So yesterday I was invited out for a girlie day crafting with two fab friends. I was asked to bring cake for our picnic lunch, and so I was quite happy to comply!



Crafting, girlie friends, cake . . . sounds like a fabulous combination don't you think???



I wanted a portable cake though, because I knew I was going to be travelling first by train and then by car and I didn't want anything that was going to get squashed or ruined in the process, in other words . . . something that would hold up.



Loaf cakes are the perfect thing for such occasions. You can cut them into slices and then sandwich the slices together with the icing in the middle. Easy to handle, and easy to eat, with little or no mess! The perfect picnic portable!



This is one of my favourite loafs to make, next to banana or carrot . . . oh and lemon, let's not forget that. Cougettes make a lovely loaf cake, which always turns out moist and delicious.



I added cardamom and lime to this one to give it just that little bit extra zip and tang. The frosting in the middle? A delicious cream cheese, also flavoured with lime.

Altogether scrummy and the perfect treat for three crafting gals I think!

Cake sandwiches! I love them!



*Courgette, Cardamom and Lime Loaf*
Makes one 9 inch loaf, serving 8 to 10
Printable Recipe

Moist and nicely spiced. I like to sandwich slices together with cream cheese icing to wrap up and take along to picnics!

250g of grated courgettes (2 medium zucchini, grated)
100g caster sugar (1/2 cup)
100g butter (scant 1/2 cup)
100g runny honey (1/3 cup)
3 large free range eggs, beaten
3/4 tsp ground cardamom
the zest and juice of one unwaxed lime
325g of self raising flour (generous 2 1/2 cup)
75g of ground almonds (3/4 cup)
3 TBS thick Greek Yoghurt

Icing:
100g of icing sugar, sifted (generous 3/4 cup)
75g of butter, softened (1/3 cup)
75g of low fat cream cheese, softened (1/3 cup)
juice and zest of one unwaxed lime

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark4. Butter a 9 inch loaf tin and line with parchment paper. Butter the paper. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the honey and the eggs. Fold in the cardamom, lime zest and lime juice. Squeeze as much liquid as you can from the courgettes and fold them into the creamed mixture along with the flour and ground almonds. Stir in the yoghurt. Spread the batter in the prepared tin, smoothing the top off.

Bake for one hour until baked all the way through and well risen. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Place (still in the tin) on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the Icing, beat all the ingredients together until smooth. Cut the cold cake into slices and sandwich them together with some of the icing to serve. Alternately you can just spread the icing on top of the loaf and cut into slices to serve.

We've got people coming over later on this afternoon for a visit and some tea . . . you know the drill . . . finger sandwiches, a cake, and some other scrummy bits. I also wanted to make something a little bit different for these Brits, something that would lift my tea time repast from being humdrum and predictable, into something extra-ordinary.



I found this recipe in one of my Marks & Spencer's Cookbooks, Baking Bible. It's one of my favourite baking books and is filled with quite a variety of baking recipes from cakes . . . to tarts . . . to breads . . . and everything in between.



I've baked quite a few of them at one time or another, and they have always turned out beautiful. I thought these oaty milk chocolate and peanut butter squares would go down a real treat.



They are very reminiscent of an American type of slice or square as they are often called over there in the big US of A. Moreishly oaty, sweet and stogged full of milk chocolate bits and nuts.



The Peanut Butter is a surprise, and a pleasant one. I do hope they go down well. I couldn't resist cutting two yesterday and of course I couldn't wait for them to completely cool down before digging in. Oh wow. These are fabulous!



*Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Tray Bake*
makes 20
Printable Recipe

Deliciously scrummy oaty squares stogged full of lovely peanut butter flavour and milk chocolate chunks.

