Summer Berry Desserts with M&S (Dairy Free!) + £50 Gift Card Giveaway
I actually really love baking and making tasty desserts – I just rarely do it…
As I’m sure is the same for most people, my main issue is my total lack of self-control. If I have made a huge delicious cake, there is zero chance I will be giving some away to friends or be able to make it last more than 2 days… if it’s there, I’ll eat it!
However, I was super excited to get involved in Marks & Spencer’s berries campaign for summer, which champions delicious British berries! Armed with a big cool bag full of ingredients and bright fruits, I set to work creating some divine desserts…
1. Raspberry and Coconut Tray Bake (Dairy Free)
For my first recipe, I decided to try this raspberry and coconut tray bake. M&S has worked with some of its berry suppliers for over 40 years and is proud to work with farmers who have been farming for generations, so it was great to include some big juicy raspberries into this recipe!
I made this recipe dairy free by substituting butter for vegan margarine, and it worked perfectly. It was ridiculously simple to make too; simply mix up caster sugar, your margarine and eggs, pour them into a tray, bake and top with raspberries & coconut part-way through!
They were super squishy and dense, and Alex agreed that they were the perfect consistency – a bit of chew but mostly moist and gooey, like a good brownie! These did not last the weekend in my house… gobbled up ridiculously quickly by me and Alex (who also has very little self-control).
2. Almond Plum Cake (Dairy Free)
I was so keen to bake a ‘proper cake’ for this almond plum cake recipe; I haven’t made a real two-tier cake in years! Again, I substituted butter for vegan margarine, and it made for equally creamy buttercream icing, so don’t worry!
This recipe was a little more complex, but still relatively quick and easy to follow along for a novice baker like myself. I also adore how fancy and put together it looks… in a ‘rustic’ homemade way, of course.
Filled with ground almonds alongside the flour, and with plenty of flaked almonds piled a-top the grilled and soaked plums, the cake ended up with a delicious marzipan-type flavour, which complimented the sweet sharpness of the soaked plums perfectly.
As you can imagine, this week I am feeling extremely full with cake. In fact, upon writing this I am on my second slice of the day! It’s so hard to resist when it’s just sat there all juicy looking, okay?
£50 Gift Card Giveaway!
The delicious berries and ingredients I used are available from the M&S Truro store (where I picked mine up), PLUS they’ve kindly offered my readers the chance to win a £50 gift card to spend in the M&S Truro store too!
To enter, simply comment below what is your favourite cake or dessert.
I will be selecting a winner at random on 03/08/2018, so remember to check back or make sure you are subscribed to receive comment reply alerts by email. Entrants must be 18+. Gift card only redeemable at the M&S Truro store, and will be valid for 1 year.
* This post is a collaboration with Marks and Spencer, but all images & thoughts are my own as always
My homemade Tarte au Citron with home churned double cream! 😋👌🍋🐄
Terry chocolate orange cheesecake- I use a Jane Patisserie recipe and it’s 👌
(Read in sexy m&s lady’s voice) Carrot cake with zesty orange cream cheese frosting 🧡served with Cornish clotted cream for extra yum!
Hi Lottie! Thanks to a random number generator choosing the 13th comment on this post as the winner, you have won the £50 M&S gift card :) If you could email me with your full name and email address at contact@thecornishlife.co.uk that would be great and I will pass you on to M&S Truro to give you the gift card.
Anna x
Corrr favourite cake or bake?! How do I ever choose?! I would probably usually go for a millionaires shortbread if I wanted to bake myself something naughty and delicious! Although cake wise, a clear winner is usually a juicy lemon drizzle! Alice xxx
http://www.woodenwindowsills.co.uk
Salted Caramel Chocolate Brownies! That raspberry and coconut tray bake sounds like a delicious Summer alternative though! X
In the winter a choccy cake is rich and warming but in the summer something lighter and fruity such as a lemon cake is my favourite 😊
I can’t resist anything chocolatey
I can’t resist anything chocolatey
My favourite sweet treats are macaroons… or maybe lemon drizzle. Hard to choose. xx
My favourite dessert is a cheesecake!
Syrup is my favourite when it comes to desserts .I love to make a cherry bakewell flavour flap jack with almond flavour and cherries in. Soooo sticky and gorgeoousss!!!
I love anything choclatey but the richness paired with some fruit, usually berries so I love the classic black forest gateau or a chocolate raspberry tart x
Some sort of brownie I think! Or maybe a lemon drizzle cake with berries on the side (inspired by all the berries in this post!)
I would probably choose a vegan coffee cake, with or without walnuts, or chocolate tart made with really dark vegan fairtrade chocolate and a sweet biscuit base, with added raspberry sauce, when in season!
Icecreams are my favourite desserts. I’m also good at making them at home. Would certainly try new recipes with berries <3
You just can’t beat a proper fruit cake, particularly one where you soak the fruit in tea before baking (Earl Grey, if you’re asking).
Love homemade apple pie with lots of cinnamon and whipped cream x
Has to be a carrot cake or a banana and nutella loaf! 😍
Will definitely try and bake these though!!
I can almost taste these they look so delicious 😍
Raspberry pavlova definitely for the summer, it reminds me of summer bbq’s as a child as my mum would always make it!
The article was very successful; the layout was tight, and the content was very good and rewarding. I hope you’ll share more with me. Play game the baby in yellow free.
Free star symbols collection! Copy and paste Unicode star symbols instantly. Star text generator and aesthetic text tools for social media. ★☆
Browse complete star symbols collection. Classic stars, decorative stars, and Unicode characters. One-click copy to clipboard.
Those M&S desserts sound amazing, but I’d be in the same boat, eating it all myself. It’s like a real-life challenge, almost a bad time simulator for my willpower! Anyway, dairy-free sounds fantastic, can’t wait to try.
I totally get the self-control struggle! Those M&S desserts sound amazing, but I’d be in the same boat, eating it all myself.
I totally get the self-control issue with delicious bakes! Those M&S dairy-free berry desserts sound amazing though. When I’m not trying (and failing) to resist cake, I’m usually unwinding with a fun game like pipsnyt. Perfect for a chill evening!
Those M&S dairy-free berry desserts sound amazing though. When I’m not trying (and failing) to resist cake, I’m usually unwinding with a fun game like pipsnyt. Perfect for a chill evening!
I totally get the self-control issue with delicious bakes! Those M&S dairy-free berry desserts sound amazing though.
These summer berry desserts sound so lovely, especially with the dairy-free angle and the bright seasonal fruit. I like how the post feels personal and honest about loving desserts but not always having the self-control to keep them around for long. The idea of using berries for simple, colorful summer treats is really appealing.
For food blogs, recipe photos and dessert images can make the post much easier to follow. Describe Image can help turn food images into clear descriptions, alt text, OCR text, and useful notes.
This was a useful look at Summer Berry Desserts with M&S (Dairy Free!) + £50 Gift Card Giveaway | The Cornish Life, especially the discussion of I made this recipe dairy free by substituting butter for vegan margarine, and it worked perfectly. It was. Split Image (split-image.im) may also be useful to readers comparing Image tools; its focus is to online, Free and Private.