vegan

Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta

January 20, 2020 by hannahhossack Leave a Comment

Vegan cauliflower Alfredo pasta – this delicious dairy-free pasta sauce is so creamy and delicious, you would never guess that it is secretly healthy and made from cauliflower!

This vegan cauliflower Alfredo pasta is a recipe that I make often at home as it is so quick and easy to throw together. It also happens to be both delicious and healthy too!

Cauliflower is an amazing vegetable that can be used to make a wonderfully creamy sauce, without adding any cream. There are a lot of cauliflower Alfredo sauce recipes on the internet, but most of them steam or boil the cauliflower, I prefer to roast mine.

My favourite way to cook cauliflower for any dish is to roast it; roasting gives it so much more flavour than boiling. It works for this pasta sauce recipe too, the roasting gives it an extra depth of flavour that you simply don’t get from boiling the cauliflower.

I also go the extra step of roasting some whole garlic cloves along with the cauliflower to add to the sauce; roasted garlic has such a wonderful flavour and it’s less in your face than using raw garlic.

Because roasting the veg gives it a bit of colour (ie: flavour!), the sauce won’t be as pure white as some, more of a pale yellow. This hardly matters when it tastes so good though!

Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Ingredients:

Cauliflower: Obviously. It forms the creamy base of the sauce.

Garlic: Plenty of it. Roasted for rich umami flavour.

Nutritional Yeast: AKA nooch. This gives the sauce a savoury, ‘cheesy’ flavour. It is also high in B vitamins and is a complete protein.

Lemon Juice: Replaces the ‘tang’ you would usually get from parmesan cheese in the sauce.

Vegetable Stock Cube: I add an OXO stock cube to the sauce for extra flavour.

Non-Dairy Milk: Blends up with the cauliflower to create the creamy sauce. I use oat or soy but any variety you like the taste of is fine. Just make sure it is unsweetened!

Onion Powder: I use this a lot in vegan cheese sauces to add to the savoury flavour.

Salt & Pepper: Obvs.

How To Make Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

Start by chopping your cauliflower into florets; spread them out on a roasting tray along with the whole (unpeeled) garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt.

Roast for about 20 minutes until the cauliflower is tender and pale golden.

Place the roasted cauliflower in a blender and squeeze in the flesh from the garlic cloves, discarding the skin. Add nutritional yeast, lemon juice, a vegetable stock cube, onion powder, non-dairy milk and some salt and pepper.

Blend until the sauce is creamy and smooth. Add a little more non-dairy milk if the sauce is too thick. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Cook the linguine according to the packet directions then heat the sauce over a low heat in a saucepan. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Serve topped with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Can I Make It In Advance?:

This creamy cauliflower sauce can be cooked a couple of days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

More Vegan Pasta Recipes:

Vegan pumpkin mac and cheese

Creamy roasted red pepper and tomato pasta

Easy mushroom linguine

One-pot mushroom pasta

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Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo

Vegan cauliflower Alfredo pasta – this delicious dairy-free pasta sauce is so creamy and delicious, you would never guess that it is secretly healthy and made from cauliflower!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword pasta

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 495 kcal

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

500-600 g (1 medium) cauliflower
4 whole, unpeeled cloves garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
20 g (1/3 cup) nutritional yeast
1 vegetable stock cube crumbled
1/2 tsp onion granules
juice of 1/2 lemon
360 ml (1 1/2 cups) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used oat)
1 tsp salt (plus extra as needed)
black pepper
400 g (14 oz) dried linguine
fresh parsley to serve

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.
Chop the cauliflower into florets and spread them out on a roasting tray along with the whole (unpeeled) garlic cloves. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt.
Roast for about 20 minutes until the cauliflower is tender and pale golden.
Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
Place the roasted cauliflower in a blender and squeeze in the flesh from the garlic cloves, discarding the skin. Add the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, vegetable stock cube, onion granules, non-dairy milk, salt and a good grinding of pepper.
Blend until the sauce is creamy and smooth. Add a little more non-dairy milk if the sauce is too thick. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.
Cook the linguine according to the packet directions then heat the sauce in a saucepan over a low heat. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Serve topped with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Vegan Scones

January 15, 2020 by hannahhossack 2 Comments

Vegan scones – these easy eggless and dairy-free British scones are a perfect tea time treat. They are quick and simple to make and totally delicious. Serve with jam and vegan cream; or eat them split, toasted and buttered.

Scones are a classic British afternoon tea staple, and they also happen to be incredibly quick and easy to make at home. These vegan scones are indistinguishable from the best classic scones and are sure to be a real crowd-pleaser.

I did a fair bit of testing to come up with this ultimate vegan scone recipe; I tried various different fats, milks, buttermilk, yogurt etc and this version was by far my favourite.

They are light and moist, with a pleasing amount of crumble and just enough sweetness; the perfect scone for a vegan afternoon tea!

Vegan Scone Ingredients:

Scones only require a few basic store-cupboard ingredients:

Self-raising flour – it’s important to use self-raising flour to get the best rise.

Baking powder – the self-raising flour alone isn’t quite enough, scones need a little extra baking powder to get a really good rise.

Vegan block butter – using a block butter/margarine rather than the spreadable kind in a tub will give you a much better texture as it has a higher fat content.

I use Naturli Vegan Block, but Stork or Vitalite block, Tormor or Earth Balance Buttery Sticks will all work. It is also important that the butter is fridge cold, not room temperature.

Refined coconut oil – I did a lot of testing to perfect these vegan scones and found that the ones that used half refined coconut oil and half vegan block butter had the best flavour and texture. You can use all coconut oil or all butter instead but half and half is best.

Make sure that you use refined, rather than virgin coconut oil (unless you want your scones to taste like coconut), and it should be solid, not soft or melted; refrigerate it if necessary to firm it up.

Caster sugar – I use caster/superfine sugar rather than granulated as it dissolves into the dough more easily. Granulated will work if that is all you have though. British scones shouldn’t be too sweet so I don’t use lots; you can add a bit extra if you prefer a sweeter scone; or reduce it if you like them a little more puritanical or if you want to make savoury ones.

Soy milk – I use unsweetened soy milk to make my scones as it has the highest protein content. Any non-dairy milk will work but soy is best (oat would be my second choice).

I glaze the vegan scones with a mixture of soy milk and maple syrup which gives them a lovely colour. You can use just milk if you prefer.

How To Serve Scones:

Scones go stale very quickly and are best eaten as fresh as possible, ideally within a couple of hours of being baked. (See below for freezing/make-ahead tips).

Traditionally they are served with jam and clotted cream though I have never been a huge fan of the cream (don’t hate me!) and I like mine with just jam, ideally raspberry.

Obviously clotted cream isn’t vegan but vegan whipped cream would be an acceptable substitute. If you are in the UK then Elmlea now make a plant-based whippable double cream and most supermarkets sell a vegan squirty cream; or you could go for homemade coconut whipped cream if you don’t mind the flavour.

My husband eschews the jam and cream entirely, preferring his scones split, toasted and buttered (with Naturli Spreadable); this is absolutely the best way to eat slightly stale scones.

They would also be lovely served with my vegan lemon curd or plum and amaretto jam.

How To Make Vegan Scones:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*

Start by mixing together self-raising flour and baking powder in a large bowl until they are well combined.

Add cold, diced vegan block butter and solid refined coconut oil and rub them in using your fingertips until no lumps of fat remain and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

The coconut oil in particular can be difficult to rub in so do take your time to ensure that there are no lumps remaining. You can also use a food processor instead for this step (this step only) to save time. Next, stir in some caster sugar.

Gradually stir in the milk until it forms a soft, almost sticky dough. I find that the back of a table knife is the best tool for this job, it enables you to cut the liquid through without over-mixing the dough.

If there are any dry, floury bits left in the bottom of the bowl add a drop more milk to mix them in. You may not need to use all of the milk, or you may need a little more.

Bring the dough together into a ball, it should be soft and a bit sticky. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, don’t knead it but use your hands to kneaten it a little and pat it out into a round about 4cm/1 1/2 inches thick.

Use a 6cm/2 1/3 inch round cutter (plain or fluted is fine) to cut out four scones. Place them slightly spaced apart on a baking parchment lined baking sheet.

Very gently bring the scraps of dough back together, pat out into a round again and cut out two or three more scones.

Brush the tops of the scones with a mixture of milk and maple syrup to glaze. Don’t let it drip down the sides as that can inhibit the rise.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden. If you tap the underside they should sound hollow, like bread. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool a little before serving.

Top Tips:

Scones are very easy to make, but to ensure that you end up with tall, light, moist, delicious scones rather than hockey pucks it is important to follow a few basic rules:

1.Your butter and milk should be fridge cold, not room temperature; and the coconut oil (if using) should be solid. If it is a bit soft then refrigerate it first until firm.

2. Make sure that you do not overwork the dough, you want to mix it until it comes together, no more than that. And never, ever knead it; this isn’t bread. The scones will be a bit craggy and rustic looking, but the texture will be so much better!

3. The dough should be on the soft, almost sticky side for the lightest, moistest results.

4. Pat, rather than roll the dough out and keep it quite thick, about 4cm / 1 1/2 inches is ideal.

5. When you cut the scones out, press the cutter straight down, don’t twist it. Flour the cutter first to make it easier to remove the scones.

