dessert

vegan chocolate fudge cake

~ aplotzi ~ 12 Comments

Really easy to make chocolate cake, it’s all done in a food processor. It’s deep dark and super chocolatey for a real dairy-free egg-free chocolate fix. I promise you can’t taste the beetroot, but it’s the beetroot that makes it fudgey. I made this cake for a friend who hasn’t eaten cake for years because she can’t eat eggs and she really loved it and ate nearly all of it! In the picture I’ve made two cakes (double everything) and sandwiched them together with the icing, then iced it all and decorated it with freeze frozen raspberries. It’s very rich and chocolatey so it’s lovely served with more berries and of course, vanilla ice cream. By the way…if I’m feeling lazy I use the Betty Crocker chocolate fudge frosting from a supermarket (which is vegan) instead of making the frosting. And sometimes I cut it half and sandwich a bit of good quality cherry jam in the middle, which keeps it super moist.

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pear cake

~ aplotzi ~ 3 Comments

This pear cake has a lot of pear in it, so it’s healthier and moist. If you read this blog you will already know I love pears, I love both the taste and the texture and this cake is made with whole meal spelt flour and olive oil so it’s dairy free.
I think the thing about most cakes, is they can be lacking in the flavour department but this one is spicy and has the subtle fragrance that comes from the pears. It’s perfect as a birthday cake or as a tea time treat or simply just because you fancy some cake.

Recipe

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:
2 ripe pears
1/4 cup of golden caster sugar
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
3/4 cup of mild olive oil
1/3 cup of runny honey or maple syrup
1 egg and one egg yolk (or if you want to make it egg free, use egg replacer for 1 1/2 eggs (from health food store))
1 1/2 cups of whole meal spelt flour or plain flour
A pinch of allspice
A pinch of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Plus icing sugar for dusting
And a lemon if making icing
A deep 7 inch cake tin sprayed with cake release spray or lightly greased with cooking oil

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pandoro or panettone bread and butter pudding

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Get your elasticated waist bands ready…this is a really indulgent dessert….but worth it because it’s truly delicious but definitely on the naughty list. Pandoro or panettone Italian cakes are perfect for a good old fashioned bread and butter pudding, as they are rather bread-like and lend themselves totally to this recipe, Pandoro particularly as its baked in a star shaped tin, so it looks very Christmassy when it’s sliced into star shapes. It’s also a delicious way to use them up if there’s loads in your larder at Christmas or afterwards or when you fancy doing something a bit different with them and want to turn them into an even more scrumptious dessert. It’s Italy meets England in the best possible way…and great for making with kids. You can get them to saw up the Pandoro into star shapes for you.
Recipe
Serves 3-4.
Ingredients:
250g of Pandoro or Panettone (I use the baby size ones)
30g approx of butter at room temperature
2 eggs
140ml of double cream
220ml milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of white caster sugar
Icing sugar for dusting
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mince pie apple crumble

~ aplotzi ~ 2 Comments

A really delicious way to use up the Christmas mince pie mountain over the festive period, even the stale ones. This is my own invention and it elevates the mince pie to a whole new level, turning it from a Skoda into a Ferrari. The tartness of the apple counterbalances the sweetness of the mince pies, which caramelise on top of the apples and it really works as they are a marriage made in heaven. It has all the Christmassy flavours of orange zest and mixed spice then the mix of crunchy top with the creamy apples combo, which for me is pretty perfect. My friends think this recipe is a work of genius.

Recipe

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:
700g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
25g soft brown sugar
Zest of an orange and two tablespoons of its juice
2 teaspoons mixed spice (or cinnamon if you can’t get mixed spice)
(sometimes I double up the filling because I love a lot of apple, this will mean another 15 minutes approx of baking time)

Crumble topping
Several mince pies or more if you are a big mince pie fan
75g butter
175g plain flour (I use wholemeal spelt)
50g soft brown sugar

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chocolate avocado mousse

~ aplotzi ~ 4 Comments

You would never know the secret ingredient in this mousse is avocado. The avocados make the mousse really thick and creamy. It’s beyond delicious, takes a few minutes to make and is really healthy. It’s a win win. Perfect for pudding at Valentine’s dinner.

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons of maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Raspberries for decoration (optional)

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lemon tarts

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These tartlets take about 10 minutes to make and another 2 hours to chill. Buy good quality ready made sweet tartlet shells (available in supermarkets) and after they have set, dust with icing sugar, and possibly a raspberry or decorate your way.

Makes approx. 32.

Ingredients:
Sweet tartlet cases
3 whole eggs
3 whole egg yolks
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
2/3 cup of fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup of butter
1/2 cup full fat sour cream

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frozen berries with hot white chocolate sauce

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I first had this pudding in The Ivy restaurant in London with my dad. My dad almost lived there and therefore could order food without even looking at the menu. It was one of his favourite places to eat and I loved the food so much too that he gave me the cookbook. This is one of the recipes in the book. It is not only easy as it only has three ingredients but its a great combo of hot and cold and sweet and tart which is a winner in the pudding department for me.

Serves 2 greedy people.

Ingredients:
1 box of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries
100 g of quality white chocolate
125 g double cream

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