A few of my favourite things

Such beauty! Ballymaloe House
(photo from the official website)

For Julie Andrews, it was raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens, and it was a visit to East Cork last weekend that made me think about some of my own favourite things. Many of them, happily, were tied up in the very pretty package that is Ballymaloe House, my destination for the day and a Mecca for Irish foodie pilgrims. There was the Georgian house itself, its symmetrical facade adorned with lilac wisteria in full bloom. The picturesque restored stone outbuildings and grain-store around the courtyard. The stately old trees standing solidly in the grounds, with the wind whipping around them and rippling across the fields of wheat. There was the small but perfectly formed cafe, serving simple, delicious food and fragrant coffee roasted on site, and a shop full of every wonderful frippery you can imagine. It's a place where every detail has been thought through and it appeals to all the senses. It's clear that there is a passion for doing things right, a passion for food and a passion for the landscape and our architectural heritage (it had me at 'doing things right', perfectionist that I am). Be still my beating heart. Reader, I think I'm in love.
 

Pretty!

 What was I doing down in Ballymaloe? I was there to attend a blogging workshop at the Cookery School and as I haven't been feeling too well lately, No.1 Sister had kindly offered her services as chauffeur. Not that it was an entirely selfless act (albeit greatly appreciated); she was like a child en route to Disneyland. The prospect of visiting Ballymaloe, nipping off to wander the market at Middleton and then returning to join me for a lunch in the fabulous cafe, was nearly too much for her. The lovely folk at the Cookery School welcomed us both with coffee and cake (first thing in the morning, but who's arguing?), even though No.1 Sister wasn't even attending the course. They also gave her a free pass to meander through the gardens when I went into the workshop. So while I was listening to the inspiring Lucy Pearce speak, No.1 Sister was frolicking about the raised vegetable beds, saying hello to the pigs in their pen and the Jersey cows in the field, and just generally getting her fill of the bucolic scene before heading back to Middleton Market. 

Delightful!

We enjoyed a browse around the shops after I had finshed (delightful objects or yummy food everywhere). Notice I said 'shops', plural. A word of caution: there is a shop both at the Cookery School and at the cafe, which is about 4km on down the road at Ballymaloe House - this is exceedingly crafty (wallets beware!) but undoubtedly makes good business sense, since we did indeed make purchases in each. One delicious lunch later (asparagus & ricotta tart for me and a Ruben sandwich for the sis) and we were on the road back to the Big Smoke. 

Coconut cupcakes

Arriving in Dublin later that afternoon, weary but contented, we got to enjoy the fruits of my labours the previous evening - cupcakes left over from an order for one of my regular customers - and I got to round off an already lovely day with another of my favourite things: a coconut cupcake with cream cheese frosting sprinkled with yet more dessicated coconut (I use the Barefoot Contessa recipe, which I can highly recommend, with the caveat that it makes a few more than stated - though how can that be bad? ;) ). 

What did I learn from a day playing hooky from my normal Dublin life? Lucy asked us to think really hard about what we were passionate about and what we're good at. Yes I love cakes and baking, but I also love (in no particular order):

• 'old stuff' (archaeological sites and crumbling ruins, atmospheric old houses, vintage fashion, antique crockery and furniture) - basically if it has history, I'm in; 
• books (I'll try any genre once and have devoured books for as long as I can read);
• language (how we use it, why we use it, what words mean).

Such non-cake thoughts and ideas frequently creep into my cake blog posts, pushing their way to the front of the queue and shouting for attention. I now realise that I have strayed far from the original premise of a Bake Shop Blog, documenting my life making and selling cakes, and it is time that my blog reflected that. 

So the blog is getting an overhaul and will be re-christened, though the name is as yet undecided (much as I would like to call it 'A few of my favourite things', some dastardly blogger has stolen that one already). There will still be cake at every turn (you just try and stop me) and plenty of baking tips and recipes, but the conversations may wend in and out of other areas as the muse takes me. It will be just like sitting in a warm cafe with your best friends huddled around the table, forks poised over slices of cake, coffee and tea steaming in the cups, chatting about all of your favourite things. I hope you join me there for a cuppa and a slice next week.