How beautiful do these look? They taste great too!
I won’t lie they’re a bit of a faff – okay quite a lot of a faff but they certainly have the wow factor and if you fancy spending an afternoon messing with a pineapple then these are just up your street!
Here’s how to make your own pineapple flowers. Continue reading
Another of our family favourites to share with you – the recipe that is, unfortunately there’s only crumbs left in the tin here!
These chocolate chip cookies are chewy, oaty and soft in the middle. I can promise you one is never enough.
Makes 24.
Ingredients:
110g butter, softened
Well, it’s just a fortnight until my book hits the shops.
‘EEEEEEEEEEK!!’
So it’s definitely time to fill you in on all the ins and outs of where you can nab a copy, or get me to sign it for you…..
This is a really unassuming cake, looks like nothing but tastes amazing.
It’s not often my boys ask me to make something in particular but the other half will beg for this cake. I see some bribery tactics up my sleeve….
Ingredients:
200g caster sugar
125g butter, softened
2 eggs, large
1 whole orange
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
250g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda dissolved in 180ml water.
200g dark chocolate
Makes 1 x 8″ cake
Three ways to use this dough – as a loaf, whirls or the traditional buns – who could resist?
Ingredients:
Dough
315g strong plain white flour
1/2 tsp mixed cake spice
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried fast action yeast (or 1 sachet)
25g caster sugar
205ml milk
1 egg, large
zest of 1/2 and orange
100g currants
Filling
60g dark brown sugar
1 1/2tsp cinnamon
A little water icing to glaze (optional)
Makes 1 x 1lb loaf, 10 whirls or 8 buns
Place the flour, mixed spice, salt, caster sugar, orange zest, yeast, egg and currants in a large bowl.
Gently warm the milk until it is lukewarm.
Pour into the bowl and bring the dough together. I’m letting the mixer do it for me but it can also be done easily (if you have some muscles) by hand. Continue reading
How cute is this little chickie?
He’s made from a creme egg! When I saw these made by Helen at Casa Costello I knew I had to have a menace about and see what I could come up with!
(Do bob over and see more of Helen’s fab creations)
It’s also my first ever foray into video tutorials if you need a bit more than just the photos!
(There’s a few glitches, like cutting my own head off at times etc, I have lots more grey hairs and frazzled brain cells then when I started – thank goodness for 13 year old boys is all I can say – thank you Ash x)
You will need: Continue reading
With Mother’s Day on the horizon I thought it was time for a big old celebration cake.
When my Save the Children trip was being arranged I was told that in Rwanda they eat grasshoppers as a snack. I went fully prepared to munch on a grasshopper (all in the name of research you understand). Whilst I was there did a see a grasshopper, be it alive or snack crispy fried version, no I did not. Disappointed? Yes a little but in hindsight it was probably a good thing!
Anyway I’m waffling….if you say to me Grasshopper I instantly think Grasshopper Cake (that’s the daft way my brain works) – the fab combination of chocolate and mint. When I was young Mum taught me to melt a Fry’s Peppermint Cream Bar onto the top of chocolate cake under the grill. This cake is just a posh version of that – perfect for Mother’s Day.
And of course there are no real grasshoppers involved!
Makes 1 x 8″ Cake Continue reading
Tiger bread is delicious, there’s no doubt about it. Lovely soft white bread with a crispy crunchy crust.
But did you know that it’s really easy to make it at home too?
Here’s how
Ingredients:
1 x Quantity of Basic White Bread Dough (recipe here)
Tiger Paste
35ml warm water
1/2 tsp dried fast action yeast
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp vegetable or sunflower oil
15g rice flour (rice flour also makes really great crunchy shortbread if you were wondering what else you could use it for!)
Make the bread dough as per the instructions here and allow to rise in a bowl until doubled in size. Continue reading
Taking it back to basics, baking is a simple as loaf of bread. But it’s only simple if you have a recipe that works. You know I’m not keen on the whole bread making thingy and that’s down to multiple failures – dough that finally springs into action after being in the bin for a day and a half! So here is my always works white loaf recipe x
From simple ingredients comes the magic of freshly baked homemade bread…
Makes 1 x 2lb loaf or 8 rolls. Continue reading
Okay it’s not a pie, it’s a tart…. but I think sweet potato pie sounds better!
A thoroughly different use for Sweet Potato and a tough one to describe, think of the filling as a cross between cheesecake and a custard tart. However you’d describe it, it’s blooming lovely!
Makes 1 x deep 8″ Tart Continue reading
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