Ingredients

For the pastry

• 220 g (7.7 oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 6 tbsp vegan margarine or butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp water

For the filling

• 1/4 cup vegan margarine or butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 4 tbsp cornflour, cornstarch in the US
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 x 400 ml (13.5 fl.oz) tin of full-fat coconut milk, cream only (see notes above)
• 3/4 cup pecans

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 400°F.
• To make the pastry, transfer the flour, margarine and sugar to a mixing bowl, and rub the mixture together with your fingers until it resembles a crumble.
• Add the water and combine with your hands to make a dough. Keep adding a touch more water if the dough is still dry until it turns into a dough.
• Wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, for the filling add the margarine, sugar, maple syrup and cornflour to a pan on a medium heat. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the vanilla extract and remove the pan from the heat. Stir the coconut cream into the syrup. 
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Dust a work surface and a rolling pin with flour, and roll out the dough on the floured surface until it’s roughly 3mm thick.
• Using a stencil, cut out 12 circles from the dough and place one circle in each muffin mould, making sure the dough is flush against the sides.
• Place 2 or 3 pecan nuts in each mould and spoon in the syrup mixture until the mould is 2/3 full.
• Place muffin tray in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Remove the muffin tray from the oven and leave the mini pecan pies to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

• One tin of coconut milk should give you approximately 1/2 cup (125ml) of coconut cream. Avoid adding any more than this amount because the filling might become too wet.
• The trick to getting the coconut cream to separate from the water is using a can of coconut milk with high fat content. You can usually tell by shaking the can in the supermarket to see if it’s already separated. If you can’t hear it shaking around, then it’s usually a safe bet.
• You will also need a 12 cup muffin tray and a circle stencil roughly 10cm in diameter.

Recipe from www.wearesovegan.com

Ingredients

• 150g grated parsnip
• 250ml water
• 100g chopped dates
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp finely chopped preserved ginger – optional
• 80g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
• 180g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ripe pears
• 200g self-raising flour

Method

• Turn your oven to 180⁰C/Gas 4 to preheat. Grease a 20cm square baking tin with a little butter.
• Place the parsnip into a saucepan, along with 250ml of cold water. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and add the dates, bicarbonate of soda, and ginger. Leave to steep for 15 mins.
• Put the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat or whisk them together until light, pale and fluffy; this may take 3-4 mins. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.
• Cut each pear into 8 even wedges
• Tip the parsnip mixture into a blender or food processor and blitz it to a purée; it doesn’t matter if it is still warm. Transfer it to the bowl with the sugar and egg mixture. Mix everything together. Now sift in the flour and gently fold everything together. Take care to not overmix it; stop as soon as you stop seeing any dry parts.
• Scrape the mix to the baking tin and level it with the back of a spoon. Arrange the pears on top as evenly as you can. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 mins, or until a skewer or knife tip comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Serve warm.

Ingredients

• 2 Earl Grey tea bags
• 1 orange
• 1 apple
• 300g dried fruit
• 250g self-raising flour
• 180g light brown sugar
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 egg
• butter or oil for greasing the tin
• pinch of salt

Method

• Boil a kettle. Measure out 250ml of water into a jug or bowl. Add the tea bags and let them brew for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, finely zest the orange. Coarsely grate the apple away from its core, skin and all.
• Remove the tea bags, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. Now add the dried fruit, orange zest and grated apple to the tea to soak. Leave for at least 2 hours, and ideally overnight, if you have time.
• When you’re ready to bake, turn your oven to 170˚C/Gas 3. Double line a loaf tin (see tips).
• Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, mixed spice, and a small pinch of salt. Mix them together well and break up any lumps in the sugar.
• Crack the egg into the soaked fruit and mix it together well. Now, pour the fruit mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently fold everything together, taking care to not overmix; stop as soon as you stop seeing any dry parts in the mix.
• Scrape the mix into the loaf tin, and level it with the back of a spoon. Transfer to the oven and bake for 1 hour, until the top is a deep golden brown. Cover it loosely with foil to stop it burning and then cook for a final 20-30 mins, until a skewer or knife tip comes out clean.
• Cool in the tin for 10 mins before removing to a rack to cool completely. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, it will be good for 3-4 days. If it feels a little stale, a quick dunk in the toaster can revive a slice. It also freezes very well for up to 4 months, if needed.
• Serve with cold butter and hot tea.

