Winter Warmers: Plum and Almond Cake

As the weather cools down nothing is more appealing to me than cuddling up on the sofa eating a freshly baked cake. My friend, Rosita, came round for dinner before I left and so I made this Plum & Almond Cake, (for pudding.) Unfortunately I can only reminisce about how lovely it was, rather than actively delight in it, as I am currently in my room frantically reading 'The Odyssey' between cups of tea, minus cake.

    

I chopped up the plums and laid them on the first layer of cake mixture, then covered them with the remainder of the mix.

After it had done it's rising, (about 30mins through the cooking) I placed a few of the remaining plums on top.

Finished!

It was then generously sprinkled with icing sugar and ready to serve!

Caught in action: having a little taster, 

(just checking it was ok!)

Then it was time to enjoy our cake during Downton Abbey for a perfect relaxing and indulgent Sunday evening. 

                                                                                                                       

Have a wonderful evening, whether you're having a relaxing one in front of the TV, or working for the upcoming week!

And unusually the main course to this meal will be featuring soon.. why conform to these conventional chronological constraints anyway?!

Third the one with the hairy chest

And then after that we never knew them, fourth the golden eagle? Who knows, but after quickly googling them, (as you do), I discovered some interesting ones - disappointingly we never reached Sixth the one in the washing machine..
Moving on, swiftly..

The poached egg is a simple and tasty accompaniment to a dish, or one in itself, but getting it just right takes a little practice. In my opinion there are a few components and measures to make the perfect hardened, but runny egg. 

For me, these include: 

• The means of binding of the egg,
• The amount of water used,
• The temperature at which the egg is cooked, 
• The time for which it is cooked

• Crack an egg into a ramekin, both to ensure it isn't a bad egg, and so that it can enter the water easily. 
• Boil some water in the kettle, (and why not boil enough for a cup of tea at the same time), pour it into a small pan -about 3cm worth, it's important not to use too much water which will overcook it.
• Splash a little vinegar to bind the egg white, then whisk into a whirlpool.
• Pour the egg into the water by placing the ramekin into the water itself,(this will hopefully allow the white to form around the yolk.)

Turn the heat down so that it is gently bubbling and cook on a low setting for 3minutes. 

With 30 seconds to go, lift the egg out using a drainer (as pictured in the top photo), and with the back of a fork, check how hard the yolk has become. If you're happy then remove it, but usually the full 3 minutes will do the trick.
Now drain the egg and serve as you wish. Personal favourites : combined with smoked salmon and steamed asparagus.

Or just with a sprinkling of pepper and ideally a nice thick piece of bread.

Enjoy! I hope this helps you to develop your perfect version of a poached egg.
Please let me know how you get on, or if you have any variations of your own.