One of the things that Todd and I like to do in our spare time is to visit some of the National Trust Houses that are abundant in our beautiful country. There's quite a few and in the warmer months, it's really a lot of fun walking around the gardens and of course nosing through the houses . . . We just find it so very fascinating and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Most of the National Trust houses also have tearooms and small restaurants on the grounds. That, of course is also one of the real treats of the day . . . spending an hour in the tea rooms partaking of a delicious cake or bun (all homemade) and a drink.



And then, there is Todd's nemesis . . . the gift shop. He tries to steer me away from them, but . . . I'm on to him now . . . the gift shop is one of the highlights of my afternoon! They are filled with all sorts of treasures . . . jams and jellies, biscuits, candy rock, toys, gardening goods, tea time trinkets and . . . delicious cookery books!

On one of our visits I picked up this lovely cookerybook filled with traditional teatime recipes.

"Food is at the heart of everything the National Trust does. Our commitment to food stretches from using high quality sustainable produce in our restaurants to supporting our tenant farmers in selling direct to the public. With hundreds of tenant farms, more than 25 working kitchen gardens and farms managed by us, the Trust has an important stake in every part of the food journey." (Excerpt from inside flap of the above book)



I just adore the traditional recipes of any country I am in, but most especially the traditional ones from this beautiful country that we live in. Teatime recipes are some of my favourites of all. They hearken me back to my childhood days of reading Enid Blyton novels and dreaming about the delicous sounding teatime treats that the children in them got to gobble down, and I could only dream of . . .



This is a great baking book, chock full of delectable sounding teatime treats! Every recipe I have baked from it thus far has been just wonderful, not the least of which was this tasty banana cake that I baked this afternoon. We sat down to a piece each with a cup of herbal tea, whilst the snow blew against the glass of our kitchen windows, and dreamt of adventures and tuck boxes and . . . warm summer afternoon walks along country garden pathways . . .



Note - the filling is not really thick, but I found that by pooling most of it in the centre, it worked out just perfectly and did not squish out the sides. Also the icing is more like a glaze than a traditional frosting. It is most delicious!



*Cornish Banana Cake*
Makes one 7-inch layer cake
Printable Recipe

Just perfect for afternoon tea! A deliciously moist banana cake layered with a buttery banana filling and iced with a cocoa banana icing.

For the cake:
8 ounces very ripe banana (weight after peeling)
3 1/2 ounces caster sugar
3 1/2 ounces butter, softened
200g self raising flour, sifted
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 TBS milk

For the filling:
1 ripe banana
2 ounces butter, softened
2 ounces caster sugar

For the icing:
1 soft, very ripe banana
1 ounce cocoa powder, sifted
8 ounces icing sugar, sifted



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter two 7-inch round sandwich tins and lightly flour, tapping any excess out. Mash the bananas and sugar together for the cake in a bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the softened butter. Add the flour alternately with the egg. Dissolve the soda in the milk and add to the mixture. Beat to a fairly sticky batter. Divide evenly between the two tins, smooth the tops and then bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the sponge springs back when lightly touched.

Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, beat all the ingredients together until well mixed and use to sandwich the two layers together.

For the icing, beat all the ingredients together until dark and really smooth. Spread onto the top of the cake.

Note - If you like you can decorate the top with some blanched almonds, walnut halves or dried banana chips.

Cupcakes are really popular these days. I think they always have been, but lately it seems they have been more popular than ever . . .

I mean . . . who wouldn't like a cupcake??? It's a tiny cake, just for you!!



All kinds of flavours. Filled. Iced or not, and usually covered with sprinkles of one variety or another.



I always make cupcakes for Valentines Day. I've done so since my children were small and they each wanted something to take to school for their class as a treat. Cupcakes were the logical choice as I could make tons and the kids could help me decorate them. They were also very easy to transport and didn't need cutting up when they got there. Each child had their own individual cake. What could be better??



Habits like Valentines Cupcakes are very hard to change. I still find myself baking them every year for the holiday, except now, I have no children here at home to give them to. Poor ♥Todd♥ ends up having to eat them all.

Poor Todd indeed. I've never seen a man suffer with so much pleasure before . . . in fact I think he's suffering right now!



*Sweetheart Cherry Cupcakes*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Irresitable and utterly girly. You can tint the icing pink if you like. I prefer to keep it white though and then decorate them with all sorts of bits and baubles!

115g butter, at room temperature
115g caster sugar
2 large free range eggs
100g self raising flour
2 TBS milk
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
12 to 15 glace cherries, chopped

Vanilla buttercream:
140g icing sugar, sieved
2 TBS softened butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBS milk

Decorations as desired

Pre-heat the oven to 175*c/350*f. Line a 12 cup medium muffin tin with paper cases. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together for the cakes until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour along with the milk, and extracts. Mix until smooth. Stir in the chopped cherries. Divide the batter equally amongst the muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely as soon as you can handle them. Don't allow them to sit in the muffin tin for too long or they will become soggy.

