Vegan Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Chip Breakfast Muffins

These muffins are bursting with chocolate chips and raspberries to start your day on the sweet side!

I've really been getting into my breakfast muffins recently and I am loving how filling they are. Breakfast for me is tricky, I am a creature of habit and I love having my yoghurt bowl. So of course, I add my yoghurt to my muffins, break them up into pieces and it's like my yoghurt bowl got an upgrade!

Raspberries and chocolate chips are so divine, the raspberries are a little sharp but the sweetness of the chocolate cuts right through with the perfect balance. I also made these muffins with half oat flour for a little extra flavour and as we know are super healthy for you. I like to also make muffins as a grab-and-go breakfast option when I go into university, or they're a great snack to have handy in your bag when you're getting peckish, and they can even make a nice dessert. 

Check out my other breakfast recipes for more inspiration!

• Blueberry and Lemon Baked Oats
• Mocha Hazelnut Porridge
• Chocolate Pear Porridge

Recipe

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Serves: 12 muffins

Notes:

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Ingredients

• 300g plain flour
• 200g oat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250ml soya milk  + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 200ml maple syrup
• 60g butter melted
• 100g frozen raspberries
• 100g chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170℃ and grease and line a 12-hole muffin tin. 
2. Make the oat flour by blending oats in a food processor or a blender, then add to a large bowl along with the plain flour, baking powder, baking soda and mix together. 
3. Mix together the soya milk, ACV and vanilla and leave to sit for a few minutes. 
4. Then add the milk mixture and the melted butter into the flour and stir together.
5. Spoon about ¾ of a tablespoon into each muffin liner and then with the remaining batter, fold in the raspberries and chocolate chips. This stops them from sinking to the bottom. 
6. Fill each muffin liner with batter evenly until all used and then place in the oven to bake for about 30 minutes. If you have a fan oven, you may want to rotate the tray after 20 minutes to evenly bake the muffins. 
7. Once baked remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack and leave to cool in the tin before removing. Serve once cool or place in an airtight container to keep fresh. Best eaten within 5 days. Enjoy!

Christina 

xx

Chocolate Hazelnut Rice Pop Bars - No Bake!

Turn your favourite cocoa pops into these delicious hazelnut chocolate cereal bars!

I have been wanting to create this recipe for so long - in fact I bought these cocoa pops back in September because they were reduced to 44p! Can you believe it? All because the box was a little bit tattered, but no harm to the cocoa pops. These are Sainsburys own range - Deliciously Free From Chocolate Rice Pops, and as far I can tell, they are vegan friendly so I snapped them up when I saw what a bargain they were. Oh and don't worry, the Best Before Date isn't until April so I knew I had plenty of time to use them :) I've always loved a cereal bar since I was little and I've not had one for a long time. These aren't really a breakfast cereal bar because of the chocolate and syrup etc, but they make a very tasty snack. I've used Nomo's Hazelnot Chocolate Crunch bar because these cocoa pops needed something a little extra and this chocolate is so delicious! Personally I find it hard to appreciate vegan chocolate, but Nomo is by far the best out there I cannot fault their products so try to use their chocolate where possible. 

If you don't like hazelnuts, you could swap the chocolate for a bar of your choice, and swap the hazelnut butter for a spread of you choice as well, no problems! I might even do another version with almonds and peanuts for my nutty-lovers out there!

Check out my other no-bake recipes for more inspiration!

Bounty Bars

Wagon Wheels

Rocky Road

Recipe

Prep: 20 minutes + 30 minutes chilling time

Cook: n/a

Serves: 15 large squares

NOTE: every ingredient I use is vegan so make sure you check your ingredients if you're following a Vegan lifestyle

Ingredients

150g Chocolate rice pop cereal

100g Butter melted

150g Mini Marshmallows

200g Nomo Hazelnot Crunch chocolate 

2 tbsp Hazelnut butter or choice of nut butter

Method

✿Grease and line a 21cm square tin with baking paper. 

