Peach and Pistachio Cake

peach-and-pistachio-cake-one-perfect-mess-easy-recipe-baking-upside-down-yotam-ottolenghi-gluten-free-stone-fruits-syrup-icing-3

‘Peach and pistachio; genius.’ I sat shaking my head, half in awe and admiration, half in disbelief that I didn’t come up with the idea myself. Over a lunch of falafel and bean salad and hommus and chocolate cake, I sat brainstoming baking ideas with a clever friend when she dropped this bombshell of a flavour combination. This particular marriage of fruit and nuts is something special; the sweet, ripe flesh of the peach is perfectly partnered by the distinctively charming flavour of pistachios, and the vibrant orange and green is so darn alluring and exotic. Served warm, this delightfully soft cake quite literally falls apart as undertones of almond, walnut and lemon zest blossom with each mouthful, all swathed in a delicate drizzle of lemon icing. Yes.

Continue reading

Carrot and Coconut Cake

Carrot and Coconut Cake with Lime Cream Cheese Frosting recipe One Perfect Mess blog easy simple baking layer celebration gluten free dairy free wheat free healthy fresh flowers naked cake 6

I have no idea where the past two months have gone. I am always vaguely aware that the older we get, the smaller a proportion of our life a month becomes. When we were five years old, a year felt infinite. But now, I’ve already made plans that lie six months ahead, and that time seems hardly a blip in the scheme of things. The years have become busy and blurred, and I often seem to find myself looking forward to a point several days or weeks or even months ahead. I’m trying vigilantly to stop this pattern, because it becomes too easy to wish life away trying to attain the next goal, experience the next milestone and arrive at the start of the next adventure. Life is now, and now is fantastic.

Continue reading

Lemon and Raspberry Naked Layer Cake

Lemon and Raspberry Naked Layer Cake recipe One Perfect Mess easy baking lemon cake raspberry cream cheese frosting raspberries from scratch fresh flowers rustic dessert 1

A flower-adorned Lemon and Raspberry Naked Layer Cake! I made this delightfully pretty tower for a recent pot-luck dinner, after dreaming about its creation for a few months. Layers of light and zesty lemon cake are enveloped in slatherings of raspberry cream cheese frosting; the combination of sweet and zingy flavours is so simple but absolutely foolproof. And yum. Very yum. I also love naked cakes. They’re so unassuming and modest, sitting delicately in their light coat of frosting, giving admiring passers-by a peek at the beauty of their concealed layers. They also lend themselves wonderfully to decoration, and I had such fun arranging these seasonal blooms from my local florist atop the cake’s surface!

Continue reading

Rainbow Sprinkles Cake!

Rainbow Sprinkles Layer Cake One Perfect Mess easy recipe chocolate buttermilk cake Donna Hay four layers vanilla swiss meringue buttercream frosting celebration hundreds and thousands colourful 17

This cake definitely deserves an exclamation mark in the title. And a few more here!!!!!! Because it’s just so darn happy! And pretty! And bright! This big guy is a mountain of rainbows and sugar, but his true beauty is in his simplicity. Four layers of my favourite soft chocolate cake sandwiched together with vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream, millions of sprinkles and some ever-so-fancy chocolate freckles from Australia’s own Haigh’s Chocolates. It’s the kind of cake you bake when you’re buzzing and bursting with glee, but can’t be stuffed with extravagant flavours and technical flourishes. It’s just simple, honest, delicious goodness.

Continue reading

Crazy Cookies and Cream Cake

Crazy Cookies and Cream Oreo Celebration Layer Cake One Perfect Mess recipe four layers layered chocolate swiss merinuge buttercream sprinkles ganache baking 24

Cake just got cray cray. Welcome to a new recipe full of chocolate cake layers,chocolate sprinkles, chocolate ganache and swiss meringue butter cream packed with smashed oreo cookies. It’s a carnival of culinary happiness that will make your inner child giggle with delight. And it’s just quite frankly delicious. I kept helping myself to ‘another slither’, until I’d essentially eaten a third of the darn thing. And then I slathered the off-cuts in leftover buttercream. So yes, this Crazy Cookies and Cream Cake and I become rather well aquainted!

