Cookies and Scream (Camden)

I don't really do Camden these days and don't really do gluten free. Gluten is found in almost all my favourite foods - bread, cake, biscuits, pasta, noodles etc. Camden just doesn't hold the appeal that it once did when I was a teenager - there's too much overpriced imported tack for my liking.

It's not looking good for a gluten free bakery in Camden! Though I've been aware of it for a while I've not passed through the area or felt the need to make a special trip.

I'm pleased to say that I eventually get to try it though - some of their things are very impressive indeed. Gluten free is normally a bit crap - doves farm biscuits and the like that have weird texture and taste like you're punishing yourself.

Conversely their cookies are easily the best gluten free biscuits I've ever tried:I got an icecream sandwich to go and a frosting sandwich to take home. Both worked well - not totally the same as their gluten counterpart but slightly moist and highly edible.

As a self confessed lover of peanut butter and chocolate, the PB slices looked excellent:

They are however a bit rich, even for me. I didn't think it'd be possible for something to be too sweet, but it was like eating icing sugar out the bag.

The brownie tasted like brownie but texture wise was more like cake:

That isn't necessarily a bad thing though - I've eaten far less convincing brownies containing gluten and again this was the best gluten free chocolate cake I've ever tried.

Due to its location I'm not sure I'll become a regular, but if I found myself passing again I'd have no problems stocking up. Pricing is very reasonable and I hope they get their products into other shops.

Walnut and Macadamia Brownies

In the past week I've used 1kg sugar, 600g chocolate and 450g margarine in pursuit of the perfect vegan brownie.

In the past few years I've eaten various attempts at brownies by restaurants / cafes and only been impressed by one - Herbies in Exeter. They were kind enough to give me their recipe, however when I eventually tried it I found it to not work at all :(

They suggested they be cooked at 300^oC, which when I tried at my oven's max (260^oC) they burnt within minutes.

More interesting than the recipe itself is the technique - to take them out of the oven half way and knock the air out by banging a counter. I've not found reference to any other recipes using this technique through Google. If makes sense though - allow the mixture to rise creating texture but then knock the air out.

There seem to be many recipes online for what is essentially badly cooked cake mixture - not my idea of brownie! I've lost count of the number of forum posts I've read where people have claimed to have discovered brownie when their chocolate cake attempt went badly wrong.

To me a brownie should be crisp on the outside, cakey towards the egde then fudge (boarding upon gooey) in the centre. Not 'fudgy' - why make it fudge like when you can make real fudge?

The recipe I've created is essentially fudge (sugar + fat + chocolate) with enough flour and raising agent to separate out and form cake at the edges. I used Herbie's slamming technique, but increased the cooking time, lowered the temperature and added 2 slams.

I'm really pleased with the result - it excludes ingredients not generally found in British kitchens (egg replacer, specialist flours etc) and is simple to make. I used macadamias and walnuts, but any nuts can be used. I would recommend that you do use some form of nut though - my final test omitted them (for cost) and it didn't cook as well.

One important thing to note: these brownies improve with age. When you take them out of the oven the very centre will appear to be too gooey. Only when they've fully cooled (several hours later) will they have reached the right consistency. The first time I made them I thought the recipe was a failure - it wasn't until I tried them again a day later that I realised they were near perfect.

If you use a different size pan to me (e.g. they're thicker or thinner) then you'll need to play with the cooking time.

Wet Ingredients: 300g Soft Brown Sugar 50g Caster Sugar 150g Soya Margarine 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 120ml Soya Milk

Dry Ingredients: 125g Wholemeal Flour 40g Cocoa Powder 1/4 tsp Salt 2 tsp Baking Powder

Other Ingredients: 140g Chocolate 75g Walnuts 75g Macadamia Nuts

Start by melting the wet ingredients together in a pan over a low heat. Use a whisk to ensure they're fully combined and the sugar dissolved. Be careful not to overheat or take the mixture to the boil - it'll change the consistency if you do (e.g. you'll make toffee):

Leave to cool - if it's too warm when you add it to the dry ingredients then it'll melt the chocolate and again change the end consistency.

