Chocolate-Coated ‘Strawberry Coconut Ice’ (Vegan / Dairy-free)

When I was young, I used to love the tins of Quality Street that we shared as a ‘treat’ at Christmas. My eyes lit up every time I opened the lid and saw all those shiny, bright wrappings. Usually people have a Quality Street ‘favourite’ but not me… I loved all of them bar one… and that was the hard toffee penny in the gold wrapper. In fact, I’m wondering whether anyone actually likes those toffees. In my house, they were always the last ones left in the tin.

Quality Street

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My taste buds have changed a lot since I was a kid and now, even the thought of eating a Quality Street chocolate makes me feel queasy. I just don’t like the taste of cane sugar anymore, nor the nauseating feeling it leaves me with for hours after I’ve eaten it. However, as you’ll have seen on my blog, I do still love chocolates A LOT. It’s just that these days, I prefer to make my own and fill them with ingredients that make me (and everyone else) feel great.

Strawberry Coconut Ice Chocs

This week I’ve been having fun creating a new chocolate to share with friends and family this weekend. I daren’t admit how many I’ve eaten this week but it’s well into double figures. Good thing I’m running a lot at the moment!

This new chocolate is a healthy hybrid of two of my favourite Quality Street chocs – the Strawberry Delight and Coconut Eclair.  Its flavour and texture is not dissimilar to ‘coconut ice’ (or a strawberry flavoured bounty!) but it tastes fresh and ‘real’ rather than sugary and processed. It’s really yummy!

Strawberry Coconut Ice

It’s super easy to make too! It’s simply a case of whizzing coconut and strawberries together in a food processor, popping them in the freezer to firm up, then coating in dark chocolate. I like to make my own raw chocolate, but you could easily melt down a bar of chocolate or some choc chips if you prefer.

Strawberry Coconut Ice Chocs

At Christmas time, I was really lucky to win a Twitter giveaway hosted by Sevenhills Organics. The prize was £250 worth of superfoods! In my amazing haul, was some beautiful cacao powder and cacao butter, which I used to make these chocs.

Cacao Powder & Butter

I’ve never seen cacao butter in buttons before. As well as being super cute, they’re much easier to use than the solid blocks that I normally buy. You simply pop them straight in the double boiler – no messing about with chopping or grating. I’ll definitely be buying these again!

The sweetener I used for these chocolates was Clarks Carob Fruit Syrup. If you’ve read my other raw choc posts, you’ll know that I love the subtle flavour of carob fruit syrups in my chocs. I’ve used Sweet Freedom before and the Clarks Carob Fruit Syrup is similar in taste, though much lighter and thinner in texture. It’s a fairly new product and currently only available from Ocado (I was sent some samples to trial). If you can’t get hold of carob fruit syrup, or you wish to make the chocolates raw, then organic agave nectar is a good substitute.

Strawberry Coconut Ice Chocs

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Makes about 20 chocolates (freezable)
Hands on time: 30 minutes    Freezing time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ready in: 2 hours

Ingredients

Strawberry ‘Coconut Ice’
100g / 3½ oz / 1 cup desiccated coconut
3 TBSP virgin coconut oil, melted
2½ TBSP carob fruit syrup (or organic agave nectar)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
37g / 1¼ oz / ¼ cup fresh or frozen strawberry slices

Raw Chocolate
55g / 2 oz / ½ cup & 2 TBSP cacao powder
60g / 2 oz / ½ cup cacao butter (finely chopped or grated if in a solid block)
2½ – 3 TBSP carob fruit syrup (or organic agave nectar)

Method
Whizz the desiccated coconut in a food processor for a few seconds to make it finer. Add the remaining ingredients and process until completely combined and it starts to stick together (this will take a couple of minutes). Stop now and then to scrape down the bowl.

Transfer the mixture to a sheet of parchment paper and shape into a rectangle about 1cm / ½ inch thick. (I aim for a rectangle 18cm x 9cm (7 x 3½ inches) so it’s easy to divide into equal pieces). If your mixture is too firm to smooth and level by hand, place another sheet of paper on top and use a rolling pin. Freeze for at least an hour.

