groovy duvet rag pot holder

Perhaps not worth an entire blog post of its own, but I was pretty pleased with how my crochet rag (tea)pot holder turned out and thought it was a fun way of using up fabric scraps.

As a last minute idea for my mum's birthday I decided to crochet a pot holder to go with the green, wooden tray I had bought for her. I used left over fabric scraps from my groovy duvet dress (it's the fabric which keeps on giving, I still have more left!) and loosely followed this tutorial I found through ravelry. I ripped my fabric into 1 inch wide strips, sewed them together like bias binding and crocheted round and round on a 8mm hook until the circle was big enough to cover a teapot base.

Other than loose fabric threads getting in a bit of a tangle and my brain forgetting how to crochet as it's now used to knitting, it was an easy, fun and quick project to make. I'm definitely tempted to make more, but first I want to knit an old fashioned tea cosy!

Burnt sugar (caramel) cake

This was all that was left from my Mum's birthday cake at the weekend by the time I got the camera out. I thought I'd better include the recipe photograph for reference since the last few slices of the cake look as if they have been unceremoniously thrown at a plate.

I experienced a lot of caramel induced rage with this bake and was convinced I had produced a dud BUT... this was actually a really good cake. It had a caramel flavour without being overly sweet and a soft texture, I'm assuming due to addition of sour cream. The sugar shard decoration also provided a fun crunch as well as a pretty stained glass window effect. It's a shame I didn't get a photograph of the cake in its full glory.

Now I have 100g leftover sour cream. Any suggestions on what to bake with it?

Burnt sugar cake
Recipe from Cakes Galore by Valerie Barrett accompanied by my own rage commentary.

sponges:
450g caster sugar
125ml boiling water
175g softened butter, unsalted
3 eggs
300g self-raising flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
200ml soured cream

icing:
125g softened butter, unsalted
250g icing sugar
3 tbsp caster sugar

Start by making a caramel syrup. On a medium heat on the hob heat 200g of the caster sugar in a heavy based saucepan. Stir occasionally until the sugar has melted then cook without stirring until it's liquid and dark golden in colour (I burnt my first batch, which is becoming a tradition whenever I make caramel.) Take off the heat and gradually pour in the boiling water, taking care not to burn yourself as it will bubble fiercely. Return the pan to a simmering heat and stir continuously for a minute until the caramel/sugar has dissolved. (Mine seized into ugly lumps and didn't want to dissolve at all even after a few minutes. I eventually thought I had managed, but I saw more lumps as it cooled.) Pour the caramel into a heatproof measuring jug and leave to cool. 

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease two 20cm round sandwich tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper. Beat together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. In a separate bowl sift together the flour and bicarbonate of soda. In another bowl (yay, more bowls to wash) mix together the soured cream with 125ml of the cooled caramel syrup (and this is when the caramel went really lumpy, again. I picked out the worst lumps.) Add the flour mix and sour cream to the cake batter, alternating them in a couple of batches, until everything is fully incorporated. 

Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes or until risen, golden and firm to touch (mine easily took an extra 5-10 minutes to bake. They rose really strangely: the sides puffed up but the centre stayed in a sad hollow. Why?!) Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the icing, mix together the butter, sugar and remaining caramel until soft and fluffy. Sandwich the cakes together with half of the mix then spread the rest on top. As my caramel "syrup" had completely solidified by this point I dumped it and went with a plain butter icing. I don't think the cake missed the extra caramel flavour as it was already sweet.

To make the sugar shards, (yay, MORE caramel) lightly oil a baking tray then put 3tbsp caster sugar into a heavy based saucepan and gently heat until the sugar turns liquid and golden in colour. Quickly pour this onto the prepared tray, tilting it to make sure the liquid spreads evenly. Leave until completely cold then break off into shards and use to decorate the cake.

orange, almond and yoghurt loaf

Baking late at night is a bad idea, but sometimes you really want to have a cake ready for the next day (or for midnight munchies) so you go ahead regardless of tiredness. I was about to spoon the mixture for this cake into the tin when I thought "this is an unusually stiff mix" so I glanced back to the list of ingredients in the recipe. It turns out I had forgotten an egg.

Luckily I was at a stage where I could still add the necessary third egg, not halfway through baking! This is the kind of blunder you see on tv programmes like the Great British Bake Off and shout "YOU IDIOT!" at the contestant. This time I had the privilege of shouting at myself.

My cake turned out lovely, thankfully. It's one of those plain, unassuming cakes but that doesn't mean it's boring or not tasty. Neither the orange or almond is overpowering; they just happily sit together. Perhaps they're balanced by the vanilla extract, which oddly enough isn't mentioned in the recipe title despite being more obvious than the yoghurt.