Mix the dry ingredients, then thoroughly combine in the wet:

Chop the chocolate into chunks if not using chips. Chop or break the walnuts. Chop the macadamias if whole. Add to the mixture and stir briefly:

Line an 11x7 inch pan with silicone sheet or baking paper, fill and even out with a spatula:

Place in a 200^oC (180^o fan) oven for 10 minutes, then remove and bang down on the top of the cooker. If it's risen at all you should see it deflate. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. Remove and bang again, then place back in the oven for its final 10 - it should have 30 minutes in total.

Finally remove from the oven, bang for a third time and place the tin in an ice water bath to stop the cooking (a larger pan with ice cubes and water will do the trick - just make sure the water doesn't go over the sides!).

Leave in the pan for a few minutes, then lift out:

Leave to cool for a few hours, then slice into 12, remove from the silicone/paper and leave to cool completely - overnight is best. If you don't you'll find it quite gooey in the centre (a good thing?).

I'll experiment with using the brownie in other recipes (ice cream, sundaes, cheesecake etc), but it's incredibly moreish on its own (I've eaten a lot of this stuff this week!). Today we enjoyed some with mint tea:

Something I don't make nearly often enough - handful of mint steeped in water with sugar. It's so much better than tea from bags!

Crêpe Suzette

Pancakes in boozy orange juice.

Crêpe Suzette is really easy to make - I used to make it for breakfast when we spent our summers in France in the 80s/90s. If you substitute butter for marg and ensure you use vegan alcohol; pretty much any Crêpe Suzette recipe will work.

In fact, you don't really need a recipe at all. Just melt some margarine in a pan and add orange juice/peel, lemon juice/peel, sugar and Cointreau to taste. Simmer down slightly, add pancakes and warm through. If flambéing's your thing then pour a ladle of flaming cointreau or brandy over at the end - it's not strictly needed though. You can leave out the booze altogether if you like.

Here's the quantities I used last night:

• 6 Pancakes
• Knob of Margarine
• 1 Orange (zest only)
• 1 Lemon (zest + juice)
• 200ml Orange Juice
• 100g Castor Sugar
• 75ml Cointreau + extra for flambéing

I blogged my pancake recipe a year ago (clicky click) which worked perfectly. I mixed half of the soya milk with the flour first, then whisked in the rest of the milk. It looked a little thin at first but seemed to do the job and came out lump free.

Zest the orange and the lemon, then juice the lemon. Add to the orange juice along with the sugar and cointreau.

Heat the margarine in a pan, then add the liquid. Simmer for 5 minutes so that it reduces slightly and becomes more syrupy. Taste and add more sugar / booze as needed.

You may choose to remove the zest at this point - whilst it looks nice it doesn't taste so great. Add the pancakes one by one, sliding under the sauce then folding into quarters. Warm through for a couple of minutes.

If you feel the need to set fire to things; either seek professional help or heat a ladle of cointreau, light and add to the pan (or pour the Crêpe Suzette once served).

You can serve with icecream if you like, but it tastes perfectly fine on its own. I can thoroughly recommend eating it immediately whilst the pancakes are still delicate. I discovered to my dismay last night that if you pounce around with a camera for 20 minutes they can become rather chewy! :O

Deep Fried Raw Nakd Cashew Bars

Mmmmmmm; raw food.

OK, so I realise that there's something inherently wrong about this blog post, I just can't figure out what it is. I <3 raw food and I <3 deep frying, so surely it's all good?

I started eating Nakd bars as soon as they came out and have consumed several hundred of their larger bars over the past few years (mostly as breakfast - I'm generally raw these days before 12). Their new smaller bars are alright, despite looking like something suspiciously different. I like the cashew type the most, however due to their size they're not quite a meal replacement.

So how better than served deep fried in cider batter?

I admit, I did this as a joke. I'd just made my dinner and was on the hunt for something to deep fry for dessert. I am however extremely surprised by how good it tastes!

It's not in the oil long enough to get really hot, but the heat it does get melts it slightly and makes the date become quite toffee like.

The batter is from a recipe I posted in December, using cider (hard cider) instead of beer.


I don't really have anything else to say, other than that I'm definitely making this again!! :D

Cinnamon Ring Doughnuts

So this isn't really a proper post; more of a confirmation that the previous doughnut recipe that I posted earlier this month is indeed better suited to ring doughnuts.

The process of making them is the same, except you roll out the dough and cut it into doughnut shapes before rising. I used a cookie cutter for the outer and the end of a shot measure for the inner. Half the recipe quoted previously makes 4 doughtnuts.

Raising on an oiled surface really helps with clean removal. Fry each in 190^oc oil until done (golden brown), turning a few times:

When cooked, shake off excess oil and roll in a mixture of sugar and ground cinnamon. Eat within a day.

Critique? Physically, they work. They do everything you'd expect and the end result looks as it should.

Taste wise they do have that lovely fresh doughnut taste to them, but it's more of an aftertaste as opposed to an in your face taste. Somehow I need to get more flavour into the dough, which could mean salt or a source of flavour (vanilla?). As they're going with cinnamon, I wonder if replacing water for apple juice would work?

The other criticism I have of them is that they're ever so slightly chewy. That is, they're not quite soft enough and melt in the mouth like. I'll work on it and let you know ;)

Miniature Chocolate Chip Banana Drizzle Cake

Everybody say "awwwwww" - this is the smallest cake I've ever made.

Ages ago (years) I bought a couple of 4" spring form tins, which I don't remember using until tonight. Now that I'm living alone again I need to restrain myself from making standard 8" cakes ;)

I'm not sure how much of a success this cake was, I just decided to have a go. I made a standard sponge with banana and chocolate chips. I made banana drizzle icing, which I'm not sure (according to google anyway) anyone has done before. Perhaps with good reason? :p

It's pretty moist and I think I used a few too many chocolate chips and a bit too much banana. The cake itself physically worked and it tastes pretty good. I'm not so sure about the icing - I was aiming for a buttercream consistancy but a base of 25g mashed banana wouldn't allow this to happen. Personally I don't believe it has enough of the banana flavour in it.

For my notes as much as anything I'm blogging the recipe anyway, on the pretense that it needs some tweaking.

Cake Ingredients:

• 100g Self Raising Flour
• 75g Castor Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 100ml Water
• 25ml Sunflower Oil
• 75g Banana
• 25g Dark Chocolate Chips

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, then add the oil and water. Mix to a batter. Add the banana and mash it into the mixture. Add the chocolate chips and beat as much air in as possible.

Pour into two greased 4" springform tins and cook at 200^oc for 20-25 mins.

Remove and allow to cool when an inserted cocktail stick can be withdrawn cleanly.

Icing Ingredients:

• 25g Banana
• 125g Icing Sugar
• 10ml Soya Cream

Mash the banana and add 100g of the icing sugar in stages. Combine to a thin icing, then sieve the lumps/dark bits out. Add the remaining icing sugar and soya cream.

When the cake has cooled apply the icing and eat. As it's quite moist I'm guessing that it may improve over night.

Cream Doughnuts

Having been told in a health checkup this week that my cholesterol level is too low to be read (using 3 separate blood samples in two machines) I decided to celebrate with a spot of deep frying.

I sometimes make special trips to Co-op to buy their doughtnuts and used to buy Tesco and M&S ones when they were suitable. Nothing beats a freshly fried one however.

I veganised a recipe a few years back and whilst it worked, the taste just wasn't quite right. I was inspired by Terre a Terre to have another go and am pleased to report that the results were pretty good.

As always I'm going to give an honest review and not just say they're amazing because I made them. Fresh out the frier they were amazing - just like ones from fun fairs. I think this recipe would work best for traditional ring doughnuts served hot. Once cooled and filled (as I did with the remainder) they weren't as good. Therefore next time I make them I'll either do ring or play with the recipe a bit.

Ingredients (4 huge doughnuts):

• 250g Strong White Bread Flour
• 25g Margerine
• 150ml Water
• 1/2 tsp Dried Active Yeast
• Pinch of Salt
• Pinch of Sugar

Place all ingredients in a bread maker and select the Italian dough/pizza setting (45 minutes on my Panasonic).

Place the dough on a floured surface and kneed for a couple of minutes with your hands.

Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into lozenges. Place on an oiled try in a warm area for 20-30 minutes (I use an oven that's been heated to 50^oc, then turned off). During this time they should smooth out and gain in volume.

Heat your fryer to 190^oc and cook each doughnut for about 3 minutes (turning regularly).

