This week’s sweet treats: 04/07/2014

ube, purple yam, Tacloban, Philippines, All Hands Volunteers, sponge cake, backpacking, M&S, Marks and Spencer, mini cupcakes, cupcakes, carrot cake, raspberry ripple, shortbread, home-made, West Dean Gardens, West Sussex, cycling, Compton Village Shop and Tearoom, lemon sponge, Capers, Southsea, Capers Southsea, gift voucher, biscuitsWhat better way to start your Friday than with our weekly round-up of some of the many sweet treats we’ve eaten this week. Here’s five of our favourites!

1. What a beautiful colour! I wasn’t sure if this was real or whether it was dyed, but Helen reassures me that’s it’s all natural. This was sponge cake made from a purple ‘ube’, or yam as it’s called in the Philippines. Helen enjoyed this whilst helping at All Hands Volunteers in Tacloban. You can read more about her backpacking adventures here.

2. I can’t resist these little mini cupcakes which M&S have on offer at the moment. The packet of 9 carrot cakes contain walnuts and have a tangy cream cheese frosting with small pieces of pistachios sprinkled on top. The raspberry ripple cakes have a raspberry and vanilla frosting with a blob of jam which strangely enough came off really easily and I kept finding them, one on the tablecloth, one on the floor, another stuck to my hand and…

3. West Dean Gardens restaurant is always a favourite when I’m out that way cycling. Of course the hilly route is always taken before and after so as to burn off all the calories 😉 . This was a rather nice home-made shortbread dusted with castor sugar.  And all set in the beautiful West Sussex countryside.

4. Another favourite cycling stop. This time Compton Village Stores & Tearoom in West Sussex again. Recently taken over it’s still very much the same as it was before – thank heavens! – and still has the most marvellous home-made sponges such as lemon, chocolate, coffee & walnut along with others, plus fruit cake and flap jacks, millionaire shortbread… I could go on.

5. My husband Geoff received a gift voucher for Capers in Southsea for his birthday from his lovely Auntie Shirley which was a great present. We enjoyed breakfast here on Sunday and I love the little biscuits which they serve with a hot drink so I just had to buy a bag of them to take home.

Living life, loving cake

A x

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