A Mad Tea Party for the Twelve Dancing Princesses

 

Are you sitting comfortably, my dears? Then I'll begin.

Once upon a time there was a White Queen. She invited her eleven sisters to take tea with her, and eagerly awaited their arrival.

She had heard tell of a wonderful phenomenon: Mad Tea Parties being held across the world, all taking place on one particular day, and led by the artist Vanessa Valencia of A Fanciful Twist, a great lady renowned for her own magnificently mad feasts.

The White Queen was the eldest of twelve dancing princesses.

Using carrier birds, she sent a note to each sister, with a date to gather them all together for the first time in what felt like so very long.

She lovingly prepared each sweet treat  for the tea party herself.

The rarest raspberries, which she used to flavour a creamy layered heart meringue were grown from her own palace garden, infused with the exquisite scent of rose petals.

Cakes had been baked, macarons made and she had even created her own juice, of beetroot and apple and carrot and grape and pretty much every fruit in the garden.

She sat herself down at the banqueting table and tasted her first treat, when who did she spy but a furry little friend.

It was Nico, the cat who had visited her Mad Tea Party last year!

"Welcome, welcome my dancing dear! But where is Emalina, oh puss? asked the White Queen, 'Why has she let you out alone this time?"

"Mistress Emalina sends her apologies, your Highness, sadly she cannot attend due to her many work commitments" purred Nico, "But I have grown, you see, and being no longer a kitten but a real lady cat, Emalina has let me come on my own. I have been waiting for the honour to attend your party all year, if you will have me."

"Why it is a delight to have you, sweet furry face" exclaimed the White Queen, "such a pleasure indeed. We are waiting for my eleven sisters to join us for tea, but there is no reason why we can't start feasting without them. They are dancing their way across the land to reach me via my style blog Kiki & the Gypsy, and may be some time. See those shoes, up on the pergola there? I have kept an old pair for each of us from our heady dancing days."

"Such beautiful shoes, oh Queen," cried Nico, her nose sniffing the air and her whiskers twitching, "But would you mind awfully telling me more about this feast? I so love to know what I'm eating before I eat it, it adds to the pleasure tenfold."

 

 

"Well, dear paws, we have home made rose macarons, and honeyed banana cupcakes, and orange blossom and almond bird cake, plus a heart shaped rose meringue layered with raspberry cream for pudding. Would any of that suit you? I know you're a feline of such discerning taste."

 

"Oooh honeyed banana cupcakes!" exclaimed Nico the cat, her nose twitching more, "I do so enjoy a cupcake! These look delightful. How clever of you, my Queen, to have decorated them with the prettiest butterflies of the realm, I do so love a butterfly too! Extra crunch!"

And with that, Nico swiped a blue cupcake with her paw and proceeded to munch upon it noisily.

The White Queen watched her, smiling, before quietly and secretly cutting herself a slice of the layered creamy meringue heart.

Once they'd both munched and sipped and were resting their bellies, the White Queen took out an unusual looking mirror. She held it to her face, as if to look through it. But all Nico could see was the reflection of the wooden pergola shining back at her.

 

"I am watching my sisters dance across the land to me" murmured the White Queen "for this is a magic mirror. It helped me find the way many times as I led my sisters through golden woods, silver forests and diamond fields in our heady dancing days."

 

 

"May I look?" asked Nico, intruiged.

"I cannot allow you, my dear puss," said the White Queen, "for while you may be an exceptionally pretty and loveable little cat, you have not been taught how to use magic.

What you may do is listen to my sisters' shoes, hear how they start to hum and buzz with excitement as their owners grow near."

It was not just the princesses' shoes that were humming. The plants in the White Queen's garden were teaming with a buzzing sound. What Nico had taken to be the sound of bees pollinating the flowers was actually a deep tone resonating from the flowers themselves.

Even the White Queen's beautiful  floral crown was humming with pleasure, the flowers clearly full of life and optimism. 

"We cannot help it" exclaimed the White Queen, pointing to her crown, " We are all so thrilled to see my sisters again!"

 

"I am delighted for you, your Highness!" purred Nico, "Congratulations on your happy day. Now I'm just wondering, would it be impertinent to ask for a slice of the orange blossom and almond bird cake? And may I ask, does it include real birds? I do so love a bird."

 

"Help yourself, kitty" said the White Queen "although I must warn you these birds are not of the meat variety, but are made from icing. They're still delicious though, as are the rose macarons of various sizes. Do try them too, they were awfully hard to make but so sublime to taste that they were certainly worth the effort."

 

"Macarons are a little too small for my liking, even the big ones Ma'am. But those honeyed banana cupcakes on the other hand, those are just the size for a grown up lady cat like myself, so don't mind if I do...."

 

 

As Nico ate some more - for she was a greedy little kitty - the White Queen fussed over the table, adding the finishing touches to her feast. Fans and wild flowers, rose tea in a teapot and fresh camellias in vases, it could not have looked lovelier for her sisters' return.

 

 

The sun shone brightly as Nico gave herself a clean, unashamed of her gluttony, but pleased that she'd shown restraint enough not to eat it all. There would be plenty of treats left for the dancing princesses.

 

The air grew still and calm but the humming sound grew nearer, and with it a hundred larks appeared in the sky, to circle above the banqueting table. Nico held her breath as she watched them. There'd be no real birds to eat today, these were swooping and ascending with such skill and grace she knew that they could more than outwit her.

"The time has come," proclaimed the White Queen, "the time we've been waiting for my loyal and furry friend. I can see in the mirror my sisters are approaching!"

 

And suddenly there they were, sashaying and twirling and leaping as they danced their way into the White Queen's garden. The Mad Tea Party was complete!

 

 

 

 

 

Oh how the land rejoiced to see all its beloved sisters together at last!

It was a party to beat all parties, one of laughter and warmth and feasting and enormous hugs.

I cannot tell you all that happened, for only little Nico the cat stayed with the White Queen and her sisters until the very end.

 

But I do know this. Once it was over the White Queen's pergola was aburst with colour, as if every flower in the kingdom had also danced and laughed and exploded with happiness.

And all that was left to show of the dancing princesses?

One very worn, but still humming, pair of red sequin shoes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE END

 

 

Happy Mad Tea Party everyone! Thanks so much for popping by.

Please don't forget to visit the dancing princesses at my style blog Kiki and the Gypsy, where there's more fairytale inspired photography of them dancing their way to the White Queen's tea party.

 

 

All cake and dessert recipes are to come in future posts.

Click here to see my 2012 Mad Tea Party post.
 

 

Now I'm off to visit your mad tea parties!

 

 

Raspberry & Blood Orange Nest Cupcakes

These scrumptious little cupcakes are just the thing to bake when you need to bring some sunshine into your life. and as this cruelly cold winter drags on, sunshine is something I'm missing terribly. The raspberries cut through the sweetness of these richly iced cupcakes, and taste fresh and spring like with the blood orange citrus crumb.

Recipe

My own, makes 12 small/medium sized cupcakes

for the base:
125g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
125g caster sugar
45g ground almonds
1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed blood orange juice
finely grated zest of 1 blood orange
12 fresh raspberries, washed and dry


1. Turn the oven to 180 (160 fan) and place medium cupcake cases in a 12 muffin baking tray. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, until smooth and fluffy.

2. Throw in the eggs one at a time and beat in, adding a spoonful of flour after each one. Then stir in the orange zest and the of freshly squeezed blood orange juice.

3. Next sieve the flour and baking powder into the mixture, stirring gently until the batter is well combined.

4. Spoon the batter into each cupcake case, until they are approximately two-thirds full (you want to leave enough room for the cakes to rise). Press a raspberry face down into the top of each cupcake batter.

5. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. You'll know the cakes are done when a skewer comes out clean.

6. Take out of the oven and leave for a few minutes, before moving the cupcakes in their cases to a wire rack or plate to cool.

