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Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

a christening cake

by

… lincolnshire bloggers are a rare breed… there’s Gary up to the north of the county and Em over to the west but like the proverbial london buses there are four in a very tight cluster just south of Louth… if you like to read about adventures in the kitchen there’s me, of course… who could forget?… if beauty with words is your thing then The Viking may be the one… if you like something left-field… and I’m talking WAY over to the left… there’s The Owl Wood… and then in a comfy corner of a sleepy village there’s the rather wonderful and fiercely scone-competitive Elaine from The Pear Tree Log…

… Elaine celebrated the christening of her grand-daughter Francesca Esme Clarkson in style on Sunday with a garden party… it was like something out of a thoroughly old-fashioned British novel set sometime between the wars… the weather was fine, the lawn was green, an old-fashioned gramophone played scratchy records and the food was sublime with a hunk of ham, freshly baked bread, wedges of Lincolnshire Poacher and lashings of scones and strawberry jam … and of course I wanted to contribute in my own special way…

blackcurrant ripple christening cake

whilst I realise that ‘pink for girls’ is not particularly politically correct I really couldn’t help myself… the food colouring was calling to me and I had a splash of inspiration about the rippled icing from Great British Bake Off hero Edd Kimber’s brilliant The Boy Who Bakes cook book… he recreates the raspberry ripple with a fresh cream icing but I only had a block of butter and blackcurrant jam in the fridge and so the blackcurrant ripple cake was born…
for the sponge
i created a classic victoria sponge with the ‘weigh the eggs’ method but added a dash of food colouring in the final whisk… as you can see I decided to trim the edges of the cooked cake as they came out a dark pink colour that wasn’t particularly inspiring… the recipe for my victoria sponge can be found here
for the butter cream ripple icing
200g butter – room temperature
250g icing sugar
a little milk
2 tablespoons blackcurrant jam
– whisk the butter into a frenzy then gradually add the icing sugar till you have a nice, thick consistency
– add one tablespoon of blackcurrant jam and whisk in
– add a little milk in needed to make the consistency spreadable and use half to sandwich the cake and with the other half, spread on top in a circular motion and then take the remaining jam and, using a knife, swirl it in to create the ripple effect
eat and of course, enjoy!

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Comments

  5. Elaine says

    The pink cake was perfect. Thanks, Dom. Garden parties are such fun on those rare days when our weather permits, we were lucky. A garden and good food are nothing without good friends.xx

    PS My new oven arrived half an hour ago, it is just being checked out and then I shall have a baking session…scones, Victoria Sponge, biscuits, bread…see you at the village show, on Saturday. 😉

  10. Susan Lindquist says

    Oh! Another beautiful cake! And you KNOW howI am when it comes to lovely cakes! What a picture you paint of that sweet christening party … did you get a chance to snuggle with the guest of honor?

  11. bellini says

    This is an inspiring dish Dom. Slowly but surely I have discovered 4 local area bloggers, some are writers and some are passionate about food.

  12. Jenn says

    I love garden parties! They always do remind me of such a simpler time! Too bad we don't' get too many of those here in the desert 🙂
    The cake looks absolutely stunning! I bet it tasted even better than it looks!

  18. The KitchenMaid says

    That is adorable. I'm still green with envy over Elaine's pics of YOUR garden, I can't bear the thought of a party at hers. Our garden is more suited to a party of jungle explorers…

  20. Magnolia Verandah says

    Wow that is Pink! Mind you I love a bit of pink! What other colour for a girlie christening on a summer afternoon, I don't care for politically correctness, especially when you can dish something like this up, who would dare complain? Fresh cream raspberry ripple is probably exceptional but do like a man who is adaptable in the kitchen! Looks like butter and jam did the job. Love it – it could be a birthday card!

  22. The Owl Wood says

    Left field indeed!

    I am currently working hard fetching coal and working the bellows to keep Elaine's (Pear Tree's) new Patent Steam Oven up to temperature. I feel like an orc, burning the woods of Middle Earth – and all in the name of scones!

    Have given Elaine – with some reluctance – my own secret recipe for scones. Tis a winner.

  23. Shu Han says

    Look at those colours! Been trying to track down a spot where I can forage for some of this season's blackberries. Once I get my free hoard, I'm going to do this x

  24. Choclette says

    It looks spectacular Dom, just love that ripple effect and the colour and I bet it tasted fantastic too. Garden party also sounds splendid and so lucky with the weather. I love a good garden party, the weather likes to thwart us though. Good luck with those scones!

  25. Baking Addict says

    Stunning, absolutely stunning!! Love the colour as it's so vibrant and appealing. I tried this recipe once but I didnt quite manage the ripple effect – will have to try it again!

  31. Chele says

    So now you have me wanting to bust out my fave 'classic' novel (which is Little Women by the way!) and enjoy what sounds like a wonderful christening party. Such a lovely cake for the occasion too.