bonfire parkin

A true mark of discovering where in the country a person was born or grew up is to ask if they know what Parkin is. If I had a penny for every time someone has gone 'Parkin..? eh?' when I've mentioned that I have baked some...well,... I'd probably have.....errrmm.....about 10p!??

Parkin is a treacley, syrupy, oaty, rib-sticking stodge cake which goes very well with a large mug of tea on a cold night stood around a blazing bonfire watching the 'sparkles' in the night sky. Or just as well, sat indoors watching Corrie, you pick. I think it would also go well served warm with a healthy dribble of hot custard but I've never tried it like that as it usually goes too quickly to experiment with. Although it does last well up to a week wrapped in baking parchment and foil.

It originates from Yorkshire and although I am from t'other side of the Pennines, I have such childhood memories of eating homemade Parkin on Bonfire night.

It's usual to bake it in a square pan then cut into smaller square pieces to serve but I always make mine in a loaf pan and cut into slices.

This recipe is from an old Tate and Lyle recipe pamphlet that my mum used to make the parkin when we were little. This time I changed the recipe slightly and I have to say it was the best to date.

I know that bonfire night was well over a week ago now, but really this cake is just a good winter cake that can be eaten anytime to warm the cockles on a bitterly cold night.

Ingredients

175g {6oz} plain flour, sifted

175g {6oz} porridge oats, plus extra for scattering on top

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

75g {3oz} unsalted butter, cubed

50g {2 oz} light muscovado sugar

125g {4 oz} black treacle, warmed 

125g {4 oz} golden syrup, warmed

1 egg, lightly beaten

grated zest and juice of one small orange {tangerine, clementine, satsuma}

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/gas mark 3.

Butter a large loaf tin and line with baking parchment.

Sift the flour with the spices and bicarbonate of soda, add the oats and rub in the butter to resemble breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, warmed syrup and treacle, beaten egg and orange zest and juice. Stir until all combined then spoon into loaf tin. Scatter the extra oats {about 2 tablespoons} over the top and bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Try to resist often opening the oven door as this can make the top sink - as mine did - slightly but this shouldn't affect the taste.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then remove the cake from tin and cool on a rack.

squash, spinach and goats cheese tart

Trying to cling to a bit of summer while the rain pours down and the blustery autumn winds blow. I made these tarts in mini tart cases (from John Lewis) but can just as easily be made as one large tart.

Makes 8 small tarts or one large tart.

Pastry Ingredients
200g {7oz} Plain flour, sifted
100g {3½oz} chilled butter, cubed
½-1 medium egg, beaten
Pinch of salt

Rub the butter, salt and flour together until it forms a breadcrumb texture {or whizz in the food processor}. Add about ½ to ⅔ of the egg {keep the remaining egg for wash} so that it just comes together to form a dough. Flatten out the ball of dough with your hands, wrap in cling film and allow to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Bake Blind
When chilled, roll out on a floured surface to approximately 4mm thick and line the tart case {or cases} with the pastry. Prick the base of the tart with a fork and line the pastry with foil and fill with dried rice or beans and bake for 15-20 minutes at 180°C {350°F}.
Remove the foil and beans and brush with a little bit of the leftover beaten egg. Put back in the oven for 2 - 3 minutes.

Meanwhile make the filling...

Filling Ingredients
4 eggs, lightly beaten
250ml double cream
A small butternut squash {approx 250g} peeled and cut into chunks
A good handful of spinach , stalks removed
50g chedder cheese, finely grated
150g goats cheese, chopped or sliced into small pieces
Pinch of grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to season

With the oven still set at 180°C {after baking the pastry} place the squash in a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 15 - 20 minutes.
Wash the spinach and while still slightly wet, place in a pan over a low heat and allow to wilt. Drain away any water and let cool before squeezing out any excess water. Chop roughly.

In a bowl or large jug lightly whisk the eggs and cream together, add half of the grated chedder cheese and season with salt and pepper. Mix in the spinach.

