My new go-to chocolate cake

For years I've followed Molly Wizenberg's chocolate fondant recipe every time I wanted to eat chocolate cake. Now I've got a new one, a plant-based one.

Chocolate and Courgette cake

For the cake:
1 cup oats
1/4 cup cacao powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 courgette, chopped
1/2 cup date paste
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC. Grease and flour a cake tin (with coconut oil and coconut flour). In a blender process the oats at a high speed until they reasemble a fine flour. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the cacao, the salt and baking soda, and mix well.
Add all the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth. Pour over dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

For the icing:
2 tbsp + 2 tsp maple syrup
2 tbsp + 2 tsp tahini
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients until smooth and even. Spread over the cooled cake.

Serve at room temperature.

Making the most of wild blackberries

It was late September and all the wild blackberries had already dried out on their bushes. "Next year", I said to myself, "I need to pick them earlier".

So this year, on a cloudy August afternoon, I decided to go and check on the wild blackberry bushes that are abundant near Serra da Arrábida. It was just at the right moment. Some of them were already dried but my mother and me still managed to pick a lot of plump, shiny and sweet wild blackberries.

As I drove back home I couldn't stop thinking about a berry pound cake recipe I had tried from the wonderful book A Homemade Life - one of my favourite cookbooks ever - by Molly Wizenberg, the creator of one of my longtime favourite blogs, Orangette.

For this recipe I've followed her advice on using blackberries instead of blueberries and raspberries, and did the suggested correction of flavourings, adding lemon and orange zest to the recipe. I've also opted for coconut sugar, with the correspondent adjustment of quantity, since coconut sugar is much sweeter than the regular one.

Wild Blackberry Pound Cake

2 cups + 2 tbsp flour, preferably spelt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups coconut sugar
5 eggs
250g unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp orange zest
2 cups blackberries

Start by pre-heating the oven to 180ºC and placing your oven rack in the middle position. Grease and flour a bundt pan (I used a silicone one). In a bowl whisk 2 cups of flour, baking powder and salt. In a food processor blend sugar with eggs for about 1 minute. Then add the the diced butter,lemon and orange zest and blend again, not forgetting to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients and process until just combined. In a large bowl toss the blackberries with the 2 tbsp of flour. Pour the batter over the berries and gently fold to combine. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it evenly on the top. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

I can't get these out of my mind

I've made these whole wheat date scones just a couple of weeks after arriving here in Scotland and I've just been craving for them ever since. With a delicate and yet fulfilling texture, these scones make the perfect mid morning or afternoon snack.

I followed the recipe that is on one of my favourite blogs of all time, Orangette, only substituting the nutmeg for cinnamon and using sea salt instead of kosher.

Start by pre-heating the oven to 180ºC, setting the rack in the middle of the oven. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl mix 125g of plain flour with 125g of whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoon of baking powder, a pinch of sea salt, 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon, and 2 heaping tablespoons of golden brown sugar. Using the tips of your fingers, work about 5 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter into the flour mixture, pinching the butter and the flour until you have a crumbly mixture. At this point, stir in about half a cup of pitted chopped dates. With the help of a fork, mix 100ml of whole milk, adding up to 50 ml more if the dough seems to dry. Just don't add it all at once otherwise the dough might get too sticky. Once the dough is coming together, use your hands to bring everything together and turn it on a slightly floured surface. Form a 1.5-2cm high disk with the dough but resist the temptation to knead it, just press it gently. Cut the dough into wedges, using a sharp knife (it's important to cut it with a single straight cut instead of a serrating kind of movement) or use a cutter to make circles. Arrange the scones on the baking sheet and brush them with a very well beaten egg. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.