1 Mississippi 2 Mississippi

I'm a bit of a bore at heart. I've never been a wan for boozing and clubbing, falling over the cobble stones of Templebar at an ungodly hour of a Saturday evening and requiring strategically placed yellow stars on photographs the next day. Nope, I'm a bit of a bore. I would garner much more pleasure from an evening sat around my kitchen table with family and friends savouring mouthfuls of delicious food I have laboured over all day. I revel in these days, with the menu planned in advance and all of the ingredients bought and safely stowed in the fridge or press I rise early to start the preparations.

Saturday was one of these blissful days. I started off at about 8:30am by mixing together some chocolate truffles before safely stowing the mix in the fridge to set. Then it was onto the cake which was made in three pretty straight forward stages and left to cool. Sorted.

We were having my brother in law and his wife over but the hubby had fecked off out to visit his mammy in advance of Mothers day, the cheek, and then to the gym to pump some iron or do whatever it is the men folk do there. As I had been abandoned and the clock was ticking down it was up to me to crack on and give the house a bit of a spruce up so out came the duster and the hoover, followed by the mop. Right so that’s the dessert and the hovel sorted which was in my world good going as I usually have to shove the hoover in a corner somewhere as the doorbell rings.

2 o'clock, I could lounge on the sofa for a few hours and shovel some of those deliciously delish homemade truffles in my gob but alas no, a friend is popping in at 2:30 to show off her new babog and I am looking as my mother would have said like the wreck of the hespiss. Half an hour just wasn't gonna cut it so I had to make a very bold decision, horror of horrors I was gonna have to face my friend with a face untouched by the wonders of modern concealers, hair scraped back into a pony that would ensure no unruly frizzy bits could escape and peel my very comfy tracksuit away from my body in exchange for some jeans.

That brings me right up to 6 o'clock, perfect. Just enough time to beautify myself and prep the rest of the food. 7:30pm and I am back in the kitchen applying a little lip gloss when the hubby starts shouting at me cos he is under pressure to prep the starter and I am obviously not contributing enough to the nights preparations. I smiled politely as the only other option was to knock him to the ground and drag him around the house by the ears and point out all of the things I had spent the day doing. A nice little smack of the lips to ensure even distribution of said gloss and sure I'm only massive. With that I dressed the table and flittered about the house lighting approximately 17 gazillion tea lights to set the ambience for the evening ya see.

Ding Dong and they're here. Plenty of mwah mwahing could be heard for the next few minutes with a light sprinkling of compliments before I find myself back in the kitchen whipping up a little pre dinner cocktail which was quaffed by all and seconds promptly requested. A few hot 'head in oven' minutes later the gong sounds and three hungry souls were seated around the table and I served up the starter which hubby declared to be his creation lest I try to take credit for it, heaven forbid. Compliments all round and hubby decidedly pleased with himself removed himself from the table to cook the mojito chicken he had been so looking forward to trying http://www.thegoodmoodfoodblog.com/2008/07/mohito-lime-and-mint-chicken.html. I joined him at the hob as my perfect hostess status was possibly in jeopardy as I hadn't knocked up a batch of my addictive Rocky Road and had numerous phone calls throughout the day from my bro in law from which I got the distinct impression he would be devastated if a plate of this did not appear at some stage throughout the night. Rocky Road chilling in the fridge and main course served there was silence again for a few minutes bar the sound of metal scraping delph until plates were clean and bellies full.

Having waited a sufficient time to talk and laugh ourselves peckish again we arrived at my favourite part of the evening - dessert. To me starters and main course are merely a means to an end and that end is dessert. The pop of a champagne cork is the most suitable herald of dessert in my book so once glasses had been filled with pretty pink bubbles the Mississippi Mud Pie arrived at the table and four very generous slices were cut and distributed followed mere seconds later by copious ooohing and aaaahing in appreciation of its chocolaty goodness and all round deliciousness. Now at this stage you would imagine we were all fit to burst and couldn't possibly manage another morsel. Well we were, but sure when I arrived at the table with tea and coffee accompanied by chocolate truffles and rocky road we heroically managed to squeeze in a taster of each before wisely vowing to only let cocktails pass our lips for the remainder of the evening and very sensibly toddling off to bed at 4 am. A very successful evening all round and another delicious dessert to add to the arsenal. Result!

Mississippi Mud Pie

I got the recipe for this from Something for the Weekend so am gonna be a bit lazy and just post the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/food/mobile/queryengine?templatestyle=one_recipe&config=db_one_recipe&SuppressCaching=1&attrib_1=filename&oper_1=eq&val_1_1=mississippimudpie_93659

Plain Dark Chocolate Truffles

(Makes, well, a lot!)

225g/8oz Good Quality Dark Chocolate (broken into small pieces)

300ml/1/2pint Double Cream

• 
  
  Place the chocolate pieces into a bowl.
• 
  
  Bring the cream to a rolling boil in a saucepan and immediately pour over the chocolate.
• 
  
  Blend until all of the chocolate has melted.  Allow to cool at room temerature (approx 1-1&1/2 hours).
• 
  
  When the mixture has set spoon out some of the mixture and roll into balls between the palms of your hands (dust hands with some icing sugar or cocoa powder to stop the mixture from stcking to them).
• 
  
  Roll the truffles in cocoa powder, icing sugar, chopped nuts, flaked cocolate or anything that takes your fancy.

Alternatively:

• 
  
  Line a square baking tin with grease proof paper.
• 
  
  Once the chocolate and cream have combined pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin and chill in the fridge.
• 
  
  When the mixture has set lift out of the baking tin with the grease proof paper and place on a flat surface.
• 
  
  Dust lightly with cocoa powder, lay a sheet of grease proof paper on top and turn upside down, remove the original grease proof paper from the bottom and dust lightly with cocoa powder.
• 
  
  Dust a sharp knife with a little cocoa powder and cut into strips of approx 2cm.  Dust knife regularly to prevent sticking.
• 
  
  Once the square has been cut into strips turn the grease proof paper once and cut at 2cm intervals again to give perfect square truffles.
• 
  
  Use any remaining cocoa powder to dust the freshly cut sides.

