Bake-athon Successful

My Baking Challenge is over, for today.  I successfully completed the challenge.  If I had remebered to trun the oven down 15 degrees when putting the second lot of cakes in and put the sugar glazes on when the cakes were warm, I would say I romped home with effort to spare.  I am very pleased with my handiwork.  I have resisted temptation to cut slices off and taste test them.  Perhaps I will get a chance tomorrow.  There is not point worrying about them now, if they are too dry etc, there is nothing I can do to change that now!

I made, from top right - Coconut & Lime Cake, Lemon Soaked Cake, Apricot Tea Bread, Marmalade Cake and Cider Loaf Cake.  All the recipes are taken from 'Cumbria (Cumberland) WI Cookery Book'.


A close up of the Apricot Tea Bread, withe the Lemon Soaked Cake and Coconut Lime Cake in the background.


I didn't particularly get stressed at all today - I usually do at some point, making the neutral zone around me get ever so slightly bigger!  I could feel my feet and back aching.  I couldn't have done any of this without HK and Mary-Jane's help either, for letting me crack on and do.  I did try to get MJ to help me measure some ingredients, but she was more interested in having a runaround.  I did give her due warning when I was going to use the mixer, telling her that Mommy was going to be noisy.  She even asked me a few times If I had finished being noisy!

WI And Baking Week

This has  been- is -  a busy week for me.  Monday night was WI Committee Meeting, Tuesday I was due to drive Dad in the evening, but didn't have to at the last minute.  Wednesday I baked two batches of cakes (more in a bit) and Wednesday evening was WI Meeting.  Today I did the weekly shop, this afternoon I slipped out to Fobbles for a very short time, mainly to catch up with Di and so we could show each other what we have been knitting.  This evening has been the area group meeting.  Tomorrow I'm due to bake loads for the WI stall at Egremont Crab Fair on Saturday.  Phewee!  I feel tired just thinking about it all!  On top of all that, Mary-Jane had a bad night Monday night (did I already tell you?) she was awake from 3.30 and so were we!  We are getting over it now.  It takes MJ around three days to get over one bad night and get back on her feet, I feel just the same!

 

So, cakes, cupcakes!  More from Cookie Girl Xanthe Milton's Eat Me!  I made Black Forest Cupcakes.  This time I baked them for two minutes less than the recipe and hey presto!  An vast improvement in them.  I also used more whipped cream on top and had some chocolate flakes to finish them off.  They also had a bigger dollop of kirsch mixed in with the jam.  I was quite impressed!

The second batch I made were Cinnamon, Banana and Walnut.  The cakes were slightly dry, only slightly dry for me.  The texture lent itself more to be a loaf than a cupcake.  I will try it again with a bit more banana and maybe a minute or two less baking time.  The topping I won't do again.  Only because it is too sweet for me.  It's 10 oz icing sugar, 2oz butter and one banana and cinnamon.  It hasn't stopped me eating them though at all!

The cakes were primarily made to take to the WI Meeting as a beit of a celebration following our winning first prize at th WI Exhibit at Gosforth Show last month.

Tomorrow may well be a marathon baking session, although I am trying to think about preparation stages - what can be baked together and how much can I realistically do.  One realistic thing is that if I do everything on my list then I will need some more eggs!  I have five eggs, no six if it's not been eaten today, and I need a grand total of 15.  My list runs like this:

• Coconut Lime Cake
• Apricot Tea Bread
• Cider Loaf Cake
• Marmalade Cake
• Lemon Soaked Sponge

I really don't think I will get everything done, but will give it my best welly.  It will be fun.  At least I don't have to bother with decorating them. 

Knit Club and MJ's Pinwheel Sweater

Woodlands Knitting resumed today after it's summer break - well we didn't meet for August as it the cafe's busiest month....  There was only four of us there, so it was quite cosy.  I had a good chat with one of the ladies, when there was just the two of us.  We chatted about a few different things - school mainly and a bit about work.  I was surprised how emotional I felt talking about school.  So many feelings and things that I don't talk about came to the fore, quickly boxed back up again and control regained, but left with surprise for the happening of it!

