Normal Service Will Resume Shortly, I Hope!

I am currently typing this post from my death bed.  OK, OK, death bed is a bit dramatic but I feel like I should be in some form of bed.  I have been stricken down (yet again, and less than 2 months since my last bout of illness) by a particularly bad asthma induced cough.  I blame Iceland and it's feckin' ash spewing volcano for my current state but sure where does blame ever get you, eh?  Anyhoo, I am on day 5 of the most horrendous barking cough and in the last 48hrs have had approximately 5 hours sleep.  My body is now in a degree of pain that quite frankly I could do without and goes into spasm with every little cough.  You would think that that would be enough for one person, but oh no, to add insult to injury my nose has decided to react to some sort of air borne allergen and is suitably swollen and painful.  As you can imagine, all of the above has left me with no inclination to enter the kitchen let alone whip up a batch of something lovely, and as I also have no appetite I'm shagged if I'm gonna sit back and watch someone else scoff the lot.  I have therefore made the executive decision to give my apron the week off and I shall return to baking next week.  I hope you all have a lovely weekend. I'm off now to do a bit more coughing, sure why not, it's not like I haven't already done a years worth this week. *cough cough*

Are yiz listening down the back?

Well, are yiz?  I thought I might impart a little knowledge onto you lucky, lucky people today.  Now, I may just be a big thicko for not figuring this one out all by myself but when I spied Kevin Dundon on the Afternoon Show a couple of years ago and he gave out this little gem of information I was agog at it's simple brilliance.  I couldn't tell you what he was baking on that particular day but I have never forgotten this little tip and it has saved me much time and hair pulling since.

I bake mostly round cakes, don't ask me why, I just do.  Most cakes call for baking tins to be lined with grease proof or parchment paper to avoid having to chisel them off the bottom when cooked.  I used to end up all in a tangle with paper, tin, pencil and scissors all on the go at once. I would tear off a ridculously large piece of grease proof paper, place the baking tin on top, draw around the shape of said baking tin with pencil whilst battling back the corners that kept curling uncontrollably, cut a circle (a rather wonky circle) using the pencil line as a guide and finally place my paper into the tin and berrate myself about the areas where I had obviously strayed very far away from the line.

That was the sad scenario I faced until that glorious afternoon when Kevin Dundon saw fit to impart his knowledge onto the Irish viewing public.  So here it is for you lovelies to either say, "ah sure I knew that already, a chimp could figure that out", or, "sing Hosanna's my cake tin lining prayers have been answered".

1.  Cut a piece of grease proof paper slightly bigger than the tin you are lining.

2.  Fold in half.

3.  Fold in half again to form a small square.

4.  Fold in half diagonally to give a triangular shape.

5.  Fold in half again if required to give a long, thin triangle.

6.  Place the point of the triangle roughly in the centre of the tin and press down at the outer edge of the paper to mark where to cut.

7.  Remove from the tin and cut along the crease near the outer edge.

8.  Open out the folds and you should have a perfect circle to fit into the bottom of the tin. Et voila!

Peanut Brittle (GF)

I was leafing through some of my recipe books yesterday praying for inspiration for something to bake today when this little lovely caught my attention.  Now it is not exactly baking before you start getting all technical on me, possibly confectionery making, but I knew immediately that it was something I wanted to make.

I haven't had this in years but my mam and sister and I used to happily munch our way through a bag of this when my mam would pick it up in the shop.  My mam would nearly always have a bag of something or other in her handbag.  Nougat was a firm favourite of hers and she would stock up on the little clear bags of it in M&S, very handy for spying the biggest piece and then fishing it out, shoving it in your gob whole and getting an unmerciful pain in your jaw from trying to break it down.  Other times it would be a slab of toffee with ginormous Brazil nuts scattered over the top, again the aul jaw got a serious workout with this bad boy.

Probably my favourite though was the lovely brown heavy paper bag that held the amber loveliness of peanut brittle.  I'm not sure exactly why I liked this so much.  It might have been the feeling of the shards being crushed between my teeth, the lovely peanut flavour being released or the contrast of the little salty bits of nut against the sugary toffee brittle.  Whatever it was one thing I am sure of is that my hand would return to the bag many times until the heart sinking moment when all that brushed against my little fingers was paper, no more sugary goodness.  We three had eaten it all.

