Blackcurrant Cake

This year we seem to have quite a few blackcurrants growing on the bush in the back garden.  I wonder if it is trying to prove its worth after the one at the front went to a new home due to never seeming to produce more than about 5 blackcurrants!

Mum made lovely blackcurrant pies and ice cream with the masses of blackcurrants in our garden when I was a child, but as my pastry making is, lets say, in need of perfecting (!) and as I have no ice cream maker I tend to bake mine into a cake.  Its been a few years since I had enough blackcurrants to make it but this recipe makes a gorgeous cake if you are wondering what to do with yours.  The recipe says 4 oz of blackcurrants but it doesn't need to be exact, I wouldn't put many more in but it will work perfectly fine with fewer if your bushes aren't that generous!


Blackcurrant Cake

3 ½ ozs soft butter or marg
7oz caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
8oz plain flour
2 level teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons milk
4 oz ish blackcurrants
small amount of granulated sugar for sprinkling

Cream butter/margarine and caster sugar together.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Fold in flour and baking powder.
Add milk and stir in fruit.
Put into a 8in diameter cake tin lined with non stick paper.
Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake (350 degrees F, 180 degrees C, Gas Mark 4) for about 50 minutes.
Cool slightly and remove from tin

Lovely warm with cream or custard but equally nice cold.  If you only have frozen blackcurrants they work just as well, no need to defrost add them in to the mixture frozen.

The Great British Bake Off

Yayyy!!!!!  It's back on our screens, I love watching the Great British Bake Off even though it doesn't do my waistline any good.  This year I have decided to set myself a bit of a challenge.  I love to bake but I tend to rely on a few favorite recipes.  This year I have set myself a challenge, to bake something new inspired by the program each week and blog about it here.  Don't worry I will not be crafting a cake guillotine, attempting lavender honeycomb or Japanese cake art but I will try to make something new to me loosely inspired by one of the bakes on the program.

I mentioned it to my much more baker-ee sister and she is up for the challenge as well so watch this space!  Anyone who fancies attempting one of the recipes from last night can find them on the BBC website here.

I have my ingredients ready and my helpers/testers keen to begin.  Any guesses on what we'll be cooking?!

Wool shopping...alone and a new bonnet

The small people were busy with my parents and I managed to make my first solo trip to the wool barn in a very long time.  It made it so much easier to be able to concentrate on all the different yarns, taking in all the colours and deciding which designs would suit the different yarns.  I could have come away with bags full but as I have a fair stash at home (!!) I was very restrained and just got some thick and thin yarn in a variegated green and lilac colourway.  Here it is knitted up into a bonnet, I am really pleased with how it has turned out.  I think that perhaps the colour is actually more Spring than Autumn but I think it will look gorgeous for newborn photo shoots and the lilac colours seem to match up well with Pantone's autumn/fall 2014 predictions of radiant orchid and mauve mist.

The bonnet is listed for sale on The Yarn Owls Nest Etsy shop.

A hint of Autumn?

There was a definite hint of autumn these last few days.  Very strange as it still feels like it should be midsummer but a couple of the trees had started to turn yellow and the first leaves were falling.  I also spotted rosehips and a blackthorn laden with sloes.  Made me think I really should be knitting ;) !

Fingerless Mittens in a new colour

Back to school mittens

So I have been updating my photos for the fingerless mittens. I adore the colours of this yarn and it is so soft for little fingers.  I know it is only just August but the shops seem to have been pushing the Back To School thing since before the children actually broke up here!  If you are thinking of getting hats, mittens, scarves etc please think about buying handmade, there are so many gorgeous and original items on Etsy, many now from the UK as well so you really can shop local!

I spotted this lovely image on a fellow crafters Facebook page.  The lady is an amazing crocheter, check out her work on Facebook, her blog at edenreborn.com and her shop on Etsy here.  I adore her foxes and bunnies!

Woolly Owls

Earlier this year I visited Ordsall Hall whilst a textile exhibition was on and found these felted owls in the attic.  They were part of an exhibition called Urban Legends and Landcapes by members of Threadmill Textiles.  These beautiful owls looked amazing in the attic, especially with the shadows and lighting.