I am continuing to work on MJ's pinwheel sweater.  I am quite enjoying it at the moment and the colours are growing on me.  They are still bright though! I have changed to a longer cable and have nearly filled that one up.  I have yet to work out how much I need to go to finish.  I am guessing the same as the back or to the point of the armholes.  I shall leave the excitement of looking at the pattern till tomorrow!  It is just creeping past my bed time and my eyes are getting stingy.



 We have also had our WI committee meeting tonight.  Busy Busy Busy.  I have volunteered to make some cupcakes for the main meeting on Wednesday, to help celebrate the WI's win at Gosforth.  Now just to decide which cupcakes to make - that will be the difficult thing!

I have also been given the pattern for jumpers for the Fish & Chip Babies.  I will find out more about this.  In essence, in Africa, some parents/ mothers are that poor that they have no clothes for their new born babies, so they wrap them up in newspaper, hence the name 'Fish & Chip Babies'.

Colouring Coconut And Contemplations On A Cardi

I continue to spend many moments of my day with my nose stuck in a cake magazine or book.  Todays little inspiration is colouring coconut.  I always wondered how it was done, thinking it may be simple as you don't see it on supermarket shelves, nor indeed in the plethora of cake decorating things you can get online.  It turns out that it is quite a simple process to do. As simple as adding a few drops of liquid food colouring to coconut and giving it a good stir to coat it all.  The themes I thought about when dyeing this coconut was Christmas and grass. I think I did pretty okay.  All I need to do now is apply it - and use the stuff!  I may be baking and soon.  One idea I have is to just add it to a cupcake and see the result.  It may make the batter turn a colour, which would be interesting.  Of course it can be used as a topping to decorate.  I did wonder if a shiny sprinkle could be added to it, to give it shine and sparkle - without stating the obvious - as snow would sparkle and shine.


I am nearing the end of the cardi for Mary-Jane.  My jury is still out on it.  There are so many things I would change with the pattern.  As yet I haven't tried it on Mary-Jane.  It may look better on her (hopefully not worse!)  I did wonder whether to frog it all.  Then I thought that I spent so much time working on it that it would be a real shame to frog it.

The sleeves could do with being longer, but that is the amount of yarn I have left.  The pattern gives out to do a garter stitch border on the end.  No chance of that, no yarn!  The next cardi I do will have to be bigger.  I do like the essence of this pattern.  I did wonder whether I could adapt the EZ Surprise jacket, make the sleeves longer and on the straight part - the length of the body, add some lace work to that.  Or even do the rest of it in stocking stitch, remembering to do a different tension, but that may bugger the shaping and row count up.  So maybe scrap that idea and see if I can find another pattern that is an all in one one.  If I could think more clearly on how I would like the thing to be, then maybe I could design it myself.  Now there's a thing.

More Cupcakes

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do some baking.  I made two batches of cakes - Hazelnut Swirl Cupcakes and  Black Forest Cupcake.  Both recipes are from 'Eat Me!' by Xanthe Milton.  I highly recommend this book.  The recipes are brilliant - the last few baking sessions I have done, I have used her book.  If you would like to see the recipes, contact me!



These Black Forest Cupcakes, are topped with fresh cream, something to be bourne in mind when deciding how many you are going to make and how many people will be eating them - cream, like cupcakes shouldn't be left too long before being eaten!


This was the view slightly to my left as I sat down last night to knit and watch TV!  It's pretty much the same tonight, except no TV yet.


I had the new Cupcake Heaven magazine arrive yesterday as well.  I have only had a quick look through it, and not all the way through.  I am already inspired lots of times over to don my pinny!

On the back of my trip to the Sugarcraft Guild Meeting on Wednesday, I have sent off my application for this Septembers Sugarcraft course in Workington, at St Joe's school.  I have been told that as I was on the course last year, a place will be reserved for me, but because I wasn't able to get to the last five or so sessions, I didn't want to rest on my laurels, so the app and cheque went in the post yesterday.  Today I went through to Workington, to Chambers and got the list and supplies I needed for this term.  This was cutters and dusts.  I shall be making a spray of Java Orchid, Bouvardia and Veronica.  Watch this space!  I am getting nervous already, but really looking forward to it. The course starts a week on Tuesday.