Divide the squash and the goats cheese amongst the tart cases then pour the egg mixture over filling almost to the top. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top with a sprinkling of nutmeg.
Place the tart case or cases onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow the tarts to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the tins.

lavender biscuits

These heavenly scented and delicious biscuits are really easy to make and have that proper buttery crumble cookie taste that melts in the mouth, or the mug, if you're more of a tea dunking biscuit lover.

As there are several varieties of lavender each can give a slightly different intensity of lavender loveliness.

I used the leaves and flowers from my Edelweiss lavender plant which has white flowers and an altogether lighter fragrance so these were only ever so slightly lavender, but as lavender can be very heavily scented, this worked a treat.

Perfectly lovely with a big mug of builders tea as an afternoon pick-me-up.

As Autumn leaves fall fast and the lavender starts to die off, use the basic biscuit recipe minus the lavender and instead add any variations of the following;

grated zest from 1 lemon,

50g of chopped dried blueberries/cranberries/raisins,

 25g finely chopped crystallized ginger,

A tsp of mixed spice {or ginger/cinnamon etc}

or whatever you fancy really...

Dip half the biscuit into melted chocolate for extra luxury!

This recipe was taken from The Edible Garden.

Ingredients:

150g {5oz} butter

90g {3½oz} caster sugar

225g {8oz} plain flour

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp fresh lavender leaves, chopped

1 tsp {approx.} lavender flowers removed from the spike

Makes 10 -12 biscuits.

Preheat oven to 160°C {320°F} and grease 2 baking trays.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy.

Add the flour {sifted}, egg yolk and lavender leaves {or substitute} and mix well.

Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth ball. Gently roll the ball into a cylinder shape about 8-10 cm {3-4 in} in diameter. With a sharp knife, slice the cylinder into 10-12 slices and spread out onto the baking trays. Press a few lavender flowers into the top of each biscuit.

Bake in the oven for 15 - 18 minutes until the biscuits are firm and ever so slightly golden on top.

Allow to cool on the trays for about 5 minutes then carefully move to a cooling rack.

Any surplus uncooked dough can be wrapped in clingfilm and kept in the fridge for a few days.

blueberry banana bread

It's always quite disappointing to discover the bunch of sunshiney yellow bananas that have been quietly brightening up one corner of the fruit bowl (corner?) have now, seemingly in the matter of a blink, turned an over ripe brown and are a little too mushy for eating.

Thank goodness for all of those recipes which call out for mushy over ripe bananas; milkshake, pancakes, muffins and of course the daddy of the mushy banana usage- banana bread! Hurrah! All is not lost!

This recipe is a mish mash (banana mash...) of recipes I've come across. I added dried blueberries instead of raisins because this was all I had but it worked a dream. The blueberries swell up when in the oven and are beautifully juicy and syrupy in the bread.

This banana bread is delicious toasted and makes a lovely alternative to toast in the morning or for afternoon tea on a wet grey day, yum!

Blueberry Banana Bread


200g self-raising flour
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
75g butter, softened
50g soft brown sugar
175g dried blueberries
4 small very ripe bananas, mashed
2 heaped tablespoons clear runny honey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Butter and line a large loaf tin.
Preheat oven too 180ºC (350ºF) Gas mark 4.

Dry Bowl:

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mix until resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and dried blueberries and stir in to combine.

Wet Bowl:

Whisk together the bananas, honey and eggs in another bowl. Then add the wet bowl mixture to the dry bowl.

Pour into the loaf tin and smooth and level the the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for about 1¼ to 1½ hours or until a skewer comes out clean.

Remove from oven and leave in the tin for about 5 minutes to cool slightly then tip out onto a cooling rack, removing the greaseproof paper. Allow to cool slightly then serve sliced and buttered while still a little warm...yum!

The best chocolate cake?

