A farmhouse update
and a recipe for a quick snacking cake (yes, a snacking cake)
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Little yellow roses
Little yellow roses crawl up the facade of the stone house we now call our home. Even though it’s a few hundred miles away from where I type this newsletter, in our London flat, it still is our home. And I feel forever grateful to call it so. It’s been almost one year since the previous home owners agreed to sell the house to us and I still have moments of disbelief. After searching for years, the first time we walked into the farmhouse in August 2024, felt like all the houses we tried to dream ourselves living in just faded away. And now, the seasons continue to turn and the magic of spring takes over the land. Another year closed, another chapter to begin.
Puffy yellow wildflowers, like pom poms, greet us on our drive down the back road and up to the house; blowing slightly in the breeze, guiding us down the winding road and through to the farmhouse gates. The ignition turns off and as the car doors open, we’re welcomed home to the silence of the land, our land. Just an hour and some change before this, Rome was bustling - scooters tooting their horns, sirens whining in the distance. Now, it’s only silence that takes over. The leaves on the olive trees rustle in unison, reminding me of the sea washing up to the shore line, turning over smooth stones and small sea shells. Growing up as a beach kid, it feels somewhat strange to own a house in the countryside. Maybe that’s why the leaves sound like the sea, it’s something that’s built inside me - something to comfort me when I’m away from home.
We walk the property, taking note of how spring has started to take over the land. Wisteria grows over the shed where the tractor used to be housed. The cherry tree that Gianluca’s sister gifted us is beginning to bud and flower. The fruit trees already have new leaves and beginning to show signs of new life forming. The olive trees are making small bead like rounds which, by October should be ready for harvest. The grass has doubled in height meaning the search for a lawn mower begins (or continues). We’re over joyed - and yet overwhelmed. Neither of us having grown up with this much space, let alone a fruit tree to keep alive. I, at least, grew up with a backyard. The only thing that came close to our now delicious fruit trees was a crab apple tree that sat at the end of our drive way. It grew the most bitter little apples you’d ever crack your teeth into. That tree no longer sits at the end of our driveway and I remember the day it disappeared - I was devastated to say the least. But now, our land is dotted with fruit trees that will be sweet - hopefully enough for making jams and preserves.
The farmhouse sits mostly empty for now. We continue to pluck the last remaining bottles of leftover wine and prosecco from our New Year’s Eve bash, stashing them away in the boot of the car. The house is being swept clean so that the work can begin. We’re nearly there with proposals, quotes, shopping around for more quotes, gathering legal documents, and preparing the plans to submit for permitting. It’s taken months of planning, but everything has to be meticulously looked over - new electric plans, new plumbing routes, mapping the infrastructure for air conditioning, knocking down walls, building new walls. Trust the process, they say - there’s a master plan and we’re in the thick of it.
But before the work can begin, a smudging of palo santo to clear the air was in order. So, I lit my piece of sacred palo santo and got to work - entering in and out of each room, making space for new energy and new life. There’s so much history hidden within the cracks and walls of our old yet new-to-us home. And while I welcome the stories to hold their own space, it’s time to make room for new memories.
So in honor of not having a single dish, measuring cup, or scale in the farmhouse - I’m sharing one of the simplest recipes that will make any time of day sweeter and more delicious. This recipe is for a snacking cake. Yes, a snacking cake. You can have it for breakfast, lunch, mid-night, mid-day - you name it, it’s an all around perfect cake. The recipe comes from Letitia Ann Clark’s cookbook, Bitter Honey. In Italy, we call this cake ciambellone and is usually baked in a round bundt tin. I only have a loaf tin and it’s come out perfect every time. I’ve swapped sunflower oil for olive oil, I’ve squeeze orange juice into the batter, I’ve reduced the sugar…the recipe is really forgiving which is why it’s perfect for those of you who hate a measuring cup.
I hope you bake this cake and enjoy the roses. More updates to come…
Letitia Ann Clark’s Original Yoghurt Cake
I highly recommend you purchase one of Letitia’s cookbooks. Her book, Bitter Honey, is a cook book based off recipes she’s gathered from her time living in Sardinia. I hope you enjoy this recipe for the most simple ciambellone you’ll ever enjoy. She uses a 125ml ‘pot’ as a measuring tool - think in terms of a small drinking glass. Once you find the pot you’re going to use as your measuring tool, all the ingredients will be measured from that pot.
Ingredients:
Melted butter for greasing
3 ‘pots’ plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
1 x 125 ml or 150 ml (4-1/4 fl ox or 5 fl oz) pots natural (plain) yogurt)
2 ‘pots’ caster (superfine) sugar
3 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange
3 tsp baking powder
few drops of vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
Using a pastry brush, grease the cake tin with the melted butter, then shake a little flour around to coat the inside.
Decant all the yoghurt into a blender or stand mixer (I just did all of this by hand). Use the same pot to measure the sugar and the oil, then add to the yoghurt one by one - you don’t need to rinse between measuring. Add the eggs, lemon zest and orange zest, flour, baking powder and vanilla and blitz until smooth.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch. Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out and let cool completely on a wire rack. This will keep in an airtight container for up to 6 days.
Traveling to Italy?
Need more recommendations for traveling in Italy, a custom itinerary, or a private chef for your Italian vacation? Head over to tavolotwelve.com for all that good stuff or reach out to me via email, instagram, and the likes.
Until next time at a standing reservation…
With love & snacks,
Paige
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Need a happy moment?
My sister-in-law and her partner cooking up an incredible pasta in their adorable kitchen in Rome. Guanciale, artichokes, fresh mint, pecorino cheese…the perfect pasta if you ask me.
This sounds utterly beautiful, what an exquisite adventure! Also anything Letitia Clarke, am so there!