Cakes and Teapots

Sunshine and cake. Two of life’s pleasures. Plenty of sunshine the last few days and I baked my recipe for date and ginger squares, so lots of enjoyment. What could be nicer than a delicious bit of cake and a cup of tea.

These are very easy to do and are moist, tasty and satisfying. Here’s my recipe.

Date and Ginger Squares

200g stoned, chopped Dates
100ml Water
Juice of two small Lemons or 1 large
200g Caster Sugar
4 large Eggs
275g Self-raising Flour
10g Wheat Bran
2 heaped teaspoons Baking Powder
2 heaped teaspoons Ground Ginger
200g Sunflower Oil

You will need a large greased baking tin. I use a roasting tin.
Chop dates if whole. Boil the kettle and put 100ml of the boiling water into a heatproof jug. Add the chopped dates and the lemon juice. Leave to soak while you do the next stage.
Beat eggs and sugar.
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan oven, or equivalent for gas.
Add flour, bran, baking powder, ginger, oil and dates with the liquid to the egg mixture.
Beat well until mixed. Spread in the baking tin.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the centre springs back when pressed.
Allow to cool in the tin, then cut into squares.

Although I love coffee there is nothing quite so nice as a cup of tea with cake . I have several teapots, mainly because I love pottery but I also like tea. I have a little chinese one which I keep just for lapsang souchong tea. Lapsang has a distinctive smokey taste so it’s best to dedicate one pot for that. Besides, it makes it seem even more special.

I have an Art Deco pot which looks nice in my red kitchen.

I even have a chintzy teapot which lives upstairs just because it’s so pretty. It sits beside a lovely china cup which I picked up at a boot sale for 50 pence. I can’t resist beautiful pottery.

When I’m not drinking tea and eating cake I’ve been busy catching up in the garden. Lots of seeds sown in the greenhouse and weeds removed from under the trees. It’s good to see new growth taking over from the wilted remains of the Spring show. I noticed how lovely new leaves can be when I looked around. So many shapes and shades of green, fresh and beautiful. Here are some that I found with my camera.

Early Summer flowers like aquilegias are beginning to show. They have beautiful colours and shapes.

Here are some other pretty things in the garden right now.

The mint is ready now for making delicious mint sauce. I love the taste and aroma so much that I make extra and freeze it in small tubs to use during Winter. It freezes perfectly and tastes as though it was just made. Perfect with lamb but good with many other foods.

If you don’t like mint sauce, is that because you have only ever had it from the shops? Bought mint sauce is completely different. It is, of course, stale. It has been made and processed for storage so it tastes horrible. The texture is also different. Freshly made mint sauce, especially from apple mint, is wonderful and so easy to do.

When I make my mint sauce I will add the process details and photos to my blog. Any day now.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the flowers and the teapots. Now you need to make the cakes and have an afternoon tea in the garden. Whatever you do I hope you can enjoy the beginning of summer. With you again in a little while.