embrace

This week I felt the full effects of acknowledging that Summer is well and truely over and Autumn has graced us with her presence.  We said fairwell to Day Light Savings, the sun setting earlier, the darker skies present as we dine now with lights on and the chilly mornings make wrapping your hands around that first cup of coffee all the more enjoyable.  I love Autumn, for all it's prettiness and it makes me  eager to bunker down, get cosy and plan some baking and crafting....

1. The new cardigan 'in progress' - it's been finished now, but as a vest as I was getting low on yarn.  I'll show you the full version later in the week.
2. Some holiday baking...I think this was apples stewing
3. I'm cutting out on bread, so vowing to only eat bread that I make.  These loaves didn't make it past lunch time.
4. Enjoying the figs
5. Boys + Snails = entertainment....enough said.

I hope you had a wonderful week.

Linking up with Em @ The Shack

xx

fig frangipane

With all the delicous fresh figs I'm picking off our tree on a daily basis, I knew it was only a matter of time before I whipped up a fig inspired dessert.  With a little nudging from my pal down the road, I set about making a fig frangipane...which in essence is like an almond tart, with figs.  This pastry...is just the bees knees...so buttery and tasty and although it takes a bit of time is well worth the effort.  Do refrigerate for the recommended times or it won't bake well.  Oh and if figs are readily available to you..you could easily substitute this with pears, apricots, plums or peaches! 

Here is what you need. 

For the pastry;
150g cold butter
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup icing sugar
For the frangipane filling;
100g butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar (although caster sugar will work too)
1 cup almond meal
1 egg 
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
5-6 fresh figs 

Place the flour and icing sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blitz for a moment. Add the butter and blitz until you have a coarse sand-like texture. Tip this out onto a work surface and bring together with the palm of your hand and work until you have a lovely, smooth disc of dough. Wrap this in plastic and pop in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Roll out between two sheets of baking paper until about 5mm thick and drape into a loose-bottomed tart tin. Return to the fridge for another half an hour.  When your ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180 degrees and then blind bake the pastry for about 15 minutes. 

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy and add the almond meal, flour, vanilla and egg. Mix until smooth. Spoon in the frangipane mix and smooth out. Half the figs and place skin side down into the mixture and bake for 25 minutes or until the frangipane is golden brown and cooked through.

Serve with ice-cream or cream 

xx

goings on...

The week is up, the weekend is here and I've not spent much time here this week...talk about life getting in the way.  In a full on good way though.  You know, when things all just happen all at once however, now the calm has come, I invited some lovely blooms into the house after spending most of the day with my cleaning groove going.  Ah...weekend here I come.  We've got family staying with us,  and I go collect my first organic veg box tomorrow and I've planned a bit of baking, sightseeing around this lovely city and loads of playing with my nieces...

1 & 2 - Images I used as part of my photographic assignments.  Learning about low key images, black and white conversion....
3 & 6 - Beautiful blooms making me smile each time I walk past them
4 - home made peanut butter on homemade wholemeal bread - It really doesn't get any better than this.
5 - little monopoly cars...ready and waiting.

what have you been up to this week? and what do you have planned for the weekend?   Whatever you do, I hope you squeeze in some fun

xx

the important things.....

The floors not mopped, the shelves are still dusty.
I'll use the long life milk in the cupboard tomorrow
And hope the washing basket is not too full
With so much to do and so little time
Today was not the day of chores and boring
A mask was made to accompany his handmade creation for tomorrows exhibition
A birthday pressie was made* and delivered
We caught up with dear friends and exchanged homemade gifts
Some last minute baking for a special guest tomorrow
And what's Christmas preparations without a bit of brown paper and twine.

Oh Christmas is here!


How are you managing the lead up?  Do you let the boring jobs slide?  Oh...and last chance to enter my Christmas Giveaway....Ends tonight!

