Monday 19 November 2012

I am very lucky that I have a little bolt-hole tucked away in Suffolk, where I can escape to when everything all gets too much, or I just want to wind down for a couple of days.  I don't consider myself to be person who suffers with stress, but it's amazing when you spend time in a place where everything happens slowly, you find yourself doing the same - and suddenly I seem to have so much more time, which really doesn't make sense!
This weekend was spent dealing with builders, plumbers and the like, and then trawling around a few of the local antique shops for furniture (so much more fun than Ikea!).  I am also not too proud to say that I have four lovely chairs that were donated out of a skip!!  And having watched Kirsty's Vintage Home, I was confident I could re-invent the chairs and make them part of the cosy cottage.
Being in the country also means long country walks - spending the whole weekend decorating would rather defeat the object of being there, so I am gradually exploring the area and this weekend strolled around the really pretty town of Aldburgh, and after a two hour walk over the marshes decided tea was definitely required.  Luckily for me the Cragg Sisters tea shop was open, and served the most delicious cake - I opted for orange curd cake, a thick, moist cake filled with butter icing and topped with orange curd and poppy seeds - absolutely perfect.
The other thing I love about the country is that people tend to 'pop-in' whenever they want, something that never happens in London.  So I am always conscious that I should have cake ready for the unexpected visitors (that's my excuse at least!), and this weekend I made rock cakes for the second time in a week.  This all came about following a conversation with a colleague with regards to what we were taught to cook at school - rock cakes were the first thing I cooked and probably have never cooked them since, but I'm not sure why as they're delicious - try them yourself this week for a trip down memory lane - 


Rock Cakes

Makes 12

225 g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
110 g butter, softened
55 g granulated sugar
115 g candied peel, chopped
60 g currants
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 
pinch ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1-2 tbsp milk
extra granulated sugar for sprinkling


  • Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas mark 6.
  • Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  • Stir in the sugar, dried fruit and spices, then add the egg and milk to make a stiff dough.
  • Spoon tablespoons on the mixture in mounds on two lightly greased baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes, until golden.
  • Remove from the oven, sprinkle with a little granulated sugar and leave to cool on a rack.
Happy Baking.

J x


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