Buyagift discount code-£21 off

Hi

Just seen this great deal from Buyagift..... Spend min £80 and get £21 off. Just use code PARTY at checkout. Offer ends Sunday 25th April at midnight 

Grab yourself some great vouchers for afternoon tea now things will start opening up soon. 

I am so looking forward to going to my first afternoon tea since beginning of November 

Semi naked style cake - Lemon sponge recipe

 Hi 

As you may already know that since having weekends free as unable to go to Afternoon teas at present i have been doing a lot of baking instead . I tend to make something sweet most weekends either from scratch or using one of the Bakedin kits I receive each month. 

This weekend i decided to try my hand at a Semi Naked style cake using up left over buttercream i had in the fridge from my Easter cake. When I posted a photo on my  Instagram my friend made me laugh  with her comment of ' You should really bake with your clothes on ' !!!!!!!

I am pleased with the results however I think the layer of buttercream covering the cake could of been a bit thinner so more of the cake showed through . Its not bad for my first attemp 

I piped all the flowers and used one of my Russian piping tips and leaf piping tip for the first time. 

The cake was a 4 layer lemon sponge sandwiched together with the buttercream and lemon curd. This is the second time i have used this sponge recipe below and it is easy and is a very moist and delicious cake. I baked the cake in two deep 6inc tins so used 6 eggs and pro rotared the recipe and increased cooking time 

Lemon sponge cake recipe 

225g self raising flour

2tsp baking powder 

4 medium eggs

225g soft marg or butter (i used Stork) 

225g caster sugar

zest of 3 lemons 

juice of 2 lemons 

Heat Oven to 160/140 fan 

Line and grease 2 x 20cm round  baking tins 

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy 

Add the eggs one at time , mixing after each one 

Add the lemon zest along with the flour and baking powder . Mix gently until combined 

Add the lemon juice and mix again 

Pour equally into the tins and bake for approx 30 to 35 mins . Test by inserting skewer into middle of cake and if comes out clean cake should be cooked . 

Leave in tins to cool for 10 mins then turn out gently onto wire rack to cool before decorating 

Easter treats

 Easter to me is 2 extra days off work and chocolate and hot x buns.........both of which are not good when you are trying to loose weight! I am dreading my weekly weigh in tomorrow 😬

I have been busy baking  again and  made this lovely chocolate 5 layer sponge speckled cake.  I also made matching cupcakes.  

Yesterday I had a lovely Easter day that started with a lovely cooked breakfast of toasted bagel topped with bacon, mushrooms and scrambled egg. Had this whilst having a lazy morning watching Sunday brunch on TV.

My son skipped the cooked breakie and opted for a whole chocolate Easter egg for breakfast which has been a tradition in our house since he was small.... He us now 15!!

For dinner i cooked a lamb roast which was a meal deal from M&S especially for Easter. It was realy nice and my daugter said it was the best dinner she had had for a while !!!!

M&S Easter meal deal £20 and feeds 4

M&S Hot x buns .....My favourite was the savoury chilli and cheese ones delicious toasted with butter 

St Patrick's day Ombre cake

 Tomorrow is St Patrick's day so I decided to make a cake to celebrate.

I wanted to try and do a Ombre style cake and choose green for St Patrick's day. I Also brought some amazing sprinkles which contains tiny shamrock shapes.  I ordered these online from ebay.

I used my 5 tin rainbow cake layer set which includes a recipe for the 8 egg sponge.

I did each layer in a different shade of green ending with a white sponge on top. 

For the buttercream I used Trex which makes it very white. However you do need to add vanilla extract to make it taste nice.

First I sandwiched the sponges together with the white butter icing then did a light crumb coat all over before placing in the fridge overnight. 

In the morning I put the remaining butter cream into 4 bowls and coloured them in 3 shades of green and left one white.

Starting with the darker shade I spread a layer all around bottom on cake, then did the same with the other shades so it had different shades of green all around it. The top layer I did in white and also the top of the cake. 

I then used a pallete knife to smooth the cake over and blend the colours. To finish off the cake I pipped mixed shades of green into a swirl around the edge and topped with sprinkles and also added sprinkles around the bottom of the cake.

