More Cake, Please!

Nectarine, dark chocolate and walnut cake with a freight of fibre and omega 3

Hello dear friends!

I hope you have been blessed with comfortable weather so far.

I am in Wicklow right now, where it is always a few degrees chillier than Dublin (especially in the summer). So hot tea and cake is a daily ritual after my swim. (And often a hot water bottle too). This seems so foreign to my friends in France, sweltering in the high 30s. So next week, I have a coffee sorbet coming your way!

My local beach in Wicklow, which closes in August and September while the seals raise their adorable fuzzy pups

But for now, it’s back to the cake station and my favourite summer fruit - the nectarine. As always, there’s a nifty PDF version of the recipe for you to print off and save. Or send to a loved one.

Peachy Nutrition

Peaches and nectarines hold surprising amounts of vitamin B3, more commonly referred to as niacin in pharma-land. This important B vitamin is associated with improved cardio health and circulation.

Then there’s beta-carotene, just one of many carotenoids housed inside their honeyed flesh. When we eat beta-carotene, our body turns it into vitamin A (especially useful for sunkissed skin). How groovy is that?

Carotenoids receive lots of attention among health scientists because of their potential role in helping to protect against the ravages of heart disease as well as the obvious role in skin health. Thunderous applause, Mother Nature!

Onto the Cake …

If Shakespeare was reincarnated, this cake might be it. Nectarine, dark chocolate and walnut cake.

We love sneaky slices for breakfast, accompanied by black coffee. There's a consignment of brain fuel in the form of omega-3 in every wedge of this cake (thank you flaxseed). My search for omega 3 is determined by some wild menopausal algorithm of late. All the better when it comes with chocolate.

What Else?

There's enough fibre in here to make your pipes blush. It’s not just the usual suspects delivering fibre here (flaxseed, nuts and rye), but also the stealthy aqua faba from draining your latest tin of chickpeas. Think shortchain fatty acids (SCFAs). You can drain butterbeans too, especially these ones which offer terrific whipping levels of aqua faba. But chickpeas routinely produce the best aqua faba peaks.

Want to learn more about SCFAs? Lots of very accessible info here with podcasts to support learning. Just press play. Our intestinal real estate is like a mini Hogwarts!

Aqua faba is brilliant to bake with, and often used as an egg replacement in vegan recipes. Simply drain chickpeas, and keep the liquid (aka aqua faba).

You'll notice we use heart-healthy, cholesterol-slaying, extra virgin olive oil as opposed to nutritionally void margarine. There’s also heaps of vitamin E to feed your skin (thank you almonds). Vitamin E is that special nutrient designed to tamper with aging skin. It works by protecting fats from being mugged by free radicals. Scientists are in agreement that organisms age when cells accumulate free-radical damage (sunburn, stress, poor food choices, pollution). Let’s hear it for vitamin E and the almond!

Next up, black coffee granita. See you then?

And if you have a pal who loves to upgrade their food choices to help their body and their brain sing, please do send them a link.

I would not, could not, continue without you reading, subscribing, enjoying and celebrating this little space on Substack. I’m so grateful to each and every one of you, especially to my paid subs whose support continues to sponsor my time and my work. You know who you are.

Lots of love, light, dark chocolate, and summer nectarines,

Susan Jane

x

// Nectarine, Dark Chocolate & Walnut Cake//

This is a twist on Tom Hunt's emmer torte, and a homage to the wholefood gods. Simple wholefood ingredients make me feel refreshed and restored, ready to tackle life's chronic adversities. Poor food choices leave me feeling depleted and uninspired.

If the cake is destined for children, I recommend swapping out half of the dark chocolate with a good quality white chocolate instead. White chocolate, peach and walnut cake? Yes please!

125g walnuts

100g ground almonds

60g ground flaxseed

60g whole rye flour

2 tablespoons cocoa or cacao powder, plus more for greasing

140g light muscovado or coconut sugar

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking powder

100ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing

100ml aqua faba

75g dark chocolate, chopped roughly

2-3 nectarines, sliced thinly