Litha ~ Summer Solstice ~ Midsummer and Summer Citrus Cake

 

Litha ~ Midsummer ~ Summer Solstice, June 20th to June 25th, in the Northern Hemisphere, celebrates the beginning of summer and marks the longest day and the shortest night and although its seen as a time for balance between light and dark, the sun reaches its peak, the power of the sun begins to wane and the days begin to grow shorter and the nights grow longer, it is a return to dark.

As we celebrate Mother Earth, the Goddess and the Sun King, God, think abundance, fertility, renewal and life, as the sun, flowers, plants and the earth are all in full bloom. Bonfires, feasting, singing, dancing and festivals are activities during this time as well as getting outdoors to connect with nature, to celebrate and honour the abundance and growth of the natural world. It's a time for new beginnings, as always with the change of seasons, saying goodbye to self reflection and moving forward and being open with the sun's energy.  

Other celebrations around this time are: Golowan (Cornish) Gwyl Ifan Ganol Haf (Wales), Kupala Night/Ivan Kupala (Ukraine), National Indigenous Peoples Day (Canada), Saint John's Feast Day/ Saint John's Eve (Christian - Canada, France, Portugal, Spain), St. John's Night, Sobotka or Noc Kupaly (Poland), Adonia (Greece), St. Hans Day (Norway and Denmark), Jānvi (Latvia), Uttarayana (India), World Humanist Day (June 21st), World Environment Day (June 5th), World Refugee Day (June 20th), Juneteenth (US, June 19th) and LGBTQ+Pride Month (June). 

A bright summer sun cake baked to golden perfection with much to celebrate and love. Happy Summer Solstice, Midsummer and Litha! 

Summer Citrus Cake

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1 1/2 (300 g) cups white sugar

1 cup (240 ml) olive oil 

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups (360 g) unbleached all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (125 ml) orange juice

zest of 1 orange 

zest of 1 lemon

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Orange Glaze:

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup orange juice

1/4 butter

Place all ingredients into a pot and simmer until the butter melts, about 2 - 3 minutes. Stir and pour over cooled cake.

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Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and throughly grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Sert aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the white sugar and olive oil. Add the eggs and whisk again until combine and then add the vanilla and orange juice and mix together. 

In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the grated orange zest and lemon zest and whisk until combined. Add the flour mixture to the sugar, oil and egg mixture and stir until just combine. Do not overmix the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully invert the cake on to a serving plate, by placing the plate on top of the cake pan and carefully flip it over and gently lift the tin from the cake. Make the orange glaze, see recipe above, and pour it over the cake and sprinkle with additional orange and lemon zest. Slice and serve.  

Tony's Chocolonely ~ Chocolate Bars

 

Not knowing much about Tony's Chocolonely however seeing this brand pop up while browsing the internet had me subconciously keeping it in the back of my mind and you can see why. Bright bold colourful packaging that cannot go a miss. A thick mass of a chocolate bar, and the retro font name; a nickname and or the English language version named after the Dutch founder and co-owner, Tuen van de Keuken aka Tony. 

The word Chocolonely is a combination of two words, "chocolate" and "lonely" and signifies not only his initial lone fight against exploitation within the cocoa industry but represents his feelings of feeling alone in his efforts to address the issues of child labour and modern slavery within the cocoa industry.

The chocolate bar itself is not section into uniform squares as the unevenness of the bars texture and presentation comes down to representing the inequality within the cocoa trade industry. It's also a reminder of the company's mission of supporting fair and sustainable conditions. They offer chocolate bars of milk and dark chocolate as well as vegan. We tried the milk chocolate pretzel toffee first and it was rich and creamy with a sweet salty crunch. We found their milk chocolate to be a bit more dark than compared to other milk chocolate chocolate and had more of a cocoa flavour than sweet milky chocolate flavour. I know it's hard to discern the richness of the chocolate from a photo, I took it in a bright lit room.         

The inside packaging explains their mission statement which reflects the company's stand on issues linked within the cocoa industry. I know not everyone wants to think about such issues while munching on something chocolatey however like chocolate it needs to be shared and talked about, and ultimately addressed. By raising awareness and opting for change is a start, in hopes other companies within the cocoa industry will follow this leading example. 

To find out more about Tony's Chocolonely, the co-operatives and affiliated cocoa farmers they source from in Africa, visit their website tonyschocolonely.com  

Blueberry Almond Coconut Cake

 

For a cake that doesn't need any icing one may think of it as being excessively sweet however it's not overly sweet. The flavour combination fuses together creating a fruity sponge cake that is packed with blueberries. Serving with a dollop of whipped cream, a lashing of custard or even a spoonful of blueberry sauce will enhance this modest dessert to a whole other level.  

Blueberry Almond Coconut Cake

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1/3 cup (75 ml) olive oil 

2/3 cup (150 ml) white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

2/3 cup (250 ml) milk

1 2/3 cup (400 ml) unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup (50 g) almond flour  

1 tablespoon (1.5 ml) baking powder

1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda

1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt

1 cup (250 ml) sweetened shredded coconut 

2 cups (500 ml) fresh or frozen blueberries

almond flakes for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºF). Lightly grease and flour a square 9 - inch baking tin. Line the bottom with baking parchment. Set aside. 

In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil and white sugar until well combined and pale. Add the eggs and beat together, then add the vanilla extract and milk and stir until combined.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and shredded coconut. Add the flour mixture to the creamy olive oil milk mixture and stir until smooth. Add the blueberries and gently fold them into the batter. 

Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared baking tin and sprinkle almond flakes on top. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, a few moist crumbs are fine.