Bottoms Up

For someone who rarely drinks alcohol, I'm always looking for something to drink that's a bit different to the usual flat lemonade or cheap orange juice I usually end up with. I don't ever feel like I miss alcohol, but I do wish I had a little more choice when out and about. Imagine my joy when I came across Club-Mate and Fritz Kola at the last Manchester Vegan Pot Luck at V Revolution. I've never seen such a tempting range of vegan drinks on display before. Fritz Kola particularly made my eyes boggle, with flavours such as Kola-Coffee-Lemonade, Melon and Apple-Cherry-Elderberry there was no way I could say no to trying them.

After seeing such a great new range and noticing they were following me on Twitter, I couldn't stop myself getting in touch. Good thing I did, as they've sent me a lovely selection of their drinks.

Fritz Kola

The first drink I tried was the Sugar Free Fritz-Kola. I'd had it before at V Revolution and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it again. I love this stuff. Obviously, because it's sugar free, it's not overly sweet but it's just as refreshing and delicious as the original Kola. As my other half tries to be as sugar free as possible (which is particularly hard as he lives with me), this is a brilliant option for him.

I haven't tried it yet, but for anyone who is into the whole Stevia thing, there is a Stevia Kola in their range as well. I cannot wait to get myself back to Manchester to try all of the other flavours. I had a sip of the Kola-Coffee-Lemonade at the Potluck and it was out of this world! Melon is the next flavour on my hit list.

Club-Mate

I have to admit, I was a little wary of the Club-Mate range. I wanted to try them when I saw them back at V Revolution, but I have had a terrible experience with Mate tea at my local tea house. I really wanted to like it because it came in a fancy mug and I got to drink it out of a metal straw-like contraption but, to me, it tasted like the contents of an ashtray. But, a blogger has to do what a blogger has to do and I'm glad I finally got over my fear of Mate, because these drinks are incredible.

My favourite was the Cola flavour because although the entire range is low sugar, it was actually sweet! I find myself constantly frustrated with brands of cola that promise the sweetness without the sugar and never deliver. Not anymore, this stuff was delicious. The original Club-Mate was another surprise. I didn't really know what to expect but it was lovely. I'm still not sure how to describe it, it was like an iced tea but tastier and more refreshing.

I was very impressed with these drinks, not only are they full of natural, organic ingredients and low on the sugar, but they taste fantastic too. A win win all round.

Although I don't drink much alcohol, if you fancy something a bit different and want to have a bit of booze, there are some great looking recipes on their website that you can try.

I'm really happy that Fritz-Kola and Club-Mate have become available in the UK. The only problem is that they're not stocked in every single pub or bar in my area. Now that I've found such great drinks, I want to be able to drink them everywhere I go!

Anyway, check out the website below for details on where you can buy these amazing drinks!

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One Ingredient Ice Cream!

After my last post you'll be surprised to hear that I've been on a bit of a health kick for the last week or so. I'm trying to eat more fruit and cut down on all the white bread and refined sugar. Although I've cut down on the sugar and my cravings have become easier to ignore, I have felt like something sweet over the last few days.

I've heard a lot recently about this 1 ingredient vegan ice cream. Apparently when bananas are frozen and blitzed in a food processor they become the most glorious ice cream to ever exist.

I thought I would give it a try.

Now. I've been having problems with these supposedly 'easy' one ingredient recipes. I tried to do the whipped cream using a chilled tin of coconut milk recently. It was a fail of epic proportions. I figured that the banana thing couldn't possibly go wrong. It did....but I did manage to figure out why. So here goes:

Simple Vegan Ice Cream - Choc Chip Edition

• 2 bananas, chopped and kept in the freezer at least overnight
• A handful of chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla (optional)

1. First tip. Freeze the bananas overnight. I tried doing this after freezing them for just two hours. It was a gooey mess and didn't quite hold up. If freezing for a longer period of time, leave them out for 10 minutes or so until you try blitzing them. Mine were in the freezer for over a week and I found I had to add a little oat milk to get mine to cream up. 
2. Second tip. A blender doesn't work as well as a food processor for this. Trust me!
3. Right, you're ready to go. Pop the bananas into a food processor and blitz until soft and gooey. Add a little non dairy milk if you need to. Add a handful of chocolate chips + vanilla and whizz it up until just combined. Then you're all good to go. Get eatin'

I didn't actually put vanilla in mine as I managed to waste an entire bottle by smashing it on the kitchen floor the other day. I do think it definitely needs it though, especially if you don't want that banana taste. Many people doing this recipe have claimed it doesn't have a banana taste, it does. It's not strong but you can tell it is there. Vanilla will probably prevent that.

