“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” ― Jim Bishop If I had to settle for just one cake to make come autumn, this would be it. It's not complicated, but the flavours capture the season in every mouthful. Warmth, sweetness and spice are perfectly balanced in a tender ...
"It was three o’clock; the church bell tolled as I passed under the belfry: the charm of the hour lay in its approaching dimness, in the low-gliding and pale-beaming sun. I was a mile from Thornfield, in a lane noted for wild roses in summer, for nuts and blackberries in autumn, and even now ...
“There is a kind of alchemy in the transformation of base chocolate into this wise fool's-gold, a layman's magic” Chocolat, Joanne Harrisver I love the ease of this very simple chocolate cake. Made with only a few cupboard staples it offers maximum reward for minimum effort and has ...
“Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple.” J.K.Rowling This very simple apple cake, a traditional regional cake, is an English favourite for the autumn season which can be embellished with spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon ...
"There were musicales and soirées, there were elaborate charades played in the rose gardens by the light of flares and twinkling paper lanterns" Dragonwyck, Anya Seton NOTES – Be careful not to over-whip your egg whites. Over-whipping will cause the matrix of the proteins to break ...
“Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly. C.S. Lewis. Snow arrived in England at long last the other day and with it hours of joy. It felt like Christmas had returned our two were so excited. We spent it tobogganing down our fields, breaking for tea in their ...
"The fruit was delicious; not exactly like toffee - softer for one thing, and juicy - but like fruit which reminded one of toffee." Chronicles of Narnia, CS Lewis I almost always have a little of this nectar squirrelled away in an airtight glass jar, ready to warm up and pour over a variety of ...
“A thin grey fog hung over the city, and the streets were very cold; for summer was in England.” ― Rudyard Kipling, The Light That Failed London Fog cupcakes - inspired by the London Fog tea, the origins of which are rather foggy themselves but said to come from Vancouver, British Columbia, creator ...
"And all through the blue-cobbled streets the glistening shop windows were lined with pastries of every kind, from mounds of almond-stuffed sugared croissants and coffee-soaked gilded opera cakes to rows of crème-filled éclairs and giant meringues " anon. NOTES – Be careful not to over-whip ...
'Her ivory comb, her two handkerchiefs and the last of the gilded sugar-plums" Anya Seton, Green Darkness Crisp blue skies, fresh morning air and the excuse to light more candles in every room - ever ready to welcome autumn in here. Our boys were particularly thrilled this morning to have spotted ...