Friday's Kitchen: Change One Thing - 'Flourless Chocolate and Raspberry Cake'

Well, here we are.  My final recipe in my 'Change One Thing' theme that has been running throughout August.  I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed really challenging myself in the kitchen with these ideas, learning to think differently about food has been quite radical for me and the way I cook and I hope it has inspired you too!  I'm sure I shall be re-visiting these recipes and more themes in my cooking in the future.

So for my final recipe in this month's theme - I've gone for a real baking challenge (for me).  The classic Flourless Chocolate Cake.  Great for those on a gluten-free diet - this chocolate cake boasts all the rich taste of a chocolate torte but without the density.  For this recipe, I found a few easy pointers and added a simple, tangy, raspberry coulis to offset the richness of the cake.  All in all, a perfect dessert cake and a must for the chocoholics out there!

 

Ingredients
For the Cake:
120g Butter
120g Dark Chocolate
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
70g Cocoa Powder
160g Golden Caster Sugar

For the Coulis:
50g Fresh Raspberries
50g Caster Sugar
1-2tsp Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Method:
Preheat your oven to 150C and grease a round cake tin (approx 20cm).

Over a pan of boiling water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring all the time.  Once melted and combined, remove from heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

In a jug, beat the eggs with the vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.  In a mixing bowl, mix the caster sugar and cocoa powder and add the egg mixture when ready.

Add to this your melted chocolate mixture and stir until all is combined together.  The mixture will look sticky and smooth.

Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for 25-30mins.  Leave to cool on a rack until ready to serve.

Whilst the cake is baking - whizz up your coulis ingredients together with a blender until combined and thick (HINT: if mixture seems runny, add a little extra caster sugar).  Pour into a bowl and leave to chill until you are ready to serve your cake.  Pour over each slice individually.  Serve and enjoy!

This cake would be fantastic as a double layer cake with a tangy frosting filling - why not try adding different fruits, such as blueberries to the mix to spice this recipe up!

Tried it? Loved it?  I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!!!

Peachy Review: What Maisie Knew

It isn't often I get incredibly excited about a film, but when I do, my God I do!  So imagine my excitement when 'What Maisie Knew' was FINALLY released in cinemas last Friday!

Having watched the trailer for this film about 75 times over the last six months, I was extremely excited to see this stylish, modern-day remake of the Henry James novel of the same name.  A tale of parental woe, with hints of Robert Benton's Kramer vs Kramer; the film's main protagonist is a 7 year old girl whose exposure to her parents' relationship implosion, not to mention the messy aftermath, is both compelling and heartbreaking.

Newcomer Onata Aprile plays the part of Maisie to absolute perfection, her communication is somewhat stilted and monosyllabic as she learns to exist around her parents' self-involved natures.  But like a timeless professional, Onata portrays so much more with her eyes and mannerisms as she is swept along with her parent's self-obsessive compulsions.  Steve Coogan plays the part of Maisie's father with a distracted and aloof air, flitting between countries and barely thinking twice about the welfare of his little one.  Whilst Julianne Moore, as ever, is outstanding as Maisie's rock star Mother, playing an issue-ridden, narcissistic woman on the edge; who appears more 'put-upon' by her daughter than would seemingly be the case.  We learn about Maisie's world through Maisie herself (who appears in each and every scene), we feel her pain as she is shoved from pillar to post in a hideous custody battle and we rejoice through her as she begins to develop more stable relations with her parents' new partners.

What is perhaps most endearing in What Maisie Knew, is how Maisie finds an inseparable bond with her mother's new partner, Lincoln, played by the ever-dreamy Alexander Skarsgard.  A lost character himself, Lincoln is a bartender who has dreams of making it as a musician.  No sooner has he appeared on the scene, a near enough stranger, to carry out Moore's chores and pick Maisie up from school, the two embark on a journey of discovery together, both characters growing in themselves and in their abilities to shape the world around them.  It is only with her extended family, that we see Maisie really begin to open up and allow herself to be happy.  A climactic part of the film, for me, was Maisie whispering to her Nanny-cum-Stepmother Margo (a fantastic, pivotal performance by Joanna Vanderham), 'I love him', when asked if she really liked Lincoln.  Don't we all Maisie, don't we all!

