B is for

Bruce

Your Mum, she loves Bruce….a lot. I think this means you will have to love Bruce Springsteen too.

One night in Finland

This is adapted from a Nigel Slater recipe found here.

Makes 12 18 slices
butter 120g
golden caster sugar 120g
eggs 2
self-raising flour 120g
baking powder 1 tsp
hot espresso coffee 2 tbsp

For the filling:
caster sugar 6 heaped tbsp
flaked almonds 6 heaped tbsp
groundnut oil a little
butter 200g
icing sugar 200g
chocolate spread, such as Nutella 200g

To make the cake, melt and then put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a beating attachment and cream and mix together until light and fluffy. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Line the base of a square 20cm cake tin with baking parchment. Break the eggs and add them, a little at a time, to the butter and sugar. If the mixture curdles or becomes grainy at all, then add a spoonful of flour. Sieve the Mix baking powder and flour together, then add, with the mixer on low speed, to the cake mixture. Pour in the espresso coffee, stir well then transfer to the cake tin and smooth the surface.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check by piercing with a metal skewer or knitting needle. If it comes out of the cake clean, without any wet cake mixture on, then it is cooked. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool.

To make the buttercream filling, lightly oil a baking sheet. Warm the caster sugar in a nonstick, shallow pan without stirring. As it starts to melt, add the flaked almonds and let them colour lightly. As the mixture starts to darken to toffee colour, stir slowly and gently to ensure an even colour, then remove from the heat and tip on to the oiled baking sheet.

Beat together the butter and icing sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the Nutella and beat until fully incorporated. Crush the almonds and sugar with a rolling pin or in a food processor until they resemble coarse crumbs, putting a few larger pieces to one side for decoration. Stir half of the finely crushed nuts and sugar into the buttercream.

Lift the cake from the tin and peel off the baking parchment. Slice it in half horizontally. Spread the cut side of the bottom half with a good third of the buttercream, then place the second half on top, cut-side down. Spread half the remaining cream thinly on the top. Slice the cake into 12 equal portions, then spread a thin layer of the remaining buttercream around the sides, scatter each with a dusting of the praline, and serve.

Tuesday night sounds

Parquet Courts - Master of My Craft

A is for

Apple 

Besides being a fruit, apple is the record label for one of your Dad's favourite bands ever. He has lots of favourite bands actually.

Happiness is it

Best decision I ever made to stay home and holiday, for the dog of the house and for me. It's kind of changed my perspective a bit and made me think about what really makes me happy, and quite frankly - I'm a pretty simple girl in that respect. 

Not washing my hair and not caring about what it looks like makes me happy (well maybe caring a little bit). Making silly drawings and charts makes me happy. Lunchtime catch up with friends makes me happy. Afternoon beers on a hot summers day makes me happy. Losing at scrabble and pool makes me happy. Iced coffee makes me happy. Reading a book to kill time makes me happy. Driving to the highlands for the day makes me happy. Laps at the pool make me happy. Cocktails and googly eyes make me happy. My new dymo printer makes me happy. Mangos make me happy. Spending time with old friends and new friends makes me happy. Picnics in the setting sun make me happy. Listening to good now music and bad 80's music makes me happy. Homemade icy poles make me happy. Fireworks make me happy. The sun filtering through trees makes me happy. Dinner cooked for me makes me happy. My dog makes me happy. Silly talks and serious talks make me happy. Standing under the sprinkler makes me happy. Stars make me happy. Painting hearts make me happy. This right now, as silly as it is, makes me happy.

This Is Not New Zealand. Home Holiday - Day 9

This Is Not New Zealand. Home Holiday - Day 8