Saturday 31 December 2011

Frappy Mirthday!

A long time ago, at uni, we realised - almost too late- that it was our house mate's birthday.  We didn't have a cake, we didn't have candles BUT it was all O.K as we had alphabet potato shapes.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a H or B.....but not to worry we had an F and M.  That's when 'Happy Birthday' became 'Frappy Mirthday'.  It's stuck in my head over the years.

*Luckily I had all the correct letters today!
Anyway, today is Mr C's birthday.....and it's a BIG, SPECIAL one that calls for SPECIAL things and extra effort.  So I decided to bake.  From the photo yesterday (and the one above!) did you manage to guess what sort of cake it is?


Surely, you must have guessed by now?

uh huh, you got it - RAINBOW CAKE!

It's quite fiddly and time consuming but totally worth it for the gasps of amazement you get as it's cut and boy does it taste good.  I followed the tutorial over at Pippa's Long Stockings and it worked out well.  I chose lemon curd (as it is ADORED in our family) to go in between each layer along with butter cream. 

Happy 30th Birthday Mr C!
Happy New Year everyone!

Friday 30 December 2011

One week

Can you believe it? Almost a whole week has gone by.  This time last week I was.....

.......at the allotment harvesting my Brussels sprouts ready for Christmas Day.
......and tugging my red cabbages out of the ground.  You just can't beat braised red cabbage - delish!

........gazing at the decorations on our tree, reminiscing and wondering HOW it was Christmas 2011. Didn't the year just fly by?

........imagining all the food that we would be tucking into the next day.

Ah.  I do love Christmas and they way it brings everyone together. I hope you all had a lovely time.
Today I have been busy preparing for a certain someone's special birthday.
Can you guess what I'm making?

Sunday 4 December 2011

Feeling festive

Hello! I know I've been gone for a while, but I'm still out there!
It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas at home! We LOVE preparing for Christmas in our home and now that it is December it seems OK to start getting ready! I've been busy indulging in festive activities which all kicked off with my Christmas cake making.


Mmmmmm! The smell of the fruit steaming in sherry was truly wonderful!



Icing the cakes is the fun part! I decided to make one giant cake for us and then lots of small cakes to give away to colleagues.


Don't they look sweet!


My next crafty moment involved making a wreath for our front door. A local church was holding a  'festive florals' workshop.  It was a great experience watching experienced florists work and learning lots of top tips from them whilst slurping down my first mulled wine of the year.  Ah mulled wine, don't you just love it?
All the materials were set out for us including lots of lovely bits to decorate with. I was positively SQUEALING with excitement when I saw all the sparkly bits and bobs!


Not too bad for my first attempt!
It has definitely made me want to attempt more floral projects.  A new year's resolution perhaps?

Right, I'm off to put the lights on the tree.
I hope you're starting to feel festive too!