Christmas and exciting treats for the coming new year!

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Kyle and I went to Manchester to visit his family and had a wonderful time! And we ate far too much! Here are some pics from christmas and some cakes that I made on the run up to christmas that I didnt have time to post!

Green tea and lemon cake

My presents! Check out my amazing handmade apron that my mum made me!

Ate toooo much!

It was really rainy on or journey home and then suddenly a rainbow appeared!



And I do love to see wind turbines!

Next year brings wedding cakes, more stalls including one at the forum, perfected macaroons, and maybe I will make a cake for your beloved!  So here's to 2012 and lots more exciting recipes, pictures and veganess!

Tomato, basil and balsamic vinegar glaze tarts and a very busy week!

This past week has been so manic so I apologise for not posting the recipe for the Tomato, basil and balsamic vinegar glaze tarts sooner! This blog post will be a bit of a longer one full of pics from the 'busiest Deerly Beloved Bakery week on record' with the recipe at the end. Enjoy!

First up Mr Green tea cake turtle! Rest assured he went to a very kind home!

Me truffle making!

Cranberry and chocolate biscotti.

Lavender and lemon whoopie pies

Chocolate, raspberry and balsamic vinegar syrup cake

Chocolate, raspberry and balsamic vinegar syrup cake

Chocolate, olive oi and sea salt whoopie pies

Norwich Art Centre's Clutter City was on Saturday, and as I always am extremely busy at my little stall, so lots of truffles and cakes had to be made!

It was so busy and we sold out! Thankyou once again to everyone who came! It was especially great to be in the cafe area as I could see people sit down with their families and enjoy my cakes. There was such a great Christmas atmosphere and lots of great arts and craft stalls including my friend Laura Manfre who makes amazing illustrated prints and made these gorgeous necklaces and brooches! I had to treat myself and purchased a necklace (well it is Christmas!) You can get yours at http://www.etsy.com/shop/lauramanfre?ref=seller_info

And now to the recipe for Tomato, basil and balsamic vinegar glaze tarts!
Makes 4 tarts
Ingredients:
Home made puff pastry or ready roll vegan puff pastry.
8 Cherry tomatoes cut in half and a glug of olive oil to fry them in.
Cup of fresh basil
Half a cup of hazelnuts
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
4 tbsp of olive oil
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup of good quality Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of agave
2 saucers one about an inch smaller than the other.

Roll out the pastry and cut round a the saucer to create the bases of your tarts. Then with the smaller saucer,  place in the middle of your cut circles, and gently score round the saucer not cutting all the way through. This will create an edge to your tart once cooked.
In a frying pan pop in a glug of oil and then your tomatoes facing cut side down, this will make for a really nice caramelised tomato and stop them from losing their shape. Fry for around 8 mins on a high heat, turning one over occasionally with a pallet knife to make sure they are not burning, but placing back cut side down once you have checked.. They will cook through and look like this....

Then in a processor add the basil, hazelnuts, garlic, yeast oil oil and salt to taste. Whizz it up into a wonderful pesto consistency (any that is left over will be great on potatoes or pasta!) Then spread this paste evenly on each pastry case, making sure to keep it inside the middle 'ring'.

Then place the tomatoes on top. In a pan add the balsamic and agave and boil rapidly till it goes into a thick syrup. Around 4 mins. Do not leave this unattended as it will boil dry quickly and will be extremely hot! The vinegar can make your nose sting while it evaporates, so I found it best to open a window and not stand directly over the pan! Once it has turned into a syrup carefully drizzle it over the tarts. *Washing up tip*The pan can be placed in hot water and left to soak to remove any syrup residue from it.

Then place them in a hot oven at 190c for 20 minutes until golden brown! Serve with salad with a nice lemon dressing.

New this week....

Deerly Beloved Bakery Tiramisu marble cake. Coffee and vanilla sponge swirled together to make a light marble cake, topped with coffee 'buttercream', dusted with organic fairtrade Hispaniola cocoa and chocolate drizzle! Available at Biddy's Tea Room today along side my best selling green tea and pistachio whoopie pies! Cinnamon whirls will also be available at The Food Store on St Benedicts Street!

Recipe coming soon....

           Tomato, basil and balsamic vinegar glaze tarts! Keep your eye's peeled!

Best Christmas gravy and cauliflower & broccoli mash!

Today I made what I think is the best roast dinner I have made. I made a couple of changes like making this gorgeous red onion and mushroom gravy and this cauliflower and broccoli mash (recipes below). I teamed these new creations with agave glazed carrots and parsnips, roast potatoes, and I also tried out Redwood's new cranberry stuffing balls which are pretty good, they are quite sweet but make a great treat for Christmas or Sunday roast. However Kyle said that the 'cranberry stuffing was over shadowed by the deliciousness of my mash and gravy' and he also said the word 'genius'. Because of this I thought I better share it with you!

 Best ever Christmas gravy!

Ingredients:

3 large brown cup mushrooms sliced

1 Bulb (yes bulb not clove) of garlic

2 large red onions sliced

4 tbs of olive oil

Good pinch of salt

1 tbsp of nutritional yeast flakes

2 tbsp of bouillon stock powder

1 sprig of rosemary

1/2 tsp of agave

1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

4-5 cups of the cooking water from the cauliflower and broccoli. If not just use plain water.

Place the sliced onions and mushrooms in a baking tin with the whole bulb of garlic. Do not break the garlic bulb up as the garlic skins will help the garlic sweat and turn gorgeous and mellow. Sprinkle over the olive oil and salt and place in a hot oven, around 180-190c check after 20 minutes and they should be looking caramelised and nice and roasty! Take the tray out the oven and remove the garlic bulb and on a plate squash the cloves to release the creamy garlic. Add all the crushed cloves to the gravy, this may seem like a lot but trust me that it won't even taste garlicky as the cooking has mellowed the garlic and taken away it's harshness.Then add the rosemary, yeast flakes, stock powder, agave, balsamic and the water and return to the oven to finish cooking  around 10 minutes enough time for the rest of your yummy roast  to cook. If your other roast things won't be cooked in this time, decant it from the tray into a lidded saucepan for reheating when needed!

Cauliflower and Broccoli mash.

Half a Cauliflower

A head of Broccoli

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp of Nutritional yeast flakes

3 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp of soya milk

Boil the cauliflower and broccoli in a pan of water until tender, about 15-20 mins. Once cooked use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables, saving that important cooking water for the gravy! And pop them in a food processor add the salt, yeast flakes, oil, lemon juice and 1 tbsp of soya. Whizz until smooth and then check for seasoning and consistency. If it's a bit too dry add the other tbsp of soya milk. And there you go, an alternative to roast potatoes or an extra special addition to your vegan roast! Enjoy!