Vegan Bakewell Tart

It's been quiet on the blog front lately, as I'm somewhat otherwise occupied these days with my beautiful two month old daughter (!). In fact, not only do I barely blog anymore - I barely ever cook anymore! My partner comes home every night and cooks dinners as I have my hands full and have usually had a pretty full on day. As for lunches, even if my lovely baby decided to sleep for longer than 40 minutes at a time (gah!), I certainly wouldn't feel like cooking (and photographing) delicious gourmet meals. In fact I always have to hope there are leftovers, otherwise I might not get lunches at all!

I don't want to let the blog completely wither and die though. Luckily, I have some photos and recipes filed away that I haven't gotten around to posting yet from way back when I was featuring United Kingdom recipes. It might take me more than one 40 minute nap to get each post up, but I'm keen to get back to it - especially since I've been contacted by readers who miss my posts :)

The posting will be less frequent than previously, at least for now - but I'm still here :)

I'm actually really excited to share this one with you, partly because I just love the photos of it and also because it was delicious and easy to make. It's called a Bakewell Tart, and it's a classic English afternoon tea delight. It's shortcrust pastry filled with jam and topped with almond-y frangipane. 

A couple of notes on mine, before I go on to the recipe. 

- I've used only 1/4 tsp almond extract, because I've never really been a fan of the taste of almond extract. It would be more traditional to use more, so if you like the taste feel free to up it to a tsp.

- Mine (you might see in the pics) came out slightly undercooked, so I've added an extra 5 minutes to the cooking time. This will vary anyway, depending on your oven, so use your own discretion. 

- I've used raspberry jam here, you can also use cherry or strawberry. 

- The jam is meant to make a nice distinct layer that you can see when sliced. I looked at some other blog pictures of Bakewell Tarts before and thought their layers of jam looked a little thin, so I added mine very generously. Alas, it still seemed to get absorbed by the frangipane during baking and didn't make much of a distinct layer when sliced. I'm sure if I was on the Great British Bake-Off, such a sin would be the end of me. If you don't care about that kind of thing, then don't worry because it still tastes crazy good. If you want to try and get the jam layer nice and distinct then I would suggest adding a super generous amount of jam - and then adding a whole heap more. 

Vegan Bakewell Tart

Ingredients

For the pastry:
250g plain wholemeal flour
125g margarine
Ice cold water

Everything else:
170g caster sugar
170g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
170g almond meal
1/4 tsp almond extract
150ml canola oil
200ml water
Raspberry jam
Icing sugar, to decorate

To Make:
1. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C. 
2. Put the pastry ingredients in a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs (alternatively, use your fingertips to rub the margarine into the flour until the same consistency), then add just enough ice cold water for it to come together as a dough ball. It shouldn't stick to your fingers when you touch it, if you slip up and add a bit too much and end up with sticky dough then just add a little more flour until you get it right. 
3. Roll out the dough to about 3mm or so and line a tart tin with it (one with a removable bottom is best). Prick the base with a fork and bake for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile you can mix together all the other ingredients except the jam and the icing sugar.
5. Spread a generous layer of jam over the pastry base and pour the frangipane batter over the top. Bake for 10 minutes and then lower the temperature to 180 degrees C and bake for a further 30 minutes. 
6. Leave it to cool and then decorate with icing sugar. You could also decorate with flaked almonds, if you like. 

I'm featuring lots of recipes from the United Kingdom,

Check out my other recipe posts here:

Vegan Cauliflower Cheese

Summer Pudding

Mushroom & Guinness Pie

Treacle Tart

Roasted Love Apple and Wine Soup

Cranachan (Whiskey Cream with Raspberries and Oats)

Orange and Lemon Vegetables

Scottish Vegan Oat Scones

Swede & Parsnip Mini Cottage Pies

Vegan Treacle Tart

The most fun thing about featuring recipes from the UK was certainly getting to try all the classic desserts. I've never had a treacle tart before, so was glad to get the opportunity to make one. Actually, it was very easy because the traditional treacle tart recipe is generally already vegan. I wasn't sure if it was going to be sickly sweet, but it actually wasn't that sweet at all. I was really pleasantly surprised. Even though it's full of sticky sweet golden syrup, it's offset by the fact that the pastry isn't sweetened at all and there is lots of lovely fresh lemon juice to cut through the sickliness. The amount of lemon juice you use is really 'to taste' - some people like less lemon juice so the tart is sweeter, some like more juice so it's more sour. This recipe uses quite a lot of lemon juice, but you can add less if you like less tang and more sweetness.

