Dessert Archives - Coconut and Berries

A Vegan Dinner Party with La Belle Assiette

Hello hello! Long time no speak. So it turns out that the “real world” of a full-time job doesn’t leave me nearly so much time to blog as my former student life did….But I’ve really missed this little space and the lovely blogging community so I’ve decided I will just have to find the time for Coconut and Berries. I hope you’ll have me back after so long away….We’ve got a lot of catching up to do!

A few weeks ago (I said I was behind!) I was invited to a vegan dinner party with La Belle Assiette!

Hosting a dinner party is a lot of fun but it can often mean you spend most of the evening in the kitchen and not all that much time enjoying your guests’ company. Eating out is obviously one solution but it’s not really the same as being in your own home, and, especially if you follow a “special diet”, it can mean that you end up paying a lot for a fairly unexciting meal.

The concept of La Belle Assiette is “eating-out-at-home”. Chefs purchase ingredients, cook in your kitchen, serve each dish to you and even clean up before leaving!

I was invited to attend one of the chefs, Rowena’s “validation” dinners where she was being tested to check her services met the standards expected. Needless to say, she definitely passed!

We had a lovely evening and the food was fantastic. Above you’ll see the surprise “Amuse Bouche” which was Grapes rolled in homemade Cashew-Coconut Cream Cheese & Toasted Hazelnuts. Definitely not a combination I would have thought of but so delicious. We were fighting over the last couple!

The starter was a Chanterelle Ceviche with Fresh Cherry Tomato Salsa and an Avocado-Pineapple Puree. Super fresh and nice and light to leave some room for what was to follow.

The main event was Involtini di Melanzane with Salsa Verde – a traditional Italian dish with a vegan spin. The flavours were all so well thought-out. I can’t remember exactly what was tucked inside the aubergine parcels but I know there was a herby cauliflower rice, cashew cheese, roasted red pepper and asparagus. I wish I had the recipe for this so I could recreate it at home.

There was a photographer there on the evening who captured the dishes beautifully.

Then came the pièce de résistance - dessert! I’d never had vegan tiramisù before so was very excited to see it on the menu. This version with coconut whipped cream and homemade lady’s fingers was honestly one of the best vegan desserts I’ve had! I was glad the previous courses hadn’t been too heavy so I could fully appreciate it. I savoured every mouthful!

Thanks again to Rowena for the delicious meal, La Belle Assiette for organising and for the guys who generously allowed us to invade their flat in Shoreditch for the evening!

You can currently book a meal with La Belle Assiette in all main cities in the UK, France Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg and their website allows you to search for your perfect menu using filters for type of cuisine, price and chef rating.

What do you think of the concept? Would you use a service like La Belle Assiette?

If you’re new to Coconut and Berries, please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere! I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google + and Twitter! You can also follow Coconut and Berries with Bloglovin or Feedly.

[Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the dinner party, free of charge. However, I was not obliged to review and all opinions are my own]

Vegan Hazelnut-Coffee Mousse (& Banana Crunch Parfaits)

I finally managed to whittle down my out-of-control nut butter stash to just 2 jars - 1 peanut, 1 almond (coconut butter and tahini don’t count 😉 ) but then my cupboard was looking a little bare so I had to restock again (!) and decided to do so with some of the homemade variety.

If you haven’t made your own nut butter before, I urge you to remedy that now. It’s so easy, you can control the added ingredients (most of the store-bought varieties still contain unnecessary palm oil), it’s much cheaper than buying it and roasted nuts make your house smell amazing!

Hazelnut butter is a good one to start with since hazelnuts are on the higher fat end of the nut spectrum which makes them quicker to blend and gives you a super silky end product. And remember, nuts contain the good kind of fat which is so important for both physical and emotional health, so don’t be afraid of them!

Once you’ve got a lovely jar of homemade hazelnut butter you’ll of course have to make my favourite Hazelnut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins!

But for this recipe, as mad as it might sound to some, I wanted to go chocolate-free.

I bet if you played the word association game and asked people to name the first word they think of when someone says “hazelnuts”, it would be chocolate. And you’d definitely be in the minority if you didn’t like Nutella growing up….

But, as much as I’m a fan of the chocolate/hazelnut thing, hazelnuts are amazing in their own right and other pairings are also worth exploring.

