The Secrets of Happiness
Page 34
‘Girls! For heaven’s sake!’ Rachel said, but she was only half-scolding and didn’t really mind. She pulled an exasperated face at Becca. ‘Those two, honestly, I give up. They love each other one minute, and they’re at each other’s throats the next.’
Becca grinned. ‘Well, they’re sisters, aren’t they?’ she replied. ‘And it doesn’t matter all that much if they hate each other now and then, because deep down, they know they’ve still got each other’s backs.’ She slipped an arm through Rachel’s. ‘Like us, really. Wouldn’t you say?’
There was a lump in Rachel’s throat all of a sudden. The warm July air felt soft and gauzy around her as she turned to smile at Becca. Her sister, who’d turned everything around this summer; her sister, who’d become her closest friend, whose arm was in the crook of hers right now, warm and friendly and loyal. ‘Yes,’ she agreed, giving her a squeeze. ‘You’re right. Just like us.’
THE END
Recipes from the Novel
The Jacksons’ birthday cake
Like Becca, my birthday cake of choice would always be a chocolate sponge, preferably filled with whipped cream and raspberries. In fact, I’d quite like one now. To the kitchen!
Ingredients
170g soft unsalted butter
170g golden caster sugar
115g self-raising flour
55g cocoa powder (not drinking chocolate)
Pinch of salt
3 large eggs
For the filling:
125ml whipping cream
175g fresh raspberries
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C for fan ovens) or gas mark 5. Grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins.
Cream the butter and sugar until well mixed and lighter in colour.
Sieve the flour, cocoa and salt into a separate bowl and mix together.
Add one egg to the creamed butter and sugar, along with a third of the chocolatey flour mixture and stir well. Repeat for the second and third eggs, adding in further thirds of the flour mixture each time. The batter should be smooth and thick at this point. (If it feels stiff, you can add a splash of milk to loosen it slightly.)
Split the mixture between the two tins and gently spread it to the edges using a knife. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until springy to touch.
Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in their tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When the sponges are cool, whip the cream and spread thickly across the bottom sponge. Add raspberries and carefully sandwich the sponges together. The fresh cream means this cake is best eaten on the day it’s baked but should be good for 48 hours afterwards, provided you keep it refrigerated.
Wendy’s boozy banana smoothies
I imagined Wendy turning up at Rachel’s with her bananas, ice cream and rum and basically chucking them all into the liquidizer with some milk before blitzing the lot. (Then probably sloshing in extra rum for good measure.) If you’re looking for a more sophisticated approach, then you could try this recipe using caramelized bananas instead. It’s also delicious without the rum!
Serves two.
Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 bananas, sliced
25ml light rum
3–4 scoops of good vanilla ice cream
1 glass of milk
Pinch of cinnamon
Grated nutmeg for decoration (optional)
Method
Melt the butter over a medium heat. Stir in the sugar and add the sliced bananas, turning the pieces so that they are covered in the mixture. Cook for 3–5 minutes until the bananas caramelize, then leave to cool.
Put the cooled bananas into a blender along with the rum, ice cream, milk and cinnamon, and whiz them up until well combined. Taste the mixture and adjust to your preference before serving in tall glasses with a sprinkling of grated nutmeg. Enjoy!
Janice’s Welsh cakes
I am slightly obsessed with Welsh cakes – there, I said it – and I always used to buy packets of them when in Wales until I discovered that home-made ones are even better and taste AMAZING warm from the pan. This is a really quick and easy recipe.
Makes approximately fifteen.
Ingredients
225g self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
100g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
75g caster sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
25g sultanas
1 medium egg (only the yolk is used)
3 tbsp milk
You’ll also need a 6cm round cutter, a rolling pin and a heavy-based frying pan (preferably non-stick) or a griddle.
Method
Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl, then add the butter and rub into the flour mix using your fingertips until the mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in the sugar and fruit.
Combine the egg yolk with the milk in a jug or small bowl, then add to the dry mixture, stirring together to form a soft dough. You can add a splash more milk if it seems a bit dry.
Flour a work surface and turn the dough out, then roll until about 1cm thick. Use the cutter to cut round shapes, re-rolling to use up all the dough.
