Week 27 - Daim Bar Birthday Brownies

Good news! I have a new fridge, so I'm no longer having to survive on tinned food & frozen veg. Not that there's anything wrong with tinned food & frozen veg, but not being able to have milk for a cup of tea was sure to test any ones patience! All in all it's been a much calmer week in the kitchen, although I swear my toaster is still trying to kill me :-)

Now we're over the half way point of my blogging challenge, it got me thinking back to when I first started & I went back to read some of my early posts. It's made me realise how much I enjoy writing each week & receiving comments about my creations. (The baking's not been too bad either!) But it also made me feel a little sad to think what I might do when I reach week 52, do I just stop writing? Now I've released my inner writer I want to keep on going! Maybe I need to think of a new foodie challenge to embark on, but maybe one that is less calorific! For now though I'm happy I've got another 25 weeks to go...so bring on this weeks recipe.

I created this recipe for my Mum as it's her birthday this week. She has a super sweet tooth so I thought brownies would hit the spot! Rather than using the traditional walnuts, I thought I'd have a go with bashed up Dime bars. Sorry, Daim bars! (Yes I am old enough to remember when Snickers were Marathons, Starburst were Opal Fruits & Daim Bars were Dime Bars...armadillos!) It gives them a lovely almondy crunch & the sweetness offsets the bitterness of the dark chocolate. I thought of this after making the Malteser Cookies a couple of weeks back, sweeties are a good source of recipe inspiration for me!

50g plain chocolate
65g butter
175g caster sugar
2 eggs
Few drops vanilla essence
50g plain flour
1/2tsp baking powder
3 Daim bars bashed up

1. Melt together the chocolate, butter & sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs & vanilla, then finally fold in the flour, baking powder & Daim bar pieces.

2. Line a baking tin approx 15cm square with either baking parchment (just don't set fire to it like I did!) or foil to stop the brownies sticking. Pour in the mixture & bake in the oven at 180c/GM4 for around 30-35 minutes until the top just starts to crack.

3 Leave to cool in the tin, then lift out & cut into squares.

So there you have it, Birthday Brownies (sparkler optional!) Happy Birthday Mum! Hope you like them & you enjoy our day in the big city being ladies what lunch xx

See you all next week, Rebecca x

Week 26 - Giant Cupcake

Well here we are cakes fans...we've hit the half way point in my baking challenge & I'm happy to share with you my 26th recipe!
It's been a bit of a challenging week this week, my fridge broke down last Monday & as yet has not been fixed (got to love landlords!) Not ideal given we've probably had the hottest weather of the year & I had people over on Friday for tea! But we muddled through & with a bit of help from my mum & a large quantity of ice...we pulled it off! It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon, everyone ate cake, drank Pimms & generally had a lovely time, thanks to everyone who came along.

It seems my kitchen is revolting against me though, not only has the fridge broken down, but the toaster has started throwing blue sparks & the kettle is leaking. I also learnt a valuable lesson when using baking paper in the oven...don't let it touch the top of the oven. I managed to set fire to a batch of brownies, the flames were fairly impressive so in my panic I threw it into the washing up water! Needless to say they were beyond rescue :-( For my own personal safety can anyone recommend a no cook, no fridge needed recipe for next week?!

So, after lusting after a giant cupcake pan for I don't know how long (yes...I do realise how sad that sounds!!), I finally bit the bullet & bought one. I'm dead chuffed with the result, although I think I could do with a little more practise on getting cooking times & mixture quantities spot on. I love the fact that you'd never have to make the same cake twice, there are so many different variations you could choose. I used smarties to decorate the top, but I'm on the lookout for a good site where I can buy other assorted cake bling, can anyone recommend one?

For the cake
220g plain flour
220g self raising flour
350g butter
350g golden caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs
2-4 tbsp milk

For the icing
175g icing sugar
75g butter
Dash of milk

1. Cream together the butter, sugar & vanilla. Beat in the eggs a little at a time until you have a light fluffy mixture.

