We enjoyed this cake with a store-bought vegan whipped topping, but I am sure that vanilla ice cream would be just as good. I tend to choose full-fat whipped toppings on the rare occasion when I buy commercial ones – they’re not quite as artificial-tasting as the lighter versions. My favorite right now is GoGreen Vispi, an oat-based product that is available at least in Finland and Sweden.

The Wet:

• 2 dl plain soy yoghurt
• 1 large lime, juiced and zested (1/2 dl juice, 1 tablespoon zest)
• 1/2 dl canola oil

The Dry:

• 2 dl almonds, ground into 3 dl almond meal
• 1 dl white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 dl gram (chick pea flour)
• 2 dl sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• pinch of salt

The Topping:

• 1 dl slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy milk
• pinch of salt

To Serve:

• vegan whipped topping (we had GoGreen Vispi)
• 1/2 vanilla bean

The batter was as straightforwards as can be – I mixed the wet and the dry separately and then combined, stirring with a fork. I also stirred the topping ingredients gently together (I didn’t want to mash the slivers), then poured the batter in the baking pan and sprinkled with the topping. For an even coating, you might want to double the amount of topping.

Then I baked the cake for 25 minutes in 200 degrees Celsius, until the edges were nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake came out with just a few crumbs. I let the cake cool to room temperature, and served with vanilla whipped cream. For the cream, I just scraped the seeds from half a vanilla bean with the tip of a sharp knife, and added that to the commercial vegan whipping cream as I was whipping it.

I use white whole wheat flour all the time now that it’s finally available here, and it works very nicely in heavier baked goods like cookies. Maybe because of all the sugar and a touch of vinegar, these blondies don’t taste whole-wheaty at all, quite the opposite – not that whole-wheaty is necessarily a bad thing, just not what I usually aim at when making dessert. Peanut butter is just a slight side note in the taste – I am not a huge fan of sweet peanutty things, but here it adds a little something important. These were good right after baking and excellent straight from the fridge later on.

The Dry:

• 2 and 1/2 dl white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

The Wet:

• 3/4 dl coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 dl whole cane sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar

The Egg-Replacer:

• 2 tablespoons gram (chick pea) flour
• 3 tablespoons soy milk

The Chocolate:

• a handful of chopped dark chocolate, 85%

First I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, chopped the chocolate, and sprayed a glass baking pan with a bit of olive oil. I used a small, 15 X 20 cm baking pan, and the result was fudgy and kind of sticky in the center. Very delicious, but a larger pan would yield more of the caramelized edges that were probably my favorite part of this dessert.

To make the batter, I first mixed the wet, the dry, and the egg-replacer ingredients in separate bowls. The chickpea flour is a bit lumpy so it’s important to mix well. Now, I combined everything and stirred with a fork just so that there were no dry lumps visible. I folded in the chocolate, poured the batter in the pan, and baked for 25 minutes. For the last 5 minutes I covered the pan to prevent too much browning – it might be wise to check after the first 15 minutes and cover when necessary.

There’s only enough batter there to keep things together, letting all the nutty goodness really shine. We munched on these from the fridge for more than a week and the flavors just kept on getting better. I used a cayenne-flavored dark chocolate for the topping, but regular would be fine – maybe sprinkled with a bit of extra cayenne for more spicy kick. I also used whole cane sugar and agave as sweeteners, but to simplify things I’m sure using just one or the other would work as well.

Here’s what I used:

• 2 and 1/2 dl assorted nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and almonds)
• 1 dl raw coconut flakes
• 1/2 dl chick pea flour (gram or besan)
• 1/2 dl whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 dl coconut oil in room temperature
• 1/2 dl whole cane sugar
• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons agave syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy yoghurt
• 60 grams (cayenne-flavored) dark chocolate, chopped

First, I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, covered my baking dish with parchment paper, and sprayed it with a bit of olive oil. I also chopped the nuts and the chocolate – the nuts quite coarsely, dividing them only in 2-3 pieces each.

To make the batter, I mixed the dry ingredients except nuts and coconut flakes (chickpea flour through cayenne) in one bowl, and the wet ingredients (coconut oil through soy yogurt) in another. Now I poured the dry into wet and stirred with a fork just enough to mix. Then I poured nuts and coconut flakes in the batter bowl and stirred until they were evenly coated with the batter. There should be just enough batter to coat.

Now I spread the mixture in the baking dish and baked the squares for 15 minutes, until nicely browned. I turned down the heat in the oven, sprinkled the chocolate evenly over the nutty layer, and then placed the baking dish back in the oven for 1 minute to melt the chocolate. I removed the dish from the oven and spread the chocolate evenly with a butter knife, then let the whole thing come to room temperature, and refrigerated for a few hours before cutting into small squares with a sharp, unserrated knife.

The cherry chocolate I used for decoration was a nice addition, and I’m thinking fresh cherries might work as well – although they’d have to be very ripe and sweet not to be overshadowed by the flavor of the mousse itself. I’d actually added a dash of cinnamon in my coffee before brewing it, and while not really noticeable, it might have added a hint of depth to the flavors.

