When life gives you smashed plates, make mosaics.

While searching for Egyptian recipes, Ella and I came across this recipe for Egyptian Chocolate Cake. It was ultimately rejected for more "authentic" recipes, but it sounded so good, I just had to make it later.

First combine 4 oz dark chocolate and 1/2 cup strong coffee in a small saucepan. Cook,stirring, over low heat until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat to cool to room temperature.

Cream 1/2 cup softened butter and 1 cup sugar together in a mixing bowl (or a groovy original retro Sunbeam Mixmaster like mine. Don't ya love it. Thank you e-bay!) until they are light and fluffy.
Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla and the chocolate mixture.

Sift 1 3/4 cup flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp ground cloves together.


Add dry ingredients alternately with 1/2 cup milk to the creamed mixture, beating well.

Pour batter into 2 greased and lined sandwich cake tins. Bake in a preheated 350 F/180 C oven for 30 mins or until done.

Cool cakes in pan for 10 mins, the flip them out to cool.

While you're waiting for this, make the yummy Cinnamon Whipped Cream Icing.

Mix 2 cups of whipping cream, 1/4 cup icing sugar, 2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon. Beat until soft peaks form.

Put the cake together with some of the Cinnamon Cream in the middle and smother it all over the top and down the sides. Ooh, decadent. I also grated some dark chocolate over the top.

Of course I forgot to take a photo until it was half eaten.

See my pretty cake plate in the above picture. It was given to me for my engagement by my Oma and Opa with some matching saucers and cake forks. It was all the way from Holland.

Well, Ella, as she often does, (Mitch often finds his dark chocolate with rows of little teeth marks on it) was trying to sneak some cake and dropped the plate. Smash! It is now in 5 pieces.

I was very good and didn't yell at her, but maybe that was because there was someone at the back door buying eggs at the time and by the time he left, it had given me a few minutes to calm down. But maybe, it's also because I'm so used to things breaking in our house by now, that I'm not so precious about my things anymore. Sigh!

Well, I couldn't bear to throw the pieces in the bin, so I was contemplating glueing them together and hanging the plate on the wall, when it struck me. I'd found an old wooden tray at an op shop ages ago which I was going to mosaic with my friend Lisa (she was going to pretty up her bathroom mirror) but I couldn't decide which ones of my saucers I was going to smash for the honour. Problem solved!


I think it would be just about the right size, the pieces are fairly flat and I think it will look really pretty with the blue scallopy border bits around the edges. So I'll forgive you this time, Ella. And no, you can't have that piece of cake, after all.


And just quickly, I know this is a long post, I want to show you my picnic basket that I picked up at the markets this weekend. It was my weekend for saling but I was just to tired to go on Saturday. But this was waiting for me at the markets on Sunday so it was meant to be.


$15, which was a little more than I'd usually pay (I'm such a cheapskate) but it was in really good condition, and look, the lining matches my kitchen valance.


And it was just the right size to carry all my veges I had bought. And so much prettier than my green bags I usually use.