What better way to show someone your love and affection than a home cooked meal with a hearts full of intention. Skip the reservation, hustle and bustle and enjoy the night in….its so much less stressful and cookin in the kitchen can be kind of romantic <3
Today I posted the vintage style, chocolate cherry vegan and gluten free cake in celebration of Valentines day and it seemed to be a hit. This week is the first week of me posting 2 recipes a week. One on Wednesday and one on Friday in efforts to bump up my engagement on social media. I am taking off my training wheels and going all in. This Friday I will be posting my strawberry chia seed pudding with brown butter streusel which is the 1st sneak peak of what is to come on my meal plan I have been working on. I am so excited that I finally have some good momentum on this content creator thing and now its easy to plan ahead and film to have stuff ready for posting in a synchronized manor. Yesterday and today I filmed 2 easy recipes that I think are going to do well that I am excited to edit and post. The first one being a BLT sandwich with tempeh and the second one being a charred brussels kale Caesar with crispy buffalo chickpeas that was seriously sooo good. So as I mention in every weeks newsletter, stay posted cause you don’t want to miss the sneak peaks and release of the 7-day Plant-Based Beginner Meal Plan I been working on.
The chocolate cherry cake took us all by surprise as none of us had tried a gluten free dessert or cake that didn’t also taste gluten free but this cake had just a vibrant flavor and was so moist. I did put 1/2 cup of Bustelo in there so I definitely think that did add a little somethin somethin. What really took us away was the spiced cherry compote. I pitted and sauteed the fresh cherries in vegan butter for maybe 20 min. Once they were softened I added in the lemon juice and probably let that cook down for another 10 min on low heat then added in 1/4 cup brown sugar and let that get nice and thick for probably another 10 min. Towards the end I added in some cinnamon, salt and a slurry of tapioca starch and water. The way it came together was just …wow. Prior to adding in the cinnamon I was contemplating what else I thought it needed and I felt it was missing some warmth. I added in a little touch of cinnamon and it was finally perfect. So if you do make this cake, don’t overlook the cherry filling. Fresh cherries taste so different than the fake stuff so even if you think you don’t like them cause they taste like medicine….please try the real deal cause I get where you are coming from. It also may be a good idea to get a cherry pitter…I had never cooked with fresh cherries before and stumbled a bit before finding a good technique to pit the cherries. I used a reusable thick plastic straw which worked well but I think next time ill just invest in a cherry pitter.
This Friday I will be posting the 1st recipe on social media that will be featured in the 7-Day Meal Plan which is the strawberry chia seeding pudding with brown butter streusel. This turned out so good that it all got scarfed down in about 3 days as we loved it for breakfast and a late night treat. So if you are interested in this little spoiler, scroll down to the bottom after the cake recipe <3
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Chocolate Cherry Cake
Serves 6-9 people depending on size of slice.
Ingredients
Dry
2 cups gluten free flour ( I used Bobs Red Mill )
1 3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 1/2 baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup vegan butter or coconut oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
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