Yep, we thought the same as you, racking our brains to recall a recent Great British Bakeoff winner named Flora Stork…
But these are recipes from Flora and Stork, two vegan spreads made from 100% natural ingredients – check out the company’s definition of ‘100% natural’ here, by the way – that can be used to bake wonderfully light, wholesome cakes and desserts.
These spreads are ideal for creating light, fluffy, and most importantly, reliable bakes, guaranteeing the perfect rise every time.
You’ll also notice Elmlea Plant Double in these fantastic recipes; it’s a multipurpose cream alternative which brings that unctuous creamy feel without any of the associated dairy derivatives.
Anyway, for a selection of gorgeous bakes, some vegan, some simply a little more health-conscious, here are 5 heart-felt recipes to bake for Mother’s Day from Flora and Stork.
Vegan Victoria Sponge
Flora 100% Natural Ingredients’ Vegan Victoria Sponge Cake is a crowd pleaser. A vegan take on the traditional cake, it’s perfect for Mother’s Day, whether mum follows a plant based diet or not!
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Servings: 8 portions
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
Sponge
- 200g Flora 100% Natural Ingredients
- 300g golden caster sugar
- 200g soya yogurt, room temperature
- 200g dairy-free milk, room temperature
- Fresh red fruits (optional)
- 1 vanilla pod
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 400g self-raising flour
- lemon zest
Buttercream
- 150g Flora 100% Natural Ingredients, fridge temperature
- 200g icing sugar
- Jam (strawberry/raspberry/blackberry)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180°C / 350F / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line two round 20cm or 22cm cake tins.
- Scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod and set aside. Zest the lemon and set aside.
- In a food mixer, beat the Flora 100% Natural Ingredients and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
- Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl.
- In another bowl, mix together the yogurt, milk, vanilla seeds and lemon zest.
- Take a third of the yogurt mixture and a third of the flour. Fold in gently to the spread and sugar mix, using a spatula.
- Repeat the process 2 more times until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide the mixture between the two tins.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until an inserted skewer or knife comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool down for 15 minutes in the tin. Then place onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
- To make the buttercream, beat Flora 100% Natural Ingredients, icing sugar and lemon zest in a food mixer for 3-4 minutes until very light and fluffy.
- When the cakes are completely cool, spread the jam over the bottom cake. Top it with the fluffy buttercream.
- Carefully sandwich the two cakes and sprinkle the top with icing sugar. You can decorate the cake with some fresh red fruits. Enjoy!
Dairy-Free Carrot Cake
Flora’s Dairy Free Carrot Cake is perfect for those trying to cut out (or cut back on) the dairy but who love a cake and cuppa. Which is, basically, every single one of us, right?
Anyway, mum’s gonna love this one…
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Servings: 12 portions
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
Sponge
- 150g Flora 100% Natural Ingredients
- 200g light soft brown sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 200g self raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 175g carrots, grated
- 75g pecans, roughly chopped
Icing
- 200g dairy-free cream cheese
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
- 100g icing sugar
- Pecan halves for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C, 160 C fan, Gas mark 4.
- Place the cake ingredients in a large bowl and mix together well until thoroughly combined.
- Divide mixture between two greased and bottom lined 20cm sandwich tins and bake on middle shelf of preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until well risen and a skewer inserted in the centre of each cake comes out clean.
- Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile prepare the icing by beating together the icing ingredients, except the pecan halves, until well mixed.
- When the cakes are completely cold, sandwich together with half of the icing and spread the remaining icing over the top of the cake. Decorate with reserved pecan halves (we used hazelnuts when we made this cake, which worked well as a substitute for pecans).
Vegan Salted Caramel Apple Pie
This Vegan Salted Caramel Apple Pie is an exciting dessert to try for anyone looking for an indulgent twist on a classic dish.
