Sunday 8 February 2015

Baking and Cake Decorating In The New House

As you may know, last night I gave my KMix it's Maiden Voyage, and very pleased I was with it.  I made a batch of basic chocolate cupcakes, using a dark soft brown sugar for a toffee like flavour.  I still need to come to grips with the oven.  Tonights batch of cakes shows that I am heading in that direction, oven temp still needs a little tweak to allow for it being a fan oven.

Mary-Jane had spotted that there were cupcakes to be decorated when I got in from work.  Once bathed, I set Mary-Jane up to decorate said cakes.  She was happy and pleased with her results.  I let her have a gave her the sprinkles and let her have a free hand.
The frosting is also a First.  I used Sugar and Crumbs Jaffa Twist Icing sugar, with my very own soft yoghurt cheese!  I bought the yoghurt cheese maker from Lakeland in the January sale.  It is so easy to use it is silly.  Pour one tub of natural yoghurt into the container, close the lid, put in the fridge for 24 hours and hey presto!  I first discovered properly Sugar and Crumbs last year at the Cake Show in Manchester in March.  I might have been sceptical at first till I was encouraged to try samples of the lovely stuff, then I was smitten.  If you want to make your cake special then use some of their icing sugar, you will note be disappointed.

I tried not to put too frosting on each cake, however I ended up with just under half left.  So I just had to make another batch of cupcakes up, be rude not to -  and because I am now Queen of My Own Kitchen again!

View From The Front Door

This is the view from the front door, looking left, down into the village
Same View, with a zoom added.  Stunning.

Saturday 7 February 2015

New Home

I am starting to settle into the new house - our new home.  Since we have been here, I feel like all I have done in the main is have tea, sleep, go to work, repeat.  The only time I really saw the garden for the first three weeks was each Saturday morning, a novelty.  I am enjoying being here, and am finding myself relaxing a little.  This morning I had a lie in to 8 am, unheard of!  Mary-Jane had had a disturbed night, so in turn did I.  But 8 o'clock, get me!

Mary-Jane had a party to go to at lunchtime in Whitehaven, lots of fun had there.  As we had the regular weekly shop to do, HK agreed to stay at the party whilst I went to Tesco.  I fell off my perch, HK has never been to any party with Mary-Jane.  All was achieved and I started to have a strange sense of calmness creeping in to my personna.

When we got back, I left HK to put the shopping away whilst I whisked Mary-Jane off to Mawson's Ice Cream Parlour at Seascale.  It was their re-opening day after a well deserved three week break. Mary-Jane had Triple Chocolate and Kendal Mint Cake Ice Cream and I had Chocolate Orange and Reese Ice Cream.  Scrummy.

Another first this evening - my KMix has had it's maiden voyage!  Oh how excited I was getting watching the smooth batter.  I made a batch of chocolate toffee cupcakes, ready for decorating (and eating) tomorrow.

Work is very heavy going at the moment.  The less said in public the better.

I am starting to get enthused again about baking and cooking.  My thoughts have already started to turn to Show Season in the summer.  Lots of planning, preparation and practice between now and then will be the key.

Will try for photos next time!