Vegan Orange Curd Swirl Yoghurt with Sunset Fruit Salad

Giving a loved one breakfast in bed is one of the nicest and simplest things you can do for someone, start their day with a wonderful surprise and let them know you're thinking of them. It's a lovely gesture for a partner, parent, best friend or even house mate. My partner's birthday was last month and I always like to make sure he starts it with breakfast in bed. But he's much keener on a lighter start to the day than a fry up, a big breakfast, waffles or even pancakes. After living together for about 3 years now, I'm glad to say I knew him well - his eyes lit up when he saw this beautiful, colourful and fresh breakfast.

That was a while ago, and I've had these photos in my file since. But it seemed like Valentines Day might be a good excuse to share it with you. I'm a firm believer in not indulging too much on Valentines Day (see my post from last year with this fun bouquet of melon hearts), we don't do anything together for it - plus I don't need any more excuses to eat lots of chocolate and drink more. But if you want to do something special and thoughtful for your partner, then this gorgeous breakfast in bed is just the ticket (without encouraging them to be unhealthy).

It's a bit of a cheat - the yoghurt isn't home made - but the delicious flavourful orange curd makes your plain vanilla yoghurt really, really special. Just use your favourite brand of vanilla yoghurt (vegan if you're vegan, of course). You can prepare the Orange Curd Swirl Yoghurt the night before so that it's ready to go in the morning.

I chose these fruits because they were beautifully seasonal, but also because of the vibrant hues that look so lovely together. Feel free to change up the fruits used - but try and stay in the orange and red spectrum because it gives the Sunset fruit salad it's name. :)

Ingredients:
1 tub your favourite vegan vanilla yoghurt
1 mango, seeded and chopped
3 apricots, seeded and chopped
1 punnet strawberries, washed and sliced in half
1 pomegranate, seeds only (you won't need a whole pomegranate, just use as many of the seeds as you like)
2 passion fruits

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. First 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.
2. 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 swirl through your bowls of vanilla yoghurt. Chill in the fridge while you make the fruit salad.
3. Place all the chopped fruit in a bowl and toss together. Serve with orange swirl yoghurt.

Serves 2.

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)

Toasted Coconut Pancakes with Roasted Strawberry Sauce (Guest Post by Big Fat Baker)

This gorgeous guest post comes from my friend Erin from Big Fat Baker. She's a fun and enthusiastic baker from the USA, and even though not a vegan has kindly cooked up this delicious vegan recipe to keep my blog from looking too bare while I'm away. What lovely people are out there in the blogging world! Like Erin, I'm not much of a breakfast person. But over the last year or so I've been making a solid effort to try and eat breakfast regularly. Part of that has been finding and developing new things to have for breakfast so that I'm not so bored by the normal breakfast foods. These pancakes look so delicious, that I think I will have no difficulty incorporating them into my repertoire!  As you read this post, I'll be strolling around in Lund in Sweden - but as soon as I get back I will be making some of these. Thanks Erin. 

I normally don’t partake in the daily ritual known as breakfast. But, while on Maui for two weeks I was always up early. Breakfast there is a necessity.

Lucky for me, breakfast is a big part of the food culture. There is anything and everything. From sweet breads and pancakes, to fried rice and noodle soup.

There is a restaurant close to the condo with some of the best pancakes on the island. White chocolate macadamia nut, banana, and pineapple are the choices. Your choice of passion fruit, coconut, or regular syrup - with homemade whipped cream.

Since I've been home, pancakes have been a way to infuse some island flavours into my mornings. These coconut pancakes are a new favourite for me, and they will be for you too!

{Vegan} Toasted Coconut Pancakes with Roasted Strawberry Sauce

Yield: 10 pancakes

Pancake Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp raw sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 2/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded coconut, toasted

Strawberry Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 lbs strawberries, washed & quartered
• 2 tbsp raw sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2-3 tbsp corn syrup
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Spread all the shredded coconut into an even layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. When the oven is preheated, toast for 5-7 minutes then stir. Repeat until the coconut is golden brown and evenly toasted. Set aside.

*Be sure to watch the coconut closely during this process - it can burn very quickly!*

2. Adjust the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and spread the strawberries in an even layer on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle the strawberries with 2 tbsp raw sugar. When the oven is preheated, roast them for about 15 minutes.

3. Scoop all of the roasted strawberries (and the juicy stuff) into a blender, food processor, or whatever you use to puree stuff. Pour in the remaining strawberry sauce ingredients in with and puree until completely smooth. Set aside until pancakes are ready.

4. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the flour, 2 tbsp raw sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt. Mix together with a fork.

5. Mix in the coconut oil until the flour looks crumbly. Place the mixture in the fridge for about 10 minutes, then whisk in the coconut milk & vanilla until the batter is smooth.

6. Fold in the toasted coconut until evenly distributed and place batter in the fridge until ready to use.

7. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, pour in about 1/3 cup of the batter per pancake. Cook on the first side until you can see bubbles and the edges look done (3-5 minutes). Carefully flip and cook for another 3-5 minutes. The pancakes should be fluffy, firm, and easy to move.

8. Hold the cooked pancakes on a cookie sheet in a 225 degree F (110 degrees C) oven until all batter has been used. I was about to make about 10 pancakes. Serve the pancakes hot with the strawberry sauce.

Grapefruit Waffles with Chocolate Dipped Strawberries (for someone you love!)

I'm coming up to my anniversary soon, so I thought I'd bring a little romance onto the blog. After being with someone for many years and living together for most of that time, it's easy to feel like the romance is dead sometimes. After all, you don't often tend to make a special effort with someone when you spend every evening and every morning with them anyway. There are fewer romantic dates, fewer mushy text messages going back and forth and, sometimes, a lack of spontaneous romantic gestures. We always try and do small unexpected nice things for one another though, because it is a really lovely feeling to make somebody that you love smile.

Special breakfast is a nice way to remind someone that you love them. My partner gets up stupidly early to go to work almost every day, though, so I don't really get many opportunities. We've both been incredibly busy lately but the other day we had a fluke day that we were both home from work and we had deliberately made no other plans for the day. So, I felt I should seize the occasion to get up and make him breakfast in bed. Not just any breakfast either - grapefruit waffles with chocolate coated strawberries! I ask you - is romance dead?! :)

Yes, a decadent and sweet breakfast - I don't advise having this one for breakfast too often. I've used yellow grapefruit because I had a big bag of them bequeathed to me from someone's tree. You can also use pink grapefruit. The grapefruit adds a fantastic fresh zingy aspect to the sweet waffles, so I recommend try it. If, however, you're making these for someone who hates grapefruit, you can substitute some freshly squeezes orange juice in it's place. 

All in all they take about 15 minutes to make, which is not very long for someone you love! Try these for birthdays, anniversaries, mothers or fathers day, Valentines day or (my favourite) any day of the week because nobody needs an occasion to tell someone you love them. Or just make them for yourself - because it's also important to love yourself, right? 

Vegan Grapefruit Waffles with Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients

150g dark chocolate

6 strawberries, washed and dried completely

1 1/4 cups wholemeal flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (with the pulp!)

2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil

Maple Syrup (fo' drizzlin')

To Make:

1.  Mix the dry ingredients for the waffles together in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and gently stir in the soy milk, grapefruit juice and oil.

2. Melt you chocolate by chopping it up and placing it in a completely dry metal mixing bowl (glass or ceramic is ok too, it just will take longer to melt). Fill a separate bowl with boiling hot water and suspend the metal bowl over the top so that the steam from the hot water heats the metal. This will melt the chocolate evenly. Stir as it melts. 

3. Make sure your strawberries are completely dry. Once the chocolate is melted, coat the strawberries in it and then place them on a non stick baking sheet on a plate. Continue with your remaining strawberries and then place the plate in the fridge while you cook the waffles so they can set. You'll have some chocolate left over, keep it suspended over the hot water to that is stays melted while you cook your waffles.

4.  Heat up your waffle iron (be sure to spray with oil to prevent sticking) and make the waffles according to the instructions of your waffle maker. Make sure you re spray the waffle maker between each waffle.

5. Once the waffles are cooked, get 2 plates and place 1 waffle on each plate then drizzle maply syrup over the waffles. Top with another waffle and drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the top. Place the chocolate dipped strawberries on top and eat it straight away!

Makes 2 servings (because you deserve some too, right?)

This recipe makes enough for 4 waffles (this may vary depending on the size of your waffle maker) and 6 chocolate dipped strawberries. 

Rote (und grün) Grütze (German Fruit Jelly)

My last offering from Germany - and it's a real winner! It's a dessert called rote grütze, an easy fruit dessert made from fresh red fruits with cornstarch to thicken. Rote is German for red, as this dessert is made with a mixture of red fruits. Traditionally, the main fruit used is red currants - which means mine is slightly lacking in authenticity because red currants really aren't available anywhere near me. You can use any combination of red fruits you like such as currants, raspberries, bilberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries etc. 

