Vegan Apple Cake

Readers of this blog will know that I am mildly obsessed with apple cakes. I had HUGE cravings for them while pregnant and I am still searching for the right taste. I made up this recipe in an attempt to get what I am looking for. Did I succeed? YES! It’s the nearest in taste to my mother’s cake that I’ve yet had. It is not a very sweet cake (I am on a health kick so I put in v little sugar and v little fat) but it is really delicious. It's more of a loaf, really. And it's so healthy! My mother famously used to ‘forget’ to put sugar in apple tarts. She will love this cake/loaf which I will have to bake for her asap.

250 g of wholemeal self raising flour

2 med/large cooking apples

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or 1 beaten egg for non vegans)

200 mls of soya milk

50 g of light brown sugar

1 tblsp vegetable oil

30 g flaked almonds

• Preheat the oven to 160˚C
• Grease a 2lb loaf tin (or line with paper liner)
• Peel the cooking apples and chop into small pieces
• Sprinkle the cinnamon on the apples
• Mix flour, sugar and spice
• Make the NoEgg mix as per pack
• In a jug, mix together the soya milk, oil and NoEgg mixture
• Make a well in the flour and beat in the milky mixture
• Fold in the chopped apples
• Pour the mixture into the loaf tin. Gently shake to flatten the top
• Sprinkle with the flaked almonds
• Bake for an hour in the top of the oven. Move down a shelf if top browning too quickly.
  
• Test with a  skewer to see if it is baked through
• Cool the cake in the tin

VEGAN FOOD PYRAMID CHART

Isn't this great? Click the image to see bigger version. Buy the poster for your wall here.

INDIVIDUAL VEGAN CHRISTMAS CAKES

This is my normal vegan Xmas cake recipe with some minor adjustments. Pluses: these take less cooking time and are nicely two-mouthful sized. We have scoffed our big cake already and I needed something nice to bring to an Xmas tea party so I decided to try my normal recipe as individual cakes, for a change. I'm so glad that these worked.

INGREDIENTS

350 gr wholegrain spelt flour
175gr vegan marg
175gr light muscovado sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
150gr sultanas
200gr raisins
150gr dates
50 gr flaked almonds
1 tblsp treacle
100gr glacé cherries, halved
grated zest of an orange
2 tblsps ground almonds
120ml soya milk
2 tblsps red wine vinegar
¾ tsp of bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)
6 tblsps (90ml) brandy

• Preheat the oven to 160˚C
• Line a shallow bun tin with paper cases
• Sieve the flour and spice
• Rub in the marg until the mix is like breadcrumbs
• Stir in the flaked almonds and treacle
• Add the sugar, dried fruit, cherries, orange zest and ground almonds and mix
• Warm half the soya milk in a small pot and add the vinegar
• Dissolve the bread soda in the rest of the soya milk, then add
this to the milk and vinegar mix
• Stir this into flour and fruit mix until well combined
• Spoon mix into the bun cases and smooth the top
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a skewer/cocktail stick comes out clean
• Brush the tops of the cakes with the brandy
• Cool on a wire rack

FOR THE ICING

500g icing sugar
60ml water
15ml lemon juice (1 tblsp)

• Sieve the icing sugar
• Mix in the water and lemon juice to from a paste
• Microwave on high for 30 seconds until runny
• Pour one dessertspoon of icing onto each cake
• Top with an almond or a glacé cherry or a sweetie - whatever you like!

VEGAN CARROT BUNS / MUFFINS

VEGAN CARROT MUFFINS/BUNS

Muffins to me are really large, greasy, shop-bought buns. In Ireland buns are small muffins, kind of. Anyway these are healthy and tasty and hit the right note for this time of year: spice and raisins. A real Hallowe'en combination.

5oz wholemeal self-raising flour
2oz light muscovado sugar
2oz walnuts
4 oz carrots grated (about 3 small carrots)
2 oz sultanas
2 oz chopped walnuts
½ lidful vanilla essence
2½ oz melted vegan marg
1tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or 1 egg beaten for non-vegans)
1 tsp nutmeg
1tsp cinnamon
60ml soya milk

pre heat oven to 200c

• grate the carrots
• mix the dry ingredients in a bowl
• add the sultanas and walnuts
• make the No Egg mix (or beat the egg) in a jug, with the milk and vanilla essence
• mix in the grated carrots
• mix in the melted marg
• add this mix to the dry ingredients
• divide into the 12 bun cases
• bake for 25 minutes


JUNO AS A WITCH ON HALLOWEE'EN

VEGAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

I've made my Xmas cake. Yes, last night I made it and we all had a stir and a wish. My wish from last year came true - a healthy baby girl - so I have high hopes for this year's wish!

I fancied a change, so I trawled through all my books and the net for a new vegan Xmas cake recipe but, in the end, I decided to use the same one I've used the last few years. The cake is so utterly delicious, I just knew it'd be better than all the recipes I studied over the last week.

Go here for the recipe I posted last year, which comes courtesy of the fabulous Rose Elliott - with some adaptation.

Calling this an Xmas cake in this house is laughable really, because we tend to eat it from the start of November until it runs out. It calls to us from the tin...and anyway, Christmas is so goody-packed, you don't really need a cake, do you??!!

VEGAN OAT APPLE CAKE

This cake screams good health and a slice makes a great snack. It's sugar free too! Mine turned out a tad crumbly (again!) but is still delish.

Preheat the oven to 190 C

3 apples, peeled & chopped finely
1 carrot, peeled & grated
60g chopped walnuts
120ml veg oil (rape or sunflower)
100g raisins
150g plain flour
80g porridge oats
1 tsp vanilla essence
30ml soya milk

Lightly grease a 2lb loaf tin
Sieve the flour into a large bowl
Mix in the porridge oats
Mix in the apples, walnuts, carrot & raisins
Add the soya milk and vanilla essence and stir
Mix in the veg oil
Spoon into the tin and bake for one hour
Cool in the tin before turning out

This is lovely plain or with a blob of soya dessert.

MR VEGAN'S BIRTHDAY CARROT CAKE