Laying myself bare & baking cakes

Uh Oh.

I'm baking.

Old readers know that means something is up.

You can find out about what I mean here.

We hit a bit of a bump last week.

Some news of the not so nice kind.

It reminded me of how transient things are.

Always in flux.

Good.

And bad.

And all the in betweens too.

But it was after reading this post by my lovely friend that helped me be reminded of how in amongst all the bad there is SOOOOO much good.

It is this hammock of good that helps support us when the bad hits.

I love her words.

These were the ones struck a chord: "They keep me FORTIFIED".

Yep.

In the last few years I feel as if I have worked super hard to surround myself with good people.

People I can lay myself bare to.

And it is times like this that I know that work has paid off.

I have felt loved by my crew of good.

And for that ~ THANKYOU.

Love is all there is.

GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S ORANGE & POPPYSEED CAKE with Caramelised Orange & Cardamom syrup:
When I am seeking comfort from a cake it always tends to be the syrupy luscious ones.
I wanted to add a little fragrance to this - hence the cardamom.
You could omit them if you are a not a fan.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 1/3 cup Poppyseeds
• rind of 2 oranges
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 200g butter
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice

For the syrup

• 1 orange sliced fine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 3 whole cardamom pods

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Add the poppy seeds to the milk.  Set aside.

In a mixer beat the sugar and butter till light & fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time.

Now add the flour, baking powder & almond meal.

Slowly add the milk mixed with the poppy seeds.

Grease well a 20cm spring form tin.

Put the cake batter in the tin & spread evenly around the tin.

Bake for 60 mins or until skewer comes out clean.

Leave to cool for 5 minutes in tin then turn out onto cooling tray.

Place onto a serving plate.

While cake is baking make the sugar syrup by combining Sugar, water, juice & orange slices in a pan over a medium heat.

Stir until the sugar has dissolved and now only jiggle the pan rather than stirring until the syrup begins to thicken and go golden- this will take about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat immediately & using tongs place the orange slices onto the top of the cake.

Strain the syrup to remove the Cardamom.

Pour syrup over cake.

Serve Hot or Cold.

i LOVE listening to these guys anytime but this week it has been PERFECT ~