Ann Chilcott, Scottish Expert Beemaster, is celebrating World Bee Day and encourages us to join in.

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I’m contemplating making a honey cake and inviting friends round to raise funds for Bees for Development which is a charity based in Wales that has been working tirelessly for 25 years to promote beekeeping to combat poverty and protect biodiversity. Bees can give people the means to pay for food, and their children’s education, and to improve their land and crop yields. In the past two years 650 people in Ethiopia have been trained in beekeeping by this charity that relies on donations from the public.

I shall be making a light honey sponge with marscapone. Ideally one would use chestnut honey because of its rich nutty flavour but, with it being hard to obtain in the Highlands, I shall be going for something different like a heather/ragwort mixture. Any flavoursome honey will do.

Light Honey Sponge with Marscapone

Recipe for making a 20cm/8inch cake:

Butter for greasing

4 sizes 2 eggs at room temperature

150g/4oz caster sugar

90g/3oz honey

150g/5oz self-raising flour

2 tsp butter melted in 2 tbsp hot water.

Topping

500g/1lb marscapone

2.5 tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 175?C/350?F/gas mark 4. Grease a 20cm/8inch diameter deep sponge tin with butter.

Beat the eggs and sugar till pale, fluffy and doubled in volume and the sugar is dissolved. Continue beating and slowly pour in the honey in a continuous stream.

Sift the flour twice then sift again into the egg and honey mixture. Fold in quickly with a metal spoon then fold in the butter and hot water.

Pour the mixture into the sponge tin. Bake for 20-25 mins until the sponge is a rich golden brown and an inserted skewer or pointed knife comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5-8 mins before turning out onto a cooling rack.

To make the topping, mix the marscapone and 2 tablespoons of honey together.

When the sponge is cool, slice it horizontally with a bread knife. Place the base on a serving plate and spread it with half the marscapone mixture. Replace the top and spread with the remainder of the mixture. To decorate, drizzle the remaining honey over the top to create swirls

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Alternatively you may like to celebrate World Bee Day by:

• Planting bee friendly shrubs or flowers in your garden

• Making some homes for bumble bees and solitary bees

• Talking to at least 10 people about bees during the day

• Organising a bee joke competition

• Dressing up as a bee/wear clothes with bee motifs

• Supporting a beekeeping/environmental charity

• Alerting all your contacts on social media to World Bee Day

Have fun!