Brownie Babies!

Well, we are way into February now ……
and we say to hell with the diet- it’s brownie time!

Small morsels of delicious chocolate decadence, enjoyed straight from the oven…well we did wait for a few minutes to cool at least 😉
The ultimate mini indulgence at its very best!  These babies were good. Even cut into bite sized pieces we still managed to gobble several before we even knew it! Sinfully bad but worth every bite!

They taste even better the day after, if you have the will power to save a few.  These devilish creatures are dairy free but you wouldn’t know it. If you don’t have flora cuisine, vegan margarine will work just as well.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Fudge Hazelnut Brownie Bites
Ingredients
90 grams of plain flour
1/2 tablespoons of cocoa
Pinch o’ salt
150 grams of dark whole nut chocolate
100grams of flora cuisine or vegan margarine
75 grams of caster sugar
110g light brown sugar
2 eggs
hint of vanilla

The how to
Preheat the oven to 180C gas mark 4 and prepare a baking tray
1) In a bowl add the flour, cocoa and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
2) In a pan, melt the chocolate and the flora cuisine together.
3) Whisk in the two sugars and remove from the heat.
4) Now whisk in the eggs and the vanilla
5) Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Don’t over do this bit.
and pour into the tin.
7) Bake for 25- 30 minutes . Until the top is firm but gooey in the centre.

New Year, New Biscotti

Happy New Year! Welcome January 2013

Christmas is over and the New Year is a rollin on……
Like most, January has been a time to counteract the festive over indulgence with a few less cakes and alas, with less cakes to eat there has, of course been less baking. BOOOOO
However, the baking denial is over! Hell yeah!  Its about time for a bit of a treat!

Chocolate Orange Biscoti

These gluten and dairy free chocolate biscotti morsels won’t put too much of a dent in your diet and go rather well with a soy cappuccino, if we do so say so ourselves.  We found this recipe after a nosey on the internet and adapted it to use up some of the Christmas baking leftovers. Score Made with almond flour,no oil or butter and gluten and dairy free delicious, you can safely go nuts with these babies! Enjoy!

Chocolate Orange Biscotti

½ cup of agave nectar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups of blanched almond flour
1 cup of cocoa
½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
½ cup dairy free orange chocolate chips
½ cup dried mixed fruit
Pinch o’ salt
Hint of vanilla

The how to

1) In a bowl mix together agave, eggs and vanilla
2) In a another bowl, stir together almond flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda
3) Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and beat until combined
4) Fold in the chocolate chips and dried fruit
5) Transfer dough to a prepared baking tray and form a log shape with the dough
6) Bake for 30 minutes and then remove from the oven and allow to cool
7) Once cool, cut log into inch slices and place on their side on the baking sheet
8) Bake again for 15 minutes, then turn over the slices over and bake again for another 15 minutes.
9) Remove from the oven, and allow to cool and crunch up

A Happy Vanilla Duck Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas…

Christmas time is finally here!
Time to eat, drink and be merry!
Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas
See you in 2013!
Lot’s of Love

The Vanilla Duck
xxx

Now to get cutting that Dairy Free Christmas Cake!

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night

A Christmas Cupcake – Gluten Free Style

Deck the hall with boughs of cupcakes,

Fa la la la la la la la la…. 

Well we certainly have been busy in the vanilla duck kitchen.
It is Christmas after all.  Feast your eyes on these babies!

Gluten and Lactose Free
Christmas Cupcakes

These were made for a special friend of ours who has a wheat intolerance.  Now, this lovely lady always seems to miss out on freshly made cakey goodies.  So as it is Christmas, the vanilla duck got to baking – Gluten free style!

Now we are a little rusty when it comes gluten free baking but after some good revision we think we found a suitable recipe to be enjoyed by all!
All hail almond flour!
These cupcakes were made with an almond flour sponge recipe and topped with a delightfully fluffy lactose free buttercream.  For ease, cup measurements have been used for the sponge recipe.
Simply scoop, stir and bake!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve Everyone!