I've just acquired a camera that shoots 720p video, which is a vast improvement on my iPhone's terrible video application that I used earlier this year for my pancake recipe. Thus I've decided to play around with vlogging a bit more:


They should float as soon as you place them in the oil and start bubbling immediately. Within 30 seconds you'll be able to turn it over. Once cooked remove the basket and shake off excess oil, then roll in sugar.

If filling, allow to cool first. I tried Soyatoo squirty cream, however piped whipping cream would have been better. I'd also recommend using standard jam - the stuff I used was a bit too syruppy and synthetic tasting.

Blueberry Waffles

It's been a while since I posted a new recipe. Various other things have been going on in my life recently, including eating out a lot more than normal. Don't worry, I'll start recipe posting again sooner or later. In the meantime you'll have to make do with the following post.

When my parents get a list of things I want for my birthday I normally end up with something I like, but from the more practical end of the scale than fun. This year however I got a shock, when to my delight I was given a waffle iron. Not just any waffle iron: a beautiful Cuisinart one.

A few years ago I tried buying a waffle iron. To my horror I found that there were none available on the UK domestic market. I investigated whether or not to import one from the states and get a power convertor, but in the end gave up.

Upon receiving this I started trying recipes from books and the web. The 3 I tried from Vegan Brunch all (in my opinion) sucked.

I'm aware that yeast risen ones are probably nicer, but haven't tried any yet. What I did try however was my standard cake recipe, which gave the best results by far. Thus I made a few minor modifications and blogging tonight's rather tasty attempt at blueberry waffles.

I think there's probably some refining left to do, but I could quite happily eat one of these again.

Ingredients:

• 150g Castor Sugar
• 200g Self Raising Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 150ml Water
• 75ml Sunflower Oil
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essense
• 50g Blueberries

Heat the iron on setting 3 (of 6). Mix the dry ingredients together then add the wet. Mix thoroughly, then stir in the fruit (I used small frozen berries). Grease the iron and spread the mixture onto it (you should have a small amount left over).

Cook for around 8 minutes, resisting the urge to peek (which will cause them to split). When done the amount of steam produced should have visibly reduced. Carefully extract from the iron and serve with vanilla icecream. Makes 4 waffles (each of which serves 2 people, or one hungry person).

White Chocolate Torte

You'll have to excuse me whilst I make all the white chocolate based things I've been lusting over during the past decade.

I was always under the impression that tortes contain egg, but having done some reading up recently it would appear that about half the recipes online consist of only chocolate and whipped cream. A few years ago even this would have been pretty impossible to veganise, however now it's really quite easy. Having read 10-15 recipes I concocted a vegan version, which I'm now blogging for your reading pleasure.

A fair few recipes use a crushed amaretti biscuit base. As vegan friendly amaretti biscuits aren't available (that I know of) I made a standard biscuit base, adding 1 tsp almond essence. For me this was too much - next time I'd use 1/2tsp. My partner however thinks it was just right.

The top is just white chocolate and whipping cream, in a ratio that allows it to set up when chilled to the point where it can be cut into slices. As the white chocolate drops I'm using are ultra sweet already the torte is a bit sweeter than I'd like. Hence making a relatively tart raspberry coulis to serve it with.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out aesthetically and honestly it tastes pretty good. I think it could use some refinement however - find a way to make it less sweet and take out some of the almond flavour (either less essence or using ground almonds instead).

Ingredients

• 250g Digestive Biscuits
• 50g Margarine (melted)
• 1 tsp Almond Essense
• 300ml Soya Whipping Cream
• 200g White Chocolate Buttons
• 150g Raspberries
• 50g Icing Sugar
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Start by making the biscuit base. Place the biscuits into freezer bags and smash with the end of a rolling pin. If you use a food processor ensure you don't make the crumbs too fine. You're aiming for a uniform crumb - not too big, not too small.

Melt the margarine and whisk in the almond essence. Pour over the biscuits and combine until fully coated.

Place the biscuits into an oiled loose bottom 8 inch tin, then press down with the back of a spoon. When compacted as much as you can use your fist to really press it down, ensuring an even thickness across the surface. As a tip - if it doesn't hurt your knuckles you're not pressing hard enough! Getting it nicely compacted now will ensure it won't fall apart when you come to serve.