Mine also differs from the traditional in that it contains a touch of grün grütze (grün meaning green). Although red is the most common type, this dessert is sometimes also made in green, yellow or blue grütze. Green is made with kiwi fruit, pineapple, gooseberries, grapes and anything else green you like. Yellow is made from peaches, yellow gooseberries, golden kiwifruit, pineapple, banana and anything else yellow you like. Blue is made from blueberries, blackberries, plums, blackcurrents and grapes. So, I thought I might be a bit tricky and make my rote grütze with a little layer of grün on top - because it's pretty!

Rote Grütze

600g mixed red fruits (I used 200g strawberries, 200g raspberries, 200g sour cherries)

3 tbsp raw sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp cold water

To Make

1. Wash and slice the fruit and place in a saucepan with the sugar. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. 

2. In a small cup combine the cornstarch and cold water and stir well until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. 

3. Remove the simmering berries from the heat and stir through the cornstarch, stirring continuously. Pour the berries (while still hot) evenly amongst your serving glasses and place in the fridge to chill while you make the grün grütze.

Grün Grütze 

500g green kiwifruit

100g pineapple, crushed

3 tbsp raw sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp cold water

To Make

1. If the pineapple is fresh, you may want to puree it in a food processor or blender to make is smooth. Scoop the kiwifuit flesh out and chop roughly in a saucepan with the sugar and pineapple. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. 

2. In a small cup combine the cornstarch and cold water and stir well until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. 

3. Remove the simmering fruit from the heat and stir through the cornstarch, stirring continuously. Spoon a layer over the top of the red fruits in the serving glasses. Allow to chill for several hours before eating. You can decorate with fresh fruit if you'd like to make it even more pretty.

Makes 6 if you use martini glasses, or 4 if you use larger glasses (such as wine glasses or parfait glasses).

This month I'm featuring lots of amazing recipes from Germany!

Check out my other German recipe posts:

German Apple Pancakes

Rohkostsalat (Cabbage and Fruit Salad)

Deconstructed Black Forest Cake Parfait

Rosenkohl in Bier (Brussels Sprouts in Beer)

Zwiebelkuchen (German Onion Pie)

Frankfurter Kranz (Bundt Cake Layered with Cherry Jam & Rum Buttercream)

German Potato Salad

Kaiserschmarrn (Torn Pancakes with Apple)

Balsamic Strawberry and Cucumber Sushi Rolls

Wow, this is my fourth post for today! I think I'll have to take a few days off after today, I've had to post a lot more than usual because all of my blogging events unfortunately fell on the same day.

Firstly, at 8am this morning entries opened for the infamous Chopped/Vegan challenge hosted by vegan cooking guru Isa Chandra Moskowitz. The challenge was to create brunch dishes using butternut pumpkin, fresh rosemary, popcorn and apricot jam - quite a challenge but I really did enjoy it! Here are my two entries: Pumpkin Rosemary Popcorn Crumble and Lemon Rosemary Popcorn Cupcakes with Pumpkin Apricot Glaze. It was so much fun cooking with this unusual combination of ingredients and I have to say the results were actually quite delicious!

Secondly, it's time again for the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, this month with a High Tea theme. I entered a German creation, in keeping with the country theme of this month. You can see my German Frankfurter Kranz Cake here, it's a layered bundt cake filled with black cherry jam and delicious vanilla rum buttercream.

Lastly, the Eat the Alphabet challenge. I enjoy this event, because it's fun to experiment with different vegetables and fruits each month. This may be my last one however, because the rules have changed around a bit this time and getting my head around the time zones and the submission rules is getting a bit much!

Here are my other entries this year:

September (P, Q & R) - Afghan Pistachio Biscuits
August (M, N & O) - Roast Pumpkin & Chickpea Salad with Nasturtiums
June (I & J) - Jalapeño Chocolate Truffles
April (E & F) - Vegan Fig and Red Wine Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 quantity sushi rice

6 sheets nori seaweed

1 punnet fresh strawberries (200-250g)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Cracked pepper
1 cucumber, sliced
Mint leaves, fresh

You will also need:

A sushi rolling mat

Plastic wrap

A bowl of water with a splash of rice vinegar

To Assemble:

1. Slice the strawberries and combine with the balsamic vinegar and cracked pepper. Set aside to macerate while you prepare all your other tools/ingredients.