If your pan isn’t a non-stick one, you might want to lightly grease it with butter (but be sparing; Welsh cakes shouldn’t be fried). Heat the frying pan or griddle, then cook the cakes a few at a time on a medium heat, turning them midway through. They should be golden-brown and will puff up as they cook – it should take about two minutes on each side.
Carefully remove from the pan, and dust with sugar. Best eaten warm, with a blob of jam on top if you prefer.
Becca’s Cheer-Up Pancakes
In my opinion, pancakes are far too delicious to save for Shrove Tuesday only. These fluffy American-style ones are super-simple to make and great with fruit and crème fraîche, or lashings of maple syrup or even good old chocolate spread. If, like me, you’ve ever experienced disaster flipping ordinary thin pancakes, you’ll be relieved to hear that these smaller, fatter pancakes are thick enough to be turned easily with a spatula. Win–win!
Makes about ten pancakes.
Ingredients
4 large eggs
160g plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
175ml milk
Pinch of salt
Method
Separate the eggs, with yolks in one bowl and whites in another. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl with the yolks, add the milk and then mix until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add in a splash more milk.
Add the salt to the egg whites, then whisk until stiff and peaking.
Carefully fold the whites into the yolk mixture and gently combine to a foamy batter, trying not to stir out all of the air bubbles.
A non-stick frying pan is best for these pancakes but if you don’t have one, melt a little butter in your pan before use. Then dollop a ladleful of the batter into the pan and cook on a low to medium heat for a few minutes. It’ll firm up and turn golden underneath quite quickly but don’t be tempted to turn it over too soon, otherwise the middle won’t cook all the way through. Turn and then cook on the second side for another few minutes, before serving immediately.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Novels
Any Way You Want Me
Over You
Hens Reunited
Sweet Temptation
The Beach Café
Summer with my Sister
Me and Mr Jones
One Night in Italy
The Year of Taking Chances
Summer at Shell Cottage
Ebook novellas
Christmas at the Beach Café
Christmas Gifts at the Beach Café
Acknowledgements
Thanks as ever to the fantastic team at Pan Macmillan – Victoria, Anna, Natasha, Jeremy, Stuart, Wayne, Amy, Katie, all the ace sales reps (I owe you a mojito, Kate) and everyone else who has worked so
hard on my books. You’re all stars in my eyes. A special round of applause for Jo and Kate for another beautiful cover, and for Eloise, who didn’t bat an eyelid when I brought the production schedule to a screeching halt (you can take my photo down from the office dartboard now). Plus a standing ovation for Caroline Hogg, whose editing really turned this book around. Thank you for coming to my rescue with such wisdom, tact and patience – the phrase ‘Above and beyond the call of duty’ springs to mind!
Three cheers to Lizzy Kremer, who, as usual, provided inspired and insightful editorial comments, brainstorming and cheerleading throughout – you are the best, I hope you realize that. Love and thanks to Harriet Moore, and everyone else at David Higham too for their enthusiasm and support.
Thanks to Christine Gibson, who answered my (many) medical questions – obviously any mistakes are my own. Thanks also to the gorgeous Hannah Fleming for putting us in touch.
I’d like to thank Natalie Baldwin for her generosity in bidding for her mum’s name to appear in the novel. Natalie was the highest bidder in a fund-raising auction for CLIC Sargent, who do such amazing work in helping children and young people with cancer. I hope you and your mum, Hayley George, enjoy the book!
Big smooch to the excellent Kate Harrison for an early read – much appreciated.
Cheers to my friend A (who had better remain anonymous) for letting me pinch the patio furniture story. Your secret’s safe with me, honest.
As ever, love and thanks to Martin, Hannah, Tom and Holly for letting me talk through plot tangles over dinner, for the endless cups of tea, encouragement and title suggestions and for reminding me what’s really important in life. Thanks to Mum and Dad for being so brilliant too.
Finally, thanks a million to everyone who’s ever sent me a nice email or message on Facebook or Twitter. I really appreciate it whenever anyone takes the time to let me know they’ve enjoyed my books. I hope you enjoy this one too.
First published 2016 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2016 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
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ISBN 978-1-4472-9910-3
Copyright © Lucy Diamond 2016
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