a quick spray with oil and roll them in a cinnamon-sugar mix (1 tsp cinnamon to 1/2 cup sugar).

Best eaten day of baking (or next day at the latest).

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I've been in the Peak District again this weekend. Lots of food reviews to come as well as some yummy new recipes!