Ok, every year, just before Christmas I go mad for cookery magazines. I buy them all and sit with a cup of tea flicking through the glossy mouth-watering pages wondering which delectable goodies I'm going to make for the festive season.

Apres bebe, it's more about what I'm going to have time to make. Which hasn't been much. Infact this year, not even a mince pie......sigh.

Anyway I still get the mags and then, because they take up a lot of room and alas do seem to contain an awful lot of advertisements, I rip them up! Carefully, I should add. I go through each magazine carefully tearing out each page which has a recipe I love and then I stick them all into a file with plastic slip covers.

I have four of the files now! Voila! Instant new cookery books! They're not all Christmas recipes as throughout the year I do tend to pick up the odd copy of the Waitrose or Sainsbury's magazine while out shopping.

I also stick in anything I print out from the internet. My only problem now is finding certain recipes without trawling through all four files......Add cataloguing to my new year to do list....!

So I saw this recipe in one of my bumper files for this chocolate cake and gave it a go. I'm not the biggest chocolate fan I have to say, I know...What's wrong with me??! If I'm out for dinner I'll very rarely (if at all) pick the chocolate dessert on the menu, I'd always rather go for something lemony or a brulee of some kind.

However, I do think proper homemade chocolate cake is to die for. Especially something big and stodgy - perfect with a cup of tea!

I'm not sure where this recipe cutting came from, I have a feeling it may have been the Sainsbury's mag, but I'm not sure, I really should write it down. Anyway wherever it came from, it's good!

So good that I made it for a certain little lady's first birthday. She didn't have any, but I did. And it was good! I'll be sure to tell her when she's older! He he!

Chocolate Cake

250g unsalted butter

300g light muscovado sugar

100g plain flour, sifted

100g self-raising flour, sifted

5 eggs

300g dark chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

Chocolate Icing

200g dark chocolate

200ml double cream

Butter and line a 20cm cake tin

Preheat oven to 160º C/ fan 140ºC / Gas mark 3

Using an electric whisk, beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding one or two tbsp of the flour as you go if the mixture starts to split.

Pour the melted chocolate into the mix, beating as you do so and then fold in the rest of the flour.

Spoon into the tin and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the cake has risen and has a crust on top and a skewer comes out clean.

Cool, then remove from the tin. Split the cake with a knife horizontally.

To make the icing, melt together the chocolate and cream over a low heat then cool until thickened.

Fill the cake with the icing, then spread the rest over the outside.

red velvet cupcakes

The world seems to be going mad for red velvet cupcakes. I was dying to have a go at making them so with my new Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and a birthday party coming up it seemed the perfect time. They came out pretty perfect, if I say so myself and were not as difficult as they look to make. Have a go. They look pretty impressive and taste divine!

Red Velvet Cupcakes (from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

60g unsalted butter, at room temperature

150g caster sugar

1 egg

10g cocoa powder

20ml red food colouring

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

120ml buttermilk

150g plain flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1½ teaspoons of white wine vinegar

1 quantity of cream cheese frosting (see here )

12-hole cupcake tray, lined with paper cases

Makes 12

Preheat oven to 170ºC (325ºF) Gas mark 3.

Put the butter and the sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.

In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Turn the mixer down to slow speed and slowly pour in half the buttermilk. Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour, and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added. Scrape down the side of the bowl again. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the  cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out into a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

When completely cool add the frosting on top.

I sprinkled some dessicated coconut on top.

Yum!

frostings

It was a whirlwind of cupcake baking last weekend. A birthday party isn't a birthday party without cupcakes. A first birthday party requires extra special cupcakes. Am I right or am I right??

So I made some different ones like red velvet ones and chocolate ones and as time was, as always, precious and ever decreasing, I also made a batch of Nigella's fairy cakes and just added some different flavoured frostings, and they worked well!

