Lemon & Nettle Cake

Ingredients

• 100g freshly picked nettle leaves

• 200g butter

• 150g caster sugar

• 3 eggs

• 200g plain flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• Zest of 1 lemon

  Buttercream icing:

• 300g icing sugar

• 150g butter

• juice of 1 lemon

  Filling:

• Jam of your choice

  Decoration:

• Edible flowers of your choice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan

2. Grease and line a 2 x 6 “ round cake tins

3. Blanch the nettles in a little boiling water for 5 minutes

4. Drain well. With a stick blender blend the nettles to a paste.

5. Beat together butter and caster sugar.

6. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition.

7. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold to combine.

8. Add the lemon zest and nettle paste and mix well.

9. Pour into the prepared baking tins and transfer to the oven to bake for 30-35 mins or until golden and springy to touch.

10. Leave the cakes to cool on a wire rack, then remove cakes from the tins.

11. Prepare the icing by whisking together icing sugar, butter and lemon juice with a handheld whisk.

12. Lay the first cooled cake layer on a plate and spread a layer of butter cream icing. Spread some jam on top. This will be your bottom layer.

13. Place the nest cake on top and ice the top of the cake with more buttercream. Decorate with edible flowers of your choice

Upside-down Spelt Pear Cake

I haven't posted in a while but happy New year & I hope you're 2017 is going great so far. To start off my year of recipes this is a sticky, comforting kind of cake, perfect for a January day. I love a good upside down cake as they tend to range from being really moist to being a gooey mess, which is pretty much my kind of cake! This cake uses spelt flour which is easy on digestion than wheat & coconut sugar which is much less refined than run of the mill plain white flour. You can play around with how you lay your pears, overlapping they whole way around looks great too. You could also try using different fruit like apples or quince or throwing in a few seasonal berries.

Ingredients:

• 115g butter, plus 2 tbsp for bottom of the pan
• 200g coconut sugar, plus 2 tbsp for the bottom of the pan
• 3-4 ripe pears, peeled, cored and sliced into quarters
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea-salt
• 125g spelt flour, sifted
• 1/4 tsp bread soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 100ml almond milk, or milk of your choice

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180ºC/350ºC/Gas 4. Melt 2 tbsp butter with 2 tbsp coconut sugar in the bottom of an ovenproof frying pan, over a low heat. Add the coconut sugar to the pan and stir until the sugar has melted.

2. Arrange the pear slices on top of this and remove from the heat.

3. Beat together the rest of the butter and coconut sugar. Add the eggs one at a time beating between each addition. Add the sea-salt and vanilla extract and mix through.

4. Fold in the spelt flour, bread soda, cinnamon and ginger. Lastly add the almond milk and bring together. Pour the cake batter over the pears in the pan, transfer to preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until cooked through.

Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Icing

Lately I've been really noticing the shift in Seasons. Apple trees are hanging heavy with fruit and squashes and pumpkins ripening on their vines. In my own kitchen I'm beginning to use lots more root vegetables and crave more warming foods. Baking too feels more appealing on these colder days. Carrot cake and cream cheese icing has to be one of the best cake pairings around. Cream cheese icing is one my favourite varieties of icing because of its creamy indulgent consistency but it still manages to not be overly sweet in flavour. I love sneaking fruit and vegetables into my baking to increase fibre and beef up nutritional content. Carrots also happen to keep this cake incredibly moist so its a winner all round in my book.

Serves 10

Ingredients:

• 275ml maple syrup
• 10 eggs
• 200g coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 medium carrots, grated
• 100g raisins
• 85g coconut flour, sifted
• 1 tsp bread soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sea-salt

Cream Cheese Icing

• 240g cream cheese, I used St. Tola Divine goat's cheese spread
• 4 tbsp agave syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

To decorate

• Pecan nuts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4. Grease and line 2 x 8-inch springform cake tins.

2. Whisk together the maple syrup, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Add the grated carrots, raisins, coconut flour, bread soda and sea-salt and mix together. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tins and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until cooked through. Leave to cool on a wire rack before removing the cake tins carefully.

3. While the cake is in the oven prepare the icing; Mix together the cream cheese, agave syrup and vanilla extract. You can add a little more agave to taste, if you prefer a sweeter icing.

4. Once the cakes have cooled, assemble the cake by laying the first layer down on a plate, spreading with a layer of icing. Then lay the second layer on top and spread another layer of icing over this. Decorate with some pecan nuts and serve.

Flourless Brownies

If I had to pick a favourite dessert, I think brownies would be have to be it. These brownies are rich, gooey & delicious. They are made with 72% dark chocolate, real Irish butter and coconut sugar for sweetness. They are also gluten-free and grain-free. They are perfect party food and make for a delicious end to any meal. They are quite rich so go for smaller squares than your average brownie. They are nice served with whipped cream, coconut cream or even a little thick natural yoghurt for a hint of sour to act as the perfect foil to the sweetness of the brownies.

Ingredients:

• 225g dark chocolate, 72% cocoa solids
• 225g butter
• 4 free-range eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 225g coconut nectar
• 225g ground almonds
• Pinch of sea-salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.
2. Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin.
3. Melt the dark chocolate with the butter using a double boiler.
4. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, vanilla extract and coconut nectar together in a large bowl.
5. Once the dark chocolate and butter have melted to a smooth consistency, pour over the egg mix and whisk to combine.
6. Add the almonds and sea-salt and bring the mix together using a spatula.
7. Pour the mix into the prepared cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Chocolate Cupcakes With Avocado Chocolate Frosting

I know the sound of avocado as an icing ingredient does not sound immediately appetising but it honestly works perfectly in this glossy chocolate recipe & lends a rich creaminess to the icing. These cupcakes are fully gluten & dairy-free so a great one to make for parties & special occasions if you have people with any food intolerances attending. You could stick some candles in the top for a birthday cupcake display or top with fresh fruit or berries. I've gone for a mix of dried rose petals, bee pollen and dried cornflowers. You can pick these toppings up in speciality food stores and health food shops, the dried petals definitely hold up better than fresh petals would & well they look pretty too :) Enjoy!

Makes 8 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 40g cocoa powder
• 340g ground almonds
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bread soda
• Pinch of sea-salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 75ml almond milk (or milk of your choice)
• 125ml coconut oil, melted

Chocolate Icing:

• 2 ripe avocados, mashed
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Toppings:

• Dried rose petals
• Bee pollen
• Dried cornflower petals

Method:

1. Line a muffin tray with 8 paper cases. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas 4.

2. Place the cocoa powder, ground almonds, baking powder, bread soda and sea-salt into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, vanilla extract, maple syrup, almond milk and coconut oil. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

3. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases. Transfer the muffin tray to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

4. To prepare the icing, whisk the avocados, cocoa powder, maple syrup and vanilla extract together until glossy and smooth.

5. Once the cupcakes have cooled, spread the icing over the top of the cupcakes and sprinkle with your choice of natural toppings.