If only every day could be this way

I had a most enjoyable day on Saturday.

The day started with a lazy wake up. No alarm set, we got up when we woke up. As has become the norm during lockdown and lack of reason to be out early on a Saturday morning C made the customary bacon rolls for breakfast.

Whilst C was in the shower I made the Leftover Buttercream Cookies I talked about a few days ago. I added a bit of sparkle to a few. They were delicious.

I then received a lovely message from my brother saying they read my blog regularly and sometimes find it helpful. That was nice to hear. If you do enjoy reading my blog tap a ‘Like’ or leave a comment so I know you’re out there.

I picked some freshia and calla lillies from the garden. There’s an abundance of greenery after a few days of rain and its lovely to have fresh flowers about, even more so when they come from your own garden.

We popped into town to the fruit and veg stall to stock up for the week. I’ve decided not to make my usual Biscoff Pancakes for breakfasts, opting for a 0% fat free Greek yoghurt and berries combo instead. We stocked up on grapefruit (not for C though), strawberries, raspberries and blackberries and some red grapes for snacking. I can no longer say I don’t like fruit.

I bought yet another baking book, still using up vouchers from Christmas and birthday (side note: no more book vouchers please and thank you). Having looked through the recipes I look forward to making my way through them all.

In the afternoon I spent a few hours dealing with some #bellringing work, took a call from one of the workgroup leads, finalised the latest photo competition round, messaged the winners, sent their prizes, wrote up the articles for publication next week. I then had a good clear out of my many inboxes. I have Central Council, local association and personal inboxes to get through. Its nice to get back to just having the essential messages to be dealt with left.

We had a lovely facetime chat with R. Her Internet has been down for a couple of days and still didn’t look like it was going to be fixed before the weekend was through. She’d been to a small venue gig which she said was oddly not odd to be in a room with that many people. We’re going down to visit next weekend for the Hampton Court Palace Food & Drink Festival. Really looking forward to seeing her in the flesh but does mean I won’t be at a CC meeting. Opportunities to see R trump all else so, passing the baton on to someone else from my workgroup to attend the meeting in my place. R had been double jabbed on Saturday morning, so that’s good news. Thanks Dolly.

I had previously asked C if he would make his “full fat” lasagne for dinner. We’ve had slimming world friendly ones of late, which are very nice and all, but he makes THE best lasagne. So much so that I won’t order lasagne in a restaurant because I know it won’t be as good. He obliged and it was accompanied by a bottle of red wine. Y U M!

We then passed a convivial evening watching TV and reading, taking some time to chill.

I had a thoroughly pleasant day. I hope you had a good one too. How was yours?

What to do with leftover buttercream

I made my brothers and his wife’s wedding cake and as usual overdid the volume of buttercream used for the crumb coat, adopting the “I’d rather have too much than not enough” mantra. I now have a tub of vanilla and a tub of chocolate buttercream to use up. It’s seems such a waste to just throw it away when it tastes so good.

I had been thinking about what I can make to use it up and standard response was to knock out a batch of cupcakes and try different patterns of decoration, just for practice. Whilst that would do the job and be yummy, with just the two of us at home, that’s rather a lot of cupcakes to eat, although I’m sure there would be some people willing to offer their quality control expertise. So what else can leftover buttercream be used for? Google time.

The first thing that came up was Leftover Buttercream Cookies by adding an egg and flour, baking powder etc. I’d never thought about that.

Other options offered included:

grab the tub and a spoon and tuck in. Tempting, but incredibly sickly. Buttercream, by nature of the icing sugar in it, is spectacularly sweet (at least I find it so).
create fashion cookies. Use store bought cookies and sandwich two of them together with the buttercream. That’s possible, but again, sounds quite rich/sweet for me.
make cake balls. This is similar to making the batch of cupcakes. It would require baking cake, mixing the crumbed cake in with the buttercream, forming in to balls, then covering in chocolate or candy melts. Too much faffing just for the two of us.
use it as an ice cream topping. Heat it up slightly and pour over ice cream. Hmmm, not sure about this one.
spread it. Simply spread it on biscuits and cover in sprinkles. Great activity to do with kids I guess.
mix it with cream cheese and use as a dip for seasonal fruit. That could be nice but without further information on the quantity of buttercream vs cream cheese, it would be case of trial and error until you find a combo that suits.

Of the offered solutions, I think I might try finding a recipe for Leftover Buttercream Cookies.

I have plenty of time this weekend to dedicate to baking and prepping breakfasts and lunches for the weekend ahead. I shall channel my inner domestic goddess.

