Fruit Cake and Flower Girls

You may be wondering what fruit cake and flower girls have in common but read on and all will become clear …

It's a lovely sunny morning ...

The recipe looks straightforward, so I'm sure it will be OK. Whoops - please excuse the blob, I softened the butter a little too much!

Plain Fruit Cake

Ingredients 150g (5oz) soft margarine (I used butter), 150g (5oz) castor sugar, 2 eggs, 275g (10oz) mixed dried fruit 225g (8oz) self-raising flour 1 level teaspoon mixed spice, 100 ml (4 fl oz) milk.

(One) Preheat oven (150 deg C, 300 deg F, Gas 2)

Castor sugar in the bowl and flour in the scales - we are under way.

1 level teaspoon (and a bit extra because I love it!) mixed spice

(Two) Put all the ingredients together into a mixing bowl (told you it was easy) & stir well until the mixture is blended to a soft dropping consistency. 

(Three) Turn into a prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 2 hours until firm to the touch.

(Four) Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

(Five) Try to decide between a pretty plate or one that tells it like it is!

(Six) Settle for the one that tells it like it is.

(Seven) Sit back and enjoy.

In recent years our Christmas cakes have come from Marks & Spencer but this year I want to make my own hence the practice run before tackling the real thing. My sister kindly sent me her foolproof (never had a failure) Christmas cake recipe, and that will be my next challenge. 

Our son, his wife and their two little daughters are coming over from Australia. We have all kinds of things planned with a trip to Disneyland, Paris and a few days in London at the top of the list. We also have a big family get together and a trip to the pantomime to look forward to.  We are counting down the days until the 6th December when they arrive. It will be two years and one month since we last saw them. 

Zoe Rose and Lilly Grace when we were last together. Malaysia 2013.

Zoe Rose and Lilly Grace last weekend (with thanks to their mummy for the photographs)

Zoe Rose

Lilly Grace

Don’t they all look adorable?

I promise not to bombard you with lots of cookery inspired posts – books will be back on the menu very soon! However, I must just tell you about my Madeira cake ... no, not really!

Lots of you know the very talented Willie (he of the amusing comments) but did you know he can cook?  To prove it, he has agreed to share his Christmas cake recipe with us all!  

Ingredients: or something like this

* 2 cups flour

* 1 stick butter

* 1 cup of water

* 1 tsp baking soda

* 1 cup of sugar

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 cup of brown sugar

* Lemon juice

* 4 large eggs

* Nuts

* 2 bottle brandy

* 2 cups of dried fruit soaked in brandy

Sample the brandy to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the brandy

again. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and

drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a

large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point

it's best to make sure the brandy is still OK. Try another cup... Just in

case. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and

chuck in the cup of dried fruit with plenty of brandy.

Pick the frigging fruit up off floor. Mix on the turner.. If the fried

druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the brandy to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt.

Or something. Check the brandy. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your

nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink. Whatever you

can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to

fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl

through the window. Finish the brandy and wipe counter with the cat.

Take a taxi to Tesco and buy cake.

Bingle Jells

Willie Wine....Top chef!  Living on a mountain, somewhere in Dorset! Hic!