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Lucy Lean

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in Baking· Birthday· Easter· Holidays· RECIPES

Fluffy Bunnies, Lamingtons and Happy Birthday Letty!

I was going to bake a cake to celebrate my sister’s birthday – which is today – but instead I got distracted when this fluffy bunny hopped out from behind the lavender in my garden. Since Let is in England and I’m here in Los Angeles with the Easter Bunny it would have been hard to get a cake to her – hard but not impossible – remember the gingercakes in a jar or the snow globe Christmas cakes? – well I’m feeling the need to develop a way to send birthday cakes across the pond, watch this space.

Instead of making a cake Mummy and Pat arrived from Australia yesterday morning with a box of lamingtons – which we all enjoyed for tea and then more for dessert. They came from a bakery in Sydney called Baby Cakes, made by Reneé. Should have thought to stick a candle in them and sing you Happy Birthday – but the soft cakes – in this case a marble cake with the chocolate and coconut covering were calling my name so loudly it was all I could do to take the pictures. The coconut covered cakes traveled remarkably well in the suitcase from Australia so in the next few days I’m going to experiment – I will post the recipe. And why don’t we have this sweet treat available in Los Angeles, I wonder? I asked Jonathon Gold via twitter for his advice and the nearest place he came up with was in Oakland. Then someone else chimed in that David Lebovitz had a good recipe for Lamingtons – in Paris!  Cake Monkey? Valerie? Joan’s on Third? Anyone local want to start making Lamingtons – and whilst you are at it when can we import the custom of a flat white?

Celebrating a birthday so close to a holiday – in this case Easter – can be tough. Although Good Friday is not nearly as harsh as having to share your birthday with Christmas or even New Year’s Eve. Best of all April 6th is a great time to celebrate a birthday because Spring has most definitely sprung and all the world is blooming – just look at the wisteria that’s out over our gateway:

When Let was little – I think it was probably her 4th birthday – she had a Peter Rabbit themed party- and Peter Rabbit showed up. I made her birthday cake – a 3D Peter Rabbit that stood upright off the plate. I was barely a teenage and yet set about the task – it didn’t help that my left arm was broken in a cast from a riding accident – this was a long time before any Food Network Cake Challenge. Perhaps I’ll try to get a photo of the original Peter Rabbit cake and then recreate it?

Minty is jumping for joy in honor of your birthday Let – or maybe it’s just all that sugar post Lamingtons?!

So happy birthday to you Letty A from all of us over here in Sunny California – gather large bunches of daffs and if you can’t find a lamington eat a hot cross bun or two for us!

Filed Under: Baking, Birthday, Easter, Holidays, RECIPES Tagged With: baby cakes, Birthday cake, daffodils, easter bunny, Food Network, Good Friday, Happy Birthday Letty, hot cross buns, Lamingtons, Minty jumps for joy, Peter Rabbit, Peter Rabbit cake, spring flowers, wisteria

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Comments

  1. Allison [Girl's Guide to Social Media] says

    April 6, 2012 at 7:10 am

    Happy Birthday, Letty!

    Mmm. I love lamingtons. I don’t eat them as often as I do though. Have a great weekend!

    • Allison [Girl's Guide to Social Media] says

      April 6, 2012 at 7:12 am

      Opps. Typo above.
      Correction: “I don’t eat them as often as I would like though.” 🙂

  2. marla says

    April 6, 2012 at 7:32 am

    Happy Birthday Letty! Love those fluffy bunnies and laming tons 🙂

  3. Deliciously Organic says

    April 7, 2012 at 1:01 pm

    Hannah and Letty share a birthday! I’ve never had Lamingtons, so I can’t wait for your recipe!

  4. aida mollenkamp says

    April 7, 2012 at 2:49 pm

    Happy Birthday to Let, indeed. Have a great holiday, Lucy!

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I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watc I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers, for the sleepers in that quiet earth.  #WutheringHeights #EmilyBronte the in between - How it started How it ended - bedroom monochromatic light at 7am this morning to 7pm tonight and cocktail time with Tink gin and @david_austin_roses post parents evening and then in the middle I went on a walk with @chloescotland - actually it was an adventure to find the prettiest 13th century church with a moat and a graveyard filled with snowdrops and the tiniest grave - a child? And headstones that were leaning over - I thought tipsy Chloe thought giving up and I was reminded of the Brontë passage about #unquietslumbers #ghostsinmygarden swop harebells for snowdrops - the peace and quiet of a tiny graveyard with a moat and lopsided headstones and peace and quiet - a moment of calm and hope as the #inauguration looms large and as we keep to the rules of lockdown #stayhome #staysafe
Anxiety levels have been high these last few weeks Anxiety levels have been high these last few weeks and just when you think it can’t get any worse it does - Covid levels rising and hospitals dealing with record numbers of very unwell patients, a third lockdown and schools going online and exams cancelled, then there was the runoff in Georgia 💙 overshadowed by the insurrection in D.C. which led to the swift impeachment (again), there’s the excitement of Joe Biden’s inauguration that is being sucked away by the pandemic, the rise of white supremacy with troops guarding the Capitol and ever present fear.  But through it all we have to have hope - for the vaccine, for the teachers helping our kids learn online, for the nurses and doctors working against the odds, for M&S and Ocado deliveries,for a new administration, for arrests of violent rioters, for congress doing its job and for decency to be about to be sworn in.  It’s a lot and we all struggle daily to keep our heads above water.  On a personal level I find painting helps, as do walks in nature and family suppers, I’m wearing pretty dresses, silk underwear and wrapping myself in soft cashmere and yes I’m consuming more champagne than I usually do - if not now then when?  #Lockdown #Stayhome #staysafe #EnglishCountryHouse #EnglishCountryside
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