Simone’s Spiced Apple Loaf

by Simone Kelly

This recipe was handed down through my family, from my great-grandmother to my mother and when I moved to Ireland from Germany, I brought it with me – every year in the weeks before Christmas, this is one of my favourite things to bake. It just so happens to be vegan, too! A gently spiced, moist, sumptuous treat that’s amazing with a bit of (vegan) butter and a cup of tea.

Ingredients

  • 500g peeled and grated apple
  • 200g sugar
  • 125g raisins
  • 6 dried apricots, chopped
  • 70g almonds, chopped
  • 1 heaped tsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • a pinch of salt
  • 40ml rum (or fruit juice)
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Method

  1. Mix the apple and sugar in a large mixing bowl and allow it to sit in the fridge overnight or for an hour or so at room temperature.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 175C. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the apple and sugar mixture (which should now be very wet) and mix to evenly combine the ingredients into a thick, spoonable batter.
  4. Spread the batter into the lined loaf tin and bake the cake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or so until it is risen and set. It should still be moist but when you insert a skewer it should come out mostly dry with a few damp crumbs.
  5. Allow the cake to cool in the tin then remove and slice it thickly. This cake stays fresh for a week in the fridge if tightly wrapped.

Recipe Roundup – Beans

by Simone Kelly

A cupboard staple that’s just so handy to cook with, for a quick satisfying meal or even, yes, cake… we’ve got them all, great recipes for beans of different sorts coming up below!

Enjoy x

Easy, Low Waste, Apple Cake

by Liz Child

We know this recipe off by heart. It turns out perfectly every time with a sweet and tangy fruity bottom and a soft and tender sponge top. It’s the perfect pudding served warm with custard, cream or ice cream or served cold in slices with a cup of tea. This is our favourite low waste cake recipe because it’s the easiest and most delicious way to use up both the aquafaba from a tin of chickpeas (which is usually discarded) and apples, or any excess fruit really! We just often end up with too many apples in our fruit bowl, and so, before they go bad, I like to chop them up and put them in boxes or jars in the freezer, so useful for quick cakes and crumbles. We do the same thing with berries, pears and bananas (for smoothies and banana bread). Let me know if you give this simple cake a try.

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp butter (for greasing the flan dish, I use Naturli)
  • 3 tsp sugar
  • enough chopped apples to cover the base of your dish (or any fruit you like eg berries, chopped pears, pineapple, plums, apricots…)
  • aquafaba (the liquid from a tin of chickpeas) around 150ml
  • 100g sugar
  • 200g flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon (or vanilla or other flavourings of your choice)
  • 3 tbsp milk (I use oat milk)
  • 4 tbsp good oil (I use olive)
  • 1 tsp icing sugar to dust at the end, optional

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 175C and find a large flan dish or cake tin. You can even use a small roasting dish if you like, there’s no law to say your cake has to be round.
  2. Grease your dish by rubbing butter all over the base and up the sides. Then sprinkle over 3 tsp of sugar.
  3. Arrange your fruit over the butter and sugar as neatly or rustically as you like.
  4. In a mixing bowl, whisk the aquafaba until frothy, then add the sugar and whisk until creamy.
  5. Add the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and stir to combine. Careful not to over-mix here! Don’t worry if the batter looks a bit lumpy.
  6. Now add the milk and oil and mix again, briefly, to just combine into a thick batter.
  7. Spread the batter over the fruit, don’t worry if it looks a little thin and doesn’t quite reach the sides, it is supposed to be quite rustic and pudding like rather than a neat cake, and besides, it will spread and rise a lot in the oven.
  8. Now bake until the cake is risen and golden and springs back when you lightly press on the top. This should take between 30 and 40 minutes but ovens, fruit and dish sizes vary so just keep an eye on it.
  9. Drench with icing sugar and serve it warm in puddingy scoops with dollops of cream, custard or ice cream. Or let it chill and serve in neat slices with a cup of tea.

Simone’s Festive Apple Loaf

by Liz Child

Our farm photographer (farmtographer?) Simone has kindly shared her families festive apple loaf recipe with me. This is a delicious German cake, full of fruit, nuts and spices. It’s just the thing, thickly sliced and spread with butter on a chilly afternoon with a big mug of tea. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It tastes very Christmassy and I’ll definitely be making it again. If you have lots of apples to use up, then this recipe will certainly help! And the recipe just happens to be egg, dairy and fat free (that is, until you spread your slice with butter of course!)

