Veganuary: Mini Vegan Chocolate + Cinnamon Rolls

Today's post is my first veganuary post of 2017 and it's also the first I've posted on my main blog (I did veganuary last year but I only posted on my food blog). Veganuary, if you didn't know, is where you stick to a vegan diet throughout January which isn't that difficult for me as I'm a vegetarian so I don't eat meat, fish or gelatine anyway (I've been a vegetarian for over 13 years now!) so cutting out dairy and eggs isn't as difficult for me as it would be for others.

Last year I did have a couple of slip ups but it was my first time trying to stick to a vegan diet and if you are doing veganuary then please don't be hard on yourself if you don't fully stick to it fully as it makes it more of a chore than it could be. Last year I discovered the amazing Isa Chandra Moskowitz who creates the most incredible vegan recipes which aren't all about superfoods or really difficult to find ingredients. I've bought two of her cookbooks and I can't recommend Isa Does It enough especially if you are a first time vegan or veganuary participant; I've made so many of her recipes and I adore her New England 'Clam' Chowder with I've made countless times since purchasing the book this time last year.

Another amazing vegan cook and recipe developer is Dana from the Minimalist Baker who is more of a recent find for me but I love the look of her recipes so I had to try one, hence this recipe post today. My recipe is based and inspired by hers but mine has a few changes including some ingredient substitutes and additions as well as measurement changes. Her cinnamon rolls look amazing and I definitely want to stick to her full recipe one day but in the meantime I really love my own take on her vegan cinnamon rolls!

Ingredients: to make approx. 16 mini rolls

- 1 1/2 cups of self raising flour
- 1/2 cup of oat milk or unsweetened almond milk (I used oat milk)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of instant packet yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of vegan margarine (extra teaspoon to melt and brush over before baking)
- 2 teaspoons of plain granulated sugar
- 2 to 3 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 2 to 3 teaspoons of light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of vegan chocolate sauce or spread (I used the Choc Shot sauce)
- 1 or 2 teaspoons of warm water
- 1 or 2 teaspoons of olive oil or sunflower oil

Steps (takes approx: 1 hour 40 minutes)

1. Measure out the oat milk and vegan margarine and melt in a small pan until the margarine has melted but don't let it boil. Remove from the heat and let it cool until it is warm (approx. bath temperature).

2. Add the yeast and sugar to the margarine and oat milk, to activate the yeast. I placed the small pan in a bowl of warm water so that the yeast can activate quicker and remains at a constant warm temperature. At this stage you'll find out if your yeast if activate or not, if it is you'll see bubbles and foam after ten minutes but if you don't then your yeast might have expired, the temperature might not be warm enough to activate it fully or the temperature might be too hot and have killed the yeast. Mine had a few bubbles but it wasn't very active but I still used it, I just used self raising flour instead of plain to give it a boost when baking. If your yeast is foamy and active then just use plain flour instead of self raising flour.

3. To the foamy mixture add in the flour a little at a time as you might not need it all. My dough was quite dry so I kneaded with my hands to bring it together more but it was still a little dry so I added two teaspoons of water a little at a time as you might not need all of the warm water. Knead for a minute or two on a floured surface until it comes together and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and leave in a warm place for an hour. I leave the bowl in a sink half full of warm water to help the dough develop and grow (I do this will all bread dough) but make sure the water don't go into the bowl.

4. After an hour the dough should be about double the size it was, don't worry if it isn't quite double. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to approx. the size of a chopping board and with a pound coin size thickness (don't make it too thin or it might rip when you're rolling it). When rolled out spread the vegan chocolate sauce or spread in a thin layer, when I make these again I'll add more chocolate spread. Sprinkle on a mixture of the light brown sugar and cinnamon all over and make sure you remember to add it to the edges of the dough - the chocolate spread/sauce helps the sugar and cinnamon adhere.

5. Roll up the dough from the longest side as you can see fro the first photo and make sure you gently pull as you are rolling so you get a tight roll (check out Paul Hollywood's video to see this method in action). When rolled, cut off the end and then cut out the rolls - I cut approx. 1 inch sections which left me with just enough dough for 16 mini rolls but you could cut them much bigger for bigger but fewer rolls. I used a very sharp knife to cut them in a sawing motion and moulded them slightly with my hands to make them into a more fully rounded shape.