The Chocolate Mousse (serves 4):

• 350 grams (one package Mori-Nu) firm silken tofu
• 3 tablespoons very strong and cold coffee (stove-top espresso with a bit of cinnamon)
• 3 tablespoons whole cane sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• 150 grams nice semi-sweet chocolate
• chocolate shavings for decoration, optional

I mixed the tofu, coffee and sugars with our immersion blender until very very smooth, absolutely no lumps were visible. Meanwhile, Heikki melted the chocolate in a water bath. Then he ladled the chocolate in the tofu bowl and I whisked away until thoroughly combined.

We poured this mixture in 4 ramekins and refrigerated for an hour, and I decorated two portions with cherry chocolate shavings, which added a a bit of textural contrast as well. The two remaining ramekins were saved for the next day and were even better.

I added a few pinches of saffron in the dough for a yellow hue. Saffron is usually only used on special occasions, in Christmas and Easter baking, and I have to admit that I actually prefer my pulla without the taste of saffron.

I placed the dough in the fridge after the first rising, and let it come to room temperature on the next day before shaping the rolls. I think that the slow second rising really made a difference, since this was definitely one of the best pulla batches I’ve ever baked – the dough was soft and pliable, very easy to work with and nice and tender after baking.

The Pulla Dough (makes 12 almond rolls):

• 3 dl warm soy milk
• 25 grams fresh yeast
• 3 and 1/3 dl wheat flour
• 3 dl whole spelt flour
• 1 dl raw cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 50 grams coconut oil, warmed until liquid
• 1/2 dl canola oil
• (a few pinches of saffron threads, finely ground – optional)

I heated the soy milk to 37 degrees Celsius, as warm as my hand. Then I diluted the yeast and the sugar in the water, and then added the salt, saffron, and cardamom. Now, I poured in the wheat flour, and stirred briskly with a wooden fork for about 3 minutes. I added the coconut oil and the spelt flour, and kneaded for a few minutes.

Now I added the canola oil and kneaded it in the dough, then placed it on the working surface and kept on kneading until the dough was smooth and didn’t stick to my hands any more. I let it rise, covered and in a warm, draftless place (which in this case was our oven) for a few hours, until it had just about tripled in size, then shaped it back to a round log again and returned in the bowl, covered the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it slowly rise in the fridge overnight.

In the morning I removed the bowl from the fridge and let the dough come to room temperature for a few hours. Then I rolled it out with a rolling pin into a rectangular sheet a bit less than one centimeter thick.

The Filling:

• 3/4 dl or 5 tablespoons almonds
• 3/4 dl or 5 tablespoons walnuts
• 1/2 dl muscovado (whole cane) sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 50 grams margarine, softened

I just mixed the almonds, the walnuts, and the sugars in our mini food processor until they were coarsely ground together. I spread the margarine on the dough sheet and sprinkled with the filling mixture.

The Shaping of the Rolls:

Now I rolled up the dough sheet tightly into a log, starting from the longer side:

I used an unserrated knife and sloping cuts to cut it into triangular pieces, like so:

I placed the rolls on a baking sheet, the wider side downwards, and pressed down the centers with my fingers, so that the cut sides bulged out:

Now I placed the baking sheets in a warm place, covered them with a kitchen towel, and set the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Now the dough got to have a third rising for about 40 minutes, until the rolls had almost doubled in size.

The Topping:

• 1/2 dl water
• 1 tablespoon plain soy yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon syrup of choice
• pearl sugar and chopped almonds

I whisked the water, soy yoghurt and syrup together, and just before baking I brushed the rolls with the mixture, and sprinkled with almonds and pearl sugar.

Finally, I baked the rolls on the middle rack of our oven for 10 minutes, until nicely browned over the top.

Everybody loved the combo of tart cranberries and melty dark chocolate, and the vanilla ice cream magically transformed the cookies into a real dessert. This makes 8 large cookies – pictured here are the two survivors on the day after.

The Dry Mix:

• 3 dl spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

The Wet Mix:

• 1 dl dark syrup
• 1/2 dl muscovado sugar
• 1/2 dl canola oil
• 1 tablespoon soy yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add-Ins:

• 1/2 dl dried cranberries
• 1/2 dl chopped chocolate (72 %)

First I stirred together the wet and dry mixes in separate bowls, added the wet to the dry, and stirred with a fork until almost combined. I poured in the cranberries and chocolate and kneaded them in, and then refrigerated the dough overnight in a zip-lock bag.

After our dinner the next day, I pre-heated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, and divided the dough into 8 equal portions. I rolled them into balls and flattened slightly on a cookie sheet, and then baked for 11 minutes.

The cookies came out of the oven still soft, but after about 10 minutes they had nice crispy edges and chewy centers – quite perfect served with a scoop of ice cream and a dessert fork.

Adding wheat bran to cookies is a good way of making you feel like you’re baking something almost healthy without compromising flavor. This batch yields about 10 medium-sized cookies, and they keep very well in room temperature for a few days at least.