6. Placing the cut scones on the baking tray upside down can help them to rise more evenly.

7. When you glaze the scones, make sure that you brush it on the tops only, don’t let any glaze drip down the sides as it can inhibit the rise.

8. Get the scones into the oven as soon as possible, don’t leave them sitting around as the raising agents start to work straight away.

9. Scones are best eaten as soon as possible, ideally just cooled, and definitely on the same day as they are baked. If you do happen to have any leftovers the next day then they are best eaten split, toasted and buttered.

Can I Freeze These Vegan Scones?:

You can freeze the scones once they have cooled (ideally as soon as they are completely cold). To eat, defrost them then place in a low oven (160C/fan140C/320F/gas mark 3) for a few minutes to refresh.

You can also freeze the unbaked scones as soon as you have cut them out. Freeze them on some baking paper on a baking tray before storing them in a freezer-safe tub or zip seal bag. Then, when you want your scones, transfer them to a prepared tray and pop them straight into the preheated oven from frozen. You might need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time.

If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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5 from 1 vote

Vegan Scones

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword scones

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 6 scones

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

350 g (3 cups minus 2 Tbsp) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
50 g (1 ¾ oz) vegan block butter (I use Naturli Vegan Block) cold
50 g (1 ¾ oz) solid refined coconut oil refrigerated if necessary
40 g (3 Tbsp) caster (superfine) sugar
160-180 ml (⅔ to ¾ cup) unsweetened soy milk (or another non-dairy milk)

Glaze:

1 Tbsp soy milk
1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

To Serve:

jam and vegan cream or thick coconut yogurt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Mix together the self-raising flour and baking powder in a large bowl until they are well combined.
Add the cold, diced vegan block butter and solid refined coconut oil and rub them in using your fingertips until no lumps of fat remain and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
The coconut oil in particular can be difficult to rub in so do take your time to ensure that there are no lumps remaining. You can also use a food processor instead for this step (this step only) to save time.
Stir in the caster sugar.
Gradually stir in the milk using the back of a knife until it forms a soft, almost sticky dough. If there are any dry, floury bits left in the bottom of the bowl add a drop more milk to mix them in. You may not need to use all of the milk, or you may need a little more.
Bring the dough together into a ball, it should be soft and a bit sticky. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, don’t knead it but use your hands to kneaten it a little and pat it out into a round about 4cm/1 1/2 inches thick.
Use a floured 6cm/2 ⅓ inch round cutter (plain or fluted is fine) to cut out four scones. Press the cutter straight through the dough, don't twist it. Place them slightly spaced apart on the baking sheet.
Very gently bring the scraps of dough back together, pat out into a round again and cut out two or three more scones.
For the glaze, mix together the milk and maple syrup in a small bowl.
Brush the tops of the scones with the glaze. Don’t let it drip down the sides as that can inhibit the rise.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden. If you tap the underside they should sound hollow, like bread. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool a little before serving.

Recipe Notes

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
You can use all vegan block butter or all coconut oil instead of 50/50 if you prefer; but half of each will give the best flavour and texture.
Your butter and milk should be fridge cold, not room temperature; and the coconut oil (if using) should be solid. If it is a bit soft then refrigerate it first until firm.
Make sure that you do not overwork the dough, you want to mix it until it comes together, no more than that.
Placing the cut scones on the baking tray upside down can help them to rise more evenly.
Get the scones into the oven as soon as possible, don’t leave them sitting around as the raising agents start to work straight away.
Scones are best eaten as soon as possible, ideally just cooled, and definitely on the same day as they are baked. If you do happen to have any leftovers the next day then they are best eaten split, toasted and buttered.
You can freeze the scones once they have cooled (ideally as soon as they are completely cold). To eat, defrost them then place in a low oven (160C/fan140C/320F/gas mark 3) for a few minutes to refresh.
You can also freeze the unbaked scones as soon as you have cut them out. Freeze them on some baking paper on a baking tray before storing them in a freezer-safe tub or zip seal bag. Then, when you want your scones, transfer them to a prepared tray and pop them straight into the preheated oven from frozen. You might need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time.

Vegan Spanakopita Spiral

January 11, 2020 by hannahhossack 2 Comments

Vegan spanakopita spiral – this impressive vegan spinach and cheese filo pie consists of a soft, cheesy, salty, herby spinach filling encased in crisp phyllo pastry. It’s a real crowd pleaser that is much easier to make than it looks!

Before going vegan one of my absolute favourite dishes was spanakopita – the delicious Greek spinach and feta filo pastry pie. After cutting out cheese I had resigned myself to never being able to eat it again. And then I discovered home-made almond cheese.

It turns out that it is possible to make your own cheese subsititute using just a few simple ingredients and a blender. And with a generous addition of salt and lemon juice it very closely mimics the flavour and texture of feta cheese. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities to veganize dishes that I had previously thought impossible!

I’ve made this vegan spanakopita spiral a lot and it never fails to impress me just how close to the original in flavour it is. The filling is tangy, cheesy and full of flavour and the pastry is super crispy. It is incredibly moreish!

It may look like it is complicated to make but in fact it is actually quite simple. I use shop bought phyllo (filo) pastry rather than making my own as quite frankly I can’t be bothered with all that rolling. Pretty much all phyllo pastry is vegan friendly but do check the packet just in case.

If you don’t want to make the spiral shape then you could just layer up the pastry and filling in a rectangular baking dish instead; though the spiral is easy to do and looks very impressive!

How To Make Vegan Spanakopita:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

Start by making the almond feta cheese (full details and instructions can be found on my vegan almond cream cheese recipe post). It is best to make the cheese the day before you want to bake the pie to allow the flavours to mellow and the cheese to firm up a bit.

You simply need to soak some flaked skinless almonds in boiling water for half an hour, drain them and stick them in a blender or food processor with the rest of the cheese ingredients and blitz until it is fairly smooth; it should still have a slightly grainy texture to best mimic feta cheese.

Scrape the cheese mixture into a bowl, cover and refrigerate it overnight. (You can use it straight away if you are pressed for time but it is best to let it mature overnight if you can.)

To make the filling, thinly slice a large leek and gently fry it in a little olive oil until it is soft and translucent then add crushed garlic and finely chopped spring onions (scallions) and cook for another couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, defrost your frozen spinach and squeeze out as much water from it as you can. I do this by squeezing handfuls of it firmly over the sink. You really want to make sure that you get rid of as much water as possible to prevent the pie from being soggy.

Once you have squeezed the water out of the spinach, finely chop it and add it to the leek mixture.

Add grated lemon zest, chopped fresh dill, mint and parsley, a little bit of nutmeg (it goes so well with spinach!), nutritional yeast, black pepper and some salt (not too much as the cheese is salty) and stir everything together.

Next, stir in the almond cheese, taste the mixture and add more salt and pepper as you like. (At this point the filling can be stored covered in the fridge overnight if you like.).

To assemble the pie, lay a sheet of filo pastry on a work surface with the long side facing you (keep the rest of the pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out). Brush one of the short edges with a little olive oil and lay another sheet of pastry on the work surface, overlapping the oiled short edge of the first one by about 5cm.

Brush the pastry all over with a little olive oil then add another two sheets on top, brush with oil again and add another two sheets if you have enough pastry, brush with oil again.

I used a total of 18 sheets of pastry – three two sheet wide sections, three sheets deep. If you have fewer than 18 sheets then you can just double, rather than triple layer the pastry (so a total of 12 sheets).

Take 1/3 of the spinach cheese mixture and form it into a long snake along the long edge of the pastry, leaving a 5cm gap at the bottom. Try and make sure that the filling is evenly spread. Roll the pastry up from the bottom into a long sausage.

Coil the sausage, seam side down, and place it into a 26-28cm greased cake tin. If you don’t have a cake tin big enough then you can just use a parchment lined baking sheet; the pie holds its shape by itself.

Repeat the steps above two more times, tucking the beginning of each coil into the end of the previous one to form one long spiral.

When you are shaping the coil, don’t panic if you get a couple of tears in the pastry. Simple tear off a scrap of unused phyllo, brush it with olive oil and use it to cover the tear; repeat with another layer if needed. No one will be able to tell!

Brush the pastry all over with olive oil and sprinkle over some sesame seeds to garnish. Bake the vegan spanakopita for around 45 minutes until it is golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool a little before serving.

Top Tips:

Make sure that your phyllo pastry is fully defrosted if it is frozen.

Different brands of filo pastry will contain different numbers of sheets of filo in varying dimensions so you may need to adjust the recipe slightly depending on how many sheets of pastry you have. I used 18 sheets (plus one extra for patching tears), from two packs of pastry. If you have fewer sheets then you can double, rather than triple layer them (so a total of 12 sheets).

Keep the phyllo pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Even just a couple of minutes is enough for it to start getting dry and brittle.

Make sure you really squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the spinach to prevent the pie from being soggy. When you think that you’ve got all of the water out, squeeze it some more just in case.

Brushing the pastry with olive oil is necessary to get it golden and crisp, don’t skip it.

When you shape the spiral, don’t panic if you get a couple of tears in the pastry. Simple tear off a scrap of unused phyllo, brush it with olive oil and use it to cover the tear; repeat with another layer if needed. No one will be able to tell!

