Mellow Autumn

It’s been a lovely day here. The sky was bright blue, the sun was shining and the warm damp earth smelled so good. The beech tree is looking fabulous with gold and orange leaves and the Ivy clinging to its trunk will provide the birds with berries through the winter.

I was out planting bulbs and winter pansies. Time to remove the pelargoniums and put in some hardy little treasures which will stand up to winter’s blast.

I put orange tulips at the bottom of the tub with yellow and purple pansies above them. Looking forward to a zingy, colourful display in Spring.

Meanwhile the garden is mellowing every day, fading to soft browns and beigey tones. Lovely seedheads, a few fungi here and there and evidence of a lot of bird activity now that the feeders are generously providing a daily feast.

But there are signs of new life even now. The hellebores have lovely fat buds on, primulas are flowering here and there and the yucca has sent up a fabulous flower spike which I hope will open its blooms before it becomes too cold and frosty.

It was a welcome change from being indoors even though I enjoyed making the Christmas cake. I said I would put the recipe on so here it is. There is a bit of fiddly chopping to begin with but once that’s done it’s plain sailing.

240g Self-raising Flour 230gSunflower Oil 225g Muscovado dark Sugar 225g Sultanas 225g Raisins 100g Glace Cherries Approx 125g mixture of Stem Ginger, mixed Candied Peel and grated fresh Orange and Lemon Peel 50g Pecan Nuts Mixed Spices ( I use a tspn of cinnamon, 1 tspn ground ginger, quarter of a tspn mixed spice and half a tspn of ground cloves) 4 large Eggs Brandy

You will need a deep 8″ loose-bottomed tin lined with greaseproof paper ( perhaps a little bit more neatly than I did!) Rub the inside with a little oil or fat.

Chop the mixed peel, glace cherries, stem ginger quite finely, grate the orange and lemon zest (peel). Grind or chop finely the pecan nuts. Combine all these and set aside.

Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan oven

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar and beat together. Add chopped mixture and pecans, add sultanas and raisins. Add flour and spices. Add oil. Then beat well, with an electric hand mixer or thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

Put the mixture into the tin and bake for 1 and three quarters of an hour. Let it cool for a while then peel back the greaseproof paper. Allow several hours to cool thoroughly then rewrap in clean greaseproof paper and store in an airtight tin. After a couple of weeks, pull back the paper and prick the top of the cake with a fork. Gently spoon in some sherry, 1 – 2 tablespoons. I do this again before Christmas but take care not to make it too soggy.

Here are some pics to help you along.