6. Place a cm or two apart in a greased square baking tin (I used margarine to grease the tin and my tin was about 20cm by 20cm in size). Melt one teaspoon of margarine and brush onto the rolls. Set your oven to 180 degrees celcius (fan) and put the tin in while it's heating up and bake for between 20 to 30 minutes. Mine took just over 20 minutes to bake but all ovens will vary. Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin; best served warm.

My vegan chocolate and cinnamon mini rolls turned out really well although when I make them again I think I'll make them a bit bigger so they are more fluffy and less cakey. I'd also add more cinnamon and chocolate spread! They are great snacks or morning rolls with a coffee and as they are mini you don't feel too naughty eating one or two...or five. They'll last in a air tight container for about four days and they should definitely be heated slightly in the microwave for 5-10 seconds so they are warm, soft and even more yummy!

My poll on Twitter was a landslide win for posting lots of vegan recipes on my blog this month so stay tuned for more including my amazing and moreish vegan mac 'n' cheese which is mouth wateringly delicious!

Will you be making these? Are you taking part in veganuary this month? Do you want to see more vegan posts on my blog this month? 

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Indigo Nutrition Raw Vegan Chocolate Kit

I love chocolate, although I'm quite picky about it but when this kit arrived, I was SO excited as it is a chocolate making kit - not a 'melt the chocolate, put it in a mould' kit but it contains cacao butter, syrup and more to actually make chocolate!

The *Indigo Nutrition Organic Raw Chocolate Starter Kit (£12.99, 300g) contains organic raw cacao butter, organic raw cacao powder, organic raw agave syrup and organic raw vanilla powder as well as instructions. I love the packaging, the instructions are easy to follow and I think it would make such a fantastic and really unique gift.

The kit makes dairy free, vegan chocolate so it's a bit healthier than regular chocolate and it doesn't contain additives or extras that you don't want. It makes approx. 20 bars of chocolate but I didn't find that it made that much but still a good amount. The instructions first state to melt the cacao butter at a temperature of 45 degrees celsius which took ages (well about 40 minutes or so) and I did have to buy a food thermometer to make sure it melted at the correct temperature but other than that it is a quick and easy process.

The only thing I wish the instructions included was how the mixture should look and what the texture should be like as I thought the final mixture was quite thick; I thought it would have the consistency of melted chocolate but it doesn't and it made it a little harder to fully fill in the moulds that I used. I picked a 'rolo' style chocolate mould and letters - they both turned out better than I thought they would!

The chocolate itself does have a dark chocolate, bitter taste but not overly so and it is so incredibly smooth, it is just like regular chocolate that contains dairy. My parents, sister and aunties have tried it and they ALL loved them! I was a little dubious about the quality, as I haven't made anything like this before and the instructions say to put the chocolate in the fridge to set (which I thought would make it look dull) but the chocolates were all so shiny!

Overall, I think the kit is fantastic and I'm really happy with the final result and everyone loves the taste of them! I think the price of the kit is great as it's fun to do (although the first part is quite time consuming) and the quality is great! I think it would make a lovely gift for any food/chocolate lovers. Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5.

What do you think of this kit? Have you tried anything from Indigo Nutrition? 

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Easter: Chocolate + Love Chocolate Bars

I've never had a massive sweet tooth, apart from chocolate, so Easter is an exciting time as it's a time were it's more socially acceptable to stuff my face with chocolate without too many judgmental looks! However, as one of my new years resolutions is to have at least half of my diet as vegan/dairy free, that limits my easter chocolate indulgences but Chocolate and Love comes to the rescue! Also I'm more than happy to be a chocolate reviewer, it's a difficult task but you know, someones got to do it...

I was very kindly sent the range of chocolate bars from Chocolate and Love which is a brand that uses high quality, organic and fair-trade ingredients and the best thing for me is that five out of the seven chocolate bars are suitable for vegans which is amazing! Firstly, I have to say how gorgeous the packaging design for each chocolate bar is; each is a bespoke hand painted design.

