Tis the Week of Christmas.....

After a hot and busy social weekend, I have left the baking of this weeks cake to the cooler temperature of last evening.

Nigella in her 'Nigella Christmas' book, makes a stunning looking cake for Christmas that looks like a bunch of Christmas trees lightly covered in fresh powdered snow. The secret is the fir tree shaped bundt cake tin she uses. I have scoured the countries kitchen shops looking for a tin like this, I even emailed her supplier in England and they are currently out of stock! So I popped down to the Homestore in Merivale and found a bundt tin that looks more like a cathedral dome than a bunch of trees!

The cake is a spruced up vanilla cake. It is rich in ingredients.....quite a bit of butter, 6 eggs, and a good cup of yoghurt go together to make a lovely light textured cake.

I will take it with me this morning to Look Good Feel Better and shout for the Cancer society staff.

Over the past three months, I have been making a variety of Christmas cakes that I have given to friends for Christmas. I will blog about them next and let you know how they turned out and how they tasted.

So Merry Christmas, relax and stay cool in these days leading to the big day. Remember to take 5 minutes among the hecticness of these days to breathe, and reflect on the reason for this fun festive season.

Friends Christmas Dinner

It happens once a year...the Friends Family Christmas Dinner...this year was our turn to host, and it was a lot of fun. The home that hosts, provides the Carnivorous bits, another brings nibbles, another veges and another the desserts. Even though I was on the meat side of the dinner, I just had to make a cake.

Enter 'Nigellas Christmas', a fabulous book we bought a couple of years ago and it is full of Christmas recipes according the domestic goddess, Nigella Lawson. I spied a recipe titled Incredibly Easy Chocolate Fruit Cake. It has the most delicious of ingredients, including 350g of prunes (!) muscovado sugar, Tia Maria, ground almonds, to name just a few. Cooking time was just under 2 hours and she suggested to sit it wrapped tightly in foil for four days before eating. That was handy, as I made it last Wednesday so it was all matured and ready to go yesterday.

Everyone was pretty much satiated by the time the cake made an appearance, so we have plenty to share with work collegues and friends popping in.

So, until next week, stay cool, take time to relax amongst the hecticness that can just happen without intention, and leave room in your tum for cake.

Its Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2nd Sunday of Advent means only three weeks until Christmas. This weeks blog should really be about Christmas cakes. My lovely friend Carole, had a family Christmas at her place this weekend so I gave her a Christmas cake to share with her family.

Way back in October, I started to make a collection of Christmas cakes using all different recipes from many of my favourite cake recipe books. The one I chose for Carole was a cake from The Wooden Cakebox Co. Established in 2001 A.D in New Zealand. The cake is made in a wooden box made from Kahikatea (white pine). Apparently the original wooden cakebox was made over 50 years ago and is still in use today!

The recipe is wonderful. The usual spices, fruit, alcohol, eggs and nuts ( and a surprise ingredient of curry powder!) combine to produce a lovely smell in the kitchen, and it cooks for 4 hours. I really hope it tastes good and the recipients of the cakes at Christmas enjoy them.

It was also my youngest fans' birthday in the weekend. Georgia turned 19 and has been whisked away for a weekend of fun and frivolity and returns tonight. Her request was for a carrot cake, so I threw one together yesterday and smothered it in cream cheese icing this morning and will be at her house today awaiting her return.

P.S Had a text from Carole last night re the Christmas cake tasting!!! I quote..."Well have just had some of your cake and must tell you that it was absolutely delicious!!! Moist and truly flavoursome! I think I can even taste that hint of curry powder! Thank you very much.."

Phew! What a relief that it tasted ok, otherwise what is one to do with 6 failed Christmas cakes..ha ha

Anyone for Tennis???

Every year about this time, our friends the Clymas have a tennis tournament. This year the theme was the U.S Tennis Open. We all rocked up in our stars and stripes, there was a gridiron player with his own chairleader, a U.S Marshall, McEnroe made an appearance and Uncle Sam with his patriotic better half. Mickey and Minnie Mouse came too and the U.S flag was wrapped around our newly single female. We all adopted American names, there was a Randy and Chip, Patty and Betty, Candy and Chuck, Larry and Nancy, to name a few.

There were hotdogs, hamburgers, deep fried donuts, lots of barbequed meat and salads, and cake.

The cake was a 'tennis cake' straight out of the Edmonds cook book.

It was really quite nice, with a dash of vanilla and almond essence, raisins and glace cherries.

Nice finish to a fun filled, sunny, great day.

Thank you to Crispin and his lady Di. ( or should I say Mack and Betty )

Happy Birthday Julie

Another birthday is upon us again this week. I am making the weekly cake a few days early as our friend Julie turns 50 tomorrow. After receiving the invitation for bubbles tonight, I thought that a cake could go down well with her throng of visitors.

Her Hubby recommended I make a moist chocolate type mud cake. So I consulted the Treasure of New Zealand Baking (again!) and found one I hadn't made yet called Vanna's Chocolate Cake. 'A family recipe that has been made by boys, girls, men and women, good cooks and novice bakers. It is quite sticky and keeps well.' says Kate Fraser. Sounds perfect.

I find with a lot of these cakes, their seems to be some strange ingredient that you can't always taste, but without it the cake wouldn't be quite right. In this cake we have a tablespoon of marmalade. Ground almonds too, so the taste will be interesting.

The icing is always a difficult one to get right. I have always iced my cakes with icing sugar, cocoa and small amount of butter mixed with just the right amount of hot water. This cake icing is melted chocolate, water, cream and butter......resulting in a runny texture that will fall off the cake. As I write this, I am watching the icing in the bowl and hoping it will miraculously thicken before my eyes! May have to help it along with either more chocolate or some icing sugar.

So, I contacted my cooking friend who I just knew would have the right advise and she suggested I melt more chocolate and add it to the runny mixture and then wait until it cools, as it will thicken upon cooling.

All fixed, the cake looks good and heres hoping it tastes good too.

Well what a weekend it has been already and its only mid Sunday!

Hubby and daughter joined forces with friend and commonwealth swim champion from a few years ago, Mel, to do the South Island Half Marathon in Lake Hood on Saturday. They did extremely well coming in second in the mixed team category, calling themselves 'Two girls and a cyclist'. Our other male friends, Ant, Greg, Clarky, Marty and Richie also did the event as individuals and they were just awesome, achieving individual life goals.

Today, we are meeting up with a family cousin from America. Hubbys father Cor, is calling her, his cousin, but we are not so sure....we think it could be his cousins daughter.....what do you call your cousins daughter? We have decided that she should be called just that. Cousins daughter.

Anyway, we are all having dinner at sister-in-laws place tonight and I thought that we should really have a kiwi type of cake on offer for dessert. Enter, the Treasury of New Zealand Baking again and on page 118 a recipe by Lauraine Jacobs, Hazelnut Meringue Cake with Kiwifruit.

