Hello! And a happy healthy birthday cake.

Today is my birthday! Not only is it my birthday but it’s my youngest son’s first birthday too! At this time last year our new little person had come thundering into our lives. I don’t think a parent could possibly ask for a better birthday than that.

I love birthdays. I love that each of us has a day to celebrate being us and a moment to appreciate what we have in our lives. Equally, I love celebrating the birthdays of the people I love, and thinking of all it means to have them in the world. And, of course, I love the obligatory birthday cake.

I always feel that my birthday is one of those landmark days that gives me the opportunity to think about my life and where I am, to reassess and consider what’s important to me in this moment. It’s a perfect time to set goals and think about where I want to be at this time next year and what I hope to have learned and accomplished. How will I have changed and grown?

I hope that by this time next year I’ll be living a fuller life, seizing each moment, and living as vividly as possible, relishing each second. Perhaps I’ll be filled with energy and living my dream to be supporting myself through creative endeavors, and sharing those endeavors with like minded people.

And so, with these thoughts and happy ambitions in mind, the time has come to poke my head above the surface of this cyber world, share some of the things that inspire me, and hopefully meet up with you for some mutual inspiration. In short; what better time could there be to launch a blog?

Given the birthday-ness of this day, the only possible way to start off this blog is with cake!

I’m currently quite obsessed with the use of vegetables in baking, and also with spelt flour. I love the slightly nutty taste and coarse texture that spelt brings to baking, and I really love the incredible moistness that the addition of vegetables lends.

A few years ago I came across a wonderful recipe on Eating Well for this pumpkin spice chocolate cake, and it’s been one of my favorites ever since. The recipe is moist and chocolaty with all of the lovely spices associated with pumpkin pie, and to top it off, it’s smothered in chocolate ganache. Delicious. I began to wonder if I could alter it here and there and maintain the flavor while switching out the flour for spelt and the sugar for honey (another of my current obsessions), and using squash in place of pumpkin which is not available right now. With a bit of experimentation and adjustment of ratios, this is what I came up with, and I’m really pleased with the results. I realize that the middle of the summer is a bit of an odd time to have a squash and spice cake, but really, if you can’t have a little of what you love on your birthday then when can you. I hope that you enjoy this bit of autumnal indulgence in the middle of summer too.

Thank you for stopping by the first ever post on Mission Magnificent. I am beyond thrilled to be starting this new adventure and hope you come back often!!

Chocolate squash spice spelt cake

2015-08-04 08:26:00

A deceptively indulgent healthy chocolate cake made with whole spelt flour, butternut squash and sweetened with honey

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Ingredients

1. 350g whole spelt flour
2. 25g cocoa powder
3. 3 tsp baking powder
4. 1 tsp baking soda
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
7. 1/4 tsp ground ginger
8. 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
9. 1/4 tsp ground cloves
10. 255g runny honey
11. 3 lrg eggs, beaten
12. 1 med squash, roasted
13. 125g full fat yogurt
14. 2 tsp vanilla extract
15. 120mL double cream (or coconut cream for a healthier version)
16. 120g dark chocolate, 75% cocoa solids at least, chopped

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C and grease and line an 8"x 8" square tin.
2. Prepare the roasted squash by placing it in a cloth lined strainer and squeezing as much water from it as possible. You can wrap the squash in the cloth and squeeze the water from it with your hands to dry it out more. Once most of the liquid is removed, blitz it in a blender until you have a smooth puree. Separate out 200 g of this prepared squash to use in your cake, and keep the rest for making soup or smoothies!
3. In a large bowl mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda salt and spices, until combined.
4. In a separate bowl mix together the honey, eggs, squash, yoghurt and vanilla until well combined.
5. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and carefully stir until just combined, but evenly moist.
6. Scoop the mixture into the prepared tin and place it in the centre of the oven for about one hour, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Meanwhile, to prepare your ganache, chop the chocolate finely and set it aside in a bowl.
8. Heat the cream until hot but not boiling, small bubbles should just be forming around the edges.
9. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes, and then stir the mixture until smooth and glossy.
10. Leave the ganache to cool until fairly cool but still runny. Set the cake on the wire rack over a roasting pan or tray to catch the drips and then pour the ganache evenly over the surface of the cake allowing it to drip down the sides. Allow the ganache to cool and set before transferring the cake to a serving tray. Cuts into 15-20 pieces of generous depth.

Roots & Wren https://rootsandwren.com/