MARIE'S MUSES

Fifty Two years ago today I made my way into the world and I’ve been making my presence known ever since. Yes, today, is indeed my birthday! I’m not exactly sure that I want to celebrate fifty two years, but here goes anyways!

I share a birthday with some pretty auspicious people:

Lucy Stone, American suffragette

Annie Oakley, American sharp shooter (when I was a girl I greatly admired Annie Oakley and I wanted a pair of chaps and a six shooter too!)

Alfred Hitchcock, who doesn’t know him! (When I came over to meet Todd and was on my way back to Canada after our first three weeks together I stayed at the Alfred Hitchcock hotel in London the night before my plane left to go back. It was a little bit creepy actually)

Charles “Buddy“ Rogers, American actor

Fred Davis, English Snooker Player

Danny Bonaduce, American Actor (he played the little red headed kid in the Partridge Family)

Alan Shearer, English Footballer

Just to name a few …

Some pretty famous people died on this day as well:

Florence Nightingale (1910)

H.G Wells (1946)

Mickey Mantle (1995)

Julia Child (2004)

On this day in history:

1934 The comic strip "Li'l Abner" by Al Capp made its debut.

1942 Walt Disney's animated feature "Bambi" premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Troops in East Germany seal off the border between East and West Berlin, shutting off the escape route for thousands of refugees from the East.

When you look at it, it’s actually kind of a boring day really, well, all except to me that is. It’s been a pretty important day to me all my life and so today I am taking the day off. We plan on going down to Battle and Hastings. Peter and Audrey have always wanted to see the places they studied about at school. I also want to have fish and chips. If you can’t have fish and chips on your birthday, well, it’s just not worth having a birthday at all, let alone a 52nd birthday.

This about sums it up …

When it’s your birthday you just have to have cake. It’s like a law or something and just who am I to buck the rules!

Serves 12

What could be any better than a good old fashioned Victorian Sponge cake? Why a version made with golden sugars, stuffed with raspberries, filled with clotted cream and more raspberries and topped with frosted rose petals of course!

6 ounces of golden caster sugar

6 ounces of butter, softened

4 large eggs, separated

4 ounces self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 ounces ground almonds

3 to 5 drops almond extract

1 heaping cup of fresh raspberries

For the Filling:

1 (227g) container of Cornish Clotted Cream

1 cup fresh raspberries

For the Decoration:

2 - 3 ounces golden caster sugar

1 egg white, lightly beaten to a froth

4 ounces icing sugar

Begin by making the frosted rose petals the day before. Separate the petals and spread the castor sugar over a plate. Holding one petal at a time, lightly paint both sides with egg white. Spoon sugar over it, then using tweezers, shake off the excess. Dry on parchment paper for a day. (Use only pesticide free roses)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter two 8-inch round cake tins and line their bases with parchment paper. Set aside.

Tip the sugar into a mixing bowl and add the softened butter. Beat for a minute or so until pale and fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks. Sift together the flour and baking powder, then sift over the cake mixture. Fold in as lightly as you can using a large metal spoon, then fold in the almonds and extract. Stop folding as soon as the flour traces have gone.

Whisk the egg whites until they just hold their shape. Gently fold in a third of the egg white into the cake mix, using a whisk. Repeat with another third, then the final third. Take care not to over mix and lose the lightness of the egg whites. Lightly fold in the raspberries.

Divide the batter between the prepared tins and level the mixture using a round bladed knife. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks, peel off the lining paper and leave to cool completely.

Set one cake on a serving plate. Spoon the clotted cream evenly over top. Scatter the raspberries over and put the other cake on top. Blend the icing sugar with 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp cold water until it is smooth and coats the back of a spoon thinly. Drizzle the icing over the cake. Scatter the rose petals over and around the cake, dust with icing sugar and serve to some very lucky people.