Cherry Blossom Party

Sadly this year the day of the Cherry Blossom party turned out to be wet and windy, but undeterred we collected together all of the delicious food people had brought and had an indoor hanami.

We might not have got to see any flowers, but we did get some delicious treats such as sushi, fried chicken, cherry blossom tea, and more besides.

April Cooking

This month in English cooking, we made two dishes. We made a savoury dish called Fish Cake and a sweet mini-pie called Eccles Cake.

The Eccles cake was first made in 1769 by a lady called Mrs Raffald, but then it was simply know as a "sweet patty". A servant girl in the house took the recipe when she moved to a town called Eccles and opened a shop selling them. By the beginning of the 19th Century they were being exported to America and the West Indies. Now they are famous throughout the world. Recently they were debated in Parliament to decide if cakes made outside the town of Eccles could be called Eccles cakes. We shall have to wait longer for an answer! These cakes are popular for picnics and snacks and are sometimes called "Dead Fly Pies" because of the raisins.