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Easy Vegan Summer Recipes | Banana Bread, Mini Fruit Pies, Shortbread Cookies & Floral Simmer Pot

  • Writer: Indoora
    Indoora
  • Jul 12
  • 4 min read

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links as well as links to my own shop. If you choose to purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Indoora World and helping me continue creating cosy recipes, videos and seasonal projects. 🤎


Cozy dessert spread with strawberry-topped cakes, pies, tea, flowers, and pastries on a wooden table; text reads cozy compilation

If you've just watched my latest cosy compilation on YouTube and were looking for the recipes featured throughout the video, you've come to the right place!


These are some of my favourite easy vegan summer recipes, perfect for slow afternoons, picnics, tea parties or simply enjoying a peaceful day at home. You'll also find my favourite floral simmer pot to make your home smell fresh and inviting throughout the warmer months.



🍓 In this post

Vegan Banana Bread


Cozy tea spread with strawberry-topped pastries, sliced loaf cakes, teacup, and floral tray on a lace-covered table

This is my favourite banana bread recipe because it's simple, moist and wonderfully versatile. For the video, I made it flat (using a bigger loaf tin), sliced the loaf into thick "toasts" and decorated them with chocolate spread and strawberry flowers. The strawberries form the petals, mint leaves are used as the flower leaves, while a pistachio becomes the centre of each flower.


Ingredients

  • 3 medium (or 2 large) overripe bananas

  • ⅓ cup oil

  • ⅓ cup raw (unrefined) sugar

  • 1½ cups flour

  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 pinch of salt

Optional

  • ½ cup chopped walnuts


Decoration

  • Chocolate spread

  • Fresh strawberries

  • Pistachios

  • Mint leaves


Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

  2. Mash the bananas until smooth.

  3. Add the oil and sugar and mix well.

  4. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined.

  5. Fold in the walnuts if using.

  6. Pour into a lined loaf tin.

  7. Bake for approximately 45–55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

  8. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

  9. Spread a thin layer of chocolate spread (or jam) over each slice and decorate with strawberry slices arranged like flower petals, mint leaves and finishing with a pistachio in the centre.


Easy Vegan Mini Summer Pies


Rustic table with homemade pies, bowls of fruit and raisins, and white daisies in a soft, cozy kitchen scene

One of the things I love most about these little pies is that each one can be different. Some are filled with strawberries and chocolate spread, others with peaches and raisins. Some have lattice tops, others are completely covered, and some are left open so the colourful fruit becomes part of the decoration.


They're perfect for using whatever fruit you already have at home.


Pie Crust

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 tablespoon organic sugar

  • ¼ cup oil

  • ½ cup warm water

  • Optional (but highly recommended) 2 teaspoons lemon zest


Instructions

  1. Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar.

  2. Add the oil and warm water.

  3. Stir until a soft dough forms.

  4. Knead briefly until smooth.

  5. Roll out the dough and cut circles large enough for your mini pie tins.


Filling Ideas

Chocolate & Strawberry

  • Chocolate spread

  • Fresh strawberries


Peach & Raisin

  • Fresh peach, diced

  • Raisins


Fill each pie, then choose your favourite finish:

  • Leave them open.

  • Cover them completely.

  • Create a lattice top.

  • Decorate with flowers or leaves cut from leftover dough.


Bake at 180°C (350°F) until golden, approximately 25–30 minutes.



Warm collage of tea, citrus, and strawberry toasts on a wooden table, with flowers and cozy decor; text reads cozy compilation

More Cottagecore Activities

If you enjoy cosy recipes, baking, and slow seasonal living, you might also enjoy some of my digital publications available on Etsy, as well as other recommendations I've curated.


🍃 Browse the shop here:


📙 Book recommendations:




Vegan Shortbread Cookies


Assorted homemade cookies on a lace-lined wooden tray beside yellow daisies in a cozy rustic tabletop setting.

These vegan shortbread cookies are one of my favourite recipes to make throughout the year because they're simple, buttery and perfect for decorating. For this video, I made several different shapes: teapots, teacups, envelopes, stamped biscuits and classic round cookies.

One of my favourite details was decorating the envelope-shaped biscuits with a "wax seal" made from melted chocolate, finished with a few dried lavender buds. Some cookies were sprinkled with chocolate chips, while others were left plain to highlight the beautiful stamped designs.


Ingredients

  • 1 cup (225 g) vegan butter, softened

  • ½ cup icing sugar

  • 2½ cups flour

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 pinch of salt


Optional Decorations

  • Chocolate chips

  • Melted dark chocolate

  • Dried culinary lavender

  • Cookie stamps

  • Heart, teapot and teacup cookie cutters


Instructions

  1. Cream together the vegan butter and icing sugar until smooth.

  2. Add the vanilla extract.

  3. Mix in the flour and salt until a soft dough forms.

  4. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

  5. Roll out the dough to approximately 5 mm thick.

  6. Cut into your favourite shapes.

  7. Stamp some of the biscuits before baking if desired.

  8. Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 10–15 minutes, or until the edges are only just beginning to turn golden.

  9. Allow the biscuits to cool completely before decorating.

  10. For the envelope biscuits, add a small circle of melted chocolate where the wax seal would normally be and sprinkle with a few dried lavender buds before the chocolate sets.


📙 How to Make Vegan Shortbread Biscuits in Cottage Academia Style


Floral Simmer Pot for Spring & Summer


Rustic flat lay of a simmer pot with flowers, a teapot with lemon slices, flowers, and wooden measuring spoons labeled 15 ml and 5 ml.

If you've watched my videos for a while, you'll know I love using simmer pots to fill the house with gentle seasonal fragrances. They're one of the simplest ways to create a cosy atmosphere without lighting scented candles and can simmer quietly while you bake, read or work around the house.


For spring and summer, I prefer lighter, floral aromas that feel fresh rather than spicy.


Ingredients

  • 1 lemon, sliced (best when using leftovers)

  • 1 orange, sliced (best when using leftovers)

  • A handful of fresh mint

  • Fresh rosemary

  • Fresh lavender (or dried culinary lavender)

  • Chamomile flowers

  • Rose petals (fresh or dried)

  • Plenty of water


Instructions

  1. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan.

  2. Cover generously with water.

  3. Bring to a gentle simmer.

  4. Reduce the heat to low and allow the mixture to perfume your home.

  5. Check the water level regularly and top up with more hot water whenever needed.


Note

There is no exact recipe for a simmer pot, which is part of its charm. Feel free to adjust the ingredients using herbs and flowers from your own garden or whatever happens to be in season.


Flat lay of lemon, mint, lavender, daisies, tea strainer and spoon on wood table with cup measure text 1/3 CUP 80 ml


Thank you so much for spending a little time with me. Whether you're baking, reading, studying or simply enjoying a quiet afternoon, I hope these recipes bring a little extra warmth and whimsy to your day. 🤎

With love,

Indoora

🍓

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