Treacle Tart

Ingredients
250g plain flour (I prefer wholemeal, but you can use either)
125g vegan margarine 
3 tbsp iced water
400g golden syrup
150g fresh breadcrumbs
Zest and juice of 2 lemons

To Make
1. Put the flour in a food processor and cut in the margarine. Pulse it until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. You can also do this without a food processor - just put the flour in a bowl and rub the margarine through with your fingertips. Gradually add in the iced water until the mixture clumps together. Test the consistency, it should be a firm dough, but not sticky when you touch it. If it's too crumbly to form a ball, add a little more water, if it's too sticky add a little more flour. 
2. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes (you can also make the pastry the night before). In the meantime, grease your flan tin (one with a removable bottom is really easiest) well. 
3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C and put a baking tray in the oven to heat up.
4. Set aside about 150g of the pastry to make the lattice. Roll out the rest of the pastry into a large thin disc and line the greased flan tin. Prick the base with a fork to prevent bubbles while cooking. 
5. To make the filling, heat the golden syrup in a saucepan until runny. Add the breadcrumbs, lemon juice and lemon zest and remove from the heat. The filling should be fairly thick, if it's too runny - add more breadcrumbs. Pour into the pastry base.
6. Roll out the reserved pastry and cut into thin strips to make the lattice top. Once the lattice is complete, trim off any overhanging edges by pressing them down on the side of the metal tin. 
7. Place in the oven on the preheated baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to 180 degrees C and cook for a further 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving, to firm up and to allow the filling to cool a bit. 

Serve warm or cold, with a dollop of whipped coconut cream if you like. 

I'm featuring lots of recipes from the United Kingdom,

Check out my other recipe posts here:

Vegan Cauliflower Cheese

Summer Pudding

Mushroom & Guinness Pie

Vegan Bakewell Tart

Roasted Love Apple and Wine Soup

Cranachan (Whiskey Cream with Raspberries and Oats)

Orange and Lemon Vegetables

Scottish Vegan Oat Scones

Swede & Parsnip Mini Cottage Pies

Summer Pudding

I wish I had managed to get some better picture of this dessert - it's such a special one! Luckily it's also absurdly easy and actually fairly healthy, so I have no excuse not to make it again to try and get some better shots :)

When I first read about this very simple English dessert, I thought it sounded way too simple to actually work. I toyed with whether I needed to make changes when I made it to make it stay together (I was really worried the whole thing would fall apart when I cut it!), but this very simple method was so prevalent all over the internet that I figured it must work. I sceptically made it in the traditional way and was slightly amazed at how well it worked. It stays together beautifully when you cut it up into slices!

It made for such a refreshing and healthy dessert that I ate the leftover with vanilla yoghurt for breakfast the next few days.

I was a bit unsure about using white bread, because I really don't like white bread in general. I've used it, because I followed the traditional recipe faithfully. It was nicer than I expected, although I wonder if it might also work with other types of breads?

Summer Pudding

Ingredients
1 kg mixed berries, fresh or frozen
3 tbsp water
1/2 cup sugar
Fresh white bread with the crusts removed

Method
1. Set aside a handful or so of the berries for garnish and place the rest in a saucepan with the water and sugar. Cook for about 8 minutes or so, until the berries are no longer frozen and the juices run (you may need a bit less time if you are using fresh berries).
2. While the berries are on the stove, line a small pudding bowl with the trimmed bread slices. Press the edges together well, plug any little holes and make sure there are no gaps. 
3. Reserve 1/4 cup of the berry juice and pour the berries and remaining juice into the pudding bowl lined with bread. Cover the top with more sliced bread and press down gently.
4. Cover the pudding with a clean saucer that fits just inside the pudding bowl (if you've got one!) and put a weight on top (like a can or something similar).
5. Refrigerate the pudding overnight, or for at least 5 hours. 
6. To serve, remove from fridge and take off the saucer. Place a serving plate over the bowl and invert the pudding onto the plate. Use the reserved juice to cover up any white spots on the bread. Decorate with the reserved berries and drizzle any remaining juice over the top. 