National disaster averted

An email arrived a few days ago to advise that my green BakedIn box was on its way and what fresh ingredients would be required to supplement the contents of the box. I was ever hopeful that the box would arrive on Friday and C even bought the fresh ingredients when he did the food shop the day before.

I saw a notification on their social media that people were reporting having issues with the seals on the boxes coming open in the post and some of the contents missing. The postman knocked on the door and left the package by the front door. The green box was wrapped in a Post Office bag apologising for the state in which the box had arrived.

I opened the box and it seemed that all the bags of dry ingredients were accounted for, there are usually about five or six bags so I guessed that the six bags present were all present and correct. I messaged the lovely people at BakedIn and they emailed me the recipe card so I could at least do the bake. Turns out it was Sticky Toffee Cookies. I figured it was something to do with sticky toffee as the box contained chopped dates and fudge, and one of the fresh ingredients was cream.

The lovely people at BakedIn wanted the dispatch code so that they could check and make sure that it didn’t happen again.

So, disaster averted, and dough made, in the fridge to chill for half an hour, then weighed out into 18 evenly sized balls ready for baking. The toffee sauce was rather yummy so I had to restrain myself from just spooning it straight into my mouth so it could be drizzled over the cookies. They were supposed to have crushed walnuts sprinkled on top but as I don’t like them, I didn’t bother.

Without waiting for the toffee sauce to set, C and I did a quality control test. The cookies were lovely and soft, and the toffee sauce was still runny, but altogether very nice indeed. Later in the afternoon C wanted to start prepping our evening meal so decided to put the cookies in the fridge to help the sauce set.

We had a virtual #bellringing session in the evening, so it was nice to test another cookie after that when they had been in the fridge for a few hours. Very nice indeed. Not sure the rest will last very long.

Another great bake from BakedIn and can’t fault their customer service as they are very responsive to any issues. They messaged me again to thank me for sending the dispatch code and said to let them know if there were any other issues.

Where do you get your baking inspiration from?

I realise that this blog is called Bells, Bakes and Bettering Myself and that most of what I write about is predominantly #bellringing or something to do with learning a new technique, learning more about myself and the world I’m in, and there is very little to do with baking. Occasionally I’ll mention the latest BakedIn green box that has landed on the doormat. I did say a while back that I was going to get in the habit of baking something from series of magazines that I’d invested in and I did make a start but didn’t get very far. The trouble was some #bellringing activities took over which meant most of the time that I could put aside to bake was taken up with meetings. This is now starting to lessen so regular baking can resume.

I do have a few things in the cupboards that need using up such as flavours icing sugars that make great buttercream icing or you can use them in the cake batter to flavour it. I have a cinnamon bun kit in the cupboard that needs using up, and quite possible a brownie kit too. Then I need to get some inspiration and start getting creative again. I have all these tools and things at my disposal but I just don’t get to use them often enough. I need to get some practice in, and I do still have a voucher for a session with my friend Sarah, of The Cupcake Oven. But I need some inspiration.

I follow several cake decorators on Instagram and Facebook. Many of them are way too advanced for me, or I look at what they’ve created and think that I could actually do that if I had the time. I’m not very imaginative so I need a plan to follow or use something someone else has done for inspiration. I used to follow Paul Bradfield and I have used some of his tutorials in creating versions of Star Trek Enterprise, or standing up Santas. They are really good step by step guides.

In fact it was through following Paul that I met Sarah. I had been to a different cake making class and one of the other students in the class mentioned Paul. I googled him and found that he was due to give a demonstration at my local Sugarcraft Guild (never knew they existed). In order to get a place on the workshop, I joined the Guild for a while. Sarah was a member, and may have been on the committee at the time too, before she moved further away. I stopped going to the Guild as I found that a) I was by far the youngest in the room b) they all sat in cliques and c) when one of the committee members came up to me and said “Welcome, is this your first meeting”? to which I replied “No, I’ve been coming here for over a year”, I realised that this wasn’t the group for me. And to be honest, I wasn’t really learning much. The people they had in to do demonstrations where far beyond what I could do, or indeed I had already mastered several techniques and didn’t learn anything new.

It would be good to see Sarah again for another class, but I’ve done most of hers now and need to find other excuses for a visit. I need some inspiration for your average hobby baker, who can make a reasonable tasting cake, and can make it look quite good with sugar flowers and bits.

Any suggestions?

When life gives you lemons

My next Bakedin bake is lemon viennese whirls. I didn’t get my box until late as you may have read previously there was an issue with my subscription. Anyway, the box is here and my Bank Holiday afternoon will be time to bake.

