The Lyorn's Den

I took my cats to the vet today for their vaccinations, and to have their teeth checked. Both are wonderfully healthy, which I am thankful for. Serious Cat might have a toothache, though.

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Monday was Ceridwen's birthday, and as usual I offered to bake any cake she would like. She wanted Banoffee pie. I made it and it was gone very fast. So here's the recipe:

For a 26 cm (10 inches) round spring form tin:

Cover the bottom of the tin with baking parchment, as this will be unstable. No need to grease it, though.

Make crumbles from 200 grams of whole grain oat cookies (put in a freezer bag and crush). Melt 100 grams of butter. In a not-too-small bowl, pour butter on the crumbs, mix with a spoon, put into baking tin, spread evenly and press with the spoon or whatever is handy.

Put into fridge for at least one hour.

Spread the contents of a 400 gram can of caramel spread on the cookie crumble. (I used Dovgan -- you find it in the Russian section of the supermarket. Dulce de leche or Caramel au Beurre Salé will do as well.)

Peel 3 to 4 bananas and slice. Put slices on the caramel spread.

Cover with about 400 grams of whipped cream, lightly sweetened. Decorate with more caramel spread, or powdered cocoa or coffee powder, or chocolate flakes.

Before serving, carefully separate pie and tin with a knife. Drag on plate, using the baking parchment. Do not attempt to drag off parchment.

Feeds six. Maybe. (It's not the cause of Serious Cat's toothache. He did not get any of it!)

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I have started to look for a new laptop in earnest now. I have decided on a type, now I only need to see what configuration is best. And I have an appointment to get my bicycle repaired. After 8 years, most parts that have not been exchanged already need to be. This is going to be expensive.

Usually I would not have tried a dough that heavy with fruit, but I was curious. ( Black-and-White-Cake with Peaches )

I made this on Saturday for Sunday's role playing game, and it was like something you should serve in a big bowl and dish out with a spoon. On Monday, however, it was fine, and the taste only got better. So, give it time.

( Cheese cake with poppy seed and cherries )

T___, who had moved to Kiel some time ago, and recently to Hamburg, came for a visit last weekend, and as I know how hard it can be to visit everyone you want to see in just one weekend, I offered my place for meeting, and said that I would provide tea and cake.

Which was, of course, only a ploy to get to bake cake. I baked small cakes this time, in the 20 cm tray, because it feels insufficient to have less then three things on the table, but three full-sized cakes create too much leftovers

I made a ( Simple Apple Tarte )

Highlight became a new experiment, a ( Hazelnut-Lemon-Cake )

Finally, I made chocolate rolls from a sweet yeast dough, which could have used a shorter baking time at lower temperature, because the crust was dry. Still, they were OK.

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It was a very nice afternoon, good talk, the kids were behaving, and Tully the Tabby allowed people to pet him, while Serious Cat Jerome pulled his Invisible Cat act again.

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When everyone had gone, I walked over to Snow to finally watch "The Avengers" in not-3D. (Can't stand 3D movies. Hard on my eyes, and my brain has to pick up the slack, so I end up with a headache and no memory of the story.) I liked it. The strategic intelligence of the characters was doubtful and the plot development full of stereotypes, Thor and Loki arguing seemed like a sad re-hash of the Doctor and the Master, but the alien tech was very pretty, the dialogues were very entertaining, and the actors were nice to look at.

Today, flederkatz called and told about her "phasing" cat. As in, sometimes she's there and sometimes not...