In collaboration with Ciao Gusto

For what will (probably!) be my last post before Christmas, here’s a recipe for a fun and festive vegan baking project.  These jammy biscuits could either be served alongside an Italian ice-cream sundae for an alternative Christmas dessert (see below), or if you’ve already consumed your 99th mince pie of the season and just can’t face another, these would be a welcome treat for visiting friends and family in the run up to the big day.

The biscuit dough is actually a shortbread, which makes them melt-in-the-mouth crumbly, and I used some top-quality Italian cherry jam for the filling, (more on that later).

Who knew that Italians made such incredible dairy-free ice cream? I didn’t, (though its no surprise I guess, as they are so good at ‘gelato’), but I recently came across the Italian brand Valsoia who make a variety of vegan ice creams, tubs, ice cream sandwiches and chocolate-covered ice cream lollies.  They are all incredibly good, no one would ever guess they were free-from anything.

This vegan ice cream brand was one of my favourite finds from the new Italian food and drink shop Ciao Gusto at Ocado.  For the first time, a simple tab on the Ocado site brings together over 30 of Italy’s most popular brands, so you can discover new and exciting authentic Italian ingredients – just like I did.

Brands include familiar names such as Valsoia, Ponti, Barilla, Cirio, Lavazza, Santa Rosa and Riso Gallo as well as lots of exciting products new to the UK.  You can find Ciao Gusto at Ocado here, or you can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest for ideas and inspiration.

These were some of my favourite finds – that lovely Valsoia Cherry & Cream Soya Ice Cream and Fabbri Amarena Fruit & Syrup which make up my quick and easy sundae pictured above, with a sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds and one of the shortbread star offcuts on the top.

The Fruit & Syrup is some deliciously dark cherries – which have an amazing texture, quite chewy, in a rich and heavy syrup, and would be great in so many quick desserts.  They taste so Italian, I can’t put my finger on why, but what a treat.

And the Santa Rosa cherry jam is excellent too – I think the Italians just make such excellent quality food, and it is great to be able to get hold of it so easily alongside your grocery order like this.

Look how easy it is to make these jammy biscuits!  That’s my 4-year old’s hand ‘helping’ to cut them out in the picture above, (he made some Batman-shaped ones too, but I didn’t think they were festive enough to include in the photos!!).

A little pile of these in a cellophane bag tied up with ribbon would make the loveliest end-of-term gift for teachers, a bit more thoughtful than a shop-bought box of chocolates.

Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later, or to share with friends → → → → →

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For more festive recipes from The Veg Space, click here to browse my Christmas recipes archives, (and make sure you’re following The Veg Space on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or via my monthly newsletter to keep up to date with all my latest recipes!)

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There are lots of quick and easy recipes in my new book, ‘Vegan in 15‘*. Hop over to Amazon for a look.  Thanks for your support!

*Affiliate links

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Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Ciao Gusto. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep The Veg Space going!