Have you seen the gorgeous baked treats created by Cocolico?
Cocolico is an independent French Pâtisserie business in the UK. You might recall them trading at Hackney Downs Vegan Market a few times, or possibly even bumped into them at other markets around the Reading and London areas.
If you are looking for handcrafted delicacies that taste amazing, Cocolico have got what you want.
Take a look at this special ‘postal treats’ box you can order online for UK-wide delivery.
Did you attend Hackney Downs Vegan Market back in the day?
If you were a regular attendee, you will fondly recall the glorious cakes, bakes, and cookies from Chanel of Vegan Delice.
Chanel was always the friendliest person on the market and customers would come from all over London to chat with her AND to buy her amazing vegan baked goods.
A little while back Chanel rebranded and her empire of sugary delights is now known as Cake Cult London. The online store is overflowing with treats that you can have delivered to you around the UK (or collect if you live locally).
There are so many wonderful things from which to choose, however I’m jumping on here today to tell you about the vegan afternoon tea for two.
Chanel sent me one of the boxes to try for myself and of course it was as delicious as I remember all her stuff being. Check it out below and see the contents of the vegan afternoon tea listed as well.
Afternoon Tea for 2 Menu
2 x mini cheese & onion pasty
2 x mini Sos rolls
4 x Scones
Plain & Cherry with Clotted cream and Strawberry Jam
Baby cake cults
2 x Lemon drizzle
2 x Red Velvets
2 x Shortbread fingers
Order your very vegan afternoon tea for two from Cake Cult London now for delivery!
How about buying gorgeous chocolate hampers AND supporting an independent vegan buisness.
You will do both these things by shopping with Copperhouse Chocolate, a 100% vegan chocolate shop and cafe based in London.
There are three fabulous hampers from which to choose, meaning there is something for that special someone in your life… and there are no rules saying that special person can’t be you!
Choose from the following hampers:
Copperhouse Chocolate gift box £36
Assorted peanut butter cups & caramels
Fudge
Drinking chocolate variety pack, including 3 different flavours to try
2 single origin chocolate bars from our favourite bean-to-bar makers
Milc chocolate gift box £32
Chocolate box: cashew milk chocolates, filled with cashew butter or tahini filling
Madagascar cashew milc chocolate
Solkiki Hazelnut white chocolate
Ombar coconut chocolate buttons
Colombia 55% drinking chocolate
Fudge
Peanut lovers gift box £32
Peanut butter cups
Peanutty bar (our own take on a well known chocolate bar!)
Do you need some baking inspiration for the festive season?
Join Made in Hackney Community Kitchen on Sunday December 13, 2020 between 10am and 1pm for a sensational vegan baking class online (will take place via Zoom with class details sent the day before).
The cost of joining the baking class is £25 (£12 concession) and all funds raised go towards the Made in Hackney community meal service, providing free nutritious, tasty meals to households who need them during these challenging times.
So you’ve got the basic facts and now you want the finer details, right?
Join Bee Berrie (a twice published recipe book author, small business founder (@beesbakery) and expert plant-based baker) to learn how to create incredible plant-based Christmas bakes that look and taste stunning, to enjoy whenever you like during the festive season.
Learn how to make a gorgeous spiced vanilla chai cake
Techniques for making a dreamy vegan white (or dark) chocolate ganache to frost your cake
Make mouth-watering traditional mince pies
Learn how to make your own healthier homemade mince meat with apple and beetroot
You can freeze and enjoy your chai cake whenever during the festive season
Your mince pies will last up to a week in an airtight tin
Opportunity to ask Bee questions
Recipe handout
For ingredients and equipment needed see below
About Bee Berrie
Bee is a twice-published author (Bee’s Brilliant Biscuits and Bee’s Adventures in Cake Decorating), an ex-microbiologist, and the brains behind the best biscuits in London. Bee has supplied bakes to Selfridges and Harrods, become an expert plant-based baker, and transitioned her business to plant-based. She’s also a mother to a bouncy 3-year-old called Joey.
Click here to book a space and check out the ingredients/equipment you will need below.
INGREDIENTS LIST
Homemade mince pies
For the homemade fruit mincemeat:
200 g apples, chopped into small chunks 1 small raw beetroot, finely grated 50g sultanas, currants or raisins 50g dried cranberries 50g dried blueberries 30g chopped almonds the zest and juice of 1 small orange 2 tbsp coconut oil 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 tbsp seeds / nuts of your choice (e.g. chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, millet) For the pastry:
72 g unbleached all purpose flour 1/2 tsp sea salt 160 g coconut oil (scoopable // not liquid)* 45-90 ml ice cold water For the glaze:
50g vegan butter / other vegetable fat 1/2 tsp ground turmeric ½ tsp ground ginger ½ tsp cinnamon Spiced vanilla chai cake with chocolate ganache
The recipe works well as a layer cake (makes 2 x 8 inch rounds, OR 4 x 6 inch rounds (per image), as cupcakes (makes around 14 – 16) or muffins (10 or so), whatever takes your fancy.
HALVE FOR A SMALLER BATCH!