The Cookie Monster

Ok, quick post today as I am a little short on time and have a lot to do so for a change I am gonna cut to the chase and just post the recipe for some yummy, scrummy cookies. I am still on my Hummingbird Bakery book addiction so here is the recipe. Also have a little look after the recipe for a suggestion on how to adapt these to suit all tastes. Enjoy.

Double Chocolate Cookies
(Makes 12)

50g Unsalted Butter
450g Dark Chocolate (roughly chopped)
2 Eggs
170g Soft Light Brown Sugar or Light Muscovado Sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
85g Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Optional - 1 tube of Smarties

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.

Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

Put the butter, and half the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water(be careful not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Allow to melt until smooth in consistency.

In a separate bowl use an electric whisk to beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour in the chocolate mixture and beat on a slow speed until well combined.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Stir into the chocolate mixture in 3 batches, mixing well after each.

Stir in the remaining chocolate until evenly dispersed throughout. *

Place 6 equal quantities of cookie dough on each prepared baking sheet and be sure to leave space between each one to allow for spreading when cooking.

If using Smarties place a few on the top of each cookie before baking.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, check regularly after 10 minutes. The cookies are ready when the top starts to crack and look glossy.

Allow to cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to wire cooling rack.

* If baking these for children I would recommend replacing 225g of plain chocolate to be used here in the recipe with 225g of milk chocolate.

Muffin Tops, Muffin Tops Everywhere

Having a love of baking and limiting muffin tops to the oven can be pretty tough work, do yiz know what I mean? It's February, which is kinda still the start of the year, meaning I am still in the 'I should be eating healthily and trying to lose a bit of weight' frame of mind. I am trying very hard to stick to this so I have to decide to either fore go baking until at least October when I can wrap up in winter clothes again (although at the rate the weather is going this year spring/summer clothing may not see the light of day), or I can try to incorporate some more waist friendly baking into my life.

When it comes to indulgent food I tend to not do low fat versions. If I am going to bake a chocolate cake I do a chocolate cake, not your half arsed version, sure what's the point in that. When I go out to eat in a restaurant I don't order salad to start, steamed fish and veg for my entree and sorbet for dessert. Again, what's the frickin' point? I can count calories when I eat at home so I'm damned if I am going to do it when dining out. But for the greater good of my health and the seam of my waistband I think I can substitute some of my double cream, full fat butter for a some slightly healthier options.

Tonight I baked some delicious savoury muffins. I adapted the recipe marginally from one featured in the Hummingbird Bakery book. I am hoping they will be a nice healthy lunch option to accompany some homemade soup or just a quick snack to stop me reaching for some chocolate. Next time I may adapt the recipe further by making them with wholewheat flour as opposed to plain flour and then I think I could be on to a low fat, low calorie, high fibre gem. And sure since I am being so healthy and wholesome munching on these little babies I have probably earned a nice slice of chocolate cake as a little treat.

Ham & Cheese Muffins(makes 12)

50g Butter
1/2 Small Onion Finely Chopped
360g Plain Flour
2 & 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
200g Grated Cheddar Cheese
220ml Whole Milk
1 Egg
80g Smoked Ham (finely chopped)
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.
Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onion until softened. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix the flour, baking power and cheese in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl mix the egg and milk together. Slowly pour this into the flour mixture and beat with a handheld electric whisk until well combined.
Stir in the onion and ham and mix until evenly distributed.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two thirds full.
Bake in the pre heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden in colour. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.

Where have all the Fairy Cakes gone???

The weeks leading up to my birthday are always filled with much anticipation and excitement, just like those weeks in December leading up to Christmas Eve are for a small child. When it comes to my birthday I suppose I revert back to being a small child inside. I have always loved birthdays - mine, yours, the dog or cats - it doesn't really matter because they are all birthdays and as such should be treated with the reverence the day deserves.

Strip back all the wrapping, presents and candles and think about what that day symbolises. It is the anniversary of the day that a person entered the world, such a wonderful occurrence that should always be celebrated and never forgotten or overlooked. I know that there are certain belief systems that do not celebrate birthdays, and some people see them only as a reminder of the fact that they are getting older. I even have an aunt who would forget it was her birthday until she opened post on the day and pulled out a birthday card. This to me is unthinkable, if you want a reminder that you are getting older just have a look in the mirror and your laughter lines should serve that purpose. Embrace your birthday and celebrate a day that is all about you and has the added bonus of presents and cake!

I have always been made to feel special on my birthday as have all of my family. From as far back as I can remember I would wake up on my birthday and come to the living room to find it decorated with 'Happy Birthday' banners and balloons, my mam would be waiting there with a pile of presents for me on the sofa. The presents would always be wrapped in beautiful paper that was chosen with the same amount of thought as the gifts within, and when all of the family had gathered around they would be handed to me one by one for me to open and declare my love for each one equally. My mam was an expert present buyer and knew each of her girls inside out meaning she never missed the mark, not once, and so every present be it a beautiful dress, those boots you secretly wanted or a teeny tiny lip balm was always exactly what you would buy yourself had you just been tasked with buying your own presents. There was also always the exact right amount of presents to convey the special mood of the day, never too little to make you feel you hadn't been spoiled adequately for your annual day of treats and never too many that the quality of any of them were compromised in favour of quantity.

The thing that made my birthday extra special though was that I shared my birthday with my mam. Imagine that, my poor mam was enjoying her birthday one year and then party hats and cake had to be abandoned in favour of a trip to the maternity ward. I am sure once all of the hoopla and fuss had died down and she was sat with a cup of tea in one hand and me in the other(obviously I have not yet had a child of my own painting this rosy picture of the hours after agonising child birth) she forgave me and for the next twenty years we revelled in this special connection, always blowing out our birthday candles side by side.

