Raspberry Almond Streusel Cake

Berry Season has arrived. And it is good. At any other time of the year I struggle to get my 5-a-day, but not during berry season. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. Sweet, juicy, tangy, and plump. When it comes to berries, I just can’t get enough. This raspberry almond streusel cake is the perfect dessert for a warm summer’s evening. It is light, crunchy, tangy and sweet, and is delicious served with some freshly whipped cream and a couple of juicy raspberries on the side. It’s also incredibly quick and simple to prepare. Which is just as well as nobody want to be stuck in a kitchen with the ovens blasting in the middle of summer!

Crumbs! What to do with that leftover cake? – chocolate almond truffles

Every now and then something so unusual, so unexpected, so downright astonishing, can happen in the course of your normal everyday life that your are left reeling and questioning the very nature and purpose of your existence. For example; we were recently left with a considerable amount of uneaten cake. It was spooky. Ultan suggested we make something with the leftover crumbs and I immediately felt like a complete dummy as the thought had never even crossed my mind. Before my eyes had been opened to the possibilities I was of the belief that with cake, it was either ‘the belly or the bin’. I really do hate to waste food anything containing chocolate and so this became a matter of the utmost importance.

Coconut Macaroons with Salted Chocolate

I’m not an avid baker, not that I dislike baking or anything, I just don’t fully understand the science of it. Unlike cooking, it’s an exact science with seemingly infinite possibilities for failure. A key ingredient isn’t weighed to the correct gram, eggs aren’t at room temperature, the oven isn’t hot enough, the oven is too hot, baking powder is substituted for baking soda because that’s all you have left… any multitude of things can result in baking failure. Scrambled batter, dense batter, dry cake, undercooked cake, cooked on top but not in the middle. Sound familiar? Welcome to my baking world. This recipe won’t win you any awards but it’s a fail-safe in times of need.

Chocolate Almond Torte

Today I woke up and decided I wanted to bake a cake. It was my lovely friends’ birthday on Wednesday and I hadn’t seen her in such a long time. So I used this as an excuse to make and eat a cake because I wanted to have it. Is there really anything wrong with that? I blame society for making me feel like I had to make an excuse, and also you if you’re now sitting there judging me silently on the other side of this screen. However if you agree with me then great, lets run away together and live off cake for the rest of our lives.

Bakewell Tart

Today is Summer, it’s official. I woke up this morning and pulled back the curtains to see a dull grey sky and torrential rain that showed no sign of stopping. It was 8°C. It was also my day off and the awful weather meant I’d be spending most of the day in the apartment unless I wanted to end up like one of those soggy old socks you always see lying abandoned on the street for some weird reason. A trip to the supermarket was essential to buy some soft fresh white bread for the crisp and cheese sandwich that makes up an important element of my day off (oh dear).  Two, three, four hours later; pouring rain and driving wind. This really hasn’t been the  balmy summers day I’d been hoping for.  But nothing perks me up more than thinking of, making, and more importantly eating tasty baked goods. Particularly baked goods that contain almonds. Oh almonds, you delicious nutty bastards. I like to eat them, drink them, and cover my body in their nutritious oils. Is there anything they can’t do? I’ll save you some time, the answer is no.