Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

It was J’s 24th birthday yesterday…. yeah, right! Switch the numbers around and you’ll get his real age. You must remind me to ask what the view is like at the top of the hill...

He’s a die-hard chocolate fan, so what could be more appropriate than chocolate cupcakes for his birthday? These babies are vegan-friendly, moist, delicious and packed full of chocolaty goodness.

Moist Vegan Mango and Cardamom Cake

Many varieties of mangoes exist, however the king of mangoes is the Alphonso. No other mango compares to this wonderful mango, which is also known as an Indian mango. They are large, yellow, juicy, sweet and not at all stringy. They are the type of mangoes that you have to devour over the sink because they are so juicy.

Panforte di Siena

Ahh… our Christmas cake… I’m not sure if we can really call it a cake, it’s more like a piece of chewy confectionery. It originates from Italy and is packed full of dried fruit, nuts and honey.

This cake is traditionally baked in a round cake tin (pan). However, I broke out of the norm this year and baked it in a loaf tin (pan). The cake was cut into 2.5 cm (1 inch) pieces, making them easier to enjoy, instead of gnawing a huge slice.

Dutch Honey Cake (Honingkoek)

This delicious loaf is also known as breakfast cake. It’s suitable for dairy-free individuals. The texture is somewhat closer to bread than a cake, and is typically enjoyed with lashings of butter. It’s easy to make, chewy, lightly spiced, low in fat, and the flavor only gets better with time.

It was J (not surprisingly) who introduced me to this cake. It’s easily available in Europe (again, not surprisingly), and there are many variants in the shops, including one with stem ginger. We loved them all!

Saucy Lemon Souffle Pudding

Saucy lemon soufflé pudding you say? Yep! I've been planning to blog about this delicious dessert for months! I tried it almost a year ago, but it was so good, that I didn’t get a chance to take any photographs.

The pudding is packed full of flavor and absolutely delicious. It's light and fluffy on the top with a creamy lemon custard base. It’s a true delight for lemon lovers.

Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins - Gluten Free & Vegan

Five years ago, I would never have thought I could walk into a bakery and not buy anything. I love my cakes, muffins and pastries. The only problem is that I’m allergic to American dairy. Eating anything is a little bit of a risk for me. Although I can drool at the cakes, I rarely eat them and when I do, I take a very small bite.

It was time to try another recipe from the Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking book. I love this recipe book, but it is RIDDLED with editorial errors. How this book got into print, I have no idea…

Dark Chocolate Muffins - Gluten-Free & Vegan

I never thought I’d be baking a chocolate muffin that was gluten-free… vegan maybe, but never gluten-free. I was inspired when I finally got myself to The Flying Apron in Fremont, Seattle. This place is somewhat out of our way, but it was my birthday weekend and I wanted to try it.

The Flying Apron Bakery is absolutely awesome – it sells vegan and gluten-free items and uses almost all organic and unrefined ingredients. These days, it IS possible to enjoy mouth-watering cupcakes, muffins, shortbread and cookies even if you are vegan and/or have allergies.

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake

Raw-food purists would never call this raw, as it has cashews in it. So to call this raw, isn’t entirely true – alas…

Although raw, by definition is also vegan – I would like to point this out to people who aren’t huge raw-food fans, like myself. So, not only is this cheesecake raw, it’s also vegan and has no processed sugars in it. You can of course sweeten it with agave nectar or maple syrup, but this will no longer make this cheesecake “raw”.

Raw Raspberry and Chocolate Fudge Cake

Who would think that a cake that was vegan, gluten-free and raw could taste so darn good? Well, believe me, it does!

It’s also packed full of goodies, such as omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, monounsaturated fats, dietary fiber and more.

This cake is definitely not low-calorie, but if you compare the nutritional value and health benefits of eating this cake compared to that of a conventional cake made from refined flour, sugar, fat and eggs, this cake wins hands-down every time.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

You’ve probably guessed that there's a certain someone in this household that LOVES chocolate, and that certain someone is not I.

