Christmas Vegan Cake

Ingredients

Dry:
• 1.75 cups (210 g) cups of Spelt flour Or use 1.25 cups whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all
purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 Tablespoons flaxseed meal
• 3/4 cup (177.44 g) cane sugar or demerara sugar or vegan brown sugar

Spices:
• 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) of ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) each of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg powders
• 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) sea salt

Wet:
• 1/3 cup (72.67 ml) Coconut oil or oil of choice I usually use 1/3 cup. 1/2 cup will make the
cake more moist. Use 1/2 cup mashed banana or pumpkin puree for an Oil free version
• 1/2 cup (113 ml) Coconut milk
• 2 Tablespoons dark Molasses
• 1 Tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) rum extract if not using liquor. optional

Fruits and Nuts:

• 1.5 cups (225 g) of chopped dried fruit nuts, candied fruits(I used about 1/4 cup each of
golden and dark raisins, dates, cranberries, walnuts, pecans, cashews, and a Tablespoon
candied orange peel).
• 1 cup (248 ml) of juice or half juice and half rum to soak (I use orange juice mixed in with
a teaspoon of molasses to soak for non boozy version. Half orange juice half rum to soak
for boozy)

Instructions
1. Soak chopped fruits and nuts in juice or a combination of juice and liquor overnight or atleast 2
hours.
2. In a bowl, Mix all the dry ingredients and spices for the cake.
3. In another bowl, mix in all the wet and the soaked fruits and nuts. Depending on how long the
fruits have been kept, there may or may not be extra liquid left.
4. Add the wet to the dry and mix till just about combined.
5. Bake in preheated 365 degrees F / 180ºc for 40 minutes then lower the heat to 350 degrees F
and bake for another 10-20 minutes till a toothpick test from the center comes out almost clean.
6. Cool completely before slicing. For extra moisture, poke a few holes in the cake and brush
orange juice or sugar water(1 tbsp sugar mixed in 2 tablespoons water) on the cake. Tastes best the next
day.
Kulkuls

Ingredients
Serves 4
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup semolina
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup melted butter or ghee(clarified butter)
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 4_5 drops almond or vanilla essence
• 3 cups of Oil for deep frying
Directions
Mix flour, semolina and salt in a bowl.
Add butter/ghee. Rub with your fingers to get a wet sand like texture.
Add sugar, almond/vanilla essence and gradually add milk ( one spoon at a time).
Mix everything to bring the dough together.
Make tiny marble sized balls with the dough.
Take fork, press a tiny ball at the back side of the fork.
Now slowly roll it outwards with your thumb to curl up into a little snail shape.
Repeat with all dough.
Heat oil on low heat.
Add a few kulkuls at a time. Fry briefly till they turn golden and crisp.
Remove and drain on a sieve.
Sprinkle some more powdered sugar over them if desired.

Chakli
Nankhatia

Nankhatai
• 1 cup (120 gms) APF/Maida
• 1/2 cup (60 gms) Chickpea Flour/Besan
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (30 gms) Semolina/Rava
• 1/2 cup (80 gms) Sugar, Powdered
• 1 tsp Cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup (115 gms) Clarified Butter/Ghee
• 1 tbsp Slivered Almonds and Pistachios
• Dried Rose Petals for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
In a mixing bowl sieve together the APF, Chickpea flour, Semolina, Powdered Sugar, Cardamom Powder and
salt.
Add ghee and combine together into a dough. At first the dough would be very crumbly so do not be
tempted to add any additional liquid. Just keep mixing, the warmth from your hands will melt the ghee and
that would act as a binding agent.
The dough is ready when you pinch out a portion of it to form a crack free smooth ball. At this stage either
eye-ball and divide the dough out or use a weighing scale to form 20 balls each weighing 24 gms if you want
to be precise.
Make an indentation using your fore-finger on top of the ball and place it in a baking tray that has been pre -
lined with parchment paper.
Add some slivered almonds or pistachios in the cavity and refrigerate the tray for 20 mins.
Meanwhile pre-heat your oven to 190°C.
After 20 mins, invert a separate baking tray and place it in the middle rack. And on top of this baking tray,
place the refrigerated tray with the cookies and bake in the preheated oven of 190°C for 10 to 12 mins.
The cookies are done when they develop beautiful cracks in the centre with pale colour on top and slight
golden brown colour in the bottom.
Once out of the oven and still warm, I like to add some more slivered pistachios and rose petals to give the
colour contrast which is totally optional though.
Let the cookies cool in the baking tray itself for 5 to 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies firm up upon cooling.

