Jamana bread

Homemade jam + rotting bananas = jammy banana bread. Or as I've decided to call it, jamana bread.

It's nothing ground breaking, just a basic banana bread recipe with a few dollops of strawberry jam swirled through the batter before baking, but tasty nonetheless. 

I used Mary Berry's banana bread recipe from her Baking Bible (previously blogged here) as it's a firm favourite for versatility. I've made countless variations over the years but I think this is the first time I've added jam. I just wish I had left it to bake another couple of minutes in the oven as it's marginally under baked. It was difficult to judge whether the stickiness on the skewer was unbaked cake batter or a pocket of jam!

Carrot and ginger layer cake

I let Man pick a cake from my recipe books for his birthday last week and he chose the carrot and ginger cake from Hummingbird Bakery's "Cake days" book.

Although I have baked many recipes from this book I haven't made this one before which is surprising considering how much I love trying different carrot cake recipes. I can now happily report that this is another winner of a carrot cake recipe which I can add to my repertoire. 

Admittedly it is a gigantic beast of a cake (even my Kitchenaid struggled with containing the batter!) so it's definitely more of a celebration cake. However there's no reason why it can't be scaled down for a more everyday sized cake. I've done this before with Hummingbird Bakery cake recipes and it has worked well.

This was also my first time using root ginger in a cake. I fully expected the ginger to be really fiery and dominant in flavour, but it thankfully wasn't overpowering. It produced a lovely, warmly spiced carrot cake. 

Another first was roasting the pecans before adding to the cake batter. Sometimes I can find pecans a bit chewy(?) but roasting them first gives them a lovely, toasty crunch. Normally walnuts are my nut of choice for a carrot cake but this has potentially converted me to pecans.

And I can't finish this post without waxing lyrical about the orange cream cheese icing. My goodness it is tasty and perfectly compliments a carrot cake. I don't know why it took me until last year to try adding orange zest to cream cheese icing but it has fast become my favourite flavoured icing. I did my own thing when it came to icing quantities as I generally find Hummingbird Bakery icing quantities to be excessive. I also prefer a higher ratio of cream cheese to icing sugar. Cream cheese icing needs to be cream cheese-y!

Ginger and carrot cake

450g peeled and grated carrots

2 tbsp peeled and grated root ginger

80ml buttermilk

3 eggs (large)

1tsp vanilla extract

350ml sunflower oil

420g caster sugar

500g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp ground ginger 

80g pecans, roasted and chopped

Icing:

Admittedly I didn't accurately weigh things out, but it's roughly the following:

300g icing sugar

125g butter (softened)

445g Cream cheese (1 bigger pack + standard size pack of Philadelphia)

Zest of 1 orange.

Preheat the oven to 170c / 150c fan/ 325f/ gas mark 3. Grease and line 4 8" round cake tins.

Roast the nuts first. Tip them into a non stick saucepan and toss them over a medium-high heat for a few minutes until they smell toasty. Leave to cool them chop into small chunks.

In a large bowl combine the carrots, root ginger, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, oil and sugar. In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices. Add the dry mix to the wet mix in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition. Once fully incorporated, stir in the chopped pecans.

Divide the batter between 4 tins (or divide and portion into quarters if you only have 2 tins and need to bake the cakes in 2 batches like me.) Bake for approximately 30 minutes until risen, firm to touch and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack before icing.

For the icing, mix together the butter and the icing sugar. Add the cream cheese and orange zest and mix for a few minutes until fully combined, light and fluffy.

Level the cakes if needed. Spread the icing on top of each sponge and stack them. Crumb coat the outside of the layered cakes (if you can be bothered) or just use the remaining icing to smooth round the outside and top of the cake. Decorate with extra pecans on top.

Apple, cranberry and cinnamon cake

Whenever I spot fresh cranberries for sale in the run up to Christmas I excitably buy a pack to make this cake and/or these muffins.

However whenever I look for the recipe in my recipe file I remember I haven't written it down so I have to check my blog archive. . . only to remember I've never given the cake its own blog post either. My only mention of it is in a 2015 festive bakes round up.