Recipe by www.riverford.co.uk

Ingredients

• For the Sponge
• 4 eggs, separated
• 65g granulated sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 65g golden caster sugar or caster sugar
• 50g butter, melted and cooled
• 65g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
• zest of ½ orange
• pinch of salt
• For the Filling
• 100g butter, softened
• 200g icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp Cointreau or any orange liqueur
• zest of ½ orange
• 4 tbsp orange marmalade
• For the Ganache
• 100g good-quality dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
• 30g butter
• 140ml double cream, room temperature
• To Decorate
• candied orange peel, slices or zest

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160Cfan/gas 4. Grease and line a 36cm baking tray with baking parchment leaving a generous overhang.

In a bowl whisk the egg whites until frothy. Gradually add the granulated sugar, whisking until you have soft peaks.

In a separate large bowl beat the egg yolks, vanilla extract and caster sugar until pale and moussey. Whisk in the melted butter. Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and fold in the orange zest and salt until combined.

Use a spatula to gently fold in a little of the egg white mixture to loosen and then fold in the rest until combined, being careful not to knock out any air. Pour into the lined baking tray and tap the tray to spread it out and remove any air bubbles.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the top of the sponge springs back when pressed – make sure you don’t over bake. Leave to cool in the tin for 8 minutes.

Place a piece of baking paper approx. 30cm by 40cm on your counter or worktop and dust lightly with a little caster sugar or cocoa powder to prevent sticking. Turn out the cake onto the paper and peel off the baking paper that was on the bottom of the cake as it baked. Gently and slowly roll up the cake with the new piece of baking paper. Leave to cool completely, speeding up the process by chilling in the fridge if you prefer.

Meanwhile prepare the buttercream filling. In a bowl beat the softened butter until pale and gradually add in the icing sugar. Add 1-2 tbsp Cointreau, depending on how strong you want the cream, and add the orange zest. Mix well until combined.

Gently unroll the cooled sponge and spread with a thin layer of marmalade. Then spread over the buttercream. Gently re-roll the sponge but this time remove the baking paper as you roll. Cover and chill, seam side down for 30 minutes.

To make the ganache topping place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure it doesn’t touch the water. Add the cream and stir until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Place the sponge roll, seam-side down on a wire rack and evenly pour the ganache over the top, tapping the rack gently for a smooth finish. Chill for 25-30 minutes. Decorate the roll with candied orange slices or zest.

INGREDIENTS

Puddings

Little butter for greasing
65g (21/2oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces
40g (11/2oz) butter, diced
2 medium eggs
50g (2oz) caster sugar
40g (11/2oz) plain flour
2 teaspoons cocoa
100g (4oz) raspberries, plus a few extra to decorate

Sauce

100g (4oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces
25g (1oz) caster sugar
125ml (4fl oz) milk
Large pinch ground cinnamon
Few drops vanilla essence
Vanilla ice cream to serve

METHOD

1. First make the puddings. Brush the inside of 4, 7.5cm (3 inch) diameter, 2.5cm (1inch) deep individual Yorkshire pudding tins or foil dishes with a little butter then line the base of each tin with a circle of non-stick baking paper.  Add the chocolate and butter to a small saucepan and heat very gently, stirring until both have melted then take off the heat.

2. Add the eggs and sugar to a bowl and whisk together for a minute or two until frothy. Gradually whisk in the melted chocolate and butter mix then the flour and cocoa until smooth.

3. Divide between the buttered dishes then scatter the raspberries over the top. Chill for 1-2 hours, or longer if it suits you better until ready to cook.  Add all the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and heat very gently, stirring until smooth then take off the heat. Cool then cover and transfer to the fridge.

4. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 180oC (160oC fan assisted), Gas Mark 4. Put the puddings on to a baking sheet then cook for 10 minutes or until  just set in the centre. Take out of the oven, leave to cool for a minute or two then loosen and remove from the tins. Peel away the lining paper and transfer to serving dishes.  Decorate with extra raspberries, warm the sauce through then drizzle over the puddings and serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Cook’s tips

Try these puds with blackberries too or a mix of raspberries and blackberries.

If you only have cardamom pods, add 3 pods to a pestle and mortar and grind gently to open them up. Then remove and discard the pod skins and grind the seeds a little more until ground.

Simply avoid using soya milk to make this recipe soy-free.

Ingredients

• 325ml (11fl.oz) plant-based milk 
• 2 tbsp loose leaf chai masala or 3 chai tea bags
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 225g (7.9oz) plain flour
• 140g (4.9oz) light brown sugar 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda in the US)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 80g (2.8oz) vegetable oil

For topping:

• 250g (8.8oz) icing sugar 
• 60g (2.1oz) vegan margarine
• 1 handful of walnuts, roughly chopped

Method

1. To make the chai milk, pour the milk into a small saucepan on a medium heat.  Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and add the loose leaves or tea bags. Stir, then leave the tea to brew in the milk for 10 minutes. 
2. Squeeze the tea against the side of the saucepan to extract all the flavour, then discard.
3. Measure out 200ml (7oz) of the chai milk and stir in the apple cider vinegar. Note: the volume of the chai milk will have reduced when it was heated which is why you will need to measure this amount now so it’s precise (you can drink anything leftover or simply discard it). Leave the mixture to sit while you carry out the next steps.
4. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan / 350°F and line a 20cm (8”) square cake tin with baking paper.
5. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cardamom together in a large mixing bowl. 
6. Next pour in the chai milk you measured earlier and the vegetable oil and stir until you get a smooth cake batter. 
7. Pour the batter into the lined cake tin and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. 
8. Leave the cake to cool completely.
9. Meanwhile, to make the frosting, add the vegan margarine and icing sugar to a mixing bowl. Use a fork to bring them together to a buttercream. Once mostly combined, add a splash of plant-based milk to the mixture if it’s too thick.
10. Once the cake is fully cooled, spread the frosting all over the top and finish with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts. Now simply cut into slices and serve

Ingredients

• For the pastry
• 35g caster sugar 
• 60g salted butter softened
• 120g plain flour plus extra for dusting
• 1 egg yolk beaten
• For the frangipane filling
• 110g salted butter softened
• 110g caster sugar 
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste 
• 1/2 orange finely grated zest of half an orange 
• 100g sugar almonds 
• 20g salted almonds roughly chopped
• 20g flaked almonds 
• 1 tbsp plain flour 
• 1 large egg beaten
• For the topping
• 1 orange peeled and cut into slices
• 1 portion flaked almonds to decorate
• 3 tbsp home-made marmalade to glaze

Method

1.  Cream together the sugar and butter in a bowl until combined. Sift in the flour and mix until incorporated. Add the egg yolk and stir through, then bring the dough together with your hands, adding a splash of water if the mixture is a little dry and isn’t coming together.
2.  Tip the dough out onto a worktop, knead a little until smooth, then wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour.
3.  Once chilled, remove the cling film from the dough and gently knead until slightly softened, then shape into a ball and squash down on an unfloured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it out, adding a little flour as needed to stop it sticking, until you have a circle about 30cm wide. Use your pin to transfer the pastry and lay it over your tart tin. Press evenly into the base and sides, folding the excess pastry back over the sides of your tin. Cover with cling film and return to the fridge for half an hour.
4.  Heat your oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Top the base of your pastry with baking parchment and baking beans. Place the tart tin on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and beans, and bake for a further 5 minutes, then set aside to cool.
5.  While baking the pastry case, make the frangipane filling. Cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla bean paste and orange zest. Add the almonds and flour and mix in, then beat in the egg until smooth.
6.  Turn down the oven to 170°C/Gas 3½. Fill the cooled pastry case with the frangipane mix and level the top. Top the tart with the orange slices and flaked almonds and bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown and slightly springy to the touch. Remove from the oven, then use a sharp knife to trim off the excess overhanging pastry.
7.  Gently warm the marmalade in a pan or microwave until just melted, then brush over the top of the tart as a glaze. Serve while still warm, topped with crème fraiche.

