This week started off with a hen weekend at the lovely Lower Mill Spa for some sophisticated relaxing and pampering in style, this week has seen an influx of all things girly. What better way to spend an afternoon than sitting by a lake enjoying tea and cake in the sunshine?
Today moved into cupcakes to welcome a new baby girl with cute teddies, bunting and a few pink flowers for good measure. A little treat for the new parents through the long nights!
Baby Girl Cupcakes
Both orders have seen the trial and testing of a new recipe for rose flavoured cupcakes, which after a few minor changes tastes pretty good! It’s a very subtle flavour, sweet and slighly fragrant. Despite my initial worries, it does not taste like over-powering turkish delight and is highly recommended!
Having considered this topic recently, I am confident in saying baking is greatly therapeutic. Getting over a broken heart (Mary Berry), beating depression (Marian Keyes), and bonding with family and friends (all of us!).
I have hugely fond memories growing up of birthday cakes created lovingly by parents and grandparents, after school snacks of drop scones and buttered crumpets. All this comes from having someone putting care into creating a dish just for you.
So why does baking have such a therapeutic effect? Baking is satisfying; follow the basic scientific rules and you will have an end product to show for your efforts. Baking is rewarding; seeing faces light up as you proudly offer your best Victoria Sponge is a feeling that is hard to beat, as is helping your children make and decorate their first cakes. Baking has purpose; helping you lovingly create something for your family. Finally baking can be a challenge; you will quickly want to create bigger, better designs and try new flavours.
As sales of cake tins, pie dishes and recipe books soar, jump on board and soothe the soul with a little home baking.
In celebration of the growth of the Baking for the Soul theory, we have one copy of Saved by Cake by Marian Keyes. This book is an account of Marian’s battle with depression and how baking has helped her. This is a fantastic book, and great inspiration for us all. It includes recipes that are easy to make and good fun to follow. My favourite has to be the Fridge-set Honeycomb Cheesecake – I could eat this every day!
To enter this competition, simply complete the form below and add a comment, tweet or share this blog via facebook. If you like this blog, we’d love to hear how baking has helped you. Feel free to post a comment below.
A bit of a different blog today, with some ideas on how to make a cute homemade Valentine’s card. A great treat for a loved one, this will give them a totally unique gift that means a lot.
What you will need
· A blank greetings card, these are readily available from most craft shops
· PVA glue or similar
· Scissors
· Templates for your design, All About You has some good ones
· A selection of fabric, coloured or craft paper, ribbon and embellishments
The card we have made here is a simple elephant design. To make a card such as this, simply draw your template onto the back of your chosen craft paper, and cut out carefully.
Glue the paper in place on the card, if your shapes are in card, you could always use foam backers here to make them stand out.
Now for the super fun part! Start adding embellishments of your choice! These could be ribbon, sequins, anything you feel like really! I’ve gone for a simple hearts, along with red ribbon. Not the most sophisticated or amazing card every, but it will mean more to the recipient that the time has been taken to create it.
If you like this post, please share it, and let us know how you get on making your own cards! Upload the photos of your designs and tag us in facebook or twitter pages.
Now we’re well into the New Year, it’s time for a post which will keep those resolutions but still allow us to enjoy some cake – Yay!
This recipe for Apricot Cake is based on a recipe my Mum used to make for us as Children. I have now gone back and revamped it with a few extra ingredients (chocolate being one!) and adapted instructions for an easy, quick bake. The core aspects of this cake remain the same: no added sugar or butter and unusually for a low fat cake, this sponge is moist, light and very enjoyable to eat!
If you are feeling especially virtuous, simply leave off the chocolate topping, or you could replace with flaked almonds / chopped dried apricots. I was planning to chop the leftover dried apricots and sprinkle over the chocolate for extra texture but somehow these got mislaid *ahem ‘eaten’ during the baking process.
Serves 10
175g dried whole apricots
275ml unsweetened orange juice
175g self raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
100g dark chocolate
Heat a fan oven to 150 degrees
Soak the apricots in the orange juice for at least 4 hours (I usually leave them overnight for ease)
Blend the apricots with 6 tablespoons of the juice
Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda in a bowl with the eggs and apricots, blend until combined into a thick batter
Pour the batter into a cake pan and bake for 30 mins (or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean), turn onto a wire rake and cool
Melt the chocolate over boiling water, and then pour over the cooled cake
Tips:
My oven is fan assisted, so very fast! If you don’t have a fan assisted oven, you will need to increase the temperature or cooking time accordingly
To ensure the chocolate topping stays shiny when cooled, add a small teaspoon of Trex (or other vegetable fat) to the melting chocolate
I used a 20cm square cake pan for these timings, if you use a smaller pan to get a deeper cake, you will need to increase the cooking time slightly
Welcome to 2012, a new start for a new year. Here’s the lowdown on our top cupcake trends to watch out for this year. Each will be featuring heavily in our new designs, bringing you the best and latest cake trends.
1. Village Vintage
2011 saw a huge growth in fashion for home produce (Christmas at our house was a huge chutney fest, with homemade hampers being a top gift), and this trend looks set to continue into 2012. With the growing need to save money be resourceful, gifts with a homemade feel will take precedence over more exuberant gifts.
