A delightful afternoon tea loaf baked with lots of coconut, raspberries and basil. This Macaroon Bread is quite unique and inspired by the famous chewy, coconutty macaroon cookies. When toasted, it goes extra crispy and crunchy due to all the coconut and is absolutely delicious with butter!
Thoughts On Eight Years Of Blogging
I am at crossroads today. I look back at the road I have walked for eight years and I can see it scattered with food, sparsely at first and in abundance as the road catches up to where I stand. The first stretch seems to be covered with floppy cakes, burnt cookies, ugly looking curries shot at awkward amateur angles, garish plates, mismatched linen and words that seem too eager to please. As the road moves along, things start looking slightly more stylish in a very understated way. The food develops a personality, the pictures tell a story, awkward angles are banished, lighting gets moody and there is candid honesty and tone in the words that adorn this road. Words that are liberating and suggest that I am having fun. Because that is what I have been doing for the past eight years.
Slowly and unsurely at first but then with a conviction that fires my being, I am blogging and having the time of my life. Eight years today! In eight years I have taken two sabbaticals. The words left me then. I wasn't sure where I would end up. But they came back and so did I. Both times.
Blogging is an amazing concept. Most people do it for the love of it. And then the peer pressure sets in, expectations start inching up and the anxiety starts stripping the fun away.
Don't let it.
It still happens to me all the time and I sit myself down and tell myself "Doesn't matter if only 200 people out of the 6303 people on Facebook read your post and only 11 of them liked it! You would still write it even if no one read or liked it, wouldn't you?". The answer is always yes. So I step away, make myself a cup of coffee and resist the urge to now check the number of Instagram likes to my newest photo post.
As human beings, we are naturally hard-wired to push ourselves harder to succeed and achieve more. Success gives us happiness but it also gives us adult acne (guilty!) and stress-related acid reflux (you know you are out there!). I realized a while ago that in this overcrowded blogging world of one-minute attention spans and posts fighting to be seen, it is very important to not lose sight of why we started blogging in the first place.
For us.
To feed our souls.
To share and learn.
To have a platform for the ideas and philosophies we carry within us.
To capture and share glimpses of our lives through pictures.
Stripped of all social media followings and rankings you would still blog, wouldn't you? Then you must really allow yourself the freedom to Blog As If No One Was Reading. Because no matter how long you have been blogging (five weeks or five years), nothing will give you more peace and satisfaction than blogging as if no one was reading. Blogging just for you. So, have fun and don't lose sight of why you started your blog. That is what I intend to do as I pick an arm of that crossroad I am at and set off on another delicious adventure, cooking and photographing with a head full of curiosity and a heart full of wishes. I want to learn so much more. I want to share so much more. And I want to do it with you, minus the adult acne!
A Loaf Of Bread Inspired By Macaroon Cookies
I love macaroons. With a double oo. Coconutty. Warm. Crisp on the outside. Chewy on the inside. Not very sweet. This Coconut Berry Basil Loaf is inspired by macaroon cookies and so I call it Macaroon Bread. It is a simple more-ish bread I baked the other day with frozen raspberries, coconut and fresh basil leaves. Delicious warm and toasted with lots of butter. The base macaroon bread recipe is yours to adapt and put your name on.
The recipe is quite simple, bulked with almond meal and coconut with some flour. It is also a straightforward mix-and-bake concept. The coconut creates a divine texture and adds a very tropical flavour to the bread. For that reason, I feel this bread would render really well to pineapple pieces mixed in instead of berries as well. Something to try out in the future.
I hope you bake this and love it as much as we do. Much love! x
Recipe
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MACAROON BREAD
Ingredients
- 2 cups desiccated coconut, toasted
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1 cup wholemeal flour
- 1/2 cup raw sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup frozen raspberries/berries
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
- extra raw sugar for topping
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180C. Grease and line an 8 X 5 inch loaf tin with baking paper.
- Place coconut, almond meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix to combine.
- Add coconut milk, egg and vanilla. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until completely combined. Stir through raspberries and basil. Spoon batter into the prepared tin. Sprinkle with extra raw sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 45 to 55 minutes until cooked through. Switch off the oven and let the bread sit in the hot oven for another 5 minutes before removing and cooling in the tin completely.
