Tottenham Cake

Tottenham Cake makes an easy tea-time traybake.

2 Legs Good, 8 Legs Better

You never can tell when the weather is going to change at this time of year. Bright, sunny mornings can turn into downpours just after you put that second batch of clothes in the washing. So the when the sun does shine you need to be quick and get yourself organized – magnifying glass, net, tweezers, canister, bug barn, identification book and a selection of Barny snacks. That's all you need to go on a bug hunt!

Autumn is a great time for looking for insects. In the summer most insects are of the stinging flying variety or the delicate, too pretty and fragile butterflies. Once we get into September and October it's time for the spiders to get busy. You won't need to go far for a bug hunt – town or country you'll be sure to find plenty in the bushes around where you live. We decided to go on a short walk to the local fields. There were only a few dog walkers about but human life was evident in the shouts of the Sunday League footballers and distance hum of the cars whizzing down the A3.

A patch of tall grasses seemed an ideal place to start looking.

It wasn't long before we found our first specimen.

Eye spy with my little eye...another spider find.

Resting on a blade we spotted a little black beetle.

Lunch! We think it was a bee.

All of finds were locked safely in our bug barn while we had a sit down.

Time for a break and to find out what we had caught.

Every creature needs to eat!

Time to release our spiders before heading home.

This is an entry for Brit Mums 'Little Adventures Challenge' in partnership with Barny, the bear-shaped snack providing a little discovery in every bite. Find out more about Barny here. 

I was sent the Barny snacks and bug hunt kit for free. No payment was made for this post.  

We Should Cocoa #38 - October 2013

I took the plunge a couple of months ago and asked the lovely Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog if I could be the guest host of her monthly chocolate cooking challenge We Should Cocoa. To my delight she said yes so here we are for my first blogging challenge hosting. Last month's challenge was the third anniversary of We Should Cocoa and appropriately the theme was Chocolate Showstopper Cake. 

We're now past the autumn equinox and this month the clocks will change bringing those dark nights ever earlier. It's time to start digging up the soil to reveal the goodies the land has grown for us. It's time to bring in the harvest so therefore the theme for October 2013's We Should Cocoa is:

Last October we had pumpkins on their own for We Should Cocoa but if you missed that or have another recipe here's your chance. It's not just about the big orange squashes though. Make the most of the wonderful seasonal produce that is in abundance this year. If you grow your own it's time to show it off and bring me your beetroot. Got a great local market or producer? Shout out about their swede. While we're thinking about local and seasonal let's just have a word about ugly vegetables. Some veg may not be lookers but that's no excuse to throw them away. If you have some odd looking aubergines or seen better days butternut squash I want to see what you have made with it.

To kick things off I've made a Chocolate and Potato Ring Cake using some leftover mashed potato. This goes to show that vegetables are a great ingredient to combine with chocolate. This year I've the pleasure of eating chocolate cakes made with aubergine and beetroot. It's not just about cake. You can keep it sweet or make it savoury just make sure your recipe includes chocolate and at least one vegetable.

To summarise, here are the rules:

Post your recipe on your blog. Remember, we all love a photograph too whether it's lovingly styled or snapped on your mobile, show us what you have made.

Link your recipe by the 25^th October to the linky below.

Mention We Should Cocoa in your post

Please link to me, JibberJabberUK, as this month's host and also Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog.

Please use the 'We Should Cocoa' logo in your post.

If you use Twitter please tweet your post to @jibberjabberuk and @Choclette8 with the hashtag #weshouldcocoa and we will endeavour to retweet it.

Please make sure you use this month's ingredient of vegetables and chocolate in your recipe.

A round-up of all your fabulous creations will be posted on JibberJibberUK after the closing date.

For any further details please look here.

Happy cooking!

get the InLinkz code

Chocolate and Potato Ring Cake

Chocolate and Potato Cake with the addition of macadamia nuts and dried cranberries.

I've been blogging for a bit now and enjoying the cooking challenges that are hosted by other bloggers. Often challenges are guest hosted by other bloggers giving them a chance to pick their own themes. I thought it was time that I stepped up to the plate and put myself forward as a guest host. Since I always have a very willing band of chocolate recipe testers I thought I would ask Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog to be a guest host of her We Should Cocoa chocolate cooking challenge. Happily, she agreed and for October 2013 I decided the theme should be vegetables. So here's my contribution for the We Should Cocoa challenge.

One question that may well be asked is why the inclusion of the mashed potato? Firstly, it's a terrific way of using up a little bit of leftover mashed potato. Secondly, the addition of the mashed potato adds a moistness to the cake. Quite often when cocoa is added to a recipe it can have a drying effect.

