Lemon and raspberry semolina cake (Vegan)

Makes 8-10 servings

Lemon semolina cake

A simple cake with classic flavours. Great for family gatherings or if you just fancy a sweet treat.
The semolina sponge cake resembles the consistency of a Romanian baked cheesecake (pasca); top it with raspberry jam and whipped cream for an irresistible dessert.  
You could also substitute the raspberry elements with cherry jam and cherries, yum!
Let me know if you try this by tagging @apinchofzing on Instagram.

Ingredients

Sponge cake
100g semolina
100g self raising flour
100g sugar
300ml plain yogurt  (plant based)
75ml oil (rapeseed or sunflower)
1 lemon zested and juiced 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder 

Whipping cream
270ml Elmlea plant double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fruity element
1/3 jar raspberry/cherry jam
A handful of fresh raspberries/cherries

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. 
2. To make the sponge, use a large bowl to mix the semolina, flour and sugar. Next, mix in the yogurt, oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Lastly, mix in the vanilla extract and baking powder. 
3. Pour the cake batter in a 10 inch round cake silicon mould . Place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.
4. Take the cake out of the oven, remove from the silicon mould and leave to cool down on a wire rack. 
5. To make the whipping cream, add to a bowl the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until thick.
6. Once the sponge cake is cold, top with a layer of jam and pipe the whipping cream on top. Decorate with fresh fruit. Store in the fridge.

Thanks for the recipe inspiration go to Exceedingly Vegan.

Vegan Pancakes

Vegan pancakes

Absolutely delicious pancakes topped with fresh berries and chocolate spread, no one will ever know that they are vegan. Make pancake day more fun by folding them into little pancake tacos.
Have fun with the topping options. In the past I would have gone for Nutella, but now I replace it with Mindful Bites Chocolate & Hazelnut spread, which is vegan and absolutely delicious. Another delicious topping is vegan ice cream with Golden Syrup or Maple Syrup. I hear lemon juice and sugar is a real classic.
Happy Pancake Day!

Ingredients

• 475ml plant milk (I used soy)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoon oil
• A pinch of salt
• Vanilla extract
• 250g plain flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• Oil for cooking

Method

1. In a medium bowl whisk together the plant milk and lemon juice. Leave to sit for 5-10 minutes. This will be the ‘buttermilk’.
2. Stir in the sugar, oil, salt and vanilla extract. Sift in the flour and baking powder. Mix until incorporated, but avoid over mixing. Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Heat a pan over a medium heat and carefully wipe it with some oiled kitchen paper. When hot, cook your pancakes for 1 min on each side until golden
4. Enjoy the pancakes hot or cold, topped with your favourite toppings.

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries (Vegan)

Makes 8 servings

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Super moist & light milk cake, with sweet vanilla and vibrant raspberries.
An old fashioned treat that tastes like childhood; definitely worth holding on to!

I wasn’t born vegan, so to keep this cake in my life I had to veganise it. I am very pleased with the result and glad to be able to keep this sweet treat in my life. This cake is great served cold on a hot summer day and you only need a few ingredients to make it.  It is a bit like a trifle in terms of consistency: moist, sweet, creamy, with the added textures of fruit and sponge.

Chantilly cream sounds fancy, but don’t be intimidated, it is whipped cream with sugar and vanilla. You can’t go wrong topping the cake with grandma’s raspberry jam and some fresh raspberries.

Such a simple cake, with classic flavours, that should not be forgotten.

Ingredients

Sponge cake
1 tablespoon vegan spread and 1 tablespoon flour for coating the oven dish
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 cups made out of 2 tablespoons fine semolina and the rest plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup sugar
a pinch of salt
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil

Milk
1 pint (568ml) hot soy milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chantilly cream
270ml Elmlea plant double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For serving
1 jar raspberry jam
A handful of fresh raspberries