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 500g peeled and grated apple
  • 200g sugar
  • 125g raisins
  • 6 dried apricots, chopped
  • 70g almonds, chopped
  • 1 heaped tsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • a pinch of salt
  • 40ml rum (or fruit juice)
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Method

  1. Mix the apple and sugar in a large mixing bowl and allow it to sit in the fridge overnight or for an hour or so at room temperature.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 175C. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the apple and sugar mixture (which should now be very wet) and mix to evenly combine the ingredients into a thick, spoonable batter.
  4. Spread the batter into the lined loaf tin and bake the cake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or so until it is risen and set. It should still be moist but when you insert a skewer it should come out mostly dry with a few damp crumbs.
  5. Allow the cake to cool in the tin then remove and slice it thickly. This cake stays fresh for a week in the fridge if tightly wrapped.

Courgette & Lemon Loaf

by Liz Child

Here’s a sweet way to use up your courgette glut. Grated courgette keeps a cake wonderfully moist and the little flecks of green are so pretty. But be careful, when creating this recipe I had a fair few flops before getting it right, don’t be tempted to add more courgette than the recipe states. The extra moisture can put the balance out of whack and make the cake sink after it comes out of the oven.

I made this in a loaf tin so it took about an hour to bake, but if you bake it in a round cake tin it will cook much quicker as there is more surface area and a shallower batter, just keep an eye on it. Why not double the recipe and bake two round cakes to sandwich together? Make a simple lemon buttercream and decorate with raspberries and pistachios for a real summery treat.

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 250g grated courgette
  • 300g plain flour
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • a pinch of salt
  • 100ml oat milk
  • 100ml olive oil
  • zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon (reserve the other half of the lemon juice and zest for the icing)

Lemon Drizzle Icing

  • the juice of half a lemon
  • enough icing sugar to bring it into a consistency you like
  • the zest of half the lemon to decorate

Method

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 175C and line a loaf tin.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, bicarb) together in a large mixing bowl so that they are evenly dispersed.
  3. Add the wet ingredients (oat milk, oil, lemon juice) and stir to just combine. Do not over-mix. This batter should be fairly dry and thick to compensate for the water content of the courgette.
  4. Add the grated courgette and lemon zest to the bowl and use a wooden spoon to fold the mixture together into a thick batter.
  5. Scrape the batter into the lined loaf tin and level it out.
  6. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour or until it’s cooked through. If your oven is fan assisted it may cook faster. Test for ‘doneness’ by inserting a skewer into the centre of the loaf. When pulled out it should be fairly clean.
  7. Allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes or so in the tin before carefully pulling it out onto a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before icing.
  8. To make the icing, squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon into a bowl and whisk in spoons of icing sugar until you reach your desired consistency. I like it quite runny so it just creates a delicate glaze over the cake but if you prefer a whiter, thicker icing, keep adding sugar until the mixture is fairly thick.
  9. Spoon the icing over the cooled cake and, while it is still wet, sprinkle over the reserved lemon zest. Allow the icing to set then serve in thick slices with mugs of Earl Grey tea.

Rhubarb & Almond Clafoutis

by Liz Child

A clafoutis is a classic French dessert, somewhere between a cake and a pudding. It’s normally made with cherries but here’s my seasonal twist with gorgeous, tangy rhubarb and flaked almonds. The other twist? This recipe is plant based and low food waste, the eggs are replaced with aquafaba which is the liquid from a can of chickpeas or white beans which is normally discarded. I love it served warm, scooped out of the dish into bowls with yoghurt or custard but it’s also delicious chilled and served in slices. Give it a try and let me know how you like it? And of course, switch the fruit for whatever you fancy. I even make a savoury version with asparagus or cherry tomatoes…the possibilities are endless!

Apart from the taste, the whole joy of this recipe is that it is very forgiving, hence the super-simple mug measurements. Some of my cakes require exact weights to work but this little beauty is a chilled out affair. Just grab a regular sized mug to weigh out your sugar and flour (not American style ‘cup’ measurements) and if you don’t have a measuring tbsp, just use a dessert spoon for the oil/milk. A few grams amiss here and there won’t affect the bake as it’s more of a pudding than a cake, so just trust your instincts and go for it. If you have a really big roasting dish or flan dish, use a big mug and enough rhubarb to cover the base in a single layer. And enjoy the easy, relaxed method!

