I've had this little book in my bookcase(s) for a while now. It's one that I picked up one time when we were visiting a National Trust Place. It's called




*Featherlight Wholewheat Cake*
Makes one 7 inch two-layer cake
Printable Recipe

This is only a small cake, just perfect for a tea party. With the icing having been made with cream cheese,
it is best eaten on the day. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

For the cake:
4 ounces butter, softened (1/2 cup)
4 ounces soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
2 large free range eggs, separated
1 TBS cold water
4 ounces whole wheat self raising flour, sifted (1 cup)
(Be sure not to throw the bran away after sifting, stir this back in)

For the filling and icing:
7 ounces low fat cream cheese
2 ounces icing sugar, sifted (1/2 cup)
3 ounces toasted walnuts, chopped (a scant cup)

To Decorate:
9 toasted walnut halves

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter two 7 inch round sandwich tins and line the bottoms with baking paper. Butter the paper. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat together the eggs yolks and water. Beat into the creamed mixture, beating it in hard. Fold in the flour. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold in. Divide the mixture equally amongst the prepared tins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Beat together the ingredients for the filling until light and fluffy. When the cake is completely cold, place one layer, right side up on a plate. Spread with half of the filling. Top with the other cake, right side up and ice with the remaining icing. Decorate with half walnuts. Cut into wedges to serve.

Note: I added a layer of seedless raspberry jam on the bottom layer before I put on the walnut cream cheese filling. Fabulous addition!

I know what you are probably thinking right now . . . what on earth does Boston Cream Pie have to do with an English Kitchen, and you would be right in thinking . . . not a heck of a lot!



Other than the fact that's it's MY English Kitchen, and that's what I baked yesterday for the missionaries when they came to tea! I do not always cook traditional food here in my kitchen, anymore than anyone else does. Sometimes I cook an Indian meal, or hmmm . . . a Chinese . . . sometimes I even cook Spaghetti Bolognaise!



Oh heck, that is an English Kitchen!!! Or at least it is today's English Kitchen . . . a happy melting pot of the traditional, mixed with all the new flavours brought to our verdant shores by it's wide and diverse immigrant population!



And I think you'll find that there are a heck of a lot of us North American's over here . . . so why shouldn't we embrace some of the goodies from our homelands from time to time???



Oh, and by the way . . . there was a Boston over here before there was one in America. Boston, UK, is situated near the south-east coast of Lincolnshire, where the River Witham becomes the Haven on its short journey to The Wash. The town is approximately 120 miles directly north of London and 32 miles south-east of Lincoln. (and now you know!)



Boston Cream pie is not a pie. It is a cake. A very delicious sponge cake, split in the middle and filled with a tasty vanilla custard cream, and then topped with a scrummy chocolate glaze . . . deeeeeee-licious! And we ate the whole thing. Traditional no. Moreish . . .yes!



*Boston Cream Pie*
Makes one 9 inch round cake
Printable Recipe

It's not a pie . . . it's a cake, filled with a delicious vanilla custard cream and topped with a scrummy chocolate glaze!

2.5 ounces of vegetable shortening (1/3 cup)
7 ounces caster sugar (1 cup)
1 large free range egg
6.5 ounces plain flour (1 1/2 cups) sifted
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 ounces milk (2/3 cup)

For the cream filling:
3.5 ounces granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
3 TBS flour
1/4 tsp salt
375 ml of milk (1 1/2 cups)
3 large free range egg yolks
1 TBS butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

For the glaze:
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 TBS vegetable shortening
4 ounces sifted icing sugar (1 cup)
2 TBS hot water
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch cake tin and dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Set aside.

Cream together the shortening and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the vanilla to the milk. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk mixture. Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes before turning out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, combine the sugar, flour and salt in a saucepan. Whisk in the milk. Cook over medium low heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens, whisking constantly. Boil for one minute. Beat the egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir in about half of the boiled mixture, whisking constantly and then stir the mixture into the cooked mixture, whisking it in well. Continue to cook for several minutes longer, stirring until thick and creamy. Whisk in the butter and vanilla. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before proceeding.



Cut the cake in half horizontally. Place the bottom half on a plate. Cover with the cooled creamy mixture. Place the other half of the cake on top.