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Lightly grease and coat in flour a 30cmX23cmX5cm oven proof dish.
2. To make the sponge, mix the soy milk with the the cider vinegar. Leave to curdle and move to the next step.
3. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (semolina, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt).
4. Add in the wet ingredients (curdled milk, oil and vanilla extract) and gently mix together. Don’t overmix.
5. Pour the cake batter in the ovenproof dish and level. Place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
6. While the cake is baking, heat up the soy milk in a pan with 1 tablespoon of sugar and vanilla extract. Don’t allow the milk to boil, once it starts to shimmer just turn off the flame and set the milk aside.
7. Take the cake out of the oven and while the cake is still hot, pour over the hot milk. The milk will absorb into the cake. Leave the cake to cool down. Cover and chill in the fridge once it’s cold enough to go in the fridge.
8. To make the Chantilly cream, add to a bowl the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until thick.
9. Now to the fun part! Decorate the cold milk cake with Chantilly cream, raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. Serve with a large serving spoon in individual bowls. Dig in!

Thanks for the inspiration go our family friend Marcela, who used to make this cake for me as a child.

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Espresso martini trifle (Vegan)

Makes 6-8 servings

Espresso martini trifle (vegan)

If you like the espresso martini cocktail you will love this dessert!
I’ve been thinking of transforming one of my favourite cocktails into a dessert for a while; so I finally made this trifle for my actual birthday this year.  This espresso martini trifle turned out better than I imagined and I thought the world needs this!  
Definitely a dessert for grown ups with rich chocolate, coffee, booze and some whipped cream to balance it all.
Unlike my gin, lemon and raspberry trifle (which is to die for!), this one is fairly simple and easy to make. Also, this is an excellent dessert to make in advance, so you can enjoy your big day without spending time in the kitchen.

For what special occasion would you make this dessert? Remember to tag @apinchofzing on Instagram if you give it a try. 

Trifle elements
1 x chocolate sponge layer
1 x Espresso martini cocktail (or two if you fancy a glass)
1 x chocolate ganache layer
1 x whipped cream layer
Cocoa powder for dusting

Step 1. Make the chocolate sponge

Ingredients
1 teaspoon vegan spread and 1 teaspoon flour to coat the cake tin
3/4 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 & 1/3 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup rapeseed oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease with vegan spread and coat in flour, a 20cm round cake tin.
2. In a medium bowl mix the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt).
3. Add in the wet ingredients (curdled milk, oil and vanilla) and mix together until combined. Don’t overmix.
4. Pour the batter in the cake tin and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to sit in the cake tin for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove from the cake tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Step 2. Make the espresso martini cocktail(s)

Ingredients
100ml vodka
50ml espresso coffee
50ml coffee liqueur

Method
Mix all the ingredients in a glass or bowl.

Step 3. Make the chocolate ganache

Ingredients
200g dark chocolate
200ml coconut milk (from a can)
1 teaspoon instant coffee

Method
1.Use a microwave safe medium size bowl. Break the chocolate into chunks and add it to the bowl with the coconut milk and instant coffee. Heat in the microwave for 30 second intervals and mix with a spoon after every 30 seconds, until melted and combined. It took me about 3-4 30 second intervals. Do not over heat the mixture as the chocolate could burn and that will ruin the ganache.
2. Leave the resulting chocolate ganache to cool down completely and set. You could also place it in the fridge to speed up the process.
3. Use a hand/stand mixer to whip the chocolate ganache until it becomes fluffy and light (2-3 minutes). Store at room temperature, or else it will become too hard to work with it.

Step 4. Make the whipped cream

Ingredients
270ml Elmlea plant double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Add all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer on high speed until the cream thickens and forms stiff peaks. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Step 5. Layer the trifle

You are now ready to assemble the trifle.

1. Cut the chocolate sponge in small squares and layer like a puzzle on the bottom and sides of the trifle dish.
2. Pour the espresso martini cocktail over the sponge.  
3. Put the chocolate ganache in a piping bag and pipe the ganache over the chocolate sponge.  
4. Put the whipped cream in a piping bag and pipe over the chocolate ganache layer.  
5. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight to set.
6. Dust with cocoa powder before serving. Enjoy 😊

Espresso martini trifle (vegan)

Gin, lemon and raspberry trifle (Vegan)

Makes 6-8 servings

Gin, lemon and raspberry trifle (Vegan)

The inspiration for this recipe comes from my mother-in-law, who makes the BEST trifle every year for Christmas. My version is a summer trifle; full of raspberries, zesty lemon and gin! Making a trifle takes a bit of time and planning, but it’s so worth it for a special occasion.