10 1/2 ounces milk chocolate (can use milk chocolate chips)
12 ounces plain flour ( 2 3/4 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
8 ounces butter (1 cup)
12 ounces soft light brown sugar (about 1 2/3 cup packed)
6 ounces rolled oats (scant 2 cups)
2 1/2 ounces chopped toasted pecans (generous half cup)
1 large free range egg, beaten
400g (14 ounce) tin of condensed milk
2 1/2 ounces crunchy peanut butter (1/4 cup plus 1 TBS)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Finely chop the chocolate. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Drip in the butter, cut into bits. Rub this into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar and rolled oats. Remove 1/4 of the mixture and place it into another bowl. Stir the chocolate into this. Set aside. Beat the egg and stir it into the remainder of the crumb mixture. Press this mixture into a 12 by 8 inch baking pan.

Bake in the heated oven for 15 minutes.

Stir together the condensed milk and peanut butter. Pour this over the partially baked crust. Sprinkle the chocolate crumb mixture over top and lightly press down.

Return the pan to the oven and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into squares to serve.



Go on . . . bake them today. You know you want to! ☺

There is nothing more beautiful, both to look at and to smell than gorgeous English Lavender. Down in Norfolk they have fields and fields of the stuff.



When we lived in the cottage down in Kent, the whole back of the house was flanked with beautiful lavender and during the lavender season, you could scarce move without being assaulted by it's beautiful smell. I have spent many an afternoon sitting out on the patio watching the bumblebees bumble from bloom to bloom. Such a pretty sight.



We have lavender here at our house in Chester as well, albeit not as much and it is just ready to burst into bloom, several weeks ahead of it's usual season . . . but that is result of the unusually warm April we had I think . . . Each year when it grows I am careful to harvest some of it to be used in our dresser drawers to help to keep our clothing fresh, and to lay amongst our sheets, pillow slips and towels in the linen closet as well. It smells just beautiful. More gets saved and put into bowls here and there in the house to keep the air fresh and yet more gets stuffed into jars of sugar to be used in delicious baked goods such as these lovely scones.



You might think that with a smell such as strong as lavender can be, that it would overwhelm the flavours of things that are baked with it . . . but you would be completely wrong.

The lavender sugar in these scones gives them a subtle fruit flavour and scent, and goes so very wonderfully with fresh lemon curd or preserves.

Make it a wonderfully different teatime treat by baking these lovely scones. Keep them guessing as to what your secret ingredient is. Buttery, subtly scented, with a lovely little crunch.



You can use storebought lemon curd of course . . . but making your own is really quite easy. I have a recipe here. It's wonderful! I think you'll find it will come in handy for all sorts.




*English Lavender Buttermilk Scones*
Makes about a dozen
Printable Recipe

These delightfully buttermilk scones are infused with lavender sugar and go very well with my homemade lemon curd, or preserves for a special Spring tea.

225g of self raising flour (scant 2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
50g of unsalted butter, cut into bits (1/4 cup)
75g of lavender sugar (see below) (scant 1/2 cup)
150ml of buttermilk (5 fluid ounces)
salt
To serve:
your choice of lemon curd or preserves

Preheat the oven to 220*C/ 425*F/ gas mark 7. Butter a baking sheet. Set aside.

Stir the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Drop in the butter bits and rub them in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Add the buttermilk, and stir in with a fork, only adding enough to create a soft dough. Tip out onto a floured board and knead a few times before patting out to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch round cutter. Place onto the baking sheet leaving plenty of space in between for spreading. Brush with some more buttermilk.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before serving with your favourite spread.

To make your own lavender sugar:
Press two of three clean sprigs of fresh lavender, or a couple of TBS of lavender buds which you can buy in the spice section, into a jar of caster sugar and leave for at least 24 hours before using. Use pesticide free blooms, and wash and dry them before using.

Oh, I am so very annoyed with myself. I told myself the other day that I wasn't going to bake anything scrummy for a while . . .



I wasn't going to bake anything that I couldn't resist stogging into my cake hole for a while . . .



I wasn't going to bake anything so scrumptiously moreish that I would find it hard to resist for a while . . . and then what do I do???



I go and create something so moreishly, decadently, scrumptiously magnificent that NOBODY would be able resist it!!




