Breakfast at Caravan, Exmouth Market

There are tons of places in London where you can enjoy a completely delicious, and no doubt, bang-on-trend breakfast in London, and Caravan, Exmouth Market remains up there.

I chose this last Thursday for a working breakfast as it was close to where I needed to be later that morning and mainly for the laid back vibe, prompt yet un-stuffy service and some of the best coffee in the City.

The entire Caravan breakfast menu shouts of delicious combinations such as Coconut Bread with poached rhubarb cream cheese and lemon curd and plenty of different items on toast, but I chose for the Instagram breakfast of choice, Avocado on Toast (granary), with a side of crispy streaky bacon and roasted tomatoes. 

Avocado on Toast, Caravan

The avocado was mashed and topped with a drizzle of olive oil and some chilli and every mouthful positively sung and was only improved by the addition of bacon and the tomatoes were slow roasted, sweet and absolutely gorgeous.

I've long loved the coffee at Caravan and enjoyed a latte plus some fresh apple juice.

Latte, Caravan

My colleague had a scrambled egg dish on toast, a flat white and a juice too and the entire breakfast came in at £35 which I didn't think was bad considering the location and ambience.

Some of my other favourite breakfast spots in London:
1. The Modern Pantry’s Turmeric and Coconut Waffle with Rhubarb Compote
2. Duck & Waffle’s Full Elvis
3. Roast – The Full Borough breakfast and some of the best black pudding I've tried
4. Black Forest Pancakes at The Table
5. The Bacon Naan Roll at Dishoom – the perfect hangover fodder

Energy Fix Nutriblast

This is my go-to smoothie or Nutriblast when I need an injection of get-up-and-go - such as this morning!

The slow release energy from the banana and oats helps keep my stomach to feel fuller for longer and the caffeine and raw cacoa give a much needed caffeine boost for that energiser effect. The spinach is packed full of goodness, such as iron which is so important to keep your energy levels up and is also a great source of Vitamin A, B, C and K, manganese and magnesium and vitamin B13 and folic acid (especially important during pregnancy). The pear acts as a great -high-fibre but low calorie fruit to bulk the juice up and add a lovely sweetness whilst providing a great source of vitamin C too.

Here's how:

• 1 small banana (Fun size or children's ones)
• 1 small pear (Fun size)
• 60g spinach
• 25g porridge oats
• 1 tsp raw cacao
• 1 tsp instant coffee (I use Nescafe Azeera)
• 10g sunflower seeds
• 120ml water

Peel the banana and core the pear then add all the ingredients to your blender or Nutribullet. Blast for 20 seconds, check if everything is blitzed, if not blast again for another 20 seconds. Enjoy!

Rich Mocha Cake

This is a rich, moist and deliciously decadent cake. I’ve used Green & Blacks Dark cooks chocolate in the cake and their Dark Chocolate for the ganache topping. The coffee flavour running combined with the rich chocolate makes for a very grown-up indulgent cake. A slice with a tea or coffee in the afternoon will certainly perk you up. (It worked for me).150g Caster Sugar150g Salted Butter
3 Eggs
150g Self Raising Flour75g Dark Chocolate
2 tsp Baking Powder
1tbsp Hot Water
1tbsp Instant Coffee
100g Dark Chocolate
100ml Double Cream
Firstly make your ganache topping by breaking up the 100g dark chocolate into a dish, pouring in the cream and melting over a hot pan. Once melted, whisk vigourously until you’re left with a thick, glossy velvetty sauce. Leave in the fridge while you prepare the cake.

Preheat the oven to approximately 170C.

Whisk the caster sugar with the softened butter until it’s pale and fluffy.

Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the sugar and butter mixture slowly – each time adding a little of the flour, folding in gently. Continue untill all egg and flour is added. Also add in and mix the baking powder.

Melt the chocolate in same way as before, and gently fold into cake mixture.

Dissolve the coffee in a little boiling water and add this to the cake mixture – ensure you give it all a good stir.

Pour into a greased cake round – I used a spring form for ease – and back for 25-30 minutes.

Once cake is baked – leave to cool on a wire rack.

Once cake is cool enough – remove ganache topping from the fridge, give it a stir and then gently spread over the top of the cake using a pallette knife.