Banana and Apricot Muffins

Victoria — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:51:04 +0000

Banana is a wonderful egg replacement. Every time I bake relying on oil and rising agents it scares me a little, especially as I still do a lot of guess work when it comes to the length of time that something takes to cook. This means there is an inevitable point where I have to open the over door and take a peak, or poke a knife in. All the while losing precious heat and rise. This is probably the first muffin recipe where I have just pulled together the bits and bobs in the kitchen to create something. Something easy as well, as I only used one bowl for mixing (usually I make a terrible mess ^_^)!

Ingredients:

2 large ripe bananas
The best bananas to use are those that have gone completely black on the outside but are still nice and yellow inside with no visible bruising.
1 cup loosely chopped dried apricots
1 cup flour
1/4 cup rapeseed oil
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Make sure to heat up your oven to gas mark 4 and put some muffin cases in tins first. Mash up the bananas in a large bowl. Once mashed, move to the sides so there is a hold in the center. Toss in some apple cider vinegar and the soy milk. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well. Then sift in the dry, and add the apricots. Mix until “just done”. Fill the cases just over half way an put in the oven for about 25 minutes. Make sure that you poke the muffins with a knife at the 25 min mark to see if it comes out clean. If not, give them a few minutes longer.

Peach Crumbcake from La Dolce Vegan

Victoria — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:18:56 +0000

La Dolce Vegan was one of the first vegan cook-books I bought. I found it in Hodges Figes an immediately picked it up. There are some mixed reviews on amazon but I’d say it’s a good buy for anyone new to veganism and a pleasant read. Sarah Kramer has included some neat cooking tips and a crafty section at the end, and the book is packed with extra comments for a more personal touch.

The Peach Crumbcake is I guess what we’d call a Peach Crumble. Remember those Apple Crumbles that the sold in the school canteen. Usually soggy and full of bitter apples and a couple of canteen lady hairs. *Gah* Luckily, the only thing that Kramers Crumbcake has in common is the crumblyness. My very critical of new things boyfriend tested the cake for me and said that it is better than any of the pies his granny has ever made for him. I’m pretty sure that if something competes with grannys cooking it has to be good.

Ingredients:

2 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Vegan Margarine
3/4 cup Soya Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Egg replacer to equal 2 Eggs
- I used 2 teaspoons of “No Egg
1 1/2 cups Peaches, finely chopped
- I used canned peaches, this meant the mix had more liquid and took slightly longer to firm up in the oven
1 tbsp Sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F (Gas mark 4). Lightly grease an 8-inch cake pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the margarine and combine with your hands (I love this part, it’s really satisfying ^_^), until it resembles a coarse meal. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture for later.

Add the soya milk, egg replacer, vanilla, and peaches to the remaining dough and stir until “just mixed”. (I actually replaced some of the milk with the juices from the peaches can and left out the vanilla). Spoon into the cake pan and spread the reserved mixture evenly over top of cake. Sprinkle top with 1 tbsp of sugar and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

» baking

Banana and Apricot Muffins

Peach Crumbcake from La Dolce Vegan