W is for walnuts! A healthy and wholesome addition to any cake, such as carrot or courgette or chocolate brownie. But today I've paired it with one of my faves - coffee. It's no. 23 of 26 alphabetical bakes! Make it extra special with coffee icing and candied walnuts. This is adapted from a Julie Le Clerc recipe.

1 c walnuts
125g butter, softened
3/4 c unrefined sugar (I used organic golden, coconut or rapadura also ok)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/4 c cold strong espresso coffee
1 1/3 c ...

Ice cream:
2 cans coconut cream or milk
1/2 c brown rice syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste with seeds or seeds from 1 vanilla pod
pinch salt

Chocolate sauce:
1/2 c water 
1/2 c cacao or cocoa powder
2 tbsp cacao butter
pinch sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the ice cream, put all ingredients in a blender and whiz. Churn in an ice cream...

The joy at revealing an upside down cake really is a baker's delight. You can make it with any fruit - I chose mango and coconut for a sunny vibe to offset a cold rainy day. It's no. 21 of 26 alphabetical bakes!

50g melted butter
1/2 c brown sugar
2 cans mango, drained or 2 fresh mangos, sliced
100g melted butter
1/2 c unrefined sugar (I used Ceres organic golden sugar)
3/4 c coconut milk or cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 c flour (I used spelt)
1 14 tsp baking powder
1/4 c...

My rustic vegan tiramisu was inspired by itdoesn'ttastelikechicken.com. Great name, great recipe! It's no. 20 of 26 alphabetical bakes!

Sponge cake:

1 3/4 flour (I used spelt)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c unrefined sugar
1/4 c brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
100ml vegetable oil
150ml cold filtered water

Espresso syrup:

4 shots espresso coffee
2 tbsp liqueur of choice
water

Cream:

1 c cashews, soaked overnight or for at least 30 min in boiling water
1/2 c non-dairy milk
3 tbsp liquid natural...

S is for salted caramels - no. 19 of 26 alphabetical bakes! I was pretty pleased with how these turned out. You CAN make caramels without cream, and I used unrefined sugars too. 

Makes 36-40 

400ml can coconut milk or cream
1/2 c rice syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 3/4 c coconut sugar (or rapadura)
3/4 c water
450g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa, dairy free)
digital sugar thermometer

Line a 20cm x 20cm square tin with baking paper.

In a small saucepan heat the coconut cream, r...

After making the indulgent rainbow cake with cream cheese icing for our daughter's 6th birthday I wanted to see if I could make a healthier version. It may take a bit of time colouring 6 bowls of batter and layering them in the patty tins but the result is worth it - and makes the lunchbox extra special!

Makes 12 cupcakes
1 cup milk (I used rice)
1 tbsp lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 c olive oil
1 cup natural sweetener (I used rice syrup with a little bit of date syrup)
2 c flour (I used a...

R is for rainbow cake! A successful attempt at a birthday cake for a 6-year-old thanks to Kerry Cooks.

Gel colours definitely make your life easier. They are a little more expensive than liquid food colouring but they will last a long time. Just squeeze the amount you need onto a teaspoon and mix into your batter - no colour anywhere else.

This is no. 18 of 26 alphabetical bakes!

For the cake:
350 soft butter
350g sugar (I used caster)
6 eggs
350g flour (I used spelt, Kerry specifies self...

Cooking 1 cup of quinoa 'seeds' yields a lot of quinoa! Enough to make 2 different batches of sweet cookies. These full-o-goodness chunky breakfast cookies are adapted from Healthful Pursuit. It's a bonus bake in my list of 26 alphabetical bakes!

Makes 18 cookies
1 1/2 c cooked quinoa
1 c flour (I used oat)
1/2 c ground flaxseed
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch salt
1/2 c liquid natural sweetener (I used rice syrup and a bit of date syrup. Maple syrup is also g...

Quinoa is actually a seed not a grain but that doesn't matter - it is a highly nutritious food with double the protein of rice and barley, plus calcium, manganese, magnesium, B vitamins and fibre. I've never used quinoa in sweet recipes before so I tried quinoa cookies 2 ways.
It's no.17 of 26 alphabetical bakes!

Makes 24 small cookies
1 c flour (I used spelt)
1/2 c desiccated coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
4 egg whites at room temperature (make some custard or lemon curd with t...