Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas (without the liquid)
• 125 gr grated gouda cheese
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1/3 tsp dried dill

Method

1. The easiest way to make these patties is to use a blender or a food processor.
2. Add the ingredients in the blender
3. blend until everything is smoothly combined.
4. With a slightly wet hand make the patties
5. Heat the pan on medium heat
6. Drizzle the pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil
7. Cook each side until golden brown
8. Serve with a dip or in a tortilla wrap.

 

Ingredients:

Donuts are always a good idea. You do not need to be chef to make good fluffy donuts. You can make this. It takes a little time, but you will not regret it.

You can make cinnamon donuts, berliner donuts or just plain powdered sugar donuts, that is up to you.

This recipe makes around 10 donuts.

• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1/8 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp yoghurt
• 1/6 cup butter
• 2 1/2 cup flour

Method:

1. Set yeast aside with 1/8 cup water.
2. Mix together, yeast, milk, sugar, salt, yoghurt, and  1 cup of flour.
3. Stir and the remaining flour in.
4. 1/2 cup at a time, until dough no longer sticks to the bowl,
5. KNEAD.
6. Place dough in the greased bowl.
7. Let rise till double for 1-2 hours
8. Role dough till 1/2 inch thick. cut donut shapes out
9. Flour the tray excessively
10. Let rise again until double. rise with the cloth.
11. Fry the donuts, on low/medium heat
12. Glaze it, while they are hot

Ingredients

Waffles are such a nice option for breakfast at the weekend. I actually prefer savoury waffles (recipe in our FREE cookbook), but this is a recipe for sweet ones.

Each waffle iron is very different, and like making pancakes the first ones are always a little weird.

Tip! Don’t fill up the surface of your waffle iron with the batter, I normally scoop up to 1/2 of the surface. Otherwise, it will leak out from the sides of the waffle iron, when overfull.

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp yoghurt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 6 tbsp melted unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

• Preheat waffle iron.
• Gently coat with nonstick baking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Whisk the yoghurt, lemon juice into the milk until well combined.
• Pour the wet ingredients (butter, milk/yoghurt/lemon juice mixture, vanilla) into the dry ingredients
• Whisk until blended
• The batter should be lumpy
• Scoop the batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook until the waffles are golden brown and crisp.

This chocolate ganache or fudgy frosting is a wonderful option for restricted diets. It can be easily Gluten-free and  Nut-free ( check the labels of the ingredients you are using, to be sure). You can have intense and rich flavour or mild and sweet, it all depends on the chocolate you are using.

With this frosting you have different options, you can pour the hot frosting as a glaze or cool the mixture off, which makes this frosting pipeable and spreadable.

This recipe is super easy. I use it for brownies, raw tarts, cakes and cupcakes.  This one is a perfect frosting for cakes that aren’t exposed to warm temperatures. I have made cakes with this frosting in the summer, but I freeze the cake before transporting it (only short distances). It will definitely melt otherwise, but for autumn, winter and spring it should be fine.

There are many ways to melt your chocolate, but I am using mainly this method, which is fool-proof.

Ingredients:

• 400ml Creamy Coconut milk (canned is perfect, with the highest % of fat)
• 600gr Vegan Chocolate (bars or chips)
• 2 tbsp Coconut Oil

Method:

1. Cook the coconut milk until boil
2. Chop the chocolate bar and place it in a microwave-safe bowl
3. Turn off the heat and add the coconut oil, and mix well
4. Pour the hot coconut milk over the chocolate
5. Let it set 2 min
6. Start whisking until you get a smooth shiny chocolate cream
7. You can pour this hot mixture in your pie or tart base
8. For cakes, let it cool off in the fridge or overnight until you get a perfect spreadable /pipeable texture
9. If it’s too solid to work, pop it in the microwave for a 1-min session until you get the right spreadable and pipeable texture
10. Left-overs? you can store it up to a week in the fridge

Ingredients

The key to perfect buttercream is the quality of the butter.