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp butter/margarine
  • 1 handful sugar
  • 5 or so stalks of rhubarb
  • the liquid from a 400g can of chickpeas or white beans
  • 1/2 mug sugar
  • 1 mug plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder (or 1 tsp baking soda & 1 tsp vinegar)
  • a pinch of salt (omit if your aquafaba came from a salted tin)
  • 3 tbsp oat milk (or more if needed)
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 handful flaked almonds (optional)
  • yoghurt or custard to serve

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 175C. Find a large flan dish or medium roasting dish.
  2. Butter the base of the dish then scatter over a handful of sugar. 
  3. Rinse and cut your rhubarb into bite sized chunks then arrange them in the dish.
  4. Pour the aquafaba from a can of chickpeas or white beans into a large mixing bowl. Keep  the beans/chickpeas in a box in the fridge to use later today or tomorrow.
  5. Whisk the aquafaba until frothy, then add the 1/2 mug of caster sugar and whisk until creamy.
  6. Fold in the plain flour and baking powder (if your aquafaba came from an unsalted tin, add a pinch of salt now too).
  7. Stir in the milk, oil and vanilla. You should have a thick, creamy batter. If it’s too thick, add a splash more milk and stir again.
  8. Pour the batter over the rhubarb and spread it evenly. Scatter over the handful of flaked almonds if using.
  9. Bake in the oven until golden brown and just set. This should take approximately 20-30 minutes. The cake should still have some wobble and the rhubarb should be just cooked through and tender. 
  10. If you find it’s browning too much on top before being cooked through, move it to a lower part of your oven and cover the dish with a baking sheet or some baking parchment.
  11. Serve warm in large scoops with a dollop of yoghurt or custard. Or allow it to chill and set – the texture will become less pudding-like and more cake-like as it cools. You can then slice it and serve it in wedges like a regular cake. 
  12. Feel free to play around with the recipe substituting seasonal fruit or frozen berries as you like. I even make a savoury version with asparagus or cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs and feta. Simply substitute the sugar for more flour and seasoning.

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

by Liz Child

Ok, yes, it’s a lockdown cliché, but banana bread is one of the most useful recipes to have in your arsenal against the war on food waste! Got any over-ripe or bruised bananas? Please don’t throw them in the bin! My recipe is easy and adaptable, dairy and egg free, and oh so delicious! Liz x

Ingredients (makes 2 loaves)

  • 8-10 bananas
  • 1/2 mug oil
  • 1/2 mug milk (I use oat milk)
  • 1 mug sugar (I love our whole cane sugar for this)
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 4 mugs plain flour (our organic spelt flour is delicious here)
  • 2 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 heaped tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100g dark chocolate (Or lave plain. Or add other optional extras, like walnuts, dates, peanut butter…)

Method

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 175C and line two tins with baking parchment.
  2. In a large bowl, mash 8 very ripe bananas.
  3. Add the oil, milk, sugar and vanilla and mix well to combine.
  4. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt and mix into a sticky batter.
  5. Chop the chocolate (if using) and fold it through the batter. Here’s where you can fold through other optional extras too if you like. A swirl of peanut butter? Some chopped walnuts and dates?
  6. Divide the batter into two loaf tins. Add slices of banana on top and an optional sprinkle of brown sugar and bake.
  7. The loaves normally take around 30-40 minutes to cook through*. *TOP TIP – cover the loaves with a baking sheet or some foil or baking parchment after about 25 minutes in the oven to stop them colouring too much on top before they are cooked through in the middle.
  8. Serve in thick slices as they are or with butter or my favourite, peanut butter!

Party Food

by Liz Child

We are celebrating 15 years of business this week and we’d love you to celebrate with us! To say thank you for all your support we are offering a whopping 15% discount code to anyone who wants one until the 6th of June 2021. Just fill out this form to receive your code. (Please pass the form link on to your friends and family too. We’d be honoured to have them onboard this sustainable food journey.)

There’s never been a better time to treat yourself! Add some bottles of organic wine or chocolates to your order, some cheese and crackers, some pantry ingredients to make a cake… Here are a few recipes to inspire you if you are planning a party too! Just click on the titles to be taken to the recipe blog.

Liz x

Grazing Boards

Create a snack feast for the eyes as well as the tummies with a grazing board. Perfect to feed a crowd with drinks.

Devilled ‘Eggs’

These vegan devilled eggs are a bit of retro fun with a twist. Lightly pickled mushrooms filled with a delicious chickpea purée. Canapés anyone?

Easy Peasy Pizza Party

Make your party-planning life easier with our organic pizza bases (we sell a gluten free one too), jars of ready made tomato sauce, pesto, cheese, olives, capers and more. Perfect pizza every time!

Show-Stopping Salads

Create vibrant, fresh salads with our range of incredible, organic ingredients. The Jay & Joy range of vegan cheeses are just brilliant paired with juicy fruits and crunchy fresh leaves. Add some salty olives and fresh herbs and red onions and you’re in heaven.

Let Them Eat Cake

What’s a party without cake? There are loads to choose from on our recipe blog here. But these are my top 3 to bring out at a party!

Beetroot Chocolate Brownie

Raw Millionaire Shortbread

Classic Chocolate Celebration Cake