I have never made this before or indeed tasted any homemade version but was really excited to try it out and I was not disappointed.  It is lovely and crumbly, so no need to fear for your gnashers, and it has a lovely creamy toffee flavour.  Totally yum and needs to be locked away or there will be none left for anyone else.

Peanut Brittle

225g/8oz Butter (diced)
225g/8oz Caster Sugar
50ml Water
1/2tsp Salt
150g Salted Peanuts or
100g Salted Peanuts & 50g Cocolate Covered Peanuts

1.  Place the butter, sugar, salt and water into a heavy based saucepan.
2.  Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
3.  Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer, unstirred, for 20-25* mins until a sugar thermometer dipped* in reads 150°C/302°F.  (the exact temperature is very important, not hot enough and it will not set, too hot and it will taste burnt)
4.  While waiting for the mixture to reach the correct temp, line a baking sheet with some grease proof paper and then scatter the peanuts on the tray in a nice even layer. (the peanut brittle I remember just had regular peanuts throughout but I decided to add in some chocolate covered ones to add an extra dimension.  Add in nuts to suit your personal preference eg. cashews, brazil nuts or alternatively enjoy the brittle plain)
***VERY IMPORTANT.  BE CAREFUL AT THIS STAGE AS YOU ARE WORKING WITH AN EXTREMELY HOT MIXTURE***
5.  Once the mixture has readched the desired temperature remove from the heat and carefully pour onto the prepared baking sheet.
6.  Allow to set for 10 mins and then transfer to the fridge to cool and complete the setting process.
7.  Break into pieces and enjoy. (banging the baking sheet on the work surface a few times should do it)

***Notes***
I have to admit that it took me 2 attempts to make this.  The first time I was a little preoccupied with the anticipation of what I was making and ignored the submersion line on the sugar thermometer meaning by the time I realised my mistake the mixture had passed 150°C without me noticing and turned into a lumpy mess, yuck.  I combatted this problem by making the second batch in a smaller saucepan (use the smallest you have that will accomodate the ingredients) to ensure the thermometer was submerged adequately at all times.

Secondly, I found the timings in the recipe a little off for my hob and it took me approx 35 mins, I have included the original timings in the recipe above but please be aware that all appliances vary so just check the temperature every few minutes and adjust the time accordingly.

My Mam

I started this blog as a means of documenting my baking trials and tribulations and also to encourage myself to practice my favourite hobby more.  Underlying this though I think there was also a longing to share and preserve the memory of  a truly remarkable woman, my mam.

I use the word remarkable but when you read on you may decide to disagree with my description, but for me my mam was a truly remarkable and inspirational woman and shall remain that way always in my memory.  My mam was not college educated, she did not have a successful career, and nor did she amass any guise of wealth during her time on this earth, for many the mark of success or greatness.  She was however a truly wonderful person full of kindness, generousity and love, true markers of a persons greatness in my humble eyes.

My mam would sing her way through every day.  No matter how early in the morning or late in the evening she would sing a song to accompany whatever task it was she was busying herself with.  She was always busy and only sat down in the evenings to talk on the phone or watch Coronation Street.  Once she got on the phone you may forget about communication with the outside world because the line would be busy for hours on end.  She would call her best friend who's sole company she would have shared for a few hours that morning in work but they would still manage to speak for a minimum of two hours, then her sisters who would get an hour or two conversation each.  Anyone else who happened to call would be afforded at least a half hour of her precious time. 

As for watching the tv, if she saw 5 minutes of any given programme she was doing well as she had a habit of falling asleep once she sat down and relaxed and would snore so loudly that no one else could view the tv unless it was at maximum volume.  On a Saturday night if she had the tv to herself she would settle in front of the fire to watch a movie.  When questioned the next day about the movie she would give the most fanciful and unrealistic account of what had gone on, and then we finally realised why when we joined her on a Saturday evening.  She would start off watching a movie and then about half way through on an ad break she might have a little flick around to see what else is on and pause on another movie.  She would then nod off for a few minutes and wake forgetting she had changed channel and so end up watching half a rom com and half a slasher thriller, casting all movies off as rubbish.

