Churro Waffles with Caramel Sauce

These churro-style waffles are cooked in a waffle maker rather than being deep fried like traditional churros. I made mine in my trusty Sage Waffle Maker, however there are cheaper gadgets on the market. You could cook these like drop scones on a large non-stick frying pan, if you don't have a waffle maker.

Makes 4-5 large waffles

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups SR flour
• 1⅓ cups milk  
• ⅓ cup soft brown sugar                   
• ⅓ cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• a pinch of bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
• a pinch of cinnamon

For the cinnamon sugar, mix ingredients together.

• ½ cup caster sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

For the caramel dipping sauce, heat ingredients together in a pan or in the microwave and stir thoroughly.

• 1 cup dulche de leche/caramel condensed milk
• 1 cup evaporated milk or double cream

Beat all of the waffle ingredients together to make a smooth, thick batter.

Heat your waffle maker or frying pan on a medium-high heat.

Cook waffles until golden brown.

Whilst warm, dust on both sides with the cinnamon sugar.

Serve drizzled with the hot caramel sauce.

Top tip: Make a chocolate sauce by melting chocolate and mixing with double cream or evaporated milk. Heat gently until you have a smooth, warm sauce.

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Super-Cute Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes for Easter

These cute mint chocolate Easter cupcakes are a variation on my easy vegan fairy cake recipe and are topped with chocolate-coated cereal nests! 

I couldn't find any vegan mini-eggs, so I painted some mint imperials with dots of brown food colouring. Just be sure to warn guests that the eggs are hard sweets, in case they try and bite into them or give them to young children!

Makes 12

• 150g/6oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 150g/6oz sugar
• 150g/5oz SR flour
• 25g/1oz sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 heaped tsp Orgran No Egg mixed with 7 tbsp water (or use a similar egg-substitute)
• ½ tsp xanthan gum

Cream the spread and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently until combined.
Spoon the mixture between 12 paper cake cakes in a muffin tin, filling quite generously.

Bake at 180C/170C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4 for around 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
Cool on a wire rack.

When cold, top with mint butter cream/frosting...

Vegan butter icing

• 50g/2oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 125g/5oz icing sugar
• ½-1 tsp peppermint extract 
• green food colouring
• 1-2 tsp boiled water

Soften the spread.
Mix in the mint extract and colouring.
Beat in the icing sugar gradually, adding a little boiled water as needed to make a soft, spreadable mixture.
Pipe onto the top of each cupcake, once cold.

For the nests
100g/4oz dairy-free chocolate, melted
40g/1½oz rice crispies
12 vegan mint imperials (check ingredients for gelatine) or dairy-free chocolate mini eggs.
12 mini Easter chicks

Mix the cereal into the melted chocolate until coated. Spoon into a well greased mini muffin pan.
Press the crispies down with the back of a teaspoon and make a slight indent for the egg and chick to sit in. Chill until needed. 
Carefully remove the nests from the tin, using a palette knife, and place one on top of each iced cake.
Fill with a chick and an egg.

Top tip: Warning - do not open the oven to check until at least 15 minutes have passed (unless you can smell them burning!), as the egg-replacer takes longer to set than eggs would. I found this out whilst cooking my first batch and they sunk in the middle!

Alternatives: Make a large chocolate sandwich cake by dividing the mixture between two greased and lined sandwich cake tins and baking for 25-30 minutes. 

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Hobnob Biscuits

I thought I'd have a go at making home made Hobnob biscuits as they're a family favourite. We were all quite impressed with the results. They actually taste like genuine Hobnobs! 

This recipe is a great one to make with little ones (or big ones!) for Mother's Day, as the cookie dough is very easy to make and can be mixed and rolled by hand, if you don't want to use a mixer or food processor.

Makes around 18-20 biscuits

• 75g/3oz white SR Flour
• 75g/3oz wholemeal SR flour (if you don't have this, use white SR flour)
• 100g/4oz porridge oats (or fine oatmeal)
• 150g/6oz dairy-free/vegan spread
• 100g/4oz granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100g/4oz dairy-free chocolate to top, optional

Pre-heat oven to 160C/150C Fan/Gas 3/325F

If using porridge oats, grind them for a few seconds in a food processor or liquidiser to make your own fine oatmeal.

