a day with doris

Busy bee.......

2012-02-19T20:19:00.000Z

Hello there. It's sunday night and no I am not relaxing on the sofa with my feet up watching the ol' box, I am updating my blog!! I'm trying, I'm trying!
This week has been another busy one. Infact with a fifteen month old it's always a busy week. Sometimes being an at home mum looking after Harrison leaves me feeling lazy. I feel I should be out there working...earning the green. In my spare time I am creating my wedding head pieces and cake designs and yet I still have to reassure myself that it's ok not to have a job at the moment.
Since the age of 16 I have worked. My first job was washing hair at a local hairdressers on a saturday(this is why my hands are still so dry). I kept that job throughout college and as soon as college was finished I found another job. I continued in that same job until I was made redundant last year.
I don't stop from when I get up until I go to bed and caring for a little one is the hardest job I have had, also the most rewarding.
so why can't I except that being an at home mum is a full time job? Does/did anyone else feel that way?

Enough of my ramblings, here's what's been happening this week........

These are chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate frosting. I wanted to make some fondant flowers with a vintage feel and this was the outcome.

They tasted rather good too!

The frosting made me very happy because it was a perfect concistency to pipe onto the sponge.Happy days!

I have also been trying to update my other blog 'prettylittleheadshandmade' if you have a chance, please have a look. I am hoping that one day this will become my 'job'!

I have a few more designs to add to my blog, but they are already on my FB page.

I can also be found on Facebook. If you felt so inclind, you could press on the 'like' button on the facebook page and become a friend of my site . So far I only have ten likes ( sniff sniff ).

Here's hoping you have agreat week, even if it's a little chilly!x

Moving on....

2012-02-12T20:46:00.000Z

Well, once again it's been a while! The move went well as far as moving in and moving out, however the little fella wasn't so happy about it!
It's been Very tough for our little H. I think it was all too much for his little head to take, firstly he see's everything disappearing from his home and then the next minute he's somewhere else every day and everything that he knew has gone. His sleeping pattern went up the wall, he got rashes, he just found it all too much and so did I seeing my little baby suffering.
It felt like we put him through so much and yet it couldn't be helped.
He's a happy chappy now though, running around, in and out of his new room! We are all much happier here and now nicely settled in.
Although I almost thought we wouldn't be. We had been here only a week and I fell ill and felt rather poorly for over a week. It felt like I was just getting somewhere with the flat and then bam my body just went 'nah you can't do anymore..lay there and feel sorry for yourself' (which I would have done, had I not had to look after my little H).

So anyway the jewellery has been put to one side for now although I have a facebook page for my 'PrettyLittleHeads' that I would love for you to 'Like' if your a facebooker ( is anyone not nowadays?) or even just have a peek!
I have been making a few cakes lately...quite a few of which I can share with you now....... (most get made and eaten not photographed!)

This was an order for a vespa cake....

It was quite a challenge and for some reason I find it harder to design something for a man.I guess it's easier designing something girlie. Men are more difficult. However I ended up really enjoying making this one. I'm also finding each one less stressful because I am learning something new every time.

Next on the agender were these Valentines cupcakes....I was getting in early with these ones..........

lovecakes

Bee Mine.

These were very fun to make and very fun to eat!

So I am not going to make any promises about keeping up with my blogging because I will just mentally punish myself if I don't stick with it, so i will try to keep posting when time allows.

Just so you know, even when I am not posting I am nosing at your blogs...that I can promise!!

I hope you have a great week and the sun comes out to smile at us all :)

On the move...

2012-01-13T20:22:00.000Z

Finally....We are getting the keys tomorrow.The flat is filled with boxes, we cannot find anything we need, Harrison is unpacking everything that we pack, but it's all good because we have a new home!
The big move is tomorrow and our broadband will be down until next friday so there will not be any posts from me til then! happy weekend all bloggers and i'll be in touch soon!!
x

Vintage Amethyst......

2012-01-09T21:17:00.001Z

I have discovered another shop to pine over 'Vintage Amethyst'.
Just take a little at these babies........

So we haven't moved yet! It was meant to be last weekend, but things happened and we weren't able to get the keys....We are still waiting to see if we are going to get them this weekend. I am starting to feel very stressed about the whole situation. Moving is no good for anyones stress level.

Sometimes life doesn't always go the way you want it to. But then something else happens and you realise that you had nothing to complain about.

Last week we had terrible news and the person that I want to hug in my arms is too far away to be able to do so.

The new year should bring a feeling of hope and a fresh start and yet it always seems to bring such sadness. It makes you realise that you have to appreciate the good things in this world.

A gingerbread tale......

2011-12-28T20:39:00.000Z

christmas and coconut ice....Nice!

2011-12-27T23:39:00.000Z

Well I sure hope that you all had a lovely christmas. I had a very relaxing time with my family. Christmas day was spent at home with Harrison's grandparents, uncle and of course mummy and daddy.
He's too young to understand about santa, but he had fun playing with family and all of his new toys.
We ate a lot, drank not too much and enjoyed a relaxing time together, and that's what it's all about.
Normally we are all running around trying to guess what gifts everyone would like and it becomes so stressful, but this year we decided to just buy for the little fella.
This christmas he discovered trifle...seems he couldn't get enough of it, that along with the odd pringle and his advent chocolate!! Well it is christmas....if you can't be naughty then, when can you?!!

I made some more coconut ice, this time in the shape of hearts.............

I used a heart cutter to stamp out shapes before placing them in cello bags as christmas gifts.

It's late now, but I will blog about finding our new home and my gingerbread house tomorrow.
Early start tomorrow as we are signing paperwork for moving in the new year!!
See you soon. x

Christmas wishes.....

2011-12-24T21:07:00.000Z

image taken from http://favim.com/image/95697/

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas...Relax and enjoy.

xxx

PrettyLittleHeads...

2011-12-21T20:42:00.001Z

So apart from stressing over christmas, baking, being mum to Harrison and trying to find a new home I have been working on my new designs for PrettyLittleHeads.
I thought I would share them with you.....

Lilibeth hair comb

Lucia hair comb

I have been working with really beautiful swarovski pearls and crystals because they have such a high lustre and make the pieces very luxurious. On your special day you want something extra special so I decided that I wanted to use only the best.

Little iced trees....

2011-12-20T23:30:00.000Z

Having leftover frosting from my mince pies I thought I would put it to good use.I can't bare throwing it away. The trouble is I can never juddge how much to put on each cake/pie. I either have loads left over or some cakes are frostingless :(
As I am not very skilled with the ol piping bag I discovered by accident on my last lot of cakes that if I use the star nozzle and just push down and not around the icing looked liked little christmas trees, so today I thought-why not make little cupcakes topped with frosted christmas trees.
So here they are.......

I used sugarpaste to make the hearts ....

The butterflies and baubles are from the dr oetkers range....

I added a little sparkle with some pearl lastre dust....

They were fun to make and eat!

Wednesday tomorrow.....only 4 more days and nights and then santa will be here!!

Merry mince pies...

2011-12-18T22:26:00.000Z

Mince pies with a twist! After reading a post by Nicki from Homebird about some very scrumptious mince pies that she had baked ( after seeing them herself on cherry Menloves blog ) I couldn't resist the temptation to make some myself, especially as they are made with shop bought ingredients....sometimes a little cheating doesn't hurt! there is homemade frosting though ( I had to add a little milk to the frosting)....Go on have a go......

Don't you just love christmas, not the shopping or the stress...just all the nosh!

wow one week to go now, I hope your all organised...... not like me!

Folksy Fab Finds......

2011-12-12T22:16:00.001Z

I have been spending a lot of time on folksy lately. For two reasons 1. because I am hoping to sell on there sometime soon and 2. because there are some really great things on there. So I thought that I would share my fab finds...

This week is 'Lola's Room'...
Cassia Beck is the photographer who lives in Brighton and takes really beautiful images, the kind you wish you had taken yourself!........

this is her link http://www.folksy.com/users/LolasRoom

Jack Skellington......

2011-12-10T21:42:00.000Z

My cousin asked for a 25th birthday cake....Jack from the nightmare before christmas was her choice of character.Well that's a lie...he was her second choice, I couldn't do the first 'the little mermaid'...too hard!
Well this is it, it took a while but she was pleased with the outcome....

Jack has spindly arms and legs, it's not my skill...honestly.

I get very stressed making cakes for people, but I get excited when it all starts coming together.

I hope your having a great weekend.I have been busy writing christmas cards, only a few more to do.

PrettyLittleHeads

2011-12-08T14:49:00.000Z

So here we are ....
My own little company 'PrettyLittleHeads', where I have been designing and making jewelled hair pieces. I am aiming to make enough styles to open a Folksy shop in the hope that some lovely ladies will fall in love with my designs and want them for their special day! I recently designed some bespoke pieces for a friends wedding in Australia and now I am working on my own collection.....soon to be posted about.....

The photograph is of my great grandmother, one of my inspirations for designing......I have a studio set up in our flat where I work (away from little grabbing fingers who like to grab beads and try to eat them!!)

This would be my dream job. I really love designing jewelry with all the beautiful swarovski crystals and pearls and find it very relaxing making them.

To think that I could be doing this for a job and staying at home to look after my little ray of sunshine would just be amazing to say the least!
I hope you like my pieces and if anyone needs a special handmade piece made....please email as I am only too happy to make you something to fall in love with!