For cakes, this means the continuing trend in village fete style (this will be big news for Weddings during Summer 2012). Think bunting, pastel colours and mixed florals, with a quirky country edge.
2. Dessert Tables
Dessert tables bring to Weddings and Parties what cupcakes are to us. Small, individual desserts for each of your guests. Dessert tables will typically include a selection of beautifully crafted cupcakes, individual cakes, cookies, cake pops and macaroons. All decorated in co-ordinating colours to a key theme, and displayed on a varying selection of cake stands, plates and trays, these displays are a true delight to look at and taste!
3. Fresh!
Fresh is a theme where fruit and flowers take centre stage. Still retaining our key rule of all cake decorations being edible, cupcakes will be naturally beautiful, adorned with sugared rose petals, violas and locally grown fresh fruit. As an extra bonus, these are healthier too!
4. British Local
2012 is the year of celebrating all things British. The Queen’s Jubilee, the Olympics, camping holidays by the sea… it’s time to get back to our roots! Here at April Bakery, we believe there will be less demand for American style cupcakes, heavily laden with frosting, and a growth in local flavours. Think Honey and Vanilla, Lavender, Elderflower, and all your favourite garden fruits. Reflecting our lives and what we value, it’s all about bringing cupcakes home.
So those are our top tips for cupcake and cake trends in 2012, watch out for April Bakery designs in each theme.
We have a copy of the ‘Pop Bakery’ by Clare O’Connell to give away, just in time for Christmas – if you like making cakes and cupcakes, but are not sure what to try next, you will love this.
Pop Bakery is packed with ideas, recipes and tips for making cake pops (a cross between a cake and a lollipop) in a whole host of themes and characters. Instructions are easy to follow, starting with how to make the cake balls, then moving into decorative ideas for your cake pops. One of my favourites is the Russion Dolls, so adorable.
Perfect for parties and gifts, this book will transform you into a seasoned cake pop maker.
To enter, just follow the instructions below. This competition runs till 18th Dec 2011, whereby the winner will be contacted within 48 hours.
Treat your loved ones to unique presents this year by taking a trip to Bath Christmas Market
Bath Christmas Market has been in session since 25th November, and now there are only 2 days left to visit! It’s well worth a trip, and will fill you with Christmas spirit.
Set in the centre of Bath, the Christmas Market includes more than 120 wooden chalet – style stalls. A multitude of gifts awaits you, from hand knitted jumpers to wooden tree decorations, handmade soaps and Children’s toys. On top of this, there is a great selection of food gifts, including local cheeses, cider and gingerbread.
A word of warning, the market gets very busy! We went early, and were able to get around the stalls without too many problems. If you go later, the Christmas lights make it a truly magical experience.
So, enjoy a wander, sip some gluhwein and mulled cider to keep out the winter chill and don’t forget, you will spend more than you mean to, so take some bags!
Bath Christmas Market runs from 25 November to 11 December, 2011. Closing times vary – check the official website for detailsBath Christmas Market
Last weekend, we had a bit of a Christmas cooking session at home, all of which were predominantly Cranberry based; Cranberry and Apple Chutney, Cranberry and Orange Vodka, and with the left-overs, Apple, Blackberry & Cranberry Strudels. The strudels are a seasonal recipe for a family lunch, ours were a hit following a roast dinner.
These strudels are really easy to make and form a great dessert. I have not added a lot of sugars to this recipe, as I prefer them slightly tart. If you prefer a sweeter dessert, just up the amount of sugar you add to the fruit mix. Apple, Blackberry & Cranberry Strudels are especially good served hot topped with vanilla ice cream.
To make the strudels, you will need the following;
8 sheets filo pastry
1 large eating apple, peeled and cored, cut into small pieces
½ cup fresh cranberries
¼ cup blackberries (fresh or frozen)
Juice and zest of ½ an orange
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried breadcrumbs
30g butter, melted
Icing sugar, for dusting
Makes 4 individual strudels
Prep time: 20 mins, cooking time 25 mins
Heat oven to 170oC (fan)
Using a muffin pan, brush one of the muffin holes with melted butter. Cut your filo pastry so it is at least 3 times as big as the hole (it can be roughly cut and does not have to be round).
In each muffin hole, begin to layer up the filo pastry so you have 4-5 layers, with melted butter brushed in between each. Sprinkle a few breadcrumbs into the pastry case.
In a bowl, mix the apple, cranberries, blackberries, orange zest and juice and the sugar.
Fill the pastry case with a dessert spoonful of the fruit mix, being careful not to overfill.
Gather up the filo pastry to cover the top of the case, forming a parcel shape. The more ripples or ridges you have in the pastry, the crispier this will be.
Brush the top with the melted butter.
Repeat till you have 4 strudels.
Place in the oven for 25 mins, or until golden brown on top.
Allow the strudels to cool slightly on a cooling rack, carefully removing from the muffin tin. Just before serving, dust the strudels with icing sugar. Now, sit back and enjoy!
It’s giveaway time at April Bakery!
from hand knitted jumpers to wooden tree decorations, handmade soaps and Children’s toys. On top of this, there is a great selection of food gifts, including local cheeses, cider and gingerbread.