When we were little and it was a miserable Sunday afternoon she would drag the sofa in front of the fire(it was usually positioned along a wall and if you were at the far end you would freeze the choppers off yourself), put on whatever old movie was showing on RTE 1 and we would all pile on with a bunch of goodies and snuggle up.  My dad always gave us money to go to the shop for goodies on a Sunday afternoon and his last words to our backs as we hurried out the door would be, "and a large Whole Nut for your mam".  It was the same every week, her favourite bar and mine now if I am given the choice, so we would hand over the 60p and then run back down the hill to the house for her to enjoy whilst sitting on the sofa.  If you snuggled in beside her you were guaranteed the offer of a mind(her word for a special cuddle).  I think she enjoyed the comfort just as much as her 3 girlies, but you had to beware if you happened to be wearing a nice knitted jumper or cardigan as she loved to sit and pick a hole in them.  So there you would sit safely nestled in her lap, her warm breath falling on your face, her thoughts rambling far far away as she gently rocked you back and forth and sang her madey up lullaby about old Johnny Boo being put in a shoe.

Like my sisters and my niece she was a great one for talking(I'm the quiet one in the family, a bit like my dad), she could talk for Ireland.  As I have already said she would spend hours on the phone but she was known by all and well liked in the area so if she stepped foot outside the door she would find someone who would stop to talk to her.  Our local newsagents was 3 minutes away and or local grocery store 10 minutes tops.  My mam could go to either and be gone for 3 or 4 hours(no exaggeration) because she would only manage to get a few steps before running into someone who would stop her, she would leave that person and then run into someone else.  If she ever asked you if you wanted to go with her and you made the mistake of saying yes you learnt your lesson for at least a few months as you stood there bored out of your bicky as she enquired after Nancy's bunions and Barry's piles.

Her love for and skill at shopping could have provided her with a very successful career.  She would browse the shops in the city centre at least a few times a week and never came home empty handed.  A result of her warmth and friendliness meant she was on first name terms with the sales assistants in all of her favourite shops who would put items aside for her as they arrived in store knowing she would like them or tell her to hold off on a purchase as it would be 50% off the next day.  She would shop for her 3 girls and always bought the perfect thing for each of us with our different tastes.  When I was a teenager I would regularly meet her on a Thursday evening for late night shopping.  We would start off by heading to the cafe in Roches Stores.  Mam would usually have, "a nice slice of quiche", followed by a cream cake and I would have an ice cream, mint choc chip with chocolate sauce, served in a stainless steel sundae bowl that would freeze the hand off you.  Mam was a non smoker but would sit on the edge of the smoking section as the layout meant that the smoke from there would blow up to the non smoking section, but sitting here you escaped that.  We would then spend the evening shopping, inevitably being spoilt rotten by her buying everything I liked and then before heading for the bus there would be a mad dash when she would say, "we better get something for your father or there'll be a face if we come home empty handed", a Caramello usually did the job.

She possessed and endless supply of care and kindness that stretched far beyond her immediate family.  If a neighbour or friend fell ill she was first to their door or hospital bed with a bunch of flowers or box of chocolates.  She knew everybodies favourite and would be sure to buy get well gifts accordingly, no 'one present fits all' shenanigans with her.  She would give up hours of her time to those in need.  It would be nothing for her to sit with someone for 2 hours or more to bide the time until a family member finished work or just to fill the gap between lunch and tea time and alleviate the boredom and loneliness.  She could catch up on her own to do list later and never complained that her day had been lengthened for the sake of someone else.  Couple with this her ability to view and treat all as equals regardless of there ability or outward beauty and it is no surprise she was so well loved and to this day remembered with great fondness by all who had the good fortune to encounter her briefly or if they were lucky to have her in their lives for many, many years.