To make the chocolate, prepare a double boiler by placing a small amount of water in a saucepan and a heat-proof bowl on top. Gently heat the water. Place the cacao butter in the bowl and leave it to melt. Once melted, whisk in the cacao powder followed by the syrup. Taste test and add more sweetener, if needed.

Remove the ‘coconut ice’ from the freezer and slice into squares. Drop one square into the chocolate bowl and quickly coat it in chocolate (I use two teaspoons for this). Shake off the excess, then place it back on the parchment paper. Repeat until all the pieces are coated in chocolate. Place in the fridge or freezer until set. They will keep for up to five days in the fridge or for weeks in the freezer stored in an airtight container. Remove from the freezer and leave for a couple of minutes to defrost before eating.

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Products used in this recipe (UK stockists)
East End Desiccated Coconut
Essential Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Clarks Carob Fruit Syrup (Sweet Freedom and Organic Agave Nectar will work too)
Steenburgs Organic Fairtrade Vanilla Extract
Sevenhills Organic Cacao Powder
Sevenhills Organic Cacao Butter
Magimix Food Processor

Did you have a favourite Quality Street as a kid? If so, let me know as I’d love to try my hand at recreating it at home! 😀

Chocolate Orange Chia Pudding

I first shared a recipe for chocolate orange chia pudding back in February 2012 and, to this day, it remains one of my family’s favourite desserts It’s such a simple pudding to make and, since I originally posted the recipe, I’ve refined the method so that it’s even quicker. Honestly, this recipe could not be more easy! The original photo I took doesn’t do this pudding justice, so I thought it was time for a re-post with the updated recipe and some shiny new photos.

Chocolate Orange Chia Pudding

Since that original post, chia seeds have become much more popular here in the UK. You can buy them in most health food shops, and even supermarkets have started stocking them. They’re also widely available (and often much cheaper) from online stores. I find they can vary a lot in price, so I always shop around for the best deal.

Since I use them daily in smoothies and puddings, lately I’ve been buying the Sevenhills 1kg bags as they work out much better value. You can buy them in a range of quantities though, so it’s probably a good idea to start with a smaller bag if you’re trying them for the first time (Holland & Barrett are currently selling a 100g bag for £2.49).

Chia Seeds

So why do I love chia seeds so much?

Well, there are two main reasons. The first is their amazing nutritional profile. Chia seeds are very high in dietary fibre, a good source of ‘complete’ protein, and rich in omega 3 essential fatty acids. They’re also hydrophilic and can absorb around 10 times their weight in water, thus helping to keep us nicely hydrated. Their fibre, fat and protein content, along with these hydrophilic abilities, means that the seeds are a great source of slow release energy, they help to balance blood sugar levels, and they keep us feeling full up for hours. Adding a spoonful to smoothies is a great way to keep hunger pangs at bay.

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds contain a range of trace minerals, and are especially rich in manganese, phosphorus and calcium, which are all important for good bone health. A 28g / 1 oz serving provides 30% of the manganese RDA, 27% of phosphorus, and 18% of the calcium RDA. The seeds also contain a multitude of antioxidants, including the flavonoid quercetin, which has anti-inflammatory and antihistamine properties.

The second reason I love chia so much is that they make the most incredible chocolate puddings! Once blended with some cacao or cocoa powder and a little liquid, they transform into a delicious, silky smooth pudding that will easily rival any shop-bought chocolate dessert. And unlike the shop-bought varieties that tend to be laden with sugar and little nutritional value, these chia puddings are refined sugar free and packed with nutrition.

Chia Seeds

I used to soak the chia seeds in liquid for an hour or so until they’d transformed into a gel-like substance before blending them up, but these days I literally throw all the ingredients straight in the blender. High speed blenders are best for this job as they’ll blend the seeds smooth in a matter of seconds. Since I’ve had the Froothie, making chia puddings has been a breeze.