My first issue was buying a lemon. The supermarket only sold them in bags of about 8, I only need one. And the ones in the bag were tiny. Fortunately we have a marketplace in the High Street and there’s an epic fruit and veg stall. I was able to buy one giant lemon for 40p.

The good thing about getting the box later is that everyone else has made them and posted their pictures on the Facebook page. They’ve also told you about any problems they had and any recommendations. A few people had mentioned that their lemon curd didn’t thicken and other suggested making it the day before and putting it in the fridge. I had some time on Sunday afternoon so decided to take that advice and make the curd early.

I’ve never made lemon curd before and I do like it. It was so simple. Caster sugar, zest and juice of a lemon, butter and a whisked egg. Heat it all gently until it thickens then strain out any bits. Only took a few minutes. So simple. Naturally I sampled it before putting it in the fridge and my word it was delicious. I may never buy it in a jar ever again.

I shall use it in the biscuit bake as instructed and if there’s any left I may just slather it on a slice of bread.

When life gives you lemons…. make lemon curd!

Baking tutorials, are they good for business?

Watching videos and IGLive tutorials from my favourite bakers really inspires me to want to bake more. The trouble is threefold. I tend to miss a lot of the tutorials as they tend to either be during the day or early evening when I haven’t quite got home from work. Secondly, I don’t have time to do so much baking. Thirdly, if I did all that baking I’d either be the size of a house or diabetic, or both 😅

Those who do free tutorials and IGLives are so generous with their time and expertise. Surely by telling everyone else how to do it runs the risk of putting themselves out of work because we’d all be able to do it for ourselves.

Does it make good business sense? Actually, it probably does. By making themselves more accessible, it means that more people would follow them, be interested in their other products and offers, and be willing to paid for membership and exclusive access to more tutorials.

The company my daughter works for seem to have quite a cult following, with people willing to travel miles to get their hands on their goods. So far, I’ve only managed to sample a sourdough loaf, but I hear their doughnuts are to die for. I’ve watched bits of a few IGLives, when I’ve managed to get to it in time. There’s nothing pretencious about any of the recipes, its all good, honest baking. I’m kinda hoping that R will get me a copy of their book for Christmas 😁

I do need to put a bit more effort into some home baking puddings and cake. C is in charge of bread baking as he’s the one that eats most of it, so I’d best not interfere there.

Shout out to my favourites: Bread Ahead, Cakeflix and The Cupcake Oven.

Bells, bakes and business

Such a busy day.

Gave C the option of cake or cookies for today’s baking experience. He opted for cookies. I had a quick gander through the cookie bookie then decided on ginger as the key ingredient. Googled gingernut biscuits but found an alternative recipe. Bashed out ginger cookies, with extra stem ginger for heat. Had a batch of them done first thing.

That was before bells. Assisting my sister in her Ringing Room session whilst she’s consolidating Ipswich, Primrose and Norwich at the moment. The great thing about Ringing Room is that you can put out a request for assistance and the wonderful #bellringing community responds. A regular group of 8 from across the UK, who have never met in person (obviously I’ve met my sister!), gather, ring and offer support and advice.

It was a bit chilly this morning so I needed to do something to warm up and decided that there were Christmas presents ready for wrapping, so cracked on with that. This is the most advanced I’ve been with Christmas preparations in, forever! Had a need for something warm for lunch and attacked cheese on toast. 😋 Simple, yet effective.

A #bellringing meeting followed with lots of good things discussed, agreed and actions assigned. It was noted again, that C was on cuppa and snack duty. Something that he doesn’t require prompting to do.

I then finished reading the fabulous Troy by Stephen Fry. I’ve read all 3 books in the series in a short space of time because they are so easy to read and such fun too. I’m slightly bereft that I’ve finished them. Have nothing to read now.

Only then did I allow myself half an hour to do nothing. I snuggled under my sofa blanket and shut my eyes for a while. I didn’t quite get to nap as C and I were chatting about all sorts of things, especially plans for the Association Training Day, but it was nice just to relax for a bit.

Dinner and a glass (or 2) of wine, followed by giant chocolate orange buttons and televisual viewing sorted for the evening.

Tomorrow’s going to be another busy day 😁

Back in my happy place

Been back in the kitchen, getting my bake on. Haven’t baked anything for a week or two for various reasons, so it was great to be back in my happy place after a particularly difficult week.

Fortunately my BakedIn box arrived, so that avoided any difficulty decisions having to be made.