So, once paper had been viciously ripped from presents and some of the excitement had been tamed just long enough to get me ready I would be dispatched to the school gates for a day of fun and laughter and not too much learning(there was the little matter of cake to be dreamed about to keep me from absorbing anything hedumacational, you see). Once home from school the preparations would begin for a tea party and I of course would be the guest of honour. They were simpler times back then (again, I am not ancient) but really, 80's birthday parties were quite tame. There were no bouncy castles, clowns, play centres, limousines or other such extravagances back then, no sirree Bob. We had some jellies, a couple of bowls of Tayto cheese and onion, if you were lucky a box of Tea Cakes or Snow Balls, popcorn, rice krispie cakes, maybe some fun size smarties and in later years you were very fancy altogether if you had an ice cream cake decorated with a flake!

The treat I remember most and probably my favourite of all was the humble homemade fairy cake, do you remember them? I can still taste my mam's ones now if I close my eyes and transport myself back to my 5 year old self. Deliciously sweet and fluffy with a slightly crisp outer shell, nothing fancy, just a simple Madeira mix spooned into tiny hand size cases. And so I come to the point of this blog post, where have all of the fairy cakes gone? It's all American cupcakes these days with there multi coloured frosting and edible glitter. Now, I'm not complaining, I LOVE cupcakes and would happily live on them if it weren't for the risks of obesity and heart disease but sometimes it would be nice to see the humble fairy cake championed in bakeries instead of them being confined to the bottom shelf of the supermarket, vacuum packed and drizzled with a bit of pink and lemon icing.

This past birthday I was gifted with a copy of The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook which is just jam packed with delicious American inspired baked delights. Pies, cookies and naturally, cupcakes. So while I sat drooling over the pictures I decided the first treat I would bake from it would just have to be the chocolate cupcakes. I think there is my answer, when faced with the choice of what to bake - fairy cakes or chocolate cupcakes - I am afraid I would always choose the frosted gorgeousness of a cupcake over the humble fairy cake. So that is where all of the fairy cakes have gone, to the back of the line. The competition form their fancy schmanzy American cousins has proven to stiff to beat and the cake of choice for every 80's Irish tea party is sadly out of vogue.

Chocolate Cupcakes

(Makes 12)

• 100g Plain Flour
• 20g Cocoa Powder
• 140g Caster Sugar
• 1&1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 40g Unsalted Butter (room temp)
• 120ml Whole Milk
• 1 Egg
• 1/4tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/Gas 3.

Put the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.
Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract together in a jug. Pour half into the flour mixture and beat to combine. Turn the mixer up to a high speed to get rid of any lumps.
Turn the mixer down to a slower speed and slowly pour in the remaining milk mixture. Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth but do not over mix.
Line a twelve hole muffin tin with paper cases and spoon the mixture into the cases until two thirds full.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. They are done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean and the sponge has a slight bounce when touched.
Place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Frosting

• 300g Icing Sugar (sieved)
• 100g Unsalted Butter (room temp)
• 40g Cocoa Powder
• 40ml Whole Milk

Beat the icing sugar, butter and cocoa powder together with an electric whisk on a medium-low speed until the mixture comes together is well mixed.

Turn the whisk down to a slow speed and add the milk a couple of tablespoons at a time.

When all of the milk has been added turn the whisk up to a high speed and continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy (approx 5 mins, the longer you whisk for the lighter the frosting will be)

Spoon the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles of your choice.

So Many Cakes, So Little Time!

OK, so I kinda predicted this at the start, that any grand aspirations to bake deliciously sweet delights every week, photograph and blog about them would possibly become derailed quite easily. Funnily enough I was right. Life can be a bit of a bugger though can't it, and just get in the way of all those things that we love to do. I generally have grand plans to bake some mouth watering delight on a Friday to be enjoyed over the course of the weekend. Then, the phone rings. Yep, the phone, such a wonderful invention, but by Jaysus is it incessant in our home and usually involves plans being made that put paid to my determination to don the apron.

Some of these plans are made with oodles of advance notice. But, more often than not they involve a moments notice and taking into account my inability to say no to anybody there are quite a lot of things left to balance precariously on my long finger. Now don't get me wrong, I love nothing more than spending time with family and friends and if someone is in need I will bend over backwards (not literally, I'm not that nimble) to lend a hand, so that's the chocolate brownies out the feckin' window for another week, and so the cycle begins. At this time of year I also find myself faced with the guilt of New Years resolutions and my determination to be healthy and that little voice in my head telling me I do not NEED that slice of caca milis. I knnooow I don't need it, but I feckin' well want it, right!!!

What I can try to do though, is commit to jotting down a few lines more often, even if they are not baking related. I sometimes amaze myself with the amount of random rubbish that floats into my head, most of which would be of absolutely no interest to anybody. But every now and then I am invaded by lovely thoughts that bring a smile to my face, make me chuckle out loud(these usually occur in public, when I am alone and therefore deemed crazy lady by passers by) or fill me with that lovely warm fuzzy feeling we are blessed with every now and then. So for now I shall endeavour to fill in the long lonely gaps between baking experiments with a bit of random blathering about anything and everything that happens to grab my attention.

I do hope to make some yummy cupcakes next week and am determined to follow through on this as these are my absolute favourite scrummy delight. I also wish to follow up on a cake I enjoyed in one of my favourite cafes but am struggling to perfect the base. I felt what could be a rather moreish delight was somewhat marred by a rather lacklustre Digestive base and so am on a one woman crusade to perfect this offering before I share it with others.

Ho Ho Ho

OK, I know it is still only mid November but I really can't wait any longer so, today we are talking Christmas Cake and Pudding. Wohohohohoooooo!!! These are the things I remember best from my childhood. Religiously each year these would be made at the beginning of December, without fail. I don't remember ever seeing a shop bought version in the house. No matter how busy my Mam was she would never decide she just didn't have the time to bake these treasures. Like me, my Mam was not a big lover of fruit cake and like me I don't really remember ever seeing her eat either of these creations. She would on occasion have a slice of German Pound Cake, the only fruit cake I tend to eat, and so always made one of these as a lighter alternative to the richness of the festive cake and pudding. Regardless of this fact she made them each and every year for my Dad and visitors to enjoy, and likewise since moving into my own home I have done the same for my husband and our guests.