I baked this cake again recently and felt it was time to rectify the lack of dedicated blog post. It's only taken close to 10 years. My yellow-tinged, night time photography with zero styling does not do the cake justice but the recipe is documented and should be easier to find in the future.

A used teabag for classy background decor. 

The original recipe was from a lovely old blog called Honey and Dough but I've tweaked it to suit myself over the years. If you still have festive cranberries hiding in your fridge or freezer this is a lovely way to use them up. 

Christmas 2022/New Year when I baked both the cake and the muffins. These were my first bakes in our new home. I still can't quite believe we moved house 2 days before Christmas that year. Madness.

Apple, cranberry and cinnamon cake

Recipe adapted from Honey and Dough blog

125g softened butter/margarine

125g soft light brown sugar 

2 eggs (large)

125g self raising flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tblsp milk

1 cooking apple (peeled, cored and sliced)

Approx. 100g fresh cranberries (chopped in half if they're big)

1 tblsp Demerara sugar for sprinkling on top before baking.

Preheat the oven to 160C fan / 180C/ gas mark 4 and grease and line a 7" deep round cake tin.

Beat together the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with a food mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour, cinnamon, vanilla and milk and mix until everything is fully combined. Stir in around half of the cranberries.

Pour the cake batter into the tin and arrange the apple slices on top in a circular fan shape. Scatter the remaining cranberries on top along with a tbsp of demerara sugar.

Bake for approx. 1 hour until golden, well risen, firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. I check on mine after 50 minutes and add a layer of greaseproof paper to the top if it looks well coloured but the inside isn't fully baked yet.

Serve with a dusting of icing sugar. Eat warm or cold, both ways are delicious.

Banana and rhubarb streuselcake

Yes, I know, it's another rhubarb cake, but damn this is a good one!

It's another recipe from the "Rhubarbaria" I received last Christmas from the Man. I had never come across the pairing of rhubarb and banana so naturally it piqued my interest. I love banana cake, streusel topping and rhubarb so it had to be a winner.

As was the case with the last recipe I baked from this book elements of the recipe were on the vague side, which you can either be infuriated by or view as a fun challenge. I'm in the latter camp.

The recipe mentioned a 9" tin but didn't specify round or square - I guessed round and feel I made the correct choice. The ingredients were also listed as a mixture of ounces and cups. As many recipes from the book are from old UK newspaper clippings or WRI type groups I wasn't sure whether it was referring to standard American cup measures or more an old fashioned "use a drinking cup" type expression similar to my granny's handwritten recipes. In the latter case, capacity of cups vary wildly so you have to use a bit of common sense.

In the end I decided to use my American cup measures but weighed those quantities out in ounces to help gauge the quantities of the ingredients against others. My biggest alteration to the recipe was not adding all of the milk, instead stopping when I felt I had achieved a good consistency with the cake batter.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I put the cake in the oven but what a glorious cake came out. It rose beautifully and smelled amazing. Look at the depth of those slices!

The recipe recommends eating the cake warm like a pudding but it is equally lovely cold. It has a beautiful, soft texture with pockets of squidgy rhubarb and banana contrasted with a spiced and sweet crunchy nut topping. There's also a subtle hint of lemon which is lovely. 

It might all sound a bit random but it absolutely works. I'm ridiculously pleased with this cake and can't wait to make it again. 

Banana and rhubarb streusel cake 

Recipe mildly adapted from Rhubarbaria by Mary Prior

For the cake:

5oz softened butter/baking margarine (I used Stork)

7oz soft light brown sugar 

2 large eggs

10oz plain flour

Pinch of salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

1 cup milk (I used most but not all of it, I think about 1/4 pint - a bit of baking experience required here to gauge it)

1tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup of rhubarb, chopped into small chunks (I used 2 smallish stalks and forgot to weigh them in ounces here)

1 banana, chopped into small chunks/slices

For the streusel topping:

2oz walnuts, chopped

2oz granulated sugar 

1 tsp melted butter

1tsp ground cinnamon 

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ gas mark 4. Grease and line a 9" round cake tin with greaseproof paper. 

