Stress Baking: St Germain Liqueur Elderflower Cakes

Recently, I've been really busy with University work, no matter how much I do there's always more to do. As well as University, I always have more to do for my Brownie pack, ah the life of a Brown Owl. It was Thinking Day last week (22nd February) which reminds us to think of others in need and gives us chance to celebrate how awesome guiding is. To celebrate, we attended a Church service and on Saturday we'll be going to a division activity day - I'll get to do some crafts that I haven't organised! 

But no matter how busy I am, I always need to bake. Call it what you like... my favourite name for it is Stress Baking. Or maybe Procrastibaking!

Anyone who knows me can tell you that there're a few things that I can't pass up when they're on a menu: Elderflower, Amaretto,  Crème Brulée, and Lemon Curd.  I'm a wee bit obsessed with each of them. For some reason I've not actually tried to make crème brulée, maybe it should be left until  after my exams, when I have a bit more time. However, I caved to the craving of elderflower and cake and decided to have a try at making some.

I used this recipe from My Button Cake for inspiration but swapped the milk for St Germain Elderflower Liqueur, because you can very have enough Elderflower!  My cream cheese icing went wrong as normal - I can never get it to be thick enough to pipe, it's really sad as it's my favourite icing! But everything tasted lovely and the cake was the fluffiest and lightest I've ever made!

Recipe:

Cake:

4oz Self Raising Flour
2 tsps Elderflower Cordial
4oz Butter

4oz Sugar
2 Eggs
10ml Milk

10ml St. Germain Elderflower liqueur

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
2. Beat in the eggs, cordial, milk and liqueur
3. Fold in the flour
4. Divide the mixture between cake case and cook in a preheated oven at 180C or gas mark 4 for around 15 minutes (until a skewer prodded into the cakes comes out clean)
5. Allow to cool then ice

V x

I'm listening to: BBC 6 Music - the radio keeps me sane and connected to the world!

Durham, How I Love You

Every now and again, I'm struck by just how lucky I am to live where I live.

Durham's such a beautiful city, full of green places and woods, churches and quirky old buildings, and of course the most beautiful Cathedral in England.  I hope that seeing the towers of the cathedral always makes me feel so proud and so in awe.  It's amazing to think about how many people have walked along the same path as I walked today, along the same bridge, sat in the same pew in church... 

The general street layout of Durham has changed so little since this map was made in the 17th century yet the city changes daily, there's always something different. It might be something as small as the blooming of the first snowdrops or as big as the building of a new University building, but we still have the same comforting constants as the cathedral, the castle, the bridges and the churches.

I love calling Durham home.

V x

Daffodils

It's almost spring! I swear I can smell it in the air!

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Daffodils - William Wordsworth

That verse of Daffodils is on an ornament in my Grandma's house: so it always reminds me of her and Grandad. Soon it'll be time to enjoy the snowdrops, crocuses and primroses in the woods.

V x

The sound track for this post: this Doctor Who themed playlist - we're doing a Doctor Who themed badge with Brownies this term, so I'm pretending that indulging in lots of DW themed things is prep!