YOU NEED (for the pudding)

3 teaspoons of egg replacer

6 tablespoons of water

200 grams of pitted dates and chopped into small pieces

185 grams of sugar

½ cup of tasteless coconut oil (you can use Nuttelex but I prefer not to)

1.5 cups of water

1 teaspoon of bi carb soda

1.5 cups of self raising flour

YOU NEED (for the sauce)

4 tablespoons of golden syrup

½ cup of sugar

2 tablespoons of tasteless organic coconut oil

½ a cup of Bonsoy organic soy milk

3 teaspoons of cornflour

YOU DO

Pre heat your oven to 175c and line a cake tin with baking paper and set aside.

Whisk the 3 teaspoons of egg replacer into the 6 tablespoons of water and set aside.

Put the dates, sugar, coconut oil and water into a medium pot and slowly bring to the boil, then turn off the heat.

Add the bi carb and gently stir the mixture. It will bubble up at this point. Add the egg replacer mixture into the pot and also stir to combine. Finally add the flour and pour the mixture into the cake tin.

Place the tin in the oven until the pudding is cooked. To check if it’s cooked, pierce it with a bamboo skewer. If it comes out clean the pudding is ready.

While the pudding is cooking place the golden syrup, ½ cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil into a small pan and gently heat until all the ingredients start to melt. Then simmer very gently until all the sugar is dissolved and a caramel starts to form.

Once the sugar is dissolved, add the Bonsoy to the caramel and whisk to combine.

Place the cornflour into a small container and add just enough water to make a paste. Add the cornflour paste to the caramel and whisk until all ingredients are well combined and simmer for another minute or 2. Turn the heat off and set aside till your pudding is ready.

Once the pudding is cooked, carefully remove it from the oven. Let it cool for about 15 minutes, then gently remove it from the cake tin. Serve it warm with caramel sauce and coconut ice-cream

If you are not serving it straight way just remove it from the cake tin and let it stand on a cake rack to cool.

Serves:  6 slices

Time: 20 minutes to prepare and 35-45 minutes to cook. Cooking time will differ depending on the cake tin size you use and the strength of your oven

Notes: I cook mine in a small, round, deep cake tin that measures 8cms (inside the lip) in diameter and 9cms in height.

Egg replacer is available in health food stores and most supermarkets in the health food section

I prefer not to try my best to avoid anything that contains palm oil, when I can find an alternative. Which is why I use coconut oil.I use the Bio Medical Tasteless Organic Coconut Oil so the coconut flavour doesn’t over power the pudding. It can be purchased online and at some health food stores.

There are only a couple of dishes I thought I would never have again, once I moved to a plant based diet and this was one of them. I saw it on the menu at a nearby vegetarian/vegan restaurant, but sadly it was made using cow’s milk. It’s clearly not something I would eat every day. In fact I have only had it a handful of times in my entire life, but it’s nice to know it’s doable! It is also SO EASY to make.

I do hope you try it. Let me know if you do.

YOU NEED

2 cups of GF soy or coconut vanilla ice cream

2/3 cup GF plant based milk (I used soy milk because I wanted a thick consistency)

4 teaspoons of GF egg replacer

1 1/3 cup GF bread crumbs

rice bran oil for cooking

pure maple syrup

YOU DO

Place slightly softened ice cream into a 1 cup measuring cup. Using the bottom of a dessert spoon, flatten the ice cream into the cup as you go, to avoid air pockets. Once the cup is full, turn the cup, upside down and gently but firmly tap the ice cream out onto a plate. Place it into the freezer. I popped mine into a plastic bag so it wouldn’t get that horrible “fridgy” flavour that food gets when left uncovered in the freezer. Freeze for 2 hours.

Put the milk and egg replacer into a bowl and whisk till any lumps are gone.

Put the bread crumbs on a plate.

Remove the ball from the freezer. Remove it from the plastic and pop it into the milk mixture. Using a fork, roll it until it’s well coated. Quickly place it onto the plate with breadcrumbs. Using one hand to roll it and the other to sprinkle bread crumbs onto it, roll the ball around till well covered in crumbs.