In a large bowl cream together the sugar and margarine until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. 

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Add this mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, one third at a time, mixing well between each addition.

Add the chopped rhubarb, banana, vanilla and lemon juice and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the cake tin.

Before putting the cake in the oven, combine the streusel toppings in a separate bowl then scatter it on top of the cake mixture.

Bake the cake on the middle shelf of the oven for 50-60 minutes until well risen, firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. I put a layer of greaseproof paper on top of the cake after 50 minutes to stop the top from burning but allow the inside of the cake to continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes.

Leave to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes before removing from the tin and transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Rhubarb and custard kisses

Years ago (here, actually) I made delicious custard biscuits which incorporated custard powder into the dough. The other week in one of my baking related ponderings I wondered if I could substitute the cornflour for custard powder in my Granny's recipe for kisses. . . So I tried it.

The custard powder gave the kisses (a shortbread sandwich biscuit) a lovely, golden yellow colour which the camera on my phone mostly decided to capture as a radioactive glow. The powder also gave the biscuits a sweet, vanilla-y, custard flavour.

For the filling I used a vanilla butter icing and some of last year's never-ending supply of rhubarb based jam. (I made more rhubarb jam than you can shake a stalk stick at.)

Basically I'm trying to find ways to use up the multiple jars of rhubarb jam I made last year. Despite giving away a large amount as Christmas presents (or just to any accepting friend or family member) I still have at least 10 jars left. 

Admittedly very little jam was used in this bake but the idea of rhubarb and custard kisses appealed to me and I'm happy my baking pondering was successful.

Granny's kisses with a rhubarb and custard twist

6oz margarine

2 1/2 oz Icing sugar

2oz Custard powder

6oz Self-raising flour

2oz Butter, softened 

4oz Icing sugar

A few drops of vanilla extract 

A few drops of boiling water

(Optional) A drop of pink food colouring 

A jar of rhubarb jam

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/ 200C/ 180C Fan. Line two large baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

Cream together the softened butter and icing sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the custard powder and self raising flour and mix together until it forms a dough.

Form the dough into 24 small balls and set onto the baking sheets, spacing them apart. Slightly flatten them with a fork. Bake in the oven for approx. 12 minutes or until the edges start looking slightly golden. Leave to cool on a cooling rack.

For the icing mix together the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy. If it needs softening slightly add a few drops of boiling water. Admittedly I rarely weigh out my butter or icing sugar for making icing so my written quantities here are a rough guess.

Once the biscuits are cool, sandwich them together with a dollop of butter icing and a smaller dollop of jam. A little jam goes a long way. You should end up with 12 kisses.

Rhubarb and custard cake

This cake sadly did not turn out like the cake in the recipe book, but disappointing visuals aside it was a very tasty cake.

It's essentially a standard sponge cake with a layer of custard and stewed rhubarb baked on top, except with mine the custard and rhubarb sank to the bottom and the sponge rose above it. 

The juices from the stewed rhubarb were meant to be reserved for drizzling on top of the cake before serving. As you can see mine was more of a thickened sauce than a drizzle as I think I over reduced it. Still delicious though.

My "patisserie cream" (custard) didn't look right either. My electronic scale went a bit funny on me so I think I added more cornflour than intended and because I added it directly on top of the eggs to save on washing more dishes, I couldn't take it out to weigh again. It ended up pretty thick and bouncy, but still a lovely flavour so I used it anyway.

So yes, there are errors and a bit of disappointment (and a lot of washing up) but it really was a delicious cake and that's what matters most. The custard topping made a lovely change from an icing so perhaps I should revisit it again. . . but take more care with the cornflour.

On a totally separate note my 8 month old kitten got stuck on a neighbour's roof yesterday. He was wailing his head off and after a few hours of seeing him unable to get down off the chimney stack we had to go rescue him. I can tell you it's an interesting way to meet your neighbours. "Hi there, I live in the house diagonally above you. Would you mind if I put a giant ladder up the front of your property so I can retrieve my kitten?"