 

for the icing and topping:

200g unsalted butter, room temperature

400g icing sugar

45ml milk

about 3 pin pricks of food colouring paste (I used Ruby tint, by Sugarflair)

36 fresh raspberries, washed and dry
approx toasted or untoasted flaked almonds

 

 

8. Beat the butter until creamy. Stir in the milk and mix together.

9. Sift half the icing sugar into the mixture, and stir thoroughly, before adding the other half and continuing to stir until it is a thick paste. Take care stirring the icing sugar, as this is a bit messy, I tend to wear an apron as I've been known to accidentally drench myself in it when stirring too vigorously!

 

10. When the icing is combined, the only thing left to do is to colour it. Add about 3 or 4 pin pricks of colour tint paste before stirring it in to give the icing a beautiful strong raspberry colour.

 

11. Get a pint glass and place a piping bag with a nozzle inside the glass, so that the nozzle is on the bottom of the glass. Fold the piping bag edges over the glass rim. Spoon the paste into the piping bag, then carefully take the bag out of the glass and twist the end of the bag so that the icing is well contained.

12. Pipe the icing over the cupcakes . To pipe a rose or a nest, you start piping in the middle of the cupcake and work outwards. Top each cupcake with 3 raspberries, and add a few flaked almonds.

 

 

 

These cupcakes were idly baked while listening to Beck's album Mutations

Gluten Free Mini Orange & Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies

For my birthday recently, my dear friend Caroline gave me Claire Ptak's gorgeous Whoopie Pie Book and a mini whoopie pie baking tray, opening my eyes to a world of whoopie deliciousness hitherto untasted and unknown.

Here I've baked a gluten free adaptation of Ptak's chocolate chip whoopie cake recipe - adding my twist of orange zest and juice to the sponges, plus Green & Black's Maya Gold to the delectable marshmallow chocolate icing. The little pies are bite size chunks of chocolate orange. I don't know why they're are called pies - they're sweet little cupcake sandwiches and very addictive. Thanks Caroline!

Recipe
Adapted from Claire Ptak's recipe in The Whoopie Pie Book. Buy the book on Amazon here


Makes 12 mini whoopie pies

for the pie batter:
140g gluten free mix flour (Dove's Farm or M&S recommended)
half a teaspoon gluten free baking powder (Barkart recommended)
pinch of salt
65g unsalted butter, room temperature
50g golden caster sugar
50g light muscovado sugar
half a large egg
30ml milk
30ml natural yoghurt
1 squeeze of a fresh juice from an orange
2 teaspoons of grated orange zest
100g plain chocolate chips

1. Grease a couple of mini whoopie pie baking trays, or grease and line a couple of flat baking trays.

2. Cream the butter and sugars in a large bowl for at least 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

3. Add the egg, and beat well.

4. Next combine the milk and yoghurt in a measuring jug, stirring to make a quasi buttermilk.

5. Pour the buttermilk into the bowl, and then add the orange juice and orange zest. Stir well to combine.

6. Sift the gluten free flour, baking powder and salt into the batter, and beat again.

7. Finally, gently fold in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.

8. Place the bowl full of batter into the fridge for half an hour to chill.

9. Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan ovens), and leave to come to temperature as the batter is chilling.

10. When ready, place spoonfuls of the chilled batter into the pie baking tray, or dollop small spoonfuls onto the lined baking trays.

11. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes only. You'll know the pies are done when your finger leaves an indent on the top of one of the pies.

12. Pop out of the baking trays and leave to cool on a wire rack or plate.


for the chocolate marshmallow filling:

50g Maya Gold dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 and a half egg whites
75g caster sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
half a pinch of salt
2-3 drops of orange blossom extract


13. Melt the chocolate pieces in a bain mairie (a heatproof bowl over a pan of just simmering water). Stir gently, and take off the heat to cool when melted.


14. To make the marshmallow, place the pan of water back on the heat and place another larger heatproof bowl over the top. Add the egg white, sugar, syrup, salt and orange blossom water, and whisk the ingredients by hand for 10-15 minutes until the mixture has cohered and froths.