2.  Lay a sheet of nori seaweed on your sushi rolling mat. Wet your hands in the bowl of water (this stops the rice sticking all over your hands) and grab a handful of rice (about 2/3 cup worth, but you don’t need to measure it out). Spread it over the nori sheet evenly, making sure you spread it out to all the edges as well but leaving about an inch or so at one end.

3. Lay a generous amount of strawberries (use more than I did in the picture above), a few slices of cucumber and some fresh mint leaves along the lower edge of the rice (about 1 inch from the bottom).

4. Pick up the edge of the mat and roll it gently over the ingredients, pressing gently on the filling with your fingers as you go to keep them in the centre. Press gently on the roll to mould it together. Be careful not to let the mat get rolled up in the sushi.

6. Once the sushi is rolled into a neat log press gently around it with the matt to make it firm.

7. Repeat steps 2-6 until all the ingredients are used up (approx. 6 thick rolls).

8. Use a very sharp knife to cut each log into eight equal pieces. Serve immediately with soy sauce and wasabi to taste.

Tip: dip the knife in the bowl of water between cuts to prevent the rice from sticking to the knife.

Makes 6 large sushi rolls.

Celebrating Spring with Strawberry Lime Infused Vodka

I've been a little lax with posting this month! It's already 10 days into the month and I've only posted once - whoops! I have a few feeble excuses. I've been very busy at work (which has been wonderful!) but mostly I've just been too busy enjoying SPRING to want to sit indoors in front of the computer typing up posts. The sun has been shining all week and the days are warm and sparkling, it's just absolutely wonderful.

I'm not a fan of winter, I'm prone to a bit of S.A.D. so the start of spring is always a huge cause for celebration for me! It means that I've made it through another winter (this sounds dramatic but I find them a genuine struggle) and I can start enjoying myself and living it up again! I love the day when you find you can wear a t-shirt and feel the sun on your skin again. I also love transitioning into light salads, fruit salads and fruity cool cocktails.

So, I'm celebrating spring with this delicious and simple infused vodka. I first tried infusing vodka earlier this year, when I made Pineapple and Basil Vodka. It was delicious, although somewhat strong on the basil flavour, so it wasn't something I could drink a lot of. My second attempt, however, was absolutely fantastic. This vodka is infused with Lime and fresh Strawberries and it's phenomenal. The strawberries turn the vodka a gorgeous rich red colour and this vodka tastes so good that you can just drink it straight (if you like strong drinks!). It's perfect on ice topped up with a splash of chilled soda water and a slice of fresh lime.

Ingredients
750ml vodka
2 punnets fresh strawberries, washed and chopped in half
6 limes, peeled and sliced

To Make
1. In a large jar with a sealable lid (with a wide top so that you can get the stuff back out again!) place the strawberries and the lime slices.

2. Pour the vodka into the jar and shake it up gently.
3. Seal the lid on the jar and set aside in a dark cupboard to infuse for 1-3 weeks, getting it out occasionally to shake it (but ensure that the fresh ingredients are covered by the vodka before putting back in the cupboard) and taste it to see if it is infused to your taste yet. Gradually the strawberries will lose all their colour to the vodka. When you have pale white-ish strawberries in the jar you know it is done!
4. When you get it to the strength you like strain the whole jar through a strainer lined with muslin or cheesecloth.  Discard the strawberries and limes and put the vodka into a bottle.

*TIPS*
~ Best served with fresh lime juice, to get the fresh tang of the lime
~ If you can think of a use for the pale vodka soaked strawberries then put them to good use! I couldn't really think of anything, so if you do let me know what it was!
~It is best to keep the vodka refrigerated, as the fruit content of this vodka means it could possibly go bad. I say possibly, because it lasted fine in my fridge for a couple of months and you'll probably drink it all up before it gets a chance!

Vegan Strawberry & Cherry Sago Trifle

Trifle has been something that has been on my to do list for a while - I have been working out the easiest way to veganise all the different elements for a while. The cake is easy, the cream is easy, the fruit is already vegan. So that leaves jelly and custard. I am currently still experimenting making my own vegan jelly - and have not yet perfected it, so for this trifle I used a packet of vegan jelly which I bought online (I've included a photo later on), the brand I used wasn't really that good - as the jelly set very runny. This is ok for trifle as it's all in there together anyway - but it certainly wasn't a very good substitute for jelly and definitely wouldn't have worked in molds or just to eat straight. I will keep working on my vegan jelly recipe using agar agar and keep you updated! The custard I found difficult until I had an epiphany one night when eating a big bowl of sago - sago is a very similar consistency to custard plus it's beautiful and creamy and actually easier to make than custard.

