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

Pavlova (GF)

OK, so you all know how it goes. You make an executive decision to tackle that pile of ironing and the phone goes, and natch it's your sis/bezzie mate with nothing much to say really but you natter away for the obligatory hour. So the ironing, ah crap I forgot about the ironing. Are you nodding in agreement yet? Then you get yourself all set again and the doorbell rings and it's the lovely ladies calling on behalf of the parish priest. You know, to welcome you (AGAIN) and offer you a miraculous medal and have a little chat with you about how you could involve yourself more in the parish for the greater good of yourself, the community and of course the parish priest himself. You see the Sunday collections aren't quite what they used to be and sure they'll do anythin' to get you through them doors and rootin' around in your phoca for a few bob for the 'roof repairs'. Jaysus, they must make the roofs outta paper these days cos there all on their last legs. So anyway, you can't be rude and refuse the old medal on the bit of blue string and then sure you have to listen to their little spiel, and nod politely and by God keep that smile plastered across your choppers. By the end of it with all that nodding and smiling and not listening to a word of it you're signed up to meals on wheels (delivering, not receiving of course) 3 times a week, choir practice of a Tuesday and of course you'd be delighted to bring up the gifts every Sunday at 10 o'clock mass. Now you're no good for anything but a cup of tay and a chocolate Kimberley to steady the aul nerves and that ironing can feck off if it thinks it's gettin' done today. Oh no, you're not the better of all that excitement so it'll just have to wait till tomorrow. I think you get where I'm coming from now.

I had this lovely idea, I'll write this little blog and sure I'll be baking a cake a day and stick it up there for all the lovely peoples to have a good old goo at. Well, needless to say that will not be the case as I haven't had a minute to bless meself let alone bake up a storm since. So I thought I'd ease myself in with my old faithful. This is always a hit, can be adapted to any occasion and can be whipped up in a jiffy.

You know those nights when you're on the phone and you have a brainwave and say 'sure we haven't seen you in ages, why don't you come over tomorrow for your dinner and bring the seventeen kids with you'. You get up the next morning and the place looks like a bomb site, there's not a morsel in the house, the garden is like a jungle and exactly when was the last time that you waxed, plucked or dyed anything on your body. So you have three hours to go and a mammoth task to perform but sure worry not cos the dessert will be only gorgeous and it won't break a sweat to make. And what prey tell is this magic dessert? It is none other than a humble Pavlova.

A wha'? Sure you can buy a pack of them meringue nest yokes in the supermarket and call them a pavlova can't ya! Well yes you can but I always find they resemble a lump of sugary plaster of paras in a bowl and when you try to break into them you end up sculling the person sitting opposite you. Then there's all sorts of talk of concussion and law suits and while you would hope your own Dad won't actually sue you, you wouldn't put it past him either.

The homemade pavlova you see is a completely different kettle of fish. Its beautifully crisp outer shell is as delicate as a breath and you only have to look at it to break through to the sticky, wondrous cloud that lies beneath. And, then by the time you dollop on that blob of smooth whipped cream and sprinkle it generously with strawberries and raspberries sure you would be weak at the knees for the longing of that first spoonful. And then it won't be long before you here the smacking of satisfied lips and the clanging of spoons against empty bowls and them all sitting there gawping at you with a touch of the Oliver Twists about them. So I shall say no more and simply relay the recipe and hope that it brings as much pleasure to you as it has to me and all who have been lucky enough to have been on the guest list.

Pavlova
Serves 4-6
(depending on the size of the gob)

5 Egg Whites
200g/7oz Caster Sugar
1tsp Vinegar
2tsp Corn Flour*

* To ensure GF the label should not say wheaten cornflour

1. Preheat oven to 150°C/285°/Gas Mark 1. (temperatures may vary from appliance to appliance so please use temperatures provided as a guide and adjust if necessary)
2. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and set aside.
3. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft white peaks and then gradually add the sugar whilst continuing to whisk until stiff and glossy in appearance.
4. Once they have reached this consistency I like to whisk for an extra couple of minutes until it takes a bit of effort to move the whisk through as I find it gives a delicious, chewy Pavlova.
5. Add the corn flour and vinegar and gently fold through.
6. Using two large spoons transfer to the lined baking sheet. This can be done in large dollops for individual portions, or one whole round or rectangle, this is completely down to personal preference.
7. Place in the pre heated oven and bake for half an hour (check that the bottom has cooked through after this and if not turn the oven back on for a further five minutes and check again), and then leave sitting in the hot oven for a further half an hour.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
9. Dress with the toppings of your choice immediately before serving to avoid becoming soggy.

Serving suggestions
In summer I love to eat pavlova with whipped cream, strawberries, raspberries and any other berries available.
In winter when berries are not available locally I serve it with a liqueur based whipped cream and a selection of sweets ie. maltesers, rolo, crushed crunchy bars, munchies.
These suggestions are merely my personal preference so please experiment (as I have done) and find a favourite of your very own.

By jaysus, me stomach feels like me throat has been slit with all this talk of food and not a morsel passing the lips. Happy baking and I will post a recipe again very soon, so long as those miraculous medal wielding aul wans stay away from the door that is!