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I have very fond memories of gin.

When I was about eight or nine years old I used to go and stay with my Gran and Grandad in Weymouth. While my Grandad was at work my Gran would pack us a picnic to take to the beach – sandwiches with Marks & Spencers ham, crisps, and a thermos full of gin and tonic. When I was even smaller I can remember sat on my Gran’s lap, the tonic bubbles going up my nose as she tried to get me to have a taste. Years later it was my children sat on her knee and I was the one having to say ‘Gran! You can’t give gin to a baby!’ View Post

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It was my birthday yesterday, so to kick start my 40 things before 40 list, I did one straight away!

Pretty good going I thought. It will make up for the fact that the other 39 get done in the last six months before my fortieth.

Normally when my mum asks me what I want for my birthday, I am less than helpful. “Just buy me something exquisite and charming,” I say. She tends to look doubtful. This year though I knew exactly what to say. “I’d like to have lunch in a Michelin star restaurant please,” I said. It sounded a tad on the grabby side, but better than asking for a holiday to Iceland I thought. Plus that way we could have lunch together. Quality Mother and Daughter time and all that.

So yesterday lunchtime we set off to Casamia in Westbury-on-Trym. I put on my best shoes specially and even brushed my hair. It was all very fancy. View Post

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Today my very funny and clever daughter Bee is guest posting for me. (I’m not just saying that so she’ll keep making me apricot and almond cookies. Honest). If you enjoy these, try our chocolate and peanut butter cookies.

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I am quite good at baking. I also really want people to like me. Luckily the two go hand in hand – as Homer Simpson says, “you don’t make friends with salad”.

As I’m quite new to baking things other than sloppily made fairy cakes, I’m finding I don’t have a lot of the right equipment or ingredients needed for some of the more advanced bakes. I don’t even have a cooling rack, I have to take one of the shelves out of the oven, wait for it to cool down, and then use that.

However, I have found one product that gives great results every time. We were sent a parcel from Whitworth’s that contained all the types of sugar I could think of and more. I was starting to feel like a real baker, with at least 8 different types of sugar in my baking cupboard. View Post

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This week Bee has been baking – baking with the One Direction cake toppers that Father Christmas so thoughtfully left in her Christmas stocking.

At the moment she is doing a thing where she is avoiding processed foods as much as possible, so whipping up a batch of small cakes is a really quick and easy way for her to have a tasty treat. Baking is wholesome right?

She used a classic small cake recipe, with 2 eggs, 4 oz of flour, 4 oz of butter and 4 oz of Whitworths soft brown sugar. She used brown sugar she said because she ‘thought it would taste more like chocolate’. (Sweet). She also added her own special surprise ingredient, which will be revealed in her pictures.

Of course a cupcake isn’t a cupcake without lashing of butter cream, so she topped her small cakes with a mix of 200g of Whitworths icing sugar, 110g of butter and a splash of vanilla essence. And then of course her 1D caketoppers.

Cupcakes for a cuppycake.

"One Direction cupcakes"

"One Direction cupcakes"

"One Direction cupcakes"

Disclosure

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THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

I’ve always been a massive fan of YeoValley, and not just because the let me drive a tractor. I just think there are some companies that are Nice and Proper, you know what I mean? They make you feel good about buying and eating their products, and I never even minded getting stuck behind their lorries on my old Bridgwater to Bath commute.

Yeo Valley is launching a new Limited Edition yogurt, with a delicious and zingy 0% Fat Lemon and Poppy Seed flavour and thanks to me (tada!), you could win some. In fact, you could win more than just yogurt… View Post

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THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

I don’t really need to say anything more than that do I?

This is a chocolate hamper with a bit of a difference though, so while you’re stuffing your face you can feel a bit virtuous too. This chocolate hamper has been very kindly donated by RunNative, an online marketplace for UK social enterprises. Gifts bought from RunNative have a direct impact on communities and lives.

