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Category Archives: baking

Mixing, Cake and Rain

I’ve been making a special cake today for the 40th birthday of a good friend’s daughter. This one had to be dairy free which gave me a few challenges but I think it has turned out well.

Cake batter

Fudge icing

Here it is!

I went out this evening, after a lovely blue sky and sunshine day, to see the turning on of Redruth’s Christmas lights and the lantern parade. The heavens opened and I got drenched to the skin in moments despite wearing a padded coat and I’m afraid I missed all the fun. What a disappointment for all the school children with their paper lanterns. I did take a couple of photos looking up the street and was interested in the effects that came, all with the camera on the same setting.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on November 29, 2025 in baking, friendship, Postaday2025, Redruth

Tags: Mary Berry recipe

Cake, Krowji and Earrings

28 Nov

I baked a cake for the Christmas Lights Switch-on market and put white stars and gold spray on to make it Christmassy.

My choir had our first Christmas gig this evening at the opening night of Krowji Christmas Open Studios in Redruth. We were collecting for our charities, Penhaligon’s Friends and ShelterBox. There is some wonderful work in the studios. If you are local, it’s a brilliant place to find presents and lovely cards.

I gave my new Christmas tree earrings an outing.

Crocheted earrings

6 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on November 28, 2025 in art, baking, community, Cornwall, crochet, Penhaligon's Friends, Postaday2025, Redruth, ShelterBox, Uncategorized

Tags: Krowji arts studios

Quiet Day, A Poem and Almanac Entry

10 Nov

A sore throat kept me away from singing this afternoon, not wishing to share any germs, but I did make a lemon cake for tomorrow’s volunteers.

John Dryden has the right idea here, live each day for itself. It’s a skill I am trying hard to master.

I like checking Sandi Toskvig’s Almanac from time to time. Here is today’s entry and a link to the music Sandi suggests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1OJvqKNGg4

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on November 10, 2025 in baking, poetry, Postaday2025, Uncategorized, Words

Tags: Harry Belafonte, John Dryden, Miriam Makeba

Tree, Hallowe’en and Cake

31 Oct

Driving home from Truro, there was a pretty golden lollipop-shaped tree, photo taken from the moving car.

Driving through a village later, one house was properly decorated for Hallowe’en.

Coffee cake for tomorrow’s Redruth market has been collected.

1 Comment

Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 31, 2025 in baking, Cornwall, nature, Postaday2025, Uncategorized

Cake, Scarf and A Poem

13 Oct

We had a few bananas in the freezer that needed using up so I made a Banana, Pecan and Raisin Cake for tomorrow.

As Nancy suggested, I decided to make a scarf with the lovely sprkly yarn I showed you a while ago..I think it will take me some time!

I found this piece the other day . It’s a good philosophy to live by!

7 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on October 13, 2025 in baking, craft, knitting, Postaday2025, Uncategorized

Tags: @sheonthetipofhertongue, Banana, Pecan and Raisin Cake

Brian Patten, Optimistic October and A Pie

01 Oct

I was saddened to hear of the death of Brian Patten whose poems I have shared many times on here. We were lucky enough to meet him many years ago and what a lovely man he was. If you put his name in my search, you’ll find lots of his beautiful writing. The following one is particularly apt right now and is the one I shared when our lovely neighbour Bill Mitchell died seven years ago

So Many Different Lengths Of Time – Poem by Brian Patten

It ‘s the start of the month and time for this month’s Happiness Calendar, Optimistic October.

In fact, the Chicken and Leek pie doesn’t look very beautiful but it tasted delicious!

Chicken and Leek Pot Pie

Hope, Flowers and Cake

15 Sep

I’ve planted the wall on the other side of the steps with Tête à Tête, hope for the future, golden mini daffodils all the way up both sides of the steps. I’ve also put in more white winter flowering pansies to fill the gaps until Spring.

To create space, I had to pull out the almost finished Cosmos and Cornflowers and made up a small posy for myself.

I made a birthday cake today, Lemon and Chocolate Marbled Cake. Here’s the mixture in the tin just before going into the oven.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 15, 2025 in baking, environment, garden, nature, Postaday2025

Planting, Apples and A Kitten

09 Sep

Let down by our car this morning, I couldn’t go to Roots so decided to do some planting at home. I pulled up the finished Petunias and Lobelia and put in lots of Tête à Tête bulbs for the Spring and over-planted with lovely white winter flowering pansies.

Emptying out the wall of overgrown plants last Spring

All in gorgeous flowering mode

Summer bedding all out, Thyme and Rosemary left in and ready to plant up again

A new Thyme plant, bulbs beneath and winter flowering pansies on top

I brought home some apples from Apple Day last week and today peeled them all and cooked them lightly with cinnamon for crumbles in the winter, one tonight and the rest frozen. I love the pinky flesh of the little red ones mixed with the white cookers.

Just for fun, a photo of one of our daughter’s beautiful Maine Coon kittens at about 12 weeks old.

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 9, 2025 in baking, environment, garden, nature, Postaday2025

Apples, Plums and Cakes

18 Aug

Last week at Roots, one of our lovely volunteers brought spare apples from her tree for us all to have. When our friends visited last week, they brought a big bag of really delicious plums. I have spent much of the day baking, first Ukrainian Apple Cake, Yabluchnyk, a long job but so worth it. It is utterly delicious! Then I got to work on the plums and made Plum, Chocolate and Almond Cake which we know we love and which is going in the freezer for later. Thanks to friends we have two scrumptious cakes!

Ready for the oven

Baked and glazed

I think the volunteers will enjoy these two. 🙂

Bread, Cake and Sweet Peas

07 Aug

We have been given a delicious Carrot and Fennel loaf which we have enjoyed tonight with our caponata supper. The bread soaked up the juices from the Roots aubergine, tomatoes and onions beautifully. Daughter no 3 brought the loaf as a gift from LiveWire 4’s other Granny in Devon where she is staying for a few days so L can be here to help us.