Fortunately all these trifle thoughts I was having coincided with 2 events: firstly a surprise birthday party I was holding for a friend, and secondly, the Holiday Recipe Club Valentine's Day Blog Hop. For this blog hop our host, Erin, chose the theme ingredients of beef, strawberries and heavy cream. Now, if you've read this blog before then you'll know you're going to be getting a recipe with strawberries - because beef and heavy cream just aren't a party of my vegan diet! However, this trifle is piled with delicious fluffy cream so is quite appropriate in the sense that it is really the closest thing to heavy cream a vegan is ever going to get.

Trifle is actually the perfect party dessert because it's generally huge by nature and also because almost all of it is done the night before. For a totally stress free party you should prepare the cake, sago custard, jelly and cherry mixture the day before and remember to put your coconut cream in the fridge minimum overnight (the more time the better so if you can do this a couple of days in advance then even better - I just keep a couple of cans in the fridge at all times). Then all you need to do is assemble it and whip the coconut cream for the top. You can then put it together a couple of hours before your guests show up and put it back in the fridge and it is totally amazing!

Strawberry and Cherry Sago Trifle

The Cake

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup canola oil

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange extract (optional)

1 ¼ cups wholemeal plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarb soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp arrowroot

Strawberry jam

Sago Custard

2 x 400ml tins coconut milk (or cream is fine too)

4 cups water

1 ¼ cups sago (tapioca pearls)

½ cup sugar

Fruit & Jelly

1 packet Vegan strawberry jelly

3 punnets strawberries, washed

600g cherries, washed and pitted

1 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

Coconut Cream

2 cans coconut cream, chilled in the fridge overnight (minimum- a few days is optimum)

2 tablespoons soft confectioners sugar

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).

4. Sift in all other ingredients and mix well to combine.

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

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

7. Set aside to cool completely (you can work on one of the other trifle components while you wait).

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

9. Spread strawberry jam between the 2 halves and stick them back together. Cut into cubes that are about 2cm squared and set aside for later.

The Sago Custard:

1. Heat the water and coconut milk in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer.

2. Add the sugar and the sago. Reduce the heat as low as it goes and allow to simmer gently (with you stirring frequently) for about 30 minutes, or until sago is cooked and the custard is starting to thicken (it will thicken even more on cooling so don’t worry if it is a bit runny).

3. Pour into a bowl or container and allow to cool.

4. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (optimum is over night).

Fruit and Jelly:

1. Prepare the jelly to the directions on the packet. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Halve and pit the cherries.

3. Place the cherries with ½ cup water and the sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

4. Mix the cornstarch with ½ cup cold water until you have a smooth and watery mixture.

5. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the cherries and simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (best over night).

The brand of vegan jelly I used - it set pretty runny and I probably wouldn't use it again.

Coconut Cream Topping:

1.  Refrigerate the 2 tins of coconut cream over night.

2. When you open the tin you will notice that the top is a very solid thick cream. Scoop out all of the solid thick cream on top (you can reserve the rest of it to use in another meal – like a curry).

3. Put the thick cream into a bowl and mix well using a hand held electric mixer. Move the beaters up and down to try and get as much air into the cream as possible. Add the sugar and beat until it pretty much resembles thick cream.

To Assemble:

1.  Wash and trim the strawberries. Cut in half (if they are big strawberries you may need to slice them).

2. Layer the bottom of a large glass bowl with the squares of cake.

3. Cover with the jelly.

4. Press strawberry halves around the outside to make a layer which is visible through the glass (see the pics if you’re not sure what I mean). Sprinkle a few bits in the middle as well.

5. Next, layer half of the sago custard over the top.

6. Next, layer the cherry mixture over the top of that.

7. Spread the rest of the sago mixture over the cherries.

8. Spread a punnet of strawberries over that (or however many strawberries you have left – remembering to keep some aside to decorate the top).

9. Finally, the last layer is the coconut cream topping.

10. Decorate with the remaining strawberries.

11. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Serves about 15 (with no seconds – so serves about 7-8 people with seconds!).