Skarsgard plays the part of Lincoln without fault, portraying a softer, less assured character than what he is typically known for.  The man never ceases to amaze me with his versatile acting ability and nothing pulled at the heartstrings, more than watching his stooping 6"4 frame carry a sick Maisie back to bed.  

I would recommend anyone to go and watch What Maisie Knew.  It failed to disappoint on any level, the plot was sensitive, the acting was fantastically understated and the film itself was stylish, each shot crisp and beautiful; from park scenes to lavish apartments.  Not often enough do we see films that allow you, as an audience member, to be enveloped in pure characterisation and a juicy, thought-provoking plot.  But that's my bag, and if it's yours, drop what you're doing and go and catch a viewing of this fantastic film!

Let Me Introduce: Vicky Davison

I'm forever in awe of some of the lovely designers and small business owners that I come across on Twitter.  Today's handbag designer is no exception.  Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce, Vicky Davison!

Graduating from Northumbria University in 2003 in Fashion, specialising in Textiles, it wasn't until Vicky became a full-time mum to twins a few years later, that she decided to pick up her needles again and start creating. Since 2008, Vicky has been slowly building up her collections and customer base, whilst juggling Motherhood and a part-time job.  Vicky Davison's creations are now in full swing and open for business!

By sticking with her fail-safe bag and purse designs, Vicky takes great care to create interesting new designs using gorgeous fabrics and often upcycled clothing.

You might find a trouser pocket on your bag or another quirky embellishment; either way, your bag from Vicky will be one of a kind!  And whilst she enjoys shopping around for gorgeous fabrics to use, Vicky works on each design individually to find the best use for each fabric.  She cites inspiration from almost anywhere, pretty much anything she comes into contact with on a day to day basis - from interior designs to art!  Just looking at some of her work, I love the slouchy totes and her use of layered fabrics is really exquisite!  Prices start at around £48 for a bag and around £33 for a purse or cosmetic bag - I've personally got my eye on her beautiful butterfly cosmetics bag for anyone who might be interested!

Of course, life as a Mother can be inspiration in itself, and Vicky's new cross-body bags were designed from her own findings as a mum of two, body bags always equal free hands - a must for any mum to young children. 

This design is something she is particularly proud of and she has worked hard to create simple but beneficial embellishments - inside zipped pockets and a magnetic clasp make this design safe and easy to use, for a mum in a hurry!

You can purchase Vicky's lovely designs from her FOLKSY shop.  Why not check out Vicky's work HERE

And don't forget to give her a follow on TWITTER

 

Friday's Kitchen: 'Change One Thing' - Repost Pizzas!

So I ummed and ahhhed and thought about what recipe I could possibly try for this Friday's Change One Thing.  It's been an incredible week - but a very busy one and I've needed to have quick dinners on standby, as Little D has been struggling with teeth and, therefore, sleeping!

So it dawned on me, that one of my very early recipe posts has become something of a delicious staple in the Peachy household.  So I've decided to re-post this gorgeous recipe for Payday Pizzas!

Now...why repost this recipe?  And how does it fall into the Change One Thing theme for this month?  Well, everybody loves a pizza - and we are no exception.  But since finding this recipe for a lovely, light pizza dough (which is also dairy-free), courtesy of Baking Mad; I've really enjoyed putting my own pizzas together, gaining more control over the calorie content and even putting toppings together that reflect what's in season over in the veg world (I've developed an interest in sustainable living - more to come on Life is Peachy soon)!

I suppose this post, less reflects changing ingredients and is more reflective of changing our food lifestyle and how we view treats, takeaways and how we can; with the right ingredients, create even more delicious homemade food - without the takeaway price tag or the calorie guilt!