I could not wait to cut a slice to see the colour effect inside .........

For a first attempt it has come out OK but I need more practice in getting a smooth finish. 

Mothers day

Been baking for mothers day ......

My first attempt at a giant cupcake and i am very pleased with thefinished look. I even made the flowers and leaves myself from fondant icing.

 

My mum was so surprised when I took the cake round to her and it tasted very nice. I flavored the sponge with lemon and sandwiched it together with vanilla buttercream and lemon curd. The bottom part is covered in white chocolate fingers.

I also baked some cupcakes and decorated them with shades of pink buttercream. My husband took a box round to his mum...I hope she likes them 

I think mothers day should be celebrated as us mums play such an important role in family life. We can  be under appreciated and taken for granted at times!! Our partners don't always realise how hard it can be juggling with bringing up a family and working at the same time. My husband only said a few weeks ago that it is me that holds our family together and keeps everything running smoothly. I take that as a complement and wish he would say it more often!! 

I am so lucky to have my mum nearby as she means so much to me and I would be lost without her. My dad past away over 10 years ago which was hard and since then I feel much closer to my mum. She is always there to listen to me and offer advice and help. I hope my two children feel the same way about me. 

I hope all you mums out there have  lovely day today xxxxxx

Viennese Chocolate Dipped Fingers

 Made these yesterday in order to use up some left over chocolate buttercream i had in the freezer 

Simple to make and melt in the mouth 

Ingredients
200g butter softened
50g iciing sugar
2 tsp vanillia extract
200g plain flour
2 tsp cornflour
½ tsp baking powder
100g milk chocolate , broken into chunks
100g white chocolate , broken into chunks
125g soft butter for buttercream
250g Icing sugar
1tbs cocoa powder



Method

STEP 1


Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk for about 5 mins until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat again until fully incorporated.
STEP 2


Sift in the flour, cornflour and baking powder, and fold into the mixture using a spatula until combined (the dough should have a tacky consistency). Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star-shaped nozzle. If all the mixture doesn’t fit, do it in 2 batches.
STEP 3


Pipe 10cm long, 1.5cm wide fingers onto the baking sheets, making sure there are 3cm spaces between each finger. Bake for 8-10 mins, swapping the trays over halfway through the cooking time, until pale golden and cooked through. Leave to cool on the baking sheets for a few mins, then transfer to wire racks.
STEP 4


Melt the chocolate separately over a pan of gently simmering water (making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water) or in the microwave in short bursts, stirring every 15 secs or so. Dip 1 end of the shortbread fingers into the bowl of milk chocolate and the other end in the white chocolate. Leave to set on baking parchment before filling


Mix the butter , cocoa powder and icing sugar until light and fluffy . Put into a piping bag as pipe along one biscuit making sure the chocolate is on the outside Sandwich the two halves together

Valentines afternoon tea at home

February 14th Valentines Day 

 For the past few years my husband and I have gone to a posh swanky hotel in London for a valentines afternoon tea so this year we are having to settle for an afternoon tea at home. 

Last year we went to lanes of London for there free flowing botanical afternoon tea which was very nice. I do like having a glass of bubbles or two with my afternoon tea . I have 2 bottles of chapel down English sparking rose chilling in wine cooler ready to open. We brought a box of 6 bottles in the summer when we visited the chapel down vineyard in Kent. Which if you like your wine is well worth a visit for a tour and tasting session 

I have been planning the below menu for past few weeks. 

Afternoon Tea 

Sausage roll wreath left over from Christmas and frozen 

Goats cheese and caramelised onion tart from Morrison the best range 

White chocolate dipped strawberries 

Egg mayonnaise in granary bread finger sandwiches and chicken, brie and cranberry in white bread finger sandwiches 

Homemade by me vanilla and red velvet cupcakes 

My homemade banana and caramel blondies i featured on my post a few weeks ago . I put them in the freezer to use today 

Iceland frozen assorted macaroons 

which were very nice and good value 

 

Chapel Down English sparkling rose wine 

It was a lovely family Valentines afternoon tea with Hubby , Daughter and my 15 year old  son who actually ventured out of his room and turned off his computer for a few hours !!!!!!

Unfortunately they  were all camera shy !!!!!!