There's a chill in the air.......

2011-12-07T20:32:00.000Z

Where does the time go? I last posted at the begining of November. I am officially a poor blogger..any such award out there?....if so it's mine :)

I moan when it's too hot, I moan when it's too cold. But I am happy with cold and sunny.
Time to envelope ourselves in warm snuggly clothes, sipping hot drinks and curling up on the sofa with the cold dark nights creeping behind the curtains......
what more to do than bake in a kitchen heated by a warm glowing oven with sweet aromas filling the room.......

I purchased some little rubber letter stamps that are quite easy to use on fondant. I then sprinkled the imprinted letters with icing sugar....

This week was Harrison's christmas party at his playgroup.

I made cupcakes for the mum's...

and ickle cakes for the kiddies.....

I used a star nozzle to make my icing look like little christmas trees.....

and I used a ready to use chocolate icing powder from silver spoon for the little cakes....a little sweet for my liking, but I am sure it was ok with the little ones!

Harrison ready for his party food and cake.

He doesn't look too amused being photographed!

I have been very busy with another project which is why I haven't been blogging much over the last few months.I have been making and designing special occasion head pieces which I will blog about soon.

I hope you are all wrapped up warm and cosy and getting organised for christmas...I am trying! But at a very slow pace!

will blog sooner, rather than later next time..........

Halloween...a little later....

2011-11-08T14:41:00.000Z

Well I know it was last month, but I am only just getting around to posting about it....

We didn't have any trick or treaters knocking, but we did make pumpkin cake..........

And then we had fireworks night (Harrison's first experience of fireworks) and this is what he thought......

A little shocked and excited, until the Catherine wheel and then he screamed to go back indoors!

Harrison is one!

2011-11-03T09:32:00.001Z

Well, where does the time go!
My little baby turned one at the end of last month and I cannot believe the time has passed by so fast. One minute he is helpless in my arms and the next he is running around laughing and playing.
He's an active little lad which doesn't leave me much time for blogging these days.
I find that when I haven't blogged for a period of time,I cannot seem to get back into it..but today I decided that I would post his birthday pictures.

He loves Waybuloo, so I thought I should go with a waybuloo theme. I made the two male characters and two little nara bugs and kept with a blue and orange theme, with a little lime green thrown in for good measure....

We had a victoria sponge cake, chocolate cupcakes and cake pops.............ummmmmmm!

Our little ray of sunshine.........Harrison.

Here comes the bride....and groom....

2011-09-26T22:05:00.000+01:00

What a wonderful day it was.....

Harrison's Auntie will be so pleased to see these pics on here (not) the camera is not her friend!

love you auntie.xox

ooooh and not to forget the cake............

It was yummy as well as looking scrummy.

Just Married...........

2011-09-07T22:32:00.000+01:00

You are my sunshine, My only sunshine, You make me happy when skies are grey, you'll never know dear how much I love you, Please don't take my sunshine away.....

For the bride........

The dress......classic,stylish and perfect

A bodice of embroidered flowers with a satin and chiffon layered skirt.......

delicate covered buttons.......

A bouquet of beautiful velvet red roses entwined with brides veil....

And to top it off an amazingly kind, loving husband..........

Where is a photograph of the beautiful bride you might add....

I don't have one! Harrison's auntie is not one for the camera, but I am hoping that I will be able to get hold of one sometime soon to show you how beautiful she looked.

The day was beyond perfect. The sun was shining, the skies were blue and everything went to plan. It was a joyous day that everybody enjoyed,the ceremony,the reception, but most of all the marriage of two very special people who deserve happiness.

We all raised a glass to the happy couple, surprisingly my ol man kept to just a few...not like our wedding reception....he couldn't stand up ( that's what I drive a man to).

My little fella and me.

we decorated the room ready for the honeymooners to come home to....

These pretty 'made in india' decorations were a lovely touch...reminded me of the ones we use to lick and stick at xmas when I was a youngster.

This was a gift that I made by brother and lovely new sister, so they would always be reminded of us when they looked at it. We may be far away in miles, but in some way very near :(

So that's it, until I manage to get that all important picture....I'll try my hardest!

2011-09-06T20:31:00.000+01:00

Once again a long pause in writing......
One of the reasons is time. Having my little cherub takes up a lot of time and energy, so once the little fella is in snoozeland I am ready to snooze myself. But that's not the only reason. Self doubt comes creeping in....yes that's right, who would want to read my posts? Why would anyone care/be interested.
I read other blogs and they are interesting, humourous, filled with great pictures and a joy to read.

So here I am ready to post something and then I think...why would that be of any interest to anyone? Oh I can't use that picture, it's not brilliant enough.It's not funny enough. So I don't bother posting, I just look at other blogs and feel crap and wish I was that blog.
Then today I thought to myself, post anyway so I am............

Crap or not, interesting or boring, here goes....

Actually I want to post about our time away for my brother's wedding, so I will do another post because that just wouldn't be right to put self doubting and an amazing day together as they were worlds apart :)

Anyone for a coffee....

2011-07-25T15:47:00.000+01:00

Frothy coffee...or is it?

No siree, it's a cappuccino cupcake......

Cake:

125g self-raising flour
125g soft unsalted butter
125g golden caster sugar (I only had regular and they came out ok)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 heaped tablespoon instant expresso

2-3 tablespoons milk

Icing:160g white chocolate
60g butter
120g sour cream
260g icing sugar, sieved

cocoa powder, to dust

1. Preheat oven to 200c

2. Put all the cake ingredients (except the milk) into a bowl and combine.

3. mix again adding the milk to form a batter.

4.spoon into the paper cases in the muffin tin and cook for about 20 minutes.

5.once the sponge is springing back leave in the tin for 5 minutes then cool on a wire rack.

6. for the icing, melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave or bain marie.

7. after it cools slightly, stir in the sour cream.

8. gradually beat in the icing sugar.

9. if the consistancy isn't right add either hot water to thin or more icing sugar to thicken.

10. once the topping is ready spoon over your cupcakes and dust over a little cocoa powder

volia

note to bakers...

my chocolate and butter curdled and I thought I was doomed so I angrily threw the mixture away, went back out to the shops to replace the ingredients (cursing Nigella along the way...well it is her recipe). I repeated the process adding a little sour cream at a time and the same thing happened, after lots more cursing and almost crying, I kept beating it and eventually it was ok.so beware and don't give up!

also I spooned the frosting on a little at a time, until it looked like a little cup of coffee.

Can anyone help? I am trying to post comments on peoples blogs but the system will not let me! it links me back to signing in and then just will not let me do it! frustrated to say the least!!!! arggggggggggggggg....

Cake books...

2011-07-23T21:35:00.000+01:00

Today has been another busy day and it seems the only chance I get to post is late in the evening, so please excuse the nonsense I write as I am half asleep. I sometimes find I come on here and just don't know what to write.But tonight I had a purpose so here goes.
I have been meaning to post about these lovely little books from marks and spencers, so I thought tonights the night...

I think they were about £4 each.Even if you don't make anything from them the pictures are really lovely to look at........

dribble, dribble

posh sarnies

I want those little T cup vases now! wouldn't mind eating the cake neither.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.x

2011-07-18T22:01:00.000+01:00

I made these cakes with a lot of love for two very special people...We have a wedding coming up in our family in less than two weeks, so I made some celebration cakes for my brother and his wife to be!!......
What's more exciting is that it is taking place in Sweden.
It will be Harrison's first trip on a plane and his first trip abroad. He is so curious now and into absolutely everything so I think he will be in his element.
He is so wonderful to be around at this stage. Everything has gone up a level and I cannot leave him in the room on his own because he finds the tiniest piece of dirt, the one wire that's loose and he's learn't to pull himself up on everything...the best climbing frame is daddy's t.v stand...eek!

Makes me feel like cake!

Lemon sponge cake...

2011-07-16T22:47:00.001+01:00

As requested by you lovely ladies, here is the Lemon cake recipe as shown on my previous post.It really is a very simple cake to make and yummy to eat.

(recipe by Lorraine Pascal)

Sponge ingredients:

220g butter, softened (don't tell anyone but I used stork)

220g caster sugar

4 eggs

seeds of half a vanilla pod

a couple of drops of vanilla extract

zest of 1/2 to 1 lemon

220g self raising flour

small pinch of baking powder

juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon (if required)

Filling:

5-6 tablespoons of lemon curd

300ml double cream

30g icing sugar

seeds of 1/2 a vanilla pod

a couple of drops of vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of limoncello, optional ( no siree, not for me at £15 a bottle).

1. Preheat oven to 180c /gas mark 4

2. Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins.

3. Place softened butter and sugar in a bowl and beat well together

4. Add two eggs, vanilla seeds, vanilla extract, lemon zest and half of the flour and beat well

5. Then add the other two eggs and the rest of the flour and the baking powder beat well

6. If the mixture feels a little stiff add a little lemon juice

7. divide the mixture between the 2 tins, level off with the back of a spoon and place into the oven for 30 minutes or until they spring back when pressed

8. Leave the cake to cool in the tins

9. Once the sponges are completely cool, remove them from the tins

10. To make the cream, whip up the cream, vanilla pods, extract and icing sugar together, if using limoncello fold this in afterwards

11. Place one sponge on to your choosen serving dish,dollop the cream on top and then spread over the lemon curd. Place the other cake on top and sprinkle plenty of icing sugar on top

volia

The recipe does state putting the curd on first and then the cream, but when I did this for the first time I found that the curd slid of the cake and ran down the sides of the sponge, so now I cover the base with cream and make a little ledge around the sides so it holds the curd in. It's nice to just let a little trickle over the sides.

