I remember really liking those little ‘Iced Gems’ when I was a child. I’m not sure the flavour was amazing, but there was always something pretty and appealing about them. Now Iced Gems contain milk so neither of my girls have even tried them, so yesterday when my youngest was home early from school (she’s still recovering after The Bug) we made super size iced gemys (named after my eldest’s moshi) for her to take in to school today. The base is a vanilla variation of my favourite dairy-free gingerbread recipe (will post soon), and it’s topped with vegan vanilla buttercream. I’m not sure they look right and they are super sweet – next time I’ll make them usual size i think!
Vanilla Softies (dairy-free, egg-free, vegetarian, vegan)
Preheat oven to 190 degrees centigrade
- 50g dairy-free spread (I use Pure)
- 20g dairy-free ‘cream cheese’ (I use Tofutti)
- 40g soft brown sugar
- 40g granulated sugar
- 2 tbsps golden syrup
- 20ml oat milk
- 170g plain flour (can use gluten free)
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream Icing (this makes FAR too much, so I’ll have to make a cake this week too!)
this is from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World and cannot be beaten
- 1/4 cup firm vegetable fat (I use Trex)
- 1/4 cup of dairy-free spread
- 1 3/4 cups of icing sugar (Billingtons made in same factory as egg, Silver Spoon may contain egg)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsps oat milk
– Cream together the dairy-free spread, dairy-free cream cheese, sugar, syrup, milk and vanilla
– Sift in the flour and bicarb. Mix to form a soft, pliable dough. Add more flour if too sticky.
– Roll out on a floured surface and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
– Place on a greased, floured baking sheet.
– Bake for approx. 12 mins until golden
– Cool a little on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
To make the buttercream
– Whisk the vegetable fat and spread together.
– Add the icing sugar in stages.
– Add the vanilla and oat milk and beat well
To assemble
– Using a fluted piping nosel, pipe a swirl of buttercream on top of each biscuit and decorate as desired. Leave to set before placing in an airtight container
– Or don’t ice and just eat!
