Vegan dessert

Blueberry Coconut Chocolate Clusters

May 20, 2018 By Lara Leave a Comment

A really easy, 3 ingredient recipe that is made in under 20 minutes. Those clusters are gluten-free, vegan and super delicious!…

Chocolate coated Tahini Caramel Pretzel Bars

April 3, 2018 By Lara 6 Comments

Who doesn’t love a chocolatey caramelly treat? But what if I actually tell you that these Chocolate coated Tahini Caramel Pretzel Bars are good for your body and soul?

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Healthy Vegan Tim Tams

March 20, 2016 By Lara 22 Comments

And the crowd goes “HOORAY“! Finally, Healthy Vegan Tim Tams are here!
They’re made with ingredients that not only make them vegan but healthy and good for you as well. Yes, you didn’t read that incorrectly, I said good for you. Now you must be wondering how and think well a dessert full of chocolate as that can’t be healthy in any way? Don’t judge a book by its cover and give them a go!

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3 kinds of vegan Nutella

February 16, 2016 By Lara 38 Comments

Every Nutella Fan will be happy about this vegan, no-refined sugar Nutella recipes.

EDIT: Make sure you check out my newest creamiest version here!

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Peanut Butter Jelly Chocolate Jars

January 15, 2016 By Lara 3 Comments

Its….
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME PEANUT BUTTER JELLY CHOCOLATE JAR TIME
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Creamy chocolate- coconut Nicecream and how to improve your photos

November 13, 2015 By Lara 2 Comments

I always feel a little weird when posting smoothie or Nicecream recipes; I have to admit. I literally just smash all the stuff I can find in my mixer and then call it a NICECREAM 🙂

However I thought this decadent Nicecream creations needs to find its spot within this blog and has a right to be recreated by many many Chocolate obsessed people and foodporn seekeer.
If you are not into chocolate and coconut and nicecream and dessert and heaven and love (seriously?) then feel free to scroll down to my Tipps on how you can improve your food photography.

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Top three recipes including superfoods to get you healthy through winter

September 22, 2015 By Lara 1 Comment

When I was a kid I used to be sick during winter between 3-4 times. Crazy thing is, I got kind of used to it and I persuaded myself that I might be born with a poor immun system. I tried really hard to get my daily dose of vitamins in and it made me almost mad that I still got sick on such a regular basis.

Anyway, when I started to sneak in superfoods like goji berries in my muesli, Spirulina in my Chai pudding, Chlorella over my salad I did not really expect something to change or happen. It was only after two year when i noticed that I just caught the flu one time last winter. I am not saying that these “superfoods” are kind of panacea (and if yes then hell yes how cool ;)) but I have to agree that I am feeling much more energized overall. I am not stressing myself to take in superfoods everyday, I just like to add them here and there whenever I am feeling like a little extra kick.

So listed below I have my top three recipes including superfoods. you can find all the recipes on my blog.

VEGAN BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

Simply sneaked in some Acai powder in the sauce.

RAW WHEATGRASS LIME CAKE

Have you already tried my raw Lime Wheatgrass Cake? Nathalie did and look how beautiful her cake turned out (@nathaliedaousader)

RAW BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE

Raw Cakes are a great way to sneak in Superfoods like powders such as Acai. Since you do not heat up anything in raw cakes it won’t destroy the nutrients within the superfoods.
Check out my Blueberry Raw Cake and also have a looka t the beautiful remakes of
@reneebourke @flywithcarola @rebeccas_vegan_journey (from left to right)

Hope you like these inspirations! Of course there are also much simpler methods such as just adding it to a smoothie or into a smoothie bowl but I guess you can experiment on your own when it comes to smoothies 😉

The best vegan Nutella Cake

September 13, 2015 By Lara 26 Comments

It looks to good to be good for you? Say hello to your new favorite healthy, plant-based Nutella Cake!
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Raw Wheatgrass Lime Cake

September 13, 2015 By Lara 4 Comments

Lately I’ve been experimenting a lot with superfoods and cakes and I also like to use dried fruit powders. Powders other than fresh fruits makes the cakes stick together better and also the color is much more intensive. Another fact especially in winter is, that fresh fruits like strawberries and raspberries are expensive and are imported here in Switzerland.

It is autumn now so I am using my last frozen berries for the decoration of my Raw Wheatgras Lime Cake. Besides of looking so fancy it is actually a pretty easy cake to make and you can be sure that people will be delighted by the color. I agree that this might be more a “summer cake” but I thought why not bringing summer back one last time and share it with you! So enjoy and don’t forget to scroll down until the end as a little surprise is waiting there.