At least 3 other sets of neighbours came to see what was going on. I fear we're going to known as the couple in the village with *that* cat. Haha.

Rhubarb and custard cake

Recipe mildly adapted from "Bronte at home" by Bronte Aurell

Stewed rhubarb topping:

400g rhubarb, washed and cut into 3/4" chunks

30g butter

50g caster sugar (I would perhaps use slightly less next time)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pastry cream/ custard:

500ml + 2tbsp whole milk

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

100g caster sugar

30g cornflour

1/2 tsp salt

25g butter

Cake:

175g butter/ Stork baking margarine

200g caster sugar

4 large eggs

200g plain flour

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas mark 4 and grease and line a 23cm/ 9" round spring form cake tin.

Make the stewed rhubarb first. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat then add the sugar and vanilla. Stir in the chopped rhubarb and stew for 2-3 minutes to start the cooking process then take the pan off the stove and set aside (I left mine for about 5 minutes, I'm guessing that's why I didn't end up with much juice.)

Whilst the rhubarb cools make the pastry cream/ custard. First, heat the milk and vanilla bean paste in a saucepan on the hob.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and sugar together then add the cornflour and combine. 

When the milk just about starts boiling take it off the heat and pour roughly 1/3 into the egg mixture, whisking continuously, then pour this mixture back into the saucepan of hot milk on the stove. Bring to the boil and keep whisking until the mixture thickens (about 1 minute) then take off the heat. Stir in the salt and butter.

Pour the custard into a cold bowl and press a sheet of baking parchment or clingfilm on top to stop a skin from forming.

Finally, make the cake. In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy with a mixer, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition, then the vanilla.

Combine the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl then fold into the egg mixture until everything is fully combined. 

Pour the mixture into the cake tin then spread 150 - 200g of the pastry cream on top. Remove the rhubarb from the syrup and scatter evenly on top of the pastry cream. Bake the cake in the oven for approx. 1 hour until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. I put a layer of grease proof paper over the top of the cake after 45 minutes to stop the top from browning further but allow the cake to continue baking.

Allow the cake to cool slightly before drizzling the reserved rhubarb stewing syrup on top. Serve the remaining custard with the cake too as it's delicious.

Chocolate and coconut squares

As soon as I saw these chocolate and coconut squares appear on Lynn's blog, Traditional Home Baking, (back in March) I immediately scribbled down the recipe to try.

Usually I'm not overly drawn to coconut, but every so often it really appeals to me. I liked the idea of it combined in a chunky, oaty traybake. I was also keen to try the chocolate topping which I've seen Lynn use before in other recipes on her blog. It sets firm but doesn't crack when you cut into it. I can confirm that it's a lovely topping, almost fudgey, and so quick to make as it is just melted chocolate mixed with some butter. One to use again!

For my topping I used dark chocolate as I like the contrast of a darker, rich chocolate against the sweeter base, but milk would be delicious too. I'm just really into dark chocolate at the moment.

The texture of the base was quite crumbly but full of buttery, oaty, coconut goodness. I'd describe it as a cross between a chunky, oaty biscuit and a flapjack. It's a comforting, easy bake to enjoy with a big mug of tea.

I can't believe I made these over two months ago, time is absolutely flying this year. I've come to the end of birthday season within my family so I can go back to baking whatever I fancy, although I have no idea what that might be. I think I need to have a rummage in the baking cupboard to see what's going out of date. That usually sparks some creativity!

Linzer cookies

My first festive post of 2020! Hopefully I'll manage more but I'll see how things go. This year I was determined to try a couple of new recipes for baked Christmas gifts instead of defaulting to my usual assortment of shortbread, fudge/tablet and gingerbread biscuits.

First up are these linzer cookies, which are basically festive jammy dodger biscuits. I've had this recipe bookmarked from Katiecakes blog for a while so I'm pleased to have finally tried it. Her bakes and photography are always lovely.