When complete place the tin in the fridge to set up the base while you make the topping.

Start by melting the chocolate in a bain marie. Yes, I know I've said previously that bain maries are for whimps, but they really are quite useful for white chocolate, which is far more prone to burning than dark. You need a pyrex bowl that will fit over a pan of boiling water, such that the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water. Take care as steam escapes from around the edge of the bowl and stir the chocolate as it melts. You really don't need much water in the pan - the last thing you want is it bubbling over the edge and into the chocolate (which will ruin it).

Once the chocolate has melted allow it to cool. Meanwhile whip a 300ml carton of soya whipping cream (I used Granovita, which we acquired a year's supply of recently when it was on offer in Sainsburys, at 32p a pack). It doesn't really increase in volume that much, but after a couple of minutes with an electric whisk the texture will change and it become more light. When the chocolate has sufficiently cooled; fold it into the cream. If the cream is too cold or chocolate too warm then you won't achieve the smooth consistency you're aiming for.

When combined place the topping over the base and smooth out. Chill in the fridge, preferably overnight so that it completely firms up. If you skip this step you won't be able to cut it and it'll be a big mess.

As and when it's had time to chill you'll need to remove the torte from the tin. The easiest way to do this is to use a blow torch (over your oven top, ensuring there is no oil/fat which could ignite), as this causes the metal to expand and torte against it to melt slightly. You'll get a much cleaner result using this method than by sticking a knife down the side.

If using a loose bottomed tin (rather than a springform tin); place the bottom over an upturned mug and slide the sides down. Use a palette knife to remove the torte from the tin's base and transfer to the plate from which you'll serve. Place the torte back in the fridge whilst you make your coulis.

Coulis is very simple to make - just blend raspberries with icing sugar and lemon juice. If using frozen raspberries allow them to thaw first.

Once blended force the mixture through a sieve with the back of a spoon, to remove the seeds. Using a sieve larger than the one in the photograph below makes the process a lot easier! (I conceded in the end and washed up the big one).

Slice the torte up and drizzle over the coulis in a more artistic fashion that I was able to achieve, then serve.

Pancakes

With Pancake Day looming I thought now would be an opportune moment to blog a vegan pancake recipe.

The pancakes we eat in the UK on Pancake Day are the large thin type, similar to crepes. They're basically just batter fried off on a non-stick pan, with little to no fat. You can either use a pan purchased with a non-stick coating or a traditional pan with natural coating developed over time. Whilst less romantic the former is easier, more hygienic and dishwasherable.

I've realised in the past few years that it's not so much the ingredients of the batter that matter, rather the consistency of mixture and temperature of the pan. Therefore for a simple batter all you need is plain soya milk and plain wheat flour - no egg replacer or shite like that. As they pancakes will be filled you needn't worry too much about developing their flavour.

Ingredients (makes 6 pancakes):

• 125g Plain Wheat Flour
• 350ml Soya Milk

Whisk the ingredients together, using an immersion blender if required to get it lump free. Heat the pan over a medium high flame and brush with a small amount of margarine.

Pour a ladleful of batter in the centre of the pan, then tilt to get even distrubtion. If required poor a little extra batter into any holes. If the pan is hot enough the batter should start to dry out and bubble within seconds - being ready to flip in 90-120.

Gently ease the edges after 30-60 seconds with a spatula and check it's cooking underneath. When golden ensure the pancake is fully loose and flip it over. Cook for up to 30 seconds on the other side, then serve. You'll probably find the first one doesn't work - this is quite normal.

The 'video' that follows was shot last night on my extremely crap iPhone 3G's camera (which wasn't designed to do video), after I'd had several cocktails and was feeling the effect. As such the quality and cameraman skills are somewhat lacking, but you should be able to gauge the general technique.


Last night's were filled with warm cherry compote and served with vanilla icecream, but lemon juice and sugar is more traditional. You can be as creative with fillings as you want - either sweet or savoury. Favourites include soya bolognaise, blackberry & apple stew, chopped banana & chocolate sauce.

Sundaes

The rambling that follows is dedicated to one of life's many pleasures: ice cream sundaes.

With a bit of prep I can think of no reason why vegan sundaes can't be just as delicious and varied as their omnivorous counterparts (minus the pus of course).

