Vegan Christmas Pudding

Because vegans need to stir wishes in their puddings too!

Take a look at the video for the Christmas Pudding Recipe:

Ingredients: (makes 2 medium puddings)

- 275g breadcrumbs
- 100g dried apricots
- 100g dried pitted prunes, chopped
- 225g raisins
- 225g sultanas
- 225g seedless raisins
- 50g almonds, chopped
- 75g walnuts, chopped
- 225g muscovado sugar
- zest of an orange or lemon
- mixed spices, optional
- 1 apple, cored and diced
- 150ml brandy
- 3 egg replacers with water
- 150 ml non-dairy milk

Instructions:

1. Combine all the dry fruits and nuts in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, the apple, the zest and the breadcrumbs. Add the mixed spices if you want to. Stir to combine well.
2. Add the wet ingredients (milk, eggs replacers and brandy).
3. Pour the batter in the puddings bowls and cover them with first a square of baking parchment (because it's non-stick), then a square of aluminium paper of the same size. Make a sort of plait on the top so the pudding has some space to rise. With a piece of string, fasten the two layers, making a handle on the top to pull the pudding out of the pot (see later). You can see the method performed in detail on the BBC Food website.
4. Steam the puddings in a large pot for about 7 hours. Refill the water throughout the period of steaming and be careful not to pour water higher than about two thirds of the bowl, otherwise you'll get water in your pudding.
5. Steam for 2 hours prior to serving.

Making a Christmas pudding is a very lengthy process. Needless to say, you will need to stay home all day to make this, but I think baking for a whole day is part of the charm of the winter holiday season.

Exotic Frosty Christmas Log

What's better than a beautifully glazed yule log? An exotic one, of course!

The coconut milk gives such a rich, creamy texture to a gorgeous classic. Look out for the subtle and oh-so-sweet flavour of the banana. This sweet vs. bitter contrast will surprise your guests. Be prepared to serve second servings!

We adapted this recipe from the BBC Food Christmas Chocolate Log. As you can tell, we love the BBC Food website; it's sort of our Bible. To replace the eggs, we simply used about 250ml of soya milk. Technically, if you want to substitute soya milk for eggs, you should add 1/4 cup or 60ml of milk for each egg, but that would have made our dough far too liquid. We also had to add some flour; how much we cannot say exactly because we added gradually until we were happy with the consistency. Basically, you want to end up with a thick but still silky smooth dough that will spread nicely in your pan. 

(If you want to do a bit more research on egg substitutions, take a look at this.)

You may need to rely a little on your instincts with this one, but fear not: we did just that and it turned out so beautifully. We cannot wait to serve our yule log at our Christmas party. 

Ingredients:

- approx. 200--250g self-raising flour

- 250ml soya milk. If you want a nuttier flavour, go for almond milk; for a super-sweet flavour, use rice milk 

- 1 banana

- As many tablespoons of dark chocolate powder as you like

- 150g brown sugar

- 250--300g icing sugar

- 100ml coconut milk

- buttercream icing (any flavour you like). We got ours from Tesco, and it's accidentally vegan.

- small nuts to decorate

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven at 180ºC.

2. Mash the banana in a mixing bowl. 

Add the sugar and chocolate powder; combine well. Pour in the soya milk and blend until well combined, then add the flour. 

Don't forget to lick the bowl.

3. Pour the mixture into a swiss roll tin lined with baking parchment. It doesn't matter if it spreads out rather thin; ours did too and it was still perfect in the end.

4. Bake for 15 minutes. 

5. In the meantime, combine the icing sugar and coconut milk. Put in the fridge while the swiss roll bakes.

 

6. When the roll is done baking, let it cool completely. Slather on the buttercream really thickly. It's Christmas, that means no self-restraint!!!

7. Roll the flat "cake" into a swiss roll. Pour the coconut icing on top of it and decorate with the nuts (or whatever you like, really). Store in the fridge.

Enjoy :)

Easy Peasy Pumpkin Pie

Take a look at our video for an easy peasy pumpkin pie!

It's ridiculous how easy this recipe is. It takes five minutes to put it together, after which you can relax for 45 minutes while it's baking. 

Ingredients:

- one can of pumpkin puree

- 250ml soya milk*

- 100g sugar**

- 30-50g flour

- one sheet of roll-out shortcrust pastry

* You can also use rice milk if you want to make it a little sweeter.
** Or if you're a sugar junkie, add some more.

Instructions:


1. Combine everything together. Except the shortcrust pastry, of course.
2. Pour the batter into the pie dish lined with the pastry.
3. Put in the oven at 220ºC or gas mark 7 for approx. 45 minutes.