These biscuits were fun to make. The dough didn't need chilling which meant they weren't too faffy to prepare either. My only alteration, if you can call it that, was rolling my dough out to 1/4" thick. The recipe says 3/8" but I felt 1/4" was thick enough considering two biscuits get stuck together. I used a 2.5" diameter round cutter and got 22 completed sandwich biscuits in total from the dough. I also used up almost an entire jar of strawberry jam to fill them.

Not much else to report other than they looked very pretty and made lovely gifts to drop off at relatives' doors this week. Vanilla biscuits with jam are always a crowd pleaser. I also have Katiecakes' chocolate and dulce de leche linzer cookies bookmarked so hopefully I'll try them sometime too.

Wishing you all (if anyone still reads) a Merry Christmas and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a lovely Friday.

chocolate jazzie cupcakes

I had no intentions of blogging these cupcakes but they turned out so cute I couldn't resist sharing.

It was my uncle's birthday recently so I baked a small batch of chocolate cupcakes to drop past his house. Usually I bake a big cake but what with Covid19 household restrictions in Scotland/UK I thought a smaller amount of cake was more sensible since they wouldn't be having a bigger family gathering.

When rummaging through my baking cupboard for cake decorations I came across a bag of jazzies/snowies (white chocolate buttons covered in sprinkles.) I received them as a Christmas present from my best friend last year (she knows they're my favourite pick 'n' mix sweetie) but I was astounded to discover the bag was entirely unopened?!? Changed days. Anyway, I thought they'd make a fun topping for the birthday cupcakes.

It's been a while since I've baked cupcakes. For whatever reason I've been on more of a muffin and biscuit kick this year, so it was nice to return to them. They're always fun to make. Obviously I reserved one cupcake for myself. Quality control and all that.

I also used up the last of my pretty Lakeland paper cases when making these cupcakes. Dare I say it I think it's time to replenish the cupcake case stash as I mostly only have Christmas themed ones left. My stash was borderline out of control a few years ago so it's good to see I've worked through them!

Chocolate jazzie cupcakes

This recipes yields approx. 10 cupcakes.

cakes:

4oz soft light brown sugar

4oz softened butter or Stork margarine

2 large eggs

4oz self raising flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

Splash of milk.

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

decoration:

chocolate butter icing - admittedly I made this up without a recipe, but the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook's chocolate icing recipe is a favourite of mine when I do follow a recipe.)

cake sprinkles/ chocolate buttons/ jazzies for decoration.

Preheat the oven to gas 4/180C/fan 160C and line a cupcake tray with paper cases.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add a tbsp of the flour mix with the second egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. 

In a separate bowl sift together the remaining flour and cocoa powder then add to the main mixture along with the vanilla extract and a splash of milk. Mix until everything is fully combined.

Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases, filling each case about 2/3 full. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for approx. 25-30 minutes, until well risen and firm to touch.

 

Make your chosen icing and spread onto the top of each cupcake with a teaspoon or palette knife then liberally cover the icing with cake sprinkles. Add two chocolate buttons or Jazzies on top for extra decoration.

courgette, coconut and lime cake

My first ever courgette cake. I've been wanting to make one of these for years and am kicking myself I didn't do it sooner. This is such a lovely cake.

A few weeks ago I came across a Nigella Lawson courgette cake recipe, and variations of it, at least three times within the space of a few days. I took it as a sign that I finally needed to try a courgette cake.

My cake is yet another (slight) variation. I mostly followed Jean's variation though of adding desiccated coconut and lime zest to the cake batter.

I think all versions I came across had used lemon curd as a filling, but I made a lime curd using a lovely recipe I recently found at Only Crumbs Remain. I wanted to enhance the lime flavour in the cake and just generally fancied making that curd! I also added lime zest to the cream cheese icing (no juice though) to fully ramp up the zingy flavour and general green appearance of the cake. I also added a little bit extra icing sugar to the icing to make it slightly firmer and topped the cake with toasted desiccated coconut.

