A Friendship Cake....

I met my longest-standing friend,Isobel, on my first day at a new primary school 42 years ago! Of course, the closeness of school years can't continue forever - those days when I would say goodbye to her on the school bus and then call her the minute I got home to continue our conversation....but we have been in each others lives in some way from that day to this. She and her husband, Brian, now run a successful & delicious crumble business based in beautiful Somerset - so our lives aren't so very different once again (although Isobel also has two young & gorgeous children to juggle!)

When she used to come to our house for tea, there was one cake that my Mum would bake that Isobel absolutely adored...& to this day my mother still refers to this as 'that cake Izy loves'! So, as the days are somewhat autumnal right now, I thought that I would reproduce the recipe here (with a few tweaks) in honour of our friendship. This one's for you, Is! xx

Blackberry Streusel Cake

For the streusel topping:

100g plain flour (you can use spelt/wholemeal if you have it)

80g butter

1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon

50g light brown muscovado sugar

For the cake:

200g self raising flour

100g light brown muscovado sugar

200g butter

3 free-range eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional - but I love cinnamon!)

About 250g blackberries (preferably picked from a sun-drenched bramble bush! You can use raspberries or blueberries too, if blackberries aren't in season)

Line a 23cm square pan with baking parchment.

Preheat oven to 175c

First make the topping; just place all the streusel ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it forms large crumbs...

 tip into a small bowl & set aside. Without washing the bowl of the processor, add in all the cake ingredients (except the fruit) & whizz to a smooth, silky batter..

 It won't be too liquid as it needs to hold up the berries & topping! Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and level the top roughly...

 then stud with the blackberries...you don't have to be too precise, but try & make sure that there's an even covering of fruit all over the surface...

 finally scatter the streusel over the berries...

 distribute it fairly evenly over the top...don't pack it down, and I think it looks lovely when a few blackberries show through the crumbs too! Bake in the preheated oven for around 45 minutes...the streusel will look golden brown, the middle will be slightly domed. You can test by pushing a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre & checking that no wet dough is sticking!

 Then cool in the pan on a wire rack...however, this is so delicious served slightly warm so feel free to cut it then and enjoy a slice...perhaps with cream?

 Store in an airtight container, or wrap in foil securely...it will keep in a cool place for a couple of days (not longer, as the fresh fruit will deteriorate.)

 I recommend eating a large square, with a big steaming cup of coffee,sitting in the August sunshine in a garden somewhere...if you are sharing with a friend, so much the better (it doesn't have to be Isobel, although she would be my choice....)

Enjoy! And now I'm back to the brownies...also delicious with friends! xx

A cake for Robin...and ending an era...

One of my favourite things about blogging is the amazing people you 'meet' through it. I have made so many new friends...foodies,restaurateurs, hoteliers, creative whizzes, authors, poets and all round sweethearts! And I was particularly thrilled to find the blog of actor/writer, Francophile & wonderful cook Robin Ellis... Robin has been a hero of mine since he starred in the 1970's drama 'Poldark' which captured my mind and heart when I was about 10 and has stayed there ever since. A fabulous swashbuckling saga of love, shipwrecks, tin-mining & treachery in late 18th century Cornwall....made in the days when TV drama serials developed the storyline properly, over 3 months or so...leaving the viewers with a cliffhanger each week and something to look forward to and anticipate on Sunday evenings. Robin played the male lead, Ross Poldark - a dashing, non-conformist maverick of noble birth. Unforgettable!

He & his wife, Meredith, now live in a beautiful part of south western France where they enjoy a somewhat quieter life! Robin was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes 12 years ago and has managed to control his blood sugar levels by changing his diet to a healthy, Mediterranean based one and increasing the amount of exercise he takes. He devises many of his own recipes and recently published a book of them: Delicious Dishes for Diabetics. I have a copy...even though I'm not diabetic, the recipes are suitable for anyone who wants to live a healthier lifestyle and there are some great ideas in there.

Inspired by the book, I have created a no-sugar Banana Date Cake...based on a recipe my Grandfather (who also had type 2) gave me years ago. I've adapted it slightly, and it will be on my Farmer's Market Stall tomorrow. I find that there are more & more people suffering with diabetes...also gluten & wheat allergies. So I try to offer something for them, too, on the stall. Why should anyone miss out on cake?? My youngest nephew, William, adores this - and my sister is happy for him to eat plenty as there are only good things in it!

Banana Date Cake

150g dried, chopped dates

450g very ripe bananas (peeled weight)

2 eggs, beaten

200g spelt or wholewheat flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

100g ground almonds

300ml buttermilk or plain yoghurt

Grease & line a 23cm round tin with baking parchment & preheat oven to 175c

Put the dates in a small bowl or measuring jug & cover with hot water (from the tap is fine) Leave to soak for about 10 mins, then drain and squeeze out the excess water (I use my hands for this!) to leave a thick paste.

