VEGAN CHERRY WINE RASPBERRY CAKE

February is a month that by now has a tradition of being the month of love, with the emphasis being on romantic love. But love comes in many, many forms, and my favourite way of expressing it is through baking. So recipes like these are my way of showing love and gratitude towards life.

With the wonderful interplay of tart berries, sweet fruit wine, and rich vanilla, this cake is perfect for any celebration. Whether it is February 14th, a simple Friday get-together with your favourite people, or even a little birthday party, this cake is a good choice. Soft vanilla layers, smooth raspberry filling, and a tart cherry jelly make for a fantastic little sweet treat. And I think we can all agree that whether you celebrate St Tryphon or St Valentine, you can never have too much good wine or love.

Ingredients
For the soft cake layers
230 grams plain flour
50 grams cornflour
4 teaspoons baking powder
230 grams granulated sugar
300 millilitres carbonated water
50 millilitres vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For the raspberry cream filling
400 millilitres soy milk, cold
100 grams granulated sugar
60 grams cornflour
4 tablespoons freeze-dried raspberries, ground and sifted
150 grams vegan block butter, at room temperature
For the wine jelly
150 millilitres cherry wine, unfined
150 grams sour cherries, fresh or defrosted
50 grams granulated sugar
30 grams cornflour
50 grams vegan block butter
For the raspberry jelly
50 grams blended raspberries, fresh or defrosted
50 millilitres cold water
10 grams cornflour

Preparation

Start by making the wine reduction. Pour the wine into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, place it over medium-high heat, and let it boil gently until it cooks down to about one-third. Once the wine is reduced to about 50 millilitres, remove from heat and let it cool down completely.

While the wine is cooling, make the raspberry filling. Add the sugar, freeze-dried raspberries, and cornflour to the cold soy milk, whisk very well, and place over medium-high heat. Mix it gently until it starts to boil, and once it does come to a boil, cook and stir for about 2-3 minutes, until it thickens. Remove from the heat, cover the surface with a piece of cling film or baking parchment, and let it cool down to room temperature. Be mindful about this part, because if the filling is too cold, it will be difficult to blend later.

By now, the wine should be cool, so add in the cherries, granulated sugar, and the cornflour, place it over medium heat, and let it come to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 2-3 minutes, until thickened significantly and quite fragrant. Remove from the heat, immediately add vegan butter and mix, either by hand or with a hand mixer, until everything is combined. Cover the surface with cling film or a piece of baking parchment, and let it cool to room temperature.

To make the raspberry jelly, whisk together all the and cook in exactly the same way as the cherry jelly, by placing it over medium heat, and cooking for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. As soon as it thickens considerably, pour it out onto a piece of baking parchment or a silicone mat, and spread it with a spatula to about 5 mm thick. Let it cool down completely.

Proceed to make the cake layers. Let the oven preheat to 180°C and line a heart-shaped mould (20 cm in the widest part with a depth of 6 cm) or a regular, square cake pan (18x18 cm) with baking parchment.

Take a large bowl and sift in the flour, cornflour, and the baking powder. Whisk to combine, add in sugar, and whisk once again. Pour in the carbonated water, oil, and vanilla, and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared mould or pan and bake immediately, in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 30 minutes or so. Check it with a toothpick to make sure it is baked through, but not dry. Once baked, remove from the oven and let it cool down completely in the pan.

When everything is cool to the touch, proceed to assemble the cake, and start by stirring the wine jelly very well, to loosen it up.

Next, whip the raspberry filling with an electric mixer on high until it becomes light and airy. Whip the softened vegan butter in the same fashion, and blend them together. The filling should be smooth and firm.

Cut the raspberry jelly into tiny cubes or place it into a bowl and whip it with a mixer, to create very small pieces. Add it to the filling and combine very well. If you want a smoother texture, this can be done with an immersion blender, as well.

If you used a square cake pan, cut out a heart shape by using a template and a sharp finely serrated knife. If you used a heart-shaped mould, simply take the cake out of it. Slice it into three thin cake layers and lay them out flat.

