Vegan & Gluten-free Pumpkin Scones 🎃

One of my proudest achievements this year has been growing my own vegetables especially this pumpkin so I wanted to put it to good use and make something special so decided to try baking some pumpkin scones as pumpkin scones are one of my favourite seasonal snacks from Starbucks.

It has been a while since I made scones and because I wanted to make it suitable for all diets to enjoy it took me a few attempts to get this recipe right but the end result is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and in my opinion even better and more delicious and healthy than the ones I used to get at Starbucks.

For this recipe I steamed and mashed the pumpkin to make my own pumpkin puree but you can use pumpkin puree from a can to save time, also be sure to put your can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight as it will make the dough easier to work with and create a better crumb.

Ingredients

Dry

• 1 cup gluten-free flour mix
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1 tsp baking powder

Wet

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup chilled coconut milk
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Step 1 - Mix the dry ingredients

In a large bowl measure out and mix all the dry ingredients together until combined.

Step 2 - Mix the wet ingredients

In a separate bowl measure out and mix all the wet ingredients together until well combined.

Step 3 - Mix all together

Gradually add in the wet ingredients into the dry until a soft sticky dough has formed.

Step 4 - Chill

Put the dough in the fridge to rest for an hour.

Step 5 - Heat the oven

While the dough is resting preheat an oven to 200°C and line and grease a baking tray with parchment paper.

Step 6 - Shape the dough

On a clean flat surface sprinkle some flour and then press the dough out in a circle until it's an even 2 - 3cm thick, cut the dough into half, quarters and then eight pieces then place each piece on the lined baking tray.

Step 7 - Bake

Place the scones in the oven to bake for 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown and the tips begin to crisp.

Step 8 - Cool

Once cooked remove the scones from the oven and allow to cool before eating

Step 9 - Eat & Enjoy!

You can eat these scones alone or served with a delicious hot cup of coffee or tea.

Be sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it

Love & Hugs

Cate

xoxo

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Vegan & Gluten-free Welsh Bara Brith 🎄

Bara Brith always reminds me of Christmas. It was one of the first things I learned how to bake and every Christmas my auntie would gift us a loaf along with her homegrown, homemade apple chutney. This year I wanted to bring a little bit of that Welsh Christmas spirit into my new house in Chiang Mai and create a version that was both vegan and gluten-free so everyone could enjoy it.

If you've never had Bara Brith before it's similar to a fruit loaf but what makes it special is that the fruit is soaked in tea giving the loaf a nice tea flavour. It's the perfect Christmas cake alternative if you don't like a heavy dense fruit cake or strong spices and it goes nicely with a warm cider or hot eggnog.

As the main ingredients of Bara Brith are eggs and flour it was a bit of a challenge to make this both vegan and gluten-free and get the texture right but after a few failed attempts I'm finally happy enough with the results to share my recipe in time for Christmas.

Ingredients

• 100g Dried mixed fruit
• 70g Brown sugar
• 100ml Hot water
• 1 Tea bag (Yorkshire Tea is my favourite but any breakfast or black tea will work)
• 100g Gluten-free flour mix
• 30g Riceberry flour 
• 70g Unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tbsp Ground flax seeds
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder

Step 1 - Soak the fruit

The first thing to do is make a very strong tea brew, I usually let the tea bag soak in boiling water for about 5 minutes and then give the tea bag a good squeeze to get all the flavour out. After the tea is brewed add 100ml of the hot tea into the dried mixed fruit and brown sugar, give it a stir to help the sugar dissolve, and leave it to soak overnight. 

Step 2 - Preheat an oven to 180°C

Prepare a 6" loaf tin by greasing it with a little oil and line the bottom with some baking paper.

Step 3 - Mix the dry ingredients

In a mixing bowl mix together the flours, ground flax seed, baking powder and cinnamon

Step 4 - Add the wet ingredients

To the dry ingredients add in the tea soaked fruit and mixed until combined. There's no need to drain the fruit just add in the whole tea, fruit, sugar mix.

Step 5 - Mix in the applesauce

Lastly fold the applesauce into the mixture until well combined.

Step 6 - Pour batter into a loaf tin

Evenly distribute the batter in the tin and then drop the tin on the kitchen counter a couple of times to make any air bubbles rise to the surface and ensure you don't get any holes in your loaf.

Step 7 - Bake in a oven

Place the loaf tin into the center of a pre-heated oven and bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If the top of the loaf is starting to look like it's burning but the loaf isn't completely cooked through yet you can cover it with tin foil on top to prevent the top from burning.

Step 8 - Let it cool

Once cooked take the Bara Brith out of the oven and let it cool for 10 - 20 minutes then remove it from the tin and let it cool for a little while longer before slicing and serving. Leaving it to cool will help the structure so when you cut into it it won't be too crumbly.