Mash the bananas well in a large bowl and stir in the dates, along with the eggs. Fold in the dry ingredients and then finally stir in the buttermilk or yoghurt. Turn into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 45mins-1 hour. It will be a lovely brown on top and pulling away slightly from the sides of the tin when ready. Cool in the tin before turning out. It's even better if you make it the day before you eat it...the banana flavour intensifies and the dates get stickier! It keeps very well for a few days in a tin or wrapped in foil.

This week is bittersweet for me. Saturday will be the last time, after almost 8 years, that I make my daily delivery to The Coffee Tree. The current owners, Barry & Sandra and Sue & Roy have decided to retire...and I shall be leaving with them. I feel sad already! This morning was my last Monday...it has all been such a big part of my life for such a long time. But everything moves on - and change is good. I will miss it, them and the customers (who have become friends) very much, though. Next Monday will feel very strange!

I am delivering Old Favourites this week.. I've had.many requests for cakes & pastries that I've made over the years, so watch for that update next week. I'll still have plenty to occupy my time - including a book to finish!

And there have been some recent creations, of course:

Cinnamon Apple Cakes...filled with creme fraiche and home made apple sauce (from local Bramley apples)

delicious (though I say so myself...)

Plum Cake, with a damson jelly glaze (which looks quite bright in the flash - but it's just pure fruit, honestly!)

and my favourite Florentine Bars....

chewy fruit & nuts in a maple caramel on a shortbread base.....

And finally....my Brownie of the Month on the stall tomorrow will be....

ta daaaa....Peanut Butter Swirl. I used no sugar wholenut peanut butter, which contrasts beautifully with the very chocolatey brownie...and plenty of roasted peanuts too.
It should be a good day on the stall...I hope the weather stays the way it is today - sunny, mild and blustery. Perfect!

Enjoy your week xoxo

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

A place in the sun...

This was where I sat this sunny morning...drinking coffee and planning my Saturday baking. Sheer bliss! You can see my newest book...The Nordic Bakery Cookbook which is from one of my favourite places to drink coffee in London. Their famous cinnamon bun recipe has already featured on this blog, and I'm trying out two more recipes this weekend, which I'll let you know all about soon.

Earlier today, I delivered a batch of these...

Plum, Almond and Cinnamon Muffins to The Coffee Tree. The recipe was the very first I posted on this blog, so I won't repeat it here. But it's from the first Ottolenghi cookbook and is absolutely delicious. Full of good things including orange zest...perfect for celebrating the beginning of the weekend!

Happy Friday to you...enjoy the day...whatever you do!

xoxo

Upside Down Cakes!

11 days since my last Brownie's for Mozart post...it's been so annoying, wanting to blog and not having the equipment. Modern technology is SO fantastic...the only problem is that we come to rely on it for so much. When it fails...it's like a cloud of fog descending. Nothing feels right. I'm just so lucky that I got a new 'smartphone' recently, so I've been able to keep up a little with the online world. And compared to the tragedies in first New Zealand and then Japan...not to mention man-made horrors unfolding in Libya as I write...I guess that puts it all in perspective a little.

Just to continue the theme of computer blues....

ok, this is weird...good, but weird! The photos that I took of just a few of my creations this past week-&-a-bit all came out upside down! Hence the title to this post. I just thought that I'd write it anyway to get started again. And hey presto...when I downloaded to the blog, they're the right way up! Who knows how these things work? Not me, obviously....I'll just hold my breath & thank goodness that something worked at last!

Above is a Whipped Cream Strawberry Cake. It's from Rose Levy Berenbaum...an amazing recipe as it contains no butter! Just whipped cream. It made a beautiful, moist, white cake...I filled it with mascarpone cream, home made strawberry preserves and fresh strawberries too...a breath of early Summer in March - felt wonderful!

This was my own recipe...Toasted Pecan cake. Ground pecan vanilla sponge inside, sandwiched with vanilla buttercream and covered in more toasted pecans. I ADORE pecans, and even though I didn't get to eat any of this cake, I just love to think about it! It sold out fast...

Last Monday I made Cinnamon Rolls. I've never made them before but I'll be doing so again...and often! They are flavoured with cardamom and filled with brown sugar, unsalted butter & lots of cinnamon. Heaven. I did make an extra few...took them to my parents where my Mum, youngest sister & 3 year old nephew devoured them over coffee while catching up on news. We did leave a little for my Dad - but it was difficult! I shared the recipe with my lovely friend Joann from The Girl Gets Real and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out for her!

So that's a little catch up. But I'm back on line for good now (famous last words...) so I'll see you tomorrow!

Thanks for coming back - I hope you've had a great weekend xo