To make the glaze, melt the chocolate and shortening in a small pan over very low heat. Remove from the heat and blend in the sugar and hot water. Stir until smooth and slightly thickened, without beating. Stir in the vanilla and immediately spread on top of the cake, spreading only to the edges. Chill in the fridge for several hours before serving. Cut into wedges to serve.

.Oh my . . . it is the most delicious cake. All buttery and moist, and studded with sweet yet tart black currants . . . 

As you have probably all surmised by now, I love to feed the missionaries from our church and I do it fairly often. I think it's because I miss having a home filled with young people . . . a leftover from my days as a mum to five hungry teens . . . it's also be cause I really respect and love the missionaries and have a great heart and love for their cause and I like to do whatever I can to help them out.



I also love to cook and well . . . you know how it is . . . when you are cooking for your husband you have a tendency to cook the same things . . . and it's always nice to have company so that you can stretch your wings a bit and cook something different!



I did a Cottage Pie today for the lads, using my ragu recipe for the base and a parmigiana mash for the topping . . . along with a variety of vegetables from the garden, some coleslaw and some rolls . . . hearty food, just perfect for two strapping lads and the Toddster . . .



I wanted to make a special dessert and I came across the perfect one in this the August issue of Delicious Magazine . . . a recipe for a deliciously indulgent cheesecake with blueberries and mascarpone cheese. I had all the ingredients in and so I went for it.



It turned out gorgeous, if I don't say so myself. Beautifully coloured and chock full of beautiful berries . . .



Something bad happened to it though . . . you know that little minx we have living with us, otherwise known as Mitzie? Well . . . whilst the cheesecake was cooling down in the oven with the door propped open, that naughty little girl proceeded to eat about a third off the top of it!

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered this washing up video on YouTube, that I thought was quite cute and funny. I followed the link to their site, "Stop Washing Up." They have a contest on their page running right through June, where if you join the site and answer a question, you have the chance to win a free dishwasher. You had to answer in 15 words, why you needed a new dishwasher.

I am always joking around with people when they get to talking about dishwashers. Ever since we got married, Todd has always done the dishes. He says that since I do all the cooking, he doesn't mind doing the dishes, which works for me. When people get to talking about their dishwashers, I have always said that I have a 72 year old dishwasher that still works like a charm. At first people look at me a bit strangely, until they realize I am talking about the Toddster, and they have a bit of a laugh about it.

So anyways, to make a long story short, I entered the contest by talking about my 72 year old dishwasher, and guess who is the Week 3 Winner of their dishwasher giveaway campaign??? YOU GOT IT PONTIAC!! It's MOI!! ME!! Yeppers, today was my lucky day!! Todd and I had just been out for a short walk with Mitzie along the River Dee and gotten into the house when the telephone rang. I answered it and it was a Zanussi PR person informing me that my entry had won for this week!! Can you say over the moon???

I am just thrilled. I have always wanted a dishwasher since I moved over here. It's been on my wish list, along with a clothes drier since day one. I already have a Zanussi washing machine, and we are really pleased with it, so I just know I will be pleased with this dishwasher. All I have to do now is to check out their site and pick which one I want!! Needless to say, this has really made my day!



Of course, I baked a cake to celebrate!! How could I not???



And not just any cake either. An incredibly tasty Toasty Topped Butter Cake, or what my mom used to call a Lazy Daisy Cake.



This is one of my favourite cakes. A moist and scrummy basic butter cake, topped with a lucious toffee topping that is applied after the main cake is baked and then broiled until caramelized!!



Mom always put just coconut in hers, but as you know, I like to take things just that little bit further, and so I use a mix of half coconut and half flaked almonds, for an extra depth of flavour and crunch.



This went down a real treat! Wow. A new dishwasher, a cute Pup, the Toddster and a tasty cake all in one day! I do believe I am just the luckiest woman in the world! (Todd is feeling rather lucky as well, especially now that he knows his dishwashing days are numbered!!)

This is a simple cake and very easy to make. Sometimes people think that if something is simple, then it can't be very good, but they are so wrong . . . wrong, wrong!

In my experience it is quite often the simplest things that taste the best of all!



Our local shops frequently have punnets of stone fruit on for £1 a punnet. They call it home ripening fruit, but . . . in my experience it never ripens. That fruit will rot before it ripens. It never gets soft or sweet. I am not sure why that is. Perhaps it is the stuff they spray on it to keep it so that it will store in their warehouses longer, I don't know. Maybe they don't really do that, perhaps it's nothing more than an old wive's tale or a nasty rumour . . .



