16 Jun 2022

An Anniversary Dinner @ The Old Hall, Ely

Our first wedding anniversary, we were in lockdown. Our second wedding anniversary, we were just emerging from another lockdown and I was secretly pregnant, my morning sickness only just beginning to fade.

So third time’s a charm eh?

I was determined that this year, we would be able to properly celebrate but whilst we might not have lockdowns and pregnancies to contend with, we do have a five month old so whatever the celebrations entailed, it would have to be local.

A mile or so from Ely is The Old Hall, a luxury wedding venue that offers a dinner service on some weekdays and it just so happened that they were doing one on the Wednesday that was our anniversary. My parents agreed to officially babysit A for the first time (as opposed to an hour here and there) and Gary and I got dressed up for the first time in god knows how long.

First things first - The Old Hall is stunning. If you happen to be getting married there and fancy inviting a random stranger - hi! The moment we arrived - despite very much looking forward to our meal - we both commented on how we kinda wanted to be arriving for a wedding and spend the whole day there. The building itself is gorgeous but personally, it felt like the grounds and the view really made it special. There was something about the terrace, lake (complete with swans and - because of course - actual swan hedges) and that flat land and big skies of The Fens in the evening sunshine that reminded me of the south of France. And to top it off, the cathedral sits majestically in the distant. It must make an excellent wedding photo backdrop.

We started with drinks in the library bar (yes, absolutely had something bubbly) before moving for dinner in the newly-built orangery which really made the most of the excellent views. The atmosphere was highly civilised, with gentle music in the background and the tables spaced apart. There were peonies in a glass jar on the table and warm bread with olive oil & balsamic vinegar was brought out to us.

The food was delicious. I started with the goats cheese croute with a tomato, red onion and basil salsa and Gary had the smoked salmon & beetroot tartlet with a feta & beetroot salad. We were both trying to eat as slow as possible because we didn’t want to finish! We then both had the lamb rump with rosemary polenta, tender stem broccoli and harrisa sauce for main and then Gary had the steamed date sponge with caramel sauce and rum & raisin ice cream for pudding, whilst I had the salted caramel chocolate tart with peanut butter ice cream. That tart - so good. And peanut butter ice cream is always a dream in my opinion.

We were then brought out a surprise plate of fruit and brownies with ‘happy anniversary’ written in chocolate which was such a lovely touch. Also, why is food even more appealing when decorated in gold? We couldn’t quite manage the brownies as well but they were boxed up for us so we could take home and enjoy the next day.

It had been raining when we arrived which we’d been disappointed about but very soon after sitting down for dinner, the sun began to shine and by the time we were finished, it had turned into the most gorgeous sunset view. The cathedral, grounds and fields were bathed in that golden light and we finished off a special evening by standing on the terrace and simply marvelling at the view.

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13 Jun 2022

Strawberries & Cream Vegan Cake (Plus Birthdays & Boat Trips)

This was the cake that I made for my sister’s birthday. We had a really lovely weekend full of birthday celebrations where family came to stay and the sun shone down. We did a little boat trip in Ely which was very pretty on a sunny day, had ice cream from the fudge shop (they add fudge crumb to the bottom of the cone/pot and it is delicious) and then we had a meal and wine at the bottom of my mum’s garden during that golden hour of sunlight. We stuck candles in this cake, did the usual butchering of ‘happy birthday’ and then granted my dad the task of cutting it up without the three layers sliding apart. I also drank wine with ice cubes in and got excited about the roses blooming in my garden because I am fully embracing being in my thirties. The next day, Gary and I headed to Harpenden to celebrate my best friend’s 30th birthday and I forced the leftover half of the cake on them because thou must not waste cake.

This cake is both vegan and gluten free and pulled together from browsing several cakes recipes on the Deliciously Ella app (which is brilliant by the way - I’d highly recommend). Happy baking!

For the cake

In a large bowl, mix together 600g buckwheat flour, 300g coconut sugar, 75g cacao powder, 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda and 3 teaspoons of baking powder. Melt 150g coconut oil over a low heat and then add to the bowl along with 150g date syrup and 900ml almond milk. Whisk until you have a smooth batter. Bake in 3 lined cake tins for 35 minutes at 180c.

For the ‘cream’

Whisk 400g of good quality coconut yoghurt (of the thicker variety) for 10 minutes, until it is really thick and holds its shape. Add 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and whisk for another minute. Spread a layer of strawberry jam and a layer of coconut cream over two of the cakes and assemble together so you have a three tiered cake. You may need to slice the tops of the cakes to make them more level. Don’t worry about everything being too neat or the cakes not being identical; this is not bake off lads.

For the chocolate sauce

Heat 7 tablespoons of cacao powder, 6 tablespoons of date syrup, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and a dash of almond milk over the hob on a low heat until you have a smooth sauce. Spread over the top of the cake and decorate with strawberries.