Chocolate, Orange & Date Slices

These lovely chocolately slices have the subtle tang of orange combined with the sweeter, fruitier flavour of the dates. Serve as fresh as possible and enjoy with a pot of tea and a few dear friends or even after dinner as a light dessert...

Chocolate, Orange & Date Slices

125g Butter

200ml soft Brown sugar

60ml Cocoa Powder

3 free-range Eggs

10ml freshly grated Orange rind

375ml Cake flour

10ml Baking Powder

200ml freshly squeezed Orange juice

250ml chopped, stoned Dates

Melt butter in a saucepan large enough to mix all the ingredients. 

Mix in soft brown sugar, cocoa powder, eggs and orange rind. 

Beat until combined.  Sift in flour and baking powder. 

Mix in orange juice and dates. 

Spread into a greased 20cm x 30cm sponge roll tin (or a cake tin).

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30-35 minutes until cooked. 

When cooled, ice with chocolate icing or dust lightly with icing sugar. 

Or serve warm as a dessert with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or thin custard...

Enjoy!

Recipe Courtesy:  Quick ‘n’ Easy Cakes & Muffins, Biscuits, Slices & More

May you all have a very special weekend!

With love,

Kelly

Delicate Touches...

 

  I love baking for afternoon tea...  I love the thrill of combining simple ingredients such as vanilla essence, soft brown sugar and butter together to create something deliciously decadent and oh, so indulgent...

I love gathering my sisters and cherished friends to pour tea and discuss details from the morning...

I love bringing out my treasured vintage tea cups in their varied patterns and colours and Mom’s collection of dear little milk jugs...

I love laying a fresh, crisp cloth over the table and adding a bouquet of pretty scented flowers, plucked straight from the garden...

I love bringing cheerfulness to the table along with laughter and smiles...how sweet tea is when served with merriment...

These delicate and graceful touches, regardless of how small they may seem to be, convey to guests seated around your table how valued and special they are to you as their host, and add a sense of warmth that is so dear and welcome...

Let us add these delicate touches to our tables in the morning, afternoon and evening.  Let us remember to also serve laughter with every meal and the love of the Lord to every guest...

~ Hoping your day is blessed ~

Thoughtful Thursday

“A true woman would hardly care to exchange her delicate instinct, her deftness of finger, her versatile mind – which enables her to do the many little and great things in our everyday home-life equally well – her quick perception, her motherly all-aroundness, her sweet womanly loveliness, for any other marketable thing, or any other characteristic or capability attained by culture or training.  A true woman is a woman, and she does not desire to be anything else, unless she can add it to her womanliness.”

Emma Drake in “What a Young Wife to Know” Published 1908

Hoping your Thursday is lovely!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

And The Winner Is...

Good evening lovely readers, I hope you had a beautiful Monday!

Today I am announcing the winner of my celebratory giveaway!

And so, without any further ado...the winner of one copy of ‘Beautiful Girlhood’, revised by Karen Andreola, randomly selected by Miss Gabrielle...

 {Shaking, Sorting & Selecting}

...Is...

  LARA!

Congratulations, Lara!  Please contact me as soon as possible to claim your prize!

You can email at kelly.beautifulgirlhood@gmail.com

Thank you to everyone who entered!

~ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever!  Amen.  Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV ~

Blessings on your week, friends,

Kelly-Anne

Thoughtful Thursday

“How can there be too many children?

That’s like saying there are too many flowers.”

Mother Teresa

~ Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.  Psalm 127:3-5, NIV ~

Thursday blessings dear readers!

Love,

Kelly-Anne

In Which We Have Tea

 One morning last week I accompanied my mother to town to do some grocery shopping and errand running...

We ended our busy morning out with a pleasant tea break at our favourite local tearoom...

 

Lovely apple crumble and ice cream beautifully presented...

  

 I love this teacup; the design is so intricate and pretty...

 The happy lady (yours truly) enjoying her rare morning out with Mom...

  

 ...I fell in love with this charming little milk jug!

Mom and I seldom go out to tea together, so this was a very special treat for us both...

My sisters and I often take turns to join Mom on her shopping trips as we enjoy the time we have alone with her, even if we do have to spend it helping her tick boxes off her grocery list!  We also enjoy learning by watching her, which in turn will benefit us when we’re older and having to run a household of our own. 

But when we do have time to stop for a cup of coffee or a tea time treat, we really treasure it!

Mothers are so special and time spent with them so precious!

Hope all my readers are having a very blessed week!

Love,

Kelly-Anne