The cake is very similar to a pavalova but no soft marshmellow. It crumbles when cut but the taste is exquisite with a lovely hazelnut crunch.

Barbara the 'cousins daughter', absolutely loved the dinner and dessert and she is off on the Trans Alpine to Greymouth today and the Trans scenic to Picton and beyond, tomorrow.

This is the type of dessert that is so easy and quick to make and bake. Will certainly be made again!

Show Weekend 2010

Show Day on Friday and the day after, has been the best weather that I can remember for a Show weekend in a long time. The pool got a wonderful work out, looking lovely and clean and at a temperature of 27 degrees!!! The BBQ was thrashed on both evenings as we entertained our nearest and dearest friends. Ping pong competition and sitting around the outside gas fire till the early hours. It is lovely to have an overcast Sunday to relax and bake a cake.

Sunday is our friend David's birthday. He is on his way home from the Sounds as his birthday cake cooks. Dave normal requests banana cake but I have no ripe bananas so I am making him something very different.

In the Foodtown magazine, they have a section called 'you asked for it'. Readers write in and ask for the recipes of their favourite food they have at cafe's around the country. The Old Vicarage shared their Citrus Slice, Cafe Metro in Kilmore St shared their Chocolate Cookies. I chose to make the Grindz Cafe's Coffee, Apple and Walnut Cake. Grindz Cafe is in Tauranga, owners Steve and Lindsay Graham. (there is a bit of useless information for you!)

This really does sound like a very delicious cake. Sour cream and the grated apple adds plenty of moisture and the coffee and walnuts will add lovely flavour and texture.

(Warning David, this cake contains nuts, so don't share it with Nick!)

Recipe reckons it serves 10, so it is a good size.

Happy Birthday Dave, now you have a cake to share at work tomorrow.

Dawn French in todays Sunday Star times said this about cake.....

'Its not really just the cake. Its all about the warmth of it, the smell of it and the fact that everyone comes together to eat it. Its a very useful tool, cake.'

I have to agree with her.

The Nest is Full Again.

Adam arrived home this morning from his 6 months of adventure in many countries around the world. He arrived looking very tanned and hairy and craving all of the comforts of home, including cake.

The washing machine has been working hard today, as his pack that he has been living out of for the past half year was upturned and the contents washed in nappysan and Amway SA8.

We have been entertained with many an interesting story and it really was quite fantastic to have all of us sit around the dinner table tonight enjoying Adams favourite meal of fillet steak, and catching up on all the happenings of late.

Dessert time and enter my cake of the week......

Since this is all about Adam, his request was for a chocolate jelly cake with pineapple lumps!

Well the chocolate cake was the easy part. Then I decided it would be nice to have the jelly in the centre and on the top. Jelly doesnt stay on the top of the cake. It all cascaded down the sides and the pineapple lumps also subsided down the sides and so it looks very ugly and lumpy! ha ha, but it tastes very lovely and sweet and has gone down a treat.

Welcome Home Adam, the nest is full again, the ironing pile is huge, the fridge is full for the moment, the television is on the sport channel every moment of the day, another car up the drive, wet towels on the floor, and I am loving it.

Orange and Chocolate = Jaffa Cake

My daughter came home from work one night armed with Cake recipes from her work collegues. This week I decided to make one of them. I love Jaffas and so I chose to make the Jaffa cake.

The recipe said to mush up an orange, skin and all, in a food processor until it resembles pulp and then add the pulp to the butter, egg and sugar mixture. No problem there for someone who doesn't like and use food processors (too many bits to clean, I find them a nuisance in the kitchen, not a necessity like many people!), out came the magic bullet....great invention. Pulped that orange in an instant.

Then once the mixture is in the tin, the recipe said to poke chocolate pieces into the mixture....gosh what a good idea...means the chocolate stays in chunks and is decadent to eat.

45 minutes later and the cake was complete, smelling very lovely and orangey.

Emma went to work yesterday morning with morning tea for all. I heard it went down very well accompanied by yoghurt and a coffee from nearby cafe, Ng.

I also shared the cake with my cycling buddy of the day and a friend popped in for a taste at lunch time.

This is what this cake making is all about. Sharing, enjoying something a little naughty in the nutrition department (although, nothing wrong with oranges!) putting on smile on someones face and a chance to sit and chat over coffee and cake.

The prodigal son returns next Monday from his adventures, so will be a chance to kill the fatted calf and also make him a welcome home cake! I think he would prefer a corona and fillet steak actually.

Ben's Birthday Cake

Well, as I mentioned last week, this Monday, Labour Day, is Ben's 19th Birthday.

I have always been big on birthdays. I think I enjoy them just as much, if not more than, my kids.

Ben has chosen the good old faithful chocolate cake that I have been making for the last 23 or so years!

This cake recipe was found back in the early days of the microwave. It was in the womans weekly and is called The Best Microwave Cake Yet. I have made this cake millions of times and it is so easy, also it is an absolutely no fail cake.

Always very moist and easy to ice and it tastes very light and lovely.

This week I have also started making Christmas Cakes. I have decided to make them for my nearest and dearest for Christmas. I read through all of my favourite cake recipe books for Christmas cake recipes and found 6 really good ones. The first I tried was from the Treasure of NZ Baking and the recipe was by Lauraine Jacobs. The recipe was originally from her grandmother and handed down through generations past and future. It is a huge cake, as most Christmas cakes are and it has a drop of black rum poured over the finished product. The ingredient that is unique to the cake is blackcurrant jam. So it is wrapped in paper and sitting in a Christmas cake tin ready to be given away come Christmas.

I made another one today from the latest issue of Foodtown Magazine. The fruit in this cake is stunning....saltanas, currents, figs, apricots, raisins and cherries, orange, lemons and chopped almonds. Bit of brandy in there too. This was a slightly smaller cake but it will still feed the millions.

That is about it for now. Ben's birthday cake will be served with whipped cream, probably sometime in the afternoon. See you then.....

My Kettle - RIP Russel Hobbs

Well I know it is mid week and I normally blog in the weekends after making a cake. But, I feel this deserves its own little blurb. Our Russel Hobbs Kettle that was given to us by my Aunty Mina and Uncle Brian for a wedding present way back in 1983, has had to be replaced.

It had boiled millions of times faultlessly over the years but it now leaks from the spout all over the bench and it cannot be mended. So after settling down from the aftershock that read 5 on the richter scale (incidentally, I was in the shower with a full head of shampoo and a soap lathered body at the time!), I ventured into Ballantynes and went to park in the carpark building. A sign at the entrance read, enter at your own risk, so I high tailed it out of there and found a park on the side of the road away from any possible falling debris.

I purchased a sparkling new Dualit Kettle.

I have just poured myself a cup of tea from the new addition to our kitchen. Our trusty Russel Hobbs will now live in the garden among the herbs. I think I will put a coriander herb in it.

