Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

This is my home recipe for a Vegan Monte Bianco so easy, (plus no cooking required) and one of my favourite desserts. Chestnuts are in my DNA, as they were the staple food of my ancestors, and mine to when I was little (we still have a chestnut wood in Italy). They are naturally sweet, low in fat and high in protein, but they are so difficult to find in NZ (please write to me if you have some!!). The original recipe calls for cream, but it seems that coconut cream goes really well with chestnuts too! Here are the ingredients: 1x 400ml can coconut cream, refrigerated for at least one day 1 drop vanilla 1 tbsp sugar 1 x439g Clement Faugier chestnut puree 1x 250g Clement Faugier Sweet chestnut spread Dark chocolate to grate (I used dark vegan Mexican chocolate) You can add a few drops of rum or Frangelico if you like. Scoop the coconut cream out of the tin (leave the water at the bottom) and beat until soft and foamy. Add sugar and vanilla. Set aside. Beat ...

1 can coconut cream 1 l oragnic soy milk (I use  Vitasoy , either Original, Milky or Calci Plus) 4 tbsp raw sugar 2 heap tbsp cocoa (the better the cocoa the better the flavour, so don't go for cheap baking cocoa, but for 'hot chocolate' quality) 2 tbsp cornflour Natural Vanilla essence  1 tbsp icing sugar Edible flowers to decorate Place the can of coconut cream in the fridge (possibly one day ahead). Dissolve the dried ingredients with a little soy milk to make a paste, then add the rest of the milk and mix well. Put on the stove on low and, always stirring, bring to simmering point. Make sure that you stir well, especially around the borders and bottom of the pot, so that the pudding has a smooth consistency. As soon as it start thickening turn the element off, add the vanilla essence (if using) and keep stirring until it has cooled down a bit. Divide into 8 dessert ramekins or small bowls and refrigerate. When the pudding is set o...

Now that I have a nutribullet I am trying all sort of experiments, and this is my first nut milk. I used toasted hazelnut, but I guess that if you are into raw food you can use raw hazelnuts. I like toasted hazelnuts though, and a rinsed mine with water to remove as much as i could of the brown skin. Then I added a bit of water, about twice the amount of the nuts. A quick blend and here is the result! I passed the milk through a sieve, it tasted great but a bit grainy, so I passed it again using a fine cotton cloth (a clean handkerchief would work). The ring from the nutribullet jag is ideal to keep the cotton in place while the milk is filtering though! I got one glass, but where is the photo? Ops, Arantxa drunk it all at once! Max and I just had a taste. The hazelnut taste was great! Plus there was quite a bit of hazelnut paste left over.  Instant Vegan Nutella Place the hazelnut paste in a bowl or jug with a few block of dark ch...

I have already made these using hazelnut ( see recipe here ), once again you just need two ingredients: dark chocolate and pistachio or almond cream from   Italian Foodies . Step 1 Melt the chocolate at  bain Marie  and line the chocolate moulds (I used silicone moulds). For each mould you will probably need about 1 or 2 tsp of chocolate, let it run to cover the bottom and sides of the moulds and then place the mould in the fridge IMMEDIATELY so that the chocolate sets quickly (you don't want it to roll down the sides and just fill the bottom of the moulds). Use only half of the chocolate, leave the rest in the bowl and keep warm (so it won't solidify).  Step 2 After 15 or 20 remove the moulds from the fridge and fill with the nut paste, then cover with the remaining melted chocolate. Refrigerate. Step 3 Before serving remove from ridge, tip the chocolates out of the moulds and serve. Better to store in the fridge if it is a hot day...

