Vegan Donuts Recipe

So, it's pretty obvious by my lack of posts that I disappeared from the face of the Earth for the last month. Yep, that's exactly what happened. Anyway, I'm back and I've brought donuts with me, so all of my 1 followers (hi mum) can calm down.

This recipe is an edited version from Mrs Cupcake's The Naughties Vegan Cakes in Town, a recipe book filled with sweets and treats that are completely indulgent and delicious. I've made quite a lot from this cookbook and I'm very pleased with all of the recipes.

My version calls for the juice from a jar of morello cherries rather than vanilla extract. Sometimes you've got to improvise when you don't have all the ingredients. This particular mistake created something beautiful so I had to share it with you.

*Side note. Don't start making these when you're about to go to bed. They take a long time.

So, let's get onto the donuts...

(Makes 8 Donuts & Donut Holes)

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp vegan butter
• 170ml almond milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp morello cherry juice
• 340g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 1/2 tsp dried active yeast
• 100g rapeseed oil (for frying)

For the glaze:

• 120g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp almond milk
• 1 tbsp morello cherry juice

1. Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat. Add the milk, salt, sugar and morello cherry juice but do not boil. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the yeast, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and mix until combined. Add in the butter mixture and kneed for 10 minutes.
3. Leave in a bowl covered with cling film for 1 hour.
4. Roll the dough out until it is 2cm thick. With a large glass, cut into shapes. With a smaller shot glass, cut out a hole in the middle of the circles. Leave to rise for another hour.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the glaze.
6. Heat the oil in a pan on a medium-low heat. Drop in the donuts and donut holes and cook for about 30 seconds on each side or until they are golden.
7. While still warm, coat with the glaze and serve.

Cacao, Date and Chia Seed Banana Bread

This banana bread is gooey, bananary and packed with goodness. It's oil free and vegan (obvy) and tastes delicious.

Ingredients:

• 250g of wholewheat flour
• 50g of raw cacao powder
• 2/3 of baking powder
• 2/3 of bicarbonate of soda
• 3tbsp of chia seeds
• 120g of almond milk (you can use any non-dairy milk)
• 200g of medjool dates (chopped and stones removed)
• 5 ripe bananas

1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line your bread tin with greaseproof paper.
2. In a jug with 120g of water, soak your chia seeds for 15 minutes. They should go goopy and start to stick together.
3. Meanwhile, sieve the flour, cacao, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Stir.
4. In a blender, add the bananas, almond milk and dates and blend together.
5. Pour out the blender mixture and stir into the dry ingredients.
6. Add your chia seed 'eggs' and mix together. Make sure everything is well combined and light and fluffy.
7. Cook in the oven for roughly 45 - 60 minutes. It can vary depending on your oven. I ended up cooking my bread for just over 2 hours. You will know when your bread is done if you stick a cake tester (or a chopstick) into the bread and it comes out clean.
8. Serve with banana slices on top! Or not. This last part is completely optional.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake

I'm bad at taking pictures of food. Particularly baking. I swear to you, this picture took over half an hour to get right. And it's still rubbish. But, the good news is that the recipe is delicious and not only is it raw and vegan, it's packed with super foods and is perfect for a treat or for entertaining friends.

Ingredients:

• 170g of rolled oats
• 2tbsp of maple syrup
• 140g of raw cacao powder
• 75g of raw hazelnuts
• 170g of raw cashews (soaked overnight)
• 70g of medjool dates (stones removed)
• 50ml of water (alternatively you could use raw almond milk)
• 1 ripe banana
• 2tbsp of coconut oil

1. To make the base, add the oats, dates, hazelnuts and half of the water to a food processor and process till the become a stodgy mixture. You can add more water if you like to get the desire consistency.
2. In a cake tin, scoop out the mixture from the food processor and line the bottom of the cake tin. This will become your base.
3. Store in a freezer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
4. Add the maple syrup, cashews, cacao, coconut oil, banana and the remaining water to a food processor and process till all the ingredients are combined. Again, you can add more water if necessary.
5. Add the next layer to your cake tin and freeze over night.