The basic formula consists of ice-cream with 2 or more of the following: hot chocolate sauce, fruit, mousse, cream, syrup, sorbet, cookies, cake, brownie, sprinkles and nuts - in combinations and ratios to suit. The picture above is of last night's Black Cherry Chocolate Kirsh sundae.

Chocolate Sauce

Vegan chocolate sauces are simple to make, requiring only a couple of minutes. You can make them in a microwave on half power, but using a pan over a low heat allows you taste as you go. The core ingredients are dark chocolate, soya cream and syrup, with anything else added for flavour. Before freah soya cream came available in the UK I used a small amount of margarine, but as well as being not as good this seriously isn't advisable on health grounds!

You can use white chocolate if you want, but I find you just end up with an over sweet, off white, vanilla sauce that you could have made for half the price without. White chocolate is IMHO much better melted and drizzled on top.

Ingredients (for 2 people):

• 75 - 100g Dark Chocolate
• Fresh Single Soya Cream
• Syrup: Simple / Agave / Golden

Warm a pan over a super low heat (use a bain marie if you like faffing around / washing up and are scared of burning the chocolate) and add the broken up chocolate and a splash of soya cream. Stir and remove from the heat as the chocolate starts to melt. Add a dash of syrup and stir until you have a smooth, glossy sauce. Add more cream and syrup as required, being sure not to add too much. Simple syrup is better than agave and golden, as it leads to a less sticky sauce (though maybe you like that?), is easier to pour (unless you have a squirty bottle) and is far cheaper than agave.

Flavour ideas:

• Peanut Butter: Melt a spoon of smooth or chunky PB with the chocolate.
• Coffee: Kahlua or Tia Maria will give a standard sauce a good coffee kick. Both are quite sweet so you'll need less syrup. Add them after the pan has been taken off the heat so you can control the amount of liquid and ensure the alcohol isn't evaporated off. Garnish with chocolate covered coffee beans if available.
• Cherry: Use kirsh (Luxardo was vegan when last checked) to inject cherry flavour into the sauce.
• Orange: Using Cointreau (confirmed vegan). I've seen vegans using Grand Marnier, but personally avoid as I've not seen an email from the maker confirming its vegan status.
• Coconut: Add coconut cream in place of soya cream.

So as not to compete with: some fruit flavours are better carried elsewhere rather in the sauce itself.

Fruit

I know some people would disagree, but as far as I'm concerned tinned fruit cocktail holds no place in modern society. Tinned fruit can be good for some fruits if no fresh alternative is available (or you're lazy).

Personally I prefer fresh berries, either whole, crushed or made into sauce / compote.

Tinned lychee, pineapple, vanilla ice-cream, coconut cream and crystallised palm sugar however make an excellent sundae.

Think about which flavours work together in cocktails when coming up with new ideas.

Mousse

Soya whipping cream (soya too or granovita) added to melted chocolate works best. You can use silken tofu if you prefer, but soya cream leaves no tofuey aftertaste. A dash of liqueur is a welcome addition (Kahlua & Cointreau are obvious choices), but you need to be really sparing with it and add in small amounts, so as not to make the consistency too thin. You can add a small amount of icing sugar if needed for sweetness or to thicken the mixture. Chilling or freezing (for an hour or so) will help to firm it up.

Cake / Brownie / Cookies

If you've got any of the above to hand then add chunks to the mix. Heating brownie / chocolate cake slightly may help with moisture/gooeyness. Warmed icing is always good.

If making cookie dough for the purpose of eating raw then use your favourite cookie recipe without raising agent (bicarb, baking powder etc) and with plain in place of self raising flour. This will get rid of the nasty aftertaste. Chilling it will help make it easier to work with when serving, however freezing may make any bits (chocolate, nuts etc) a bit too cold and unpleasant when eating.

Syrup

Commercial coffee / cocktail syrups (such as Sweetbird and Routin) are available in flavours you may not otherwise think be available to vegans. Butterscotch is my favourite, poured over vanilla icecream, whipping cream and garnished with mixed chopped nuts.

See my previous post here for info on making your own syrups.

Garnishes

Squirty soya cream works well, topped with nuts, sprinkles and/or fruit.

If lazy use chopped mixed nuts as they come from the supermarket. If feeling energetic you can make your own praline: toasting chopped nuts under a grill on a metal baking, with brown sugar or simple syrup.