Technology of old, I wonder if this new kettle can last the 27 year distance.

Happy Birthday Anton

Our Friend Anthony turned 46 yesterday and the day was busy preparing and enjoying the evening for the Brain Injury NZ Charity Auction and Dinner. This was held at the Hotel Grand Chancellor and our MC was John Campbell from TV3. The evening was very enjoyable with a lot of money being raised for this charity, even amongst a 4.6 aftershock. (not so flash when you are 14 floors up!)
Anton asked for a whopping great big banana cake with cream. So here we have it. Delivery will take place this afternoon so if you are passing his place this weekend, I am sure he will share!

I made the trusty banana cake that I made for my brother in law at the beginning of the year. Cooks slowly for an hour on 160 C, is very moist with the help of a little yoghurt and milk and three eggs, and of course 3 mashed very ripe bananas.

Next weekend is Labour Weekend and we celebrate the birth of my youngest cherub 19 years ago......I really do feel old as I type that. Ben will choose the cake which will be interesting as he refuses to look, touch or acknowledge anything fruity.

Until then.....

Mooloolaba

Well here we are in Sunny Mooloolaba, at least it was for the first two days....we have had torrential rain for the last three days and we are really hoping tomorrow will bring lots of sunshine! Still, it is very enjoyable having a relaxing time reading, sleeping, coffeeing, and watching the Australian games...oops I mean the Commonwealth Games.

This weekend we had Beth having a birthday so it was my pleasure to make her a cake. I threw together an orange and poppyseed cake direct from the box! ha ha. We found a silicon cake pan in the supermarket....easy to transport home scrunched up in the suitcase, and by adding a simple egg and water and baking in the oven for 55 mins, viola! a cake. Add water to the icing mixture and we have cream cheese icing on the top.

Ben found some candles at the 7/11 and we were away laughing. So it was Happy Birthday Beth and the cake was polished off in seconds among the 15 of us last night.

Next week, we have a novelty cake for an awesome gentleman friend.....thats all I will give away at this stage.

In the Simple act of baking, pleasure given is pleasure gained.

It is just before 6am on Monday morning as I write this and I am pondering over the cake for this weekend.....weekend has been with no cake made. On purpose of course, as it is my sister inlaws birthday tomorrow and for her present I am giving her a copy of one of the best recipe books I own. She is a very busy lady and does not always have time to cook for themselves, so a recipe book may just sit on her coffee table looking attractive. But, I really do think she will use this one and to get the ball rolling, I am making a cake from the book for her.

Sister in law is very healthy conscience so I am aware of this when choosing what to make. Chocolate cranberry slice......main ingredient is chocolate and condensed milk....mmm no.

Espresso Hazelnut Ripple......main ingredient white and dark chocolate and nuts....mmmm no.

Vanilla Plum Cake.....300grams of Butter...I dont think so!

I think I should possibly make a cake in the book that she probably wouldn't make herself so settled on The Ultimate Chocolate Cake, that way she can share this with everyone at the office and take some home for hubby!

During the week I made the Blueberry Crumble Cake from the same said book, page 272 Annabel Langbein The Free Range Cook (this will be my summer 'bible') and it is very delicious. It would have been even more delicious had I not omitted the 3/4 cup of yoghurt from the mixture! Never mind, it went down a treat with the female guests we had for dinner that night.

So if you are passing Opzeeland transport on Tuesday, wish M a happy birthday and you may be treated to a slice of cake, if your quick.

Next week I will be off shore and away from my Kenwood. I will still be making a cake so watch this space.

A week full of Birthdays

In this month of September we are treated to blossom trees blooming, lambs, daphne bushes in full bud, the odd freakish storm (and an aftershock or three thrown in the mix), nor westerly winds and many birthdays. And with every birthday there is cake.
This time of year our letterboxes also fill up with some interesting 'junk mail'. I recieved the quarterly leaflet from our local real estate team, Karen and Sue. In it was a wonderful recipe for a Chardonnay cake and some pearls of wisdom from Jo Seagar. I particularly liked this.....
'I am a big believer in the value of getting around the table as a family or with good friends and taking time to enjoy each others company. It is about being thankful and happy together and counting your blessings. And it might be as simple as a cup of tea with some nice cake. Slow down, simplify, be generous.'
So with this in mind, I have made four cakes so far this week. One for my lovely friend Mary who turned another year older on Tuesday, another for a casual relaxing impromptu dinner at Julies, another for my dear friend Carole who celebrates tomorrow and todays creation is for Lucy who is having us all around because she turns 19.
But this blog is all about the Chardonnay cake.
I am not sure who invented this cake. It is lovely and light with baking soda and baking powder and two eggs giving it the texture. Grated lemon and orange zest give it wonderful flavour and the 250ml of chardonnay.....to be honest, I never tasted it! ha ha
When the cake is half cooked, the recipe tells us to brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of sugar!!!! Gives a very nice subtle crunch as well as adding a layer onto ones thighs!
I served this cake with whipped cream and fresh seedless grapes and a glass of chardonnay in hand.
So as we start another week in September, remember the day's blessings, forget the day's troubles, enjoy the Spring.

Page 178

Life is starting to feel a little normal as the aftershocks become less frequent and the clean up progresses around the city. Last weeks cake has been received very well by many. In fact, it has been requested by my No 1 cake taster as her cake of choice for her birthday this coming week.

September is a busy birthday month but not this weekend, so I was at a loss as to what to make. I asked my friend Kerry to choose a number between 10 and 232 (the number of recipe pages in the Treasury of Baking book) She chose 178 so here we are making a Plum and Cardamom Shortcake.

I have never made a shortcake before so it was fun to do. I never had plums and chose to use cherries instead. Cardamom scents the pastry and the flavour combines wonderfully with the cherries, served in small slices with a cup of tea!

It will go down a treat I am sure, this evening after roast chicken and roast vegetables.

Calming influence....cake!

Well what a week it has been for us Cantabrians. Literally quite shocking, and I am very relieved the week is behind us. We are still experiencing the odd aftershock and I really hope and pray the worst is over. So as Canterbury repairs itself, mentally and physically, I am moving on with positive thoughts, to this weeks cake.

Enter, one of my favourite recipe books, A Treasury of New Zealand Baking, page 132, Lemon Lime and Poppyseed Syrup Cake. Did you know that this book is a fundraising project for The NZ Breast Cancer Foundation? The recipe is by Catherine Bell, co-publisher and editorial director of DISH magazine. She is a Julia Child Honorarium recipient and Catherine chairs the Garden to Table Trust, which helps children grow, prepare and share food.

A lovely simple recipe which has a little yoghurt or buttermilk in it to ensure a light, fluffy texture.

When the cake is still hot, you dribble the lemon and lime syrup over the top....mmmm very delicious. Catherine recommends this be served warm with a little plain unsweetened yoghurt on the side.

This cake serves 8....so be in quick.

