Spiced Mandarin Orange Walnut Cake

This eggless cake is super moist with a light spiced flavour that perfectly beckons the Fall season. 

Spiced Mandarine Orange and Walnut Cake

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1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon British mixed spice

1/2 teaspoon cardamom 

1 cup chopped walnuts, divided

3/4 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

freshly grated orange zest from 1 orange

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon white vinegar

2 small cans mandarin oranges, well-drained and roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease and flour and 9-inch spring form pan and line the bottom with baking parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, British mixed spice, cardamom and half of the chopped walnuts. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar and oil together. Add the freshly grated orange zest and give a gentle stir. Now add the milk, vanilla extract and vinegar. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Fold in the chopped mandarin oranges until just mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared spring form tin. Spreading the batter evenly. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until cake springs back when you touch it or a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

Cool completely on a wire rack in springform tin.

Once cake has completely cooled; drizzle with an orange drizzle and scatter the remaining walnuts on top.  

Notes: you may replace the caster sugar with coconut sugar.  

Orange Drizzle

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1 cup icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Whisk icing sugar, zest and orange juice together in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Notes: Icing sugar is also called confectioner's sugar and powdered sugar. You may adjust the orange juice according to how thick or how thin you prefer the drizzle. 

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

This no egg, no milk and no butter cake recipe is absolutely delicious! The addition of raspberries adds tartness while the whip cream on top adds a touch of sweetness to this rich dense chocolate cake. A lovely dessert anytime and especially for that sweet Valentine.   

I doubled the recipe and poured the batter on to a lined jelly roll baking pan and baked for a shorter period of time, 20 to 25 minutes. Allowed the sheet of cake to cool completely. Removed it carefully from the pan and on to a clean flat surface, baking paper still attached, then proceeded to cut out 3'' round shapes, until I had about 10 to 12 cake circles. Do not throw out any discarded bits of cake. Save them. Place in a tin and pop into the refrigerator for future use... cake pops!

Due to doubling the recipe, the batter rose significantly therefore I was able to cut thick round circles, which I halved and spread raspberry jam on the bottom half and sandwiched them back together; to form a lovely mini layered chocolate cake. Similar to a Victoria Sponge however chocolate and mini. 

I arranged fresh raspberries on top of each mini cake and prepared some whipping cream with 1 to 2 tablespoons of icing sugar (powdered sugar), and whipped until firm. Placed a dollop on top of the raspberries and then drizzled the cake with chocolate sauce and for  indulgence sake finished with a stick of dark chocolate. You may also use dark chocolate shavings or pieces.

 Chocolate Cake 

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1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour a round cake baking tin. Then line the bottom with baking parchment paper. 

In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. 

Create a well in the centre of the now mixed dry ingredients. 

Add the vinegar, vanilla extract vegetable oil, and water the to well. Blend and mix well.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow cake to cool. Icing and decorate, if and as you wish, and serve. 

Notes: the recipe is in it's original format. To double the recipe, like I did, times all measurements by 2. Therefore the measurements would be as follows:

3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour 

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups caster sugar 

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons white vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

10 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups water

Still bake in 350ºF preheat oven and adjust the baking time according the baking pan you choose to use.  

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! - JD 

Yoghurt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Seems like we have moved on from muffins to cookies and this recipe is easy and super delicious. No eggs and little butter. This recipe creates a more soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie, that melts in your mouth. 


Yoghurt Chocolate Chip Cookies

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1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup plain low-fat yoghurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC)
Grease cookie sheets or line with baking parchment paper.

In a medium bowl cream the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Stir in the yoghurt and vanilla.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture until nicely combine then add the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons on the prepared cookie sheet(s)... about 2 inches apart and bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for about 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to cool completely on wire racks.

Notes: You may add a few tablespoons of applesauce when creaming the sugars and butter together. I added a teaspoon of British Mixed Spice into the flour mixture. When the cookies come out of the oven they are puffed up however I took a fork and gently pressed the tops of the baked cookies down, to get a more compact chewy cookie, before transferring them to wire racks. 

Have a great weekend everyone! - JD 

Piper's Chocolate Cake

The other day temperatures were extremely hot and my daughter wanted to make a cake.  We went straight to the pantry and found all the ingredients we needed. Her inspriation has been bubbling due to the fact that she enjoys watching a few Youtube cooking videos. Although she did most of the measuring, mixing and stirring, I was in the kitchen to over see her efforts and offer a hand when needed. Being her willful assistant. My daughter displayed such ease and comfort in the kitchen which made me very proud. Obviously, my devotion to creating inside the kitchen has rubbed off. Most of my assistance came towards the end. Placing the cake in the oven and taking the cake out of the oven.  

This cake recipe is easy on many levels. First, no eggs! No cracked shells or messy raw egg to deal with. A factor that some parents may find important when letting children create in the kitchen. Having no eggs and no milk either, make this cake vegan.  Second, simple ingredients. Just the basics. All the ingredients needed are probably sitting in your pantry at this moment. Third, one bowl, one spoon and one pan. Making this cake virtually effortless. Prep and bake time combine, 40 mins.      

Here is my daughter in action. Unlike my son, the elusive kitchen cape crusader. He does not like to get his photo taken. She does. My son thought vegan baking never tasted so good. I did inform him that vegan food does not consist only of baked goods but of savoury goods. And those are just as good.  

Piper's (No Egg) Chocolate Cake 

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1 1/2 cups cake flour or all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup good quality cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 vanilla

1 cup cold water

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease bottom and side of a square cake pan, 8x8x2 inches, with butter and lightly flour.

2. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir in the oil mixture and water, vigorously, into the flour mixture for 1 minute until everything is well blended. Immediately pour into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. Then serve.  

Very happy with her efforts and the results were moist and delicious! My daughter did add a personal touch by placing shredded coconut on top of the batter before baking it in the oven. Therefore giving it a toasted coconut topping.

Have a good weekend everyone! - JW