Vegan potato croquettes

There's a semi-joke among my friends that my portion control is out of control. I say semi because I think everyone now knows and expects there to always be at least third helpings at any dinner at Casa del Guac, and also because leftovers are no laughing matter, and out of control portions mean a lot of these.

Too much mash is one of my favourite problems to have, which is precisely where a vegan potato croquette starts its life. You can make them from baked potatoes but as I make vegan mashed potatoes with vegetable stock and olive oil, by the next day the mash has usually developed its flavour a little and is perfect for a filing for croquettes.

I chose to add a salad and a wedge of lemon to mine, to cut through the stodge of the potato. But then again, I made this after a sober evening and I think with hungover eyes they'd go equally as well with as many other carbs as you can fit on a plate. Your call.

Makes enough for 4 with other breakfast things or 2 very hungry people!

Ingredients
400g leftover mash potato
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
Squeeze of lemon juice
Seasoning
2 handfuls of bread crumbs or a hunk of stale bread that has been grated into 2 handfuls' worth
1/2 cup of soy or almond milk

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed potato with the olive oil, paprika and lemon juice, and season to taste. You don't have to add these extra flavours- but I find the paprika is a great match to the smoky fried taste of the breadcrumbs, while the lemon juice freshens it all up a little.

Set aside the potato, and then get to work on your breadcrumbs- I would grate and then use a hand blender to make them extra fine- or if you have a mixer this can sort them out too! I used the stale end of a wholemeal, seeded loaf, and the seeds tasted amazing after they'd gone chewy from being fried, but whatever bread you have in will work well as long as it is a few days old.

Once your breadcrumbs have a fine, even consistency and no major lumps, pour the soy or almond milk in to a dish and arrange so you have the mashed potato ready to go on one side, then the milk, then the breadcrumbs, and a plate to pop all the prepared croquettes on, like a factory line.

Using two tablespoons, shape the potato croquettes into fat rolls and then quickly dip into the milk so they are covered all over. Then roll in the breadcrumbs, making sure the ends are covered. Leave on a plate and start the next croquette. They don't need to be perfect as you can add a few more breadcrumbs to them all once all the potato is used up, just make sure they are firm.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and then wait until the pan is almost smoking hot before frying two or three at a time- any more and they start to bump in to each other and knock the breadcrumbs off. Once the breadcrumbs are totally brown all over, carefully remove and plate up with the rest of your breakfast. I find it easy to make beans in this time but anything else might need a bit more preparation, in which case you could set the croquettes aside and then heat them up in the oven once they're ready to go.

Vegan chocolate birthday cake

Baking a cake hasn't given me this many smiles in a long, long time. I usually find the whole process pretty traumatic and steer well clear of things you can't properly taste as you make, adjust the seasoning for or make it up as you go along. But this cake was FUN.

From making a gazillion batches of this vegan brownie recipe for my boyfriend and my birthday earlier in the year, I figured the texture would work quite well in a cake: it's spongey and gets stickier and richer the longer you keep it. So I doubled the recipe I'd been using for brownies and the result was this supersize cake that I then had to recruit best friends and neighbours (also bezzie ms!) to help me eat. We only managed half before I had to stick it in the freezer, this cake really is GINORMOUS. Perfect for a birthday or summer party, not so much a solo mission.

Serves 10
Ingredients
3 cups of plain flour
1 cup cocoa
3 cups organic brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup fresh brewed coffee
1 1/2 cup soy milk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup plain dark chocolate chips (about two small packets' worth)/ broken chunks of plain dark chocolate


For the icing and fruit topping

1 tbsp cocoa powder
Around 200g icing sugar
Around 3 tbsp vegan margarine such as Vitalite
200g strawberries
100g raspberries
1/2 peach or nectarine

Grease and line your baking tins. I used one large springform baking tin, and two smaller tins to go on top. You could make this cake with four layers, there's enough mixture- but I fancied making it look a little OTT with one bigger layer at the bottom.