Lil’ L absolutely loves these puddings and sees them as a real treat. It’s great to be able to treat him to something that’s so nutritionally packed and full of healthy goodness.

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Serves 4
Hands-on time: 10 minutes   Ready in: 10 minutes

Ingredients
80ml / ⅓ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (1-2 juicy oranges)
300ml / 1¼ cups non dairy milk
64g / 6 TBSP chia seeds
30g / 4 TBSP cacao powder (or regular cocoa powder)
4 soft pitted dates (e.g. Medjool)
½ tsp orange extract
Maple syrup (or agave syrup), to taste

Suggested garnish
Dark chocolate, finely chopped or grated
Orange zest

Method
Place the orange juice and milk in a powerful high speed blender, followed by the remaining ingredients (I use my Froothie 9400). Give them a stir until they are coated in liquid, then blend until silky smooth. Stop now and then to scrape down the sides. Taste test and add a touch more orange extract or sweetener, if desired.

Pour into small ramekins or cups, sprinkle on the garnish and chill until ready to serve. It will keep for up to five days in the refrigerator.

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Chocolate Orange Chia Pudding

Have you tried chia puddings before? If so, what’s your favourite flavour combo? If you’ve posted any recipes or pics, please do share the links below x

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Dairy Free / Vegan Advent Calendars – Top Picks for 2014

Once again, Christmas has sneaked up on me. I thought I’d misheard someone this morning when they said it was 5½ weeks until the big day. Seriously, how did that happen? I really need to get myself organised, make some lists, start thinking about gifts and festive foods. However, first things first… we need to get some advent calendars. Preferably one each, and definitely chocolate calendars. What a wonderful excuse to have to eat chocolate every day for a whole month 😉

There seems to be more choice than ever this year of dairy-free / vegan calendars and especially calendars designed for children, which is really lovely to see. These calendars use rice milk instead of dairy, and are suitable for any milk chocolate lovers.

Whether you’re a milk or dark chocolate lover though, I have a wonderful selection for calendars for you. Here are my top picks for 2014…

For the Milk Chocolate Lovers

Moo Free Organic Dairy Free Advent Calendar
This award winning calendar is made in the Moo Free dairy free UK factory, and is filled with organic, fair-trade, dairy free rice milk chocolate. A full list of UK and worldwide high street and online stockists can be found here. It’s great to see that Moo Free has made it all the way across the globe to Australia and New Zealand!

120g / RRP £4.75

Moo Free Advent Calendar 2014

Holland & Barrett Dairy Free Alternative to Milk Chocolate Advent Calendar
These calendars are filled with organic, fair-trade, dairy free rice milk chocolate and come in two different cute designs, one blue and one pink.

125g / £3.99 (currently buy one get one half price)

Holland & Barrett Dairy Free Advent Calendar blue

Plamil Organic Fairtrade Milky Dairy Free Advent Calendar
This fun, brightly coloured dairy free milk chocolate advent calendar is made in the Plamil factory which never uses dairy, gluten or nuts. It’s available to buy directly from Plamil. You can get 10% off your first order by entering the code FIR14 at checkout.

125g Price: £4.95

Plamil Dairy Free Advent Calendar

Tesco & Sainsbury’s ‘Free From’ Calendars
It is really encouraging to see that UK supermarkets have started selling ‘Free From’ calendars made with rice milk. Hopefully more will follow suit in the future. So far I’ve spotted dairy free calendars in Sainsbury’s (72g / £2.69) and Tesco (72g / £3.25. Currently on a ‘3 for 2’ offer until 23/11/14)

Tesco Free from advent calendar

For the Dark Chocolate Lovers

And for the dark chocolate lovers, I have two beautiful high quality advent calendars.

Montezuma’s Organic and Vegan Dark Chocolate Advent Calendar
This calendar is filled with 240g of Montezuma’s organic house blended chocolate. New for 2014, each window has a picture behind it! It’s available from the Montezuma’s high street shops  and online.

