May 14, 2012

The History of Aprons

My mum forwarded me this little ditty today and I thought this would be a good place to share it with you wonderful bakers (and bakers to be!)

Let's make sure we keep aprons alive and well and filled with memories and everything else!


I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing
hot pans from the oven


It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids..

And when the weather was cold Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow,
bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

If you don't have an apron - check out these lovelies      

 
Make your own! My mum & sister made me a lovely xmas apron this year!


Or buy one of these cuties - so many to choose from


Gorgeous Dress Styles

April 25, 2012

Chocolate Chip & Nut Cookies

Can you ever go wrong with a gooey chocolate chip cookie? Really? I have made many different versions and I think only one recipe didn't turn out too nice (but was still edible of course!) Here is a tweak to my Triple Chocolate Gooey Cookies from a few months ago -this time add your favourite nut or omit the cocoa - mix up a batch - I always do!

These are gooey indeed - almost like brownies as soon as they come out of the oven but then they crisp up just enough after they cool. Problem is, they are so easy and quick to make that it is too easy to make dozens and even easier to eat them all in one sitting! (so lucky people at work get to feast!)


I love chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies (yum yum - dark or milk chocolate chips but you could substitute for white too). Mr girlbakes likes chocolate chocolate chip hazelnut, so, to suit us both, I split the mixture in half and add a tablespoon or so of cocoa to one and leave the other. Then add preferred nut for the day and voila. Everyone is happy! :)

What you need:
150g (golden) caster sugar  (doesn't have to be golden but I love the flavour)
200g soft dark brown sugar
175g butter (softened)
2 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla
250g flour (plain not self raising)
200g chocolate chips (whatever kind you fancy)
2 tablespoons of good quality cocoa (if you want chocolate chocolate chip)
100g roughly chopped nuts (your favourite or don't add - up to you)

Preheat fan oven to 150° C or 170° C non fan.

Beat the sugars and butter together until light, creamy and fluffy (about 3 minutes at least if using an electric mixer - longer if you are giving your arms a workout). Then slowly add the eggs and beat until well mixed.

Sift the flour, salt and baking soda (and cocoa if adding) and mix completely into the butter and egg mixture. It might get a bit much for your electric mixer so you may have to mix by hand. It only just needs to come together so shouldn't take too long.

Crush the nuts with a pestle and mortar or in a bag and use a rolling pin to smash up a bit. Leave the nuts whole if you can handle it! I LOVE huge pieces of macadamia nuts - it feels like I hit the jackpot every time! :)

Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts of your choice.

Using a tablespoon or an ice cream scoop (depending on how large you want your cookies to be) and place on a lined baking sheet leaving enough space in-between each to allow for them spreading when they cook. They don't have to be perfect balls as the butter allows them to spread quite nicely on their own. Rustic always looks a bit nicer :)
Makes about 24 large cookies or about 36 medium ones.


Bake in preheated oven for 12-16minutes depending on size. They will be gooey when they finish due to the chocolate chips anyway.

Leave to cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes (or else they will just fall apart if you try to move them sooner). Move to a wire rack to cool fully if you can resist them that long!



I must say - they are perfect BIG cookies but just as nice as smaller ones too. Mix em up then be ready to fight over them!


The Guardian have just posted a blog today about how to make the Perfect chocolate chip cookie.  It's not that far off :) It's all preference of course and adding your own little extras always as you like it always makes for a happy cookie monster!

March 31, 2012

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

I searched and tried and tested different orange chocolate cakes and this one has been my favourite.  When my brother in laws were coming over to watch football with my other half I naturally headed to the kitchen not the shops (braving the newly opened shopping mall down the road later on in the day (BIG mistake on opening weekend but... apart from my wonderful trip to my first ever in store LAKELAND (heaven)) I should really get on with these amazing little beauties. Moist, rich but not overpowering, and a great flavour of orange throughout. 



These would be great for Halloween using orange and black coloured icing and creepy crawly things to decorate - oooo good idea I must remember it!!!


This recipe is from cupcakegirl's blog - cupcakesmile (tweaked a bit)
mine made 12 regular sized cupcakes 


Ingredients 
for the Cupcakes
100g Plain Flour
20g Cocoa powder
140g Caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
Zest of 1 orange (large)
40g  unsalted Butter
100ml milk (green or blue top)
1 Egg (large)
Juice of 1 orange (large)
2 tsp Orange extract (Sainsburys does a nice 
Valencian Orange Extract in their Taste the difference range but not online) - if you don't have any in the cupboard or can't find any at the shop don't fret - just use the orange (it just means the orange flavour will be subtle but it will be there!)