And I know I said I was cutting down on sugar but a few chocolate chips won't hurt. You can substitute for other ingredients though, it's so easy! Give it a go!

Something Sweet to Chirp About

I won a hamper of Cosy Tea recently. Something which really excited me as I'm not the kind of lucky person who gets to win things easily. It usually involves a lot of plotting and cheating..But anyway as I was unwrapping all my boxes of lovely teas, I came across the catalogue for Beyond the Bean, a wholesaler that stocks everything you need to make amazing hot and cold drinks. One product in particular grabbed my attention, something that I've seen popping up in coffee shops all over the country in the last few years, Sweetbird.

A quick Twitter exchange and a few days later, I arrived home to boxes full of pure sugary goodness. It's probably the most generous delivery of review 'samples' I have ever received. Not only did I get four choices of syrups (Toffee Apple, Toasted Marshmallow, Chilli and Caramel Fudge) I got the biggest tub of Zuma Hot Chocolate that I have ever seen and four flavours of their smoothie mixes (Mango, Strawberry, Berry and Pina Colada) I was in sugar heaven.

I started off making myself hot chocolates a few times a day. I've gotta say, getting sample products of hot chocolate during the longest winter I have ever known, has been incredible. The hot chocolate itself is great, really rich, chocolatey and fairtrade, so no guilts for me! The addition of the syrups however, was magical. My favourite has to be the Toasted Marshmallow. How often do you find a marshmallow flavour vegan?! It's amazing and the Caramel Fudge was definitely a close runner up. The Chilli flavour was interesting and a pleasant surprise, it gives your drink that extra warmth in the background, delicious. I haven't tried the Toffee Apple in a hot drink yet, but it worked perfectly in these...

Yes, that's right, Toffee Apple Pancakes. I put a little of the syrup into the batter and then slathered it all over my stack as well. So sweet, so good and definitely something I'll be making again. And that's the thing, these syrups don't just have to be used in hot chocolate, you can put them on pancakes or over some vegan ice cream, use your imagination.

I also made Frappes with the chocolate powder. Chuck some ice and soya milk in a blender, add a scoop of powder and blitz it. Simple and delicious. I went on a long bike ride yesterday and it was a perfect drink to come home to afterwards.

I'd never heard of Sweetbird smoothies before I got my samples through and I was excited to try them. They're concentrated smoothie mixes, so there is no need for them to be refrigerated until you've opened them up, you just blend them up with some ice and water (we have used soya milk too, for a bit of extra creaminess) and there you have it, it's ready in minutes. No pesky chopping of fruit, just pour and blend. I found the Strawberry a little sweet, but that was something that could be easily adjusted the next time round. I loved the Berry and the Pina Colada was something different and interesting to try.

The great thing about Sweetbird products is that it contains no artificial colours, no high fructose corn syrup and the majority of products are free of artificial preservatives too. So you're getting that sweet, sweet taste, without all those nasty chemicals added in. The best thing? Everything is vegan except for the sauces. So if you see Sweetbird syrups hanging around your local coffee shop, you know you can treat yourself. Even the Eggnog flavour is vegan. Awesome!

So, keep your eye out for Sweetbird products. Ask your local Coffee shop or Cafe to try the smoothies. Spread the word and amazing vegan drinks will soon be ours!

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Aubergines served with a Garlic, Mint Yoghurt

It's about time this blog saw something a little more...savoury. Scrolling through my latest entries, you must all think I live on sugar. But I promise I have actually had dinner before tucking into the desserts.

I decided to try out a few of the recipes from a new cookbook I got for my birthday, Veggiestan. I've been whining about how much I've needed this book ever since I spotted it hanging around the veggie section in my local Waterstones.

I chose a dish that contains one of my favourite vegetables. Aubergine. It's just wonderful. There's nothing more delicious than soft, oily aubergines. Not exactly the healthiest way of eating them, but something magical happens when you fry them up in lots and lots of oil and bung them in a delicious sauce. And that's exactly what I did!