Speaking of the green appearance, I loved all the green flecks from the courgette and lime in this cake. I'm aware green isn't generally considered an attractive colour for a cake, but I thought it looked really pretty.

The courgettes gave the cake a really lovely, soft texture and the lime curd tasted insanely good. Man I love a homemade curd! I only made half a batch but had plenty for this cake filling and enough extra to add to my plain yoghurt and fruit at breakfast for a few days. Yet again, ridiculously tasty alongside blueberries and chopped banana in yoghurt.

So if you're in any ways on the fence about courgette cake I say DO IT. If you already like carrot cake and citrus flavours then you won't regret making it.

rhubarb jam and vanilla muffins

I had quite a lot of rhubarb left over after making my almond and rhubarb cake so I thought I'd make some jam. I've only made jam once before and it didn't go well as it over set.

Yet again my inability to make jam struck again as my rhubarb jam over set, but somewhat confusingly my thermometer was nowhere near jam setting temperature. Eventually I took the jam off the heat as I knew it would have burned had I left it longer. The resulting jam is dense and sticky when the recipe said it should have a fairly loose consistency as it uses granulated sugar rather than preserving/jam sugar. I don't understand how I got this so wrong. Perhaps my jam thermometer is faulty?! Any insight gratefully received.

Anyway, the jam still tasted nice despite being solid, so it wasn't a complete write off. I read online that over set jam could be salvaged by heating it up with a small amount of water. I'm so glad I tried this! I've discovered that the reheated jam tastes amazing with plain yoghurt and berries.

Anyway, I digress. Basically I heated up enough jam to dollop teaspoonfuls of it in the middle of my muffin mixture before baking. The muffin recipe is the same as last time, but with a jammy centre instead of blueberries. I also sprinkled some porridge oats on top for a bit of texture and visual interest.

The muffins tasted lovely and more importantly I didn't drop the cake tin this time. If I don't end up eating all my reheated jam with plain yoghurt I think I'll bake these muffins again.

almond and rhubarb cake

Last month my uncle dropped off a pile of rhubarb at my doorstep. What's a lady to do with a pile of rhubarb? Bake, of course!

This cake is based on one of my favourite BBC Good Food recipes. I've used it countless times over the years with different berries, but never with other fruit.

I was unsure whether chunks of raw rhubarb would cook properly in the cake so I decided to stew the rhubarb first (with the addition of vanilla extract) then added it as a jammy layer in the middle of the cake before baking.

This worked really nicely. I loved the tart, jammy frill running through the centre of the cake. I thought it looked really attractive when cut open too. I stewed another few batches of rhubarb and stuck them in the freezer so I'm all set for another cake or a crumble.

Somewhat unfortunately I think I've killed the rhubarb plant which I inherited with my house. An impressive achievement considering it's a hardy plant. I've been steadily gutting and relandscaping my garden since I bought my house two years ago as it was seriously overgrown. The rhubarb plant got dug up and chucked into a shady corner on my path with the intention of replanting it after I weedkilled and reseeded my lawn... which I finally got around to doing this year. Perhaps I put it in too dark a spot when I replanted it, or perhaps it was doomed as it had been sitting out the ground for well over a year. Either way, it's a sad stump.

On the upside, my garden is really taking shape this year. The Covid lockdown has given me time to dedicate to my garden which I otherwise wouldn't have had. My new lawn has been seeded and is growing (incredibly patchy, but still a massive step up from brown earth), I've bought and filled hanging pots for my fence (the fence was built and painted last year), I have created a new border and filled it with colourful bedding plants, and I have finally filled my big planters with flowers, strawberries, onions and carrots. My fuschia and rose bushes have also recovered from their extensive haircuts and the rosebush has loads of pink buds blooming which are going to smell gorgeous when they open. I'm a complete gardening novice so seeing all this progress is ridiculously exciting and rewarding.

