Hello Friends!
Happy May Day!
Tis the Merry Merry Month of May!
Oh, yes, there must always be cake ~ and the cake I will share with you later.
Everything is waking up in the garden, and getting ready for a Springtime Garden Party. As I wander through the garden I wonder and ponder at the miracle of life surviving the winter months: the evergreen trees that never give up their colour, such as the yew tree and the camellias; the bare branches of deciduous trees, dormant since their autumn glory, and now bursting open wildly into a myriad shades of green; shrubs and plants of all kinds that dropped their leaves but kept their berries and seed heads to feed and nourish the birds all winter long; plants that disappeared only to reappear with sturdy new shoots above the soil, continue the cycle of life; and tiny green seedlings sprouting everywhere, evidence of last summer's flowers renewing their vow to return ~~~ and so it goes!
Here's what's blooming in the garden this week ~~~
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityEAy2Mt22IboW84Bu34Sf9nN2CB2QZuR_KpIrd4jeXyx_IjPuvlMiRnGK5OZ-8Xfou_OkonlI_XJRzNyy7uTA6y5Z4ehrQM_Fm8c8YGDjcWwOUxZZHHA6Ol3GRVSZGuzRIKgWyPJC5w/s640/P1230946b.jpg) |
Aquilegia Columbine |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSz6Xkin2CadKh4rdnbxykgtPwPo89Jg7wSt6v15WofFpLsXJ3bkSi_-svFNHZpgSk1mXOwNisgLPIEfE3pPAImMe3JNt95qo_slIlk1-_It4r6GrIkSmBEwDtexnZHTi6N78Zfsa7GQs/s640/P1240019c.jpg) |
Cowslip Primula Veris |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggr0K8b-Na7jBLLlugUe9KpHjNY3hcqfx5ge9OCsvSLHrcQY0S9sdD_tIWgLfOwajbvW-PDxde56OOGOyEsefOA27FABblkhMPVmGtgzPAQtt-mnDC7uXRlfdbpytbFmUoWjLy7BuA85w/s640/P1230929aw.jpg) |
Osteospermum Cape Daisies |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmElY3PV4PWQIMJLBwDBBDvAsqE1Y6QqvtNxue7bOeC5b6SARSTa2ryZLiRvSHmJUm701bTmhYhA_exSQ3ZuYNEY7mmtU1n3ygfI7ZYC5H3JtbPQFj-FiYz1UZo2g1kf7Gyf2vCdKWoE/s640/P1240020d.jpg) |
Seed head of Pasque flower |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgawjW9oJfi18Zb4BLvyOlg4Yqu-i4iSq9QiLp4MTBu9ZAworJvRP9esBZ5XBbeEPWt3WPz4azvUF2xsz9zr2yJr_lkJSK5kUYkWqJnvSBEdhrSS6vD3TPvblgopR56g4dVoj_kkvd_YF0/s640/P1240022e.jpg) |
Seed head of Pasque flower |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05Mre_JuXTpbV4XQSy-WB3uhBWkeEoRtsK9ZTreg12CifwOlTZ0PRFIA4l4hu0GzA0FQ5oLSAUpBXTnlaBPHS57Qq-ZS1oi7gi_1l4B846BmsdabE6OlpFpZnowf6h3j0XjS17sPwBDE/s640/P1240028h.jpg) |
A beautiful demon! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJJye2KA8S-ODGrtf1Q9LS2tYPhXaYD7kW0wouop4el2uB_cl66QiQ1nqspxXBK9fN5Nji-1qXe7VzZthQsVHrLYJv0dUQdO_61EEfhbtRxwh_TXk7a8qIQghZWtYi84mfggHvaaRAYQ/s640/P1240029i.jpg) |
Well hidden in amongst the leaves of the Arum lily |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrawnar-LHr5dTDFtGdSolILNp9iT90jhDQQXyU0CshJCpu2zw2wvmqeEw1tRt0ovaQwmIC-6OXVRu7MoBARfN_coHhVJBgikcc9lFgsFB_ICphB0hjUpdhe3HqfWKG9uGSDDQeWwWYM/s640/P1240030j.jpg) |
Arum lily |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HjrsAz3wOgyXYjJUmMgABlEjnyiwTR4mOwbHWVFOgoFew2JHNaBmghE0-9L9tgobT0-qcFCjFzuONAVXJ1hw1sGuzRybwGm8qs4bjpyhaBiqIWvMqWdrz4fcE9OEKbmcwv293Ms00UI/s640/P1240031k.jpg) |
