30th Birthday Cake

One of my best friends in the whole world turned 30 last friday. To celebrate, she threw a fancy dress party and left me in charge of baking her a cake, the only stipulation being that it was very girly. I'm fairly sure I lived up the request. This is my best cake yet :)

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Peanut Butter Fudge

For anybody who claims to be a fan of peanut butter, this recipe is a MUST try. It's delicious - and I don't even like peanut butter that much. Apparently it can be made with Nutella also, which I plan to try out very soon. I nabbed this recipe from the amazing One Perfect Bite blog. If you're not a peanut butter fan, you should check out this blog anyway:
http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2011/03/peanut-butter-fudge.html

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Cocoa Cookies

I sit next to a lovely woman at work who has an equally lovely 5 year old. Said lovely woman brought a cookie into work for me a few months back. The lovely 5 year old apparently found it slightly too chocolatey, which was of course no such problem for me. In fact, I liked it so much that I took to the internet to find a similar recipe. I used this recipe from www.laist.com to bake the below treats: http://laist.com/2007/12/15/laist_cookie_ex_5.php

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80th Birthday Cake

No recipe to post here, I just wanted to share my creation with you. A lady at work asked me to bake her Father an 80th birthday cake. At this point in time, I had only baked one cake previously so needless to say I was pretty nervous. I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out though :)

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Fudgey Chocolate Brownies

I've never met a single person who dislikes brownies, and I'm willing to bet that anybody who does is probably miserable, surly and eats cauliflower for fun. This is a Jamie Oliver Recipe. Not usually a big fan myself, but this recipe really cannot be knocked.



Ingredients:

• 250g unsalted butter
• 200g dark Fairtrade chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up
• 80g cocoa powder, sifted
• 65g plain flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 360g caster sugar
• 4 large free-range or organic eggs
• optional: zest of 1 orange
• optional: 250ml crème fraîche

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper.
2. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.
4. Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean.
5. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.

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Red Pesto - Salmon Kebabs

There has been a recent bout of lovely warm weather in the UK. BBQs have been dusted off, punch bowls filled and flip flips donned. For all you BBQ lovers, who still want to remain healthy (or perhaps just allow extra room for dessert) here's a figure-friendly recipe that went down a storm.



Ingredients

• 2 boneless fillets of salmon
• Small handful of button mushrooms
• 1 small red onion, cut into wedges
• 1/3 cup natural plain yoghurt
• 3 tbsp red pesto
• 1 tsp dried basil

Directions.

1. Cut the salmon into 1 inch cubes. Stir the yoghurt, basil and pesto together in a bowl. Mix in the chunks of salmon and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for around 2 hours. Meanwhile, soak the kebab skewers in water to prevent them from burning when placed on a grill or BBQ.
   
2. Dry the skewers with a few sheets of kitchen towel. Thread chunks of salmon, wedges of onion and the button mushrooms on to the skewers. Brush the kebabs with the remaining marinade.
   
3. Cook under a hot grill or on a BBQ for around 8 minutes, turning once. Enjoy!

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Dreamy White Cupcakes

Ode to a cupcake

Beautiful cupcake
your silky white frosting swirls
like flower petals
I want to eat you

Your mushroom top and
your delightful little stump
makes my mouth water
I’m going to eat you

Cupcake you’re so sweet
a tasty miniature cake
baked special for me
I ate you

(poem found here:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1408206)

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Pancake Day - Butterscotch Sauce

In the UK yesterday, we celebrated Pancake Day. Lots of lemons were bought, and pancake races were held up and down the country. My husband and I had pancakes for breakfast, and we decided to break from the traditional lemon and sugar toppings and opt for a scrummy butterscotch sauce.

This recipe below is definitely a keeper. I'll be making it many more times!




Ingredients

• 50g/2oz butter
  
• 50g/2oz golden syrup
  
• Vanilla pod, split
  
• Lemon juice (approx 1/3 lemon)
• 75ml/2½fl oz double cream

Directions

1. Place the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and vanilla pod in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer.
2. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice to taste.
3. Stir in the double cream.
4. Remove the vanilla pod before serving.

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One Little Word

Only three days of 2011 have passed, and already Christmas feels miles behind us. In the spirit of a fresh, new year, several bloggers have inspired me to take part in Ali Edwards One Little Word. Just a single word that sums up what you want to achieve in the year ahead. A word that has a personal meaning for you, to carry with you each day.

My first instinct was to choose "happy." But quickly I realised that happiness is something I am not always entirely honest about. "Happiness" is an image that many of us like to project, regardless of it's sincerity. So with that in mind, my word for 2011 is....


True. As in, to be true to oneself. It occurs to me that in this day and age, we often tend to look outside of ourselves for acceptance and approval. Sometimes in life, our insecurities take control and we may feel the need to pretend that we are something we are not.

But there is always time for change.

I leave you with this:

Sweet Truth is a queen proud and mighty. Her throne is in heaven above. - Ardelia Cotton Barton

Cat x

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