I hope you enjoy this week's repost and, as ever, I love hearing feedback!

CHANGE ONE THING - THE MOST DELICIOUS HOMEMADE PIZZAS 

Next week is the last of my 'Change One Thing' recipe themes so I'm going to make it nice and challenging!  If you would like to link up with Change One Thing - please email me your links and I will link them up with next week's big finale post!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Let Me Introduce: Love Lammie

Issy Weekend Bag - Love Lammie

Fashion - we all love it, we all have our favourite eras.  I really resonate with the women's fashion of the 1940s - elegant, classic and figure-hugging.  And for many different reasons, today's featured business has taken a lot of inspiration from the same era.  Ladies and Gentlemen - allow me to introduce, Love Lammie.

Working as a designer for many high street stores, Love Lammie was the brainchild of owner Victoria, whose dream became a reality just before the birth of her first child.  Inspired by the use of oilcloth shopping bags in the 1940s and 1950s, plus the ecological benefits of oilcloth as a reusable material; Love Lammie began to produce lines of beautiful bags for everyday use.  What's more?  These gorgeous bags are produced right here, in the UK.

Love Lammie Bibs

Since its conception, Love Lammie has gone from strength to strength, from humble beginnings of Victoria designing, making and then selling at artisan fairs and markets; through to being stocked by several independent retailers.  Shortly after exhibiting at a few trade shows, Victoria realised that she could no longer keep up with the supply and demand of her bags, so they are now manufactured here in the UK, as the companie's success continues to grow.

Victoria cites her most popular products as her weekend bags, Signature Handbags (Love Lammie is launching a new design at the end of this month) and cosmetic bags - great for gifts.  What is so inspiring about Love Lammie, aside from the success Victoria has gained from her initial ideas, is that she approaches each aspect of Love Lammie with a positive attitude, accepting the good and bad of running a small business, with her designing skills just the tip of the iceberg of what needs to be done to run Love Lammie successfully.   If asked for advice about running a business?  Victoria says 'be prepared to learn and listen to all of your customers, but most of all, be open-minded'.

Love Lammie Large Cosmetic Bags

At the moment, Victoria is working hard on stamping her place as a popular lifestyle brand in the UK, though she does have longterm goals of taking Love Lammie worldwide.  She is very keen to continue working with her principles of promoting UK manufacturing and works tirelessly to design new products and ideas.  And when she's not too busy, Victoria loves nothing more than scouring antiques fairs and markets for new inspiration!

Why not take a look at Love Lammie's beautiful products HERE

Love Lammie is also on TWITTER - give her a follow to be kept up to date with the latest Love Lammie news!

EXCLUSIVE OFFER TO LIFE IS PEACHY READERS! Love Lammie is offering a wonderful 20% discount to all my lovely readers! Simply like Love Lammie's FACEBOOK page and tweet Love Lammie to let them know.  You will then be sent your code!  Definitely worth a like for some discount on these beautiful things! 

The Snoob Revolution

There is nothing like featuring a business that's pretty much hot off the press!  I love to use Life is Peachy as a platform for new small businesses that I feel my readers would be interested in.  And what could be hotter than a business launched just this May!  Welcome to the Snoob revolution!

Launched in May 2013 Snoob's founders, Becky and Angelique, had begun planning Snoob's launch over a year before when they both decided they wanted to focus on something new that would slot easily around their children's busy lives.  Both had children and Becky's youngest had just started school. Angelique's Snoob brainwave came along after brainstorming various ideas and, after a period of design and research, the 100% Jersey Cotton Snoob was born!

A cotton circular feeding scarf, the Snoob allows the wearer to breastfeed in a discreet manner, does not need to be removed when switching to breast number two and works comfortably for tandem twin feeding!

Based on a one-size fits all design, the versatile Snoob can double up as a blanket, can be thrown in the washing machine and, perhaps the best thing of all, cannot be pulled off by babies.