Spanish bluebells |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNSM3MmnaY0wlQ8vvDhjIUvJ7gW4_Y7lwTNiVT3DS8uFK9bjhYXAm1HjUobyG1Yy_xUMD1d3-w-qdw-kT0VWpdim0LTih0jhREAJ9eVMdzf2KS1BZh3_Q1L8poPjEoYhPTDIUfhYusffc/s640/P1240033l.jpg) |
Aquilegia Columbine |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8i6EVkyzsBOneOhbvwtd8g_yUx4SHPaCoRlqNqCjlMOAUhijnIvnr0-HGGmA1Rxdn-wwBl5IihxGCux-0bqW6ythLnxNURCTtqAf-0pBm8hEe9LYkzba7u5GcF7VxakFHmPQKDSeSgc/s640/P1240034m.jpg) |
Apple Blossom |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLYDOyKiUyM0TeNPbZoPd-oGtXKIdjtwUisWmEZ6J7CPOtRm-KLECUSQ5mNQ-IPCcV1K4fbDcVZDKPU1XPU42oCejZ5FGXXv_W0pWTojHcQuBUBMpg64NI7McqqJ7TtU-bQGZel-PPN0/s640/P1240038q.jpg) |
Apple Blossom and plenty of it! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX43VVhXbcuuquCVJmw9VY5E2HgcCwhtlqtVm1_FzQOiiPvvNDBapzaprlwN6XbW6SHu0AGxSJweI9MeXM8D_7bPQ_39VeMVephsySfKp_Bbq_uB6dzvHm_085dOeinoMmp1JpJ7kBRTk/s640/P1240047b.jpg) |
My 'free' mint plant going from strength to strength each day now! How quickly it grows. |
The return of wintry weather has brought a halt to most gardening jobs for a few days at least, but we need this rain badly and there are always plenty of happy things to do inside the cottage while the winter has a final fling outside ~~~ such as baking cake, for there must always be cake ~~~
Last Monday evening, the programme "Paul Hollywood's City Bakes" came from Reykjavik, Iceland. Of course I was glued to watching it as I lived there for four years and it was a real trip down Memory Lane to see the beautiful Icelandic land that is so dear to my heart. Every weekend I visited the town of Hveragerði so I could buy island~grown tomatoes, cucumbers, bananas, lemons and more grown in their geothermal greenhouses! I watched with great interest as he visited a local baker who uses the free, geothermal energy to bake delicious barley and rye bread, and rich fruit cake ~ all baked, or steamed, in the steam rising from the volcanic vents! Later, he visited with the Mayor of Reykjavik and in his home made the traditional Laufabrauð which I wrote about
here in December 2016. Then, with lots of other explorations into Icelandic cuisine, he made his own version of a sponge cake using the unique Icelandic ingredient Skyr, which is a high protein, low fat dairy product similar to yogurt. So, I just had to make one, and the recipe can be found
here.
Well, this is my verdict. It has a good texture rather like a pound cake, so good with a cup of tea. According to the recipe, you bake it in two 8" pans, but I think it will bake well in a Bundt pan with and temperatures adjusted accordingly. It is not the most elegant looking of cakes, rises to quite a dome making it difficult to fill, so I might halve the recipe and bake one layer, then cut it in half horizontally to fill it. I think you could use a thick yogurt, such as Greek style in place of the Skyr. The recipe says to serve eight, but it is such a deep cake it would easily serve twelve, or more. I found it rather bland, so I maybe ground cardamon would be a good alternative to the ground ginger, especially if serving with coffee {cardamon and coffee go so well together} ~~~
Until next time ~~~
~~~ Deborah xo