And that's all it takes. I know, right? It's so easy we almost feel a little silly making a whole video about it, but it's such an essential part of Thanksgiving and the autumn season. Enjoy!

Pecan Pie

Emily and I are celebrating our very first Thanksgiving today. A dear friend of Emily's is in the American army so he cannot be here, but hopefully this will cheer him up.

Ingredients:

- two small packs of pecan nuts, halved
- 200g of sugar, preferably brozn
- 60ml of soya milk, or any non-dairy milk
- 60g of vegan margarine
- 170g firm tofu
- 170g of maple syrup
- roll-out shortcrust pastry
- a dash of flour to thicken the mixture


Instructions:

1. Melt the sugar and syrup to make a caramel. Do not let the mixture boil! Cool on the side when the sugar and syrup are really melted, then add in the butter. Stir until well combined.
2. Combine the other ingredients in a blender or food processor and blitz away until you get a smooth paste.
3. Combine the caramel and the tofu mixture in a mixing bowl.
4. Roll out the pastry sheet in the pie dish. Pour the filling in the pie dish and pop it in the oven for some 40 minutes or so, or until a knife comes out clean.
5. Leave it to cool, then enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Roasted Cinnamon Butternut Squash Soup

I know, I know... Another butternut squash recipe. Well, they're in season, what do you expect? Set aside the prejudice and indulge in this classic recipe. Let's see if you're still complaining with a bowl of this creamy orange goodness in your hands.

I may have overdosed a little bit on cinnamon...

Ingredients:
- 1 butternut squash
- approx. 100 ml coconut milk, full fat or skimmed according to your preference
- 1 onion
- 1 cube of vegetable stock (I use Knorr)
- approx. 200 ml water
- a pinch (or two, or three...) of cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Cut the butternut in half, lengthwise. Be careful not to cut yourself; this part can be quite dangerous. Spray with a bit of oil if you like and pop the halves in the oven to roast at about 200 ºC for 10-15 minutes, depending on how tough it is. It should be really soft when you get it out, and the skin should peel of rather easily.
2. While the butternut is in the oven, peel and chop your onion, and cook it with the vegetable stock cube in the water. This should not take more than 10 minutes.
3. Dice the peeled butternut halves and place these in a blender along with the vegetable stock and onion. Add the cinnamon and the coconut milk, and whizz away.

If you like it chunky, don't over-blend, but if like me, you absolutely despise--nay, abhor--bits in your soup (or your yoghurt, or smoothies--dear God, I could write a whole blog on how bits in your food are revolting), then blend away till your soup is smooth as baby skin.

There, easy peasy. If this doesn't warm the cockles of your heart on a chilly, rainy evening, I don't know what will.

Monster Chocolate Birthday Cake

Here is a recap of the recipe:

Ingredients:
1. For the cake:
- 250g self-raising flour
- 250g brown sugar
- 250g vegan margarine (we use soya)
- 5 generous tbsp of dark dark dark chocolate powder
- 250ml soya milk

2. For the cake covering:
- 200ml soya cream
- at least 200g dark dark dark chocolate

(Can you tell we like really dark chocolate?)

Instructions:
1. Cream together the "butter" and sugar. Gradually add soya (or any other non-dairy) milk and flour until well combined. Add the chocolate powder.
2. Pour into a greased tin (or a tin lined with baking parchment). Any shape will do, just make sure it's large enough.
3. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 ºC (gas mark 4) for a good 30 minutes. Keep checking to see if it is ready; depending on your oven, it may or may not take longer. Stick a toothpick or a knife in the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
4. While the cake is baking, heat the cream on the hob. DO NOT LET IT BOIL. When it looks like it is going to start boiling, remove from the heat and add the chocolate broken into bits. Stir until you get a smooth, dark cream. Let it cool.
5. When the cake has cooled down, pour the chocolate cream over it. Put the cake in the fridge for several hours to let the covering sit.

Ta-da! Serve this at a birthday party and we guarantee your cake will be devoured within minutes...

Welcome!

Hello and welcome everyone! We are Emily and Clem, and we are here to show you how to eat healthy without having to give up your favourite meals. Vegan may sound like a daunting word, but it does not mean relinquishing your dear old mac 'n cheese.

This is a course on how to be vegan, the easy way. Simple substitutes for the foods you love but unfortunately, are harmful to you. Tips on where to shop and how to cook.

Look out for special series coming out soon; they will focus on specific foods and recipes from certain parts of the world. Tune in on Fancy Fridays for extra special food; Munchin' on Monday for snacks and easy meals; and for indulgent breakfasts, keep up with our Breakfast Sundays.

Don your aprons and let's get cooking!