Content
We are back from New York and I am still exhausted! I have no idea why jet lag affects me so badly.But we had a fantastic few days in the Big Apple. The reason for our trip was a joint celebration, the fact Disneyboi and I have been together 10 years and I have a certain birthday coming up very soon. Sadly the weather wasn’t the best whilst we were there, but Tropical storm Andrea didn’t spoil our
Don't worry, we are nearly at the end of the alphabet!!I have really struggled with U, but I thought ugh! The noise you make when you eat something you don't like!Something I have realised since baking so much more, is the old saying, 'you can please some of the people some of the time...'. Not everything I make appeals to everyone, but that doesn't mean it's not good, just that everyone has diffe
Just back from holibobs, but here is a little something I prepared before I went...I’ve wanted to try making choux pastry for yonks now. My mind is ingrained with an image of Fanny Cradock beating a pan of choux pastry, in full evening gown on her Christmas special. I didn’t want to don the evening gown mind, just give the pastry a whirl as it is very different to other forms. In fact choux pastry
We are off on 'vacation' just now. If you would like to find out where, follow Cakeyboi on Twitter and Facebook to see more...
This may not seem like much to you my dear readers, but to me it is phenomenal! I have at long last, at LONG last, succeeded in making tablet!One of the first posts on Cakeyboi was my failure at making tablet. And to be honest, I have tried before then and a few times since. With no luck. Armed with yet another recipe I found online and with a couple of tweaks, tablet was finally made.For those no
Firstly, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who entered the birthday giveaways on Cakeyboi during May. The winners have been selected and contacted (Congrats to Stephanie from London and Olivia from Oakham). Sorry if you didn't win this time, but stick around for more giveaways in the future. You, my visitors, are important to me and I appreciate all of your comments and feedback!...
When I was given a jar of delicious Mackay’s Rhubarb and Ginger Preserve to try out the other week, I thought this would be great used as a filling for Linzer Cookies which I was desperate to make after seeing Anna Olsen make them on her TV show.The rhubarb and ginger preserve is a tasty mix of sweetness and warmth. I thought this would compliment the tender dough used in Linzer Cookies. The cooki
I was rootling around my spice drawer the other day...
It’s still birthday month here on Cakeyboi, so I though I would use up the leftover vanilla cake mix I used for my Birthday Cake BatterBark. I have made many versions of Rice Krispie Treats over the past year, so naturally I thought a Birthday Cake version of these was called for.I actually read in my Food Network magazine recently that the hottest new flavour in snack-world is Birthday Cake. Load
We have reached S in the alphabet...Syrup is a thick sugary liquid in cooking terms. The more common varieties are maple syrup, golden syrup and corn syrup (not good at breakfast time!). But whilst looking syrup up, other thick sweet liquids such as honey, treacle and molasses are also classed as syrups.Medicated syrups are also common and make some medicines a bit more palatable. Syrup of Figs in
These sticky buns were great fun to make. I just love getting to grips with yeast dough now. Must be Mr Hollywood's influence. These buns were a great way to showcase the fantastic Dundee Marmalade I received from Mackayswhom I visited a few weeks back for a factory tour.Dundee, where I was born, is famous for it’s Marmalade, first produced in the 18th Century, by the Keiller family. Story has it,
Love me a French Fancy!
The Eurovision Song Contest was here again. And we didn’t win again!My friend Ewan always throws a party for the event and this year’s ‘do’ was a select gathering of us boom bang-a-banging, skirt ripping Europop fans.Personally I don’t know what the BBC have been thinking the past few years. Firstly we no longer get a chance to vote for the act we, the British public, would like to represent us. T
R is for Rock CakeRock cakes are a small fruit cake, popularised in Great Britain. They have less eggs and sugar so were promoted by the Ministry of Food during the Second World War, when these commodities were scarce. They were also bulked out by oatmeal at the time, which was easier to come by. They have quite a rough, jagged appearance, hence the name Rock Cake.
As well as Cakeyboi turning one this month, the Dundee branch of the Clandestine Cake Club turned one at the end of April.I wanted to feature the Clandestine Cake Club this month, as had it not been for the CCC, I would never have started my blog. A friend last year mentioned that the club was starting up in Dundee and as soon as I heard, I fired off an email to the organisers. Jac of Tinned Tomat
As I'm sure we all know, it's Eurovision this weekend, so I thought this one was rather apt!!Good luck Bonnie (think you're going to need it!!)
