Like Roses

Whilst visiting York, we came across a shop called the The Yorkshire Pantry which sells products from local businesses and I bought a jar of Raspberry and Rose Conserve from Catherine's Choice. They've got a great selection and I just love their packaging design. I had some Essence of Rose in the cupboard at home, so now that I'm back, I got to making some Rose Cupcakes.

It's a simple sponge recipe - 200g marg, 200g sugar, 200g butter and 2 eggs - with a dash of milk and the essence of rose. The taste is very subtle in these, so next time I'm gonna put more in, perhaps a tablespoon. After cooling and before buttercream icing, I carved out the top and popped in a blob of the raspberry and rose jam!

YOLO

On Friday evening, Cathy and I jumped on a train from Manchester to head even further north to York to visit Lauren. We explored, absorbing Lauren's stained glass knowledge in York Minster and around the cobbled streets, and ate lots, from fish finger butties in pub and tea and cake in Betty's to cheese and meats from The Hairy Fig. It was great to see more of the beautiful city after my day trip with Leah last year, and to catch up with two of my oldest friends!

Ye Old York

Last week, Leah and I set off early in the morning on our adventure to York. We wandered round the museum grounds, found many squirrel friends, bought jam and chutney at the market, were awestruck by the (foyer of) Minster, discovered the quaint Shambles and drank tea and ate cake in Betty's. All in all a brilliant day, and makes me think how much we're gonna miss our Aussie.