Can I Make It In Advance?:

This vegan spanakopita is best eaten freshly baked, when the pastry is still crisp; but the filling can be cooked in advance and stored in the fridge for up to a couple of days.

It is best to make the almond cheese the day before preparing the filling to allow the flavours to meld and the cheese to firm up a bit, but it is not strictly necessary.

You may be able to get away with fully assembling the pie the day before you bake it and storing it (covered) in the fridge but note that I haven’t tested this.

If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

Vegan Spanakopita

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek

Keyword pie

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 1 hour

Soaking Time: 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Almond Cheese:

200 g (2 cups) flaked skinless almonds
60 ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice
60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
60 ml (1/4 cup) water
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt

Spanakopita:

1 Tbsp olive oil (plus extra for brushing)
1 large leek finely sliced
5 spring onions (scallions) thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
850 g (30 oz) frozen whole leaf spinach
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
15 g (a large handful) fresh dill finely chopped
15 g (a large handful) fresh mint (leaves only) finely chopped
15 g (a large handful) fresh parsley finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper
2 packs (18 sheets) phyllo (filo) pastry thawed if frozen
sesame seeds to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Almond Cheese:

Ideally you should make the almond cheese the day before assembling the spanakopita, though it is not strictly necessary if you are in a rush.
Place the flaked almonds in a large bowl and cover with plenty of boiling water. Set aside for at least half an hour to soak then drain them well.
Place the drained almonds in a blender or food processor along with the lemon juice, olive oil, water, salt, garlic and nutritional yeast.
Blend at a high speed until very smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed to make sure that there are no lumps of almond left. If you need to you can add a drop more water but try not to add too much. If your blender has a tamper tool then I recommend using it!
Scrape the cheese into a bowl and cover. It is ready to eat right away but will firm up in the fridge and the flavours will mellow so I recommend refrigerating it overnight before eating. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Spanakopita:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a 26-28cm rounc cake tin OR line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a large pan over a low heat, add the sliced leek and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until it is soft and translucent. Add the crushed garlic and finely chopped spring onions (scallions) and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, defrost the frozen spinach (I do this in the microwave) and squeeze out as much water from it as you can. I do this by squeezing handfuls of it firmly over the sink. You really want to make sure that you get rid of as much water as possible to prevent the pie from being soggy.
Once you have squeezed the water out of the spinach, finely chop it and add it to the leek mixture.
Add the grated lemon zest, chopped fresh dill, mint and parsley, nutmeg, nutritional yeast, a good grinding of black pepper and some salt (not too much as the cheese is salty) and stir everything together.
Next, stir in the almond cheese, taste the mixture and add more salt and pepper as you like. (At this point the filling can be stored covered in the fridge overnight if you like.).
To assemble the pie, lay a sheet of filo pastry on a work surface with the long side facing you (keep the rest of the pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out). Brush one of the short edges with a little olive oil and lay another sheet of pastry on the work surface, overlapping the oil coated short edge of the first one by about 5cm.
Brush the pastry all over with a little olive oil then add another two sheets on top, brush with oil again and add another two sheets if you have enough pastry; brush with oil again.
(I used a total of 18 sheets of pastry (plus one extra for patching) – three two sheet wide sections, three sheets deep. If you have fewer than 18 sheets then you can just double, rather than triple layer the pastry.)
Take 1/3 of the spinach cheese mixture and form it into a long snake along the long edge of the pastry, leaving a 5cm gap at the bottom. Try and make sure that the filling is evenly spread.
Roll the pastry up from the bottom into a long sausage. Coil the sausage, seam side down and place it into a 26-28cm greased cake tin. If you don’t have a cake tin big enough then you can just use a parchment lined baking sheet; the pie holds it’s shape by itself.
Repeat the steps above two more times, tucking the beginning of each coil into the end of the previous one to form one long spiral. *see post above for step by step photos*
When you are shaping the coil, don’t panic if you get a couple of tears in the pastry. Simple tear off a scrap of unused phyllo, brush it with olive oil and use it to cover the tear; repeat with another layer if needed. No one will be able to tell!
Brush the pastry all over with olive oil and sprinkle over some sesame seeds to garnish. Bake the pie for around 45 minutes until it is golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool a little before serving.

Recipe Notes

Make sure that your phyllo pastry is fully defrosted if it is frozen.
Different brands of filo pastry will contain different numbers of sheets of filo in varying dimensions so you may need to adjust the recipe slightly depending on how many sheets of pastry you have. I used 18 sheets (plus one extra for patching tears), from two packs of pastry. If you have fewer sheets then you can double, rather than triple layer them (a total of 12 sheets).
Keep the phyllo pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Even just a couple of minutes is enough for it to start getting dry and brittle.
Make sure you really squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the spinach to prevent the pie from being soggy. When you think that you’ve got all of the water out, squeeze it some more just in case.
Brushing the pastry with olive oil is necessary to get it golden and crisp, don’t skip it.
When you shape the spiral, don’t panic if you get a couple of tears in the pastry. Simple tear off a scrap of unused phyllo, brush it with olive oil and use it to cover the tear; repeat with another layer if needed. No one will be able to tell!

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

December 19, 2019 by hannahhossack 1 Comment

Vegan gingerbread cookies – these perfect vegan gingerbread cookies are so easy to make and ideal for decorating at Christmas. They make lovely gifts or edible decorations and can be made soft or crunchy as you prefer. Use this recipe to make vegan Gingerbread men, edible tree decorations or any kind of cut outs you like.

The best part about Christmas is all of the baked goods. I don’t think that there is a single traditional Christmas bake that I don’t enjoy! Gingerbread has to be near the top of the list, whether that be in cookie or cake form.

These vegan gingerbread cookies are the ultimate recipe, they are incredibly easy to make, keep their shape well and are spicy and delicious. They will also make your house smell amazing while they are baking!

They keep well so would be great to give as gifts or to use as edible decorations. They are also just nice to have around to snack on throughout the festive season.

They are delicious without the icing, but it does make them look very pretty. Alternatively a spot of biscuit decorating is a great way to keep kids entertained for a couple of hours (the results might not be as attractive however!).

How To Make Vegan Gingerbread Cookies:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

This recipe is a bit different in that the ingredients are melted in a pan rather than creamed together. Place vegan block butter, light brown softt sugar, golden syrup and black treacle (molasses) in a medium saucepan over a low heat and stir until everything is melted. Remove the pan from the heat.

(The image shows part block butter and part coconut oil as I ran out of butter, you can swap some or all of the butter for coconut oil but I think these cookies are best made with butter, the coconut oil can make the dough a bit greasy.)

Add ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and bicarbonate of soda and whisk until totally smooth. The mixture will foam up a bit.

I go quite heavy on the spices as I like my gingerbread quite fiery; you can reduce the amount if you want a milder flavoured gingerbread.

Add plain flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined and no dry patches of flour remain. Wrap the dough in clingfilm or an environmentally friendly alternative (I use a silicone Stasher bag) and refrigerate it for a couple of hours until it is firm enough to roll out.

The dough can be stored in the fridge for up to a couple of days but you may need to let it come up to room temperature a bit before you roll it out as it gets quite firm.

Once firm, roll the dough out either on a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of baking parchment to about 3-5mm thick, depending on how thick you want your cookies.

Cut out as many shapes as you can with your choice of cookie cutters. Bring the scraps together into a ball and re-roll to cut out more shapes.

Place them well spaced apart on a couple of baking sheets lined with baking parchment. (They will spread a little as they cook so make sure they have a bit of room).

Place the trays in the freezer for 15 minutes until the dough is firm, this helps to stop the cookies from spreading. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes depending on whether you want them soft or crunchy and how big they are. Little ones will cook more quickly than larger cutouts. The cookies will still be very soft but will firm up as they cool. I bake mine until they are beginning to brown around the edges.

Leave the cookies to cool on the trays for a couple of minutes then carefully transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cold make the royal icing. Place sifted icing sugar in a bowl and stir in lemon juice and aquafaba. The icing should be thick but pourable. If you drizzle some back into the bowl the pattern should disappear after 10 seconds or so. If it is too thick stir in a drop more lemon juice, and if it is too runny add some extra sifted icing sugar.

Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round writing nozzle and decorate the cookies as you like.

Leave the decorated cookies to dry flat for a couple of hours before storing them in an airtight container.

Top Tips:

As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

The dough needs to chill for a couple of hours before you roll it out so make sure that you start making these gingerbread cookies early enough in the day. Alternatively, the dough can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days but you may need to let it come up to room temperature a bit before you roll it out as it gets quite firm.

You MUST use a block butter/margarine, not the spreadable kind in a tub as it has too high a water content for baking. I use Naturli Vegan Block. Stork or Vitalite block, Tormor or Earth Balance Buttery Sticks would all work.

You can use coconut oil instead of vegan butter but the dough may feel a bit greasy.

Make sure that you accurately weigh out the golden syrup and treacle otherwise your cookies may spread too much. Even a difference of a few grams can affect the texture of the dough.

If you are in the US and can’t get hold of golden syrup then you can use light molasses instead (NOT blackstrap molasses).

I go quite heavy on the spices as I like my gingerbread quite fiery; you can reduce the amount if you want a milder flavoured gingerbread.

Freezing the cookies before you bake them helps them to keep their shape so don’t skip this step.

