IRISH CAKE | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED

WIKI NOTE: The name shamrock comes from the Irish seamróg, which is the diminutive of the Irish word for clover (seamair) and means simply "little clover" or "young clover". A shamrock is used as a symbol of Ireland. The Irish have considered shamrocks as good-luck symbols since the earliest times.

IRISH CAKE

• FOR THE CAKE

YOU WILL NEED:
2 cups plain wheat flour (plain or all-purpose)
2 cups panela sugar or unrefined cane sugar
1 cup vegan-friendly stout beer / Guinness
¾ cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
¾ cup non-dairy sour cream
10 teaspoons unsalted vegan butter/margarine
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sunflower oil or veggie oil, any neutral flavored(instead of 2 eggs)

NOTE: All Guinness draught and Original XX produced in St. James´sGate Brewery for bottle, can and keg format is now brewed without using isinglass to filter the beer and vegans can now enjoy a pint of Guinness. / January 2018, Guiness Company.

NOTE: Homemade measurement units

LET´S BAKE!

1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Grease a spring-form tin or round/large cake pan with vegetable oil.

2. Melt the butter into the Guinness in a saucepan over low heat.

3. Add the brown sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder to the warm liquid.  Add sugar and cocoa. Whisk until completely incorporated. Take the saucepan off the heat.
4. In another bowl, mix non-dairy sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until combined. Add this to the beer mix and blend, making sure it is really blended together.
5. Add the baking soda and start adding the flour a small amount at a time.  Whisk well to get rid of any lumps of flour.
NOTE: Sift the flour for cakes. Sifting helps to remove any lumps and/or unwanted debris from the flour and also helps to combine the flour with any dry ingredients. If you don't have a strainer handy, you can also mix flour with a wire whisk or a fork.

6. Pour the mix into the tin and bake for about 45 minutes. Then check it as many times as you need, until the needle comes out clean when poked in the center. It means that the cake is well done. The middle of the cake may still be slightly wet when you take the cake out. It is quite a damp cake.

7. Let it cool completely.  Remove the spring-form tin/round cake pan and sit it on a flat platter/plate.

• FOR THE TOPPING (OPTIONAL)

YOU WILL NEED:  
2 and 1/2 cups cream cheese
1 and 1/2 cup  icing sugar
1/2 cup  double cream
VEGAN OPTION
1/2 cup *vegan shortening (homemade or vegan-friendly brand)
1/2 cup regular vegan butter/margarine
3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

LET´S ICE THE CAKE!

1. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth. Sieve over the icing sugar. Beat the cream cheese and the icing sugar together. Add the cream and beat until it makes a spreadable consistency.
VEGAN OPTION: Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla and soy milk, and beat until fluffy.

NOTE: For a firmer icing, add more icing sugar, a ¼ cup at a time. For a softer icing, add more soy milk or soy cream, a tablespoon at a time.

2. Use the spatula, start in the middle of the cake, and spread the icing evenly over the top. It looks kind of like the froth of the famous pint.

• LET'S MAKE THE IRISH SHAMROCK ON THE TOP!

1. Trace out the shamrock shape with a pencil (A5 paper size) and cut out the shape. Keep both papers, the shamrock-shaped piece of paper and the A5 paper with the shamrock hole.

2. Dry the top of the cake with paper towels if it is necessary, then put the shamrock shape piece of paper on the top center of the cake, sprinkle icing sugar, and carefully take out the piece of paper.
-TOPING OPTION:  Put the A5 paper with the shamrock hole on the top-center of the icing, and sprinkle inside with dark chocolate grated or cacao/cocoa powder.  

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CAKE POPS FROM CHOCOLATE CAKE / XMAS SWEET | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED

 

WIKI NOTE: A cake pop is a form of cake styled as a lollipop. Cake pops can be a way of using up leftover cake or cake crumbs. The cake pop increased in popularity between 2009 and 2011. Cake pops can be found in many bakeries and grocery stores.

CAKE POPS FROM CHOCOLATE CAKE

• CHOCOLATE CAKE | VEGAN RECIPE

YOU WILL NEED:
DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 and  ½ cups wheat flour (plain or all-purpose)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup panela sugar or unrefined cane sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips or cacao nibs (optional)
WET INGREDIENTS:
1 cup almond milk
¼ cup strawberry jam
6 tablespoons sunflower oil (any neutral flavored)
1 tsp vanilla extract

NOTE: Homemade measurement units



LET´S BAKE!