I have also put my entry in for Eskdale Show today, the closing date is tomorrow.  I have also entered Mary-Jane in the pre-school class for two pictures.

Oh and I must tell you that I have used my new cake corer!  It is essentially the same as an apple corer, but designed to be used with cupcakes.  It takes out a cylindrrcal shape out of the middle.  It makes the cake look more professional when you bite into it or cut it open.  Another recommendation!

Getting Fired Up For Sugarcraft Again

I have been to West Cumbria Sugarcraft Guild meeting this evening.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and am now fired up to go back to the classes in Workington.  I am trying not to think how much the weekly trip in diesel will put an unwelcome hole in my budget.  The speaker-demonstrator was Robert Whitten from Berwick Upon Tweed.  Not only is he good at sugarcraft, he is really funny too listen to as well.  He demonstrated how to make a bag, which could either be a cake topper or an actual cake itself.  I feel that I have really learned a lot.  It is the human element that is lost when just trying to learn from books.  I shall have another think in the morning about going to the classes and talk with HK.

I will go to the Sugarcraft Guild Meetings again, they are once a month.  I was made quite welcome.  There were four people from the classes and a lady from Chambers in Workington that I knew.  It's always nice to see a familiar face when going somewhere new, especially on your own!

I am hoping to bake tomorrow, Black Forest Cupcakes and a Hazelnut cupcake.  I couldn't get to the kitchen today.  Mary-Jane was quite clingy with me.  She said she was tired.  I think her day yesterday, all the running around and fresh air tired her out.  She even said when I went to get her up that she wanted to stay in bed.  The poor thing awoke around 4am, so we had her on the bed for ten minutes or so, before I took her back to her own bed.

I am in my usual state of tiredness, so my head is not overly forthcoming.  Time for bed for me!

A Visit From Sally

I have had a busy but really enjoyable weekend, and yes I know it is Tuesday today!  My friend Sally, from Stafford, came to visit.  On Saturday we had a bit of a small tour around the place.  We went into Whitehaven initially.  First stop was Dixons department store to look at their yarns.  We got distracted by lovely handbags on the way, very tempting! We both bought two balls of the same yarn so we could make the same project.  I worked out last night that we were about a 1/3 short for our chosen project.  I have not ahd chanve to see what we can do with what we have got.  After Dixons, we took a short walk along the harbour and went for a cuppa in The Waterfront.  Sally is much improved in her walking since I saw her last.  She has suffered with Juvenile Arthritus since a very young and tender age.  She has had a lot of joint surgery, including hip and knee replacements.

 

From the harbour, we went to Egremont, mainly for chips!  We sat outside Frasers, I had chips and a cheese & onion pattie, Sally had chips and sauce.  We both thoroughly enjoyed it.  The we went on to St Bees head, to the Hartleys Cafe.  The tide was in and the sea was a bit choppy.  The views there are wonderful.  We sat in the cafe, drank copious amounts of tea and ate cake and knitted.  Blissfully relaxing!

 

On Sunday we went to Cockermouth, but it was virtually closed.  We went to Squirrels cafe - I can't remember it's proper name, but that was closed too as it was undergoing new management.  We then headed to Woodlands Cafe at Santon Bridge.  Success.  We sat outside in the sunshine and ate lunch.  I had a baked tattie with cheese and coleslaw, followed by a banoffee pie with ice cream.  Mary-Jane had an ice cream cornet.  On her first or second lick, the ice cream fell on the floor.  She didn't cry or protest, just carried on eating the cone.  Sally got her an ice cream in a tub.  She thoroughly enjoyed that.  It was lovely to see Mary-Jane running around making the most of the sunshine.  Luckily there wasn't anyone else sat outside, so she could have a run.  She was delighted that the floor was gravel - all those stones to pick up and bring to me!

 

Sally went back on the train on Monday.  I shall miss her dearly.