Tuesday 4 August 2015

My Last Blog Post....


A very difficult decision, but yes, it is time for me to say goodbye. I’ve been blogging now since 2006 and 9 years is pretty good going but my heart just isn't in it anymore. This is down to a few reasons but mostly my health - the lupus keeps acting up and I find I just don’t have the energy or time. (Other food bloggers will know how much work goes into just one blog post!) As you can see from the above photo this isn’t down to a lack of ideas – those are all my recipes that were waiting to be blogged but I never got around to, shamefully just sitting in a pile!

I started this blog to simply share my recipes, hoping they would help out other vegans, new vegans and especially the vegan curious to show how easy and versatile a vegan diet is. I hope it did just that :-)

Mostly, I just want to thank all my readers for your kind words and support over the years. For those who took the time to email me or comment, to help promote the blog or a post etc…and all those who simply liked and followed. This blog wouldn't have taken off without you all so – THANK YOU!

As for me, I've been wanting to seriously scale back my ‘online’ time for a while now so will be doing just that. So, no more social media for me and I'll be spending much more time out in the garden and, when I am able to, working on the house….we built it 5 years ago and are nowhere near finished! The blog and all the recipes will of course remain up and I still kindly ask that the recipes are not reposted/reprinted but rather are just linked to instead.  

Lastly, who knows? If I miss blogging too much and feel better then I may start it up again but for now I’ll say goodbye.....

....but first, one more recipe! What, you didn't think I'd leave without one did you? ;-)


Vegan and Gluten-Free Mocha Celebration Cake
Mocha Cake • Coffee Buttercream • Chocolate Ganache

I actually made this back in May for my husbands birthday - see? I really can't get around to things anymore, lol....anyway, some of you might remember that we've been suspecting gluten is bothering him so I had to make a gluten free vegan cake for him. I had a good search online but in the end decided to "de-glutenize" my basic chocolate cake recipe (which is just the standard wacky cake recipe) with a lot of help from my friend Katie who is a great chef and has been cooking and baking gluten-free for many years now. Thanks Katie! 

Vegan and Gluten-Free Mocha Celebration Cake

Well, it turned out beautifully with great texture and flavour. My son remarked that "no one would guess this was gluten-free, it just tastes like regular chocolate cake" - which is just what I was after :-) Unfortunately I have used a product here that may be available only in the UK and Ireland but I'm sure alternative ones exist. To replace the flour I use a mixture of gluten-free oat flour, sorghum flour and Doves Farm's Gluten-Free white flour mix. - a mix of rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat. So hopefully you can find something similar if you can't buy that, but I'm sure any gluten-free white flour mix will work here :-) 

Vegan and Gluten-Free Mocha Celebration Cake

Gluten-Free Mocha Celebration Cake:

Chocolate Cake
240g Doves Farm's gluten-free white flour mix (see above for details)
70g sorghum flour
70g oat flour
300g caster sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
60g cocoa powder
3 tsp vanilla extract
160ml vegetable oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
480ml cold coffee 

Grease and line two 7 or 8 inch round cake pans - set aside. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Combine all dry ingredients and whisk well. Combine all wet ingredients and whisk well. Pour the wet into the dry and using the mixer beat for 5 minutes, until really smooth. Pour evenly into the two pans, level them and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool but leave them in the pans, they will split while cooling if you remove them. When cool remove from the pans, wrap firmly in cling film (again to prevent splitting).

Frosting:
175g vegan margarine 
430g icing sugar
2 ½ tsp instant espresso powder
1 Tbsp hot water

Dissolve the espresso powder in the hot water and set aside. Beat the margarine until light then start adding the icing sugar, beat well each time. When it starts getting dry add some of the espresso mixture. Continue adding the icing sugar and espresso mix until it is all added. You should have a soft but firm buttercream, if you find it a bit runny simply add some more icing sugar. If it is too stiff add a drop of dairy free milk.