Aubergines with Garlic, Mint Yoghurt

• 3 large aubergines
• vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 small thin green chillies, chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 4 tomatoes, chopped finely
• 1 bunch of coriander, chopped
• salt

For the yoghurt:

• 2 cups of soya yoghurt
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• handful of fresh mint, chopped
• salt and pepper

1. Slice the aubergines, sprinkle them with salt and leave them for 30 minutes. 
2. Whilst the aubergines are chilling out, head a little oil in a large wok/frying pan and fry the chilli and onions until the onions are soft, remove from the pan and set to one side.
3. When the aubergines are ready, rinse, pat dry and heat some more oil in your pan. Fry the slices of aubergine until they're brown and soft on each side. This may mean frying off one batch of aubergine before you have enough room to do the other.
4. Add the turmeric, tomatoes, coriander, the cooked onion and chilli mix and finally a little water. Just enough to cover the aubergines. Pop a lid on top and leave to simmer for a good 30 minutes or so.
5. While you're waiting, stir together all the ingredients for the yoghurt and pop in a bowl/container in the fridge to keep cool.
6. When the aubergines are ready and most of the liquid has been absorbed, you're ready to assemble! Pour half of your yoghurt mix onto a plate, spoon on some aubergine and continue to layer it up. Garnish with an extra sprinkling of coriander and the dish is ready to be consumed!

I served mine with some simple leek pasties and homemade bread. It was amazing. Would also go well with a rice dish, or scooped into pitta breads. I had a little leftover that I just ate on its own the next day. Lovely...

My New Northern Cake Supplier...Cottage Cupcake Co!

I had a few vegan related concerns about moving to the North last year. Whenever I move to an area there are two things I must have in close proximity. Falafel and cake. Having lived in London all of my vegan life, I know I've been very fortunate. I've never been more than 30 minutes away from either. I knew beforehand that I had nothing to worry about on the falafel front, there are a few places in Preston that serve my favourite savoury snack, but cake? I was at a bit of a loss.

Imagine my joy when I stumbled across the wonderful Cottage Cupcakes, a vegan baker based in the Manchester area, a mere 45 minute train journey from me. Cottage Cupcakes is run by just one person, the amazing Jenny, who manages to create all these beauties from her very own kitchen. I was lucky to meet Jenny at the Manchester Vegan Potluck a few months ago and, we got down to cake talk almost immediately. It was amazing to meet someone up here who is as passionate about great vegan cake as I am and who can provide amazing vegan baked goods to all the hungry mouths in Manchester.

We arranged to meet again at the Northern Vegan Festival in April and I was given a lovely selection of treats to try. I'm hating myself for not taking a photo of her stall (I see cake and my brain seems to melt apparently) because it looked beautiful! Being a keen baker myself, I like to see vegan cakes looking impressive, and these were definitely that. 

My selection box contained:

Gluten Free Strawberry Chocolate Cupcake

I was very interested in trying one of the gluten free cakes. I honestly think that good gluten free bakes are a sign of a great baker. I've tried some really dense, hard and tasteless gluten free cakes in the past, but this cupcake was incredible. The sponge was moist, fluffy, light and full of flavour. Had I not seen Jenny pop this cake into the box, I would not have been able to guess that it was gluten free. It was fab, and has inspired me to get creative with the gluten free goodies in my own kitchen.

Cherry Bakewell Cake Slice

This cake immediately grabbed my attention at the stall. It looked so tempting. A lovely light almond sponge layer cake, filled with jam and buttercream, topped with more delicious buttercream, decorated with a sprinkling of almond flakes. It was everything I imagined it to be and more. This was definitely my favourite cake of them all and I was sad to see it go.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake

Ah peanut butter, my downfall when it comes to cake, I can never say no to peanut butter! This cupcake was ace. The perfect combination of sweet and salty and like the strawberry cupcake, not too heavily frosted. It was nice to be able to eat this cake and not feel like I'd just consumed buckets of sugar and fat, definitely helped prevent the cake guilts!

Chocolate Brownie

Chocolate decadence all squished into a conveniently sized slice. These rich, chocolate brownies were delicious. They were wonderfully moist but not too gooey in the middle. I'm always impressed to see brownies that can be neatly sliced and don't fall apart in a wet mess when you pick them up.

After tasting all of these goodies, I can confirm that I had nothing to fear. There is amazing cake in the North and it can be found right here at Cottage Cupcakes. For anyone lucky enough to live in the Manchester area, you can get your hands on these treats at V Revolution or you can make an order to collect through the website.

If you like good cake, I urge you to do it. I promise you will not be disappointed!

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The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes...Now in my Kitchen!

For anyone who has been reading my blog for a while, I'm a huge fan of Ms Cupake. Back in April 2011, Ms Cupcake set up the first all vegan bakery in London. It has been a huge success and recently celebrated its 2nd birthday. I was hooked way before the bakery opened, back when Ms Cupcake created all of her delicious treats from her own flat and spread that sugary love from market stalls all over the city.

I didn't think anyone else could give me the kind of sugar rush Ms Cupcake could. Well, up until now anyway, because finally some of her naughty secrets have been unleashed in a brand spanking new cookbook. And speaking of naughty secrets, I've had my greedy little paws on this new book for a while now.

