Weekend time in the kitchen. . . . . . . .

Do you, like me, love cakes with fresh fruits as an ingredient?
Somehow they just seem healthier - well that's my excuse for enjoying 
dessert, or a slice with a coffee now and then!
 I found this one, Blackberry-Tahini-Yogurt Cake in the September issue
 of bon appétit magazine when I was waiting in the dentist's office last week.
  I borrowed the magazine - promising to return - and brought it home to make
 copies of this cake recipe and the Tomato-Lemon Tart recipe. 
The recipes are also online so have linked them.

These recipes were quite easy and I was very pleased with the results.

I did tweak both, adding toasted sesame seeds for a little crunch on the cake,

and fresh mozzarella to the tart as it was served as an entrée.
The very thinly sliced lemon is a nice, unexpected, addition to the tomatoes.

Cooking, baking, and of course eating, is a way to handle waiting out a hurricane

 or similar bad weather situation over which we have no control - if of course you're
 not evacuated from your home.

I stayed busy in the kitchen over the past weekend whilst awaiting the possibility

 of Hurricane Irma changing course and heading toward North Carolina.

 Thankfully that didn't happen, so all my prayers continue for what is now the

 massive clean-up, recovery and rebuilding etc. in Florida. 

Do you like to get busy in the kitchen when marking time?

How about changing recipes - do you often add other ingredients?

Do you cook from scratch more, or less, these days?

"A nice cup of tea and a slice of cake please" ~~~~~~~~

The latest new cake recipe I've tried out is a true keeper. 

I love a cake with a dense crumb - one which ages well, even gets
 better with age. . . . . . .  if you don't gobble it up too quickly. 

Like most Brits, I absolutely love coarse cut English or Scotch

 marmalade, especially those made from Seville oranges which are 
slightly bitter. Thick, not runny, with real chunks of peel, and much less
 sugar than American-made marmalade.

Table runner from SuzAnna's Antiques 

Marmalade Tea Cake

1 1/2 sticks/175g soft butter

3/4 cup/175g granulated sugar 

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups/170g all-purpose white flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup/90g dried raisins

Zest from one orange

2 Tblsps orange juice

2 Tblsps Cointreau liqueur 

1/4 cup/75g thick cut marmalade

Icing ~

Powdered confectioner's sugar

Fresh orange or lemon juice 

Preheat oven to 350F - butter and line bottom of an 81/2 X 41/2 loaf pan with parchment.

Finely grate zest from the orange and set aside, then squeeze juice from orange.

Place raisins in small saucepan, add orange juice and Cointreau. Warm mixture over low heat then stir in zest and marmalade, set aside to cool.

In mixer bowl cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until very light, about 5 mins.

Scrape down bowl and add eggs one at a time on medium low, mix in vanilla extract and scrape bowl again. 

To aerate, sieve flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl then add to batter in mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until just combined. Add raisin mixture and beat slowly for a few seconds until mixed in. Remove bowl and scrape down with a spatula and complete mixing by hand until fruit is incorporated, but do not overbeat.

Place batter into prepared pan smoothing the top. Bake 40-45 minutes until golden brown and tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 mins. on a rack, invert to remove from pan and place on rack to finish cooling.

To ice - in a small bowl, combine about 1 cup of powdered sugar and a small pinch of salt with enough fresh squeezed orange or lemon juice, and stir until smooth and pourable. Drizzle over the cake when cooled. 

My vintage marmalade crocks - I need to find more!

Measure, roll, chop, stir, bake, eat . . . .

What's missing from this Autumn afternoon

tea break? Something homemade to nibble on perhaps.

This was my grandmother's china. It's delicate and

really not for outdoor use, but now and then I just

enjoy making a cuppa in that exquisite little teapot.

The memories of my maternal grandma come flooding back. 

I loved her dearly.

I spent a lot of time with her. 

She cared for me until I was four and started school 

because my mother had to work. . .but I only had her 

until I was eleven. When she died, her leaving 

left a huge emptiness in my life.

I do enjoy baking something for teatime or dessert, 

especially if company is expected. Yes, I know, there are

nice pastries at bakeries, even some grocery stores, but

I always feel a sense of well-being when I've taken time

to bake something from scratch, don't you?

Blueberry muffins. . . 

. . . a blackberry galette. . .

. . . or a nice slice of cake.

Will you be baking over the weekend?

Now the days are cooler heating up the kitchen

is no longer a problem. 

My oven will be baking a blackberry and apple

crumble. . . .and those butternut squash!