So I made up a batch of the fairy cake mix (omitting the vanilla extract) and divided it into two bowls. In one bowl I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and in the other bowl a teaspoon of lemon extract. Then baked as normal -scratching a little cross on the cake tin to mark the lemon side!

When baked and as the cakes were cooling I made up the frosting. I made up a batch of vanilla frosting (again, omitting the vanilla extract) then as with the cake mixture I divided it into two bowls and for the vanilla cupcakes I made a strawberry frosting and for the lemon cupcakes, well, you guessed it, I made a lemon frosting.

Vanilla Frosting (from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook) 12 Cupcakes

250g icing sugar, sifted

80g unsalted butter, at room temperature

25ml of whole milk

a couple of drops of vanilla extract (or a teaspoon if you love vanilla like I do or none if you are making other flavoured frosting!)

Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.

Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time.

Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.

Strawberry Frosting 6 Cupcakes

Make up the vanilla frosting as above. Omitting the vanilla extract if also making other flavoured frosting. If using all of the mixture ( to cover 12 cakes) simply double the quantities below.

4-5 large ripe strawberries, washed and hulled,

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

sugar flower decorations, sprinkles, silver balls or scrolls of white chocolate to decorate

Simply chop the strawberries into small pieces and mush slightly with a fork. Mix into the vanilla frosting with the vanilla extract.

If the frosting now seems to be too runny add a tablespoon of sifted icing sugar and beat well. Add small quantities of icing sugar to get back to the desired consistancy of frosting. Top the cakes with a palette knife or plastic spatula. Decorate as you wish!

Lemon Frosting 6 Cupcakes

Make up the vanilla frosting as above. Omitting the vanilla extract. If using all of the mixture ( to cover 12 cakes) simply double the quantities below.

grated zest of ½ lemon

½ tsp of lemon extract (optional)

½ tsp yellow food colouring (optional)

sugar flower decorations, sprinkles, silver balls or scrolls of white chocolate to decorate. Or simply use some lemon zest strands as I did.

Add the lemon zest and extract to the vanilla frosting. Beat well together. Add the yellow colouring if using by adding very small quantities at a time. A good way to do this is with a cocktail stick to avoid that bright yellow egg yolk look. You want to try to get a lovely pale lemon colour.

Top the cakes and decorate as you wish.

Cream Cheese Frosting ( From the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

This is used to top the red velvet cupcakes but can also be used as an alternative to buttery frosting. It is less sweet and has a creamy texture. It is quite yum I have to say! Cream cheese frosting can be coloured with food colouring if desired but looks so beautiful left white I think!

300g icing sugar, sifted

50g unsalted butter, at room temperature

125g cream cheese, cold

To frost 12 cupcakes (double quantities for a 20cm cake)

Beat the icing sugar together and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or a handheld electric whisk) until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Do not overbeat as it can quickly become runny.

baked cheesecake with blueberries

I have watched Rachel Allen on cooking channels for quite a while now. I love her style. Everything looks cosy comfy in her kitchen, from her drool-over kitchen equipment to her Cath Kidston aprons and soft Irish tones! What's not to love.

I watch her cookery school on tv and like to imagine that I'm there. She has such a good teaching way. Kind of makes you feel like you've just popped round to a friends house and she is showing you how to make a passed-down old family recipe, over a cup of tea and a friendly chit chat, oh and of course a nibble on whatever it is you have learnt to bake that afternoon!

Imagine my delight to receive, as a birthday gift from Mr H, her yummy book, Bake.

This baked blueberry cheesecake caught my eye straight away. I'm a huge cheesecake fan. The chilled and the baked version. I love them all.

As Miss Ella had shown a profound love of blueberries recently, and as because of this the fridge was stocked to bursting with ripe purple/blue berries, well, it felt wrong not to make this cheesecake.

It was a huge hit at Ella's first birthday party on sunday ( the second party I might add!) and was quite easy to make and looked so pretty! Yum!