I know . . . I'm one bad puddy tat! But then again . . . I can't stay mad at me for long.

One bite and you will be in flap jack heaven. Buttery, sweet, nutty and oh-so-very hard to leave alone. Resistance IS futile.



*Cranberry, Pecan and White Chocolate Flap Jacks*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Sweet and scrummy. Just perfect for those times when you want a little something to give you some extra energy.

5 ounces butter, plus extra for greasing (1/2 cup plus 2 TBS)
200g of porridge oats (2 cups)
25g of dessicated coconut (1/4 cup)
50g light muscovado sugar ( generous 1/3 cup packed)
5 TBS golden syrup
6 ounces toasted pecans, broken into chunks with your hands (1 1/4 cups)
2 ounces dried cranberries (1/3 cup)
100g bar of white chocolate (about 3 1/2 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 7 by 11 inch baking tin and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Melt the butter together with the sugar and golden syrup, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside to cool.

Stir together the oats, coconut, pecans and cranberries. Pour the cooled butter mixture over top. Stir to combine well. Break up 2/3 of the chocolate into bits and stir into the mix. Press into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and mark into squares while still warm. Allow to cool completely, then cut all the way through. Melt the remaining white chocolate and drizzle it over top of the bars. Store in an airtight container.

Back home in Eastern Canada, where I hail from, you can get these big soft white sugar cookies, filled with jam. Oh they are so yummy. I have been trying for years to replicate the recipe.



Have I succeeded?? Not quite, but I managed to get very close this morning! I think I baked these just a tiny bit too long and so the next time I make them if I take them out just a little bit sooner, they will be pretty much spot on.



I also think I'll add a bit of grated nutmeg next time as well.



These are really, really good though! FABULOUS fresh out of the oven with a ice cold glass of milk!



Quick and easy too! I am a quick and easy kind of a gal. I don't like a lot of faff. I only very rarely roll out cookies. I like to just scoop and drop if I can. I guess I'm rather lazy that way. These aren't quite scoop and drop, but slice and bake is the next best thing to scoop and drop in my books!



Tender, buttery and oh so scrumdiddlyumptiously good! I love jam anything. These ticked all my buttons and got my taste buds tingling in over time!



You only get about a dozen cookies, but . . . that's also a good thing . . . coz these are soooo moreish that any more than that would be dangerous!



*Simple Jam Jams*
Makes 12 large biscuits
Printable Recipe

Quick and easy with only five ingredients. A real milk and cookies teatime treat!

8 ounces self raising flour (a scant 2 cups)
4 ounces golden caster sugar (1/2 cup)
4 ounces of cold butter, cut into bits (1/2 cup)
1 large free range egg, beaten
4 TBS strawberry jam

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter a large baking sheet well, or line with parchment paper.

Measure the flour, sugar and butter into a bowl. Rub the butter in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the egg with a fork, adding only as much of the egg as you need to create a stiff dough. Knead a bit with your hands and then shape the dough into a cylinder about 3 inches in diameter and 6 inches in length. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices with a sharp knife. Place onto the baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between each one. (The mixture spreads a bit during baking.)

Make a small indentation in the middle of each with your thumb. Drop 1 tsp of jam into each indentation. Bake for 10 to `5 minutes, until slightly risen and golden. Let sit on the pan for a few minutes before scooping off onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Store in an airtight container.



These also come Mitzie approved. Yes . . . I did give it to her. I know . . . I spoil her don't I? But how can you resist??? She's just too adorable!

When I was a girl, my mother often made us Cinnamon Rolls for a treat . . . not the yeast kind, mind you . . . but the kind made with scone dough. Easy peasy lemon squeasy, and no waiting for the dough to rise and all that faff! We loved them.



What we loved even more was the name my father had for them . . . "Pets de Nonne", or translated into English . . . "Nun's Farts." I know, terribly rude . . . but to a child quite hilarious, bringing us no end of giggles. As Todd would say . . . typical Canadian humour . . . n'est ce pas?



