I didn't think it would be me writing this blog. Amy is way more active on Instagram than I am, I've only just joined the club really. However, these stood out to me. What are these "Buddha Bowls" that everyone keeps posting about?

Sweden has set a goal of becoming a zero waste nation by 2020. That sounds like a pretty optimistic goal right? Well, they are fast on their way to doing it if they haven't already!

Vanilla Sponge Cake

A vanilla sponge cake is the ultimate option for 'tea and cake'. I'm normally a huge fan of chocolate, but I recently found myself really craving vanilla cake. I put it down to the fact that i didn't have a recipe at hand and that my body was subconsciously trying to force me to write a new one!

 This one turned out absolutely perfect, and I just know you'll all love it as much as i did. I used this recipe recently to make my mum’s birthday cake, and I simply topped it with LOADS of fresh strawberries and it went down a treat with everyone. 

The best part about this cake is how you can really decorate it to suit any occasion, once you’ve got the basic sponge recipe down, you can fill, ice and decorate as you please. I used seedless strawberry jam for the middle, but that's only because it’s my favourite, you really can use any jam you like, or even none at all!

Some vegan cake recipes use flax or chia seeds to replace the eggs, but I found in this style of cake it made it quite grainy in texture, plus I wasn't a big fan of having little back dots throughout my cake. Instead, the plant milk curdles with the lemon juice, and this works to replace the eggs you should find in a traditional non vegan cake recipe.

When it comes to baking vegan butter icing, you have to be so careful not to make it too runny. I always place my cake in the fridge after decorating, as I find vegan icing has a tendency to be softer than other icing, making it susceptible to running a little! 

The way I test my icing is thick enough is by gently dabbing it in the bowl with one finger, if you have any icing actually stick to your finger, you probably want it a little thicker.

Let me know how you got on in the comments below, and as always make sure you tag us in all your foodie makes on instagram!

Recipe

Yield: one double layer 8 inch cake (two 8 inch sponges)

Total Time: 2 Hours

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (fresh or bottled is fine)

• 2 1/4 cups / 540ml plant milk (soy or oat works great)

• 3 cups / 420g plain  flour

• 1 1/2 cups / 340g granulated sugar

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 1 tsp  bicarbonate of soda

• 1 1/2 tsp salt

• 3/4 cup / 175ml oil

• 3 tsp vanilla extract

To Decorate:

• Jam

• 3 ¾ cups / 435g icing sugar

• 3 tbsp vegan margarine

• 3 tbsp plant milk

• 2 tsp vanilla extract
  
  

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 175c and line the base of two round 8 inch baking tins with parchment.

2. In a second mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt until fluffy.

3. Add your oil and vanilla extract into your milk mix and mix to combine, then pour your wet ingredients into your dry and whisk until smooth.

4. Split your mix between your two cake tins, and then bake in the middle of the oven for about 35-40 minutes, test your cakes by inserting a cocktail stick or skewer into the centre of each one, if it comes out clean they’re ready!

5. Leave to cook for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack and allowing to cool completely.

6. To make your icing, beat together all your icing sugar, vegan margarine and vanilla extract.

7. Then add in your plant milk, one tbsp at a time. If you don’t need it all, don’t add it all, but if you need a little more, that's fine too! You want your icing nice and thick. Make sure you beat your icing on a high setting of your electric mixer for a good few minutes, this will stop it feeling grainy.

8. Take your sponge cakes, and decide which you want to be the bottom, then spread a fine layer of jam over it (you want your cakes to be ‘bottom to bottom’ when you cake is assembled).

9. Then either using a spectacular or a piping bag, pipe or spread a layer of icing sugar on top of the jam. Carefully place your second cake on the top, and then either leave it as it is, or you can spread butter icing on the top too! 

10.  Decorate as you wish, and then place in the fridge for your icing to set.

What did you think of this recipe? Did you do anything differently? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Don’t forget that you can share all your foodie makes with us using the hashtag #HBivore.

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Written by Amy Northwood
Her-Bivore
My passion for food and conservation has led me to where I am now! My aim is to show people that veganism can be diverse, tasty and adapted to fit every lifestyle and budget!
You can find me on Instagram

Raw Vegan Cookie Dough Bites

I think there’s something we can all agree on, vegans and non-vegans alike: raw cookie dough is amazing.

It’s better than cookies themselves, so why bother baking it?

We’ve all heard the rumours that raw cookie dough is not safe to eat, and this is partly due to the eggs. Fortunately, due to this being a vegan cookie dough recipe that’s not a concern!

The other possible safety issue falls to the flour though, it is crucial to ensure the flour has been heated to a high enough temperature to remove any possible e-coli that may be present in raw flour, this is why you'll see in the recipe to heat the flour in the microwave to 72c.

Another thing to note if you like in America is that not all American sugar is vegan. You’ll need to buy organic. Sugar in Europe is generally fine. You can check out one of my previous posts to make sure you're not buying into any nasty surprises.

This is a great easy recipe to make with kids, especially impatient ones who don’t want to have to wait for anything to bake! That said, the same reasoning can be applied to many adults, and if you haven’t got the patience to bake cookies, you probably skipped straight past this introduction anyway, so without further ado!

Recipe

Servings: 15-20

Total Time: 15M

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups (175g) plain flour
• 1/2 cup (110g) vegan margarine (I used pure)
• 1/2 cup (110g) light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (70g) caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (130g) vegan dark chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp vegan sprinkles

Method:

• STEP 1: Place your flour in a microwave safe bowl and heat on full power for 45-60 seconds, until the centre of the flour is at least 72c.
  
  
• STEP 2: In an electric mixer, combine the vegan margarine, brown sugar, caster sugar and salt. Leave to mix for about 3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
  
  
• STEP 3: Stir in your almond milk and vanilla extract. Fold in your flour until combined.
  
  
• STEP 4: Stir in your chocolate chips and sprinkles. If you want a more aesthetic look, leave some to one side to push in once you’ve shaped the balls.
  
  
• STEP 5: For rougher edges, you can use an ice cream scoop, but otherwise, use one tablespoon of the mix at a time, and roll in your hands to form balls. Place on baking paper.
  
  
• STEP 6: Serve immediately, or alternatively store in an airtight container in the fridge. This vegan cookie dough is also suitable for freezing!

What do you reckon?

These cookie dough bites didn't stick around long in our house! Did you make any changes to the recipe?

We made them again and put them on top of some of our cupcakes!

Check out the Cupcake Recipe

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Written by Amy Northwood
Her-Bivore
My passion for food and conservation has led me to where I am now! My aim is to show people that veganism can be diverse, tasty and adapted to fit every lifestyle and budget!
You can find me on Instagram

Is Sugar Vegan?

Sugar, found in the stems of sugar cane, and the roots of sugar beet. Vegan, right?