Ingredient
makes a 8-inch/9-inch springform pan

Crust
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
6 big medjool dates or 8 regular ones
2 tbsp agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of fine sea salt

(Optional: Strawberries, halved)

Method
Process the almonds, oats and coconut to a coarse meal in a food processor. Add the dates, agave syrup, vanilla and salt and process until well combined.
Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.
Set aside.
(If you like you can place halved strawberries on the side of the pan on the crust.)

————————————————————————————————-

Filling
1 1/2 cups cashews (soaked overnight)
1 avocado
1/4 cup coconut cream (full-fat coconut milk works as well but cream makes the cake thicker)
4 tbsp lime juice and the zest of 2 limes
1 heaped tbsp wheatgrass powder (got mine from Organicburst)
4 tbsp Coconut Oil (melted)
1/4 cup agave syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method
Place the cashews, coconut oil, vanilla extract, agave syrup, wheatgrass powder, coconut cream and lime juice into your food processor and process until mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the avocado and mix again for about 20 seconds or until combined. Last add the zest of one lime and combine with a spatula.
Scrape the filling from the food processor into the pan with the crust, and smooth out on top.
Decorate with the zest of the other lime and freeze for about 3 hours or overnight.

Are you not familiar with superfoods such as Wheatgrass and co? You always wanted to try Acai? Or you simply like to win? Take your change and win a bundle of three exclusive Organicburst superpowders!
All you need to do is to follow @organicburst and @vanillacrunnch and repost the picture on Instagram with the Hashtag #vanillacrunnchOB in the main caption and tell us why you want to win the bundle!

GOOD LUCK!

Vegan New York Cheesecake

September 2, 2015 By Lara 20 Comments

So I decided to jump on the train of Vegan foodblogger, who’ve tried the famous classical but never out of fashion traditional New York cheesecake.It is actually not that I completely re-invented the vegan cheesecake. There are so many bloggers out there who made their version. Most of the cake I’ve seen are made out of Cashews and sometimes with coconut milk or another non-dairy milk. I’ve tried a little different approach (to be honest also due to financial reasons and the costs of cashews 😉

I really hope you like the recipe for this Vegan New York Cheesecake. Don’t forget to tag me in your recreation (@vanillacrunnch)
Always makes me happy to see people giving the raw vegan baking approach a try.

Crust
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup rolled oats
5 medjool dates
3 tbsp almond milk
a pinch of fine sea salt

Method
Line a round pan with parchment paper or use a silicon pan and set aside.
Place the oats, pitted dates, coconut, raw almonds and salt in the food processor and pulse at high speed. Add the milk but now just pulse on medium speed to obtain a sticky mixture.
Spread the mixture into the pan and press it to evenly arrange. I did this with my fingers but feel free to use a spoon 🙂

Filling
1 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight or (quick soaked method if you are in a hurry*)
1/2 cup Semolina (cooked for 10 minutes)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup agave syrup

Method
First you need to cook the semolina for 10 minutes on medium heat or according to what your package says on how to cook the semolina. If you get any lumps, use a stick mixer to remove them.
Let it cool down a little.
Drain the cashews and place them in the food processor along with the almond milk, coconut oil and agave syrup.

Then add the cashew-coco-milk-syrup mixture to the semolina and whisk to combine.
Process until you see a smooth cream. (Seriously I could hardly hold myself back to not eat that good looking whitish thing right away!)

Pour the cashew mixture in the pan on top of the crust, and spread evenly.
Put in the freezer for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Place the raspberries (optional – add a teaspoon of agave nectar) in the food processor and pulse to obtain a puree.
Top the cheesecake with the puree and add some fresh raspberries and best serve while 15 minutes out of the freezer.

Vegan Blueberry Pancakes

August 30, 2015 By Lara 1 Comment

Vegan Blueberry Pancakes at its finest!
This might not be the fluffy light summer breakfast you might expect, but let me explain. I thought it would be a nice sunday with a slight autumn, cozy character. It was not. The weather in Switzerland plays kind of crazy. After a crazy hot midsummer we all thought that autumn is going to move in. Määä! WRONG! Summer came back this weekend. And not in subtle, light sea breeze way. No, it was more like a: IN YOUR FACE, HEATWAVE; FELT LIKE 1000 DEGREE WAVE!
But since I already had those pancakes in mind, nothing could stop me from making them. Since I wanted to try a banana free recipe for the first time.

Don’t get me wrong. I love bananas…BUT not so sure whether I love them in a pancakes dough. Anyway what I am trying to say is, that I tried a banana free pancake recipe. Although the consistency is less compact than the banana recipes I’ve tried, I really like the smooth texture and the Chia seeds are holding it together, so the dough doesn’t get to runny.
Many asked me how I actually pour the dough in the pan. I use an Icecream scoop, since (no idea why) it makes the pancakes perfectly round. Just the way I like them for making a proper picture.