The Dry Ingredients:

• 1 dl whole spelt flour
• 1 dl wheat flour
• 1/2 dl wheat bran
• 1/2 dl dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

The Wet Ingredients:

• 1 dl muscovado sugar
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

I first mixed the dry and the wet ingredients in separate bowls, and then combined in one of the bowls. The dough was dry-ish but kept together when pinched between two fingers.

I then proceeded to cover a baking sheet with baking parchment and rolled the dough into 10 balls. I flattened the cookies slightly – they only spread a little in the oven, so this is an important step. Then I baked them in 175 degrees Celsius for 8 to 9 minutes, when still soft but just slightly browned on the underside.

These cookies had a good crunch, but also a nice and chewy center – there is a risk of overbaking these, so good care should be taken.

If fresh lingonberries are hard to find, there are a number of other berries that would work as well  – cranberries or red currants probably being closest taste-wise. Another option would be to use lingonberry jam instead of the fresh berries and the sugar.

Here’s what I used (serves 2):

• 2 dl boiling hot water
• 1/2 dl rye flour (or a bit more if you prefer it thicker)
• pinch of salt
• 1 and 1/2 dl crushed lingonberries
• 1/2 dl whole cane sugar (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla sugar

I poured the boiled water in a large mixing bowl, and plugged my electric whisk. Then I started whisking the water and sprinkled the rye flour in the bowl. I continued whisking for about 10 minutes, until the rye porridge had turned quite light in color and fluffy in consistency. Then I added the rest of the ingredients and whisked for a few more minutes until thoroughly combined.

This is best served with cold vegan milk or vanilla custard.

Heikki and I liked the chocolate that was sprinkled with both cardamom and pink peppercorns most, and the nutty chocolate did have a nice sugary crunch to it as well. Next time I might just add our favorite spices right into the melted chocolate and then sprinkle with nuts, although it was nice to have a variety of flavors to taste and compare this time.

Sugar-Coated Nuts:

I didn’t actually caramelize the nuts for this chocolate bark – they only got a thin coat of whole cane sugar, more brittle than the solid caramel you’d get by boiling the sugar for a longer time. This is a lovely treat by itself and we munched the leftovers from the chocolate-making in no time at all.

• 4 tablespoons whole cane sugar (rapadura)
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 2-3 teaspoons water
• pinch of salt
• 2 dl pecans, chopped
• 2 dl cashews, chopped

First, I mixed the sugar, oil, water, and salt in a cup to make a smooth-ish paste. Then I chopped the nuts coarsely with a heavy non-serrated knife, and toasted them on high heat until fragrant and just very lightly browned. I lowered the heat and poured the sugar mixture in the pan, stirring with a wooden fork, and it started bubbling right away.

I let it boil for a minute or two, until the water had evaporated and all the nuts were coated with the sugar. Then I spread the mixture on a piece of baking parchment, separating the bits from each other, and let it cool.

Making the Chocolate Bark:

• 200 g (or more) chocolate
• crushed pink peppercorns, ground cardamom, crushed peppermint candies, sugar-coated nuts, cinnamon, etc.

I used a bunch of different “leftover” chocolates for this one, most of them about 70 % cocoa solids. I divided the chocolate bars in small pieces, and melted them in a water bath (first boiled the water, then took the pot off heat and placed the chocolate bowl in the pot). Then I poured the chocolate on a piece of baking parchment in smaller and larger mounds, and spread them a little bit until about 3 to 4 millimeters thick.

Now I sprinkled the chocolate with my favorite things: pink peppercorns alone and combined with cardamom or cinnamon, mint candies, and the sugary nuts from above. I let the chocolates sit in room temperature until settled, for a few hours I’d say.

The cherries are completely underrepresented in the picture – there were actually just as many berries as there were macadamias. The batter is only slightly adapted from the baking genius Celine’s butterscotch bars, and I can see how any combination of add-ins would work very nicely in this recipe. These squares are very sweet, but the sour cherries balance that up quite nicely. As usual, I prefer to enjoy these warm, whereas Heikki likes his straight out of the fridge.

The Ingredients (adapted from this recipe):

• 2 and 1/2 dl whole cane sugar (rapadura)
• 1 dl liquid margarine
• 3/4 dl soy yoghurt
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 dl whole spelt flour
• 1 dl plus 1 tablespoon wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 dl macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 dl dried cherries

First I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius and sprayed a 23 X 12 cm baking dish with olive oil (because I’m lazy, brushing with margarine would be even better).

I placed the sugar and the margarine in a small cooking pan and heated them up on low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the sugar had almost melted.

I let the mixture cool down and meanwhile, chopped the macadamias, and mixed the dry ingredients (spelt flour through salt) together. Then I added the soy yoghurt and the vanilla extract to the sugar mixture, stirred until combined, and poured into the dry ingredients. I added the nuts and the cherries in the batter, spread it in the baking dish, and baked for about 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center tested clean.

It’s best to let the squares cool in the pan completely before cutting, or they will most likely fall apart. I know.