August Break Day 29 Listening

Counting Crows - Possibility Days

Other songs on my recent play list:

Little Mix - Move
Train - Bullet Proof Picasso
Pitbull - Give Me Everything
Rupert Holmes - Escape (pina colada song)
Mamma Mia - Lay All Your Love On Me
Jewel - Hands

New To My Bookshelf: Cookbook Review(s)

I thought I would introduce a handful of the new books I have recently accumulated. A few of these I have had for months! There was a time when I used to get new cooking or baking books monthly, but now it's here and/or there that I seek out new cooking or baking books. Since it's been a while I thought I would give a shout out to a few that I think others might be interested in!

Bake in Black: Music Inspired Baking 

by Eve O'Sullivan & Dave O'Sullivan
- I was drawn to this book because of the tag line or sub title "Music Inspired Baking." I recently wrote a post about inspiration and where it comes from. Books are a big source of my personal inspiration and I love that these two authors took two things they love and mixed it all together. There are some great looking bakes in here. The Megadeth By Chocolate cake looks amazing or the Battenberg Out of Hell is clever and looks awesome! But it's not just cakes they have cookies/biscuits like I'm a Cowboy (cookie) who doesn't love a little Bon Jovi? There is a whole section on doughnuts and pies, my favourite being Basket Case a pie based on one of Green Day's most popular song! When I was on a field trip in middle school the whole bus sang this song with out any music. It was awesome! Last but not least the last chapter is all about the desserts! If you like music and baking I'd definitely check this one out!

A Modren Guide to the Wine World's Best-Kept Secret Sherry: with cocktails and recipes

by Talia Baiocchi
- Having sort of recently made a delicious sherry cake I found myself with half a bottle of sherry. Until I had this guide I wasn't really sure what to do with it! The author, Talia Baiocchi, takes us through the who, what, where, and when of sherry. There is a little jealousy here as the Baiocchi must have had a great time researching this book. First there is the how it's made and the variations before telling us how sherry has been perceived throughout history and how it's starting to make a comeback. There is also a selection of cocktails and recipes that either use or pair well with sherry. Over all it's a very resourceful and thought out book! There are a few cocktails I have planned for my half of bottle of sherry like the Sherry Cobbler, Tuxedo, Pimm's Copa, and Flamenco! Will let you know how I get on!

Simply Good Bread: Delicious home-baked recipes for everyone

by Peter Sidwell
- Bread is something that either works or it doesn't for me. I haven't picked up the knack for it just yet. Practice makes perfect and all that. Having Peter Sidwell's Simply Good Pasta book and a few of the recipes have become family favorites, so I look forward to trying out the recipes in his bread book. It takes the reader through the simple steps of making a basic loaf and then gives us variations on those basics. The Cider Apple Bread sounds interesting as well as the Cheese and Marmite bread! Chorizo & blackened chilli bread sounds good too! In the last chapter he shares recipes that use up stale bread as crumbs and so on! I can't wait to get baking!

Recipes from My Mother for My Daughter

by Lisa Faulkner
- This is a title I have been unsure of for a while. It wasn't that I didn't want it, I just needed an excuse and having recently won a book bundle on twitter I was lucky enough to have this included in the haul. So, it's currently sitting on my bedside table ready to be read before bed! It's the only time I usually have to read these days. There are already several recipes that have grabbed my attention after flipping through it.

notes: I bought Bake in Black, Sherry was given to me to review by my request, Simply Good Bread and Recipes I won in a twitter competition.

Elvis is Alive!

He isn't alive in the same way as you or I are alive, but he has maintained a form of immortality. As long as his music/movies are still around and people still listen/watch it, then he is living through all of us.

My parents had a full collection of all his music, so I grew up listening to Elvis. My favorite song is Kentucky Rain; it was on all my mix tapes before Napster arrived and then it was on my mix CD’s.

Anyhow I used to get funny looks when I had my "old" country Elvis songs were mixed with my dance music. I like variety!

The fact that he has had a cupcake named after him as well gives him a form of immortality! 

He was known to like a fried peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich from time to time. 

These cupcakes aren’t fried, but they are a delicious banana cake topped with a chunky peanut butter frosting and a cheeky candied bacon slice in between the cake and frosting!

The amazing Elvis toppers are printed on edible rice paper with edible ink, they are suitable for vegetarians and are gluten free!!

I received them from the lovely website Birthday CakeTopper, they have a wide selection of full cake and cupcake toppers and if they don’t have what you’re after then you can just ask! UPDATE 2017 -They no longer exist. 

