Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake

Have you ever found a vegan recipe that actually worked? Well I have.

And let me tell you, it is amaaazzzing! The cake is so moist and chocolate-y and delicious, I nearly ate the whole pan. Like, no, in all seriousness.. I nearly ate the whole pan.

Awkward.

I baked this last night, on a Friday and it was bliss. What's better then sitting down on a comfy couch, when your home alone watching a new episode of Glee? Nothing.

Chocolate and Rachel Berry singing makes me so happy!

I saw this recipe on Joy the Baker (story of my life!) and the whole day at school I was dreaming about baking this little thing up/I was craving chocolate cake with a cold glass of milk. So, straight after school I ran to the kitchen and threw this together. I didn't time how long it took me, but trust me, it was so quick!

Dry ingredients, measure, put into bowl.
Wet ingredients, measure, put into bowl.
And then chuck them together! Ta-da!!

I used a block of roasted almond chocolate and broke it up and threw it into the batter! Trust me, you should really use the chocolate chips in this cake, it takes it to another level!

Om nom nom. You should really make a double batch of this cake because one aint gonna last!
And also, the recipe calls for a bundt cake, but since I didn't have one I just used a 21cm round cake tin and it turned out perfecto!

Vegan Chocolate Cake
    makes 1 9-inch chocolate bundt cake

- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup warm coffee
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- small handful of chocolate chunks and/or cocoa nibs (optional)


Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch bundt pan with vegetable shortening and dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together coffee, oil, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks and cocoa nibs, if using.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. The batter will be relatively thick. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Cake will last, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to 3 days

Valentine Butter Cookies

Yes. It's that joyous time of year again. Valentines day. The day of the year where I shut myself up in my room, eat chocolate and listen to Adele..and cry? No, I'm totally joking!

Except for the chocolate. That's a must on every singles Valentines day. Talking about being as single as a pringle; I made these fabulous butter cookies. Both of my best friends, who are also best friends with eachother share the same birthday. And yes, it is Feb 14th, the day of Valentines. Is that a good thing or a bad? I dunno. I would be happy getting all those boxes of Guliyan from my family.

I started Year 12 - aka my final death year of school - 3 weeks ago, and I've already had 4 breakdowns. Oh my god, how am I going to survive!? I'm stressed out to the max and the real assessments haven't even started!

Talking about assessments, I studied my ass off last weekend for Biology and I went to my first test on Monday morning. I did the test, I was pretty tricky but hey, I thought, I reckon I did okay.
Ha. Biggest. Lie. Ever.
I got it back yesterday. The paper lay innocently on my desk and I flipped it over.. 57%. Yes. My first assessment of Year 12 and that's my result. Great start to the beginning of the year. Note the sarcasm!

And yes, when I got home I had a binge. It consisted of 6 of these cookies. It also consisted of my putting 10 kilos on each of my thighs. Yee-haw! Go me!

..If you ever feel like you need to eat your feelings (story of my life) go for these! Buttery, but good!

Valentine Butter Cookies

3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoon milk

Method

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2. Beat together butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light in color. Add egg and milk to the mixture and beat until well combined.

3. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour, mixing until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

4. Divide the dough in half and stain with gel food coloring if desired. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 375.

6. Remove one package of dough from the refrigerator at a time. Sprinkle your work surface and a rolling pin with powdered sugar. Roll the dough to 1/4”, rotating the dough around the work surface, making sure it doesn’t stick.

7. Cut dough into desired shapes and place on a greased cookie sheet, or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Brush with a bit of beaten egg and milk before sprinkling with sugar in the raw or sanding sugar.

8. Bake for 7-9 minutes, rotating the pan half way through baking. Remove from the oven when cookies have barely started to brown on the edges. If you’re not using a silicone mat or parchment paper, I like to remove the cookies from the pan when they are still very warm. This will ensure they won’t cool and stick to the pan. Just be careful, they’ll be a bit fragile.

