Exactly what you need, Twellsy.
The CC and other baking sounds divine, joe. BFG looms large.
Soo xx
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Do at least try to behave yourself, Twellsy
I will light a Candle especially for you this evening
The air here is filled with the sound of loud fireworks , rather than the smell of baking
Sigh
Carinthia.xx
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I am tethered to a machine that goes bong and the radiographers have found a possible infection shadow where I feel like I have a stitch
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With any luck you’ll be tethered to a machine wot goes drip inna while, when That Birdie sorts itself out…
Carinthia.xx
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I now have two machines that go beep and bong
And I am knitting
And swabbed for flu
Oh goody
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Fingers firmly crossed for a negative swab, dear Twellsy. I hope the beeping and bonging isn’t too intrusive, either. Beeping and bonging has its uses - mainly keeping the patient awake and thus retarding recovery, imo - since ime nursing staff are capable of ignoring almost any beep, bong or buzz when it suits them.
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A sweeping generalisation that I shall ignore, Gus 
I do hope that you haven’t 'flu, Twellsy. I admire your presence of mind in grabbing your knitting on your dash to hospital.
Soo xx
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…that was qualifed by ‘ime’, please note. Not everywhere is like UHL, I am sure (although anecdotal evidence suggests some other places resemble it more than a little. And yes, I understand why it happens; didn’t stop it making me Bloody Furious, mind).
Twellsy is a woman after me own heart, grabbing her toys before leaving. AttaTwellers!. Anyway, knitting needles are both Cultural Weapons and self-defence.
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The Machine That Goes ‘ping’ !
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I am now in an isolated room with barrier nursing and being well looked after
A window bed that gives me loads of room to spread my knitting and stuff
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Why are you being isolated?
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Because Our Twellers is a disruptive influence liable to lead other patients astray, I hope. Better ‘bad influence’ than influenza.
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To stop the fumes from the Emergency Care Packages wafting over to other patients who might demand their own gin.
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Wimpish You-Know-What Cake (never been too fond of the really heavy version) in oven for next few hours. Have just removed chocolate almond thingy. looks promising! I notice it’s a Ballymaloe recipe, so should be reliable. For them as wants to try:
Rich chocolate almond cake
Rachel Allen
Preparation time: less than 30 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins to 1 hour
For cake
- melted butter, for greasing the tin
- 250g dark chocolate, chopped
- 210g butter
- 250g caster sugar
- 5 free-range eggs, beaten
- 75g ground almonds
For the chocolate glaze
- 200g dark chocolate, chopped
- 50ml milk
- 75g butter
- whisk[e]y, to taste (optional) [yeah, right…]
- Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
- Butter the sides of a 23cm/9in diameter cake tin (or spring-form tin) and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. Place the chocolate, butter and sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Stir until smooth and melted,
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Beat in the eggs, and fold in the ground almonds.
- Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about 45mins, until the centre is just set. Allow to cool in the tin.
- To make the chocolate glaze, in a bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Melt the chocolate, milk and butter together and stir until smooth. Stir in whisky, to taste. Allow to cool a little until it has thickened slightly (about 10 minutes) but do not place in the fridge as it will lose its glossy sheen.
- Take the cooled cake out of the tin and place on a plate or cake stand, and pour the glaze over the top, letting it drizzle down the sides.
Recipe Tips
If you prefer, you can dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder, or icing sugar, instead of the chocolate glaze. [Bugger that—Ed.]
While we’re on the subject, it has just occurred to me that I have never in my life made a lemon drivel cake. Nor to my knowledge do I have a recipe for one. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one outside TA. Do they actually exist?
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As far as I can see, the only requirement is that you have a puddle of lemony icing on top. For example:
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Ah - so basically a soggy madeira?
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Yup. Not very difficult, or inspired. But I am taking away that chocolate cake recipe…
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Wowser! Now that is one I am going to have to try. At some stage when my cat-sitting friend is going to have hungry visitors because, rather like children, I couldn’t eat a whole one. (Actually, I probably could: but I shouldn’t)
Is that ‘large’ eggs, joe? I think that’s Rachel A’s default - but I can probably check for meself. It is she who is responsible for the dark sticky gingerbread recipe which I inflicted on Soo (and have inflicted in cake form on that Fish, Sparrer and Chatelaine on occasion)
Not only do they exist, my mother’s Lemon Drizzle is famous and frequently requested, particularly by her late ‘friend’'s grandchildren and their various hangers on.
PS: it doesn’t have a ‘puddle’ on top at all. It is gloriously soaked in a very tart lemony syrup.
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Not sure - we go by the chooks’ default!. Generally they do tend to the large, though! Probably best to err on the large side, anyway - they’re the only raising agent in the recipe.
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