Serve as is, or with whipped coconut cream or vanilla yoghurt. 

Serves 8-10 people. 

I'm featuring lots of recipes from the United Kingdom,

Check out my other recipe posts here:

Vegan Cauliflower Cheese

Mushroom & Guinness Pie

Treacle Tart

Vegan Bakewell Tart

Roasted Love Apple and Wine Soup

Cranachan (Whiskey Cream with Raspberries and Oats)

Orange and Lemon Vegetables

Scottish Vegan Oat Scones

Swede & Parsnip Mini Cottage Pies

Coconut Mango Float (Vegan)

The start of Autumn in Sydney means take advantage of the last few mangoes around before they disappear until next summer. One of the many things I miss about summer as I'm trudging through the winter months is the beautiful summer stone fruits, so it's nice to make the most of them while I still can.

Mango float is a dessert popular in the Philippines and several of it's neighbours - including parts o Australia. It's a nice simple dessert, easy to make and usually not vegan. My version has a few changes. I've used whipped coconut cream (a vegan's best friend) but I've also included grated fresh coconut because Filipino versions use young coconuts, it adds a lovely texture to the whipped cream and enhances the beautiful coconut flavour. Most recipes use whole biscuits for the biscuit layers, but I've just used crumbs because I found it a bit easier. If you like, you can layer whole biscuits and just use crumbs to fill in any gaps.

Mango float is often made like a slice, in a long dish and then cut into slices. I've made mine in jars because they look so lovely plus they're very easy to store. You could also make them in individual parfait glasses or dessert bowls, or even in one big glass bowl like a trifle. If you're making it like a slice, you'll want to start with a bottom layer of whole biscuits to make the base, but if it's in jars or parfait glasses then I prefer to start with a layer of mango because I think it's nice getting to the bottom and finding fruit!

If you like a boozy dessert, try marinating the mango in 1-2 tbsp. rum.

Coconut Mango Float

Ingredients
2 x 400ml cans coconut cream (refrigerated for at least 24 hours)
1/4 cup soft icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups grated fresh coconut flesh
3 large mangoes
200g digestive biscuits (or other plain biscuits) (you'll need more if you want to make it slice-style, as you'll need a bottom layer)

To Make:
1. Remove the cans from the fridge (the longer you refrigerate them the better), open them up and scoop out all the solidified cream. Discard any watery liquid in the bottom of the can.
2. In a bowl, whip the coconut cream solids with electric beaters until light and fluffy. Move the beaters up and down while you beat to aerate the cream as much as possible. Once it's smooth and whipped, add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and beat in well.
3. Chop the mango flesh into cubes or slices. At this stage you can add a tbsp. of spiced rum or another liqueur if you want to.
4. Turn the biscuits into crumbs either in a food processor or just crumble with your hands.
5. Start with a layer of mango and then top it with coconut cream and a fairly generous layer of biscuit crumbs. Follow this with another layer of mango and another of coconut cream. Garnish with more biscuit crumbs.
6. Set in the fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight).

Serves about 8.

If you want to make it as a slice, use a long rectangular dish. Start with a layer of whole biscuits and fill in any gaps with crumbs. Then layer mango and then coconut cream. Repeat with another layer of biscuits, followed mango and coconut cream.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food the Philippines.

Check out my other Filipino recipe posts:

Tofu Adobo with Pineapple & Bamboo

Lumpiang Sariwa

Lumpiang Prito with Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Pancit Canton

Burmese Sticky Rice Cake

Time to share with you another delicious recipe from the lovely cuisine of Myanmar. This sticky rice cake is so more-ish because it's incredibly tasty and not too sweet! Flavoured with peanuts, sesame seeds and coconut with the use of brown sugar to make a caramelised sticky treat. This is a nice one to get out for your new year celebrations, it's nice to bring in the new year by trying something new :)

Burmese Sticky Rice Cake

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Thai sticky rice
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sesame seeds
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
2 1/4 cups water
Handful of peanut halves
1/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut

To Make
1. Rinse the sticky rice with cold water and place in a large non stick saucepan. Add the brown sugar, sesame seeds, salt, chopped peanuts, raisins and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let cook, covered, for about 25 minutes. When it is done cooking it will have absorbed almost all of the water. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
2.  Lightly grease a 9 inch by 9 inch (or similar) size dish and line the bottom of it with non stick baking paper. Gently stir the rice and transfer to the prepared dish. Press down lightly to evenly distribute and compress the rice. Sprinkle the peanut halves and coconut on top and gently press down so that they stick to the top.
3. Let stand for 30 minutes or so and then cut into squares to serve. Do not refrigerate. Store any leftovers on an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes 1 x 9 in by 9 in rice cake, approximately 20-25 slices.

This month I'm featuring vegan recipes from Myanmar (Burma).

Check out my other Burmese recipe posts:

Vegan Fish Sauce

Ohn No Khao Swe with Chickpea Tofu

Burmese Tomato Salad

Gin Thoke (Ginger Salad)

Vegan South African Milk Tart

This month on Gormandize is South African food month. At first I wasn't sure how I would go having a completely vegan South African spread, as I understand it to be a very meat centred cuisine. But, on further delving, I found lots of wonderful dishes which were vegetarian, vegan or could easily be made so. 

My favourite dish from this month was this lovely milk tart. I couldn't have been happier with how it turned out and I couldn't believe how easy it was to make this custard vegan, and it tasted just exactly like the non vegan vanilla custards that I ate growing up. Exactly! What a great start to South African month.

I haven't included a recipe here for the pastry, I've used the basic shortcrust pastry recipe from Terry & Isa's Vegan Pie in the Sky Cookbook. I won't put it here because it's their wonderful intellectual  property, not mine. If you have a good vegan shortcrust pastry recipe, then use that. If not then praise Google and you'll find something!

Do you know any good South African dishes? :)

South African Milk Tart (Vegan)

Ingredients
500ml oat milk
1/2 cup castor sugar
1/8 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 batch of vegan shortcrust pastry dough
Cinnamon, for sprinkling

To Make
1. Roll out your shortcrust and line a greased pie dish. Bake in an oven at 180 degree oven for 10 minutes and then remove and set aside to cool.
2. Combine the oat milk, castor sugar, plain flour, cornstarch and vanilla extract in a saucepan and whisk together (while cold). 
3. Place the saucepan on a moderate heat and whisk continuously for 7-8 minutes while it thickens gradually. Test by dipping a knife or spoon in and if it comes out coated then you're done.
4. Pour straight into the pastry base and sprinkle with cinnamon. Allow to cool and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. 

Makes 1 tart.

This month I'm featuring recipes from South Africa.

Check out my other South African recipe posts:

South African Tomato Chutney

Chakalaka

Soetkoekies

Sweet Corn Cake (Vegan) with Lemon Glaze

This one isn't really an Panamanian recipe, but it was inspired by Panama month. Actually it was inspired by this Sweet Corn Ring recipe, but this recipe is a savoury recipe whereas I wanted to make an actual cake. Corn is so sweet that it really makes a natural choice for desserts, even though most people wouldn't think of it. Adding lots of lovely puréed sweet corn means you don't need nearly as much sugar, and the end result is perfectly balanced in sweetness. And don't worry, it doesn't feel like eating vegetables for dessert - it feels like eating cake! Cake with delicious tangy lemony glaze.

Sweet Corn Cake with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients
1 cups corn kernels (either fresh or tinned, drained & rinsed)
2 cups soy, almond or oat milk
2/3 cup canola or rice bran oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 cup soft icing mixture
2-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

To Make
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Purée the corn kernels and place in a bowl. Stir in the soy milk, oil and sugar.
3. Add the flour, baking powder and bicarb soda.
4. Pour the batter into a greased ring shaped baking tin. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
5. Turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely before glazing. While it's cooling, you can make the glaze by putting the icing mixture into a small bowl and gradually adding lemon juice until you have it just think enough to drizzle, but still quite thick (if it's too thin it'll just run right off the cake and pool on the plate).
6. Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle all over with the glaze.

This month I'm featuring recipes from Panama.

