vanilla

pear drop sorbet with pear guitars

~ aplotzi ~ 2 Comments

This no churn boozy sorbet is based on the the delicious pear drop cocktail which is pear juice with vodka and vanilla. It’s such a brilliant combination of flavours I have made it into an easy gelato version which is perfect for valentine’s night or date night as it’s lighter than a traditional dessert, so you won’t feel like dozing off after dinner as you dim the lights and crank up the Barry White…
It can be made in advance and kept frozen till needed. It’s also very easy and quick to make, you just need a freezer and a food processor or a nutribullet. How to make the pear guitars is at the bottom of the page after the recipe instructions.

Happy date night!

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rose and pistachio chewy cookies

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The delicious flavours of these cookies are based on the traditional middle eastern flavours of pistachio and rose water which are used a lot in their sweets and baking. I have made these vegan but you can replace the coconut oil with butter if you prefer. I have always loved these flavours and so does Ralph (as a little girl I was given little boxes of rose and violet creams by my mummy) his review of this recipe is as follows..
These are a great balance between crunchy and chewy…and the pistachio and rose are the perfect combination. They taste like Lebanon in the Spring time… and who doesn’t want to see what that tastes like.

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chocolate dipped vanilla shortbread

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These vanilla cookies are very melt in the mouth and very buttery tasting and shortbread is one of the easiest biscuits to make as it has very few ingredients and doesn’t spread out during baking like other biscuits. I’ve tested these shortbreads out on friends who said they couldn’t tell they were vegan and they really love them and were surprised there was no butter in them at all.
I think if there were more vegan recipes that were really delicious and looked very appealing more people would happily opt for them. I hope to change that with my vegan recipes and I think that food should be delicious and look lovely and that includes vegan. I don’t believe in being obsessively saintly as that’s too extreme, my recipes are healthy and delicious with a bit of an indulgent bias both visually and taste wise.  If you prefer to make them with butter you can, I just tend to be as dairy free as much as possible.

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vegan strawberry shortcake cookies

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It’s challenging converting a tasty recipe to vegan as the flavours and textures can be very different from the original recipes. I always think vegan recipes need to be more fun, so I am trying to come up with fun recipes on this blog that are not only vegan but look and taste as good if not better than the original. I’m trying these cookies out on three foodie friends in a minute who love dairy, and they don’t hold back in telling me what they think about my new recipes.
Ok, I’m back…they loved them and they thought they were very pretty and tasted delicious and wanted the recipe before I publish it. We all decided they would be very nice with vegan vanilla ice cream, I love Swedish Glace and fresh strawberries or they would be perfect for making an ice cream sandwich with…or simply with just a slice of strawberry on top.

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Georgia O’Keeffe’s chocolate brownies

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These really are the best brownies I have ever tasted because they are not too sweet and are really chocolatey and nutty. My friends all ask me to bake them for them after they saw the shots on Instagram and started dribbling at the sight of them, and they really are dribble-worthy. The story about these amazing chocolate brownies is as follows. This recipe was found amongst the painter Georgia O’Keeffe’s collection of recipes in her cookbooks. She was a passionate cook and this recipe was hand written by her on Waldorf Astoria note paper. She was was staying there on April 30th 1963 to collect an award for the creative arts from Brandeis University, so they think she must have asked the hotel for the recipe because she loved them so much. O’Keeffe was a passionate foodie and collected recipes wherever she went, and a bit like me she dipped into healthy food and dipped into more indulgent food depending on her whim. Try them, they are beyond and there’s dairy free and vegan alternatives if you prefer.

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chewy double chocolate vegan cookies

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Chocolate biscuits are up there as one of the best things to munch on with a cup of coffee or tea, and I love to have a snack on the go at all times. These biscuits are really chocolatey and chewy because they are made with golden syrup. They have quite a grownup taste because the flavours are quite intense and very chocolatey, which I like. You really know you have had a hit of chocolate when you have had one of these. Ralph and I think they are beyond delicious and really moreish.

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chocolate avocado ganache

~ aplotzi ~ 4 Comments

This chocolate ganache is super healthy and tastes like a very rich chocolatey ganache made with dairy, this is because the avocados give it a thick and rich creamy consistency. It’s so rich you only need a small amount. You can frost vegan cupcakes and cakes with it and it’s super healthy. It’s also great served as a pudding with coconut cream, desiccated coconut, berries, or bananas. You can even serve it with frozen berries which look amazing next to the dark chocolate ganache and it looks great served in little espresso cups or small shot glasses.

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rhubarb cake with spelt

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Rhubarb cake is really pretty and really delicious and I have made it really healthy.  It’s created so you can also do a vegan version with egg replacer from health stores or on-line. It has the great flavours of orange zest and honey in it so it tastes amazing and it’s made with healthier spelt flour. It’s also perfect if you follow an egg or dairy free diet. I love rhubarb and think it should have a renaissance if it’s not already.

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chewy pavlova meringue

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This nude pavlova is perfect at Easter and can be made in advance and frozen unfilled. It’s also great served at a dinner party or instead of a birthday cake. It’s gluten and dairy free. That said, a good meringue is crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle, and made with great ingredients. I got this recipe from the BBC good food website and its easy and delicious and works perfectly. You can layer whatever fillings you want on top and I can guarantee it will be popular when you serve it. It looks and tastes magnificent. Just don’t fill it too far ahead of time as it might get soggy.

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pear cake

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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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