Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte or is it? :)

Twice now I've tried to make

 a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte 

(Black Forest Cake), 

twice I have failed on presentation, 

(although taste seems ok...)

This was my second attempt.

I had watched a few videos on You-tube 

and some were more entertaining than others :)

There was one 'For Children' (i.e. no alcohol),

One which was a German comedy sketch where the interviewer got drunk,

and one by an American lady 

who showed how to make the batter as in my recipe.

So I tried again and this time it came out of the oven beautifully...

as it cooled, however, it went rather flat.

So yet again, my cake is only 2 layers high...

Never mind, if it tastes as good as my first attempt (below)

I am sure I will be forgiven! :)

♥ Cherry Cake ♥

I was so excited to discover

that I could buy Morello cherries in the UK.

I used to buy them a lot when I lived in Germany.

I would make Cherry-misu

(before I discovered that I was Gluten-free* of course!)

Cherry-misu is basically Tiramisu, but

with Morello cherries added in the layers - Yum!

 I also found a bund tin a few weeks back

and wanted to make something in it other than a sponge...

 So I adapted a courgette cake recipe of Nigella's

and the results have been excellent

(taste-tested twice!!)

♥The recipe:♥

♥ Big jar of Morello cherries

-drained weight approx 350g

♥ 2 Large eggs

♥ 125ml Vegetable Oil

♥ 150g Caster Sugar

♥ 225g Self raising Flour

♥ Half a teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda

♥ Half a teaspoon Baking Powder

 

♥ Bund tin (not sure of the size of mine,

but it compares to 2 x 21cm sandwich tins if that helps)

- greased with melted butter.

 

♥ Drain your jar of cherries before anything else!

♥ Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/Gas mark 4

♥ Beat the eggs, oil and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until creamy.

♥ Sieve in the flour, bicarb, baking powder

and continue to beat until well combined.

♥ Stir in the cherries.

♥ Pour the mixture into your pre-greased tin.

♥ Bake for 40 minutes

(or if you're doing it in 2 sandwich tins then 30 minutes).

The cake should be lightly browned and firm to the touch.

♥ Leave in the tin for 5-10 minutes before turning out to cool on a rack.

 

 You can dust the cake lightly with icing sugar,

but I prefer it plain...

Slice. Share. Eat and Enjoy!

 

*To make this recipe Gluten-Free, I used Gluten-free Self Raising Flour

and added a teaspoon of Xanthan Gum :)

Bag me some more September

My poor machine! I'm obviously not as patient as I'd like to think I am! I felt pressed for time so I sewed franticly. A bad workwoman always blames her tools, but this was definitely operator error!! I broke 2 needles, one bobbin, cut my finger and now have a machine that doesn't sound so happy! BUT I did make the September bag and I love it! It reminded me how much I like Log Cabin as a pattern and it is IMHO a great bag thanks to it's designer, Kandy.



I used scraps from cutting out of my hexagons, so it's very 'rosey' and frugal :-)
The strips were only 1.25" so out of a 5" square I could get one hexagon and one strip. (waste not, want not, they say!)



It's lined in roses too. I did make a 'boo-boo' with the lining, but I hope it's new owner won't mind!!



It's our neighbour's birthday today. He's 63!



No-one is ever too old for a tractor cake are they??