Baking a cake for someone is just about one of the most fulfilling things you can do in my opinion. Home-baked cakes just taste so much better, I guess because they are made with love instead of additives! I first made this cake for the original Mrs H, who I affectionately refer to as my smother-in-law. She is so loving and kind (and is probably the biggest chocoholic I know after Mr H) so it seemed only right to debut this recipe on her birthday!
For Mr H’s 30th birthday last month I set myself the secret mission of coming up with a healthy, but totally delicious and indulgent chocolate cake. Here at D&H, we whole heartedly believe in the concept of ‘active avoidance’, which means that most of the time we are pretty darn healthy, but we’d never deny ourselves something if our body is totally craving it. Instead, we’d have a little bit of what we fancy, or we’d try and make a healthier version, or (if the situation really commands it) we’d eat the unhealthy version and not let ourselves stress about it, because stress creates toxic hormones which we can definitely do without. Continue reading
When I was younger, my mum used to make us the most incredible birthday cakes. They were so chocolately and moist, but without a doubt the best bit was the frosting. Chocolate buttercream. I’d go so far as saying it was my favourite food when I was younger. My brother and I used to eat the sponge part first and leave the buttercream until last, which thinking about it now makes me feel a little unwell, but at the time it was bloody marvellous. Having given up dairy, these days this little indulgence is very much off the cards (with buttercream the clue is truly in the name), but even a gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free cake needs some frosting, so I’ve been on the hunt for a suitable alternative. Continue reading
If you grew up in the UK, chances are you’ve heard of that old chap Mr Kipling. I used to really like him (he sounded so friendly on the adverts) but these days I’m not so sure.
It’s not that I think he’s done anything bad (although I do think his mate Captain Birds Eye definitely looks a bit dodgy) he’s just bloody arrogant. ‘Exceedingly good cakes’? For someone who sounds so posh that kind of blatant immodesty seems rather un-British. Continue reading
If we had to take one food to a desert island, it would be coconuts. Although hopefully the desert island in question would already have coconuts growing on luscious palm trees swaying in the wind by a white sandy beach (ahhhh) so we’d get to pick another food, in which case we’d probably choose avocados.
Coconuts are just incredible. Not only can they be worn as brassieres (which, when paired with a fail-safe grass skirt provides the ultimate in Hawaii chic) , but the health benefits are totally other worldly. Coconuts contain lots of good fats, which lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. It has also been suggested that they can curb your appetite and increase fat burning, so could also aid in weight loss. But there’s more. So much more. Coconuts come in many shapes and forms – we’ve listed our faves below as well as our top tips for using them. Continue reading
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