It's been a while...

If you read my other blog, Mozart's Girl , you'll know that we had a break in the Lake District last week. When I go away, I bake the Coffee Tree's orders for the week in advance - choosing recipes that freeze or improve on keeping...so it's always really fraught in the lead up to time off!

But I must admit that I've felt refreshed by not baking for a few days, and my enthusiasm has returned really quickly since we've been home...luckily, because I have the Farmer's market tomorrow...so it's been back to my oven with a vengeance since Friday. Above you see a Lakeland Ginger cake that I devised for Saturday's delivery. It's quite a light cake, sticky and topped with a glace ginger & lemon butter syrup.

This, on the other hand, is a much darker & spicier gingerbread. This is the mixture before baking...I found these beautiful wooden baking moulds on the Bakery Bits website and couldn't resist them even though they're a bit expensive to give away...

here's a baked cake...they are now all tied up in cellophane wrappers with blue bows and labelled ready for the morning...along with these...

beautiful Banana Teabreads. I got the recipe for these from one of my favourite bloggers, Mary at Ocean Breezes & Country Sneezes who posted that her Nana used to make it (Mary was just one of her 40 grandchildren!!) The recipe looked delicious and was very simple - so I thought I'd give it a try...

smells wonderful - thanks to Mary & her grandmother!
Lastly, a photo of a cake I made just before we left...Caramelised Peach & Vanilla. I love the look of this and it always sells well at the coffee shop.

I hope that you're having a lovely week so far...xx

Treats for May

These are the Cinnamon Pecan Sticky Buns that I delivered about an hour ago to The Coffee Tree...sadly, I had a couple of small offcuts left...which of course I couldn't waste. I fear the WeightWatchers scales tomorrow...:-)

But honestly, they smelled and tasted so good - and it's in the interests of my consumers to occasionally check the goods I think. Well, that's what I'm telling myself...as I run on the spot to burn off the calories!!

I had some of the sugar crowns that I made for the Royal Wedding left, and thought that they'd finish off these Orange & Poppyseed Cupcakes perfectly....

I love the taste & texture of poppyseeds....I brought these organic blue ones home from Australia last Autumn and I keep them in the fridge...

And lastly, for this post, a magnificent Nutella Cake. It's a chocolate cake, with hazelnuts and Nutella filling and topping...

Luscious! Hope you are having a wonderful week so far....xoxo

Presents from a friend...

There are many bad people in this world...the events of this week have highlighted that yet again...and it's a depressing thought, of course. BUT I'm so happy that there are many, many more good, kind and generous souls around!

A  few weeks ago I mentioned that in the UK we don't have flaked, sweetened coconut. The moist & delicious kind. We get desiccated coconut...shaved, dried coconut...and of course we can buy fresh ones, milk & cream. But I love the strands of white deliciousness that are so great to bake with, and I find mentioned so often in my American recipe books. I always bring some back from my trips to Australia...but it never lasts long.

So how thrilled and touched I was to receive in the mail this week four - yes, FOUR! - packs of gorgeous flaked coconut from my dear Canadian friend Rosinda . She's just started a beautiful new food & family blog...you can go to it by clicking on her name & I'd highly recommend it. Anyway, I was so delighted by her kindness that I decided to create a new bar for the Coffee Tree in her honour. You can see it above - and it'll be in my book too! I've called it a 'Double A Bar' as she has two beautiful young daughters whose names both start with an 'A'! The bar is chewy, coconutty, oaty with a touch of lemon...there's a filling of lemon curd...and a lemon frosting with more coconut pressed into the top. Beautiful! Just like the thought.

Two were sold before I even left the shop after delivering yesterday...a new classic?

Thanks again Rosinda....xo

Happy weekend everyone...it's going to be a hot one here...xx