Afternoon Tea with Nana

Well, she's moved in, got herself settled and we celebrated by inviting family, friends and the residents of her new sheltered home round for cake and coffee. I didn't try anything new, the old favourites were the best!

First we had Marie's Golden Jubilee Cake, light sponge dotted with raspberries and sandwiched together with clotted cream, this time I dusted it with icing sugar but I normally mix up a runny icing and splatter (technical term) it with it!! The old folk loved it, and have been talking about it all week... I'm just going to have to make another one. with the royal wedding coming up I've promised them a cake to help celebrate as they all gather round their new cinema style surround sound TV to watch the happy couple tie the knot! 

Then came the Mincemeat and Marzipan cake... being the end of February I'm still trying to use up all the Christmas leftovers... its usually one of the first things I make at the start of advent, when the first batch of mincemeat is made and the Christmas cake ingredients are all prominent in the shops.  I always make too much mincemeat, and at times like these I'm glad that I do! This is a moist tea loaf with the undertone of the mincemeat dotted with cubes of golden marzipan, (I still think of it as golden even though I use the natural uncoloured stuff - shadows of being brought up in the glowing 70's!!!)

Photo from the GF website

The last but not least was the Yummy Scrummy Carrot Cake and no, that's not the silly name I've given it, that's what its actually called!!! Check out the link above it will take you to the recipe and their photo... I didn't manage to capture my own as it was cut as soon as it had cooled and we raced off for the 2pm start... this again was very popular, its so soft, moist and moreish... the orange icing just gives it a hit of sweetness to offset the almost savoury element of this cinnamonney, carrotey loveliness...(now I did make those words up!!!) Delicious!

We had lots of old friends and family turn up, my nephew who is just about to turn two years old kept us all entertained and my Mum got to meet their oldest resident, he's 99 years young and he apologised for not meeting her sooner but he was away on holiday... oh the life of the retired!!! I didn't catch his name but we are going to call him Brigadier on account of his moustache... what a wonderful old gentleman, I may adopt him for my Grandpa!