vegan apple cake

This is the second time that I have made a foray into vegetarian / vegan baking. My first attempt was baking vegetarian seaweed cookies and I was pleasantly surprised at how the cookies turned out.

When my friend Hamtaro and her sons, Eddy and Eddie came to our home for lunch, I decided to take the opportunity to bake a vegan apple cake. Although they are vegetarian, there are some types of food that vegetarians do eat which they choose not to eat, such as eggs. As I was not certain whether they consumed margarine, I decided to "play it safe" by omitting eggs and margarine when I baked the apple cake.

Even if you are not a vegetarian / vegan, do give this a recipe a try. The cake is moist and delicious.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup castor sugar
1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8" round cake pan with vegetable oil. Line the bottom of the cake pan with baking paper and flour the sides of the cake pan with a little plain flour.

3. Sift the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Mix the sugar, apple juice and vegetable oil in a mixing bowl using a hand whisk.

5. Fold in the flour mixture and mix using the hand whisk until blended.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

7. Let the cake cool in the cake pan for 5 minutes before removing the cake and letting the cake cool thoroughly on a wire rack.

raisin cake

This is the result of another foray into vegetarian / vegan baking.

I baked this raisin cake for the family of Hamtaro when they came to visit me.

Following feedback from Hamtaro, I have reduced the amount of castor sugar in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 cup mixed fruit juice

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and flour an 8" round cake pan. Set aside.

3. Sift the self-raising flour and salt in a bowl. Add the raisins and mix well. Set aside.

4. Mix the oil, castor sugar and fruit juice in a mixing bowl using a hand whisk.

5. Add the flour mixture and mix until well blended.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

7. Let the cake cool in the cake pan for 5 minutes before removing the cake and letting it cool thoroughly on a wire rack.

cinnamon muffins

I always wondered how muffins would taste like without butter/eggs.

Well, I had the opportunity to bake egg-less / butter-less muffins when my friend Hamtaro came to our home. Hamtaro's family is vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup sunflower oil

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Line the muffin pans with paper muffin cases. Set aside.

3. Sift the plain flour, salt, ground cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Mix the brown sugar, water and oil in a mixing bowl using a hand whisk.

5. Fold in the flour mixture using a wooden spatula and stir until just blended. Do not over-stir.

6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cases until 3/4 full.

7. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

fruity cake

I baked this fruity cake when my friend, Hamtaro came to our home. Hamtaro's family is vegetarian and hence, I decided to bake a cake that does not contain eggs nor butter.

As I used apricot nectar juice as the liquid for the cake batter, I added only 1/4 cup castor sugar so that the cake would not be overly sweet.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup dried mixed fruits

1/4 cup castor sugar

1/2 cup sunflower oil

1 cup apricot nectar juice

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and flour an 8" round cake pan. Set aside.

3. Sift the self-raising flour and salt in a bowl. Toss in the dried mixed fruit. Set aside.

4. Mix the castor sugar, oil and apricot nectar juice in a mixing bowl using a hand whisk.

5. Fold in the flour mixture using a wooden spatula and stir until blended.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

7. Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

banana sunflower seed cake

When I baked this banana sunflower seed cake, my mother was at our home. She said that she could smell the sweetness of the overripe bananas while the cake was baking in the oven.

The secret to a delicious banana cake is the use of overripe bananas. Not only are overripe bananas softer (and hence easier to mash), they tend to be sweeter.

INGREDIENTS

2 medium overripe bananas

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup castor sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup water

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and flour an 8" round cake pan. Set aside.

3. Mash the bananas in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Sift the self-raising flour, salt and ground cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

5. Mix the sugar, oil and water in a mixing bowl using a hand whisk. Add the mashed bananas and sunflower seed and mix well.

6. Fold in the flour mixture using a wooden spatula and blend well.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

8. Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

apple banana cake

I went a little overboard when I baked this cake - I steamed the apple, then pureed it! If you prefer, you can buy ready-made pureed apple.

