Vegan chocolate sandwich muffins

Yesterday we had the pleasure of having Eden's best pal come over for a little garden visit - Everleigh turned one on Monday and birthday girls need birthday cake. I tried a new recipe for the first time which I'm actually really pleased with - it wasn't the healthiest of bakes I've made as I was low on ingredients but it was certainly a worthy treat. It's super easy too!

Apple strudel breakfast bars

 Recently my cousin told me a recipe for apple strudel cocktails (raspberry gin or vodka, prosecco and cloudy apple juice, FYI.) Somehow I've not gotten around to making those (a rookie mistake!) but I DID make apple strudel breakfast bars instead! We get through a lot of oats in our house - they're cheap, nutritious and Eden absolutely loves them. This is a new combination - inspired by @littlemindfulvegan who uses applesauce to bind her oat bars. Because we get through lots of these I like to play with the recipe, so these consist of a few layers: a soft oat and fruit bar, layered with applesauce, and topped with crunchy cinnamon oats.

Vegan Raspberry and Cacao Rice Pudding

I've had one of those elusive, very productive mornings: I baked sourdough and put out the nappy wash I prepped last night. I've made Eden some oat bars and put dinner in the slow cooker. I've done the dishwasher, put on more laundry, but most excitingly, I made this raspberry and cacao rice pudding.

Foraging for Nettles / Stinging Nettle Pie

This might sound mad but stinging nettles are incredibly nutritious, tasty, and are lurking in many of our gardens for free! When Eden was born we brought a big batch of vegetable pasta with nettle pesto into hospital in with us as there wasn't much vegan food available. It was delicious and really kept us going through the first hazy newborn days, so I like them even more now.

Vegan Carrot Cake

 We had another first in our house on Eden's birthday yesterday: the first cake J has decorated! I was assembling the cake (as the icing is best done at the last minute) and a tired birthday girl decided she couldn't wait a moment longer for a feed. So J finished it off and did a lovely job - and Eden very happily ate all of her slice (no walnuts on her bit!) I thought I'd share this recipe for anybody else that needs a good vegan carrot cake in their life.