(Vegan) Badam burfi (almond fudge)

 I was looking for vegan sweets to make for Diwali and found this recipe for badam burfi. It looked straight forward to make and also didn't require too many ingredients. Let me tell you - it turned out so delicious! Heavenly! And you wouldn't even know it was vegan! In fact after eating it I was wondering why do even need to make it otherwise??

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/8 cup water
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1.5 tsp vegan butter
• 1.5 cup almond flour

Method

1. In a pan (I used a cast iron dutch oven) sugar, water and cardamom powder on medium heat.
2. Let the sugar dissolve and mixture come to a boil.
3. Add the almond flour and turn the heat to low.
4. Add butter and mix everything with a whisk so that there are no lumps.
5. Keep cooking till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and you can form a non-sticky ball.
6. If you can't form a non-sticky ball then the burfi will not set.
7. Once done, take it off the heat and put the mixture on a silicone mat (or parchment paper)
8. Knead the dough a little with greased hands. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water (just a little).
9. Put a parchment paper on top and roll the dough flat to 1/8 inch thickness.
10. Then cut into diamonds or squares of your choice.
11. Let it set. Burfi is ready!

(Vegan) Pumkin cupcakes

 We've been trying to switch to being vegan. Baking was one of those things which I thought would be so hard to do as a vegan. But I'm amazed at the weather of vegan recipes be it through blogs or through books. I found the recipe for these cupcakes at Nora Cooks. We've tried a couple of vegan recipes from her blog and they all turned out so delicious!

These cupcakes with maple frosting were so moist, fluffy and just delicious! Even DH who's not so fond of cupcakes, loved them! They were just right - be it texture or taste! We baked them with the kids so all four of us pitched in!

Yields: 12 cupcakes

CUPCAKE

Ingredients

• 7.5 oz pumpkin puree (we used homemade)
• 1/8 cup unsweetened applesauce (homemade as well)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• tiny pinch of cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit and line a cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk puree, applesauce, oil and sugar together until well blended.
3. Add rest of the ingredients.
4. Fill the cupcake molds half-full and bake for 18-22 minutes. Do the knife test - insert a knife into one of the cupcakes and it should come out clean.
5. Let them cool on a cooling rack.

FROSTING

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 1-2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (this does add a lovely hint so try not to skip it)

Method

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy.
2. Add sugar gradually (keep beating) till you get the consistency you want.
3. Add the maple syrup and mix it as well.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, frost them and enjoy them!