We were lucky enough to be able to slip away for just a couple of days to Port Townsend, Washington. It was a first visit, but won’t be the last. The weather was alternately sunny and rainy, making magnificent skies and vistas, and even some rainbows which I will post later. This view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca is from the dock at Fort Worden. Back here in the gray, drizzly weather in Seattle, just looking at it makes me smile.

Visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday for more photos on the theme. It’s also straight out of the camera, or SOOC. Love those easy sunny exposures! Click on Sara’s Fave Photos above to return to the latest post.

Looking through the archives, I pulled up this shot of the pool right inside the main entrance of the Conservatory at the Bronx Botanical Garden, taken a year ago. I love the white orchids. New York sure does things up big.

Visit Watery Wednesday and Weekend Reflections, SOOC (straight out of the camera) and Window Views, for more interesting photos that their names suggest. And you can always navigate back to the latest post here, at Sara’s Fave Photos, clicking on the header above.

A shady creek on a sunny day yields some lovely ripples and reflections.

Visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday after you’re done here. And remember, you can always return to the most current photo here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos above. Browse around!

Today I’m posting a fabulous recipe with notes. It’s long, but not that hard (I included all the details so it will come out right if you make it), so scroll down a bit to see the photos that go with it. My daughter and I made this on Saturday just for the heck of it and it was SO GOOD! To read the story about the history of this cake in my family, read the What Cake story.

By the way, the strawberries on top were HUGE and make the cake look small. It’s not.

You can always return to the most recent post here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos above.

Hot Milk Sponge Cake (Sylvia Messer’s recipe), serves approx. 16

325 degrees preheated, (check at 40 min. if using 9″ pans, 45-50 min. for 8″ pans)

Use (2) 8″ or 9″ round spring-form cake pans, UNGREASED

7 large eggs, separated (room temp.)
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 c. sugar (can be half turbinado or raw, mixed with half regular white), divided
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. cake flour (substitute w.w. pastry flour OK)
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
2 oz. butter
6 oz. milk

3 cups heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
dash vanilla

4+ pints strawberries

Separate eggs. Essential that NO yolk specks end up in whites. Put yolks into small mixer bowl, whites into large mixer bowl. Recommend using small dish per egg separated before dumping whites in large bowl to check for egg yolk contamination!

Beat whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar, mix until almost stiff, then slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar. Mix until stiff peaks but do not overbeat. Set aside.

Sift flour onto waxed paper and measure 2 cups without packing flour in any way. Use large spoon to scoop carefully into measuring cup. Resift. Resift again adding baking pdr. and salt. Check measurement. If using whole wheat pastry flour, use scant 2 cups flour. Set aside.

In small pan, heat milk and butter, DO NOT BOIL, until butter melts. Keep warm.

Beat yolks for 2 minutes. Add remaining sugar and vanilla slowly; beat one more minute.

Add flour mix and hot milk mix alternately, very slowly, into egg yolk mix while beating slowly.

Fold yolk mix SUPER GENTLY by hand into stiff whites. Be patient but do not collapse whites.

Pour equally into two ungreased spring-form pans. Stagger pans in oven so they are not directly over each other. Bake until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean or until surface springs back when pressed gently with finger. 325 degrees preheated oven, (check at 40 min. if using 9″ pans, 45-50 min. for 8″ pans)

While cake is baking and cooling, wash big mixer bowl and beaters. Place in refrigerator to chill for best whipped cream.

Cool cakes upside down on racks ONE HOUR only. Then use table knife to cut cake away from sides of spring-form pan. Remove sides. Use long knife to cut from bottom of pans. Carefully place one cake layer, top side down, on cake plate. (Note: if freezing cakes, freeze while still on bottoms of pans.)

Whipped cream: Beat cold cream in cold bowl with cold beaters at high speed. As cream starts to thicken, add 3 T powdered sugar (or to taste) and dash vanilla. Continue beating until cream begins to firm. Reduce speed and carefully mix cream until very firm, but not gloppy or too firm (i.e., butter)!

Prepare strawberries: Wash, hull, trim and dry strawberries, separating into 2 groups of large, perfect berries and the others. Save imperfect and/or small berries for center layer of whipped cream. You may cut these if still too large.

Assembling cake: Put layer of whipped cream on top of bottom layer, about 1/2 inch. Spread evenly with rubber spatula or frosting knife. Place imperfect, cut or small berries evenly. Cut berries no thicker than half an inch or so for this layer. Press gently into whipped cream. Add more whipped cream to even layer out; spread evenly with spatula. Leave cake sides alone for now.

Carefully place second layer on top of first, top side up. Spread top with whipped cream. Now use remaining whipped cream for sides. Make it pretty with spatula or frosting knife.

Place largest, most beautiful strawberry in the center of the top of the cake. Add remaining strawberries evenly around. Sing Happy Birthday! (optional)

Take a picture; it is so pretty! (required)

Refrigerate after serving. When serving, cut straight down with very sharp knife, using sawing motion.

Finally a break in the gray weather. Had a moment to stop at the overlook near my house in Normandy Park with its vista of Puget Sound at dusk, my favorite time of day.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more skies seen round the world.

This fountain near McCaw Hall, home of Pacific Northwest Ballet, is unlike any I have ever seen. The water seeps flatly over smooth pavers into the drain across a very wide expanse. Perhaps people walk barefoot in it during the summer. I’ll have to check back on a warm day!

Visit Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC (straight-out-of-the-camera shots), Weekend Reflections, Thursday Challenge and Window Views after your visit here. Be sure to browse around, if you have time, and click on Sara’s Fave Photos to return to the main page.

I know it’s bad to take photos while driving, but sometimes when the light is good I just do it anyway. Naturally I delete the overwhelming majority of the photos that result, but sometimes I actually like one or two. This is from a couple of weeks ago.

Visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday after browsing around here. You can always return to the latest post by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos above.

I bought this bouquet of a dozen tulips and daffodils, EACH, at Pike Place Market. I was surprised to see the tulips open into this starry shape. The bouquet even had lilacs in it!

Visit Macro Monday, Mellow Yellow Monday and Color Carnival after your visit here. Remember, anytime you want to go to today’s post, just click on Sara’s Fave Photos above.

This is one of the 150 or 200 tulips we planted in our garden last fall, photographed the other day after the soft rain stopped. I totally love them.

They take a lot of work to plant, you know. In the fall in a spot with excellent drainage, you have to dig quite deep, a good foot. Fill back half way, improve the soil with compost and a couple of handfuls of bone meal, then place the bulbs (a few inches apart) on that, about six inches from the top surface, pointed end up. Fill the hole with more good soil, and wait eagerly for spring.

Visit Watery Wednesday after your visit here for more water photos of all kinds. To return to the full blog with my latest post on top, click on Sara’s Fave Photos above.

There’s a wonderful column, a tower, really, in Astoria, Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River. You can climb it and the view is just as you expect, magnificent. This was taken at this time of year but a couple of years ago.

Go to Watery Wednesday for more fascinating photos of water, and Outdoor Wednesday for, well, you figure it out. Remember, you can always click on Sara’s Fave Photos above to return to the full blog with my latest post on top.