She took pride in her appearance and while she was never out of her slippers or apron in the house she wouldn't dream of leaving the house without a slick of lipstick.  She held a 9:30am appointment every Saturday for as long as I can remember in our local hairdressers and would have her hair blowdried weekly, and a colour and cut every few weeks.  She had a penchant for blue eyeliner, something I don't think I will be adopting, and always had a stash of pink lippies on the go which when worn would migrate to her teeth after a while.  I have a diminished sense of smell due to a botched adenoids op but to this day can still conjure up the scent of her various perfumes.  When I was little it was gold topped bottles of Apple Blossom, a scent that it seems impossible to buy these days, Estee Lauder's Beautiful and YSL Paris and in later years Chanel No. 5.  Scents that still conjure up memories as they waft past my nose in the street, in a store, sitting in a restaurant.

My mam didn't possess what might be described as a quick wit.  She loved to laugh and was always smiling, regardless, but was never really the one to induce laughter in others.  But on some rare occasions she would come out with the most brilliant one liner that would reduce her to fits of tear falling, leg crossing, stomach aching laughter.  I loved when she laughed like that.  I have noticed in recent years that I have that same belly laugh, I hate the sound of it coming from my mouth as it is akin to a donkey braying, but from my mam I loved it and it always made me smile at how thoroughly she was enjoying those few moments, revelling in her fleeting comic genius.

So there you have it, a snapshot of the person my mam was.  She was this and so, so much more but these are some of the things that I remember with great fondness.  As I have said, to some it would appear that she did not achieve anything remarkable in her life, to me she was a teacher, carer, shoulder to cry on, mentor, guide, safe haven, cheerleader and to this day remains my greatest inspiration in life.   Remarkable or not, she was simply my mam.

Happy Birthday M (3)

It was my niece's birthday last week and she had a little tea party on Saturday to celebrate.  She turned 3, imagine being 3 years old again and looking at all of the wonderful things the world is filled with through those innocent eyes.  For a 3 year old the world is indeed filled with wonder, even the tiniest of things can fill you with amazement and the most mundane can be turned into an adventure.  I see this when I look at my niece and revel in it.  Her eyes are always on the look out for the next mountain to climb, jungle to explore or villain to capture. 

She possesses a trait I never have and have always envied in my piers, and here she is at 3 and she has mastered it.  She is fearless in her outlook.  The higher she can climb, the further she has to fall the faster she can go on her swing and the taller she can bounce on her trampoline the better.  She doesn't stand back and weigh the situation in her mind, make a mental checklist of all the dangers that lie in the next action she is contemplating and then decide that on second thoughts it's not such a great idea, she just does it.  I have always been the opposite and still am to this day, I over analyse everything until all of the fun has been taken out of it.  I am a big old fraidy cat and know that I always will be.  I look at her with my stomach in my mouth (seriously, she is always attempting some stunt or other) and then watch as she emerges from each task triumphant and moves onto something a little more daring and hope if I spend enough time under her tutelage that her bravery might just rub off on me.

She is also a professional bossy boots.  Sometimes she does it in such a sweet and cute way you don't even realise you are being ordered here, there and yonder at her behest.  With age though she is developing a confidence in her powers and adopts a hands on the hips stance and a very stern voice as she points her little finger in the direction she is dispatching you.  She has the men in her life well and truly wrapped around her little pinkie, while the women around her will occasionally pull her up and give her a little talking to, the male of the species will do as she wishes without question.  Her granddad is the worst offender in this instance, it would seem age has softened him and he will let her away with murder allowing her worse misdemeanours to go unscolded and chastising anyone who dares to set her right.

When she is not being serious and keeping her minions in check she will be laughing somewhere, a gorgeous infectious all is right with the world laugh.  It is the kind of laugh that should be bottled and kept for dark and rainy days when nothing can lift the melancholic fog.  She laughs most when she is with her granddad, they are the bestest buds and have such fun together despite the 68 year age gap.  She is intelligent beyond her years and knows how to make others laugh and does so with the timing of Peter Kay to plaster a smile on all of the faces looking back on hers.  She generates laughter through her actions sometimes, making funny faces or a comedy fall, but more often than not it is through her witty dialogue.  She talks incessantly, never stops.  Even when you have moved your attentions from her and have started to converse with someone else she will still be nattering away at your elbow not stopping and just biding her time until your attentions return to her and her ridiculously funny and scarily intelligent ramblings.