Having said that one wonders why even risk eating it at all, I don't know! I expect if it is well washed it is ok for consumption. We'll just go down that route ok?



Anyways, just because you know it won't ever really truly ripen to the point where you could eat it out of hand, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't risk buying it. These fruits are quite often the perfect fruits to bake or cook with!



When you do bake a cake or a crumble, or a pie, it's quite acceptable and even desireable to use fruit that's not quite fully ripened. It holds it's shape better, and the cooking process makes it highly edible. A bit of sugar and it sweetens up quite nicely.



I got a punnet of apricots earlier in the week for a pound and they were just perfect for this cake. Plums would also work very well.



It's a flat kind of cake. I like to dust it with lots of icing sugar and then serve it up with dollops of creme fraiche. Todd would say it is one of his favourites. ☺ I ♥ that!



*Apricot Sheet Cake*
Makes one baking sheet sized cake
Printable Recipe

A sweet batter encasing lovely baked apricots. You will need a baking sheet approximately 10 by 15 inches in size.

160g of unsalted butter, softened (about 11 1/2 TBS)
240g of caster sugar (1 1/4 cup)
pinch salt
4 large free range eggs
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
1 tsp almond extract
300g of plain flour (2 1/4 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
6 TBS milk
Enough apricot halves to cover the baking sheet when halved
sugar for sprinkling
icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a baking sheet with a one inch lip. Lightly dust with flour. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggsuntil combines. Stir in the lemon zest and almond extract. Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, until all are well combined. Spread this batter into the pan. Wash the apricots and cut in half, discarding the pit. Lay the halves on top of the batter decoratively, rounded side down and open side up. Sprinkle with some sugar.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely before serving. Dust with some icing sugar before serving if desired.

Time for a Saturday Teatime Treat! I actually made these to bring to a friend.

I just adore lemon anything, but Todd is not a real fan of lemon at all . . . so I thought that I could make these . . . just have one myself, and then give the rest away. That way I get to taste and enjoy a reasonable amount, and then they're gone, gone, gone and out of temptation's way! (Don't feel too sorry for Todd. I always bake him something he will like as well.)



I got to taste. My friend got to enjoy. Todd didn't have to suffer through any accidental lemon poisoning! It was a win all around situation!



I adore lemon curd and I had some lemons that were getting close to needing to be used up, so it was the perfect day to make some and these cupcakes are the perfect way to use that lemon curd up! Also win/win! (I love it when everything works out that way)



I also happened to have a carton of mini meringues that I had purchased a few weeks back, which was lucky!



I had seen a recipe similar to this somewhere, but couldn't find it. I found lots where you made meringue and baked it on top of the cupcakes, but none that used mini already baked meringues. I hate it when that happens, and I can't find what I know I've seen, but nevermind . . . . I just winged it, by baking my favourite cupcake recipe, and turning them into lemon cupcakes.



I then hollowed out the centres of the baked cakes, and then brushed a yummy lemon and sugar glaze on top while they were still warm so that all that lemony goodness was somewhat absorbed and the edges were all crusty.



I filled the hollows with some lemon curd and then plunked a tasty meringue on the top of each lemon curd pool.

Quick. Easy. Pretty. Impressive. And . . . very, VERY scrummy!!!!



*Lemon Meringue Cupcakes*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Delicious cupcakes with a tart lemon glaze, a lovely lemon curd filling and topped with a crispy baby meringue!

For the cupcakes:
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature (1/2 cup)
4 ounces caster sugar (2/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
1/2 tsp lemon extract
4 ounces self raising flour (scant cup)
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the glaze:
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
the juice of one lemon
1/3 cup caster sugar

You will also need:
a jar of lemon curd, homemade or storebought
a container of mini meringues

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Line a 12 hole bun tray with 12 cupcake cases. Set aside.

Place all the cupcake ingredients into a bowl. Beat well with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases. Bake for 15 minutes, or until well risen and the centres spring back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.

Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest and caster sugar for the glaze together, stirring to combine well. While the cupcakes are still warm, and using a melon baller, remove a bit from the centre of each cupcake, and discard. Brush the edges and the centre area with the glaze. Fill the hollow with some lemon curd and pop a meringue onto the top. Serve immediately.