Linden's Coconut Cake and Hazelnut Plum Crumb Tart

So I am beginning to start a slight weight-loss program, but it hasn't gotten to the part where I exclude delicious cakes and sweets from my diet, which is good because I wouldn't be able to explain this post. My current (likely unrealistic) plan involves eating better breakfasts and lunches, and not worrying about my cake intake yet. These are my most recent attempts.

The first is a coconut cake with chocolate chunks, which was super delicious, but probably more calorie-dense than I would like to admit. It does, on the other hand, travel fairly well, although there is some coconut loss along the way. (A big slice of this cake travelled with me to Paris a few weeks ago.)

This cake was one of those, "I want to bake something but have nothing interesting in the pantry" shots. Found and modified a recipe off epicurious for it - next time I would use less chocolate.

This cake has a better story. There is a store in Engand called Waitrose, which has a wonderful habit of making extreme price slashes when its food is about to go off. Right before Easter, they had some extra good reductions because they were closed Easter. I got a bag of six plums for 30p, and thought I had better use them up quickly rather than eat squashy plums.

So, I made this delicious hazelnut plum crumble, which has a hazelnut crumb base and topping, and a custard with plums going through the middle. Mm, tasty.  (It also has the advantage of using up some ground hazelnuts in the pantry, which were left over from chocolate hazelnut christmas cookies.) I would heartily recommend this one to anyone who is looking for some delicious good hearty fruity baking. (I always use milk instead of cream in these recipes, as I don't see the point of buying cream and it's still delicious with milk.) Pulled off the very reliable smitten kitchen.

Linden's Wintery Chocolate Hazelnut Bites

So a month ago, before that whole "holidays" thing came and swallowed three weeks of my life (in a good way, but now I am reaping the consequences and leaving for work in a little while (on a Saturday)) I made cookies. This is in part because I have some ingredients obtained last year that I never used up, and given my impending complete lack of life stability caused by the end of internship and absence of boyfriend and absence of future job and absence of tough-cookieness, I am trying to use some things up for when I have to relocate all of my belongings once again.

So, cookies! Now, most cookies don't really involve rare and unusual ingredients, but these do! They call for three bars of dark chocolate, ground hazelnuts, and rum. Which, you know, on its own should make you think they're delicious. But then, they require you to roll them in powdered sugar. And then, once they're cooked, to do it again. They are small, so you don't even have to feel guilty about eating more than one.

And, they are super delicious! Fortunately, the recipe made heaps. Maybe around 50?