Spring-cleaning

So, it's already March next week, and Easter is really early this year. Let's prepare for springtime! Wake up, shake off the winter blues and get ready for an energetic season. (Btw, did you already check your February to-do list and make a new one for March?) I always notice, that in order to tidy up you first have to make an even bigger mess. Choose one room, the living room for example, pick a shelf or cupboard and empty it, so that you can clean it properly without just wiping around the edges of the items. Before putting everything back in, throw out stuff you don't need or want anymore, stuff that you haven't used in years. If you don't just want to throw it away, maybe start an eBay or giving-to-friends pile. When you're finished with your shelf, start with the next one. Always also consider whether or not this is the best storage place, if you want to locate items in a different shelf or even room you can do so best now, but before putting them in another room, temporarily store them somewhere else, on the stairs maybe, so you can clean and tidy that room beforehand. When finished with a room, hoover and clean it, and start with the next room. For your house to look clean and tidy leave surfaces empty or only use them for decoration, like picture frames, flowers, little decorating items, seasonal decoration. Listen and dance to some music while you clean and reward yourself after tasks. And now, let's decorate for springtime! Spring stands for nature waking up, flowers blossoming, life, so the base colour for spring is green. Start by putting some flowers in your house. Useful plants like basil, thyme, rosemary, chive, mint or cress in small, decorated flowerpots can look really pretty in your kitchen, and are very helpful. Little colourful bits and pieces transmit this springtime freshness, like for example flowers or little candles. Basically any colour is good for spring, pink, orange, green, blue, purple, yellow, as long as they are really light and maybe even pastel colours. Even if you are a male household, some plants and colours can't harm ;)
If you have a balcony or garden, spring is the time to get ready. Clean everything up from winter, seed fresh plants, decorate everything nicely...
For DIY decoration I really like window colour. You can make really nice window paintings for every season and remove them easily.

Spring colours

 

 And now I want to give you one of my favourite cake recipes:

Strawberry-chocolate-sponge cake

For a 40cm x 30cm baking tray

·         Some butter and baking paper

·         4 eggs (size M)

·         1 egg yolk

·         80g of sugar

·         1 sachet of vanilla sugar

·         80g of wheat flour

·         1/2 level tsp of baking powder

·         10g of cocoa

·         250g of strawberries

·         400g of cold whipped cream

·         2 sachets of cream stiffener

·         40g of icing sugar

1.    Grease the baking tray and put on the baking paper. On the open side of the tray fold the baking paper to create an edge. Preheat the oven to either 200°C for top/bottom heat or 180°C for hot air.

2.    Beat the eggs and egg yolk with a mixer on its highest setting until foamy, approx. 1 minute. Blend sugar and vanilla sugar, intersperse while stirring for 1 minute, then beat for another 2 minutes. Blend flour, baking powder and cocoa, and mix in quickly on the lowest setting. Spread the dough evenly on the baking tray. Bake on the middle position for 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare a sheet of baking paper with some sugar, in order to carefully remove the cake from the tray (keep on the hot baking paper) and turn onto the sugar coated baking paper. Let it cool.

3.    Clean and dice the strawberries. Whisk stiff the cream with cream stiffener and icing sugar. Fold in the strawberries.

4.    Carefully remove the greasy baking paper from the top and spread the strawberry cream on the cake. Roll up the cake from the long side whilst removing from the sugar coated baking paper. Put the cake in the fridge for at least one hour.

5.    Tadaaa! Enjoy the cake!

Next week, we are going to prepare a bit more for Easter. See you then.

Jen