The difference between soft gingerbread cookies and crunchy ones is simply the baking time. If you want soft cookies bake them for a shorter amount of time and for crunchy ones leave them in for longer.

As all ovens vary and the bake time will be different depending on the size of your cookie cutters and whether you want soft or crunchy cookies, I suggest baking a couple of test cookies first to figure out the perfect bake time for you.

If you don’t want to use aquafaba in the icing you can just swap it for more lemon juice or water.

The icing can be coloured using gel food colours (not liquid ones). I believe that Sugarflair colours are vegan friendly.

What Is A Substitute For Golden Syrup?:

Golden syrup is a very common baking ingredient in the UK; it has a buttery caramel flavour and the texture of honey (Lyle’s Golden Syrup is vegan friendly). It can be tricky to get hold of elsewhere, though apparently lots of stores in the US have it in the foreign foods section or you can get in online. You can also try making your own!

If you aren’t able to get hold of any then you can swap it for light molasses or corn syrup instead.

How To Store Vegan Gingerbread Cookies:

The cookies will keep for 2-3 weeks stored in an airtight container. Separate them with layers of greaseproof paper and make sure that any decorations are completely dry first!

Can I Freeze The Dough?:

Yes, provided it is well wrapped the dough cn be frozen for up to a month. Let it defrost overnight in the fridge then bring it up to room temperature for a bit before rolling it out.

How Long Will The Dough Keep In The Fridge?:

Once you have prepared the dough, place it in a silicone bag or wrap in clingfilm and store it in the fridge for up to three days. You might need to let it come up to room temperature for a bit before rolling it out.

More Vegan Christmas Recipes:

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Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

Vegan gingerbread cookies – these perfect vegan gingerbread cookies are easy to make and ideal for decorating at Christmas. They make lovely gifts or edible decorations and can be made soft or crunchy as you prefer.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine British

Keyword cookies

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Chilling Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Servings 20 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies:

150 g (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp) vegan block butter (I use Naturli Vegan Block)
120 g (2/3 cup) light brown soft sugar
100 g (3 ½ oz) golden syrup
50 g (1 ¾ oz) black treacle (or molasses)
3 ½ tsp ground ginger
3 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
380 g (3 cups + 2 Tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour (plus extra for dusting)

Vegan Royal Icing:

300 g (2 ½ cups) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
1 Tbsp lemon juice (plus extra as needed)
2 Tbsp aquafaba (or use extra lemon juice or water instead)

Instructions

Place the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle in a medium saucepan over a low heat and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.
Add the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and bicarbonate of soda and whisk until smooth. The mixture will foam up a bit.
Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined and no dry patches of flour remain. Wrap the dough in clingfilm or an environmentally friendly alternative and refrigerate for a couple of hours until it is firm enough to roll out.
Roll the dough out either on a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of baking parchment to about 3-5mm thick, depending on how thick you want your cookies.
Cut out as many shapes as you can with your choice of cookie cutters. Bring the scraps together into a ball and re-roll to cut out more shapes.
Place them well spaced apart on a couple of baking sheets lined with baking parchment. (They will spread a little as they cook so make sure they have a bit of room).
Place the trays in the freezer for 15 minutes until firm. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes depending on whether you want them soft or crunchy and how big they are. Little ones will cook more quickly than larger cutouts. The cookies will still be very soft but will firm up as they cool. I bake mine until they are beginning to brown around the edges.
Leave the cookies to cool on the trays for a couple of minutes then carefully transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
Once the cookies are cold make the royal icing. Place the sifted icing sugar in a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and aquafaba. The icing should be thick but pourable. If you drizzle some back into the bowl the pattern should disappear after 10 seconds or so. If it is too thick stir in a drop more lemon juice, and if it is too runny add some extra sifted icing sugar.
Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round writing nozzle and decorate the cookies as you like.
Leave the decorated cookies to dry flat for a couple of hours before storing in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
The dough needs to chill for a couple of hours before you roll it out so make sure that you start making these gingerbread cookies early enough in the day. Alternatively, the dough can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days but you may need to let it come up to room temperature a bit before you roll it out as it gets quite firm.
You MUST use a block butter/margarine, not the spreadable kind in a tub as it has too high a water content for baking. I use Naturli Vegan Block. Stork or Vitalite block, Tormor or Earth Balance Buttery Sticks would all work.
You can use coconut oil instead of vegan butter, or part butter part coconut oil but the dough may feel a bit greasy. (The cookies will be fine once baked).
Make sure that you accurately weigh out the golden syrup and treacle otherwise your cookies may spread too much. Even a difference of a few grams can affect the texture of the dough.
If you are in the US and can’t get hold of golden syrup then you can use light molasses instead (NOT blackstrap molasses).
Freezing the cookies before you bake them helps them to keep their shape so don’t skip this step.
The difference between soft gingerbread cookies and crunchy ones is simply the baking time. If you want soft cookies bake them for a shorter amount of time and for crunchy ones leave them in for longer.
As all ovens vary and the bake time will be different depending on the size of your cookie cutters and whether you want soft or crunchy cookies, I suggest baking a couple of test cookies first to figure out the perfect bake time for you.
If you don’t want to use aquafaba in the icing you can just swap it for more lemon juice or water.
The icing can be coloured using gel food colours (not liquid ones). I believe that Sugarflair colours are vegan friendly.

Vegan Biscotti With Almonds And Cranberries

December 14, 2019 by hannahhossack 8 Comments

Vegan biscotti with almonds and cranberries – this vegan version of biscotti is just as delicious as the original and so easy to make! They are wonderful with a cup of coffee and keep for ages so make great Christmas gifts!

Biscotti, also known as Cantuccini, are a crunchy, twice-baked Italian biscuit/cookie that are best eaten with a glass of sweet wine or a cup of coffee for dunking.

They are quite hard on their own, but dunking them softens them a bit, preventing you from breaking your teeth and creating a delicious flavour combination.

While they are good all year round I particularly like to bake them at Christmas. They keep for yonks so they make great gifts sealed up in an airtight jar; provided you can bring yourself to give any away that is!

Traditionally biscotti are made with three core ingredients – flour, eggs and sugar. I initially thought that they would be tricky to veganise seeing as they rely so heavily on the eggs which can be difficult to substitute.

Happily however, these eggless biscotti turned out just as good as the original and the eggs weren’t as difficult to substitute as I originally thought. Soy milk replaces the moisture and protein, and melted refined coconut oil replaces the fat from the egg yolks.

These vegan biscotti are crunchy, full of flavour and easy to make. I added almonds and dried cranberries to mine but you can vary the nuts and dried fruit as you prefer.

How To Make Vegan Biscotti:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

In a large bowl, whisk together caster sugar, soy milk, melted refined coconut oil, lemon or orange zest and vanilla extract until well combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together plain flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until it forms a rough dough then add almonds and dried cranberries and mix until they are well distributed. Use your hands to bring it together into a ball.

Divide the dough into two even pieces and shape each one into a log about 5cm wide. Place them well spaced apart on a baking parchment lined baking sheet and use your hands to slightly flatten them and square off the edges for perfectly shaped biscotti.

Bake the logs for 30-35 minutes until they are firm and lightly browned.

Remove the logs from the oven and set them aside to cool for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 140°C/275°F/gas mark 1.

Once the logs have cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to cut them into diagonal slices about 1 to 1 ½ cm wide. Don’t try slicing the logs before the 15 minutes cooling time is up otherwise they will be hard to slice and crumbly. (I like to eat the end bits for uh, taste testing purposes…)

Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and return them to the oven for 8 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake for another 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Once the biscotti are cool store them in an airtight container. They will keep for several months if stored correctly.

Top Tips:

This recipe will work with any non-dairy milk (except probably coconut), but unsweetened soy milk is best as it has the highest protein content and therefore most closely mimics the egg.

You can swap the melted refined coconut oil for another type of mild flavoured oil if you prefer.

Make sure that the milk is room temperature, or even lukewarm, otherwise you risk the coconut oil re-solidifying.

Don’t try slicing the logs before the 15 minutes cooling time is up otherwise they will be hard to slice and crumbly.

If you want softer biscuits you can reduce the second bake time a little; and if you want really super crunchy ones you can increase it a bit.

You can swap the almonds and cranberries for other nuts and dried fruits if you prefer.

The biscotti will keep for several months provided they are stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

More Vegan Cookie Recipes:

Vegan chocolate chip cookies

Vegan gingerbread cookies

Cinnamon swirl biscuits

Vegan Easter biscuits

Vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Autumn leaf maple cookie wreath

Vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate gingerbread cookies

If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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5 from 3 votes

Vegan Biscotti With Almonds And Cranberries

Vegan biscotti with almonds and cranberries - this vegan version of biscotti is just as delicious as the original and so easy to make! They are wonderful with a cup of coffee and keep for ages so make great Christmas gifts!