Now that lockdown restrictions are lifting in the UK my Dad has been able to come to my garden to help build a new garden shed. I knocked down the original one two years ago as it was completely rotten so I cannot wait to finally have a space to store all my gardening stuff!

mini egg biscuits

Slow clap for me posting an Easter bake at the end of May. 👏

However the Mini Eggs can easily be swapped for other chocolate: chocolate chips, Smarties, M&Ms etc. Please don't dismiss these biscuits (or cookies, if that's what you prefer to call them) just because they're dressed for Easter.

I came across these biscuits through Nickki's blog (again!) I liked that they contained oats and were described as chunky and robust. After making my oat shorties I was still on an oat biscuit kick so this recipe very much appealed to me, although typically I only got around to baking two weeks after Easter. Better late than never. 

To be honest I'm impressed that I kept two bags of Cadbury's Mini Eggs on my kitchen counter for over two weeks without breaking into them. That's extreme self control.

These biscuits are indeed chunky and robust as Nicki describes, like a pimped up Hobnob. The recipe also produced a sizeable batch. I think I got 26 decent sized biscuits. The smell of oats, butter and vanilla from the oven was absolutely insane and I couldn't wait to eat one fresh from the oven. It certainly didn't disappoint.

I think my only alteration to these next time would be to slightly reduce the sugar amount as they seemed incredibly sweet. I don't know who I am these days as that previously would have been an unthinkable sentence to proclaim.

Saying that, they're pretty damn tasty as they are and I wouldn't hesitate to bake them again. Here's the link to the recipe if you fancy making them too.

The tale of the blueberry muffins

Let me tell you all a story...

On the 1st of April I got up early to bake blueberry muffins to deliver to my parents' house as a surprise morning treat during lockdown. I used my Great Aunty Lizzie's recipe, which I hadn't used in years, and they turned out beautifully.

I let them cool for a few minutes then popped them in a tin, nestled in a tea towel, and rushed out my front door.

Then the clumsy arse that I am dropped the tin as I walked down the hill towards my car. I hadn't fully closed the lid as the muffins were still warm, so the muffins landed face first at the edge of the pavement. Although I was obviously gutted it was also hilariously funny. An eerily quiet, empty street with me on my knees swearing rather loudly at a heap of crumbs. Quality entertainment for any neighbours looking out their windows.

I rescued what I could but a lot was claimed by the pavement. This is what I was left with:

At least the birds got a good feed that day.

Banana and blueberry pancakes

A few months ago I came across a recipe for sugar free banana and blueberry pancakes on Nickki's blog SomethingSweetSomethingSavoury. I love both bananas and pancakes so needless to say I had to try them.

It was a bit of a Goldilocks situation perfecting these pancakes. The first time I made them my griddle was too hot, so the pancakes ended up nearly burnt on the outside and undercooked in the middle. Easily rescued with a quick blast in the microwave though. The second time I overcompensated with heat and and they took ages to cook and didn't colour particularly well. Then finally on my third attempt I got them just right. Practise makes perfect.

I absolutely love blueberries in bakes as they turn such a vibrant colour of purple and create lovely, juicy pockets. They've stained my griddle though which I'm less delighted about but I'll forgive them. After all, this is the most action my poor griddle has ever seen! As much as I love pancakes I hardly ever make them.

In my three attempts I also experimented with different ripeness of bananas and I'd say the riper the better like banana cakes. If you only have one sad banana in your fruit bowl, which isn't enough for a cake, then this is a great way to use it. The batter makes 4 small pancakes/drop scones which I've found makes a decent breakfast for one person.

Although the pancakes tasted absolutely fine as they were I couldn't resist adding a drizzle of honey. I have a sweet tooth and since there's no added sugar in the batter I felt I could add some on top guilt-free. There's something so satisfying about a honey or syrup-soaked pancake.

I'm tempted to try swapping out the blueberries for other berries or possibly even chocolate chips next time I make these pancakes. There are so many possibilities!

The only change I made to the original recipe was to use one 1 large egg as I hardly ever buy medium sized eggs. Here's a link to the recipe if you also fancy giving it a try. Nickki has loads of great recipes on her blog so she's worth following if you haven't come across her before.