1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Grease a bread pan with margarine or veggie oil.
NOTE: Standard dimensions for bread and loaf pans start at 8 ½ by 4 ½ inches. It´s the perfect size for that amount of ingredients. If you multiply the amount by the number of times that you want,  you will get a bigger cake. You have tons of different sizes of baking pans depending on the final amount.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl: unrefined cane sugar/brown sugar, flour, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa powder and salt. Mix them well with a wooden spoon.
3. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl: red wine, strawberry jam, veggie oil, and vanilla extract until well-mixed.
4. Pour the wet mix into the dry bowl. Mix everything slowly with a wooden spoon.
5. Pour the mix into the bread pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on the top.
6. Bake for around 40 minutes, until browned.
NOTE: Don´t open the oven, you can always leave the cake in the oven for a few more minutes.
7.  Remove from the oven. Leave to cool.

•  LET´S MAKE CAKE POPS!

YOU WILL NEED:*vegan recipe

A bunch of lollipop sticks or wooden skewers
1/2 cup of  margarine /*vegan margarine
1 cup of dark chocolate/*vegan dark chocolate,  to dip 

1 cup of  white chocolate /*dairy-free white chocolate,  to dip 

Pastel rainbow sprinkles and/or tiny sprinkles, to sprinkle

STEP BY STEP

1. Once the cake is cool.  Crumble it into pieces.
2.   Melt the margarine in a small saucepan. Add it to the bowl and mix everything well until the mix is a bit sticky.
NOTE: Add more margarine if you need to, to make the mixture sticky enough. The mixture has to be clumped easily to make the little balls.
3. Shaped the resulting mixture into balls. Simple shapes such as spheres can be molded by hands.
4. Cut wide strips of cling film. Then cut the strips in half to make them square shapes.
5. The result should be a cake ball wrapped in a cling film. Make as many cake balls as you want.
6. Put them in a tray. Leave it in the freezer for a while, 30 minutes approx.
NOTE: The cake balls can be frozen to speed up the solidification process.
7. Take the tray out from the freezer, and wait for a while. 

8. Put the chocolate chunks in a saucepan and warm gently. Stirring until it's all melted (the consistency of a soup).
NOTE: Chilling the cake balls and using this chocolate ensures that a cake ball never falls off the stick.
9. Dip your lollipop stick into the melted chocolate about one inch. Push the chocolate-covered end of the stick into the middle of the cake ball.
NOTE: Dip half of the cake balls into hot dark chocolate and half into hot white chocolate.
10. Dip each cake pop straight down into the chocolate until it is submerged and the melted chocolate touches the stick. Hold it sideways over the bowl and rotate it slowly as it drips until covered.
11. Dip and rotate each cake pop into a pastel rainbow sprinkles bowl until covered.
12. Pre-drill a guide hole with your skewer before placing each pop into your foam block to dry.  Let it dry like this for a few moments.

13. Display them in a vase filled with decorative origami stars (optional).

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• DECEMBER MENU

RED WINE CHOCOLATE CAKE | VEGAN RECIPE

WIKI NOTE: Archaeological evidence has established the earliest-known production of wine from fermenting grapes during the late Neolithic site of Hajji Firuz in the northern Zagros Mountains or early Chalcolithic in the northern edge of the Middle East.

RED WINE CHOCOLATE CAKE

YOU WILL NEED:
DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 and  ½ cups wheat flour (plain or all-purpose)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup panela sugar or unrefined cane sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips or cacao nibs (optional)
WET INGREDIENTS:
1 cup red wine
¼ cup strawberry jam
5 tablespoons sunflower oil (or veggie oil, any neutral flavored)

NOTE: Homemade measurement units



LET´S BAKE!

1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Grease a bread pan with margarine or veggie oil.
NOTE: Standard dimensions for bread and loaf pans start at 8 ½ by 4 ½ inches. It´s the perfect size for that amount of ingredients. If you multiply the amount by the number of times that you want,  you will get a bigger cake. You have tons of different sizes of baking pans depending on the final amount.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl: unrefined cane sugar/brown sugar, flour, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa powder and salt. Mix them well with a wooden spoon.
NOTE: Sift the flour for cakes. Sifting helps to remove any lumps and/or unwanted debris from the flour and also helps to combine the flour with any dry ingredients. If you don't have a strainer handy, you can also mix flour with a wire whisk or a fork.
3. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl: red wine, strawberry jam, veggie oil, and vanilla extract until well-mixed.
4. Pour the wet mix into the dry bowl. Mix everything slowly with a wooden spoon.
5. Pour the mix into the bread pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on the top.
6. Bake for around 40 minutes, until browned.
NOTE: Don´t open the oven, you can always leave the cake in the oven for a few more minutes.
7.  Remove from the oven. Leave to cool. Serve as is or with a scoop of vegan ice cream (flavor up to you) or vegan custard.