Once they are completely cooled, make the icing. Beat together the icing sugar, butter, vanilla and 1 TBS of the milk, until smooth and creamy, adding the additional TBS of milk only if needed.

Spread the frosting over the tops of the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with whatever decorations you wish to use, or leave plain.

As you know, I just love blueberries. I also happen to love lemon, and when I saw the lovely cake on the cover of the March issue of Good Food magazine I was in heaven! It was a beautiful lemon curd blueberry loaf cake and it looked really good . . .



The recipe uses lemon curd in the batter. I happen to already make a lucious lemon drizzle cake that uses lemon curd in the batter and I know first hand how very tasty a cake it makes!

I wanted to kick it up a notch though . . . (Forgive me Good Food Magazine . . . it's just in my nature to never leave well enough alone . . . usually with most delicious results, I might add!)



So I decided to add a cardamon streusel topping on top of the batter before I baked it. Oh, what a delicious decision that was. It is sweet and crunchy with just the merest hint of cardamom which as we know, goes so very well with lemon . . .



Once baked, a tart lemon icing was drizzled all over the top of the streusel . . .

Each mouthful brings you the delights of a moist lemon cake, sweet blueberries, crunchy streusel and a lemon drizzle icing . . . can you say MOREISH???

But it gets even better . . .



Once cooled and sliced, you want to serve it up with a dollop of lemon curd and lashings of creme fraiche . . .

OH MY GOODNESS !!!

This is a diet killer, if I ever tasted one. Could be quite dangerous to have around. Y'all will have to come over and help me get rid of it, ok?



*Lemon Curd and Blueberry Loaf*
Makes one 2 pound loaf
Printable Recipe

A deliciously moist and tangy loaf topped with a scrummy cardamom streusel topping and a lemon glaze.

6 ounces of butter softened, plus more for buttering the tin
100g Greek yogurt
2 TBS of lemon curd
3 large free range eggs
the zest of one lemon
8 ounces self raising flour
6 ounces golden caster sugar
85g of blueberries

For the streusel:
1 1/2 ounces of self raising flour
1 1/2 ounces demerara sugar
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 ounce soft butter

For the glaze:
the juice of one lemon
5 ounces icing sugar, sifted

To serve:
lemon curd
creme fraiche

Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Butter a 2 pound loaf tin. Line it with a long strip of parchment paper, for ease in lifting out. Butter the parchment.

Make the streusel by rubbing all the streusel ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside.

Place all the cake ingredients, except for the blueberries into a mixing bowl. Beat well until thorougly combined and smooth. Spoon half of this into the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle the blueberries over top and then cover with the remaining half of the batter.

Sprinkle the streusel evenly over top.

Bake in the heated oven for 1 hour and 15 to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake is well risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the pan before lifting out onto a wire rack.

Make the glaze by whisking together the lemon juice and the icing sugar. Drizzle this over top of the cake.

Serve in slices with some more lemon curd and some creme fraiche if desired.

One of my favourite ingredients to bake with is ripe bananas. The riper the better. I like them best when the skins are almost black. Just perfect for baking with. Oh, I do love me some banana chocolate chip cookies, banana tea bread, banana muffins, banana cake . . .



One of Todd's favourite things to eat is bananas. He usually eats them all up before I can do anything with them. Most annoying . . .



This week I managed to squirrel some away where he couldn't see them and I let them get . . . ripe, ripe, ripe . . .



I wanted to make a delicious banana cake. Rich and moist, and just chock full of banana flecks and flavour . . .

With a lucious cream cheese icing.



This banana cake is the epitome of the word M-O-R-E-I-S-H!!!



Ohh, but it is dangerous to have around. Anyone care to come over and help us eat it up???



*Dreamy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting*
Serves 8 to 10
Printable Recipe

A deliciously moist and rich banana cake, topped with a lucious cream cheese frosting. It is best to store this in the refrigerator because of the frosting, but don't worry, because there is oil used in the cake batter instead of butter the cake stays moist and tender, even when served cold from the fridge.

For the Cake:
2 large very ripe bananas, peeled and lightly mashed
(8 ounces)
4 ounces of creme fraiche
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp loosely packed finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 ounces of light brown muscovado sugar (in America use Turbinado, or even just ordinary brown sugar)
4 ounces of safflower oil
170g of plain flour
30g of cornflour
(alternately use 200g of cake flour)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

For the icing:
6 ounces full fat soft cheese
(like Philadelphia)
2 ounces unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
400g of icing sugar, sifted

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a 9 inch round deep cake tin. Line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper and butter the paper. Dust with flour, shaking out any excess. Set aside.