Since their mid-May launch, Snoob have received a number of stockist enquiries and have run a number of competitions in collaboration with other baby-related products.  In short, Snoob have really honed their marketing and promotions of Snoob, and the hard work is really starting to pay off.  Feedback from customers has been incredibly positive, customers swear by the Snoob and the discreet way in which they can breastfeed, whilst others say they will wear theirs long after breastfeeding finishes!

Whilst Snoob goes from strength to strength now, the ladies see its future development as organic and remain both excited

and open-minded about where Snoob will take them.  It is important to Becky and Angelique that Snoob continues to be manufactured in the UK and that they can maintain a hands-on approach to the product and retain control over the brand and its development.  For now, they are happy with the strength of their product and look forward to a bright future with the Snoob revolution!

Becky and Angelique with their children!

Check out Snoob's designs and grab one for yourself HERE

And dont forget to give Snoob a follow on TWITTER for all the latest news and events!

Friday's Kitchen: 'Change One Thing' - Sweet Potato Brownies

Are you thinking, 'huh'? Right now?  I don't blame you - it's only over the past year or so that I've started to take a real interest in weird and wonderful food combinations; partly down to my love of the food provided by my good friend Beth Marriott-Howell at her fantastic Sherwood deli, Kiosk. 

So this week, for Change One Thing, I thought I would tinker around with a classic chocolatey treat and try and make it a tiny bit healthier!  So here goes...here is my recipe for Sweet Potato Brownies.

The benefits of sweet potatoes are really something to read up on and we should all being trying to make room for them in our diets.  They are a great source of both Vitamins B6, C and D - which are critical for the immune system as well as aids in fighting degenerative diseases; plus they are a great source of iron and magnesium, which are great immunity boosters AND stress busters. 

So why replace some of the sugar and flour levels in a brownie, for sweet potato?  Well, the answer is simple; we want to reduce the sugar and fat contents in our treats without sacrificing the gooey, sludgy goodness we all know and love about brownies.  The starch in sweet potatoes help to create that gorgeous gooey texture as it both binds the mix and moistens it.  The only trouble is, after hunting the internet for recipe inspirations, I found most had a million substitute ingredients, including sweetener.  I'm a 'clean living' kind of girl to an extent and I wanted a relatively simple recipe with no substitute sweeteners!  So, with a bit of research and a bit of playing about in the kitchen, I came up with this...

Ingredients:
150g Baked Sweet Potato flesh (scooped from skins once baked for about 45 mins, skins can be discarded)
200g Dark Chocolate (try not to go for anything too bitter)
100g Unsalted Butter
125g Soft Brown Sugar
2 Medium Eggs
100g Plain Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tsps Vanilla Extract
100g Chopped Pecans
OPTIONAL: 3 Tsps Maple Syrup

Method:
Preheat an oven to 170 C (160 C Fan) and line a square baking tin with greaseproof paper.

Once you have baked your potato, scoop the flesh into a mixing bowl with the brown sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is combined and fairly smooth.

In a saucepan, melt your butter and add 125-150g of your chocolate (chopped) and stir until melted. 

Add this mixture to your potato mix and beat together until a gooey consistency starts to form.  Add your eggs and splash vanilla extract and combine together with a wooden spoon (If adding maple syrup, add the syrup at this stage).

Finally add your flour and baking powder and mix until evenly distributed.  Throw in your chopped pecans and the remaining chocolate and mix.  Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for approx 20 mins until browned but still soft on the inside.

Once cooked, leave to cool on a wire rack and cut into desired-sized pieces!  Serve with a pot of tea and DAZZLE your friends when you tell them the secret ingredient!

These Sweet Potato Brownies were made as part of  my 'Change One Thing' month on Life is Peachy.  If you would like your recipes to be linked to my Friday's Kitchen throughout August - please email your links to missemmaberry@gmail.com