The Magic of Fresh Yeast!

The Easter holiday has arrived - Grandson Number 1 is off school today and spending the day with me.   His parents (both teachers) and sister don't break up until this afternoon.    

In between walking the dog, feeding the hens and checking for eggs, we have been building lots of lego projects, and watching an episode of his favourite programme.  

We have also fitted in some Easter baking, of course.    I used fresh yeast to make these hot cross buns which I don't think he'd ever seen in action before.   He was very impressed by the way the yeast fed on the warm milk, water, sugar and flour and became a big, lively, bubbling mass.   It was worth the extra effort just to see his face.

Hot cross buns - I followed Ruth Mott's recipe from her 'Favourite Recipes' book.    I was a huge fan of the Victorian Kitchen series - and an even greater fan of Ruth herself.

The weather looks as though it is going to be rather typical for a Bank Holiday weekend, cold and wet.   No surprise there.

So I intend to make the most of it and spend the weekend reading.   I have a large stash of books which are simply begging to be read...  of course that doesn't mean that I will be granted the time to read, somehow I think the grandchildren will be spending rather more time here than at their own home!

This is what we did last Easter Sunday - an Easter egg hunt in our little woodland, no doubt we'll be having another one this year.   This young lady takes her handy sniffer-dog along to help.

This is what my grandson and I are having for tea today - lemon drizzle cake with white chocolate topping.   We both love this version.

One thing I should have mentioned in my previous post is that the lemon flavour really develops if you can leave the cake in a tin until the next day.    It does call for self-control, but it really is worth it.      The recipe is exactly as before, just substitute white chocolate for dark.

 'Happy Easter' from Parsonage Cottage.