Sometimes you want a cake that is beautiful and dainty . . . womanly, feminine, and perfect for celebrating those special occasions in a gal's life.



Things like sweetheart celebrations, birthdays, new babies, and springtime weddings to come . . .



Or perhaps something as simple and special as sharing friendship, or being sisters, finding fairies, enjoying tea parties or kindred spirits . . .



A cake that is light and delicately flavoured . . . and yet moreishly, scrummily yummy at the same time.



This cake fits the bill on all counts . . . moist and buttery . . . scented and flavoured with just the merest hint of cardamom and white chocolate . . . sweetly spiced and fragrant . . . yet rich.



Filled with a beautifully flavoured and scented rosewater and white chocolate ganache . . . think turkish delight here . . . very reminiscent of that scrummy flavour, but mixed with sweet white chocolate and cream . . .



Then the whole beautifully feminine creation is blanketed in a sweet coat of a milky white glaze . . . and then sprinkled with delicate pink sprinkles . . .



or you could use rose petals, lightly frosted with a hint of sugar. They would be quite, quite pretty too.



The three together at once very beautiful and oh-so-temptingly deliciously moreish.



Don't be impatient like me though . . . do let it set up before cutting into it . . . oh, I am such a naughty girl . . . but in a very good way. ☺



*White Chocolate and Cardamom Cake*
Makes one 9 inch cake
Printable Recipe

Delicately flavoured white chocolate caked filled with a scrummy rosewater and white chocolate ganache. Yummo!

130g unsalted butter, softened, plus more
to butter pan (1/2 cup)
3/4 tsp ground cardamom
170g pf self raising flour (1 1/3 cups)
100g of white chocolate, finely chopped (3 1/2 ounces)
130g white caster sugar ( scant 2/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

For the ganache:
100g of white chocolate, chopped (3 1/2 ounces)
100ml of double cream (1/3 cup)
2 tsp rosewater

For the glace icing:
150g of icing sugar, sifted (approx 1 1/4 cups)
milk

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a deep 9 inch cake tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Set aside.

Melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water. Don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugar for the cake in a bowl. Cream together until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla. Whisk in the flour and cardamom. Stir in the chocolate, mixing all together well. Spread into the prepared pan. Bake in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centr4e comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling, removing the paper. Leave until completely cold.

Place the chocolate for the ganache in a bowl Bring the cream and rosewater to the boil. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for a few minutes, then gently whisk until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Let cool, then chill in the fridge for about 15 to 20 minutes. Whisk until it thickens.

Carefully split the cake into two layers. Place the top of the cake, cut side up on a plate. Spread with the white chocolate ganache. Top with the bottom of the cake, baked side up. over top of the ganache.

Whisk together the icing sugar with enough milk to give you a pourable glace frosting. (It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, but runny enough to pour) Pour this over the cake, allowing it to drizzle down the sides. Allow to set before cutting into slices to serve.

I think that Parsnips have to be my all-time-favourite vegetable! I know that I say that about a lot of things, don't I? I guess I just love food and have a lot of favourites! But seriously, I do love, Love, LOVE Parsnips!



Paler than carrots, but much sweeter than cooked, I just adore them in any way, shape or form. My mother hated them and so we didn't get them at all when I was growing up, although . . . I do remember her cooking them for us once, in an attempt to see whether her tastes had changed through the years . . .



I remember her peeling them and slicing them into coins, and then she cooked them in butter, until they were soft and caramelized. They were lovely . . . but, she still didn't like them, so that was that! She never cooked them for us again.



I always remembered how delicious I had found them to be though, and once I got out on my own, I took every opportunity to cook them that I could, slipping them into stews and soups, roasting them, frying them and even mashing them. (They are just scrumptious cooked together with carrots and then mashed with some butter and seasoning!)



We have all made carrot cakes, I am sure. They're really quite popular nowadays . . . moist and scrummy and topped with a creamed cheese icing. I cannot imagine anyone not liking them, but I am sure there are some exceptions to the rule!



Yesterday I thought . . . if parsnips are so much sweeter than carrots, I am sure they would make a delicious cake and so . . . I made a Parsnip Cake, using my favourite Carrot Cake recipe!