240g / £9.99

Montezumas-Christmas-Advent-Calender

Hotel Chocolat Dark Chocolate Advent Calendar
This high quality, super stylish calendar is filled with 24 Christmas sculptures, including reindeer, snowmen, penguins and enchanted Christmas trees, cast in smooth 70% dark chocolate. It’s available from Hotel Chocolat shops or you can order online. If you’d like to send the calendar as a gift, a personalised message card can be included for free when ordered online. Use the code VNOV10 at the checkout to receive 10% off (expires 23/11/14)

125g / £12.50

Hotel Chocolat Dark Chocolate Advent Calendar Collage

 

Have you bought your advent calendar yet? If so, do you tend to go for a chocolate calendar or do you prefer the more traditional wooden or cardboard ones?

 

Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies (Dairy-free / Vegan)

I was going to share a recipe for my favourite almond breakfast smoothie today, but chocolate cookies seem far more appropriate for a Friday 😉

I also had a special six year old in mind when I made the switch. Like me, he has a dairy allergy, but he’s also allergic to nuts and seeds. I’ve been posting lots of recipes with nuts lately, so it’s high time I redressed the balance.

This time of year, I love using dried cranberries in my baking. In cookies, they glisten like little rubies, especially when set against a backdrop of dark chocolate.

Double Choc Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Until recently, I found it difficult to find dried cranberries that weren’t laden with cane sugar. However, I’m really pleased to see that the supermarkets like Tesco and Waitrose are now stocking cranberries sweetened with pineapple juice in their wholefood sections. To me, they taste far nicer than the sugar coated fruits.

Cranberries

These double choc chip cookies taste pretty decadent, but they contain lots of good stuff. The wholegrain flour and oats provide protein, fibre and slow release energy, while the cocoa and cranberries add antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Double Choc Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Freshly baked, the cookies have a crisp outer shell and warm, fluffy interior. They firm up in time, but are equally delicious. The cookies freeze really well too. I often freeze half of the batch so I’ve got a ready supply for lunchbox treats, afterschool snacks and coffees mornings with the girls.

These cookies have been a big hit with friends and family. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

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Makes 20 cookies (freezable)
Hands-on time 20 minutes   Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ready in: 38 minutes

Ingredients
135g / 4¾ oz / 1 cup fine wholemeal (whole wheat) or chapatti flour
43g / 1½ oz / 1/3 cup cocoa powder
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
½ tsp salt
100g / 3½ oz / 1 cup rolled oats
85ml / 2¾ fl oz / 1/3 cup soya milk (or other non dairy milk)
74ml/ 2½ fl oz / 1/3 cup organic rapeseed (canola) oil (or other neutral-flavoured oil)
1½ tsp vanilla extract
160g / 5½ oz / ¾ cup unrefined caster sugar (or 1 cup coconut sugar)
50g / 1¾ oz / ¼ cup dark choc chips
78g / 2¾ oz / ½ cup dried cranberries

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F / Gas 4. Line two large baking sheets with non stick baking paper.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Add the oats and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth and fully combined.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Stir in the choc chips and cranberries.

Scoop heaped tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Lightly press the tops to flatten slightly. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top of the cookie is dry to touch. Leave the cookies to cool (they will firm up as they cool) then transfer to a wire rack.

When completely cooled, store in an airtight container where they will keep for up to a week. These cookies also freeze well.  Stored in a bag or container with greaseproof paper between each layer, the cookies should keep for weeks. [/print_this]

Double Choc Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I just need to work out how to gluten free these cookies now, and we can all tuck in. If any GF vegan bakers can share their wisdom, it would be very much appreciated!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone xx

Rocky Road (Vegan Style!)