Edible Christmas Gifts Part 1: JAM!! (Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam)

Buying Christmas presents can be not only hard but stressful. But here is the secret - home-made edible Christmas presents are not only cheaper and cooler but are also a lot more special and personal to the person you give them to (they also show off your rad kitchen skillz! and we all know that girls only want boyfriends who have great skills...). Jams are particularly special gifts if you give them flavours that they can't buy anywhere else - like the four listed below.

So, pictured above we have plenty of jam varieties for you to choose from:

Tangelo and Goji Berry Jam (I know, tangelos are a bit hard to get your hands on but if you can then definitely pick this one because it has a delicious tart freshness to it)

Strawberry and Mulberry Jam (you can't go wrong with this one - and if you can't get the mulberries just substitute raspberries or blackberries)

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam (recipe below - it pretty much blew my mind)

Tomato and Pineapple Jam (for those a bit more adventurous, this is both mine and my partner's favourite type of jam - probably the main reason we are together)

So - here are the steps to awesome gifts that everyone will love: 

1. Make your jams

2. Bottle them up 

3. Add some nice handwritten labels

4. You can put some Christmasy fabric on the top

5. Tie some ribbon around it to make it festive

6. Give at Christmas

7. Get ready to accept some serious praise

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients
750g fresh strawberries
750g fresh rhubarb stalks, cut into about 1cm pieces
1.5 kg sugar
1 packet of Jam Setta (for info on Jam Setta see this other jam post)

To Make
1. Chop up strawberries, I like to do about half of them small and the other half chunky. Chop the rhubarb into pieces about 1cm long. Put all the fruit in a big saucepan (ideally the jam should only take up about 1/3 of the saucepan so probably use the biggest one you have).
2. Add the sugar and stir through. Put the pot on a low heat (you don't need to add any water!) and stir a bit until the juice starts to come out of the fruit and the sugar starts to melt. Once there is enough liquid in the bottom of the pan you can stop stirring and cover the pot over to bring it to a simmer.
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add the jam setta and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Check the jam has set. To test this do a set test, place a tsp full of jam (preferably not a chunky fruity bit) on a saucer and put it in the freezer for about 30-40 seconds. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the jam crinkles then it is ready. If it doesn't boil the jam for 5 more minutes and try the test again.
5. Once you have a successful set test remove the jam from the heat.
6.Wash empty glass jars in hot soapy water and rise well. Dry and fill with hot jam. Screw the lids on very tightly.
7. Line a huge saucepan with tea towels (so the glass jars don't touch the bottom). Place your tighly sealed jam-filled jars in the saucepan and cover completely with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil. Boil for 20 minutes and then turn off the heat.
8. Once they have cooled a bit remove the jars from the water, dry and label them.

Makes 6-8 jars (depending on the size of your jars).

Strawberry and Mulberry Jam

Jam is a fantastic way to enjoy seasonal fruits all year round so as soon as strawberries get cheap and mulberries come out - this jam is on. Like Donkey Kong. If you don't have mulberries substitute blackberries or raspberries.

Ingredients

750g fresh strawberries, trimmed
750g mulberries, washed and stems removed
1.5kg sugar
1 packed Jam Setta (For info in Jam Setta see this other jam post)
1 tbsp lemon juice

To Make
1. Chop up strawberries, I like to do about half of them small and the other half chunky. Halve some of the mulberries and leave the rest whole. Put all the fruit in a big saucepan (ideally the jam should only take up about 1/3 of the saucepan so probably use the biggest one you have).
2. Add the sugar and stir through. Put the pot on a low heat (you don't need to add any water!) and stir a bit until the juice starts to come out of the fruit and the sugar starts to melt. Once there is enough liquid in the bottom of the pan you can stop stirring and cover the pot over to bring it to a simmer.
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add the jam setta and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Check the jam has set. To test this do a set test, place a tsp full of jam (preferably not a chunky fruity bit) on a saucer and put it in the freezer for about 30-40 seconds. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the jam crinkles then it is ready. If it doesn't boil the jam for 5 more minutes and try the test again.
5. Once you have a successful set test add the lemon juice and remove the jam from the heat.
6.Wash empty glass jars in hot soapy water and rise well. Dry and fill with hot jam. Screw the lids on very tightly.
7. Line a huge saucepan with tea towels (so the glass jars don't touch the bottom). Place your tighly sealed jam-filled jars in the saucepan and cover completely with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil. Boil for 20 minutes and then turn off the heat.
8. Once they have cooled a bit remove the jars from the water, dry and label them.

Makes 6-8 jars (depending on the size of your jars).

For more awesome jam check out our Tangelo and Goji Berry Jam.