Continue reading

Mango, Passionfruit and Coconut Vegan Cheesecake

Mango, Passionfruit and Coconut Vegan Cheesecake One Perfect Mess vegan easy recipe baking healthy no refined  sugar free cashews cashew nuts dairy free lactose free gluten free wheat free frozen cheese cake 4

Welcome to my 50th post! I could almost write a blog entirely dedicated to sharing cheesecake recipes with a world of hungry, curious lovers of crunchy bases, smooth and creamy fillings, and pretty toppings… And I believe the world would become a slightly better place for it. But for now, let us see what magic this new recipe can weave in your life! I present to you something a little out of the usual for a One Perfect Mess dessert, and I urge you to not reflexly screw up your nose and file this post as reeking with words like ‘wellness’ and ‘clean eating’ and all those enticing but slightly cringe-worthy faddish phrases that are thrown in your face every time you guzzle a big fat chocolate bar. Because there is nothing wrong with that chocolate bar. But believe me, there is everything right with this cheesecake. Also I sort of lied, because there’s actually no cheese in this cheesecake. Ok I know you’re probably thinking this looks bad, but just keep reading. It gets better. I promise.

Continue reading

Dark Chocolate and Beetroot Cake

Dark Chocolate and Beetroot Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting and Fresh Raspberries recipe One Perfect Mess moist rich soft raspberry easy 2

Before you raise your eyebrows in suspicion of this cake’s unusual secret ingredient, let me argue its case. I was served this Dark Chocolate and Beetroot Cake upon arrival in London last year. It was baked lovingly by my cousins, drizzled with dark chocolate ganache and intricately decorated with a white chocolate welcome message. I was so taken aback by how incredibly rich and velvety the first bite was. The idea is not to actually taste the beetroot, but there is a dark, seductive, earthy tone to the cake that is utterly delicious.

Continue reading

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake

Mexican Hot Chocolate Layer Cake with Toasted Marshmallows cinnamon chilli dark chocolate swiss meringue buttercream recipe One Perfect Mess 2

This is no ordinary chocolate cake; the four layered tower is held together by a rich and velvety dark chocolate buttercream, laced with cinnamon and chilli, and topped with toasted fluffy marshmallows. The result is a subtle, intriguing and devilishly delicious combination of sugar, spice and heat. A Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake that promises seduction, fascination and admiration. On a separate note, it’s ridiculously fun setting fire to the marshmallows just prior to serving. Technically you should hold a flame torch/match over the marshmallows until they just start to toast. But obviously I got a bit overexcited by my new toy, and ended up frantically blowing out the flames that threatened to engulf my latest creation! Not sure I’m old enough to play with fire without supervision.

Continue reading

Rocky Road Celebration Cake

Rocky Road Celebration Cake with Peanut Frosting Swiss Meringue Buttercream Layer Chocolate Cake Peanuts Raspberries Mini Marshmallows Coconut One Perfect Mess recipe 13

I’m back! After a few weeks of resting the old broken arm, I am now mobile and full of energy and ready for some serious baking. I thought I’d crash back onto the blogging scene with something fancy, so I present to you this monstrously imposing and ridiculously delicious absurdity of a creation; 2 layers of rich, fluffy chocolate cake sandwiched together with slatherings of peanut swiss meringue buttercream, filled with raspberries, shredded coconut and mini marshmallows. I couldn’t help but drizzle the whole thing in dark chocolate ganache prior to piling rocky road and crunchy peanuts on top… Whoops.

Continue reading

Raspberry, Coconut and White Chocolate Celebration Cake

Raspberry, Coconut and White Chocolate Celebration Cake recipe One Perfect Mess 2 If you like your cakes pretty, pink and delicious, then take a moment to imagine this; three layers of velvety coconut cake held together by fresh raspberry buttercream, wrapped in a whisper of white chocolate ganache, to which sweet little coconut flakes cling. Top the darling creation with delicate raspberry meringue kisses, and you have an irresistible collaboration of a few of my favourite things. Continue reading