Baked Cheesecake with Blueberries


175g (6oz) digestive biscuits
75g (3oz) butter, melted
175g (6oz) blueberries, plus extra for decorating
450g (1lb) cream cheese
150g (5oz) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Icing sugar, to dust

24cm (9½") diameter spring-form/loose-bottomed tin

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF), Gas mark 4.
Butter the sides and base of the cake tin.

Place the biscuits in a food processor and whiz until quite fine. Alternatively place them in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin. Mixed the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and press down into the base of the tin so that it is nice and even. Spread the blueberries over the base and allow to chill in the fridge while you make the topping.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and the eggs together in a large bowl until smooth and creamy. pour over the top of the blueberries and then bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until it is pale golden and should only wobble very slightly when you gently shake the tin.

Allow to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen it and carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin. Transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle over a few blueberries, if you wish, then dust with icing sugar.

Cut into slices to serve. The cheesecake is best served at room temperature.

baby birthday banana buns

I looked high and low on the internet for a birthday cake with no sugar. That's right no sugar. Yuk! You might think? Not so.

I found all sorts of recipes online, carrot cakes, courgette cakes, yoghurt cakes..... All had mixed reviews and as they were posted by readers there were no accompanying photos. And I do like a good photo. Some of them contained unusual ingredients or just slightly more 'exotic for a corner shop at 5pm the night before' sort of unusual and unattainable.

So after all that searching would you believe I found this recipe in my tried and trusted and flour spattered copy of Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess. I hadn't even thought to look there because Nigella not putting a vat of sugar/cream/lard into a recipe is a bit like Gordon Ramsay getting through a sentence without swearing....It just never happens, or so I thought, wrongly it turns out.

Anyhoo, these are good. Very easy to make.

I topped mine with a yoghurt coating and scattered blueberries on top. The recipe I used { 1 cup yoghurt :: ½ cup icing sugar :: 1 tsp vanilla extract - whisk together } was far too much for 12 buns so next time I'd halve it. Also should have used greek yoghurt as natural yoghurt was a bit runny although it set ok with some chilling time. Any left over buns will need to be stored in the fridge if they have the yoghurt coating on them as this will not last long in a warm room....As discovered!

Banana Muffins

30g unsalted butter
60g (two heaped 15ml tablespoons) clear honey
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 large very ripe bananas
150g plain flour
1 heaped tablespoon baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt (I didn't use)

12 bun muffin tin and papers ( I used 12 silicon cases on a baking tray)

Preheat oven to 190ºC/gas mark 5

Put the butter, honey and vanilla extract in a pan on a low heat to melt, then remove and set aside for a few minutes.

Mash the bananas and, in another bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon and salt. Mix the melted butter mixture with the bananas and then mix that into the dry ingredients. Don't over mix: just stir a couple of times; you will have a not terribly attractive lumpy sludge.

Fill the muffin cases (paper or silicon) in the tray about two thirds full with mixture. Put in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Leave in the tins for about 5 minutes, then remove the muffins in their cases to a wire rack for another 5-10 minutes until cool.

I left mine in the silicon cases for serving.

Makes 12.

It's testament to how good these are and how well they were received by a small gathering of one year olds that I only have a photo of the empty cases and a dusting of crumbs to show you.

Or it's testament to the stressful morning I had with the birthday girl who refused to nap and insisted on screaming and emptying the kitchen cupboards, that I failed to take a photo before these were devoured!

Choux Puffs {Julia Child}

Pâte à choux for dessert puffs 
Taken from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child


1 Cup of Water
6 Tbsp Butter cut into cubes
Pinch of Salt
1 Tsp Sugar
Pinch of Nutmeg (optional)
¾ Cup of Plain Flour
4 Large Eggs

1 Small beaten Egg mixed with a little water

Preheat oven to 220º
This recipe makes 35-40 {although I got 25} small puffs

Bring water to a boil in a pan with the butter, seasonings and sugar. Boil slowly until butter has melted.

