Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] I have two Joyous Mamas to thank for inspiring this recipe. WhiteOwl, for mentioning that she had made Peanut Butter cookies which instantly had me in baking mode, and Starzia for posting the recipe in the first place. The Joyous version was a cookie recipe and included such delights as rapadura and light spelt flour, but since I had neither of those things on hand I created my own version of the recipe and made mini-muffins instead. The results were super cute – as only mini things can be – and super delicious too.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup plain soymilk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbs non dairy butter
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup sultanas
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, agave, soymilk, vanilla, and butter. Mix with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth and has no lumps (except for the bits of peanut). Stir in the chocolate chips and sultanas.

3. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine.

4. Spoon the mixture into a non-stick mini muffin tray and bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from the tray.

*Makes 24 mini muffins

________________

Become a fan of Vegan Chickie on Facebook

Advertisement

Decadent Chocolate Ice Cream from Vegan Dad

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] I have an unhealthy obsession with chocolate ice cream. Or at least I used to, before I went vegan. Unfortunately the only vegan chocolate ice cream you get in these parts of the world is Sanitarium So Good of which I am not a fan. I thought I could be. I bought it, figuring my unyielding desire for chocolate ice cream would override any not-so-yumness. As it turned out I was wrong, the not-so-yumness was so all consuming that the tub of ice cream sat in my freezer for months, untouched except for one small spoonful every week or so when I managed to convince myself that it couldn’t possibly be THAT bad and I would give it another taste. Out I would trot to the freezer, spoon in hand only to return, disappointed.

So! I went in search of a recipe I could try and in the end I settled on THIS little gem from Vegan Dad. Oh boy oh boy, I am in chocolate ice cream heaven once more! His photo is much better than mine, and his ice cream seems to be much harder than mine, but I think that is because I got small cans of coconut milk by mistake instead of larger ones. Soft or not, this ice cream is delicious! I added a cup of choc chips to his recipe and the results were great! If you have an ice cream maker, you have to try this one! After this ice cream success, I’m going to try my hand at some vanilla (stay tuned!).

Decadent Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream
(Vegan Dad)

Ingredients:
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 1/4 cup chocolate soy milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 (400g) cans coconut milk (that had been in the fridge for a few hours)
350g block of dark cooking chocolate, chopped
1 cup choc chips
1 tsp vanilla paste

Method:
1. Dissolve arrowroot into 1/2 cup of the chocolate soy milk and set aside.

2. Skim cream from the top of the cans of coconut milk and place in a 4 cup measuring cup. If you don’t have 2 cups worth, fill missing volume with soy milk, or the leftover water from the coconut milk). Whisk smooth as best you can.

3. Combine remaining soy milk and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking regularly. As mixture cooks, keep stirring arrowroot mixture to make sure arrowroot had totally dissolved. When mixture begins to steam, slowly whisk in arrowroot mixture. Continue to cook and whisk until mixture gets thicker and more glossy (you will see what I mean) and begins to gently bubble.

4. Remove pan from heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth (mixture will be thick).

5. Add coconut milk and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

6. Let mixture cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Stir in choc chips, mix well. Make the ice cream according to the directions that came with your machine. Let firm up over night in the freezer.

Vegan Chocolate Tart

[tweetmeme source="VeganChickie"]This tart was so easy to make that I kind of feel like it was cheating to call it home made. We served it with chocolate soy ice cream, but if that is too much chocolate for you (no such thing!) then it would be great with a vanilla ice cream or coconut cream whipped cream instead.

NOTE: Your chocolate mixture may differ than the pictures below, don’t panic! I used firm tofu for this recipe but you can use silken with no issues, I prefer the firm but silken is also delicious and has a much more smooth moussey type consistency).

Vegan Chocolate Pie

Ingredients:
3 packets of oreos
1/2 cup non dairy butter (melted)
500 g firm tofu
500 g non dairy choc chips
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or 2 teaspoons extract)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Blend the Oreos until they are just crumbs (you can do this with or without the Oreo filling, I did it with, if you are removing the filling you might want to add more butter). Combine crumbs with melted butter and line a pie tin with the crumbs to form a pie crust. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes and then remove and allow to cool completely.

2. Blend your tofu and vanilla until creamy.

3. In a medium pan, on low heat, melt your chocolate chips. Add the melted chocolate to the tofu mixture and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into the (cool) pie crust, spread evenly and put it in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours before serving.

It’s so good, but very rich! I sprinkled the top with crushed fruit tingles, but that was just to make it pretty, and didn’t actually have a function!

Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]I think this chocolate cake is the easiest cake I’ve ever made, I’d barely even started and it was already baking away in the oven! Delicious too! It’s recipes like these that make me wonder why people bake with eggs and milk at all!

Vegan Chocolate Cake
(The Joy of Vegan Baking)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (188g) unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 cup cold water

+ the frosting of your choice

Method:

1. Prehead the oven to 180 degrees. Grease a baking pan. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder in a bowl until thoroughly combined.

