chocolate marshmallow rice crispie pizza cake, anyone?

"So now I'm back, from outerspace! You just walked in to find me here with chocolate-marshmallow-rice-crispie-pizza-cake upon my face!! I should have changed that stupid lock I should have made you leave your key, if I had known for just one second..."


Oh, well hello there! My apologies for the break in transmission, can it really have been nearly two months? Yowzers. Well the excuse is I've been a busy bee, but instead of dancing to the beat of my own buzzy tune, I've have been hanging out in another hive of activity. Ok perhaps I should turn the disco music off, and stop speaking in riddles. 


So what the hell's that you say?! Well the above cake-ular monstrosity was made several weeks ago for a just-turned-four-year-old. As her Mum was telling me the menu the nearly-4-year-old had requested for her bday tea ("Lollypops, jelly beans, marshmallows, candy floss..." Eh, nothing savoury Rosie? "Yeh, pizza and pom bears.") I had a little idea... 


The Sweetie Pizza, which I admit sounds disgusting but to my own surprise, was really rather nice. I used the favourite crispie treats recipe for the base which I squished into my Le Creuset clafoutis dish (mine's teal and was a Christmas present) to form the pizza base, topped with Nutella (keeping it continental y'know), scattered with Jelly Belly beans (accept no impostors people), yoghurt dipped banana chips (a mozzarella shaped substitute), glacé cherries (could've gone un-sulphured but compositionally, it required something terrifyingly lurid), desiccated coconut (look, I can spell desiccated!) and for an extra bit of protein (although that's not yet been corroborated by medical evidence) Monty Bojangles White Chocolate Mice (if you have never tried them I can vouch for them as both marvellous and minxy).


Of course in order to maintain the illusion it had to come served in a pizza box, generously donated by the Comiston Fry, and was hidden until pudding time, in the oven of the Birthday Girl's brand new toy kitchen. I don't think she ate any pizza cake on the day but her Mum and I put a hefty dent in it and no, we weren't sick on our party frocks. 

fly little tsuru-san...

I was wondering how the Cakes for Japan Edinburgh fundraiser went the other week. When I'd got there with my bakes I was in such a hot-and-bothered rush I hadn't anytime to snoop around or even say a proper hello before I legged it down the hill to work.

Well I got a quite a shock when I checked back on the event page. The Edinburgh event raised £2330 for Japanese Red Cross - in just a few hours! 

These were a couple of leftovers from my baked offerings which I managed to snap on the day. At no loss to the fundraising I might add as this cupcake was distinctly smaller than the rest and the 'crispy flag' needed to be manhandled into a flag shape. 

I made fatless fairy cakes, or rather 'gnome cakes' from my newest baking book River Cottage Handbook No.8: Cakes by Pam Corbin. The mix uses a hefty grating of pumpkin, carrot or courgette with a little zest, which I suppose cuts down on the sugar as well as adding moisture. I chose carrot and orange for mine and used the Philly cheese topping which Mrs Corbin makes with butter. As I mixed up the topping the night before, my too-tired eyes failed to spot that the topping was dotted with flecks of butter - but you couldn't taste it! The gnome cakes were good, a little chewy but hey, that's fat-less for you. 

To decorate I topped them off with origami tsuru (crane) which I still have to check out instructions for, even though I once folded a thousand to make a sembazuru. That's another story but you would think I could remember - no? I chopped a cocktail stick in half and wiggled the pointy end into the little gap underneath the cranes - BINGO instant cake topper! 

For the flags I used this recipe for Crispy Treats, substituting the marshmallows for a jar of Marshmallow Fluff (which I do believe is végétarien), scattered desiccated coconut over the top (to make them a little more white) and added halved glacé cherries. Whilst we are on the subject the Fluff website has this very cute jingle from The Flufferettes - ooh! I didn't get round to popping in cocktail sticks in them all (I forgot the darned box!) but the Fluff worked a treat.

Here's a little photo of my cakes at the sale, taken by Donna McGory of I Cook Vegan Food - have a looksee at her blog to check out some more beautiful photos of the sale. 

cakes for japan

Cakes for Japan, Edinburgh - Tsunami Appeal Fundraiser Saturday 26th March  11:00am - 3:00pm

Quaker Meeting House,

7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2JL

It shan't come as a surprise, that I require little persuading to don my pinny, go forth and bake, most especially when I've had such an important cause to get rattling my baking tins for. I have a few different Japan-inspired baking ideas I'm working on - just hope I've enough time to bake them all!