Worry less
cook more!
How wonderful that you make the time to write and create
keep it up
Just fantastic! I can't wait to make this.
looks & sounds totally delicious - & happy anniversary 🙂
happy blogversary! thanks for the inspirational words, i cant agree more with the "stripped of all social media" part.
Fantastic post!! Big congratulations to you on the milestone. Here's to 8 more (at least).
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on blogging, I came for the photo of that amazing bread but am taking a lot more away. It's so true what you say that it is important to blog for ourselves, I am enjoying getting to know my camera better and it's great to go over experiences to burn them brighter in the mind. At the moment I'm travelling and any comment I get is so precious, because it gets lonely on the road. I wish more people felt the need to connect.
Keep on blogging and taking mouthwatering photos!
Hi Sneh, gosh, selfishly I am going to start with how your words have helped me today. I had a moment of anxiety when hugs were needed this afternoon, and then your words became another comforting hug. I am with you. We get so caught up by comparing ourselves to others all the time, we forget about how awesome we are - to our families, our readers, our followers. Regardless. Anyway, a long intro to a BIG and WARM Congratulations! You're awesome!
Hello, Sneh! I can't tell you how much I love reading these kinds of posts from seasoned bloggers like you. I'm in the 'been blogging 8 weeks not 8 years' camp and absolutely loving it ... but I can totally see what you mean about it being potentially more enjoyable in the beginning when you don't have very much to lose. I'm still at the point where if 2 out of my 50 Facebook 'fans' 'like' my post then I'm doing a happy dance around my kitchen ... lol! Anyway, I'm digressing. Back to you. Congratulations again on your book and the fact that you still love your work after so long. Here's to the next 8 years!!
Congratulations on 8 years of blogging. This is an amazing accomplishment! Your macaroon bread is making me hungry.
Hugely inspirational Sneh. I've just celebrated my 1st year of blogging. I've been on a such a steep learning curve but am absolutely loving it!
The macaroon bread sounds lovely - I love the berry and basil combination. As a blogger just starting out, I find your words inspiring, thank you Sneh!
Gorgeous bread, love the coconut and raspberries. Congratulations on 8 years of blogging!
I love the look of this recipe and will be testing it out this weekend. I also love your post reflecting on 8 years of blogging. What a milestone, congratulations Sneh!
What a great reminder post and a wonderfully yummy looking recipe!
Love your story Sneh and the beautiful words you've given us. Not to forget the amazing food. I'm fairly new to following your story but it's so wonderful to read of your path. Congrats 🙂
Oh Sneh, congratulations on reaching an eight-year milestone of blogging. I have just begun my blogging adventure, and I can't tell you how reassuring is was to read your post. I LOVE the format of blogging ... love to write and share my stories and recipes, and believe I would do it if no one was reading (or only my mother as the case might be), but am also quite eager to improve my photography and voice... and it's nice to know that it takes a bit of time and experience to evolve to where you want to be. Somehow I just discovered your blog, but will certainly be following your culinary adventures to come. Wishing you all the best.
Congratulations on 8 years and your new cookbook! I always look forward to your posts with your mouth watering recipes and photos. You have described your blogging journey so beautifully. The words 'blog as if no-one is reading' backs up what this newbie blogger tells herself every she posts. Wise words indeed. Good luck as you continue down your chosen yellow brick road, with your bucket of wishes tucked firmly under your arm.
Congratulations on your achievements of the past eight years! You have so much to be proud of. <3
So true! Im relatively new to blogging, but have always loved cooking and sharing my food with others and love having a new platform to do that. It is hard not to get sucked into thinking about the likes on Facebook/Instagram etc when social media is everywhere these days, it is something you need to be conscious of I find in not worry about it too much (or checking your Instagram feed every five minutes! 😉 By the way - this cake looks AMAZING, I love soft, coconutty macaroons, and love the inclusion of basil leaves. Congrats on 8 years! x
I love this post- as someone in the 'garish looking curries shot at amateur angles' stage it is very comforting to hear that you were once here too:)
Meanwhile this bread looks amazing- I love that it isn't full of butter and sugar. I have recently discovered the flavour combo of basil and raspberry (and wrote a blog post about it), soooo good.
