I am a dreamer. A completely incorrigible, optimistic and hopeless dreamer who wakes up every morning with handfuls of new ideas and hopes that somehow she will manage to cheat the clock and have more than 24 hours in a day. Alas, this Sunday the clock cheated me instead, going over to summer time and heartlessly shortening my day by another hour. 😁 And yet, strangely enough, my day not only didn't suffer for it but turned out to be exceptionally productive and out of the ordinary.
In the middle of this week I received an intriguing email from our Latvian neighbour, who is finishing a communications degree at a private university in Spain. I cannot put into words how lovely it was to hear that she liked my blog, my baking and what I do enormously, and that she would like to interview me on the theme of „Millennial bloggers”. I agreed, of course, and waited impatiently (and, naturally, a little nervously) for that Sunday conversation with her.
After our interview I stayed sitting in my chair for a while. I was thinking… Suddenly it came to me that someone had valued what I do, that out of all those THOUSANDS of bloggers she had chosen me, and that, damn it, I do less than I should! That day I realised that I update my portfolio work at least once a week, but new recipes… hmm… not as often as I would like. I have to create value, I have to give, give, give to you. And I ask nothing in return, because I simply like giving! It even feels good to give to that anonymous user who, hiding behind a pseudonym, tells me I don't know what I am writing about, criticises absolutely anything and picks at every last detail. 😊In short – I realised that the more I give, the better things go for me. In giving, I win, and who doesn't want to be a winner? ✌
AndHEREis a link to my other little Sunday project. As I said, the day was super productive!
And now about Toscatarta! Strictly speaking I should call this cake by its original Swedish name – Toscakaka – but for Lithuanians that word brings up unfortunate associations, and the cake really isn't „kaka”, more like a very „yum yum”, so I am sticking with the English translation.😁 Be that as it may, thank goodness that „kaka” in Swedish means nothing other than „cake” – that's a relief straight away, isn't it? 😁 and the other half of the word, „Tosca”, is thought to be connected with Giacomo Puccini's opera „Tosca”.
The cake itself is a combination of the simplest vanilla sponge and caramelised, golden flaked almonds. The sponge comes out wonderfully light, soft and moist, the golden almonds add a pleasant crunch, and the syrup left over from the almond mixture soaks into the top of the sponge, giving it extra flavour. There are endless variations on Toscatarta, but today I am giving you an adapted Rachel Allen recipe that I liked very much.