I can’t compete with my mother-in-law’s trifle, but I have learnt that planning is key for a good trifle. Therefore, I am including a timeline to help you achieve this wonderful dessert without any stress.  
I start making the trifle two days in advance of the big day. This way I spread the workload, give the trifle time to set and spend more time with my guests on the day.

The ingredients below will be enough to make a big trifle. My trifle bowl is a medium size (18cm wide and 12cm deep), so I always have left over ingredients. I end up mixing any left over ingredients in another small bowl to make a mini trifle 😊

I hope you enjoy this dessert. Remember to tag @apinchofzing on Instagram if you give it a try. 

Trifle elements
2 x sponge layers (I made raspberry and lemon muffins)
150ml gin liqueur (I used grapefruit and elderflower gin liqueur)
1 portion of home made lemon curd
about half a jar (160g) of raspberry jam
2 x custard layers (I used 525ml Alpro custard)
Whipped cream (made with 270ml of Elmlea plant double cream)
Fresh raspberries (about 225g)

Planning

Day 1
Start by making the muffins to use for the sponge layer; this gives them plenty of time to cool down. Also make the lemon curd on day 1, as this needs time to cool down and set.
Day 2
This is when you can finish making the trifle, to give it enough time to set in the fridge overnight, in preparation for the big day.
All you have left to do before assembling the trifle is to make the whipped cream and mix the elements to make the two custard layers. Worry not, I use shop bought Alpro custard at this stage.
Day 3
Today is the big day. Time to enjoy this wonderful trifle 😊

Step 1. Make the raspberry and lemon muffins (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup sugar
a pinch of salt
zest from one lemon
1 cup raspberries
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon extract

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a muffin baking tray with muffin cases.
2. Heat up the milk for 30 seconds in the microwave and add the cider vinegar. Leave to curdle and move to the next step.
3. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, lemon zest). Mix in the raspberries.
4. Add in the wet ingredients (curdled milk, oil, vanilla and lemon extract) and gently mix together, trying not to break the fruit.
5. Place a large tablespoon of the mixture to each muffin case and split any excess left between them.
6. Bake for 20 minutes and leave to cool down. The muffins stay fresh for a few days in an air tight container.

Step 2. Make the lemon curd

Ingredients
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn flour
1/2 cup soy milk
¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
zest from one lemon
a pinch of turmeric for colour

Method
Use a small pot. Mix the sugar and corn flour; this will prevent any flour lumps from forming when cooking the curd. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low heat, while constantly whisking, until the curd thickens. Should take about 5 minutes for the curd to thicken. The curd will thicken more as it cools down. Store in a jar with a lid on.

Step 3. Make the whipped cream

Ingredients
270ml Elmlea plant double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
1. Add all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer on high speed until the cream thickens and forms stiff peaks. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Step 4. Make the custard layers

Ingredients
Alpro custard (525ml)
half of the lemon curd made in Step 2
3 tablespoons whipped cream made at Step 3

Method
Custard layer 1: Pour the Alpro custard in a medium size bowl and mix it with half of the lemon curd made at Step 2. Mix until combined.
Custard layer 2: Pour half of the Custard layer 1 in another medium size bowl and mix with 3 tablespoons of the whipped cream made at Step 3. Mix until combined. This will end up looking like a light mousse.

Step 5. Layer the trifle
You are now ready to assemble the trifle 😊
1. Cut the muffins in half horizontally. Layer enough muffin pieces to cover the bottom of your trifle bowl. Soak each muffin piece with about a tablespoon of gin liqueur.
2. Spread a thin layer of lemon curd and one of raspberry jam.
3. Spoon over a layer of the Custard number 2 and top with a handful of fresh raspberries.
4. Add another layer of muffin pieces soaked in gin liqueur.
5. Spread another thin layer of lemon curd and one of raspberry jam.
6. Spoon over a layer of the Custard number 1.
7. Pipe whipped cream on top and decorate with more fresh raspberries.
8. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight to set.
Enjoy the next day!

