A few months ago, I was honoured to be nominated for this competition on the RikRak Studio blog. I have you lovely readers to thank, because in the end I finished second in one of the events. Thank you again for your votes back then. My prize was a voucher at this great etsy shop- Peppermint Bark. I had to choose the creamy ceramics you see above for my collection. Pretty lucky, eh? It's a 1960 Franciscan Cloud Nine coffee set. Amy from Peppermint Bark was very kind and sent them all the way here from the States. I love them and suspect that jug is too nice to actually fill with coffee. Perhaps water instead.
Anyway, the set inspired an afternoon tea, of course. I made some biscuits using what I had in the pantry over the weekend- which wasn't much, I admit. I'm going to call them 'cloud cakes' in honour of the lovely new coffee set, and because I seem to have a natural talent for talking things up. The mixture makes only about 12 in one go. They are firm and golden on the outside, and soft and coconutty on the inside.
Cloud cakes
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons plain flour
few drops of almond extract/essence
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
sliced almonds
With an electrice beater, beat the egg whites till frothy and stiff then beat in the sugar. Next add the flour, almond essence and coconut and beat until well mixed.
Cover a tray with baking paper and place small mounds of mixture onto the paper. Put almond slices on each then bake at 180 degrees C for about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown on outside. Transfer to a wire rack for cooling.
