Vegan MoFo #19 - Coconut Banoffee Pie

I'm combining two recipe requests I got through my Instagram last week in this recipe. One of my lovely followers asked for a recipe for Coconut Whipped Cream and another asked for Banoffee flavored stuff! So here we have a Coconut Banoffee Pie!

A buttery, biscuit crust filled with a layer of sticky, sweet coconut caramel, topped with slices of banana, whipped coconut cream and a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips.

Coconut Banoffee Pie

Serves 8

15 digestive biscuits (Tesco's value brand are vegan)

3Tbsp, heaped vegan butter spread

1/2C coconut caramel sauce

2 large bananas

1 400ml tin of full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight*

1/4C powdered sugar

1/4tsp vanilla extract

1Tbsp dark chocolate chips

In a food processor blitz the biscuits until the crumbs resemble sand. Add the vegan butter spread and pulse until everything comes together. Press the mixture into a tart or flan tin and refrigerate.

Pour the coconut caramel sauce into a saucepan and simmer over a medium heat for 10-20mins, until the mixture becomes very dark and thick. Pour into the crust and refrigerate for a couple of hours to set.

Open the can of coconut milk and carefully scoop the coconut cream from the top of the can. Whip vigorously until soft peaks form and add the powdered sugar and vanilla.

To assemble the pie slice the bananas and place in an even layer on top of the caramel. Top with a good dollop of the whipped coconut cream and sprinkle with dark chocolate chips.

*If you want to cover the whole pie with whipped cream use 2 cans of coconut milk and 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar.

Vegan MoFo #18 - Coconut Caramel Sauce

This is a bit of a cheat. I'm cheating a little bit today, as this Coconut Caramel Sauce is actually an ingredient in the recipes I'll be blogging for the rest of the week. But I thought I would post the recipe separately as it's a recipe in it's own right!

This caramel sauce is easy to make and can be used in countless ways! Drizzled on ice cream or stirred into coffee its creamy, coconutty goodness is irresistible!

This is essentially a recipe for vegan condensed milk, so feel free to use it in any recipe that calls for it. I will be turning it into thick, dark Dulce de Leche for tomorrow's recipe!

Coconut Caramel Sauce

Makes 1-1 1/2C

400ml full fat coconut milk

2/3C light brown sugar

Whisk the brown sugar and coconut milk together in a small saucepan until smooth. place over a medium to low heat and leave to reduce by half, stirring occasionally. This takes about 1 1/2hrs. The mixture should not be boiling but will bubble slightly. Leave to cool for 1/2 an hour and then pour into a jar and pop into the fridge for a few hours to thicken up.

Keeps well in the fridge for a week.

Vegan MoFo #17 - Pepperoni Pizza Mac//Violife Cheese Review

This week the lovely people at Viotros sent me some of their Violife cheeses to sample! If you haven't tried Violife cheese you have been missing out big time! 

Not only are all of their cheeses 100% Vegan, non GMO and free from nuts, gluten and soy - they're made using coconut oil which means that they melt oh so well. If you've been searching for the perfect ingredient for a gooey grilled cheese, here it is!

I was really excited to try these cheese slices. They are really convenient for making sandwiches and rolls and of course grilled cheese! You get 10 slices in each pack which is enough to make 5 cheesy sandwiches - if you really wanted to stretch it you could just use one slice of cheese in a sandwich but it's much better with two! There are lots of different flavors available including Mushroom and Hot Pepper flavor.

The mozzarella slices are really creamy and mild, just like the dairy version, and go really well with sliced tomato in a sandwich.

The original slices are very like a mild cheddar or edam, creamy and cheesy without being overpowering.

The cheddar slices have a stronger taste than the other two I tried, not quite as strong as dairy cheddar but really delicious.

I was also sent some of their amazing Pizza Cheese - I use this cheese regularly when I make my Pizza Rolls, and I have yet to find a vegan cheese that is so melty and works so perfectly for pizza!

The smoked cheese has a really appealing flavor which reminded me of edam. Both of these shred really well and are great to use for pizza or pasta dishes.

They are a bit tricky to remove from the packaging, but they are one of the best vegan cheeses I've come across - and I eat a lot of vegan cheese!

Violife is available in various health food shops worldwide and online.

The other day I was craving pizza AND macaroni cheese, and this is what happened!

I used vegan pepperoni in this recipe but feel free to adapt it by adding your favorite pizza toppings - olives, roasted veg and even vegan ham with pineapple are all great options!

Pepperoni Pizza Mac

Serves 4

500g macaroni

3Tbsp vegan butter spread

4Tbsp plain flour

2 1/2C soy milk

1/3C nutritional yeast

1tsp onion powder

1tsp garlic powder

1/2tsp smoked paprika

3Tbsp tomato paste

1C grated vegan cheese (I used half Violife Pizza Cheese + half Violife Smoked Cheese)

100g vegan pepperoni, chopped

Fresh basil to serve

Boil the macaroni according to the package instructions while you make the sauce.

In a medium pan over a medium heat melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk until a thick paste forms. Add the soy milk in 1/2C increments, whisking well after each addition to form a thick but smooth sauce. Add the nutritional yeast, garlic, onion, paprika, tomato paste and vegan cheese and whisk until everything is melted together and smooth. (You may need to add a dash of almond milk to help the cheese to incorporate into the sauce.) Season to taste and drain the pasta. 

Return the pasta to the pan and pour over the cheesy sauce. Fold the sauce into the pasta until each piece is coated and then fold in the pepperoni. Sprinkle over the fresh basil and serve.

Vegan MoFo #16 - Jaffa Cakes

It's the final week of the Vegan Month of Food, and I have to be honest...after blogging recipes every weekday for three weeks now I've sorta run out of ideas! Thankfully I was able to ask my Instagram followers for some recipe requests, and one of the most common suggestions was for something British, so I decided on one of my favorite English treats - Jaffa Cakes!

Is it a cake? Is it a biscuit? There's no need to decide!

Chocolate and Orange are a classic combo here in the UK, and lots of my American friends fell in love with Jaffa Cakes when they visited London. I have yet to find a brand of Jaffas that is (accidentally) vegan, but thankfully its really quick and easy to make your own!

Jaffa Cakes

Recipe adapted from here

Makes 12

4Tbsp vegan butter spread

1/4C sugar

1/2C plain flour

1/2tsp baking powder

2Tbsp corn flour + 2Tbsp water

2Tbsp water

1/3C smooth marmalade

80g dark chocolate

Grease a 12 hole cupcake tray and preheat the oven to 180/350.

Cream together the butter spread and sugar until light and creamy. Mix together the corn flour and water until smooth and beat into the butter and sugar mixture.

Sift in the flour and baking powder and add the water to loosen the batter slightly.

Drop a tablespoon of the mixture into each hole of the cupcake tray and spread out into an even layer. Bake for 10mins. Remove from the oven and use a knife to slip the sponges out of the tray, transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

While the sponges are cooling heat the marmalade in a small saucepan over a medium heat until melted and smooth. Drop about a teaspoon of marmalade onto each sponge base and smooth out into a neat circle. Pop the sponges into the fridge for about half an hour to set the marmalade.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler and set aside for a few minutes.

Remove the almost finished Jaffas from the fridge and carefully drop a teaspoon of melted chocolate onto the top of each one, then use a spoon to gently spread the chocolate over the whole top of the cake. Once all of the cakes are coated in chocolate use a fork to make a little score pattern on the top of each one and leave them to set completely before devouring!