This cake contains no flour, butter or refined sugar, but it has a very dark secret. The secret being that its base is made of black beans. You read correctly, black beans!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Cupcakes weren’t called cupcakes when I was growing up, they were called fairy cakes. Fairy cakes in those days were nothing special – they were usually served at a child’s birthday party, and that was it.

Nowadays, cupcakes and their availability have not only been spreading throughout the US but they have infiltrated many markets Worldwide. It’s not as if cupcakes are new, it’s the way that they’re beautifully decorated, the flavor combinations and being marketed more at adults that make them popular.

Easy Moist Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Sauce

I baked this moist chocolate cake with dark chocolate sauce for J’s birthday. The cake itself is dairy-free and was pretty damn delicious on its own, although it doesn’t taste as chocolately as it looks. When serving this cake with the warmed chocolate sauce (not dairy-free), it's pretty close to perfect. The sauce does set, so you could theoretically throw it on top of the cake and allow it to set before devouring.

Fat-Free Banana Bread

I quite fancy quick breads such as banana or pumpkin bread with a good cup of coffee. The only issue is that most of them are packed full of oil/fat. When you gently squeeze these specimens, you will get an oily residue left on your fingers.

Quick breads do not need to contain tons of oil/fat to taste good. Although this bread is called "fat-free", it's not entirely correct. I mean there's no added fat. Of course there's the natural fat in the walnuts. This recipe uses 100% whole-wheat flour, and a load of ripe bananas, that not only add a banana-ry essence, but also keeps the loaf moist.

Fresh Fruit Cobbler

I love Summer! Not only because of the long warm days, but because of the fresh fruit available at that time of the year. I’m like a child excited at the window of a sweet (candy) shop, when I do my grocery shopping during Summer.

Last Summer, we made an effort to barbeque every weekend. For dessert, I’d usually make either a fruit cobbler or clafoutis.

Brown Butter Blondies

We had guests over during the Winter Olympics. I had no idea of their eating habits, but had planned many of the meals in advance. We rarely have desserts on a day-to-day basis, so when we do have guests, it’s a real treat - blondies were on the menu.

Blondies are one of those things I never heard of until I moved to the US. Brownies yes, but blondies no. Blondies are apparently like brownies, but without the chocolate – I say, what’s the fun in that?

Gluten-Free Vanilla & Strawberry Sponge Cake

This cake was a mish-mash of two recipes I've used before. It uses a modified version of the gluten-free chocolate cake and the tofu “cream” – yofu recipes, both of which are equally delicious. I decided to top the cake with a thin layer of strawberries, but was far too lazy to make a glaze for them because I was impatient and wanted to eat it.

The tofu "cream" and strawberries top this wonderfully light-mousse-like-sponge-cake really well. It's incredibly light, packed full of protein, and is gluten and dairy-free.

Quick and Easy Vegan Banana & Walnut Cake

Cake for breakfast sounds a little over-indulgent. But if you call this a bread instead – maybe it will take away some of its indulgence.

It’s not the prettiest of cakes, but it’s absolutely delicious. It has a crispy crust, which encases a slightly sweet, fluffy and light interior, which carries a hint of banana and the crunch of walnuts. It’s just perfect for breakfast/brunch.

Chocolate Lava Cakes

This recipe for chocolate lava cakes is not for the faint hearted – they’re pretty deadly! I made them one Christmas for dessert, and even for chocolate lovers, like us, one small ramekin would have been plenty.

The dessert has a light chocolate-sponge encasing a pool of liquid chocolate. Depending on how long you cook the cakes, you either get a huge pool of liquid chocolate or a very moist cake.

Squidgy Bite-Sized Chocolate Brownies

I wanted to make some bite-sized brownies to go into J’s lunch bag, so today I made some using an old, tried and tested recipe. There’s nothing healthy about these brownies, other than having some dark chocolate in them. However, I assume that the addition of tons of butter and sugar, takes away that “health benefit”!

When I baked these chocolate babies, a couple got stuck in the pan. I ended up tasting them… you can guess the rest. They are totally addictive. These bite-sized brownies have a slight crisp crust on the top and the interior is a squidgy, fudgy chocolate cake. Any remaining brownies left disappeared when J got home. Suffice to say, no brownies ever managed to find their way into his lunch bag.