Coffee and hazelnut is another magical combination but until now I’d only had it with chocolate in the mix too, as in my Healthy Mocha-Hazelnut Shake. Another must-try!

You honestly do not miss the chocolate one bit in this recipe. The mousse is sweet and creamy, with a rich, nutty depth and kiss of caramel flavour from the coconut sugar. I didn’t want it to be too heavy so instead of going all out on the nuts, I used silken tofu as the base. You don’t taste it so don’t worry if it sounds strange!

See my Little Lemon Pots and Blueberry Coconut Cream Parfaits for other tofu desserts.

I especially love the Hazelnut-Coffee Mousse layered up with sliced bananas and chopped roasted hazelnuts for some crunch. It’s a really easy, pretty wholesome, and outrageously delicious dessert!

Vegan Hazelnut-Coffee Mousse (& Banana Crunch Parfaits)

Serving Size: 3-4 Servings

Ingredients

1 x 200g/7oz pkg Silken tofu, drained ( I use Clearspring Organic )*
1/4 C Roasted hazelnut butter*
1/4 C Coconut sugar
1 Tbsp Maple syrup (optional, if you like your desserts on the sweeter side)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Instant coffee (I used Four Sigma Foods Mushroom Coffee with Chaga & Cordyceps)

To serve:

1/4 C Roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1 Ripe banana, sliced

Instructions

To make hazelnut butter:

Preheat oven to 190C/400F, spread hazelnuts in a roasting dish/tray and roast for approx 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap the nuts in a tea towel and rub together vigorously to remove most of the skins ( don't worry if a few don't come off). Place the skinned nuts into a food processor with a large pinch of salt and process until smooth. This can take at least 10 minutes. You will need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times at the beginning.

For the mousse:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender until smooth. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, spoon into small glasses or ramekins, layering with sliced banana and roasted hazelnuts if desired.

Notes

*If using unsalted hazelnut butter, add a pinch to the mousse ingredients when blending.

*If you're using a larger pkg of tofu and have some spare, try adding it to a smoothie for a creamy texture and protein boost!

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2015/06/03/vegan-hazelnut-coffee-mousse-banana-crunch-parfaits/

Have you tried making your own nut butter yet? What’s your favourite flavour?

If you’re new to Coconut and Berries, please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere! I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google +and Twitter! You can also follow Coconut and Berries with Bloglovin or Feedly.

Vegan Baked Custard Tarts

Baked custard tarts were one of my family’s favourite sweet treats growing up and my brothers and I must have eaten hundreds between us! Unfortunately they’re very far from being vegan since the main ingredients include eggs, butter and milk/cream.

For a long while it didn’t even cross my mind to try a vegan version, thinking it would be impossible to come anywhere close to the original, but curiosity got the better of me and a couple of tries later I had a vegan (and gluten-free!) version cracked!

These taste very similar to the custard tarts of my youth. The pastry is a little thick and the custard a little scarce in the ones pictured but I’ve since made them again with a more typical ratio and they were even better.

For the recipe, head on over to Vegan Miam where I’m guest-posting today. I’m sure most of you are familiar with this beautiful vegan food and travel blog already but if not, make sure you have a good browse while you’re there!

If you’re new to Coconut and Berries, please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere! I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google+ and Twitter! You can also follow Coconut and Berries with Bloglovin or Feedly.

Sweet Eats for All: Review & Butternut Pots de Crème

There’s another vegan cookbook in town! 2014 really has been the year for us vegans. It’s amazing to see not only the huge quantity of vegan cookbooks on bookshelves but the incredible quality of them all.

Sweet Eats for All by Allyson Kramer is one of the latest and definitely not to be missed…especially if you’ve got a sweet tooth!

As a vegan myself, I know that oftentimes we get left out when it comes to dessert. Throw celiac disease or gluten intolerance into the picture and I can only imagine what it’s like. This book covers both bases, featuring 250 (yep! 250!) decadent dessert recipes that are free from gluten, dairy, eggs, and/or other animal products.

There’s a great introduction with advice on “Stocking a sweet pantry” and “Tools of the trade”. I particularly appreciated the comprehensive “Flours and starches” section, as, though I’m doing alright with gluten-free baking, it’s nice to get some expert advice on which flours are best for which purposes, which combine best, etc.