Place the first cake layer onto the serving platter, spread half of the cherry and wine jelly, and then one-quarter of the raspberry filling. Repeat this once more, and place the final cake layer on top. Press the cake down lightly with your palm, to make sure everything is sticking together, and proceed to decorate. The cake is very firm, so it can be decorated immediately with the rest of the filling.

Decorate as desired and place the entire cake in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. The cake is best served after being at room temperature for about 15 minutes before slicing. Yields 16 servings.

SOFT VEGAN STRAWBERRY COOKIES

As the Norwegian proverb says, cookies are made with butter and love. And in this case, with plenty of freeze-dried strawberries, and a shot of strawberry liqueur, as well.

Other than a way for me to beckon spring to arrive sooner, these cookies are a wonderful way to bring light, zesty flavours to any brunch or coffee date. Incredibly soft, especially right after baking, they are perfect with strong coffee, as they are on the sweeter side.

The recipe itself does not include any chilling or mixers; just one bowl, one fork, and a few staple ingredients. Just a wholesome little cookie batch, made for a weekday sweet treat or a small gathering.

If you want them more vibrant, feel free to add food colouring. Just as they are, as you can tell, they do lose a bit of their natural pink colour while baking, turning brown on the edges especially. If you are fine with that, you do not need any food colouring.

Ingredients
125 grams plain flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
75 grams vegan block butter, softened
50 grams granulated sugar
50 grams light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
¼ teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 heaping tablespoon freeze-dried strawberries, ground and sifted
25 millilitres strawberry liqueur, vegan

Preparation

Let the oven preheat to 180°C, and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.

Add the butter to a medium bowl, add in both types of sugar, vanilla, and the lemon zest, and mash everything together with a fork or a sturdy spatula, until a thick batter forms. Add in the strawberry liqueur and the freeze-dried strawberries, and mix everything through. If it looks like the batter is splitting, that is fine.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until combined. The dough will be slightly sticky, but you should be able to form it into nice little spheres. Weigh the batter and divide it into 10 equal portions. Shape each one into a little sphere and arrange them on a large baking sheet, leaving a bit of space between them, as they will spread. Do not flatten them before baking.

Bake immediately, in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 10-12 minutes. As soon as they are brown on the edges, they are done. If you bake them for too long, they will still be delicious, only crunchy instead of soft. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, and as soon as they firm up, you can serve them. Yields 10 rich cookies.

VEGAN STRAWBERRY LEMONADE BREAD

You might have noticed, I really love making bread. It is something I get to create with my hands, give it my energy and intention, and then serve it with love. There is no greater joy in this world than to be able to create something out of love and share it with others.

This little loaf is me hoping for spring to come sooner, and it is full of strawberries and fresh lemon zest. Truly marvellous with fruit spreads and jams, and even some vegan honey and toasted hazelnuts.

Just like many of my breads, it toasts very well, but it really is best on the day it's made, because it is a somewhat lean dough, so it will not stay super fresh the next day. Hence why I always suggest toasting and topping with your favourite vegan butter.

If you cannot find freeze dried strawberries or don't want to use them, you can absolutely add strawberry flavouring to your liking. Even adding a few teaspoons of strawberry jam and some additional flour would work. Whatever you have available will work well, because that is how I prefer to create my recipes - available to as many people as possible.

Ingredients
250 grams plain flour, sifted
20 grams fresh yeast
30 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
150 millilitres soy milk, warm
20 millilitres vegetable oil
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
50 grams vegan block butter, softened
3 heaping tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries, finely ground and sifted
½ teaspoon strawberry flavouring
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
food colouring, optional

Preparation

Crumble the fresh yeast in the warm soy milk, add in the sugar, and let it stand for about 10-15 minutes in a warm spot, so the yeast dissolves and activates. Sift the flour into a large bowl, add in the salt, and whisk well. Make a well in the centre and pour in the activated yeast, oil, and vanilla, and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to form. It does not have to be a perfect ball just yet. Cover the bowl with a lid or a plate, and let it rest for 10-15 minutes, just to relax.

