Sometimes even Barry's Tea isn't enough. This summer, which on the whole was quite pleasant, was occasionally interrupted by cold sweats as I thought about the looming thesis deadline. It wasn't that I didn't have anything to write, it was more that I couldn't get the words on paper.
Maybe if I'd taken the Morning Pages approach to writing instead of the Morning Baking approach things would have gone better. But life would have been less sweet and there's something about baking, starting out measuring ingredients and finishing with something to eat alongside tea, that is incredibly satisfying. Alongside running, baking is my go-to stress buster and mind-clearer. Both are things I enjoy doing on my own, no distractions, no discussions, just me working through a recipe or placing one foot in front of the other.
Running and baking work well together in another way: the added incentive of knowing that I will, at the end of a run, have something I baked for breakfast may have motivated me to go for a run once or twice.
A favourite this summer was the Apricot Shortcake from Alexa Johnston's Ladies, A Plate, though I usually make it with frozen berries or apples instead of apricots. With the reduction in sugar I find that it's perfectly acceptable to eat for breakfast.
This cake is very easy to make, even by hand it only takes about ten minutes to make the dough provided the butter has been softened. I usually reduced the amount of sugar by 25-30% as experience with this cookbook is that the recipes are very sweet.
Ingredients:
115g butter
160g sugar (I usually use somewhere between 110-125g sugar)
1 egg
170g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
20cm / 8 inch shallow cake tin (I often had to use a springform cake pan)
Fruit of choice - I didn't have an exact measure of fruit, it really depends how much of a middle layer you like.
Oven temperature: 200C / 400F
1. Place frozen fruit / apples in a saucepan with a little water and stew on a low heat. Add sugar to taste (I tend not to add sugar to the fruit in this recipe).
2. Grease and line the tin.
3. While the fruit is stewing, cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Slowly add the egg, beating thoroughly.
5. Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix until it turns into a soft dough (don't overmix but do get all the flour mixed into the butter, sugar, and egg mix).
6. Split the dough into two equal sized balls. (At this point I tended to place the mixing bowl into the fridge for a little while to firm up the dough as it can be very soft).
7. Check on the fruit!
8. Roll the first ball so that it fits the base of the pan. Don't worry if the dough breaks up, just assemble it by hand so it covers the base. (As the dough is very soft, when it comes to rolling it out be generous with the flour.)
9. Pour on the fruit.
10. Roll out the second half of the dough and cover the fruit. Again, if the dough starts to fall apart don't worry, just assemble it as best you can. It will come together while baking.
11. Bake for 30 minutes. The recipe calls for turning halfway through, sometimes I forgot and it didn't seem to do any harm to the final result.
12. Remove from the oven, cool for ten minutes before turning out on a baking tray.
13. It looks lovely with some icing (powdered) sugar sprinkled on top. I bought a stencil on Amazon to decorate some wedding cakes I made and since then many of my cake have been decorated with a powdered sugar elephant. Decorating has never been my strong point but since I bought the stencil I've turned out some very pretty cakes!
14. Best enjoyed with some Barry's Tea.
While Ladies, A Plate is sold out on Alexa Jonhston's website, her second cookbook is available. The website also has a lot of recipes on it, they are worth checking out. Everything I've made from her books has been delightful.
Maybe if I'd taken the Morning Pages approach to writing instead of the Morning Baking approach things would have gone better. But life would have been less sweet and there's something about baking, starting out measuring ingredients and finishing with something to eat alongside tea, that is incredibly satisfying. Alongside running, baking is my go-to stress buster and mind-clearer. Both are things I enjoy doing on my own, no distractions, no discussions, just me working through a recipe or placing one foot in front of the other.
Running and baking work well together in another way: the added incentive of knowing that I will, at the end of a run, have something I baked for breakfast may have motivated me to go for a run once or twice.
A favourite this summer was the Apricot Shortcake from Alexa Johnston's Ladies, A Plate, though I usually make it with frozen berries or apples instead of apricots. With the reduction in sugar I find that it's perfectly acceptable to eat for breakfast.
This cake is very easy to make, even by hand it only takes about ten minutes to make the dough provided the butter has been softened. I usually reduced the amount of sugar by 25-30% as experience with this cookbook is that the recipes are very sweet.
Ingredients:
115g butter
160g sugar (I usually use somewhere between 110-125g sugar)
1 egg
170g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
20cm / 8 inch shallow cake tin (I often had to use a springform cake pan)
Fruit of choice - I didn't have an exact measure of fruit, it really depends how much of a middle layer you like.
Oven temperature: 200C / 400F
1. Place frozen fruit / apples in a saucepan with a little water and stew on a low heat. Add sugar to taste (I tend not to add sugar to the fruit in this recipe).
2. Grease and line the tin.
3. While the fruit is stewing, cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Slowly add the egg, beating thoroughly.
5. Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix until it turns into a soft dough (don't overmix but do get all the flour mixed into the butter, sugar, and egg mix).
6. Split the dough into two equal sized balls. (At this point I tended to place the mixing bowl into the fridge for a little while to firm up the dough as it can be very soft).
7. Check on the fruit!
8. Roll the first ball so that it fits the base of the pan. Don't worry if the dough breaks up, just assemble it by hand so it covers the base. (As the dough is very soft, when it comes to rolling it out be generous with the flour.)
9. Pour on the fruit.
10. Roll out the second half of the dough and cover the fruit. Again, if the dough starts to fall apart don't worry, just assemble it as best you can. It will come together while baking.
11. Bake for 30 minutes. The recipe calls for turning halfway through, sometimes I forgot and it didn't seem to do any harm to the final result.
12. Remove from the oven, cool for ten minutes before turning out on a baking tray.
13. It looks lovely with some icing (powdered) sugar sprinkled on top. I bought a stencil on Amazon to decorate some wedding cakes I made and since then many of my cake have been decorated with a powdered sugar elephant. Decorating has never been my strong point but since I bought the stencil I've turned out some very pretty cakes!
14. Best enjoyed with some Barry's Tea.
While Ladies, A Plate is sold out on Alexa Jonhston's website, her second cookbook is available. The website also has a lot of recipes on it, they are worth checking out. Everything I've made from her books has been delightful.
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