New year, new cook books

I'm a huge fan of Notting Hill's Hummingbird Bakery and their original cookbook is my trusted source for cupcakes and banana loaf - a recipe which I know by heart, I've made it so many times.  I asked Santa (aka Mother) for their new Cake Days book, and because I've been such a good girl, I got it, and some fancy new silicon bakeware.

The book is divided into occasions and seasons presumably so that whatever the time of year, there is always a cake or something that you can bake that will fit the mood.  Tellingly, there is nothing between Christmas and Valentine's Day, perhaps they find January as pointless a month as I do.  By happy accident I had lemons and ricotta cheese in the fridge, and packets of poppy seeds were on sale in the supermarket, so I fast-forwarded to the Easter section and made the Lemon & Poppy Seed Loaf.  It's a zingy cake thanks to the lemon syrup and the poppy seeds give it a slightly crunchy texture.  You can almost kid yourself that Spring is on the way, even if there's snow outside.