Sullington Windmills WI

This month we had homemade cake at our October “Birthday” meeting.

I made a 100s and 1000s cake to a Waitrose recipe. Click here.

I was not happy with my first batch of sponge because it was not cooked in the middle, so I had to start over. The second time I made it I used a bigger tin and all went well. I think that the tin size on the recipe is incorrect. If you do decide to make this recipe then please use a tin at least 20 x 30cm.

The final result looked appropriate for a birthday party and was pretty tasty. I did a vanilla version, but it would be easy enough to play around with the flavour by adding almond extract or lemon juice etc., if you fancy something different.

Other cakes on offer included chocolate cake, coffee and walnut cake, scones, Victoria sponge and fruit cake. All very delicious. We were spoilt for choice.

Thank you to everyone who baked a cake.

** NEXT MONTH**

With Bonfire Night of 5 November I have decided to make Gingerbread to a Mary Berry recipe from her Simple Comforts book. Click here for an online version.

In the book Mary describes this as “delicious”, “old-fashioned” and “moreish”. I have made it before and the spice will be nice and warming for a cold evening watching fireworks.

Alternatively, if you wish to make a Gluten Free version then why not try this “Sticky gluten free ginger cake recipe” from The Gluten Free Blogger. Click here.

As always I will try out at least one of these recipes and let you know how I get on.

Please join in with me and send me some pics if you bake anything yourself.

What an enjoyable birthday meeting we had this week.

Joanna Foat gave us a real treat with her fascinating illustrated talk.

She brought the Lumberjills to life with her replica costume, interesting slides, video clips, photographs and so much enthusiasm for the subject.

Joanna was incredibly knowledgeable, having undertaken four years of research on the subject, interviewed over 60 Lumberjills and to date written two books. She has appeared on Woman's Hour and made numerable other appearances talking on this subject.

We learnt a lot about this often forgotten group of women who worked so hard for the war effort, with little recognition at the time. It seems that the young women who decided to volunteer for the Women’s Timber Corps felt liberated and freed from most of societies' rules and restrictions whilst undertaking their back-breaking work in the forests, although the service issue underwear was not such a hit!

This entertaining and informative talk, together with a glass of fizz, cake and the singing of Jerusalem, really made for a memorable evening.

What a great day the Book Club had at Monk’s House in the village of Rodmell, Virginia Woolf’s former country home.

We started our trip with lunch in the local pub, The Abervagenny Arms, where, over tea and coffee, we discussed Virginia Woolf’s last novel, Between the Acts.

Unfortunately, this was not a book enjoyed by most (if any) members of the group, some of whom had no desire to finish it. We generally felt that the writing was over-complicated, too descriptive and the stream of consciousness difficult to follow. The characters were not developed enough, you felt little, if any, empathy for them and you kept on waiting for something to happen.

A couple of the members commented that it was like studying an A-level English text, you know that it must have some merit and you will be able to write a good essay about the themes and symbolism within the book, but you are just not enjoying reading it. A page-turner this was not.

However, we were still able to have a good discussion and there were some aspects of the book that were liked. It definitely created an atmosphere of a bustling village pageant with all class groups and their differing interactions represented. There were a couple of comical moments and it conjured up a nostalgic feeling. It is a book of its time.

The book came more to life when we walked down the lane to Monk’s House. Virginia & Leonard Woolf’s former home and where the book was written. The guides at the house informed us that Between the Acts was based on the village of Rodmell and the large country house (the setting for the book) was in fact inspired by The Old Rectory that we had passed on our way up the lane.

The views from Monk’s House were similar to those described in the book, as you could see the rolling hills and the church spire, both recurring references in the book.

The house itself was modest, but full of interesting artworks given to them by family or friends from The Bloomsbury Set. The garden was lovely and as we had such good weather on the day of our visit we were able to fully enjoy it. There were several ponds (also a feature in Between the Acts), statues, lots of places to sit and contemplate, flower borders (with quite a few flowers still in bloom) and Virginia’s writing room.

This was a successful day out for our group, and although Virginia Woolf and her life, friends and family fascinated us more than her novel, we would still recommend trying one of her books (just maybe not Between the Acts).

The next book to be read will be "The Last Word" by Elly Griffiths.

This will be discussed on Friday 8th November.

The weather is definitely feeling autumnal and therefore I started by making the Pear & Ginger Flapjacks.

Despite the recipe being quick and easy, I was not very happy with the results. Even though the flavour was really good, I just found the consistency too soft and crumbly. I even baked the mixture for an extra 20 minutes!

The problem may lie with the addition of the fresh, grated pear. I think this makes too moist a flapjack for me. My family prefer a stickier, chewier flapjack.

I ended up improvising and turning the flapjacks into granola, by breaking up the flapjacks, adding a few tablespoons of honey and then baking in one layer in the oven for 30 minutes.

As the flapjack recipe was not a major success, I then went on to bake the Caramel Apple Cake.

Again the recipe was very easy, but the results much better. The apple was evenly distributed throughout the cake and the cake cut well.

The final cake was perfect for an Autumn day, lots of warming cinnamon plus sweet caramel, tempered by the sharpness of the Bramley apple. The crunchy demerara sugar on the top added another texture, which complimented the soft sponge.

This is the type of cake that you could have warm with some custard or cold with a cup of tea.

** NEXT MONTH **

There are a couple of baking opportunities in October.

We have the Pop-in Lunch on Thursday 3 October. Hot puddings are needed to be served to the diners. Traditional puddings like fruit crumbles, apple pie or bread & butter pudding go down well. If you are able to provide a pudding, or help in any way, please contact Sorrel.

On Wednesday 16 October we have our monthly meeting. This month is our Birthday meeting and we will be providing homemade cake for all of the attendees. If you can make a cake or tray bake, please contact Liz, letting her know how many people your baked item will cater for.

I intend on making a simple vanilla tray bake to a Waitrose recipe. Click here for details.