Apple & blackberry streusel cake - recipe by The Hummingbird Bakery...

Recently I bough a new cookbook (yes, another one...) it's The Hummingbird Bakery "Cake Days: Recipes to Make Every Day Special" cook book. So many mouth watering photos and when you read through the recipes... OMG! I just can't decide what to bake next, as there's such huge and fantastic choice. My very first bake from the book was "Apple streusel cake". Made it twice actually, below version is my second attempt. First time round I found it a little bit too sweet and the apples were just missing "that something" for me, so... Second version has not only apples, but also blackberries which fit in here perfectly! The whole cake is more "uplifting" and the sourness of the blackberries cuts through the whole sugar very well. Good first bake from a new book - which always is very promising for the next cakes and cupcakes to come! :)

How to make it...

Pancake Day...

So last week, by my Polish traditions, I celebrated Fat Thursday. Today it's time for celebrating Pancake Day - something I wasn't familiar with until I moved to Ireland almost 8 years ago now. Both days celebrate the end of Carnival and mark the start if Lent.

"Shrove Tuesday (also known as Shrovetide Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday and Pancake Day) is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday, a moveable feast, is determined by Easter. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Shrove Tuesday is also commonly known as "Pancake Day" or "Pancake Tuesday" due to the tradition of eating pancakes on the day." - by wikipedia.org

Some of the pancakes I highly encourage you to try:

The best pancakes ever - a real favourite at my house! :)

Polish racuchy with apples

Beghrir - Moroccan semolina pancakes

Blini - Russian pancakes

Bretonne galette - buckwheat pancakes

Polish traditional pancakes with ricotta cheese

And as always...

Smacznego!

Galette bretonne / Crêpes de sarrasin / Breton buckwheat pancakes...

Gallette or crêpes de sarrasin, so pancakes made with buckwheat flour, are one of my favourite kind of pancakes. They are typical and traditional Breton pancakes. There are sweet and savory versions - I like both! To be more exact actually, I like having a savory one first (the one with everything - cheese, slice of ham and an egg) followed by a sweet one (my favourite being one with chestnuts and cream or just some jam). That way you have your lunch AND a dessert by making only one main thing - pancakes! :) When I'm eating those pancakes I always think about those sunny days in Brittany, smell of the sea and that slow, laid back French way of living :)

"Galette is a type of thin large pancake mostly associated with the regions of Normandy and Brittany, where it replaced at times bread as basic food, but it is eaten countrywide. Buckwheat was introduced as a crop suitable to impoverished soils and buckwheat pancakes were known in other regions where this crop was cultivated, such as Limousin or Auvergne. It is frequently garnished with egg, meat, fish, cheese, cut vegetables, apple slices, berries, or similar ingredients. One of the most popular varieties is a galette covered with grated Emmental cheese, a slice of ham and an egg, cooked on the galette. In France, this is known as a galette complète (a complete galette). A hot sausage wrapped in a galette (called galette saucisse, a tradition of Rennes, France) and eaten like a Hot Dog is becoming increasingly popular as well." - by wikipedia.org

How to make it...

Double ginger cake - recipe by Nigel Slater...

So... a ginger cake. Never made any before. Ate few, but all not too good - either too gingery or not gingery enough... This cake, Nigel's version, is just right. You can taste the ginger, you can feel a little bit of heat of it, but it doesn't want to kill your taste buds. The cake keeps well - but I can't really say how long, as it disappeared in 3 days time ;) I was surprised how easy it was to make and the smell during baking -> so comforting and delicious! You HAVE to try it!

How to make it...