Place the bananas, sugar and creme fraiche into a food processor and blitz for a few seconds until smooth. Stop and scrape down the sides. Gradually add the oil with the motor running, until it is thorougly incorporated. Add the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla. Process again for about 10 seconds.

Whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder, cornflour and salt.

Pour the wet mixture into a large bowl. Sift in the flour mixture and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for several minutes until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and then flip over and cool completely top side up.

To make the frosting, beat all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Spread this frosting to cover the top and sides of the banana cake. Store in the refrigerator.

Gingerbread, gingerbread, oh how I love thee!
I love thy stickiness . . . and thy spice.
A day with you is rather nice.



You smell so good
baking in my oven.
The thoughts of what's to come,
I'm a totally lovin . . .



Sliced into thick slabs,
and sitting on my plate.
You look so so yummy,
I almost can't wait!!



We must have syrup,
golden of course!
Can anything ever
be more . . . . moreish???



In goes my fork and
it's oh so yummy . . .
Just right to appease,
my oh-so-greedy tummy.



Run, run to the store,
just as fast as you can.
You must bake this today
if . . . you're a gingerbread fan!

(Ok, so a poet I ain't . . . but this is extremely good!)



*Gingerbread*
Makes one 9 inch square cake,
cutting into 12 to 16 pieces
Printable Recipe

Spicy and sticky and wonderful served at tea time. Also great in packed lunches and picnics. This is a good keeping cake that will last well for up to 3 weeks in an airtight tin. Serve, cut into slices with some warmed golden syrup poured over top for a real taste treat!!

1 (16 ounces)pound plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
6 ounces butter
6 ounces soft light brown sugar
6 ounces black treacle
6 ounces golden syrup
1 large egg, beaten
10 fluid ounces milk
warmed golden syrup to serve (optional)



Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Butter a deep 9 inch square cake tin, and line with parchment paper. (You want it to be at least 3 inches deep if not 4) Butter the paper as well.

Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, ginger and spices into a deep bowl. Place the butter, sugar, treacle, and syrup into a saucepan and heat over low heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool for several minutes.

Beat the egg and milk together and then beat this into the cooled syrup mixture. Add all at once to the dry ingredients. Beat well using a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Pour into the prepared tin.

Bake in the centre of the heated oven for 1 1/2 hours until well risen and just firm to the touch. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. This results in a lovely sticky gingerbread. If you would like a firmer cake cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin. Once cold, remove from the tin and overwrap with foil. Place in an airtight tin for up to one week to allow the flavours to mature.

Serve cut into slabs and serve for tea, or with cream for a pudding. Extra warmed syrup is delicious poured over top.

It's not very often that you will see anything made of chocolate on this page. It's not that I don't like chocolate. Aux contraire . . . Je t'aime le chocolate, tres beaucoup!

Todd doesn't though. He hates chocolate, or more specifically, chocolate cakes and cookies. He likes chocolate candy and hot chocolate and chocolate ice cream and milk.



I, on the other hand, just adore chocolate cakes and cookies, chocolate bars, truffles, chocolates . . . . but I hate chocolate milk, and chocolate ice cream. I do like chocolate pudding on occasion and I sometimes enjoy a frothy hot chocolate, but only with lots of whipped cream on top . . . like they serve it on the continent . . .


Therein lies my dilema. Do I go about baking things that only I will eat . . . making my hips scream out in agony . . . or do I risk it, say what the heck and go for it anyways.

Most of the time I say no . . . tis not worth the risk on the scales . . .



Once in a while though I come across a recipe so obscenely delicious looking that I can't turn away . . .

What's a girl to do???



I caved in . . . of course. It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it. Adapted from the cookery book entitled, "Easy Baking," by Linda Sollister.


There are now 15 slices going begging. Any takers???



*Marbled Fudge Cake*
Makes 1 cake (16 slices)
Printable Recipe

A deliciously moist chocolate fudge cake with a digestive base, and a creamy cheesecake ripple running through it.

For the base:
80g digestive biscuit crumbs
50g unsalted butter, melted

For the chocolate mixture:
120g good quality plain chocolate, chopped
35g unsalted butter, diced
2 large eggs
150g caster sugar
75g flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 to 3 drops vanilla extract
50g broken walnut pieces

For the cheese mixture:
25g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
85g cream cheese (philadelphia)
50g sugar
1 large egg, beaten
10g plain flour

First make the base. Mix the biscuit crumbs and the melted butter together and then press the mixture into the base of a well buttered 9 inch springform pan to make a thin even layer. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F.