Check out my other Panamanian recipe posts:

Panamanian Empanadas
Bollos de Mazorca

Panamanian Black Eyed Beans

Apple & Caramel Sago Pots

Sago is a favourite 'go to' dessert for me, it's so easy to make and so easy to create new flavour combinations. A sago parfait is always fun to make and impressive to serve, and I've posted a couple on this blog before - remember my Apple & Rhubarb Sago Parfait or my very unusual Cambodian Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Sago Parfait (Borbo Skor La-Pov). Today's recipe comes with an autumnal twists - caramel and apple. I've used the sweet grated apple in the sago itself and it's sweetness means I can cut down on the amount of sugar I add (win!). Your choice of apple will determine how sweet the end result is. If you use lovely sweet Pink Ladies or Galas then you may not need to add any sugar to the sago at all, if you use less sweet apples like Granny Smiths or Delicious then adjust the sugar to taste. There is still plenty of sugar in the caramel sauce, so you don't need to worry about it not satisfying your sweet tooth. If you can buy a pre made vegan caramel sauce then you can substitute that to save time, but I've used my home made Vegan Dulce de Leche which is absolutely incredible! The crunch from the chopped toasted almonds sprinkled on top is the proverbial icing on the cake!

Apple & Caramel Sago Pots

Ingredients
1 can coconut milk
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sago (tapioca pearls)
2 medium apples, peeled and grated
2 tbsp sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 pinch salt
1 batch Vegan Dulce de Leche
1/2 cup chopped toasted or dry roasted almonds

To Make:
1. Set the dulce de leche on to cook according to this recipe.
2. Heat the coconut milk, water and sugar in a saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a gentle simmer and add the cinnamon stick, sago, salt and grated apples. Stir while bringing to a simmer. Simmer, covered over a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the cinnamon stick.
3. In 5 individual dessert bowls, ramekins or glasses, spoon enough sago to just cover the bottom. Then divide the dulce de leche evenly amongst the 6 individual glasses, leaving about 6 or so tablespoons to drizzle on top.
4. Cover by dividing the remaining sago evenly amongst the glasses. Drizzle the top of each with the remaining dulce de leche and sprinkle with chopped toasted or dry roasted almonds. Eat warm in winter and autumn or chill in the fridge for a spring or summer dessert.

Makes approximately 6 individual desserts (this may vary depending on the size of your serving bowls/glasses, if you have large ones then it may only make 4).

I've submitted this recipe to the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck - click here to see the other entries.

Pizza de Brigadeiro (Brazilian Chocolate Pizza) with Fresh Strawberries & Cream Cheese

I've always been somewhat enchanted by the idea of a chocolate pizza, although I had never made one before I made this. It seems that dessert pizzas are very popular Brazil - even their fast food pizza franchises offer sweet pizzas. I read online that Dominoes in Sao Paolo has a chocolate pizza and a banana pizza, so dessert pizza was definitely high on my list of things to try this month.

The dough recipe makes enough dough for 3 big pizzas, but the topping quantity is just for 1 pizza. So you can freeze the other 2/3 of the fresh dough, or use it to make a couple of savoury pizzas for dinner to go with your dessert pizza. The toppings are completely rich and decadent, so you'll probably only need one slice!

The one thing I don't know though - is whether Brazilians eat them hot or cold? I googled it and couldn't find any answers, so I served mine cold for convenience. I think it would be really nice either way though. Any Brazilians out there want to enlighten me?

Ingredients

Pizza Dough
2 tsp dried yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups room temperature water
1kg plain flour
1.5 tsp salt

Brigadeiro Topping
400ml vegan condensed milk
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp margarine
1 punnet strawberries
Vegan cream cheese
Chocolate sprinkles

