heartyspoonful

Perhaps it's the lack of sunny days even though it's spring. Perhaps it's because of the no running. Perhaps it's just boredom. Most likely it's all three combined. All to say that I'm feeling restless. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever introduce constant adventures into my life. Am I that brave? No, definitely not today. 

A colleague and I had a discussion about society's expectations. About the path that we "should" take when we get to a certain age. I don't know how my parents did it. How they went for the deep dive, started a family and went from there. I feel paralysed with fear just thinking about the minutiae of how we're "supposed" to live our lives. Should we really wait until our retirement to see the world? To taste the colourful cultures that we only read about in books written by those who went for it when we "finally have time"? 

Funnily enough, I told a friend this morning that I don't quite know what to do with myself so I bake. All the time. I have to restrain myself. But you see, I haven't figured out what I want yet and with the creeping pressures of society (yes, I feel as if I'm somehow behind given my current circumstance...), baking is a good release. My stress reliever. At least until I can finally run again. Then we'll see if I can solve my current conundrum. 

Cakes. That's my new thing. I was never really into baking cakes because of the hassle. Then again, I only really baked carrot cake, which, let's be honest, is probable not the most friendly of all cakes. I finally bought vanilla again and my mum mentioned she loves vanilla cake. Nothing fancy, just a simple, fluffy cake with a taste of vanilla. There we go. Right at that moment, I knew I needed to bake a vanilla cake. Add a thick layer of coconut cream frosting. Top with fresh, seasonal fruits. I had to bake it because I wanted to. 

Vegan Vanilla Cake with Coconut Frosting

Serves 8-12

Dry Ingredients:

Truth be told, I'm not a big pie lover. I enjoy a slice of vegan pumpkin pie or apple pie when the season calls for it. (Hello, autumn!) But really, making pie crust petrifies me. I have this weird fear that the crust would turn up all burnt even before I add in the fruits. But I'm slowly conquering my fears in the kitchen one pan at a time. 

Now, I'm still uncomfortable at the idea of baking a pie crust from scratch, but at least I'm willing to make pies in general. So what better pie is there to bake than banoffee pie? If you're not familiar of what this delicious pie is, just check wiki. It's just flavour bomb from the first layer to the last.

Making a vegan version isn't so easy. I needed biscuits for the crust, a substitute for the toffee layer. And how in the world was I going to find a substitute for the dulce de leche? A little research with the help of Google helped a little bit, but a lot of the recipes called for a raw version. I'm not a big fan of a nutty crust (sorry, not sorry). The dulce de leche was usually made of cashews. Again, I only really like cashews when I make frosting for carrot cake. For banoffee pie? I need something lighter. I stumbled upon coconut cream, which is really just whipped chilled coconut milk. Sign me up!

Vegan Banoffee Pie
Makes 8 slices

Crust:

• 13-15 gingerbread cookies/Maria cookies
• 5 tbsp melted coconut oil/vegan butter

Banoffee Layer:

• 1 1/2 cups medjool dates, soaked in hot water
• 2 tbsp peanut butter/almond butter
• 1 tsp vanilla powder
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

 

Coconut Cream Layer: 

• 1 can coconut milk, chilled overnight
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup

• 2 bananas, sliced 

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two small pie tins or a classic pie dish (about 9 inch) with coconut oil.

Process the cookies in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add melted coconut oil and process until the crumbs are finer.

Press the mixture into the pan(s) until the layer is even. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

For the banoffee layer, process all ingredients together in the food processor until smooth. When the crust has cooled, add this layer evenly.

For the coconut cream, scoop out the coconut milk from the top of the can. Discard remaining water. Using a whisk or an electric mixer, mix the chilled coconut milk until it looks like cream. Add maple syrup for a hint of sweetness and whisk some more.

Add a layer of bananas on top of the banoffee layer. Top with coconut cream and add the remaining banana slices.

Chill in the fridge before serving.

Enjoy! xx

"Coconut is one of those love-hate ingredients."

- Marcus Samuelsson

Growing up in the Philippines, coconut was a big part of my diet. My grandfather had coconut trees in his backyard, so we had plenty of fresh coconut in supply. I especially loved coconut milk-based desserts and on a hot summer day, my Mama would buy me coconut sorbet that had fresh coconut meat. Refreshing and delicious! My brother and I even loved to sing that Da Coconut Nut song (The coconut nut is a giant nut/If you eat too much, you get very fat/...). Talk about obsessed, huh? 

When I turned vegan, or to be more precise, when I decided to eat more healthy options, I turned to the coconut. I drank more coconut juice, making sure that there aren't any added artificial ingredients. I loved coconut milk curries with lots of veggies and tofu. Being a big (ex) lover of Greek yoghurt, I even got into coconut yoghurt, which is love. LOVE, I tell you! 

Not wanting a tub of vanilla coconut milk yoghurt to go to waste that was ready to expire, I decided I need to incorporate it into my baked goods. But what?, I wondered. The easiest way is to sub it in any regular spongey-type cakes that I make. Delicious! With warmer weather creeping in, I even threw in some raspberries. Mmmm. 

Sweet & tangy!

Vegan Coconut Yoghurt Cake with Raspberries

Makes 6-8 slices

Ingredients: