Have Your Cake and Eat It by Mich Turner {book review}

It's an interesting phrase "have your cake and eat it" - generally one hears the phrase being said as "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Meaning that life isn't perfect; that sometimes you get one thing, but that means you miss out on something else. You can't have both!

Why can't we have both, why can't we have our cake and to eat it too? Mich Turner probably asked the same question and she is telling us that we can have our cake and to eat it! 

Mich is not only a baker, cake decorator, and author she has a degree in food science and a founder of a company! She's done it all and she's done it again with her latest title Have Your Cake and Eat It! A book full of nutritious, delicious recipes for healthier, everyday baking. 

When we bake at home we can control what is put in it and Mich shows us how best to do that! I will get to all the delicious cakes and bakes recipes, but for just a moment I want to point out that the introduction, ingredients, and dos and don'ts chapters are great because Mich not only tells what we are going to need, but educates us on the why and how of baking! It's what turns it from a good baking book to an amazing one! 

Now to all the glorious recipes Mich gives us. First chapter Muffins, Cupcakes, & Buns - The easiest of all bakes. The next chapter Biscuits and Cookies - my favorite type of bake because they are easy to make and they come in all sort of varieties: crispy, crunchy, soft, gooey .... Bars & Flapjacks come next my second favorite type of bake! Finally we get to the Cake chapter the longest and most extensive chapter followed by the last chapter on Meringues! 

My list of recipes to try: 

Date, Banana, & Peanut Butter Muffins 

Raspberry, Rose, & Pistachio Cupcakes

Pumpkin Scones

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Party Rings

Almond & Cranberry Biscotti 

Almond Toscaner

Date & Apple Squares

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Brownies

Strawberry & Walnut Flapjacks

Pumpkin & Carrot Bars

Queen Elizabeth Date Cake

Citrus Coconut Layered Cake 

Soured Cream Vanilla & Blueberry Cake

Layered Chocolate Orange Cake

Lemon Meringue Chiffon

Lemon, Pistachio, & Honey Loaf Cake

Banana, Coconut, & Caramel Pavlova

Raspberry & Rose Meringues

*I was given a copy of Have Your Cake and Eat It by Mich Turner  to review by the publisher, jacqui small. Retails at £22 and available now from your local book retailers or online! All opinions are my own, I was not given any other compensation nor was I asked to give a positive review, please see my contact/policy page for more information.

Grow Your Own Cake by Holly Farrell {book review}

"Finally, although there is no scientific way of proving it, the satisfaction of eating something you have grown yourself makes it taste 10 times better." - Holly Farrell Grow Your Own Cake

There might not be any scientific proof, but I believe this is 100% true not only when you've grown your own food, but when you've used that grown food in something tasty like a cake or biscuit or pie!

I should start with stating that I am not much of a gardner myself so, the information in the chapter 'In  the Garden' was very inspiring and makes me want to get out some pots and soil and plant my own garden! Since I have yet to start gardening I'll have to hit up my father-in-law or the local farmers market for my ingredients!

The 'In the Kitchen' chapter was a nice refresher, but stated a lot of baking things I already knew.  It's still worth a read through as it's particular to how our author Holly Farrell bakes and therefore essential to know when you try out her recipes.  If this is the part you have less experience in give it a read though it's very informative.

The rest of the book is broken down into seasons, events, puddings, and savoury bakes. These cakes still have sugar, butter, and flour so can't claim to be healthy, but as they are full of fresh ingredients from a garden I'd say they were better then mass produced cakes. 

When I first saw the title I was like here we go carrot cakes and beetroot brownies and though there are recipes for both of those there is so much more! I like how the recipes are basic, practical, and use fresh ingredients. These recipes are a refreshing change from the other baking books I own. 

Overall, as I already said I found this book different from other baking books out there and if you're looking for something a little different then look no further! It's full of lovely full page coloured pictures of plants and baked goods!

Here are a few of the recipes I can't wait to try - just need to get gardening first! 

Gooseberry & Elderflower Cake

Rhubarb Crumble and Custard Cake

Beetroot Cake (Because there isn't any chocolate!)

Sweet Potato & Marshmallow Cake

Toffee Apple Cupcakes (we have an apple tree)

Strawberry & Basil Cupcakes 

Mint Choc-Chip Cupcakes

Chilli Chocolate Mudcake

Fig Tart (I'd love a fig plant!)
Pumpkin Soda Bread

Spinach & Cheese Muffins 

Oh I forgot to mention that in-between the recipes are tidbits about different ingredients and how to grow them. So, right in front of the Gooseberry & Elderflower Cake recipe is a bit on growing gooseberries. Same for the Spinach & Cheese Muffins just before we learn how to make the muffins we learn all about spinach - the best varieties, planting (the when and where), maintaining the plant, and harvesting it. Which I think is great! If all that information was in the intro we the readers would have been overwhelmed! 

Who I would recommend this book too: those with gardens, allotments, green grocers, those who shop at green grocers/farm shops, and those who want to start gardening or baking!

notes: Grown Your Own Cake by Holly Farrell, photographs by Jason Ingram is available now online, from any good booksellers or from the publishers. A copy was provided for me to review by the said publishers Frances Lincoln Ltd. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own. Please see my contact/policy page above for more information. 

Huffkins {inspired by Paddington by Michael Bond} #storybookbakes

I don’t know how many times I have written about my love of books so I won’t go into too much detail all you need to know is that I love books. Okay? Okay, so I have been trying to figure out a way to combine my love of books and food for a while now on a regular basis and I think I have found a fuss free easy way to do it! 