Step 9 - Serve and store

You can serve the Bara Brith sliced plain or with a bit of butter or honey and if you need to store it, it will last around 7 days in an airtight box which you can leave on the counter or if you live in a warmer climate like me then it's better to keep it the fridge.

Happy Holidays and be sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it

Love & Hugs

Cate

xoxo

If you like what you see and want to see more can support me by clicking the button below

🍫 Chocolate Banana Cupcakes 🍌 (VEGAN) 🌱

My baby cousin LOVES chocolate so I thought I would create a cupcake recipe just for her but try to make it a little bit healthier as it's not good to feed a 4 year old too much chocolate! For this recipe I tried out a couple new vegan products, the Nature's Charm chocolate syrup made by one of my absolute favourite vegan cafes in Bangkok and some new plant-based milks that were on offer at the supermarket, but if you can't find these brands don't worry you can just use any chocolate syrup and milk or instead of the syrup just use cacao powder instead for a less sweet version.

Ingredients

• 1 cup mashed banana
• 1/3 cup chocolate syrup
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil 
• 1/2 cup chocolate milk 
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar (optional)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 + 1/3 cup of all purpose flour

(Makes 10)

♥ Preheat and oven to 180 & line a cupcake tray with 10 cupcake cases

♥ In large bow mix together the mashed banana, chocolate syrup, chocolate milk, coconut oil and sugar, if you don't want the cupcakes to be too sweet then you can leave out the sugar.

♥ Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix it into a smooth batter.

♥ Divide the batter equally into the cupcake cases and bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

♥ Once baked removed the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack.

♥ Eat and enjoy!

Let me know if you try these out and what you think.

Good Luck

Cate

xoxo

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💚 Unboxing GOT7 K-pop Pins & Delicious GOT7 Tarts 💚

This year I decided to make a bigger effort to support more smaller businesses and instead of buying GOT7 merch from big heartless companies to instead support my fellow Ahgase and their beautiful artistic creations which are 100% made with love. There are honestly so many amazing artists out there making so many beautiful items that really need your support, especially during these tough times, so I thought I would share some of the cute things that I got recently.

GOT7 Retro Camera Pin & Stickers

As soon as I saw this pin I knew I had to have it for my collection! I love film photography and I love GOT7 so of course this pin was just perfect for me. I love the teal and rose gold colours and also the tiny details like the Ahagse and "I love you GOT7" written on the bottom in pink. The stickers were free gift as I pre-ordered the pin but are now available to buy separately. This pin now has a home on my Love Bird Ita bag and it's so pretty I can't stop staring it. I also really adore the cassette tape pins from the same designer her work is so beautiful detailed and she doesn't just make GOT7 themed goods she also has a store dedicated to other Kpop groups so I definitely recommend you check out her work and give her a follow!

GOT7 Pineapple Tarts

Pineapple tarts are a traditionally served at Chinese New Year and one of my favourite treats so when I saw an Ahgase selling these cutie GOT7 themed ones on Twitter I could not resist! I've actually ordered these about 3 times now (soon to be 4 for my birthday next month) as they are so good! The pastry is soft and buttery and the filling is chewy and not too sweet, they are so good and some of the best pineapple tarts I've eaten, just check out the reviews! In addition to the GOT7 boys she also makes cute little Ahagse tarts (which you can see in my unboxing video below) and also offers strawberry and kiwi fillings to so you can completely customise what you want, if you live in Thailand I totally recommend you order yourself some and if you're not a GOT7 fan she can make some more traditionally shaped tarts for you to.

Jackson Wang Birthday Pins

Eunnise Pins are my best girls are previously gifted me with a bunch of pins which I treasure so much and over the past couple years since opening they have been on a roll creating not just beautiful pins but now branching into clothing and even plushies! I have been waiting forever to get myself their Jackson birthday pins to add to my Jackson Ita pouch and I finally got them and I love them so much, the constellation pin even glows in the dark!! The girls also threw in a bunch of extra goodies for me, some stickers, a Polaroid, a Jackson hair pin and "Broke Ahgase Club" patch which I can TOTALLY relate to and need to sew onto one of my bags soon. I always get excited to see what new designs they come out with and they are the sweetest so go give them some support.

There's so much creative and amazing fan made merch out there and there is literally something for everyone from cookies to clothing to pins to plushies, and these small businesses need your help more than ever right now so please do show them your support and if you have a fave store be sure to link them in the comments for everyone to check out and let's spread some love and support in the fandoms.

What are your favourite K-pop artists?

Love & Ahgabongs

Cate

xoxo

Psssst if you like what you see and want to see more can support me by clicking the button below

Buy me a coffee and get a shoutout on my SNS