Course Snack

Cuisine Italian

Keyword biscuits

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 46 minutes

Cooling Time 15 minutes

Servings 20 biscotti

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

180 g (3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp) caster (superfine) sugar
80 ml (1/3 cup) unsweetened soy milk (other non-dairy milks will work but soy is best) room temperature
2 Tbsp melted refined coconut oil
finely grated zest of 1 lemon or orange (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
275 g (2 1/4 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
75 g (2 ¾ oz) whole almonds (blanched or with skin)
60 g (2 oz) dried cranberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, soy milk, melted coconut oil, zest and vanilla extract until well combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until it forms a rough dough then add the almonds and cranberries and mix until they are well distributed. Use your hands to bring it together into a ball.
Divide the dough into two even pieces and shape each one into a log about 5cm wide. Place them well spaced apart on the baking sheet and use your hands to slightly flatten them and square off the edges for perfectly shaped biscotti.
Bake the logs for 30-35 minutes until they are firm and lightly browned.
Remove the logs from the oven and set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 140°C/275°F/gas mark 1.
Once the logs have cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to cut them into diagonal slices about 1 to 1 ½ cm wide.
Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and return them to the oven for 8 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake for another 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Once cool store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
This recipe will work with any non-dairy milk (except probably coconut), but unsweetened soy milk is best as it has the highest protein content and therefore most closely mimics the egg.
You can swap the melted refined coconut oil for another type of mild flavoured oil if you prefer.
Make sure that the milk is room temperature, or even lukewarm, otherwise you risk the coconut oil re-solidifying.
Don't try slicing the logs before the 15 minutes cooling time is up otherwise they will be hard to slice and crumbly.
If you want softer biscuits you can reduce the second bake time a little; and if you want really super crunchy ones you can increase it a bit.
You can swap the almonds and cranberries for other nuts and dried fruits if you prefer.
The biscotti will keep for several months provided they are stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

Vegan Apple Cake

December 8, 2019 by hannahhossack Leave a Comment

Vegan apple cake – this simple, rustic cake is easy to make in just one bowl and is utterly delicious. Moist, lightly spiced and packed full of juicy apples it is the perfect cake for snacking; or try it warm with custard for pudding!

I had been craving apple cake since as soon as the weather started to turn colder, and this vegan apple cake recipe has been a little while in the making.

I always thoroughly test my recipes before I am happy to post them and I must have tried about ten different variations of apple cake before I was finally happy this time!

The good news is that my apple cake cravings have been fully satisfied after all that testing and this vegan apple cake is The One!

It is a soft, moist, lightly spiced cake with a crunchy sugar topping and plenty of juicy apples. It is the kind of simple, rustic cake that it is impossible to just have one slice of!

Some vegan yogurt and ground almonds in the batter keep the texture of the cake wonderfully soft, moist and tender. I went pretty heavy on the apples, this is an apple cake after all, and the cake itself is not overly sweet; meaning that you could even eat it for breakfast…

In addition to breakfast, afternoon tea or snacking on, this vegan apple cake is also amazing served warm for pudding, with a scoopful of ice cream or plenty of custard.

How To Make Vegan Apple Cake:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

Start by greasing a deep 20cm/8 inch round cake tin and line it with baking parchment. It needs to be at least 8cm / 3 inches deep to avoid overflow.

Peel and core your apples and chop them into 1-1.5cm dice. Set aside while you make the batter.

In a large bowl whisk together plain flour, light brown soft sugar, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground almonds, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt until no lumps remain.

Add unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best for baking), non-dairy yogurt (I used plain soy), sunflower oil (another neutral oil is fine) and lemon juice and whisk gently until no dry lumps remain.

Add the diced apples and fold them through.

Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and spread it level. Scatter some demarera sugar over the top to create a nice crunchy topping and bake the cake for about 1 hour 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then very carefully turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. It is very delicate when it is warm so be careful with it. Once the cake is cool store it in an airtight container for up to five days.

What Kind Of Apples Should I Use?:

In short, use whatever kind you like! I prefer a sharper tasting apple so that more flavour comes through but it doesn’t really matter too much. I used half Granny Smith and half Braeburn apples for this cake.

Top Tips:

The tin you use should be at least 8 cm / 3 inches deep to avoid the cake overflowing.

Some ground almonds in the batter give this cake a lovely texture, but if you want to make it nut free then you can swap them for an equal weight of plain flour instead.

Don’t overmix the batter as that can activate the gluten in the flour and make the cake tough. Only mix until no dry lumps remain. I recommend mixing by hand with a balloon whisk rather than using an electric mixer.

This is a delicate cake, especially when it is warm. All those juicy chunks of apple make it quite fragile so I really recommend using a springform or loose bottomed cake tin so that you can remove the cake from the tin without having to flip it out and risk it breaking.

Don’t turn the cake out of the tin too early or you risk it breaking. Let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes before you turn it out to give it a chance to settle.

Use the toothpick test to check when the cake is ready – if a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean then the cake is done. You may need to try it in a few spots to avoid apple chunks.

Ways To Adapt This Vegan Apple Cake:

Try adding a couple of handfuls of raisins along with the apple.

Chuck in a couple of handfuls of roughly chopped nuts.

Add a streusel topping instead of the demarera sugar.

Add some chopped crystallised or stem ginger and up the ground ginger to 1 1/2 tsp.

More Autumnal Vegan Cakes:

Vegan pumpkin bread

Pumpkin chocolate chip cake bars

Easy vegan ginger cake

Vegan beetroot chocolate cake with chocolate avocado frosting

Vegan pumpkin cake with cinnamon buttercream and maple pecans

Vegan apple bundt cake

Sweet potato bread with pecan streusel

Vegan ginger bundt cake

Orange and almond cake with chocolate buttercream

If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

Vegan Apple Cake

Vegan apple cake - this simple, rustic cake is easy to make in just one bowl and is utterly delicious. Moist, lightly spiced and packed full of juicy apples it is the perfect cake for snacking; or try it warm with custard for pudding!

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword cake

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 10 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

4 medium eating apples (about 450g unprepared weight) (I used a mix of braeburn and granny smith)
250 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
100 g (1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp) light brown soft sugar
80 g (1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp) caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
60 g (1/2 cup) ground almonds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
160 ml (2/3 cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
80 g (1/3 cup) non-dairy yogurt (I use soy)
80 ml (1/3 cup) sunflower oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 heaped Tbsp demarera sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a deep 20cm/8 inch round cake tin and line it with baking parchment.
Peel and core the apples and chop into 1-1.5cm dice. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, light brown soft sugar, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground almonds, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt until no lumps remain.
Add the milk, yogurt, oil and lemon juice and whisk gently until no dry lumps remain. Add the apples and fold through.
Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and spread it level. Scatter the demarera sugar over the top and bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then very carefully turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. It is very delicate when it is warm so be careful with it. Once the cake is cool store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
The tin you use should be at least 8 cm / 3 inches deep to avoid the cake overflowing.
The ground almonds in the batter give this cake a lovely texture, but if you want to make it nut free then you can swap them for an equal weight of plain flour instead.
Don’t overmix the batter as that can activate the gluten in the flour and make the cake tough. Only mix until no dry lumps remain. I recommend mixing by hand with a balloon whisk rather than using an electric mixer.
This is a delicate cake, especially when it is warm. All those juicy chunks of apple make it quite fragile so I really recommend using a springform or loose bottomed cake tin so that you can remove the cake from the tin without having to flip it out and risk it breaking.
Don’t turn the cake out of the tin too early or you risk it breaking. Let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes before you turn it out to give it a chance to settle.
Use the toothpick test to check when the cake is ready – if a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean then the cake is done. You may need to try it in a few spots to avoid apple chunks.

Vegan Stollen With Marzipan

December 4, 2019 by hannahhossack 3 Comments

Vegan stollen – this vegan version of a traditional German Dresden Stollen is a wonderful treat for Christmas. You can eat it right away or make it in advance and let it mature for a couple of weeks before serving for the best flavour.

One of my absolute favourite Christmas treats (of which I have many…) is stollen; the dense, cakey, fruity, preferably marzipan filled festive German bread.

While it is possible to buy vegan stollen from lots of supermarkets, I was determined to make my own version as homemade is always better.

It took me four attempts to get the perfect texture but the end result is perfect – a dense, moist, flavourful loaf filled with rum soaked fruit and a marzipan centre.

Stollen isn’t a light and fluffy bread, it is designed to have a very high fat content which allows it to be kept for a long time without drying out. This means that the texture is almost dense cake-like rather than bread.

I’m not going to lie, this recipe is a bit of a labour of love but the results are so, so worth it! Because it is such a heavily enriched dough it takes a long time to rise and you will need to make the bread over the course of three days.

Don’t worry though, there is very little active work involved, just a whole lot of leaving the dough alone to rise! The recipe also makes two loaves of stollen so the time spent is doubly worth it.

I did try making a couple of loaves with a shorter rising time but the results were overly heavy and dense so I’m afraid that the long rise is necessary!

How To Make Vegan Stollen:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

You need to make this stollen over the course of three days. On the evening of the first day, mix together raisins, candied mixed peel and rum. Give it a good stir, cover and leave to soak overnight.

The following day, stir some chopped almonds into the fruit mixture.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together plain flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg.

Add lukewarm unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best), vanilla and almond extracts, grated orange and lemon zest and lots of softened vegan block butter. You ideally want to use a block butter/margarine rather than the spreadable kind in a tub for the best texture; I use Naturli Vegan Block.

Give it a good mix until it forms a rough dough then knead with the mixer on a high speed for about 10 minutes until the dough is very smooth and elastic and it comes away from the sides of the bowl cleanly.

You can knead the dough by hand on an unfloured surface if you don’t have a stand mixer.

