Pampered Chef is closing in the UK from 31st December 2015

The Pampered Chef have decided to pull out of the UK sadly as of the 31st December 2015 and so I have lots of additional stock hiding in my cupboards.

Click here to look at my sale leaflet

I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do with this blog but I want to keep all my recipes on here.  It might change in name and feel but the recipes will still be available!

Thank you for visiting and all of the lovely feedback I've had over the years
Kristina x

Vegan Meringues (eggfree, dairyfree, gluten free and nutfree)

Yum

I know aquafaba meringues have been about for a while, and the furthest back I'm aware of them being in print is from the Ten Talents cookbook of 1968! But I have so far shied away from them as an experiment too far.  But, now with the help of an amazing group of folks on Facebook called Vegan Meringue - Hits and Misses!, I have given it a go.  And WOW what a revelation.... Lemon meringue pie is now possible along with angel cakes, eton mess and macarons! I'm so excited to get started on them all.  Today however, I want to tell you about the absolute basics.

A big thank you to everyone in the Facebook group for sharing their expertise and their tips and failures.  Especially Goose Wohlt for the basic tutorials!

You need a tin of chickpeas (garbanzo beans in the US) and some sugar, a whisk and an oven.  That is all! Honestly!

Ingredients

1 Tin of Chickpeas in water (I used unsalted and organic but apparently salted is ok too)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
drop of vanilla extract if wished

Method

1.  Drain the tin of chickpeas over a small batter bowl.  Set aside the chickpeas to use in a yummy salad or casserole later.  Empty the liquid from the chickpeas into your mixer bowl.

2.  Put the mixer on a high speed setting and mix for about 3-4 minutes.  Magic will happen and you should end up with a bowl of fluff.  Keep mixing until the meringue forms stiff peaks - it stays up in a point when you bring the whisk out of it.  If its soft and the peak collapses a little keep mixing for a bit longer.

3.  When you have stiff peaks add the vanilla if you desire and then add the sugar a spoonful at a time while mixing at high speed to gradually incorporate it into the meringue.

4.  Once you have mixed in all the sugar pick up a little of the mixture between your fingers, and if it feels gritty, mix again until the sugar has all dissolved and you have a glossy white bowl full.

5.  Pipe or plop it onto baking trays lined with baking paper and bake in the oven at 110°C for around an hour to an hour and a half.  Once done open the oven door a little and leave the meringues in there to cool.

Vegan Meringues and Raspberries - heaven!

Rhubarb Tart (vegan, dairy free, egg free, nut free)

We are in the middle of the rhubarb season in Scotland, and we have eaten a load of it this year. A lovely colleague provided us with some, as well as the usual supply from my parent's garden, so we've eaten plenty of rhubarb crumbles. But I fancied something a bit more adventurous too.  I spotted Chloe Coscarelli's Vanilla Pastry Creme recipe in her book Chloe's Vegan Desserts last year and decided I just had to have a go at making it and using it in this rhubarb tart.  I cannot praise this stuff enough - its so easy and very very very tasty!

Rhubarb Tart

Ingredients
Pastry
225g Plain Flour
130g Dairy Free Margarine (I use Pure Spread, Trex, Cookeen or block Stork)
1 1/2 tbsp of Sugar


Creme Patisserie (Vanilla Pastry Creme by Chloe Coscarelli)

1/4 cup non dairy milk
1/4 cup cornflour or arrowroot
1 can coconut milk - full fat
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Topping

7 stalks of Rhubarb
5 tbsp Sugar
6 tbsp Water



Method

1.  Make the pastry first. Place the flour in a Classic Batter Bowl add the vegetable fat and mix well using a pastry blender, or rub in using your fingers. Once you have fine breadcrumb like texture, add the sugar and stir through.  Add 1 1/2 tbsp of water and mix into a smooth ball. (If it is still a little crumbly add another tbsp more of water.)

2.  Place the dough on a well floured surface. Roll the pastry out to fit your tart tin, and then pick up over your rolling pin and place in the tin. Use your fingers to smooth the pastry up the sides and cut off the edges with a table knife. Place in the fridge to cool for 30 mins.

3. Now make the pastry creme: Mix the non dairy milk and cornflour or starch in a small bowl with a whisk till well combined.  Place the coconut milk and sugar and salt in a pan and heat gently until just bubbling.  Add the cornflour and non dairy milk mixture whisking continuously.  Heat till boiling and boil for two or three minutes until very thick, stir frequently.  Remove from the heat, mix in the vanilla and put into a small batter bowl.  Cover with a layer of cling film on the surface of the creme to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate until cool (this can take up to 3hrs).

4.  Place baking parchment over the pastry and add baking balls, or dry rice and blind bake in the oven at 200°C for 10 mins or until pale golden.  Remove the baking balls and parchment and leave to cool on a rack in the tin while you prepare the filling.

