Daisy Chains and Picnics

I made a semi naked cake for Cerys' 21st birthday. I had a couple of mishaps, one sheet of the gold leaf stuck to the countertop and I couldn't get it off, so there wasn't as much gold leaf on the cake as I had planned, and the cake topper mysteriously disappeared so I had to improvise and use the 21 tiara as a cake topper.

  Jodie made the Christmas cake this year on 17th December. Looks good enough to eat! 😜😋

Add lemon zest and juice while whipping cream for a deliciously zingy alternative to plain whipped cream. It can be used in any number of various of desserts or spread on freshly made scones or pancakes. I used this in my lemon lovers trifle. Ingredients 400 ml thickened cream 2 tbsp sugar 1/2 tbsp lemon zest  4 tsp lemon juice Method 1.  Using a stand mixer, start whipping cream. Whilst whipping add sugar, zest and then the lemon juice. 2.  Whip until soft peaks form. It can be used immediately or refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Ingredients 175g unsalted butter, softened 210g caster sugar 2 eggs 3 tsp lemon zest, finely grated 80ml lemon juice 250g sour cream 300g plain flour 2 tsp baking powder Drizzle Ingredients 1 cup icing sugar, sifted 1.5 tbsp lemon juice Method 1.  Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Grease and line a 13cm x 22cm loaf tin. 2.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon zest and juice, beat well. 3.  Fold in sour cream, flour and baking powder. 4.  Pour batter into loaf tin, spread evenly. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. 5.  Allow cake to cool completely. Mix together icing sugar and lemon juice, drizzle over cake.

We get a delicious Christmas cake mix every year from Sally, it is the Natures Works one and is chock full of various dried fruits and whole nuts, it is absolutely delicious. Cerys made it this year on Sunday 18th December. She did a fantastic job, it was delicious and better still, she ate a slice, what more can I ask for 💗, she amazes me every day, I am beyond proud of my little Cindy Lou, love you baby girl 💕

We don't have a Krispy Kreme here in Hobart, so it's a big deal for Jodie to indulge in a krispy kreme doughnut whenever we got to the mainland.