Cake for Jules

I have made this cake so often that I barely need to look at the recipe. I only make it in the Summer months, when berries are abundant and can fill the hole created by pressing it down with a weight as soon as it comes out of the oven. Certainly not one of the prettiest cakes around, but rather, one for those who love their cake on the rich side of things. My sister and I share a birthday, so this is for her, with love.

The River Cafe Pressed Chocolate Cake

Maps and pistachio cake

I have collected maps for quite a while. Old atlases are easy enough to find in suburban op-shops. They acted as paper for present wrapping until I found ones I couldn't part with. My favourites are a series of maps I got photographed onto film from a rare book, which I then printed in the darkroom.

The school atlas below is another one I love. I've never really used pastels in my own work until recently and these colours are beautiful.

I was handed a bag of these pistachios as a thank you from Lucy, after putting together a few bake stalls in aid of our end of year exhibition. They are hand picked from trees at her parents farm, then roasted in small batches on a wood fire. They taste amazing and I think a cake is the perfect way to eat them.