Vegan Recipe: Storm’s Choc Peanut Butter Cakes

Our wonderful volunteer Storm made these cakes for the Busy Bee lunch last weekend. They were very popular and she has generously shared the recipe with us to use in the blog.

This recipe makes eight large cupcakes. Double the recipe for a 21x21cm square cake (it will bake to approximately 3cm high).

Ingredients:

- 1 box of chocolate cake mix (we used Greens Essentials as it contains no milk)

- 250mls of Coca Cola

- Ready made frosting powder

- 4 tablespoons of peanut butter

Method:

- Pour the cake mix into a large bowl. Add the Coca Cola. The mix will foam up. Stir together until well blended. 

- Bake at 180C for 20 to 25 minutes for cupcakes or 40 minutes for a cake. You can place a skewer in the cake and it is finished when the skewer comes out clean.

- Mix the frosting powder and the peanut butter. Add hot water, one tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. The icing will cover one cake or two batches of cupcakes.

Many thanks, Storm!

PVAS Winter Busy Bee 2017

By Chris R.

On Sunday the 23^rd of July PVAS held a winter busy bee. Despite the rainy conditions, we had a great turn out of helpers who spent the morning doing a range of jobs. The southern paddock was cleared of branches and rocks, ensuring safer conditions for the donkeys and cows who may be prone to foot injuries. Shrubs were pruned along pathways and the top of the biodome cleaned of debris. A deep trench was also dug to facilitate water supply to the new rooster enclosure and the ram fenced was reinforced.

Following the morning of work, volunteers retreated to the warm of the shed to dry off and enjoy an extensive cruelty free buffet, which included a vegan lasagna, potato bake, two types of sausage rolls, a freshly baked corn dip cob loaf and a chocolate peanut butter cake to finish.  

 

A huge thank you to all those who came along to help!

Mr. Pickles

By Chris R.

Mr Pickles is a Pekin duck, coming to the Valley as a young, fluffy teenager. He was very well loved and cared for, but had outgrown his accommodation in a suburban family home, where he had lived after being rescued from a busy marketplace. 

 

Mr Pickles settled into Sanctuary life quickly, investigating his new lamb friends in the lounge room and the recovering hens resting in the warmth of the hall.  

Mr Pickles loves joining us in the kitchen for a snack of fresh greens or climbing atop the piles of laundry awaiting folding. He is growing quickly and already has his adult feathers coming through. In the coming weeks he will meet our family of three other Pekins, where he can enjoy a pond and new duck company.

Vegan Recipe: Corn Dip Loaf

By Chris R.  

Ingredients:

- 2 tubs of plain Tofutti cream cheese

- 1 packet of French onion soup mix

- 1 tin of creamed corn

- 1 tin of baby corn (drained)

- 1 cup of hot water

- ½ a Massell chicken flavoured stock cube

- 2 tablespoons of roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 homemade loaf.
We used a wholemeal variety mix (check bread mixes carefully as some do contain animal products). Crust setting was set to ‘dark’ on the bread maker to allow ease of hollowing.

  

Method:

- Bake bread the day of serving to ensure freshness.  

- Once baked, gently cut off the top and slice cut portion into fingers. 

- Gently hollow out the loaf, leaving around 1cm of the crust intact.  

- Place the hollowed loaf in a baking tray. Surround with sliced bread pieces and portions of hollowed bread.

- Dissolve the half stock cube in hot water in a saucepan on low heat, then gently mix in the cream cheese, soup mix, creamed corn and baby corn. 

- Stir these ingredients over a low heat for around ten minutes, then pour into the hollowed loaf.

- Place the filled loaf in the oven on 180C for around 20 minutes or until the crust and bread fingers are lightly toasted.

- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.