novel34

The recipe I have to show you here today is a French recipe. The French and English share a somewhat tenuous love/hate relationship I think . . . we've come to love their cafe culture and flock over the channel in hordes to partake of their lovely foods and cheeses . . . and yet at the same time . . . we're not quite ready to embrace them as a people . . . nor are they ready to embrace us I don't think.  It is possible perhaps they will always see us a little bit as intruders . . . and more than a little bit crazy.   They think we work too hard . . . we eat too fast . . . we don't know how to relax .  .  .  our cheeses are boring ( NOT ) and the only thing we know how to cook properly  is Roast Beef.  We think they have a tendency to be a bit laisser faire about life . . . they take too long to eat . . . they eat far too much garlic, and they are missing cheddar in their cheese shops (only the best cheese in the world, lol) . . . not to mention, they ...

I could tell you that this cake is moist and deliciously scrummy . . . With it's lightly spiced and buttery batter . . . tucked beneath a layer of tart blackberries . . . All that deliciousness . . . tucked beneath a crunchy layer of spicy buttery and nutty streusel . . . I could tell you how it tastes even better the day after baking and warn you how difficult it will be to stop at one slice . . . But instead . . . I'll just suggest that you bake it yourself, and find all this out first hand. Bake it . . . soon . You won't regret it. I promise you this. If you only make one cake this month . . . let this be the ONE. *Blackberry Pecan Snacking Cake* makes one 8 inch square cake Printable Recipe A delicious cake, with a lightly spiced batter and topped with lovely blackberries and a scrummy brown sugar pecan streusal. For the cake: 125ml of sour cream (1/2 cup) 1 large free range egg 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 4.25 ounces plain flour (1 cup) 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 ts...

  I hid a few bananas from the Toddster this week so I could bake with them.  I am not overly fond of fresh bananas, unless they are sliced on top of my rice crispies or sitting beneath a blanket of custard, or in a banana cream pie.  I love baking with them most of all.  If you were to offer me a bowl of fruit and there was only one apple in it and the rest were bananas . . . I'd take the apple every time.  Todd, on the other hand, loves bananas, and as soon as he sees them starten to really ripen he is in a mad rush to eat them all up before they go "bad."  I can't tell you the number of times I have wanted to bake something with banana in it only to see Todd sitting in his chair munching on the last banana!  Hence my need to hide a few bananas . . . so I can bake.  Lovely goodies such as Banana, Cranberry and Walnut Loaf.   This is so good that my neighbor asks me to bake him one each Christmas.  Or my Fully Loaded Banana Chip Muffins...

  I love Saturdays.  They are so leisurely and non-comittal . . . just the way I like them.  Todd is free to do his thing, which usually means watching man movies on the telly that bore me to tears . . . and I am free to do my thing, which usually means baking something scrummy for us to share. Some weekends it may be a nice crumble or pie . . . other weekends may find me baking muffins or cookies . . . scrummy tray bakes, or puddings . . . something delectable. I love cake though and that is my favourite thing of all to bake.  I usually keep half of it for ourselves and then I have another half that I gift out to someone else . . . perhaps a neighbor, or an elderly friend.  Sometimes the missionaries.   Nobody has turned my offering down yet! I found this recipe in a book for a chocolate marble cake with a crumble topping and it looked quite tasty to me.   (Rachel Allen's Cake Book)  Todd doesn't really like chocolate however and so I h...

     This is a lovely cake that I always used to make using just apples.   They almost melt into the cake, making it beautifully moist.   The other day I had some pears that I wanted to use as well, and so I used half pears and half apples with the most delightful results!!     I kicked up the spice a bit.  Normally I use only cinnamon, but pears go so very well with cardamom . . . and nutmeg is a warm spice that goes well with most fruits, and so I added some of each of those.   WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CAKE.  No, not to look at, it's actually kind of ugly to look at, but flavour-wise, this cake cannot be beat.  It's just gorgeous!     I added some toasted walnut pieces for a bit of crunch.  I do like a cake that is interesting and has different bits in it, don't you???  But fear not, if nuts are not your thing, you can easily leave them out, no problem.  Likewise the sultanas. ...

    I had baked a delicious spiced apple and pear cake today to share with you, but the day got away from me and before I knew it, it was too dark to take photographs.   I like taking my food photographs in natural light if I can, which means I will have to wait until tomorrow.  In the meantime I am moving a few scrummy bits over from my other blog.  I think it would be nice to have all my recipes in one place.  The photography on these is not that great as it was eons ago and I was not that practiced at using my camera or taking photos!  They're all good solid recipes however.  There isn't a clanger in the bunch!  Tasty tasty!  I'll be back tomorrow with the apple cake!    *Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies* Makes about 36 Printable Recipe Oh my but these are delicious fresh out of the oven with a tall glass of cold milk.  Each bite brings you the sweet crunch on the outside with the chewiness of the inside, and full oaty ...