So firstly, Friday all around the country was Macmillan coffee morning. I had forgotten we were doing one at school until I saw an email Thursday so, having bought myself a new Baking Bible (Annie Bell's) and feeling the urge (a week off is long time without baking), I rushed home Thursday afternoon to start on my Millionaire Shortbread. At 6am Friday morning I was finishing off the chocolate layer and taking loads of things out of the freezer to set the chocolate before school at 8.30am.
Because the chocolate had set quite quickly in the freezer it was VERY difficult to cut the shortbread and I gave up making small pieces, so left them big for my customers to cut themselves. Feedback was very good. They were quite rich for 9 o'clock in the morning but seemed to go down well with parents and staff at school.
I then went home to bake my own birthday cake!!! What????? I hear you cry. Poor girl having to make her own cake!! But the way I look at it, and as I told Molly, why would I want anyone else to make my cake when I think i'm better than everyone else (in my immediate family).
With my own cake, I had free range to make anything I wanted, a complete blank canvas. My only criteria was it had to be both Wheat and Dairy Free. Thats easy with wheat free flour and this time I used TREX as my spread, because I couldn't find the soya marge in the supermarket. I thought i would go civilised, make a plain white iced cake with some delicate decorations, something fitting for an almost 39 year old. I went to Hobbycraft to update my coloured icing but only bought pale pink and yellow. Thinking delicate flowers or hearts would be nice... how did I end up making this then!??!
Need to work on my "smoothing out" but quite pleased with the results. Molly named her Daisy because I refused to admit i'd made a Peppa Pig style cake at my age! It again went down very well, although I think I overcooked it, basing it on a 4 egg recipe from my novelty cake book. Won't listen to instructions again! My Godson (the dairy free one) said to me it was a really yummy cake. Gotta love him and I do!!
Whilst making my birthday cake, I received wonderful news that friends of mine had a baby boy. In the excitement of the moment, and because the oven was on, I made a quick half batch of cupcakes. Not thinking of course, that they wont want visitors the day after their baby is born. I was far too excited in the knowledge that i had blue food colouring and still had two little baby boy decorations from the last time a baby boy was born. I made these -
Then worried for a day how I would get them to my recipients without being pushy! In the end I got to meet Baby Alexander when I went to secretly leave them outside the front door, but got caught and invited in! Ha a win from every corner!!
I am very lucky that I am being made a cake for my work "party" tomorrow by my dear friend Katy, but part of me couldn't go to work on my birthday empty handed, so back to my new Baking Bible and I've quickly whipped up a batch of choc chip cookies! They certainly smell good coming out of the oven, lets hope they taste good tomorrow!!
A very big weekend of baking, and I think i might take next weekend off. But then next weekend is a long way off, so anything could happen between now and then!
Bon Appetite x
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