I made these with my daughter, we used  Fresh As  freeze dried mandarins and blueberries, plus some dark chocolate (the darkest the better for me, and chose a non-dairy one for vegan chocolate). Just need to melt the chocolate and then half dip the mandarin slices. The freeze dried blueberries… sorry but you cannot see them… but we just added a few to the remaining chocolate (after we used all the mandarin slices) and then poured the mixture in chocolate molds. So easy, quick, and petty too! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Impress your guests with homemade chocolates! They are easy to make and You need only two ingredients to make these chocolates: some dark chocolate (your favourite, I like to use over 70% dark) and some Italian  hazelnut paste , I got mine in Auckland from  Italian Foodies . Step 1 Melt the chocolate at  bain Marie  and line the chocolate moulds (I used silicone moulds). For each mould you will probably need about 1 or 2 tsp of chocolate, let it run to cover the bottom and sides of the moulds and then place the mould in the fridge IMMEDIATELY so that the chocolate sets quickly (you don't want it to roll down the sides and just fill the bottom of the moulds). Use only half of the chocolate, leave the rest in the bowl and keep warm (so it won't solidify).  Step 2 After 15 or 20 remove the moulds from the fridge and fill with the hazelnut paste, then cover with the remaining melted chocolate. Refrigerate. Step 3 Before serving remov...

Arantxa picked flowers from the garden: roses, lavender, sage, violets and nasturtiums   I made my trusted vegan chocolate pudding, and since we are in season I wanted to top it with some strawberries, and maybe some flowers too? So I asked Arantxa to look after this. For 4 puddings: 500 ml oragnic soy milk (I use  Vitasoy , either Original, Milky or Calci Plus) 2 tbsp raw sugar 1 heap tbsp cocoa (the better the cocoa the better the flavour, so don't go for cheap baking cocoa, but for 'hot chocolate' quality) 1 tbsp cornflour Natural Vanilla essence (or a little cinnamon if you prefer) Strawberries and edible flowers to finish. Dissolve the dried ingredients with a little soy milk to make a paste, then add the rest of the milk and mix well. Put on the stove on low and, always stirring, bring to simmering point. Make sure that you stir well, especially around the borders and bottom of the pot, so that the pudding has a smooth consistency. As soon...

What I like about mousses is that you can just improvise, and as long as you beat well the main ingredients (eggs and cream) you can never go wrong! I made this with Arantxa; while I made the Italian meringue and whipped the cream she whipped the egg yolk, and while she folded the chocolate I folded the plum cream, and there was a lot of licking of spoons and bowl at the end, and 7 lovely mousses in the fridge! 3 large free range eggs, separated 2 tbsp icing sugar 50 ml water 300 ml cream 1 tbsp cocoa2 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp  Fresh As  Plum Powder (plus some to sprinkle) Start by making an Italian meringue base: whip the egg white until stiff. In the meantime boil the water and icing sugar into a syrup. When the syrup is bubbly, start to thickens and smell like candy (but before is turns white or caramel! Be careful here!) pour it at once into the egg whites, (while beating). Keep beating until the meringue is cold again. In another bowl beat the egg yolks with the...

I made some cupcakes using 3 eggs, 130 g of Trade Aid cane sugar, 1 tbsp of Trade Aid baking cocoa,  120 g butter, 1 banana and 150g of self rising flour. And then I added one square of milk chocolate in each cupcake.  We ate half of them very quickly they were so good, and the other half Arantxa decorated and took to a sleep over to share with her friends.  I made them again after a few days, but this time I put some of my  date and chocolate truffles  in the centre, plus I topped them with some whipped coconut cream, thus using 4 more Trade Aid ingredients.   Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

This is sooooo yummy, it reminds me of those soy chocolate puddings that you can buy in the fridge compartment of many organic-vegetarian stores (and now in some supermarkets too) but it is homemade and therefore even tastier. For 4 puddings: 500 ml oragnic soy milk (I use  Vitasoy , either Original, Milky or Calci Plus) 2 tbsp raw sugar 1 heap tbsp cocoa (the better the cocoa the better the flavour, so don't go for cheap baking cocoa, but for 'hot chocolate' quality) 1 tbsp cornflour Natural Vanilla essence (or a little cinnamon if you prefer) Dissolve the dried ingredients with a little soy milk to make a paste, then add the rest of the milk and mix well. Put on the stove on low and, always stirring, bring to simmering point. Make sure that you stir well, especially around the borders and bottom of the pot, so that the pudding has a smooth consistency. As soon as it start thickening turn the element off, add the vanilla essence (if using) and keep s...