Crystalised palm sugar (Waitrose) can be used as a garnish - it won't dissolve into the ice-cream and has a good crunch (without cracking your teeth).

Mitsu has an excellent post on vegan sprinkles available in the UK on her blog. Most sprinkles sold have either gelatine, insects or their secretions in them, so take care!

Serving

Any sturdy glass will do, but sundae glasses can normally be found for £1-£3 each. If making a giant portion to share then consider investing in a glass serving bowl (the one I have I think is meant to be a fruit bowl!).

Long handled spoons (sold as either icecream or latte spoons) are important if using long stemmed glasses. I previously had a set of cheap spoons made by Stallar, but have recently acquired a gorgeous set of Alessi Big Love spoons, which are well worth the money (the bowls however look IHMO utter shite).

Layer the flavours together, being sure not to let the icecream heat too much in direct contact with a warm sauce. If serving to others then consider having the ingredients set out and let your guests make their own.

Jaggery Dosa

Jaggery Dosa (or Vella Dosa) is a sweet Indian pancake. Jaggery is another name for palm sugar, which despite not being overly popular in the UK can be found when you go looking. They are sweet and tasty enough to be eaten on their own, or can be filled with ice-cream.

It should be noted that whilst palm oil production is infamous for its destruction of rainforest and animal habitats; palm sugar is not made from the same type of palm. Instead it is made from the sap of coconut and sago palms, whose cultivation do not appear to be linked with deforestation. It's not available in all supermarkets - currently Waitrose is the only store I've seen consistently selling it. If you can find it in an independent asian supermarket it will undoubtedly be cheaper.

The basic recipe is similar to that of pancakes, but it's somewhere in between uncommon and unheard of to use eggs in the batter, making it much more vegan friendly. Wheat flour and water are the main ingredients, with rice flour, spice and palm sugar for sweetness.

I've only had this in a restaurant once and was very impressed with it when I did. I don't remember tasting any spice in it at all, but it was at the end of a huge meal and I could have missed it. Unfortunately the restaurant (which was one of Leicester's finest vegetarian eateries) no longer exists :(

There are many recipes available online with similar ingredients but applied in varying ratios. There is probably no correct ratio, so I tried a couple of batches last night, using an average of several recipes and recording the quantities in grams and ml (I mean come on: cups, why would you do that?).

The first batch I made used wholemeal flour and came out looking fantastic, but witha course texture from the bran that detracted from the experience. The second batch used plain flour and slightly more rice flour. They worked really well, but didn't develop the lovely golden colour looked more like a regular pancake than a dosa.

I'm blogging both recipes for now and will next time try to find middle ground by using brown flour. I used ground cardamom and pistachios in both. The latter were my addition and I think they work well.

Common Ingredients (for 5 dosas):

• 40g Palm Sugar
• 100ml Boiling Water
• 100ml Cold Water
• 1 Cardamom Pod
• 10 Pistachio Kernels

In addition the wholewheat batch used 100g wholewheat flour and 20g rice flour. The second batch used 100g plain white flour and 35g rice flour.

The mixture is easy to make - you dissolve the palm sugar in the boiling water, add the cold water and strain. Grind the pistachio and cardamom to a course powder (discarding the cardamom shell) and mix with the flours. Add liquid a little at a time, stirring as you do.

You're aiming for a thinish lump free batter - I ended up adding a splash more water in the wholewheat batch, where as the plain was just right.

Once complete heat up a crepe pan (worth investing in, but a frying pan will work if you don't have one) over a medium to high heat. Rub a little sunflower oil across the surface with kitchen paper then add a ladleful of mixture. Start by pouring in the centre, then around in a circle. Use the bottom of the ladle to spread into a large circle. Add a drizzle of sunflower oil over the top.

The pan should be hot enough to cause the dosa to start to bubble and firm up quite quickly, but not so hot as to cause the dosa to firm up on impact (making spreading rather difficult) or to burn the sugar. As it cooks it should start to come away from the pan on its own, although it may need some gentle coercion around the edges (I found a metal palette knife to be best for this). Once the underside has browned and all liquid firmed lift the dosa and flip it over.