Since I created Cakeyboi a year ago, I have often wondered what flavour he might be. So, with it being his first birthday I thought it was about time I set about making a Cakeyboi cupcake!I thought long and hard, asked friends what flavour he might be, what flavour his frosting might be. And I came up with white chocolate coconut cupcakes with a tangy lemon butter frosting.Quite a mouthful I know
The alphabet has reached Q and I really did puzzle over this one, but then I remembered Cakeyboi's sweetheart - the Great British Bake Off judge - and so much more! - Mary Berry, the Queen of Cakes.I remember Mary on TV when I was a wee lad, she was always making delicious looking meals on some show I can't quite remember the name of. And I was thrilled last year when I got to see her in person at
What’s a hand pie? It’s basically what we in the UK call a turnover. It’s pastry, semi-circular in shape and can have a sweet or savoury filling. And you can hold it in your hand, unlike a messy slice of pie! Of course I am going for a sweet filling, and I decided to use the delicious Single Farm conserves from Mackays, which I was given to try out the other week.The Single Farm conserv
Seeing as we are in the party mood this birthday month, how about a fiesta inspired toon? Thanks to Cakeymum for this idea...
I love this stuff! I’ve made it for Birthday month here on Cakeyboi, but my goodness, it would be good at any time. If you love cake batter and licking out the bowl, Birthday Cake Batter Bark is for you!I have made various versions of my bark over the past year, and they have all followed the same sort of format, with white chocolate and rice krispies. This bark is altogether different, but just a
I promised you a couple of Giveaways for Birthday month here on Cakeyboi and this is the second! Nigella Lawson Measuring Cups. But before we get to these, a few weeks back a company called Red Candycontacted me and asked me to mention them here on Cakeyboi.Although my personal favourite colour is orange, I am not averse to red! Just as well, because Red Candy is a great website dedicated to celeb
I am pleased to bring you the first of a couple of giveaways to help celebrate Cakeyboi turning one this month! This is no ordinary cafetiere, it’s an OXO French Press which cleverly makes getting rid of the coffee grounds a cinch! It holds 2 litres of freshly brewed coffee, and the winner will also receive samples of Douwe Egberts coffee to use in the French Press. Here’s the official line -‘A mo
It's May and that means one thing - Cakeyboi is one year old! It's been so fast, but it's been a blast.This month I will bring you a couple of giveaways to celebrate and some birthday inspired treats, so stay tuned folks...
A couple of weeks back my friend Jac from vegetarian site Tinned Tomatoes, asked if I would like to accompany her on a tour the Mackays’ Jam Factory in Arbroath. I jumped at the chance!Aside from the factory being in my neck of the woods, I love Mackays’ product. They make a wide range of delicious marmalades, preserves, conserves and curds and I was very keen to see how they were made. Upon our a
P is for Pie in the Cakeyboi AlphabetSuch a versatile food item a pie, isn't it? Sweet or savoury, designed as a way to encase all the filling so working men could take them out into the fields, pies have come a long way.From Lemon Meringue to Steak and Kidney, the varieties are endless. My favourite is blueberry pie (can you see the blueberry juice leaking out above?). So tell me, what is y
I was lucky enough to be sent a hard anodised loaf tin from the kind people at Mermaid cookware. The 1lb tin is made of very strong aluminium, boasting that it is twice as strong as stainless steel.I had a bread idea which I knew would be a good test for the tin. A banana strawberry swirl bread. I have seen swirl breads about and they all seemed to differ quite wildly. But I wanted a yeast bread,
A couple of months back I was very excited, as I had picked up some ‘Speculoos’ on our last trip to London. Didn’t see it? What is Speculoos?Well, Speculoos seems to go by a few different names depending where you are in the world. Biscoff spread, Lotus Spread and Cookie Butter are other names it goes by. But basically it is a paste, similar in texture to peanut butter, which is made from those yu
Poor cakey!One of my biggest mistakes in the kitchen is overbaking! I never set a timer and then forget when I have popped my baked good in the oven. I haven't quite found cinders on the baking tray - yet. But there is always time!Tell Cakeyboi your biggest baking disaster here or over on the Cakeyboi Facebook page.
Anybody who knows Disneyboi and I know our love of Starbucks. If you are looking for either one of us, more often than not we are sipping beverages in our local ‘bux. It has been said that we should get shares in the place.I usually plump for a filter coffee, sugar-free vanilla syrup and soy milk. But Disneyboi sometimes goes for something altogether different. London Fog. What the heckythump is t
Edvard Munch had quite an apt name...