15. Take the bowl off the heat, and beat it hard with an electric beater or whisk. You'll know the filling is ready when it is white, shiny and thickened and holds its shape. Gently stir in the melted chocolate until just combined.


16. When the whoopies are cool, place a heaped teaspoon full of the filling into the centre of a whoopie, and sandwich it gently with another one. You can serve immediately, or leave for half an hour to let the filling firm up.

These whoopie pies were idly baked to the sounds of Henry Purcell's Musique Funebre Pour La Reine Mary

Orange & White Chocolate Mouse Cake

No, you haven't misread the title, this really is a White Chocolate Mouse cake. I've always loved the kitsch look of chocolate mice, and the idea of using them to decorate my friend Jules's birthday cake made me smile. The home made mice sank into the scrumptious white chocolate icing to make it taste especially, naughtily, rich. This is a very sweet cake, so to add a sharper note and to balance the chocolate I layered the orange cakes with a good marmalade.

Appropriately enough, the whisking for this bake was interrupted by Nico our kitten bringing in a live mouse, which I then chased around the house to save from her clutches. The half beaten eggs were not happy about their neglect, and declined to help the cake rise, but you'll be pleased to know that the mouse survived to live another day. Unlike the chocolate ones which were gobbled up by us in no time!

Recipe

Serves 8-10

White chocolate mice and cake base recipes my own. White chocolate icing recipe taken from the one by Barney Desmazery for his Orange & White Chocolate Sponge Cake recipe given at www.bbcgoodfood.com see the recipe here.


for the 3 white chocolate mice:
100g white chocolate, broken into pieces


1. Make the chocolate mice in advance. Gently melt 80g of the chocolate over a bain mairie, a heatproof bowl over a pan of just simmering water. Stir the chocolate, and when melted, add the extra 20g, taking it off the heat but continuing to stir until melted.

2. When all the white chocolate has melted smoothly, carefully spoon it into the silicone white mice moulds (I got mine from Lakeland). Place the filled moulds on a plate in the fridge for half an hour, before unmoulding. Don't touch them too much when unmoulding as the heat of your hands may soften them. When unmoulded, place the mice back in the fridge until ready to use.

for the cake bases:
200g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g caster sugar
225g flour
4 medium eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons half fat creme fraiche, room temperature
zest and juice of 1 large orange



3. Turn the oven to 170 (150C fan ovens) and grease and line two 18cm baking tins.


4. Cream the butter and sugar together with the orange zest.

5. Add the eggs, with a spoonful of flour, and beat well after each addition.

6. Sift in the flour, and stir until well combined, before gently folding in the creme fraiche, and orange juice.


7. Pour the batter into the prepared tins, and bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes. You'll know the cakes are done when the tops bounce back under your finger and a skewer comes out clean.

8. Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for 15 minutes before placing on a wire rack or plate to cool fully.

for the filling and white chocolate icing:
300g/340g good marmalade
200g white chocolate, broken into small pieces
200ml half fat creme fraiche
the prepared white chocolate mice to decorate, optional
Queen dark chocolate fudge writing pen to decorate, optional



9. To make the white chocolate icing, gently melt the chocolate pieces as before over another bain mairie. Stir the chocolate and take off the heat as soon as it has melted, putting it one side to cool.

10. Whisk the creme fraiche until it thickens. Then pour in the cooled white chocolate, stirring until smooth.

11. When the cakes have cooled, place one topside down on a plate and spoon a thick layer of marmalade over the top. Next spoon over half the chocolate icing, before sandwiching with the second cake.

12. Take the white chocolate mice out of the fridge ready for use, and spread the rest of the icing over the top cake, before adding the mice and any other decoration such as the dark chocolate eyes and tails to the mice if you like. Place the cake in the fridge for an hour to let the icing set.

