A Day of Baking

Today was what I would like to call the perfect day. It started off with a beauty run along the harbour with Amy (of course) and my big brother Max! Now, this is a big deal because Max hasn’t gone for a run with me in…. wait for it… SEVEN YEARS. Oh yes.

Anyways, he was a champ! And he totally kept up with Amy and I. I loved having him come along.. now Amy and I have to convince him to make this a weekly thing A perk was that we also stopped at Caffe Fantastico! Only a regular occurrence now.

He was just slightly cold.. or terrified?

So after we were all showered up, I went over to Amy’s, we looked through some of our favourite cookbooks and blogs, and then decided on 2 recipes. Before we could get the baking train going, we had to go to Lifestyle Market to get oodles and oodles of supplies! ….and some green juice

Green is Amy’s favourite colour, obviously

Okay, so onto those recipes!

First we made Angela Liddon’s No Bake Peppermint Patty Bars. But of course, in true Britta and Amy fashion.. we switched them up a bit. So then we have our Hint of Mint Bars! 

walnuts and almonds

Forming a ball with all the goods

Time for manual labour

All pressed out!

Ready for the freezer

Finished, glorious product

Drool.

Hint of Mint Bars

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of rolled oats, processed into flour (or use store-bought oat flour)

1/2 cup of almonds

1/2 cup of walnuts

4-5 tbsp of cocoa powder

1/2 tsp of salt

2 tbsp of packed brown sugar 

5 tbsp of agave syrup 

2 tbsp of almond milk 

1/4 cup of rolled oats 

1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips 

75g of mint chocolate chips 

1/2-1 tsp of peppermint extract

shredded coconut to garnish 

 

Directions: 

Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper. Add 2 cups of rolled oats into a food processor and make oat flour (if you need to make it). Set aside. In a food processor, add walnuts and almonds, and process into a very fine crumble. Add oat flour, cocoa powder, salt, brown sugar, and process until combined. Now add in agave syrup and almond milk. Process in the 1/4 rolled oats, and dark chocolate chips until combined and chunky. 

 

Take mixture and crumble it all over the prepared pan (it will be very sticky but not to worry). If for some reason, it isn’t sticky, add a touch more almond milk and process again. It shouldnt be dry. Now place a piece of parchment paper over top and press down evenly with your fingers. Use a pastry roller to smooth it out. This part is a bit fussy to smooth out and it takes a bit of patience. Once smooth, place in freezer while you melt the chocolate topping.

 

Add peppermint chocolate chips and coconut oil into a small pot. Melt on low until most of the chocolate has melted and then remove from heat. Stir until the last pieces melt. Remove pan from freezer and pour melted chocolate on top. Smooth out with spatula. Sprinkle on coconut (optional) and place in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes, or until set. Slice into 6 narrow rows and then in half to make 12 bars. Serve chilled with a glass of almond milk. Store in the freezer. Enjoy! 

 

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And then we made a recipe from one of our favourite restaurants in Victoria: Rebar!

Hello Vegan Fudge Brownies. Well… almost vegan fudge brownies. Amy and I aren’t the biggest fans of carob chips (which is what the recipe calls for), so we used regular chocolate chips instead

Sifted, Dry

 

 

 

Ready for the oven!

 

It’s a beautiful thing

The Glaze

Almost Vegan Brownies

makes ~12 servings

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt (we forgot this little tid bit)

3/4 cup coffee

3/4 cup almond milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup walnuts, roasted and chopped

1/2 cup chocolate chips

 

Glaze:

7 oz dark chocolate

5 oz vegan margarine

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Prepare a 9 x 13 pan by greasing and then covering it in parchment paper. Sift together the flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together coffee, almond milk and vegetable oil. Combine the wet and dry in a large bowl or stand mixer.  Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips into the batter. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 mins (until the toothpick comes out clean). When the cake is cool, prepare the glaze.  In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and vegan margarine.  Whisk together until smooth and silky.  Pour the warm glaze over the cake, smoothing it out over the cake.  Place in the fridge until cool. ENJOY! 

 

And of course the day wouldn’t be complete without a little blog session! Yes we’re matching..and no we did not plan it! Great minds think alike, okay?!

Hope you all have had a wonderful Saturday!