I used two bananas when I baked this cake. As a result, the cake was a little dense. I would advise that you use one banana instead.

INGREDIENTS

1 large red apple
apple juice
1 large overripe banana
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and flour an 8" round cake pan. Set aside.

3. Peel the apple and remove the core and seeds. Cut the apple into small cubes and steam for 15 minutes. When done, puree the apple, then add enough apple juice to form 1 cup.

4. Mash the banana in a bowl. Set aside.

5. Sift the self-raising flour and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

6. Mix the castor sugar, oil, apple mixture and mashed banana in a mixing bowl using a hand whisk.

7. Fold in the self-raising flour with a wooden spatula. Stir until evenly blended.

8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

9. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

banana raisin cake

I increasingly find that I enjoy recipes that are short and fuss-free. It could be due to the fact that we are all busy people and we do not have the luxury of time to go through 20 steps in a recipe.

As such, when I try out a recipe, I look for one that has minimal steps. The same applies when I create a recipe - if the recipe is simple and fuss-free for me, it would work the same for others who try out my recipes.

Here is a simple recipe for banana raisin cake that I created. If you prefer prunes, you can substitute with pitted prunes.

INGREDIENTS

1 large overripe banana (mashed)
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup blackcurrant juice
1/2 cup raisins

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and flour an 8" round cake pan. Set aside.

3. Sift the self-raising flour and salt in a bowl. Stir in the raisins. Set aside.

4. Mix the banana, castor sugar, oil and blackcurrant juice in a bowl using a hand whisk.

5. Fold in the flour/raisin mixture using a wooden spatula and mix until blended.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

7. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

vegan banana muffins

When I first attempted to bake vegan banana muffins, my friend Hamtaro and her two sons were at our home for a visit. As their family is vegetarian, I let them try the muffins. The feedback from Hamtaro (and myself) was that the muffins were on the sweet side.

As such, with some modification, here is the less-sweet version of vegan banana muffins.

INGREDIENTS

3 overripe bananas

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup castor sugar

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Line the muffins pans with paper muffin cups.

3. Mash the bananas in a bowl using a fork. Mix well and set aside.

4. Sift the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

5. Mix the oil and sugar in a mixing bowl using a hand whisk.

6. Add the mashed bananas and mix well.

7. Fold in the flour mixture using a wooden spatula and stir until just blended. Do not over-stir.

8. Pour into prepared muffin pans and bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

9. Let muffins cool in a wire rack.

TIP

You can substitute the vegetable oil with vegan non-dairy spread or vegan margarine if you prefer.

apple cake with mixed fruits

I have stumbled upon a tip for moist cake - use fruit puree. It all started when I had some balance Heinz apple puree. So as not to waste it, I added it to my cake batter (as part of the liquid) and I was pleasantly surprised at how moist the cake turned out to be.

Ever since we bought a Philips hand grinder, I have been making my own fruit and vegetable puree. Not only can the puree be used as baby/infant food, the puree also comes in handy as a dip or as an ingredient for my cakes and bread.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup castor sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup apple puree
1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup dried mixed fruits

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Set aside.

3. Sift the self-raising flour, salt and ground cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Mix the castor sugar, oil, apple puree and apple juice in a bowl using a hand whisk.

5. Add the flour mixture and whisk until evenly blended.

6. Stir in the dried mixed fruits and mix well.

7. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until the skewer near the middle of the cake comes out clean.

vegetarian yee sang

Yee Sang is a raw fish salad that is traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year. It comprises strips of raw fish (such as salmon) mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments.

The Chinese are superstitious people. The Mandarin name for this dish is "yú shēng" (鱼生), which sounds like "yú shēng" (余升) (which means "an increase in abundance"). Therefore, this dish symbolises abundance and prosperity.

