Birthday Baking

Celebrated Dieter's birthday over the weekend and made a couple of the usual cakes I make  - one a Linzer Torte is made with a spicy shortcrust dough with ground almonds or hazelnuts  and, traditionally, raspberry jam.  I make my version and use guava jelly which is delicious too, cutting through the sweetness of the pastry.   I used a Mary Anne  recipe originally printed in the Auckland Star in the  1960s. I have two big scrapbooks of such recipe clippings and am rediscovering old favourites as I ring the changes.

 Good friend Pamela made a Nothing Chocolate Cake  - no flour, no eggs, we'll say no butter -  I can't remember what else it didn't have in it that isn't good for people with allergies. It was certainly still decadently rich.   And I made Dieter's old favourites,  Alison Holst's Lunchbox Cookies  - containing golden syrup, coconut, walnuts and sultanas.

The cloth is a Hungarian one my mother once brought back from there, the china belonged to my Aunt Dorothy whose anniversary occurs about this time. 

The following day friends,  Roland and Rosalie came, a day later as they hadn't heard the phone ringing to invite them the day before, bearing a big German honey cake which Roland had made, rich, moist  and spicy  with a pound of honey in it and both ground and chopped almonds.   I made another old favourite, old friend, Leny's Dutch Apple Cake made with 4,3,2 shortcrust pastry and 1 egg,  filled with  parboiled apple cubes, cooled and  tossed with cinnamon, almonds, raw sugar, lemon zest and sultanas and topped with an egg-washed lattice and more flaked almonds and raw sugar. 

The pretty blue cloth was given to me many years ago by good friend,  Rae who knows how much I like applique and patchwork, which I still enjoy  doing.  I have an oven cloth on the go at present.