With Easter around the corner, I decided to turn them into hot cross buns by adding some sweetness, spices and raisins. It worked out very well! Yay!

I’m still blown away how yummy these hot cross buns are, and how they are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free AND yeast-free.

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Hot Cross Buns (Vegan, Gluten-free, Yeast-free, Oil-free)

Super easy hot cross buns. Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and yeast-free.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine British

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword hot cross buns, oil-free, yeast-free

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6 buns

Ingredients

For the dough

• 120 g buckwheat flour
• 120 g rice flour
• 30 g corn flour
• 2-3 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 100 g raisins
• 120 g cooked pumpkin
• 70 g coconut sugar
• 350 ml water
• 4 tablespoon psyllium fiber husk

For the glaze

• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon hot water

For the crosses

• 1 tablespoon rice flour
• 1 teaspoon buckwheat flour
• 2 pinches guar gum
• 1 pinch baking powder
• 2-3 tablespoon water

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 210°C (top-/bottom heat)*. Prepare the glaze by mixing the ingredients in s small bowl or cup until dissolved.
• In a separate bowl, mix the ingredients for the crosses. The texture should be fairly thick and pasty, but thin enough to be able to pipe it easily.
• Blend pumpkin, coconut sugar and water shortly in a blender. Then add psyllium fiber husk and blend until smooth. Set aside.
• Mix the remaining ingredients for the dough in a bowl. Add the blended pumpkin mixture. Stir and knead the dough until it is combined.
• Form buns with wet and cold hands and place on baking tray. Then brush with the coconut glaze.
• Transfer the mixture for the crosses into a piping bag or icing bottle. Should it have thickened up too much, add a few more drops of water.
• Pipe the crosses onto the buns. Place the tray in the oven and bake for approx. 25 to 30 minutes.

Notes

*I actually heat my oven to 220°C. After placing the tray into the oven, the temperature usually dips down to 180°C and then slowly reaches 200°C. It’s quite an old electric oven. results may vary with different stoves. I recommend using an oven thermometer.

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Why I Make My Crunchy Muesli at Home

So I decided to make my own vegan and gluten-free muesli, using not nuts but seeds and shredded coconut. Sweetened with dried fruit it turned out perfectly! It has just the right amount of crispy crunch on the outside and a nice chewy texture inside the clusters.

You can also try your own variations by using nuts, or some activated buckwheat, chia seeds or other dried fruits like prunes, apricots; cocoa powder instead of cinnamon etc.

If you have a dehydrator, you can also make a fully raw version, by dehydrating it instead of baking.

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Home-Made Muesli (Vegan, Gluten-free, Nut-free, No Refined Sugar)

When it comes to muesli, I want it crunchy and chewy at the same time - and it’s surprisingly hard to find a store-bought version that’s both vegan and gluten-free (and actually delivers). So I started making my own: no nuts, just seeds, coconut, and dried fruit for sweetness. The result is perfectly crunchy on the outside with that satisfying chew inside the clusters—plus it’s easy to customize with things like activated buckwheat, chia seeds, or cocoa instead of cinnamon.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Swiss

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword crunchy clusters, fruit-sweetened, Müsli, No Refined Sugar, nut-free

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Soaking / activating 12 hours hours

Total Time 13 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 1 tray

Author The Vegan Monster

Equipment

• Blender or food processor
• Medium mixing bowl
• Baking tray
• Baking paper / parchment

Ingredients

• 70 g sunflower seeds ¹
• 80 g pumpkin seeds ¹
• 70 g dates, pitted and diced
• 70 g raisins
• 40 g flax seeds
• 25 g shredded coconut
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¹ activate them by soaking them in filtered water for at least 12 hours, then rinse and drain

Instructions

• Place sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in blender or food processor and blitz to smaller crumbles. Transfer to medium sized bowl.
• Blitz dates and raisins to crumbles and transfer to the bowl.
• Add flax seeds, shredded coconut and cinnamon powder to the bowl and stir until well mixed. Let sit for a while.
• Preheat oven to the lowest temperature (about 50°C). Line baking tray with baking paper.
• Using your hand, sprinkle the muesli over the tray, squeezing it into small clusters as you go.
• Bake for approx. one hour, or until golden brown with relatively solid clusters formed. Let cool down properly and store in an airtight container in a cool and dry place.