Oh my, this is scrummy . . . all moist and sweet, and stogged full of lovely parsnips, pineapple crush, toasted walnuts and warm baking spices!

We had the missionaries over for their tea and they screwed their noses up a bit in disbelief when I told them I had baked a Parsnip cake, but . . .



they ended up taking half of it with them when they left, it was sooooo good!! I think the Browned Butter Frosting was . . . well . . . the icing on the cake!

Oh yes . . . it is very moreishly scrumdiddlyumptious!

I'm sure glad that I am a cook who is not afraid to push the boundaries of what's considered to be normal at times. It makes life much more exciting, oh . . . and much tastier too!!!




*Parsnip Cake with Browned Butter Frosting*
Makes one 9 by 13 inch cake
Printable Recipe

Spicy, sweet and moist with a nutty frosting.

8.5 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
5.25 ounces caster sugar (3/4 cup)
5.6 ounces soft light brown sugar (3/4 cup packed)
3 large free range eggs
6 fluid ounces of canola oil (3/4 cup)
1 tsp vanilla
3 medium parsnips peeled and grated
1 (435g) tin of pineapple crush, drained (1 cup)
2 ounces chopped toasted walnuts (1/2 cup)

Brown Butter Frosting:
2 ounces butter softened (1/4 cup)
pinch salt
16 ounces icing sugar, sifted (4 cups)
75 - 100ml of cream (1/3 tp 1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking tin and lightly dust with flour. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, caster and brown sugars and vanilla until smooth. Add to the flour mixture and stir together just until moistened. Stir in the parsnips, pineapple and nuts. Spread into the prepared baking tin, leveling it off. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, heat the butter over medium heat until it turns a nutty brown colour. Be careful not to burn it. Add the sale and then beat in the sugar and the cream until it is cold, creamy and thick enough to spread. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.

Cut into squares to serve. Store in an airtight container.

I have made no secret on here of my love of lemons. It's very clear that I can't get enough of them! Todd . . . well, he says lemon is not his favourite thing, but that fact doesn't seem to stop him from indulging in my cakes and cookies . . . it is my dream to have a lemon tree, filled to overflowing with lovely organic and unwaxed lemons . . . sigh . . .



This recipe is nothing more than a glorified Swiss Roll, scented and lightly flavoured with fresh lemon zest and filled with fabulous lemon curd. With it's crunchy coating of caster sugar, it's a delicious teatime treat!



Lemon Curd is something I always have in my house. I keep jars of it in the larder and then . . . I am kinda known for my own delicious Lemon Curd that I make myself from scratch . . . so good in fact, that you will be sorely tempted to eat it with a spoon! (You would be forgiven for doing so surely. It's that good!)



Lemon Curd is not that hard to make and once you have had homemade you will be kinda spoiled for ever truly being satisfied with store bought, seriously. It does make rather a lot, but you will be able to find lots of great uses for it, I promise.



You can fill little tarts with it, or fill ginger cookies with it . . . there is no end to it's tasty uses and in fact, you can find a whole list of recipes here that I use it in! (Enjoy!)



I love Swiss Rolls because they are . . . one-quick and easy and two-tasty, tasty, tasty!



This one goes down a real treat with a nice dollop of creme fraiche or even clotted cream if you should be so lucky. Alas . . . I didn't have either in the fridge today so we had it plain. We enjoyed it all the same, with nice hot cups of lemon ginger tea!!



Note to self** Don't forget to pick up some clotted cream asap.



*Lemon Swiss Roll*
Makes one 9 inch roll
Printable Recipe

If you love lemon like I love lemon, you will adore this delicious swiss roll! If you like you may use orange zest instead of the lemon and fill with orange marmalade for a change.

4 large free range eggs, room temperature
4 ounces caster sugar (a generous 1/2 cup)
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
4 ounces self raising flour (1 scant cup)

For filling:
4 heaped dessertspoons of good quality lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Grease a 9 X13 swiss roll pan and then line with baking parchment.

