A little bit of indulgence ...

Decorative gold leaf and decadent chocolate orange squares are just the ticket for the New Year.  This is the second recipe that I have tried from one of my Christmas presents.  If you fancy some lovely baking ideas then head over to Fiona Cairns to be inspired and try one of her wonderful recipes.  I love Fiona's baking books, they are full of delicious cakes and wonderful decorating ideas.  Fiona is the ultimate cake decorator and I wish that I could do things with even just half the finesse that she does!  Her TV show was pure bliss.  An hour that went by in a whirl of sugared flowers, ribbons, feathers and chocolate (that's not even including the cakes themselves) each Sunday.  Perfect Sunday afternoon viewing that not only looked incredible but made you want to go out and buy a heart-shaped tin and bake, bake, bake!

The first bake that I tried was a stripey coconut cake, which turned out even better than anticipated.  Well the taste did, I am just never happy with the overall finish.  No matter how hard I try, I also produce something that looks as though a 4 year old had "had a good stab at it".  I long to be as good as Fiona and am rather jealous of one of my lovely friends who has just recently embarked on a cake decoration course (not that she needs it, her whirls of icing are always picture perfect).  My baking is fine, I wish it wasn't let down by the outer layer.  Imagine producing wonderful creations that make people gasp (previously mentioned lovely friend, that is you by the way!) at the way they look along with that deep breathy "Mmmmm..." accompanied with the delighted roll of the eyes at the first bite.

I guess it is just a case of practise and having a determined outlook.  I, more often than not, produce childlike results because of my childlike impatience.  I think I am getting better, but I just want to have a beautiful creation right away!  Not in a few hours once it has cooled and been decorated and then cooled once again.  I tried really hard with these chocolate orange squares and was secretly quite pleased with the results.

I have also been really enjoying The Great British Bake Off Comic Relief episodes.  It is such a great programme anyway, but the Comic Relief version has added another layer of sparkle.  I love the fact that sweet Mary Berry always finds something positive to say and that Paul Hollywood has had to hold his tongue.  They are, at first glance, an unusual pairing but really they compliment each other beautifully.  Whilst Paul is technically excellent, Mary is such a dear.  Always a word of encouragement, a smile and a wink, not to mention an excellent line in floral bomber jackets.  (Who knew they'd be popular?  I haven't rushed out to buy one, just yet though!).  Those words of encouragement are so important.  I certainly don't respond well to someone being negative and would immediately shut down before being able to learn anything.  I would love to spend a few days in the Great British Bake Off tent (partly to get a glimpse of the infamous squirrel) and learn from Mary and Paul.  It struck me whilst watching it, just how much they know.  Mary mentioned what size of cake she would expect from knowing the number of eggs that has gone into it.  How marvellous is that?  I bake a lot, but details like that don't seem to stick in my mind.  How does Mary know these things?  A lifetime of handling ingredients, mixing and working dough.  To be truly that knowledgeable about ingredients and the forms that they can take, one must be immersed in it.  Not be afraid to experiment and find yourself the time to have a go and relax into it.  Hold the ingredients, feel them and get to know them.  Then, not only will you learn how to be a fraction of the greatness of the likes of Fiona, Mary and Paul, but you will also have a super dooper, fabulously scrummy pie, cake or scone (whatever takes your fancy) to taste.  And as your friend, I completely insist that you do indeed taste your baking, then taste again just to be sure and maybe again.  You can never be too sure that the baking is delicious.

 

Happy baking (& tasting)!

A weekend of lovely things ...

This weekend was one full of lovely things.  Yes the weather was awful again, I'm starting to think that British Summertime is actually worse than British Wintertime, but when you're doing nice things and with people you love it doesn't seem so gloomy.  I did lots of work, but the enjoyable photography kind, starting off with sending a few card parcels.  I am really enjoying writing little notes to my customers and wrapping things up with ribbon!  I haven't even had to queue at the Post Office too long, which is relatively unheard of!


A lot of kitten cuddling was had by all on Saturday morning, after being woken up at 5.30 am and finding shredding toilet roll everywhere!  Kiki is fed up with this weather.  She sits looking out of the window at the seemingly endless rain, wondering when she will be able to go out without getting soaked through to the skin.  She has taken to bringing her friends around to ours instead of playing outside with them.  There is Pixie, Jingle and Ginger (affectionately known by us as Gingero), who all clammer to get inside ours.  I think it has become some sort of cat motel.  They grab a bite to eat and then run upstairs for a kip.  Ginger is the smallest, although he has such a huge amount of fluffy fur it is difficult to tell by looking at him.  But pick him up and he's all bone and fluff, light as a feather and nervous as anything.  He shivers and frets, while all you want to do is cuddle him and give him some love.  Kiki, of course, is not too happy about this.  She doesn't necessarily want us petting her all the time but doesn't think it is right that we should give out hugs to other cats willy nilly.  Probably why she left us a present of shredded paper all over the carpet.  As you can see (below left), she is none too impressed by Gingero being shown some affection.

Perhaps it was the smell of baking that brought them all to our door on Saturday morning.  Seeing as the weather was bad and it was very early, I decided to experiment in the kitchen.  I wanted to turn a brownie recipe into one for cupcakes and add some pazazz, so what better time?  An hour or so later (and a ton of washing up later, grr...), I had a batch of raspberry, white chocolate and hazelnut cupcakes with raspberry flavoured, pink buttercream (topped with glitter).  Not only were the cakes topped with buttercream and glitter, but so was I!  I'm not sure how, but it was in my hair and I later found some inside my top...!  That was after I had eaten lots of raw cake mix, sampled a cake (well, you just have to, don't you?) and had a sugar crash, all before 9.30am.

 


Saturday afternoon brought a location scout for an upcoming wedding that I am doing (I am not nervous, I am not nervous, I am not nervous ....).  It is is such a beautiful location, a church in the sea, and I think it will be a rather beautiful day.  The setting is stunning, just the church is so tiny that the angles are going to be tight!  I did even contemplate hiding in the pulpit!  There are lots of photo opportunities there, we just have to keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't rain or is too stormy (or the wedding will get moved to a larger church on the mainland).

The church holds about 50 people and only has 3 small windows.  It is adorable though, white washed stone walls, beautiful beams.  It is so rustic and charming.  A total dream for a wedding!  If I were getting married here, I'd have beautiful little flowers and ribbons tied to the chairs.  In fact, it was sort of my idea that the couple are getting married here.  Rhid and I had said that we would quite like a very tiny wedding (when that day comes), possibly on a church on an island in the sea.  I like the idea of walking to it in wellies and popping on pretty shoes when I am inside...I was chatting to the groom, a year and a half ago, and mentioned this.  They thought it was a brilliant idea and they only live 10 minutes away from this church on Anglesey.  Perfect!  It's a lovely idea.  The views are wonderful; sea, mountains, beach.  What more could you ask for?

I even had time to squeeze in something floral before the rain set in on Sunday.  I found a tiny patch of poppies (small and windswept) and got a beautiful bouquet of roses from my parents' garden.  They adore roses and have (probably) hundreds, delicate colours and scents that fill the air.  I have always liked roses but never really loved them as much as my mum, but now I am starting to fall for them.  They come in such delightful shades and their scent can fill a room.  Shh, don't tell anyone, but I think they might just be stealing a tiny piece of my heart.