nut free – Bit of the Good Stuff

Jump to Recipe

Today I’m sharing a recipe for a delicious chocolate treat that would be perfect for sharing in the upcoming festive season.

Say hello to the Vegan Biscoff Butter Cup…

This mix of melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate and biscoff cookies in butter form is a match made in heaven. Whether you’re vegan yourself, or looking for a chocolatey gift for a vegan/dairy-free loved one, these cups are bound to impress. And the fact that you made them yourself is sure to win you extra brownie points.

I have always loved those little Lotus Speculoos biscuits that that you get with a cup of coffee on continental Europe (known to our US friends as ‘Biscoff Cookies’). That crisp snap as you bite into it and that unique flavour are two reasons why I’m so fond of it. The fact that it happens to be vegan makes me love it even more.

So you can imagine how excited I was when I spotted Lotus Biscuit Spread (aka Biscoff Cookie Butter) in Waitrose (next to the peanut butter jars). My favourite coffee biscuit… in butter form AND it’s suitable for vegans!!!

Okay, so I know it’s not a health product, but I’m not adverse to the occasional sugary treat especially in the festive season. And I was intrigued to see how it tastes. As soon as I got home, I stuck my spoon in to test it and, oh my word, it tastes JUST like the biscuit!!! A smooth, creamy version of the biscuit 😍

And I knew the perfect recipe to use it in…

… a nut-free alternative to my Giant Vegan Peanut Butter Cups!

They are so easy to make! It’s simply a case of melting dark chocolate, pouring it into a silicone cupcake mould (or paper cases) and filling it with the biscoff cookie butter. The hardest bit is waiting for them to set before you can tuck in.

I’ve made two batches so far this week and they’ve been a big hit with everyone that’s tried them. These treats will definitely have wide appeal. They’d also make a great home-made Christmas gift, packaged in a chocolate box or in a festive cellophane bag.

Recipe Card

Vegan Biscoff Butter Cups

These Biscoff butter-filled chocolates are incredibly easy to make, yet look so professional that they’re bound to impress. I use silicone cupcake moulds. If you don’t have any, you can always use paper cases. Pop them in a muffin tray to help retain their shape.

Print Recipe

Hands on time 25

Total Time 1

Course Treat

Servings 8

Ingredients

▢ 200 g / 7 oz 70% dark chocolate chopped into small pieces
▢ 112 g / 12 tsp Lotus Biscoff Spread aka Lotus Biscoff Cookie Butter*

Instructions

Place half of the chocolate pieces in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl). When the chocolate has fully melted, remove from the heat.
Spoon about 2 tsp melted chocolate into each mould. Tilt the moulds so that the chocolate coats the sides to a height of abut 1 cm / just under ½ inch. Leave the remaining chocolate in the bowl (you will use this later).
Pop the moulds in the fridge until the chocolate is solid (about 8 minutes).
Add the remaining half of the chocolate pieces to the heat-proof bowl over the pan of water. Gently heat until the chocolate melts.
When the chocolate base is set, spoon a small amount of Biscoff cookie butter into the centre of each mould (I use about 1½ tsp per mould). Gently press down to level it. Run a teaspoon round the edge of the mould to create a tiny gap. Spoon melted chocolate on top and swirl to fill in the sides. Tap the mould on the worktop to release any air bubbles.
If you have any chocolate left over, pour it onto a piece of baking paper to create a chocolate ‘puddle’. You can keep this in the fridge for another recipe.
Chill the chocolates until completely solid. Stored in an airtight container, these treats will keep for weeks. If your house is warm, store them in the fridge.

Notes

* In the UK, Lotus Biscoff Spread is available in all the major supermarkets.

Keyword Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Vegan Chocolates, Vegan Treats

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

If you make these Vegan Biscoff Butter Cups, I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations. Leave a comment below or tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram , Facebook , Pinterest.

With love,

Sharon xx

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE…

Giant Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (Vegan | Dairy-Free)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Heart (Vegan | Dairy-Free)

Jump to Recipe

Today I’m sharing my “go-to” recipe for chocolate cupcakes. This recipe has never left me down. My oven can be really temperamental when it comes to cake baking, but these cupcakes always turn out perfectly. They’re light, fluffy and deliciously moist.

I’ve made them numerous times for fundraisers and they always sell in a flash. None of the children at our local school are vegan, but they choose these cupcakes simply because they love them. It also makes me happy to know that the children with dairy allergies are able to join in. I often spot their mums making a beeline for me as I step through the school gate with my cake tin.

Next Friday is the annual Macmillan coffee morning here in the UK, which has now gained the status of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. Last year, the event raised a wopping £25 million for people affected by cancer.

s many of you already know, this is a charity very close to my heart and I’m always delighted to join in the coffee mornings and help raise money for the Macmillan nurses (or ‘Angels’ as I like to call them). Some years I’ve baked literally hundreds of cakes, like at this event in Dorset, which was organised by my sister.

Other years, I’ve joined in coffee mornings with friends or in my local community. It’s a great event to be involved in so, UK friends, do check out what’s happening in your local area.

And why not take along a batch of these tasty chocolate cupcakes? Most people don’t realise that cakes can be made free from animal products, so it’s always fun to see the look of shock on their faces when I tell them these cupcakes are 100% dairy and egg free.

So what do they contain? Well, there are no fancy or weird substitute ingredients; just simple ingredients that you’re likely to have as pantry staples, like oil, vinegar, sugar and cocoa powder. The recipe I use is lightly adapted from the Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe in Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero’s fab little cupcake book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I then add a simple dairy-free chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

To be honest, these cakes don’t really need frosting as they taste amazing just as they are. If you add orange extract to the mix it takes them to a whole new level of deliciousness. Chocolate Orange has got to be one of the best flavour combos ever.

However, for fundraisers, these babies would look a little naked so we need to dress them up. I don’t go overboard with frosting as I find that piles of frosting is not only sickly, but also detracts from the delicious flavour of the cupcake itself. I tend to just smear some on with a palette knife and add a few sprinkles to finish it off.

If you’re vegan, you need to watch out for animal ingredients in sprinkles, including beeswax, shellac, gelatine and the red food colouring cochineal (aka E120, carmine) which is made from crushed beetles. In the UK, some of the supermarket branded sprinkles are vegan-friendly (usually the star sprinkles or other non-shiny ones). Vegan-friendly sprinkles can be also be ordered from online stores.