To Make
1. Whisk the yeast with 1/2 cup of warm water and set it aside for 10 minutes until foamy on top.
2. Add the 2 cups water & olive oil and whisk to combine. Then add the salt and all the flour, mixing gently. Flour up your hands and start mixing the dough with your hands until it comes together. It should be dry enough not to stick to your fingers, wet enough to stay together in a ball. If you need to, add more flour or water to get it to the right consistency.
3. Flour a benchtop and turn the dough out. Knead for 10 minutes, at which point the dough should be smooth and springy to touch. Wash, dry and lightly oil the mixing bowl. Return the dough ball to the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm spot to rise for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
4. After 2 hours, punch the dough down and cut into 3 pieces, if you're saving the other two then wrap them up in plastic wrap and freeze them. Roll one piece out into a big flat disc and place on an oiled baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden on top. Take out of the oven and set aside.
5. Whisk the condensed milk and cocoa powder in a pan and put it over a medium heat. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the mixture thickens and starts to pull away from the edges of the pan. Remove from the heat and stir the margarine through.
6. Spread over the pizza base. Top with slices of cream cheese and wedges of fresh strawberries. Sprinkle the edges with chocolate sprinkles. Serve hot or cold.

Also part of the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Brazil!

Check out my other Brazilian recipe posts:

Avocado Cream & Passion Fruit Mousse (Creme de Abacate & Mousse de Maracujá)

Bolinhos de Arroz (Brazillian Fried RiceBalls) with Orange, Olive & Brazil Nut Rice

Chocolate Coconut Kisses

Black Eyed Bean Acaraje

Hearts of Palm & Rocket Pizza
Hearts of Palm & Olive Empadinhas (Empadinhas de Palmito)

Blood Orange Curd Vegan Cheesecake Tart

Sometimes things just come together even better than you had ever imagined. I had an imagine in my mind of this tart and I was pretty sure it was going to taste great. What I wasn't prepared for was it turning out to be probably the best thing I have ever eaten. I'm not even joking. The pastry is light and super crumbly, the cheesecake filling is soft, luscious and creamy, the orange curd it tangy and melts in your mouth, and the candied blood orange slices not only look beautiful but add the slight bitter sweetness of candied peel (because, yes, you can eat the peel and, yes, it's delicious!).

I had originally planned to make this using only blood oranges, a blood orange curd with candied blood oranges on top. Foolishly, I didn't think this through and I only bought 2 blood oranges. When I realised that I would need more, I went back but they were sadly sold out at my fruit shop. So I made the curd using a regular naval orange and used the blood orange slices as the candied garnish. I actually think it's rather lovely because of the bright colour contrast, but if you have plenty of blood oranges then feel free to substitute blood orange into the curd as well, I'm sure it will be amazing.

There are four separate parts to make for this tart, but they are all quite straight forward so it's not too hard and it doesn't actually take too long. It's also conveniently no-bake, so just pop it in the fridge once you're done and it's ready to go. You could also make this in a round cake tin as a cheesecake, but I would recommend doubling everything and probably tripling the cheesecake filling.

Blood Orange Curd Vegan Cheesecake Tart

Ingredients
250g light digestive biscuits (or other plain vegan biscuits)
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup nuttelex (or other vegan margarine), melted
150g vegan cream cheese
2 tbsp marmalade
2 blood oranges
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Vegan Orange Curd
Zest of 1 orange (hint: zest before juicing!)
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (should be about 1 naval orange)
3/4 cup coconut milk
3 heaped tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp turmeric (just for colour, if you make with blood oranges then leave this out)

To Make:
1. Process the biscuits in a food processor until they become crumbs. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the zest, cinnamon and melted margarine. Mix well.
2. Lightly grease your tart tin and then tip the biscuit crumbs in. Use your fingers to firmly press it up onto the sides of the tin to create an even later. Then spread out the remaining crumbs over the base and press down firmly with your fingers to create an even base.
3. In a bowl, whisk or beat together the vegan cream cheese and the marmalade. Spread evenly over the biscuit base.
4. Now set that aside and make the curd: Combine all the curd ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk well to combine. The cornstarch will be lumpy at first, but if you keep whisking the lumps with go (it's ok if there are just a few remaining, they'll cook out). If you want to avoid all that whisking then I guess you could use a blender.
5. Place the small saucepan over a medium heat. Whisking constantly, heat it for about 2 minutes - or until the contents of the pan are hot but not simmering or boiling (if it starts to simmer, reduce the heat immediately!). Once hot, reduce the heat and continue stirring for another 3-5 minutes. The curd will thicken suddenly quite a lot. Once this happens remove from the heat (still stirring) and pour straight onto the cream cheese layer. Use a knife to spread it out and smooth it over the top.
6. Heat the cup of sugar and the cup of water in a saucepan until dissolved. Thinly slice the whole blood oranges and simmer the slices in the syrup for about 5 minutes (you may need to do this in batches). Use these slices to decorate the top of the tart and then drizzle about 1-2 tbsp of the syrup over the top.
7. Place in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving.

