Vegan MoFo #15 - Espresso-Speculoos Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Today I was supposed to be showing you perfect vegan french macarons. Those pictures up there should be beautiful pistachio macarons. But my macarons failed and after 5 attempts I was close to pulling my hair out, so I decided to make these cookies instead! 

I love speculoos in anything and everything, and the flavor of speculoos cookies go so well with the chocolate and espresso in these shortbread cookies. Finished with a drizzle of espresso icing these cookies are perfect with a cup of coffee.

Espresso-Speculoos Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Recipe adapted from here

Makes 12

1/2C vegan margarine 

1/3C crunchy biscof spread

1/2tsp instant espresso 

1 1/4C plain flour

1/4C powdered sugar

1/2tsp salt

3tsp almond milk

1C dark chocolate chips

1/2C powdered sugar

1tsp instant espresso

2-4Tbsp water

In a stand mixer cream together the margarine and biscof cookie spread. Add the espresso, flour, salt and powdered sugar and mix well. Add the milk a teaspoon at a time and continue to mix until the mixture comes together as a stiff but crumbly dough.

Knead the dough with your hands until it comes together into a rough ball and form into a thick sausage shape. Wrap in grease proof paper and roll into a thinner sausage. Refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 325/170 and line a baking sheet with grease proof paper.

Slice the sausage into 12 pieces and press each piece down firmly. Place them on the baking sheet about an inch apart from each other and bake for 12mins. Remove the sheet from the oven and leave the cookies to cool on the tray for 5mins before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely while you make the icing.

In a small bowl mix together the powdered sugar and espresso powder. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until a thick but easy-to-pour icing is formed. Once the cookies are cool drizzle them with a generous glob of icing and leave to set.

Serve with a cup of coffee!

Next week is the final week of the Vegan Month of Food!

I'm asking for your recipe requests for my posts next week!

Please comment below with what you would like to see on the blog next week!

Vegan MoFo #14 - Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream

You scream, I scream, we all scream for Ice Cream!

I love Ice Cream, who doesn't! Since going vegan I've been disappointed with the lack of choice when it comes to ice cream flavors for vegans here in the UK. I've tried making my own ice cream before but have never been completely satisfied with the texture and taste when comparing it to the non-vegan ice creams of my past.

One of my lovely instagram followers asked me to come up with a recipe for ice cream that doesn't use cashews, and this ice cream turned out so good! I can't wait to create more flavors soon.

Creamy, smooth, sweet and minty - this Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream will be enjoyed by vegans and non-vegans alike. 

Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream

Makes 2 pints

1 400g can full fat coconut milk

1 340g carton firm silken tofu

1C sugar

2tsp spinach powder or 1tsp natural green food coloring

3tsp American Mint Extract

100g dark chocolate chips

Put all of the ingredients other than the chocolate chips into a blender and blitz until completely smooth. 

Pour into a metal tin or plastic tub and place in the freezer for 45mins. After 45mins the edges of the mixture should have started to freeze. Scrape down the sides and whip the cream vigorously to break up all the ice particles. Return to the freezer and repeat the whipping process every 30mins for 2-3hrs until the ice cream is too thick to whip.

Fold in the dark chocolate chips and return to the freezer to set overnight.

Remove the ice cream from the freezer 10-15mins before you wish to serve it.

Vegan MoFo #13 - Iced Cream Buns Three Ways

In honor of the Great British Bake Off tonight, I thought I would try baking one of the technical challenges from one of the previous series, with my own twist of course!

I chose to bake sweet iced buns, and once they were baked I decided on three different flavor combinations to fill and top these buns with - Mocha, Raspberry and Matcha with Strawberry.

I'm hoping to start selling some vegan goodies at a monthly farmers market and I think these would be a great! They're sweet, decadent and feel quite fancy! They would be great for a tea party!

You don't have to fill these buns, feel free to just eat them iced!