Notes

Enjoy in smoothie bowls, with plant-milk and fresh fruit or as a little snack in between

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Here is my latest creation: a super light vegan vanilla ice cream that contains rice. Yes, that’s right! I had this leftover rice from dinner (one of my many talents is to cook too much rice and too much pasta). And I thought: how would that be in ice cream?

Turns out, it is pretty damn delicious! It adds a light and fluffy texture to it that I haven’t had before. But don’t worry, you can make this recipe without rice as well.

This recipe works with and without an ice cream maker. You will need a high-speed blender though.

For approx. 1 liter you’ll need:

For the ice cream:
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
1 cup (140g) dates, pitted and diced
1 cup (160g) cooked rice
1 1/2 cup water
2 teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla essence
1/3 teaspoon salt

For the salted caramel:
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dates, pitted and diced
1 dried fig
1/2 to 3/4 cup water (depending on how liquidy you like it)
1/3 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

With ice cream maker:

1. For the ice cream, blend all ingredients to a fine cream.

2. Pour into ice cream maker and churn until firm enough. If you like it firmer, scoop the ice cream into a container and pop it into the freezer for an hour or so.

3. For the salted caramel, blend all ingredients to a fine cream. I like it more watery and use 3/4 cup water. You might want to start with a little less water and adapt it to your liking.

Without ice cream maker:

1. For the ice cream, blend all ingredients to a fine cream. Pour into a freezer-safe container (or containers) until it is about one inch thick. Place in freezer until solid.

2. Once they are solid, pop the frozen vanilla slabs onto a chopping board (it might help to turn the container upside down and let some warm water run down). Cut the slab(s) into cubes.

3. Place the cubes into a high-speed blender and pulse a few times. Then, with the help of the temper, blend the chunks to ice cream, pushing them into the blades.

4. You can either serve it immediately or place it in a container in the freezer to firm up a little more. If you leave it in the freezer for longer, it’s best to take it out approx. 20 minutes before serving.

5. For the salted caramel, blend all ingredients to a fine cream. I like it more watery and use 3/4 cup water. You might want to start with a little less water and adapt it to your liking.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

These also make a great cold treat in summer when you have them semi-frozen. I won’t try and convince you to make this treat with many more words. I rather let the pictures speak for themselves

And yes, it looks like a long list of ingredients, but it is only nine that you need

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Salted Caramel Slices (Vegan, Gluten-free, Oil-free, No Refined Sugars)

I’ve been experimenting with a healthy salted caramel lately. Now I’m pretty happy with it and decided to combine it with something. So what about raw vanilla  slices, topped with this? These also make a great cold treat in summer when you have them semi-frozen. I won’t try and convince you to make this treat with many more words.

Course Baked Sweet, Slices

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword Caramel, No Refined Sugars, oil-free, Salted, Slices

Servings 1 27 x 18cm tray

Equipment

• 27 x 18cm tray

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 150 g almonds (or other nuts), soaked in filtered water for at least 8 hours, then drained
• 105 g dates pitted and diced
• 50 g desiccated coconut

For the vanilla filling:

• 210 g cashews soaked in filtered water for at least 3 hours, then drained
• 105 g dates
• 100 g desiccated coconut
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 teaspoon vanilla paste or essence

For the salted caramel:

• 2 dried figs diced
• 1/4 cup dates pitted and diced
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup water more, if too thick
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• For garnish I have used some chopped walnuts.

Instructions

• Pulse the almonds to fine crumbles and transfer to a medium sized bowl. Pulse the dates and add to the bowl. Pour in the desiccated coconut and mix well.
• Line the cake tin with baking paper. Pour the dough for the crust onto the tray and spread it evenly and firmly. Place in the freezer while preparing the filling.
• For the vanilla filling, blend all ingredients to a fine cream. I like to start with the dates and water and then add the rest.
• Take the cake tin out of the freezer and pour the filling into it. Spread it evenly.
• Then make the ‘salted caramel’ by blending all ingredients to a creamy paste. Place a few dollops of the ‘salted caramel’ on top of the vanilla layer and then use a teaspoon to make swirls. Gently shake it to make it set evenly again.
• Place in the freezer until set. Let defrost a little before cutting.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.