This was the Christmas task that seemed to fill my mam with dread. She would always say "I suppose I'd better get the cakes done this weekend". I think the use of the word "suppose" indicates it wasn't her favourite task and one that she embarked upon with a feeling of some dread. Having made them for the past 3 or 4 years now I can kind of understand why. It can seem quite a daunting task with lots of ingredients to organise, mammoth stirring to ensure everything is mixed, lining tins, resting periods and then baking. Mam used to bake at least 2 or 3 of each to give to others as well as for our family which for one woman, 2 small children and a scullery kitchen is no mean feat! The key to a stress free Christmas baking fest is to be organised with your ingredients and have everything measured before you start, ready to be thrown into the mixing bowl as you need it.

I have come over with a lovely warm, fuzzy feeling as I sit and draw up memories of the Sunday afternoons myself and my sister sat cramped around the table in our small scullery kitchen helping my mam with her most arduous Christmas task. Back in the day you couldn't just pop to your local supermarket and buy bags of prepared dried fruit. No sirree Bob. That's where the child labour came into play. Our little fingers were the perfect size to pluck those wizened, shrunken stalks from the variety of fruit needed to bejewel the creations in question. So, there we sat perched on the edge of our seats, our teeny legs swinging happily below us plucking out the stalks for dumping and depositing the fruit into a bowl. Then there were the Glace cherries to be halved, slippery little beggars that leave an industrial layer of goo on you fingers. Whilst we were doing this Mam would be expertly lining baking tins with grease proof paper at a speed I have only just this year mastered and measuring out flour and margarine.

It was always lovely and cozy, all three of us sitting there with the electric fire from the sitting room sending some lovely heat our way with the day outside falling darker and darker as we worked. Mam was a great one for singing and humming away as she worked. No matter what she busied herself with she always brightened it up with a little tune as she lost herself in her task, another trait I have picked up. Even if I don't realise I am doing it I find that when some disturbance brings me back to reality I am singing something or other to myself and whomever else might be within earshot. God help them, because as my Dad would say, the only notes I carry are in my pocket.

Once we had worn our fingers raw with the minuscule stalk plucking and Mam had mixed all of the ingredients together and intoxicated us all with the smell of the booze added to the concoction the mixtures were lovingly covered and left to sit over night or poured into there baking tins and placed in the oven. It was tradition in our house that the pudding mixture could not be placed into pudding bowls and cooked until everyone had made a wish on it. We would take it in turns to swirl the wooden spoon three times in the mixture towards our heart and then make a wish. If someone was missing from the house at wishing hour the pudding would be left sitting until they made their wish and only then would it be placed into its bowl and steamed on the hob until beautifully dark in colour. As they baked or boiled every last corner of the house would be filled with magical winter aromas of Cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg. Smells that for me truly mean Christmas is coming.

And so it is that I hope to continue to carry this tradition down through the years and create deliciously fragrant Christmas memories for others as my Mam created for me. Memories to be savoured each year when the cold winter days leave me longing for the warmth and comfort that can only be found in looking at the magic of Christmas through the eyes of my child self.

These recipes have been tried and tested over many years so I hope that you, your family and friends enjoy them this Christmas.

Mam's Christmas Cake

• 12oz/350g Margarine (@ room temp)
• 12oz/350g Dark Brown Sugar
• 1lb/450g Currants
• 12oz/350g Sultanas
• 12oz/350g Raisins
• 5oz/150g Glace Cherries (halved)
• 5oz/150g Mixed Candied Peel
• 5oz/150g Almonds (blanched & chopped)
• Grated rind of 2 Lemons
• Grated rind of 1 Orange
• 15oz/425g Plain Flour*
• 1 1/2 level tsp Mixed Spice *
• 1/2 level tsp Ground Nutmeg*
• 3oz/75g Ground Almonds
• 7 Eggs (large)
• 3fl oz Whiskey

* Sieve these ingredients together

Optional Ingredients

• 6fl oz Whiskey
• Apricot Jam
• 1 450g pack of Ready Made Marzipan/Almond Paste
• 1 450g pack of Ready Made Icing
• (I think we've done enough hard work so unless you have oodles of time Christmas week give yourself a break and cheat a little)

1. Brush the baking tin with melted margarine and line the bottom and sides with double grease proof paper.
2. Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 2/300°F/150°C
3. Place all of the ingredients together in a very large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until well mixed. (at least 3-4 minutes)
4. Place the mixture in the prepared tin and smooth the top with the back of a wet spoon.
5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 3 hours. Check at this stage as ovens vary. A warm, clean skewer inserted into the centre of the cake will come out clean when the cake is cooked. Also the top centre of the cake should feel firm to the touch.
6. If the cake is not ready after 3 hours return to the oven and check after intervals of 1/2 an hour
7. To prevent the top of the cake becoming to brown a double layer of parchment or foil can be placed on the top at this stage.
8. Once removed from the oven leave the cake to cool in the tin overnight. (at this stage I pour an additional 3fl oz of whiskey over the cake)
9. The next morning when the cake has cooled and before removing it from the tin I pour another 3fl oz of whiskey over the cake and leave in the tin until it has soaked in.
10. Once the whiskey has soaked in remove the cake from the tin and wrap in a layer of parchment paper. Turn the wrapped cake upside down and rotate by 45° and wrap in another layer of parchment. Repeat this with foil. Rotating by 45° ensures that all joins in parchment and foil are covered to ensure the cake is sealed. Place in a cake tin and store n a cool place. If you do not have a cake tin to hand store in a cool dry place.
11. I store the cake in this manner until Christmas week at which stage I ice the cake. This prevents any damage occurring to icing or decorations whilst the cake is being stored.
12. To ice the cake, place onto a cake board.
13. Heat some apricot jam in a saucepan to make it easier to spread. Spoon some onto the top of the cake and spread around to cover. Use a pastry brush to spread around the side of the cake.
14. Roll the marzipan into a thin layer (approx 5mm) and place over the cake. Smooth over the cake and trim any excess from the cake board. Repeat this step with the icing.
15. Decorate the cake as you wish with miniature Christmas ornaments, ribbon. Alternatively cut shapes from icing using cookie cutters, brush the back with some water and place on the cake. use edible sugar decorations, glitter or lustre to add some glitz or colour.

