Strawberry Clouds

Ever since Christmas we've had storm after storm here in the UK ~ gales and rain and floods. I suppose we are luckier than our neighbours across the pond, with their record-breaking low temperatures and snowstorms. While I adore storms and wintery weather I realise that most people yearn for summer sunshine, so just for you I've crammed summer into a cake, so you can all have a little sunshine no matter how gloomy the day may be outside.

These cakes are so light and fluffy, and such a delicately creamy shade of pink ~ it's like taking a bite of a strawberry cloud, hence the name!

 

Strawberry Cloud Cupcakes

For the cake:

200g self raising flour

225g sugar

50g strawberry nesquik powder

1/2 tsp salt

100g margarine

2 eggs

150ml milk

few drops vanilla essence

few drops pink or red food colouring (optional)

For the icing:

75g cream cheese

25g butter

250g icing sugar

25g strawberry nesquik powder

 

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4

 

Sieve the flour and mix together with the sugar, salt and nesquik. Rub in the margarine. Beat the eggs and milk together with vanilla essence and food colouring (if using). Stir the wet mixture into the dry and beat well until light and creamy.  Fill cupcake cases two thirds full and bake for approx. 25 mins until just golden brown. While they cool on a rack, make the icing.

Beat together the cream cheese and butter until well blended and creamy, then beat in the nesquik. Add the icing sugar about a third at a time and beat until thoroughly mixed. Ice your cakes.

 

This recipe will make approx. 12 large cupcakes, or 24 fairy cakes, or 6 large and 12 small! The icing should generously coat 12 large cupcakes, and was enough to top 6 large and 12 small with a little leftover for the cook ;)

 

Why not whip yourself up a batch, crank up the heating, and remind yourself what summer was like.

A Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I hope you've all had a lovely break, happy holidays, and a fabulously festive time with family and friends. I know I have!

Last year had plenty of ups and downs, a lot of challenges that I could have done without, but luckily there were enough smiles to keep me going, and thanks to my Smiles Jar I can relive them now.

This is the first year I have done one of these Jars of Joy, or Memory Jars, but it certainly won't be the last. I used mine to focus on the little things that would otherwise be forgotten. For example, this one from September read:
 
"Corban was off sick because his braces hurt so badly. But for some reason every time he left the lounge he scuttled back and forth past the door doing a crab impression."

I had completely forgotten that, now I remember how much I laughed as if it happened yesterday.

If you want to make your own Jar of Joy you can find a link to my tutorial here, but basically you just pretty up a good-sized jar ~ it's an incredibly simple and rewarding thing to do.

And now, I'm off to create my second entry to this year's jar. I'm gonna pour myself a snowball, crack open another box of Christmas chocs, and watch the funniest film of 2013.

Christmas Craftalong #5 ~ Saucy Sultanas

I've been a bit slack with my blogging, haven't I?! Do you remember that playground game we used to play as children ~ the one where someone covered their eyes and faced the wall and the rest of you had to sneak up on them while their back was turned? Well, that's what Christmas has done to me ~ again!!

But there is still plenty of time to make all of the crafts I have posted so far, and here is one more for you to try. This one is quite possibly the quickest and easiest of them all ~ Saucy Sultanas.

You may well have heard me banging on about these before, I do like to rave about them on my facebook page, but that's because they are simply delicious and only get better with time.

 

You will need:

 

Sultanas

Sherry (Ximenez or Cream are best as they are the most raisin-y)

Orange

Whole Cloves

Jar

Ribbons and tags to trim

 

Pare short curls of zesty peel from the orange with a vegetable peeler. Fill your jar with sultanas, sprinkling a few cloves in as you go according to taste. I only used a couple as I think the flavour can be unpleasant if too overwhelming. Poke some of your orange peel pieces down and around the sultanas, making sure to  have a few pieces at the sides of the jar so they can be seen. Then all you have to do is top the jar up with sherry, add a lovely tag, and you have a beautiful and proper lush gift for someone!

 

 

Voila!

 

Use your sultanas to turn a scoop or two of creamy vanilla ice-cream into a luxurious grown-up pudding, or can you imagine how wonderful they'd be in a bread and butter pudding?

 

If you're not keen on sherry, try using rum or brandy ~ I find those spirits too harsh myself, but I know a lot of people who would prefer them to sherry.

