Cherry picking and Cherry Almond cake

We went on an amazing day trip to Ceres to visit the beautiful Klondyke Cherry Farm

...and pick cherries...

It was HOT...but an outing that is a must...it was even worth the...

 'are we there yet'...'are we there yet'...in the car!

They encourage you to test the cherries and pick from the trees you like 

(it was amazing to see the different cultivars)...

this was really great...and yummy to pick warm, sweet cherries 

and pop them straight into your mouth...

  

We have really enjoyed eating fresh cherries...what a treat!!

...we had a huge bowl to go with dessert on Christmas day too...

But sadly they have come to an end, and I decided to use the last few to make a  

cherry cake...

 You will need:

2 Tablespoons butter

2 cups Castor sugar

4 eggs

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Cherries

flaked almonds

sauce:

1 cup milk

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

100g butter

Cream the butter and Castor sugar, add the eggs and beat until light and creamy.

Sieve in the flour and baking powder, and add the milk.

Spread into an oven dish. 

Wash and de-pip the cherries, cut into halves and spread over the mixture - you can use as many as you like. 

Sprinkle some flaked almonds over the top.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 30 - 40 minutes.

Place all the ingredients for the sauce into a pot and bring to the boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the sauce over the cake. The cake will absorb the sauce and become sticky.

Serve with fresh whipped cream or ice cream...and some strong coffee...

 Enjoy!!

 Thank you family M for an awesome day spent out with you.

We visited the Farm Yard last week...

...so decided to try some...

Tortoise Tarts

They were such fun to make...

... so easy and quick...

...my son did most of the work...

Tortoise Tarts

You need ...

200gr cake flour

100gr butter - softened

Water - 2 Tablespoons

A tin of apricot halves in syrup

apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

Rub the butter and flour together between your fingers to form breadcrumbs

Add a little water at a time to make a doughy lump (not too wet!)

(The recipe says set aside to stand for 20 minutes - we did not!)

Sprinkle some flour onto a work surface

Roll the dough out to about 3mm thick

Cut into rounds with a cookie cutter (about 8cm)

Place rounds into greased muffins pans

Put an apricot half onto each round

Bake for about 20 minutes - until the pastry looks golden around the edges

Warm some apricot jam in a pot until runny

Brush a nice amount onto each tart as they come out of the oven

Once cold they will be nice and sticky and sweet...

(Ours made about 16 tarts)

(Remember when you do not have enough mixture to fill all 12 muffin holes again,

pour a little water into the empty holes to prevent the tray from burning!)

Enjoy!