Chocolate Rubble Cake

We were all thrown from our beds early Saturday morning as the earth moved ferociously. Some hung on to the bed for support, some dived under door ways and others under tables.

Our swimming pool emptied 7,000 litres, some pools collapsed, chimneys fell, roads cracked, silt covered many gardens. Buildings in town hit the deck, churches crumpled, supermarket floors were littered with wine, vinegar, pickles, flour, and the like. Storage warehouses have collapsed racking systems leaving a huge clean up ahead when the major aftershocks subside.

We all wandered around shell shocked ourselves the next day taking in the enormity of it all. So we stoked up the bbq for breakfast, took water to those who have none, checked the neighbours and friends were all good and braced ourselves for the aftershocks.

Thank God no one was fatally injured during this ordeal. Top marks go to our Mayor Bob and the Crisis team for the way this has been handled and to the media for keeping everyone alerted and aware.

So what does one do when faced with this horrific, spooky, natural disaster?

One makes a cake!

I found a bowl, threw in flour, butter, cocoa, baking soda, yoghurt, coffee, eggs and gave it a good stir and shake. Cooked it for an hour in the oven and voila! Chocolate Rubble cake.

We had an earthquake post-mortem while watching the extensive television coverage with a wine in hand and Rubble cake for dessert.

Going Dutch

Well this week John and I entertained 6 lovely friends with a taste of Dutch the way 'Oma used to make it.'

We decorated the house with little trinkets from the native land; a windmill here, set of clogs there, and vases of tulips, everywhere.

The food was fun to plan and prepare. Chicken noodle soup to start, with Omas secret ingredient making it authentically dutch. Beef croquettes, rookworst sausage, stumpot ( a silverbeet potato concoction), eel, (yes, eel!) gerkins, silver onions, mustard and apple sauce to accompany.

Then came the dessert.

I had to fight for supremacy in this department as John bought out all his sweet treats that he was brought up on; biscotti covered in muisjes and vlok, tai tai, spek (scrummy soft sugary marshmellow), and paperkoek, all very attractively displayed on a platter. But what about the real dessert, I exclaimed!

I decided to google dutch cakes during the week and came across a Charlotte finger cake. Kahlua coffee mousse with cream and lady fingers. I made it on Friday and it didn't come out looking very attractive at all so I was convinced I had lost my touch with these cakes after last weeks effort too!

So I headed off to the Riccarton Market on Saturday morning and went straight to the lovely dutch lady who sells all manner of dutch desserts/cakes and bought an emergency cake....apple tart.

Anyway, back to the dutch evening and the table full of guests ready to sample the Mother Maderia cake of the week. I must admit, the mousse blended in very well with all of Johns sweet delights, and the apple tart made an appearance too. Every sat with very full bellies, satiated.

The night came to a close around 2 am after demolishing a bottle of very delicious Advocaat, served with bacardi, cream and lemonade!

Tot ziens!

P.S Last weeks cake was actually made correctly the first time.....the pan it was cooked in was too big therefore the cake looked like a flop! ha ha

If at first you don't succeed......

try, then try again!

This week is the Cancer society's appeal week with Daffodil day next Friday.

The Cancer society has been selling tea towels with a daffodil cake recipe from Alison Holst on it.

So I thought that would be the cake for this week.

I made it first on Sunday morning and things didn't feel as though they were going right. Sure enough it came out of the oven looking flat and it stuck to the pan!

Then I made it again in the afternoon and things didn't feel any better and sure enough it came out flat again (ha ha) . At least it never stuck to the pan.

I have seen a photo of how this cake should look on the notice board at the Cancer society rooms in Christchurch. I'll ring them tomorrow and chat with the very capable lady that made it. I believe she is from Timaru.

So watch this space for what is was that I did wrong!

Dinner Party Dessert

We had friends coming for dinner this weekend and so the cake of the week was to be dessert. So I was looking for something with texture, not too heavy and one that could be made the day before so that I wasn't stuck in the kitchen for the entire day slaving over a hot stove.

Out came the Harbour Kitchen Celebrating Lyttelton cook book, on page 87, Italian Ricotta Cake. I was a little bothered by the fact that the entire cake was made in a food processor. (I don't like using food processors and would much prefer using the trusty beater.) But anyway, I decided on this cake and sure enough in the recipe it said to make it the day before so that it can set.

The base of the cake is flour, ground almonds, brown sugar etc and then the centre is made up of Ricotta cheese, cream cheese, slivered almonds and large chunks of chocolate with a good dollop of coruba rum. (hence the name Italian cake, rum gives the taste of a tiramisu)

It went down reasonably well at dinner. In fact, it was hilarious as one mere male asked for an axe to chop into the outside...it was that hard! So to quote the same mere male....'hard case outsides with god-like innards'. I noticed that he was the one and only who managed to eat the crust in the end.

I served this with a dollop of cream on the side (as I seem to serve all my cakes lately!)

I recommend you make this cake if you have the Lyttelton cook book. Maybe be a little more light handed on the pulse button of your food processor when it comes to mixing the crumb base, that will result in the base being softer I think.

Just a little note on last weeks blog about the pumpkin pie. I emailed Kathy in Minnesota and asked her about some of the ingredients and their equivilant here in NZ. Pumpkin comes in a can in the states so we could cook the pumpkin by baking it dry, then mash it keeping it as dry as possible. Nutmeats are a mixture of nuts like walnuts, pecans etc. A stick of butter is 113.4 grams!

So there you go for another week. I am taking suggestions for next weeks creation, would love to hear from you.

American Inspiration

I got a lovely surprise this week when I received a parcel in the mail from my very lovely friend Kathy who lives in Minnesota USA.

It was a recipe book titled 'Best of the Best from Minnesota Cookbook'. There is a recipe for everything from Witches Brew (drink), Double Decker Knox Blox (dessert), Turkey soup to Corn Spoonbread! But since this blog is all about cakes, I went straight to the cake chapter.

What else is more American than Pumpkin Pie, but I freaked out when I saw the ingredients. I will need to check with Kathy if a can of Pumpkin is the same as mashed cooked pumpkin, and yellow cake mix is a betty crocker variety and that nutmeats is similar to walnuts!!

With the rugby on again this weekend, I thought the Prairie Beer Cake would be a good choice. It was made in a Bundt pan so was always going to look attractive when it gets turned out. I used Carona since that was the only beer in the house at the time. It could have done with a more gutsy beer....next time. It has dates and walnuts in it and was very tasty at half time of the rugby, with a dollop of whipped cream on the side.

There is plenty left for those passing this week.

(Richard and Leaanne had birthdays this weekend so I made them each a chocolate slice. Richard had raspberries and a lot of dark chocolate in his, while Leaanne had milk, dark and white chocolate in hers! )

Emma has done quite a bit of research this weekend and has found a website with extremely complicated cake recipes....she thinks I need to up my game and make some more challenging and exotic cakes. Ha ha...watch this space.