*more on this one later

this week

Some weeks I don't feel like I achieve much beyond the bear minimum...with drop off, pick ups, week day dinners, after school activities, meetings and work.  It's also the added madness that comes with the end of the year, so I'm not surprised I feel like I'm chasing my tail.

But as I look back at some of the photos I snapped this week, I'm reminded that the simple things are the extras that make the week a little special...

~ crafting preparation for a project next week
~ some clay necklaces made by the kids and finished off with some leather now all hanging together
~ a soda bread and polenta
~ a sneak peek at an impromptu project that hopefully I will make into a tutorial (no sonia, it's not the tablecloth!)
~ admiring the gorgeous growth in our purple carrots
~ getting super excited about my first lemons
~ and what would be a week in our life, if time was not spent swinging through the breeze

...what did you get up to this week?
Do you need to remind yourself that you did achieve loveliness and goodness?

Joining in over at the Beetle Shack! 

Almond Apple Cream Cheese Cake

• 
  
• It doesn't take much to motivate me to bake.  I found a packet of Philadelphia cream cheese in the fridge the other day, picked it up and was determined to transform it into something delicious.  Well, this cake is delicious.  It's part cheesecake part apple tea cake...a combination that just hits all the right tastesbuds!  You serve it chilled, so it's a great cake to make in advance, pop it in the fridge for 2-3 hours and wow your family, friends or dinner guests with this beauty.  Those toasted nuts on top just scream decadence! 

Here is what you'll need... 

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1  250g pkg. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 apples peeled and sliced 
• 1/4 cup slivered Almonds

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200C.
2. Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar in small bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour; mix well. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.
3. Beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup of the remaining sugar in same bowl with mixer until well blended. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Spread onto bottom of crust. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon. Add to the sliced apples in large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange over cream cheese layer in a nice even pattern; top with nuts. Bake 10 min at 200C.
4. Reduce temperature to 180C and bake cake 25 min or until center is set. Cool completely. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen the edges. Remove rim. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
   
   
   Enjoy!
   xx
   
   

{persian love cake}

At work the other day, my boss who knows I have a penchant for a good cake told be about this recipe.

The Persian Love Cake.

Seriously, the name of this cake is a good enough reason to love it.  Isn't just a divine title for a cake?

Anway, once I got hold of the recipe I knew I would love it.  Whats not to love about a one bowl (no fancy equipment needed) cake?  Plus the combination of almond meal and greek yoghurt sealed the deal.

My little apprentice and I baked it last night after dinner and it was as easy as pie...or cake!

Here is what you need...

3 cups almond meal
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup brown sugar
120 gm unsalted butter, softened or just zap it in the microwave for 20 seconds
2 eggs
250 gm greek yoghurt
1 tbsp grated nutmeg (I just used the masterfoods spice variety...lets not be too picky!)
1/3 cup of roughly chopped up pistachios

What to do...

1. Turn on the oven to 180C and prepare and 26 cm springform pan with baking paper and butter the sides. Combine the almond mea, sugars, butter and 1 tsp salt int a bowl and rub or stir in the soft butter until you have a lovely crumbly mixture.  Spoon HALF of this mixture into the spring-form pan and with your fingertips press to cover the bottom evenly.
2. Add the eggs, yoghurt and nutmeg to the remaining crumb mixture and give that a good stir with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy.  Pour that over your base and scatter the pistachios around the edge and bake until golden 25-35 minutes.
3. Serve with more yoghurt.


Perfect to bake for someone you love...

What's your favourite cake name??

way beautiful day

When it's a sunny bright day, my kids deem it a "way beautiful day"-  It's there way of saying it's going to a great weather and well, it's stuck and we all use that saying now.  Today is no exception.  It's a way beautiful day.  It was spent outside with friends, soaking up some vitamin D, sharing baked lemon brownies, enjoying treats dropped off by delightful neighbours, picking flowers, napping and reading, planning for new adventures.

Enjoying this way beautiful day!
What's your perfect way to enjoy a bright sunshiney day?

xx