I am so pleased to be back! I had a couple of days blogging break and then I lost my Internet connection!!! I have so much catching up to do. Anyway, here we are back to the Friday Cake Bake. Today I made a Lemon Tart from the Wholefood Harvest Cookbook by Rachel Hunt and Paula Cloonan. It has a wholemeal pastry base and is filled with ground almonds (sorry Lyn!), Muscovado sugar, butter, lemons rind and eggs and topped with lemons cooked in Demerara sugar and water and the water/sugar syrup poured over the whole thing.
I haven't made it before and am looking forward to eating it chilled from the fridge. I get through a lot of eggs with my Friday Cake Bake and general cooking so I invited some Hens to stay to supply me with lots of lovely eggs!
This hen is a Mimram Magpie. She is very inquisitive and talkative!
The youngster above is a Hertfordshire Honey White. She is a little nervous and I expect she is the baby of the group.
A beautiful St Pauls Walden Sussex (sounds posh eh?)
Last but not least the Bendish Blue who has lovely soft blue/grey feathers. They have settled in nicely and made themselves at home.
Here they are all together having a communal dust bath! They haven't been named yet but I have a few ideas in mind. Any suggestions on what to call them will be most welcome.
Have a lovely weekend. Hopefully I'll be spending mine in the garden and will report back for Tuesday's Garden Rake! x
The cake looks yummy - makes me wanna bake this weekend! :-)
ReplyDeleteHens scares me a little... I once had a mother in law that kept hens, and they were freaking me out every time I was going to get the eggs. Not to mention the rooster, he aimed for me as soon as he saw me coming!
Still love eggs though..! ;-)
Ooh Simone that tart looks lush!
ReplyDeleteAnd dead jealous of your chickies!
My hubby wont allow me some.
Have a great weekend!
That looks absolutely delicous - lemons in anything is my favourite!
ReplyDeleteJulie xxxxx
Cake looks yummy, I love lemons!
ReplyDeleteAs for your chickens, they're lovely. I would love to have my own chickens. What does your cat think of them?
Vivienne x
I'm with Julie - lemons in everything- yum! Congratulations on your new brood- I got some today too! Snap! I like to name mine after flowers and my friend names hers after sweets which is fun- maybe with all your baking you could name them after cakes??
ReplyDeleteJx
Good to have you back! That tart looks absolutely yummy....and your chickens are making themselves at home already, aren't they!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend.
D x
I was wondering where you'd been! Love those hens. I named mine after my great aunts - I think 'old-fashioned' names always suit them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not even attempting a Friday Cake Bake- but it's all systems go on Sunday when Sun 1 will be assisting with his birthday cake to take to school on Monday morning! Though it's the buttermilk chocolate cake from three weekends ago so it must be disqualified! Hens fabulous! Bet the yolks will be so yellow and the cakes sooo tasty!
ReplyDeleteHi Simone! My gosh, the cake looks delicious!!.. But are these hens really YOURS?!! LOVE them!.. Nice to hear you're enjoying some gardening too! Gizmo looks very content to keep you company out there.. What a sweet little buddy he is! ~tina
ReplyDeleteThat tart has made my mouth water.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the feathered happiness.
Great chickens! More eggs for more yummy cakes - your lemon tart looks lovely:) Hen's names - mmm - Muriel, Mildred, Flora, Flossie? I look forward to hearing what they are called:)
ReplyDeleteYour 'girlies' are pretty! They look quite friendly. I picture them talking together and having a good time. And your lemon tart looks so delicious. I am usually a chocolate girl, but every once in a while I totally crave something citrusy. Your lemon tart would be perfect.
ReplyDeleteHello Simone
ReplyDeleteI want you to know that you have made me feel very envious...not only do you have a sublime looking tart there, but a bunch of chickens!! You lucky woman!! Do share what the tart tasted like won't you? I like lemony things very much myself and the recipe sounds delicious!
Sending love
Julia
ps - thanks for your lovely comment on my blog, yes, I enjoy mint tea too and have recently bought a Moroccan mint plant so I hope I can enjoy my own home brewed mint tea too!!
J x
Hi Simone! What a lovely bunch of ladies you've got..looking at your wonderful cakes,their eggs have to be the best ones ever laid in Blogland!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend, hope you've some sunshine overthere!
Michela xxx
The honey hen suits the name Honey don't you think, she has a soft honey colour, bit pridictable maybe?
ReplyDeleteThe cake does look delicious!
Thank you Simone for my birthday card, it arrived the day before and hubby was very impressed with the cat on the front. You even managed a cat postage stamp!
Love
Lyn
xxx
Well, I just love your hens. They are all very pretrt especially the bendish Blue. Hope they are well settled and starting to lay. Your cakes should tase even more yummy now. Juliex
ReplyDeleteThat cake looks delicious. I can see that I am going to have to pop down to the kitchen now and fix that sugar craving brought on by those pictures... :)
ReplyDeleteI have to confess to not being too sure about having hens around me. I remember going to a tea room in Dorset years ago. We had afternoon tea in the garden and hens were pottering around freely under the table. I kept expecting to get a peck on the leg...
Have a lovely weekend
Warm wishes
Isabelle x
I'm always hinting for us to get chucks! You've some lovely varieties there. As for that tart, I must look up the recipe. I love ground almonds. So glad you are back on-line. We're all posh down here in Sussex you know! x
ReplyDeleteWow you have chickens? I love chickens!! My aunt's neighbour had tw called Thelma and Louise and then when Thelma dies they got another called Henrietta. They were so lovely, I was so sad when they moved! Yours are gorgeous... have you chosen names yet? How about Lulu for one of them, maybe the shy one? Little Lulu just seems to roll off the tongue - I'm thinking you need nice easy ones to call in the morning when you go to greet them!
ReplyDeleteHi Simone, I just wanted to leave you my new address..you're welcome anytime! Michela xxx
ReplyDeleteMmmmmm, lemon tart, yum! I'll need to go an buy some lemons now I think!
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to see how you get on with your hens. I like the idea of keeping hens - freshly laid eggs would be delicious. However, the mess and wrecked garden stories I've heard put me off.