Vegan Hazelnut Hot Chocolate with Butterscotch Whipped Cream

I have been going on and on for ages now about how I want to get my hands on some hazelnut extract. Well finally I came across it by pure luck while I was looking for other ingredients. There is a great shop called Weigh 'N' Pay on Whitfords Ave in Woodvale. It is a bulk food store which has all of your baking needs as well as many ingredients that you normally find in health food stores, but in bulk. I really love this store and it has made my life a lot easier because they sell a lot of the products that I can't find in the grocery stores like Woolworths and Coles. 

Weigh 'N' Pay have so many different flavour extracts and on this trip I picked up hazelnut and butterscotch. I will be back for some of the others at a later date :)

I used the extracts to make hazelnut hot chocolate with butterscotch whipped cream. Vegan of course. It is a very rich and creamy drink, so it's probably better in small servings or else you might feel sick. It is perfect for all you people with a sweet tooth, and it was a great way to warm up my night and help me to unwind and relax. 

Vegan Hazelnut Hot Chocolate with Butterscotch Whipped Cream

Serves 1

Butterscotch whipped cream:

• 1 can coconut milk (or a can of coconut cream)
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon butterscotch extract

Directions

1. Place the can of coconut milk/cream into the fridge and leave overnight. 
2. Open the can of coconut milk. There will be a firm, waxy layer on top.
3. Scoop out this firm layer coconut cream that has solidified at the top of the can.
4. Stop as soon as you reach the water at the bottom of the can; don't include anything but the solid cream. (You can use the water in smoothies, or just drink it straight.)
5. Place this cream in the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl.
6. Turn your mixer or hand beaters to high speed, and whip the coconut cream for 3 to 5 minutes.
7. Whip until it becomes fluffy and light, with soft peaks. Mix in sugar and butterscotch extract. 

Hot chocolate:

• 1 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk. If you use vanilla soy milk then omit the sugar and vanilla essence)
• 1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder (depending on how strong you like your hot chocolate)
• 1-2 teaspoons sweetener (depending on your taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut extract/essence
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence

Directions

1. Heat all of the ingredients in a pot until hot (not boiling).
2. Pour into your favourite mug or glass and top with the butterscotch whipped cream. 

 

Vegan Hazelnut Pancakes

I still have some hazelnut meal in my pantry that I've been meaning to use, and when I saw The Lush Scoop post up on Instagram that they used hazelnuts to make pancakes, it inspired me to do the same. 

I found a recipe from Veggies on the Counter for Buckwheat and Hazelnut Pancakes which sounded nice and healthy. 

I made a few other additions to the recipe and came up with my own vegan hazelnut pancakes. I did not feel the least bit guilty eating these. They went went great with roasted hazelnuts and raspberry preserves. It was a great start to the day :)

Vegan Hazelnut Pancakes

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup hazelnut meal
• 1/2 spelt flour (can be substituted for any other flour or buckwheat)
• 1/4 rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup soy milk (or any other non-dairy milk)

Directions

1. Add all the ingredients (except the oat milk) to a bowl and mix well. Slowly pour in the oat milk and whisk to combine. You’ll get a fairly thick batter, which is what you’re looking for.
2. Grease a large non-stick skillet with oil. Turn the heat to medium and, when the pan is hot, drop for each pancake 3 to 4 tablespoons of the batter. Cook the pancake for 2 to 3 minutes or until its top has just started to set. With a spatula, turn it over and cook for one additional minute.
3. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Make sure you grease the pan with additional oil each time you drop the batter into the skillet. Serve the pancakes with agave nectar, maple syrup or raspberry preserves.

 

Vegan hazelnut cupcakes

I've done so much baking this year that come 2014 I'll be a domestic baking goddess! :P

Today was another baking adventure in the kitchen. I absolutely love hazelnuts and so I decided to make hazelnut cupcakes from the cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. 

Unfortunately I didn't have any vegan friendly hazelnut liqueur so I just substituted for a dash of almond essence. Still tasty, but I would have loved a stronger hazelnut flavour. I've searched far and wide with no luck finding any of the hazelnut flavouring, but I'm determined to get my hands on some eventually. 

Vegan Hazelnut Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup & 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup hazelnut meal/flour
•  1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup rice milk or nut milk
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut extract or 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur

Directions

1. Line cupcake pan and preheat oven to 180C. In a small bowl, whisk together flaxseed and rice milk. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, hazelnut meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
2. Add the maple syrup, sugar, canola oil, vanilla, and hazelnut liqueur to the rice milk mixture and beat well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until mostly smooth.
3. Pour into liners, filling them 2/3 of the way.
4. Bake for 22 to 24 min. Give it the old toothpick test. Cool completely on racks. 

The book suggested serving these muffins with raspberry jam. I love raspberry jam and it went perfectly with the muffins :)