With a backdrop of six degrees & misty rain, we turned up the heat, stitched & tried out new cake recipes this week. William turned forty two! I've been trying a few wheat free dairy free recipes, just substituting normal flour with gluten free & butter with various oils, but nothing tastes quite like real wheat flour & creamy butter. So I went back to my tried & true flourless chocolate cake with almond meal for Zahra. I've tweaked it here and there & now think I've got it to a point that works well for our tastes. We use 150g of almond meal (instead of 80g) & 50 g gluten free flour (instead of 120g) then just add 150ml of almond milk (instead of 100ml milk and 50ml oil). I think this makes for a better texture and less oily cake. For the birthday boy I made the Moosewood vegan chocolate cake with Cloudburst Frosting. The frosting was more yellow than white because I used raw sugar to make the icing sugar. We bought a thermomix last year when we were really vulnerable because of sleep deprivation & I've spent a good portion of the time we've owned it with shopper's remorse, not really sure about actually needing it. But I have to say after using it for some time now, I really think it's a blast. I love that it makes actual meals, healthy meals in such little time, which, when we're running late on the dinnertime/bedtime routine, makes such a difference. It's cooking dinner now as I write. So next time I make this frosting I think I'll use store bought icing sugar or grind up some castor sugar to get really white, fluffy icing. It will look much prettier.
There are so many flowers blooming in the garden & the bush right now. The pink milk camellia's are opening, heavy with rain. They remind me of Alice in Wonderland, the part where Alice is in the Queen's garden and the cards are painting the roses. Not sure why, but such a delicate colour. Up in the bush all the grevillea's & peas are starting to flower. Soon the understorey will be a carpet of purple lillies & yellow daisies. I've been trying to work out how I can replicate a wildmeadow in our garden. One that will just pop up every spring and self seed so little maintenance is needed. Oh and bulbs under the apple tree. I imagine a full circle skirt of jonquils & daffodils, bluebells & snowdrops. I have such dreams for this little garden. Corners here and there that I have ideas for. We're hoping to get the chooks in a run before we plant out our spring summer vegie garden, then there's the herb & medicinal plant garden as well as the deck garden. All the pots, the blueberry, kangaroo paw, box & bowls of bulbs were moved next to the small, raised, vegie beds to make a barrier, a kind of deterrent for Niamh, to stop her from falling off the retaining wall in the backyard. So now the deck is looking sparse and unloved. If you feel like leaving a recommendation, would you? Thankyou! It needs plants that don't mind direct, morning sun & shade for the rest of the day, but hot shade because in summer it's scorching under that tin roof. We've had flocks and flocks of silvereyes in the garden each morning. They are the sweetest little birds with their green hoods and white eye masks. Can you see him in amongst the privet berries?
All in all Will's birthday was quiet as he had to work. We delivered him a vanilla bean eclair at work and celebrated with a candlelit dinner. Happy Birthday, my love. You are the greatest.