Gin, lemon and raspberry trifle (Vegan)

Pumpkin cake with Chai buttercream (Vegan)

Makes 10 servings

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  Pumpkin cake with Chai buttercream

This is what I think autumn tastes like: sweet pumpkin and Chai spices!
With autumn here, I get a bit overwhelmed by the amount of pumpkin recipes popping up everywhere I look, making it hard for me to choose one to bake. Therefore, I started simple using inspiration from two reliable sources: Nora cooks vegan and Sally’s baking addiction.  The result was delicious! So if you are looking for a pumpkin recipe to start with, go with this one. Embrace autumn!
What other pumpkin baked goods have you made successfully and would recommend?

Ingredients

Pumpkin cake
1 tablespoon ground flax seed or chia seed
1 can pumpkin puree (425g)
1 and ¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup rapeseed oil
¼ cup soy milk
1 and ¾ cup plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Chai spice mix
2 and ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 and ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 and ¼ teaspoon ground cardamon
½ teaspoon ground all spice

Chai no-butter cream
100g Flora buttery
150g icing sugar (sifted)
1 teaspoon Chai spice mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method 
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a 2 lb loaf tin with Flora and coat in flour.
2. In a small bowl, mix the ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water and leave to set.
3. In a large bowl mix the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, soy milk and flaxseed mix.
4. Add and mix in the four, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and spices. Do not over mix.
5. Pour the batter in the loaf tin and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. You may have to cover the cake with aluminium foil after 30 minutes, to prevent it from burning on top.
6. Once baked, remove from the cake tin and leave to cool down.
7. Mix the Chai spice ingredients in small bowl or jar.
8. To make the no-butter cream, use a stand mixer to cream the Flora with sifted icing sugar, 1 teaspoon Chai spice mix and vanilla extract. Mix until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes on high speed).
9. Pipe the Chai butter cream on top of the cold pumpkin cake and enjoy with a warm cup of coffee.

Pumpkin cake with Chai buttercream (Vegan)

Carrot Cake (Vegan)

Makes 8-10 servings

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The best carrot cake! Filled with sugar and spice, and all things nice.

You can tell this cake is special only by looking the ingredient list. It took some testing to get right, but it was worth it. The result is a surprisingly light and moist carrot cake.
My inspiration came from my indecision; I couldn’t decide between hummingbird cake and carrot cake. Why compromise when you can have the best of both worlds?

This carrot cake packs a lot of flavour and is perfect with a cup of tea. The recipe makes two sponges, which you can stack together to make a big cake, or you can keep them as two separate cakes. I’ve included photos of both options.

Give this a go and let me know what you think. Have you ever had a better carrot cake?

Ingredients
Carrot cake
250g carrots (finely grated)
2 pineapple rings (chopped)
70g walnuts (chopped)
1 orange (zest only)
2 tablespoons crystallised ginger (optional)
125ml oil
100g caster sugar
50g brown sugar
300ml plant milk
2 tsp vanilla essence
375g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp all spice
a pinch of salt

No-butter cream
100g Flora buttery
150g icing sugar (sifted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease with Flora, and coat in flour, two 20cm round cake tins.
2. Prep work: peel and finely grate the carrots; chop the pineapple rings; chop the walnuts; zest an orange; soak the crystallised ginger in hot water.
3. In a large bowl mix the oil, caster sugar, brown sugar, plant milk and vanilla essence.
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices. Mix until combined.
5. Stir in the grated carrot, chopped pineapple & walnuts, the zest from one orange, crystallised ginger and a pinch of salt.
6. Divide the batter between the two cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes. Check with a toothpick, as every oven is different. Once baked, remove the sponges from the cake tins and leave to cool down completely.
7. To make the no-butter cream, use a stand mixer to cream the Flora with sifted icing sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes on high speed).
8. To assemble the cake: pipe some no-butter cream on one sponge and place the second sponge on top. Decorate with more butter cream. Enjoy a big slice with a cup of tea!

Thanks for the recipe inspiration go to Veggie Desserts.

Black Forest Cake (Vegan)

Makes 10 servings

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Chocolate, cherries and cream – heaven!
Don’t know about you, but I can’t think of many combinations better than this one.