Preheat oven to 160 °C.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Then in a separate bowl, pour and mix in the coffee, soy milk and oil. Add the liquid to the dry mix, stirring in the chocolate drops. 

Pour the cake mix into the tins. It will be quite runny at this point, but they do stodge up.

Leave in the oven for at least 25 minutes, checking back after that point to see if a tooth pick will come clean when inserted in the middle of the cake. 

Once the mixture springs back from light pressure when you touch it gently, it's ready. Take out and leave, in the tins, to cool for about five minutes initially. Then tip over and gently remove the baking paper, before leaving on cooling racks to cool down completely.

When the cakes have just about cooled, begin making the icing so they will be totally cool by the time it's all ready to assemble. I've kept the measurements between icing sugar and margarine vague as it often changes for me depending on heat or how stiff the icing goes, but I would stick to the rule that the less margarine you use the better, so the icing remains stiff and not too gloopy. Sift in the icing sugar to get rid of any lumps, and then use a fork to mix it into the sugar, using bit by bit, adding the cocoa as you go too.

Once you're happy with the consistency, begin assembling your cake. I chose to do one thin layer of chocolate icing with slices of strawberries for the base layer, then a layer of icing between bases 2 and 3, before topping off with a thicker layer for the top and chopped fruits. 

Remember once you've added the chopped fruit, it won't handle the heat very well, so clear some room in the fridge for this! I found myself laughing away once it was all ready, I couldn't quite believe what I'd managed to make with vegan ingredients. That's some magic right there!

Sodo Pizza Cafe, Clapton

Maybe I'm just a bit too accustomed to the downers that hit after every Domino's, but Sodo Pizza Cafe on Upper Clapton Road ticks all the boxes, along with boxes I didn't even know needed ticking. Delicious crispy-based pizza, attentive, straight-forward staff, no weird table booking codewords and the ability to get your cheese replaced with something else if you're ordering vegan.

On top of this there's gorgeous homemade ginger beer, table water ALL the time, some of the best beers London has anywhere (Kernal, London Fields Brewery) and salad leaves and vegetables supplied by Hackney-based Growing Communities (who you can read more about here). A glass of homemade tiramisu went down pretty fast with my parents too, just saying.

When birthday cakes go wrong

The day after my birthday I spent a train journey home plotting how to make this cake. There were diagrams, there were pros and cons lists drawn up for each recipe, a somewhat lengthily discussion with various friends over txt about which theme the cake should take and even a Pinterest inspiration board. The minute I got home, I ran out to the cake decorating shop (aka Nirvana) to stock up on glitter and sprinkles. I then ran home and began construction, which took around three hours.

It was a four layer vanilla victoria sponge cake with a jam centre and pastel pink faux-butter icing top and sides. And some sprinkles and pale green icing piping for good measure. It was meant to stand at around 12cm high, but it only came to about five. Because it was also inedible. Although the batter rose at first, it later sunk somehow even lower than the level it was when it went in the oven, and never lifted again. When I cut through the many layers of icing and piping and sprinkles (with my whole family looking on, actually quite hungry now too) it was to four layers of wafer thin raw cake mixture. Nice. We all tried to eat a slice, drank twice as much prosecco and didn't mention it again for the entire weekend.

So there you are, when bad cake happens.

Vegan Oreo chocolate cupcakes

Without fully realising my luck, I managed to procure upwards of sixty Oreos last month. Now while European-manufactured Oreos have milk in them, those made in the US don't, rendering them vegan. 24 of them mysteriously never made it into the baking process, but a fair few did. I've adapted this recipe to make it a little more simple from one over at the PETA website.

Something I've noticed from baking with cake wrappers is because of the lack of butter, the cupcake often sticks to the wrapper after baking, so it doesn't come apart as a whole. To stop this from happening so much, only take the wrapper off when the cake is totally cool. I've also read that you could do away with using them altogether and just grease a muffin tin on its own, but I haven't experimented with that yet!

Milk and I have something in common...