13. Take the cake out of the fridge a few minutes before serving. Trust me, with this one you won't need cream!

This cake was idly baked while listening to I'm A Good Woman: Funk Classics From Sassy Soul Sisters such as Gladys Knight, Laura Lee and Patti Jo

Winter Orange & Cinnamon Salad

This lovely refreshing aromatic dessert is simplicity itself. A morrocan style fruit salad, it is something to savour and enjoy while feeling smug about how healthy we've become. I'm going to make the most of this feeling while I can - as February rears its head, tis not too long now before January's healthy eating resolutions fade far away....

Recipe

Serves 4

3 oranges

1 handful demerara sugar

3 drops orange blossom water

handful of fine gratings cinnamon stick

1. Peel and slice the oranges laterally into thin slices.

2. Place one layer of the orange slices on a plate, and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon gratings.

3. Add a couple of drops of orange blossom water.

4. Layer the rest of the orange slices ontop, and sprinkle with more sugar, cinnamon, and another drop of orange blossom water.

This winter salad was made while listening to the Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man album 'Out Of Season'

Spiced Cranberry Upside Down Cake

I was inspired to bake this gorgeous cake when I found some cranberries in the freezer, leftovers from Christmas. Winter will be over before we know it (I'm a deluded optimist I know) and this recipe is the kind of warming rustic fare that works best after a cold brisk walk in the elements. As it cooks it perfumes the house with the darkly sweet aromas of baked spices, orange and cranberry.

Serves 8-10
Adapted from the recipe on the website www.joyofbaking.com. See their recipe here.

for the cranberry topping:
230g fresh cranberries, or frozen and thawed, halved
190g caster sugar
90g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon water
half a teaspoon ground cinnamon


1. Turn oven to 180C (160C fan ovens), and grease and line a 20cm round spring form tin. If you're using a tin with a removable base, make sure you place a baking sheet under the cake tin, to catch the drips from the cranberry topping juice.

2. To make the cranberry topping, melt the butter over a low heat. Next add the caster sugar, water, cinnamon, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil.

3. Finally, add the cranberries and stir them into the sauce then pour into base of the tin.


for the cake base:
200g light muscovado sugar
200g unsalted butter
2 large eggs
200g self raising flour
quarter of a teaspoon ground cinnamon
quarter of a teaspoon nutmeg
quarter of a teaspoon ginger
quarter of a teaspoon ground star anise
grated zest of 1 orange
100g ground almonds

4. To make the cake base, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl.

5. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.

6. Add a spoonful of flour, and stir into the mixture along with the grated orange zest.

7. Stir in the rest of the flour, followed by the spices and ground almonds. Stir with a wooden spoon gently until just combined.

8. Pour the batter over the cranberry mixture in the baking tin, and bake in the oven for approx 50 minutes, checking at 45. You'll know the cake is done when a skewer comes out of the cake base clean. Remember that the topping at the bottom of the tin will still be sticky.

9. Leave the cake in the tin for 15 minutes, then very carefully turn it upside down to release, and leave to cool a little on a wire rack or plate. Serve warm with yoghurt, cream, or creme fraiche.

This cake was idly baked while listening to John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman 1963 sessions

Orange & Marmalade Lattice Tart

This is the first time I've ever used shortcrust pastry, adapted for this tart from a lovely recipe by Tamasin Day-Lewis. I made several rookie errors in this bake, but the end result tasted divine, so I include it despite my knowledge that it has not been baked in the 'correct' way. My first error was that old chestnut of misreading the recipe: tired and idle, I added the orange juice to the zest before attempting to beat in the butter and sugar, causing the mixture to curdle and creating the treacle tartesque texture of the filling. My second was to use a silicone flan tin which I'd got free with a magazine. Silicone is great to use when baking muffins or cupcakes, but I realised when trying to release the warm tart from the tin that the silicone wasn't strong enough to support the bake and it started to crack at the edges as I moved it. Booo. So, note to self, next time use a proper loose based tart tin and read the recipe properly! And to you dear readers, learn from my mistakes and you will create a tart that looks and tastes truly gorgeous.

