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.

Actually there is another little secret to the greatness of this cocoa: a tiny pinch of salt. It makes all the difference!

The Ingredients for 1 cup:

• 2 dl plain, sweetened soy milk
• 1 tablespoon good cocoa powder (Green & Black’s is nice)
• 1 tablespoon raw cane sugar
• a tiny pinch of salt
• 2 drops peppermint extract

I first heat the soy milk in a little cooking pan until it’s almost boiling, and then whisk in the sugar and the cocoa. I keep on whisking until the sugar’s melted and there are no cocoa lumps visible. Then I stir in the peppermint extract and salt, and enjoy my cup of hot cocoa.

This recipe makes 12 muffins. We also halved the recipe a few weeks back, and the results were just as delicious.

The dry mix:

• 4 dl wheat flour
• 1 dl dark cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

The wet mix:

• 1 dl liquid margarine
• 1 and 1/2 dl sugar
• 2 dl (sweetened) soy milk
• 2 dl plain soy yogurt
• 100 g chocolate, melted
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (or another orange liqueur)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

Additions:

• 1 and 1/2 dl chocolate chips

First, I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, greased our 12-cup muffin tin, and dusted it with cocoa powder.

We mixed all the ingredients of the dry and the wet mixes in separate bowls, and then mixed the two together, stirring with a fork until relatively smooth. Now it was time to add the chocolate chips, and stir a bit more to combine. Then we spooned the batter into the cups of the muffin tin, and placed the muffins on the middle rack of the preheated oven.

In our oven it took about 25 minutes for a toothpick inserted in a muffin to come out clean, indicating that they were ready. I placed the muffins upside down on a wooden rack to cool down for half an hour or so, and then packed them for the picnic.

The tartlets were quite yummy on the day of making, but they actually got even more delicious after a night in the fridge: the crusts absorbed some moisture from the filling, which made it creamier and more flavorful.

The Crust:

• 2 and 1/2 dl hazelnut flour (hazelnuts finely ground)
• 2 dl wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 dl sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer powder (we have No Egg – can be replaced with corn/potato starch for example)
• 1/2 dl canola oil
• 3/4 dl plain soy yogurt

I mixed the dry ingredients – hazelnut, flour, salt, sugar, and egg replacer – with a fork until combined. Then I added the oil and the soy yogurt and mixed until the dough came together. I divided it in 12 parts and placed them in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Then I greased and floured our muffin tin, and preheated the oven to 175 degrees. I rolled each portion of the dough into a ball, flattened with my hands, and then pressed in the muffin tins. I tried to make the shells as high as possible without making them too thin, and they didn’t quite reach the upper rim of the muffin cups.

Now, I baked the shells 15 minutes on the middle rack of our oven, when they had browned a bit and started to come off the sides of the muffin cups. I let them cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and then removed to cool on a rack.

The Filling:

• 2 dl unsweetened, plain soy yogurt
• 3/4 dl plain soy milk
• 1 teaspoon agar powder (not flakes)
• 1/2 dl sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
• grated zest of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

I let the soy yogurt come to room temperature before starting with the mousse. This way, it won’t cool down the agar mixture as quickly as cold soy yogurt would, and there’s more time to work with it before it starts to set.

First, I whisked together the soy yogurt, sugar, vanilla sugar, canola oil, and lemon zest. Then I heated the soy milk in a small sauce pan on medium heat until it started to bubble, and then whisked in the agar agar powder. I kept on whisking for half a minute or so until the agar had dissolved, and the mixture started to get very foamy.

Then I quickly poured the agar mixture in the yogurt bowl while whisking it vigorously, and when everything was all combined, I immediately poured the filling in the cooled shells. It settled quite quickly in room temperature, but I popped the tartlets in the refrigerator at this point as we were about to have dinner.

Right before serving, we decorated the tartlets with fresh raspberries.

Waiting for the raspberries.

Sometimes I don’t like the commercial chai mixes, because they have too much clove for my taste. The strongest flavors in my combination of spices come from star aniseed and ginger. I have doubled the recipe a few times to serve both me and Heikki, using only one star aniseed but double amounts of everything else.

Here’s what I put in the pot:

• 2 dl sweetened soy milk
• 1 dl water
• 1 star aniseed
• 1 clove
• two slices of a fresh ginger root
• 4 whole cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick (the inexpensive kind from the Asian grocery)

First, I pressed the cardamom pods with my fingers so that they crackled a little, and broke the cinnamon stick in a few pieces. Then I placed the spices and the water in a cooking pan, and brought it to boil. I let it boil, covered, for five minutes, then added the soy milk to the pan, and heated on medium heat until bubbling. Now, I removed the cooking pan from heat, let the beverage sit for a few more minutes, then poured it in a glass through a tea strainer, and enjoyed my drink.