2.Create a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the vanilla, oil, vinegar and water, mix until just combined. Pour into your prepared pan, and bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

3. Cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

NOTE: you can also use this mixture for cupcakes, in that instance check after 15 minutes to see if cakes are done.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

[tweetmeme style="compact" source="VeganChickie"]This vegan chocolate cupcake recipe is soooo good that even the non vegans of the world will love them (that means you Tennille!!).

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
(Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World)

Ingredients:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond or chocolate extract (I prefer chocolate – almond extract has quite a strong flavor)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil,  and vanilla extract and other extract, to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to the wet ingredients and beat till no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are okay!)

3. Pour mixture into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before icing.

For the icing, I just used a plain chocolate icing: 2/3 cup of cocoa powder, 3 cups of icing sugar and enough warm water to make a paste.. ice your cupcakes and sprinkle with some 100s and 1000s and you’re all done!

Vegan Ice Cream (Double Chocolate!!)

I am so excited about this recipe.. I currently have half a tub of this ice cream in my freezer and I can’t stop thinking about it.. I doubt it will survive the night. I love ice cream (and I mean LOVE!), especially chocolate ice cream with extra crunchy bits. Well, let me tell you, this recipe REALLY hit the spot, especially today on such a hot summers day. You will need an ice cream maker for this one, we just bought ours on the weekend for about $40. I’m pretty sure you can get them cheaper than that if you are a bargain shopper.. anyway, without further ado..

Dairy-Free Double Chocolate Ice Cream
(Vegan Planet)

Ingredients:
4 cups cold soy milk or other dairy free milk
2 tablespoons arrowroot
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar or natural sweetener
1/2 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips (we used our usual whittakers dark chocolate cut into chunks)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Method:
In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the soy milk and the arrowroot. Blend well and set aside. Place the remaining 3 3/4 cups of soy milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and sugar and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the arrowroot mixture, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble, about 5 minutes. Do not let boil. Remove from the heat and add the vegan chocolate. Let the chocolate sit in the hot liquid for a few minutes before whisking to combine thoroughly. Stir in the vanilla and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

(about halfway through the freezing process we added some crushed up Oreo cookies for some extra crunch, next time I might also add some vegan choc chips and some crushed nuts.. yummo!)

And now the photo montage (although, silly me, was so excited to EAT the ice cream, that I forgot to get a photo of it being served up and looking all pretty, so instead, the end of the series is just a boring old shot of inside the tub after we had eaten some):

Fudgy Wudgy Vegan Brownies

It looks like Sunday is going to become baking day in the foodie household and it is fast becoming my favourite day of the week! This weekend we made Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Raspberry Brownies. The recipe (another Veganomicon wonder) called for Blueberries but we weren’t able to get any so instead we substituted for raspberries. It was a fabulous brownie! Reliving it is making me crave that chocolatey goodness!

Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Brownies
(Veganomicon)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (We didn’t have choc chips so we used a Whittakers block – our new fav vegan choccie!)
250g blueberry spreadable fruit (we used raspberry)
3/4 cup soy milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (we use Green & Blacks – fair trade & organic)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries (or raspberries!!)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Melt the 2/3 cup of chocolate chips, reserving the other 1/2 cup. To melt, heat a small pan of water over high heat until boiling.

Place another small pan on top of that and place the chocolate in that one. Stir continuously until chocolate is melted. (Chocolate can also be melted in the microwave).

In a large mixing bowl combine the blueberry raspberry spread, soy milk, sugar, canola oil and extracts. Mix until no large lumps are visible.

Sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Stir until well mixed, then mix in the melted chocolate as well.

Fold in the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate and fresh blueberries raspberries.

Spread the batter in the baking pan and bake for 35 minutes. It will be squooshy in the middle (or fudgy wudgy depending on who you ask) and oh so lovely! The book suggests serving it with vanilla icecream (they have a fabulous vegan recipe in the book but we haven’t tried this yet.. we are saving that for another day!) but we ate it on its lonesome and it was fantastic as is they are a little rich, but I think that has more to do with the use of raspberries than anything else. I suspect the blueberries make it a little more subtle.

Coming Attractions: Vegan Brownies

Chef and I spent our afternoon making delicious chocolate raspberry brownies – vegan of course, unfortunately I have just arrived home from a birthday party and it’s too late to share, but I thought I would post a single picture.. kind of a teaser just so you know what will be coming tomorrow afternoon…a little something to get you salivating…

Vegan Cupcakes

This afternoon chef and I tried our hand at vegan baking for the first time. The recipe is from ‘Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World’ (another cookbook from geniuses Isa Chandra and Terry Hope Romero) but I actually got the recipe from my new muse Kel, and her ‘achey bakey heart’ wordpress blog. Kel’s cupcakes were much prettier than ours but we are proud of them none the less! They were very tasty, so good in fact that the first thing I did after eating a single cup cake, was jump online to my favourite online bookstore – book depository – and buy ourselves a copy of the book.

I won’t type out the recipe.. (here is the link if you want it: Hazelnut cupcakes), but I wanted to share some photos of our adventure: