Bo's Kitchen

Plant based recipes made with love

Sweets

Cranberry and pistachio energy bars

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cranberry and pistachio energy bars

These cranberry and pistachio energy bars have been a firm favourite in my house this month. They’re so quick to prepare and compared to traditional energy bars, which in my experience tend to be dry, flavourless and tough, these are moist, sweet and incredibly moreish. The best bit is you can easily swap the ingredients around depending on what you have in your pantry- I love flexible recipes. The perfect way to use up all of those leftover bags of dried fruits and nuts from Christmas. Pistachio and cranberry is a wonderful combination though, so I’d recommend grabbing these if you can. They freeze really well too, so I’ve been making a big batch on a Sunday to enjoy through the week.

Feel free to add in your favourite superfoods, nut butters, dried fruits, coconut shreds, whatever you fancy really, just keep the proportions of wet to dry ingredients the same and you’ll struggle to go wrong.

I’ve worked all through the Christmas period and now I’m off for three whole days and I can’t wait to cook and shoot again, I really miss it if I can’t take pictures every day. I’m going to be rustling up some turmeric lemonade today, after spotting this beautiful recipe on my friend Janine’s blog. Take a peek here to check it out, the photography is stunning and her blog is a joy to visit. If you’d like to follow her on Instagram, you can find her at @nutsandblueberries.

Hope you’re staying warm, my sweet peas! Wishing you a very happy New Year, roll on 2017!!!

Cranberry and pistachio energy bars

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
  • 1/ 4 cup chia seeds
  • 1 cup pitted dates
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup shelled and roughly chopped pistachios
  • 1/4 tsp pink himalayan salt
  1. Preheat oven to 190•c. Pour oats, almonds, walnuts and seeds onto a baking tray and spread out evenly. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, until slightly golden.
  2. Add dates and 1/2 cup of hot water to a food processor and blitz until a date caramel has formed. Add date mixture and toasted oat mix into a large bowl.
  3. In a small pan, gently melt maple syrup, coconut oil and almond butter. Once combined, add to the large mixing bowl with the date caramel and oats. Stir well until everything is coated. Now mix through the cranberries, pistachios and salt, leaving a few pistachios and cranberries for the top.
  4. Line a small square baking tin (mine was 8×8 inches) with parchment paper- leave a little hanging over the sides so it’s easy to remove later. Flatten the mixture down with your hands or the back of a spoon. Now add your remaining pistachios and cranberries to the top.
  5. Set in the freezer for 30 minutes, or an hour in the fridge. Cut into 12 bars and store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Clementine sesame raw cookies

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Clementine and sesame raw cookies

Hey babes! I’m sorry for being away a lot lately, life has been pretty hectic this month and the days are so short my time for photography is very limited (I should probably get an artificial light but I’m too stubborn). I’m back with this wonderfully easy raw cookie recipe though- full of festive ingredients to get you in the Christmas spirit. There’s something about cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger that makes my heart happy, they smell truly magical together.

Sweet, citrusy, delicately spiced and full of vitamins, they’ll help to keep you snacking healthy this Christmas. They’re vegan, refined sugar free and no bake- meaning less washing up and minimal prep time (less than 10 minutes). They’d be a great cookie to make with little ones too.

I can’t believe this year is almost over. What a year it has been. I could never have predicted just quite how unpredictable it could be. It’s been a rollercoaster in every way possible but thankfully I’m ending it on a huge high and I’m so grateful to the universe for everything it has thrown my way.

I’ve learnt that sometimes bad things need to happen so you can see things as they really are. And it’s far better to have your eyes wide open than be blinded to the truth, however painful it may be. I’m ending the year on a massive high with somebody I truly love and everything feels like it is going to plan for the first time in my life!

Fortunately my new man has taken to this whole vegan malarky like a fish to water, so I have an excuse to make loads of food again. The whole raw cookie thing was completely unchartered territory for him, so I knew I had to create something extra sweet and delicious to make a good first impression (the green smoothies are still too ‘funky’ for him at the mo hehe). These babies hit the spot for sure, although he didn’t get to enjoy that many as I wolfed them down in less than two days. I’d love to know if you try these, either leave a comment below or please take a pic and tag me on Instagram – @bos.kitchen, it would make my day!