Before I get into all the sticky, delicious details I'll give a brief overview. The first thing I need to say about the book is that it is stunning. It's definitely the most beautiful cookbook in my vast collection. It is packed full of photos, something that can be rare in a lot of vegan cookbooks. I love being able to see exactly what I'm making is supposed to look like and, I won't lie, I love a bit of food porn to drool over too. The entire book captures everything that Ms Cupcake as a brand is all about. I was delighted to see photos of all the staff posing together, with delicious baked goods throughout the book. Flicking through the pages took me back to that amazing atmosphere at her stalls and inside her shop, something I've missed since moving from London.

The photos may look a bit daunting for a beginner as everything looks so fancy and delicate, but I can assure you that even if you have very little experience in baking there is no reason to be afraid. The book begins explaining the basics of vegan baking, what can substitute what and some very important rules that will ensure you get fantastic results. There is also a section on common vegan baking problems and a very useful table converting all those bizarre American terms, measurements and brands to the British equivalent. I finally know what Graham Crackers are! Hurrah!

I will admit I was initially disappointed in the selection of cupcakes, but I know it was the irrational Ms Cupcake fan girl inside me. Having been a bit of a stalker of the shop when it first opened (in my defense I only lived 10 minutes away) I have lost count of the amount of insane flavours the place has to offer. Watermelon, grape, jaffa cake, ferrero rocher, cola, neapolitan, banoffee...I could go on. But then the sensible side of me kicked in, the book isn't just full of cupcake recipes. And even if it was, there still wouldn't be enough pages to squeeze everything I love in. There are layer cakes, muffins, loaves, bars, brownies, cookies and deep fried goodness. There are DOUGHNUTS! DEEP FRIED CHOCOLATE BARS! JAFFA CAKES! NANAIMO BARS! LEMON CURD! Basically the disappointment disappeared as soon as I turned the pages. There is stuff in this book that you can't find in other cookbooks. Plus, the basics are all laid out for you in the cupcake flavours that are there (Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Lemon Cheesecake, Cherry Bakewell to name a few..) so you have the option to experiment and use whatever flavours you're craving anyway.

I was tempted to make absolutely everything from the book, but due to me piling on the pounds from all the reviewing I've been doing lately, I limited myself. I stuck to basics because generally if the basics are right, you can guarantee everything else will be awesome too.

Before I baked anything from the book, I tried out some icing and chocolate ganache for some cakes I had already made before it arrived. I have never quite been able to get my icing like Ms Cupcakes, and believe me, I've tried. The buttercream recipes here in this book are amazing. They 'crust' up beautifully and are nice and stable, very useful if you're planning on carrying them anywhere. The ganache is incredible and just adds that extra quality and flavour to your cakes. Slightly expensive to make for everything as it requires two expensive ingredients, but perfect for special occasions when you want to impress. Although I say it is expensive, it does go far. You don't need to slather your cake tops in the stuff, just a little does the job,  it can be used for multiple batches and keeps in the fridge for a while.

The first of my bakes was the brownies. Probably one of my favourites from the shop. These brownies are moist, gooey, chocolatey heaven. The ultimate decadent treat. They were so easy to throw together. I did manage to overbake the outside ones slightly (I blame my oven) but the rest were as gooey and delicious as I imagined they would be. It was definitely a perfect recipe to begin with.

Next came a basic chocolate cupcake. The recipe wasn't too different to the one I use but the different ingredients used show exactly how Ms Cupcake can get such an impressive rise on her cakes. I did find this recipe slightly delicate, which isn't surprising as it uses more raising agents than I'm used to. My oven was playing up again and the cakes weren't quite ready when I expected them to be, so due to these factors they dipped a little. Nothing a load of sugar can't fix and there were some helpful tips included in the book to help me perfect it next time. Like all recipes, it takes a bit of practice to get it perfect, especially as everyone uses different brands of ingredients and ovens can vary from kitchen to kitchen.

I would probably disappoint Ms Cupcake by saying this, but I had some frosting leftover from my chocolate cupcakes. I obviously did not put enough muscle into my piping! To stop me squeezing the leftovers directly into my mouth, I decided it was best to make a batch of cookies so that I could sandwich some up with frosting. These cookies...these cookies...oh my....these cookies are the best I have ever made. There is an incredibly simple tip that comes with this recipe that ensures you get that flat, chewy cookie you desire. I cannot say enough about these. They were just amazing.