Any one for a kiss!

I come across an old school friend of mine quite often these days and she works on the odd day down at the New World that I frequent often. Victoria is an avid follower of my blog and gave me a recipe to try quoting it off by heart last Monday in the wine isle.

Now I remember her facebook status a while back was that she has, after 20 years, perfected the kiss cake. A family recipe. That should have got me worried as how could it take 20 years of baking to perfect what seemed to be a very normal problem free recipe! It is Sunday morning as I write this and behind me in the oven are the kiss cakes. The timer has gone off and they look quite sweet but anemic. I got 25 of them from the mixture and one only needs to cook them for 8 minutes. Somehow I don't think they are the way they should be!!! I will find out tomorrow when Victoria does the taste test.

Yesterday (anticipating the kiss cakes might not be too good) I made a Ginger cake from the Avenues magazine that arrived in this weeks newspaper. It has the real authentic grated root ginger as well as the ginger powder so it really is a ginger cake! Took it around to friends last night to have while watching the All Blacks show Australia how to play rugby (score 49-28).

Served with a little vanilla ice cream on the side while sipping a bubbles, it was quite lovely.

Birthday Week

What a lovely week that was.

The inevitable happened and I turned another year older and with that came the celebrating. I was showered with beautiful gifts and many of them had a baking theme. I was given a great book called 'Cakes', a selection from the Australian Womans Weekly that have been triple tested for 'your success every time.' Along with a gorgeous bundt cake pan and 4 miniture bottles of Piper Heidseick complete with sipping straws! So this weekend I made a cake in the bundt pan from the new recipe book.......Passionfruit Buttermilk Cake.

As you can see from the photo above, it turned out superbly. The taste is exquisite, so light and soft to eat. The recipe required to add three eggs, yolks first, then fold in the whipped egg whites, thus resulting in a very light texture.

I found this cake to be delicious, especially when accompanied by a chilled glass of bubbles.

So if you are passing, make a point of popping in and having a taste.

(Better make is snappy as the Piper has been known to evaporate!)

A weekend in July

This weekend was to be Emma and Richard returning from their two weeks in Europe. And since I haven't seen them since 13 June, I was keen to bake for their homecoming. It was not to be as they were delayed in Singapore for 24 hours so arrival is now Monday morning 9.20am. (Fog descended on Christchurch at 8 am, closing the airport!!) As I write this, they are still not home! Due in soon though.

The cake of the week was made and has already been eaten as we just couldn't wait till they got here. ha ha

I made a Lemon Sour Cream Cake from the Waihi Cookbook. Lovely ingredients. Lemon meringue yogurt, sour cream (lite of course), a few eggs and lemons of course.

It was a very moist cake but lovely and light with a little yogurt on the side. Eaten after a beef casserole on mash with beans.

So, this morning I threw together some Tamarillo Friands from the same recipe book. If Emma doesn't hurry up and get here then they will be gone soon too.

Week or Cake 25......I'm back

Well here we are back in the land of the living and the freezing (it is July after all!) after three weeks riding through the French country side/hills and the Italian Dolomites, then walking by the five stunning villages of the Cinqueterre.

It is lovely to be home and slowly getting back in to a routine that is life. Ben was there to greet us at the airport, Emma is somewhere in Paris as we speak and Adam is speaking Spanish in Spain.

John went back to work on Friday in what seemed like a few hours after landing, Uni starts again on Monday for Ben and Gunna the dog has settled himself back in front of the fire. As for me, well I am baking a cake!

I opened a recipe book up on a random page and the cake staring at me is 'Ladysmith Cake'.

Ladysmith cake was named after the lifting of the seige of the town of Ladysmith during the Boer War. It is a vanilla butter cake in which half the mixture is flavoured with spice and put in the tin first, then a layer of jam, then the rest of the plain mixture and chopped walnuts on top.

It looks very delicious and will take it our friends Dave and Kerrys place tonight. Will be tested at half time of the All Blacks/South Africa game.

There will be plenty left though if you are passing, as it keeps beautifully for a few days in an airtight container!

Until next week......

The stand in Blogger...

In Cheryl’s absence, I have taken it upon myself in the name of continuity to submit a baking blurb. Emma her authorised offspring, did offer, but due to the fact that she “has a life’ has been unable to deliver….

My life’s baking work this week was a batch of plum and kiwifruit muffins. A strange mix? *Plums had been defrosted and were begging cooking and the kiwifruit was ripe as and ready to rhumba. *Last of the plums from the tree that had been unceremoniously removed from our neighbouring section this year.

The fruit was drained as previous batches that were too sloppy ended up soft after cooking too. The recipe was my stock standard fresh fruity muffins page 48 in my handwritten recipe book I have had for over 20 years.

As always I was in a rush to go somewhere so left the removal from the oven and muffin pans to the eldest offspring. Torn between her inexperience and my need to leave, I opted for the latter in an effort to enhance her cooking skills. It wouldn’t take much to beat mine and we returned later to some distorted, almost blackened remnants. They tasted okay but weren’t too pleasing to the eye.

I can vouch for the nutritional value but the eating pleasure was more on a, “Geez, isn’t there anything else to eat?” basis.

Come back Cheryl, I’m hungry!

Week Twenty Three.....Bill the Pom

Well yesterday was Bills birthday....for those of you who don't know, Bill is married to my sister Sharyn, (yes she's the older one!). He turned 50 so on Thursday night I went to bed armed with recipe books and proceeded to plan his cake. I came across an interesting chocolate cake with vodka infused cranberries and thought it sounded delicious and a little different. After noticing that the cranberries had to be soaked in the vodka over night, I leapt out of bed and rummaged through the liquor cabinet for some vodka....found some mango vodka (sounds gross ay!) and made the preparations for the making of this birthday treat. My Friday was shaping up to be extremely busy with ten million things to do for our impending trip away, so I laid everything out on the bench so that I had a head start in the morning.

As the cock crowed the next day, I was frantically melting chocolate and whipping up a treat.

It really did sound like a lovely cake, but I made the biggest mistake of all. I set the timer for 15 minutes too long and out came an extremely dry looking, slightly dark chocolate cake.

Feeling very annoyed with myself, I smothered it with chocolate icing and hoped for the best. Took it around to Bill last night, who had just a few of his nearest and dearest around to celebrate the big 5 0. I escaped long before the cake was cut and I am still awaiting the verdict on the taste.............

We head off tomorrow for a while so Mother Maderia is taking a break from making cakes and leaving it in the very capable hands of Emma. So she can write this blog for you all to follow over the next few weeks. Bye bye for now...take care...xxx

P.S Bill just called with his view on how the cake tasted. A tad dry when it is cut but after putting a piece in the microwave for a short moment, it was exquisite. How cool is that!

Week Twenty Two....Queens Birthday

Even though it is the Queens birthday this weekend, my cake (or cakes) have an Italian theme, which is great as we will be in that general vacinity next week!

