Summer Berry and Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake

So it's finally getting sunny in Liverpool (today I even considered bare legs), we have unwillingly given up one hour of perfectly good sleeping time and winter seems to be on its way out (touch wood) so I thought I'd combine warming wintery cinnamon with summer berries to create spring. Turns out Averie Cooks had already made a cake where she combines buttermilk pancakes and blueberry muffins so I adapted the recipe slightly (and I really do mean slightly) to suit my needs. I replaced some of the sugar with soft brown sugar because I love the way it adds a slight caramel-y flavour to baked goods.

Sometimes you just want cake. Not icing, not filling, not cream, none of that fancy extra stuff. Just cake. This pretty fabulous mix of berries and cinnamon adds just enough excitement whilst still allowing this to be just cake. I say just when I mean tummy cuddlin' taste bud caressing cake. This is a soft, fluffy heaven in ya mouth kinda cake.

My blog has fallen by the way side somewhat in recent times, it's exam season you see so I am up to my neck in bacteriophage replication, apoptosis and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs so this is just a quick post before my break ends and I have to go back to my life of coloured pens and yellow legal pads (there is something about colours and yellow paper that enforces knowledge better than black pens and white paper..).

The first two paragraphs of this post were written over a month a go so they make little sense now as the weather has got a little warmer and I have indeed by this point got the ol' pins out however I can still imagine myself eating this cake pretty damn clearly which is obviously a great sign and tbf the incessant wind (that may or may not be unique to Merseyside) warrants the use of cinnamon. Make the cake. You know you want to.

The Best Snickerdoodles!

Back in February I stayed with my friend Lydia for a few days while Hannah was in Yorkshire. She is the most amazing cook (with a collection of beautiful cookware) and so I had the pleasure of sampling some of the tastiest food known to my mouth. The first night she cooked a gorgeous pasta dish with butternut squash and pine nuts and pecorino melted on the top (I am a firm believer in a pasta dish not being finished until it has been put back under a grill blanketed in cheese) and ummm it was delicious. I was also treated to a delightfully boozy tiramisu (one of my favourite desserts) and tried snickerdoodles for the first time! Now I can't lie, I find the name of these crumbly melt-in-the-mouth little balls of heaven to be rather off putting - I really do not like Snickers bars, but let me tell you I was so so so wrong (and my low expectations made it an even better experience). If you have not tried these before you are in for a treat!

Ingredients

165g flour (I used self-raising)

1 egg

Honey and Pecan Granola

Now I don't know about you but there isn't an hour that goes by when I don't think about food (she says eating a toasted chocolate orange hot cross bun) and when I am lying in bed at 11 o clock - you see if I go to bed any later than 10 my tummy thinks it should be fed for working over time - what nicer thing to think about that a scrumptious breakfast waiting for me in the morning. The thought of my honey and pecan granola certainly sees me into a happy sleep!

Ingredients

150g jumbo rolled oats
150g your basic rolled oats (I use Tesco every day value and despite common misconceptions these own brand oats are delightful and wonderfully versatile!)
150ml apple juice
50g sugar (more or less to taste - last time I made with only a sprinkling of sugar and it is still heavenly)
50g flaked almonds

Good Morning Good Morning!

My first recipe isn't really a recipe, more a mouthwatering combination of delicious things that I like to eat for breakfast in one big until-lunch-time-lasting bowl!
(I will upload a picture when I miraculously remember to take my camera into the kitchen when I'm still half asleep)

Ingredients
 
1 cup of porridge oats
1/3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp demerara sugar
2 cups of milk (or 1 cup water, 1 cup milk)
1 large tsp honey
1/2 - 1 banana depending on individual preference

 Add the porridge oats, cinnamon, sugar and milk to the pan and stir continually until the porridge thickens. Once the porridge has thickened sufficiently take off the heat and stir in a splash more milk (I tend to find if I miss out this last step the porridge thickens more before I eat it, but obviously it depends how you like your porridge!). Poor the porridge into a bowl, slice the banana and add to the top. Finally drizzle the honey all over the top of porridge (personally I like to make sure the bananas are well and truly covered in honey!) and voila!

Additionally (for me this happens earlier in the week when I have some left over after making American Style pancakes mmmmmm) you could add a heaped tsp (more or less to taste) of berry coulis to the porridge before adding the banana and honey. To make add half a cup of mixed berries (I use frozen as I am a poor poor student!), 1/4 cup of sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice and if you are feeling particularly adventurous (and happen to have this lurking in your cupboard) a dash of raspberry liqueur to a pan and heat until the berries soften (approximately 5 minutes).