Vegan Wedding Cake

Blimey !!! Taken my cake baking skill to the next level. I make a wedding cake ! My first very own three tiered wedding cake. To top it all it is a vegan wedding cake.  And it was a cuhhh-razy  experience to say the least.

Let's talk about it.  Agree to help a friend out for her wedding cake is what I call adventure. I knew what kind of filling I was going to do, what kind of cake flavour, frosting, etc. Everything was planned out to a T. 

Because I never bake a 12 inch cake before, I decided to do a cake tasting 2 weeks before the wedding. The 12 inch cake was a vegan vanilla sponge, the middle tier was a vegan lemon cake and the top tier was a vegan chocolate cake. After the cake tasting the bride decide to make the middle tier vegan chocolate cake and the top is vegan lemon cake for the wedding day. We decided on semi-naked cake because it's what I am most familiar with. 

hen cake the dreaded dowels. This was the hardest part for me. I purchase the plastic dowels from PME. The location where the dowels stand and how many are required for each tier is a painstaking as you want to make sure that the cake stands throughout the wedding!

After the dowels, it was pretty much smooth sailing. I was nervous about assembling the tiers, but with the help of my friend Gina, it turned out to be pretty simple. We assembled the cake at home and make a marking on the cake board to make sure we get it at the right angel we wanted on the wedding day. We remove the tiers once we are happy with the stacking.

We decided to assembled the cake at the wedding venue. We transport each cake in a box. As our finishing touches are fresh flowers, I manage to cut some from my garden. The top bunch are the pale yellow/orangey roses that I cut from my garden together with the off pink hydrangea. Finish up with some wild flowers from the fields. 

All and all I am super proud of myself !!

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

 Cottage pie and shepherd's pie are basically the same thing when it comes to vegan fare, but traditionally a cottage pie is based on beef and shepherd's pie is based on lamb. But since we are making vegan versions we can really call it whatever. 

A simple yet delicious recipes for Vegan shepherd's pie, means the whole family can enjoy. Grabs a plate and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 large garlic cloves, finely diced
• 400g soy minced
• 2 celery stalk, finely diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 450g button mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 350ml vegan stock, a "no beef" flavoured one is ideal
• 75ml wine, or extra stock
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

For the topping:

• 750g potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 75ml unsweetened plant milk
• 75g vegan butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Peel and chop the potatoes and add them to a pot. Cover with water and bring them to the boil. Cook for around 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are soft and cooked.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until softened. 

Then add the frozen soy minced and sauté  with the onion and garlic until soft and browned. If your soy mince is a bit chunky then use your spatula while sautéing to break it up into small pieces.

Add the chopped mushroom, carrots, celery, soy sauce, dried sage, bay leaf and tomato paste and mix in.

Pour in the vegan beef stock and wine, stirring it in until a gravy starts to form. Simmer on low heat to get it thickened even further.

When the potatoes are cooked, add in the vegan butter and vegan milk and mash it up. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 200ºC . Add the veggie minced to a pie dish and smooth down. Add the mashed potatoes on top and smooth them down as the top layer. Use a fork to create ridges in the mashed potatoes.

Dot some vegan butter on top and sprinkle with black pepper.  Place into the oven to bake for 30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes switch over to grill for some extra browning on top.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb, Rose & Almond Cake

Rhubarb is here!!! Sorry to yell but yes its the time of the year. Good harvest this year. I am a big fan of rhubarb cake. Or desserts with rhubarb. Basically anything with rhubarb. Too bad it is not available all year round

Rhubarb has an interesting taste. It is so tart and almost sour, yet sweet once it's cooked. Rich almonds combine with tangy and sweet rhubarb to make this delightful cake. Perfect with a cup of tea or lashings of custard, you choose!

Ingredients:

• 75g flaked almonds
• 150g butter, room temperature plus extra for greasing
• 150g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 100g thick yoghurt
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1 tsp rose essence
• 200g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 250g rhubarb, trimmed and chopped
• icing sugar for dusting

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven. Grease and line the bottom of the cake tin with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the yoghurt. Stir in the orange zest and juice, and the rose essence. Then fold in the flour and baking powder. Mix in 50g of the flaked almonds.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin, then arrange the rhubarb on the top and scatter the remaining almonds over. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool, dust with icing sugar, then serve

Easy Vegan Lemon Cake

Amaaaaaazing!! So moist, so fluffy, perfect amount of lemon, so easy to make, so perfect!. It just eats like cake, nobody would ever guess that it is vegan- it just like a typical cake, but it's egg-free and dairy-free.

This easy vegan lemon cake is as light as air, with perfect texture and a great zing from the lemon. And best of all this one-bowl vegan lemon cake recipe is so easy. No unusual ingredients and it is moist and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 300ml dairy free milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 150g dairy free butter
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• zest of 2 lemons
• 275g plain flour
• 150g granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 1 tsp lemon essence

For the vegan lemon frosting:

• 150g dairy free butter
• 400g icing sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon essence

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan oven. Lightly grease 3x6" baking pans or 2x8" round baking pans.

Stir lemon juice into the milk and set aside for 10 minutes.

In a pan over a medium-heat, melt butter and golden syrup. Set aside to cool slightly.

Sieve the flour, sugar, baling powder and bicarbonate of soda into  large mixing bowl.

Pour milk, melted butter mixture, lemon zest and lemon essence over the flour mixture and stir well until it becomes smooth batter. Do not over-mix the batter when adding the dry ingredients. Combine well, but don't beat.

Divide the mixture between the three prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or 30-35 minutes for the two prepared pan or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in tins for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the lemon frosting: Beat together all the frosting ingredients until smooth. 

When the cakes are completely cold, sandwich together with some icing . Spread the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake. This amount is for semi-naked cake. If you prefer full frosting, just double the amount of the frosting.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Strawberry rhubarb jam has a beautiful sweetness from the berries that is balanced perfectly with the rich tart flavour of rhubarb. 

There is nothing like homemade jam spread on a warm piece of fresh homemade sourdough bread in the mornings. 

Strawberries and rhubarb are a classic combination. They have complementary flavours and ripe for the picking in the same season.  Rhubarb is such a unique fruit/vegetable...so tangy and versatile and truly signifies the arrival of Spring.  Because rhubarb season is so short, it is lovely to preserve the flavour of Spring year round!

There is just something about making jam that feels homey and satisfying-harkening back to traditional homesteading when canning was the way to survive the winter.

Making jam is a slow process. Stir, stir and stir the fruit, creating your hot water bath, processing the jars, listening for the gratifying little "pop" when the lids seal themselves.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of rhubarb, cut into ½" cubes
• 2 cups hulled and halved strawberries
• 2½ cups sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Method:

Before we start making the jam, firstly we need to prepare the jars. Place some clean jam  jars on a baking tray and then into the oven preheated to 100ºC for 20 minutes to sterilized them. Place the lid is a large bowl & pour in boiling water. Let the lid sits for 10 minutes and wipes dry with a clean tea towel.  Put two to three small saucers in the freezer to chill.

Combine all ingredients in a jam pan over a medium heat. Once mixture starts to bubble, reduce heat to medium low. You will want to heat set to the point where it continues to bubble but not violently when stirred. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the jam has thickened. Plan on cooking jam for about an hour and temperature of the mixture is over 95ºC

While the jam is cooking, sterilize the glass jars. Also place a saucer in fridge for 10 minutes. Test the set by running your finger through the jam, if it forms a crinkle and is gel like, then the jam is ready to bottle.

Use a jam funnel, ladle to the sterilized jam jars and seal with lids immediately. Store in a cool dark place and refrigerate once opened.