Skip to main content

A bit of baking

You know those hot cross scones I mentioned in the Monthly Munch?  Well, I did get around to making them.  They didn't turn out quiiiite as they were meant to.  I guess I put too much liquid in (despite using less than the recipe stated) so the "very sticky" mentioned in the recipe turned into "Aaaggghhh!!!  It's all over my hands and I can't get it off!".  Even adding flour made it barely manageable, so I kind of threw handfuls of the stuff at the baking tray, shoved it in the oven and hoped for the best.


They were hot.  They weren't crossed and they definitely weren't scones.  We christened them hot blobby cakes and ate them enthusiastically.  Anything with that much dried fruit in is gonna taste good, no matter what it looks like.


Next up was chocolate red wine cupcakes for a friend's birthday.  I posted the recipe for this way back in 2009, and I'm not sure I've made it since.  Which is a great shame, because it's a very deliciously fluffy chocolate cake.  Seems we don't often have that much red wine left over.  Funny, that.


Fortunately these had much better presentation skills than the scones.  Which is more than can be said for Toby, after he'd finished licking out the empty melted chocolate pot.


 And finally, it was Graham's birthday last week.  He likes a good solid Christmas-type cake, but I didn't have time to do a proper rich fruit cake.  So I made the fruit cake from Jane Brocket's Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer, which is a great collection of recipes for food mentioned in children's books.  Make your own Malory Towers midnight feast, kind of thing.



The fruit cake was moist and spicy and would go well in a feast at any time of day or night, especially once I'd covered it with marzipan and icing.  Toby helped to decorate it with M&Ms.  I was going to go for something simple like "DAD" but he insisted on the car.  I'm sure the fact that it meant there were twice as many M&Ms on the cake had absolutely nothing to do with it.



Happy 4th birthday, Graham!


Comments

Sally Eyre said…
That is one of my favourite recipe books - not that I ever make anything from it. I just get it from the library and enjoy reading it.

Popular posts from this blog

Bonnie Prince Charlie Walk: Ashbourne - Longford

The Bonnie Prince Charlie Walk follows the "general direction of Prince Charles Edward Stuart's march from Ashbourne to Derby". ( Derby Ramblers ) I'm inclined to think that the prince would have had the sense to follow the main road rather than tramp across muddy fields, but a route following the modern A52 would not be particularly pleasant.  The appeal of the walk for me was not really the historical accuracy, though. More that it was close to home, fairly short, and unlikely to be flooded even in the current climate. It has turned into my Lent walk: starting on 5th February; visiting plenty of village churches along the way; and hopefully finishing by Easter. Walk 1 I set off on a grey day from Ashbourne Market Cross, the official start of the Bonnie Prince Charlie walk. My first stop was Ashbourne Methodist Church, a severely symmetrical building smelling faintly of cinnamon, where I prayed for a few people who were on my mind. The route climbed steeply out of As

Bonnie Prince Charlie Walk: Longford to Lees and BONUS walk

The walk from Longford to Lees didn't include any churches. That was frankly not on. So I found an extra walk which included not one, not two, but three churches. Also it was shorter, because I didn't have time to fit in a longer walk that week. The next week I managed the churchless section of the Bonnie Prince Charlie Walk. It was a little more adventurous than I expected! Walk 1 (Three Churches) For this route I followed the directions given by Dave Welford on his very useful blog . As soon as I parked up by Sutton-on-the-Hill church, I heard the bleating of lambs. Spring must be coming. number 11 mum and baby   I crossed a field full of numbered lambs and ewes and came out in the middle of Sutton village. Turning left by the village preschool, I picked up another footpath to take me across the fields to Dalbury. A ruined cottage stood crumbling lonesomely - the Gamekeeper's Cottage, apparently.  I was amused by Dave Welford's comments about the miserable farmer who

Bonnie Prince Charlie Walk: Lees to Derby

These final two Bonnie Prince Charlie walks were quite a contrast: the first across empty fields and along quiet roads; the second crossing from country into city as I walked into Derby. I started both walks at the Great Northern Greenway car park, just off Station Road in Mickleover.  Walk 1 In order to keep walking the Bonnie Prince Charlie way in the right direction, I first found my way back to Lees by an alternative route. The first section, along the cycle path, was well paved. After that it quickly got very muddy. At least it's a popular walk from Mickleover to Radbourne, so it was easy to find the path.  St Andrew's, Radbourne, is rather dominated by memorials. It looks as if the preacher would be hemmed in by tombs!      I liked this bench outside, with the text, "The thoughtful soul to solitude retires". Writing this, I only just realised it was a quote. Turns out it's from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam . The rest of the walk certainly provided solitude,