Tweet Wow, New Year’s Eve. The end of 2015, and a whole year to look forward to. I have to say, I am not a fan of New Year in a party sense – the whole forced jollity of it, counting down to midnight, and then… well, it’s just another day. You might as well […]
cooking
The One With The Post-Christmas Lull
Tweet Have you polished off the mince pies yet? Got room for another turkey sandwich? I’ll bet I can tempt you with a small festive tipple though? Make yourself comfy, and settle yourself down in the post-Christmas lull. Did you have a perfect Christmas Day? Did lunch go without a hitch? Or, like me, did […]
Driving Home For Christmas
Tweet As you must surely know by now, I am very proud of the area in which I live, and consider myself very lucky to be surrounded by hills and and valleys, lakes and rivers. Whenever we drive back home after a spell away, the stretch of the M6 when the mountains really take shape […]
A Very Northern Boozy Christmas
Tweet Following on in my little mini series about Booths Christmas, I absolutely simply must tell you about their Christmas spirit. Well, ok, not spirits, but certainly their wine and beer range. During the Christmas preview evening, there was a chance to sample some of the fine tipples, and the first supplier was particularly focusing on a […]
Snow Leopard And Cub Cake
Tweet It was J’s birthday, and as he’s still snow leopard-mad, he requested (and by requested, I mean drew a design for and left it lying around the kitchen were he knew I would see it) a cake with a snow leopard on. His little face lit up when he saw it recreated with the […]
Kitten Playing Football
Tweet My youngest son requested a birthday cake with his new kitten, Bella, on. As his other favourite thing is football, I decided to combine the two and came up with this cake featuring his kitten playing football in the grass. I used a Pyrex bowl to make the football part of the cake, and […]
World Cup
Tweet As Mr’s birthday fell on the first day of the World Cup, there was only one real choice for his cake this year. I carved this cake from sponge, then decorated it using fondant icing, which I sprayed with metallic food colouring spray to give it a bit of sheen.
Harvest Allotment Cake
Tweet Having two children, that means I need to provide two donations to the local harvest supper auction, so my second was this harvest allotment cake. With carrots, beetroot, parsnips, cauliflower, cabbages and potatoes, there is something for everyone (all made from fondant icing, of course). This could be made from any dense-ish sponge (carrot […]
Harvest Scarecrow Cake
Tweet This harvest scarecrow cake was made as an offering for the local church’s harvest festival supper. My sons’ school hold a supper, in conjunction with the church, followed by an auction, and the funds raised go towards supporting a child in Uganda. It was a simple, but deliciously moist, vanilla madeira cake recipe, with strawberry […]
Plum, Blackberry and Hazelnut Loaf Cake
Tweet The second in my series of things to do with a plum glut is this fabulous Plum, Blackberry and Hazelnut Loaf Cake, which I have adapted from The Hairy Bikers’ Plum, Raspberry and Pistachio cake. To say it’s delicious is an understatement. “The Best Cake I’ve ever tasted!” – my dad (who doesn’t even like […]