N.B. The recipes in this book don’t call for “all-purpose” gluten-free flour but have been developed with a small selection of individual flours, each chosen for their unique properties.

There are a good number of pictures throughout the book (not for every recipe, but remember there are 250!) and each recipe also has an icon designating whether it’s also soy-free, nut-free, corn-free, and/or bean-free so you can decipher right away whether a recipe is suitable.

Gingerbread Squares

I always like to try out a few recipes before discussing a book on here so that I can give a more complete review but gosh was it hard to decide where to begin with this one!

It’s a good thing ’tis the season for baking as the recipes are definitely on the indulgent side and perfect for a celebration. I’m more used to healthier sweets these days and found I was especially drawn to the large section on “Refined sugar-free treats”. Allyson remarks that you should have good results making any of the recipes without refined sugar though.

There are seven other sections to explore:

- Killer cakes and toppings

- Captivating cookies and bars

- Luscious pies, pastries, tarts and cheesecakes

- Fabulous frozen treats

- Tempting puddings, custards, jellies, and fruits

- Choice chocolates and dandy candies

Can you see how I had a hard time choosing?!

Sweet, Salty, and Soft Granola Bars

In the end, I settled on some of the quick recipes I could get away with making without a birthday or special occasion as an excuse to indulge. The Gingerbread squares are very easy, oil-free and low on sweeteners and, most importantly, just as rich and spicy as the traditional version. Perfect for this time of year!

The Sweet, Salty and Soft Granola Bars are amazing. These are definitely too sweet for me as a breakfast bar but they make a delicious snack or dessert. I love how chewy they are, and the balance between sweet and salty is spot on. ( I added cacao nibs for a little extra crunch)

Butternut Pots de Crème

My favourite of the three recipes I’ve tried so far was the Butternut Pots de Crème. You would never guess that the base of this rich chocolate dessert is a vegetable! I actually misread the ingredients and only used half the sugar listed in the recipe but still thought it was delicious!

The book publisher’s Da Capo Press, have kindly allowed me to share this recipe with my readers so you can give this one a try while you wait for your copies to arrive!

Butternut Pots de Crème

Yield: 2 Servings

Ingredients

2 C Cubed, roasted butternut squash
1/2 C Coconut sugar OR packed brown sugar
1/4 C Cocoa powder
1/4 C Sorghum flour
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
Smoked salt for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C and lightly grease two 4-inch ramekins.
Purée the squash in food processor until smooth. Add in the sugar, cocoa powder, sorghum flour, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend until all ingredients are well combined, scraping the sides as needed.
Spoon the mixture into the two ramekins and sprinkle smoked salt onto the custards. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or untl the sides of the pudding begin to pull away from the ramekins.
Serve hot for a softer pudding of serve chilled for a firm dessert. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Notes

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2014/12/15/sweet-eats-review/

My copy is already stuffed with post-it notes as there are so many recipes I want to try. Just a few of the ones I’ve bookmarked are: Marbled Cake, Cherry Bombs, Florentines, Date Drop Cookies, Belgian Waffles, Mini Maple Donuts, Cranberry Faux-Gurt, Salted Espresso Truffles and Apple nachos…

The “look inside” feature on Amazon allows you to see the recipe index. Tell me which recipe you’d make first!

f you’re new to Coconut and Berries, please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere! I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google + and Twitter! You can also follow Coconut and Berries with Bloglovin or Feedly.

Chocolate Dipped Lemon & Cranberry Shortbread

How is it December already?! These past couple of months have flown by and Christmas seems to have snuck up on me.

Christmas is definitely my favourite holiday. I love the excitement around the whole period, the decorations, the celebrations, the family time - and of course the food!

Kristy of Keepin’ It Kind is hosting her annual Cookie Swap Party again this year and today I’m over there sharing my recipe for Chocolate Dipped Lemon & Cranberry Shortbread.

These simple vegan and gluten-free shortbread are light and buttery with a crumbly melt-in-the-mouth texture that’s simply irresistible.

Head on over to Keepin’ it Kind for the recipe and let me know what you think!

P.S. There’s a Vitamix up for grabs too!

If you’re new to Coconut and Berries, please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere! I’m on Facebook, Pinterest,Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google + and Twitter! You can also follow Coconut and Berries with Bloglovin or Feedly.