I am going to let you in on a secret, I love fruit breads! I don’t buy them often but when I do I skip my normal breafast and eat the toasted bread with the tiniest sliver of butter, my idea of heaven. So when I started flipping through my copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread I was overjoyed to see so many wonderful recipes that I could try at home.
Artos Greek Celebration Bread
The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.
My marshmallow cookie, with jam
So as you guessed I am in a bit of a cherry kick right now, and when I saw this recipe for raspberry bakewell cake in this months Good Food magazine I knew I had to try it, and that I also had to substitute in cherries for the raspberries.
Thankfully I had reason for baking this cake, not that I wouldn’t have done it anyway, but I have friends over this weekend. So what better than a slice of cherry cake with your coffee?
Cherry Bakewell Cake in the morning sun
Cherries are an integral part of the summer for me, and linked with France because of all my childhood holidays there. On one holiday in Paris as I got on the metro, the doors closed! My Mum and I on one side, my Dad and little sister on the other.
I was distraught, in the days before mobile phones, how would we ever find each other again? However due to my Mum’s quick thinking I didn’t worry for long. Because thankfully we had the cherries, and my biggest of memory of the day is sitting on the platform eating cherries!
Fresh cherry bread, yum!
Now that you have all made your first batch of Scottish Tablet you might be wondering to do with your wonderful slabs of sugary gold. Or if you haven’t made it yet maybe you are looking for another nudge in the right direction.
Nudge! Strawberry and Blueberries with Vanilla Ice Cream topped with Tablet
As you know Sunday is Father’s Day, I am always at a bit of a loss as to what to get my Dad. I am passed the time when I could get away with getting him a tie, pair of socks or some golfing equipment. So as usual I was thinking about what I would like to do, rather than the task in hand – finding the perfect present.
Father's Day Presents all wrapped up
I used this lemon curd as a filling for yesterday’s coconut oil sponge recipe it was full of lemony flavour and just sweet enough, but not too sweet.
I have been using the remainders from the cake on almost everything: toast, scones, biscuits. It tastes just as good as smothered over a victoria sponge!
Lemon Curd Scone
I used a basic recipe from Delia Smith sponge to create a coconut oil version, using the typical coconut oil conversion of 3/4 the weight of the butter stated in the recipe. I also added the rind of 2 lemons, and filled with lemon curd and a marscapone and fromage frais filling. My inspiration came from the June 2009 edition of delicious. magazine.
Lemon Sponge cake, filled with Lemon curd and marscapone
I bought my first loaf tin the other day and decided to give some other than banana bread a go in it. After spending ages going through my cookbooks I decided to give Cherry and Almond teabread a go from the Good Housekeepings Great Baking recipe book p102. I had bought some dried cherries and was dying to try them in something. The combination of cherry and almond is amazing, and everyone loved it!
Cherry and Almond Teabread
So after making coffee muffins that tasted good, I decided to branch out with a coffee cake. I think I put the mocha frosting on too early, but it tasted just perfect.
Coffee Cake with Mocha Frosting
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