Break the eggs into a large bowl and combine with the sugar and lemon. Beat with an electric whisk until the mixture is light and frothy and the beaters leave a trail in the beaten mixture when lifted out. Sift the flour into the mixture, folding it in as you go along. Pour into the prepared pan. Shake gently to level out.

Bake for 10 minutes in the heated oven until the sponge is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched.

Have a piece of baking parchment ready and laid out on the counter that is larger than the cake tin. Dust it with granulated sugar. When the cake is baked, invert the tin onto the sugared baking parchment. Quickly loosen and peel off the paper from the bottom of the cake. Trim off the edges with a sharp serrated knife. Make a score mark one inch from one of the shorter edges without cutting through the cake. Allow to cool slightly then spread with the lemon curd and roll up tightly from the cut end. Allow to cool completely before slicing to serve.

If you like you can dust with some icing sugar to serve.

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 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
4 TBS unsalted butter, softened
3/5 ounces granlulated sugar (1/2 cup)

1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries

For the Streusel:
6 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
2 ounces plus 1 tsp flour (1/4 cup)
1/'2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 ounces chopped toasted pecans (1/4 cup)
2 TBS unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small bits



Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ Butter an 8 inch square pan and line with baking paper, leaving an overhang to lift the cake out with later. Butter the paper. Set aside.

Make the streusel. Mix the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon with your fingertips. Drop in the butter and rub together until you get coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped pecans. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cloves and nutmeg for the cake batter in a medium bowl. Set aside. Whisk the sour cream, egg and vanilla together in a beaker. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly drizzle in the egg mixture, beating all the while. Beat in the flour mixture, in three additions, beating well after each and scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the blackterries over top and then sprinkle the streusel evenly over all.



Bake in the heated oven until golden brown and the cake tests down when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Reemove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before lifting out to a wire rack to finish cooling. Cut into squares to serve.

This is my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip loaf. Normally it looks a lot better than this one. I toyed with not showing it to you, but I like to keep it real and you need to know that things don't always go as planned in The English Kitchen as in any kitchen.



For some reason this time all the chocolate bits sunk to the bottom of the loaf, creating a scrummy, but not entirely aesthetically pleasing, layer of chocolate crunch.



They do look a lot better when they are speckled here and there throughout the loaf, and normally they are . . . speckled here and there, that is . . .
Today they all sunk . . . coz yes . . . even I have things go wrong in my kitchen from time to time. Everyone does.



So whilst I would not consider this outing a total success . . . neither would I call it a total flop. It's still scrummy enough to keep me coming back into the kitchen for just . . . one . . . more . . . sliver. Which says an awful lot, in my opinion . . .



So, if you like peanut butter and chocolate together, I highly recommend this deliciously moist and peanut buttery loaf. Next time I am going to dust my chocolate bits with a bit of the flour before I fold them in. I usually do that, but today . . . well . . . c'est la vie!



*Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake*
makes one 9 by 5 inch loaf
Printable Recipe

Wonderfully moist and peanutbuttery, and stogged full of bittersweet chocolate chips.

4 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla
6.5 ounces of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 ounces butter, softened (3/4 cup)
4 ounces smooth peanut butter (1/2 cup)
7 1/2 ounces of soft light brown sugar (1 cup packed)
12 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped into bits*C/325*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment. Set aside.

Beat together the eggs and vanilla. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

Place the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar into a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides from time to time. Continue to beat, drizzling in the egg mixture in a slow stream, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture in three additions, beating on low speed, and scraping down the sides after each addition. Fold in the chocolate bits.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, leveling the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake is golden brown. If in an hours time you think the cake is browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil.

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Slice and serve.

One thing that I really miss these days, with not having a large family around, and being so far away from the family we do have . . . is all the baking at Christmas time. I always used to do lots of it. I'd start back in October and by the time Christmas rolled around the freezer would be filled with lovely treats and goodies.



There is just Todd and I now . . . and we can only eat so much. I shouldn't really be eating it at all . . . and in all honesty, as thin as he is, neither should Todd. I do love to bake though, and I especialy love it at Christmas.



The solution is to make lots of goodies to gift our friends and neighbours with. Everyone wins!



