What’s on your plate: December

Thistles and Kiwis

A few weeks ago I bought Tilly Pamment’s The Plain Cake Appreciation Society which I mentioned in last month’s book post. I have to say, that I have now made three cakes from this glorious book and every one has turned our beautifully and quite lovely. As it was my Name Day on Monday, I decided to make this Strawberry Streusal Cake. In the Northern Hemisphere, my birthday is in summer, and I always enjoyed strawberries on the day. Of course, my birthday is now in winter, so no strawberries, but I can still enjoy strawberries on my Name Day which is now in Southern Hemisphere summer (are you following?).

The cake is a nice simple one, using melted butter (so no creaming!) and ground almonds along with the flour. Once the cake is in the tin, you cover the top with finely sliced strawberries, before topping it with a streusel (like a crumble) topping.

The cake turned out really well, cooking in the suggested time, and ending up looking quite perfect. I think I may have written about how flours vary from country to country, but honestly these Australian recipes work really well over here in New Zealand. The apple cake I used to make all the time when I lived in Denmark just doesn’t work here, for example. I do know that different flours have different levels of gluten, for example, which make a difference in how they ‘behave’ in the baking process. Anyway, this cake turned out just right and is the third from the book to do so.

The author suggests serving it slightly warm, which I did with some Earl Grey blue flower tea for a Saturday afternoon treat. She suggests making it with plums when that season comes around, and I will keep that in mind for later on in the summer. I also found the plum suggestion online if you want to have a look.

Rating? 5*

Make again? Yes

And I will also try more from this gorgeous book of cake.

This well be entered in the Whatā€™s on Your Plate blog challenge hosted by Canadian bloggers Widow Badass and Retirement Reflections. This goes live on the first Wednesday of each month and you can join in too with a food related post, just by adding yours to their linkup.

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com or lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.com

Published by Thistles and Kiwis

28 Comments

  1. I did get lost in the birthday thing! But it’s all good if you get the cake you want when you want it. Don’t you love cookbooks that have recipes that turn out so well. It’s not always the case.

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  6. Hi, Barbara – Thank you for being a regular at #Whatsonyourplate. I confess that I needed to read the opening sentences a couple of times before I got it. This had nothing to do with the writer, but everything to do with the reader. Since I am not familiar with Name Days, I kept on meshing together Name Day and Birthday and not understanding how your birthday, last Monday, was in the winter in the Southern Hemisphere. I get it now but my brain was embarassingly slow on this one! šŸ˜€

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  8. I loved finding out my Name Day was in April from my Hungarian Exchange Student a few years ago and as my birthday is in December it’s good to celebrate a different day. Your cake looks amazing and another lovely cookbook recommendation!

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  10. What an awesome looking treat, will pin to also try it out
    I visited you via Jam Weekend Reboot Week #37
    I linked up this week with = Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies and Easy and Fun French Macarons Recipe
    I hope you will join us M-S SeniorSalonPitStop. You will find it under BLOGGING.

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      1. I checked again and did not see your Pinterest button, not even under the Share This More section. You may wish to have a look and once resolved let me know and I will pin it. Thanks

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        2. Hope you can resolve this issue. Let me know as its always great to have them to share posts. Have a great evening

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  13. A scrumptious bake – your strawberries look so succulent and delicious too! I have popped into Tilly Pammet’s site – she has a very nice aesthetic! I couldn’t get her book from the library but I am sooooo tempted. 3 recipes made and enjoyed is an extremely high takeup. And no creaming? even better!

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      1. I actually do have a hand mixer, but I prefer not to take it out unless I have to whip egg whites or cream. It just seems more of a hassle to wash it so I prefer to cream by hand if I have to.

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  14. What a beautiful cake! Saving this one for next summer, as we are on opposite sides of the world! One of my favorites for the 12.15.223 edition of WTJR! Thanks for sharing with us!

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