These are just a few of the reasons why I love this tiny, golden haired beauty who came into all of our lives 3 years ago.  She was born to doting parents, a besotted granddad, and aunties and uncles who love her as though she were their own.  It is no wonder then that above all of her wonderful traits she is full of love and kindness.  She soaks it up like a sponge from all of those around her and it is so abundant in her that it seems to just ooze from every ounce of her tiny being.  I am amazed by her on an almost daily basis and will continue to watch her and learn from her over the years to come, and who knows maybe I will teach her a thing or two, just maybe.  Happy birthday M, love you lots.

In honour of M's birthday chocolate cupcakes were made and adorned with beautiful roses and sparkly glitter.  Now I was a bit lazy with the baking over the weekend (lazy might be the wrong word, I was pretty tired meaning all imagination went out the window) so baked the same cupcakes I tried out a few weeks ago so will just post a link to the recipe with some new photos.  I also made the 1st recipe I posted on the blog, an easy peasy Pavlova(meringue), so again will just post a link to the recipe with the addition of some photos taken before it was devoured.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
http://likemamusedtobake.blogspot.com/2010/02/where-have-all-fairy-cakes-gone.html

Wafer roses and edible glitter to decorate from Avoca

Pavlova(Meringue)
http://likemamusedtobake.blogspot.com/2009/09/old-faithful.html

Served with whipped cream and strawberries

Walking

Hi all,

I have Xbox4NappyRash on my blog list and read his updates as they come through.  Now his last two posts have managed to reduce me to tears, the bugger, but both for very different reasons.  I am not about to start bombarding the blog with posts about charitable causes, I think we all get enough of this on Facebook, but this one really made me think.  I have not experienced this kind of loss and I hope that I never do and that none of my loved ones are unfortunate enough to do so either.  He is taking part in a walk in July to raise funds for the Joseph Salmon Trust which helps families who have lost a child.  Please post this link on your blog, twitter or facebook pages if you would like to help raise awareness for this campaign.  You can read more here  http://xbox4nappyrash.blogspot.com/2010/04/walking.html

Thinking cap on and pen at the ready

OK peeps, so I have been pondering for the last couple of days (and doing not much else in between if I am honest) of ways to add a little more interest to the blog and increase content without me becoming the size of a house from eating too much cake (I eat far too much as it is).  I think I have a couple of goers.  I'm gonna put a bit more thought into them and put a little more pen to paper and when I reach a decision I will let you good folks know and see what you think.  Stay tuned!

I've got an ouwie!

So my poor daddy was in town last week, getting some grocery shopping and feeding his DVD addiction with yet another purchase.  He was on his way home and spotted a bus ready to leave so he did what any 71 year old would do.  No, he didn't curse his bad timing and decide to let the bus go and wait 15 minutes or so for the next one to come along.  Instead he decided with hands full with bags of shopping that he would run for said bus.  And so he broke into  a mild jog and set about his mission happy in the knowledge he would be sitting on the bus in a flash and home in a matter of minutes.

So there he was striding along, an adveritsement for clean living, years of eating oily fish and doing daily sit ups paying off in his twilight years.  Then, oops, what the ...?  He was sailing through the air, watching as the pavement grew closer and closer to his face, shopping bags gone akimbo.  You see my lovely little daddy had become a victim of badly maintained public walkways in Dublins fair city and his foot unfortunately found a sunken paving stone which menacingly tripped him and brought him crashing to the ground.

Now my daddy is a very independent little fecker and sometimes forgets that he is no longer 21 and so up he got and brushed himself down, retrieved his shopping thanks to the help of a friendly passer by, and toddled on home without a word to anyone.  Had I been the poor unfortunate I would have immediatley got on the blower to my husband, then my sister, my dad and then the national papers to ensure everyone was aware of my tumble and much sympathy was dispatched in my direction post haste, but not my daddy.  He sat at home in quite a bit of pain and uttered not a word until his phone rang and then he relayed the story to my sister who of course wanted to go straight down to check on him as did my other sister and as did I when we heard.  We were under strict instructions not to go down as he was fine and only had a bit of bruising.