The black forest cake is one of my favourite cakes and surprisingly easy to make. It’s as simple as chocolate sponge, chocolate cream, butter cream, cherries and cherry syrup.
Every element is quick and easy to make with basic ingredients.
The chocolate cream is a game changer; you won’t believe how delicious whipped chocolate ganache can be! And now you know how to make the most amazing chocolate cream for any cake in just 5 minutes.
For the Black Forest cake you can use fresh cherries, cherries in syrup or cherry jam. I’ve used fresh cherries on this occasion because they are in season.
I’ve left the best news for last! You will end up having leftover ingredients to make yourself a little cake to test before serving this to your guests. You know…for quality testing 😊
The chocolate sponges turn out quite domed, so you will need to cut the top off to level them; use that extra sponge for your mini cake. There’s also going to be some leftover cream; just enough for you to build your mini cake. Remember to save yourself some cherries and syrup for that as well.
Enjoy a real treat with your loved ones. No one will believe this is vegan!

Ingredients

Chocolate sponge
1 tablespoon Flora buttery and 1 tablespoon flour to coat the cake tins
1 and ½ cup soy milk
2 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 & 2/3 cups plain flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup sugar
a pinch of salt
½ cup rapeseed oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate cream
200g dark chocolate
200ml coconut milk (from a can)

Buttercream
100g Flora buttery
150g icing sugar (sifted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Syrup
50ml cherry brandy
75ml cherry syrup (from a jar of cherries in syrup)

Other ingredients
200g cherries or cherry jam

Method

Chocolate sponge
1.Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease with Flora buttery and coat in flour, two 20cm round cake tins.
2. Heat up the milk for 30 seconds in the microwave and add the cider vinegar. Leave to curdle and move to the next step.
3. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt).
4. Add in the wet ingredients (curdled milk, oil and vanilla) and mix together until combined.
5. Split the mixture between the two cake tins.
6. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to sit in the cake tins for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove from the cake tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate cream
1. Use a microwave safe medium size bowl. Break the chocolate into chunks and add it to the bowl with the coconut milk. Heat in the microwave for 30 second intervals and mix with a spoon after every 30 seconds, until melted and combined. It took me about 3-4 30 second intervals. Do not over heat the mixture as the chocolate could burn and that will ruin the cream.
2. Leave the resulting chocolate ganache to cool down completely and set. You could also place it in the fridge to speed up the process.
3. Use a hand/stand mixer to whip the chocolate ganache until it becomes fluffy and light (2-3 minutes).

Buttercream
Sift the icing sugar. Use a hand/stand mixer to cream the Flora buttery with sifted icing sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes on high speed).

Syrup
Mix the cherry brandy and cherry syrup in a jug.

Assembling the cake
1. Remove the pips from 2/3^rd of the cherries. Keep the rest of the cherries whole for decoration.
2. Level the sponges by cutting off the domes with a sharp knife. Keep the leftovers for a mini test cake.
3. Put each cream in its own piping bag.
4. Place one chocolate sponge on a plate. Soak the sponge with half of the syrup. Pipe chocolate and butter cream alternating. Top with most of the pitted cherries and keep a few cherries for decoration. Place the second chocolate sponge on top. Soak the sponge with the rest of the syrup. Pipe chocolate and butter cream alternating. Decorate with more cherries. Place the cake in the fridge and remove a couple of hours before serving to bring it to room temperature.
5. Use the leftover sponge, creams and cherries to make yourself a mini cake (for quality testing purposes). You’ve earned it for baking such a wonderful cake for your loved ones 🙂

Vegan Lemon and Blueberry Cake

Makes 8-10 servings

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Fluffy cake, vanilla no-butter cream with zingy lemon curd and fresh blueberries for a pinch of zing! Also meet Beer the cat!

This time I am not only sharing the lovely birthday cake my husband made for me, but also introducing our recently adopted boy, Beer. Beer is a rescue cat we adopted the day before the lock down started. He is always keen to try our bakes 😊

This year I had a quarantine birthday; a bit unusual. So unusual that my husband baked for me this amazing birthday cake!
The sponge is my Victoria sponge recipe with added lemon zest and extract to make it lemony. The vanilla butter cream is again the same that I use in the Victoria sponge. Both made with Flora buttery.
It was my husband’s first attempt at making lemon curd. Really worth making your own lemon curd; it’s very easy to make and tastes delicious.
Combine lemon and blueberries and you are on to a winner!