Also this is the cake dome. Its made from plastic ( purchased at Bhs recently....I believe it's now half price at £8)

Vintage tea party

2011-07-14T23:20:00.000+01:00

I have a confession...I am addicted to vintage cups and saucers suddenly (oh and serving tongs, sugar tongs etc, etc...).
Before I could happily admire them from a far, but since deciding that I am going to have the odd tea party with all the ladies I want vintage, vintage, vintage! I have been in every second hand shop that I can get to, ebay, asking friends and family to look out...it has to stop because we don't have the space!

Anyway, I had a tea party last saturday ...so here's what I have been purchasing...

This is what my little table looked like.....

My ma loaned me her beautiful table cloth, which is now tea stained :(

I also had a table of cakes to gorge on.........

chocolate fugde cake

scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam

lemon sponge cake with lemon curd and fresh cream infused with vanilla pod seeds.....if anyone wants the recipe just let me know!

Along with the vintage china, cakes and tea I also decorated the tables with flowers cut from our garden. I placed them in little jam jars with ribbon tied around the necks.

It was a busy day, but well worth all the work.although I couldn't have done it all without my mama (you can always rely on your mum).
( Helene I only wished that you could have been here!)

Sponge..check, icing ....check, flower ...check.....job done!

2011-07-12T20:17:00.000+01:00

So here are the cakes that I made yesterday for m.i.l...they came out ok after all. I am very happy with my icing...it's not one of my strong points so I went onto 'You tube' to see if anyone had videos of icing a cupcake and hay presto....so I've learned a new trick! They say your never too old!

The one thing I stress over when icing is having enough icing to cover all the cakes. I end up icing them with not enough to cover them all or having loads left over because I have been too tight....and I really hate licking the remains of a frosting bowl!!! ...not!

Looks like I'll be in compitition with my little man............

Faircake.

2011-07-11T11:53:00.000+01:00

Hello bloggers! I am finally back on board with my posts...but when I am not Harrison will be I am sure!!
I have found a wonderful company called 'faircake'. It is run by a very talented lady called Shikhita Singh. She runs cake classes in baking and decorating cakes...check out the link http://www.faircake.co.uk/
I've posted some pics for you to see. At the moment I am baking some cakes for my mother in laws birthday...I'll post them if they look ok later today....that's if time allows!

I wish mine would look like this!!
Sorry for the short post, I'm trying to get bits done whilst the little fella is in snoozy land.x

Harrison here...

2011-07-04T23:18:00.000+01:00

HEllo, I'M hArrison.....

mUmMy's a little Busy at the moMent so I thought I'd dO a little post on heRe. wE haven't had internet acceSS for a while which drove mummy ~~made~~ mad and then we went Away foR a little break ~~two~~ to dOrset so i thought I would show you some pics.....

There wEre rainY days...buT it wouldn't be a cAravan holiDay without rain....

TheRe were sUnny days too...

We visiteD mOnkey world....

anD I took hOme mr aBbotts...I lOve him....

SooooooooooO many buckets.....

In the End is was just alL tOo much.........

You can't seE me........Look what I did to mUmmy's wool...

It was nice and soft to cUddle.....and sometimes the only thing to get me sleep in the car!

I don't want to go there again....I didn't like being in a tin box.

soon I'll bE going to sWeden so if anyoNe has anY tips about taking a littl'un like me away mUmmy would lOve to know.x

One tash or two....

2011-04-09T16:21:00.001+01:00

I have a thing for tashes..I like them, no reason why I just do. I got my husband to grow a chopper type tash once, but he shaved it off after a week (boo hoo).
My pal also likes them... more so on objects...sock monkeys, doodles etc.....
I was paying my work pals a visit this week so I thought I would make them some tash cakes, here they are...

I made marbled chocolate and vanilla sponge....

With a chocolate frosting.......

Cake + tash + ladies = happy days!

A treat or two for mum....

2011-04-07T20:47:00.000+01:00

I know it was almost a week ago, but you should know me by now...I take at least a couple of weeks to post my projects!
I spent most of saturday in the kitchen making bits and bobs for my mum and m.i.l.
I purchased the Hummingbird baking book a while ago now and everything I have made from it has been delicious.I started my day by making crumbly coconut ice ( almost mixing in baby dribble,as my little Harrison wanted a front row seat whilst I was stirring it!)
I packaged the goods in cello bags and using an alphabet stamp that I purchased from The range last week I made some tags.

Next on the list was m.i.l's lemon sponge cakes with lemon cream cheese frosting..........decorated with lavender and purple flowers.....

and then last but not least lemon and poppy seed cake (Hummingbird) delicious,
zesty, and morish...like most cakes!!

It was worth all the hard work to see their happy faces and the best thing that I had on mothers day was my little boy :)
if anyone wants recipes just ask, I haven't got the energy to write them all down (tut tut)!!

Choo choo little train...

2011-03-17T21:59:00.001Z

It was my nephews second birthday last month so I decided to make him a cake with a sugarpaste train that I had seen as a tutorial on Cakejournal. It was a lot easier to make than I thought.Once the candles were blown out the train and carriages didn't live a very long life. I think the kids would have been happy just to have the train and pass on the cake! Oh to be a kid eating sickly sweet things. It reminded me of when I used to eat the left over raw cake mixture my ma had made when I was little!

There are so many inspiring things on Cakejournal's website, If you haven't looked on her site, it's well worth a visit. Infact she has a post about easter egg cake pops that Iwill be making soon!

Red Velvet....

2011-03-15T20:35:00.002Z

Yep,more cake! This one is a recipe from 'The Hummingbird Bakery' book.
It was quite a bit of work and it's defo not one to do with the kids, there was red cake mixture everywhere.
Whilst making it I said I wouldn't make it again because of the mess I made, but after eating it I changed my mind.

Such a wonderful vibrant colour.

It was not easy to apply the cream cheese topping due to little red crumbs coming through, but it didn't look too bad in the end.

Photograph by chris patience.

The textue was lovely and moist and the taste is rather unusual. it's not chocolatey or vanilla it's somewhere in between the two.

Word of warning it turns your tongue red (that will be the pot of food colouring ).

Another thing the flavour seems to improve day by day. It lasted in the fridge for a week, cake doesn't normally last that long in our house, but because it's so tall with the three layers you only need a thin (ish) slice!

p.s watch out if using wooden utensils as it dyes them red!!

Something sweet...

2011-03-13T20:06:00.000Z

I never have time to blog, but seem to have time to bake and eat my creation!! because of this I have made myself a promise to blog at least three times this coming week.
I always take pics for the post that I plan to write, but never write it...but that will not be the case this week!

This week we made pancakes.......

Healthy banana!!....and naughty nutella....

Pancake pans are the best...makes life a lot easier!

So I've had a very busy couple of weeks. Harrison's uncle and auntie came to visit last weekend from Sweden so he got even more attention than normal.It's amazing but after their recent visit he seems to recognises their voices on skype.

Our computer got a virus via Ebay so we couldn't use it (until my brother did his handy work), our landline died and trying to get sky to fix it was one big hoo ha!

Doesn't sound that much when I read it back, but seemed a lot at the time!

I made a key lime pie, of which I forgot to photograph, a red velvet cake ( post to follow in the week), A chocolate cake for my newphew and I think thats about it...oh and a visit to a vintage clothes fair...........

All we bought was a cuppa and a slice of cake ( naughty), it would have been rude not to!

Anyway I hope you all have a good week and may the sun shine down on us :)

I'm not just talking to myself....

2011-02-22T20:42:00.000Z

.....I reached 50 follows and I want to say a big thank you to you all for adding me. I didn't think I'd end up with 5 let alone 50!
My little blog is somewhere for me to come and be creative and it's so lovely to know that you are there following me along the way.
I thought I would celebrate with a good old fashioned traditional victoria sponge with a little twist of a filling!!

Ingredients:

4 eggs, weighed in their shells

butter or margarine

caster sugar

self raising flour

the above 3 ingredients should weigh the same as the weight of the 4 eggs in shells!

(if you want smaller cakes make with 3 eggs and the same weight again in the sugar, butter and flour).

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Mix together the sugar and butter /marg until light and fluffy.

2. Add in the vanilla extract and beat.

3. Add the eggs and lightly beat.

4. Now sift in the flour and stir into the mixture until well combined.

5. Poor the mixture into 2 tins lined with greaseproof paper and place into the oven at 180c.

6. Bake for approx 20 minutes.

I filled the middle with a layer of strawberry jam and a layer of mascapone cheese (the mascapone stops it from becoming too sweet).

the topping is icing sugar mixed with water and pink food colouring.

Raspberry Coconut slice

2011-02-18T22:13:00.000Z

A little late for a valentines post, but these are what I made for my Hubby for valentines. They went down well with a cuppa and so I thought I'd share this very easy recipe with you lovely bloggers!

Recipe taken from marks and spencers ' biscuits and macaroons' recipe book.