I've also added some macadamia nuts and dried cranberries. Substitute these if you wish. Chopped almonds, walnuts, raisins or sultanas would all work equally well. I've left it plain this time but an icing topping, either plain or chocolate, is also welcome.

Equipment: 1½ pint (900ml) Ring mould or savarin tin (mine's from Lakeland), electric whisk.

Ingredients

4oz (110g) Unsalted butter, softened or baking spread

4oz (110g) Caster sugar

3oz (85g) Self-raising flour

1oz (28g) Cocoa powder

3oz (85g) Mashed potato

1oz (28g) Macadamia nuts, chopped

1oz (28g) Dried cranberries

Method

1. Grease the ring mould.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

3. Sift the flour and cocoa together.

4. In a separate bowl cream together the butter and caster sugar.

5. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a little of the flour/cocoa mixture.

6. To remove any lumps from the mashed potato put through a ricer or press through a sieve.

7. Stir the mashed potato, macadamia nuts and cranberries into the creamed mixture.

8. Fold in the flour and cocoa into the tin and cook for 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

9. Leave in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Ready, Steady, Bake!

It can all start with a simple Victoria sponge...

When I was child my Nan would always bake me a birthday cake which would be the centre piece of my birthday party tea. I remember the shocking pink ballerina cake which was a construction worthy of an architectural award. On Christmas Eve there would be a mad midnight making of royal icing in order to form the perfect snowy peaks on the rich fruit cake. This would be accessorized with toppers dating from when my Mum and Uncle were children.

Cake decorations from across the years.

For school fairs there would be the chocolate loaf cakes topped with chocolate ganache, glacé cherries and walnuts. I have never found the recipe for this wonderful treat. The most controversial bake my Nan was famous for was the jam butties she made especially for day trips and holidays. Shortcrust pastry filled with jam with pastry lid – what's not to like? Apparently I was the only member of the family who liked them.

Always a favourite of mine - homemade pastry treats.

By the time I had left for university I had already amassed a number of recipes to take with me only to find upon my arrival at the halls of residence that the kitchens contained no ovens, just a hob and a microwave. It seems that the students were rather forgetful about turning off the ovens which resulted in a number of blow-outs. Three years of living in halls and I never got near an oven once.

The original university recipe folder with microwave pudding instructions.

So why all this nostalgia? It seems many of have fallen for the simple pleasure of home baking inspired by BBC2's Great British Bake Off. Now in its fourth series each week over 5 million viewers tune in to the watch the contestants battle it through their signature bakes, technical challenges and show-stoppers while risking disaster through under-proving bread or the dreaded soggy bottom.

We can't get enough of The Great British Bake Off, its judges and winners.

Once you've gathered together a selection of tins and utensils home baking becomes far cheaper than buying massed produced shop products. If you are going to make some gorgeous looking cakes you may as well use some great looking accessories and storage. For that essential retro feel check out Tala's 1960's inspired vintage range. With such pretty styling you won't be wanting to push them to the back of the kitchen cupboard.

You can find these Tala products plus more on the Handy Household website. Images used with permission of Handy Household.

Cooking from scratch means you know exactly what is going into your recipe. Cupcakes can be made from just the four basic ingredients of sugar, flour, butter and eggs. Adding your own flavourings is all part of the pleasure in both the creating and eating. Shopping for clothes may give you an thrill but the same can't be said for buying a packet of long-dated cake slices. It's no surprise that an old estate agents' trick to make your house seem more homely and therefore more sell-able is to have your home smelling of baking. 

One of the best smells in the world! Freshly baked bread.

So are you new to baking, starting over after a long break or is it something that you have always done? One thing's for sure – it's time to bake!

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Handy Household. The views, words and opinions are my own.

What's for Lunch? 5 Ways with Ryvita

A 'lunch' of Ryvitas

White bread sandwich or brown bread sandwich? Life doesn't have to be that dull but most days the inspiration to keep thinking up something new and tasty for lunch is a struggle. So I was rather pleased when Ryvita sent me a selection of their crisp and flat breads for me to try. As some of you may know I'm a fan of lunch items that have a long shelf life which means when making up a lunch box in the morning you are not faced with the dreaded mouldy or lack of bread situation.

My package of goodies included a toppings ideas sheet which I promptly tossed to one side so I wouldn't be influenced. Apologies if there are any duplications but here are my top five fridge raids for a tasty and quick lunch.

Original Crackerbread

Upon first inspection these do resemble cardboard but the benefit of their neutral taste is that you can jazz them up with sweet or savoury toppings. A particular favourite has been Brussels Pâté and cucumber.

