Light as a feather tiramisu, Celebrate: Plant-Based Recipes for Every Occasion by Bettina Campolucci Bordi. Photography by Louise Hagger.
The perfect cookbook for every celebration and occasion—no matter if you’re vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian or will eat anything!
From Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, to birthdays, picnics, summer BBQs and formal dinner parties, every occasion is covered in this delicious plant-based cookbook.
Each occasion has dish pairing suggestions for a completely stress-free experience.
Gluten-free, free-from and seasonal alternatives are provided for each recipe, so nobody is excluded.
Celebrate: Plant-Based Recipes for Every Occasion is available at Amazon.com and Indigo.ca.
Light as a feather tiramisu
Have you heard of aquafaba? It is the leftover chickpea water in a tin of chickpeas, and it is magic. Whip the aquafaba up and it transforms into a white fluff that is the basic ingredient for this feathery light dessert.
SERVES 6–8
INGREDIENTS
1 Vanilla Sponge Cake Base (see below), baked in a 31 x 37 cm (12 x 14 in) baking tray (pan) as a sheet cake
4 tablespoons aquafaba
350 g (12 oz) firm silken tofu (I prefer organic)
3–4 tablespoons maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like this dessert)
1 vanilla pod (bean), split and the seeds scraped out, or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) brewed strong coffee, cooled down
2 tablespoons Amaretto
160 ml (5½ fl oz/2⁄3 cup) whippable plant cream
SUGGESTED TOPPINGS:
shavings of dark chocolate, with 70% cocoa solids
sieved cacao powder whole coffee beans
METHOD
First, make the Vanilla Sponge Cake Base and set aside to cool down.
Meanwhile, whisk the aquafaba in a bowl until it is white, fluffy and forming peaks. This will take around 10 minutes with an electric whisk.
To make a smooth tiramisù cream, blitz the tofu, maple syrup and vanilla in a food processor or blender.
Gently fold the aquafaba mixture into the silken tofu mixture, keeping as much air in as possible. Set aside.
Mix the coffee and Amaretto together in another bowl.
Once the sponge cake has cooled, cut into slices to fit the glass dish you’re using for the tiramisù (see also Cook’s Tips).
To assemble, cover the bottom of the dish with one layer of tiramisù cream, then add a layer of sponge. Spoon the coffee liquid over the sponge, then keep layering until you have used up all the ingredients, finishing with a layer of whipped cream on top.
Decorate the tiramisù with your choice of toppings and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
COOK’S TIPS:
- If you don’t have a glass serving bowl, make the tiramisù in a glass ovenproof dish or in individual glasses, so you can see the beautiful layers.
- If you are not vegan, you can use classic ladyfinger biscuits as your sponge element.
VANILLA SPONGE CAKE BASE
This classic sponge is used throughout the book. From the tiramisù recipe
on page 29 to the layered trifle on page 100, it’s a great base recipe that works in many ways.
SERVES 6–8
INGREDIENTS
120 g (4 oz) vegan butter, plus extra for greasing
150 g (5 oz/2⁄3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar (caster sugar keeps the cake light and airy)
3 tablespoons aquafaba (liquid from tinned chickpeas)
320 g (11¼ oz/2½ cups) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
300 ml (10½ fl oz/scant 1 cup) plant milk (I like oat milk)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 vanilla pod (bean), split and the insides scraped out, or 1 teaspoon
vanilla paste or extract pinch of salt
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas 4). Grease a 21 cm (8 in) springform cake pan with butter or coconut oil.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy.
In another bowl, whisk the aquafaba until it is white, fluffy and forming stiff peaks. This will take a good 10 minutes. I find using an electric whisk makes this much easier! Set aside.
Add the flour, baking powder, milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and salt to the large bowl of creamed butter and sugar. Mix to incorporate everything well.
Gently fold the aquafaba through the mixture, then pour into the prepared cake pan.
Bake the cake in the oven for 40–50 minutes. Check if the cake is ready by inserting a skewer into the middle and seeing if it comes out clean (it may need an extra
5–10 minutes).
Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Once fully cooled, pop the cake out of the pan.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Hardie Grant Books.