Handmade, Homebaked and Cornish

Knitting:

Hello, sock!

I'm excited that this week I managed to do a little sneaky knitting: on this sock, which I started in November. I'm so close now- about half way up the toe. But, it is only the first one, so there will be its partner to make too. 

I'm using Araucania 'Ranco' yarn which is lovely to knit with, in a beautiful turquoise colour (which doesn't show up too well here I'm afraid). I find the brighter colour with minimal variegation a lot easier to work with that some other sock yarns I've tried. Plus of course my trusty Knit Pro dpn's. The turquoise looks like it has sold out everywhere, but here is a link to some other colours, available at a discount on Black Sheep Wools.

Cornwall:

St Michael's Mount

The highlight of my Cornish week was probably this trip to Mount's Bay. There is such a draw to the beautiful mount itself, and the approach around the bay is so full of admiration and anticipation. It really is such a privilege to live in Cornwall!

Baking:

I had prepared an epic picnic, which we were all glad of by the time that we got close to the mount. I included a Saffron & Seed Cake (which I thought was a nice twist on Cornish saffron buns), and I'm delighted that I can share the recipe from Asda here. 

More Cornwall:

But living in this stunning part of the world we are spoilt for beautiful views and exciting skies, so here are another couple of snaps from earlier in the week when a dramatic hailstorm swept in and then out again early one morning. 

Hail Storm Over The Gribbin

Quayside Architecture

Crochet:

And finally, you may remember my crochet bedspread, the one which took me a whole year in between other projects to finish (it is 4-ply after all!)... well, I thought I'd share a snap of it in its new Cornish home. You can see its humble beginnings right back in this old post: here. 

My Happy Place! 

Cake Break!

Orange Sponge Cake, scroll down for recipe

I am working out quite a lot at the moment, and I am trying to increase the variety and the content of the exercise I do each week.

Hand in hand with this goes and increased awareness of what I am eating. As I heard in an aerobics class a while ago: "Great abs are made in the kitchen!" (meaning, as I see it, that there is no point in working really hard at the gym if you go home and pile on the calories).

I feel I have three key food challenges:
1. Don't eat too much
2. Don't eat too little
3. Don't eat loads of junk

This last one is complicated, because it is very difficult to keep track of the coded ingredients on packaging. I need to get a lot smarter, because even supposedly healthy cereal bars are evidently packed full of additives and sugar.

I'm going back to the philosophy that occasional treats are ok, and if I am craving something really satisfying then home made cake is probably the best- there is nothing quite like the process of baking on a cold winter day to tick all the comfort boxes. And what is more, when you make a cake at home, although it has refined sugars and saturated fats, it has no dodgy chemicals- think inverted this hydrogenated that- and one slice is satisfying and filling, stopping you from being hungry again in an hour.

I improvised this Orange Sponge cake today, so I thought I would share the recipe with you. Let me know how you get on! You will need:

7" spring form cake tin, greased and floured (my tin is 8" and cake is too shallow),
Pre-heat oven to 180º


Sponge:
170g Caster Sugar,
170g Butter,
3 Eggs,
170g Self-raising Flour,
Grated rind of one Orange,
Vanilla Essence,
Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice as required,

Cream the butter and sugar, add beaten eggs one at a time, sift in the self-raising flour and fold in. Add a few drops of vanilla essence, the grated orange rind (take care not to grate the white pith of the orange), and any juice needed to achieve a soft dropping consistency.

Pour into your cake tin, tapping the sides to spread the mixture evenly in the tin.

Bake for roughly 30 minutes until the sides of the sponge have come away slightly from the tin, and the centre springs back to the touch.

Allow to cool, then turn out and slice in half horizontally (I find a long bread knife is best for this).


Filling:
150g Icing Sugar,
180g pot of Philadelphia Cheese,
1 desert spoon of Lemon Juice,
Orange Juice as required
Beat all the ingredients together, adding just enough orange juice as necessary to make a filling that will keep its body when sandwiched between sponges. Spread all of the filling onto the bottom of the cake. Allow to stand for just a couple of minutes, then place the top sponge onto the filling.


Glaze:
50g Icing Sugar,
Orange Juice

Add just enough juice to to dissolve all of the sugar and achieve a pouring consistency. If you make this too wet your glaze will roll straight off. Pour over the finished sponge.

Enjoy!