Ingredients:
300 ml soya or oat milk 3 tsp vinegar 200 g plain (not flavoured) soya yoghurt 380 g caster sugar 250 ml plant, nut or vegetable oil 480 g self raising flour (if GF, use 1/4 ground almonds and 2 tsp xanthan gum) 2 tsp vanilla extract The contents of 2 high quality tea bags, decaf if you prefer 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 1/2 tsp ground cloves / allspice 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 3 tsp baking powder Two ingredient chocolate ganache / icing (make ahead of class)
Makes enough to fill the middle and ice the top of 1 x 6 inch layer cake or 16+ cupcakes
Ingredients:
135 ml soya milk 200g dark chocolate OR 200g white, dairy free chocolate (available from health food shops or online) Method:
Melt the ingredients together over a low / medium heat, stirring gently until you have a smooth glossy mixture, do not allow to boil. Chill until needed, for a few hours or overnight for a firmer, spreadable texture. EQUIPMENT LIST
For the cake:
Weighing scales Large bowl Wooden spoon / spatula Whisk Measuring jug Smaller bowl (to mix milk / yoghurt / vinegar) Tablespoon Teaspoon 2 x 6 inch cake tins OR cupcake tray with cases Parchment / oil / pastry brush (for oiling tins) Small pan (for melting ganache) Cooling rack (optional) Cake board (6 in) or serving plate Palette knife For the mince pies:
Weighing scales Large bowl Medium sized pan wooden spoon chopping board Knife Tablespoons and teaspoons Grater / zester Cupcake tin (mini or small is fine) Pastry brush (for oiling tins)
I love getting free gifts and I love it even more when those gifts are in the form of boxes filled with vegan treats!
Vegan Junk Box is a new monthly subscription box out of the UK focussed on plant-based sweets and treats that are sometimes difficult to locate in stores.
The company gifted me with a box in the hope that I would like it enough to share the news with you all… and guess what?
I’m sharing the news with you!
And you can even get a discount on your first box as an FGV reader.
The monthly box costs £13.99 but you can get £5 off your first box by using code ‘FATGAYVEGAN’ at checkout.
Visit the Vegan Junk Box website now to investigate now and decide if this monthly box is for you.
This confection company makes some of the best chocolate on the planet and they have fab ethical underpinnings to everything they do. Many of their employees are Autistic or Aspergers Syndrome. This is a deliberate positive employment strategy.
Shop for their fab creations online and follow Moo Free on Instagram.
Just before lockdown 2.0 hit, I popped into Beanie’s Wholefoods in Sheffield to pick up some treats.
Beanies is a workers co-operative that has been running since 1986. These sorts of places are crucial for community wellbeing, so I like to support them as much as possible.
And it helps that I get vegan chocolate for my generosity. Ha!
The Montezuma’s Like No Udder vegan milk chocolate was simply superb and the Goupie boxes will bring a smile to your face. They have a range of special Christmas flavours, including White Christmas!
Follow Beanies Wholefoods on Instagram. Please support workers co-ops in your area.
Cake or Death bakery in East London sent me a box of the vegan brownies and I gotta say I was blown away.
The brownies were sensational and close to some of the best I’ve tried.
Cake or Death vegan brownies are available to order online and delivered hassle-free through your letterbox.
This paragraph from the Cake or Death website sums up the product perfectly:
Beautifully packaged in a hot pink leopard print, the Cake or Death experience is luxury treat, from it dropping on your doormat, right through to the last mouthful. These aren’t any ordinary brownies. Cake or Death brownies are everything a brownie should be and more; fudgey, indulgent and very moreish, all made with the very best quality plant-based ingredients. Both vegans and non-vegans alike are huge fans. They make the perfect treat for yourself or a friend.
I concur!
Cake or Death has a tempting range of flavours including:
Sea Salt X Biscoff
Biscoff
Sea Salt
Raspberry Caramel Blondies
Peanut Butter
Raspberry
Hazelnut
Fruit and Nut
Orange
Click here to shop for brownies or gift vouchers and be sure to follow Cake or Death on Instagram.
Extra note: European shipping outside the UK can be selected for £5 at checkout and gluten free options exist!
I love showing you all the samples and PR gifts I get sent… and not just because I love to gloat!
I share because I want to let you know about some of the great vegan products available. My list of gifts always includes products from independent vegan businesses, so it give me a chance to support them with a little bit of exposure.
Check out my haul from this week and let me know in the comments if you have tried/enjoyed anything listed.
Be sure to click the multiple images on some of the posts, otherwise you might miss some sweet treats.
Extra note: to see all my latest food photos, follow me on Instagram.
Anna & Arthur’s is a home-run business in Northern Ireland specialising in vegan-friendly baking mixes.
They kindly sent some to my house to try and just look how great this cake turned out!
I take no credit as my partner Gil did all the hard work. He said it was super simple to use and the cake baked to perfection.
I can attest to its deliciousness. I worked hard at eating it. That counts for something, right?
The other mixes I was sent were pancakes and seitan. The pancakes were flawless and we served them with vegan butter and fruit syrup. At time of writing we were yet to try the seitan mix.
These really are handy kits for people just getting into vegan baking.
I think the Anna & Arthur’s kits would be a great gift for a vegan in your life, no matter if they are well-seasoned like me or new to the lifestyle.
You can order directly from Anna & Arthur’s by messaging them via Facebook or Instagram. UK and Ireland shipping costs between £3 and £6 depending on how many packets you want!
