Baking Circle No.1: Aunty Jean's Shortbread

We had a good ole natter at the inaugural Auntie M's Baking Circle meet-up last week. The idea behind the evening is that you bring along your baked wares with a fist-full of recipes for it, we taste discuss and swap recipes and then take a little bit of everything home. I am calling this RESEARCH, not an excuse to eat cake, absolutely not. This for me is a serious study of the Art of Bake. 

The theme Michelle chose for our baked wares was 'bars' which I understood as 'tray-bakes' then further interpreted as shortbread, 'cause I bakes it in a tray see. The above photo shows the bakes that made it back to mine, having shared some of the others along the way. There was a Rosemary and Salt Caramel Millionaire's which Emily was into (she got the rest) and having had Stacey's Banana Nut Brownie for breakfast the following day (after the incredible discovery of rhubarb and custard on your porridge) I felt that 43 miles should be put between me and the rest. 

So, on the plate is Auntie M's Buttertart Bar which was deee-lish crisp biscuit base with sticky and ever-so-slightly chewy buttery topping, studded with raisins. The Butter Tart hails from Michelle's Canadian homeland and apparently there is quite a debate over there as to whether you walnut or raisin the filling. I may have to base a research project on this. Auntie M's young protege took along Crispy Treats, a no-bake blend of marshmallows, puffed rice and butter, the simplicity of which belied it's complex moreishness. 

Aunty Jean's recipe is very special recipe to me. Passed on from her, it's one my Mum made a lot. I think it might be unusual in that you melt, rather than cream the fat but it's the cornflour that keeps it wonderfully crisp and light. Oh and did I mention it's a doddle to make? Here's the recipe, scanned out of my notebook. At the bottom I've added the reminders Ma left - just in case. The shortbread trimmings by the way, are one of the very best bits, especially if they are a little over done. Save them for ice cream or maybe even a bowl of rhubarb and custard?!

pinny pin pals!

It has taken me an enormous age to get around to this but on Friday, I finally got about listing my new selection of Paddington Bear pinny pins in the shop! The pattern on the fabric was made to celebrate Paddington's 50th and I fell in love with it on first sight. It's based upon packets of ingredients in the FILMFAIR Paddington animation where wiggly nosed bear attempts to bake Mr Curry a birthday cake…

I'm considering staging a reconstruction / re-enactment of Paddington's above cake-baking on the Baby Belling in my studio. Not so sure about shovelling the mix in with a garden fork (!) but I would of course ensure I have donned my duffel coat and black beret for some kind of continuity!


I keep a little selection of badge-wear  upon my work-a-day "flamenco" pinny; some baking related and a couple o' one-liners...

The 'bicarb' button came from the Barnardo's Vintage Shop in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh. I've had a few good badges from there (I take it they are made in-house?!) my favourite being a leopard face badge which I wore on my leopard-print shopper until alas, it went to the big badge-maker in the sky. My Country Grammar pin comes straight outta' the fabulous 50p Badges, a very excellent Glasgow-based on-line proprietor of proper pin-wears. They even let you send a cheque if ya fancy (now there's not a lotta folks'd do that!). I've been eyeing up a few new beauts in their new range...

I feel a little sneaky order coming on! Well, I'm always needing to replace my Dolly Parton badge which I've had and lost several of before. This time I may buy in bulk!


Another couple of making and baking related items:


✿ I made my first ever batch of marmalade the other week, according to the instructions of Good Ole' Mrs Corbin of course (lordy how I love that book!). For once I got WAY MORE jam than I'd expected (WOO HOO) so I'll be digging into a fresh pot at the breakfast table the 'morra! 


✿ If you are cakely-minded and in the Glasgow-area (or like me are DEAD KEEN and willing to commute) then Auntie M's Cake Lounge is starting up a BAKING CIRCLE once a month on Monday nights beginning on the 7th March! EEEEEEk! The idea is that everyone brings along a cake to sample and a copy of their recipe for everyone and well - you get to try lots of CAKE and TALK CAKE for TWO HOURS!! Get in touch with: auntiemscakelounge@yahoo.co.uk for more cake-formation!


POST SCRIPT: I should of course mention my partial title borrowings inspired by the fantastique Pin Pals, of Etsy fame. If you dunno them then, for many reasons - YOU SHOULD!

hop-hop this a-way, hop-hop that a-way...

It's been too long I know, but I've so much bottled-up (some quite literally) to share with you I'm planning an action-packed blogoramma this week! Hold onto your seatbelts!!


I had great fun at The MITS Summertime Hop Edinburgh (even briefly had my first ever queue!). had my cake and ate it from Aunty M's (sweet potato and pecan praline) which was well worth the wait (have since squeezed in another slice - more on that later...) and even got the chance to run around the other stalls to bag these two beauties.

I couldn't resist this birthday card which came from Leah Halliday's lovely stash of vintage finds. It's faux-cross-stitched and slightly squinty squares were right up my street and I've got the perfect little frame to pop it in and the perfect little place to hang it...


The brooch is by Laura Donald and I bought it as much for it's beauty as for  the story that came with it. No, not the Mills and Boon one on the very natty home-sewn paper bag but this one: so the story goes, the Isle of Wight plate was a rare charity shop find, carried home in a shopper by Laura's gallant man until it met it's fate upon the 'rocky' shores of their kitchen table. Oops! And so one crafters jetsam became another crafters treasure. The sharp edges are carefully sanded to make it what my Mother called a "limmey" (sp anyone?), a Caithnessian word for a washed-up shard of crockery. 


I love pictures and particularly songs about sailing ships. Here's one of my favourites: Sinking in the Lonesome Sea which Julias' Duaghters will be playing this Friday at Sun Bear on Lorne Street. 


I'll be "Citylink-ing: Smart-thinking" it through to Glasgow the next day for the last ever Made In The Shade SUMMERTIME HOP at The Lighthouse. The gals have much on the go with their newly made-over west end premisies and forthcoming new HQ at The Barras Centre. My-oh-my!

HIP HOP HOORAY

 

Time flies when you're having fun but I can't believe it's nearly time already for those Shady Ladies of Glasgow town to head on over east side again! They're bring a merry band of 42 makers form across Scotland together for the festivities as well as a musical matinee from another merry band: The Meat Men.

I'm feverishly making new stuff for the big day and have a hoard of freshly painted egg cups lined up in my studio. I've got more ideas on the brian at the moment than I've man hours to complete them in - yikes.

This time I'll be sharpening my elbows and getting in EARLY at Aunty M's deliciously tempting cake lounge. Last time my great afternoon tea hopes were dashed when I discovered her shelves were bare, long before the appointed perky-pinky hour. I'll just have to bring my own tupper ware this time in order to avoid a repeat. Be warned people: do NOT get in my way where cake is involved!!

Last time I also wished I had a roving camera on CCTV so I could get a fly-on-the-wall-eye-view of all the other wares. There is so much lovelyness to see - leave yourself plenty time to hip-hop and hover!