this rich chocolate coated Italian cake tastes so deliciously Italian, it’s not that sweet and packed with cocoa, honey, spices and almonds. It’s traditionally served in the winter and at Christmas in Italy with a glass of wine or beer and it’s perfect after dinner with an aprés dinner cheese course. It can also be entirely plant based, as it says in my recipe notes. I find it tastes even nicer after a few days when all those delicious spicy flavours have matured.
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this cake looks more like a tart without the pastry than a cake, but because it’s so rich and chocolatey it’s perfect. It’s really fondanty and crisp on the outside. You can also make a dairy free and/or a gluten free version too if you prefer. It’s delicious with red berries and vanilla ice cream or with whatever you prefer and it’s all from store cupboard ingredients.
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This cake is a version of my apple cake only made with cherries and almonds. It’s a very moist puddingy cake and it goes marzipany in the centre and has a pie like crust on the outside. The cherries I use are hassle free frozen ones from the supermarket which have been stoned and are cheap and easy.
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Italians love a small sweet biscuit or a small piece of cake with their coffee in the morning. This cake is light and lemony and is made with olive oil and lots of eggs. You could eat it anytime of day and it would be delicious with berries and a dollop of crème fraîche too. I reduced the sugar a bit as I don’t like my cakes too sweet but you can add more if you prefer. I think it’s sweet enough.
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For the Ferrero Rocher lovers who don’t eat gluten and or dairy, but still fancy those flavours, they are really easy to make too. They are chewy, chocolatey, nutty and are perfect served with an espresso. They really don’t taste dairy and gluten free.
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These crunchy vanilla biscuits are eaten with a coffee at breakfast time and are very vanillary and crunchy and delicious dipped in the coffee. They are not too sweet and great to make with kids. You can also add the zest of a lemon if you fancy.
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A dairy free alternative to a traditional Christmas Cake which can be made last minute, just make the mincemeat the day before as it needs to marinate and ruminate for 24 hours before you use it. You can use a jar of shop bought mincemeat if you want to save time, the cake is full of spices a bit of brandy and all the Christmassy flavours and is perfect if you are a mince pie fan, but fancy a lighter cake version and it’s perfect with dairy free vanilla ice cream.
When you make this cake the whole kitchen smells of roses, it’s Persian in its origins and have been making Yasmin Khans amazing Persian Love Cake for years as it’s fantastic as a birthday cake, but I wanted to do a dairy free version that also could be gluten free if you prefer. I also added ground pistachios as I love them so its got tons of nuts in it and the soft floral fragrance of cardamom and rose. It’s probably called Love Cake because it really is a romantic cake.
This cinnamony Apple cake is dairy free and made with olive oil. It has bourbon vanilla and lemon juice and zest in it and I make it with spelt flour, so it’s healthier because spelt is an ancient grain packed with nutrients that processed flour hasn’t got much of.
The top goes a bit apple crumble-like and the sides go a bit biscuity but it stays moist in the middle, and all my friends really love it and can’t tell it’s dairy free. Perfect for Bonfire Night and Christmas or just for tea time. I sometimes have it for breakfast with coffee too.
This cake is Italian American in origin and it’s super moist thanks to the courgettes and the olive oil. Its packed with spices, is dairy free and has a tangy lemon icing. I tweaked it to be a bit healthier with whole meal spelt flour, and added poppy seeds to the icing. It’s perfect with a coffee for breakfast or at teatime… but would make a great birthday cake too.
