Another weekend has rolled along at last! It’s been a bit frantic in our household since my last post as we finally stumbled across a house that ticks almost all of our boxes and is within our price range. Despite ourselves, we got quietly (and internally) really excited upon seeing its potential, but what unfortunately often happens with good properties, we weren’t alone.
When we opened the negotiation with an acceptably lower-than-the-asking-price amount, we were told that there were already two full asking price offers on the table and that the owner would not accept anything lower than that. While we could possibly stretch to it, it’s above the upper limit we have set ourselves. Plus, we felt that the fact that we were the only chain-free buyers keen to move as quickly as possible had to be worth something, right? So we said we cannot afford it at the full price and walked away. In reality, we already have another (much closer to the asking price) offer in mind, but I am holding out for at least a day so that the seller doesn’t think we are too keen and pushes us further. Buying a house comes with a whole host of extra costs and I don’t feel comfortable without leaving any buffer. Playing it cool is soooooo damn hard though, especially that I am like a dog – you can totally read all my emotions as they sweep through my face. Good job it’s a phone negotiation. To stop myself from to-ing and fro-ing on how to play this, I decided to make a cake for the blog. A simple vegan sponge with a touch of my beloved almonds, topped with whipped coconut cream and all shades of berries, some of which (blackberries) are currently growing in our backyard. It’s a simple enough cake, yet makes an entrance due to all the pretty berry colours and textures contrasting with snow-white coconut cream and golden cake underneath.
220 g / 2 cups all purpose white flour or all purpose GF flour mix (this is the one I use) ¾ tsp baking soda ¾ tsp baking powder 80 g / ¾ cup finely ground almonds (or almond meal)
OTHER INGREDIENTS
400 g / 14 oz full fat coconut milk*** chilled for at least 48 hrs or 200 g / 7 oz thick coconut yogurt like Coyo 1 tsp tapioca starch 2-3 tsp icing sugar (optional) summer berries
***Not all coconut milk is whippable. Look for brands that do not contain any stabilisers, just water and coconut. This is the brand I personally like.
