Another Birthday Cake.

One of my best friends loves giraffes so I wanted to make her a giraffe cake which I was worried about as although I make a cracking cake I'm not a great decorator. I googled some images of giraffe cakes to find one I thought I could copy and I'm pretty pleased with the results!

I know I'm repeating myself but it is important to make clear that I did NOT design this cake, I copied an image from google.

 Ingredients

100g Self raising flour

100g Caster Sugar

100g butter 

2 eggs

1 black gel icing tube

1 bag of orange buttons

1 tub of vanilla frosting (obviously you can make your own but with the heat I was worried about making it too runny!)

1 wooden skewer dipped in yellow food colouring.

What to do

Firstly make your cake  as per the Victoria sponge recipe I've posted previously as I never change it. And put mixture in a shallow baking tray which has been lined. 

Draw out your design so you have something to cut around plus its good practise for the decorating.

 

 Place the cut out of your design on the cake and using a sharp, thin knife cut around it.

 I covered the sides of the cake and the bit at the top in the non coloured frosting before transferring some to a mixing bowl to add the colouring.  Spread the yellow frosting onto the cake and using the gel tube draw out your design.

 Leave the gel to set a little bit and then melt down the buttons and put the melted chocolate straight into a piping bag before it cools too much and fill in the spaces that you need....this was a lot easier than i thought and the gel icing holds the chocolate in really well so it looks tidy.

And finished, a nice shiny giraffe cake! I really quite proud of this.

xx

Sunny Days!

What a week...We've been so busy with work and trying to play in the sun as much as possible. We have had a BBQ nearly everyday which means I've made lots of burgers, lamb, pork, turkey, beef with a variety of different things in...onions, courgettes, pesto, chorizo. Been a really fab week and I know Aurelia has had a great time.

We also had a nice fun day at Trentham Gardens, the Staffordshire University Graduations were happening and that's always nice to see.  We love Trentham Garden, at £8.50 for a one time entry its very expensive but I think the £52.25 for the annual pass is good value. Its a lovely walk around the lake, the parks are fab. Aurelia loves the barefoot walk ,playing in the cars and the sandpits, there's a nice, reasonably priced cafe within the gardens and an ice cream kiosk and the Italian gardens are lovely.

Like I said, Fab week! xx

Spa Break at Crewe Hall

Aurelia had a sleepover at nanny's at the weekend and because its practically impossible to not work at home (since we work from home!) I always book something to get us away from the office.

It was all arranged fairly last minute and we didn't want to go far and driving past Crewe Hall I decided I would finally give myself a reason to visit, I drive past around 10-14 times a week and have always wanted to see it - It has a lovely long (very neat) drive that just makes you want to see whats at the end. So i rang up the Qhotel booking line and booked the basic spa break in a modern room (you have to pay a bit extra to stay in the old part of the hotel) with a 2 course lunch, spa treatment - I chose the 55 min back rituals, 3 course dinner and breakfast for £99 each. The lady I spoke to was very polite and helpful and most importantly efficient, it didn't take long to get the break sorted and paid for.

When we arrived we went straight to the spa as my booking  confirmation noted that our room probably would not be ready until 3, staff were lovely and pointed us in the direction of the Brassier for our lunch and told us to check in and if our room wasn't ready reception would send our room keys down to the spa, as it happened it wasn't an issue as it was ready so we went to the room first to have a peak.  The room was much bigger than I thought it would be (Our room at the Midland was tiny and more expensive!) and nicely decorated, It has a nice big bed (two singles pushed together), table with two chairs, desk, drawers and TV set and a big wardrobe with tea and coffee facilities...I was disappointed to see the fridge empty and no water available in the room, I've come to expect water in hotel rooms and not stayed anywhere recently with out but those are relatively small things and not enough to put a dampener on things. Bathroom was nice, separate shower bath which i love because it means I'd not have a problem going back with Aurelia.

After ditching our bags we headed for lunch, because it was part of a package I wasn't expecting too much but it was wonderful. We were offered the buffet which had soup, salads, pastas, cold cuts. A hot option, pork roast dinner and dessert or two courses of  the menu. We went for the buffet and it was delicious, one salad with lettuce, green beans, olives and cheese will be something I recreate for Aurelia. The hot food was lovely and although I couldn't have the gravy (contained gluten) the chef offered to make me a jus for my food, we could manage dessert so all full and happy made our way back to the spa.

They provided robes, slippers and towels so you only really need swimming stuff and a £1 coin for the lockers, which is great and the facilities were nice and clean and enjoyable. We stayed for just over an hour..neither of us are much good at relaxing and then got ready for our treatments.  The spa has a separate lounge, which was darken and had comfy chairs, the entire spa was nicely decorated and relaxing music playing throughout (I don't really go in for that but I can see why its done!), staff were nice and polite, Lisa did my treatment and Carol did my husbands and it was lush, I was quite sleepy and almost didn't remember my name by the end.