Anyway, it's one of those fresh flavoured cakes which goes perfectly with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee. It's also rather nice with a light spread of marmalade, if you feel so inclined.

Orange, almond and yoghurt loaf
Recipe from Hummingbird Bakery "Cake Days" book

190g (7oz) unsalted butter, softened
190g (7oz) plain flour
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest (1 whole orange)
190g (7oz) caster sugar
3 large eggs
60g (2oz) ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (optional, I didn't add it as I used salted butter)
 25g (1oz) plain yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
10g (1/3oz) flaked almonds (or a handful, if you don't care about being precise)

Preheat the oven to 170C/ 325F/ Gas 3. Grease and line a 8.5 x 17.5cm (3 1/2" x 7") loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

Beat together the butter, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl with your mixer until soft and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs individually, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything gets incorporated. In a separate bowl combine the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Tip this into the other mixture in two batches and mix on a slower speed on your mixer until just incorporated. Add the yoghurt and vanilla and mix until everything is combined.

Pour the batter into the loaf tin and scatter the flaked almonds on top before baking in the oven (on the middle shelf) for 50 - 60 minutes until golden, firm on top and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. I think my cake took 10 minutes longer to bake, so keep an eye on it depending on how quick your oven cooks as you don't want an overbaked, dry cake (or a sad, underbaked one!)

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

pink dungaree shorts of dreams

I've always been a pink person. There was a brief period where I had a quarter life crisis tried to edit pink out of my wardrobe thinking it was time to dress in more "grown up" colours but it slowly crept back in. This year I'm fully celebrating the colour. I bloody love pink and nothing says that better than a bright pink pair of dungaree shorts.

Genuinely hadn't noticed I was seamlessly blending into my surroundings until I uploaded the photos... nice.

I can't even begin to describe how much I loved this project. Pink, jumbo corduroy AND dungarees. Triple whammy of greatness. I actually used to own a pair of pink dungaree shorts when I was about 7. They were pale pink denim with purple embroidered flowers along the top edge of the bib pocket and I either wore them to death or until they no longer fitted me. It seems fitting that 20 years later I've made myself an adult version. The pattern I used was Pauline Alice's Turia Dungarees, view B.

As I wanted to truly love wearing these dungarees I made a big effort to finish them to as high a standard as possible. I took my time with fitting, lined all the pockets and made matching bias binding to enclose raw edges which weren't flat fell seamed.

My new sewing machine made this project an absolute pleasure to sew. Elna heroically chomped through all the thick corduroy layers and made a great job with all the topstitching, not that it's particularly noticeable on jumbo corduroy.

Ok then, onto my adjustments. My bottom half measurements were well within size 38 so I cut that out for my toile but oh my god those were so tight across my bum I could barely sit down. Although I have hips I don't have a big bum (it's pretty flat) so that was perplexing. My thighs were also hulking out of the shorts to the point Bruce Banner would have been impressed. I ended up butchering my toile until I figured out where I needed extra length or space.

For my final pair I cut out a size 40 (which gave my apparently large backside plenty of room to sit) and made the following adjustments to the pattern

• 1" length added to the bodice and back and 1/2" length removed from the crotch depth. The shorts now sit at the top of my hip bone rather than high up on my waist which is more comfortable and a better proportion for me.

• graded down to size 38 at the waist on the outside short seams as 40 was too big.

• angled the straps to make them sit better against my back. I somehow hadn't considered this would eat into my back piece's seam allowance so I ended up sewing the back raw edges with a 3/8" seam allowance. 

• added double topstitching to the top of the back facing for added strength to the straps.

• 1 1/2"(!) added to the front inseam to accommodate my Incredible Hulk inner thighs. When I was watching World's Strongest Man over the festive period (family tradition, love it) I'm sure the commentator said that Brian Shaw's thigh circumference is 36". That's the same as my hip measurement. My body circumference is the same as his ONE THIGH. Wow.

• lined the straps and all pockets with polka dot cotton for a clean finish. I only had two fat quarters so had to piece together the strap lining but it isn't particularly noticeable. To encourage the lining to roll under my main fabric I cut it slightly smaller - a tip I learned from Sunni at A Fashionable Stitch. (Her blog was really useful for trouser fitting advice as well.) I also shaped corners following a method I found on Tilly's blog.

• for the first time ever I made my own bias binding to match the pocket linings and conceal raw edges on the back, front bib and hems. I think it looks smart, coordinated and damn cute. Who wouldn't love flashes of pink polka dots on their clothing?! 

• only turned up the shorts hem by 1/4" as I wasn't keen on the hotpants look.

• omitted the top pocket welt as I didn't think it was necessary once I lined the pocket.

