Vegan Rum Christmas Cake (With dried strawberries, baby)

That's a santa hat covering the coy vegan christmas cake

Ola Bats!

I totally lied. I said the last post was, uh, the last post for 2016. Turns out I totally WON at making bomb-ass vegan christmas cake. You can easily customize this with other fruits/nuts, but this combination was a true winner. It's rich, it's wholesome, it delicious.

Ok so get your santa hats out and let's get started.


What you need

1/2 cup  refined sunflower oil

3/4th cup almond mylk/soya/cashew/coconut

1 cup brown sugar (or regular)

8-9 dried strawberries ( I got them from MK retail) or Fresh (or use dried apricots or any other dried fruit)

1/4th cup walnuts chopped

1/4th cup almonds blanched and peeled

1/2 cup black currents or black raisons

1/2 cup rum of choice

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda (optional)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar


How to Make

First put your chopped nuts, currents,and dried fruit in a bowl with the rum Let is soak for at least 30 minutes.

Them nuts and fruits getting drunk off old monk

In a bowl mix your oil, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Whisk well.

Add half of your milk and mix again. Now slowly add your flour and baking powder/soda and mix continuously. Add more mylk to get a very thick but slightly pourable batter. It's ok if it's a little dry, it's a richer cake, but it should kind of lump-drop into your pan. Add your soaked rum-nuts-fruits-currents and mix well.

Nice & Thick now

Preheat oven at 170c

Spoon your batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, but check after 30 to see how it's doing with the classic knife test.

Right before I popped into the oven!

Here's wishing you merry merry holidays and super-amaze-balls 2017!

Till Next Year (For Real) Keep It Real!

Strawberry Cake & Chocolate Glaze (Vegan, Baby)

Ola Cats!

It's been a bit, and this will likely be my last post for 2016. To take a quick stock, I transitioned from Vegetarian to Vegan in May 2016,  so we're almost at 7 months now. Things I've learned.

1. It's not THAT hard

2. If you love to cook and love food, then veganism actually lets you appreciate food and ingredients all the more ( Really)

3. Militant veganism changes no one. Ethical eating, thinking about where your food comes from, and understanding how it increases apathy, distances from our ecosystem, and damages the environment is something everyone can do. I advocate being a conscious eater, and you don't have to be perfect to do that.

4. I want to inspire people to play in the kitchen with vegan ingredients

5. I am not a fancy-pretty-cute baker. I'll always be reckless in the kitchen.


Ok, so if that wasn't nauseatingly self aggrandising for you, don't worry I have more to boast about- this super delish strawberry cake with chocolate glaze. Plus it's easy to make.

Here's What You Need for the cake

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 cups Flour (Maida)

1.5 Teaspoons Vanilla

1.5 Teaspoons Baking Powder + 1.3 teaspoon of baking soda

1 Cup pureed fresh strawberries

1/3 cup virgin coconut oil

5 TB vegan curd/yogurt  ( I used peanut curd from Veganarke) OR 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

3/4th cup almond/soya/cashew.coconut mylk ( I used almond)

A thick pinch of salt


And for the Chocolate Glaze

3 cups sugar

3/4th cup pure coca powder ( I used Hersheys)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Strawberry Puree 

How to Make

In a large bowl mix the sugar, oil, vanilla, and salt. In another bowl sieve the flour, baking powder/soda and keep aside. Now add the puree to your wet mix and give it a good whip. Now slowly add your flour to the mix and whisk. Pour your vegan mylk of choice slowly into the mixture until you have a cake-like batter consistency (thick but pourable).

Pre-heat oven to 180. Grease a large or two small pans with coconut oil and pour you batter in. Now bake for about 30 min (check with a knife).

Meanwhile, in a pot on low flame add sugar, 1/4th cup water and stir.. Add cocoa powder and salt (add as much cocoa powder as you like to get the sweet-cocoa flavour ratio you like). Let it simmer. You can add less/more water to get it thinner or thicker. Screw precision.

Before Frosting (Still Yummy)

Once your cake is baked, let it cool for 10-15 min. Add your glaze on top and enjoy that sweet-fruity mash-yum-blub-blub on your tongue!