Add the soaked fruit and nut mixture and knead until it is well distributed.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl and set aside to rise in a warm spot until it has almost doubled in size. This can take 5-8 hours depending on how warm it is.

Once the dough has risen, place the covered bowl in the fridge overnight.

The following day, remove the bowl from the fridge and leave it to come up to room temperature for 2 hours.

Knock the dough back and divide it into two equal pieces (I use a scale for accuracy).

Roll each ball of dough out on a lightly floured surface to a rough rectangle about 1 – 1 1/2 cm thick.

Divide your marzipan in half and roll each half into a log a little shorter than your dough rectangles. Place the marzipan logs just off centre on the dough.

Fold the smaller half of dough over the marzipan then fold the other half over the top and press gently to seal. Make sure that the ends are also sealed.

Place the logs well spaced apart on a greaseproof paper lined baking sheet and loosely cover. Set aside to rise in a warm place for 3-4 hours until they have increased in size by 50%. They will not double. Meanwhile preheat the oven.

Once the logs are puffy, bake them for 40-45 minutes until the internal temperature reaches at least 94°C/201°F on a probe thermometer. If they start to become too dark before they are ready you can loosely cover them with tin foil.

Once the stollen are baked, remove the logs from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes. Pick off any raisins that are on the surface as they will be burnt and bitter.

Brush the stollen very generously with melted vegan butter and leave it to set.

Once the butter has set, sprinkle them with a thick layer of icing sugar and leave to cool completely before wrapping and storing.

Top Tips:

Stollen is supposed to have a very high fat content – half fat to flour. DO NOT reduce it otherwise the bread will be dry and won’t keep.

I usually use bread flour when baking bread, but because we want a more cake-like texture here, plain (all-purpose) flour is the best choice.

Ideally you should use a block butter/margarine rather than the spreadable kind in a tub for the best texture; I use Naturli Vegan Block.

If it is a really cold day and you want to speed up the rising time of the dough a bit, you can warm up the oven a bit on a low heat, switch it off and open the door for 30 seconds to let out some of the heat then place the (covered) dough in the oven with the door slightly ajar.

The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 94°C/201°F.

You can eat the stollen right away if you want (let it cool completely first though!) but it will have the best flavour and texture if you wrap it up in baking parchment and tin foil and let it mature in a cool, dry place for one to two weeks before you slice it.

Provided it is well wrapped, the stollen will keep for up to six weeks so it is perfect to give as gifts for Christmas.

How To Store Vegan Stollen:

Once the loaves of stollen are baked, brush them generously all over with melted vegan butter while they are still warm. Allow the butter to set then sprinkle them with a very thick layer of icing sugar. This butter and sugar coating helps to seal in the moisture and stop them from drying out so don’t skip it!

Once the loaves are completely cold, wrap them first in baking parchment then tin foil and store them in a cool, dark place for up to six weeks.

Can I Freeze Vegan Stollen?:

Yes, the loaves can be frozen for up to three months provided they are well wrapped. Allow to defrost at room temperature.

More Vegan Christmas Recipes:

If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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Vegan Stollen

Vegan stollen - this vegan version of a traditional German Stollen is a wonderful treat for Christmas. You can eat it right away or make it in advance and let it mature for a couple of weeks before serving for the best flavour.

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine German

Keyword bread

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Resting time 1 day 10 hours

Servings 2 loaves

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Fruit Mixture:

250 g (9 oz) raisins
125 g (4 ½ oz) candied mixed peel
50 ml (3 Tbsp + 1 tsp) rum
50 g (1 ¾ oz) chopped almonds

Stollen Dough:

500 g (4 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
10 g (2 ½ tsp) instant/fast action yeast
100 g (1/2 cup) caster/granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
200 ml (1/2 + 1/3 cup) lukewarm unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best)
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 1 orange
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
250 g (9 oz) vegan block butter (I use Naturli Vegan Block) softened
300 g (10 ½ oz) marzipan

To Finish:

50 g (1 ¾ oz) vegan block butter melted
icing (powdered) sugar for dusting

Instructions

Day 1:

You need to make this stollen over the course of three days. On the evening of the first day, mix together the raisins, candied mixed peel and rum. Give it a good stir, cover and leave to soak overnight.

Day 2:

The following day, stir the chopped almonds into the fruit mixture.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the plain flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg.
Add the lukewarm non-dairy milk, vanilla and almond extracts, grated orange and lemon zest and softened vegan block butter.
Give it a good mix until it forms a rough dough then knead with the mixer on a high speed for about 10 minutes until the dough is very smooth and elastic and it comes away from the sides of the bowl cleanly.
If you don't have a stand mixer you can knead the dough by hand on an unfloured surface for 10-15 minutes until it is smooth, stretchy and no longer sticky.
Add the soaked fruit and nut mixture and knead until it is well distributed.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl and set aside to rise in a warm spot until it has almost doubled in size. This can take 5-8 hours depending on how warm it is.
Once the dough has risen, place the covered bowl in the fridge overnight.

Day 3:

The following day, remove the bowl from the fridge and leave it to come up to room temperature for 2 hours.
Knock the dough back and divide it into two equal pieces (I use a scale for accuracy).
Roll each ball of dough out on a lightly floured surface to a rough rectangle about 1 - 1 ½ cm thick.
Divide the marzipan in half and roll each half into a log a little shorter than your dough rectangles. Place the marzipan logs just off centre on the dough.
Fold the smaller half of dough over the marzipan then fold the other half over the top and press gently to seal. Make sure that the ends are also sealed.
Place the logs well spaced apart on a greaseproof paper lined baking sheet and loosely cover. Set aside to rise in a warm place for 3-4 hours until they have increased in size by 50%. They will not double. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Once the logs are puffy, bake them for 40-45 minutes until the internal temperature reaches at least 94°C/201°F on a probe thermometer. If they start to become too dark before they are ready you can loosely cover them with tin foil.
Once the stollen are baked, remove the logs from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove any raisins from the surface as they will be burnt and bitter.
Brush the stollen generously with the melted vegan butter and leave it to set.
Once the butter has set, sprinkle them with a thick layer of sifted icing sugar and leave to cool completely.
Once the stollen are completely cold, wrap them first in a layer of baking parchment then a layer of tin foil and store in a cool, dry place for up to six weeks.

Recipe Notes

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
See the post above for step-by-step photos.
Stollen is supposed to have a very high fat content – half fat to flour. DO NOT reduce it otherwise the bread will be dry and won’t keep.
I usually use bread flour when baking bread, but because we want a more cake-like texture here, plain (all-purpose) flour is the best choice.
Ideally you should use a block butter/margarine rather than the spreadable kind in a tub for the best texture; I use Naturli Vegan Block.
If it is a really cold day and you want to speed up the rising time of the dough a bit, you can warm up the oven a bit on a low heat, switch it off and open the door for 30 seconds to let out some of the heat then place the (covered) dough in the oven with the door slightly ajar.
The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 94°C/201°F.
You can eat the stollen right away if you want (let it cool completely first though!) but it will have the best flavour and texture if you wrap it up in baking parchment and tin foil and let it mature in a cool, dry place for one to two weeks before you slice it.
Provided it is well wrapped, the stollen will keep for around six weeks so it is perfect to give as gifts for Christmas.

Vegan Chorizo And Potato Hash

November 27, 2019 by hannahhossack Leave a Comment

Vegan chorizo and potato hash – this tasty breakfast hash is easy to make and full of flavour. Great for breakfast, brunch or dinner.

This vegan chorizo and potato hash is a simple but delicious and satisfying meal that is good for any time of day! It is great as a weekend morning or brunch dish, but I love it for dinner as well – it is a very versatile recipe!

Using vegan chorizo style sausages gives it loads of flavour, it is smokey, savoury and very satisfying!

I also added sweet potatoes and red bell peppers to get a portion of veg in (and they taste good too), so while it may not be the healthiest dish – you do need to use a fair bit of oil for the best flavour, it definitely isn’t unhealthy either.

How To Make Vegan Chorizo And Potato Hash:

Generally for potato hash the potatoes are boiled and then fried. I simplify the process by simply roasting them instead. They get nice and crisp without the need to constantly stir them.

I also use a mix of regular white potatoes and sweet potatoes to make this dish a little more nutritious and flavourful.

While the potatoes are roasting you simply gently fry a finely chopped red onion, a couple of diced red bell peppers and some crushed garlic.

Cut your vegan chorizo sausages into small slices, add them to the pan and fry until they are crisp around the edges.

Once the potatoes are crisp, add them to the pan and season with plenty of salt and pepper, and maybe a bit of smoked paprika if your chorizo isn’t very strong.

A sprinkle of chopped parsley is all this vegan chorizo and potato hash needs before serving. I kept the seasonings minimal as the chorizo provides lots of smokey flavour, but feel free to add in extra herbs and spices as you like.

Which Vegan Chorizo Should I Use?

Obviously I can only speak for UK options here and I haven’t tried all of them but I like the Sainsbury’s Love Your Veg chorizo style shroomdogs the best and that it what I used here.

I’ve also tried this vegan chorizo and potato hash using Linda McCartney chorizo and red pepper sausages which I found less flavourful so I needed to add more seasoning and some extra smoked paprika. Obviously they also need to be defrosted first – I cooked them separately then diced them and added to the pan.

