Easter 2009 – Bathing in Pastels

Easter 2009 – Bathing in Pastels

OK, let me get the boring bit out of the way -

Recipe for Super Basic Iced Cupcakes ,
Makes over 2 dozen
Heat the oven to 350f/180c
Mix 8 tablespoons/250g of room temperature butter, 1 cup/230g of caster/superfine sugar, 1.5 cups/340g plain flour, 4 eggs all together. Mix it well so that it appears paler in colour than at the start. Pour the mixture into cake cases, bake, cool and then ice and decorate. Make your icing really thick so that it has a fondant like appearance on top of the cakes and make sure you get some sugar sprinkles or retro silver cake balls to decorate. Voila!

Now that the recipe bit is out of the way what I really wanted to discuss this morning, a bright sunny spring morning in the heart of Surrey/West Sussex I might add, is that today heralds the start of the pastel season.

Hmmmmm, now what does that mean?
Well, I absolutely believe that at Easter time and in the run up to, it is OK to go overboard on soft pinks, pale blues, muted greens and sunny yellows and not feel at all embarrassed.

These colours can be used in baking, in decorating, in crafting and in gift giving. Remember that when we head out of Spring and into Summer it’s much more about the primaries. Bright strawberry red and vibrant grass greens. So indulge in all things soft and muted.

I like the run up to Easter. Everything is yawning, stretching and bursting out of the ground, the walls (Aubretia, I’ll post some pics of this next week) and on to our tables and in to our homes. We’ve had a particularly good week weather-wise in the South of England this week. It is a JOY to see my newly pruned roses growing new leaves daily and those bulbs that were popped into the ground all those months ago are doing so well.

There is very little that can stop nature in it’s tracks and even then it’ll find a way to show us who’s boss. This was illustrated to me when I saw a beautiful crocus force it’s way through a gap in my top terrace and bloom defiantly through the cracks in the paving stones.

I just think it’s best to go with it. Work with what the seasons give you and see what happens.

Yesterday I was visiting a property that will eventually become the new ‘home’ for the projects and articles that I post on to this website. I have been wanting to expand the tiny place that I inhabit online for so very long and now that is happening. It’s a great place. So English & warm in it’s feel and a place that I hope you’ll enjoy visiting as I move all of my projects and dreams there. More on all of that as it progresses.

In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend. I hope the weather is as beautiful where you are as it is with me. Robert the Husband and I are heading down to Dorset for the day. If you’ve been reading for any length of time you’ll know how I feel about Dorset.

YEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

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