Is there anything nicer than warm, fresh from the oven, homemade cake? I'm not sure. Even a simple vanilla scented cake that has been baked in a domestic kitchen beats a mass made cream bun from a chain bakery. My two favourite baking books are Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi (found here) and the River Cottage: Cakes book by Pam of Pam the Jam fame. I haven't baked much this year apart from the epic muffin making session a little while ago and that seems quite strange considering me and PB like our sweets. So I made the Spiced Honey Cake from Snacking Cakes today which I topped with the optional flaked almonds (an addition that may well be a necessity going forward with this recipe) and substituted yogurt for the buttermilk...it just isn't a real thing here, unfortunately.
What I enjoy most about Snacking Cakes is that they're mainly one bowl, simple ingredients, basic process recipes that taste great, much better than you'd expect for the low effort and as I'm going through a severe spoon budget reduction right now, it's nice to feel that warm sense of having done something that will lift the spirits of yourself and the people you love.
With that in mind, I flicked through my copy of Yossy Arefi's follow up: Snacking Bakes which brings cookies, bars, brownies and blondies into the mix. I think the Date and Pistachio Coffee Cake Bars are up next for baking - I found a bag of pistachios and some dried dates that need using in the baking cupboard - which seem perfect for the chilly, rainy weather we're having.
When I'm not resting/flaring, I've been crocheting hats and things to send to Ukraine and reading cozy stories that seem to mainly involve animals in human clothing being very humanlike. Hopefully more cooking will be happening soon - a cabbage in the fridge seems to be suggesting it is destined to become swedish brown cabbage...
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