Recipe
Adapted from Tamasin Day-Lewis's recipe in her fabulous book The Art of the Tart. Buy the book on Amazon here
I added the pastry lattice to the tart.

Serves 8

375 ready made and rolled shortcrust pastry, chilled
2 egg whites, beaten
3 tablespoons marmalade
grated zest and juice of 4 oranges
225g vanilla or golden caster sugar
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
4 eggs

1. Roll out three quarters of the ready made shortcrust pastry into a circle that's big enough to line the 22cm tart tin with a little overhang. Place the pastry circle into the tin, pressing it down at the edges. Shape the leftover pastry into a ball, cover with clingfilm and put this and the pastry circle in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Turn the oven to 190C (170C fan ovens).

3. To prepare to blind bake the chilled pastry circle, cut a circle of greaseproof paper and place it over the circle base, before covering with ceramic baking beans (or kidney beans or any kind of uncooked bean). Blind bake for 15 minutes, then remove the baking beans and greaseproof paper.

4. While the pastry is still blind baking, in a small bowl beat 1 egg white. Once baked, prick the pastry circle base and brush it with the beaten egg white before putting it back into the oven for another 5 minutes.

5. Remove again from the oven and using a knife spread the marmalade over the base of the tart as it cools.

6. In a large bowl, mix the orange zest with the butter and sugar, creaming them together until well combined.

7. Beat the 4 eggs until fluffy and pale, then add them to the butter, sugar and zest mixture.

8. Next place the bowl over a bain mairie (a pan of just simmering water), and stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved.

9. Take off the heat, and stir the orange juice into the mixture.

10. Pour the mixture over the marmalade spread pastry base.

11. Take the chilled ball of leftover pastry and roll it out. Cut strips of pastry into approx 1cm wide strips, and carefully place the strips over the orange and marmalade filling. I didn't bother, but if you want to make it look especially smart you could also place a few long strips around the edge of the tart to create a rim.

12. In another small bowl whisk the 2nd egg white until fluffy, before brushing the pastry lattice (and the rim, if made) with the beaten egg.

13. Bake in the oven for approx 25 minutes. Serve warm or cold, with cream or custard.

This tart was idly baked while listening to Sorry I Haven't A Clue on BBC Radio 4

Gluten Free Marmalade Cake

This marmalade cake is moist, light and gorgeous, with the added benefit of being gluten free. The chopped mixed peel and orange slice topping give it a festive look just right for winter, and it makes a delicious, easy and healthy alternative to a traditional heavy christmas cake. To make it even more celebratory you could double the base quantities and turn it into a layer cake, spreading a good thick splodge of marmalade or whipped double cream between the two sponges. The quality of marmalade will have a direct impact on the taste of this cake, so try to buy the best you can.

Recipe
Adapted from the great recipe by Nigel Slater. See his recipe at the Guardian newspaper website here
Serves 8

for the cake base:
175g unsalted butter, room temperature
175g caster sugar
175g gluten free plain flour mix (Dove's Farm or M&S recommended)
1 large orange (for zest and juice)
3 eggs
75g good quality marmalade

1. Turn oven to 180C (160 fan), and grease and line an 18 or 20cm round cake tin.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

3. Finely grate the orange, putting the zest to one side for later.

4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, stirring well between each addition.

5. Add the marmalade and grated orange zest, and beat again until well combined.

6. Next gently stir in the gluten free flour using a wooden spoon.

7. Finally add the juice of half the orange, mixing it gently into the batter.

8. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin, and bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes. You'll know the cake's done when the top bounces back under your thumb and a skewer comes out clean.

9. When done, take the cake out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes, before carefully placing it on a wire rack to cool further.

for the orange topping:
100g icing sugar, sieved
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 or 3 large handfuls of chopped mixed peel
2 large oranges, chopped into thin segments

10. When the cake is cool. you can add the topping. To make the orange icing glaze, combine the icing sugar and orange juice in a bowl and beat with a fork until the icing has a runny consistency. Spoon the icing over the cake, letting it fall down the sides.

