“Out of love I made you a cake. Also out of milk, eggs, flour, sugar, and vanilla.” Jarod Kintz

Chocolate scone, the perfect treat for a loved one

A man’s heart goes via his stomach (what about women then …), my home baking is always a big favorite with my friends and family. For years I have baked to simple recipes to celebrate birthdays, new arrival, promotions, leaving parties and others. I have used the well celebrated scones, so many times it could have been boring if I had not decided at some point to “bake out of the box” and make little changes in the recipes. Scones are tasty but “chocolate scones with vanilla cream” are a real show stopper specially when they come shaped as a heart.

Passion in a carrot cake for a friend’s birthday

Carrot cakes are also very often the choice for birthday parties, for this friend who has the bad luck to see her 40th birthday while still on maternity leave I decide to show real love and shaped the belated birthday cake as a huge heart, covering it with passion fruit yoghurt icing and wrote HAPPY BIRTHDAY with the candles on the top. This very ordinary carrot cake would have sounded just very basic if baked in the traditional rectangular dish but in this instance with the extra presentation and planted at the end of a desk it generated much interest and good wishes for the late birthday girl… how amazing is it that a few eggs thrown into a batch of flower should create such a happy time for someone deserving. Its a bit of magic…

Carrot cup cake with passion icing

So what a large can do… small single cup cakes can do even better, specially with their little red hearts deco on top. Taste is something, presentation is everything !

Naked Victoria sponge and strawberries

But really the crunch is… “if you love them … bake them a naked cake” the new trend, do not ice or submerge the top of the cake with cream, leave the sponge just plain but bake the sponge in two/three dishes of decreasing sizes, once baked, insert in between layer a mix of vanilla cream/strawberries. decorate with french fruit and sprinkled with icing sugar. For this friend whom I love to bits I have planted the cake on the middle of a tray with heart shaped marshmallow with a heart shaped light garland and some candles saying “birthday girl”. If, like me you believe that giving is way better than receiving… bake for your loved ones and folks will always remember your cakes as the good occasion to celebrate… Joy. Take care… Betty x