Two days later at a previously scheduled doctors appointment he was informed he had a cracked rib and a sprained wrist but still banned all visits, this time conceding he would not be up to much as it was quite painful for him to move about.  We all agreed we would not bother him but I secretly planned to drop down and check on him and stock up his fridge to ensure he could remain house bound for the week without the risk of scurvy or starvation.  He got wind of my evil plan and insisted I did not come down which I had to agree to, fingers crossed behind my back naturally.  So I popped in against his wishes and lasted all of two minutes(just enough time to fill the fridge and the fruit bowl) before I was sent packing.

So if you, like my daddy, have had any little accidents lately I prescribe a large slice of Lemon Posset Cake.  It is guaranteed to put a smile on even the most bruised and battered face and heal all ouwies, well maybe not heal but it will make you forget about them for a little while at least.  If you haven't had an accident, sure have a slice anyway and pretend you need the vitamins to keep you healthy.  Everyones a winner with this little lovely.

Lemon Posset Cake

for the lemon posset:

300ml Double Cream
75g Caster Sugar
Juice of 1-2 Lemons

1.  Pour the cream into a saucepan and add the sugar.
2.  Slowly bring to the boil ensuring to stir constantly to dissolve the sugar.
3.  Once it comes to the boil allow it to bubble for a further 3 minutes while continuing to stir.
4.  After the 3 minutes remove from the heat and pour in the juice of 1 lemon while stirring.  The mixture will thicken once the juice is added.  Taste and add more lemon juice if it is not tart enough (the posset should have a sweet, tangy, creamy flavour).
5.  Leave to cool for approximately 5 minutes before transferring to a bowl.  Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate over night. (if you are short on time 3 hrs chilling should be sufficient)

for the cake:

175g/6oz Unsalted Butter (softened, plus a little extra to grease the tin)
175g/6oz Sugar
3 Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
225g/8oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
2tbsp Milk
2 lemons
100g/3&1/2oz Caster Sugar

1.  Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.  Line the bottom of a 18cm/7" cake tin with grease proof paper and grease the sides with butter.
2.  In a bowl cream the butter with the grated zest of 2 lemons.
3.  Add the sugar and beat for 1 minute.
4.  Add the eggs one at a time while continuing to beat, then add the vanilla.
5.  Fold in the sieved flour and baking powder, then add the milk.
6.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and smooth the top.
7.  Bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes or until a metal skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8.  While the cake is baking pour the juice of 2 lemons over the caster sugar and mix to dissolve.

9.  Once the cake is removed from the oven and while it is still hot pierce all over with a skewer and pour over the caster sugar mixture.  Set the cake aside to cool.

10. Serve with generous dollops of lemon possett. Yum!

* lemon posset also makes a deliciously light dessert served in individual tall shot glasses with some almond biscuits, the above recipe will serve four. Transfer from the saucepan to the shot glasses and chill. *

Please don't hate me because I is human

So I logged onto the the old interweb on Sunday morning in an easter egg induced state of sugar drunkeness.  I was going through my normal morning routine of checking my e-mails and ensuring all was right with the world, but it wasn't.  There, in my inbox was a comment in moderation and judging by the time of the comment 11:16p.m. on Saturday evening I would imagine the comment had come from a none to happy person.  The person in question was making a recipe I posted at Christmas time for an improvised dessert I came up with on Christmas morning just gone.  You see I was hosting Christmas and with all of the house cleaning, decorating, present wrapping, grocery shopping, pudding making and turkey bathing (yes I meant to type the word bathing there) I had left myself a little short on time to make dessert.  So, on Christmas morning I found myself with half an hour in which to make a trifle (because you have to have trifle for the daddy on Christmas day you see) plus another offering to please the rest of the guests.  It was this half hour window that led to an error whilst jotting down an improvised recipe (which turned out rather yummy let me tell you), an error that was later transcribed to the blog and unfortunately was not flagged up until someone attempted the recipe and was faced with too much of one thing and not enough of another.  Unfortunatley it is human nature to make such errors from time to time.  For the most part I post recipes that have been knocking around for a long time and I just simply transcribe to the blog but, from time to time I will probably post something of a more Blue Peter nature.  In either case if I make an error I can only apologise.  If you do spot something wrong please let me know in a comment and I will rectify STAT.  I know it is no good to you if you are up to your elbows in flour and spot something that doesn't quite add up but as I say I will rectify any such boo boos with great haste to help others avoid the same fate.  This blog is kinda like a journal of my baking escapades and as with scribbled and scrawled, hidden under the mattress diaries I can sometimes be a little over zealous when hammering away on the keyboard and a little too eager to hit 'post'.  Please don't hate me for my sometimes overly busy rushed life, coupled with my extreme enthusiasm for all things baked, and for the love of Jeebus please don't punish the poor cakes for my inadequacies by turning your back on them.  Sure what did a little bit of cake ever do on you, eh? Well, apart from tip the scales in the wrong direction that is.