11. Place the slices of orange around the outside edge of the top of the cake. Fill the middle of the top with chopped mixed peel, and then leave it to set for half an hour. Serve with just a cuppa if you're eating this for tea; or with a healthy drizzling of cream and the accompaniment of a good glass of wine as an after supper treat.

This cake was idly baked to the sounds of Marianne Faithfull's album 20th Century Blues

Orange & Pistachio Cake

This cake is my own recipe, and it's really delicious. The light crumb is threaded with sweet orange zest, and it has a pretty toasted pistachio ring decoration which looks so autumnal with the rich nut purples browns and greens. A great cake to eat with a warm cup of tea after a long walk in the woods. Everything I make has a rustic look to it (ie. I'm too idle and too wedded to a love of imperfection to make things 'just so'); I've no doubt you could make this cake look prettier still if you had a go.

Recipe
Serves 8 -10

200g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g golden caster sugar
200g plain flour, sieved
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground almonds
grated zest of half an orange
juice of half an orange
3 eggs

1. Turn the oven to 160C (140C fan oven). Grease and line a 20 inch round baking tin.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add 1 egg, the orange juice and zest, and beat well. Add the 2nd egg, plus the baking powder and a third of the sieved flour and combine. Finally, fold in the 3rd egg along with the rest of the flour and all the ground almonds. Mix gently until the batter is totally combined.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and put in the oven for approx 50 mins. It will be done when a skewer comes out clean and the top bounces back when you touch it with your finger. Take it out of the oven and leave in the tin for 15 minutes, before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack to cool.

For the icing:
2 tbsps freshly squeezed orange juice

100g icing sugar, to decorate

300g unsalted pistachio nuts, shelled

1. When the cake is cool, roast the unsalted pistachios in a medium heat oven for approx 4 minutes.

2. Put the icing sugar in a bowl and add the orange juice, whisking with a fork until the icing is a good thick but runny consistency.

3. Spoon the orange icing over top of the cake.

4. Place the pistachio nuts in a ring over the icing and leave to set for at least 20 minutes.

This cake was idly baked to the sounds of The Kinks' album Something Else

Gluten Free Wild Strawberry & Orange Cake

This simple summer cake is my own creation, designed to showcase the the wild strawberries that grow in the sunniest patches of the garden. Wild strawberries are natural beauties, too frequently ignored in favour of their large watery domestic cousins. The tiny fruit jewels have a stronger, more intense berry flavour, and they taste amazing thrown into salads as well as used in cake toppings or fruit compotes. Have a forage around your local hedgerows or woodland and you can easily spot them; don't wash them before use or you'll drown them. You can of course create the glaze topping with large domestic strawberries, just be prepared to use more of them to create as much flavour as the wild variety.

Recipe
Serves 8 -10

200g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g golden caster sugar
200g gluten free plain flour (Dove's Farm or M&S recommended), sieved
1 tsp baking powder
1 or 2 tbsps ground almonds
grated rind of half an orange
juice of half an orange
3 eggs

1. Turn the oven to 160C (140C fan oven). Grease and line a 23 inch round baking tin.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add 1 egg, the orange juice and rind, and beat well. Add the 2nd egg, plus the baking powder and a third of the sieved flour and combine. Finally, fold in the 3rd egg along with the rest of the flour and all the ground almonds. Mix gently until the batter is totally combined.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and put in the oven for approx 50mins. It will be done when a skewer comes out clean and the top bounces back when you touch it with your finger. Take it out of the oven and leave in the tin for 15 minutes, before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack to cool.

For the glaze topping:

1 small bowl of wild strawberries
quarter of a cup of golden caster sugar
juice of half an orange
carton runny cream to serve (optional)

4. Mix together the topping ingredients in a large bowl and then spoon over the cake. Serve straight away with runny cream.

This cake was idly baked while thinking about Wild Strawberries, my favourite Ingmar Bergman film and a real classic. Here's one of the more whimsical bucolic scenes as an old man looks back at his youth. Have a peek while eating the wild strawberry cake.