It's Roz here, owner of Oh My Choc. I wanted to write this post because its something I hold really close to my heart! I am my happiest when creating sweet treats in the kitchen. I have really fond childhood memories of baking with my mum. This is where the idea for luxury Tiffin came from.
Before starting Oh My Choc, I was travelling on and off and working in bars and pubs. When I came home from South East Asia at 27, I decided it was time to think about a 'real career' and I started baking. I had a market stall in Camden Town for 6 months, where I sold cupcakes under the name 'Utterly Baked'. Then I worked in a top London bakery called Crumbs and Doilies for 5 years and perfected my cake baking and decorating skills.
In my spare time I loved to bake Birthday cakes for friends and family. I have also had the pleasure (and stress) of creating some wedding cakes.
Since giving up dairy, I have learned a lot about Vegan Baking and wanted to share with you some top tips!
But first.. let me share with you a few of my past Vegan Cake Creations!
This was one of my first ever Vegan Cakes! A UNICORN!
Another Vegan Delight: Coconut and Blueberry..
Banana and Biscoff AKA Banoffee..
Me with my pink Kitchenaid... Looking miserable for some reason!
MY TOP 10 TIPS FOR VEGAN BAKING!
Tip 1: DON'T RUSH
This is probably my main tip and something I still do sometimes. Rushing= mistakes.
Tip 2: WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS PROPERLY
Are you the type of chef who likes to throw in a little of this and a little of that? Well, baking doesn't work like this! You have to follow the recipe exactly and in the correct order to get good results.
Tip 3: GET TO KNOW YOUR EGG REPLACEMENTS
The main substitutes in Vegan baking are eggs and butter. There are some great egg replacements on the market now. You can find them in places like Holland and Barrett. Also, flax eggs work really well in loaf cake (like banana bread) type recipes. For 1 flax egg, combine 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of warm water and let thicken for 5 minutes.
Tip 4: CHOOSE YOUR VEGAN BUTTER WISELY
For buttercream, I like to use half a vegetable fat/ shortening (such as Trex) and half Vegan butter, (vegan butter tends to have a much looser consistency than dairy butter. This will help your buttercream have more 'hold'.
Tip 5: OIL BASED CAKES ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND
Oil based cakes are so easy to 'Veganise' as the only ingredient you need to change is the eggs. You can get such amazing results that taste pretty much the same as the original non vegan recipe. Vegan carrot cake recipe is a personal favourite. Chocolate cake is another easy one!
Tip 6: FIND A VEGAN BAKING BLOG YOU TRUST
It's always great to have a go to blog when you need a recipe! My 2 favourite blogs are 'Loving It Vegan' and 'The Little Blog Of Vegan' . Their recipes are amazing and have never ever failed me!
Tip 7: DO YOUR PREP
This is important with any type of baking. Make sure you have preheated your oven for at least 20 minutes and check the temperature is correct. Make sure you have all the equipment out that you need ready including bowls, scales, spatulas, tins, spoons.
Tip 8: INVEST IN DIGITAL SCALES
Again, important for any type of baking. This is a game changer and means you can get really specific measurements for the perfect bake.
Tip 9: BAKING POWDER AND BICARB ARE YOUR BEST MATES
You may notice that Vegan recipes use more baking powder and baking soda than 'normal' recipes. Check your baking powder is in date and still fizzes in water to ensure to bake rises properly.
Tip 10: HAVE FUN AND SHARE CAKE
The most important thing is that you enjoy and put love into your bakes. I used to love surprising my neighbours with delicious creations and making their days.
]]>YOU GUYS MUST BE EGGSTATIC! Ok sorry, enough of the egg puns!! They are just too easy. All jokes aside, it is actually super exciting because last year (2020), Easter was our busiest time of year. So we decided to pull out ALL the stops this year and have created 2 amazing new egg flavours for you guys. Let's talk about them in a little bit more detail here!
Our Eggs are...
A thick dark chocolate shell, filled with delicious fillings.
This year we are eggtremely (sorry) happy to announce 2 new flavours to the family.
The Peanut Nougat Egg...
Thick dark chocolate shell, filled with our signature peanut butter nougat, salted date caramel, chopped peanuts and dark chocolate drizzle. Its just like our best selling Peanut Nougat Bar, in egg form!
The Raspberry Coconut and White Chocolate Egg..
Thick dark chocolate shell, creamy coconut filling, raspberry jam, vegan white chocolate drizzle and freeze dried raspberries.
Both the new flavours are gluten free.
They are joined by OG's 'Honeycomb & Speculoo's and PBJ', both of which you guys LOVED last year.
Honeycomb & Speculoo's...
Thick dark chocolate shell, honeycomb and speculoo's nougat, Biscoff drizzle and a healthy sprinkle of sea salt.
PBJ...
Thick dark chocolate shell our peanut nougat, raspberry jam, peanut butter drizzle, peanuts and freeze dried raspberries.
For all you peanut butter lovers, we are doing a mixed Peanut Box!!
Peanut Butter Dream..
3 x PBJ Eggs and 3 x Peanut Nougat Eggs
Or you can have a mixed box, where you choose up to 3 flavours!! Just pop us a comment with which flavours you would like!
Happy Easter everyone!
<3
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Tasted by the experts, Honeycomb & Speculoo's from Oh My Choc is awarded a Great Taste [1-star] in 2022!
Oh My Choc has been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year, picking up a highly prized 1-star Great Taste award for our "Honeycomb & Speculoo's Tiffin Bar".