Elvis Cupcakes:

190g plain flour

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp bicarb or soda

pinch of salt

114g butter, room temp/cubed

60g dark brown sugar

60g golden caster sugar

½ tsp vanilla bean paste

2 medium eggs

2 bananas, mashed

Preheat the oven at 180C, line a muffin tin with cupcake cases. Sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add the vanilla paste and one of the eggs, mix until combined before adding the second egg.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the mashed banana give it a quick mix before dividing between the cupcake cases.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, cakes should be a rise golden color and a skewer should come out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Chunky Peanut Butter Cream:

130g butter, room temp

300g golden icing sugar

3 tbsp milk

60g chunky peanut butter

Beat the butter until fluffy, then add half of the sugar and a tablespoon of milk. Beat until smooth, then add the rest of the sugar and milk. Once it’s all incorporated beat in half of the peanut butter then fold in the rest it gives it a nice peanut butter like swirl in the frosting.

Candied Bacon

Brown sugar, enough to coat the bacon

3-6 slices

coat the bacon in the brown sugar and bake for 20-30 minutes in a preheated oven of 200C

to finish:

Elvis Cupcake Toppers

Place half or more candied bacon slice to the top of the cupcake, hold down with a little bit of the frosting. Then pipe or spread the rest the frosting on top before adding the cupcake toppers. Put them on and press down carefully!

notes: Toppers were provided for this post, please see my contact/policy page for more information. I put them in a Hawaiian type case for his role in Blue Hawaii! While I was baking the cupcakes I listened to an all Elvis all the time radio station on my radio app!

My week: Froot Loop Cereal Bars & Brownie Fail

My Mini Baker has had a bit of a rough time of it lately. Less then a week ago she had an ear infection. As soon as she stopped the antibiotics she broke out in a spotty rash commonly known as chicken pox. Here in England they don’t vaccinate for chicken pox, believing that the body sets up a better immunity to it after having the actual disease. However as a mother who wants nothing more then to keep her child from any sort of suffering, no matter how impossible that is in reality, I think I would have much preferred her to have the vaccination.

As I have been busy giving out lots of cuddles and every 4 hours topping up on ibuprofen/paracetamol and taking care of a demanding 3 year old its no wonder I have not found time to visit my blog. I am putting essential 2 posts in one because I am short of sleep and lazy. 

Anyway I made these Froot Loop Cereal Bars for Mini-Baker’s lunch box, but they never made it. I found these Froot Loops at a local family discount store and I was a little to ecstatic for a cereal that isn’t all that. It was just because they are ‘American’ and I’m feeling a little homesick lately.

When I opened the box I was a little surprised to see such subdued colors! These are made with natural colors and flavors apparently. Maybe why they were for sale outside of an American grocery store? Who knows and really who cares?

Since there was no way I was going to eat them for breakfast I made them into bars. I can see now why most online recipes add a cup or so of Rice Krispies as well because the marshmallow just goes straight through all the holes and settles at the bottom! Nothing major, they still tasted delicious! There is a link in the notes at the bottom if you would like to make these for yourself! 

Then I was trying to make ‘Easter Brownies’ and I don’t even think I need words to describe this:

I used the wrong sized tin. I have never used self-rising flour in brownies so was not expecting it to overflow the way it did. If I had actually thought of it ahead of time, it makes sense, but I didn't think of it. Over confident baking that is. ;0] Here’s how to make them just use a different size tin! They were still tasty!

Brownies:

225g caster sugar

100g margarine

2 m eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

40g cocoa powder

50g self-rising flour

50g chocolate chips or smashed Cadbury Mini Eggs (which you can’t see in any of the pictures as they sunk to the bottom)

Pre-heat oven to 180C; Beat sugar and margarine together until light and fluffy, beat eggs and vanilla together before slowly adding to butter/sugar mixture; sift flour and cocoa powder together into the bowl and gently fold in until just combined. Then fold in chocolate chips or chosen add in, be creative, but be aware that different add ins will change the consistency and will alter the end result. Pour into prepared pan Make sure you use an 8in square pan! Not a 7 in circle….oops! Bake for 25-30 minutes and let cool for 1hr!

Better luck next time right? We all have days like this…. mamma said.

So, that is my week so far. As it’s Good Friday tomorrow I have all my ingredients ready for hot-cross buns… If they are made on Good Friday they will never mold, apparently. It will all depend on how my little ones are feeling. 

notes: chicken pox info; Froot Loops & Froot Loop cereal bar recipes here, here, and here; Mamma Said by The Shirelles; Easter Nests; last year’s hot-cross buns