Cake, Coffee & Creativity: Which Weekend Bake Should I Make?

🌿 Weekend Baking Fun: Help Me Choose What to Bake!

Happy weekend, friends!

If you’ve followed along this year, you’ll know I’ve been baking something new most weekends — part creative experiment, part mindfulness, part delicious treat. Baking has become my favourite way to combine so many things I love: creativity, healthy whole foods, routines that ground me, and a little bit of magic in the everyday.

This weekend, I’m torn between two cakes — both cosy, a little bit nourishing, and perfect with a cup of coffee and a slow Sunday sketch.

So, I’m running a poll over on Instagram Stories to help me decide! 🎂

Come join in and vote — Pumpkin Lemon Honey Cake or Orange Coffee Almond Cake?

If you’d like to bake along, here are the recipes — simple, wholesome, and teacher-tested.

🎃 Pumpkin Lemon Honey Cake

Soft, spiced, and bright with lemon — a wholesome cake that feels like a sunny autumn afternoon.

🧺 Ingredients

½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup honey
2 large eggs
¾ cup pumpkin purée
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp Greek yogurt (or milk of choice)
1 cup wholemeal spelt flour (or whole-wheat pastry flour)
½ cup almond meal
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
Pinch of salt

Icing:

3 tbsp cream cheese (or Greek yogurt)
1 tbsp butter, softened
1½ tbsp honey
1 tsp lemon juice + zest to taste
Pinch of salt

🍰 Quick Method

Preheat oven to 170 °C (340 °F). Line a loaf or small round tin.
Cream butter (115 g) and honey (⅓ cup) until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs (2), one at a time.
Add pumpkin purée (¾ cup), vanilla (1 tsp), lemon zest and juice, and yogurt (2 tbsp). Mix well.
In another bowl, whisk spelt flour (1 cup), almond meal (½ cup), baking powder (1½ tsp), baking soda (½ tsp), cinnamon (1 tsp), ginger (¼ tsp), and salt.
Fold dry into wet gently — don’t overmix.
Pour into tin and bake for 35–45 min, until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool completely, then top with the lemon-honey icing.
Lovely with: a cup of tea, a notebook, and a quiet moment to yourself.

☕️ Orange Coffee Almond Cake

A cosy café-style cake — buttery, gently sweet, and lifted with orange and coffee.

🧺 Ingredients

½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup honey or coconut sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup strong brewed coffee (or 1 tsp espresso powder dissolved in ¼ cup hot water)
Zest of 1 orange + 1 tbsp orange juice
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
¾ cup plain flour
½ cup almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt

Glaze:

2 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp cream cheese (or yogurt)
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tsp strong coffee
½ tsp orange zest

🍰 Quick Method

Preheat oven to 170 °C (340 °F). Grease and line a small loaf or round tin.
Beat butter (115 g) and honey or sugar (⅓ cup) until creamy.
Add eggs (2), one at a time.
Stir in coffee (¼ cup), orange zest and juice, vanilla (½ tsp), and yogurt (2 tbsp).
In another bowl, whisk plain flour (¾ cup), almond meal (½ cup), baking powder (1 tsp), baking soda (¼ tsp), and salt.
Fold wet and dry together until smooth.
Bake for 35–40 min, until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool and drizzle with the glaze.

Lovely with: a morning coffee or shared with a friend after school.

🍋 Bake Along with Me!

I’ll be sharing the baking (and the winning cake!) over on Instagram this weekend — along with a peek at my sketch, my new cake plate, and maybe even those sparkly new clothes I mentioned in Stories.

Come vote, bake along, or just enjoy a slice of calm from your kitchen. 💛

Find me [@fromthepond] and help me decide: Pumpkin Lemon Honey 🎃 or Orange Coffee Almond ☕️?

🍊 And a Little Craft for Monday

While the cakes are cooling, I’ve also been prepping a super cute orange-themed craft for next week — it’s part of the Pond Coloring Club! 🎨

It’s a simple, one-page activity perfect for a calm Monday start: cutting out circles, adding little crayon dots for movement and fine motor work, a splash of paint, and some cheerful scissor skills practice. 🍊✂️

It’s quick, creative, and a lovely way to ease back into the week!