When it’s cold outside, there’s nothing better to do than indulge in some comforting bakes, especially when there’s chocolate involved.
To help satisfy your chocolate cravings, Justine Murphy, author of The mymuybueno Cookbook, has shared four delicious 100% plant-based chocolatey recipes with us. Both healthy – well, as healthy as chocolate can be – and delicious, these are guaranteed to keep your cravings at bay.
Chocolate Doughnuts
These are the yummiest chocolate doughnuts you can imagine and are sure to be a massive hit with everyone at the dinner table.
The yummiest chocolate doughnuts you can imagine...
Don’t be afraid of using a piping bag; it’s well worth doing as you will have a much neater end result. It’s all about control so take your time, don’t overfill the bag, and work quickly but carefully.
Ingredients (makes 12)
For the flax egg
– 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
– 6 tbsp warm water
Wet Ingredients
– 290ml almond milk
– 100ml sunflower oil
– 1 tsp vanilla paste
– 1 tbsp espresso
Dry Ingredients
– 220g self-raising flour, sifted
– ½ tsp arrowroot, sifted
– ½ tsp xanthan gum, sifted
– 45g cacao powder, sifted
– ½ tsp Himalayan salt
– 190g coconut sugar
For the chocolate glaze
– 100ml coconut oil, melted
– 60g cacao powder
– 50g maple syrup
– Freeze-dried raspberries (optional)
Method
You will need a doughnut baking tin for this recipe…
For the doughnuts
1 – Preheat your oven to 180°c.
2 – Mix the flaxseed with the warm water and leave for 10 minutes to make your flax egg.
3 – In two separate bowls, combine the wet ingredients and then the dry ingredients, except for the coconut sugar.
4 – Stir the flax egg and coconut sugar into the wet ingredients until all the sugar has dissolved, then add this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until a smooth batter forms.
5 – Transfer your batter into a large piping bag, then pipe it into the doughnut tin and level the tops with a palette knife.
6 – Place the filled doughnut tins onto a baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until well risen, leave to rest in the tin for 10 minutes and then very carefully tease the doughnuts out with a palette knife and your fingers.
7 – Place them onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Everyone loves a good chocolate chip cookie, and this recipe is simple and delicious. You can make them with either peanut or almond butter, which both work really well.
Makes 12
Ingredients
- 240g ground almonds
- 75g plain flour
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 70g maple syrup
- 115g almond or peanut butter
- Pinch of flaked sea salt
- 100g cacao paste
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°c and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Put all of the ingredients except the cacao paste into a bowl and mix until well combined. The cookie dough should be smooth and not look or feel dry.
- Chop the cacao paste into small chips and then add them to the bowl. Fold the dough with a spoon to ensure that they are evenly dispersed.
- Taking a tablespoon at a time, rollthe sticky mixture into even balls with wet hands, working quickly, and then gently flatten each ball on your baking tray.
- Place the cookies into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Leave them on the tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack so the cookies cool completely.
Brownies
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tweaked my brownie recipe over the years, to perfect the version below. At least a hundred, if not more. It’s been absolutely worth it to create a brownie as good, if not better than my 2011 original. The chia provides the right amount of ‘squidge’ and the almonds make it more fudgy than cakey. It’s the best of all brownie worlds.
Serves 8
Ingredients
For the chia-egg
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 3 tbsp warm water
Wet Ingredients
- 100ml almond milk
- 130g coconut oil, melted
Dry Ingredients
- 200g plain flour, sifted
- 50g ground almonds
- 300g coconut sugar
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, sifted
- 60g cacao powder, sifted
- Pinch of Himalayan salt
For the topping
- 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, pistachios, pecans or cacao nibs
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°c and lightly grease a 20cm square or rectangular tin with melted coconut oil. Line the base with parchment paper.
- Place the chia seeds in a bowl with the warm water, mix well then leave to one side for 10 minutes to thicken up. Stir once in this time to ensure the dry seeds on top have taken on the water below.
- In an electric standmixer with a paddle attachment, combine your dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the almond milk and melted coconut oil with the chia-egg.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients andleave to mix well for around 5 minutes to ensure all the oil has been incorporated. You will be left with a shiny and very thick mixture.
- Pour this into the lined tin and press it down firmly and evenly using a silicone spatula. Sprinkle the brownie with your topping of choice, then bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven until cooked through but still a little soft in the middle. It will continue cooking from the residual heat of the tin once out the oven.
- Leave the brownie to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer it to a wire rack by lifting the paper. After another 10 minutes, carefully use another wire rack to turn it upside down and gently remove the paper. Leave to cool completely (this part is very important) before cutting into squares. Enjoy.
Decadent Chocolate Cake
This is such an amazingly rich and moist cake; it’s fantastic for birthdays or just as an afternoon treat.
Serves 8
Ingredients
For the chocolate ganache
- 300g cacao paste
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 300ml tinned coconut milk, shaken well before opening
For the cake
Wet Ingredients
- 350ml almond milk
- 1½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- 150ml sunflower oil
- 2tsp vanilla extract or paste
Dry Ingredients
- 230g self-raising flour, sifted
- 85g cacao powder, sifted
- 1tsp baking powder, sifted
- 1tsp bicarbonate of soda, sifted
- 260g coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
For the decoration
- Fresh raspberries
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°c and lightly grease two 20cm sandwich tins with sunflower oil. Line the bases with parchment paper.
For the chocolate ganache
- Make this first as it needs ample time to firm up before it can be used as a filling and topping. Chop up the cacao paste and place it in a heatproof bowl with the coconut sugar. In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk until just boiling, then pour it over the cacao paste and sugar and stir until all the chocolate has melted.
- Set the ganache aside for 2 minutes, then stir again until completely smooth. Cover and place in the fridge to cool for a minimum of 2 hours. If it’s too hard when you remove it later on, simply sit it in a bain-marie of warm water.
For the cake
- Mix the almond milk and vinegar in a large bowl. Add in the oil and vanilla and stir well.In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cacao powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, then stir in the coconut sugar and salt.
- By hand or with a paddle attachment on an electric stand mixer, combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until everything is well incorporated and you have a smooth batter.
- Divide this evenly between the two prepared tins on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for 10 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
For the decoration
- Spread half of the ganache over one of the cakes, then place the other cake on top. Spread the remaining ganache over the topof the cake, and finish with fresh raspberries dotted around the edge. Enjoy.
