More cakes, and burping the sturgeon

Friends birthdays seem to arrive in clusters.. and this month they’ve arrived just as my baking schedule is at it’s fullest.

Yet there’s still a need to mark the occasion with cake. All birthdays should have cake.

This is a spring elderflower birthday cake filled with lemon curd and fresh cream, topped with a lemon cream cheese frosting and dried edible flowers, some from the croft.

On a completely different note this is a chocolate cake, filled with maltesers, fresh cream and chocolate and topped with chocolate ganache and more maltesers.

It’s another early start tomorrow to bake up cinnamon cardamom buns and blueberry lemon buttermilk scones for The Stables.

We’ll see how much my love of baking holds out….

Friends told us a story that I just have to pass on. It’s true, and just too good not to share.

For his birthday a friend received some koi carp and a dwarf sturgeon, a remarkable looking fish. They were duly installed in his pond and seemed to be settling in well.

One day soon after arrival however he noticed that the dwarf sturgeon was swimming head down, bottom up, and clearly that wasn’t right.

A Google search highlighted that this particular species of fish is prone to wind, which collects in the swim bladder causing the “bottom up” scenario, and if not released can cause the death of the fish.

Being of a kindly disposition he did as the source suggested and gently massaged the underside of the fish until a gas bubble was released, and clearly relieved, the fish righted itself and swam happily away.

How many of us could respond to the question “what did you do today?” with “today I was mainly burping the sturgeon”..😝

Life on Skye continues to astound us!