Anyways, they were delicious regardless to the name and we would scarf them down in no time. I often made them for my own children as well . . . but we called them . . . Cinnamon Rolls. 'Nuff said.



Today I got to thinking what if I filled them with something different. I had some white chocolate chips and I have tons of sour cherries and so I decided to combine the two . . . I didn't think cinnamon would be that good with them though . . .



Not that it would taste really bad . . . but I wanted something moreishly different . . . something that would smell just as enticing while they were baking, but that would perfectly enhance the sweetness of the white chocolate and the tartness of the sour cherries.



Ground Cardamom. PERFECT!!

Easy peasy, lemon squeasy and every bit as delicious as the originals . . . and maybe even more so . . . well, all depending on what kind of mood you are in at any rate! I dare say dried blueberries would also be very scrummy done this way! Oh and Dried Strawberries would be just gorgeous with the cardamom!




*White Chocolate, Sour Cherry and Cardamom Rolls*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

These smell heavenly when they are baking and are scrummy yummy!

8.5 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2.5 ounces white shortening (1/3 cup)
6 ounces milk

To fill:
3 TBS softened butter
3 3/4 ounces soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup, packed)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
6 ounces white chocolate chips (1 cup)
3 ounces of dried sour cherries, chopped (1/2 cup packed)

To glaze:
4 ounces of icing sugar, sifted
milk

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Butter a baking sheet. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add enough of the milk to make a soft dough. You may not need it all. Turn out onto a floured board and knead several times. Pat out into a 12 by 8 inch rectangle.

Spread with the softened butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over top. Sprinkle the cardamom evenly over top. Scatter the chocolate chips and cherries over top. Roll up as for a jelly roll from the long side, rolling it tightly and sealing the edges. Slice into 12 even slices with a sharp knife. Place cut side down onto the baking sheet, leaving space in between each one.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until well risen and lightly browned. Remove from the oven. Whisk together the icing sugar and enough milk to make a smooth drizzle. Drizzle this over the warm rolls. Serve warm. Delicious!

Note - If you haven't got any in make sure you go out and buy a couple of hot cross bun loafs today or cinnamon raisin loafs! You won't want to miss out on the recipe I am posting tomorrow! Perfect for an Easter morning breakfast!

How could you not love something that is called a "Pikelet?" I know!! What a cute name! It makes you think of wooded glens and fairies and little hairy men with knobbly noses and big feet in oversized shoes . . .



Crumpets toasted over open fires, tuck boxes, after school treats . . . Enid Blyton!



There seems to be a bit of confusion as to what Pikelets actually are. I have seen them as a type of "drop" crumpet . . . made with a yeast batter and loosely cooked on a griddle instead of in rings.



And I have seen them like the ones I made today, similar to a pancake, except smaller, and served cold and spread with softened butter and preserves.



Definitely scrummy yummy. (I know, I probably say that too much, but I just can't think of another word that says what scrummy says!)



Perfect little light bites of airy fluff, all moreishly buttery and sweet.
I do confess . . . I was bad. Coz . . . as you know, everything tastes even better with bacon, and I just couldn't resist. It's that old North American sweet and salty thing . . . Oh yah!! Nom Nom ☺




*Pikelets*
Makes 25
Printable Recipe

A drop scone or pancake by any other name. Yummy.

150g of self raising flour (1 cup)
1 TBS caster sugar
pinch of salt
185ml of milk (3/4 cup)
1 large free range egg
butter to brush the grill

to serve:
softened butter
preserves

Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl. Beat together the milk and egg. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and whisk together until smooth. Heat a large griddle pan, or nonstick frying pan. Brush with butter. Drop the batter by tablespoons onto the heated griddle. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and the bottom is lightly browned. Flip over and cook on the other side until golden. Allow to cool completely and serve with some softened butter and jam for spreading.

PS - I cooked these on my new Cuisinart Grill and Griddle. Look for more on this fabulous little item real soon!! I'm giving it a real workout before I let you in on all the details!