We need cinnamon

This was what I was writing about last year:

I had a  conversation with writing friends a little while ago about cinnamon, they think it’s a most delicious addition to many things, I just think it’s horrid! This is what we wrote:

J:  We need cinnamon!
D: Add cinnamon! It’s the answer to everything!! Stock up, everyone!!
L:  D, J? Cinnamon ????? Dust of the Devil, ground in Satan’s odious mill… ugghhh… there should be a directive against it!!! Cinnamon??? Really???
J: hmmm…next month’s writing theme, perhaps?
L: I shall wear a surgical mask in case anyone brings any! Now nutmeg, that’s a completely different matter!
D: But it lends itself so naturally to apple cake, porridge, ice cream, cappuccino … so warming and aromatic! The base of perfumes and joss sticks! And the health giving properties are astounding!! It could potentially save the world!!! (And easily digested and tolerated – unlike nutmeg which can be allergenic) Bringing my surgical mask ~ for the nutmeg!! Haha!
L: No, no it doesn’t, it desecrates apple pies which should have cloves, and apple-cakes with cinnamon smells like jumble sales… cinnamon ice-cream… that really is a spice too far! let’s agree to differ and settle for allspice… is that ok? Not mixed spice, but allspice!!
D: Of course! Not just differing but complementing! Actually, I like the aroma of nutmeg in small doses but it can make me sneeze. It’s a stimulant and banned in addiction treatment centres! My Nanna used to make aromatic custard tarts with nutmeg,  I can smell them now mmm! I once had an allergic wheezy reaction after a massage with nutmeg oil base and have been wary ever since, even in mixed spice. But I love spices ~ cloves, ginger, aniseed .…  I agree, cinnamon is strong and can overpower – I’ve built up tolerance, gradually! Can’t live without it now and have a liberal sprinkling on porridge and banana each morning! I love vanilla with apple with just a hint of cinnamon… cloves would work very well, too!!
L:  … now you’re talking, custard tarts and nutmeg, rice pudding and nutmeg, mashed potato and nutmeg…

Maybe I should make these for my dear friends, an old recipe from Modern Practical Cookery:

Cornish cinnamon cakes

• 3 oz butter
• milk
• 9 oz flour
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ lb castor sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 egg, beaten
• whole blanched almonds

1. cream the butter and sugar together
2. add the syrup and beat well
3. sift in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together
4. add the egg and as much milk as needed to make a smooth batter
5. place a whole almond in the bottom of buttered patty-tins or silicone/paper bun cases
6. fill the tins/bun cases three-quarters full
7. bake the cakes in a quick oven for about 2 mins until they are firm and crisp

A ‘quick oven by the way is 400-425° F, 200-225° C, gas mark 6-7.

My featured image is of roof tops in Launceston, Cornwall