07 December 2013

Lemon and Cranberry Butter Slice




Don't you just love old fashioned butter cake? Below is a basic butter cake recipe. I incorporated dried cranberries and some lemon zest as I have lots and for a twist, of course. It's best served slightly warm with vanilla ice cream but as it is, it is perfectly yummy. Ooops, a dollop of whipped cream is also good.


Lemon & Cranberry Butter Slice
Ingredients:

1 c butter,softened
1 1/2 c sugar
4 eggs
3 c plain flour* combined with
1 T baking powder
1 c + 1 T milk
Zest from one lemon
1/2 c to 3/4 c dried cranberries, as desired

Procedure:
1. Pre-heat oven to 150 C (fan forced) or 350 F.
2. Using a mixer, cream butter,sugar and lemon zest for few minutes until light in color and fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl from time to time.
4. Starting and ending with flour, alternately mix in flour and milk. Curdling may be experienced in the process but as soon as dry ingredient is added, everything should be fine.
5. Lastly, fold in the dried cranberries.
6. Pour batter in a greased and floured pan and bake for 45-60 mins. or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Note:   Recipe yields two 8 inch round pan or 2 loaf pans
        * plain flour can be replaced with cake flour if a softer texture is desired or  plain flour                            can be replaced with self-raising flour however, do not add baking powder



Cronulla and Bundeena Weekend

The last quarter of this year turned crazier than the previous year. A lot of things happened. My children joining competitions, learning new tasks and end of financial year in my workplace, struggling with my CPA subject and my list just go on and on. November is my birth month and with my husband visiting, our family decided to go somewhere one weekend to unwind.

Cronulla is located in the southern part of Sydney. It's known for its beaches. Bondi is becoming really crowded so travelling to Cronulla is worth the try for a change. We love the area. Nice beach. It gave us that Surfer's Paradise feeling once more and most of all, lots of fancy places to eat. We also checked out Bundeena. It is a village near Cronulla. We took a short ferry ride to go there. Whoa! It was a lovely place. I would love to retire in that area for it so quiet and isolated. One weekend is really not enough to enjoy these places.

Cronulla Wharf

Off to Bundeena










Cronulla Beach





Early morning walk at Cronulla CBD