I get the joy of baking. Todd and I each get a little taste. Our friends get a little bonus, which is especially welcome at this time of year and to be honest . . . I've never had anyone turn any of it down yet!



These are lovely little loaves that make beautiful gifts. You don't have to use Cranberry Sauce if you don't want to. They also work out beautifully with other flavoured jams . . . such as black current, or raspberry . . . strawberry is especially nice. Apricot, cherry or peach jams are also quite lovely!



You get a nice and moist cake . . . with the added pleasure of sweet fruit and crunchy nuts running through it and on top . . . and a sweet drizzle glaze is it's crowning glory.



Pretty to look at too. You can buy small cardboard loaf pans, just right for gifting at Lakeland. I chose the other day to make a small one for us and a larger one to give away . . . It was most welcome.



*Cranberry Pecan Loaves*
Makes 4 mini loaves for gifts (5 3/4 by 3 inch mini loaf pans)
or two medium loaves (8 by 4 inch pans)
Printable Recipe

Tender and moist and filled with the flavours of cranberry and toasted nuts!

4 ounces (1/2 cup) butter, softened
7 ounces caster sugar (1 cup)
2 large free range eggs
8.5 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 ounces of sour cream (1 cup)
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
16 ounces of cranberry sauce (2 cups)
3.75 ounces toasted pecans, chopped coarsely

Almond Cream Glaze (see below)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/ 350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter the loaf tins and line with parchment paper. Butter again.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, until creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir in the extracts.

Spoon about 4 ounces of batter into each loaf pan. (1/2 cup) Top with 3 TBS of cranberry sauce, spreading lightly to the edges. Sprinkle with 2 TBS of pecans. Repeat the layers in each pan, using the rest of the batter, cranberry sauce and nuts.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before removing from the pans and cooling completely. Drizzle the cooled cakes with the Almond Cream Glaze. Allow to set before wrapping for gift giving.

*Almond cream Glaze*

6 ounces of icing sugar (3/4 cup)
2 TBS whipping cream
1/2 tsp almond extract.

Whisk all the ingredients together until smooth and drizzable, adding more cream if necessary.

On a funny side note - these are the loaves that almost weren't!! I took them out of the oven and set them on top of the stove while I wemt to get my cooling rack out. I also had a pot of water on to boil. The flames under the pot of water lit the baking parchment, which was hanging over the ends of the loaf tins on fire. A little bit of dancing and a lot of shouting ensued, and my hero had to come in and put it out . . . all without damaging the cakes!

Whew! Crisis averted!!!! Just goes to show though how just a little thoughtlessness can create a lot of havoc in a kitchen . . . even in The English Kitchen!

Note in answer to reply from E-mail. Unfortunately I am unable to reply because of some technicological reason. ??? (Computers!!)

Hi Melanie. Many thanks for your e-mail, your lovely comments re The English Kitchen and the nod to your friend. Have looked at her page and it's fab!! Nows for your question. You can make Yoghurt cheese as long as the yoghurt you are using doesn't have any gelatin in it. Just line a strainer with a coffee filter or some paper toweling, place over a bowl, and then dump your yoghurt into the lined strainer. ( If you use nonfat yoghurt, then you end up with a very low fat mixture) Cover tightly with cling film and place in the fridge for about 12 hours, discarding any liquid that drains off the yoghurt (called the Whey) every so often, so that the yoghurt doesn't end up sitting back in it. (Not a problem if you use a deep bowl)

Here's a good recipe for a filling using about 8 quarts of yoghurt that you have done this with. (just use your favourite cheesecake crust mixture to line the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.) Beat the yoghurt cheese together with 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 3 medium eggs. Whisk in 1/4 cup of flour, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp lemon zest. Pour this into your prepared crust (whichever kind of crust you like) and then bake it in a 450*F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 250*F and bake for about an hour or until set. The centre should barely jiggle when you shake the pan. Cool slightly, then refrigerate for several hours before serving. You can cut this into slices. It is enough to make a 9 inch cheesecake. (spring form pan) I loosen it a bit by running a thin sharp knife around the edges before undoing the spring.

I hope this helps! Let me know how you make out!