I had a couple of packs of Rolos left over from Easter eggs the other week and thought they might work well mixed into brownies. I hadn’t made brownies in a while and was in the mood. But I wanted to pimp my brownies a bit more, so thought about frosting the tops. And what goes perfectly with chocolate? Peanut butter! I love peanut butter and chocolate together. So do Americans if you check out th
Can't believe that the alphabet is over the half way mark! Where is this year going?Anyhoo, N is for nom nom nom...Hopefully this might be the sound you make when you try out a recipe from Cakeyboi. But called me old fashioned - where did 'nom nom nom' come from? It's only in the past couple of years I have noticed it used to describe the sound someone makes when enjoying something tasty.I think i
I hadn’t made marshmallows in such a long time and I had bought the wonderful Shauna Sever book – Marshmallow Madness! Whilst having a flick through I saw a recipe for Kool-Aid Marshmallows and I had a sachet of Kool-Aid hanging about in my cupboard. It was cherry flavoured, and I had an idea of making cherry cola mallows. I was obsessed with Cherry Cola when it came out in the UK, in the 80’s. I
I was having a bit of a clear out of my baking bit and bobs, checking the sell by dates on some of my used ingredients and came across a couple of things I hadn’t used in a while. The mint chips I used in my ChocMint Chip Cookies and the butterscotch chips, used in my Butterscotch Cinnamon OatmealCookies.They were in date still, and I popped a couple in my mouth, and I was hit with an idea. The ta
M is for (Cake) MixIt's only this year that I discovered how versatile boxed cake mix can be. For one thing, it can be made by just adding 1 can of any fizzy drink you like. Imagine a chocolate cake mix with cola added?!And the mix can be made into loads of other sweet type treats, such as cookies (check my Strawberry Choc Chip Cookies), bars and puddings.Google 'Other uses for Cake Mix' and you w
How cute are these individual sweet pies? They are a cinch to make and are a great way to use all those leftover dip jars! I usually have a few dip jars waiting to go into the recycle, but why not give them a wash (a very good wash, we don’t want jalapeno pepper flavour pies now) and put them to good use!I made the bottom crust from some crushed Cinnamon cereal mixed with melted butter. Then I put
It's meant to be a scone, honest...
Don’t be fooled by the date. This is genuine…First of all, cookie dough dip? Who doesn’t love to scoff on the leftovers in the bowl when cookies are being made? As I have said on a few occasions, I love cookie dough, cake batter, that sort of thing. A purpose made dip of this stuff (?) – heaven!And when I saw a cookie dough dip which was a bit more on the healthier side, I knew I wanted to try mak
Last month I was extremely lucky to be awarded two blogger awards – The Liebester Award from Ryan at Baked with Kindness and The Versatile Blogger Award from Kat over at The Baking Explorer. I figured I must be doing something right to be presented with these!The Liebster Award is for bloggers with less than 300 followers and the recipient nominates eleven fellow bloggers asking them eleven random
After my first attempt at making scones a few weeks back (CheddarberryScones) I was eager to try more. My combo of cheddar and strawberries went well, so what else could I come up with?As it is Easter soon, I wanted to try and encapsulate this holiday in a scone. My mind got to thinking and I thought of putting a Hot Cross Bun and a scone together. If you aren't familiar with Hot Cross Buns, they
He's dressed as a bunny, overheated and grumpy, so...
function printDiv(e){var divToPrint=document.getElementById(e);newWin = window.open("", "printwin"); newWin.document.write(divToPrint.innerHTML); newWin.print(); newWin.close(); }#therecipewiz {width:95%; padding:8px;} #therecipewiz{border:#E1E1E1 solid thin;}#therecipewiz #printbutton{float:right; cursor:pointer; margin:-8px 0px 0px 0px;} #therecipewiz #rechead img{float:left; margin:0px 8px 0px
We've reached K in the alphabet - in Cakeyboi's world this is KissWhen I think of Kisses in the sweet world, I think of yummy Hershey Kisses, but Kisses can also refer to a cookie made with egg whites and sugar!
Here are a couple of quick Easter ideas for you.I have been asked to do a few more kid friendly recipes and I think the above Easter Pops are very simple. And of course, no holiday can go by, without my bark, equally as easy, and kids love it!To make the pops, look for small Easter type sweets, such as micro mini eggs, bright coloured mini-mallows, Froot Loops look very spring-like (well the
Congratulations to Helen D from Southampton who won the Great British Bakeware, which is winging it's way to her right now. Now for this Wednesday's cartoon and it's sorta Easter themed...
Happy Belated Red Nose Day everyone! £75 million on the night is quite an achievement in this economic climate. In our office we made £5 just from selling our baked goods and some books.If you are not from the UK, you might wonder what the heck that entire last paragraph meant. But Red Nose Day is a fundraising day, held once every two years in the UK, in aid of Comic Relief, a charity that aims t
A quick break from the Cakeyboi Alphabet this week, as I have something delicious to share with you.Easter is fast approaching and if you haven’t bought your loved ones' egg yet, here is something a bit more special than the average chocolate egg on sale at the supermarket!I was asked to review an Easter egg from the good people at Hotel Chocolat. Have you been to one of their stores before? They