Till 2017 <3 Be kind. Keep it real

3 Local Vegan Start-Ups to Hook Up With (YOLO Bangalore)

This ain't just for the vegans on the ship. Everyone who is good and holy at least cares about animals and systematic cruelty (see what I did there?) So, If going vegan is not in your life cards, then supporting some vegan places should be. Here's why.

(i) The more local vegan business boom, the more options we vegans have, the more 'normal' it becomes to appreciate animal-free products

(ii) You let people live their dreams

(iii) Only some vegan business are aware they are actually making a vegan movement, for example we have coffee here which everyone drinks ( we totally advocate caffeine, we're not going to argue about that )- and another one here started because the entrepreneur's son was allergic to dairy and soy. But the deal is, if businesses also understand they are catering to ethical foods, they get to understand their market value in new way. This is good for the economy. I think.


So let's get to these Bangalore sweetspots shall we?

(1) Black Baza Coffee

Holy shit, if coffee wasn't vegan I would have a very potent problem. Black Baza Coffee was founded by Arishiya Bose, and she is really into her shit. I mean she can talk about biodiversity farming for more than an hour (that's long time in bio diversity time). In their own words: Our first four years were spent speaking to over 300 growers – documenting shade trees, coffee yields, value chains and simply understanding the challenges of farming sustainably.We found that although India has one of the most sustainable production systems in the world, our coffee was moving rapidly from shade to sun grown

So we started selling coffee in 2015 to support coffee growers to follow biodiversity-friendly farming, which we define as coffee grown under the shade of indigenous forest trees, without chemical pesticides and with active re-forestation of wildlife-use areas on farms.

Black Baza on The Shelf

Hipster Coffee is Serious Coffee

 Order their amazing coffee (our office Write Leela Write  refuses to run on anything else) and check them out here

(2) Veganarke 

Flying Unicorn Shit! The founder is Abhay Rangan, and get this, he's flipping 19 years old. I wasn't making any kind of world impact at 19. I am not going to even tell you what I was doing at 19, so that I can maintain some for of social respectability. Anyway, I digress, so Abhay here is a very dedicated animal activist, and is specifically devoting most of his life  to animal rights. What's more is his vision. He's ditched them rose-tinted glasses. In the young lad's words:  I believe veganism should be accessible to everyone. Most vegan businesses today overprice their offerings, and this ensures that only privileged, cash rich people are able to afford them. We want to ensure that everyone, regardless of economic status, can buy high quality vegan products.

Peanut Curd by Veganarke 

So 19, with a firm understanding of trickle down economics, and the pitfalls of elitism- I give you folks, a very cool dude. This is why you need to support this. You can get vegan peanut curd delivered to your house every week- and let me tell you this curd/yogurt is the bomb, you can make raita, buttermilk curries or make facial masques out of them- whatever floats your boat. His vision his big, so they are expanding into Cashew, almond, soy, and peanut mylks! Bonus Points? His rock is his mother, who is head of operations and makes all this from scratch at home. Check out Veganarke Here and give a shoutout to our boy Abhay on FB- he's a popular kid.

Abhay and his Momma! The heart of Veganarke 

(3) Jus'Amazin

That, my friend, is some dairy-free cheese! 

Shilpa Mogilishetty has a masters in Social Anthropology, and if she could demand an imaginary life, she would lock herself up in a library and be a total geek. She also has a cute-button of a son who is allergic to dairy and soy. The Momma bear that she is wouldn't let her son go without yummy, nutritious treats. She made the kitchen her lab and soon she had made some delicious treats that everyone wanted. I personally am in love with her Salted Cashew Carmel Spread. But she makes nut mozzarella, feta, and sun-dried tomato plant-based cheese spreads too! Oh also, a seed butter to die for. What are you waiting for? Order her lovely little treats by emailing her : shilpa@jusamazin.com or call : 7899737378

Seed butter, chocolate almond spread, and salted cashew caramel spread. Slurp.

So there you have it cubs! Yummy, ethical treats for everyone. Connect with these fine people, make a new friend, share your new food, and if you don't share your coffee, I'll understand. 

Soon.

Vegan Lemon Cake (Tangy Baby)

Hello Tangy Buddy

Hello Parrots!