I can recommend this book to everyone, from beginners to experts, vegans and non vegans, this book is a must have. I'm so excited to get to the deep fried treats and the Jaffa Cakes are next on my list. Ms Cupcake has come incredibly far over the last few years and I'm proud and inspired by how far her and her staff have come. I know there is more to come in the future and I can't wait.

"Ms Cupcake: The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town" is officially released on May 9th with an RRP of £16.99, so make sure you get your hands on a copy. And if you find yourself in London, get yourself down to the bakery in Brixton too. I can assure you, you won't be disappointed!

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Galaktoboureko

I spent last night stuffing my face with lots of delicious food at a Vegan Potluck at V Revolution, in Manchester. The theme of the evening was 'Mediterranean' and it took me a fair bit of Googling before I could decide on what to make. I wanted to do something sweet but I didn't want to do anything really obvious like Tiramisu and I always make cakes so I wanted to avoid that.

I decided to make something a little more challenging. Well, I say challenging because it was supposed to be, I fretted over how I would veganise it and allowed myself 5 hours to make it so that I could overcome any disasters. There were none. It went a little too smoothly for a typical afternoon in my kitchen. I even managed a cup of tea and a sit down halfway through!

It's blatantly obvious what I made from the title of this post but for anyone who doesn't know what Galaktoboureko is, I'll try and explain without drooling over my keyboard. It's basically an orange infused semolina custard wrapped in sheets of buttered, flaky filo pastry, doused in sweet orange syrup. Sounds good right?

I won't tease you any longer, here's the recipe

Galaktoboureko

• 2 packets of pre-made Filo Pastry (make it yourself if you're completely insane, you need 12 sheets)
• 1 cup of melted soya butter, you may need more
• Pastry brush (or kitchen towel if you realise last minute that you don't own a pastry brush)
• 1 large dish

For the Custard:

• 1 tin of coconut milk
• 4 cups of soya milk
• Peel of 1 orange
• 1 tbsp soya butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp custard powder (make sure it's the vegan one and stir it together with a little milk before you add it to the custard, avoids lumping this way)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup semolina

For the Syrup:

• 1 cup of water
• 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
• Peel of 1 orange
• 1 tbsp agave nectar (optional)
• 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

First thing you wanna do is get your custard ready. Get a large pan and pour in the coconut milk, soya milk, sugar, vanilla, orange peel and the soya butter. Bring to a medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes or so. Make sure not to boil the milk, soya milk goes funny when overheated.

Whisk in the custard powder paste you've mixed up and slowly stir in the semolina. Make sure you keep whisking at this point, it will begin to thicken really quickly. When it's all mixed together nicely with no lumps heat it through for a further 5 minutes or so before covering and setting to one side. Melt your artery clogging amount of soya butter and grease your dish with it.

Now for what looks like the terrifying assembly bit (it isn't, honestly!). Open up your pastry and get it all ready in front of you. What you need to do here is line the dish with criss crossed sheets of filo, with each layer being buttered. So, lay your first sheet with the longest side going across the dish, grease that layer up and then make sure the next layer goes down the middle of the dish. Repeat this for 9 sheets of pastry.

Pour in your custard mixture and spread it out evenly. Preheat the oven to 180C.

What you'll notice now is that you have a dish full of custard and lots of pastry flaps hanging over the side. What you need to do next is layer by layer, put the flaps back down over the custard, so that you're wrapping it up. You need to slap on melted butter for each of these layers too! When you're done it should look like this

You'll find you have 3 filo sheets left, these are for the top of the pie. Pop them on top and tuck the sides into the dish, and you've guessed it, butter up each of these layers too. When you get to the last layer, liberally butter that up. You want it to go nice and golden and crispy.

With a sharp knife, score the top of the pie into how many slices you want to make. Be careful not to cut down right into the custard. With the remainder of the butter, spoon it into the cracks you've just made.

Put the pie into the oven and bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour. Keep checking it every ten minutes or so after 30 minutes. It'll be ready when the pastry looks flaky and golden.

While the pie is cooking you can quickly throw together the syrup. Put everything except the vanilla into a pan and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the vanilla and set to one side.

When the pie is done, leave it to cool for 15 minutes before pouring all over the syrup over it. Then comes the tricky part. You need to leave the pie for a few hours. I waited an hour before testing a slice. It tasted great but the custard hadn't quite firmed up yet. If you leave it 2-3 hours it will be nice and solid and very easy to slice.

And there we have it, Galaktoboureka! It really isn't as tricky as it looks, slightly time consuming but well worth the wait.

For anyone in the Manchester area, you should come along to the next Potluck. Not sure of the date yet, but keep an eye on both the Facebook pages for V Revolution & Cottage Cupcakes for updates.