Stay warm and nourished, sending you a big hug and an even bigger bag of cookies.

xx

 

Clementine sesame raw cookies (makes about 16 small cookies, or 12 big ones)

  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds
  • 1/4 tsp himalayan pink salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup agave/maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup melted cacao butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 clementine, juice and rind
  • 1/4 cup dairy free choc chips
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries/sour cherries other dried fruit
  1. Add oats, cashews, walnuts and 1/4 cup of the sesame seeds to a food processor and grind to a flour.
  2. Add salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to the blender and pulse briefly to combine.
  3. Tip dry ingredients into a bowl and stir through the clementine juice, agave syrup, melted cacao butter and vanilla until the dough comes together. It should be very moist and smell awesome (feel free to taste test at this point)!
  4. Now stir through the choc chips,  1/4 cup sesame seeds and cranberries. Shape into little balls and flatten into a cookie shape. Sprinkle with extra sesame seeds and clementine rind. Eat right away, or pop them in the fridge to firm up. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

Chia bliss balls

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It’s getting so cold here lately. It takes a lot to tempt me out of the house if I’m honest! It’s not all bad though, I love nothing more than drinking endless cups of tea whilst rustling up new recipes in the kitchen when the nights get longer. A whole host of new seasonal ingredients and comforting winter recipes are tempting me every day, I’m bubbling over with ideas!

There’s a few basic recipes that I always fall back on whatever the weather and these balls are one of them. The beauty of a bliss ball is that it requires hardly any cooking, minimal ingredients and it is almost impossible to get them wrong. The results are instant too, no need to wait for them to cook! My kind of recipe. I tend to become a bit of  a snack monster when I’m cold, so a bliss ball can be just the thing to stop me reaching for something carby and sugary before dinner.

As well as being incredibly tasty and addictive, these babies are packed with goodness, oats, almonds, seeds, chia, dates and spices.

These are so easy to make, I’d love to know what you think if you try them!

 

  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 3 tbsp chia seeds
  • 3 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp flaxseed
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tbsp cacao (optional, leave out for a plain version)
  • 1/2 cup soft pitted dates
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil
  • 4 tbsp maple syrup

Toppings –

Chia seeds, cacao powder, sesame seeds
1. Add all dry ingredients to your food processor and pulse briefly to combine.
2. Add in dates, vanilla, coconut oil and maple syrup and pulse until a dough is formed. Add more flour if it’s too wet, or a little water if it’s too dry.
3. Roll in chia seeds, cacao and sesame seeds and store in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

 

Chocolate and peanut butter marble cake

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Chocolate, vanilla and peanut butter marble loaf

Do you like cake? Do you like chocolate and peanut butter? Yes? Well you’re in the right place, my friend. This chocolate peanut butter marble cake has been sent to satisfy your cake cravings. This was actually a treat for my boyfriend, who has been rambling on about a special cake for the past few weeks. He kept saying he doesn’t want anything fancy, just a ‘marble cake’. I dread to think what I’m going to have to make when he tells me his idea of ‘fancy’!

This baby is so easy to prepare but looks like it takes a lot of skill to bake (perfect for wowing that special someone). You can make it in a loaf tin, or two sandwich tins for a traditional cake. I bet it would be lush with a peanut butter cream in the middle. It’s made with spelt and plain flour, but feel free to sub with all spelt if you prefer, or a gluten free plain flour. I used ‘aquafaba’ for this cake too, which is basically the liquid from a tin of chickpeas or white beans. Sounds gross, but works amazingly well as an egg substitute and I promise it doesn’t leave any chickpea flavour at all.

Do you have a favourite cake? Please let me know if so in the comments below as I really enjoy veganising cakes. This cold weather has got me craving baking time too, so I’m on the lookout for new baking adventures!

 

Chocolate peanut butter marble cake

Dry 

  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 2/3 cup spelt flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup avocado or coconut oil (melted)
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup cacao powder

Wet 

  • 1/4 cup aquafaba liquid
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup nut mylk (I used almond)
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  1. Preheat oven to 180•c and line a loaf tin or two sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients apart from the cacao together in a bowl. Add all wet ingredients to the mix apart from the boiling water and stir well to combine. Add a little more almond mylk if you need to loosen the peanut butter.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix 1/4 cup cacao with 1/4 cup of boiling water. Now add half the cake mix to this bowl and mix to incorporate.
  4. To the remaining batter, add in 1/4 cup boiling water and mix. Now you should have one bowl of chocolate batter and one bowl of plain batter.
  5. Spoon dollops of each mix into your prepared tin. Once complete, swirl through with a chopstick to create the marble effect.
  6. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Stores well in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Pear bliss balls

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pear bliss balls

I do love a bliss ball, a healthy, refined sugar free morsel of energy can keep you going when you’re trying to hold out until tea time. I adore pears, sweet, juicy and delicately flavoured, they are such a pretty fruit. I decided to combine my two loves this month and the pear bliss ball was formed!