This chocolate hamper is from Chocolate Memories, an emerging social firm, established in 2010 by charity group Autism Initiatives. Based in County Down, Northern Ireland, the business offers training opportunities to people with Autism Spectrum Condition. The team at Chocolate Memories blend the finest quality chocolate with delicious flavour combinations, creating an unforgettable taste experience. All profits are reinvested back into the business to fulfil the social aims and objectives.

Enough about that though. To the chocolate!

This is what’s up for grabs – the large luxury hamper, which includes a selection of products from the Chocolate Memories range presented in a beautiful basket. (Not necessarily the products shown, but they will choose you a good range.)

"Chocolate hamper"

*drools*

There are a few different ways to enter. Each will count as one entry, so the more you do, the more chances you have to win/get fat!

  • Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favourite chocolate treat is
  • Go and like me on Facebook and leave a comment there saying hello
  • Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following – “#Win a chocolate hamper with @mummyblogger http://ht.ly/hBQyk”
  • Sign up to receive new posts by email. (You’re free to unsubscribe at any time if you get bored. I won’t give you a Chinese burn or anything).

The competition will close on 28th February and you can read the full T&Cs here.

Good luck!
As featured on ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

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Did you know that it’s Chinese New Year on Sunday? I didn’t until I googled it just now, but then I am a little lacking in culture sometimes. Never mind, I realised just in time to cook up something delicious! Any excuse for a prawn cracker.

Actually, prawn crackers hold a bit of a special place in my heart. When I was at secondary school, my best (and basically only) friend was Chinese, and her parents owned a takeaway. Quite often I’d go round there after school and help fill bags with prawn crackers. Their house, which joined on to the takeaway, was always full of wonderful cooking smells and boxes of onions in towers against the walls. View Post

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Today you can win a copy of ‘Licking the Spoon’ by Candace Walsh.

My memory is not great. I can barely remember anything that happened as a child and am constantly letting my own children down by not being able to remember their first steps, first words, and other important occasions that mothers really should have etched in their minds forever.

A lot of the memories I do have are connecting with food, primarily the smell of certain foods and of meals being cooked. View Post

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Ginger and pear cake recipe in association with Whitworths

Is it OK to have cake for breakfast? I’m not sure, but I just did it anyway, because I’m a grown-up and I can.

Ginger and pear cake

Ha!

The cake in question was the Whitworths’ ‘Scrummy Ginger and Pear Cake with Toffee Sauce’. I made it last night, so if tomorrow you want to be having cake for breakfast, here’s what you need to do:

Ginger and pear cake – Ingredients

  • 150g ready to eat dates
  • 250ml boiling water
  • 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 150g Whitworths for baking fine caster sugar
  • 50g Whitworths for baking dark soft brown sugar
  • 125g butter at room temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1tsp ground ginger
  • 3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm pieces

For the toffee sauce:

  • 100g Whitworths for baking light soft brown sugar
  • 100g butter
  • 150ml double cream
  • Whitworths for baking twist and sprinkle icing sugar

Ginger and pear cake – Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4. Line a round 22cm cake tin with non-stick baking paper. (Or if like me you realise you don’t have any, greasing the pan and then covering it with flour works well.)

Coarsley chop the dates, place in a heatproof bowl and add the boiling water and bicarbonate of soda. Set aside to cool and then coarsley mash with a fork.

Beat the caster sugar and dark soft brown sugar and butter in a large bowl until pale and creamy. NB This takes longer if you can only find one of the whisks:

"Pear and ginger cake"

Add the egg and continue to beat for one minute.

Sift the flour and ground ginger into the bowl with the date mixture and pears. Using a large metal spoon fold until well-combined.

"Pear and ginger cake"

Pour your ginger and pear cake mix into the tin and bake for one hour ten minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Check the cake after 50 minutes and if the top is browning too quickly cover with a piece of foil and continue to cook.

"Pear and ginger cake"

For the toffee sauce:

Place the cream, light soft brown sugar and butter into a small saucepan over a medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve the warm cake with a drizzle of toffee sauce and decorate with icing sugar. Or simply on a plate with a cup of tea at 9am.

Delicious!

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