Makes around 36 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

4 1/2 cups plain flour
3 cups caster sugar
1 cup cocoa
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp bicarbonate soda
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/8 cup vanilla extract
3 cups fresh brewed coffee
1/4 cup and 2tbsp vinegar

For the faux-butter icing (the measurements really depend on how much icing you want- I often start with a small amount mixed to the right consistency and carry on adding until there is enough)
Icing sugar
Pure soy margarine
1 tsp cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to around 150 degress celsius and fill the cupcake tins with wrappers.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl with the sugar, cocoa, bicarb and salt. Then add the vegetable oil and vanilla extract until just combined.

Slowly pour in the coffee, mixing for a few minutes until well combined. Finally, add the vinegar and stir for one last minute.

Pour the mixture into the baking cases to just below the edge of the wrappers and bake for around 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of a cupcake.

Allow to cool completely.

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a large bowl, and add small chunks of the soy margarine. Mix in with a fork to separate the margarine until it blends in with the sugar. Add more and more icing sugar until it is as firm as you'd like it to be- the icing will get softer once it's been mixed for a while, but will harden in the fridge. Decorate with a whole or half piece of Oreo- the biscuit will soften next to the icing so it's best to save this final touch to the very last minute.

In defence of sweetcorn fritters

Say what you like about sweetcorn fritters and ketchup, but if you haven't sat down on your birthday to a plate full with a load of cava then I'm afraid your argument can stop right there. Sweetcorn fritters are the BOMB. It doesn't need to be pancake day to bust these out, and they go down a treat as a change to a fry-up on a hungover Saturday morning.

My boyfriend made me a stack yesterday to celebrate me becoming a little bit older- he played it safe with golden syrup, bananas, strawberries and blueberries, where as I went in for sweetcorn, ketchup and tea. If you want to make half the mix without sweetcorn, just add the sweetcorn to every other pancake when you first pour in the batter. And obviously scorn at the plain mix and its lack of ability to become a match made in heaven like sweetcorn and pancake batter is. Thank you again to Jenny for this recipe! And Becca and Joe for the amazing plates and pans, you can check out Becca's blog too!

Makes a lot of two or enough for three

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
2 tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup soy milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Plus a tin of sweetcorn or fresh corn if you can get it.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the soy milk and oil and mix until smooth. I've found the batter will always improve if you chill it for as long as you can. So if you have time, pop it in the fridge for 20 minutes while you get your fruit/coffee/tea ready.

When you're ready, heat up a frying pan with a little oil, until you can see smoke coming out of it when you look closely. Add a large tablespoon of mixture, so it's about as big as your palm. If you're adding sweetcorn, put a teaspoon in now as this mixture cooks very quickly. After a few second they will be ready to flip, then a few more seconds on the other side and they will be ready! Stack up in a pile and add whatever toppings you fancy.

Beetroot and potato cakes for a birthday brunch

Brunch is full stop the best meal of the day. This beetroot and caramelised orange salad recipe with potato cakes and spicy yoghurt is everything a good brunch should be: sweet, savoury, great as an alternative to a fry up and yes, slightly ludicrous.

This recipe is based on one I found by Riverford Farm head chef Jane Baxter- I veganised the potato cakes and simplified quite a few of the different flavours going on, so you’re just left with a huge plate of  brunchtime. I think the crazy colours and sizzle of potato cakes make this a perfect start to a birthday; it’s great with coffee, tea and funnily enough, a LOT of cava.

NB- To speed up the recipe, mash the potato the night before, or better, just make too much with dinner and save a bowl-full of leftovers.

Makes a lot for two people, or enough for four

Ingredients

For the potato cakes:
Bowl of mashed potato
150 gram flour (chickpea flour)
100ml Soy yoghurt
Pinch of bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of cayenne
Seasoning
Sunflower, vegetable or olive oil for frying

For the salad:
300g beetroot, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
5 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp sugar
2 oranges, peeled and segmented


For the yoghurt dip:
Half pot soy yoghurt
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch of paprika
Seasoning
Handful of coriander, chopped, and some to serve.