Daughter Emma came home from work on Friday with two recipes given to her from a colleague so I thought I would make them both. The first one is titled 'Ciambella'. " A traditional cake baked in a ring tin, made by housewives throughout Italy for centuries, adding different ingredients depending on the desired flavour. In this version the combination of chocolate and orange is delicious." (so the article says)

The next recipe was called simply 'Mama Mia'. "Regular diners at Il Felice restaurant in ChCh will be mouthwateringly familiar with this trifle-style cake. Its been a hot favourite on the dessert menu for about 10 years."

What a wicked dessert! Very rich ingredients and I think it will go very well along side the Ciambella Cake.

We were invited to our very hospitable friends' place for the ChCh SBS marathon after match function yesterday, so I came armed with my two creations and later proceeded to dish out huge quantities on to plates for those who ran in the marathon. I felt they deserved the calories!

The Mama Mia didnt set too well and looked like a large dollop of whipped cream but the taste was something else. It had a rum, chocolate, cream cheese flavour with a hint of coffee.

Well done to those who ran in the Marathon and many thanks to Greg and Julie for such a lovely afternoon.

We take off for Europe on Sunday for three weeks, time for one more cake before we go. Have a great week.

Week Twenty One

Two weeks to go until we head away for the best part of a month to cycle through, up and down the mountains of France and Italy. The wet week that has just been, has put a damper on our training regime and had us lugging our bikes around to our lounge for a spin class. Was a lot of fun but we are chomping at the bit to get out in the fresh air! And fresh it will be!

But that has absolutly nothing to do with this weeks cake idea. I noticed rhubarb in the vege section of our local New World, so rhubarb cake it is.

The baking recipe book had four rhubarb cakes on offer, one with custard, another with ginger. I opted for the plain Rhubarb cake and it is very moist and delicious. There is only 60gm of butter in this creation, low fat yoghurt, brown sugar and of course rhubarb providing the roughage!

We will try it tonight with a little yoghurt on the side.

This weeks cake keeps very well, so should you be out and about and find me at home, then come on in for a taste!

Week Twenty...Happy Birthday Trudy

I thought of doing a rendition of our wedding cake since it was 27 years this week since the first one, but that would have been as corny as it sounds! The suggestion came from Emma, our first born. That lead me to recall how the top layer of our wedding cake was kept in an air tight container and bought out and re iced for her christening. I took it to a lovely lady to have it iced and she had to break the news that the cake was totally ruined and smelly.......so much for that great idea and a new cake was made for the occasion.

Anyway, back to the present.....Our very dear friend Trudy, turned another year older today and her favourite cake of all time is carrot. There is a very simple butterless recipe in one of the many cake books I have, so we took it around this morning and stayed for a sample. Very nice, if I do say so myself!!! So Happy Birthday Trudy, it is lovely to be able to make YOU a cake for once as you are the queen of catering and have turned out many a delicious cake over the years for us.

I ended up coming home with another recipe book. I have been trying to get my hands on this book for quite some time ..... 'Fuel for your Family The Waihi Cooks'. I notice there are 9 cake recipes in it so I will try one for next week. Until then, take care.

The Nineteenth Week

I did not have any idea what to make this week.

There was no major event that happened this week that warranted a cake, and no funny story that triggered a cake idea. So I sent a text to a couple of friends and Kerry was the first to answer, 'something low in fat'. After telling her not to be so boring I actually thought that was a good idea. To me, low in fat is using less butter. I consulted what is proving to be one of the best cake recipe books I have, 'A Treasury of New Zealand Baking', and found on page 212 a Sweet Orange Angel Food Cake which has no butter at all.

Sunday morning while everyone else was sleeping as the much needed rain fell, I made this cake. Was fun to make as the base is a pavalova consistancy. Resulting in a very light spongy textured cake. Friends arrived at 4 and I served the cake with whipped cream and vanilla yoghurt. I recommend a glass of bubbles on the side.

Sorry there is none left to share!

Week Eighteen

This week has given me so many reasons to make a cake. Daughter ran her first half marathon in a brilliant time of 1.51, eldest son took off on his life experience to South America and beyond, and it was mothers day!

So I went with Emmas choice from this months Cuisine magazine and called it 'Marathon Farewell Mothers Cake'.

Not very original really is it?

It tastes quite lovely really, served with blackcurrent couli and marscapone.

We awoke this morning to a text from Adam in Miami on his way to Ecuador and is bag is still in Washington! Ha brilliant! He has been flying since leaving here on Saturday and should get to final destination tea time tonight our time.

Back to the cake....that is pear quarters on the top of the cake and the main flavour is almonds.

The Seventeenth Week

Ben returned from his extended boys trip too jet lagged to notice the Walnut Cake smothered in chocolate icing, awaiting him in the Ta Da! Consequently, this cake hasn't had many takers.....no flour just the crumbs of two pieces of toasted white bread and a cup of ground walnuts, and the usual eggs and essence to give it life!

Onwards and upwards, we have a birthday in the house this week. His desire for a birthday cake is a large triple chocolate and banana muffin with chocolate icing on top! So tomorrow I will make millions of muffins and erect them in a pyramid and pour chocolate icing over the lot. Watch this space for a photo.

In the mean time, happy 22nd birthday Adam.

Week Sixteen...ANZAC Day

This weekend brings eldest son returning home to live, (even if it is just for two weeks ), youngest son still stuck in UK but due to touch down here in NZ on Wednesday afternoon, dinner with some very lovely friends and Anzac Day.

I awoke this morning wondering what on earth I would bake today, and while reading the Sunday paper Annabelle White came to the rescue with a Modern Anzac Cake.

Really interesting recipe, sour cream, apricots, coffee, coconut and cocoa and the topping has the rolled oats and golden syrup etc.

Annabelle recommends it be eaten with a really good cup of coffee.

I have chopped it up into family size pieces and delivered it around the place...anzac cake should be eaten on Anzac Day!

Week Fourteen eat your veges!

This week was going to be all about Ben. But a huge messy volcano has put an end to that! Poor ol Ben and his mates are stranded in the UK......probably having the time of their lives and I think I am the only one who is worrying about him. They were to arrive home today and the cake of his choice was to be displayed in the cake ta da. Maybe next week!

So instead, plan B, chocolate zucchini cake, recipe courtesy of Gill Cain.

John has had a large supply of zucchini growing this summer in his vege garden so it was great to use something from his harvest!

The cake is very light and lovely with no icing and best enjoyed right now.

Fourteenth Week - date anyone?

Well after a week in Auckland watching champion swimmers strut their stuff, baking a cake was the last thing on my mind!

So when the time came today, I opened the recipe book, A Treasury of New Zealand Baking, at a random page. This weeks cake is Coffee, Walnut and Date Cake. This is a superb cake, moist and rich, perfumed with coffee and studded with walnuts, and offset nicely with a lemon icing.

