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Marnie Searchwell

@marniesearchwellcakes

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I’ve won 12 GREAT TASTE awards – lush cakes, made with organic gluten-free ingredients. All types of free-from available. Email via website to order

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Another lush Lemon & Lavender Cake for Zainab.

Her dietary regime means she can’t have starches. Or sugar, but honey’s good. As are almonds, eggs and citrus 😅

Unfortunately, since last year, butter is banned.

Back then, I dug out my trusty copy of Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache, by @harryeatsfood. Harry is one of my free-from food heroes – all the clever cake recipes in this book use vegetables instead of butter.

Mum and I settled on a repeat of last year’s Lemon & Lavender Cake – made with ground almonds, lemons and lavender, and sweetened with honey.

Once again, I used buckwheat flour instead of the recipe’s rice flour – Z is OK with buckwheat, but can’t tolerate rice.

Last but not least, the essential moisture-providing veggie ingredient: steamed swede, finely puréed.

I gave the hot cake a good lemon & honey syrup soak. And once cooled, I added a coconut butter frosting – big thanks to Rain’s Cozy Life on YouTube for her @Vitamix technique: worked a treat!

Purple is Zainab’s favourite colour, so I decorated her cake with organically grown, unsprayed asters and a sprinkling of perovskia.

Happy Birthday, Zainab 💜💜💜

#freefrom #glutenfree #lemonlavender #edibleflowers #cakecakecake by @marniesearchwellcakes

Autumn on the allotment …

And the Cosmos are still going strong.

My first attempt at growing them - and from seed! And did they deliver? Yes, they did!

Clouds of pink and white – just fabulous. And the bees love ‘em … watch right to the end!

So happy to have used my home-grown Cosmos on a couple of cakes this summer - watch this space.

AND I’ve been able to fill our vases at home with flowers!

A real delight 🩷🤍💜

#cosmos #allotment #flowers #growyourown #edibleflowers by @marniesearchwellcakes

Planning a wedding? Or a big party?

Then why not join us in Bermondsey this Sunday?

We’ll be there with a host of other suppliers, ready to chat with you about what you’d love at your event.

We’ll have delicious cake for you to sample … and champion wedding caterer @suzannejamescaterers will be heading things up, and providing scrumptious canapés.

The event will be hosted by @smallbeertaproom at their HQ: 70-72 Verney Road, London, SE16 3DH

Come and explore the space, and meet handpicked wedding suppliers, party planners & photographers, like @elysiumeventplanning and @magpie.eye.weddings

You’ll be able to enjoy food and drink pairings, and hopefully, get inspired for your own celebration!

Interested? Email events@smallbeer.co

See you on Sunday!

#wedding #glutenfree #dairyfree #vegan #cake by @marniesearchwellcakes

Dan’s Lemon & Olive Oil Cake was layered with lush lemon & courgette jam.

Yes - you read that right! The courgette gives the jam more substance - so it’s got more texture than a curd (which I find a bit rich & icky) 😕

All the ingredients in this cake are gluten-free and dairy-free …

Layers brushed with lemon syrup …

Filled & frosted with milk-free lemon buttercream. I use vegan ‘butter’, and add in a dollop of vegan soft ‘cheese’ - to make the buttercream smoother and silkier. Yum 😋

@naturli organic vegan block
@violife vegan soft ‘cheese’
@petersons.farm.produce organic lemons
@infinityfoodswholesale organic gluten-free flours & unrefined fine cane sugar
@silverwood_bakeware - perfect heat distribution

#glutenfree #dairyfree #birthdaycake #lemoncake #organicingredients by @marniesearchwellcakes

So …

I can’t match the sheer beauty of Bronwen @bayousaintcake’s fabulous Fig Galette …

But here’s my attempt to transform the very ripe figs and a few less-than-perfect apples from our allotment into something scrumptious.

I used Dan Lepard’s Short & Sweet recipe for gluten-free sweet shortcrust pastry – always turns out well.

Blind-baked and cooled. And filled with frangipane - this time, Stephanie @growcookeat Alexander’s recipe in The Cook’s Companion … switching in pistachio for half the ground almonds.

All brushed with organic apricot jam, for a bit of gloss … yum yum, Mum 😋

#figtart #glutenfree #allotment #fruit #growyourown by @marniesearchwellcakes

Lemon & Olive Oil Cake, for Dan’s birthday bash at @loreofthelandpub.

Layers of gorgeous gluten-free, dairy-free lemon cake, brushed with lemon syrup, with zingy milk-free lemon buttercream in between.

