Tag: vanilla

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:

  1. Prepare the chocolate. Cut the chocolate into small pieces, the smaller the pieces are, the faster they melt. Place the chocolate in a bowl.
  2. 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.
  3. Prepare the ganache. Mix the ingredients until you obtain a smooth chocolate sauce.
  4. 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).
  5. 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

Vegan Lavender Shortbread Cookies

If I have to imagine an ideal snack, I’d definitely pick a large cup of tea and some homemade biscuits. Simple as that! I love cookies so much, I love them in every shape, size or flavor, so it was impossible for me not to fall in love with these amazing lavender shortbread rectangles. Shortbread is a Scottish biscuit traditionally made from one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour. I followed these proportions but instead of butter, I used old-fashion margarine, to make them suitable for a plan-based diet. They turned out amazing, so crumbly that they simply melted in my mouth.

These lavender biscuits are so delicious and extremely easy to make. You shape the dough into a log, you refrigerate it and you cut it in thin rectangles, so you don’t need a cookie cutter to make this recipe. It’s simply fascinating how just a few basic ingredients can create something majestic.

 

Ingredients (for 20 biscuits):

  • 115g margarine / vegan butter / coconut oil refined or unrefined (unrefined coconut oil will give the cookies a subtle coconut flavor) at room temperature
  • 130g white flour
  • 30g powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp chopped dried culinary lavender flowers
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt



Method:

  1. Preheat the oven at 180C / 350F (gas mark 4).
  2. Place the butter in a large bowl and use a mixer or a spatula to beat it until fluffy. Sift the powdered sugar, add it to the bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.
  3. Add the salt, chopped lavender flowers and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
  4. Sift in the flour and stir until the mixture resembles to wet sand. Mix with your finger until you form a ball of dough.
  5. Place the dough between two cling film rectangles and shape in into a log. Press gently on the top with a cookie sheet to flatten the log slightly, then turn the log on its side and press again. Begin smoothing the sides of the log with your fingers until all the sides are as flat an possible. Refrigerate the log for 15 minutes.
  6. After 15 minutes use a sharp knife to cut the log into 20 pieces. Place the biscuits on a parchment paper-lined tray and refrigerate for further 10 minutes.
  7. Bake the biscuits in the preheated oven for 13 – 14 minutes, or until they become light golden brown at the bottom.
  8. Place the lavender shortbread cookies on a wire rack to cool down and store them in an air-tight container for up to 7 days.





Carrot & Walnut Energy Bites (Raw Vegan)



If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll fall in love with this dessert / snack / energy booster. It’s incredibly easy to make, you basically mix a few ingredients in a food processor, and the whole shenanigan doesn’t take more than 10 minutes, from start to finish. These balls are raw vegan, they are made from nuts, seeds, cereals and dehydrated fruits, which makes them not only tasty but also very healthy and kid-friendly. For this recipe I used carrots, walnuts, oats and dates, which I’ve seasoned with cinnamon, orange peel and vanilla and I made 20 adorable, sweet, flavorful, fragrant, burnt-orange balls that simply melt in your mouth.

They are not only delicious, but also packed with nutrients (protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and omega3 and omega6 fatty acids). These carrot balls are sweetened with naturals from dates and carrots, without the addition of any processed sugar, which makes them a great alternative to store-bought sweets. I must confess that since I’ve discovered this type of dessert, I quit visiting the chocolate isle from the supermarkets. Me, the ultimate sugar-lover… Continue reading Carrot & Walnut Energy Bites (Raw Vegan)

Whole – Wheat French Toast



French toast (or Pain perdu) is an absolutely divine breakfast. It’s nothing else but day-old bread soaked in a milk and egg mixture flavored with cinnamon and than fried in butter and served with honey and berries. I make this wonderful treat everytime I find myself in the position of throwing away stale bread. I find it fascinating how an unappealing slice of bread metamorphoses into something sublime.

For French toast I’ve used all sorts of bread, from plain white bread, to whole – wheat, focaccia, or ciabatta, from Romanian sweet bredt, babka or challah. I often use whole-wheat bread soaked in a flavorful egg, milk and brown sugar mixture. The fact that the bread is old gives the final product its fluffiness and keeps the slice together when soaked. If you have only fresh bread, you can always toast it in the oven for 10 minutes. Continue reading Whole – Wheat French Toast

Baked Apples Stuffed with Dates and Oatmeal (Vegan)

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I love baked apples. They taste like those chilly nights of fall. Like the rustle of those wet leaves on your way home from school. Like the smell of the hoarfrost on an early October morning. They taste like childhood. Baked apples are exquisite in their own simplicity, they are the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. I can’t imagine an easier dessert, maybe some Nutella spread on a slice of bread (if Nutella even qualifies as a desert).

I woke up this morning with baked apples on my mind, so I took some local sweet and sour apples, I carved them using a melon baller (this step could be easily made using a vegetable knife) and I stuffed them with a date, oatmeal and brown sugar mixture, flavored with cinnamon and vanilla. I dressed them up with a tiny piece of coconut oil (butter would have worked just fine) and I baked them for about half an hour. The result was a stunning vegan dessert, extremely flavorful and so tasty! Continue reading Baked Apples Stuffed with Dates and Oatmeal (Vegan)

Brioches Suisses

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I can honestly say that brioche is my favorite dessert. I cannot picture something more delicious than freshly baked brioche. And the best part is yet to come: if you have leftovers (that is one big IF), you can transform brioche in a flavourful pudding or a French toast, perfect for breakfast. Genious, right?

I simply adore brioche suisses. They are golden brioche rectangles filled with crème de patisserie and dark chocolate flakes. They are so rich and tasty!

Continue reading Brioches Suisses