Mam's Christmas Pudding

This recipe makes 2 puddings that will serve at least 12

• 6oz/175g Self Raising Flour
• 1 level tsp Mixed Spice
• 1 level tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 level tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 8oz/225g White Breadcrumbs
• 12oz/350g Dark Brown Sugar
• 1lb/450g Currants
• 8oz/225g Raisins
• 8oz/225g Sultanas
• 4oz/125g Mixed Candied Peel
• 4oz/125g Glace Cherries (halved)
• 2oz/50g Almonds (blanched & chopped)
• Finely grated rind of 1 Orange
• Finely grated rind of 1 Lemon
• 8oz/225g Margarine (melted)
• 3 Large Eggs*
• 2tbsp Brandy, Rum or Whiskey*
• 1/2 Pint/275ml Guinness*

*Beat these ingredients together

1. Grease 2 1.1lt/2 pint pudding bowls.
2. Cut large circles of double grease proof paper for the tops of the bowls and grease well. Make pleats crosswise in the paper.
3. Cut a large circle of foil for each bowl and make pleats as with the grease proof paper.
4. Sieve the flour and spices into a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the breadcrumbs*, sugar, fruit, nuts, lemon and orange rind and mix thoroughly.
6. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the melted margarine and the beaten egg mixture. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
7. Cover and leave to stand overnight to thicken.
8. The next day add the Guinness and mix thoroughly again. (It's at this stage you can make a wish of you like, it won't make any difference to the end result, but you never know it may just come true)
9. Place the mixture into the prepared bowls.
10. Place the grease proof paper over the top of the bowl and secure just under the rim of the bowl with a large elastic band (my Mam used twine which she tied in a really tight knot, the bowl must be airtight, this is a bit fiddly and when I was unable to get twine in my local store this year my hubby brought me home a pack of elastic bands which were a doddle to place on). Repeat this step with the foil. Place lid on bowl securely.
11. Place a large pot on the hob. Put an up turned saucer in the bottom of the pot. Place the pudding bowl on the saucer in the pot and pour in boiling water to come half way up the sides of the bowl. Cover with a tight fitting lid and boil for 4 1/2 - 5 hours.
12. Ensure the level of the water remains the same at all times.
13. When the pudding is ready carefully remove from the pot and allow to cool completely.
14. When cool remove the damp papers and recover with fresh double grease proof paper (not greased), replace the lid of the bowl and store in a cool dry place.

* The breadcrumbs need to be a little stale. A few hours before you start remove the bread from its pack and remove the crusts. Lay the slices down on a work surface and leave in the air to go slightly hard, turn over after a couple of hours to repeat on the other side. Once the bread is a little stale place in a food processor and pulse until you have fine breadcrumbs.

Traditional Halloween Barm Brack

Halloween can be fun. Little kids dressed in the most ridiculous outfits by their parents. Yep, they look really cute now but boy are they gonna need some major therapy in years to come! This unfortunately is not what comes to mind when I think about Halloween. No, the images I conjure up are those of me having to literally RUN from the bus stop to my house when I had finished work on Halloween night.

Why, you may ask was I running home? It wasn't with anticipation and excitement of changing into my costume to go out trick or treating. No, it was mainly to do with the little feckers lying in wait for an unsuspecting innocent like my good self to walk by so they could throw a banger at me. Not a fun task for most people, probably viewed as dangerous in the majority of minds. But for a gang of teenage boys what could be more fun than throwing a lit firework at someone and watching with amusement as it goes off almost causing a coronary, not to mention 3rd degree burns. Oh how they would chuckle at the memories the next day. Hilarious, not! Hence the Nike air max were firmly strapped to my feet and the four minute mile relived every year on the 31st of October.

As I have matured a little, bought a house of my very own and am surrounded by lots of young children the day in question has taken on a slightly sunnier glow for me. I look forward now to seeing my nieces and nephews in the cutest of costumes filling there faces full of e-number packed sweets and candy. Yesterday I was greeted by a very cute 2 year old pussy cat and 1 year old spider complete with all eight legs and googly eyes. Then there is the incessant ringing of the door bell which when answered you are greeted by chants of "Trick or treat, trick or treat, give us something nice to eat, if you don't we don't care, we'll pull down your underwear!" Charming, but when the chanters are ensconced in lady bug, padded super hero or princess costumes you can't help but smile all gooey eyed and load there bags full of scrummy treats.

So while it is fair to say that Halloween is not my favourite holiday of the year it is fast growing on me, and, as it has it's very own cake here in Ireland it is the perfect excuse for me to indulge in my favourite pass time and break out the baking tins and apron. Below you will find a recipe for a delicious Barm Brack which my husband devoured single handed in 2 days flat. The little bite I managed to prise from his hand was deliciously moist and full of flavour, so enjoy, and don't forget to hide a ring inside for someone to find! But don't worry if you don't find the ring inside, I never once got the slice containing that fateful piece of plastic but I am none the less happily married to the most wonderful of men. Awwwwww. Now go get baking. Go on, be off with you!

Barm Brack
Should serve approx 8, serves 1 in this house!