Shankarpali
Measuring cup used, 1 Cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (maida)
• 3/4 cup fine variety semolina/rava/sooji
• 1 cup confectioner's/powdered/icing sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt or to taste
• 6-7 tbsp melted hot ghee (clarified butter)
• 225 ml water/milk/coconut milk, or as required to knead the dough (I used water

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, add semolina and salt.

1. Add the hot melted ghee and immediately mix, rub the ghee into the flour to resemble
breadcrumbs. If you hold a portion of the flour-ghee mixture with your fist, it should hold its shape. If not,
add another 1-2 tablespoons of hot melted ghee.
2. Now add powdered sugar, mix well.
3. Add water little by little to knead a soft dough. Do not knead a tight dough as the semolina will
absorb water and make it firmer. Cover with a damp kitchen napkin or cling wrap and leave it aside for 30
minutes.
4. After the resting time, divide the dough into 6 portions. Take a ball and roll it out to a diameter of
7-8 inches, little thicker than a roti. Cut diamond-shaped pieces with a knife, as shown in the picture below.
Meanwhile also, heat oil on medium heat in a heavy bottomed kadai.
5. Drop one piece in the oil, if it comes up instantly, the oil is ready. Drop in few pieces, fry on medium
heat until golden brown on both sides. Do not let them brown too much, as they will continue cooking in the
residual heat and become darker. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a tray.

Marzipan (no-cook)
• 200 grams cashew nuts, unsalted, about 1.5 cups
• 200 grams icing sugar, sifted, about 1 & 1/3 cups + 2 tablespoons
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons warm water or as needed
• Edible food colors, as needed

Marzipan dough
1. Grind the cashews to a fine powder, in batches. I ground 1.5 cups of cashew nuts in 3 batches, by
pulsing them 8-10 times.
2. Sift it through a fine mesh sieve by pressing the powder with the back of a spoon.
3. Add icing sugar to the ground cashew nut powder and mix until well incorporated.
4. Add almond extract and 2-3 teaspoons of warm water. Mix well using a spatula.
5. Add more warm water, a teaspoon at a time, and bring the dough together using your hands. I used
a total of 6 teaspoons (2 tablespoons) of water for this dough.
6. Pro tip: Avoid kneading the dough with too much pressure as that can cause the cashews to release
excess oil.

Divide the dough into equal parts and add color to each
1. Divide the dough according to the food colors you need. Flatten a portion of the dough using your
fingers, and add about 1 drop of food color. (I’ve used gel colors and one drop was enough. Add as needed
depending on the type of food color you use)
2. Bring the edges of the dough towards the center and then knead to mix the color evenly.
3. Repeat the same process to color the rest of the dough.
4. Pro tip: You may leave one portion of the dough uncolored if you need to adjust the color of any
dough, just in case it gets too dark for your liking!

Rose cookies

• 3 cups Rice flour

• 1 cup Icing Sugar , powdered
• 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds (Saunf)
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 3/4 cup Coconut milk
• 1 Whole Eggs
• Oil , for deep frying

Karakaddi
Homemade Jujubes | Gumdrops | Gummy Candy
Ingredients

• 1¼ cups (300ml) Water

• 3¼ tbsp (30 grams) Gelatin, unflavoured
• 2½ cups Sugar, white granulated
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• Fruit Extracts
• Food Colouring