Lemon Almond Polenta Cake

I aspire to be like Nigella Lawson when I'm older, settled down and a mother of about six! I love the way she dances around the kitchen like a diva, throwing things into her bowl left right and center, and then producing the most perfect cake you will ever see from her expensive oven.

This light, crumbly, lemon infused tea cake is taken from the queen of the kitchen herself. The majority of the cakes batter is composed of ground almonds (or almond meal) which adds a subtle yet noticeable flavour to the cake. The almond also works to retain moisture in the cake. And let me tell you.. you need that moisture in order for you to salivate as soon as the cake touches your lips.

I would like to say that this cake is healthy so that more of you would try it out. But the 200g of caster sugar that goes into it begs to differ...

 

Lemon and corn. The ingredients sound simple enough. And sure enough, the cake is too! I think every recipe that comes from Nigella is easy to understand, and the best thing is that the ingredients are in your pantry already!

  Lemon Polenta Cake adapted from Nigella Lawson (Serves 16)

 

  

Ingredients

- 200g soft unsalted butter, plus some for greasing
- 200g caster sugar
- 200g ground almonds
- 100g fine polenta/cornmeal
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder (gluten-free if required)
- 3 eggs
- zest 2 lemons

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Line the base of your cake tin with baking parchment and grease its sides lightly with butter.
Beat the butter and sugar till pale and whipped, either by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon, or using a freestanding mixer.
Mix together the almonds, polenta and baking powder, and beat some of this into the butter-sugar mixture, followed by 1 egg, then alternate dry ingredients and eggs, beating all the while.
Finally, beat in the lemon zest and pour, spoon or scrape the mixture into your prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.
It may seem wibbly but, if the cake is cooked, a cake tester should come out cleanish and, most significantly, the edges of the cake will have begun to shrink away from the sides of the tin. remove from the oven to a wire cooling rack, but leave in its tin.  

Cupcakes with a Strawberry Frosting

My sister hit the big 21 a week and a half ago. To celebrate her big milestone she had a Mexican themed party a couple of days after her birthday.
And me being the unorganized, clumsy and careless sister, I was appointed one task and one task only. The cupcakes..duh!

Now, there aren't many mexican flvours that can be distinguished by the party guests, so I went with the one and only; strawberry. I haven't ever really made any flavoured frostings - apart from the usual vanilla and chocolate, obviously - so I was so excited to try this one out. I followed my usual buttercream icing recipe which consisted of the usual butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence, but I improvised when it came to the strawberry tinting and flavouring. Yes. I made the other half of the recipe up.

But don't get discouraged, it works. The recipe totally works! (woohoo!). But to be fair, I did a "trial run" a few weeks before the actual party to test out the recipe. I'm not sure I used the right ingredients for strawberry frosting, but hey, it turned out to be edible so I don't care. Mum and I were wandering around the food store and I was lingering in the canned fruit aisle. I spotted a tin of canned strawberries and I went from there! Because I like to think of myself as organic and chic, I used grated beetroot to create the baby pink colour. This also added flecks of beetroot to the icing which could be mistaken for tiny chunks of strawberry.

Anyway, my story about beetroots and strawberries is probably boring you!

The recipe:

Strawberry Frosting (ices 12 cupcakes)

- 2.5 cups icing sugar
- 250g butter
- 2 Tb of canned strawberry syrup*
- 1 tsp of grated beetroot

Method
Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add icing sugar and continue beating until well incorporated. Add canned strawberry syrup and grated beetroot and stir well to combine.
Spoon in to piping back with a 1M Wilton nozzle and pipe, pipe, pipe away!

*Syrup in which the strawberries are in inside the can.

Lemon Drenched Vanilla Cupcakes

Yo. I'm back. And I bear gifts!...well a recipe, but it counts as a gift, kinda.
I have been up to my nose in study.. the majority of the time was spent on facebook though, yeah I got waaay too distracted.

Chem is a distaster, no newie there, but I'm starting to move up in the world with maths, I had the exam on Monday, not too hard, not too easy. So, it counts as a good exam for me.
I finito semester 1 exams on Tuesday and I'm so excited so I can run back to the video store and demand Kardashians season 3.