In short, any kind of vegan chorizo sausages will work but as they vary a lot in strength of flavour you will have to play with the seasonings a bit depending on how strong they are.

This is a fairly simple dish and a lot of the flavour comes from the sausages; if they are strongly flavoured (like the Sainsbury’s ones) then you won’t need much extra seasoning; if they are milder (like the Linda ones) then you might want to add some extra smoked paprika.

More Vegan Brunch Recipes:

Vegan corn fritters

Vegan spinach and mushroom crepes with almond cheese

Vegan pumpkin pancakes

Fluffy vegan vanilla pancakes

Fluffy vegan banana pancakes

Vegan chocolate pancakes with chocolate sauce

Vegan crepes

If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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Vegan Chorizo and Potato Hash

Vegan chorizo and potato hash - this tasty breakfast hash is easy to make and full of flavour. Great for breakfast, brunch or dinner.

Course Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine vegan

Keyword hash

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

700 g (25oz) white potatoes (such as Maris Piper)
600 g (21oz) sweet potatoes
3 Tbsp olive oil divided
1 large red onion
2 red bell peppers
4 cloves garlic
1 approx 280g (10oz) pack of Chorizo style vegan sausages (I use Sainsbury's chorizo shroomdogs)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
salt and pepper
chopped parsley to serve

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Peel the potatoes and sweet potatoes and chop into 2cm dice. Transfer them to a large roasting tray, drizzle with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil and some salt and pepper and stir to coat. Roast for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp.
While the potatoes are roasting, peel and finely chop the red onion, dice the peppers, peel and crush the garlic and cut the chorizo sausages into 2cm slices.
Heat the remaining Tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over a low heat and add the red onion. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until soft. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes then add the diced chorizo and smoked paprika (if using) and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring often.
Once the potatoes are crisp, transfer them to the pan, season well with salt and pepper and stir everything together. Scatter over some chopped parsley and serve.

Vegan Mincemeat Cake

November 21, 2019 by hannahhossack 2 Comments

Vegan mincemeat cake – this Christmassy vegan bundt cake is perfect for using up mincemeat (of the fruit variety!) or is a great festive alternative to a traditional Christmas cake.

This vegan mincemeat cake is adapted from one of my early, non-vegan recipes. A reader asked me whether it was possible to veganise my mincemeat bundt cake.

I had completely forgotten about that cake, but her question reminded me just how good a cake it was and I was intrigued to see whether I was able to create a vegan version.

The answer is of course, a resounding yes. With a few tweaks to the recipe this vegan mincemeat cake worked out perfectly and as far as I can recall (it has been many years since I made the non-vegan one!) it is just as delicious and moist as the original.

This cake is perfect for using up a jar of mincemeat if you have leftovers after Christmas, or it makes a wonderful lighter alternative to a traditional fruit cake.

I baked mine in a bundt tin as that is such a simple way to make an impressive looking cake; but if you don’t have a bundt tin then it can also be baked in a 23cm/9 inch square cake tin instead.

I topped the cake with a simple rum glaze; it is such a moist, flavourful cake that it doesn’t really need one, but what is Christmas without a bit of extra booze and sugar?!

How To Make Vegan Mincemeat Cake:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

Start by thoroughly greasing a 10 cup bundt tin,make sure that you get into all of the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle the greased tin with granulated sugar and tip out the excess. This helps to stop the cake from sticking to the tin.

Otherwise you can grease and line a 23cm/9 inch square cake tin instead.

Whisk together non-dairy milk (soy is best for baking), non-dairy yogurt (again, soy is best) and vinegar. This buttermilk substitute reacts with the raising agent to help the cake rise and the yogurt helps to keep the cake lovely and moist.

In a separate bowl, sift together plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice (or pumpkin spice) and salt. Make sure that the raising agents are evenly distributed so that the cake rises evenly.

In another bowl, whisk together softened vegan block butter (I use Naturli Vegan Block), light brown soft sugar and grated orange zest until it is light and fluffy.

Whisk in a third of the flour mixture followed by half of the wet ingredients, then another third of the flour, the rest of the wet ingredients then the rest of the flour.

Fold through the mincemeat then transfer the batter to the prepared tin and spread it level.

Bake for 45-55 minutes until the cake is firm to the touch, has begun to pull away from the sides of the tin and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire rack for 20 minutes then carefully flip it out onto a wire rack and leave it to cool completely before glazing and slicing.

Top Tips:

Lots of shop bought mincemeats are vegan friendly but do check the jar as some of them may contain butter or suet.

If you want to make your own mincemeat then I have a recipe for vegan mincemeat in my vegan mince pies post.

If you don’t have a bundt tin then this cake can be baked in a 23cm/9 inch square cake tin instead. The bake time may be a little different so check it after half an hour. It is ready when it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Make sure that you use a block butter/margarine rather than the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content for baking.

If you are using a bundt tin then it is important to let the cake cool in the tin for 20 minutes to allow it to settle as it is very delicate when it is warm. Don’t leave it to cool in the tin completely however as that can cause condensation to form which can make the cake stick to the tin.

Greasing the bundt tin and then sprinkling it with granulated sugar helps to stop the cake from sticking. Sugar works better than flour and doesn’t leave gunk on the cake surface like flour can.

You can use rum, whisky or brandy in the glaze, or stick with orange juice for an alcohol free version.

This vegan mincemeat cake will keep for around five days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Can I Freeze This Vegan Mincemeat Cake?:

Yes, this cake can be frozen in well wrapped individual slices. Allow to defrost at room temperature.

More Vegan Christmas Recipes:

If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

Vegan Mincemeat Cake

Vegan mincemeat cake – this Christmassy vegan bundt cake is perfect for using up mincemeat (of the fruit variety!) or is a perfect festive alternative to a traditional Christmas cake.

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Servings 12 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Vegan Mincemeat Cake:

240 ml (1 cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
80 g (1/3 cup) unsweetened non-dairy yogurt (I use soy)
2 tsp cider or white wine vinegar
350 g (3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
3 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin spice)
1/2 tsp salt
225 g (8oz / 3/4 cup + 3 Tbsp) vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) softened
300 g (1 + 2/3 cup) light brown soft sugar
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
350 g (12oz) mincemeat

Glaze:

120 g (1 cup) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
2-3 Tbsp rum, whisky or orange juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Thoroughly grease a 10 cup bundt tin, making sure that you get in all the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle it with granulated sugar to coat and tip out the excess. (You can use a 23cm/9 inch square tin instead - grease it and line the base with baking parchment.)
Whisk together the non-dairy milk, non-dairy yogurt and vinegar in a jug; set aside.
In a separate bowl, sift together the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice (or pumpkin spice) and salt. Make sure that the raising agents are evenly distributed so that the cake rises evenly.
In another bowl, use an electric mixer to whisk together the softened vegan block butter, light brown soft sugar and grated orange zest until it is light and fluffy.
Whisk in a third of the flour mixture followed by half of the wet ingredients, then another third of the flour, the rest of the wet ingredients then the rest of the flour.
Fold through the mincemeat then transfer the batter to the prepared tin and spread it level.
Bake for 45-55 minutes until the cake is firm to the touch, has begun to pull away from the sides of the tin and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a wire rack for 20 minutes then carefully flip it out onto a wire rack and leave it to cool completely before glazing and slicing.
To make the glaze, place the sifted icing sugar in a bowl and gradually stir in the liquid of your choice until it forms a thick but pourable glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cake before serving.

Recipe Notes

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
Lots of shop bought mincemeats are vegan friendly but do check the jar as some of them may contain butter or suet.
If you don’t have a bundt tin then this cake can be baked in a 23cm/9 inch square cake tin instead. The bake time may be a little different so check it after half an hour. It is ready when it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Make sure that you use a block butter/margarine rather than the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content for baking.
If you are using a bundt tin then it is important to let the cake cool in the tin for 20 minutes to allow it to settle as it is very delicate when it is warm. Don’t leave it to cool in the tin completely however as that can cause condensation to form which can make the cake stick to the tin.
Greasing the bundt tin and then sprinkling it with granulated sugar helps to stop the cake from sticking. Sugar works better than flour and doesn’t leave gunk on the cake surface like flour can.
This vegan mincemeat cake will keep for around five days in an airtight container at room temperature

Classic Vegan Lasagne

November 18, 2019 by hannahhossack Leave a Comment

Classic vegan lasagne – this vegan lasagna is seriously good! A rich mushroom ragu is layered up with a creamy dairy-free bechamel sauce and sheets of pasta. It is hearty, filling, totally delicious and healthy too!

Lasagne is one of my ultimate favourite foods. I don’t make it all that often as it is a bit of a labour of love but it is so worth the effort!

This classic vegan lasagne is the best vegan lasagna I have tried. It is rich and hearty and very, very moreish! Served with a side salad and some garlic bread it is the ultimate comfort food meal!

It consists of a rich mushroom ragu sauce which is layered up with a creamy vegan bechamel sauce and sheets of pasta. It does take a little bit of time to make but the results are absolutely worth the time and everything can be prepared in advance of cooking the lasagne if needed.

I replaced the usual mince in the ragu sauce with finely diced chestnut mushrooms which give it a lovely flavour and almost meaty texture. Red wine, sundried tomatoes and herbs give the sauce bags of flavour.

For the bechamel, plant milk and vegan butter replace the usual dairy versions, with some blended cashews for creaminess; but the cheese is a little more tricky.