Melt the chocolate gently in a heatproof bowl over a pan of steaming water. DO not let the water touch the bowl. Stir the chocolate until melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the butter until it is melted.

Beat together the eggs and sugar for the chocolate mixture with a wooden spoon until frothy. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into the bowl. Add the chocolate and butter mixture and the vanilla. Mix well together and then stir in the nuts. Spred this mixture over the chilled base.

To make the cheese mixture, cream the butter until creamy and then beat in the vanilla and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar and then the egg. Add the flour and stir well. Spoon this mixture on top of the chocolate layer in the pan. Swirl the tip of a knife through both mixtures to marbel.

Bake in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until just firm. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan before unmoulding.

Serve at room temperature.

Store airtight and eat within 5 days. This cake improves in flavour for several days after baking. Yummo!!

One of the films we just love to watch here at Oak Cottage during the winter months, and especially at Christmas, is Little Women. I just love the period costumes and the story. It bewitches me completely, and weaves a magic spell around my heart. When I was a little girl I loved the book, and, I read it over and over again. One of my favourite scenes in the film is the scene where Meg, Jo and Amy are walking and Amy trips, dropping her school slate into the snow.

Shelooks up at Meg and says, " I'm so degradetated, I owe at least a dozen limes." to which Meg replies, " Are limes the fashion now?"

Feeling a bit sorry for her after this, Meg gives Amy the money she has saved from selling rags so that she can purchase some limes to take to school, thereby enabling her to save face with the other girls. (As the story continues, the limes are taken away from Amy and she is struck by her teacher, causing her to be removed from the school by their mother. But . . . we won't think about that right now . . . )



Sometimes I like to sit and imagine what it would have been like to live in a society where the accumulation of limes would be a status thing amongst school girls . . . and I wonder . . . would I have been able to afford to buy limes? Or would I be permanently left on the side lines . . . wanting limes and envying those who had them.

And then my imaginations take me even further . . .



If I had limes, and lots of them . . . would I be content to just carry them around, and boast about how many I had to my friends, showing off to all and sundry . . .



or would the creative cook that resides deep inside me be tempted to sacrifice just a few of them to the creation of something delicious and ludicrously tasty . . .

and then . . . were I rich enough to have oodles of limes . . .

perhaps I would be rich enough to be able to purchase another exotic ingredient as well . . . preserved stem ginger . . .




and . . . lets face it . . . were I wealthy enough to buy the ginger . . . it's a dead shoe in that I would also be able to afford candied glace cherries and lucious dried sultanas . . .

Why then I expect . . . I'd be in full possession of all the ingredients needed to create a delicious cake!!!



Mmmm . . . just think about it . . . a tasty and moist loaf cake, absolutely stogged full of glace cherries and sultanas, the zest of limes and preserved ginger . . . and slathered in a luciously sweet, yet tart lime frosting. Oh, how lovely that would be . . .



I dare say the other girls would want to be my friends even more than if I just had some old limes. It sounds good to me anyways . . .



This is a cake for cosying up with next to the fire . . . a woolen blanket thrown over your knees, and a warming mug of spiced apple tea on the side. MMMM . . . Moreishly scrummy . . .

But don't just take my word for it! Bake it for yourself, then sit back and enjoy . . .



*Cherry and Sultana Loaf with Fresh Lime and Ginger*
Makes 2 (1 lb) loaves
Printable Recipe

A refreshingly light cake with a tasty lime icing. Chock full of glace cherries, sultanas, preserved stem ginger and lime. Delicious! Make one to eat now and one to stick in the freezer to enjoy at a later date. (Don't ice if you are putting it into the freezer. Save that for the day you want to serve it.)

6 ounce self raising flour
4 ounces butter, softened
4 ounces caster sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
2 ounces raisins
2 ounces glace cherries, quartered, washed and dried
5 ounces sultanas
4 bulbs preserved stem ginger, finely chopped
the finely grated zest of two limes

For the icing:
4 ounces icing sugar, sifted
2 TBs lime juice
1 bulb of preserves stem ginger, chopped
the finely grated zest of one lime

Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Butter and line two (1lb) loaf tins with parchment paper. Set aside.

Place all the cake ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well together on low speed of a mixer to start with, and then medium speed until well mixted together and smooth. Divide evenly between the two loaf tins and smooth the tops.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean and the top should spring back when lightly touched.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins. Once completely cold, remove and ice.

To make the icing mix together the icing sugar, lime zest and lime juice until smooth. Spread over top of the cakes. Sprinkle with the chopped stem ginger. Cut in slices to serve.



PS - For those of you who asked yesterday, a Swede is a rutabaga. They call it a Swede over here. (It's like a large turnip which is orangy coloured)