Chocolate Ganache:
100g dark chocolate (70%), chopped
85ml soy cream
10g extra virgin coconut oil
½ Tbsp Kahlua 

Place the chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan heat up the cream and fat until it melts and it all just comes to the boil. Quickly pour over the chocolate, leave it a few seconds then whisk it up until smooth and glossy. Whisk in the kahlua. Leave it out at room temperature, stirring now and again until it thickens up slightly. It will be too runny to pour over the cake right away, you want it pourable but thick enough that it will only slowly run down the sides. Don't be impatient here, it can take awhile to get thick enough to pour over.

Assembly:

Place 1 cake onto cake stand and spread with the frosting, fairly thickly. Add the other cake on top then frost the sides and top. When the ganache is ready spoon it over top and spread it out until it just starts to run down the sides of the cake. 

The crucial thing now is to get it into the fridge. I left mine out and my kitchen was very warm which eventually caused the ganache to separate from the frosting a bit. Once I got it in the fridge this was no longer a problem though, so make sure you get it in right away! 


Vegan and Gluten-Free Mocha Celebration Cake

Enjoy!

♥♥♥

44 comments:

  1. You'll be missed Deb! Best of luck and hope your lupus doesn't act up too much. Your recipes are always amazing!

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    1. Thank You! ...and thanks for all the support :-)

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  2. I have been following you for about 7 years now. I don't often comment because I have a LOT of RSS Feed reader blogs and most of the time I just absorb and enjoy the awesome things that generous bloggers share. You have been one of the most generous bloggers and it seems only fitting that you head off and rejoin the real world and get yourself back. Social media is an amazing way to communicate with other people but it is also a hard taskmaster and it takes away more than it gives. I would just like to take the opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generous recipes, your amazing inventiveness and for sharing so much time and energy with us out here on the other side of the world. It's my birthday today. I am going to make this cake to celebrate. Have a fantastic life and from Douglas Adams, "So long, and thanks for all the tofish" ;)

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    1. Oh wow...thank you, such a nice comment you're making me weepy! :-D So very true what you've said about social media, I'm sure I'll miss it but also feel the need to step away from it and recharge so to speak. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and the cake turns out nicely for you! Loved the Douglas Adams quote - it's actually my 42nd birthday this September and I'm planning a Hitchhikers theme, complete with vegan Pan Galactic Blaster drinks! Many thanks again for all the support ♥

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  3. Sad sad times! You will be sorely missed Debbie.

    Glad to hear the blog will remain in its current state - a truly fantastic resource for vegans, the veg curious and anyone who has an interest in great food.

    All the best with your health and otherwise - we look forward to that revival post at some point in the future ;-)

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    1. Cheers Steve - thanks for all the support you've done in helping to promote the blog through the years. Much appreciated!

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  4. I never really commented on your blog but it's always been one of my favourites. Your haggis recipe is actually my go to Christmas dinner! I wish you really well in the future and hope everything goes well :)

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    1. Thanks Emma! Love that the haggis recipe is your go-to Christmas dinner :-) Thanks so much for following ♥

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  5. I'm too shy to comment anywhere, ever, but I just love your blog. You're so classy and clever and all of your recipes turn out perfectly! Thanks for your time and good luck in the real world. Hopefully more time in the sun/garden will bring some relief, it always does for me. Have a wonderful life!

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    1. Oh thanks so much for the wonderful comment Candice, much appreciated :-) I'm sure I will benefit greatly from more fresh air and less screen time :-) Thanks for following ♥

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  6. Hi Debbie,
    Like some of the others who have commented I don't often leave a comment but I have always loved your blog and every one of your recipes I have tried has been a great success. I hope that the Lupus leaves you alone for a while and that you enjoy your garden - just need some summer weather now eh? Take care and please pop back now and again to let us know how you are doing. Who knows you might miss the blogging?!?

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    1. Thank you! Yes, some summer weather will help for sure, haha, it's been awful! I'm so glad you liked the blog and that my recipes turned out well, thank you so much for following. ♥

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  7. While I totally understand why your leaving, I will be selfish to say that I wish weren't. I am a new vegan and just found your website a few months ago. I spent one whole weekend just drooling over your recipes. Your cooking envisions the way I want to live. The recipes I have tried are delicious. Thank you for your time and energy that you have so selflessly shared with the world. We appreciate you and your kind sharing spirit. I wish you well and hope your life is relaxed, gentle and full of happiness. Thank you. Brenda in the U.S.A.

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    1. Hi Brenda! Thanks so much for the lovely comment ♥ I'm so glad you found my blog all the same - congrats on becoming vegan and I hope the recipes continue to help you along the way :-) Best wishes!

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  8. This is sad - but I totally understand your need to scale down. I'd just like to let you know that your blog has always been a tremendous inspiration for a new vegan like me, and quite a few of your recipes have become favourites in our family - vanilla cake, chocolate chip cookies, pot pie, almond feta .... Your blog is really one of the best vegan blogs out there - I love the photogaphs and your stories, and I will really miss it. All the best & thank you of all that you have shared, and I do hope that you return to blogging someday ....
    Miertje from Germany

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    1. Hi Miertje! Thanks so much ♥ I'm so glad many of the recipes have become family favourites, that's great to hear :-) Thank you for following and yes, hopefully one day I will be able to return, I always loved blogging for sure so you never know!
      Take care, Deb

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  9. While you and your recipes will be missed, thank you for sharing such great ones with us. You blog is such a great example of how beautiful and delicious vegan recipes can be! Your almond cheese was the first vegan cheese I ever made. Thank you for your years of activism and wishing you much joy in your future.

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    1. Thanks for the comment and thanks so much for following ♥

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  10. I will miss your blog but I totally understand your decision! I hope your health will improve soon.

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    1. Hi Mihl! Thanks for all the support through the years. I almost never comment on other blogs but yours has always been one of my favourites. I'm looking forward to having the time now to try your recipes ♥

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  11. I've loved reading your blog over the years and have tried lots of the recipes. Thanks for all the inspiration and I hope your health stuff settles down. Good luck with everything for the future xxx

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    1. Thank you ♥ and thanks for following all these years!

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  12. As a prospective vegan who just discovered your site a couple weeks ago, I'm really sorry to hear that you're leaving, but I definitely understand how much of a time sink these sorts of things can be. (Your site looks incredibly classy!) Your baked almond feta was what lured me here, and I can tell that I'll be coming back again and again to try other things in your archive. You've created something beautiful, that clearly both has and will continue to have a big impact in peoples' lives, and for a great cause. Thank you so much!

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    1. Ah, thanks so much for the lovely comment ♥ I hope my recipes help and inspire you along the way! Best wishes,
      Deb

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  13. Although I have been following your blog for a year, it doesn't seem very long at all. I first learned about your site when I was researching vegan cheese and ran into an article that featured your baked almond feta. I then became intrigued with your other recipes and your dialogue. I am so glad that you will keep your recipes online for our future use and other "new" vegans. I would love to see the recipes you have on hand but understand how time consuming it is. Please take care of yourself and thank you.

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    1. Hi! Glad you found my site, seems so many people have come here from the almond feta recipe! :-) Thanks for following and for the comment ♥

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  14. Dear Debbie...
    First ..let me say..THANK YOU...
    for everything...
    You don't know how much your blog meant to me...
    I have 7yo girl who is diagnosed with acute allergic and force her to be vegan as she can take any dairy product and protein.
    i was struggling to give her proper meal and try my best to fulfill her wish is to enjoy the good food with her condition.
    Your blog somehow giving me that ability...
    Once again thank you..
    sad that you decide to stop blogging, but my hope and prayer always with you.
    well who knows someday ..something change your mind and we will see you again :)

    Wish you all the best...
    and you will always be missed

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    1. Aww Emma, thanks so much for the lovely comment ♥ I'm so glad my recipes were able to help you and your daughter out :-) I hope they continue to be of help and thanks so much for following!

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  15. Happy for you to be taking care of yourself in the way you need to, sad to say good-bye for now. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes but especially the Baked feta! We can't have company without making it.
    Wishing you all the best...Judy

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  16. Dear Debbie, i like your blog very much and i want to say "thank you". For all the wonderful recipies and the stories behind and around them. I will visit again and again. To look for inspiration and just to enjoy.
    I wish you and your family the very best.
    Greetings from Germany Heike

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    1. Hi Heike! Thank you :-) I'm so glad you like my blog and will be returning, thanks for following ♥

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  17. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. I am also guilty of not commenting on your posts, but I do read them. The last recipe I tried was the carrot thyme tart and that turned out wonderfully.

    I hope you can enjoy your 'unplugged' time. I know I did the same with all social media a few years ago and I had a lot more time doing the things that I wanted and spend time with the people I want. I now only post to my blog or write when I want to. When you don't have a lot of energy to spend, you better spend it the best you can.

    I hope you'll feel a bit better soon! And again, thanks for your beautiful pictures and creative recipes!

    Greetings ^.^

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    1. Aww, thanks so much :-) I think it's good for everyone to unplug now and again actually, I've already noticed a difference! First plan is to start to make it through my rather large pile of books "to be read" :-) So glad you liked the tart recipe and thanks for following ♥

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  18. So sorry to see you go. Take care of yourself and know you will be missed.

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    1. Thank you Sally and thanks for following!

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  19. Oh no, and this now that I just discovered your blog! Luckily for me, there are still so many recipes on this site to try :) I think it is a great decision to spent more time without the computer and internet and hope you will enjoy it! All the best for you and thank you for all the effort and time you put into ever wonderful recipe and for sharing them with us! Toni

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    1. Thanks so much Toni :-) I hope the blog remains a good resource for you, thanks for following!

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  20. NOOOO! I'm so sad! But happy that you've made a decision that feels right for you. Your blog is genuinely the best recipe blog for vegans I have ever come across, and I really hope that you'll keep it here for reference. Thanks for all the amazing recipes (your asian mince wraps are a staple in our house, and I stopped by to search for a recipe for a party I'm having this weekend) and I hope your health and house improve greatly xxx

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    1. Hi Christina! I wanted to thank you for being such a great follower for so many years, I always appreciated your support ♥ The blog and all the recipes will remain up and I can't rule out returning if things change, we'll see...I hope your party this weekend is vegantastic! I will look forward to the blog post :-) Take care!

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  21. I remember back when I first started blogging, I came across your blog and it was such an inspiration to me. I was vegan at the time (even though I'm not vegan anymore, I still love all the yummy vegan recipes!), and it was so helpful to me to read your blog. I even emailed you saying how much I loved it (You even replied! - I was shocked that you had time to reply, it was so nice of you). So being a reader of your blog for a long time now, I'm sad to hear you won't be posting anymore, but I'm so happy that you're doing what you need to for yourself. I believe (and I'm sure everyone else who loves your blog will agree) that taking care of yourself and spending time with your family is the most important thing.

    Wishing you all the best!

    Jess

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    1. Hi Jess! Thanks for the lovely comment and for following all these years, always appreciated ♥ I'm so glad my recipes helped you out and are still enjoyed :-) Thanks again and take care!

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  22. Hi all! I just wanted to thank you all so much for all the lovely comments and support. I'm going to take the final step now in going "offline" and turn off commenting now, apologies for those who didn't get a chance to comment but I thank you all as well for following and supporting my little blog here, it was, as always, hugely appreciated :-)

    Happy vegan cooking to all!

    Take care,
    Deb ♥

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    1. (I also wanted to thank Anna your comment - I was unable to publish it as I've removed the contact me page but it was appreciated, cheers!)

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