Simple Pink Fruit Salad (V, Vegan)

09-03-2017 Local Black Bookbreakfast, dessert, fruit, fruit salad, grapefruit, healthy, paleo, raspberry, recipe, vegan, vegetarian1 Comment

When I scroll through restaurant menus online (everyone has their passion eh?), I’m always shocked by how expensive fruit salad are. You want me to pay HOW MUCH for some chopped up fruit?? Are they made of gold or what?

And then I started making fruit salad at home and found out why that is.

Because you see, fruit salad are a bit more finicky that they seem. As it turns out, prepping fruit takes forever. Washing, drying, peeling, chopping, segmenting… There’s no shortcut to be used and the technical skills needed to make the perfect fruit platter are very demanding. Plus, unlike many desserts, fruit salad cannot be made in advance.

Pink Fruit Salad recipe | Cake + Whisky

As for many of life’s finest things, simplicity truly is the ultimate sophistication, and a beautiful fruit bowl is difficult to top for a light, refreshing breakfast or dessert. So I suppose in a way, it’s worth the premium restaurants make you pay for it.

Or you know, the effort to DIY.

If you have a little bit of extra time in the morning or last-minute guests for dinner, take the 10 or so minutes to make this delightfully simple, perfectly balanced pink fruit salad.

Despite how intricate it looks and complex it tastes, it’s actually very simple to put together.

All in all a truly grape way to start the day or end the meal on a light, colourful note!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:4]

Looking for more breakfast inspo?

Super Breakfast Yoghurt Pots

Vegan Sticky Toffee Porridge

Cranberry Oatmeal Cake

Yoghurt Breakfast Parfait with Plum Compote

14-08-2016 Local Black BookAutumn, blackberry, breakfait parfait, breakfast, cane syrup, compote, fruit, hazelnut, healthy, healthy eating, no-refined sugar, parfait, plum, recipe, vegetarian, yoghurt3 Comments

I might be fooling everybody into believing I’m a city kind of person the majority of the time.

But the second Autumn hits, all my hard work goes right down the drain.

With trees getting covered with fruit and bushes bending with berries, foraging brings out the most countryside-y aspects of my personality, and it’s very likely you’ll find me climbing on trees or getting my hair stuck in brambles in a desperate attempt to fill my fridge with some hand-picked seasonal jewels.

This breakfast parfait recipe was directly inspired by the first blushing plums (delivered to my door by Farmdrop) and a particularly succesful commute blackberry forage.

Combined with creamy Greek yoghurt and crunchy roasted hazelnuts, it makes for a super easy, perfectly seasonal and incredibly satisfying breakfast!

Yoghurt Breakfast Parfait with Plum Compote, blackberries and hazelnuts (serves 2)

Ingredients: 200g Greek yoghurt, 200g plums (stones removed and quartered), 50g blackberries, 25g hazelnuts, 2 tsp cane syrup (or other liquid syrup), 1/4 tablespoon cinnamon powder

1. In a dry pan, roast your hazelnuts for a few minutes until golden, then break them down to small-ish pieces with a mortar and pestle.

2. Comine the plums, cane syrup and cinnamon powder with a tiny bit of water in a hot pan, then simmer until the plums break down and reach a slightly jam-like consistency.

3. Layer the yoghurt, plum compote, fresh blackberries and roasted hazelnuts into two glasses. Top with more blackberries and hazelnuts and serve immediately.

PIN FOR LATER:

Melon and Prosciutto salad

25-07-2016 Local Black Bookcooking, fresh, fruit, ham, healthy, lunch, melon, pesto, prosciutto, recipe, salad, summer2 Comments

When it’s as hot as it’s been for the past couple of weeks, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven, or spend any time near the stove. I’m hot enough as it is, thank you very much.

So when it’s hot, salad it is!

Favourites include this Mexican corn salad and this Instagram-ready Rainbow salad as well as a Summer-on-a-plate Italian classic: Melon and Prosciutto Salad!

Not only is the pairing of sweet Cantaloupe melon and salty prosciutto simply irresistible, but it’s also one of the easiest things ever to make.

Perfect for those days when the very idea of standing by a stove makes you sweat!

Melon and Prosciutto Salad (serves 4-6 as a starter or 2-3 as a main)

Ingredients: 1 ripe melon, 1 pack of prosciutto (6 slices), handful mini mozzarella balls (or 1 teared-up regular size ball), 2 tbsp of pesto (find my recipe in here), 2 tbsp olive oil, cracked black pepper to taste

1. Cut your melon in half, discard the seeds, then slice each half into 4-6 pieces. Remove the skin on each piece, then place on a big serving plate.

2. Tear up the prosciutto into thin ribbons and place on the serving dish, on top of the melon. Add the mozzarella balls as well.

3. Loosen the pesto with the olive oil, then pour on top of the melon. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper and serve immediately.

What’s your go-to heatwave meal?

George’s Day Dessert – Strawberries & (Coconut) Cream

23-04-201523-04-2015 Local Black BookBodum, coconut, cooking, dairy-free, dessert, easy, fruit, george day, healthy, healthy living, strawberry and cream, vegan10 Comments

If dragon slaying is not on your agenda for today (who even has time for that nowadays?), it doesn’t mean you can celebrate St George’s Day! I was short on time, so I decided to go with a really easy re-interpretation of the great British Strawberry & Cream classic, but with a bit of an exotic twist…
You wouldn’t suspect it, but that’s actually a dairy-free, totally vegan-friendly (and fairly healthy) take on the traditional recipe thanks to the use of coconut cream. And it’s the easiest of things to make! All you have to do is whip your coconut cream until soft peaks form (pretty much like you would with regular cream), slice up your strawberries and layer it all up in pretty glasses (mine are Bodum), and tadaaah! 🍓I would highly recommend you listen to your heart when it comes to adding extra toppings; I went for fresh passionfruit and my boyfriend with maple syrup and both versions were delicious! And I’m pretty sure chocolate chips or salted caramel sauce would work wonders too!🍓 How are you celebrating the most British day of the year? Should I stick to my Pimm’s in the Garden plan or do you have any recipe I should check out? 🍓

Cake and Whisky

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