May we be them

There’s a saying about strong women- “Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” Women are often the backbone to the family, even in places where we’re not seen as equal to men, it’s often the women that care for the family. Unfortunately, far too many women find themselves picking up the peices after war. Women For Women International are trying to change that by supporting women who have had their lives turned upside down by conflict. They are helping women to build better lives and futures for themselves and their families. Eccentric Eccentricity have made a special collection of necklaces to help raise funds for Women For Women International. £8 from every sale of this necklace will go to Women for Women International. The necklace comes in three hand stamped designs with the options of; 'Still I Rise', 'Sisterhood' or 'Women for Women'. Eccentric Eccentricity kindly gifted to me the ‘Still I rise’ necklace which is a lovely little personal reminder that I have inner strength. 
Eccentric Eccentricity are a completely women based team which I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with in the past. In a world often run by men it’s inspiring to see what these ladies are achieving and especially that they care enough to support a worthwhile cause.

I really enjoyed taking these photos. Alfie has always loved helping me with my photography, every time I get my camera out, he’ll turn up and purr for ages. Just sitting, hoping for the odd treat or two. Recently my beautiful boy has been diagnosed with a tumour that’s likely to be cancer. We have made him as comfortable as possible but at 15 years old, we don’t want him to suffer surgery which has a high risk of complications. So Alfie and I have been making the most of our time together, especially this last week. Finally I managed to get him out of his hiding place and into the living room. This was the first time I’ve set up a flatlay in my living room for a while, and it was all that was needed to get him to come out from behind a chair where he’s been most of the time for the past month.  

I'm looking forward to a cosy autumn with Alfie. This beautiful autumnal blanket which I won last year really sets the mood. For anyone wondering, it’s from The Tartan Blanket company who are a Scottish based company. 

I hope you have a lovely autumn.

Emma Xx

Gluten & Sugar Free Coconut and Raspberry Cake

It’s been a while since I’ve baked a weekend treat. The coconut and lime cake I made a few years ago has been playing on my mind recently which got me wondering if I could make a coconut cake that’s super easy and also free from both sugar and gluten. I looked at many recipes and have concocted my own recipe taking elements from a few different recipes to make it work for me and my dietary needs. The result turned out even better than I was expecting! 

This recipe is so easy, it’s a chuck it all in affair. Which is great if you have limited time or limited energy like me. I’m used to eating gluten and sugar free foods so the ultimate test for any free from recipe is getting approval from the lucky ones I know who eat both gluten and sugar daily. I’m happy to say this recipe passed the test! 

Cake ingredients:

• 150g organic softened lightly salted butter plus extra to grease

• 65g Whole Earth stevia as sugar free option or 125g sugar 

• 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder

• 125 g gluten-free plain flour 

• 50g desiccated coconut

• 75g ground almonds

• Finely grated zest of a lemon 

• 3 tbsp of Raspberry Liquorice Laces tea by Bluebird Tea Co* or extra milk 

• 125ml coconut milk

• 1 large free range egg

Method:

Line the base of a 6 inch cake tin and grease the sides with some butter. If you don’t have a 6 inch tin an 8 inch tin will work too. 

Brew the tea for 4 minutes. Add all the other ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. Add the 3tbsp of tea or extra milk and give one last mix. 

Put the mixture into the cake tin and cook for 35-45 minutes until the cake is golden. Test to see if it’s ready by putting a skewer into the centre of the cake, if the cake is ready it should come out clean. 

Allow it to cool for 10 minutes before taking it out of the tin and cooling on a wire rack.

Icing ingredients:

300ml Double cream or coconut yoghurt 

150g Fresh raspberries 

3 tbsp Raspberry Liquorice Laces Tea*

20g Whole Earth Stevia or double the amount for sugar. 

Method:

Count out 11 raspberries to go on top of the cake and set aside. Add the rest of the raspberries to a frying pan with the tea (or water if you don’t have it) and 1tsp stevia. Cook until the liquid has evaporated and the raspberries are like a runny jam. 

Whisk the cream with 1tbsp stevia until almost stiff. 

Sift the raspberries using a spoon to take out the liquid whilst leaving the seeds in the sieve. Add the purée to the cream and mix well. If it's too stiff add 1-2 more tbsp of the tea.

Decorate the cake with the cream and the raspberries that were set aside earlier. I know it’s not free from but I added a chocolate bunny for decoration as it’s Easter! 

This cake keeps well in the fridge for three days. 

You can get 20% off at Bluebird Tea co with my rep code ESTEABIRD35. 

You may have spotted the floral handmade Bunny decoration in my photos. - It was purchased from the lovely and talented Hollie Berries. 

Alfie and I are having a quiet Easter weekend, he’s currently snoring next to me as I write this! I hope you have a lovely weekend whatever you do.

Happy Easter! 

Emma Xx 

* As a tea rep Bluebird Tea Co often gift tea to me to try out. This one I purchased myself after being sent some to try as a tea rep a few weeks ago.

SaveSave
SaveSaveSaveSave