Hello Blog Friends!
As mentioned in the previous post, this weekend here in Canada, we are celebrating Victoria Day and even though the weather has cooled down a bit I’m sure that thousands of people are busy opening cottages and even braving the first chilly swim in the lake!
A fair amount of time this week has been devoted to assembling CTM’s Networks newsletter. As always the content appears sporadically and rarely prior to the last moment but the issue is now almost together, which is a good thing as it needs to have a final proofread by our Director of Communications and she and her husband are leaving for a vacation June 3rd so it must be completed before that date.
I’ve also been contacting various people as we move ahead with plans for our July 8th Virtual Team Gathering. I am still on the hunt for a speaker and have approached a second candidate but have not yet had a reply to my text message. I also sent an email to a potential worship music leader but have not heard from her either. Sigh.
Yesterday my overall mood of gloom was brightened when another person purchased my e-book Come Together. No one had bought it for a few weeks and I was afraid that sales had totally tailed off so it is good to see that there is still interest in it. I sure wish the same could be said for the Day Camp Program. I prayed that we would receive 3 more applications this week but sadly none have materialised. After the holiday break on Monday I shall get back on my metaphorical horse and try again 😊.
Yesterday afternoon I also had a lovely visit with Mae Anne, who came after work to have High Tea with me. Mae Anne is a Day Camp Committee member where she is responsible for sending out the monthly prayer concerns to our Prayer Support Group. She also is tasked with being the official committee badger for all Alumni events and activities, although I still trump her as Chief Badger!! She told me all about her work at an elementary school where she is a support worker for students with special needs and we also talked about the Day Camp being planned at her church, First Filipino Baptist.
Behind the scenes, this week, I have been laying the groundwork for the next Changing of the Decorations and today I jumped into the job full speed ahead 😊. Apart from the essential daily chores such as whiffling around the garden and Thomason walks I’m not even baking but have planned to do it instead on Monday’s holiday, which works out well because I have another High Tea guest next Tuesday in the person of Jillian and so shall need to stock up on some fresh scones and maybe a layer cake for that visit.
So today the house is turned upside down with various tubs being filled with seasonal ornaments and china, all the beds stripped bare waiting for summer linens and the walls emptied of spring watercolour sketches in favour of summer wreaths. Thomason is none too excited and has gloomily settled himself in the corner of the living room to be safely out of the way. Yesterday after lunch he endured his annual bath outside on the deck, THATwas quite the adventure 😊!!! Since I need to get back to packing china I had better end off here with our recipe.
For dessert at High Tea yesterday I made a Mixed Berry Trifle. There are so many variations of trifle, but this is quite a simple “classic” version.First you need to bake a plain cake. I usually like to keep a couple of these in the freezer as it saves time when a trifle needs to be assembled 😊.
2-Egg Cake
- 1 ½ cups unbleached flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- 3 tsps. baking powder
- 2/3 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup raw cane sugar
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Grease a 9×13” pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and dust lightly with flour. Set the prepared pan aside and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder and whisk thoroughly. Beat together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Alternating dry and wet ingredients, beat in the flour mixture and the milk to which the vanilla has been added. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
The custard also should be made at least several hours before assembling the trifile
Custard
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup raw cane sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Scald the milk in a double boiler. Meanwhile whisk together the eggs and sugar. VERY SLOWLY whisk the milk into the egg mixture then transfer the custard back into the double boiler. Cook, stirring until the custard has thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl and place a circle of parchment paper directly on the surface of the custard then chill in the fridge.
Assembling the Trifle
- 2 cups mixed berries, washed and sliced if using strawberries.
- 1/3 cup Elderflower cordial
- 1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
Choose a decorative deep bowl, either glass or china. Cut ½ of the cake into 1” cubes (wrap and freeze the other half for future use). Place a layer of cake cubes in the bowl, drizzle with some of the cordial and sprinkle with a layer of berries. Spoon an even layer of custard over the berries. Continue layering the trifle ending with berries. Spread the cream over the top, making decorative swirls. Garnish with extra berries. Cover carefully and chill for several hours before serving. Serves 3-4 or use the whole cake and double all the other ingredients to serve 6-8 😊.