Now onto the fun bit - these don't take very long to make (depending on how you decide to decorate them!)
I will follow CupcakeGirls's method, a bit different to normal methods (for me anyway) but hey, less cleaning up so I'm game!


to make the Cupcakes
Line a cupcake tin with cases
Heat oven to 170degCelcius fan



  • In a med/large mixing bowl add the 100gflour, 140gsugar, 20gcocoa, 1.5tspbaking powder, pinch of salt, 40g butter and zest of 1 orange and combine as you would a pastry dough - with your fingers! :) rub together until the mix resembles crumbs


  • Add the orange juice of one orange and mix well.


  • In a separate bowl mix the 100ml milk with one egg and lightly whisk. Add half of the mix to the batter and mix to combine - make sure you get all of the dry ingredients stirred in. Add the remaining milk/egg mix and 1tsp orange extract and mix well. (have a little taste - add more extract if you think it needs it - I added a couple of tsps) 



Pour the mixture into a pourable measuring cup/bowl and fill the cupcake cases 3/4 full - you want to ensure that they don't rise up above the cases (if you overfill the cases with batter they will form into dome shapes which still taste good but limit how you can decorate (i.e. if you want to use fondant)


Bake for 18-20 min and then test to make sure they spring back when lightly touched.  (you can use a toothpick to pierce the middle ones to make sure no batter comes off). If there is some, put back in oven for 2 more minutes and test again. (just don't over bake!)


Leave to cool in tray until cool enough to remove with fingers - don't be tempted to use a spoon or knife to edge them out or the paper could come away from the cake or they could be squished out of shape. When cool enough, move to a rack to fully cool.


for the Buttercream Icing

600g Icing sugar
250g Unsalted butter
2 tbsp milk

(1-2 tsp Orange extract) optional

(40g Cocoa powder) optional
(sprinkles of any sort) optional


To make the Icing
Mix up the icing sugar, butter and milk until nice and fluffy (about 3-5min with an electric beater will do). Then lots of options  - I made 3 different kinds of icing with this mix by separating into three bowls after this stage - make whatever suits you (the more the messier!:)  (quantities above but adjust to suit your tastes - it's hard to muck up the icing bit!)
Plain (no cocoa/no orange/no colour), 
Orange (no cocoa/Orange Extract/Orange food gel/colouring)
ChocoalteOrange   (Cocoa /Orange Extract / no colouring required)
Chocolate (only Cocoa)


Once you have your desired icing made you can pipe, spread, glob, smear it on top of the cakes (only once they have fully cooled - if you are impatient and don't wait the icing might just melt off into a sloppy mess!)
Add some sprinkles or glitter or use fondant to top. All up to you! 


Et voila! enjoy!




The Big Egg Hunt I Found a Wally! THREE in fact

Great way to start a Saturday afternoon - "Wally says bring the whole family for the day! Join him, Larry the Donkey and Pearl the pig…" and so we did - off to Hackney City Farms for a last minute decision on breakfast.


Wally was hangin' with the chicks when we arrived!

Where's Wally by Martin Hanford 


Some more adventures next week to find some of the other 123 eggs left! (I know of someone who has already found 208 of 209 eggs hidden) that was over a week ago - amazing!


Happy Hunting




Oh and Pretty Polly artist Karen Hollis found my blog with a picture of her egg
Here is her tweet!



Check out this site:  A lovely Pretty Polly pic from 

MORE WALLY
Wally was round the corner from work on Friday - a place which has been run by 4 family members since 1910 and was the first hotel to have ensuite bathrooms in every room AND was where the dutchess of cornwall prepped for her royal wedding last year - the Goring Hotel

And the last Week of the Big Egg Hunt is coming to an end. I am happy - 209 eggs and Wally spotted twice. Brilliant. The last Saturday of the hunt I am on my way to a wedding fair which just completely by fluke happens to be across from the Museum of Childhood, a place I have been meaning to visit for a while. And what is today's clue?  Wally's surrounded by childhood trinkets at this East London museum... Brilliant. I love Wally popping up nearby. What ever will I do when this hunt has finished! :) Ok ok ok - i will BAKE