These are almost raw, apart from the pear puree- but they’re still refined sugar free and thanks to the puree you’re getting a fair bit of fruit in each bite too.

These little cuties are packed with all the good stuff – nuts, fruit, oats and chlorella. This superfood has the highest chlorophyll of any plant and is a whopping 56% protein. It alkalises the body, improves digestion (I can vouch for this) and increases energy, it’s powerful stuff! You can’t even taste it in these balls, so these would be great for little ones too. If you don’t have chlorella you can try using wheatgrass, matcha or spirulina instead.

Pear bliss balls  – Makes around 16

  • 4 pears, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1/2 cup almonds
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 1/2 cup oats
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp all spice
  • 1-2 tsp chlorella (I always use Organic Burst)
  • 1/2 cup pitted dates
  • Cacao nibs, mint leaves and cacao powder for decoration
  1. Make your pear puree by adding pears, water, coconut sugar and lemon juice to a small pan. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes, until sweet and thick. Set aside to cool.
  2. Add almonds and pecans to a food processor and pulse until small, crumbly pieces. Add in oats, cinnamon, all spice and chlorella and pulse again until combined. Add dates and 3/4 cup of pear puree and pulse until a dough is formed. If it’s too sticky, add a few more oats, tbsp at a time. If it’s too dry, add a little water until the mixture comes together.
  3. Shape mix into little pear shapes. The best way to do this is to make a ball, then start rolling the top half of the ball flat on a board with your finger, to make a little pear shape. Add a little cacao nib for the stem and mint for the leaves and dust lightly with cacao powder. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Cacao buckwheat breakfast cups

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cacao buckwheat breakfast cups gluten freeThis month has been full of change. In a really good way. So far I’ve been to a festival in a forest, spent five days in London with my best friend and made some really interesting new connections. It’s only the 19th already! I feel like I’ve learnt to embrace this rollercoaster of a year and welcome whatever else is coming my way with open arms. I definitely don’t feel like I’m the same person I was at the start of the year. It’s weird how sometimes a few months can make you feel like you’ve grown so much. I am truly grateful for the lessons this year has taught me. Without all of them, I wouldn’t be in this place right now. It’s a good feeling knowing it was all for a reason. I have so many plans for the next few months too, so it looks like the end of the year will continue to be eventful!

Anyway, back to breakfast cakes…. these little buckwheat babies are so simple to make and although they look like sweet little tarts, they are loaded with goodness. These raw, gluten free shells are free from nuts and sugar, and a couple in the morning will keep you going until lunch. Buckwheat is a super nutritious whole grain, great at fighting off those mid morning hunger pangs. Cacao is a natural anti depressant and improves your mood.. sounds like perfect Monday morning fuel to me! Load them up with yoghurt and your fave fruits, or make the shells in advance and decorate before serving. I guess these would make great party snacks too. I’m tempted to make them even smaller, into little canapés… I love tiny things! Unless we’re talking jars of peanut butter, then the bigger the better…

Cacao buckwheat breakfast tarts

For the tart shells (makes about 8 small tarts)

  • 1 cup buckwheat
  • 1 tsp lucama powder (optional)
  • 1/2 cup cacao powder
  • 1 cup dates, pitted
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 100ml water

For the filling

  • 1/2 cup non dairy yoghurt
  • 1 vanilla pod (deseeded)
  • Fresh fruit
  • Black sesame seeds and mint for garnish
  1. Roughly pulse buckwheat, lucama and cacao in a food processor until starting to crumble.
  2. Now add the dates, coconut oil and water and pulse until the mix comes together in a ball. Add water a tbsp at a time if it is too dry. You should be able to squish it between your fingers without it falling apart.
  3. Take out golf ball size lumps of dough and flatten in your palm. Press into a cupcake mould (I used a silicone one). Pop in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.
  4. Mix vanilla pod seeds with non dairy yoghurt and spoon into your tart shells. Garnish with fresh fruit, sesame seeds and mint. Store in the freezer for up to a month. Best eaten after thawing out for 15 minutes.

 

Raspberry choc chip muffins

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raspberry chocolate chip vegan chia muffins

This week it was sunny almost every day, I managed to get a tan! Sadly, the sunshine didn’t last all week. As soon as Friday came, so did the rain, which only meant one thing- baking! Although I really enjoy sunning myself in the garden, I love nothing more than a day snuggled up in the house, with time to myself to try some new recipes, experiment with different flavours and indulge my culinary desires (usually in the form of lots of cooking shows and my favourite newspaper for inspiration). I set to work on these muffins as soon as I woke up on Saturday morning. The result is a soft, moist muffin that is light, tangy with raspberries and gorgeously chocolatey. Just perfect with a large Americano.

