Christmas Cake Revisited + holiday baking

So the cake has been fed copious amounts of brandy since being made. It got fed every 4 days by pouring 1 to 2 Tablespoons of brandy all over the base. It was stored wrapped in tin foil and kept in an airtight container.

This is what it looked like on Monday.

I then heated up some apricot jam and brushed the entire top and sides of the cake with the jam, rolled out some store bought marzipan and covered the top and sides and left it to sit for 24 hours.

With it's Marzipan layer

I then brushed the marzipan with cold water and covered it in rolled out store bought icing and let loose on the decorating which is by far the BEST BIT! 

All dolled up and ready to go!

Mincepies!

 Mushroom paté

So that concludes my holiday baking. I've made a seitan encroute for my Christmas dinner but I'll post a photo of that when it's all baked and in it's finery.

I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas.

Vegan MoFo IV Day 30: Hasta Pronto Amigos y Amigas

Well that's it folks - another MoFo has come to an end and this year was a record year for sure. I've had so much fun discovering new blogs and catching up with old and loved blogs alike. I'll be taking a little break from blogging for a day or two (or 3 ) but be sure to come back and see how the Christmas Cake gets decorated and to see what other Christmas goodies I'll be baking over the next few weeks - there's gonna be LOTS.

So all that's left for me to say is a HUGE thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hello and for all the really lovely comments that were left. MoFo'ers ROCK!

I'm sad there's no recipe for my last MoFo entry but I'll leave you with a photo of exactly what it is I've been up to today instead.

Vegan MoFo IV Day 29: Soy Free Vegan Quiche Recipe!

Been working on this over the weekend and I'm happy to share the recipe with you all now.

Soy Free Vegan Quiche

Wholemeal Pastry

Ingredients
7 ounces  wholemeal flour
3 1/2 ounces vegan margarine
6 Tablespoons water

Method
Place the flour into a bowl and add the margarine. Rub the margarine into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and gather together to form a dough. If the dough is too sticky just add some more flour until it all comes together nicely.

Roll out and use to line a 9 inch round pie plate.

Filling

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 leek, trimmed, sliced and washed

1/2 cup diced mushrooms

1/2 cup diced red pepper

handful spinach

1/2 cup vegetable broth (or water)

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

8 scrapes nutmeg

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 cups mashed potatoes (made with salt and vegan margarine)

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons black salt

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Good pinch of saffron threads, steeped in 1 tablespoon warm water

Method

Heat oven to 200º, 400F.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan, add onion, garlic, leeks, peppers and mushrooms and cook on medium for 8-9 minutes stirring regularly. Add the spinach and half cup of vegetable broth (or water).

Stir well then add the thyme, nutmeg and black pepper. Cook through for another 5 minutes then take off the heat. 

In another pan reheat the mashed potato if you need to. Add the nutritional yeast, black salt, turmeric and saffron (water and threads) and give everything a really good stir.

Add the vegetables to the mashed potato and stir really really well.

Place the filling inside the pastry case and smooth the top down with a spautula. If you want to decorate the top go ahead, I use thinly sliced tomato for mine.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Eat hot or cold.

Vegan MoFo IV Day 26: Omelette

A simple vegan omelette made with silken tofu. The recipe was loosely based on Fat Free Vegan's recipe but it's different enough to share. You can use any veggies or whatever as the filling, this one is just mushrooms and the last of Vegan Dad's Sausage (I really must stop calling it that!) fried up in some oil and seasoned with black pepper.

Vegan Omelette

serves 1

Ingredients

250 grams silken tofu (about one and a half cups)

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon black salt

1 Tablespoon soya milk

Quarter teaspoon turmeric

half a 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

Few twists of black pepper

Method

Place all ingredients in blender and blend for 1 minute. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add the tofu mixture before the oil heats up. Spread the mixture out and cook on medium for 3-4 mins. Heat the grill (broiler) and place the frying pan under the grill and cook for 10 mins or so. You want the omelette to be nicely browned all over.

