Chudney DeFreitas-Thomas

Baking what Baking?

So the baking didn’t happen on Tuesday as planned. It’s just hard to coordinate with someone who lives in a completely different country and is six hours ahead of you. Though honestly I just need a better speaker phone, and more time. my cousin is guilty however of eating most of her maraschino Cherries,( Which were soaked in rum and red wine) so we’ll have to give her a couple of days.
So, what did I do instead you ask; well I had tea with a new friend, whom I had invited over to view the baking process. ( For all the info you ever wanted on tea start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea ) Don’t you just love Wikipedia? I grew up in a former British colony were tea is major part of life, and memories of Sunday tea at my aunt Patsy’s house, where her mahogany table had been polished to a shine and a tea cloth put on it while, cookies and scones and fresh baked bread, shared the spotlight with a large fruit cake and the Earl Grey tea . For us it was a time to gather as a family and to slowdown at least enough to enjoy if not a meal then a break. Which brings me back to yesterday it was good to sit down and talk and enjoy a cup of tea, poured from my mother’s tea pot, with someone who enjoyed it as much as I did.
Here’s my question to you:
When was the last time you took time out for something you really enjoyed? and What was it?

Hello Everyone!

I finally made the decision to set up a blog last night, so here I am ready to let everyone into my head. It Christmas Time and when I should be singing Deck the halls, I have yet to Deck the halls but the good news is at least I have the floors down, the walls painted and the tree is up. Funny enough my cousin in France and I have a date to make Black Cake over the phone. I know sounds crazy right? But you’re probably asking;What is Black cake? Traditional Christmas fare from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, its also used as wedding cake. It’s a heavy fruit cake made with red wine, brandy and rum. For those of you who are curious and would like to try it out, here is my Aunty Patsy’s recipe:

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb EACH butter ,sugar and flour
6 eggs
2tsp. b/powder
1/2 bottle browning
cinnamon/pumpkin pie spice
vanilla essence(your preference)
1 1/2-2lbs dried fruit soaked for a few days earlier in a mixture of wine(red) and brandy(enough to cover the fruit in the container)
METHOD
Cream butter and sugar.add eggs(beaten or otherwise),flour with b/powder and spices.
Add browning to taste(colour).
In a blender, crush half the soaked fruits.
Add this mush and the rest of the fruits to the batter.
Pour into greased and floured tins and bake in a 350 degree oven until a toothpick comes out clean.
N.B. Cracked (not ground) nuts are an option. Double recipe if necessary.

So Merry Christmas, I’ll let you know how the baking goes.