Basically I am going to be baking and making from whatever novel or children's book or autobiography that inspires me to do so! See that wasn't so hard! Originally I was going to make it a linky post, but I started to find that a bit stressful. The stress of getting people involved etc... however I think I've come up with an easy solution for that too! See the notes below! 

I hope to do this at least once a month, possible 2 as I actually have a list of stuff I have been wanting to make inspired by my favorite books! This month I was inspired by Paddington and here's what I made! 

My girls and I went to see Paddington with some friends before Christmas and they loved it. It is very cute! After that my girls started asking for their Paddington book to be read at bedtime. Then they dug out their Paddington Cookery Book and insisted we make something from it.

They choose Huffkins! I tried to convince them to make something else, because I didn't want them to be disappointed. See bread and I have a love hate relationship. Meaning it either loves me or hates me and I never know which it will be!

However, love or luck or something was on my side the other night when we made these! They turned out just fine! The girls loved filling the indent with marmalade and munching on them before bed!

Huffkins

500g plain flour

50g butter

pinch of salt

2 tsp sugar

7g fast action yeast

120ml milk

120ml water

12 tsp marmalade

Start by sifting the flour and rubbing the cold butter into it, to make it look like breadcrumbs. Stir in the salt and sugar before adding the yeast, leave to the side while you heat the milk and water together until it’s just warm to the touch. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients before pouring in the heated milk and water. Using a wooden spoon start to bring the dough together, once it’s started use your hand to finish making the dough into a big ball. On a clean counter surface knead the dough for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and completely combined. Place in a clean bowl and leave in a warm place to rise for an hour.

Heat the oven to 220C and lightly grease a baking tray. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces the best you can, then gently roll them into balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Press them down lightly to slightly flatten them, then using your thumb press a hole in the middle of each one (this was the girls favorite part.) Leave them for another 20 minutes to rise, or until they double in size. Once they are ready, bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. They should have a lightly tan/brown color to them, place a teaspoon of marmalade in each indent and enjoy while reading Paddington stories!

What is your favorite Paddington story? Leave a comment below! Mine will always have to be the original and first book about how the Browns came to have him living at their house!

notes: Recipe is adapted from Paddington's Cookery Book by Lesley Young. If you, like me, have been inspired by the books you read then I would love to see what you create whether it be food or a craft or art! Please get in touch in one or more of these ways: on Twitter tag me and use the hash tag and I will like and re-tweet! On Instagram tag me and hash tag and I will like it and leave a comment. If you have Facebook like my page (or not) but add your image to the page and I will share it with the rest of my readers! If you are on Google+ good luck to you! Just kidding I'm just not very good at being active on it. So, if you do share on there please be patient with me. If you prefer Pinterest, I will be starting a group board, if you would like to be added email me at unitedcakedom(@)gmail.com, unless you tell me otherwise I will use the email you emailed me with. 

Looking for inspiration? Here are a few of my old posts that were inspired by books I have read!

• Harry Potter series by JK Rowling: I made a Snitch Cake, Pumpkin Pasties, and Rock Cakes! 
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: Forgotten Blackberry Pudding from the Hempstock Farm
• Cupcakes at Carrington's by Alexandra Brown: Everything is not as it seems Red Velvet Cupcakes
• Judge Dredd: The Dark Judges: Slo-Mo Cupcakes

Do you have a favorite Blogger?

Asking me to choose my favorite blogger is like asking me to choose a favorite between my daughters or between my sisters! I don’t have a favorite I love them the same just for different reasons! That goes for my children, sisters, and bloggers!

As you may have guessed I have been asked to write about my favorite blogger for a competition hosted by Curry’s.

The problem is I have a lot of "favorite" blogs, they all offer something different and I have really struggled to narrow it down to one. However the one has been decided and it is Cakeyboi written by Stuart Vettese.

Stuart offers not only inventive and tasty treats but clever cartoons featuring Cakeyboi, whom he has named his blog after. 

I don’t remember how I came across Cakeyboi, I just remember loving Stuart’s Cakeyboi cartoons. So, simple but entertaining. Here are a couple of my favorites! 

His cartoons may have what drew me to his blog to start with, but I continue to be a reader because of his sweet treats. I love how he takes simple traditional makes and/or bakes and gives the flavors an interesting twist! 

To learn more about Stuart and Cakeyboi visit his site, I know you won’t be disappointed!

To learn more about this competition visit the Curry’s site.

As I mentioned Cakeyboi is one of many blogs I read and here are some other blogs I love and read regularly!

1. raspberri cupcakes - Steph is from Sydney and creates some of the most beautiful food I have ever seen!
2. Sprinklebakes - Heather from America has taught me to think outside of the box!
3. Brave Tart - Stella from America has been great for any technical baking problems I encounter! 
4. The Caked Crusader - Her identity is unknown, but with witty writing and classic desserts I am always drawn to her site! 
5. The Londoner - Rosie is from London, she writes a lifestyle blog that covers everything from food to fashion. I read with good-hearted envy of all her adventures and I wish I could have her wardrobe!

notes: This post was written for the Curry's competition: Tell us about your favorite blogger with a chance to win a desktop PC (link above). All pictures are from Cakeyboi with permission from Stuart Vettese and all opinions are my own for further information visit my contact/policy page!