Multigrain Crispbread

This is probably more what people usually think Ryvita is. It's a great base for any lunchtime topping and will take a number of strong flavours. I found some extra mature cheddar and potato salad plus some fresh chives to put on top.

Crackled Black Pepper Crispbread

It says it's Crackled Black Pepper and that's certainly what you get! This one has a bit of a kick to it. To tone it down I used some thin ham and cooling coleslaw.

Sweet Chilli Flatbread Thins

On the packet there is a picture of two red chillies with good reason as these really do breathe some fire into your throat. As an alternative to bread soldiers I had them with boiled eggs.

Multi-Seed Flatbread Thins

These have a slightly usually taste due to the mix of hemp, brown linseed, golden linseed and millet seeds. Good for smothering with cream cheese mixed with basil.

So five different types of Ryvita with five no fuss ways to eat them. All of the family have been eating these and none have been rejected, which is as good as endorsement a product can get.

Ryvita sent me the above packets for free. No payment was made for this post and the views and opinions are my own.

Clarks Honey Giveaway - Closed

 THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO ENTERED.

I don't mind admitting that in my kitchen cupboards there are a large number of jars and packets all waiting to be made into something delicious. One item I always make sure I have is a jar of runny honey. From making marinades to baking cakes and drizzling over peaches a jar of runny honey is an essential standby ingredient. For this reason I am delighted to be able three readers a chance to win a jar of Clarks Honey.

Clarks are a fairly new name to the UK honey market but have worked hard to develop a blend that contains British honey but also keeps runny for all those cooking needs. If you think you recognize Clarks on your supermarket shelves it's probably because of their ever popular range of Maple Syrups.

How to enter

Entry via blog comment is mandatory if you don't comment then you haven't entered.

All other entry methods are optional but they will increase your chances of winning.

All entries will be verified so please do not click to say you have tweeted etc if you haven't as your entry will not count.

You can gain a bonus entry every day by tweeting about the giveaway.

There are 3 prizes available which is 1 Jar of Clarks Honey (340g) for each of the three winners frm Clarks Honey.

The giveaway is open to UK residents only.

The giveaway will close at 12:00am Wednesday 2nd October 2013.

The winner will be contacted via email by JibberJabberUK and the prize will be sent to you from Clarks Honey. 

The winner will be chosen using the Rafflecopter random number generator.

If you haven't used Rafflecopter before then please watch this quick video.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway


I am running this giveaway on behalf of Clarks Honey. No payment was received and opinions are my own. 

Fruit Cocktail Bundt Cake

Fruit Cocktail Bundt Cake

Sweet Chilli Chutney

Cheese Hamburger and Onions with Sweet Chilli Chutney

Whilst I lay claim to be the baker in the family my Mother does wear the crown as the Chutney Queen. As befits her status as President of her local WI there isn't a fruit or vegetable that she can't preserve. Many a time she has come home to find a bag of rhubarb, apples, pears or plums on her doorstep waiting to be turned into some sort of preserve. My Mum has also taught me everything she knows about getting reduced food and getting the best out of it. Therefore some punnets of nectarines priced at 30p couldn't be left on the shelf. 

Of course with nectarines they can be like a cricket ball one day and soft and wrinkly the next. This does not mean they can't be put to good use as my Mum has showed with this chutney recipe. When she had it cooking the whole house had a delicious sweet and sour smell drifting through it. This is by no means a hot chilli flavour. My favourite way of serving it is by using it as a relish on hamburger.

After all that it's over to Mum for her recipe...

Equipment: A large saucepan or preserving pan. (My Mother has some fabulous Swedish saucepans which are over 45 years old. They don't stick or burn and clean really easily. Back to Mum now), clean jars and wax discs to fit.

Ingredients

500g Demerara sugar

120ml Cider vinegar

½ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper

¼ tsp Mixed spice

Around 8 Nectarines, de-stoned and chopped

2 Lemons, peel and pips removed and chopped

2 Onions, chopped

1 Red and yellow bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped

35g Crystallised ginger, chopped

115g Sultanas

Method

1. In a large saucepan put the sugar, vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper and mixed spice. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together. Bring to the boil again and then simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced and thickened. You can do this in 30 minutes but I prefer to put it on a very low heat for a couple of hours.

3. While the chutney is cooking sterilise your jars. Wash them well in hot soapy water, rinse and dry with a clean tea towel. Put them in the oven, lying down, at 120°C for about 20 minutes.

4. Remove the jars from the oven when the chutney is ready. Put the hot chutney into the hot jar. I use a jar funnel to stop it dripping down the sides. Push the chutney down to ensure there are no air bubbles. Screw the lid on immediately. This will ensure there is a 'pop' when the jar is opened for the first time.