Transfer the dough to a very lightly floured work surface, add the softened vegan butter, and knead until the dough absorbs it fully. It may take 10-15 minutes for the butter to be absorbed, but be persistent, it will work out. Divide the dough into three equal pieces, either by approximation or by weight. Leave one plain, add the freeze-dried strawberries and strawberry flavouring to the other part, and add the lemon zest to the third one. Add in the food colouring, if using. Knead the flavourings very well into the dough, adding a touch of lukewarm milk, if needed. Place all the dough pieces into separate bowls, and let them rest and rise for about an hour in a warm spot, or until doubled.

Once the dough is ready, briefly knead all the pieces, and shape each one into a long rope. Make a simple plait out of them; tuck the ends underneath it, and place it into a small loaf tin or on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Cover the top with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for another 30 minutes. Let the oven preheat to 200˚C. Once ready, generously mist the dough with cold water, and bake it in a preheated oven, at 200˚C, for about 25-30 minutes, until baked through and browned. Let it cool down to room temperature, and serve. Yields one small loaf.

VEGAN HONEY & SPICE SWIRL BREAD

Bread is love, as simple as that. I started my baking journey with bread and it is still just as enjoyable to knead and shape dough as it was over 20 years ago.

This little loaf is simply wonderful for colder weather, delightfully full of cinnamon and cloves, sweetened with dandelion honey, and enriched with vanilla. The perfect slice for a sweet spread of your choice and a mug of tea.

Depending on the variety of vegan honey you use, you might need to add a bit more flour to the cinnamon portion of the dough. Or, on the other hand, if your vegan honey is particularly thick, you might need to add a splash of warm water. The goal is for the dough to be soft and supple, regardless of how you get there.

It toasts beautifully and it is also fantastic if slathered with a bit of vegan butter and broiled for just a few moments. You can top it with any sweet spread you want, although my heartfelt recommendation will always be fig jam.

Ingredients
For the bread dough
350 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
30 grams granulated sugar
200 millilitres water
30 millilitres vegetable oil
25 grams fresh yeast
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For the vegan honey swirl
30 grams vegan block butter, melted
50 grams vegan honey
20 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Preparation

Mix the warm water and sugar in a large bowl, add in the oil, and crumble in the fresh yeast. Mix well so the yeast dissolves, and then let it stand for about 10 minutes, or until bubbly. Once the yeast is ready, add in the vanilla.

Sift in half of the flour and the salt, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Sift in the rest of the flour, and proceed to knead with your hands, either in the bowl or on the work surface, for 3-5 minutes more, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover it, and let it rest and rise for about an hour.

Once the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two parts by estimation. Add all of the cinnamon swirl ingredients to one part, and knead them through. Depending on your honey, you might need to add a bit more flour. Let that part rest for about 10 minutes, and then roll both out to about 5 millimetres in thickness. Stack them together and cut the dough in three long strips.

Turn the oven on to preheat to 200˚C. Roll each dough part into a tight roll, and then plait them and make a swirl. Gently mist the loaf and place it onto a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Cover the top with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise for another 30 minutes. Once risen, generously mist the dough with cold water, and bake it in a preheated oven, at 200˚C, for about 30-35 minutes, until baked through and nicely browned. Let it cool down to room temperature, and serve. Yields one small loaf.

VEGAN CAPPUCCINO CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM CAKE

By now, it is a well-known fact that I believe ice cream cakes should be enjoyed all year long, and not just during summer. And if it's a chocolate ice cream cake, even better.

I have had this chessboard cake idea for a while, and it is finally seeing the light of day. Sixty-four alternating pieces of chocolate and brown sugar and vanilla cakes, and vanilla and chocolate espresso ice cream fillings. A marvellous, show-stopping cake fit for any celebration.

My tips for success.

Take your time with both the cake layers and the fillings. This is one of those cakes that does require presence and effort, especially with the assembly. It relies on exact dimensions of each of the strips, so take your time with those. Lining them up is not difficult, and although you have to work quickly, it is an absolutely fun part of the assembly.

Even if you are not super precise with the height of the filling or layers themselves, as long as all the layers are the same height and the fillings are the same height, it will work. However, if you feel the cake is getting a bit too tall for your comfort, you can absolutely use thin cake dowels to support it.

