Daffodil Cake for St. David's Day

As a whole, our family abstains from treats during Lent but since St. David's day fell on a Sunday this year, we decided to celebrate in a small way this patron saint of Wales. In the past, we have enjoyed a traditional Welsh treat called a bara brith which means "speckled bread". This year we opted for a Daffodil Cake because it sounded so intriguing when mentioned by Dawn in this post. Being low on egg whites, we opted for a simpler version. I made a white cake but set aside about a cup and a half of batter, flavored it with 1 tsp. lemon extract and mixed in some yellow food coloring. Then using a standard marbling technique, I swirled the dark yellow batter into the batter already in the bundt pan. It is hard to see in the picture above, but the marble effect was really striking. Cream cheese frosting was the icing on the cake! (Couldn't resist!)

Now, as we are thoroughly americanized Welshmen, we like to eat our leeks, not wear them. Here are two of our favorite leek recipes. Enjoy!

Potato Leek Soup
1/2 C. butter
2 leeks
4 C. chicken broth
1Tbl. cornstarch
4 C. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
2 C. half and half

Melt butter in a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute leeks in butter with garlic salt and pepper as desired until leeks are tender, stirring frequently (about 10-15 minutes). Add broth, cornstarch and potatoes. Bring to boil. Add cream and reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. I like to use my full immersion hand blender to puree the soup at this point or it can be served as is. It goes great with a nice crusty bread!


Cheese and Leek Quiche
2 Tbsp. butter
3 eggs
4 oz. trimmed leek, thinly sliced
3oz. Stilton cheese, diced
1 1/2 oz. Cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 C. milk
pinch of paprika
salt and pepper
Premade pie crust (either store bought or homemade)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line quiche pan or pie plate with crust. Melt butter in a small skillet and saute the leek for 4-5 minutes. until soft but not brown, stirring frequently. Spoon into a bowl and stir in the diced Stilton, then spread over the base of the pie crust. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of leek and stilton mixture. Whisk eggs and milk together in a separate bowl. Pour over leek and cheese mixture and sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen. Remove and let stand 10 mintues.

I am sorry this post is so late. Happy St. David's Day!