The workshops I hold always involve the eating of cake…..I am not a strict yogi!
I need good tasty food and I love to cook and bake and feed people…..so here are two great cake recipes adapted from Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache which we had at our latest gathering.
These are my take on Harry Eastwood’s recipes and they worked well but feel free to experiment and check out her book which is wonderful.
CHOCOLATE & CHERRY BRANDY CAKE
2 medium free-range/organic eggs
180g dark Muscovado sugar
200g peeled & grated butternut squash
100ml cherry brandy (I had none so popped in Chambord!)
50gm brown rice flour
100gm ground almonds
50gm cacao powder or cocoa powder
2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp Himalayan salt
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180/350/gas mark 4.
2. Grease and line with grease proof paper a loaf tin.
3. Whisk together eggs and sugar for 5 minutes until pale and increased in volume.
4. Add butternut and cherry brandy, mix well with a spoon.
5. Add all dry ingredients ie everything else and stir well.
6. Spoon into tin and bake for about 35/40 minutes.
The original recipe was for cupcakes with added jam but time was of the essence so a single large cake seemed the best way forward. I then topped the cake with the following….
Melt a large piece of cacao butter in a pan very gently, cool slightly and add 4-5tablespoons of cacao powder, mix well. Stir in a glug of agave syrup…start small, or honey or maple syrup or coconut palm sugar, the latter makes a more granular topping. Then pop in a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Get adventurous and enjoy. Spoon onto the cake and use a spatula to smooth it out. I added a few raspberries for decoration and flavour too.
The topping can be used to make chocolate by simply pouring the mix into a container and leave in the fridge to set. Add nuts and raisins, desiccated coconut, goji berries etc to the mixture to ring the changes.
COCONUT CAKE WITH COCONUT ICING
200g desiccated coconut
3 medium free-range eggs
180g light Muscovado sugar
250g finely grated courgette/zucchini
1tbsp vanilla extract
120g brown rice flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4tsp Himalayan salt
Raspberry/raspberry jam
2tbsp coconut cream
100g icing sugar
Small handful toasted coconut shavings.
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 160/350/gas mark 3.
2. Lightly grease and line 2 18cm round tins, line with greaseproof if not using non- stick.
3. Put desiccated coconut in a food processor for 2 minutes to shred very finely.
4. Whisk eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
5. Add grated courgette and vanilla essence, mix well.
6. Stir in all dry ingredients…mix well.
7. Pour evenly between cake tins.
8. Bake for 30/40 mins. Check regularly as my mixture only took 20 minutes!
When cool spread raspberry/strawberry jam on one cake and sandwich together.
Mix 100g icing sugar with 2 tbsp coconut cream and pour over the cakes….sprinkle toasted coconut shavings over, serve, eat and be delighted!!