AZ RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the bases of 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment and grease with a little of the dairy-free spread.
• Put the dairy-free milk into a jug and add the vinegar, leave for a few minutes until it looks a little lumpy. Put half of the vanilla seeds and all the other cake ingredients into a large bowl then pour over the milk mixture. Using electric beaters or a wooden spoon, beat everything together until smooth.
• Divide the mix between your two tins then bake in the centre of the oven for 30-35 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out cleanly. Leave them in their tins until cool enough to handle then carefully turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the filling. To make the vegan buttercream, whisk or beat together the dairy-free spread, icing sugar and remaining vanilla seeds until pale and fluffy. Dairy-free spreads do vary so if the spread you are using is quite soft try to avoid using electric beaters. Stir the ingredients together instead to avoid overworking it. However, if the mixture is too firm, use electric beaters to help lighten it and add 1-2 tbsp of dairy-free milk when whisking.
• Spread the jam onto one of the cooled sponges, top with the buttercream then place the other sponge on top. Dust the assembled cake with a little icing sugar or caster sugar before slicing.

Steps:

• 1. Sieve your flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl from a height.
  2. Chop the butter into cubes, then using your fingertips, gently work it the flour and sugar until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (or pulse it in a food processor).
  3. Finely grate in the orange zest (if using) or halve, scrape out and add the seeds from the vanilla pod (if using). Mix again.
  4. Beat the egg with the milk, then add the mixture and gently work it together until it forms a ball of dough. Remember not to work the pastry too much at this stage or it will become elastic and chewy, not crumbly and short.
  5. Sprinkle a little flour over the dough, pat into a flat round about 2.5cm thick, then srinkle over a little more flour, and wrap the dough in clingfilm. Pop it into the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Get yourself a 25cm non-stick loose-bottomed tart tin and, using a splash of vegetable oil on a piece of kitchen paper, lightly oil the inside.
  7. Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour, then carefully roll out your pastry, turning it every so often, until it’s about ½cm thick.
  8. Carefully roll your pastry around the rolling pin, then unroll it carefully over your oiled tin. Ease the pastry into the tin, making sure you push it into all the sides.
  9. Trim off any excess by running a knife along the top of the pastry case, then prick the base of the case all over with a fork and pop it into the freezer for 30 minutes.
  10. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
  11. Get yourself a large square piece of greaseproof paper, scrunch it up, then unwrap it and use it to line your pastry case, pushing it right into the sides. Fill the case right up to the top with rice, and bake blind for 10 minutes in your preheated oven.
  12. Take the case out, carefully remove the rice and greaseproof paper (you can save the rice to use for blind baking another time), then return the case to the oven to cook for a further 10 minutes until it’s firm and almost biscuit-like. Leave to cool.