It’s Liz from Liz & Jewels with another episode of Food in Motion for decor8. Last week nature exploded and brought with it a flurry of yellow flowers. All this spring air made me feel active and I decided to combine this Food in Motion episode with a recipe from my latest book and an easy pre-Easter DIY packaging idea. My daughter helped (as always!) and was eager to glue the yellow dots on the string. (Although she asked why we couldn’t use red, green and blue dots as well!) The Apricot-Marzipan-Cakes recipe seemed tailor-made for this burst of activity. They’re easy to make and when baked in little cake forms make ideal presents. Just place them in a cardboard box, wrap the dotted string around it and decorate it with some colorful feathers. And your homemade present is ready to go!

And aren’t homemade presents just the best? I think it’s great to receive gifts from friends and know that they took their precious time and prepared something just for me. That’s why my co-author Lars Wentrup and I created a book just with that topic. „Grüße aus meiner Küche“ (Greetings from my kitchen) was published this January and includes photographs by Jewels (Julia Cawley) and me. We were double-happy because we were also responsible for the complete design package and the illustrations. The book includes easy recipes, DIY-ideas and ready to copy labels. Why not welcome spring with some creativity of your own?

Apricot-Marzipan-Cakes (makes 6 little cakes)

1 cup dried apricots 1/3 cup brown rum 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1/8 cup ground almonds 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup marzipan (4.4 oz)

Cut apricots into small pieces and pour the rum over the apricots. Cover with foil and stand for a few hours or over night in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 C). Mix butter and sugar with the electric mixer until well combined. Add an egg, the almonds and flour and mix. Cut the marzipan into small pieces. Add marzipan and apricots to the dough and combine with a spoon. Grease pans (or use silicone pans) and fill in the dough. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Yummy! Enjoy and we'll see you again in April! - Liz

(images/video: liz and jewels)