More than 14,000 products were put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process; and Oh My Choc was dubbed "satisfying and delicious” at the world’s most coveted food and drink awards. 4,078 products were awarded a Great Taste 1-star – ‘food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour’, 1,237 were awarded a Great Taste 2-star – ‘above and beyond delicious’, and 241 were awarded a Great Taste 3-star – ‘extraordinarily tasty food and drink’.
The Chocolate Tiffin was a big hit with the Great Taste judges. It was described as:
"A tiffin with great texture, easy to cut and equally easy on the palate. We enjoyed the evident spicy caramel notes of the biscuits, the perceptible honeycomb notes, the grip of cacao and the final salinity. Rather irresistible.”
"An attractive handmade rustic look to the bars with crushed biscuits on top. The range of textures is really satisfying from the smooth buttery elements to the crunch of the topping. Burnt caramel flavour comes through from the honeycomb and adds a delicious depth of flavour to this indulgent and vegan friendly bar."
Made with handmade Vegan honeycomb, Fair-Trade dark chocolate, caramelised Biscuits and a touch of sea salt to balance the flavours, the Honeycomb Speculoo's Choc Tiffin was one of 5,556 products to receive a Great Taste award in 2022 (which is only 39.1% of the total products entered).
What is Great Taste?
Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind-tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.
This year, the judging took place over 90 days across two judging locations (Dorset and London) with a panel of more than 500 judges. This year’s line-up saw food and drink products submitted from a staggering 110 different countries from across the world.
We are delighted to have won a Great Taste award for our Honeycomb & Speculoo's Tiffin. I have dreamt of this moment and am so proud to be adding the iconic black and gold Great Taste logo to our Vegan Tiffin Bar.Oh My Choc started from the home kitchen with the idea and passion to create the most indulgent vegan chocolate on the market, so to achieve this is amazing.
Being recognised with a Great Taste 1-star means so much to independent producers such as myself, as it makes all the hard work and determination worth it! Great Taste is the most recognised accolade for taste and quality in the food and drink world, so it really is a big win!
The Honeycomb & Speculoo's is available online and from these stockists:
Established in 1994, Great Taste is organised by the Guild of Fine Food and is the world’s largest, longest standing and most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers.
The full list of this year’s winners and where to buy them can be found at www.greattasteawards.co.uk and a wide range of the award-winning products are available to buy in delis, farm shops and independent retail outlets across the country.
As well as Great Taste, the Guild of Fine Food is known for publishing the industry-leading magazine, Fine Food Digest, running the annual Fine Food Show North in Harrogate and the global phenomenon, that is the World Cheese Awards. Plus, further events including award ceremonies and Great Taste markets, training sessions and member initiatives throughout the year.
]]>1. How did you come up with the name for your shop?
Sans is the French word for ‘without’. We are a veggie/ vegan deli with a wide selection of free from produce. So without fish, meat, gluten etc. We are also keen to reduce the amount of waste/ packaging that we produce and use. Developing our refillable range is a key focus for us over the next year and onwards. My partner Cloé is French so Sans just seemed to fit the brief nicely!
2. What was your mission when opening your shop?
Our main mission was to bring high quality, locally sourced produce to the area, having lived here for 10 years meant that we knew what the area was missing and what would work well. We try to support independents as much as possible, more local the better - Oh My Choc is a perfect fit for us!
3. What made you choose the location?
We know the area well and this end of Brockley Rise has been in need of a bit of TLC for some time. It is also good in terms of footfall and other local amenities; GP, pharmacy, bike shop etc.
4. You opened the shop during the pandemic. What was your experience of this?
Generally speaking the pandemic/ lockdowns were great for local businesses like ours, increased footfall and people wanting to avoid busy supermarkets. Obviously some challenges with staffing and shortages with produce. On the whole we were very lucky that we could stay open and trade unlike most other businesses.
5. What are your favourite things about owning a shop?
For me, the local customers and surrounding community first and foremost. We are very lucky in that the area really tries to support local businesses and our regulars are a great bunch. The variety of work I get to do and exposure to amazing new brands and produce are also a real pull for me and the team.
6. Do you work mainly with local suppliers?
We try to as much as possible, this isn’t always feasible depending on the type of product.
7. Do you think more people are shopping locally since the pandemic?
I would say yes, but we started during the pandemic but have nothing to compare to... I will say that since the easing of restrictions and cost of living crisis that has hit everyone recently. We have noticed a drop in footfall and average spend, other business in the area have noticed the same. I think it will be a difficult year or so for many small operations. Plenty of opportunity at the same time though!
8. What are your favourite food items in the store?
I am a huge fan of our vegan cheese selection, the I Am Nut Okay - Fetamorphasis is awesome, I also think our tequila/ mezcal selection is the best in town… Cloé, being french, loves her cheese and our range from the French Comté brings some of her native favourites right to her door! Oh My Choc is also a new fave of ours, obvs.
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Please keep checking back for updates, as we will be adding more! Always feel free to drop us an email on info@ohmychoc.co.uk if you would like to see our bars on shelves near you!
]]>So dreamy!
Its always been a dream of mine to see the bars on shop shelves and be able to reach more of you with the delicious chocolate treats. I know its not always possible to buy a whole box of 8 (especially just for yourself) so it will be an amazing achievement to be more accessible to everyone.
I still think Tiffin is THE most under rated chocolate bar (some people don't even know what it is?!) and I continue to make it my mission to show everyone how amazing, delicious and indulgent these fridge cake bars are. So excited to do some in store sampling!
The website will be updated soon with our list of stockists and also new options for ordering the single bars.
Watch this space!
Peace, love and choc.
Rozzy
x
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