Congratulations on your blog anniversary! 8 years is a long time and a lot of dedication. I'm new to the blogging world and at the awkward angles and burnt cookies stage. Just wanted to say, sometimes a small number is just a small number. I always read your posts and in a over crowded blogging world a few likes is actually a lot! I can certainly relate to what you're saying about "blogging as noone is reading" as in my case my followers are veeery sparse. So, it's not like I have to pretend noone is reading 🙂 I'll definitely keep your words in mind when motivation will falter.
Brilliant words about blogging 🙂 I will try to remember.
Happy blogiversary and blo like nobody is reading 🙂
Congratulations on 8 years of blogging Sneh! What an achievement! You've come so far, and you're so right, we shouldn't let the peer pressure step into it (something I need to remind myself of more often). We should do this because we love it, and no other reason. I love your addition of basil here. Sounds so interesting I will have to try it.
Thank you for such a heartfelt post. And I'll heed the advice "Would you still do this if no one read it?" It's also nice to hear the inevitable angst creeps up even when you have 6300 ish FB followers...makes me feel good about my 10 lol! The bread looks beautiful. Will be making soon.
Thank you, thank you. Not only for always inspiring me with gorgeous pictures and mouthwatering recipes (definitely bookmarking this bread!), but also because of the words in this post. Just what I needed to hear today. Thank you.
you are such an inspiration...happy blogiversary 🙂 and this bread is truly delightful..is wholemeal flour same as wholewheat flour?
Great post Sneh! And, congratulations on your blogging anniversary - here here to many more years to come! 🙂 I too am guilty of stress related adult acne - horrible things and so not worth the stress. Best wishes!
happy 8th bloggiversary! congrats on your cookbook! will look out for it in bookstores 🙂
EIGHT YEARS! So many wonderful achievements and now this beautiful book - the hugest of congratulations to you Sneh. Heading over to Facebook as I'd absolutely love to win a copy 🙂
Congrats, Sneh! 8 years is huge. I always look forward to reading your posts, you constantly continue to inspire.
This Macaroon Bread looks amazing. I absolutely love the composition; I bet the coconut and almond meal really contributes to an incredible and hearty (yet delicate!) texture. I can't wait to try this. Your pictures had already sold me before I had even read the recipe - just so beautiful.
Awesome, wise words on blogging Sneh...and incredible food and photos as always!
I simply love the development of your blog. You have experience so much and your techniques have just gotten better and better. I can not wait for your project; now you have finally be able to publish. You have reassured the small blogger out there that achieve success like this is possible with hard work and a lot of love for it.
Thank you so much for this post!
You gave meaning to everything I think about being foodblogger!
Congrats for everything Sneh!!
Big hugs and kisses! 🙂
YES Sneh, you are so right. We do it because we love it not how many followers we have, what our stats look like. And I know it is all to easy to get caught up in this so thank you thank you for the reminder to speak from the heart. xx
P.S. Happy 8th [!] blog birthday, you are so inspiring.
Happy Blog Anniversary and to many more! I can totally relate to what you have written... I've been blogging for 9 years and I've experienced many ups and downs too.
This bread looks delicious.
Cheers,
Rosa
Basil. Wow, that is a surprise. But since you've made it, I know it must be wildly delicious.
Alright, must give it a go!
Congrats on 8 years, Sneh. Your blog is a treat to read and the beautiful photos are
always something to look forward to. Thanks also for helping me shape my blog and make
improvements. You're a genuine person. I really appreciate that.
Cheers!
Colette
This looks like the most perfect afternoon tea cake ever! I've only been following your blog for a year but I've read every single post (some of them a few times!) Sometimes i have to remind myself that a handful of loyal followers that read every post is more valuable than hoards of views sporadically reading featured recipes. Please don't ever stop 🙂
Congrats on the anniversary ! And on your wonderful post - needed this reminder thank you!!
8 Years, what a fantastic achievement. Congratulations & beautiful photos as always!
"blog as if noone is reading"- love it. happy blogiversary sneh, here's to many more delicious years to come!