I use Carrefour unsalted butter, which has 82 % fat (high-fat content), this is very important for a good buttercream.

The next thing is to get the butter in the right softness. Ideally, you leave your butter out in a cosy room, or if it is an emergency situation you can soften the butter in the microwave, with 10sec period, turning the butter until is squeezable.

Your butter should be soft enough to squeeze, but its shape as well.

If your butter is too soft, leave it in the fridge for a few minutes.

Once your butter is perfectly soft, it is time to whip your buttercream.

• 250g unsalted butter, soft
• 250 – 300g icing sugar, sifted
• 3-4 tbsp whole milk/milk infusion/juice/other liquid
• few drops of vanilla extract

Method

1. Beat the butter for 5 min
2. It will be different in colour and volume
3. Siff the icing sugar
4. Add to the whipped butter
5. Do it in 2 stages
6. Start on low speed until its combined
7. Beat for 3-5 minutes
8. Add vanilla extract to the milk
9. Add the liquid in a bit by bit
10. Beat for 4 minutes
11. It should be spreadable, smooth and silky and hold its shape while piping

Orange Curd Recipe

 

I am sure you have heard of lemon curd, but did you try orange curd! It is delicious, it’s a little less tangy, and a bit more sweet, but so yummy.

I kept eating it right from the jar.

I used orange curd for squares, pies, cake filling but also as in buttercream.

It gives more air to the buttercream, making it light and fluffy and not overly sweet and heavy. It is basically like lemon curd but made from oranges.

 

Ingredients

• Orange zest of 3 Oranges
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• Fresh Orange juice of 3 Oranges
•  1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 5 Tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

1. Mix the cornstarch with the milk, water, sugar, zest and Orange juice in a pot.
2. Combine until smooth.
3. Cook the mixture on medium heat, keep stirring until it becomes a thick jam.
4. Turn off the heat, and add the coconut oil

Lemon Curd Recipe

 

This recipe is one of my favourites, especially for cake fillings and buttercreams.

Lemon curd can be used for pies, squares, cakes or to give any dessert a zesty and tangy twist.

Ingredients

• lemon zest of 3 lemons
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• lemon juice of 5 lemons
•  1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 5 Tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

1. Mix the cornstarch with the milk, water, sugar, zest and lemon juice in a pot.
2. Combine until smooth.
3. Cook the mixture on medium heat, keep stirring until it becomes a thick jam.
4. Turn off the heat, and add the coconut oil

 

 

Tropical Cupcakes

I love trying out new things with baking. And this one is a keeper.

It is a Gluten-free & Vegan cupcake recipe, good for any celebration.

 

 

My Top 5 cookbooks

I love to cook and adore a beautiful, resource-full cookbook. When it’s truly great, you tend not to stray, and you keep coming back because it works. Every cook needs a shelf full of cookbooks. Kidding! I have a list of cookbooks that are easy to follow and nicely illustrated.

Top 5:

1. Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics: 101 Recipes to Feed Your Face [A Cookbook]
2. Vegan 100: Over 100 incredible recipes from @avantgardevegan
3. NYC Vegan: Iconic Recipes for a Taste of the Big Apple
4. Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week
5. BISH BASH BOSH!: Your Favourites. All Plants. the Brand-New Plant-Based Cookbook from the Bestselling 1 Vegan Authors: The Sunday Times bestseller, packed with all your vegan Christmas recipes

Cherry pudding pie

 

I grew up in the Netherlands and in every nice mall, there is a shop Hema and Mutlivlaai and these shops had the best pies!!!! We were raised vegetarian and most of the pies had eggs (not anymore, yay!) Now living in Belgium, it’s hard to find egg-free dessert, to just have comfort food. One day I was just thinking to make it myself and where do you find inspiration to cook something you never tried, yes! YouTube!. I found a good recipe, but it contains eggs and I replaced the eggs with yoghurt and it worked. The pie was just so yummy and now my kids LOVE pie too. Parenting win!

 

Here is the YouTube recipe:

 

Good luck!

Share it if you like it 🙂

Much love

-xxx-