Blackberry and gin loaf cake

 

A speedy write up of what I did with the blackberries I picked the other day...

Ingredients:

125g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

115g butter

115g caster sugar 

2 eggs

zest of 1 lemon

150g blackberries

25ml gin

1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

approx 1 tbsp chia seeds

For the drizzle:

50g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

100ml gin

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (fan). Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper or use a loaf tin liner. 

2. Mix together all of the cake ingredients apart from the blackberries until well combined. 

3. Toss the blackberries in a little flour and then fold into the mixture, 

4. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 35 - 45 minutes. Check with a skewer to ensure it is baked. 

5. To make the drizzle, heat the 50g caster sugar in a small pan on the hob with the lemon juice and the 100ml gin. 

6. Once the cake is baked, skewer it with small holes all over and pour on the drizzle. Leave to cool and then serve. 

Please be aware that I'm not sure how much of the alcohol 'cooks off' in the process of making cake so please remain aware of that in terms of alcohol consumption. 

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Braemar Part 2 - February 2024

Following on from Braemar Part 1, here are some more photos from the rest of our time staying in Braemar as well as venturing even further afield with a day trip to see Loch Ness. 

The beautiful village of Braemar

Staying in a converted church

Braemar pond frozen over and looking eerie and beautiful

I couldn't get enough of this stunning view - Blue skies, snow on the ground and this amazing landscape

Exploring Braemar

Snowy views on our way to Loch Ness

The serene Loch Ness - it may have been a further round trip of over 4 hours driving but we felt it was still worth it to tick it off our bucket list

Visiting Mar Lodge Estate on our final day

The Braemar Chocolate shop was a real gem of a place. We waited all week for it to open on Thursday but it was worth the wait.

I swear we were above the clouds here - or at least as high up as the clouds

Miss T enjoying her chocolate lolly from Braemar Chocolate shop. She really wants to go back there! She bought some chocolate as a gift for a friend, who then put an online order in too to buy a gift for their relative. Such a joy to see the love for such a special small business. 

 And a few more pics from beautiful Braemar...

Such a perfect place - this view looks like it could be straight from a postcard

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Braemar Part 1 - February 2024

 Following our evening in York, we set off the next morning to head to Scotland. We stopped at the garden centre at Berwick-Upon-Tweed just south of the Scottish border to meet up with Miss T's previous RDA horse-riding instructor. She'd moved to Scotland during the pandemic and we never got a chance to say goodbye when she left. So it was really great to see her and to catch up. 

After a spot of lunch at the garden centre, we pressed on as we were keen to reach our destination of Braemar before dark. 

Reaching Scotland

Crossing the Forth Bridge

We were excited to see a few patches of snow as we got closer to Braemar

And then it got snowier! 

and snowier! 

We reached a snowy Braemar and decided to get Fish and Chips for dinner (and a veggie burger for me)

The moon looked stunningly beautiful against the dark sky but we couldn't capture it well on our phone cameras

The next morning, we got to go out in the snow

We hadn't expected there to be snow so it was definitely a bonus making everywhere look stunning

We stayed in a converted Victorian church

Miss T's joy at seeing the snow

Braemar castle was closed to visitors when we were there but it still looks beautiful to look at.

The castle was in the process of being refurbished - It looks like it is straight out of a fairytale

'When Soak becomes Spill': A sculpture by Subodh Gupta at it's new home in Braemar

See Braemar Part 2 post here

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