Preheat the oven to 200C and once hot, roast the beetroot in a tablespoon of oil, along with salt and pepper, uncovered for around 45 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together to mash and gram flour, adding in the almond milk, bicarb and cayenne pepper, and season well.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and drop a tablespoon-size of the batter mix into the pan. I did one at a time to the pan wouldn’t get too crowded. Cook for two or three minutes on either side, and then leave on a plate while repeating with the rest of the mixture, until you have around 12-16 pancakes.
By now the beetroot should be nearly done- in a saucepan heat the orange juice and sugar until it boils, then reduce until it becomes a syrupy texture. Add the beetroot and coat in the juice, along with half of the orange segments.

For the yoghurt mix, add the chopped coriander, paprika and cayenne pepper to the yoghurt and stir.
To serve, pour the warm beetroot into the centre of the dish, add the potato cakes at the side, topped with the yoghurt mix and the leftover orange segments.

Salad Days

Another extended break from an internet connection has left blog posts a little thin on the ground for August- but it wasn't all bbqs on the beach and home cooking... at least not all the time!

For my Dad's birthday this year I made him a cook book of all my favourite recipes I have so far discovered. In fact there's been quite a few new dishes I've had to keep under wraps from here as I know he checks it from time to time!

Here's a little look at the finished cook book, which we looked through with fried mushrooms and parsley from the garden for breakfast. Happy Birthday Dad!

Aint nothing going on but the rent brownies

On Monday night I walked in my front door at half six with a packet of plain, dark chocolate drops and a bag of flour. By seven these were in the oven, by half seven their days already numbered.

Although I chose to simplify the original recipe and take away the glazing and walnuts, by all means gild that lily if the mood takes you!

One thing I am really fond of with American baking is the use of cups instead of grams or ounces. If, like me, you are living without kitchen scales, just chose a smaller sized coffee mug that doesn't change shape at the sides. As most baking is all about the ratio between each ingredient, you can easily double or halve the cup measurements to suit.

Makes 16 brownies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch of salt
3/4 cup fresh brewed coffee
3/4 cup soy milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain dark chocolate chips (about one small packet's worth)/ broken chunks of plain dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 160 °C, and grease and line one or two baking trays. These will cook and rise better if they are poured out thinner, so if in doubt, favour two trays over one.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Then in a separate bowl, pour and mix in the coffee, soy milk and oil. Add the liquid to the dry mix, stirring in the chocolate drops. 

Pour the brownie mix into your trays. It will be quite runny at this point, but they do stodge up.

Leave in the oven for at least 25 minutes, checking back after that point to see if a tooth pick will come clean when inserted in the middle of the brownies. Once cooked, leave to stand for five minutes if you can bare it, before digging in.

These will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for five days- and they only get better!

Vegan Carrot Cake

Vegan Carrot Cake 


The sign that this is a great carrot cake? My Mum has adopted the recipe into her baking repertoire (she's Queen of Puddings in my fam) and no-one can tell it's vegan. I've made this cake a few times now, and it's perfect for wrapping a few slices up and bringing to your friend's house for a cuppa, or even to keep on stand-by at home; it will last in the fridge for about a week. 

This is the first bit of vegan baking I've done that's actually worked out- so it would be ideal for anyone new to Veganism, also because there's no better way to tell your best friends you've decided to try out a new way of eating than by bringing a cake along that exemplifies it; Surprise! I'm a vegan! Now have some cake....


The recipe I used is from the Ethical Chef. However I would also add that I've cooked this twice now and needed much longer in two different ovens- more like 40 minutes to an hour. The only other thing I would mention is that I've tried out a few different vegan margarines for making butter icing with, and Vitalite is by far the best- if you're looking for that American cup-cake style  icing texture, just start with the mixed-in margarine and sieved icing sugar, and carry on adding more icing sugar until it goes stiff.

Funnily enough I've found this cake is perfect fuel for marathon catch-up with best friends. Liz and I managed to devour half of one recently after her trip back from Japan. Hellllooo sugar high!