Summer things

I wore a summer dress and no tights for my flight to Birmingham, knowing that the sky would probably be heavy with rain clouds when I arrived but it always feels good to find cooler days, even if it means slipping on a cardigan in the evenings. Yet in a strange twist, there was a week of pure English sunshine while a rainy autumn descended upon Berlin. I rediscovered the pleasures of early mornings with the patterns of the sunlight dancing on the kitchen floor and the cats getting up to all kinds of nonsense. The garden smells so fresh walking barefoot over the lawn covered in clover. There were a few lazy afternoons watching Wimbledon, cheering on Federer and Nadal, even if it didn't do much good and walks along winding country lanes where you might find fresh berries if you're lucky.

In a week's time, I'll turn my back on them once more to fly back over the roofs of the German capital, picking out the sights in miniature, wishing someone was there to meet me at the airport to make the transition just a little easier.

Mingus

Jasper

Jacob

Do you hear what I hear Oscar?

Lunch at the bottle kiln

In the Japanese garden

A walk around the reservoir

Returning to Hardwick Hall on a perfect summer's day

A wedding was held in the old Hall

The father of the bride can't watch

A Derbyshire cream tea in the cafe later on

Julie from Booktravellers asked me for more strawberry recipes last time. This was the first cake I made here, simple and very British, all the lightness of a classic victoria sponge with a delicate nuttiness.

Strawberry and almond sponge

For the sponge

125g soft butter
100g caster sugar
3 large eggs
100g ground almonds

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

200g plain flour

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

2-3 tablespoons milk

To decorate

250ml double or heavy cream

some strawberries, halved

1 teaspoon sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time until completely incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract followed by the ground almonds.

2. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder and gently add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk until you have a smooth mixture that's neither too dry nor too runny.

3. Divide the mixture in between two 9 inch greased and lined sandwich tins and bake in the oven for around 30-40 minutes. Remove and leave the cakes a little in their tins before turning them out onto a cooling rack.

4. When the cakes are completely cool, whip the cream until it starts to become frothy then add the teaspoon of sugar and continue whipping until the cream starts to become very thick but before it turns stiff.

5. Sandwich the cakes together with the cream and some halved strawberries. Repeat for the top layer. The cake is best eaten on the day it's made but you can store it in the fridge if you cover it to stop the it drying out and cream setting too much.