Easter Cake (GF)

When we were little the Easter Bunny was always very good to us and remembered to bring us our favourite treats on Easter Sunday.  Our tastes changed as we grew and just as Santa knew exactly our hearts desire every Christmas the Easter Bunny knew which would be our favourite egg each year.  I remember having a deep love for Cadbury's Buttons, Crunchie and Caramel as well as Nestle Yorkie(even though technically not for girls) depending on the year and my mood. 

When I moved into teenage years my tastes became far more sopihistimacated and nothing but the very fine Leonidas would do.  These probably remain my favourite to this day.  A moreish, thick belgian chocolate egg and nestled inside, jewel coloured foil wrapped eggs all with different fillings.  We were always permitted a chocolate breakfast on Easter Sunday, such a luxury to my childlike self but if I am honest something I indulge my adult self in every now and then, probably a subconcious effort to relive those deliciously pampered days. 

In the weeks leading up to Easter my mam would arrive home on a Thursday with a bag of broken chocolate from Leonidas for myself and my sister, so I must now thank the clumsy easter egg dropper for this treat.  Chunks of thick belgian plain, milk and white chocolate in a little cellophane bag proffered forward were always a most welcome sight.  I am not sure anyone else knows how much I enjoyed those Easter Eggs and so it has been a good many years since I have seperated it's two halves to reveal the multi-colored bounty within.  But now that I have conjured this memory I may just treat myself this weekend.

For all of you who will be treating your loved ones to Easter lunch this year I hope you enjoy this Easter Chick Cake.  It is probably one of the most delicious chocolate cakes I have ever baked and one that I have many times had to stop myself from baking as I would be in danger of eating it all myself only to be found in a chocolatey heap in a darkened corner Sr. Assumpta stylee.  Enjoy, and a very happy easter to you and your loved ones. x

Easter Chick Cake

for the cake
250g/7oz Plain Chocolate (chopped)
125g/3.5oz Unsalted Butter (softened)
6 Eggs (2 whole, 4 seperated. Reserve the seperated yolks to mix with the whole eggs)
175g/6oz Caster Sugar (75g for the egg yolk mixture and 100g for the egg whites)
1tsp Vanilla Extract

for the topping
125g/3.5oz Plain Chocolate
250ml Double Cream
1tsp Vanilla Extract

to decorate
Sugar coated chocolate eggs (I use Cadbury Mini Eggs, also available in M&S)
Toy easter chicks

To make the cake
1.  Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F/Gas 4. 
2.  Line the bottom of a springform cake tin with grease proof paper.
3.  Melt the chocolate with the butter and set aside to cool slightly.
4.  Whisk the egg whites using an electric whisk until firm and then gradually add the 100g of caster sugar, continue whisking until stiff peaks are formed and the mix is glossy.
5.  In a seperate bowl using the electric whisk beat the 2 whole eggs with the 4 egg yolks, the remaining caster sugar and the vanilla essence and then gently fold in the chocolate mixture.
6.  Drop a spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and quickly stir through to lighten the mix.  Add the remaining egg whites in three batches and gently fold in.
7.  Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.  The cake is ready when it is risen and cracked and the centre does not wobble.
8.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.  (if it looks like it has sunk in the centre do not worry, this is how you want it to look, trust me)

To make the topping
1.  Melt the chocolate and leave it to cool slightly.
2.  Whip the cream until firming up but still soft.
3.  Add the vanilla and fold in the melted chocolate.

To decorate the cake
1.  Fill the crater of the cake with the topping.
2.  Arrange the sugar coated eggs and toy chicks on top as you wish.