Vegan, Gluten Free Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake
The ultimate in autumn comfort food. This rich, gooey cake can be served in delicious slices, or warm as a pudding with hot toffee sauce. Tested on the team at work who couldn’t tell it was vegan or gluten free (it didn’t last long!).
Ingredients
For the cake:
200g margarine
200g dark soft brown sugar
200g medjool dates
200g golden syrup
300ml oat milk
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
250g gluten free self raising flour (or standard self‐raising flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the sauce:
200ml plant cream
100g dark brown soft sugar
75g margarine
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp fine sea salt
Method
- Pre‐heat the oven to 150oC fan (300oF).
- Remove the stones from the dates and place in a food processor, blitz until very finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor, chop the dates very finely.
- Add the vinegar to the milk, stir and set aside.
- Add the chopped dates, margarine, sugar and golden syrup to a large bowl and beat together until smooth, fluffy and a shade paler (this will take around 5 minutes if doing by hand).
- Add the remaining ingredients (the milk mix, flour, baking powder and vanilla) to the bowl and stir until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a well‐greased Bundt tin, or two greased and lined 8 inch sandwich tins, spreading evenly.
- Bake for 1 hour if using a Bundt tin, or 45 minutes in sandwich tins.
- When a skewer is inserted into the centre of the cake, it should come out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out to fully cool on a wire rack (or serve warm!).
- To make the toffee sauce, add the cream, margarine, sugar, vanilla and salt to a saucepan and heat until the margarine has melted, bring to the boil, stirring occasionally for 3‐4 minutes, set aside to cool slightly.
- Pour the sauce over the cake as a whole, once slightly cooled (as a topping), or pour hot over slices or warm cake to serve as a pudding.
Recipe by Rosanna Brandreth-Poynter
Easy Vegan Brownies
Deliciously fudgy brownies, with added protein and entirely plant based. Try adding different seasonal chocolates or biscuits, or just make them plain, simple and perfect.
Ingredients
1 tin of chickpeas (peas and water – use it all!)
100g margarine (room temperature)
100g soft brown sugar
50 caster sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
30g cocoa powder cocoa powder
Tsp vanilla extract
75g plain flour (or gluten free plain flour)
10g melted dark chocolate
1 pack favorite safe biscuits (crushed) or chocolates
Method
- Pre‐heat the oven to 160 degrees C fan.
- Line an 8 inch square tin with baking paper
- Blitz the chickpeas (and the water they came in) in a food processor until smooth (you can do this by hand but it will take a lot more effort!).
- Add the margarine and sugar and beat together.
- Cocoa, flour and baking powder, mix well.
- Fold in the chocolates or biscuit pieces, leaving about 1/3 to sprinkle on. Pour the mix into the lined tin and add the remaining biscuits/chocolates (or if using a spread add a tsp so it’ll end up approx. in the middle of each slice when cut).
- Bake for 25 minutes. Leave to cool completely in the tin before slicing.
- Alternative option – double the mixture ingredients, use a rectangular cake tin/roasting tin and make half and half with two flavours.
Recipe by Rosanna Brandreth-Poynter
Maria's Chilean Pebre
Maria Pascoe, a fundraiser at Maggie's Cheltenham, says that Pebre (Chile's version of salsa) always brings back memories of her my childhood as a Chilean exile child growing up in Swansea.
Ingredients
5-6 tomatoes (very ripe if possible)
Half an onion
1 whole green chilli
Large bunch of fresh coriander
Half a green pepper
2 cloves of fresh garlic
Juice of a whole lemon
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of olive oil
A large pinch of salt.
Method
- Chop the tomatoes into small cubes and place into a bowl. Then chop the onion and green pepper into small pieces and add to the tomatoes. Crush or chop garlic and add that too.
- Now for my favourite part. Hold the bunch of fresh coriander tightly and chop it through. Once all the coriander is chopped in this way, gently hold the end of the knifedown onto the chopping board and move the knife back and forth to continue making the pieces of coriander finer before adding them to the bowl.
- Cut the chilli in half and de-seed. Then cut it carefully intostrips before chopping it into small cubes. Add the chilli to the bowl along with all the remaining ingredients. Mix together and taste to make sure enough salt has been added.
- This salsa is traditionally eaten with empanadas, but can accompany many foods and is especially good with barbeques. It also tastes great from one day to the next as the flavours are slowly concentrated.
From Recipes to Remember www.maggiescookbook.com
Photography courtesy of Phil James, Shadowplay Media
Kirstie Allsopp's crumble reminds her of when she took time out from work and switched off whilst picking blackberries in a field with her border terrier, Foxy.
Serves 6
Ingredients
700g cox's apples, cored and cut into wedges
300g blackberries
Juice of 1 orange
1 teaspoon ground mixed spices
2 tablespoons of light brown sugar
For the topping;
175g plain flour
100g butter, chopped
50g light brown sugar, plus an extra tablespoon for sprinkling
50g regular rolled oats.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200˚ C, 180˚ C fan, gas mark 6.
- Put the apples in a bowl with the blackberries, orange juice, mixed spice and sugar. Mix well then spoon into a shallow ovenproof dish.
- To make the topping, put the flour into a large bowl and rub in the butter. Stir in the sugar and oats, then spoon the mixture over the fruit in a thin layer. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar over the crumble.
- Bake for 40 minutes, until the crumble is golden brown and the fruit underneath it has softened. Serve with custard.
From Recipes to Remember www.maggiescookbook.com
Photography courtesy of Phil James, Shadowplay Media
Rebecca & Ruth’s White Chocolate Brownies
Rebecca and Ruth have both run the London Marathon for Maggie’s and give us their moreish family recipe for those with a sweet tooth.
Hands-on time 20min, plus cooling.
Cooking time about 35min. Serves 12
Ingredients
2 large eggs
125g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
65g plain flour
300g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
A generous hanful of white chocolate chips or chopped nuts if you think it's sweet enough
100g caster sugar
3tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra to dust
1/2 teaspon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
Method
- Set oven to 180 degress C fan.
- Grease an 8-inch tin with butter.
- Melt chocolate and butter together in a glass bowl over a simmering pan of hot water (the water shouldn’t touch the bowl).
- Beat the eggs with electric mixer for 30 seconds or a an extra few minutes by hand.
- Add flour and sugar to the eggs.
- Gently fold in the melted chocolate and butter along with the vanilla essence and salt.
- Mix in white chocolate chips or any additional ingredients you may want to add.
- Bake in oven for 30 mins. Check your delicious treat is cooked through with a skewer. If it comes out clean it’s ready!
Maggie's Cambridge volunteer Dawn's torte is best enjoyed sitting with friends or family, with pistachio nuts sprinkled on top and extra raspberries and cream.
Ingredients
1 medium sized orange
10 raspberries
3 eggs
180g golden caster sugar
250g ground almonds
Half teaspoon of baking powder.
Half teaspoon of powdered ginger.
Half teaspoon of mixed spice.
Quarter teaspoon of allspice
Pinch of salt
Method
- Put the whole orange in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for an hour until soft, then remove and leave to cool. Once cool cut in half, remove the pips, and puree in a food processor.
- Place sugar and eggs in a bowl and whisk until pale and thick. Then fold in the orange puree, ground almonds, baking powder and spices. Lastly, gently fold in the raspberries.
- Pour the mix into a greased and lined 20cm spring-form baking tin. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 180˚C, fan 160˚C, gas mark 4. Once cooked, allow the cake to cool in the tin.
From Recipes to Remember www.maggiescookbook.com
Photography courtesy of Phil James, Shadowplay Media