A solitary candle

... and Apple Cake for my birthday. As usual I took photos of the cake au naturel and it looks pretty naked though swaddled lovingly in baking paper. Naked and plain-looking though it is, it is still one of the most scrumptious cakes I've ever eaten. I sneaked slices of it throughout the evening and I'm wondering if I should soon have more. A nightcap of sorts if you will.

This is one of Dorie Greenspan's recipes. I made it first weeks ago because there were apples galore in the form of Granny Smith's and Fujis lying around in the fridge. I'd had the recipe bookmarked for awhile and the recipe didn't need me to wait for the butter to soften, so it was the perfect I-want-to-make-cake-now cake. 

It smelled out of this world the first time I made it. Yesterday when I baked it again for my birthday it smelled even more amazing in the car as I transported it hot from the oven to SIL's parents' home to share cake with recently bereaved loved ones. 

In the wink of an eye it magically disappeared. I only got a tiny piece which the SIL dutifully fed me and so today, I made another. What a lovely thing it is to be able to bake!

Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

Adapted from Saucy Gander

110g Plain Flour

3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

A pinch of Salt

4 large Apples (a mix of varieties)

2 Eggs

150g Caster Sugar

3 tablespoons Rum

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

115g Butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius. Line an 8-inch round tin with baking paper. Set aside. 

In a bowl, whisk the Plain Flour, Baking Powder and Salt together. Set aside. 

In a larger bowl, beat Caster Sugar, Eggs and Vanilla with an electric mixer until thick, pale and creamy. Add in the Rum and beat well. Then add in half the Flour mixture and mix well. Add in half the butter and mix well. Repeat with the remaining Flour mixture and Butter. 

Peel, core and slice Apples. Mix the Apples into the batter making sure every slice is coated. 

Pour into the baking tin and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes until the top is a golden brown, the cake pulls away from the sides of the tin and a skewer poked through the centre comes out clean.

Cool in the tin before removing and cutting into generous slices.

Then there were flowers from my darling friends' at Nook. Two gorgeous bouquets of flowers. One vase filled with baby pink and deep red roses as well as pale violet orchids. The other a wild arrangement of pristine white lilies and dark magenta daisies.

Both bouquets did a good job representing me as I've always thought I have a sedate, elegant side as well as a wild, devil-may-care one.

They're snuggled together looking rather cosy on my bedside table. Right now, everything smells of lilies and roses. Absolutely fabulously lovely.

Happy Birthday to me and a reminder...