Method

1. In a bowl, add half cup of water and the gelatine. Give it a stir and leave it aside for the gelatine to
bloom.
2. To prep the molds, brush a little oil on them.
3. Now, in a heavy bottom pot, add three fourth cups of water and two cups of sugar. Give it a stir and
on a high heat allow the sugar to melt. Once all the sugar has melted and you have a clear sugar
syrup, add the lemon juice and give it a stir.
4. Lower the heat to low, and allow to sugar syrup to simmer for 5 minutes. You will find that as time
passes the sugar syrup thickens.
5. It’s time to add the bloomed gelatin. Keep stirring till the gelatine has melted and blended with the
sugar syrup, take it off the heat and pour it into bowls, dividing equally depending on the number of
flavours you want to prepare. We are making 4 flavours (Peach, Lemon, Green Apple, and
Raspberry), so we will pour equal amounts into 4 bowls.
6. To each bowl, add half teaspoon of one of the flavours and half to one drop of food colouring to
match the flavour. Give the mixtures a stir till the flavour and colour has blended well with it.
7. Pour each mixture into a measuring cup with a spout and start filling the prepared molds. Once you
have finished filling all the mixture, cover the molds with a lid or lightly oiled plastic wrap and place in
the refrigerator for 3-4 hours until set.
8. In a shallow bowl, add half cup of sugar and start unmoulding the jujubes and coating with the
sugar. Place the coated jujubes on a wire rack and allow them to dry for 24 hours. This will help the
sugar to dry on the jujubes.
9. For presentation, you can either put them in a bottle or plastic bag and decorate accordingly. Enjoy!

Coconut ICE
Ingredients
This easy dairy free coconut ice recipe only uses a few ingredients:

• 300g (2 cups) sifted icing sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 370g tin non-dairy condensed milk
• 250g (3 cups) desiccated coconut
• a few drops of vanilla extract
• 5-6 drops pink or red food colouring
Dairy free condensed milk

For a vegan sweetened condensed milk, reduce about 650ml of your non-dairy milk with 50g of
sugar in a saucepan over low heat. You can also add a dash of vanilla.
Method

Grease and line a 20x20cm (8×8 inch) baking pan with non-stick baking paper, allowing the paper
to sit above the pan edge on 2 sides.
Combine the sifted icing sugar and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl using a wooden spoon.
Add the desiccated coconut and mix well.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the condensed milk alternative and vanilla. Mix these
ingredients until well-combined. The mixture will be very stiff so this may take some time.

One you have a large well-formed ball of mixture, divide in half. Place one half of the mixture in a
separate bowl and add the food colouring of your choice. Mix well until the colour is even.

Press the white coconut ice mixture into the prepared pan to create an even layer. Then press
the coloured coconut ice mixture on top, pressing down until the top is smooth and even.

Chill the slice in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Once firm, cut into small pieces with a sharp knife.

This recipe makes about 30 small pieces of coconut ice. Prepared coconut ice will keep in air tight
container for up to 4 weeks.

Marzipan
STEP 1: MARZIPAN DOUGH
Grind 200 grams (1.5 cups) of cashews to a fine powder, in batches. I ground 1.5 cups of cashew nuts in 3
batches, by pulsing them 8-10 times. (Photos 1 and 2)
Sift it through a fine mesh sieve by pressing the powder with the back of a spoon. (Photos 3 and 4)
Add 200 grams of icing sugar (1 & 1/3 cups + 2 tablespoons) to the ground cashew nut powder and mix until
well incorporated.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract and 2-3 teaspoons of warm water. Mix well using a spatula.
Add more warm water, a teaspoon at a time, and bring the dough together using your hands. You will need
about 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) of warm water approximately
Pro tip: Avoid kneading the dough with too much pressure as that can cause the cashews to release excess
oil.
STEP 2: DIVIDE THE DOUGH INTO EQUAL PARTS AND ADD COLOR TO EACH
Divide the dough according to the food colors you need. (Photo 13)
Flatten a portion of the dough using your fingers, and add about 1 drop of food color. (I’ve used gel colors
and one drop was enough. Add as needed depending on the type of food color you use) (Photo 14)
Bring the edges of the dough towards the center and then knead to mix the color evenly.
Repeat the same process to color the rest of the dough. (Photo 18)
Pro tip: You may leave one portion of the dough uncolored if you need to adjust the color of any dough, just
in case it gets too dark for your liking!
STEP 3: SHAPE AND UNMOLD
Once your dough is ready, pinch a portion of the dough and shape them by filling the molds and pressing
gently. Remove any excess dough. (Photo 19)
Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Gently pat the back of the mold to release the marzipan. If using the hard silicon molds, you may need to
twist it a bit to unmold it. (Photo 20)