Our evening meal was amazing. We started with cocktails, and i had a Casanova which was a small champagne with apple and raspberry which was expensive at £9.50 and whilst it was nice I wouldn't pay for it again.  Our package gave us an allowance of £26 each and anything over we had to pay for and if you went for a cheaper meal you could have three courses with it. The kitchen even had gluten free bread which means I could have bread with my soup...small thing but makes a big difference.  I had rump steak which was a fabulous cut, soft and juicy just like steak should be and my husband has Sea bass with artichokes and that was very special, the fish was the best ever crispy skin and the meat was still cooked perfect and to be honest artichokes are always fab. Hubby had an eccles cake for pud which takes 20mins as they prepare it fresh and it look rich and by how fast he polished it off I'd say it tasted as good as it looked.

After dinner it was still quite early so we had a coffee which I think is well worth a mention because even in really good hotels I find the coffee bitter and mostly burnt but the coffee at Crewe was lovely and didn't require sugar to make it drinkable. We then had a wander around the hotel and I'm glad we did because it really is a sensational building.

We both slept well in the massive bed and I was surprised that we slept a full 9 hours although that's probably just as much to do with being toddler free as anything else so since it was a working day we went for breakfast quickly so we could get back to the office.  Breakfast was a buffet with cereal, breads for toast, cold cuts and cheese and of course a full English.  I always find breakfast limited at hotels so was again grateful for gluten free bread the only thing with breakfast was that the bacon had been standing and was tough but the rest was fine. Staff in the restaurant were again very polite and attentive.

Overall Crewe hall was fabulous and the staff were brilliant, the break was near perfect and I can't wait to go back to the restaurant and I'm really wanting to try the afternoon tea...not with hubby though as he has no appreciation of such things! xx

Rainbow Cake

Its a lovely day and I think a lovely cake make a sunny day even better. So while my little girl is at nursery I will make her a rainbow cake! 

The last one I made was for her birthday, thanks to The Good Food Magazine rainbow cakes are extremely popular and my Facebook feeds were full of rainbow birthday cakes which sort of made me think I must make one for Aurelia to stop myself being a shoddy mummy.

I have Wilton Colours which are nicely priced and each tub of colour has lots of uses because you use such a small amount to colour the mixture.

Now the Good Food Magazine had a lovely recipe but I used my bog standard Victoria sponge recipe..it has never failed me before so I saw no reason to abandon it. As it worked out each layer was 1 egg, 50g sugar, 50g self raising flour(gluten free for me) and 50g butter. and I made the mixture for each layer separately because unlike most people I find dividing mixture a pain. Then using a wooden skewer added the colouring (literally 1 dip, except for the purple that required a few dips) You can easily tell by looking at the batter if you have enough and you can make it as pale or bright as you like by just adding more or less colouring.  These Wilton colours are very good as unlike other brands they don't make your mixture too runny or change the flavour.

Its a very striking cake and I recieved lots of praise for not alot of extra work ...definitely a winner. Its one of my favourite just because its looks so bright and happy.

xx

Thai Green curry - sort of!

Tea tonight was a bit of a rush again as Aurelia had gymnastics today. So i made a Thai green curry, well it had Thai green paste in and tasted like a curry but it I didn't make sauce.

Ingredients

2 medium eggs

1 cup of rice

1 small white onion or half a large onion (chopped)

 2 tbsp of Green Thai Paste (I used Sharwood's)

2 medium sized chicken breasts

Soy sauce Gluten free for me and reduced salt for Aurelia but you can use any soy sauce.

 Handful of frozen sweetcorn 

Handful of split green beans

You can use any veg, frozen or fresh. I just like to add veg into the rice to make sure I'm getting veggies into every meal.

What to do

Firstly put the rice on (or if you have a packet of cooked rice you can use that and just add it to the chicken and paste when its cooked.) and add the veg so that's cooking.

Then make you egg roll. Break eggs into a jug or a small bowl and beat. Heat the frying pan up and put the eggs in, it should make a  thin base. Cook until its set and then using a spatula roll it our of the pan. I' not great at explaining that so hopefully a picture of my egg roll will help. (see below)

Then using the same pan cook the onions in some oils until soft, add the curry paste and then the chicken and cook.

When the rice is done.. you shouldn't have to wait long for it! Drain off the water and add some soy sauce then add all of this to the chicken and blend so the rice takes on the flavour of the paste.

Cut your egg roll into strips and add to the meal ( the heat of the rice will warm it back up again as its only thin)

and Enjoy - Super simple and super yummy!

