From our Own Garden: Lavender Cake

Lavender season may be over but I didn't need to find an excuse to make this delicately flavoured cake, subtly scented with lavender and tangy lemon. I just had to get hold of the perfect recipe and find the time to make it, which happened to fall today, on August Bank Holiday when the weather begged us to stay at home.

I used the flowers from our lavender pot in the garden that John planted for my 30th birthday, they have already dried and I've collected them in a tin which I occasionally take out to inhale the sweet aromatic fragrance that's supposed to evoke a feeling of calm and tranquility.

This recipe is from a baking magazine I borrowed from my friend Louise and I followed it to the tee, except that instead of using glaze icing, I topped it with sugar paste, the alternative way to decorate.

Ingredients:
75ml milk
1 tsp dried lavender
175g unsalted butter, softened
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
3 eggs, beaten
175g self-raising flour
200g white sugar paste icing to decorate
violet tint

Instructions: 

I decorated one of the cakes for John's dad's birthday present and we took it to his place where we had it with a cup of tea this afternoon. It certainly had the smell of lavender and tastes delicious too!

Middlewood Becomes Middle Class

The suburbs of Hillsborough in Sheffield where we live is traditionally working class. But in the recent years, its face has been slowly metamorphosing, attracting diversity amongst its residents who are drawn here by everything it has to offer: a public park, decent schools, a shopping area, great entertainment and leisure centres, reliable transport links, easy access to the country side and most importantly (for my family at least), the Sheffield Wednesday grounds. This weekend, there was something else on offer: Middlewood Market Party which attracted the middle classes like bees are to pollen.

That is not politically correct of course, the semantics of class in Britain are contradictory and confusing.  But unlike in the United States, social status here has been historically linked less directly to the amount of money we have in the bank and the colour of the collar we wear we but on the diversity of people we socialise with and the types of activities we enjoy during the weekends.

The market party was held on Saturday, the day before Tour de France visits Sheffield and was organised by the local traders to bring party atmosphere on the streets of Hillsborough by celebrating the people, talent and community spirit of our area. Participating shops were marked with Yellow helium balloons. Inside the park, stalls have been set-up showcasing local talent, offering workshops, demonstrations and activities whilst raising money for the locally-based charity 'The Burton Street Foundation'. Children were not in want of activities to choose from, with arts and crafts, face painting, bike decorations and a treasure hunt amongst others. The Burmese community entertained us with their traditional dance. And of course, there are the favourite homemade cakes with a pot of tea, this we enjoyed in a vintage caravan under a shade of trees.

So for one day at least, we felt like we were in S10!

A Child's Garden in May

Many works of arts and literature have been inspired by beholding the enchantment in the eyes of a young child set free in a lush and colourful garden. That beautiful sight of the soft and gentle skin rubbing against the blossoming flowers along the footpath is always sure to spark the imagination and bring delight to any lucky observer. 

Last Sunday, on our weekend walk to the park, we went inside the Walled Garden in Hillsborough, a lush oasis that is one of the city's best kept secrets. The late spring flowers are bursting with life, splashing vibrant colours against the mid-morning sun looking like an artist's landscape in canvas. I know very few flowers by their first names, but that does not stop me from being in awe. And the little one, he was in paradise. 

Angels of Cuisine: Our New Favourite Tea Room in Hillsborough

The opening of Angels of Cuisine, a Polish piekarnia (bakery) and cukierna (cake shop) in Hillsborough has become the latest reflection of the dynamic multiculturalism that exists in our community. Walk past the shop and you would be lured by the fresh smell of newly-baked bread displayed in woven baskets and the rows of appetising cakes by the window that are sure to whet your appetite. Come in and you would be greeted by their friendly staff whose demeanour is unmistakably Yorkshire, keen to talk about the weather and happy to explain the difference between a rye and a wholemeal bread. Take a seat in their newly opened cafe and you would feel like a visitor invited in for a cup of tea in a friend's elegant sitting room. 

We came in one sunny Saturday morning before we did our weekly shop and decided to treat ourselves to a cup of coffee, our favourite luxury. The decorations were tasteful, even romantic, so different from the modern and functional look that most cafes have embraced to fit in as much sitting room as possible.  The latte is the cheapest amongst the tearooms in the area and it was also good, my husband, a trained barista would know. The cake was definitely sumptuous, it had also been highly recommended by some of my mummy friends who have tried them. For two cups of coffee and two cakes, plus a rye and walnut bread to take away, we were pleased to be handed a bill of less than £10. It was definitely a treat!

So if you ever pass by Hillsborough and fancy a cup of coffee, give this lovely tearoom a try, you would surely be back!