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp backing powder
1 cup almond milk
a splash of sparkling water
1 tbsp Chia seeds
1 tbsp raw maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 handful of blueberries

1/2 cup Coyo Coconut yogurt
1 tbsp Acai powder. (I prefer the Acai from Organicburst)

Method
Combine all the ingredients in a middle sized bowl and mix until the dough is smooth.
Then (crucial!) put the mix back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
After the 10 minutes have passed, heat up a little coconut oil in a pan on medium heat.
While the pan is heating up, gently stir in the berries in the dough.
Bake the pancakes from both sides for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

For the sauce mix the Coyo yogurt with the Acai.

Finally, top the pancakes with the superfood Acai-Sauce and decorate with some fresh Berries.

The PERFECT vegan chocolate chip cookie sandwiches

August 16, 2015 By Lara 3 Comments

Another rainy sunday in Switzerland. Some people are quite happy that the weather now finally has “normalized” after the heatwave. But for me, I am just wishing for an endless summer. Thinking that the last sunny days have now passed makes me sad. To overcome my sadness I wanted to give these vegan chocolate chip cookies another try. After fails and “they are ok- but not more” attempts, I perfected them now. So here is what I did. I added a mashed banana to the recipe and replaced the peanut butter in the recipe with the smoother sunflower seed butter.

and… I LOVE them now. I am perfectionist so this is quite a thing for me to say. I shared the original recipe just in my ebook but thought it would be a crime to not share these beauties with all of you. I kept the 6 cookie sandwiches under my bed without sharing. I could eat all of them in one sitting.

I might did but you are never going to know that 🙂

Makes 12 Cookies or 6 Cookie Sandwiches

Ingredients

1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup fine oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup sunflower seed butter (peanut butter works as well)
1 small ripe mashed banana
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of fine sea salt
1/2 cup dark vegan chocolate chips

Method

1. First you preheat your oven to 180° or (360F)

2. In the blender, blend the oats until you reach a fine consistency.

3. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients such as the flour, the blended oats, baking soda, salt.

4. In another bowl, mash the banana, add the sunflower seed butter, the coconut sugar and the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

5. Add the almond milk and mix a little bit more.

6. Now at low speed add the bowl with the dry ingredients. (not all at once!).

7. Fold in the dark chocolate chips.

8. Now roll the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten them with a spoon and make sure you place them 3 inches apart from each other.

9. Finally, Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly brown, depends a little bit on your oven and how you like them.

Let them cool down, but not until entirely cool. Because now the fun part starts:

Stuff two cookies with a tsp of peanutbutter and one pieces of dark chocolate.
The chocolate and peanutbutter are starting to melt from the remaining warmth of the cookies.

Raw Chocolate Brownie-Fudge Slices

July 25, 2015 By Lara Leave a Comment

This is an unusual twist, on two recipes I really like. There is nothing more indulging than a warm brownie combined with a hot almond milk on a rainy day. Yet a rich and creamy fudge piece can make me happy within minutes.
Well why not combining these two textures I thought, and making raw chocolate Brownie fudge slices!
The nuts in the chocolate-brownie base add a nice little crunch to it, the coconut cream is flavoured with cacao and pure coconut oil.

A combination you should not miss! The recipe is so simple and totally bulletproof.

Ingredients

Bottom
1/3 cup processed buckwheat flour
1/3 cup raw unsweetened cacao powder
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup shredded coconut
12 dates, pitted
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp warm water
a pinch of fine sea salt
1/2 tbs vanilla extract

Fudge Layer
1 can full-fat coconut cream (place the can in the fridge overnight, in order to get the white “creamy” consistency in the can)
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup carob powder
8 oz dark chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Bottom
For the bottom, simply blend the walnuts in a food processor (process as long as you think you want the size of nut pieces to be), add the dates and shredded coconut, the melted coconut oil, water, sea salt, cacao powder, flour & vanilla extract and process again until sticky and well combined.(Yes, you can use your hands :))

Press the mixture into a square/rectangle tin, firm and flat (I used a pancake flipper to press it down evenly and tightly)

Leave in freezer while making the next layer.

Fudge
Scrap the top layer (white, hard texture) above the coconut milk to a medium sized saucepan and bring to a simmer. (drink the remaining coconut milk, the liquid part :))

Add the coconut oil to the saucepan and stir until it melts. Add the carob powder, vanilla extract and the dark chocolate chips and stir until everything is melted.
Pour over the bottom and refrigerate until firm (up to 4 hours) or freeze if you cannot wait with eating and want to them to be ready in 30 minutes.

ENJOY!