Ingredients

Sponge:

90g Butter

110g Caster sugar

1 Egg

35g Self Raising flour

100g Plain flour

1 Tablespoon custard powder

220g Raspberry jam

Coconut Topping:

160g desiccated coconut

55g Caster Sugar

2 Eggs, beaten Lightly

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180c and grease and line a 20 x 30 cm retangular tin.

2. Beat the butter, sugar and egg in a bowl until it turns light and fluffy.

3. stir in the sifted flour and custard powder.

4. Spread the dough into the tin and then spread the jam on top ( make sure you stir the jam before spreading, as it needs to be runny to spread over the dough) .

5. place the topping ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined.

6. sprinkle over the jam ( they say sprinkle but it's too wet to sprinkle, so I placed it on top of the jam and spread it with a fork).

7. Place in the oven and bake for 40 mins.

Make sure you use the correct size tin as I used a 20 x 20 tin and it took longer to bake!!

I think you could use any jam you fancy.....maybe something like blueberry or apricot.

Enjoy your weekend.x

Heaven in a box.......

2011-02-11T23:14:00.000Z

This week Grandma and myself took our little Harrison on his first trip on a train into London town.
What a delight for the little fella he didn't know where to look first.
I hold my hands up to being a very curious person ( well........more like nosey...always have been, always will be!) and little H has taken after me! He was having a lovely time looking at all the different faces and places, it was a joy to see him taking everything in.
The joy didn't stop there and why should it I hear you say....It was only fair that mummy and grandma should have some too so we popped along to Patisserie Valerie.....

This little box was filled with these little treats!

Tiramisu

Mixed berry treat

They were devine, so if you ever pass a Valerie's I'd advice you pop in for a little treat.

What more could I have asked for....sunshine,my mama, my little fella and a naughty treat!!

Enjoy your weekend.x

Chocolate Fudge Cake

2011-01-30T21:06:00.000Z

This has to be one of the easiest chocolate cakes to make..honestly (well minus the handmade flowers!)

Sponge:

175g self raising flour

150g caster sugar

2 tablespoons golden syrup

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 medium eggs

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

150ml sunflower oil

150ml milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180c

2. Line two 7''round tins with greaseproof paper

3. Sieve the flour, cocoa and bicarb into a bowl, add the sugar and mix until combined

4. Make a well in the middle and add the syrup, eggs, milk and oil and mix until smooth

5. Spoon the mixture into the two tins and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes until springy to the touch

6. Leave to cool before placing onto a cooling rack

Frosting:

75g Unsalted butter (at room temp)

175g Icing sugar (sifted)

3 Tablespoons cocoa

Milk

( I double the ingredients of the frosting as I don't like to scrimp)

Method:

1. Beat the butter until soft

2. Add the icing sugar and beat until well combined

3. Add enough milk until you have a good spreading consistency

4. Sift the cocoa powder into the mixture and mix together until smooth

5. Sandwich the cakes together with half of the frosting then using a palete knife cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting...

.......there you have it one light moist chocolate cake

...........enjoy.x

Rocky Road treat.....

2011-01-20T20:50:00.000Z

I wanted to send people away with a little treat at my tea party, unfortunately I didn't have any cello bags big enough so had to wrap each piece in clingfilm...I was not happy I can tell you!!

Ingredients:

200g chocolate, milk or dark

100g unsalted butter

200g chocolate chip cookies, lightly crushed

100g mini marshmellows

100g sultanas

Golden syrup

Dark chocolate to cover

Method:

Line a 7''x 7'' tin with clingfilm.

Melt chocolate in a bain marie or bowl over a saucepan with simmering water along with the butter.

Once melted allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Stir in the cookies, mini marshmellows, sultanas and some golden syrup ( just enough to bind it all together...roughly 2-3 tablespoons),

Transfer into the tin, press down until even all over and chill for at least 2 hours.

Once set, poor melted dark chocolate over the top so it covers evenly...ta dah finished product!

Chop into small or big pieces, whatever takes your fancy :)

Lemon Sponge Cupcakes....

2011-01-01T15:22:00.000Z

.........with Lemon Curd and Lemon frosting.

I also made the cake wrappers by using paper dollies....a very cheap way to make your cakes look pretty.You can get a packet of around 60 paper dollies from the pound shop for.....well one pound!!

That tutorial will be another post, when i'm not upto my eyeballs in nappies!...

Sponge ingredients:
120 g plain flour
150 g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (plus extra to decorate)
40 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
120 ml whole milk
1 egg
Lemon frosting:
250 g icing sugar, sifted
80 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
Juice of 1/2 lemon
a couple of drops of yellow food colouring (optional)
25 ml whole milk

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F.
Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and butter in a bowl and beat on low speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.
Gradually pour in the milk and beat until just incorporated.
Add the egg to the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated. Continue mixing for a couple of minutes until the mixture is smooth.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until 2/3 full
Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted should come out clean.
Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in tray before turning out onto wire cooling rack to cool completely.
For the lemon frosting: Beat together the icing sugar, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and food colouring on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer down to a slower speed.
Slowly pour in the milk, then when it is all incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed.
Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy (at least 5 minutes).
When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the lemon frosting on top and decorate with a little lemon zest.

I also added a little lemon curd to the top of the sponge before piping on the lemon frosting...delish!!

Thanking you all!

2010-12-16T22:33:00.005Z

Firstly I would like to say a big thank you to all the lovely mummy's for making me feel so much better about the situation that I found myself in. It really helped to hear your stories,which made me realise that I was not alone.
I am able to enjoy my little son and know that I am still a good mum booby feeding or not!!

My mum always told me that I would not understand the love that a mum has for her child until I had one myself and by jove she was right! I just want to eat him up!!

Enough baby chat ( for now anyway)!! A while back I mentioned my vintage tea party and I said I would post the recipes for anyone who was interested in having a naughty treat!....so here goes.........

'Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes'- Recipe taken from 'The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook'.

Sponge Ingredients:

120 g plain flour

140 g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
A pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter, at room temperature
120 ml whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
12 large strawberries, chopped into small pieces
200 g digestive biscuits

Frosting ingredients:

300 g icing sugar, sifted

50 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125 g cream cheese, cold

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and 40g of the unsalted butter in a free-standing electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.
2. Pour in the milk and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until all the ingredients are well mixed (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Add the egg and beat well for a few minutes to ensure the ingredients are well incorporated.
3. Divide the chopped strawberries between the paper cases. Spoon the cupcake mixture on top until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to25 minutes, or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, make the frosting by beating the icing sugar the remaining 20g of the unsalted butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat it until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least five minutes. Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.

5. Roughly break up the digestive biscuits and put them in a food processor. Process until finely ground. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the cream cheese frosting on top and finish with a sprinkling of finely ground biscuits.
I also plonked a juicy strawberry ontop!

pink spotty paper cases are from cakescookiesandcraftsshop.com

For some reason my cakes shrank away from some of the papers, much to my disgust!! However they tasted lovely.

Breast is best!

2010-11-18T20:17:00.002Z

photo by chris patience http://www.patience.se/

I know...not the beginings of a creative project, more a rant about feeling sorry for myself and my son!
Throughout my pregnancy I was adamant that I would breast feed my baby no matter what.
My son was here, but where was my milk. A new baby and no knowledge of what to expect when nature does not take it's course. You have boobs therefore you have milk!! My little Harrison ended up jaundice. I was in hospital from the Sunday to the Thursday....they were keeping an eye on us and the small matter that there were not enough staff to discharge me!
Don't get me wrong I am not having a dig at the midwives, they are a godsend...over worked and under paid. But the frustrating thing was not one of them was listening to me in the hospital or had the time to listen when I was explaining that me and my baby couldn't latch on..they thought that I was being impatient. One thing I am not is impatient! I crochet!!
Harrison went on to formula to build him up and finally a breast feeding specialist was sent to help me, but still no milk.....even the pump couldn't find it!
Finally I was sent home and once again I was helped by a midwife to latch Harrison on...
...it didn't last and I had to go back to the formula with much annoyance.
I tried again this week to put him back on the breast and hallelujah it worked....I dreamed of this moment and I cried with joy that maybe I could carry on for the next 5 months giving my son what he needed, but my joy soon turned to heartache when I realised I had to let it go.The pain was just too unbearable and I had been beaten by nature.
I have continued to beat myself up at not being able to breast feed my baby. I feel as though I have failed him, something so natural that I cannot supply as a mother and isn't that what we are here for to give our children what they need.
It's a terrible place to be as a mother to feel that you have failed.
As women we have breast feeding drummed into us, but nobody tells you what to do when it goes wrong and no leaflets or books say well done for trying....only my family and I guess they are the most important ones!

Motherhood makes you feel delicate and vulnerable, but at the same time elated.
In the beginning. I felt as though one blow and I'd disperse into a thousand pieces. Day by day it's getting easier and I can enjoy my son.I have never felt so many emotions and only now realise what every mum goes through. We all deserve a medal, especially you mum! Thank you for everything.

My Vintage tea party

2010-11-07T07:56:00.000Z

On the weekend before my little bundle of joy arrived, I had family and close friends over to my 'Vintage Tea party' (this was my take on a baby shower). I wanted to make a range of cakes for everyone to nosh and with my mum's help I managed to make quite an assortment.
Also I do love an excuse to use my cake stands, rather than them sitting redundant on top of our kitchen cupboards!