Remove from grill  

CAREFUL - HANDLE WILL BE HOT

Slide omelette onto plate, place filling on top and fold omelette over.

How easy is that!

Vegan MoFo IV Day 25: Vegan Clam Chowder

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American buddies. 

To celebrate I made a very American dish - Clam Chowder! 

I use this recipe from Vegan Guinea Pig because it is perfect and when I find the perfect recipe I stop looking for alternatives, though I did make a couple of changes:

1. I double the recipe 'cos it ain't enough (the given recipe is enough for 3 people I reckon) 

2. I add fresh sweetcorn

Seriously - this is some good shit.

Make it.

Vegan MoFo IV Day 24: Leek and Not So Chicken Pie

This is a leftover pie but don't confuse that with thinking it got leftover because no-one wanted to eat it. No siree. This pie used all the leftovers in mah fridge.

I sauteed some onions and sliced mushrooms in a little oil then I added a minced clove of garlic, some chopped up Vegan Dad's Sausage and leftover carrots and potatoes which I just chopped up to bite size pieces. Took that off the heat while I made my sauce which is so easy peasy it's insane.

Melt some marg in a pan, about 2 Tablespoons. Add a GOOD 2 Tablespoons of regular flour and whisk like a MoFo'er. Whilst whisking I gradually poured in about half a pint of warm vegetable stock until I got a nice thick consistency. This might take more or less stock depending on how thick you like your sauce to be. Then I added a Not Chick'n stock cube and gave it all a really good stir.

I added this to the pan with the veggies n tings in then added a sliced up leek and some ground black pepper and salt and gave it all another good stir.

I made some wholewheat pastry thusly:

Wholemeal Pastry
Ingredients
12 ounces  wholemeal flour
6 ounces vegan margarine
10 Tablespoons water

Method
Place the flour into a bowl and add the margarine. Rub the margarine into the flour until it resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add the water and gather together to form a dough. If the dough is too sticky just add some more flour until it all comes together nicely.

Roll out half the dough and use it to line a pie plate.

Add your scrummy pie filling and top with the remaining rolled out dough.

Bake in the oven at 200º for 30-40 mins.

Easy as Pie!

Vegan MoFo IV Day 23: More Pancakes

Yes more pancakes! I've had my eye on this recipe from the awesome Eat Pure blog ever since Sarah first posted about it. Sarah's mum and dad own Ely's To Go in Youngstown, Ohio. JEALOUS!

So if you're in the vicinity go and say hi and if you're not make these pancakes now. 

They are my favourite.

Vegan MoFo IV Day 22: Tofu pancakes

During MoFo my morning ritual is make a cuppa tea, fire up the computer and catch up on all the MoFo'ing that has gone on overnight which, incidentally, involves most MoFo'ers from The States and Canada seeing as how y'all are 5,6,7,8 ish hours behind me. The problem with this though is that my belly starts grumbling earlier than it would normally and my previously satisfactory bowl of porridge just doesn't seem quite as appealing as it normally would.

I've had my eye on this recipe from the awesome Eat Pure blog but I didn't have any courgettes (I'm getting some later today from the market so I will be making this recipe asap). But then this morning I happened upon this recipe for Savoury Tofu Pancakes from the awesome Alien's Day Out blog and seeing as I had all the ingredients I knew what my breakfast would be today.

I added about a teaspoon of salt and lots of grated black pepper and a teaspoon of Colman's Mustard.

I  also used silken tofu instead of firm and I used half the amount which made 6 very delicious pancakes.

My tummy was happy!

Vegan MoFo IV Day 21: New sink

old sink

New sink 

it's HUGE. 
And lovely. 
And shiny.
And as weird as I know it is to say this out loud but I LOVE MY NEW SINK.

What is happening to me?? I'm turning into my mother!

Vegan MoFo IV Day 20: Everything but the kitchen sink!

It's true - I have everything BUT the kitchen sink 'cos I'm having a nice new one plumbed in. Can't get in the kitchen to do any cooking so I think we'll be having pizza for tea tonight.