Find Cakes for Japan, Edinburgh on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186263724750194

For more information, or to get involved with the Edinburgh fundraiser, email:

dee@itsy.org.uk

Read about the other Cakes for Japan events at cakesforjapan.wordpress.com and see the sell-out Cakes for Japan, London sale on flikr which raised over £2000 in three hours! 

Hope you can make it on Saturday!!

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?!

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!

thinking bad thoughts

I've taken my good old time to share this with you...

Well, the thought came to me one sublimely ordinary afternoon. There I was, making a wee cup of tea and a little 'something' to keep my pedal foot peddling and that presser-foot pressing (sweat-shop talk). I figured a couple of wee digestives with banana-on-top would be just the right kinda old-school treat. 

[CUE eerie strings] So, I took a McVitie's from the tin, un-peeled a banana and just as I reached for the butter dish, a terrible notion came over me. As if guided by some inner demon I opened the fridge door and drifted towards it's chilly glow. My hand reach out for the jar of Bonne Maman Confiture de Caramel!   [CUE duh duh duhh!]  I tried. I tried with all my strength to put it back. "No!" I said "Get tae Waitrose - I don't need you - I can live without you!" But I was in it's clutches - it had me and pretty soon, I had the double cream. And lo the lazy-girls-banoffee-travel-pie was born!!!

So easy it makes me wonder why anyone went to the effort of making an actual PIE pie at all? A couple of digestives spread with caramel (you don't need me to tell you how thick to spread it now do you?), a few slices of banana and a blanket of lightly whipped double cream. Ta. Da. On my first attempt, I just poured the cream on. That went everywhere. So, for purely technical reasons - I'd whip it a little.

To be honest, I hadn't thought much of the good mother's caramel goo until then. I actually bought it for the jar (I have an, aherm, collection). It's pants on toast (don't waste your time) but redeemed itself when I plastered it on some left over puff pastry, layered a thinly sliced apple, scattered on a handful of raisins, a dusting of cinnamon and laid a straggly lattice of pastry trimmings over the top. Oh and baked it. That was rather good.


The secret, I think is to add Bonne Maman Confiture de Caramel to something slightly sweet already (croissants, brioche mibby?) as although it is richly caramel-y it's actually not TOO sweet. I wonder what the French would do? Dear reader - I intend to find out!

put a little bow on it

I found this little cutie pie in The Sentry Box whilst snooping about Glasgow's West End the other week (see some lovely photos of the shop here). I said: "you'll go perfect in my kitchen". She was a steal for mearly 99p and with a little recycled ribbon from my ever growing ribbon box I have a brand new "must bake" reminder on my wall. As if I needed the encouragement.

I am a greedy hoarder of trimmings and things and I'm always a little reluctant to use them up. Surely the purpose of having a stash it being able to dip into it? But no, I just like knowing it's there. Not that my ribbons are all that special - I mostly snip the hanger ties out of my tops! But every so often I tug a bit out and be-ribbon something or other. Here was a bag of Parkhead Humbugs: 

So what is in my cake tin, I here you ask? This bready Breakfast Banana Loaf from BBC Good Food. Without the glaze, it's a good not too sweet one using wholemeal flour making it rather, well - wholesome. I especially like the inclusion of the word "breakfast" it adds a certain justification to having it at any old time of the day (or night). My only issue was with the tin size (when is a pound not 450g?) so have a couple of fairy cake cases ready for the extra mix, I say. Which reminds me...

RAKFE2PKVDAN 
UA-11477287-2

baby bunting

A very exciting week ended with a brand new person to meet. I'd already planned a visit (and the requisite accompanying cake) but a speedy delivery meant the demerara lemon cake had a whole new celebratory purpose! So I rigged up some baby-sized bunting for the very special occasion. 


Long instructions but easy-peasy really:
I used coloured writing paper: made a 5cm wide strip, and marked 2.5cm sections. Sniped them off and folded in two then trimmed from the edge of the fold to the centre of the open edge.    Scribbled on "boy oh boy" in coloured pencil (both sides), folded them over a piece of embroidery thread and prit-stick-ed. The poles are two bamboo skewers trimmed down (I lightly sanded the ends but this is ridiculous) and given a little notch in the top with a stanley knife (mind you fingers please) tied a little knot on the thread et voila!


I didn't know of the American folk song 'Bye, Baby Bunting' other than its brief mention in Janet and Allan Ahlberg's Each Peach Pear Plum. But I came across it again in Little House on the Prairie, which I read for the first time last week. I was totally taken by the pioneer spirit and real DIY ethos of Pa and Ma as well as the lovely descriptions of the changing seasons. I heard the geese flying north yesterday and thought of Laura and Mary and the wide-open skies. 


RAKFE2PKVDAN