Strawberry Cheesecake cupcakes and Devonshire Scones served with devonshire clotted cream and strawberry jam.

Lemon sponge cupcakes with lemon curd and lemon frosting.

A little homemade rocky road treat for my guests.

Chocolate fudge cake.

It was a wonderful day filled with laughter and lots of tea and cake... what more could I have asked for!

Over the following weeks I will post recipes and instructions for the above cakes..... it may take me a while as I have another project that is far more important now!!!

Harrison...

2010-11-05T19:31:00.000Z

Everyone meet Harrison....

He decided that mummy was not going to have 2 weeks maternity leave to chill out before motherhood....he arrived safely on Sunday 24th october ( 2 weeks early ) !!

Wearing his fishing hat ready to fish with daddy.

Pout little lips that make me want to kiss him all the time.

Battle wounds.

Nothing prepares you for parenthood, the sleepless nights, the feeds, the nappy changing, the worrying....but it's all worth it.

When I do get a spare moment I seem to spend it admiring my little pumpkin, watching him smile from wind, it seems every day a new facial expression.

I have fallen in love!

More cake pops

2010-10-21T20:32:00.000+01:00

A very special little girl had her 13th birthday party recently and knowing there would be plenty of kids at the party and sweet toothed adults I decided to make my cake pops with a little added extra this time.

I made some little sugar paste butterflies to add to the pops and placed them into different coloured petit four cases.

These are a real treat for people as they think that they are just a chocolate and then bite into the pop and realise it's a moist mini cake............ it's making my mouth water just thinking about them!

Two more weeks til we meet little baby and then I'll hopefully be able to stuff my face with cake!!

Macaroon or Macaron.....?

2010-10-05T13:20:00.000+01:00

........ Well they don't look like macarons so I think these must be macaroons!!

I have wanted to make these for ages, I didn't realise that there were two different types! Supposedly if they are chewy they are a macaroon ( English) and if they are crispy they are a Macaron (French).

I have never had either in my 35 years, so these were my first attempt... as unattractive as they may look unbaked ( no comments on what they look like please) they tasted, well.... rather tasty.

Before they went into the oven.

Once they had been baked....all soft and chewy.

Once they were filled with a chocolate cream cheese filling.

They didn't last long...I was good and only had two out of the 20!!

I found the recipe on bbcgoodfood, which was very simple to make, however I did change the recipe for the frosting to a cream cheese frosting from another recipe. However this was too savoury for the macaroon, so I added some icing sugar and hay presto a perfect combo.

The recipe is as follows:

125g Icing sugar, sifted

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder, Sifted

100g Ground almonds

2 Medium egg whites

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Place sifted icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl and then stir in the ground almonds ( I also sifted this).

3. In another bowl whisk the egg whites until they are stiff and then fold them into your dry ingredients.

4. Fill an icing bag fitted with a plain 1cm nozzle with your mixture.

5. Pipe 24 small blobs, about 3cm across, onto your baking sheet, making sure you leave space in between to allow the mixture to spread.

6. Smooth the surface with a wet finger, if your finger is dry is will stick to the mixture.

7. Leave the blobs to stand for 15 minutes, this allows a skin to form....very important I have read!!

8. I baked them in a fan assisted oven for about 15 minutes, until they felt firm to touch.... it's difficult to know on a first try, you can always put them back in the oven, however you can't scrape off the burned bits!!

9. Once baked, see if you can peel them away from the paper before they cool as once cooled mine were hard to take off of the paper! They can be left on the paper to cool.

Filling ingredients:

100g Soft cheese

25g dark chocolate...I used Lindt 70% cocoa

Icing sugar to sweeten

Instructions:

1. Melt the chocolate, either in the microwave or in a bowl over a simmering pan of water... making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water.

2. Allow the chocolate to cool a little before adding to the cream cheese.

3. Mix well then once combined add a teaspoon of sifted icing sugar at a time and taste until sweet enough.

4.Sandwich macaroons together with the filling.

If you want them to be extra chewy and yummy store them in the fridge and they will go even softer!! That's if you haven't eaten them that night!

Cake Pops

2010-09-30T13:31:00.002+01:00

I finally made some 'cake pops' after admiring Bakerella's for so long!

They do take a little longer to make than a cake or cupcakes with a frosting, but believe me if you haven't tried them it sure is worth it!

My ones looked like homemade chocolates because I didn't put them onto lollypop sticks. I just rested them inside a little paper cake case.

I also put a couple into cello bags and tied them with pretty ribbon for little gifts for friends.

I made te cake mixture myself and the frosting as I didn't fancy using ready made mixes.

The recipe that I used was as follows:

Cake Ingredients;

110g margarine or butter

110g caster sugar

2 medium eggs

75g self raising flour, sieved

25g cocoa powder, sieved

Frosting:

75g Unsalted butter

175g icing sugar, sieved

3 tbsp cocoa powder

milk or water

Instructions:

1. Pre - heat oven to 180c/ 350f/ gas mark 4...I have a fan assisted oven so I had it on 160c.

2. Mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and paler in colour.

3. Gradually beat in the eggs, if it starts to curdle, add some of your flour.

4. Gently fold in the remaining flour and cocoa powder until combined.

5.Spoon your mixture into your baking cases ( I thought it easier to make little cupcakes than a large cake- quicker to cool down)! bake for 15 - 20 minutes. In my fan assisted they took about 13 minutes. Do not over bake your cakes if you don't want crusty bits in your cake pops!!

6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down on a wire rack.

Frosting Instructions:

7. Make sure your butter is nice and soft, it makes it a lot easier to mix with the icing sugar.

8. Add the icing sugar and mix until well combined.

9. now add the cocoa powder and mix well until you have a smooth paste.

10. Add a little milk or water ( I add milk) until it is spreadable, not too runny and not too thick!

Ok here comes the fun bit:

11.Once the cakes are cool, crumble them into a large bowl and add your frosting to the crumbs, mixing until well combined.

12. Now using your hands roll into little balls, place these on greaseproof paper and then into the fridge.

13. I left my cakes in the fridge overnight, but I am sure a couple of hours will do if you cannot wait!

14. Melt chocolate of your choice ( I used dark- I find it the easiest to work with).

15. Once the chocolate is melted, stick a cocktail stick into a cake ball and dip into the melted chocolate. allow the excess to drip off.

16. Rest your dipped ball onto the greaseproof paper and continue to do the same with all of your rolled balls.

17. Once you have dipped all the balls place them into the fridge to set.

18. I wanted to decorate mine with a lighter chocolate, so I melted some white chocoalte as well as the dark and mixed them together to place over the top as shown above.

Good luck and if there is anything I have missed or you have a question just leave me a message.

Happy cake popping!!

oh, this is what it looks like inside.....it just seems to melt in your mouth!

Home sweet home.....

2010-09-26T23:03:00.002+01:00

Time for my holiday tales...
Sitting in traffic on the A406 after Tom Tom took us on the busiest route homeward bound was not a nice welcome home, however after such a lovely week in Cornwall who could complain!
We were lucky enough to have only one day of rain, which lead us to the Eden Project... which is never a bad thing.
We have walked, slept well and definitely eaten well... me a little two well maybe... We had cream teas ( scones with clotted cream and jam) twice....

.........A slice of coffee and walnut cake and a big slice of sticky toffee and caramel cake ( oh my goodness was that good.... it was from a bakers in Newquay, which I only went into because it's name was the same as my ma's. I have never eaten cake like it...I have since found out that they do mail order. We stayed in a beautiful B and B in Bude, where we couldn't have been made to feel more welcome.

We visited Padstow, named Padstein by some and ate Rick Steins chips ( and Falafels ). They were tasty, but not as far as the seagulls were concerned... they turned their noses up at Rick's chips!

We visited beautiful places like Boscastle

More tea shops.... what is it that is so comforting about tea and cake?....

Oh and we have enough fudge to keep us going for a life time....

I can't eat mine until after the little one is born, but I have the satisfaction of knowing it's there waiting for me to get my teeth around it.

One little shop in Tintagel called ' Granny Wobbly's Fudge Pantry' was one of the cutest places I have seen in a while....

The fudge is made on the premises and the smell of chocolate fudge cooking on the hob was a pure torment for me!

However, with sugar my new enemy there are still other simple pleasures to be had like the watching the sun go down on the beach with no cares in the world ( or at least whilst your on holiday), makes you realise how sweet life can be sometimes.

Hooray for holidays!

2010-09-11T16:41:00.000+01:00

Today We have been organising ourselves ready for going away tomorrow to Bude in Cornwall for a week. We can't wait, time away from work, walking in the fresh air, eating yummy treats and hopefully some sunshine!
So no posting until after the 20th for me. Hopefully I'll have lots to post about on our return! Probably that my sugar levels have hit the roof from all of the creamy fudge, vegetable filled hot pasties, scones with jam and clotted cream....... do I need to continue?

Anyway we went to the Epping forest festival last weekend to have a goosey gander and low and behold there was a cake stall...of course I had to sample the goods and I was well behaved and only had one fairy cake with a cuppa ( all for £1.50 - bargain I say).

It was a very cute looking stall with cakes topped with every flavoured frosting you could think of having, coffee, vanilla, strawberry, chocolate...you name it, it was available.