Iced Cream Buns

Original recipe by Paul Hollywood

Makes 12

For the buns

500g Strong white flour

2 x 7g packets fast action yeast

50g sugar

40g vegan margarine, softened

2tsp egg replacer + 4Tbsp water

Pinch of salt

150ml warm almond milk

100ml water

For the icing

400g icing sugar

Water

1/2tsp beetroot powder*

1tsp instant espresso

1tsp matcha green tea powder

For the filling

Soy squirty cream**

4Tbsp choc shot or other chocolate sauce

4Tbsp raspberry jam + 2tsp water

6 strawberries, sliced

Put all of the dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix, starting with a wooden spoon and then using your hands to combine all the ingredients together until a smooth. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10mins, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl and cover with a plastic carrier bag and a damp tea towel and leave to rise for an hour or until at least doubled in size.

Once risen, dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work into a long sausage shape. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces and roll each one into a ball. Roll each ball into a finger around 12cms long and place onto a couple of baking trays lined with grease proof paper and leave to rise, uncovered for 40mins.

Preheat the oven to 220/425/GM7 and bake the buns for 10mins, until they are risen and slightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and transfer the buns to a wire rack to cool while you make the icings.

In a medium sized bowl mix water into the icing sugar a little at a time until you have a thick but easy to pour icing. Separate into three bowl and mix the beetroot powder into one, coffee into one and matcha into the other. Once the buns are cooled completely spread them with the icing (four of each flavor) and leave to set.

Once the icing is set you can fill them! 

*alternatively use 1/2tsp natural pink food colouring

**alternatively use whipped, sweetened coconut cream

Fill the Coffee iced buns with soy whipped cream and drizzle with a tablespoon of the choc shot.

Fill the pink iced buns with soy whipped cream and drizzle with the raspberry jam mixture.

Fill the matcha iced buns with sliced strawberries and top with soy whipped cream.

These Iced Cream Buns ideally need to be eaten the same day or the next day, and only fill them just before they are going to be eaten. Enjoy!

Vegan MoFo #11 - Mocha Frappé & Sweet Freedom Review

 The kind folks over at Sweet Freedom recently sent me some of their products to review and to use in recipes, and I'm so glad they did! They sent me some of their natural sweetness syrup 'Sweet Freedom' and some of their liquid hot chocolate 'Choc Shot'.

Sweet Freedom is a natural syrup made 100% from fruit! It's GM and gluten free, vegan and low GI.

I've been drizzling this on fruit, yogurt and granola for breakfasts this week and I really love it. It's a great vegan replacement for honey and it has a mild, sweet and slightly fruity taste. I particularly like the fact that its quite thick, so reminded me more of honey than agave syrup does. I can't wait to use some next time I bake flapjacks! 

Choc Shot is chocolate in liquid form! It's made using Sweet Freedom Syrup so is still naturally sweetened but you wouldn't know it. This stuff is seriously like Heaven in a bottle and I know I will be buying it regularly. It's delicious in hot chocolate (just mix a few  teaspoons into hot almond milk), drizzled on pancakes, as a sauce for ice cream or spread on toast. I think I could actually drink this from the bottle it's so good! A little bird told me that there are soon to be two new flavors of Choc Shot coming out soon, I can't wait to try them.

You can find Sweet Freedom & Choc Shot in most supermarkets and Holland & Barrett in the UK.

Today's recipe is simple but just what I need on a gloomy Monday morning! Coffee and Chocolate are a marriage made in Heaven, and this Mocha Frappé is really quick to make and just as good (if not better) than any you can buy in a coffee shop (and an awful lot cheaper too!)

Mocha Frappé
Serves 1

1C ice
1 1/4C hazelnut milk
1tsp instant espresso powder
2Tbsp Choc Shot

Soy whipped cream & Choc Shot to serve

Add the ice, milk, espresso and choc shot to a blender and blitz for a couple of minutes, until everything is well blended together.

Pour into a glass and top with some soy squirty cream and a drizzle of choc shot!