My Birthday Cake

Well hello there my kitchen siblings, nutrition nerds, grubstackers and wholefoodies! Have I got a treat for you!

Welcome to October. I love celebrating my birthday with cake for breakfast. It makes so much sense to me, particularly if it’s front-loaded with nutrition.

Meet my salted dark chocolate and rose petal pie. The secret ingredient is plain silken tofu.

Not known to excite or delight, tofu has suffered bad PR these last few decades. Until now. Tofu is a terrific source of protein, so it makes sense to hide it in here. “But tofu!” you scream. “How could you?” Silken tofu is, in fact, a sassy secret in the preparation of smooth, healthy-assed desserts. Aside from its excellent texture, this delicate form of tofu tastes perfectly meh, making it ideal to sneak into chocolate pies.

I’ve kept my birthday recipe vegan too, which means it’s dairy-free and egg-free for all my free-fromers. Think of it as the UN of chocolate tarts, representing the interests of everyone with its peace-keeping priority.

The rose dust is a special wave from

Lily Diamond

in Maui. Lily showed me how to turn the dried petals in my kitchen into floral fairy dust. Lily, the beautiful bard and culinary genius.

Healthy food has real currency in my life. So, too, does incandescence. I love feeling good. When my body sings from the inside, I feel atomic. When I’m eating crap, I feel like an asthmatic snail in a 100m sprint.

So back to this pie …

Tofu is rich in phytoestrogens called isoflavones. It looks like our body can convert isoflavones into compounds that mimic some of the helpful effects of oestrogen. Yahtzee! So while our perimenopausal sisters experience a decline in oestrogen production, we can bring them untamed joy with copious slices of this pie!

No need to stick to gorgeous rose petal dust. Try it with blueberries. Or pop some freezedried raspberries into the recipe and replace hazelnut butter with tahini.

The phytoestrogens in tofu dock to oestrogen receptors in the body. As we age, our production of oestrogen drops. But our oestrogen receptors don’t always get the press release, and keep calling for more. Isoflavones have shown to help, as can Hormone Replacement Therapy (isoflavones being less potent, but no less impressive). You’ll find lots of isoflavones in soya yoghurt and tempeh too.

Other recipes to check out, containing isoflavones for my perimeno sisters?

• kimchi cream

• chickpea & mango madras

• pumpkin pie muffins

• chickpea harissa stew

• lemon & blueberry muffins

• tempeh kimchi pancakes

• Smashed chickpeas on sweet potato boats