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Chocolate Truffles (Vegan)

Decadent and velvety, these vegan chocolate truffles are the perfect dessert on those hot July evenings. For these delicious chocolate balls you only need two main ingredients and about 2 – 3 optional ingredients, which do nothing else but provide an even better taste. They are ready in practically no time and it take about the same amount of time for them disappear from the dining table. I surely recommend you to give them a try.

Ingredients:

300g dark chocolate ( I used 60% cocoa)
240ml coconut cream
the zest of ½ an orange
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 – 5 Tbsp cocoa powder

Method:

Prepare the chocolate. Cut the chocolate into small pieces, the smaller the pieces are, the faster they melt. Place the chocolate in a bowl.
Heat the coconut cream. Heat the coconut cream to a simmer. Pour the simmering coconut cream over the chocolate pieces in the mixing bowl. Leave to sit for around 2 -3 minutes to melt.
Prepare the ganache. Mix the ingredients until you obtain a smooth chocolate sauce.
Cool the ganache. Place the bowl into the fridge to set. This will take a few hours (3 hours, you’ll know it is set when you stick a knife into it and it is solid all the way down).
Shape the truffles. When set, use a melon baller to scoop out even amounts of the ganache and drop it into the cocoa powder, then use your hands to roll it into a ball. The cocoa powder will stop it from sticking to your hands. Place the balls onto a parchment lined baking tray. When all the balls are rolled, place into the freezer to harden.

Source: www.lovingitvegan.com

Chocolate & Almond Babka (Vegan)

I can’t even begin to describe my passion for any kind of brioche. I simply adore them. I love the simple version, the chocolate one, the one with walnuts, or poppy seeds, or Turkish delight, or coconut meringue. Any kind, really. I’m not picky at all. One of my favourite recipes is Babka, chocolate brioche with Polish origins. So I decided to make a vegan version and the result vas a fluffy golden brioche with a decadent chocolate-almond filling. A vegan brioche which is not only looks incredible but also tastes absolutely amazing.

Ingredients (for 2 loaves):

500g all-purpose flour

250ml almond milk

90ml sunflower oil

1 satchel active dry yeast

120g powdered sugar

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp turmenic

1 tsp vanilla extract

zest of 1 orange

for the filling:

100g dark chocolate

100g ground almonds

60ml coconut oil

50g powdered sugar

30g cocoa powder

Method:

Mix sugar with lukewarm milk and stir until combined. Add yeast and leave aside for 15 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl sift the flour together with the turmenic powder. Add the milk mixture, orange zest and vanilla. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the salt and continue mixing until you form a ball.

Turn the dough on to a floured working surface and knead adding one teaspoon of oil at a time. Knead for 15 minutes adding flour if necessary. Put dough back in the mixing bowl, cover with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 90 minutes.

Prepare the filling by melting the chocolate and the coconut oil in the microwave. Ass the sifted cocoa and powdered sugar. Mix until well combined.

Put dough on a floured working surface and knead for 2 minutes. Divide it into 2 smaller balls.

Take the first ball and toll it out with a rolling pin until you have a 1cm thick rectangle making sure it has the same length as the tray.

Spread ½ the quantity of the chocolate cream over it, leaving a 2cm wide clean border. Sprinkle half of the almonds over the chocolate cream.

Brush the left border with almond milk. Begin rolling the loaf from right to left, making sure the left end sticks well. Take a sharp knife and divide the log into two halves. Take one end and begin twisting them. Place the loaf in a parchment paper- lined tray and proceed the same with the second brioche.

Cover them with a clean towel and leave the aside to rise for another 60 minutes. Bake them in the preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F (gas mark 4) for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Let them cool down on a wire rack for at least 2 hours until slicing.

Chocolate Olive Oil Zucchini Bread

When it comes to baking, I’m the laziest person on the planet. I’m (almost) never eager to make a 100-step dessert or a cake that requires to separate eggs / to beat egg whites / to melt stuff / to jump on one foot / to dance samba. I simply don’t get those recipes! From my point of view, if a recipe involves a few ingredients, a single bowl, a spatula and a tray, that recipe has my name on it. You’d never guess, but this particular zucchini bread is one of those recipes!

To make this recipe a little bit healthier instead of using butter I used olive oil and buttermilk and the result is an incredibly moist, almost fudgy, decadent, chocolaty zucchini bread. I tell you, this might be my all time favorite dessert! Continue reading Chocolate Olive Oil Zucchini Bread

Buttermilk Chocolate Muffins

These amazing muffins, perfect for breakfast or served as a dessert, will satisfy even the most pretentious chocolate lovers. These muffins are incredibly easy to make – you just mix some ingredients, you bake them et voilà, you have some fluffy and tender beauties. The buttermilk gives them such a soft and moist texture and the brown sugar gives them a rich, caramel flavor. And the most interesting part is the fact that they are ready in less than 30 minutes. Continue reading Buttermilk Chocolate Muffins