I had a tea party to celebrate my birthday with my friends in Boston today and it was so fun and delicious!
Cheers!
It was even better because my sister Linnea was in Boston to visit me, and she had been in India for study abroad the last few weeks so she wasn’t home for my actual birthday!
I had never made a full cake before from scratch, and it turned out super tasty so I was very happy and proud! My whole party was gluten, citrus, and nut free due to my guests’ allergies, so I wanted to make sure everyone could eat everything and feel safe.
Besides the desserts, everything doesn’t require exact amounts for the recipes, but if you have questions about anything let me know! Here is my menu:
I made a variety of toasts with gluten free bread: balsamic strawberry and Brie (soak strawberry slices in balsamic vinegar, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and a bit of coconut oil for an hour or more, then sauté); apple, cheddar, and chicken; and cucumber, mint, and tomato. I placed the toasts with cheese in the oven for a bit right before the party to get the cheese melty before serving.
My sister and I made sweet potato fries from scratch - shoutout to Linnea for her hard work slicing potatoes! We made them from scratch because all the pre-cut frozen fries we could find had wheat added, which is unfortunate. To make them, slice sweet potatoes into strips and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic (or Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel, aka EBTB, seasoning - my go to!) and cook for 25-30 minutes at 425 F until crispy. I made an avocado tzatziki sauce for dipping by combining a mashed avocado, Greek yogurt, dill, mint, chopped cucumber, minced garlic, salt and pepper, and a splash of olive oil.
We had a fruit salad with kiwi, mango, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, and pomegranates. It was drizzled with a homemade honey and yogurt dressing with a dash of cinnamon. I also made a roasted veggie dish of squash, zucchini, onions, asparagus, mushrooms, carrots, and peppers tossed with olive oil and EBTB seasoning and cooked at the same time as the fries.
For dessert, I made Rachel Mansfield’s 6-ingredient vegan chocolate chip scones and Elana’s Pantry paleo birthday cake and chocolate frosting sprinkled with coconut on top. I used coconut butter instead of coconut oil for the frosting because it has more of a frosting flavor, and didn't whip the frosting. It was very challenging to find a healthier cake recipe that was also gluten and nut free and tasty that didn’t require a ton of uncommon ingredients, so I was glad to find this recipe. Coconut flour is a great solution to gluten free, nut free baking! I was nervous to make this cake since I had never made a whole cake from scratch and gluten free baking is often more difficult, but it turned out so, so good!
I later ate some extra cake covered with peanut butter while taking a bubble bath while watching my favorite movie for a “birthday” treat myself. I still have extra cake so if you are at BU and want some, hit me up!