A lot of vegan muffin or cupcake recipes can be dry or dense, so I tried to make these as moist as possible with more than one type of egg replacer, which seemed to do the trick. I’ve been hibernating by myself all weekend and have almost finished the whole batch to myself. They are still as soft today as they were yesterday, so this recipe is definitely a keeper! They’re also vegan, refined sugar free and can easily be adapted to be gluten free.

Raspberry choc chip muffins (makes 10)

  • 2 chia eggs (mix 2bsp chia with 6tbsp water) (I use Organic Burst’s ethically sourced, organic chia)
  • 2 medium ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup plant based mylk
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (sub gluten free if you wish)
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats (can sub gluten free oats)
  • 1/2 cup choc chips
  • 1 cup raspberries
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and grease your muffin tin.
  2. Prepare your chia eggs in a large bowl and set aside for a few minutes. Mix really well with a fork until no big lumps of chia remain.
  3. Mix plant based mylk and cider vinegar in a small bowl.  This will curdle in a minute or two to form vegan buttermilk.
  4. To your chia egg, add bananas and coconut sugar. Mash together with a fork until a few lumps remain, you don’t want it totally smooth. Now add the buttermilk. Stir briefly to incorporate.
  5. Add vanilla and coconut oil and stir again.
  6. Add baking soda, sea salt, flour and oats to the wet mix and stir until just combined. Fold through choc chips and 3/4 cup raspberries.
  7. Divide batter between your prepared muffin tin, I fill them to the top which makes 10 but you can make 12 smaller muffins if you prefer- just fill them 3/4 of the way to the top.
  8. Sprinkle a few choc chips and your remaining 1/4 cup of raspberries on top and bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges are just turning golden.  Let cool for a few minutes and then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. These will store well in a covered container at room temperature for several days.

raspberry vegan muffins with chocolate chip

Chocolate marzipan truffles

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chocolate marzipan trufflesChocolate and marzipan has to be one of my favourite flavour combinations, what a treat. I always used to have marzipan from the fridge when my Mum made wedding cakes (and icing too, oops). There was often a nice big chunk in there for decorating but I couldn’t help taking a little piece now and then (basically whenever I had the opportunity). I adore those marzipan bars you can buy in some health stores too, just a generous bar of marzipan, smothered in dark chocolate. Mmmmmm. I love the smell of it, almonds are so sweet and delicious. These babies are gluten free, refined sugar free and packed with healthy protein. You can omit the amaretto if you like, it just won’t taste as marzipan-y, is that a word?!

I got the basis for this recipe from the Lazy Cat Kitchen blog and in it Ania suggests tempering your chocolate, to get the ultimate snap and sheen to your little truffles. I’d never done it before, but now definitely recommend tempering for the best results. It wasn’t tricky, but you do need a thermometer- it’s all about using it at just the right temperature.

Chocolate marzipan truffles (makes 24 truffles)

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups almonds
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup almond mylk
  • 10 tsp amaretto
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 250g vegan dark chocolate, broken into medium size pieces (use a sugar free dark chocolate bar to keep totally sugar free)
  • Small handful of almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
  1. Blend almonds and cashews together in your food processor until finely ground, to a flour.
  2. Add lemon zest, maple syrup, almond mylk, amaretto, lemon zest, sea salt and vanilla to a small bowl and whisk together.
  3. Slowly add the mix, little by little, to the blender and pulse until combined. The mixture should be sticking together with your fingers. Bring dough together with your fingers and shape into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge.
  4. Slowly melt 150g of your chocolate in a bain-marie (a bowl gently heated over boiling water), being careful to keep the water away from your bowl of chocolate (water is the worst thing that could happen to your melted chocolate, be careful).
  5. When the chocolate has melted, take off the heat and gently stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to get things cooling. Chocolate fully melts at 46°C, but you want to cool it down to between 31 to 33°C. Add the remaining 100g of chocolate, this will increase the rate of the cooling process. Keep checking the temperature with your thermometer every five minutes or so.
  6. While the chocolate is cooling, take your marzipan dough out the fridge and make into balls. I made a tablespoon of dough per truffle. When the chocolate has reached the magical temperature of between 31 and 33°C, you’re ready to dip! Dunk your balls into the chocolate and leave to dry on a cooling rack.
  7. Put any remaining chocolate into a piping bag, or just drizzle on top of the truffles. Garnish with toasted chopped almonds. Try not to eat them all to yourself.

 

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