Sorry I haven’t been around much these past few weeks, but I’ve been hanging out with Lil’ L. He’s growing up fast, and since this could be the last summer that he actually wants to hang out with me, I’ve been savouring every moment. We’ve had so much fun! This week’s highlights (so far) have been hiking, biking, playing tennis, picnicking in the park, a trip to the cinema (How To Train Your Dragon 2) and playing in the kitchen 🙂

Last weekend we got back from our vacation and there was a postal delivery card waiting for us. First thing Monday morning, we hopped on our bikes and pedalled down to the post office. I jumped with glee when I saw that the mystery parcel was the latest The Vegan Kind Subscription Box. I couldn’t wait to do the big ‘reveal’!

The Vegan Kind #TVK10

As usual, the box was filled with interesting brands and products that I’m excited to try out. Lil’ L’s eyes especially lit up when he saw these….

Freedom Mallows

While regular marshmallows are made with gelatine (a slaughterhouse byproduct), Freedom Mallows are gelatine free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free and nut free, and thus suitable for vegetarians and vegans, as well as people with gluten, dairy and nut allergies/intolerances.

And it’s incredible how similar they are to regular marshmallows, both in taste and texture. My mum loves marshmallows and even she can’t tell the difference.

Over the winter, Lil’ L enjoyed slicing and sprinkling vanilla mallows onto his hot chocolates. This time round, we thought it would be fun to make some Rocky Road. While I stood by, Lil’ L set to work melting chocolate and coconut oil…

Rocky Road Making

…bashing biscuits

Rocky Road Making

…then adding mallows and mixing it altogether. Since our mallows were strawberry flavoured, we thought it would be nice to finish off our Rocky Road with a sprinkling of freeze-dried strawberries (which we had left over from these Chocolate Crunch Hearts).

After a couple of hours in the freezer, the Rocky Road was ready to slice and sample. It got a huge thumbs up from Lil’ L!

Rocky Road (Vegan Style)

So far this week, he’s enjoyed it as a treat snack at the cinema and the tennis courts. While it’s a little too sweet for me, Lil’ L reckons it’ll be a hit with kids or anyone with a sweet tooth. It would be great for sharing at children’s tea parties or selling at charity or school fundraisers. It would also make a lovely home-made gift for sweet-loving veggie friends, wrapped in a special box or tin

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Rocky Road… Vegan Style!
Got a sweet tooth? Then this treat is for you! It’s easy and fun to prepare. It makes a great rainy day activity for veggie kids, young and old alike!

Makes about 12 pieces
Hands-on time: 15 minutes Ready in: 2 hrs 15 minutes

Ingredients
200g / 7oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
2 TBSP virgin coconut oil, plus extra for greasing
200g / 7 oz Digestive biscuits (or Rich Tea, Oreos or gluten free cookies)
75g / 2½ oz veggie marshmallows (e.g. Freedom Mallows)
Icing sugar, for dusting

Method
Grease and line a freezer-safe container about 12cm x 22cm (5 inches x 8½ inches) with baking paper. (I used a large loaf pan, but you could use a plastic, silicone or foil container).

Add a small amount of water to a saucepan and place a heat-proof bowl on top. Break the chocolate into chunks, place it in the bowl along with the coconut oil and gently heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has fully melted.

Meanwhile, place the biscuits (cookies) in a freezer bag. Press out the air and tie the bag shut. Bash with a rolling pin until you have a mixture of crumbs and small pieces.

If your mallows are large, slice them into halves or thirds.

When the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and stir in the biscuits and mallows. Tip into the prepared pan and press down hard with the back of a spoon to remove air pockets.

Place in the freezer for about 2 hours, until solid. Using a sharp knife, slice into rectangles about 4 cm (1½ inches) in size. Add a light dusting of icing sugar for decoration.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer, where it will keep for weeks.

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In the UK, Freedom Mallows are available from Holland & Barrett, independent health food shops (including Harvest in Bath) and online.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! xx

Valentines Chocolate Cookie Crunch Hearts (Dairy-Free / Vegan)

Today I’d like to share one of my favourite home-made chocolate treats – Chocolate Cookie Crunch Hearts. They are so delicious, yet simple to make. They contain just THREE ingredients! ✨ They are perfect for sharing with loved ones on Valentine’s Day. Head below to see how I make them.

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