I’ve never made butterscotch before. It does warn you in the recipe card that it will be hot, but that didn’t stop me sticking my finger in it for a taste 😋

How long do you think is a polite length of time to wait before scoffing some? Quite frankly, I’d happily tuck in now but C is busy putting together my new desk and chair for the study, and we need to go up the tip to get rid of all the stuff we’ve decided to chuck out during the clear up to make space for said desk, and we haven’t had lunch yet. Maybe it’ll have to wait a bit until afternoon tea time.

I had thought at one time, reasonably seriously, about going into a baking business, or having a little tea shop and selling homemade cakes. Trouble with that is, you have to have the space and facilities to meet all the necessary food hygiene and safety requirements, and actually doing it all would take too much of my personal time up, which would impact on my #bellringing time. I do make the odd cake for friends and family, and I have been commissioned in the past to make cakes for a fee, but I do it very much on my terms. If I’m not “feeling” it or I simply don’t want to, I will say no. I make cakes because I want to, not because I have to, in order to make a living. I absolutely applaud those who have turned their hobby into a business and if I wasn’t so consumed by #bellringing, maybe I’d think a bit harder about it. But for now, I’m happy making simple things to enjoy.

I wonder what my grandad would make of it. I used to love watching him mix a cake together without weighing anything, just by feel. He was a master Baker in his day, and didn’t bat an eyelid at making my sister’s wedding cake, including the Royal icing from scratch, in my mum’s kitchen. I sat round the table watching him work.

I wonder whether that was an early influence on me. My first full time job out of school was as a cream finisher in a bakery, putting all the finishing touches to cakes, doughnuts and all sorts of yummies. I’ve always said that if I did set up my own cake business that I would name it after him. Duffell’s Cakery. And the logo would be a side profile of his face in ginger to reflect the colour of his moustache.

We would have had fun in the kitchen together.

Hard or soft?

The BakedIn subscription I have really is worth every penny. Each month I get sent some dry ingredients and a recipe card, and with any fresh ingredients required it encourages me to try my hand at something different.

This months bake was lemon & blueberry biscotti. Never made biscotti before. When I first read the instructions it sounded like a bit of a faff as you do need to take it out of the oven at one point, wait for it to cool off a bit, cut it up, put it back in the oven for a bit longer, then take it out again to turn them over and back in again. However, when you’re in the throws of creation, it didn’t seem to take too long, nor was it as much of a faff as I first thought.

From what I’ve read from people who were much quicker at their baking when the box drops on the mat, these biscotti are a bit softer than the almond biscotti you tend to get in coffee shops, but I guess you could bake then longer, on a lower heat to dry them out more. I don’t mind if they’re a bit softer, I’ve always thought that shop bought biscotti was an attempt at keeping Dentists employed because it was so hard it would break your teeth.

The good thing about this recipe, like so many of the BakedIn boxes, is that you can adapt it with different flavours. I’m thinking orange and chocolate, or nutmeg and cranberry for a Christmas vibe.

I keep saying that I’ll make some of these recipes again but so far I haven’t. However, this one is firmly on the “do it again” pile.

By this time next year we’ll be miwyonaires, Rodney.

I gave C the choice of what I’d bake this weekend. The options were millionaire shortbread, lemon & blueberry biscotti, iced biscuits, or ice cream cone cupcakes. After some consideration he opted for the shortbread.

I’ve never actually made millionaire shortbread before. I’ve made shortbread, I’ve made caramel and I’ve made chocolate ganache as part of other recipes, but never put them all together. Its all relatively easy but I get impatient with waiting for things to cool down before doing the next stage.

That’s the good thing about baking though. It forces you to slow down. Everything about life tends to be full on and at hyper speed. I listen to podcasts at 1.5 speed, I drive to work because its quicker, I’m a fast eater and have always finished first, once I’m up and dressed in the morning, I need to get on with things, I hate sitting around waiting. Weeks are rushing by and we don’t often get to slow down.

We had hoped to go out for a walk on Saturday but just as we’d decided where to go it came over all dark and drizzly so we decided to stay in instead. Then of course the sun came out. That got me a bit aggy because now what was I going to do with the rest of the day?

Well, instead of rushing about feeling like I had to do something, I sat and read a book. In fact I also ordered 3 new books on a subject that I wouldn’t normally go for but have decided to widen my horizon and try something different.

I waited for the shortbread to cool, then I waited for the caramel to set, then I waited for the chocolate to harden. Then I scoffed some, whilst reading my book.

“Slow down and enjoy life. Its not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why” – Eddie Cantor