The Lockdown Birthday Cake Disaster of 2020

This is a story from a while ago, right at the start of Lockdown, on the very the first day that the schools were closed way back in March. With all the craziness that's been happening, I've only just got around to sitting down to write about it. This is the story of my son's lockdown birthday, which began with the greatest birthday gift he could have received, the closing of his school on his birthday, and went very much downhill from there. But doom and gloom have no place in a world where there are so many ways things could be worse, so read on to find out how we made the best of it all.

An Easy Cupcake Recipe that Saved the Day

Who would have thought an innocent cake could cause so much trouble? It all started when The Husband innocently suggested he would make a cake to take into work, like he has done many times before. Except he forgot that this day was stock take, which involves 25 people, more than twice the usual cake-consumers. One cake was never going to be enough. What he didn't realise was, when you increase the volume of cake, the potential for disaster increases too. Here's what happened next, and how a decent fool-proof cupcake recipe can always put things right. Save this one for when you need your cakes to turn out right the first time!

Apple and Blackberry Crumble

As it's windfall season, here is a reminder of the Apple and Blackberry Crumble recipe I originally posted two years ago! It was part of an apple round-up, but I felt. as crumbles can be under-represented, I would give it its own post. The secret to this recipe is to use brown sugar, instead of white, as it gives a lovely, caramelised twist to the topping and it will come out crisp and glistening, as if it was created by a true domestic goddess. Rubbing in the breadcrumbs is particularly appealing to little ones, if you do have any willing helpers!

Making Basic Biscuits Better, with Betty Crocker!

I am a massive fan of these little cookie mixes, by Betty Crocker. I'm actually a huge fan of Betty Crocker in general. The tubs of icing are so convenient and last for ages, even when they've been opened. I use them all the time in my quick mix recipes, like this quick mix sponge cake. If you are entertaining though, or want your cookies to look a bit more 'homemade' (ahem), they can seem a bit, well, flat. Here a couple of ideas to pep them up a bit, without really making much effort, because you want to save all your energy for the eating part, don't you? 

Emergency Biscuit Replacement Hack!

Don't you just hate it, when it gets to the point in the evening where you really don't want to go out, and you suddenly realise, you've forgotten to buy something vital. So, this evening there was mass panic when the choccy biccies ran out and we had to think fast. I had some shortcrust pastry left over from a jam tart failure (don't ask) so we threw together this epic recipe, that will replace your biscuit supply easily and without having to go out. bonus!

Lemon Cheescake and Meeting Mary Berry...

I was lucky enough to receive tickets to The Grape and Grain Festival in Bristol last weekend. It was brilliant. First, there was a champagne breakfast, attended by the lovely Mary Berry and Lucy Young. It was a really relaxed atmosphere and Mary and her little family of helpers were really friendly and made a real effort to speak to everyone at the event. Walking around all the tables and signing books. We really enjoyed the event and I even discovered something I never knew before. Cheesecake is actually really easy to make! Read on below for the recipe. 

Easy Spelt Biscuits

This recipe uses Spelt flour, which is an ancient grain, containing a different type of gluten. Some people find spelt flour easier to digest, easing the irritation that some people suffer from eating gluten-based products. It is, however, still very much gluten for the purposes of Coeliac disease, so should be avoided by sufferers. I found these needed icing, as the flavour isn't as strong as with other flours. If you prefer, you could substitute for wholemeal. I love the rustic texture that these create, they seem to taste a bit healthier and more wholesome than white flour biscuits!

Easy Peasy Cake for Baking Emergencies!

We have all encountered a baking emergency at some stage in our lives, it's a thing. I'm not making it up! These are the kind of emergencies I mean; 'Mum, it's bake sale day at school tomorrow' 'Don't forget it's the husband's/sister's/dogs birthday on Saturday', Happy Anniversary, Darling!' That kind of emergency! Or, there's the other kind of cake-based drama, which is a more hormonal kind; BRING ME CAKE NOW!!! Either way, this cake is low on ingredients and high on efficiency, so you can have your cakey fix quicker than ever!

How to Make a Lego Cake

For my son's birthday, he wanted a Lego cake, because he is 8 and that is what 8 year olds like, apparently. There were definite advantages to this cake, in that it needed to be square, which took a lot of the hard work out of the design. I was also very lucky, because I managed to borrow a little brick mould for the fondant decorations, but I thought I would show you how I made the little Lego men. The cake is far from perfect, as I was struggling with my back at the time, but I imagine if you had more time, you could probably do a better job! The method for creating the figures was actually quite easy, as you will see.

An Apple a Day... Keeps Your Freezer Full!

I may have mentioned this before, but I consider myself very lucky, I do tend to go on about it a little bit, because we lived in a tiny first floor flat on a main road for a long time, until we moved here, and this beautiful parkland is our front garden now. 

Pizza Cake

Today's cheat is less about nutrition and more about playing with your food, 'e' numbers and sugar. Well the 'e' numbers are optional, but you get the idea. Yes, it's been half term and as the nights are drawing in, the kids and I have come up with a fun, and pretty easy way to entertain ourselves and make something really yummy!