Decorated with black- and blueberries, yarrow and lavender flowers, lemon slices, and whitecurrants from my allotment 🍋🫐

#glutenfree #dairyfree #birthdaycake #lemoncake #cakecakecake by @marniesearchwellcakes

More allotment love …

* How many honey bees can fit on a globe artichoke flower?
* Raspberry harvest … and whitecurrants in abundance
* and a coy Red Admiral butterfly 🙂   #honeybees #allotmentlove #naturesbounty #redadmiral #growyourown by @marniesearchwellcakes

Jasmine & Reece chose a Lemon Drizzle Cake and a Lime & Coconut Cake for their wedding day in June.

Both made with organic, gluten-free, dairy-free ingredients.

The sun was shining bright – and straight into the conservatory, where I was dressing the cake!

So I added the lemon slices, and the organically-grown allotment roses (aren’t they utterly fabulous & flouncy? 🤩) - as quickly as I could!

And clusters of allotment whitecurrants, too - for a little pop of sparkle🤍

And then, there was a quick decision – bring the cake-cutting moment forward, then whizz the cake away to a cooler, shadier spot!

Love that sun! But sometimes it can be ‘challenging’!😅

Thanks to the team at @oaksfarmweddings for being on the ball!

And to Jasmine & Reece, for choosing me to make their special cake – I’m so glad you all had a lovely evening … “such a love filled day” 💛🤍💚

#glutenfree #dairyfree #glutenfreewedding #weddingcake #summerwedding by @marniesearchwellcakes

Here’s an interesting take on my Vegan Mocha Choc Cake – a @freefromawards Gold winner, made with gluten-free ingredients, mostly organic.  Pav needed an egg-free cake. But dairy wasn’t an issue, so I was able to use butter in the cake, and cream cheese in the choc fudge buttercream.

@naturya single origin fairtrade cacao  @billingtonsuk unrefined cane sugars
@rudehealth soya drink
@raynersfoods golden syrup
@infinityfoodswholesale gluten-free flours
@nielsenmassey_culinary alcohol-free Madagascar vanilla
@philadelphia_uki full fat soft cheese
@cafedirect Macchu Picchu coffee
 Suri loves purple – and there was so much to choose from on the allotments! Thanks, as ever, to Mother Nature – and my allotment friends 💜💜💜   #chocolatecake #freefrom #glutenfree #awardwinner #eggfree by @marniesearchwellcakes

Lemony deliciousness from a few months back …

A special order – delivered to Evelyne at @officialronnies for the @angeliquekidjo and @alexandretharaud French songbook gig, for a backstage break between lunchtime & evening concerts … so honoured!   It’s a Lemon & Pistachio cake – a Great Taste award-winner, and one of my best-sellers.

Made with lashings of lovely lemon zest & juice. Zesty and buttery. All ingredients gluten-free. Yum yum ! 💛

This one’s a bit special – it had to be almond-free. So I doubled up on the pistachios.

On top, a lemon glaze and drip, lemon slices, blueberries and nibbed pistachios 🍋🫐

All ingredients gluten-free, and organic - thanks to my erstwhile suppliers at @infinityfoodswholesale 🫶

#lemon #lemonpistachio #awardwinning #glutenfreecake #freefrom by @marniesearchwellcakes

Look who visited my allotment this week – what a fabulous creature!

Precious moments … volume up for the birdsong!

The insects are all over the Valerian – and the bumblebees are loving it too.

#peacock #butterfly #valerian #allotment organicgardening by @marniesearchwellcakes

Another week, another wedding tasting …

M discovered my cakes at the wonderful wedding showcase at @hornimanmuseumgardens in March, organised by @suzannejamescaterers and @elysiumeventplanning 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

She sampled a few of my flavours there, and loved them. Her favourites – both Great Taste award-winners – were the White Choc & Raspberry, and the Chocolate & Olive Oil.

So she brought N along to visit with me last week. And we shared both flavours. N loves fruit cake too, so I also made a Luxury Fruit Cake for them to try.

As ever, all the ingredients were gluten-free, and organic wherever possible.

A hot pot of decaf tea, and lots of yummy cake – what’s not to love?

N said “This is SO much better than a wine tasting!”

We talked about the plans for their wedding day – and I was delighted to hear they were serving the cake for dessert.

I’m always happy to hear that – it means the cake will actually get eaten up. Instead of being left on the plate, because everybody’s already had enough to eat!

We all enjoyed a slice of the taster cakes here … and M & N took the rest home to try again later.

It’s always a pleasure – to spend an hour or two with my wedding clients … to sit and talk and get to know them a little bit.

And of course, I’m very happy to know you both loved your flavours!

#weddingtasting #glutenfree #greattaste #weddingcake #londonwedding by @marniesearchwellcakes