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• NOVEMBER MENU

2 SCARY TAPAS / HALLOWEEN SPECIAL | VEGAN RECIPES

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• BLOODY FINGERS

YOU WILL NEED:
3 or 4 carrots
Almonds, flaked
Ketchup sauce

LET´S COOK!
1. Wash the carrots and cut them in different sizes.
2. Put Ketchup sauce on the plate like bloodstream.
3. Place the carrots on the plate with Ketchup as fingers.
4. Make a cut on the top of each carrot and place the almonds as nails.
5. Put as much Ketchup sauce as you want!!!

• TERRIFYING FIELD OF SKULLS AND PUMPKINS 

YOU WILL NEED:
1 or 2 courgettes/zucchini (medium size)
1 or 2 big carrots

LET´S COOK!
Pumpkins:
1. Peel the carrots. Cut carrots into slices not too thin.
2. Cut the stem shape of the pumpkin in each carrot slice. Here you are the tiny pumpkins ready to plant.
Skulls:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Cover a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Wash well the courgettes. Cut them into slices not too thin.
3. Cut the skull shape and make eyes and mouth holes with a knife.
4. Place the courgette skulls in the tray, and sprinkle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Keep them in the oven until brown. Remove from the oven. Leave to cool.

¡LET'S PLANT A FIELD OF KULLS AND PUMPKINS!
1. Place them on a big plate/tray like a big terrifying field.
2. Cover the plate with pumpkins along the edge and put them in the center of the skulls (photo).
3. Serve as is or with small bowls of hummus and/or soy sauce to dip (optional).

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PINEAPPLE COCONUT CAKE | VEGAN RECIPE

WIKI NOTE: To prevent scurvy during the 19th century, British sailors were issued a daily allowance of citrus, such as lemon, and later switched to lime. The use of citrus was initially a closely guarded military secret, as scurvy was a common scourge of various national navies, and the ability to remain at sea for lengthy periods without contracting the disorder was a huge benefit for the military. The British sailor thus acquired the nickname, "Limey" because of their usage of limes.

PINEAPPLE COCONUT CAKE

YOU WILL NEED:
DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 and 1/2 cups wheat flour (plain or all-purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 cup panela sugar or unrefined cane sugar
1 cup roughly chopped pineapple (natural pineapple or dried pineapple slices in juice)
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
WET INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup pineapple puree or pineapple jam
NOTE: Homemade pineapple puree or homemade pineapple jam are taste ingredients. If you want to buy them, it tastes delicious too.
1/3 cup sunflower oil (or veggie oil, any neutral flavored)
1/4 cup coconut milk
Zest of one lime, grated

NOTE: Homemade measurement units


LET´S BAKE!

1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Grease a bread pan with margarine or veggie oil.
NOTE: Standard dimensions for bread and loaf pans start at 8 ½ by 4 ½ inches. It´s the perfect size for that amount of ingredients. If you multiply the amount by the number of times that you want,  you will get a bigger cake. You have tons of different sizes of baking pans depending on the final amount.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl: brown sugar, flour, baking powder, shredded coconut and salt. Mix them well with a wooden spoon.
NOTE: Sift the flour for cakes. Sifting helps to remove any lumps and/or unwanted debris from the flour and also helps to combine the flour with any dry ingredients. If you don't have a strainer handy, you can also mix flour with a wire whisk or a fork.
4. Peel and cut the pineapple, roughly chopped. Add it to the dry ingredients and mix it well.
5. Put a bunch of roughly chopped pineapple into the measuring cup of the blender. Add a splash of Cachaça (optional). Mix it well with the blender, until homogeneous liquid like puree.
6. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl: homemade pineapple puree, veggie oil, coconut milk, and grated lime zest until well-mixed.
7. Pour the wet mix into the dry bowl. Mix everything slowly with a wooden spoon.
8. Pour the mix into the bread pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on the top.
NOTE: Arrange the thin pineapple slices around the cake decoratively. Drizzle over some syrup if using (optional presentation).
9. It´s a moist cake. Bake for around 40 minutes, until browned.
NOTE: Don´t open the oven, you can always leave the cake in the oven for a few more minutes.
10.  Remove from the oven. Leave to cool. Cut cubes of coconut and slices of lime. Put them on the top. Sprinkle a little bit of shredded coconut and grated lime zest.

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• AUGUST MENU