I went for the coffee frosting with old school sweets ( I gave the sweets to Paul - my chosen one) and he had a vanilla frosting topped with a fresh strawberry.Darn the diabetes I could have sat there and stuffed myself silly with all those cakes!

I also noticed the cake wrappers, as I hadn't seen this style before.

You can get them from the Cakes, Cookies and Crafts shop if you feel so inclined!

Have a wonderful week .x

Bakerella

2010-09-08T14:43:00.000+01:00

Still making myself suffer looking at cakes on a daily basis, dreaming about a day when it will be o.k for me to eat it again whenever I want it (although by no means do I want to rush my pregnancy it's far to precious...more so than any cake)!

Well one site that I like to check out is Bakerella. She has a book coming out at the end of October called 'cake pops ' and it's teeny tiny bits of cake mixed with a frosting of your choice, rolled into balls and then covered in whatever you fancy, fondant, chocolate....Or any other yummy rolling agent!

These little gems are just a few of her cake pops.

I will definitely be trying these out at some point... I'll just add it to my long list of things to bake/make!!

How cute are these for kids.... and adults like me who haven't really grown up!

It seems pretty easy to do, as you basically make a cake of your choice and then once its cooled down, you crumble it into a bowl and add your frosting, mix well, roll into small balls, refridgerate and then dip into the chosen topping...fab!!

All of the photos above are taken from Bakerella's website.

Blue bear

2010-09-06T23:00:00.001+01:00

It was my youngest nephew (in-laws) 1st birthday in February and I made these cupcakes for him .
I hadn't got around to putting the pics on until now (how slack), due to being missing in action for the past 4 months. This was my first attempt at making a sugarpaste bear.
Meet Bert.

They didn't last very long with the kids, which is always lovely and rewarding to see them munching away.

I have now purchased some more regalice, so am wondering what to make next!!

The party Times

2010-09-02T13:26:00.000+01:00

Whilst having a peek on Peggy Porschen's (the cake queen) website, I came across a link to a wonderful childrens party website, 'The Party Times' with recipes, party ideas and photo inspiration.

Below are just some of the recipes that you can find on the site...They do have regular food recipes too, not just CAKE and Sweets!!

I think it would be a great source of inspiration if your having a party any time soon. In fact it has made me want one.....I feel a baby shower coming on!!!

Happy peeking!

Pink candied popcorn

Gluten free cup
cake

Ice cream cone cupcakes

4 tiered gala cake

Hummingbird vanilla cupcake

Madeira cake

Orange brownies

The Great British Bake off

2010-08-31T13:40:00.000+01:00

Incase any of you lovely people are interested and don't already know, BBC2 is running a show at the moment on Tuesday nights at 8pm. It's called 'The Great British bake off'.
Ten contestants are competing to be crowned ' best amateur baker '.
Tonight is the third episode with only six baking competitors left, focusing mainly on bread making in kent.

The judges are Mary Berry ( she has some yummy cakes) and Paul (mad about bread) Hollywood.
If you have an interest in baking it teaches you a thing or two......That you're not as good as you thought. It's quite sad seeing the deflated faces of the contestants, but such is life!! Many a time I have made what I hoped to be a delicious cake and it turns out to be a disaster!!

Through watching the show, I have found out that I must be mixing my ingredients for too long as I often get a peak in the middle of my sponges!!...... Next time I will try to get a flat top, although I would rather blame my oven and not my skills!!

Anyway tonight I will sit back and relax with some apple and blackberry crumble ( I'm still allowed a little treat every now and again) and watch how to make bread... Not that I'll ever make any!!

Ooooh also whilst out at the weekend in waterstones I saw a few lovely books. One was 'Life is Sweet' by Hope and Greenwood. It's filled with old fashioned sweet recipes including sherbet lemon marshmellows, rhubbarb and custard crumble cups and morning coffee cups.... Looks like one to add to the wish list!

Along with 'The hummingbird bakery cookbook'

which has lovely recipes for...

vanilla cupcakes

banana and chocolate cupcakes

red velvet cupcakes

Oh Boy I do like to torture myself with what I can't have!!

A naughty treat...but not for me!

2010-08-26T13:29:00.001+01:00

August is the month for birthdays in our family, well four of them! So it's always auntie Sarah's little task ( and I love doing it) to make cake for the little ones, which at the moment is hard seeing as I cannot eat any of it!!

But I have made myself proud and last night I watched everyone else eating their slice of victoria sponge cake with butter cream frosting, strawberry jam and fresh strawberries, whilst I sat there with my cuppa tea and a slice of....nothing!!

9 weeks to go and hopefully I can eat as much cake as I like....

Making little fairy cakes like these for the little one's takes me back to my younger years.

Birthday parties with jelly and ice cream...

Does anyone know how to stop strawberries from making all your sponge wet.

I have given up putting sliced strawberries inside my cakes because they always drip down and make the sponge wet!!

Emma Bridgewater

2010-08-25T13:02:00.000+01:00

We were given Emma Bridgewater vouchers last year as a wedding gift and it has taken me this long to decide what to have.
As you can see from my choices, my hubby had no say in the matter!!
I only have girly bits in the kitchen cupboard so I thought these added a touch of femininity around the house. There are so many patterns and styles to choose from, you could spend a fortune!
Don't you just love vouchers!!

Pink Hearts biscuit tin- mine!

Pink Heat tea tray- mine!

Pink Hearts oven gloves - mine!

Pink Hearts Brolly- mine!

I thought this would cheer me up on a gloomy day.

Below are some lovelies from the' Spot' range. It's not cheap, but it sure is lovely!

Cake stand.

One Gallon Teapot!

Cake tins.

Friend of Flowers.

Sweet Delights

2010-08-25T13:00:00.000+01:00

Whilst I have not been writing, I have still been scouring the net for inspiration....I am eating healthily at the moment ( my body is a temple for the baby)!! So I am really craving sweets and cakes....more so than normal! If I can't eat it, I may as well admire it. Here are a few pictures from a couple of party designers.

These dessert tables are by Amy Atlas ... wouldn't you just love her job!?! The colours are just divine, I know where I'd be standing all night if I was at a party with those gorgeous goodies lined up for the taking!!

The treats below are by Naomi, from 'Hello Naomi'. She has two companies on the go....The one mentioned previously 'Hello Naomi', where she designs and makes cakes to order and 'Scissors. paper.cake ' where Naomi and her colleague design your party with style. She also has her photos on Flickr.

Pod

2010-08-21T17:46:00.002+01:00

There is something very satisfying about finding a new shop or website where you can treat yourself to some goodies? This is my new find 'Pod' and they have some really lovely bits on offer. I loved this cardboard cake stand because we really don't have room in our flat for any more cake stands, but this little number must flat pack... Any ol' excuse!!

Truly Scrumptious food flags

Truly scumptious Dollies

Truly scrumptious mini paper cake plates

Truly scrumptious cake toppers

There are lots of lovely bits and bobs for you to gaze at...enjoy!!

Company Bake off

2010-08-17T20:56:00.001+01:00

A good few months back, my work colleague decided we should have a company bake off to see whose skills were up to scratch, oh and just a good excuse to scoff cake each week at work.
This was my attempt...a carrot and banana cake, recipe by the lovely Annie Bell. She often has recipes in the Daily Mails 'You' magazine on a Sunday, but you can also buy this lovely book..... which is on my wish list!
As I don't have the book I am not sure if this recipe is included, but not to worry you can retrieve it from here.

Unfortunately today I was told that I have gestational Diabetes, so I won't be trying any cakes between now and the little bundle being born! I'm not keen on the idea of having a large baby, which can be caused by this type of diabetes so carrot sticks and baby corn it is then :)
If anyone has any information on it, it would be grately received as I feel a little lost at the moment.
I can't eat cake,but i can make myself suffer by looking at it!!!!

Annie Bell

My little bundle of joy!

2010-08-16T13:22:00.000+01:00

Hello friends! That's if I still have any!!
I know it's been a very long time since our paths crossed in the land of blog!
I have a very exciting reason....... I am going to be a mummy in November!!!
Along with the joys there has been 8 weeks of morning sickness...oh boy! And anyone out there who already knows the ropes...tiredness, emotioms and no time to blog due to trying to get the flat sorted for our new arrival.
I am loving every moment of carrying our special little bundle and now hopefully I can get back on track with my blog before our little one enters the world .
I have missed not writing on here...but I just didn't have the get up and go. Getting to work.... working and then the journey home leaves me with little energy other than contemplating what to do next, crochet, felts, baking...... no nothing, I'll just lay here a little longer and do that stuff tomorrow!!
It sure is hard work growing a little person, but so rewarding watching my tummy grow week by week, wondering what our little baby is going to look like, behave like! I am just so excited.

Enough of that I found this wonderful photo and wanted to share it with you, my kicks haven't reached this stage yet.....

Image from livewxradar.com

This just amazes me!!

Anyway it's nice to be back.xx

Sugared Hearts

2010-03-09T21:26:00.000Z

You will need granulated sugar, water, food colourings and a heart shaped cutter ( or any shaped cutter).

Firstly add a little water to your sugar, not too much and not too little, it should look a little like crushed snow!! You don't want it to be too wet because it will no longer look grainy once it has dried, but you want it wet enough to stick together once you have pushed it through the mould.

Separate the water and sugar mixture into a few different containers, I used paper cases. Add the food colouring of your choice a drop at a time, depending on how light / dark you want the sugar cubes to

become.