This post is part of the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop. I haven't participated for a while in the SABH, so I thought I should get back in the swing. This month's theme is 'Cheese' desserts, which I'm sure will have some interesting submissions! You can check out the other entries below.

Semolina Halva (Sooji Haluwa)

My best intentions for posting this month have been made insignificant by what is happening in my area of the world at the moment - which is why you haven't heard much from me lately! In the area I live there are currently 4 serious bush fires, a couple of which are burning out of control. Although we live in an area prone to fires, this year the fire season has begun badly - and it's only spring! The hot, dry, windy weather we are having now coupled with the fact that we had an unseasonably warm winter leading up to this has lead to terrifying bushfire conditions. Thousands of hectares of bushland has been burnt and many, many people have lost their homes, their cars, their possessions and, in some cases, their beloved pets. Fortunately there has been no known deaths in my area, which seems miraculous.

Today it has been predicted that the weather will be "as bad as it gets" for bush fires. Hot, dry weather with winds of up to 100km. This could potentially be disastrous for the spread of the fires that are already burning. All the schools and childcare centres have been closed for the next few days, hospitals and nursing homes have been evacuated or relocated and people are being urged to leave their homes if they are not prepared. It's a daunting situation!

We have been spending our days preparing our house and getting our plans in order. I feel that we are *pretty well* prepared now, so I've managed to find time to sit down and share a post with you. Today I will be hovering around with my sprinklers at the ready and hoping for the best. My thoughts and best wishes to all the thousands of other people across Australia that are facing similar situations (there are currently more than 60 fires currently burning in NSW alone, although a lot of these fires are being controlled and contained by our wonderful fire fighters).

So what delicious treats can we wheel out to distract us from natural disasters? How about some delicious Nepalese Sooji Haluwa? This is a really easy halva recipe, made with semolina and crammed full of tasty nuts and plump golden raisins.

Nepalese Sooji Haluwa (Semolina Halva)

Ingredients
1/3 cup vegan margarine
1 cup semolina
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups of almond, oat or rice milk
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
2 tbsp chopped cashews (about 10 or so)
2 tbsp chopped pistachios (plus more to garnish)
1/3 cup almonds, chopped roughly
Agave nectar, to garnish (or, if you are not a vegan, you can use honey which would be traditionally used)

To Make
1. Heat the margarine in a medium saucepan until melted. Add the semolina and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until the semolina starts to turn brown.
2. Add the sugar and stir it through, followed by the milk, raisins, cardamom and coconut.
3. Bring to a simmer and then add the cashews, pistachios and almonds. Turn the heat right down and cook over a low heat until all the milk is absorbed into the semolina.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl. You can eat it hot or cold. Before serving sprinkle with fresh chopped pistachios and drizzle with agave nectar (or honey).

Serves 6.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Nepal!

Check out my other Nepali/Nepalese recipe posts:

Tomato Achar

Aloo Roti (Potato Roti)

Vegetable Momo with Chilli Sesame Dipping Sauce

Chilli Grapefruit & Orange Salad

Saag Tarkari

Sesame Chilli Fried Potatoes

Vegan Dulce de Leche Tiramisu

I mentioned in my last Argentinian recipe post, the Fugazza (Caramelised Onion Focaccia), that there is a lot of Italian influence in Argentinian cuisine. Just in case you didn't believe me - here is another Argentina-meets-Italy recipe. I've created my own vegan version using my home made dulce de leche and a home made 'mascarpone cream' type thing. Anyway - enough introduction. Here is it (fyi: it was absolutely delicious).

Ingredients

The Cake

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup canola oil

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups wholemeal plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarb soda

Dulce de Leche 'Mascarpone' Cream
1/4 cup cashews, soaked for 1 hour
300g silken tofu
1 can coconut cream, refrigerated over night
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp sugar
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 - 2 cups Vegan Dulce de Leche (you can vary this according to personal taste)

You'll also need
1 cup strong black coffee, sweetened (or substitute 1/2 cup kahlua or other coffee liqueur)
Chocolate shavings, for decorating.