The cake is incredibly fluffy and moist, and stays like this for days.
I usually make the sponge and lemon curd the day before serving the cake (to allow it to cool down completely) and make the no-butter cream on the day I plan to serve the cake.

I hope this cake makes you feel like it’s your birthday!

Ingredients

Lemon sponge
200g Flora buttery
250g sugar
200g plant yogurt (I used Alpro simply plain)
200ml plant milk (I used soy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
zest from one lemon
400g self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Lemon curd
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn flour
1/2 cup soy milk
¼ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
zest from one lemon
a pinch of turmeric for colour

No-butter cream
100g Flora buttery
150g icing sugar (sifted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blueberries – 150g

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease with Flora, and coat in flour, two 20cm round cake tins.
2. Use a stand mixer to cream the Flora and sugar until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes on high speed).
3. Mix in the plant yogurt, milk, vanilla & lemon extract and lemon zest until combined (don’t overmix). Don’t panic if the mixture curdles at this point, it will turn out perfect once baked.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder and add to the mixing bowl. Mix just until combined, without overmixing.
5. Divide the batter between the two cake tins and bake for about 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick, as every oven is different. Once baked, remove the sponges from the cake tins and leave to cool down completely.
6. To make the lemon curd, use a small pot. Mix the sugar and corn flour; this will prevent any flour lumps from forming when cooking the curd. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low heat, while constantly whisking, until the curd thickens. Should take about 5 minutes for the curd to thicken. The curd will thicken more as it cools down. Leave to cool.
7. To make the no-butter cream, use a stand mixer to cream the Flora with sifted icing sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes on high speed).
8. To assemble the cake: spread some of the no-butter cream on one sponge, top with some blueberries and lemon curd. Place the second sponge on top. Decorate with more butter cream, lemon curd and blueberries. Enjoy the birthday feeling!

Chocolate orange cheesecake (Vegan)

Makes 10 servings

Chocolate orange cheesecake (Vegan)

Unbelievably rich and creamy chocolate orange ‘cheesecake’.
After my successful classic vanilla baked cheesecake I feel that the sky is the limit (as far as vegan cheesecake goes 😊). I made this new variation for Christmas day lunch and it was very well received!

It is amazing how the texture and taste of this baked no-cheesecake is so much like a traditional cheesecake. Also, unlike traditional cheesecake, this plant based version doesn’t seem to be prone to cracks, so you can have the perfect no-cheesecake every single time.

The flavours I choose this time are crowd pleasers: chocolate and orange.
The crunchy biscuit base is made using Bourbon biscuits (Lidl’s own brand), which are accidentally vegan. Make sure you check the label, as I found that not all brands of Bourbon biscuits are vegan.
I hope you feel inspired to give this amazing cheesecake a try!

Ingredients

Biscuit base

• 220g vegan Bourbon biscuits
• 1 tablespoon Flora buttery (melted)

No-cheese cheesecake filling

• 190g cashew nuts (soaked)
• 350g firm silken tofu (pressed)
• 200ml almond milk
• 100g vegan white chocolate (melted)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 lemon (juice)
• ½ orange (zest & juice)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Prep work: soak the cashew nuts in boiling water for a coupe of hours; wrap the tofu in kitchen paper roll and press for a couple of hours.
2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4. Use a food processor to pulse the biscuits to a breadcrumb consistency. Pour in the melted Flora and combine. Press the biscuit mixture into the base of a 9 inch/23 cm tart tin.
3. In a blender, whizz together all the cheesecake ingredients until smooth. The resulting texture should be similar to sour cream and should be pourable. Add more almond milk if the resulting texture is too thick.
4. Pour the no-cheesecake filling over the biscuit base and bake for 30 minutes. Leave the cheesecake cool down in the oven, with the oven door half open. Once cool, store in the fridge and serve with more orange and chocolate. Enjoy!