Beautiful days

What fantastic weather , aren't we lucky, could do with a bit of rain though I suppose.

Baking...

Mr Dinosaur cake completed and one 4 year old very happy, this one was very challenging and time consuming not sure that me and novelty cakes are one but I will always give it a go.
He has a rich chocolate cake body and tail then I ran out of chocolate cake so legs and head are a madeira cake, covered with chocolate buttercream (that took longer than I thought). Rollout sugarpaste covered his whole body this was tricky with all the nooks and crannies with a bit of persuasion it worked, you have to make any indents,creases and marks then before icing dries. The spikes down his back where made in advance from a flowerpaste (which dries harder than the cake covering ideal for this sort of work). Once all is dry then its the shading and character building (using edible cake powder colours vaste ranges available and a small soft paint brush). Eyes and teeth piped on with royal icing.

Tested a Pretzel recipe out and really liked it so will be selling that at our Friday market I've worked them out to cost 80pence each which I think is fair. I think various toppings will go down well, Sea Salt, Cinnamon Sugar, Parmeson, Poppy Seeds are my choices so far. They are very chewy and delicious.
Pretzel Recipe


It's a good get out in the garden day today so this is just a coffee break, time to go.

Have a Lovely Day
x

Have Your Cake & Eat It

This cake is yet to have some fresh flowers on the top, I will have handed it over by then, hope she sends me a photo with them on.


Plain white basic iced cake  that's the bit I find most stressful trying to drape this sheet of delicate rolled out icing without it creasing or ripping always so grateful when it works.

Two essential bits of equipment some icing wrapped in clingfilm used to smooth out the icing on cake and a spirit level to make sure cakes sits level.

9 inch square madeira

First one of the year it's not til I'm making a 'Celebration Cake' that I realise how much I love it.

Don't worry that's not the finished article, this is the just out the oven look. It took longer to bake than I thought nearly 2 hours.

More to follow you can watch it develop.

Scene from Casualty

What a weekend, pretty plain sailing til I decided to start pulling chicken wire off of garden gate which then  launched itself at my head, blood everywhere they say you head has a lot of blood vessels..yes it's true, no real damage done tested my husbands caring side out, he did well, I milked it of course.

Charity Shop Binge

Spur of the moment charity shop visit..love it..

Just a quick shop and visit to the library with Mum,
turned into a let's pop in here then yes like that and that and that!!
As you can see a few bits not bad for £19 that's my kinda shopping

Market tomorrow

Getting ready for tomorrow's Country Market not that I do a lot of baking now, my thing is bread white loaves, half white half wholemeal and multi seeded. I have gone off doing just wholemeal I find it too heavy and it takes ages to rise. My loaves are pretty small approx 400g

When I bake for the Market you have to take into account if you don't sell it you take it home so only do things your family will eat. Trying to drink more water one sports bottle in the morning and one in the afternoon so combine that with my cups of tea and coffee I should be at a good level. Shut the dog out in the garden with the chucks far too sunny for him to sit indoors, he likes to be where you are though so he is moaning about that. Actually sat on the bench outside earlier with the sun on my face pretty good can't wait for more of it. Watching bread rise is a long business but someones got to do it!!

Term time

Term time again so put my dinner lady hat on, see all the little darlins, bumped heads and feeling ickie. Feeling good about going back see how I feel on Friday.Chucks enjoying some sun 3 eggs today so far you never know they might be a late drop. Staring out of window at them, must be something fantastic in that grass they spend all day at it.Checking in on Mum (in her 80's) shopping and cup of tea, routine is like a religion now, she does very well better than some. She has got a new slimline TV all sorted and ready to go, another remote for her to play with. Don't think hubby is in a great place in his head bit on the quiet side, wonder how long that will last.Wiped a lovely thick layer of dust of off dresser cannot keep on top of it, I hate mess and dirt but I balance that out with hating housework just as much.Curry for dinner tonight out of a jar, not my finest hour getting dinner, as long as there is something to eat I pass the test, it's my ironing night aswell oh what fun 5 shirts some tshirts and maybe a teatowel if I want to be extravagant. Still considering I must loose some weight not a lot just half a stone, I love to eat though, waiting for my motivation, when I look in the mirror and see fatty staring back.... then.So can you picture my life Mrs Average but I've never felt I am average, I think I'm different to others but am I kidding myself and do we all think that.

Wheres the weekend gone

Lets keep this short and sweet got to get used to it yet. Late Sunday weekend almost gone planted up some carrot seed using big buckets this year. Nice sunshine today so washing on the line, chickens around my ankles they are my surrogate babies now. Planning the garden and how best to make use of the oodles of chicken poop. Nearly glass of wine time.