Anyway, onwards with the show my chums!

Honey Wheat Pound Cake

I can't keep up with the Kardashians. I'm up to season 3 so far. 

Don't get me wrong, and don't freak out, I did know about the K'dashes before, I was just following Kim and Kourtney take New York.

 Is everyone okay now that we got that sorted?

No one got freaked out by reading the first sentence thinking that I had no idea about the fam? Cool! We're now on the same page...

I had a continuous five hour marathon last night. No joke, the only time I got up was to run back to the kitchen for more food because I was depressed at how thin Kourtney is.

I want to be a Kardashian.. I have to admit it. 5 sisters and one (hot) brother in one house along with only the coolest mum ever and her puppy dog follower husband. Gotta love the show.

This is really awkward to admit but my friend from school tweeted Khloe Kardash and she actually replied.

Hold up.

She actually replied.

Hold your horses.

She actually replied.

Nonono, I would of had a freak out there and then. So (because I'm pretty desperate) I tweeted her............. 6 times. Yes. 

Anyway we were talking about honey wheat pound cakes were we not?

By the way... my batter was out of this world in fluffiness. 

Take a deep breath guys, from here on it's food porn.

As you can probably see; I made this on a Friday night and I left it in the oven after it was cooked. But.. um.. I wake up in the morning and it was as flat as a bloody pancake. So much for all that bloody effort. Anyway.. when it was in the oven during the cooking process it rose beautifully and I was so exciteed.

Then I wake up on a Sunday morning and this is what I face.

I love life. 

Honey Whole Wheat Pound Cake

     makes 1 9 x 5-inch loaf and 6 muffins

2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks (12 Tablespoons of butter)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour the loaf pan and muffin tins.  

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.  

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whip the butter, sugar and honey on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the vanilla extract.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about one minute after each addition.  Scrape down the bowl as needed.  Add the dry mixture and buttermilk in three additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.  

Transfer the batter to the prepared pans.  Smooth the top down and bake the cake for about  hour and the muffins for about 20 to 25 minutes.  The cake will be a lovely golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean.  

Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nearly Vegan Nutmeg Cookies

I'm super stressed about school.  I had 3 assignments due last week, lost one due to the schools shitty computer back up memory thing, and my teacher is a bitch and only gave me a one night extension.  Cooool life.
Anyway, I found at least 4 white hairs on my  head in the past 2 weeks, and my appearance is starting to take an effect on all this homework.  And I kinda think my baking ability has as well... let's not get into that right now, I don't wan't to scare you off... just finish reading the post.


God, I'm becoming abusive to my readers.  What the hell is this!?

I read the recipe and I thought it didn't have any sugar in it?  (Note: This stress is turning me old, ie. white hair, bad eyesight etc.)  So I just put in 1 Tablespoon of caster sugar into the dry mix, and it precisely tells you to use icing sugar and mix it in with the oil.  Lawl.  Ma bad.

This is a simple biscuit method.  Dry ingredients, one bowl.  Wet ingredients, another bowl.  Mix together and turn into a dough.  Knead, cut and bake. Simple easy peasy!  Oh and by the way I modified the recipe and got rid of the cumin seeds in there... who the hell puts cumin seeds in biscuits?  And added 1 teaspoon, well 2, weeeell, I actually added 3, but nutmegs really good for you, right?

Bee Tee Dubzzz, I said this is kind of Vegan, because you can just get rid off the egg and use an egg substitute powder. And, theres no butter or milk, only oil.




Nearly Vegan Nutmeg Cookies
- 2 cups Plain flour
- 1/2 cup oil (I used Sunflower)
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 cup Icing (powdered) sugar
- 3 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt


Method


Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Sift plain flour, baking powder, nutmeg powder and salt into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine oil, egg and sugar. Mix well then put the dry ingredients in, also adding 3 Tb water. Mix and knead until fully incorporated. I used a standing mixer.. soo much easier! Roll Tablespoons of dough onto sheet and flatten slightly with the back of the spoon. Place at least 4 cm apart and bake for 10-15 mins until golden brown.