Put it back into the plastic bag and into the freezer. Repeat this process 2 more times now, freezing for half an hour between each crumbing.

After the final crumbing, put it back in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Heat a small pot of vegetable oil in a small pot. You will need enough oil to cover the ball. Once the oil is hot (180c), use a large serving spoon with holes, to lower the ball into the oil and fry till the crumbs are browned. Pop onto some draining paper.

Serve IMMEDIATELY with pure maple syrup.

Yields: Serves 1 very excited person that maybe didn’t also have an entree. Or easily serves 2 who are willing to share it.

Time: 15 minutes, plus the freezing times.

Notes: GF Egg Replacer is found in most supermarkets in the health food section.

If you don’t need to use GF bread crumbs the Japanese ones from the Asian section of the supermarket are great, because many other breadcrumbs in the supermarket contain dairy, eggs and/or fish.

It’s imperative that the frying oil is at the right temperature. If it’s not hot enough the batter will absorb all the oil and be soggy and awful. If it’s too hot it will burn the batter. You can guess by throwing a tiny bit of bread into the oil when you think it’s hot enough and if it pops to the top of the oil and sizzles, the oil is hot enough. I do however recommend investing in a thermometer. They aren’t expensive and are available at most home wares stores.

I have been on a bit of a chocolate mission lately and if I say so myself these are AMAZEBALLS. Think fudge, coconut, creamy centered, white chocolates. They take a little time but they are SO easy to make.

YOU NEED

4 x 100 gram blocks of white Sweet William chocolate. (Found in the health food section of Coles and Safeway)

100ml of Bonsoy soy milk

1 1/3 cups of desiccated coconut

YOU DO

Very carefully chop up 250 grams of the chocolate into smallish pieces.

Place the Bonsoy and the chocolate into a pan and gently heat on a low flame. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Do not boil the mixture. Once the chocolate has melted, place the mixture into a bowl.

Add the coconut to the chocolate mix and combine. Place it in the fridge till the mixture sets. This takes a good hour or so. You are looking for a consistency you can roll into balls with your hands. Stir the mix every now and then while it is cooling.

Once the mixture is cooled and set, remove from the fridge and remove approx a teaspoon at a time of the mixture and roll in the palm of your hands into a ball and place onto a tray with grease proof paper. If it starts to get too hard to ball the mixture, stop, wash your hands, dry your hands and then continue balling. If you are still having trouble, just add a little extra coconut to the mixture. But don’t add extra coconut if you don’t have to. That way the centre of the chocolates will remain fudgy. Repeat till all the mixture balled. Place the tray into the freezer to allow the balls to chill and firm up.

Once the balls are chilled and hard, break up the remaining 150 grams of chocolate and melt it in the microwave or over a double boiler. Allow it to cool for a couple of minutes.

This is where things get messy! Remove the chilled balls from the freezer, put some melted chocolate on the palm of your hand, pick up one of the balls and roll it with both hands so that it covers in chocolate. Place it back onto some baking paper. Repeat until all the balls are covered in chocolate.

When all the balls are covered in chocolate pop them back in the fridge for the coating to set. Then serve.

OR

If you want extra crunch coat the balls with another layer of chocolate. If you choose to do this you will need another 100 grams of chocolate. It’s worth it!

Sieve icing sugar over the top if you wish for garnish before serving.

YES you have to buy 4 (or 5) packs of Sweet William chocolate which is over $3 a block but if you make 50 these work out to be about 1/3 the cost each of the cost of 1 Lindt ball and they are freaking delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THEY ARE VERY SWEET!

Yields: 50 chocolates

Time: 5 minutes to make the mixture. 10 minutes to coat the balls in chocolate. Plus cooling and freezing time.

Notes: Bonsoy is found in most supermarkets in the UHT milk section (I used Bonsoy in these because I wanted them to be super rich and creamy).