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almond flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 large egg

1/4 cup grape seed oil

Pinch o’ salt

Hint of vanilla

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients

100 grams of lactose free butter, softened

300 grams of icing sugar

2 tablespoons of soy milk

hint of vanilla

gluten free Christmas sprinkles

The how to

Preheat oven 175°C gas / mark 4 and prepare cupcake tin and cases

1. Combine the agave, egg, oil and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
2. In another bowl, sift together the almond flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.
3. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until combined
4. Divide the mixture into cupcake cases
5. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes
6. Let cool for over half an hour
7. Whilst the cakes are cooling make the vanilla buttercream
8. In a bowl, beat the lactose free butter and icing sugar together until fluffy
9. Add the vanilla and soy milk and beat again until soft and smooth.
10. Transfer to a piping bag with a fitted nozzle and refrigerate for 15 minutes
11. Take the piping bag and pipe a swirl from the centre outwards.
12. Top with Christmas sugar decorations

Modern Mince Pies

We are back on the pies…… Christmas Pies!

These pies are not just any Christmas pies, they are  Modern Mince Pies.
These morsels are made with puff and filo pastry. No short crust up in here y’all!
Mince pies with a modern twist and the pie child of Jamie Oliver.
Totally ingenious and yes, you guessed it, totally yummy!
Even though we can’t take credit for theses wondrous creations we have done a bit of substituting to make these dairy free.

HO HO HO YUMMEEEEEE!

MODERN MINCE PIES

The Subs

To make Jamie’s recipe was dairy free we:

1.  Bought dairy free ready-made filo and puff pastry (easy to find in any supermarket)
2.  Substituted the melted butter in his recipe for melted vegan margarine
3. Replaced the egg for the egg wash with more melted vegan margarine and we also brushed over the pastry with soy milk.

Christmas Cake Vegan Style

I don’t want a lot for Christmas
There’s just one thing I need….
All I want for Christmas…..is vegan cake!!!!

Christmas is coming and we need cake! Vegan style!
Why should the vegans miss out eh?  We love this recipe as it’s so easy to whip up and as it contains no dairy or eggs, you will pretty much have all the ingredients you need in your cupboard.  This is a easy peasy lemon squeezy bake as it is  made with ready made mincemeat so no fruit steeping needed! The mincemeat even adds its own spices!
Oh yeah! Best cake ever!

  Our cake was baked in a deep cake tin so it did take quite sometime to bake through.  We would recommend you use a tray bake tin to get a quicker cakey bakey finish.  Flora cuisine was used for this recipe but you can also use grape seed oil if you wish.

 A true vegan taste of Christmas!
Enjoy!

Delicious Vegan Christmas Mincemeat Cake

Ingredients

150 grams of plain flour

150mls of agave nectar

90 mls of flora cuisine or grape seed oil

1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

3/4 of a teaspoon of baking powder

150 mls of soy milk

1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

Pinch o’ salt

Hint of vanilla

300 grams of mincemeat

The how to

Preheat over 150 °C / gas mark 2 and prepare baking tin

1. Place the soy milk in a bowl with the apple cider vinegar and mix together.  Leave for 15 minutes
2. In another bowl combine flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder& salt
3. Whisk in agave nectar, vanilla and flora cuisine into the bowl of soy milk.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients to the wet and beat together until combined.
5. Fold in the mincemeat evenly throughout mixture
6. Pour cake mixture in to baking tin.
7. Bake in the over for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean
8. Leave to cool for over half an hour before removing from tin
9. Slice and serve.  Best eaten on its own or with a dollop of vegan cream!

Step In To Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…..
a Gingerbread House and a Cupcake Shaped Christmas Tree!

Christmas time has finally arrived.  Time to get to baking all things festive!
This year we will be again bringing you sumptuous dairy free, lactose free and vegan variations of  all the festive holiday goodies you can buy in store….and not eat.   Yes we aim to tempt and aid you in this joyous time of year and fatten you up just a little .

So like Santa and his elves we are indeed busy in the kitchen thinking up new festive delights for this years bakes.
Whilst we do our Christmas thang, please enjoy last years holiday yummies
Ho Ho Ho.

ENJOY

Vegan Gingerbread House

Dairy Free Christmas Cupcakes

Dairy Free Stollen

Our best effort yet! Totally vegan and , of course totally yummy!
A Vegan Gingerbread House 

Feast your eyes on these babies!  Dairy Free Christmas Tree Cupcakes.
If these don’t get you in the holiday spirit nothing will.

 Christmas is not complete without an nice bit o’ Dairy Free Stollen.
Super fun to make and boy, oh boy is it delicious!