✿In a large pan, melt the butter and marshmallows over a low heat, until the mixture is fully melted and combined. Stir tin the hazelnut butter until incorporated. 

✿Then stir in the chocolate rice pops and mix until they are completely coated.

✿Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and use the back of a spoon or spatula to spread out evenly. 

✿Melt the hazelnot chocolate over a Bain-marie or in the microwave and then pour onto the cereal mixture and smooth out so that it is all covered and flat. 

✿Place in the fridge to set for about 30 minutes then remove and use a knife to slice into squares. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!

Christina

xx

Biscoff Millionaires Shortbread

 A twist on a classic millionaires but with beloved biscoff spread and biscuits!

So this isn't really a shortbread, as I said it has biscoff biscuits instead, but that's the original name so I had to work with it! I've seen the idea of biscoff millionaires bars by a few talented bakers, so I knew I had to make a vegan version, and this one hits that biscoff spot. How many times can one write the word biscoff? This delicious tray of goodies has bottom layer of  biscoff biscuits (is it better than the original shortbread that's the question?) with a layer of gooey, sweet caramel, topped with a chocolate biscoff swirl, and an extra crumble of biscuits. It's been a favourite no-bake of mine for a while and they did not last long I tell you! The key here is to master the caramel and once you've done that the rest is easy - not to say that it's hard but it does require a little confidence in the kitchen. Definitely give it a try and learn some new skills! I can tell you I was VERY happy when Carnation released a vegan condensed milk, its a caramel lover game changer and I had to use it for the caramel in this recipe and future caramel recipes. If you want my vegan millionaires shortbread click the link below :)

Check out some of my other millionaires recipes for more inspiration!

Vegan Millionaires Shortbread

Millionaires Shortbread Cake

Millionaires Cheesecake - no bake!

Recipe

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes (caramel) + chilling time

Serves: 12

NOTE: every ingredient I use is vegan so make sure you check your ingredients if you're following a Vegan lifestyle.

Ingredients

Biscuit base

375g Biscoff biscuits

140g butter melted

Caramel layer

150g butter 

2 tbsp Caster sugar

3tbsp Golden syrup

300g Condensed milk

Chocolate layer

190g chocolate

150g Biscoff spread

Biscoff crumbs from about 3 biscuits

Method

✿Blitz the biscuits in a food processor to a small crumb (or alternatively, place in a  ziplock bag and bash with a rolling pin), and add the melted butter. Mix with a wooden spoon until the butter has coated all of the crumbs.
✿Spoon the mixture lined 9x9 baking tin and press down firmly and evenly. Leave to the side.

✿Meanwhile make the caramel - In a large saucepan pour in the condensed milk, butter, sugar, and golden syrup and melt on a medium heat till the sugar has dissolved – stir frequently to stop anything from catching.

✿Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat up high and let the mixture come to boiling point and boil for 4-6 minutes stirring constantly so that the mixture doesn’t catch. When stirring don't scrape around the saucepan as this will put the sugar crystals back into the caramel which makes it seize and harden. 

✿Do not over boil, as soon as its had this length of time take it off the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.
✿Pour the caramel onto the biscuit base and leave to set for two hours in the fridge.

✿Once the caramel has set make the chocolate layer - melt the chocolate in the microwave stirring every 20 seconds being careful not to heat too long otherwise the chocolate will seize. In a separate bowl, melt the biscoff in the microwave for about 30 seconds or more until just melted. 

✿Pour the chocolate over the caramel and spread it out evenly with a palette knife if you have one. Then spoon dollops of the melted biscoff in random places on top of the chocolate and use a skewer or a sharp knife to feather the biscoff into the chocolate. 

✿Sprinkle over the biscoff crumbs and then set in the fridge for another 1-2 hours. 

✿When ready to serve, use a hot knife to cut the millionaires in 12 squares (or smaller/larger). best stored in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the fridge. Enjoy!

Christina

xx