Vegan Vox Reviews...Black's Family Maple Twists

These are amazing! Maple flavoured puff pastry twists made by Black's Family. These are sold in a huge 624g tub from Costco for £5.99 and are certified vegan by the American Vegetarian Association.

They contain no cholesterol, no transfats, no yeast, no dairy, no butter and no eggs. They are crispy pastry twists covered in maple flavoured sugar. They are not healthy at all but make a great treat for parties and barbecues. They are very moreish. You have been warned! :) I like them served with a bowl of vegan ice-cream, Mr Vox likes them with a cup of tea. You could even use them with a dark chocolate fondue or fountain.

What are your surprising bakery treats that you have found out are vegan? Share in the comments below.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

The Ordinary Vegan - Iced Belgian Buns from Waitrose

Update: It has been reported in May 2015 that these are no longer vegan, see comments below for details.

This week's TOV is a yummy cake from Waitrose Essential's range. This pack of two iced buns costs a pound and they are available from the bakery section in Waitrose supermarkets. They have a delicious sultana and lemon filling and are vegan. Yay!

What are your favourite surprising vegan bakery finds at supermarkets? Share with us in the comments below.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...RAW at La Suite West, London

Recently, I went on a short break to London, and whilst there I booked me and Mr Vox in for a vegan afternoon tea at RAW at La Suite West. The restaurant is an all vegan, mainly raw restaurant in a boutique hotel near Hyde Park. The standard of food and presentation was excellent. The attention to detail and service was great too. We booked ahead online and paid £15 each for our afternoon tea.

Here is the menu, we had three food courses and a selection of teas, coffees or sparkling water to drink.

The first course was a selection of gourmet finger sandwiches:

Then the waiter asked us which was our favourite sandwich and brought us an extra individual sandwich in that variety. My favourite was the mushroom and pesto.

Next we had warm scones with strawberries, jam and freshly whipped coconut cream. I do not have the words to describe these delights. Just go and try them!

Our final course was a trio of mini desserts. A chocolate and coconut raw cake, a sesame halva and a lemon chocolate raw cheesecake. These desserts were very rich, I couldn't finish them all but each one was so delicious.

The restaurant itself was very secluded at lunchtime and peaceful, well decorated with a great ambiance. The waiter service was second to none. We would definitely return, maybe for an evening meal next time.

Do you know anywhere else serving an all vegan afternoon tea? Give me your recommendations in the comments below. Have you been to RAW? What did you think?

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...Tall Poppy Foods, Birmingham

*****UPDATE****** Tall Poppy's kiosk is temporary closed but you can still order cakes and food via their website for collection or delivery. They are also found at local farmers' markets and events - details of which can be found on their facebook and twitter pages above.************************

Back in October, I was lucky enough to be invited to visit Tall Poppy Foods in Birmingham, grab a drink and a chat with one of the co-owners and sample some of their amazing home-cooked vegan food!

Tall Poppy Foods is based in Selly Oak, Birmingham and is a take-away vegan food kiosk. Tall Poppy is owned by husband and wife team Erin and Joe, and they run the kiosk with the help of local student staff who are all vegetarian or vegan.

Joe and Erin have been vegan for around eight years and have worked and lived all over the world before settling in Birmingham where they are raising their family. As well as the kiosk, they supply food to events, weddings, birthdays and take mail order and cake orders through their website.

The unique aspect to Tall Poppy Foods, is that they do not have any processed food, all of their products are home-made from the bread and cakes, to the coleslaw, mayo, butters and sauces. They take great pride in their products and are very passionate about where their food comes from and the health benefits of freshly-made organic produce.

Tall Poppy don't just cater for vegans either, they have Paleo options, gluten free options, soy free options, healthy choices and treats.

Some of the products they had for sale when I visited were:

Organic fairtrade coffee

Almond and soy milk options for espresso based drinks

A range of teas

Lemoncurd, Boston Creme and Earl Grey Cupcakes

Muffins

Brownies

Ginger Cake

Sausage rolls with an almond sausage filling

Fajitas

Wraps

Falafel

Paninis

BBQ Jackfruit Burger

Quite a range as you can see! I got to sample the BBQ Jackfruit Burger, which was amazing!! The jackfruit from Thailand is slow cooked all day in a home-made barbecue sauce and served in a home-made bread roll with coleslaw. It was the first time I had tried jackfruit and it was so good, it is worth the journey to Tall Poppy for this alone! Then Joe gave me some of his cakes to taste. They were moist, full of flavour, tasted freshly baked and so moreish.

A couple of weeks after my visit to Tall Poppy Foods, I caught up with them again at the West Midlands Vegan Festival in Wolverhampton, where I purchased a New York Panini, with Fentimans Cherry Tree Cola and Tyrrells Crisps as a meal deal. The panini was so good, me and Mr Vox went back and bought another!

Tally Poppy can be found at 492 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6BD and if you pop over and say hello, let them know you found out about them from Vegan Vox! They are also found at many of the vegan and veggie festivals around the country.

You can follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by clicking these links.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

*****UPDATE****** Tall Poppy's kiosk is temporary closed but you can still order cakes and food via their website for collection or delivery. They are also found at local farmers' markets and events - details of which can be found on their facebook and twitter pages above.************************

Vegan Recipe of the Week - Vanilla Rock Cakes

Being vegan doesn't have to mean missing out on a lovely cakes with afternoon tea, as this vegan twist on the classic rock cakes/rock buns shows. 

Makes 12 cakes.

Ingredients:

250g self raising flour
90g caster sugar (plus extra for dusting)
90g of vegan butter
1tsp cinnamon
100g raisins
4 Tbsp vanilla soy milk (or regular sweetened soy milk and a teaspoon of vanilla essence)
Frylight

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C Fan).

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in the caster sugar.

Cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour and sugar mix using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Next add the cinnamon and raisins and stir through the mix.

Slowly add the vanilla milk a little at a time until the mixture comes together into a soft dough.

Spray a baking sheet with Frylight and divide the mixture into 12 balls and place on the baking sheet.

Bake in the centre of the oven for around 10 minutes until they are golden and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool. Sprinkle with caster sugar whilst still warm. Best eaten within 48 hours.

Eat and enjoy!

VVx