A Birthday Truffle Shuffle

Everyday I’m Shuffling…….

We promised a chocolate surprise so here it is!
Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake!
In keeping with birthday tradition this was baked for the husband on his birthday.
We all know the husband is no stranger to a chocolate cheesecake and of course, every new edition of baked cheesecake must supersede the last.
A wife challenge if you will.
With this year’s bake we decided it was all about layering – chocolate upon chocolate upon more chocolate  upon truffle!

Ooooh yeah!

Happy Birthday Husb!

The Assembly

This is basically Nigella’s Chocolate Cheesecake topped with Heston’s Chocolate Truffles
Utterly Sinful, a Tad Insane yet Truly Delicious!

1. Follow Nigella’s instruction for the cheesecake until method no.7 and leave overnight.
2. The next day follow Heston’s truffle recipe until method no.3.
3. Poor the truffle mixture over the cheesecake to make a smooth and thick layer.
4. Reserve some truffle mixture to make truffle balls
5. Cover and refrigerate cheesecake and reserved mixture.
6. A few hours later, once set form 5 truffle balls from the reserved mixture and decorate the top of the cheesecake
7. Voila cheesecake mastery at its best!

It’s All About Pie – Apple Pie

It has all gone a bit pie shaped…..

Two weeks ago it was all about it the Pie – Meat Pie, Fruit Pie, Pie Pie! All Pie!
However due to a sudden dose of winter flu the pastry marvels never got posted. 😦

Hey Ho,  we are feeling much better now so finally  please enjoy a slice of  the pie…better late than never eh?

  Now we never usually delve in to pastry but there does comes a time of year when nothing but pie will do.  Our first effort in to the pie scene saw the bake of a spectacular steak and ale pie accompanied by seriously moreish mini apple pies.
Yum Yum!

All pies were made dairy free by using our usual substitutes.  The pastry was perfectly “buttery” and had a good puff on top! Oooh and the best bit

 NO SOGGY BOTTOMS!

Mary and Paul would be proud!   No recipe for the pies this week but please enjoy the mini apple pie visuals.
Next week we will be back on top form with a chocolate surprise for you all and then its all on for the Christmas countdown!

Ooooh yeah good times!

Spookcakes…Not quite a Pumpkin

A change of plan calls for a change of bake….

This post was to feature a spooktacular Pumpkin Pie. A Pie that  was to be the grand finale of our turn as host in a “come dine with me” Halloween diner party.  However, due to a schedule change the party had to be postponed and alas the pumpkin pie was never made.  

 

Nevermind, the weekend still came fuelled with champagne and nibbles and a birthday celebration so there were no complaints here.

So Pumpkin pie post has now become a Spookcakes post. A quick batch of yummy cupcakes to add a little spook to the weekends nibbles.  

How could one resist these cute spooky treats?    

These Spookcakes were made with lactose free butter – sponge and buttercream and  a dash o’ cinnamon  to spice things up.  Enjoyed by all and brought a delightful smile to the face of the Birthday Boy.   

Happy Birthday Bro! 

Ingredients
110 grams of plain flour
110 grams of caster sugar
110 grams of lactose free butter
1tsp baking powder
2 large eggs – beaten
Pinch o’salt
Dash o’ cinnamon
Hint of vanilla

For the buttercream

Ingredients

100 grams of lactose free butter, softened

300 grams of icing sugar

2 tablespoons of soy milk

few drops black food colouring

hint of vanilla

Halloween sugar decorations

The How to

Preheat the oven to 150/Gas 3

1. In a bowl cream together the lactose free butter, vanilla and sugar
2. Add the eggs and half of the flour and mix well
3. Add the rest of the flour, salt , cinnamon and baking powder and beat until combine.
4. Divide cake mixture equally into cupcake cases
5. Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes
6. Leave to cool
7. Make the butter cream below

The Buttercream

1. In a bowl, beat the lactose free butter and icing sugar together until fluffy
2. Add the vanilla and soy milk and beat again untill soft and smooth.
3. Add the few drops of black food colour and beat again to mix.
4. Transfer to a piping bag with a fitted  nozzle and refrigerate for 15 minutes
5. Take the piping bag and pipe a swirl from the centre outwards.
6. Top with Halloween sugar decorations