200ml/7floz Strong Tea
150g/5oz Muscovado or Soft Brown Sugar
50ml/2floz Whiskey
300g/10 1/2oz Dried Fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants, candied peel)
1 egg
150g/5oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
2tsp Mixed Spice
1tbsp Honey

1. When the tea is warm stir in the sugar. Add the whiskey and the dried fruit and allow to sit overnight.
2. The next day, preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
3. Line a 20cm/8in round baking tin with greaseproof paper.
4. Beat the egg and add it into the fruit and tea mixture.
5. Fold in the sieved flour, baking powder and mixed spice.
6. Pour it into the prepared tin and bake for 60-70 minutes. It is cooked when a clean skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. While still hot brush with the honey to form a nice glaze and leave to cool in the tin.
8. Serve warm or cold with lashings of butter.

Cup of tea & a wee bit of shortbread

So there we were, all four of us sitting in the taxi, dejected, knackered and suffering the first signs of withdrawl from the mammoth food and drink fest we had just been party to. We four and three other brave souls had embarked on a little weekend break to Edinburgh and since we were only there for the three days it was vital to squeeze in as many quality establishments as is physically and geographically possible. And by Jesus did we give it a valiant effort. We are nothing if not martyrs to the cause.

We started off fairly sedately. No, no, I didn't think you would believe that and I am sorry for insulting your intelligence so. The, ahem, ladies of the party started the morning (6:15am) with teas and water, very sensible you will most probably agree. The lads on the other hand went straight in for the kill and had pints all round. Everybody exercised great restraint on the plane and decided to abstain from the demon drink and wait at least until on terra firma before continuing with the over indulgence that a mini holiday brings with it. The fact that take off and landing were only separated by five minutes or so was possibly a factor in this decision.

On checking in to the hotel our noses were bombarded with the aromas of the delicious full Scottish breakfasts emanating from the restaurant but we're not a bunch of pigs you know, lunch was booked for noon so we decided a bit of caca milis and a steaming mug of coffee would just about tide us over 'til then so we headed to the nearest coffee house and loaded the meagre table with plates of all sorts of delicious concoctions. Blueberry muffins, carrot cake, lemon cupcakes, coconut slices and low fat granary muffin.

Yes, you read it correctly LOW FAT MUFFIN, on holidays!!! Well there's one in every group isn't there, and in this happy bunch the offender is none other than my sister in law. The sense of logic is this: "we are at the first 'meal' of the day with lunch and dinner booked for later and then there are all the bars to be stopped at in between, all of which equals a lot of calories so I'll counteract all of that with a low fat muffin for breakfast". I would rather refer to this as insanity than logic but whatever floats your boat. Anyhoo, she takes one bite of said muffin and then declares in disbelief bordering on shock (honestly) that it is in fact disgusting, well now thers's a surprise, and proceeds to have a little piece of everybody elses cake to make up for it. Now I'm no nutritionist but I'm guessing that there is a false economy locked in there somewhere!!!

So with full belly's and good spirits we headed out for some sight seeing to put in the couple of hours before lunch. I use the term sight seeing quite loosely. Once we were in sight of a landmark we stopped, took a picture or two, looked at our watches and decided "We might as well head down and have a drink before hand". Sure what else was there to be doing?

Now as I have already said, we are not pigs, so lunch was only the two courses all round 'cos we decided we would save the three courses for dinner. Then we headed out to sample some of the local bars, and true to our word we did and wouldn't you know it that only left us with the one hour to get back to the hotel, smarten ourselves up and get to the restaurant for yet more culinary delights.

And so it was that we found ourselves in the drawing room of a very seluuuuubrious country house supping champagne and surveying the menu. There was plenty of "what are you having? Ooooh, yeah that sounds lovely" to be heard during the decision making process before we were seated at a beautiful round table in the most decadent of surroundings. Would you be able for us all? I tell you it was far from gold chandeliers and silver service we were all reared but sure we only love ourselves now and settle for nothing but the best! Short of licking the plates the whole scrumptious lot was devoured and then they presented us with plates of petite fours with our Barry's Gold Blend. Petite fours, be God where would you be getting it. So with our skin stretched dangerously over our heaving tummies we departed our grand surroundings for a fantabulously gorgeous cocktail bar where we cheekily nabbed some very comfy seats in which to quoff champagne and cocktails 'til the wee small hours.

I shall not bore you with any further details as we follow a fairly strict pattern for the following two days which leads us to the rather weary, forlorn bunch that now sit in the taxi wondering is it the taxi that is swaying so gracefully from side to side or is it their now mushy brains sloshing about inside their sculls. So when we had done with the whole airport security pa lava and were sitting waiting on our flight I thought to myself, "God I'd love a nice cup of tea and a bit of the aul' Walkers shortbread right now". But with all the scoffing and quoffing that had gone on there wasn't a minute to pick up a pack of the tartan wrapped biccies to aid the transition back to normality.

A couple of days later when the recovery process was well under way and normal motor functions had returned I decided to whip myself up a batch and as look would have it stumbled across a recipe for chocolate shortbread. Now what could be better than that? Not much says me to myself and the mixing bowl was out in a flash to whip up a batch of these bad boys. To my surprise the result was not a hard, dense biscuit like the shop bought variety but a rather soft biscuit that seems to melt in the mouth, not unlike Rachel Allens chocolate melting moments. Unsure as to whether I liked them or not I spread them with a very thin covering of plain chocolate on one side and sampled some more. The conclusion I came to is that I do like them, rather a lot, and they have that delicious buttery, creamy taste that shortbread should have. But don't take my word for it. Please try them for yourself and decide if you like them or will be sticking to Walker's from now on. Enjoy!

Chocolate ShortbreadMakes 20+

225g cold unsalted butter (diced)
200g plain flour
110g corn flour
110g icing sugar
25g cocoa powder
50g plain chocolate (melted)


1. Preheat the oven to 110°C/gas mark 1/4
2. Place all of the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor
3. Turn on slowly and beat until all of the ingredients are combined
4. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour
5. Roll out onto a floured surface and cut into shapes using cookie cutters
6. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 90 minutes
7. Allow to cool on a wire rack and then spread thinly with the plain chocolate (or chocolate of your choice)
8. Chill in fridge to set chocolate and then enjoy!

