Meet the Volunteers - Sarah

I said as soon as we get some new people in, I'll share them with you all, so I'd like you all to meet Sarah

Joining us for only a few months, Sarah is keen to learn some new skills and improve her English from her native Innsbruck, Austria.

'Testing' our fiction books (£1 each!)

"I love the whole idea of charity shops, as we don't really have them back home. The UK takes a bit of getting used to, but while I'm here I've seen lots and volunteering here is lots of fun, and I haven met some lovely people here" (below is Sarah with Andreea)

Sarah has even shown Brook Green to her parents who had a visit here last week and they arrived bringing gifts of Sachertorte! Brook Green does love cake and it was AMAZING! noms

We have cooking books with this recipe in (from £1), but here we have the original for you all to attempt. (Then you can bring us in a piece!)

Sacher Cake (Sachertorte) "This is the original recipe, obtained through the courtesy of Mrs. Anna Sacher." (That we found via Mr Google and Mr Wikipedia!)

3/4 cup (170 g) butter; 6 1/2 oz. (180 g) semi-sweet chocolate; 3/4 cup (170 g) sugar; 8 egg yolks; 1 cup (120 g) flour; 10 egg whites, stiffly beaten; 2 tbls. apricot jam; icing: 1 cup (225 g) sugar; 1/3 cup (80 ml) water; 7 oz. (200 g) semi-sweet chocolate;

Beat butter until creamy. Melt chocolate. Add sugar and chocolate to butter; stir. Add egg yolks one at a time. Add flour. Fold in egg whites. Grease and butter 8-9" cake tin. Pour mixture in. Bake in 275 degree F (140 degree C). oven about 1 hour. Test with toothpick or straw. Remove to board; cool. Cut top off and turn bottom up. Heat apricot jam slightly and spread over top. Cover with chocolate icing, prepared as follows:

Cook sugar and water to thin thread. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler. Add sugar gradually to chocolate. Stir constantly until icing coats the spoon. Pour on top of cake.

- Viennese Cooking, O. & A. Hess, adapted for American use [Crown Publishing:New York] 1952 (p. 229)


And if you make it, please bring in a slice for us here. We shall, erm, test it. noms test.

Bye for now
BG