( I actually quoted that little description from the book! ha ha)

I reckon you should pop in this week and have a taste of this one.....

Next week my youngest cherub returns from his english adventure and he has booked his welcome home cake already! Watch this space.....

Week Thirteen...Easter

I was all set to investigate Easter cakes and on finding one I discovered traditionally they have a marzipan filling. So this put me off as I couldn't imagine anyone liking a cake full of almond icing so I went to plan B....Greg's birthday. His favourite cake according to his better half, is a banana cake with chocolate icing. Very handy as I happen to have four bananas reaching over maturity in the fruit bowl. Also handy that Greg's birthday fell at Easter as half my family are jetting all over the place and wouldn't be here to do the eating! Emma had gone to her favourite part of NZ with her man and his family, Adam took off to Auckland to the Open Swimming Champs and Ben heads off to London for two weeks today. John, 'doesn't really eat cake', and I don't need cake!

So Happy Birthday Greg, you old bugger, (I can only say that because he is 3 months older than me) hope you enjoy your cake.

Week Twelve.... Muddy

Up to my ears in Chocolate this weekend, with a dash or two of whiskey, to make a Mississippi Mud Cake.

Harriett turned 16 during the week and her present from me, a cake of her choice. She chose a three tiered mud cake!!!!! With her health in mind, I settled for a two tiered mud cake, filled with more chocolate icing. Have a feeling it was a tad dry but her text to me when she tasted it sounded positive and appreciative. So all is good.

We had our lovely friend Mandy over from oz for tea on Sunday so whipped up another apple cake, and tonight it is drinkies at Italian class so I threw together a Tirimisu.....always lovely made the day before to give the brandy time to infuse.

Holy week this week so next weeks cake will be an Easter cake. A bit of research necessary here I think.

Week Eleven....its off to Normandy

Well I thought that since Saturday was spent in Akaroa, our little taste of France, I would make a cake with French influence. My Legend of a husband roared through the Le Race in record time arriving in Akaroa just 2hrs 57minutes after leaving the Square. I was there to hug his sweaty exhausted and relieved self and then we lazed in the warmth watching and chatting with other like minded people, reliving every hill and corner and asking themselves why any normal person would pay huge amounts of money to put yourself through that pain. All worth it in the end as they can now eat Cake.

So Lovely friend Carole came around last week armed with flan trays and a beautiful French book with tart and cake recipes. I was reminded by daughter that tart is not a cake so I decided on the Normandy Apple Cake to be the cake for this week.

There was certainly nothing complicated in making it, so everything went very smoothly and it came out of the oven looking and smelling very delicious.

No one was keen to sample the said cake last night, so I had to indulge! Accompanied by a little dollop of whipped cream it is truely a very delicious cake.

Week Ten.....Gluten Free

The effort of last weeks Coffee Cloud Cake was all worth it. The family were the official tasters on Wednesday night but not before friend Trudy popped around on the day for a sneak taste. It was Gooood.

This weeks cake was made a day early as we had another family get together last night. Brother in laws lovely lady turned another year older during the week so we celebrated with a Gluten free mocha number. Very light and moist thanks to the sour cream in the cake. Odd ingredient that worked well.

I had a request from Hatty, my number one tasters daughter, for a couple of cakes for the cultural festival at Ray Blank Park this weekend. So nothing like leaving things to the last minute, I threw together two chocolate cakes last night about 9pm and am frantically icing them this morning, only to run out of icing sugar! So off to the super again as they get picked up at 11.

So I am all caked out this week.

I have about 8 days to find a recipe for week eleven. Le Race next weekend so may keep the French theme.

Week Nine Take Two

Coffee Cloud Cake.......This was a funny experience. The first time around the cake mixture was quite stiff, second time around the mixture was very soft and light and there was a tonne of it so of course it all poured over the top of the baking pans. I thought I was in for another disaster and was about to surrender my plan to make a cake a week, when all of a sudden the beeper on the oven went off and the cake was looking superb. Coffee icing on top smothered in walnuts and I cant wait to slice into it and have a taste. Pleasure is reserved for the extended family tomorrow night!

So this week, ten eggs later we have a cake.

Week Nine......A Flop!

Disaster struck the kitchen yesterday! Out of the oven came two frizbees. I never read the recipe properly so hence the disaster! Will try again later today so watch this space.

Aarrgghhh!!!!!

Week Eight - Caramel Mud Cake times two

This weeks cake was found on www.taste.co.nz. White chocolate melted with butter, brown sugar and water! The smell of caramel is awesome and filled our kitchen for hours. I made this
cake twice as the intention was to give a cake to my friend Julie, but the family didnt want to miss out either!


If you like caramel then you will enjoy every bit of this weeks cake. The kitchen was buzzing this afternoon. I was cake making, and also threw together a chicken lasagna for tomorrow nights dinner. Emma was busy making vegetable salad for Julie and a very special chicken dish for tonights dinner...really lovely. There were a couple of bacon and egg pies in the oven too.

So we were utilizing every available piece of bench space....a hive a industry.

It is very fulfilling making food for others to enjoy.

This cake is truly delicious!

Week Seven....Lemon and Yoghurt Cake

Hi there on week 7. Mum and Dad popped around last week armed with a heap of lemons from there large abundant lemon tree. This weeks recipe comes from 'The Best of Annabel Langbein....Great food for Busy lives', page 293, Lemon Yoghurt Cake.

Lemon juice and zest, eggs, sugar, oil, yoghurt, flour and a little something else, it was all thrown together and poured into a 26cm round cake tin (thanks for the lend Trud) and cooked for 1 1/2 hours. Looks devine, and should look a whole lot nicer with cream cheese icing.

This is a massive cake so the family will need a hand in polishing this off.

Hope to see you this week sometime!

Valentine Cake tasting!!

Well the family were sitting around this afternoon when I presented them all with a piece of cake announcing at the same time...Happy Valentines Day! Ben managed to escape for the afternoon and that was a good move too, as I discovered when testing the cake!

Hubbys view....inherent design issues, would possibly work better served upside down. Cake was dry. Daughters view....passionfruit and icing was lovely. My view.....really horrible, didnt like it at all.

So I think the word disaster sums up this weeks cake.

Better luck next week!

Week Six - Its Valentines Day on Sunday!

During this last week I have had a lot of tasters for the Hummingbird cake and everyone seemed to enjoy it!

I had a surprise visit from darling Georgia vT on Tuesday. She bought me a present from a second hand book store. 'Cakes and Cake Decorating' published in 1974. The first recipe that I noticed was on page 88....Valentine Cake. How appropriate considering V Day was 5 days away. Reading through the recipes in the book I was amazed at how they referred to using 'fat'. At the front of the book they speak of fat...."A note here on fat. Margarine, lard or cooking fat (shortening) may be used in rubbed-in cakes, with equal success, but if preferred, a mixture of fats - such as half margarine and half lard - is just as good."