Big Boys Ice Cream Sandwich

So these recipes are not filled with nostalgia for me and I have no long formed happy memories of them. They were not made by my mam when I was a child, but more recently by me for my husband.

You see he is a bit of a fitness freak, not a pick of meat on his bones the fecker and he eats rings around himself, who moans every time I bake something special for him. "Ah no, you shouldn't have made that for me, I can't be eating all of those calories when I'm in training." Now don't ask what he's training for, a cake eating contest is quite possible, because despite all of his protestations I always wake the next morning to find a generous slice has disappeared. And he always throws in a little negative comment about the cake in hand - "it's a bit dry/rich/chocolaty etc. for my liking", yet he manages to scoff the majority of it proclaiming it's to prevent it going to waste. Waste! Not likely, there is always someone willing to take a slice of caca milis off my hands if it happens to be going a beggin', but he is such a little trooper he sacrifices himself for the cause and manages to squeeze in another slice.

I decided to treat him over the weekend as he is carrying a bit of an injury. I say bit, I mean he is only a breath away from passing over to the other side. Last week he mentioned to me that he had a 'twinge' in his back. Not much was said following this comment and so a few days later I asked him to bleed the rads, all shocking exciting stuff. So there he was bent over the rad in the kitchen doing the macho job to please his helpless little wife when all hell broke loose. Water started spraying up the walls drowning the place while he was writhing around howling like a banshee. After a couple of seconds in shock, speed dialling Noah and his team of Ark builders and getting the digits scalded off meself trying to get the nut (no, not the hubby) back into the rad I managed to decipher the screams coming from him and they went something like this - "aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwww meeeeeee baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccckkkkkkkkkkk, meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!" Apparently, whilst bent over the 'twinge' turned into a major spasm which lead to the very dramatic display I was now witness to.

Now when I find myself in a severe amount of back pain(which I have done in the past) I tend to stay still to avoid aggravating the situation further, but it would seem he is of the Premier League Football school of pain and quite obviously attended a masterclass with Ronaldo judging by the show he put on. If I had it on camera and put it up on You Tube I'd be shocked (seriously) if he wasn't up for an Oscar come February. Since then I have had a bit of a busy week running hot baths which always seem to be a little hot for his delicate skin (Jaysus he's an awful baby), getting heat packs, picking stuff up that he can't bend over for, running up and down the stairs for all the crap he has forgotten and moving furniture so he doesn't strain himself watching the aul' telebox! Honest to God, the carry on of him. Now obviously he's perfectly capable of all these little tasks when he thinks I'm not looking but as they say, why bark eh?

But you know how it goes when the man in your life is struck down with man flu or some such ailment, you have to lavish them with love and sympathy. So, I did what any dutiful wife would do and I made his favourite toffee sauce to go with his favourite honeycomb ice cream and as an extra special treat some scrummy chocolate chip cookies that he has been happily dunking in his tea since, sitting on the now jauntily angled sofa and grinning at me like a prize winning gurner. Well, if he's happy he's not moaning which means I'm happy, so every one's a winner baby!!!

Toffee Sauce

• 100g/4oz Butter
• 175g/6oz Brown Sugar
• 100g/4oz Caster Sugar
• 275g/10oz Golden Syrup
• 250ml/8fl oz Single cream

Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan and boil for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly until the sauce is smooth.
(Place in a sterilised jar in the fridge and it will keep for a few months, well supposedly)

Honeycomb Ice Cream

Walk to your nearest supermarket/gelateria and buy a tub. I have a lot of time on my hands but unfortunately not that much!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Will yield 2 dozen + depending on size

• 300g/12oz Butter (at room temperature)
• 1 Egg
• 375g/15oz Caster Sugar
• 450g/18oz Plain/Cream Flour (sieved)
• 1/2tsp Baking Soda
• 250g/10oz Chocolate Chips

1. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper, preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3.
2. Beat the butter, egg and sugar in a food mixer using the paddle attachment until combined.
3. Mix in the flour, followed by the baking soda.
4. Add in the chocolate chips.
5. Wrap the cookie dough in some cling film and pop into the fridge for 1 hour.
6. Roll out the dough onto a floured board to a depth of 5mm.
7. Cut out the cookies using a pastry cutter and place on baking sheet.
8. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden. (It is OK if the cookies are a little wobbly in the centre, they will cool with a delicious chewy texture.
9. Cool on a wire rack if you can resist the urge to eat immediately!

I combined all of the above to make a delicious ice cream sandwich drizzled with the toffee sauce (generously drizzled that is).

Chicken Soup for the Soul, Chocolate Cake for the Monday Blues

Well, I finally managed to find a spare hour that nobody hijacked this afternoon. So without haste I dusted off the apron and rooted out the baking tins to rustle up a chocolate delight to brighten up a dreary Monday. I'm not Mondays biggest fan, I would rather skip right through to Tuesday each week. But, that not being an option the next best thing to do is eat chocolate cake. Deliciously moist, with a crisp chewy shell and moreish butter cream filling chocolate cake.

I have mentioned before the cake my Mam would bake when I was a little girl, the one for which I do not possess a recipe. So I had to pop on the aul thinking cap and transport my self back to the four or five year old girl I remember enjoying said cake with such gusto.