The Flora 100% Natural Ingredients gives the pastry a different – though not inferior – texture and poise, lightening things up a little when compared to a traditional butter-led shortcrust pastry. On top of that, the addition of a totally indulgent, totally vegan salted caramel sauce (the creaminess comes from coconut milk), takes this dish to a whole new level.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 12 portions
Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
Pastry
- 400g plain flour plus 2 tbsp
- 200g Flora 100% Natural Ingredients
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4-5 tbsp cold water
Apple Filling
- 40g granulated sugar plus 1 tbsp
- 40g brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 kg Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored, and chopped
- 1 tbsp unsweetened almond or oat milk
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 100g brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
Pastry
- Rub the Flora 100% Natural Ingredients into 400g flour and salt until resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the water, a little at a time, mixing with a fork, then knead gently until dough forms.
- Cut into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other and form into disc shapes.
- Wrap in cling film and chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Salted Caramel Sauce
- Combine the coconut milk, brown sugar and salt in a saucepan over a medium heat.
- Simmer for 25-30 minutes stirring frequently until the sauce becomes dark and thick. Leave to cool.
Apple Pie
- Roll out the larger disc of pastry to form a 33cm circle. Use to line a 23cm pie plate and set aside.
- Heat oven to 220C/200C fan.
- Combine 40g granulated sugar, 40g brown sugar and remaining 2 tbsp flour, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add the apple pieces and toss until well coated.
- Pile the apples onto the pie crust and drizzle with half of the salted caramel sauce.
- Roll out the remaining pastry disc to form a 25cm circle.
- Brush the pastry edge in the pie plate with water and top with the other pastry.
- Seal the pastry edges and brush with the milk alternative and sprinkle with remaining tbsp granulated sugar.
- Bake for 10 minutes then reduce temperature to 210C/ 190C fan and cook until juices are bubbling (this should take approximately an hour). Cover with foil if top gets too brown.
- Remove from oven when cooked. Allow to cool and serve with salted caramel sauce.
Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich
Whip up Stork’s Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich for Mother’s Day if you need a delicious sweet treat in record time. They take less than an hour to make and are sure to be a winner with all the family!
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6 portions
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
Biscuits
- 125g plain flour
- 15g cornflour
- 100g Stork Vegan Baking Block
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Strawberry ice cream filling
- 200g full fat mascarpone cream cheese
- 125g caster sugar
- 150ml Elmlea Double
- 250g strawberries, hulled, finely chopped plus a few for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C, 180°C fan, Gas mark 6. Grease a baking tray.
- Place the flour, cornflour, Stork, caster sugar and vanilla essence into a food processor and blitz until a dough just forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out thinly. Using a 7.5cm cutter cut out 12 shortbread biscuits and using a palette knife (biscuits are quite fragile) carefully place on the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until biscuits are just tinged golden brown. Leave to cool.
- Line a 20cm x 30cm swiss roll tin with a sheet of clingfilm so that it overlaps the sides.
- In a bowl gently blend the mascarpone with the caster sugar. In another bowl whip the Elmlea Double until it holds its shape. Fold the mascarpone and Elmlea together then stir through the strawberries and pour into the swiss roll tin. Level the surface and leave to freeze.
- Remove the strawberry ice cream from the freezer and leave to soften for 15 minutes or so. Using the same size biscuit cutter cut out rounds of ice cream. Sandwich between 2 biscuits, dust with icing sugar and decorate with a strawberry.
White Chocolate Eclairs
Take your éclairs to the next level with Stork’s White Chocolate Eclairs using Elmlea, a cream alternative, to make a fluffy cream centre topped with raspberries – they are a great addition for a homemade afternoon tea for mum.
Rather than keep you here (we realise you’ve got rather a lot of baking to do), we’ll redirect you to Stork’s simple recipe. Check it out.
Stork and Flora 100% natural ingredients are the perfect spreads to use in Mother’s Day bakes. Stork is the secret for creating light, fluffy, and scrumptious bakes, with a perfect rise every time while Flora 100% natural ingredients is a delicious plant-based spread made from simple, natural ingredients. Both spreads are also vegan.
Elmlea Plant Double is a multipurpose cream alternative – whip it up for desserts, pour over pudding or stir in to sauces or pasta to further enrich your cooking. Give all these recipes a go and enjoy a Mother’s Day with style.