Olive Oil and Ginger Cookies

Can I tell you a secret?

Olive oil cookies are good. So good. I thought they would taste gross, oily and kinda fruity.. but their actually pretty edible and addictive, and morish, and delicious, and rad... enough to get you to whip up a batch of these?

Just another extra fab bonus to add.. these cookies are 50 calories each! Eat to your hearts content. Thats a trick instruction, just eat wisely ;)

Olive Oil and Ginger Cookies

                        Adapted from Weight Watchers

- 2 large eggs

- 2/3 cup Olive Oil

- 2 teaspoons vanilla essence

- 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, using a fork. Stir in 2/3 cup oil, and the vanilla. Reserve 1 tablespoon sugar; add the remaining to the oil mixture.

Sift together the flour, ground ginger, baking powder and salt. Add to the egg mixture.

Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Stamp each cookie flat with the bottom of a glass dipped in the reserved sugar, continuing to dip the glass as you prepare the cookies. (Oil the glass before dipping in the sugar.)Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the cookies at once from the cookie sheet.

Remember, these cookies are 50 calories each, having 5 does not make you more healthy! You mays as well eat a whole Cheesecake! Hehehehe, sorry I had to say it...

Vanilla Crêpes

I am so depressed today. After school Mum and I went shopping to stock up for our food deprived house. Shopping wentsmoothly.. well doesn't it always!? Walking down the aisles of grocery stores always soothes me.. well actually I think its just the food, but..

Anyway, when we went into the car I saw about as many gorgeous men then I've had hot dinners. Seriously! They just popped up! Doubt they would be into a 16 year old...thats a form of pedophelia right!? And to make matters worse, they were all holding a single red rose? For me? Lol joke.. yeah right. Probably for their blondy booby girlfriends.

Just about over my depression when I enter the front door and see my sisters boyfriend on the sofa. Cooool, God totally wants to rub this in my face. Thanks lordy lord.. at least you don't get these Crêpes in heaven. :)

There are 3 ingredients in these morsels, and I guarantee you, they will always be in your pantry.


Vanilla Crêpes
- 1 cup plain flour
- 2 cups milk
- 3 eggs

Method
Sift flour into a large bowl and make a well. In a jug whisk together the milk and the 3 eggs. Gradually pour into flour while mixing with the other hand. Once batter is smooth and well incorporated, heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Pour on about half a ladle of batter and move the pan so the batter can run over all sides of the pan. The pan should be covered. Work quickly other wise the batter will stick and you will end up with half a crêpe.

Carrot and Poppy Seed Bites

Valentines Day is approaching, pretty fast actually.
I hate this.
Why? Because as everyone knows, I don't have a boyfriend, let alone a valentine. Humf.

Anyway these are for people who give a damn about valentines day, but don't give enough damn to be in a relationship. We can sit at home, snuggled up in bed, with a carrot cake and poppy seed bite platter nestled some where in the bed, a glass of champagne in the right hand, in the left the remote controlling the telly, so we can play, rewind and play the end scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's where Holly gets her kiss. Ah, how romantic. And how utterly sad.

Screw that, I'm getting a boyfriend... in the time of 2 days. Yikes.

I'm also getting another huge container of poppy seeds. They taste so good, ecspecially in this typa

cake. Awesome.



Carrot and Poppy Seed Bites

 (serves 8)

- 1 cup (150g) self-raising flour, sifted
- 3/4 cup (165g) brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup (160ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups finely grated carrot (about 4 carrots)
- 1 1/2 tbs poppy seeds

Icing

- 2/3 cup (120g) icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tbs fresh orange juice

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease 8 x 1/2 cup (125ml) muffin pans. Combine the self-raising flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Combine the eggs and olive oil. Stir through the dry ingredients until combined. Stir in the carrots and poppy seeds until well combined.
Divide the mixture among the muffin pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Place the wire rack over a tray. Combine the icing sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. Spoon the icing over the muffins when cooled. Put aside to set completely before serving.