Remove from heat and immediately pour in the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for several seconds to blend thoroughly.

Then beat over a moderately high heat for 1 to 2 minutes until mixture begins to leave the side of the pan and form a mass.

Remove pan from heat and make a well in the centre of the mixture. Break one egg into the centre of the well and beat thoroughly until blended.

Continue with the remaining 3 eggs, beating them in one by one until combined and smooth.

Place a grease proof baking sheet onto a baking tray.

Spoon mixture into a piping bag and then squeeze into mounds, about 1" in diameter and ½" high {approx!} onto the baking sheet.

Space the mounds about 2" apart to allow for spreading {Although mine were much closer than this and came out fine!}

Dip a pastry brush into the beaten egg and flatten each puff very slightly with the side of the brush avoiding dripping egg down the puff onto the baking sheet.

Put the tray {or trays!} into the upper and lower thirds of the preheated oven.

Bake for about 20 mins until puffs have risen and are golden in colour. ~They should be firm and crusty to the touch.

Remove from oven and pierce the side of each puff with a sharp knife to let the steam out.

{Apparently this is the only secret to perfect puff making! Although it also comes in handy for filling with cream or custard later - just spoon or pipe into the hole!}

Put the trays back into the turned off oven and leave the doors ajar for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and put puffs onto a cooling rack.... et voila!

To Freeze

Puffs freeze perfectly. When cool place into a freezer bag or box.

When you want to use them just put the frozen puffs onto a baking tray and heat in an oven at 220º for 3 - 4 minutes.

Fairy Cakes {Nigella Lawson}

Ingredients
125g unsalted butter, softened I use flora no salt 
125g caster sugar
2 large eggs definitely organic free-range 
125g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract extract not essence
2-3 tbsp milk
500g packet instant royal icing I just used whatever icing was in the cupboard 
12 bun muffin tin lined with 12 muffin papers
I actually used fairy cake tin and papers which are much smaller

Preheat oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6

Basically, throw all the ingredients into a bowl, except for the milk and mix together with a hand held mixer ( this is how I do it). Then add the milk a little at a time until you get a smooth mix with a dropping consistancy.

Spoon into each case, about half fill (the mix will rise when baked).

Bake for about 15-20 mins until slightly golden on top.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

When totally cool make up icing to a thick consistancy so it is not too runny. I add the colour with a cocktail stick to create a pastel shade, it always amazes me how little you actually need.

Spoon icing on top and decorate with sweets or sugar swirls or whatever.

Scoff with a really nice cup of tea.

Alternatives

My mum used to make fruity fairy cakes by adding raisins or sultanas and omitting the icing or any decoration. they somehow felt healthy!! They look a little boring but taste lovely!

Beach Berry Muffins

2 cups plain flour

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

large knob of butter (about 60g), melted

half a large pot of natural yoghurt

choice of fruit (I used 1 punnet each of blueberries and raspberries)

Preheat oven to 140º

Line a muffin tin with papers

Mix all the ingredients together

Spoon mixture into cases

Put in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden on top and skewer comes out clean!

Pizza Dough {Donna Hay}

Basic Pizza Dough

1 tbsp dry yeast

1 tsp of caster (superfine) sugar

1 cup (250ml) of lukewarm water

2½ cups (375g) 00 flour

1 tsp of sea salt flakes

1 tbsp olive oil

Place the yeast, sugar and water into a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface this means the yeast has been activated.

Place the flour salt and olive oil into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture and mix together with well floured hands to form a dough.

Kneed dough on a lightly floured surface for 3-4 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough into equal-size balls. Place on a lightly floured tray under a clean damp tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes or until the balls have doubled in size.

Press each dough ball into a round a roll out on a lightly floured surface to the desired size.

To Freeze...Roll out the dough and layer between sheets of non-stick baking paper, cover well in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month. When ready to use them, heat up a tray, top the frozen base with your favourite toppings and pop into oven.