This dessert has three layers, and the first is a velvety chocolate pudding made with 3 egg yolks, 3 tbsp of sugar, 500 mil of full cream milk and plenty of Peruvian cooking chocolate (milk or dark, I used milk here). I didn't measure the chocolate, but you should go by taste, not everybody likes really intense chocolate! Mix the egg yolks with the sugar and beat well, then put on bain marie (double boiling) and simmer slowly, adding the milk little by little. Use top milk, otherwise use 400ml milk and 100 ml cream. Stir until the mixture thickens (it takes a long time!) then add the chocolate and melt. Pour into glasses and set aside to cool. Refrigerate for a few hours. In the meantime clean and hull the strawberries and cut into small pieces. Add a tsp of sugar and one of lemon juice and set aside for a few hours. Before serving top the chocolate with the strawberries and finally with whipped cream. Decorate with edible flowers (I used borage). Photos and Recipes ...

I have these really cute grappa glasses, they are small straight tubes with one side of the glass almost 'melted' into it, like a thumb had been pressing it... and in fact it is quite nice to hold! Possibly these are not so practical for dessert (fortunately I have some tiny long spoons) but I wanted to use them, just for look.  So here is the recipes For the Vanilla layer: 3 free range eggs 4 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp flour 1.5 l full cream milk Vanilla essence 1 tsp grappa For the Chocolate layer: Just add some  72% dark chocolate to the vanilla mixture (about 50 g) Add more grappa if you like For the Cream: Just whip some cream Mix the eggs with the sugar and flour and add the milk slowly. Simmer until the custard thickens then add the vanilla essence and grappa. Pour half in a jug and stir. Add the chocolate to the rest and stir, then pour into the glasses (bowls, cups, trifle bowl...). Let it set then add the vanilla layer. Refrigerate then top it ...

Did you ever play with walnut shells as a child? I spent many hours making little boats, and recently I have been dreaming about baking inside them... not very practical, I admit it, and difficult to eat, but absolutely adorable to look at!! Walnut and Nutella cupcakes Ingredients 120 g butter 3 eggs 130 g sugar 1/2 tsp lemon zest 200 g self-rising flour 60 ml milk 15 walnuts A little nutella (optional) Topping (optional): mini cupcakes baked inside walnut shells, and topped with royal icing Makes 12 cupcakes Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line a 12-muffin tray with cupcakes paper cups. Melt the butter in a jug, either in the microwave or in the oven (while the oven is warming up for the cupcakes). Place the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk, using an electric beater, until the mixture looks light and pale yellow in colour. Slowly add the melted butter and the lemon zest. Keep beating at a low speed now; add half of the flour fo...

An easy recipe with chocolate, cardamom and berries, and the kids loved the glasses!!! These are quite cute grappa glasses that sit on the side and can roll around like a spinning top, in fact I don't use them much because they are quite wobbly, but they do give that 'ship-in-a-bottle' feel to food, and are perfect for verrines and fancy dinners. I made a chocolate cream with one  egg, 1/2 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 50 g dark chocolate and 250 ml milk. In the end I added a few seeds of cardamom. I poured the chocolate pudding into the glasses and when it was cold I added raspberries, strawberries and other berries... but I have to say that this part wasn't that easy, I should get myself some long and skinny tongs! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

I like dried apricots, nuts and other dried fruit dipped in dark chocolate, but this time I used  Fresh As  freeze dried fruit. The flavour is really intense, and the texture completely different, crispy and fresh! I used dried raspberries, dried lychees and dried feijoas. I had friends around and everything disappeared in no time. Most people preferred the raspberries, but I preferred the lychees and Max the feijoas. I did the mandarins already  here , and I am pondering about the next fruit to try! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  © This recipe is for Sweet New Zealand, this month of April hosted by Monica of Delissimon.