 Fall comes, and I say screw Pumpkins, they get far too much press in October. We're doing lemons here. A sweet-tart bliss in the mouth. Here's a plant-based lemon cake that is super yummy for breakfast with coffee. It also works if you happen to have High Tea like the British.

Ok, so I like things tangy, so I have added a bit more lemon juice than traditional recipes require, but in my (esteemed) opinion, I think it kicks the sweet factor to new levels of yum on the tongue. I've also got a super quick vegan sugar frosting to add to the sweet-ass factor.


What You Need

Cake Ingredients 

2 cups Flour

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup vegetable/olive oil

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (adds moisture)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 (small/Indian lemon/limes) juiced

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind


Frosting Ingredients

2 cups powered sugar

11/2 lemon juice

1 -2 tablespoon water

How to put the Baby Together 


In a large bowl whisk your oil, sugar, vanilla, salt, lemon juice, and vinegar. Add baking powder +soda to a bowl filled with your flour and mix gently. Now add this to the wet mixture and keep stirring till the batter is smooth.

It's smooth enough now

Preheat you oven to 185c. In a greased pan pour your batter and put it in the oven for about 25-30 minututes. Do the knife-check to make sure it's done.

When your cake is in the oven, start making the frosting.

This is super simple, in a bowl dump you powdered sugar, make sure there are NO lumps. Now add your juice and beat. It will be thick and lumpy, add a table spoon of water. Add tiny amount of water till you get the consistency of a thick glaze, as shown in the picture. Yum. Set it aside.

Don't screw up the consistency 

Once your cake is done let it cool for at least an hour. Now you can dump your glaze over it. Tah-dah! It's done. Be wise and always share your cake.


Aite, that's what I have for now! Enjoy. Be kind and keep it real!

Vegan Coconut Milk Jelly (Jiggle Baby)

It's Snowing Jelly!

 Sup Polar Bears!

Today I made a snappy quick treat. I am a fan of chewy-jelly-sweet--things. In Vegan Land using cow bone (gelatin) is a big no-no, therefore,we have out vegan saviour, agar-agar or China Grass as we know it locally. You need a stove, a pot, and glass dish for it to set and your jelly treats are good to go!

So how to make this crowed pleaser?

All you need is a bunch of white stuff. 

What You Need

1 cup pure coconut milk

2.5 cups water

1/2 cup of sugar (or 3/4th if you want it super sweet)

A pinch of salt

1/4th cup agar-agar (china grass) powder/flakes

1/4th cup  dried coconut powder (optional)


How to Make

Grab a pot and se that baby on a stove. Keep your flame medium-high. Now add your coconut milk and china grass/agar-agar and give it a quick stir, it will get thick fast. Quickly add sugar and mix, then add you water and salt. Now keep stirring out the lumps and make sure it gets smooth. It will get thick pretty quick, keep stirring for 5-8 minutes.

Stir out all the lumpies

Put off the flame and pour immediately  into a glass dish. Set on the counter, it will start to set in a matter of minutes. Add your dried coconut powder on top. Check on it after 30 minutes, if it's firm (it should be), pop it out of the glass onto a plate. Slice it in shapes you fancy. Put those babies in the fridge and let them chill.

All Set

Take them out after 30-60 minutes and enjoy! Makes for the perfect light dessert. Also great for Netflix binging.

Happy Jellying!

Vegan Blueberry Cheese Cake Bities (That's Right)

Hello Ants! I've been slacking hardcore on the  blog, so I decided the this one had to be worth the wait. I've been researching vegan cheesecake for a while now, and my requirements to make my own version were few:

• Simple
• Keep exotic ingredients to the minimum
• Semi-foolproof 

I finally found the best inspiration on the Minimalist Baker blog, and basically tried to recreate it with a few original touches. Their blog is way prettier than mine, so if you ditch my post and follow the instruction on that site, I can't blame you. 

This is a rather decadent vegan dessert, so eating too much of it is not good for you (although ethically it's way better than regular cheese cake, so fill up on your karma points, folks).