I don’t like supermarket vegan cheeses, but nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic and onion powder do a great job of replicating the savoury, tangy flavour of the cheese; making this vegan lasagna just as good as the original.

How To Make Classic Vegan Lasagne:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

Start by putting the cashews for the bechamel to soak, cover them with boiling water and set aside while you get on with the ragu.

Very finely chop two medium brown onions; I like to do this in the food processor to save time. Fry them in some of the oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes in a large pan until softened.

Blitz some carrots, celery and a red bell pepper in the food processor until finely chopped (or finely chop them by hand). There is no need to wash the food processor after chopping the onions before doing this.

Add the chopped vegetables to the pan along with some crushed garlic and finely chopped fresh rosemary and thyme. Cook for another ten minutes until softened.

Cut your chestnut mushrooms* in half then blitz them in the food processor as before until they are finely chopped. It is best to do this in two or three batches so as not to overload the machine. Of course you can chop them by hand instead, it is just quite a lot of work!

(*you can use whatever variety of mushrooms you like; I just like the flavour of chestnut ones best).

Add the mushrooms to the pan along with some chopped sundried tomatoes and cook until the mushrooms are soft and most of the excess liquid has evaporated.

Add red wine, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar and dried oregano and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated then add a vegetable stock cube, two tins of chopped tomatoes and some water.

Bring the sauce up to a simmer and leave it to cook for half an hour, stirring every now and again.

While the ragu is cooking get on with the bechamel sauce. Place vegan butter in a saucepan and heat until it is melted then add plain flour. Stir over a low heat for a couple of minutes until you have a doughy paste.

Very gradually stir in warm plant-based milk. Only add a little at a time, stirring thoroughly after each addition, that way you will avoid lumps.

Once all of the milk has been incorporated, bring the sauce up to a simmer. Stir constantly until it is thick and creamy, like custard. Remove the pan from the heat and add crushed garlic, nutritional yeast, onion powder, lemon juice and plenty of salt and pepper.

Drain the soaked cashews and place them in a blender with some water. Blitz until they are totally smooth and creamy. Add the bechamel sauce to the blender and blend again to combine. Taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper as needed.

By now the ragu should be ready; give it a taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

At this point, both the ragu and bechamel can be covered and stored in the fridge for a day before you assemble and cook the lasagna.

Spoon some of the ragu into the base of a large lasagne dish, making sure that the base is completely covered. Lay lasagna sheets on top of the layer of sauce, breaking them as necessary to form a complete layer.

Spread a decent layer of the ragu over the top then pour over some of the bechamel sauce. Add another layer of pasta sheets then repeat this two more times, finishing with a layer of pasta sheets.

Pour the remaining bechamel over the top, making sure that the pasta is completely covered. Bake the vegan lasagne for 15 minutes then cover the top with tin foil and return it to the oven for a further 50 minutes. Leave it to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

The leftovers will keep for up to five days in the fridge and are great microwaved for quick meals. Alternatively they can be frozen.

Can I Make This Vegan Lasagne In Advance?:

Yes! This lasagne is great re-heated. Alternatively, you can make both the ragu and bechamel sauces in advance and store them in the fridge for a day before assembling and cooking the lasagne.

Can I Freeze It?:

Yes, this lasagne freezes well, either whole or in individual servings. Allow to defrost before reheating in either the oven or microwave.

More Vegan Comfort Food Meals:

Vegan chilli cornbread pie

Lentil, vegetable and butter bean chilli

Vegan sausage casserole with lentils and farro

Chickpea, sweet potato and spinach curry

Vegetable and pearl barley stew with herby dumplings

If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

Classic Vegan Lasagne

Classic vegan lasagne - this vegan lasagna is seriously good! A rich mushroom ragu is layered up with a creamy dairy-free bechamel sauce and sheets of pasta. It is hearty, filling, totally delicious and healthy too!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword lasagna

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours 5 minutes

Servings 6 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Bechamel:

200 g (7oz) cashews
200 ml (1/2 + 1/3 cup) water
100 g (3.5 oz) vegan butter
60 g (1/2 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
900 ml (3 + 3/4 cups) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy) warm
2 cloves garlic crushed
50 g (scant cup) nutritional yeast
3 tsp onion powder
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

Ragu:

2 Tbsp oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes
2 medium brown onions peeled
380 g carrots (3 large) cut into chunks
2 sticks celery cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper deseeded and cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (about 2 sprigs)
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves (about 4 large sprigs)
750 g (26oz) chestnut mushrooms
150 g (5oz) sundried tomatoes finely chopped
300 ml (1 1/4 cups) red wine
1 Tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 vegetable stock cube crushed
2 400 g (14oz) tins chopped tomatoes
400 ml (1 + 2/3 cup) water
salt and pepper
500 g (18oz) dried lasagne sheets

Instructions

Start by putting the cashews for the bechamel to soak, cover them with boiling water and set aside while you get on with the ragu.
Very finely chop the onions; I like to do this in the food processor to save time.
Heat the 2 Tbsp sundried tomato oil in a large saucepan and add the chopped onion. Cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until the onions are soft.
Meanwhile, blitz the carrots, celery and red bell pepper in the food processor until finely chopped (or finely chop them by hand). There is no need to wash the food processor after chopping the onions before doing this.
Add the chopped vegetables to the pan along with the crushed garlic and finely chopped fresh rosemary and thyme. Cook for another ten minutes until softened.
Cut the chestnut mushrooms in half then blitz them in the food processor as before until they are finely chopped. It is best to do this in two or three batches so as not to overload the machine. Of course you can chop them by hand instead, it is just quite a lot of work!
Add the mushrooms to the pan along with the chopped sundried tomatoes and cook until the mushrooms are soft and most of the excess liquid has evaporated.
Add the red wine, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar and dried oregano and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated then add the vegetable stock cube, tinned tomatoes and water. Bring the sauce up to a simmer and leave to cook for half an hour, stirring every now and again.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
While the ragu is cooking get on with the bechamel sauce. Place the vegan butter in a saucepan and heat until it is melted then add the flour. Stir over a low heat for a couple of minutes until you have a doughy paste.
Very gradually stir in the warm milk; only add a little at a time, stirring thouroughly after each addition, that way you will avoid lumps.
Once all of the milk has been incorporated, bring the sauce up to a simmer. Stir constantly until it is thick and creamy. Remove the pan from the heat and add the crushed garlic, nutritional yeast, onion powder, lemon juice and plenty of salt and pepper.
Drain the soaked cashews and place them in a blender with the 200ml water. Blitz until they are totally smooth and creamy. Add the bechamel sauce to the blender and blend again to combine. Taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper as needed.
By now the ragu should be ready; give it a taste and add salt and pepper as needed. At this point, both the ragu and bechamel can be covered and stored in the fridge for a day before you assemble and cook the lasagna.
Spoon some of the ragu into the base of a large lasagne dish, making sure that the base is completely covered. Lay lasagna sheets on top of the layer of sauce, breaking them as necessary to form a complete layer.
Spread a decent layer of the ragu over the top then pour over some of the bechamel sauce. Add another layer of pasta sheets then repeat this two more times, finishing with a layer of pasta sheets.
Pour the remaining bechamel over the top, making sure that the pasta is completely covered. Bake the vegan lasagne for 15 minutes then cover the top with tin foil and return it to the oven for a further 50 minutes. Leave it to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

Both the ragu and bechamel sauces can be made a day in advance and stored in the fridge before assembling and baking the lasagne.

vegan

Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Ingredients:

How To Make Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta:

Can I Make It In Advance?:

More Vegan Pasta Recipes:

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Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo

Ingredients

Instructions

Vegan Scone Ingredients:

How To Serve Scones:

How To Make Vegan Scones:

Top Tips:

Can I Freeze These Vegan Scones?:

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Vegan Scones

Ingredients

Glaze:

To Serve:

Instructions

Recipe Notes

How To Make Vegan Spanakopita:

Top Tips:

Can I Make It In Advance?:

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Vegan Spanakopita

Ingredients

Almond Cheese:

Spanakopita:

Instructions

Almond Cheese:

Spanakopita:

Recipe Notes

How To Make Vegan Gingerbread Cookies:

Top Tips:

What Is A Substitute For Golden Syrup?:

How To Store Vegan Gingerbread Cookies:

Can I Freeze The Dough?:

How Long Will The Dough Keep In The Fridge?:

More Vegan Christmas Recipes:

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Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies:

Vegan Royal Icing:

Instructions

Recipe Notes

How To Make Vegan Biscotti:

Top Tips:

More Vegan Cookie Recipes:

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Vegan Biscotti With Almonds And Cranberries

Ingredients

Instructions

Recipe Notes

How To Make Vegan Apple Cake:

What Kind Of Apples Should I Use?:

Top Tips:

Ways To Adapt This Vegan Apple Cake:

More Autumnal Vegan Cakes:

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Vegan Apple Cake

Ingredients

Instructions

Recipe Notes

How To Make Vegan Stollen:

Top Tips:

How To Store Vegan Stollen:

Can I Freeze Vegan Stollen?:

More Vegan Christmas Recipes:

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Vegan Stollen

Ingredients

Fruit Mixture:

Stollen Dough:

To Finish:

Instructions

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.

All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.