 

Sausage, courgette and aubergine tray bake

I love coking and I'm a 'throw it all in one pan' type of person so tray bake are my favourite things to make. They are versatile and simple and with a few changes here and there the combinations and tastes are unlimited...in fact I'm not sure I've ever made exactly the same thing twice!

I have no pictures I'm afraid but its still easy to follow. Here's  what we had last night...

Ingredients

3 medium sized potatoes (washed) cut into wedges.
1 aubergine (sliced)
1 courgette (sliced and then quarted)
1 onion (chopped or cut into quarters - I personally like to see the onions)
Handful of chery tomatoes
Handful of spinach
1 carton of passata (the one i used was 500g)
some basil, salt, pepper and olive oil for seasoning.
4 Sausages (any type you want, we have to have gluten-free)
 1 glove of garlic (crushed)
2 rashers of smokey bacon (cut into small pieces)

This looks like alot of ingredients and you don't have to use them all...or you can add more, for example, chorizo or different veg, Aurelia loves peas and sweetcorn so I often throw them in.

What to do 

Firstly, put the onion wedges into the tray (I used great big metal trays) sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil and roast for 20-25 mins because they cook much slower than the rest of the ingredients. Then add the sausages (chopped or whole your choice) and cook for another 10mins.

Take it out of the oven add  everything else except the aubergine, basil and passata. and mix it together. Layer the aubergine on top and then pour the passata over everything, sprinkle some basil and more seasoning if you feel like it needs it and bake at 180 for another 30mins, you made need to cover with some foil to stop the aubergine from burning.

When its nearly done my husband likes to add cheese to the top but that not really my thing and Enjoy!

If you don't have passata in you can use a tin of chopped tomatoes or a jar of pasta sauce from the supermarket.

Emma.xx



 

First cinema trip...... Eek!!!

I've been meaning to take Aurelia to the cinema for a while but put it off as I was unsure whether she would sit still, throw food at others, talk loudly, be scared of the loudness etc etc... but this morning she threw up all over me when I went to say 'Good Morning' to her so since she was smiling but subdued and had kept food down I decided to give it ago. First of all she was super excited to see the Despicable Me posters because she loves the first film and the minions, she even had a minion cake for her 2nd birthday (which i did not make by the way!) so we were onto a winner, then being handed popcorn was just the greatest thing that had ever happened to her...in public she acts like I don't feed her! We had a small set back that she didn't like the darkness of the theatre and then the first advert scared her but that was it. There were lots of 'wow mummy' 'look mummy' 'uh ho's and laughing. 

So yay for the cinema, because although its not cheap I love the cinema and even more I love children's films!!

Church Fayre baking

Been up early today baking for the church, I always always always use the same recipe and method for a basic sponge and its the one I learnt at primary school when my teacher said my fairy cakes were lovely and light and in my head I became a baking legend.

Ingredients (basic recipe)

50g Self raising flour

50g Butter (room temp)

50g Caster sugar

1 egg (room temp)

Some vanilla essence.

You can add whatever into this. Cocoa powder etc. If I'm adding fruit or nuts I coat them in flour and put an extra half spoon in the mixture to stop them going to the bottom during baking.

Then just increase to whatever size you need, for example cream sponge was 175g flour, sugar, butter and 3 eggs and that was plenty for the two sponge.

I'm not a fan on the all in method, I know it works for a lot of people but its not for me so I mix the butter and sugar. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl with vanilla and add it to the butter and sugar. Then add the flour and mix mix mix until its nice and lights and just about falling off the spoon.

In the oven at 180 until its done I can tell by looking at them now so i guess 20mins??

Anywhos, made 2 coffee and walnut cakes (added 2tsp of coffee in the measuring cup and just enough boiling water to melt it to the original mixture and a touch extra flour to make up for the extra liquid), 1 fresh cream cake and another batch of brownies...not bad for a mornings work!

Now really need to bank reconciliations as new month tomorrow means VAT returns need to be done!

Emma. xx

Superhero party

Went to a superhero party with Aurelia today, it was fab! Aurelia looked amazing although not all of her costume stayed the course.

The costume was made by Helen of Happy Handmade Heros you can find her on facebook  https://www.facebook.com/HappyHandmadeHeroes or on etsy. So well made and looks fab. You don't have to buy it all so you can pick and choose and she has lots of colour and styles.  This is the back....lush!

Super chuffed. xx

Gluten free brownies

Found some time for baking with the small one today, we made gluten free brownies and as you can see from the pictures Aurelia was eager to get into the chocolate.  Here's what we did...

Ingredients

100g butter

150g dark chocolate

100g gluten free plain flour

1tsp gluten free baking powder

180g caster sugar

3 eggs

And any extras you fancy, we added marshmallows and milk chocolate chunks but you can add anything for example my husband like white chocolate chunks and cherries or fudge pieces and nuts. You can experiment lots of different things here, I love smarties in brownies and they look great.