I can still see to this day in crystal clear clarity, or HD if your a big tech freak, the bottle green floral carpet I lay outstretched, belly down, on. I can hear yis all muttering to yourselves, 'bottle green, Jaysus!' I know it was probably as horrendous as it sounds, but sure back in the 80's it was only massive. Well it must have been, cos Mam was a bit of a stylish wan, it's where I got my impeccable taste and all round general fabulousness from, well that & my gorgeous little Daddy who wouldn't be caught dead leaving the house unless his tie and handkerchief are matching. Anyways, I remember lying there as I have said, in front of the three bar electric fire scorching the left hand side of myself while the rest of me stayed shivering. Them yokes were brutal altogether for giving out heat, unless you were no more than five inches from it you may as well forget about it. The place would be like Siberia even if you splashed out and but on all three bars together, a very rare occurrence let me tell you, it was always just the two bars unless it snowed. So I'm there with my legs swinging behind me, staring from the big orangey pattern (I know, it just gets worse) on the carpet to the old Grundig tele, remember the ones with the wooden frames and the twisty knobs instead of buttons. Honest to God, you'd swear from the get up in the house that I'm ancient but I'm not, I'm only a child. I'm practising me writing at the mo for the upcoming annual correspondence with your man Santa. So back to the carpet and the 19 o splash Grundig special and the three bar electric heater. Mam is singing away in the kitchen as always, a habit I have inherited much to the protestations of all around me, and the oven is on working its magic on the muddle of ingredients inside. Oooooh, and when it was ready I'd sit myself up and fold me little legs (no change there unfortunately) in front of myself all yoga like and clutch the chunk of loveliness in my hands before devouring, delicious!!!

And so it was with these fuzzy headed memories that I set about the task of recreating this true piece of comfort food to banish the Monday blues. Where to start with no recipe to work from? It was quite a simple creation so I decided a madiera base would be as good a place as any. And would you believe, it was! The addition of some cocoa powder did just the job to produce a moist, light chocolate sponge. Now for the butter cream. This is the part I remember best from the original, but I decided to (Jesus I hope she doesn't get wind of this) aim for a minor improvement. Instead of chocolate butter cream made with cocoa powder I decided on, you'll never believe this, a bit of chocolate instead. Who'd have thought it. Nothing but the best 70% cocoa solids chocolate melted and lovingly mixed in hit the nail squarely on the head. It was only gorgeous, and when it was combined with the sponge, sure it was nothing less than a match made in heaven. At the risk of you all electromocuting yourselves sitting there salivating over your keyboard I shall divulge the recipe without further ado. Enjoy, well it's only Monday once a week after all.

Little Hands Chocolate Sponge Sandwich

Serves 6-8

• 175g/6oz Unsalted butter(softened)
• 175g/6oz Sugar(normal granulated)
• 3 eggs
• 2tbsp Cocoa Powder
• 225g/8oz Plain Flour
• 1tsp Baking Powder
• 2tbsp Milk

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3. Grease the sides of a 20cm/8" round, 18cm/7" square cake tin and line the bottom with a piece of grease proof/parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter in a mixing bowl. (The butter should be softened and not used straight from the fridge to ensure a light sponge)
3. Add the sugar and cream for a further minute.
4. Add the eggs one by one, beating continuously.
5. Add the cocoa powder and beat lightly to combine.
6. Sieve the flower and baking powder into the mixture and fold to combine, then add the milk.
7. Place the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes.
8. When a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean the cake is ready.

For the Butter Cream filling:

• 250g/9oz Icing Sugar
• 125g/4½oz Butter, softened
• 30g/1oz Plain Chocolate (70% cocoa solids), melted
• 1-2 tbsp Milk or Cream

1. Cream the butter and sugar together.
2. Add the melted chocolate and fold in.
3. Add the cream an stir.
4. Once the cake has cooled cut it in half and spread the bottom half with the butter cream filling. Put top half back in place and dust lightly with cocoa powder.

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!

Let's start at the very beginning

Lets start at the very beginning shall we. Why? Well as the song says it's a very good place to start, natch! One of my earliest memories of home baking is me lying on my belly, feet swinging back & forward & head cradled in my hands, on the sitting room floor in front of the three bar electric fire. My mam was in the kitchen singing away to herself as always, mixing up a chocolate sandwich cake with chocolate butter cream icing in the middle. Now it has been many years since I have tasted one of those cakes, possibly 20 or a little more, but I can recall that cake to the very last detail. The light texture of the sponge, the generous, thick layer of butter cream that oozed out with each bite and each squeeze from a little girls hand and the dusty cocoa powder that would catch in the back of your throat if you inhaled at just the wrong time. Now this was no gourmet creation, it was made very simply from store cupboard basics and was a weekday treat when there was an hour to kill and Mam wanted to give her girls a special treat. She loved to treat her girls and, could you kill with love we were all goners because she administered it in what would have been lethal doses. Now that I am all grown up I find that I have a real passion for baking. I love everything about it. I relish in a night curled up on the sofa with a stack of recipe books by my side scouring them for my next experiment, trawling the bakery aisle in the supermarket makes me positively giddy, measuring and laying out the required ingredients brings with it a sense of calm before the mayhem of flour puffing up my nose and into my eyes and eggs breaking onto counter tops. Then there is the anticipation as the creation rises, fingers crossed, in the warm glow of the oven. The temptation to open the oven door and stick my head in for a quick goo half way through is almost too much to fight, and then, joy of joys that little beep, beep, beep from the timer calls out to say its ready. Wohooo! The final stage and probably my most favourite is the destruction of the lovingly made masterpiece. Serving up generous chunks of cake or individual tarts and listening to the oohs and aahs of satisfaction from all assembled is what makes a busy days baking such a wonderful, glorious joy. I think you get the picture now, I loooooovvveee to bake, love to taste the mouthwatering creations the oven spues forth and love to sit around the table with family and friends and share that joy with them whilst loving and laughing. While I lay in bed last night pondering a million and one different things the memory of that simple but delicious chocolate cake came to mind. I don't have a recipe for it and unfortunately do not have the luxury of asking my mam for it. But, what I do have is a love for baking and a love for chocolate and I think with those two combined I will surely be able to rustle up something similar that will be enjoyed by all with equal gusto. And so, I resolved today to do that very thing and also to document my attempts and their success' or God forbid disasters. Sure while I'm at it I may as well document all of my baking and culinary forays and all that goes hand in hand with them. That is when I remember and probably more importantly when I can be bothered, because I am a bit of a lazy cow at times. So this is the very beginning, now lets see where we shall go from here.