The Weekend Kitchen And Using Our Christmas Gift

Over the weekend there were a few things going on in the kitchen.

One of the longer jobs I tackled was making some Camembert Cheese.  It is not a recipe that I have tried before but so far things are looking really good and as you can see from the photo below the yield from 8 litres of milk is pretty good.  I currently have the cheeses set aside ripening and once they have had time to mature and I have taste tested them I will give you an update.

I have made 2 small and one large round so I can compare the flavour.
The big one has a flat side as it got got pressed up against the side of the
container.  I am sure the flavour will be fine.

I also baked a Madeira cake which brought back so many memories of my child hood.  Madeira cake was my Grandads favourite and my granny used to bake them on a regular basis for him.  When ever we visited it was a treat to have some of 'Grandads Cake'.  I did not realise it was so easy and there are no fancy ingredients so it was done in no time at all.  In case you have never tried Madeira I have posted the recipe below.

And on Sunday we finally got to use our Christmas gift to each other of tickets to the latest Cirque Du Soleil 'Totem'  It was as usual (we have been twice before) and amazing show.  The skill of the acrobats was amazing and had us hooked from the second the show started.  If you ever get to go to one of their shows it is so worth it.

Maderia Cake

175 g Butter, Softened
3/4 Cups of Sugar
1/4 Tsp Grated Lemon Rind
1/4 Cup Milk
3 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder

Line a 20cm square baking tin and heat your oven to 180 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy then stir in the lemon rind.  Mix in the sifted flour and baking powder and the milk until combined.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs until thick.  Add to the creamed mixture in 4 equal amounts folding each portion in so that the cake mix becomes looser and wetter.
Spoon into your cake tin and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched lightly.  Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 mins before turning out on a wire rack.

What did you get up to  over the weekend?
Have you ever been to a Cirque Du Soleil show?