Red Velvet Cupcakes with a cheesecakey crumble base

Red Velvet Cupcakes with a cheesecakey crumble base

Our Spanish friends have moved to Ireland and now that they have settled somewhat we were invited for dinner. I offered to make the dessert.

I was in the mood for something cheesecakey,.. something vanilla like (I love vanilla). Something that uses ingredients I have here and don’t have to go to the shop for (like tofu, which I would have to).

So why not give cupcakes a lovely crumbly soft biscuit base, infused with maple syrup?

Ingredients:

Cupcake: 1½ cups self raising flour 1 cup sugar ¾ cup soya milk/water ½ cup oil 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 tbsp vinegar Red food colouring (to the redness you like!)

Base: 1/2 packet biscuits crushed (we used Oaties - basically like Hobnobs) 1.5 tbsp butter 1 ¼ tbsp maple syrup (or golden syrup)

Makes 12 cupcakes.

1. Make the base: crush the biscuits. Then add the butter and golden syrup.

Grease the cupcake cases. Put the base mix into them and press it evenly on the bottom.

2. Mix the wet ingredients, mix the dry ingredients,. Mix two sets together. (or mix the wet, add the two dry ingredients in together then). Split the mixture into two different bowls.

Pour atop the base in the cupcake cases.

Bake at 180° C until toothpick comes out clean.

Top with vanilla icing (vanilla essence + icing sugar + butter mixed together).

Yum yum yum. 

Vegan Bailey’s ‘Cheesecake’

Vegan Bailey’s ‘Cheesecake’

I’ve wanted to make this for ages, especially as you see it so much in cafes here in Ireland!

So as we were having a fancy dinner party, finally my excuse to take some time out of my study schedule to cook again! (Conor’s been so good to me - he’s been doing most of the cooking in the house as I’m so busy)
This recipe is based off our previous creamy 'cheesecake' like cakes: Lemon Macaroon Cream Pie 
and Strawberry Tofu 'Cheesecake' 
(and was served at the same dinner party as Marinated Tofu in Pastry Floret Cups)

Baileys: 3/4 cup whiskey 2 cans coconut milk 1.5 tbsp instant coffee  (mixed with a little hot water) or about 3/4 cup strong coffee 1/2 cup brown sugar Base 1 packet biscuits crushed (we used Oaties - basically like Hobnobs) 3tbsp butter 2.5 tbsp golden syrup

Filling: 6tbsp cornflour 1/4 cup whiskey 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 block firm tofu (I guess you could use silken, but this works better for me I’ve found) 1/4 cup oil 1 tbsp vanilla essence

Makes 2 cakes: (so half it if you want one!)

1. Make the “Baileys”: put all the ingredients except the whiskey in a pot, then boil off for about 15 minutes until it thickens to a more cream like consistency (if you happen to get the thick ones from Aldi it won’t take long)

2. Preheat oven to 200°. Make the base: crush the biscuits. Then add the butter and golden syrup.

Line a cake tin with baking paper and grease it. Put the base mix into it and press it evenly on the bottom. Put in the oven for about 15mins. (it may harden in the oven or when you take it out and let it cool. If it doesn’t harden when it cools, put it in again at 5-10min intervals until it does)

3. Make the filling: put all the ingredients in a blender. Add 3/4 of the bailey’s mix to the blender mix- keep the rest for yourself ;) Pour the mixture in the blender over the cooled base.

4. Put in oven for about 30 mins or until very very slightly browned.

If I was to make it again though I’d probably just add the ‘Baileys’ ingredients directly to the filling… So this recipe may be getting an update sometime ! :)

  

Conor’s mother’s chocolate biscuit cake (with hazelnuts)

Conor’s mother’s chocolate biscuit cake (with hazelnuts)

Recently Conor’s mother made some chocolate biscuit cake for his brother’s birthday. She passed on the recipe to me and, as our oven in our new place doesn’t really work, we decided to remake it as we were having a dinner.

It is super simple and so so rich!

Ingredients

-2.5 bars of dark chocolate

-100g dairy free butter

-1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

-1/4 pack digestive biscuits

-1/4 pack oat biscuits

-1/3 cup raisins

-3 tablespoons golden syrup

1. Chop up 2 bars of chocolate into bits and put with butter in a bowl in the microwave until melted.

2. Crunch biscuits into bits (but not crumbs) and put in a bowl with raisins, golden syrup, hazelnuts. Add melted chocolate/butter.

3. Put in a cake tin or other container. Put in freezer (if you want it quicker) or in fridge until it cools.

4. Once chocolate cake is cooled, melt the other ½ bar chocolate in the microwave and cover top of cake to smooth it. Eat! : )

Spiced pumpkin cake

Spiced pumpkin cake

It’s the one time of year when you can get a pumpkin and I love pumpkin based desserts!

Ingredients

1&2/3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

¾ cup pureed pumpkin innards (½ for cake, ¼ for icing)

1/2 cup dairy free milk

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice

Preheat oven to 180°

1. Scoop out the innards of the pumpkin. Blend innards until a smoothie like consistency.

2. Mix sugar, flour and spices together. Add soya milk, oil, vanilla essence and ½ cup of the blended pumpkin.

3. Add vinegar and mix well. Pour into cake pan and bake for 30-40mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

For the icing we mixed 1/5-1/4 cup pumpkin puree with icing sugar enough to be stiff.

We roasted the pumpkin seeds, and Conor made a robot pumpkin to put in the window.