A little news & a teacake...
It’s been quiet around here of late. I’m sure you’ve noticed my (and the recipes) absence since March. It’s not because life has been quiet .... oh no, quite the contrary, but I’ll fill you in on some of the in-betweens later as I want to jump on to the news that has me busting out of my pants - quite literally -
I’m pregnant!
Over halfway and all is going well. I've ditched the jeans and my winter wardrobe consists of a lot of current in season leggings (thank goodness) and I can say with some certainty that I’ve not had any cravings, well not weird ones at least. I’ve always eaten what I’ve craved so it’s a bit hard to tell if I’ve wanted anything more than normal. Having said that I can say that I ate a heck of a lot of toast for the first 15+ weeks - apricot jam and gluten free vegemite were my toppings of choice, separately, obviously...
My man and I are super excited to have this little cookie become a part of our lives and are looking forward to everything that he or she (we’ve not found out, we both like a good surprise) will bring to us. As you can see from the above photo taken at my friend's farm a few weeks ago we're quite excited and I, as usual am cracking up in photos!
One of the biggest changes apart from little cookie’s impending arrival toward the end of the year is that we’re going home.
That’s right Perth, we’re coming back!
Friends, that means the testers will be yours to come and eat and lovely readers, that means that perhaps we’ll meet up for coffee one day, or hell, I might even ask a few of you over to eat some of those testers too!
We have absolutely loved our time here, in Melbourne these past few years, but we always knew that Perth would be home when we started our family. The beach, our families, the overabundance of sunshine and the proximity to our favourite place, Margaret River, would always be what we wanted our child to know as home, as we have.
This teacake with its
buttery almond crumb that is studded with tart raspberries and the earthiness of cacao nibs
is the perfect not too sweet treat to enjoy with a cuppa. With my expanding belly I enjoyed a couple of small slices with vanilla yoghurt this past weekend as my man and I went over the inventory for our move in early September. Now, go, make and eat this little cake, I think I might indulge in another slice when I get home...
Oh, and let me know, if you live in Perth, would you be interested in popping round for coffee and eating some of my tester cakes from the blog and magazine?
Raspberry & Cacao Nib Tea Cake
Serves 8
This teacake was adapted from the ever wonderful Donna Hay. I've converted it to gluten free and have reduced the sugar content as I have been with all recipes these past 18+months. By all means you could up the sugar to the original 90g of brown sugar rather than raw. I buy natural almond meal in bulk, natural in the sense that they're not blanched almonds that have been ground. You can of course use the more widely available blanched almond meal that is a lot lighter and this will also lighten the cake.
ingredients
90g butter, softened
70g raw sugar, or castor sugar + 2tsp for top
2eggs, lightly whisked
110g almond meal
35g plain gluten free flour
1/4tsp gluten free baking powder
1tsp fine orange rind
2tblspn cacao nibs or finely chopped dark chocolate
1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (if frozen do not thaw)
method
Heat oven to 160degrees celcius. Grease and line a2 8inch round cake tin.
In a food processor blitz the butter and 70g sugar to combine.
Add in the eggs, almond meal, gluten free flour, baking powder & orange rind. Pulse until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and smooth out the top.
Top with raspberries and press them in gently. Sprinkle with cacao nibs and remaining 2teaspoons of sugar.
Bake for approximately 36-40minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool.
Serve warm or at room temperature with cream or vanilla yoghurt.