What to do

• Melt dark chocolate and butter on the hob over a pan of hot water (don't have the hob on too high, that way you can complete the next stage with the chocolate going crazy!)
• In another bowl mix flour, baking powder and sugar
• Add the eggs one at a time and mix well followed by the chocolate mix which should be finished now.
• Stir in your extra ingredients and add to a lined tin (mine was 33 x 24cm but you could probably go a touch smaller) I'll be honest...i'm not sure Aurelia managed to get as many marshmallows as I'd planned in the brownie!
• Bake at 180 degrees for around 20-25 minutes but every oven is different so keep an eye on it.  25 minutes should give you a spongy brownie but closer to the 20 minute marks means they are still gooey inside.
• Cut into slices and eat warm or cold...I always taste my food warm it just wouldn't be baking if I didn't taste it before anyone else get their mits on it.

Enjoy!!

Emma and Aurelia. xx

Gluten free meatballs

Since I was told that wheat and gluten were a no no I've been so busy with work I've only had whatever said gluten free on the packet but last nighti really fancied meatballs.  Had no gluten free pasta so had to makr do with wedges. 

I cooked some spring onion, courgette and chorizo in a frying pan and when they were cooked I put the in a mixing bowl with minced beef, garlic and some salt and pepper.  Used egg to bind and rolled into balls. Yummy!

Not much to look at but so good. Quickly made a sauce with passata, cherry tomatoes and basil. Xx

Working early doors

Its 5.10am and I've been working for around over an hour already while my family sleeps, I always think I work for Aurelia and her future and that's true, I want the world for her and like many other parents I don't mind putting the hours in for that, however; I work for me too.  Working and my company is so much a part of my identity and how I value myself I can't slow down or stop, Aurelia comes first when shes awake and I accept that although I will sometimes work and she sits at her desk (right next to mine) colouring over old invoices or letters that are destined for the bin chattering away about the economy or who still hasn't paid up...or so I imagine anyway. Aurelia also comes on the road with us although I limit her travel hours and look for activities or half days out on the journey and we cram as much into her two nursery days as possible.

We're doing well in business, we are busy and have been in a time when others haven't and I just keep thinking about the mortgage and how much we could pay off while the interest rates are low, if we kept this pace for 2 more years.  Sometimes I think this juggling act will kill me and around the assessment period for my MBA last year I was ill with exhaustion and anxiety but I wouldn't change my life or my work.

Anyway I have less than an hour before madam wakes and I want my invoices up to date by then, and I think we need to take a trip to Doncaster which will be exciting as Aurelia loves trains!

Emma.xx

Nursery Cookies

Aurelia has just moved up a class at nursery and i was trying to think of a relatively inexpensive present that is personal and Aurelia could contribute to, then I remembered at Valentines Day I had a jar of cookies and whilst ours would not be as professional they would be yummy.

Aurelia loves baking.. As soon as I get the mixing bowls out she drags a chair to the kitchen sink to wash her hands so she was very excited to be making cookies, she did a great job with the cookie cutter and icing her own little selection. I hope she bakes with her children in the future and remembers us having fun in the kitchen.

Here's some of the cookies we made, there was a second batch i forgot to photograph!

We also had a play at decorating the jars. Aurelia loves to glue and stick so she was in charge of the labels. 

All in all, good project we had lots of fun and it kept us both busy for the entire afternoon and although I didn't taste any of the biscuits (can't eat wheat or gluten!) Aurelia and hubs ate all the left overs and the breakages.

Emma xx

My baby is now 2!!!

My baby girl (am i still allowed to call her that?) turned 2 last month and its has come with a flurry of development, her speech and just general knowledge is blowing me away. I'm also struck at by how much she imitates mine and my husbands behaviour...phone calls, working on the computer, also wanting to be in the cars etc.

When friends told me time would pass too quickly I didn't believe them, mainly because I was so tired and mummyhood was a massive shock to my system,  but I am big enough to admit I'm wrong, it has and i spend each night before going to sleep recalling her life and the image of her all brand new.

My girl is a joy and everyday the intelligence and mischief in her eyes and smile make life seem so simple and worthwhile!

Happy (belated) birthday Aurelia xxx

Hi

Hi!

My first post on my blog! I've read lots of blogs in my time and got lots of useful information from them mostly about parenting or food.

So I'm a self employed mummy. I run a partnership and a Limited company as a motor trader and am also completing a MBA part time. I would like this blog to be about balancing mummyhood and all its trials and joys with working from home and the balancing act that becomes.

In addition to this I'm also love baking and cooking so alot of post will have some form of food content.

Thanks for reading.

Emma.xx