Recipe by www.lakeland.co.uk

• Oil for greasing
• 450g (1lb) fresh cherries, pitted or 400g can pitted black cherries, drained
• 4 tablespoons kirsch or cherry brandy
• 100ml (4 fl oz) milk
• 150ml (1/4 pint) whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 4 large British Lion eggs
• 100g (3 1/2 oz) caster sugar
• 25g (1oz) plain flour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200C/400F. Lightly oil a 23cm (9-inch) wide ovenproof dish. Mix the cherries and kirsch or brandy together and set aside.
2. Put the milk, cream and vanilla in a pan and heat until almost boiling. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until creamy, add the flour and beat until smooth. Pour over the hot milk and mix well. You can leave the mixture to stand for up to 1 hour.
3. Scatter the cherries over the base of the dish. Stir the batter, and pour over the cherries. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until risen and puffy. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cold with whipped cream.

Ingredients

• For the Pastry
• 225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• ¼ tsp salt
• 110g chilled butter, diced
• 1-2 tbsp cold water
• For the Filling
• 175g white breadcrumbs, made from day-old bread
• 100g freshly grated coconut or unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 3 pieces of stem ginger from a jar, finely chopped
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 700 g golden syrup
• 3 tbsp stem ginger syrup from a jar
• 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• To Serve
• toasted coconut flakes, to garnish (optional)
• clotted cream, to serve

Method

To make the pastry sift the flour into a large bowl and mix in the salt. Add the chilled butter and, using your fingertips, rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in enough water to bring the dough together – you may need more or less. Gather it into a ball with your hands and knead briefly on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Wrap in cling fling and chill to rest for 20 minutes.

Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface and use to line a lightly greased, loose-bottomed 23cm wide 4cm deep flan tin leaving an overhang. Chill for 20 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 200◦C/180Cfan/Gas Mark 6.

Line the pastry case with a crumpled sheet of greaseproof paper and a thin layer of baking beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 180◦C/160Cfan/Gas 4. Leave the pastry case to cool before trimming the pastry overhang with a peeler or serrated knife.

For the filling, mix the breadcrumbs, coconut and lemon zest together in a large bowl. Put the golden syrup, stem ginger syrup, lemon juice, chopped stem ginger and ground ginger into a pan and warm gently over a low heat, stirring until melted and combined. Pour into the bowl with the breadcrumbs and mix well. Spoon evenly into the tart case and bake in the oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned. Remove and leave to cool slightly before garnishing with coconut flakes. Best served just warm with clotted cream.

Recipe from www.ainsley-harriott.com

Ingredients

• 1 x 320g sheet of ready-made puff pastry
• icing sugar, for dusting
• 250g mascarpone, chilled
• 275g double cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• ½-1 tsp orange blossom extract (more or less depending on brand strength)
• zest of 1 orange
• 4-5 tbsp fig or apricot jam, loosened with a dash of water or juice if needed
• 3-4 figs, 2-3 thinly sliced and 1 cut into quarters
• 45g pistachios, toasted and chopped
• 8 mint leaves, finely shredded, plus extra leaves to garnish
• runny honey, for drizzling (orange blossom or heather honey if you have it)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180cfan/Gas 6.

Place the sheet of pastry on a lined baking tray and dust with icing sugar. Place another sheet of greaseproof paper on top of the pastry and a heavy baking tray on top of the paper so that the pastry bakes flat. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Cut the sheet into 12 equal portions using a sharp knife (for a 320g sheet cut in half lengthways, then each half into 6 equal pieces, ending up with 12 pieces of approx. 2×4 inches). Select the best four looking rectangles and dust these with icing sugar. (For a fancy decoration, carefully heat a metal skewer in the flame of a gas hob and hold on top of the icing sugar to form ‘burnt’ sugar lines in a criss-cross pattern).