So let's get to it. Disclaimer: I had to spend money on this one, because it required stocking up on nuts. However, if you come at me saying "oh, so being vegan is expensive" I will hit you. Because I am choosing to make the fancy stuff, and there is plenty you can do with a vegan budget if you cut out money on your normal food/dairy/meat intake. Anyway, not getting into vegan politics now, let's get into the recipe. 

What You Need

For the Crust

1 cup walnuts

1 cup pitted dates

For the Filling

1 cup cashews (Soaked for 2 hours)

200ml/ 3/4th cup Coconut Milk

Juice of 2 small lemons

3/4th cup sugar  (you can also use golden syrup/maple syrup)

1/4th cup coconut oil

1.5 teaspoons vanilla essence

25 frozen blueberries (also can use chopped strawberries)

How to Make

Dates in a cup, say what's up?

In a muffin tin line each section with a cupcake wrapper. If you don't have this, use foil. 

In a blender, blend your walnuts and dates real well. It might take some stirring and blending repeatedly. It's ok if it's uneven, Use this mashup to press a 1 inch layer in the bottom of each cupcake liner. Set aside. 

Pie Base be Crumbly

Now in a larger blender add your coconut milk, vanilla, coconut oil, lemon juice, sugar, and cashews together. Blend together well until you get a rich creamy mix. 

Pour this mixture on top of the date-walnut crust, fill it till the brim. Now top with blueberries. Hurray! Now all you have to do is freeze the tray for about 6 hours. When you want to eat them, pop them out of the freezer and let them thaw out for about 10 minutes. Enjoy frozen as well.

Pre-freezer picture.

That's what I got for September.  Enjoy, and be kind. 

Chocolate Chunk Walnut Cookies (Vegan, Duh)

All Ready to Be Dunked in Some Cold Almond Milk

Ola grasshoppers!

It's been a while. I've been cooking, just not posting. Let's just say that most of my cooking happens at the end of the work day, and my phone is out of battery, unwilling to take pictures, and I am too lazy to charge it in time. Yup, blogger fails.

Anyway, Yesterday I made my favorite cookie in the whole wide world. Chocolate chunk walnut cookies. I used to make a lot of chocolate chip eggless cookies before I went vegan, but I realized that this version is healthier (and delicious, promise) because we use flax seeds for eggs and olive-pomace oil instead of butter.The important thing here is to use brown sugar.That's what gives it a classic cookies taste, so don't go using regular sugar on me, k? You can get brown sugar on amazon, here you go. So let's get right to these beauties, shall we?

What You Need

2 cups flour
1/2 cup olive/blend or even sunflower will do
2 pinches sea salt
1.5 ts vanilla
3/4th cup almond milk (or soy milk)
1 cup brown sugar (please don't use regular)
1 large bar AMUL Dark Chocolate (this is the only Indian-vegan chocolate I know of, you can use imported vegan chocolate too)
3/4th cup walnuts (you can crush or keep them whole, up to you, puppy)
2 tb ground falx seeds
1 ts baking powder
1ts baking soda


How To Make

First things first. Take your 2 tb of flax seeds and put them in a  small blender so they become a powder.

In a bowl add your oil and almond/soy milk, whisk. Add your brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix it up. Slowly add you flour and keep mixing, add your baking powder and soda, and flax seeds. combine fully.

To the right, ground flax seeds, to the left, oil and almond milk. 

Now take out the cover of the chocolate and while it's still inside the foil wrap, crush it with a hammer or something heavy ( I used a pressure cooker, so I appeared to the average onlooker, completely insane). Let it basically become big chunks of chocolate, tear open the foil packet now and pour into the batter. Add your walnuts. It will stick out of your batter- that' fine. Mix it up good, make sure it's a proper dough. You can use more flour if it's too wet, or some splashes of almond/soy milk if it's too dry.

That's how it should look once you have everything in. You pop this into the freezer for 15. Isn't this fun?

Preheat oven to 180c. Put your dough in the freezer for 15 min. This helps it keep form. 15 min later, divide batter into medium balls and flatten onto a greased pan. You should be able to make 12-15 cookies. Bake for 15 min each. Let cool and enjoy. Super delish, I tell ya.

I am going to go check on my new vegan mayonnaise I made from scratch with coconut milk. You will just have to wait for the post, which I swear will be here soon.

Toodles!