Baking and some more Baking!

Now that the bunting, balloons and cards are down - life can return to it's normal (still rather fast) pace.

And after all of that sewing I returned to some baking. After receiving a dinner invitation from my good friend Glenda, I decided to take another shot at my Cinnamon Raisin Plait. The children are always so famished after school/kindy and I thought this would hit the spot for afternoon tea. I remembered to let it prove for only the recommended 30m (not 2 hours!) and got a much better result.

Although - there are a few more amendments I would make (less yeast, more fruit and cinnamon). So when I'm happy with this recipe, I will post it.


Notice Little S' small bun he made especially for Glenda's youngest daughter. Very sweet!

Es and I attended a Mother's Day Breakfast at her school yesterday. It was a mad dash at 7am and it was rather crazy with long queues for food and tea/coffee and too many tables, chairs and bodies in one hall. But it was lovely to do be with Es - just the two of us. I tried to block out the chaos of it all and enjoy being with her. The mother's received some gifts (hand cream pilates vouchers and flowers and I actually won something....lippy and some pop socks on the rather large size).

Look what I ate for breakfast this morning. I hate breakfast and always try and force something down as it's "good for you". But somehow, this slips down a treat with a lovely cup of tea. I made this yesterday. It is 'Chocolate Caramel Slice' from the same Foodtown Mag that the Plait came from. I've always been quite a fan of this magazine, the recipes are relatively simple and use ingredients you already have in the cupboard - bonus! 'Simple but delicious' is always a winner for me. I wouldn't change anything about this recipe it was totally divine! Little S is allergic to egg and nut, so it is nice to have a yummy recipe for a slice that doesn't have 'crushed biscuits' (which always have 'trace of nuts' warning).

150g butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

caramel:

395g tin condensed milk

2 tbsp golden syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

75g butter

• oven temp 180 C - line 20cm x 20cm tin
• cream butter and sugar, stir in vanilla essence
• add sifted flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix together until combined
• press two-thirds of mixture in tin ( I needed to add 2 tbsp of water to make mixture more moist)
• place condensed milk, golden syrup, brown sugar and butter into a saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until combined and thickened. Pour caramel over the base
• sprinkle remaining mixture over the caramel. Bake for 20-25 m. Cool in tin before cutting.

The kids absolutely scoffed this down as did everyone I offered some to. But as always - I ate the most!

My sister visited 6 months ago (from UK) and left me her most favourite skirt. She had it made in Vietnam whilst she was back-packing and she describes it as the perfect shape/size etc. However, she had worn so much the zip had fallen out and the black had faded to a charcoal colour. So I offered to try and make another one. I unpicked it all completely so I could get the best measurements and use it as a pattern. Since photographing this I have actually nearly finished it - so I'll get a finished shot for you tomorrow!

Thanks for popping by.........go on make yourself some chocolate caramel slice....I bet you've got all the ingredients in your pantry already, if not put - condensed milk on your shopping list!