Put the mascarpone in a large clean bowl. Soften the mascarpone with 1 tablespoon of the double cream using an electric whisk and then gradually whisk in the remaining cream. Add the orange blossom and sifted icing sugar and whisk until stiff peaks start to form. Don’t over whip because mascarpone can easily curdle. Stir in the zest.

Place a pastry rectangle on a serving plate and spread a little of the fig jam down the middle lengthways. Pipe a layer of mascarpone cream around the edge of the fig jam. Arrange 2-3 fig slices on top and scatter over some pistachios and mint. Top with another pastry layer and repeat the process. Finish with a decorated pastry top and drizzle with a little honey. Garnish with a fig quarter and mint leaves. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have 4 mille-feuille. Enjoy straight away.

Tip: you can cut the baked pastry sheet into 3 to make one large mille feuille if you prefer – just cut the top layer of pastry into four before placing on top so that you can use it as a guide for cutting the dessert into slices.

Recipe by

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180cfan/Gas 6.

Place the sheet of pastry on a lined baking tray and dust with icing sugar. Place another sheet of greaseproof paper on top of the pastry and a heavy baking tray on top of the paper so that the pastry bakes flat. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Cut the sheet into 12 equal portions using a sharp knife (for a 320g sheet cut in half lengthways, then each half into 6 equal pieces, ending up with 12 pieces of approx. 2×4 inches). Select the best four looking rectangles and dust these with icing sugar. (For a fancy decoration, carefully heat a metal skewer in the flame of a gas hob and hold on top of the icing sugar to form ‘burnt’ sugar lines in a criss-cross pattern).

Put the mascarpone in a large clean bowl. Soften the mascarpone with 1 tablespoon of the double cream using an electric whisk and then gradually whisk in the remaining cream. Add the orange blossom and sifted icing sugar and whisk until stiff peaks start to form. Don’t over whip because mascarpone can easily curdle. Stir in the zest.

Place a pastry rectangle on a serving plate and spread a little of the fig jam down the middle lengthways. Pipe a layer of mascarpone cream around the edge of the fig jam. Arrange 2-3 fig slices on top and scatter over some pistachios and mint. Top with another pastry layer and repeat the process. Finish with a decorated pastry top and drizzle with a little honey. Garnish with a fig quarter and mint leaves. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have 4 mille-feuille. Enjoy straight away.

Tip: you can cut the baked pastry sheet into 3 to make one large mille feuille if you prefer – just cut the top layer of pastry into four before placing on top so that you can use it as a guide for cutting the dessert into slices.

Recipe by

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180cfan/Gas 6.

Place the sheet of pastry on a lined baking tray and dust with icing sugar. Place another sheet of greaseproof paper on top of the pastry and a heavy baking tray on top of the paper so that the pastry bakes flat. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Cut the sheet into 12 equal portions using a sharp knife (for a 320g sheet cut in half lengthways, then each half into 6 equal pieces, ending up with 12 pieces of approx. 2×4 inches). Select the best four looking rectangles and dust these with icing sugar. (For a fancy decoration, carefully heat a metal skewer in the flame of a gas hob and hold on top of the icing sugar to form ‘burnt’ sugar lines in a criss-cross pattern).

Put the mascarpone in a large clean bowl. Soften the mascarpone with 1 tablespoon of the double cream using an electric whisk and then gradually whisk in the remaining cream. Add the orange blossom and sifted icing sugar and whisk until stiff peaks start to form. Don’t over whip because mascarpone can easily curdle. Stir in the zest.

Place a pastry rectangle on a serving plate and spread a little of the fig jam down the middle lengthways. Pipe a layer of mascarpone cream around the edge of the fig jam. Arrange 2-3 fig slices on top and scatter over some pistachios and mint. Top with another pastry layer and repeat the process. Finish with a decorated pastry top and drizzle with a little honey. Garnish with a fig quarter and mint leaves. Repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have 4 mille-feuille. Enjoy straight away.

Tip: you can cut the baked pastry sheet into 3 to make one large mille feuille if you prefer – just cut the top layer of pastry into four before placing on top so that you can use it as a guide for cutting the dessert into slices.

Recipe by www.ainsley-harriott.com