VEGAN PISTACHIO LEMON WAFERS

There are certain comfort foods that are forever, so to speak, not only because of their flavour, but because of their emotional significance to us. For me, those core comfort sweets are wafers, or oblande, and those tiny little mini bars you often see me make, or sitni kolači. And I've always loved them, as far as I recall, since I was a child, so along with coffee, those truly are the absolute core of my flavour and texture preferences.

My paternal grandmother used to make caramel wafers occasionally, usually around holidays, and those were truly magnificent. Granted, immensely sweet for my taste now, but when you're young, you don't really pay much attention to that. You are focused on the delightful milk caramel and the toasted walnuts.

But now, I prefer my desserts less sweet, which is why this little gem features both roasted salted pistachios, as well as blanched pistachios. One is for flavour, the other for that gorgeous emerald colour. And the citrus flavour does come through quite prominently, perfectly pairing with the nuts.

One thing I have to point out, though; these are quite large. I did slice them into pieces fit for a photo session, but for an everyday treat, or even as a part of a sweet platter, I recommend slicing them in smaller pieces. You can get at least 70 of them, they feed a crowd, and they're also wonderful to gift to friends and family.

Brew your favourite coffee and enjoy!

Ingredients

150 millilitres lemon juice, about three large lemons
150 grams granulated sugar
200 grams vegan block butter
200 grams vegan white chocolate
2 whole lemons, zest only
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
100 grams roasted salted pistachios, finely ground
100 grams blanched pistachios, finely ground
250 grams vegan vanilla biscuits, finely ground
60 grams soy milk powder
5 small wafer sheets, 20x28 cm or 100 grams in total

Preparation

Pour the lemon juice into a heavy saucepan, add in the sugar, diced vegan butter, vanilla, lemon zest, and chopped vegan white chocolate, and place it over medium heat. Let everything melt together slowly, making sure it does not come to a boil.

Once melted, remove from the heat and add in the ground pistachios. Mix them through well, and then add in the ground biscuits and sifted soy milk powder. Add the biscuits in increments, making sure the batter does not start to be dry. Mix very well, either with a wooden spoon or a sturdy spatula, and leave it for about 10-15 minutes, so it can cool down. Stir it from time to time as it cools, so it cools down evenly.

Once lukewarm, place the first wafer sheet on the serving platter, coarse side up. If using a cake frame, close it around it. Add one-fourth of the filling and spread it evenly. Add another wafer sheet in the same fashion, and continue stacking until everything is used up. Top with the final wafer sheet, press gently with both palms so everything sets, and then place something heavy on top, like a 1-litre carton of milk or a 1-kg bag of sugar on top, so it sets nicely.

Place the platter somewhere cool, but not in the refrigerator, so they don’t get soggy. They are best after at least 8 hours, but you can slice them even after 4 hours if you are in a hurry. Yields 35 large wafer bars or around 70 bite-sized ones.

MINI VEGAN CHOCOLATE BISCUIT LAYER CAKE

This is one of those buttercream recipes that is beautifully adaptable and allows you to use any biscuit you like, be it a plain vanilla one, chocolate sandwich one, or even Biscoff. Any biscuit will work for this, just make sure you adjust the final consistency by adding more or less soy milk.

I believe that the cake you make should be enjoyed in every way, and that is why I encourage you, dear Reader, to experiment and find your favourite combination of flavours. And that is what I love about cakes like this one; my recipe is the baseline idea that works well, and the rest is up to you and your imagination and preferences.

Ingredients

For the fudge chocolate cake layers

240 grams courgettes (zucchini), grated and lightly squeezed dry
200 grams plain flour
45 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
180 grams granulated sugar
250 millilitres soy milk
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
75 millilitres neutral oil
2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

For the vanilla biscuit filling

250 grams vegan block butter, softened
100 grams icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
50 grams toasted almonds, finely ground
150 grams vegan vanilla biscuits, finely ground
60 millilitres soy milk

Preparation

Start by making the vegan chocolate fudge cake. Let the oven preheat to 180°C and line a rectangular cake pan (20x30 cm) with baking parchment, bottom and sides, and set it aside.

Take a large bowl and sift in the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in the sugar and mix very well. Make a well in the centre, pour in all the wet ingredients, and whisk until barely combined. Finally, add in the courgettes, and fold them through until combined. Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 30-35 minutes, or until done.

Mine was done after exactly 30 minutes.

As every oven bakes differently, check with a toothpick to make sure it is baked through, but still fudgy. Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely in the pan.

While the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream filling. Place the softened vegan block butter into a large bowl, add in the vanilla, and mix with an electric mixer on high for about 2-3 minutes, or until lighter in colour and creamy. Add in the icing sugar, and continue beating the buttercream for a few minutes more. Add in the ground almonds and the fine biscuit crumbs, and mix on the lowest setting until somewhat combined.

At this point, it might look a bit dry or crumbly, but that is fine.

Start adding the soy milk in a thin stream while the mixer is running, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Once the batter is blended well, the buttercream may look a bit soft, but that is fine. Place the bowl into the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so.

Once everything is ready, proceed to assemble the cake. Level the cake if needed, slice it in half lengthwise, and then cut each of those parts in half to create four thin, almost square, layers. Weigh the buttercream and divide it into four equal parts by weight. If it seems too thick to spread, which can happen if your biscuits were on the drier side, add a bit more of the soy milk, and blend well.

Place the first cake layer on the serving platter, spread a portion of the filling, add another cake layer, and continue stacking until all the cake is used up. Because the cake is sturdy, use the remaining buttercream to decorate the top and sides. Place everything into the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

When you are ready to serve, remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it stand for about 15 minutes at room temperature. Yields 16 rich servings.

MINI VEGAN ESPRESSO BROWNIE COFFEE CAKE

I believe the title of this recipe is the perfect answer to any question about how much exactly I enjoy coffee. A coffee coffee cake actually fits perfectly into the image people already have of me in regards to caffeine.

Sweet jokes aside, it is a marvellous little cake with a tender crumb, rich brownie filling, and a wonderful crumb topping. The coffee flavour is prominent, but that is the point. I encourage you to reduce or increase the amount of espresso to your liking, especially if you are not serving the cake to children.

Feel free to add a tiny splash of your favourite coffee liqueur to the batter itself, it will be an excellent addition. Just make sure not to add too much, because we still need the cake to bake through and have a lovely crumb texture.

I've served it straight from the oven, as well as completely cooled, and I have to say I do enjoy it either way. So serve it to your liking, maybe even including a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!

Ingredients

For the espresso coffee cake

90 grams plain flour
10 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
small pinch of cardamom
30 grams ground toasted walnuts, finely ground
50 grams granulated sugar
50 grams brown sugar
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
110 millilitres carbonated water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
10 millilitres boiling water
25 millilitres neutral oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

For the brownie filling

15 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
15 grams icing sugar
30 grams vegan block butter
30 grams dark chocolate (70%), chopped
45 millilitres soy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
25 grams plain flour

For the crumb topping

20 grams vegan block butter, melted
20 grams granulated sugar
40 grams plain flour

Preparation

Start by making the crumb topping. Mix the melted vegan block butter with the sugar and flour until big pieces of crumble form. Place it in a little bowl, and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Turn the oven on to preheat to 180°C and line a small rectangle cake pan (12x12 cm) with baking parchment, bottom and sides. It is best to use a deeper cake pan, so the cake can rise nicely and that there is enough room for the topping.

Just before making the cake batter, make the brownie batter filling. Place the vegan butter, dark chocolate, soy milk, and vanilla into a small saucepan, and whisk well. Sift in the cocoa powder and icing sugar, and whisk well. Place the pan over medium heat, and gently melt everything together until smooth, but do not let it boil. Remove from the heat, add in the flour, and mix until just combined. Set it aside at room temperature or pour it into a piping bag.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, add in the ground walnuts and both types of sugar, and whisk to combine. Separately whisk together the instant espresso powder with the boiling water, and add it to the dry ingredients along with the rest of the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, so the cake stays soft.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and place it immediately in the preheated oven, for just 15 minutes, so the surface firms up slightly. After about 15 minutes or so, take the cake out of the oven, add the brownie filling and the crumb topping, and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes, for a total of 35 minutes. Make sure you check the cake early on, so it doesn't overbake.

Once baked, remove from the oven and let it cool down completely in the pan. Serve with coffee. Yields 8 servings.

MINI VEGAN BISCOFF WALNUT LAYER CAKE

I've spoken quite a few times about how much I disliked walnut cake as a child. That was the only cake available growing up, because we had the same thing for every single occasion… And it was a walnut cake.

And even as a child, I preferred to have some variety around desserts. I remember thinking that there has to be at least another cream filling to use with the cake, and that says everything about my tiny little self's pursuit of recipe development at the age of seven.

Many, many years later, I decided to bake myself a walnut cake, purely for nostalgic reasons. What I discovered was that I did not dislike the cake itself, I disliked the cake-to-filling ratio and the crunch of the undissolved granulated sugar in the filling.

So I got to work and created almost a template for walnut cake layers that works flawlessly with every possible filling. But as always, the cake is simply special with the cinnamon and spice notes from the Biscoff spread. There truly is something timeless in those warm spices and how well they pair with walnuts.

Ingredients

For the vegan walnut cake layers

200 grams plain flour
200 grams granulated sugar
120 grams toasted walnuts, finely ground
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
240 millilitres carbonated water
35 millilitres neutral oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 1/4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

For the Biscoff filling

350 grams Biscoff Lotus spread, at room temperature
200 millilitres vegan double cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

For the chocolate glaze

80 grams extra dark chocolate (85%)
2 tablespoons neutral oil

Preparation

Start by making the cake layers. Let the oven preheat to 180°C and line a square cake pan (18x18 cm) with baking parchment, bottom and sides.

Sift the flour with the baking powder and baking soda, add them to a medium bowl, add in the sugar and walnuts. Whisk well to combine. Pour in all of the wet ingredients, without any particular order, and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake immediately, in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for about 22-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool down in the pan completely.

My cake was done after exactly 23 minutes.

When the cake is cool and ready, make the Biscoff cream filling. Whip the vegan double cream until soft peaks form, add in the softened Biscoff spread and vanilla, and whip with an electric mixer on high until it becomes lighter in colour and very fluffy. Make sure not to overmix it, as it should be firm, but not dry.

Once everything is ready, proceed to assemble the cake. Level the cooled cake if needed, slice it in four thin layers, and divide the cream filling into four equal parts. This is best done by weight.

Place the first cake layer on the serving platter, and add a portion of the prepared filling. Continue stacking the cake layers until all of them are used up. As the cake is firm, use the remaining cream to frost and decorate to your liking. Place it into the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Once the cake is ready, melt together the dark chocolate and the neutral oil, and abundantly glaze the top and sides of the cake, and serve immediately, preferably with strong coffee. Yields 12 rich servings.

And if you love mini vegan cakes as much as I do, I am pleased to tell you that you can find even more of them in my cookbooks.

VEGAN WHITE CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO DOUGHNUTS

Another Friday, another profession of love for doughnuts and all sweet dough desserts. I cannot help it, that is simply the epitome of comfort desserts for me, and if you share that love, you understand me perfectly.

Incredibly soft dough, gorgeous white chocolate, hazelnut, espresso filling, and just a tiny hint of dark rum, to balance it all. They are simply wonderful while still hot off the baking tray, especially with a cup of coffee.

And if you don't serve them piping hot, like I did, your filling will set up more and have that signature melted Nutella look and feel, rather than be a molten pool of ganache. They are absolutely delicious either way, so it is truly up to you and your preferences.

Ingredients

For the soft dough

550 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
80 grams granulated sugar
150 millilitres warm water
30 grams fresh yeast
150 grams vegan cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 teaspoons dark rum
45 millilitres vegetable oil

For the espresso white chocolate filling

200 grams vegan white chocolate
50 millilitres vegan double cream
2 heaping teaspoons pure hazelnut paste
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

Preparation

Start by making the filling, because it needs time to set up. Place all of the filling ingredients in a small saucepan, and place it over medium heat. Let it heat up gently, mix until everything is melted and combined, and remove from heat. Cover the top with a piece of plastic wrap or a round of baking parchment, let it cool down to room temperature, and then place it into the refrigerator until completely cool and firm enough to shape into a truffle.

To make the doughnuts, sift the flour into a large bowl, add in the salt, whisk very well, and set it aside. Crumble the fresh yeast into a separate bowl, add in the brown sugar and the warm water, and set it aside for about 10-15 minutes so the yeast can activate. Separately briefly whisk together the rest of the wet ingredients.

Once it is bubbly and ready, make a well in the centre of the flour, add in the yeast, cream cheese, vanilla, and the oil, and vigorously mix with a wooden spoon until a very soft dough forms. It should not stick to your hands, but if it does, let it rest for about 15 minutes, and then knead it again. This way, the dough, and the baked doughnuts, will be fantastically soft. Place the kneaded dough into a large clean bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rise, at room temperature, for about an hour, or until doubled.

When the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly floured surface, and knead it briefly. Roll it out to a large rectangle, and divide it into 16 pieces by weight. Flatten each piece, place a portion of the filling in the centre, close it up, and shape each into a ball. Make sure the seam is nicely closed, so the filling stays in. Arrange them on a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment.

Generously mist the formed doughnuts with lukewarm water, and let them rest and rise, covered, for about 30 minutes more. Just before baking, mist them again, and bake, in a nicely preheated oven, at 200°C, for about 12-15 minutes. Make sure they do not overbake, and stay soft. Once baked and done, remove them from the oven, and let them cool down a bit before serving. Yields 16 servings.