Outfit Post - April Sunshine

I haven't talked about it here but I've been struggling with anxiety and panic disorder for almost a year now, and have started CBT which is giving me some hope that things will get better. After a couple of sessions I came to the decision that dieting and continually trying to hate my body into something that I like the look of has actually been pretty detrimental to my mental health over the years, so I've decided to try something different. I'm making a conscious decision to embrace the body I have, appreciate all it has done for me (it grew and birthed two babies!) and start to love myself and regain a little of my self worth. 

I love looking at outfit posts on other people's blogs! I've wanted to do some of my own for a long time but always felt too self-conscious about having my photo taken. But I've decided to push myself and share an outfit post here every now and then. I know quite a few people who said it has helped their self confidence, so hopefully it will do the same for me!

The past couple of weeks the weather here in England has been all over the place! Last week we had snow and sleet - it's nearly May for goodness sake! So today when I saw that the sun was shining I of course had to put on my prettiest dress (I got it in a charity shop - amazing huh!) and make the most of the sunshine.

I love all colours, but I'm pretty obsessed with green and pink together at the moment! Any excuse to use my glittery pink satchel! And I know it's not Easter but I'm so in love with my Chocolate Bunny Brooch by Kate Gabrielle that I'm going to wear it year round!

Outfit details: Dress/Thrifted Seasalt. Cardigan/Thrifted. Brooch/Kate Gabrielle. Satchel/Paperchase. Jelly Sandals/SunJellies. Glasses/Firmoo.

Almond Raspberry Cake

I recently discovered that wheat & gluten don't agree with me, and my first thought was 'but cake! Noooooooooo!' (I really love cake) but I've been experimenting and gluten free vegan cake can be pretty good! I've even managed to make some incredibly fudgy brownies (I'll be posting the recipe next week) but today I'm sharing the recipe for these Almond Raspberry Cake.

Sweet, chewy almond sponge with a raspberry jam ripple & flaked almonds, finished with a drizzle of thick lemon icing. Perfect cold with a cup of tea or hot with vegan custard as a delicious dessert!

Almond Raspberry Cake

Serves 10

1 1/4C plain gluten free flour (Doves Farm or Bob's Red Mill are good!)

1C ground almonds

1C granulated sugar

1Tbsp baking powder

1 1/2C almond, rice or soy milk

1/2C vegetable oil

1Tbsp aquafaba

1tsp almond extract

2tsp apple cider vinegar

2Tbsp smooth raspberry jam

1/3C flaked almonds

for the icing

1C icing sugar

1-2tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 175/350 and line a square cake tin with grease proof paper.

In a large mixing bowl mix the flour, ground almonds, sugar and baking powder until combined. Add the plant milk, oil, aquafaba, almond extract & vinegar and whisk together until the mixture is smooth.

Pour into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Create the raspberry jam ripple by piping jam stripes vertically over the surface of the cake and then run a toothpick or knife through each one horizontally over and over until you have lovely neat ripples (if that's too much hassle then you can just drop blobs of jam on the surface of the sponge mix and swirl them into the batter with a toothpick or knife) Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and bake for 35-40mins, until lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Leave to cool completely in the tin. Once cool make the icing by mixing the lemon juice and icing sugar together. Spoon into a piping bag and drizzle evenly over the surface of the cake. Cut into slices or squares and devour!

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.