Chocolate Orange Zebra Cake (eggless)

Hi everyone!

Sorry it has been such a while since my last post, I’ve been getting all doctor-ified! Yes, you read right – I have finally graduated from my PhD! Woohoo! You can call me Dr Cake now. 😉

Rich Vegan Fruit Loaf (dairy-free, egg-free)

There’s nothing quite like a thick slab of fruit loaf with a steaming mug of tea. Especially when you’re chained to your desk writing a thesis. I really adore this loaf because it is so moist, so filling and so downright rich you don’t even notice that it’s vegan.

I also love this loaf because it’s flexible. If you hadn’t noticed by now, my favourite recipes have a little wriggle room and can be readily adapted for what’s in the pantry. 

Chocolate & Prune Cake

For most of my life, there has been one thing, and one thing only, that I associate with prunes. Can you guess what it is?! 😉

Fibre. Yep, prunes have always been strongly associated in my mind with the gut, and getting things moving. So when I noticed that two of my newest cookbooks contained recipes for Chocolate Prune Cakes, I was intrigued. Could I really eat prunes without it being for dietary reasons?

Mix & Match Ricotta Cake

I recently discovered a recipe that I loved so much, I made it twice within the space of three days! I found it in my newest cookbook, Honey & Co: The Baking Book. The moment I laid eyes on that glossy, glorious, fruit and nut-laden cake, I knew I had to give it a go. I’m not the hugest fan of heavily iced cakes, so cakes that are stunning without icing really appeal to me.

The book delightfully compares this recipe to a game of Chinese whispers, in that it changes with every person who it passes through.

Recipe Challenge: Ruske Kape (Russian Hats)

Hullo and velcome to my blog! (I hope you read that in a Russian accent)

Today’s post is my entry into Lina’s recipe challenge for February, which was cakes from around the world. What a fun idea! I picked Ruske Kape, or Russian Hats, which are adorable little individual cakes, which kind of resemble (surprise surprise) Russian fur hats. According to Wikipedia, they are from Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia. They consist of two layers of spongey chocolate cake, sandwiched together with buttercream, decorated on the sides with coconut and topped with chocolate. Yum!

Now, I have to admit, this WAS indeed a challenge.

Crazy Chocolate Cake

As an avid baker with a father with a severe egg allergy, I have baked many a Crazy Chocolate Cake in my time. I guess the reason it’s called ‘crazy’ is that the recipe is dairy-free and egg-free. In today’s world it probably needs to be gluten-free too, to cover all bases.

The recipe I’ve used for most of my life came from a hospital fundraising cookbook, and was okay, but nothing too special. I recently stumbled upon this recipe from Chelsea Winter and was intrigued. Balsamic vinegar? Would using dark cocoa powder make a difference? And… how good does that glossy chocolate icing look??? I had to give it a go.

Gluten-free Carrot Cake

Hello all!

Long time no blog! My apologies, I’ve been travelling and sciencing.

In August we went to the USA for two weeks to attend the wedding of a good friend. We spent our time in Boston, New York and Maine. It was wonderful to get a holiday, to catch up with family and friends, and to get a taste of the warm weather again!

Banana and Hazelnut Muffins

Hello everyone.

Sorry (again!) for the absence… it’s not that I haven’t been baking – I have, but since starting this blog I’ve become quite critical of everything I make and fussy about whether or not my recipes are good enough to post. As if PhD anxiety wasn’t enough! On a side note, my supervisor fully encouraged me to do some more ‘stress-relieving baking’ the other day. I was all “Wah, I think my vector has a mutation! Wah, my scholarship is running out! Wah, things aren’t working! Booohoooo! Woe is me!” So apparently the answer is to bake more. For my own mental health. Mind you, I don’t think anyone in the lab minds being a guinea pig for my kitchen experiments either.

Feijoa and Coconut Cake (gluten and dairy-free)

Well, we truly are in the throes of autumn. While it’s sad to farewell the sun, autumn yields some amazing fruit as a consolation. I am delighting in feijoas, persimmons and tamarillos. This truly is my absolute favourite thing about autumn – the daily gorge of seasonal fruit. Yum!

Eggless Chocolate and Caramel Swirl Cake

Hello everyone! How are we all post-Easter?

I had a pretty relaxed Easter… did some baking, did some housework, went to church, went for some walks, caught up with friends and family. It was so good to have a break! I had to go into the lab a couple of times, but it wasn’t too bad.