Ingredients
For the chocolate cake layers
100 grams plain flour
100 grams granulated sugar
2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
30 millilitres vegetable oil
125 millilitres water
For the vanilla cake layers
100 grams plain flour
100 grams dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
30 millilitres vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
125 millilitres water
For the fillings
700 millilitres soy milk, cold
80 grams cornflour
20 grams plain flour
120 grams granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
300 grams vegan block butter, room temperature; separated
30 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant vegan cappuccino powder, or to taste
For the frosting
150 grams dark chocolate (70%)
200 millilitres vegan double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Preparation

On day one, make the fillings, as they need to be frozen solid before assembling. Pour the cold soy milk into a heavy-bottomed pot, add in the flour and the cornflour, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk very well, place the pot over medium-high heat, and let it slowly heat up. As soon as it starts to steam, start whisking.

Let it come to a gentle boil and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2-3 minutes, until it thickens. Remove from the heat and immediately add 50 grams of vegan block butter. Whisk until melted and incorporated or emulsify using an immersion blender. Cover the top with cling film or a piece of baking parchment, and let it cool down to room temperature.

Once the filling is at room temperature and ready, place the remaining softened vegan butter into a large bowl, and whip it with an electric mixer on high for about 5 minutes, making it light and fluffy. Separately whip the custard until it becomes smooth, and without stopping the beaters, add a tablespoon of the custard at a time to the whipped butter, blending them together until smooth and creamy.

Weigh and divide the filling into two parts. Add sifted unsweetened cocoa powder and instant espresso powder to one half and whip very well. Set two cake frames or suitable moulds to 12x24 cm and line them with either a thin strip of acetate or fitted baking parchment. Spread the fillings into the prepared frames, making it around 1.5 cm tall, reserving any excess filling into a separate bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a piece of baking parchment, and place in the freezer overnight. Cover any remaining filling with plastic and place it into the refrigerator.

The next day, make the cake layers. Let the oven preheat to 180°C and line two small square cake pans (12x12 cm) with baking parchment, bottom and sides.

For the chocolate layers, sift together the plain flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso, and baking soda. Add in the sugar and mix very well. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add in the water, oil, vanilla, and the vinegar, and whisk until just combined. Pour the batter into one of the the prepared pans.

For the vanilla layers, sift together the plain flour and baking soda, and add them to a medium bowl. Add in the sugar, and whisk it well. Finally, pour in the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla, and whisk everything together until just combined. Pour into the other prepared pan.

Bake the cakes immediately in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 30-35 minutes. Check them with a toothpick, making sure they stay soft and fudgy, and not dry. Let them cool in the pans completely, then wrap them in plastic wrap or baking parchment, and place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes, up to an hour.

When everything is ready, proceed to assemble the cake.

Take the cake layers out of the freezer and level them to be exactly 3 cm tall, and then split them in half, getting two sheets that are 12x12x1.5 cm. The dimensions are important for stacking. Slice each sheet into 8 equal rectangles, each 1.5x12x1.5 cm.

Take the frozen fillings out of the freezer and cut each block in half, again working with two sheets of each filling, each of them being 12x12x1.5 cm. Slice each of them into 8 equal rectangles, just like the cake layers.

Working very quickly, start assembling the cake. Place one strip of chocolate cake, and one strip of vanilla cake next to it. Continue until you have 8 strips lined up. Take one strip of vanilla filling and place it on the chocolate cake strip. Alternating the fillings, continue lining up strips of fillings until you have 8 of them. Repeat this three more times, so you end up with four layers of cake in alternating colours, and four layers of filling, also in alternating colours, as shown on the photo. Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and place it into the freezer for about an hour.

To make the frosting, melt together the chocolate, vanilla, and vegan double cream, and let it cool down slightly. To that, add any filling that was leftover from the previous day, and blend them well.

Once again working quickly, frost the entire cake, and return it to the freezer in a sealed container so it stays fresh. Serve the cake as desired, preferably in thin slices, with strong espresso. Yields 12 rich servings.