Polka dots inside a cake? Happy Anniversary indeed

As you may recall, Mr Becca and I have been together for many a year.  Many years indeed.  And mostly, it's a wonderful life.  He's a pretty great guy, just gets moody sometimes.  But then, seriously - if we're being honest here - don't we all??  And I think he's aging rather nicely too  ;)

Anyway, because we've had so many anniversaries, and birthdays, and Christmases and Valentines' and random present-buying opportunities, I simply have no idea what to get him each time.  So now I bake.  Last year, I made this gorgeous and surprising rainbow cake which he loved.  So I wanted to do something equally fun for this year.  I asked on my Facebook page (which you can view without joining) for inspiration, and was suggested to try this polka dot cake.  Bingo - I was sold.

First I had to make the cake pop balls, and they hadn't worked out so well last time.  But this time, success.

Then it was on to adding them to the cake, and hoping for the best.  The cakes took longer to bake than expected, so sadly this wasn't ready for Mr Becca on our anniversary morning.  I was upset about that, but got it all finished in time for The Team's return from school.  They were super impressed with the exterior, but we all had to wait for Daddy getting home from work.

A similar top decoration to last year's, and if I'd had a little more time I would have toned the red down a touch, to match better with the other colours.

And then to the unveiling.  Or technically, the cutting.  Mr Becca was impressed enough and liked the cake as it was, but was quietly happy with the interior too.  I say quietly, because he's not much one for effusive praise.  And to be honest, I am.  And I love to receive it.  Ho hum.

Isn't it fabulous fun??  I'm so pleased with how it worked out, and The Team all loved it too.

This would be easily customisable for any occasion, and would make for a really fun gender reveal cake - don't you think?  It's an American thing, where the parents-to-be don't know the sex of their baby, but the cake maker does.  So the cake is somehow coloured inside (sponge or icing) to reveal the sex of the baby - too cute!

In case you were wondering, this was us 19 years ago...

And here was us this weekend, ready to go out for a slap-up meal...

One Direction goes rainbow

Since making the first rainbow cake for ourselves last year, I've been lucky enough to have a few orders for them.  This latest one was for a mad keen One Direction fan.  She wanted to surprise the rest of her family, so it was well hidden under a layer of white, with simple decorations.

I've just heard back from her Mother and it was enjoyed by all - it even scored dix points!  (well, it was Eurovision weekend ;) )

The lemon cake exploded

Oh dear, sadly I'm quite serious.  I almost feel that I shouldn't tell you about this one, because it truly looked pretty awful.  But I'm raising my children to be thankful for all that they have and to be tolerant of others and the differences between people, so it's included.

I may add at this stage that the cake tasted good, a bit more solid than I like my cakes usually, but still... It was lemony and sweet and really, what more do you need from a lemon drizzle cake?  It was drizzled with lemon syrup right after coming out of the oven, but Mr Becca felt it couldn't really be called a Lemon Drizzle Cake if you couldn't see the drizzle.

Fair enough, that visible enough for you darling??

As it happened, that was perfectly visible enough for him.  And exactly what he had in mind.  And I think it made the cake look better too, sure helped it taste good!  There was very little leftover of this treat too, after The Team and our friends had our fill.
Just need to make a note for next time, to get some cupcake cases ready for the excess batter - ha ha.

I made Violet Crumble - that's chocolate honeycomb to you non-Aussies

There are a lot of chocolate bars (or candy bars as an American would call them) that exist in Australia and nowhere else.  Well, possibly in New Zealand too, but as I've been in the UK for the last ____  years then here is where I need them.  Some of these bars are, in no particular order, Violet Crumble, Chokito, Polly Waffle, White Knight, Peppermint Crisp  oh my gosh, I've just read that Polly Waffles were discontinued in 2009 due to poor sales after 62 years!  Darn it, if only I'd liked them more  ;)

Anyway, I digress.  I love all of these chocolate bars and have told the girls about them too - in preparation for our upcoming trip to Melbourne later this year.  It's Mr Becca's and my first trip back in over a decade, and the girls have never been, so to say we're excited might be understating it just a little.  Me, I'm excited about all the chocolate bars and sweets (lollies in Aussie vernacular) I'll get to eat.  After all, diets don't exist in other countries, do they??

Hmmm, digressing again.

So anyway, I made some honeycomb for the first time ever.  And parts of it tasted just like I remember Violet Crumbles used to taste.  Result!!

I had a chance to use the sugar thermometer I had bought not so long ago, which was fun in and of itself.  It's surprising how long a watched pot actually does take to boil to 150c.  And then it all happened so suddenly that it wasn't so funny any more.

The recipe said to do everything quickly once it reached the right temperature, so I did.  But for next time I shall mix the bicarbonate of soda more thoroughly, and hope that the golden syrup doesn't sink so much to the bottom of the heavily oiled, foil-lined pan when poured out.  

Apart from that though, it was delicious.

As mentioned, in parts it was a bit chewy so I thought it'd taste better chocolate coated.  The next day I melted a mix of milk and dark chocolate and got to work.

For future reference, I think I'll just use the whole amount as milk chocolate as I feel it would taste better.  But there were no complaints on the taste, and every last bit was nibbled up by The Team and our friends.  So pleased!

Parent council meetings aren't so boring now

I've been lucky enough to have customers order treats for all sorts of occasions (weddings not included).  Tupperware type parties, baby showers, get well soon gifts, birthdays, Holy Communions, gifts for Teachers, Valentine's Day, Fathers Day, Mothers Day and so on.  But not as the highlight of a primary school Parent Council Meeting before.  

Until today, that is.  

These few dozen mini cupcakes and a sweet traybake made the meeting loads more fun, or so I was led to believe! 

Gluten-free Mars Bar yumminess

We were out at Scone Palace yesterday, making the most of the stunning castles that Scotland has to offer and also the sunny spring weather.  We are members of both Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland, and love to visit their properties and learn a little more of the history of this small but proud land that we call home.

At the cafe they had a selection of baked treats and it was afternoon tea time.  So we went to get coffee or a juice and the girls wanted to choose something to eat.  Mini-2 picked a scone (no pun intended I'm sure) with jam and butter and Mini-1 took a little longer to decide.  She rejected the Malteser Slice and Mars Bar Slices out of hand, declaring that 'we could make them ourselves at home, quite easily'.  Good girl!!  Way to go Mini-1, love the attitude.  In the end, the only thing she decided upon was an empire biscuit.  Now whilst I do have a printed out recipe to try (from the Hairy Bikers Mums Know Best tv series), I haven't yet made them.  It was rather tasty, and we decided to make our own Mars Bar Slice the very next day.

So we did.

As it happens, because it uses Rice Krispies (or Rice Bubbles as they were known in my youth) it becomes a gluten-free treat.  And we'd recently learned that one of Mini-2's new friends has coeliac disease so can't take gluten at all.  The product does contain barley extract, and thus barley gluten but the supermarket own-brands have less, so this was on her approved list.  

An impromptu playdate thus occurred and the little girl and her sister (plus Mum of course) all came round after school today to enjoy a treat!  What fun!