Anyway, on to the cake for this week. The Valentines Cake. Chocolate sponge filled apricot preserve and cream and topped with Cornflakes smothered in melted chocolate!

Look out for the photo.....

Hummingbird reactions..

Wow this weeks cake has been a hit with Bens friends. Offical taster was Gaff who while over for some rowdy BYC in the weekend, was given the job of critic. He said the cake was very lovely but the icing extremely sweet. Today, Kinga (junior) turned up and was very eager to try it. He loved the sweet icing and the cake was 'seriously good'. Until Uni starts in about 2 weeks, I think the cakes will be devoured by unemployed back yard cricketers! All good.

Saving you a peice Mary.

Week Five Things are a humming!

This week a lot of friends have been sharing their recipes with me and one that I really liked the sound of was from my lovely friend, Trudy. She leant me her 'Celebrate - a calender of cakes for special dates' recipe book. Page 118 Hummingbird Cake. A humdinger of a cake, packed full of delicious tropical fruit flavours.

Today, after a marathon cycle ride and the mercury up in the late 20's, the kenwood was put into action once again. Bananas, pineapple and passionfruit (sorry Ben!!) were thrown together with four eggs, butter, flour and hot milk etc and viola, 60 minutes later, a large 26inch square cake smothered in cream cheese icing and passionfruit drizzle is adorning my cake ta da plate.

This cake is made to share.

Pop in for Cake!

The Sponge

As I mentioned last night, it is Johns birthday today and he loves sponge. I have heard many horror stories about disasterous sponge making so I had myself physically and mentally ready, with a clean bench, apron donned and oven set on 170degrees. I had raced into Ballantynes earlier in the morning and bought a couple of 20cm sponge tins, so they were sitting pretty and lined, so I was ready to go.

As I was making the sponge I got an email from my friend Kerry (mentioned last night) asking how the sponge was going, so I was giving her a blow by blow as it was being made and cooking. I am delighted to say that the said sponges were rising beautifully and had a lovely light tan and they came away from the tins smoothly.

I spread some passionfruit curd (barkers) on the first sponge, then a thin layer of cream, then the next sponge and some more curd and cream.

Dinner time came and it was demolished with speed and the birthday boy gave the nod of approval. Mission accomplished.

Week Four

We have just had a wonderful week in Melbourne at the Australian Open Tennis. I am sitting here now watching Roger Federer in the Final. Go Roger!!

I came back with the intention of baking a tennis cake, but after the family heard what the ingredients were, we decided against it. No one is a fan of glazed cherries and sultanas in a cake so I settled instead for a Almond Raspberry cake.

The recipe comes from the Harbour Kitchens Book, celebrating Lyttleton, its food and people. Page 83, a gluten free cake made be Gill Hay, original owner of The Preservatory in Fendalton. Its an expensive cake with 12 egg whites in it and a lot of ground almonds. I took it to a friends get together tonight and it was received very well. It was designed to serve 10-12 people, we managed to get 15 plus servings.

So sorry, but there is none left for pop in cake and coffee!!

Never mind, I will have the Kenwood out again tomorrow as it is hubbys birthday and his 'favourite' cake is a sponge. What a challenge that will be!! Never made a sponge in my life and I have heard they can be tricky. So good friend Kerry suggested the only sponge cake to make is on the back of the Edmonds Fielders Cornflour box...I just happen to have a box of cornflour so tomorrow I am off to the friendly New World to buy two round sponge tins.

Another tip in the dropping of the tins before and after they enter the oven. this could be interesting...watch this space!!

Hey if your passing tomorrow, pop in for a birthday drink and sponge.

Week three - Carrot cake for Julie

Week three and my lovely friend Julie starts her Chemo next Wednesday. I feel she needs a cake while her taste buds are still in tact! so her fav is Carrot cake.

I consulted the wonderful 'Combined' recipe book (Christ's College/St Margaret's) and on page 84 is a tried and true recipe from Abbey Taylor and Caren Butler. So amazingly easy to make, I threw it together while dinner was cooking last night. Ready now to ice and deliver.

For you, Julie, made with love. Enjoy!

Cake eaten in a day!

Well its Sunday and the Marble Cake was a success, it has been eaten already!! John had the first taste this morning for breakfast! I managed to save a third of it for Dad even though he was supposed to get the whole cake.

Lesson learned, always wait for the cake to cool completely before icing it! I did know that, but I was in such a rush to get it looking pretty with the feather icing that I just couldn't wait.

A whole week ahead to think of the next cake. Any ideas?

Week two - marble cake

This weeks cake inspiration comes from my parents being married 50 years on Saturday next. I remember dads aunt used to make him a Marble cake, so I thought that should be the cake for this week. So, I consulted my 'Ladies a plate' traditional home baking recipe book and sure enough, on page 106 is the perfect recipe complete with colourful feather icing.

This cake is also known as Ribbon cake, Rainbow cake, Patch cake, Neapolitan cake. "The mixture is a good, light butter cake that will stand a bit of manipulation while remaining moist and tender."

What a lot of fun it was making this cake! Breaking the mixture in to three and adding color to each part and then throwing it all back together again and watching it all meld (theres a canasta term for you!) together as it cooks. Here is a photo before the icing.

Its been an interesting week with the Madeira cake, and the comments of those who have heard that I am making a cake a week. I think more people are more concerned of the family's waistlines and cholesterol levels after having to eat so much cake all year! Thank goodness I have an extremely active family.

Brother in law has a birthday this week and his favourite cake is banana with no icing. (made with wholemeal flour and low fat butter is the request from his wife!) So I have the bananas rotting as we speak and will throw that together on Monday night.

I have a whole list of cakes to make in the weeks ahead, but if you want me to make a special one just for you, please just let me know.

Till next week, pop in anytime for coffee and cake if your passing.

Week one - cake one- madeira

It all began with my beloved and long serving Kenwood mixer blowing up.

After the inital sadness and traditional mourning period for what was not only an integral part of every successful pavlova I've ever made but also a present from 26 years ago with all its original parts, I purchased the new model kenwood.

Shining silver and much quieter than my old faithful, the new mixer has inspired me to bake more cakes.

So i will, bake a new cake, from a new recipe every week of 2010, starting now, just a week late.

The madeira....a cake dating back to the 1850s when baking powder was scarce or non exsistant.

After just arriving home from two weeks away in the sounds, the kitchen couches are full of washing ready to be folded and pristinely ironed. I ignore it as there is a cake to make.

It went ok, but the proof is in the tasting.

They say...'A good madeira has a golden brown exterior. a fine yellow crumb, is not too dense, and can be cut cleanly without crumbling.'

Ben, the son, was my taster and critic. He says, its more of a brown than a golden brown, could be lighter, tastes like summer in a cake and gives it 8/10. Prefers Earnests rather than mine.

Dont let that put you off, if your in the neighbourhood, pop in for cake and coffee!