The only thing I'm slightly disappointed with is how my shorts attached to the bib. I think the corduroy must have stretched out (I didn't think to staystitch across the top as it was on the straight) as I ended up having to ease it in to the bib. It's a bit puckered next to the centre seam but not worth losing sleep over. The shorts could possibly be more nipped in at the waist but that's also what makes them really comfortable so it's fine providing they don't grow in the wash. If/when I make another pair (I already want a pair in every colour) I might lengthen the straps by an inch as I have them fastened at their limit. On the other hand, that does mean they don't flap about and annoy me.

Checking out my secret polka dots.

So all in all I absolutely love my dungarees. I've worn them loads in the last month and had great fun pairing them with fun tights and tops. Hands down my favourite sewing project yet and I really enjoyed learning new techniques such as flat fell seams, lining pockets and making bias binding. I was so pleased with my dungarees that I packed them for my trip up to Shetland last month for Up Helly Aa. Here they are in full glory on a beach with my borderline-surgically-attached agatha cardigan and turquoise hat.

It feels great getting to a stage where I can wear multiple handmade pieces together and that I'm choosing to wear/pack them over shop bought items. Like the majority of makers I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in wearing my handmade items, but best of all I feel very "me." I think this photograph shows that perfectly!

ethnically diverse dropped scones

My Granny used to make the best dropped scones (or scotch pancakes, whichever name you prefer.) She cooked them on a gridle on her old Raeburn cooker and kept them warm under a teatowel on the cooling rack. It was always exciting getting to peek under the teatowel. Her dropped scones were soft, fluffy, consistently circular and perfectly even and golden colour.

Either she perfected them through years of baking or I completely skipped the dropped scone making gene. Ah well, I make a mean victoria sponge.

Admittedly it has been many years since I last made dropped scones, well over 10 anyway. My mum bought me a gridle ages ago so I thought it was about time I tested it out. It was Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday after all.

I think I'll refer to these as a test batch as I was sussing out batter thickness and optimum hob temperature. I certainly produced a varied range of shapes and colours, ethnically diverse you might say. Or like a dodgy Dulex paint shade card.

They tasted good though, even the aneamic ones, especially with golden syrup. I love how it seeps through the dropped scone. Messy and deliciously sweet, yum!

orange and passion fruit loaf

Finally, I've baked something. It's been a while. One of my friends mentioned that she had baked an orange and passion fruit cake last week and the flavour combination stuck in my mind. I then remembered that I've had Edd Kimber's orange and passion fruit cake recipe from his first book "The Boy Who Bakes" bookmarked for the last 4 years. Now I can remove that bookmark!

I'm a bit sad that my cake sank. It was one of those "ooh it looks ready" - timer goes off - open the oven door - gently prod the cake to check it's cooked - cake wobbles in an underbaked fashion - close the oven door - cake slowly collapses - "noooooo!" moments.

What the cake lacks in presentation it more than makes up for in flavour. I had forgotten how much I loved passion fruit. It's such a sunshiney, happy flavour and pairs very well with sweet, tangy orange. A refreshing cake to eat in gloomy, winter weather! The passion fruit seeds in the icing glaze also lend a welcome bit of crunch to the cake.

Needless to say this cake didn't hang around for long. I'd better put my pinny on and bake something else! 

Orange and passion fruit loaf

225g softened butter/margarine

255g caster sugar (30g reserved for making a syrup)

4 eggs, large

225g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

zest of 2 large oranges

juice of 1 orange (you get to eat the other orange, yay!) 

passion fruit glaze:
3 passion fruits
125g icing sugar (I added a bit more to reach the consistency I wanted)

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C Fan/ Gas 4. Grease and line a 23 x 10cm loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Sift together the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, give it a stir and set aside. In a separate bowl beat together the orange zest, butter and 225g of the sugar  for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Alternate adding the eggs and 3 tablespoons of orange juice a little at a time, beating well between each addition, until everything is mixed evenly. Fold in the flour. Once everything is fully incorporated pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Bake for 50 - 55 minutes (at least an hour in my case) until risen, golden, firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

In the last few minutes before the cake comes out the oven make an orange syrup using the remaining juice from the orange and the 30g of sugar set aside earlier. Place in a small saucepan and leave to simmer for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved. 

Pierce holes into the top of the cake with a skewer and pour/brush the warm syrup on top, allowing it to soak into the cake. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Once cool, finish the cake with the passion fruit glaze. To make the glaze, cut open the passion fruits, scoop out the seeds and pulp and press through a sieve. Reserve one tablespoon of the seeds. Add the icing sugar and reserved seeds to the passionfruit juice and mix until smooth and a good pouring consistency.