To Make
The Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for a few moments to curdle.

3. Add the sugar, canola oil and extracts and mix well (I use a whisk for this), then sift in all other ingredients and mix well to combine.

4. Line a medium sized lightly greased square baking dish with baking paper. Pour in the cake batter.

5. Bake for 20 minutes – or until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean when inserted.

6. Set aside to cool completely (you can work on the other bits of the tiramisu while it cools).

7. Once cooled, cut into smaller, more manageable sections and slice in half lengthways.

Dulce de Leche Cream:

1. Drain the cashews (which you have soaked for at least an hour) and place in a food processor with the tofu, lemon juice, sugar and salt. 

2. Open the tin of coconut cream which you have had in the fridge (at least) overnight. Scoop out the thick solid white layer and reserve the remaining clear liquid for another used (such as a curry or a smoothie). Add the solid while layer to the food processor and process until completely smooth. This may take a while, as you want the cashews completely smooth as well - so be prepared to process it for up to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides and stirring often.

3. Once completely smooth, transfer to a bowl and stir the dulce de leche through. Keep in the fridge while you prepare your ingredients for assembly.

To Assemble:

1. In an individual dessert glass, layer a piece of the vanilla cake on the bottom and sprinkle generously with the sweetened coffee. Then add a layer of dulce de leche cream, then another layer of cake and finally more of the cream. 

2. Repeat until you have made enough portions or you run out of ingredients. 

3. Garnish them with shaved chocolate and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Can be made in advance and will keep well for up to 3 days.

Makes 10 individual portions.

NOTES~

~For the more boozy alternative, use kalua instead of the sweetened coffee. 

~ This can also be made into one large tiramisu instead of individual servings.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Argentina!

Check out my other Argentinian recipe posts:

Vegan Dulce de Leche

Fugazza (Caramelised Onion Focaccia)

Sweetcorn Empanadas

Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Sandwich Biscuits)

Pumpkin & Jalapeño Empanadas

Koko Rice (Samoan Chocolate Orange Rice Pudding)

I've been a little bit slack getting the posts up this month, so now at the end of the month I find myself with a whole bunch of Samoan recipes to post! So, over the next couple of days prepare to see quite a few posts while I try and fit them all in. This one is simple, luscious, rich and chocolatey - and what more could you want?

It's a rice dish called Koko Rice. It would traditionally be made with Samoan Koko, which reportedly is quite rich and without any bitterness. They use it in Samoa to make drinking chocolate and this delicious rice dish. Without this special ingredient available to me, I opted for real dark chocolate instead. Traditional versions also use orange leaves to give an orangey flavour to the rice, but not having any of those either I've used strips of orange peel to give it the orange flavour (and it worked very well!).

Koko Rice

Adapted from Saolelei and Global Table Adventure

Ingredients

1 cup dry rice

1 long piece of fresh orange peel (just use your potato peeler to peel off a good strip)

4 cups water

1 x 400ml can of coconut cream

1/2 cup sugar

100g chopped dark chocolate

To Make

1. Place rice, orange peel and water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil.

2. Once boiling, reduce heat to as low as it will go and cover with a lid. Let it simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is completely cooked and it looks nice and thick.

3. Add the coconut cream, sugar and chopped chocolate. Keep over a low heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is completely melted. Once the chocolate is melted, it is ready to serve.

Serves 6. 

~NOTE: Traditionally this would be served hot, but it was also quite nice cold. We had plenty of leftovers which we ate cold or heated up briefly in the microwave. If you do store leftovers, it will thicken a lot as it cools and end up looking more like the pictures in this post. If you eat it hot straight off the stove then it will be a bit runnier than in these pictures.

This month I'm featuring lots of delicious food from Samoa.

Check out my other recipe posts:

Paifala (Pineapple Turnovers)

Creamy Coconut Rice (Alaisa Fa'apopo)

Coconut Bread Rolls

Sweet Potato in Creamy Coconut Sauce

Sapasui (Chop Suey)