 

These taste better the longer you can leave them, as the fruit absorbs the sherry and plumps up juicily. If you like, you can heat the mixture very gently for a few minutes to help kick-start the process, but be careful not to cook the sultanas, or to catch the sherry alight!

 





Christmas Craftalong #4 ~ Festive Faux Fudge

It's Craftalong time again, and I figured it must be about time for another recipe! Sweets are always a welcome gift, and this Faux Fudge is no exception.

Ordinarily fudge is made by boiling milk and sugar, and while this is of course a fabulous treat, it can be a little daunting to make. Not so this recipe! No boiling is required, just some gentle microwaving and a lot of stirring!

You will need:

200g Plain Chocolate
100g Butter
400g Icing Sugar
1 tbsp. Vanilla
2 tbsp. Golden Syrup
Festive Sprinkles

Begin by lining a tin (approx. 17cm / 7" square) with greaseproof paper.
Break the chocolate into pieces and put in a microwavable bowl with the butter. Heat gently (I never go above 50% power when melting chocolate) in bursts of about 30 seconds, stirring in between, until the chocolate is all melted and mixed with the butter. Stir in the vanilla and syrup, then add the icing sugar about a third at a time, mixing thoroughly. The mixture gets real thick real quick, and you may need to zap it in the microwave for another 10 or 15 seconds to show it who's boss.
When the icing sugar is completely incorporated, turn the mixture into the tin and press out into the corners. Put another piece of greaseproof paper or a sheet of kitchen paper on top, then using a potato masher or similar press down firmly on the mixture to bind it all together and flatten the top. Peel back the paper, sprinkle on your sprinkles, replace the paper and gently press the sprinkles into the fudge.
Allow to cool in the fridge for a couple of hours then lift out and cut into squares.

 For a simple effective gift place several chunks of fudge in a cellophane bag and tie with a ribbon. Or to make it a little more special, try filling a beautiful glass tumbler, or a vintage bonbon dish.

This fudge will allegedly keep for a couple of weeks. . .

 . . . if you have the willpower . . .

 

 

Christmas Craftalong #3 ~ Tinsel Wreath

Tinsel wreaths are all the rage at the moment, and they are incredibly easy to make using decorations you already have.

Cardboard
Compass and pencil (or plates to use as a template)
approx. 4 metres of tinsel
approx. 25cm / 10" ribbon
little baubles or other festive bits
staple gun
sticky tape

Start by drawing your wreath shape onto a sturdy piece of cardboard. I used a compass to make a 4.5" circle inside a 9" circle, but you can use a large plate and a saucer or similar to create your template if you don't have a compass. Once you have cut out your shape, staple or stick your piece of ribbon to form a hanging loop.

 

Next, tape the end of your tinsel to the back of the wreath and start winding it around your cardboard hoop. 

 

When you get to the end, tuck the tail well under the wrapped tinsel, at the back of the wreath if possible, but tinsel is very forgiving so if it ends at the front don't worry too much!

To hang the baubles you can use the little hooks that you use to put them on christmas trees, but I found that made mine too dangly. So I took some unused staples, threaded them through the holes on the baubles, and bent them into tiny hooks which snagged into the tinsel.

 
They were a little fiddly to hang, but did the job just fine!

 

These wreaths are so simple and versatile, you can make any colour combination you like.

 

And because they are so light you don't have to worry about banging a nail in, as a piece of Blu Tack is man enough for the job.

 

If you don't have 4 metres of the same colour tinsel, try winding a couple of different colours around to create a stripy effect.

 

I hope you have fun making some of your own wreaths. What will you use to decorate yours?

Use your rolling pin - discreetly

I am a sucker for old cookery books. In theory I buy them for my friend's husband, an excellent chef at a rather nice restaurant in deepest Worcestershire, who collects old cookery books. However I have to admit I do find it hard to part with them, and one or two have accidentally stayed on my shelves rather longer than anticipated. In one recent purchase I discovered this little gem tucked jokingly beside the index and decided I just had to share:

Sounds like a very complicated recipe to me, think I'd rather get a take away ;)

Christmas Snowfall

Now November is here I don't feel too premature in listing festive stock in my Etsy shop. I've been busy crocheting lots of sparkly snowflakes

 

I love snowflakes, and these look so sparkly I can't wait to cover my tree in them!

 

 

If you would like some for your tree, or to hang in your window, or in front of a mirror (or anywhere else you fancy!) you can find them in my Etsy shop