Fill your mould with the sugar mixture.

Push down the sugar with your fingers. You need to do this otherwise once you push it through the mould there may be a gap in the middle and it will collapse .

Leave them for a few minutes to dry a little and then carefully push them through.

It may take a couple of tries as it is quite a fiddley job. Some of mine came out too wet, some were not wet enough and some were just right, so keep trying!!

They look very pretty in a jar on the shelf for when you have your girlfriends over. Altough I am not sure if they will colour your tea!!

crocheted cushion

2010-03-07T16:38:00.001Z

I have been a little naughty lately with my blog.I finished my pillow last weekend, but I am only just blogging about it now. I haven't felt like posting, which leads me to feelings of guilt! So I figured I would set time aside today to post.

The granny square pattern is from Attic 24 and the pattern for joining the squares is from Carina's blog.

I am also working on a pair of wrist warmers, which I found on attic 24's blog.It took a while to get the size right as I have hands the size of a childs!

This crocheting business is slightly addictive.

I have also booked a beginners crochet class at Makedomenders.I am going with my mate Rachel, it will be an eveing of crochet, tea and cake eating!! It's worth checking out their site.

Whoopie!

2010-02-26T20:46:00.001Z

Image: Williams- Sonoma

Image: Williams-Sonoma

I'm talking pies...whoopie pies!
I have read about them, I have seen them on the web, but I had never had the pleasure of savouring the flavour of one. So whilst in Harrods last night I decided to try one from their patissirie.

I have read that Whoopie pies were placed into the lunch boxes of farmers by Amish women as a treat and when the recipient would find the delight they would shout "Whoopie"!

Anyway, I couldn't wait to get home to share my pie with my hubby, the oozing fluffy cream sandwiched between the two cakey biscuity layers.....ummmmmm you say, uh uh I say.....What a disappointment the whoopie was not to my taste buds!! I don't know if I expected more from this little delight after reading how delightful they were. Maybe I was thinking that it would be light like a sponge. I am not sure how to explain them. The cake was of a heavy consistency not quite a biscuit, not quite a sponge. The cream was good, it wasn't a buttercream, I believe it is made with vegetable fat!! Thing is I had to eat it all, but I didn't enjoy it.
There is nothing worse than looking forward to a cake and it disappoints...boo hoo whoo-poo pie!!

Has anyone else tried a whoopie pie, maybe it's just not for me or maybe it was a bad one!

2 Images: adaywithdoris

With Love...

2010-02-14T12:24:00.000Z

These are coloured heart sugar cubes, which Were an idea that I saw in Peggy Porschen's 'pretty party cakes' book. I didn't know the best way to show them, so I took quite a few pictures, then I didn't know which one to pick for the post!

These were some chocolate valentines cupcakes that I made for my hubby. The recipe can be found at Dr Oetker. The Clear box and polka dot cupcake cases are from Cakescookiesandcraftssshop. The hearts and letters are made using regal icing mixed with red food colouring.You can get the cutters from amazon. The ribbon can be found at Craftyribbons.

The little pastel jug set is from John Lewis as is the pink heart silicone mould.

Happy Valentines day to one and all.xx

Crochet mad?....me?

2010-02-14T11:23:00.003Z

I cannot get enough of the stuff, on the train, in my lunch break, on the way to Tesco's, in my sleep.......I think that I am obsessed! I have tried many times in the past to learn with my Ma, but no joy until now.
A few weeks back we spent a few hours one cold Sunday afternoon and my ma was sure to teach me the ways of the hook! Now I can't leave it alone.I grabbed some wool that I had at home and started the Grannie's..what I am making I don't know, but I don't care because it's making me a happy girl.
I have taken a few pictures of what I've done to date....

I am using Chocolate, latte and pale pink yarn.

Round one

Round two....round three is missing from the pics!

Granny squares

I wanted to do the Sunburst Granny squares after Seeing Coco Rose's beautiful pillow, but I couldn't get my head around the pattern. However I found a similar pattern on Attic 24, that has kindly been put there for the sharing of all who are obsessed with the hook and yarn! Check out both site's for crafting goodness!

Cake Journal

2010-02-12T20:16:00.000Z

These are some delightful cakes and cookies by Louise at Cake Journal. She is based in Denmark and has a wonderful site which is full of inspiration and tutorials. She also has a flickr site. It was here that I mastered the little turtle cake topper.

( All of the photographs are by Cake Journal).

Valentine's Inspiration...

2010-02-11T19:38:00.002Z

You can always rely on Martha Stewart for some inspiration whatever the season!!

All of the above have 'How to's ' on her website.

I wish I had more time in the day for making it all!

Eye candy is soooo good for the soul.

(All photographs are from Martha Stewart)

Sew, what have I been up to?

2010-02-07T19:57:00.002Z

Well, I have been keeping busy with a few projects....why I can't just stick to one I don't know!

My Ma bought me 'Sew' by Cath Kidston for crimbo, so I finally decided to make the bag that comes with the book. It's great having the cloth already cut, you just have to work out how to make it!! ..............I got there in the end!

If you decide to line the bag,make sure you stitch the CK label on first or you have to un stitch the bag to get it on there....common sense is not my strong point!

Here it is....

It's a really lovely book to look at, with lots of great patterns to make.

I have also been baking more cupcakes...yes more!! One of the girls left work and she couldn't have a send off without cake!

And finally some more Cake, only this time it was an early Valentine's cake for my family. The cake is Chocolate Fudge Cake which is very fluffy and light as it's made with sunflower oil instead of butter. The little heart jelly beans are from Marks and Spencer's.

I have also been busy with my crochet hook...more to follow!!!

Carrot Cupcakes with a mascapone and orange frosting

2010-01-24T20:21:00.000Z

If you're going to make sure you have your five a day, you may as well do it in style...stick it in a cake!

The cupcake recipe is from 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' by Nigella Lawson and the frosting is by Jamie Oliver ( I wasn't keen on the frosting that was meant to be partnered with the cake)!

For the cupcakes

100g light muscovado sugar

175ml sunflower oil

2 large eggs

225g plain flour

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

zest of 1 orange ( the recipe stated the zest of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 an orange, but I didn't have a lemon)

150g carrots, grated

100g walnuts, chopped ( I held back 6 to cut in half for decoration)

For the frosting

115g mascarpone cheese

225g cream cheese

85g icing sugar

Sifted juice and zest of 1 orange

Mix together the sunflower oil and sugar, then mix in one egg at a time. Add the flour, bicarbonate soda, cinnamon, salt and zest and mix well.Then fold in the grated carrot and chopped walnuts.

Spoon into 12 muffin cases and place in the oven at 200 c for approximately 20 minutes. ( I have a fan assisted oven and they took 17 mins, so just keep an eye on them or they will turn out too dry).

Whilst these are baking in the oven, you can prepare the frosting. Mix all of the frosting ingredients into a bowl until well combined and then place in the fridge, until ready to top your cooled cupcakes ( I do this because I have found this stiffens the topping, enabling you to pipe it onto your cupcakes).

I am just about to tuck into mine with a latte....yum yum!!

Introducing the Ladies

2010-01-19T22:03:00.002Z

As we know these dark nights don't leave me bursting with energy for crafting after a hard days work, so I have decided tonight to introduce you to a few of my favourite lady vocalists. Some might say this music is a little depressing.But I like to say it's beautiful emotional music...Maybe I do like to wallow in a little sadness every now and again....No harm though eh!?

Now for some reason I cannot cut and paste the videos on youtube, so if you can be bothered you will have to have a listen on youtube's website!

Now bare with me....I know in my head what I mean, but I'm unable to write it down on ~~paper~~ screen! So please excuse my descriptions of these musicians.

First in line are 'Oh Laura', a Swedish band ( they are named after the mystery girl from David Lynch's series 'Twin Peaks'). Fronted by husky voiced Frida Ohrn ( I am guessing this is what you sing like on 40 cigs a day!). Her stories are of lost love and heartache........just the stuff to listen to on these wintery days.
youtube- 'Oh Laura' - track name- 'Release me'.

Secondly, Michelle Featherstone is an English singer / songwriting now living in Hollywood. My favourite song from her is 'Coffee and Cigarettes', where she sings about quiting her bad habits coffee and cigarettes, not realising that the bad habit is her boyfriend! Not one if your feeling a little low or you also have a horrid boyfriend!
She has a beautiful voice set against a back drop of emotional and vunerable lyrics. You can only get this album as a download....tut tut...I am a lover of hardcopies be it cd or vinyl so this is darned annoying!!

Lastly ( for now). Cat Power is one to add to the 'cool' collection. I can remember watching Chan Marshall at Reading festival many moons ago. She has a beautiful voice, with wonderful lyrics to her name and yet it took her about 10 minutes to get going after stumbling though the first song over and over again, it was painful to watch as her nerves took hold. However once she got going it was truly worth the wait. 'The Greatest' is an album to hold onto with your heart.

How could I forget the wonderful Laura Marling, who looks as delicate and fragile as the songs she sings. With lyrics like ''I will never love a man because love and pain go hand in hand'' is what you get from this young lady. 'Alas I cannot swim' is her debut album and there are two more to come in 2010 and she has even hit her twenties yet! Folk at it's best.

I do hope that you manage to find time to check out at least one of these talented ladies. They would be a good friend to keep on the shelf!

