Easter Biscuits

I love going home for Easter. It's obviously not quite as exciting as Christmas, but in my house it's still pretty exciting. My mum follows the much lesser known tradition of having an Easter tree which is basically a few twigs from the garden, with some hama bead decorations on, that me and my sister made when we were about 8, but it does brighten up the fireplace....and the kitchen window sill where she chose to have a second Easter tree this year!

We also have a lot of Easter biscuits. As I've grown up baking and eating these, I just assumed that they were what everyone baked and ate at Easter. However, when I first went to uni, and brought a supply back with me after the Easter holidays, I discovered that no one else had ever heard of them, and thought that me (well my mum) had made them up!

There's no easy way to describe an Easter biscuit, as the cassia oil in them has such a distinctive flavour that there is nothing else really like them. Basically, they are round, buttery biscuits, with currents in them, flavoured with oil of cassia - sort of like spicy thin shortbread, but not really.

The recipe is quite simple: Mix 8oz of butter, 8oz plain flour, 2oz of self raising flour with 6oz of sugar and 2 eggs. Add in some currants and a healthy dash of cassia oil and you're done. Roll them out thinly, cut out some circles and bake for about 20 mins. Then when you've eaten a few baking hot ones straight out of the oven, brush the rest with milk and sprinkle some sugar on the top. I think they are quite possible my most favourite type of biscuit!

Cassia oil is also known as Chinese cinnamon so I suppose they are a bit cinnamon-y. According to Wikipedia cassia oil should be consumed in moderation as it can be toxic, but can also help people with diabetes. Hmm, I think I'll stick to eating lots of them. I haven't poisoned myself yet, and may as well try and stave off diabetes!

Some Winter sun

I was lucky enough to fly off to South Africa in January for some winter sunshine. Sadly not for a holiday though, this was a purely work visit. Still, it was 41 degrees one day so it was a very lovely escape from the grey winter dreariness in England.

We stayed in a gorgeous house in Kommetjie just outside Cape Town which was overlooking the beach, and shot on the beach outside the house, and on Scarborough beach, and on Nordhoek common.

We've just been editing the behind the scenes video in work and it has made me wish so much that I could be back there right now in the baking sunshine!! Even if it is nice and sunny outside, it is definitely not warm enough to be in a bikini and there's no sea or pool to dip into!

And I was thinking that it has been like summer here recent'y with some beautiful sunny days, and even a picnic in Green Park....but at the moment it's forecast to snow on Wednesday!!! In Richmond!!! Ridiculous!!!