Rub or blend (in a food processor) the spread/margarine into the flours and oats, until you have the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. 
Mix in the oats, bicarb. and sugar.
Drizzle the syrup over, and mix or blend well until you have a firm dough. Add a little more syrup, if the mixture is too dry.

Roll the dough into around 18-20 small balls, using your hands.
Place, spaced well apart, on greased baking trays and flatten slightly.

Bake for 17-20 minutes, until dark, golden brown.
Allow to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Suitable for freezing.

Options: If you prefer a softer cookie, bake for 12 minutes, until pale golden brown.
To make chocolate hobnobs, allow the biscuits to cool completely. Melt the chocolate and dip each cookie into the melted chocolate. Alternatively, drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.

I'm linking this post to this month's Family Foodies  baking challenge co-hosted by Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash

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Hot Cross Buns (Vegan)

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Inspired by Paul Hollywood's Bread programme, I thought it was about time I blogged another bread recipe.

I've seen a plethora of hot cross bun recipes lately, but very few vegan ones. Traditionally, these seasonal, Easter bread-buns are made with eggs, milk and butter, so I've substituted these ingredients for vegan alternatives. I think you'll agree that they look pretty much like the traditional variety (minus the crosses, of course!).

• 3 cups strong bread flour
• 1 cup sweetened almond milk, or similar
• 4 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 2 tbsp dairy-free spread
• 1 sachet fast action yeast
• 1 cup dried mixed fruit
• 1-2 tsp ground mixed spice 
• 1 tsp Orgran No Egg, optional
• ½ tsp salt

Add all of the ingredients, except the fruit, to the bread maker and set on the dough setting. 

After a few minutes, add the dried fruit and allow the bread maker to run the full dough cycle. (Alternatively, kneed ingredients together in a bowl, until you have a soft, but not, sticky dough.)

Turn the dough out onto a board, but don't add any extra flour.
Kneed the dough for a few minutes and then divide into 8 pieces and roll into balls.

Flatten slightly and place, well apart, on a greased baking sheet.

Allow to prove in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/425F/Gas 7. 

Mix an extra 2 tbsp of strong bread flour with 2 tbsp of cold water to form a paste. Pipe the paste onto the buns (in your preferred design), with a small, plain nozzle. 

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 190C/180C Fan/375F/ Gas 5. Bake for a further 10 minutes, until brown. The cooked buns should sound hollow if you tap on the base.

Mix 2 tbsp of white sugar with 2 tbsp water. Heat in the microwave for 15-30 seconds on high, to form a syrup. Brush the syrup over the warm buns. 
Remove from the baking tray and cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm or toasted for an Easter breakfast. Cut in half and spread with dairy-free spread and/or jam before serving. 

Suitable for freezing.

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Chocolate Ganache Truffles

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Chocolate truffles are really easy to make, and will keep in the fridge for a week or so.  They are great as a gift for any occasion...Christmas, Mothers' Day, Easter, whatever! Vary the recipe by using different chocolates and flavourings. If you make them with milk chocolate and vanilla extract, they taste pretty much like Lindor chocolates!

• 250g/10oz chocolate (plain/dark or milk - shop's own brand is fine, but don't use cooking chocolate)
• 150ml/10 tbsp double cream (use 125ml/9 tbsp if using liqueur as the flavouring)
• 25g/1oz unsalted butter
• Flavouring (1 tbsp liqueur, 1-2 tsp flavouring extract or a little grated orange zest)
• Cocoa powder, drinking chocolate powder, icing sugar, grated chocolate, crushed chocolate flake etc to coat.

Heat the cream until hot (but not quite boiling) in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave.

Add the chocolate and butter allow to melt (you might need to warm the mixture slightly if the chocolate doesn't melt). Mix well, adding the flavouring, if used.

Chill the mixture for an hour or two, until almost solid.

Remove from the fridge and working quickly, shape heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls, using your hands.
Roll the truffles in the cocoa powder etc to coat (or if you're feeling adventurous, try dipping them in melted chocolate and leave to set on greaseproof paper).
Place in mini-muffin/sweet cases and chill until needed.

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