Sugarpaste supplies

2010-01-17T22:30:00.002Z

If you are wanting to use sugarpaste,these are a few websites that stock the bits and bobs you might need.

Cakescookiesandcraftsshop - They stock regalice ( I used this to make the little turtles), it can also be used to cover cakes.They have lovely edible lustre dusts, cutters and these extremey cute cake wrappers. Although not cheap at 12 wrappers for £4.99 ( nice for something special though), they are the cheapest I have seen so far online :)

Cakecraftshop is another site for sugarpaste and lustre dusts.

Squires-shop.com has some great bits including these....

And if you can't be bothered to make the roses you can buy these ( from Squires)........

Rose Tutorial

2010-01-17T21:38:00.004Z

This is for the two lovely ladies coco rose textiles and auntie's cakes who requested a rose tutorial.
Normally when I make these, I have no problems, try and make them to photograph and they flunk! Anyway I will put these photos on here, but I intend to do another one as I don't think I have made it clear enough with the angles of the shots!
Anyway here goes.....

I have made these from sugarpaste, but I believe they can be made from fondant and marzipan.

Start by rolling out your sugarpaste into a sausage shape. Depending on what size rose you want ....the bigger the sausage, the bigger the rose! Mine are about 10cm / 4 inches long.

Once you have rolled out your sausage, cut into 9 pieces. Eight equal sized pieces and one longer piece (as above).

Roll the equal sized pieces into balls and the longer piece into a little sausage ( as above).

You now need to shape the balls into your petal shapes. I use a small board that has a plastic layer to squash them between, but you can place the pieces between two pieces of cellophane.That will do the job!

Push down onto the sugarpaste balls and squash them into petal shapes.Flatten the little sausage out into a sausage shape.Press a little harder on one edge of all of the petals, this will be the top of the petal. Do not make the petals too thin, otherwise you will find them hard to work with.

Take the little sausage piece (above) ,this is the inner petal. Curl as above with the thinnest part at the top.

Place the first petal shape on the outside of the inner petal (make sure that the left side sticks to the inner petal).

Take the second petal and place this just inside the first petal, so it overlaps ( as above). Again where it touches, make sure it sticks on the edge.

Now place the third petal inside the second petal.

The forth petal overlaps inside the third petal. Continue until you have overlapped all eight petals inside one another.

You can then shape the petals by holding the base of the rose and gently pulling the petals outwards to look more like a rose.

It took me quite a few times before I could make these, so have patience!

Once finished, if the base is not flat, just cut with a pair of scissors and reshape with your fingers,.

As I said, I will try this week to make another one with better photographs.
They make a great decoration on any cake, just bear in mind that if you place them onto a buttercream icing, after a while they start to go soggy and don't look so pretty. I found this out when I made someone farewell cakes, took the lid of and they were stuck to the lid and melted.....sniff sniff!!

My sugarpaste is a little dry which is why my rose petals have cracks along the edge, they shouldn't be like this (tut tut). Also I add Tylo powder to my sugarpaste to make it a little tougher, although not essential.
Kids seem to love the taste of sugarpaste, but it's not for me!

I hope you have fun making them, that's if you can understand my instructions?!!!

Tea and Cake

2010-01-11T23:45:00.001Z

These winter days seem to make me sleep a lot more than usual, ( those that know me, wouldn't think it possible for me to sleep more than my usual quota)!
This darn sleepiness prevents me from doing what I enjoy, don't get me wrong I love snoozing, but sometimes I wish I was more energetic! So on Saturday I decided that the hubby and I were going to go for a long walk on Sunday, to energise us.... after stuffing a cooked breakfast (you need to stay warm in these freezing conditions)!
I therefore decided that if we were going to walk we would need a lovely treat after all the hard work! So I made a Victoria sponge (I weighed out the eggs and did an equal amount of flour, butter and sugar, plus a little vanilla essence...that old school recipe always seems to come out nice and light and fluffy).
There's nothing like a cup of tea and a piece of cake to come home to after a long walk.Funny thing is, not long after we got back, I fell asleep on the sofa!! I can't win!!

Anyway the little cup cake stand was my secret santa gift, someone made me very happy indeed with that little cutie.I believe you can get them from Dotcomgiftshop.
The flowers and bow I made at the weekend with sugar paste, although the colours in the photo's are a little off due to it not being natural light, Come back summer time!
Anyway time for bed (arrrrrr).

Fabric rehab

2010-01-06T22:46:00.000Z

I was lucky enough to receive 'Sew' by Cath Kidston for xmas and although I haven't made anything from it yet,I have promised myself that I will tackle a task or two. Just like I have promised myself to use up the cloths that I have treated myself to on my goodies shelf!!
I digress...The reason I was speaking of the book is because she mentions in her 'handy websites' at the back of the book a site called Fabric Rehab.
The cloths above are just a few from a wonderful collection...I already have my eye on a bundle or two!

Coconut Ice

2009-12-28T19:23:00.001Z

I love making Coconut Ice at home, not only is it easy and quick to make, but it tastes pretty good too!

Ingredients:

405g can carnation light condensed milk ( 'light'...like that s going to help!!)
300g desiccated coconut
300g icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 drops scarlet food colouring

Method:

Line a 24cm square tin with baking paper( If like moi you dont have that size tin, measure out a 24cm x 24cm square onto baking paper and spread out within the markings ).
Mix together the condensed milk with the coconut, icing sugar and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.
Spoon half of the mixture into the base of the tin and spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon or spatular.
Add the food colouring to the remaining mixture and mix until evenly coloured.
Spread over the top of the bottom layer until smooth.
Leave overnight, or at least four to five hours in a cool place.
Da Dah......homemade Coconut Ice for you and your loved ones!

If you don't want to stop there, you can make pretty homes for your Coconut Ice and give them away as gifts .

I bought some paper doilies to decoate the top of the jar,along with some pink ribbon and a handmade label using 'paperchase' stickers.

This jar idea was from 'Lucykatecrafts'. I thought that I would change the idea slightly rather than be lazy and just copy someone else's hard work. I made two and they have gone to very good homes (Ma and Ma in law), so it was all worth while! You can follow the tutorial on Lucykate's blog.

More cake..........

2009-12-28T18:12:00.000Z

Vanilla cupcakes with a strawberry cream cheese topping.

The spotty tray in the background is from Matalan, sadly they dont have very much of their homeware online. At the moment they have some lovely baking bits by Anthea Turner.

Also the cloth in the background if from 'Seamstar', a lovely site that sells cloth and trims.

Me in my lovely cupcake apron from Matalan!

Bust Craftacular

2009-12-26T13:12:00.000Z

Earlier this year my chum ( above..looks like they raided the childrens tea sets ), invited me to a craft fair held by American mag 'Bust'.
It was so good we went back for their Christmas fair to see what delights could be had! Apart from all the handmade wonders, they also have a pop - up tea shop.....not only do they serve tea, but CAKE...I do love a bit of cake as you know! If you get a chance check out some of the vendors.

Where for art thou?

2009-12-04T08:51:00.000Z

Photo credits

I feel like this poor little balloon.......deflated!

If I am to be honest with you, I have lost my inspiration to blog! Coming on here was a huge effort......Writing this right now feels too much like hard work and it shouldn't be should it?
Where has my love for all things wonderful gone?

Is it the weather? Have the dark nights crept in and enveloped me in their gloom! I go home and all I want to do it cosy up with my blanket and husband (notice the order of importance.....Very wrong of me!...He has the remote, I have my blanket! ). Anyway tangents a plenty, back to my woes and misery. Have I lost my groove for all things art? Will it return or do I just need a big kick up the butt?

Signing off....a 'sad' day with doris!

SOMETHING TWEET

2009-11-11T21:03:00.000Z

A little gift for Argiebargerina's birthday......... She had been eyeing up a tree brooch, so I thought I would make her a one off with two cute love birds to keep her company during the day! Along with some lemon cupcakes with a lemon sugar syrup and lemon cream cheese topping! A recipe from Peggy Porchen.

tweet tweet

MY OTHER LOVE

2009-11-02T20:45:00.001Z

I decided on the way home from a music gig on Saturday night that I wanted to share with you my other love apart from crafts.... the music that I love.
You may love them, hate them, already know them or I might have opened your ears to something new for you to love too.

This week I was lucky enough to see Scott Matthew (not to be muddled with Scott Matthews) at the 'Fleapit' in London with less than 40 people in a very small room, ( much nicer than a room filled with 2,000 people who think its fun to throw their half full beer cups in the air). Mr Matthew was un-miked, just the beauty and strength of his voice along with his guitar and band mates cello. It's amazing how music can make you feel. I suppose it gives you hope, amongst all the doom and gloom that life can bring, it can also bring such beauty.....just a shame that on the way to the gig , a little child threw an egg at my back.....hay ho you can't have everything!
I'm not sure if I can add a video to this blog, for now I have given you a link to one of his songs ( not his video!!) Scott Matthew- Market me to children

PUMPKIN CAKE

2009-11-02T20:25:00.000Z

It all started with this ( handy work by My Husband)!! ............

Which got me making these little fella's ( I think I need some practise)...

Added to a yummy recipe of Pumpkin cake from bbcgoodfood. If you are a lover of carrot cake and bread pudding, its somewhere in between the two ( the best bit is the orange cream cheese frosting smoothered over the top)!