Cook the underside to the point where brown spots appear. Transfer to kitchen paper to remove excess oil and serve immediately.

As with all pancake making you should be prepared for the first to not work. If it takes too long, doesn't bubble at all, sticks and refuses to turn over without breaking apart then your pan isn't hot enough.

They can be folded with a bit of melted margarine and eaten on their own, or filled with vanilla ice-cream. The photo at the start of this post has some chocolate syrup drizzled over the top, but this isn't really needed.

I found the cardmom a little strong - next time I think I'm going to experiment with using cinnamon instead.

Peshwari Naan

It's with great pleasure that I bring to you decent vegan naan bread, made at home without a tandoor. I'm extremely pleased with the outcome - it's the best I've tasted in the past 10 years and as good as I remember naan from restaurants in my pre-vegan days. The vegan naan I've had in restaurants since has just been nasty.

I veganized a traditional recipe a few years back, but was unimpressed with results achievable through oven cooking. Even at the max temperature (260^oc), using a pizza stone and then grilling afterwards the results were just no where as good as you can get using a traditional tandoor (480^oc). Too stodgy and dried out. Ready made naan from supermarkets (sometimes vegan) is often chewy as well.

I revisited it earlier this week, using a blow torch after cooking to try and up the temperature. Whilst this gave better results it wasn't good enough to blog about (a shame, as I took some pretty blow torch pictures!). Last night I tried cooking directly over a gas flame, which gave by far and away the best home-made naan I've ever had.

I'd like to take credit for this discovery, but I owe it instead to a several hour long crawl of the internet. I'm pleased too, as my next idea involved using the BBQ and it's cold outside! You need a wire mesh to hold the naan whilst it's being cooked, but other than that you don't need any special tools.

I'm not sure how 'traditional' peshwari naan is outside the UK. Here it's a curry house staple, consisting of naan stuffed with coconut and sultanas. Apple and almond are common additions too. I worked out the ratios for each of the stuffing ingredients from commercial non-vegan products and used apple sauce for convenience (I know how obsessed Americans are with the stuff). You can change the stuffing ingredients/ratios as you please. If you make without stuffing then adding garlic and fresh coriander to the dough will give a bit more flavour.

Black Onion Seeds (the little black specks you see in naan) improve the flavour of the dough, but can be left out if you can't find them. In the UK they're sold in independent Indian shops (often convenience stores in areas with a high Asian population will have a spice section), though I believe our last bag was acquired from Waitrose.

Dough Ingredients (makes 3 naan):

• 280g White Bread Flour
• 1 tsp Dried Yeast
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black Onion Seeds
• 60ml Plain Soya Yoghurt
• 10ml Agave Nectar
• 1 tbsp Melted Margerine
• 100ml Lukewarm Water

Stuffing Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp Apple Sauce
• 30g Shredded Coconut
• 30g Ground Almonds
• 50g Sultanas

Place the dough ingredients in your bread machine in the order specified by the manufacturer. Put on an italian/pizza dough program (45 mins on my Panasonic).

Chop the sultanas (leaving whole will make rolling out more difficult, as they will puncture it when pressure applied) and mix in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

The finished dough should be smooth and slightly sticky. Tip onto a floured surface, knead slightly and divide into 3 balls. Leave to rise for 15-30 minutes.

After rising knead each slightly, roll out thinly, spread the stuffing mixture over then fold over the sides. Turn upside down and roll out into your desired shape, being careful not to puncture the sides.

Rolling a teardrop is easiest if you start with a round disc, hold the side closest to you with one hand and push away with a rolling pin in the other. Try to get the naan as thin as possible (without puncturing), as this will make cooking easier/quicker.

Cook each naan in turn, placing on a wire mesh directly over your largest gas burner, turned to a low setting.

Keep the mesh close to the flame and ensure you regularly move it round so that it cooks evenly. After several minutes when the underside is starting to blacken and the top bubbling; flip it over with a metal spatula.

The photo below shows what happens when're you're busy taking photographs and not moving it around - the cooking becomes uneven!

When both sides are cooked brush with melted margarine and serve whilst still warm. If you're worried it may not be cooked slice one in half before brushing, so it can be transferred back to a lower heat if required. The first I made had the burner turned up too high, so needed a bit of extra time.

Next task - vegan keema naan.