I meant to write this post just after my birthday, (in March!!) but never got around to it.  My oldest son baked me a cake!  Not just any cake, but an honest to goodness scratch cake!  I was thrilled, and so proud of him.  I’m not sure what recipe he used for the cake itself,  just a simple white cake that he then filled with real whipped cream and loads of fresh strawberries.  The crowning glory was the topping.  Marshmallow fondant.  I had never heard of it before.  Again, I’m not sure of the recipe he used, but it was pretty much the same as this one.  He said it was really very easy to make, and tasted delicious.  It was also much easier to work with than regular fondant. Enough talk, on to the pictures!

I was in my sewing room when he gave it to me.

And the inside……

Would you like a piece?

I tried to get a picture of him smiling into the camera, but it just wasn’t going to happen. He is just too shy.

Didn’t he do a fabulous job? You would never guess it was the first one he had ever made.  He had so much fun doing it that he has made a few more for other occasions.  He also loves to cook, and often makes dinner for the family.  Isn’t he wonderful? Thanks again Adam, I love you!

Thanks for reading!

I heard about this jam from a friend some time ago, but it sounded too easy to be true. We both kind of dismissed it, never intending to try it. Well today curiosity got the better of me and I thought, ‘Why not?’  So I gathered my ingredients and got to work.  Twenty minutes later, I had some delicious jam!
The ingredients are simple,
4 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries ( I threw in a handful of raspberries I had in the fridge, just to use them up)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 box of lemon jelly powder
 
My sugar didn’t make it into the pic!

Place fruit in a large sauce pan, and break apart with a potato masher if desired. Heat slowly on medium high heat.  Add sugar and jelly powder and stir until dissolved.

Bring to a boil and stir for two minutes.

Annnd…, you’re done!  Allow your jam to cool slightly and pour into freezer safe containers.  I ended up with just less than 3 cups of jam.

Allow your jam to set, and have a taste test!  My husband was impatient to try it, so my jam wasn’t quite set when I spooned some on a cracker, but it set quite nicely when it was completely cooled.

Store opened container in the fridge, and pop the rest in the freezer.
My family loves it!  I am going to try other fruit/jelly powder combinations too.  You are only limited to your imagination with this recipe.  Have fun with it, and your family will think you slaved away in the kitchen for hours!


Join me at these great parties,

Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims
What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar and Dots
Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts
Made By Me @ JAQS Studio
What we Wore, Read and Made @ Rae Gun Ramblings
Lil' Luna Link Party
Whimsy Wednesdays @ The NY Melrose Family

Ok. I will be the first to point out that this cake isn’t pretty.  In fact, it may be the ugliest  cake I have ever made.  Of course, if I had taken my time, and waited for the ganache to completely cool and set, it would have looked much better.  AND, the chocolate would actually be on the cake, gracefully dripping down the sides. Oh well, better luck next time. And believe me, there WILL be a next time! This cake is awesome.  Well, here goes, a picture of my poor cake. (the faint of heart  may want to turn away now)

See what I mean?  But, as you can see, it didn’t bother my family at all…

They even scraped the ganache off the plate!  This was so easy to make, and tastes fabulous. This is what you need,
One golden two layer cake mix,  made using package directions
two vanilla pudding cups
Bake your cake and let it cool completely.
While your cake is baking, make your  ganache. It is super simple to do. All you need is one cup of heavy (whipping) cream, and one package of chocolate chips. (I used milk choc chips, but you could use anything you like. This recipe is also great made with white chocolate chips) Place the cream and chocolate in a medium sized GLASS bowl. Put about two inches of water in a saucepan and put the bowl on top, making sure the bottom of the  bowl is at least two inches away from the water. You are in essence creating your own double boiler. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, stirring the cream mixture carefully. Be extra careful, steam will escape around the bowl, and can cause severe burns.  It won’t take long for the chocolate to melt. Continue stirring gently until all of the chocolate and cream are incorporated. Do not allow the cream to get too hot. Remove from heat. (don’t touch the bowl with bare hands! It is very HOT! Believe me, I found out the hard way!) Once the bowl has cooled, you can place it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. Stir occasionally. 
When your cake is completely cool, place the bottom layer on your serving plate, and spoon the pudding onto the top of the layer. Spread it around so that it just reaches the edges. You can use as much or as little pudding as you want. Now. GENTLY place the second layer on top. push it down slightly, just enough for the layers to stick together. Obviously I pushed too hard. That’s why my pudding squished out the sides so much.   Now you are ready to spoon/pour your ganache onto the top. Let it drizzle down the sides too! You don’t want to miss a bit of it! If your ganache has set up a bit too much, just let it sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften.  That’s it! Hopefully your cake turns out prettier than mine. But, if not, at least you know it will taste great! Now I’m off to have another piece….


Take a look at all the great parties I'm linking to on my party page!

I did sew today, but I haven't finished it yet. Sometime during the afternoon, I got a craving for chocolate chip cookies. So, I had to make some! But, these are not just any cookies. They are the very best. Trust me. I mean, come on, have I ever lied to you? I found the recipe ages ago, on Allrecipes. (love that site!) It is the only chocolate chip recipe I'll ever make.


Award Winning Chocolate Chip Cookies
by Debbi Borsick on Allrecipes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.

Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.(if desired)

It will look something like this,



For this batch, I used mini M&M's, instead of chocolate chips. I use a mini ice cream scoop to put them on the baking tray, so that they are all pretty much the same size.


Pop them in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack (if they get that far), for a few minutes. At least until the chocolate won't burn your tongue. Nothing ruins a good cookie feast like a burn in your mouth! Then, make yourself a cup of tea and grab a plate. If you are lucky, you will have two or three before anyone else realizes they are ready. (ok, that may just be wishful thinking on my part)


Honest, no one took a bite out of that cookie. A piece fell off, and I had to taste it! I wanted a crisper cookie this time, so I cut back almost half a cup of flour. When the recipe is followed correctly, the result is a lighter, more cake like cookie. (which are also fabulous!) The beauty of this recipe is the pudding mix. You can use almost any flavor you like, and vary the chips to suit. This recipe is also quite large. It makes 6-7 dozen, which is perfect if you have a large family of cookie monsters! So, the next time you need a chocolate chip cookie fix, try these. I know the whole family will love them!

Anne

While blog hopping recently, I came upon the cutest little baking site, called Ur Baking Me Crazy! , hosted by Hanni, who is just sixteen years old! She has several recipes listed, with lots of pictures for each one. I settled on making Peanut Butter Crumb Cake, (although there is a chocolate cheesecake recipe with my name written all over it!) because my family is nuts about peanut butter. The recipe is incredibly easy, and whipped up in no time at all.
As I mentioned in my last post, I picked yesterday to bake, thinking that the weather was 'cooler'. Big mistake! As I was assembling the ingredients and such, the sky was overcast and a storm seemed imminent. There was even a nice breeze floating through my kitchen windows. As soon as the first ingredients made it into the mixing bowl, the clouds parted and the blistering sun appeared! The humidity increased to stifling proportions and the breeze disappeared. Now, any normal person would have given up and put everything away.(especially since we don't have air conditioning!) But not me. I plugged along, determined to have cake with my tea later in the evening! So, without further ado, on to the recipe!

Peanut Butter Crumb Cake, ingriedients

One yellow cake mix (two layer size)
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
6oz chocolate chips

Method -

Beat dry cake mix, brown sugar and peanut butter together, until crumbly. Reserve 2/3 cup of mixture for topping.


Add remaining ingredients, and beat until smooth. Scraping bowl often


This is where I made a slight change. Hanni suggests just sprinkling the chocolate chips on top of the cake before baking, but with the multitude of chocoholics in my family, I decided to add them to the mix as well.

TIP - To prevent the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom of the cake during baking, toss them with a little flour before adding to the batter. I have no idea why this works, but it does!


Pour batter into greased and floured 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with reserved dry mix and more chocolate chips.


Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes.

Note - Don't go downstairs and do laundry while it is baking! You run the risk of not hearing the timer on your stove, like I did. My youngest son was being helpful and took it out of the oven, and it wasn't quite cooked. So unfortunately my version turned out slightly heavy. But, it stills tastes awesome! I would definately recommend the recipe! Enjoy!



Don't you just love the saucer? It belongs to a set of dishes that were my grandmother's. I have a place setting for twelve, including dessert plates and fruit nappies! I just love them. My grandmother used them as her everyday dishes for sixty-five years. When she received them as a wedding present, the were already twenty-five years old. She and a few of her sisters all received a set as wedding gifts from their parents.
Have a great day everyone! Anne

Sunday is baking day. I try to make a couple of things to put in everyone's lunches for the week. Unfortunately yesterday a few other things intruded on my kitchen time. But I was able to make these,

Brownies anyone? My kids love these. I honestly don't remember where I got the recipe, but I've been using it for years. Here it is if you'd like to give it a try,

MY FAVORITE BROWNIES

3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/4 teas salt
1/2 cup melted butter or margerine
2 eggs
3 tbls water
1 teas vanilla
I always add 1 cup of chippits (what ever I have on hand, mint, milk choc, peanutbuttter etc)

Sift together dry ingredients, then add chippits. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased or lined square baking pan. Bake at 325 for approx 30 min. My oven cooks quickly and doesn't always take 30 min, so start checking at 25 min.  Cool on baking rack then enjoy! 
They keep well in a plastic container for 3-4 days. If they last that long!
I also make these every Sunday for the week.

My boys love them for sub sandwiches. I mix the dough in my breadmaker and then let them rise on cookie sheets before baking. You can find the recipe here. They come up light and fluffy every time.
I spent the rest of the day wading through the laundry room. I swear there is something hinky going on in there. Every time I go past the door, the piles are higher, and I hear suspicious rustling going on. I think it is BREEDING in there! I am longing for the day when I can go into the laundry room, only to find it empty. Oh well, we all have our dreams! I guess I could make my boys do their own laundry, (my daughter does hers when she's home from school) but I'm very particular about how it's done. Plus, I don't much care for loads of laundry that consist of only one pair of jeans and a pair of socks. So, I guess I'm on my own there! Today I'm hoping to pick out a new sewing project. I have so many things I want to refashion and make from scratch, its hard to decide. Guess it comes down to closing my eyes and picking up the first thing I touch. Well, off to the trenches again. I think I can hear the laundry..........       Anne