5.  Chop the rhubarb into lengths to fit your baking tin.  Place the sugar, water and chopped rhubarb in a pan and heat very gently for ten minutes until the rhubarb starts to soften.  Leave in the juice to cool.

6.  Once everything is cooled, add creme to the pastry case (you will have spare), and arrange the rhubarb on top.  Drizzle over the syrup from the rhubarb and serve.

Mincemeat Crumble Slice (vegan, dairy free, egg free and nut free)

Yum

I know mincemeat slice doesn't sound very vegan, but honestly, this is mincemeat in the sweet sense; made of sultanas, raisins, apples and peel mixed with spices and is a staple of Christmas cooking in the UK.

I like this recipe for mincemeat from Pig in the Kitchen, but I've found most supermarket brands are actually vegan anyway.

I love making mince pies at Christmas time - I don't allow myself to do it until the 1st December though as it makes me feel Christmas is fully on the way then.  This mincemeat slice, however, is a lot less hassle, much faster and tends to be cooked as soon as I get my hands on a big jar of mincemeat in the supermarket!

Mincemeat Crumble Slice

Ingredients

500g Self Raising Flour
200g sugar
250g non-dairy margarine (I use solid Stork or Pure Spread)
100ml non-dairy milk, divided
600g mincemeat (about 1 and a 1/2 jars)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C

1.  Place the self raising flour, sugar and margarine in a Classic Batter bowl.  Use a Pastry Blender (my new favourite add on!) or a Mix n Masher to mix them together to create a sandy, breadcrumb mixture.

2.  Remove half the mix to another bowl.  Add 60ml non dairy milk to one of the bowls and mix it all together with your hands to create a dough.  Press this into the bottom of a Medium Bar Pan and smooth out to create the bottom layer.

3.  Spread the mincemeat across the layer of pastry and smooth out so there is an even layer.

4.  Now take the other half of the crumb mix and add 40ml non dairy milk.  You want to now create a rubble style of crumble with this, not a single ball but lots of little bits, so get your hands in and get squishing!  Spread this evenly across the mincemeat and put in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

5.  Leave in the bar pan to cool for about 15-20 minutes before cutting or it will crumble.  Use a Mini Serving Spatula to remove from the bar pan and serve. This keeps well in a sealed container for 3-4 days.

Carrot and Courgette (Zucchini) Muffins

Its World Vegan Month in November.  Why not try these wee vegan cakes? No-one will believe that they are egg and dairy free!

Yum

We've had a huge amount of courgettes (we use the term courgette in the UK instead of zucchini) growing in our garden this year which has left me searching for new recipes to use them up. My favourites have been this lovely recipe from Alexx Stuart for Roast Zucchini and Basil Rosettes. And these amazing wee carrot and courgette muffins. The kids prefer the cakes! I've adapted Chloe Coscarelli's recipe for Maple Glazed Carrot Cupcakes from Chloe's Vegan Desserts, so they work beautifully as just carrot cupcakes (use 2 cups of grated carrots).

I've also made these as gluten free versions, and they work really well.  You may want to add a tiny bit more orange juice to make them as moist, as gluten free flour tends to absorb a little more liquid.

I make a batch of these every few weeks as they are so quick and moreish!

Carrot and Courgette (Zucchini) Muffins
(Egg free, dairy free, vegan and can be gluten free)

Ingredients


1 cup sultanas
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
1 cup peeled grated carrot
1 cup grated courgette (peel if old but if young leave on the skin)
1/2 cup oil
1 tablespoon cider apple vinegar


Method

Makes 18

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.

1. Measure out the orange juice and sultanas using the easy read measuring cups.  Place both in a small batter bowl to allow the sultanas to soak up some of the orange and become nice and plump and juicy.

2.  In a Classic batter bowl, add the plain flour and sugar. Then measure out the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice using the adjustable measuring spoons and add to the classic batter bowl.  Use a stainless whisk to mix them together well and aerate the flour.

3. Peel and grate the carrot and courgette using a microplane course grater and add to the wet ingredients in the small batter bowl.

4. Measure out the oil and cider apple vinegar and add to the wet ingredients.  Stir with a mix n scraper.

5.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry in the classic batter bowl and mix with the mix n scraper until everything is combined.

6. Use the large scoop to measure out the mixture evenly into 18 cupcake wrappers in a stoneware 12 cup muffin pan or muffin pan.

7. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

8. Cool on a stackable cooling rack. Then watch them disappear in super quick time.

If you want to ice them a basic "butter" icing made with Pure spread and icing sugar and a few drops of lemon juice.  It tastes amazingly like cream cheese icing when added to the cakes.