The high level of natural cocoa results in a high levels of antioxidants *see, chocolate is basically salad*! The bars are gluten free, GMO free and they don't contain additives. The chocolate bars contain less sugar and more cocoa than other bars on the market.

- *Chocolate and Love Dark Chocolate with Orange Bar (£3, 100g): The bars contain varying amounts of cocoa and this bar contains 65% cocoa/chocolate. I love Terry's chocolate oranges so I was excited to give this one a go. The orange flavour comes through but not strong and the dark chocolate is creamy, smooth and not too bitter. Overall rating:  ★★★★☆, 4/5.

- *Chocolate and Love Dark Chocolate and Coffee (£3, 100g): This is the first bar I tried as I adore coffee and it didn't disappoint. The coffee is quite strong but I love that, otherwise it could be too strong of dark chocolate. It is creamy, smooth and moreish - I'd definitely buy this bar! Also the packaging design is definitely one of my favourites. Overall rating:  ★★★★★, 5/5.

- *Chocolate and Love Dark Chocolate with Mint Crunch (£3, 100g): First, I have to say, I am not a fan of mint and chocolate so I knew this wouldn't be my favourite bar. The mint flavour comes through strongly but I think it works really well with the dark chocolate! There are also small crunchy pieces in the bar which I love - I actually really like this one, surprisingly! Overall rating:  ★★★★☆, 4/5.

- *Chocolate and Love Single Origin Dark Chocolate (£3, 100g): This bar contains 80% dark chocolate from fair-trade sources in Panama and as with the previous bars, it is vegan and made in Switzerland. I haven't tried this percentage of dark chocolate before and I expected it to be really strong and bitter but it isn't - it's so incredibly creamy, rich and smooth - love it! Overall rating:  ★★★★★, 5/5.

- *Chocolate and Love Filthy Rich Dark Chocolate (£3, 100g): Another dark chocolate bar but this one is 71% and the 100% of the ingredients are from fair-trade cooperatives in The Dominican Republic. The information about the brand, their ethos and source of ingredients for each bar is printed on the inside of the packaging. As with the previous bar, this one is very smooth and rich but it is still creamy and very indulgent. Any chocolate fan would love these bars! Overall rating:  ★★★★☆, 4/5.

- *Chocolate and Love Creamy Dark Chocolate and Cacao Nibs (£3, 100g): I've heard bloggers and youtubers talk about cacao nibs before but I haven't tried them. This bar and the next are both suitable for vegetarians but not vegans, unlike the others in the range as they contain milk. Again, I love the packaging for this bar - it's so unique! 92% of the ingredients of this bar are from fair-trade sources in Peru and The Dominican Republic. Oh, I love this bar - the crunch from the cacao nibs is so nice and the flavour is very luxe and so creamy! It's definitely in my top three favourites from the range. Overall rating:  ★★★★★, 5/5!

- *Chocolate and Love Dark Chocolate with Caramel and Sea Salt (£3, 100g): As with as the previous bar and the coffee one, this is another I was excited to try as I adore salted caramel. This one isn't as creamy or as smooth as all of the others because it does contain pieces of caramel but it does taste really nice and it has a slight salted caramel flavour but to me it is subtle. Sadly, I thought this would be my favourite bar but it isn't. Overall rating:  ★★★☆☆, 3/5.

Overall, I cannot recommend this brand enough, I especially love the coffee bar, the 80% dark chocolate bar and the amazing creamy dark chocolate and cacao nibs bar. I also love the intricate, colourful and beautiful packaging. The brand ethics are also a major selling point for me as they use biodegradable packaging that is produced from renewable materials and sustainable harvested wood, they use organic and fair-trade ingredients and they support responsible management of forests by planting trees - what more could you ask for from a brand! I'd highly recommend this brand and I will be buy the bars in the future, especially the coffee one *drools* and even my dad loves these and he isn't a chocolate fan! I think they would make lovely and unique gifts for friends and family this easter.

Have you tried any of the chocolate bars from Chocolate and Love? What do you think of the flavours and packaging? 

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