The fish and shredded vegetables are arranged neatly on a round plate before the sauces and condiments are sprinkled / poured over the fish and shredded vegetables. When you are ready to each the Yee Sang, each person uses a pair of chopsticks to toss the Yee Sang (see photograph at the top of this post). It is customary during the tossing of the Yee Sang to shout auspicious words such as "prosperity", "bonus", "increment in salary", "fertility", etc.

Nowadays, pre-packed sauces and condiments for Yee Sang are commonly sold at supermarkets.

If you were to buy the pre-packed sauces and condiments for the Yee Sang, all you need to do is to shread some vegetables (such as carrots and white radish) and add some slices of raw fish (such as salmon) and you are ready to toss the Yee Sang at home.

As my mother's eldest sister (Tuayi) is a vegetarian, she prepares her own Yee Sang. She also makes her own sauce for the Yee Sang. During Chinese New Year this year, I managed to obtain the receipe from Tuayi.

Ingredients (for the sauce)

1/2 bottle plum sauce
2 tbsp molasses
water


Ingredients (for the salad)

carrots
turnip
white radish
cucumber
lettuce
olive oil
freshly squeezed lime juice
ground peanuts
"tan san"
sesame seeds (toasted)
ground white pepper
5-spice powder

Method (for the sauce)

1. Mix the plum sauce and molasses in a pot.

2. Add enough water to form a smooth paste that is not too watery.

3. Cook the sauce over a stove until it has boiled.

4. Let the sauce cool down.


Method (for the Yee Sang)

1. Remove the skin from the carrots, turnip, white radish and cucumber. Also remove the centre portion of the cucumber.

2. Cut the carrots, turnip, white radish, cucumber and lettuce into thin strips.

3. Arrange the vegetables onto a large round plate.

4. Pour olive oil and freshly squeezed lime juice over the Yee Sang.

5. Sprinkle the ground peanuts, "tan san", toasted sesame seeds, ground white pepper and 5-spice powder over the Yee Sang.

6. Using chopsticks, toss the Yee Sang as high as you can, shouting auspicious words (eg. "prosperity", "peace", "happiness", "fertility", blessings", "salary increment", "good bonus", etc) as you are tossing the Yee Sang.

7. When the Yee Sang has been well tossed, enjoy!

seaweed cookies

I have a friend, Hamtaro, whose family is vegetarian. She is interested in learning how to bake cakes, cookies, etc. I have been placing some thought to creating vegetarian cakes and cookies using recipes that she can follow easily.

The seaweed cookies that you see in the photographs in this post are a result of an experiment that I carried out while trying to create vegetarian recipes for Hamtaro. As it turned out, the cookies ended up being the "melt in the mouth" type of cookies and I enjoyed eating them.

Hi Hamtaro, I think you can give this recipe a try. It does not require the inclusion of eggs and it uses margarine instead of butter, so it should work for you. For my non-vegetarian friends, you may like to substitute the margarine with butter instead. I personally prefer to bake cakes and cookies using butter instead of margarine as I find the cakes and cookies more flavourful.

For the seaweed, I used dried seasoned seaweed. If you find this type of seaweed too salty, then you may want to substitute with non-seasoned seaweed and increase the amount of salt from 3/4 tsp to 1 tsp.

INGREDIENTS

250g margarine (or butter, if you prefer)

3/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup icing sugar

9g dried seasoned seaweed (blended in an electric mixer / blender until fine)

300g cornflour

80g plain flour

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius.

2. Sift the cornflour and plain flour in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

3. Cream the margarine / butter, salt and icing sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the blended seaweed and mix well.

4. Fold in the flour mixture and mix until it forms a dough.

5. Shape the cookies and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

6. Bake for 25 minutes.

7. Let the cookies cool thoroughly before storing them in an air-tight container.

TIPS

1. The cookies are not the crunchy type of cookies. They are the type that melt in your mouth.

2. When shaping the cookies, I scoop 1 tsp of dough onto my hand and roll the dough into a ball. I then press the dough down lightly using the palm of my hand before I place the dough onto the baking tray.