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“Everything happens for a reason, and nothing is an accident. It is all part of a much larger divine plan,” Duke Silverthorne said gravely, but in a surprisingly kind voice. “When difficulties come, we must see them as what they are—opportunities and a new path to discover your potential. How will you ever know the magnitude of courage you are capable of if you have never experienced the hopelessness of fear?”

For Farah Oomerbhoy, writing is a passion and reading her solace. She is a firm believer in the fantastic and magical, and often dreams of living in Narnia, Neverland, or the Enchanted Forest.

Farah lives with her husband and three children in their family home in Mumbai, India. She has a Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Mumbai. 

Farah’s first novel, The Last of the Firedrakes, Book 1 of the Avalonia Chronicles will be published worldwide August 15th, 2015.

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This is the recipe that the castle cook uses to make Aurora’s favorite breakfast dish.  She loves to eat cinnamon swirls with fresh homemade strawberry butter.

(Cinnamon swirl recipe by Jamie Oliver) – Serves 20

For the swirls

• 1 kilogram strong white bread flour
• 7 grams dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 600 ml water (tepid)
• olive oil

For the filling

• 100 grams almonds
• 100 grams hazelnuts
• 200 grams unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (extra for sprinkling)
• 5 tablespoons honey
• 100 grams demerara sugar (extra for sprinkling)

Method

1. You can make the dough in a food processor, or in a bowl by hand. Just put your flour, yeast, honey and slat into the bowl and gradually pulse or stir in your water until the mixture becomes a soft, springy dough. Flours can vary, so if you feel it needs a little more water, ad another splash. 
2. Dust a clean surface and your clean hands with flour and knead the dough for a few minutes. Lightly oil a bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for at least 30 minutes in a warm place until doubled in size. 
3. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F/gas4. Spread the nuts over a baking tray and pop them into the oven for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly golden. 
4. Meanwhile, mix 150g of the butter with the cinnamon in a large bowl and put aside. 
5. When the nuts are lightly golden, remove them from the oven, wrap them in a clean tea towel and bash them up with a rolling pin until fairly fine. Let them cool down completely, then mix them into the butter mixture and put aside. 
6.  Generously flour a clean surface and a rolling pin, and roll your roll into a large rectangle about 1cm thick and approximately 50 x 60cm, dusting with flour as you go. Dot the nutty butter mixture all around the dough, spreading it out as well as you can with the back of a spoon. Drizzle the hunny evenly all over the mixture. 
7. Carefully lift up the longest edge of the doughand roll it over. Keep rolling until your have a thick sausage shape. Slice this across into rounds about 3cm thick. Grease a deep 20 x 30cm baking tray with your remaining 50g of butter, then sprinkle the demerara sugar all over the base. 
8. Lay your rounds of dough flat in the tray so they are nice and snug and you can see the swirls. Cover with a tea towel, then put them to one side to let them prove for about 20 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in size. Sprinkle over a good coating of demerara sugar and a little extra cinnamon, and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until lovely and golden. 
9. To serve, carefully run a knife around the sides of the tray, then turn it upside down over a board or platter so that all those lovely caramelized bottoms will be on show (don’t be tempted to touch or taste at his point, though, as the hot caramel will burn you), and tuck in.

ANOTHER AMAZING TOUR BROUGHT TO YOU BY LADY READERS!