Category Archives: Cake & Dessert

Happy New Year

By Alice | Published: January 5, 2011

Happy New Year! I had a very relaxing Christmas and new year holiday. As it’s 12th Night, the last day of Christmas, I thought it time I end my holiday hiatus, sort through my Christmas photos, and resume my regular posting.

Looking back, I had a good 2010. A little bit of travel, I went to Rome, Berlin (twice), Copenhagen, Malm√∂, Sligo, London, Birmingham, Shropshire, Exmoor, Bristol, and Bath, as well as the usual little adventures. We didn’t go anywhere too far as we are saving for a big trip that we want to go on this year (more on that another day). We decided to build a house. I gave myself a bit of a break at the end of the year and postponed a few big projects that I want to do. So now it’s 2011 and I am looking forward to throwing myself into all sorts of things.

As for resolutions I have quite a few small general ones but my main feeling is that in 2011 I want to throw myself with enthusiasm into the various projects I have, no procrastination, 2011 is a year of action.

So to finish off an other year of posting here are the final pictures of the last week and a bit of 2010….


Simon’s birthday.


Amazing igloo on the green outside my father’s house. Like something from Where The Wild Things Are. There were three snow chairs inside.


The Christmas dinner that I cooked for that family on Christmas day. That’s only some cuts from the turkey in the middle of the table, the whole turkey was big. I might do the main cooking but the Christmas meal event is really a collaboration with everyone chipping in e.g. my mother made the ham, my dad shopping for the ingredients, my aunt made the Christmas cake, my other aunt brought the Christmas pudding, my sister helping me serve and stir, my sister and aunt doing the decorations and laying the table. It’s good that way.


Best part of the Christmas meal – Christmas pudding! I make zabaglione to go with it which is a family tradition.


After Christmas meal.


My mother has real candles on her tree, it’s very pretty.


Visiting friends. Playing Street Fighter II after watching Scott Pilgrim.


Bedside table in chaos but my birthday flowers lasted for ages, the tulips puffed out.


North Leigh Roman Villa remains, on one of our many small explores over the holidays. I was imagining Romans from Rome shivering and ill from the damp in togas in this marshy place by the river but apparently they might have been Romanised Britons. No one knows.


Everyone had many naps.


Anne Hathaway’s cottage (Shakespeare’s wife’s family’s house). We didn’t go in. Just passing.


We also poked our noses into The Swan part of the RSC in Stratford-Upon-Avon and had a look at the renovations.


My dad’s tree.


New year’s eve.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Also posted in Cats, Cooking, Out and about, Oxfordshire, Savoury, Travel & Places | Comments closed

pumpkin shaped pancakes & Moomin shaped pancakes

By Alice | Published: November 17, 2010


The idea to make them pumpkin shaped came from here. Ideally these would be pumpkin flavoured too but canned pumpkin is pretty rare here, it’s just back in stock at Ocado so next time I place an order I will get some. I did not feel up to that effort of pureeing a pumpkin myself just for pancakes :)


Simon suggested making Moomin shaped ones by pouring batter into my Moomin cutters (seen here and bought in this Moomin cafe in Japan) but the batter seemed to stuck to the cutters as I hadn’t greased them so I only made a few. Tasty though!

Also posted in Cooking | Comments closed

What is golden syrup?

By Alice | Published: November 5, 2010

This is golden syrup… :)

Some of you asked what golden syrup is. I’d forgotten that golden syrup is one of those things that isn’t readily available in the USA. Here it mainly comes in that pretty tin shown above. It is often alongside black treacle, the red tin above, which is very much like molasses. In looking into it now I see that golden syrup is a pale form of treacle, it is also much sweeter and not at all bitter. Some people might sometimes use it like maple syrup over pancakes but mainly it is used in baking and very useful for things like flapjacks. I keep and reuse the tins, mostly in the garden like here. It is a very common ingredient and widely available.

In some ways it’s nice to know that there are still things that are exculsive to certain parts of the world even if it can be frustrating. I was recently trying to track down persimmon (or sharon fruit as they are known here) to no avail.

Also posted in Cooking | Comments closed

Ginger Nut Biscuits

By Alice | Published: November 3, 2010

I was trying to think of an unusual way to photograph these biscuits I made and that’s what I came up with :D

Anyway photographic models aside I did not make them for me to eat but to send to my sister. Provided you like ginger these seem the ideal biscuit as they are really delicious, very quick to make, don’t require anything complicated, and will last for ages in a tin. The recipe I used was from Darina Allen’s Forgotten Skills of Cooking that I have mentioned before but looking online there seems to be a general consensus on how Ginger Nut Biscuits should be made:

350g plain flour
150g granulated sugar
3 tsp ground ginger (have less or more depending on how spicy you want them to be)
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
225ml golden syrup
150g butter

Oven: 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit

Warm the golden syrup a little.
Rub the butter into the dry ingredients, then add the syrup and mix well.
Roll the mixture into small balls (about 15g each) and arrange on a greased baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave on the tray for 5 minutes, then lift onto a rack to cool.

I see also that Delia has a recipe for Chocolate Chip Ginger Nuts, I will have to try that the next time I’m posting biscuits somewhere.

Also posted in Cooking | Comments closed

Halloween weekend

By Alice | Published: November 1, 2010


The last two I did are now gone so I fancied doing another one, this time I carved a fish into the pumpkin.


I got the idea to do a fish from this fan.


Here it is lit up.


The view from the window in the morning, the leaves are amazing at the moment.


Cats really know how to relax don’t they!


Some friends came around on Saturday which gives a good reason to bake. The Moomin cutters I got in Japan. The hippo I found at a charity sale, I think it might have once been part of a Zoo set.


The recipe I tried out was Nigel Slater’s Brown Sugar Spice Biscuits, the recipe is at the end of this article. I like my gingerbread a little more fiery so I would increase the amount of ginger next time and perhaps roll them thinner. The cardamom in his recipe is a nice touch though.


I like a weekend that has room for these sort of random things alongside all the bustle :)

Also posted in Cats, Cooking, Decorations, I made things | Comments closed