2. Fold in the flour, adding a little dash of milk to make a smooth mixture that should easily drop of the spoon.

3. Divide the mixture between the 2 sections of the cupcake pan allowing room for each to rise. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM4 for 50-60 minutes, until a skewer comes out of the centre of the cake clean. I found I had to take the top part out a little early to avoid over browning, you just need to keep an eye on it.

4. To make the icing, cream together the butter & icing sugar, adding a little milk if it's a bit too stiff to spread. Level off the top & bottom sections of the cake with a sharp knife, then use a few blobs of the icing to sandwich them together. Spread the icing all over the top of the cupcake, then decorate with sweets of your choice!

This really did look impressive on my tea table & I've already had a request to make one for a forthcoming birthday! If you don't have a giant cupcake pan, you could try making a regular Madeira cake, just half the quantities for the mixture. See you next week, when I hope calm will have been restored to my kitchen! Rebecca x

Week 25 - Malteser Cookies

Hey hey, I'm back from my weekend camping feeling very chilled & ready to bake some more! We had fab weather in the New Forest & amazingly the campsite sold bags of ice, so panic over, there was no problem keeping the Rose chilled. We did go horse riding & yes I did announce to the rather confused group, 'I'm on a horse!' It seems getting off a horse is harder than getting on though & I performed the most ungraceful dismount, catching my back leg on the saddle & pretty much coming off head first. It's ok, I don't think anyone noticed! I also didn't realise there were wild ponies in the forest? It's a bit odd how they just roam around the place, one came right up to us & practically sat on our picnic blanket, we did offer him a beer but he wasn't that interested & wandered off again. I did enjoy camping & had a lovely time, but I admit I was happy to be back in my bed!

So next week marks a milestone for the blog, I hit the half way point in the baking challenge. It's been a lot of fun baking & writing each week, as well of course being able to share the fruits of my labour. I've had such lovely support & encouragement from everyone, I wanted to do something to say thank you. So this Friday I'm hosting the first ever Rebecca Bakes Cakes tea party! I have a special 1/2 birthday cake planned, as well as lots of other sweet treats & probably not an insignificant quantity of Pimms. If you're in the area let me know, pop in & say hi! Full report next week...

So on to this weeks recipe & it's something I've created for a competition that's running on mydish.co.uk The challenge is to create a recipe using Maltesers. Now putting them in cookies may not seem like the most creative use of Maltesers, but I've never come across it before & to be honest it was a bit of a gamble as I didn't know how they'd hold up in the oven? Simple, but effective I think!

55g butter
120g soft brown sugar
1 egg
Few drops of vanilla essence
140g plain flour
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
135g Maltesers (bashed up a bit!)

1. Cream together the butter & sugar, then beat in the egg & vanilla essence

2. Stir in the flour & bicarb, then finally the Maltesers. Spoon dollops of the mixture onto a baking tray, leaving space for them to spread, I got 12 cookies from a batch. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM5 for 12-15 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack

I'm quite chuffed with the outcome, the Maltesers go even crunchier in the oven, so you get a delicious cookie with little bites of malty loveliness! I think to make them even better, next time I'd also add a handful of mini marshmallows. The competition closes at the end of the month so we'll have to wait & see how my cookies compare?

Ooo...before I forget, does anyone know where I can find Marshmallow Fluff in London? I'm desperate to try Whoopie Pies, but this is a vital ingredient I'm missing. Well time to say goodbye for another week, take care, Rebecca x

Week 24 - Cherry Bakewell

Ok, so the psychic octopus got it right & England have crashed out of the world cup! Guess we have to pin our British hopes on the tennis now, GO MURRAY!! But there was quite enough talk about sport last week & to be honest I'm a bit bored with it...so on to more exciting things.

This weekend I'm heading off for a spot of camping, fresh air & the great outdoors (I have been assured there are showers & we are in walking distance of civilisation!) The weather is set to be pretty good so I'm hoping it'll be a chance to relax, although I'm a little concerned about how you can keep Rose chilled in a tent! Continuing with the trying new things theme of the year there is a stables near by, so I may have a go at horse riding, if for nothing else but to be able to say 'I'M ON A HORSE!' For those of you thinking, Rebecca, that's clearly not funny, click here, you'll laugh out loud, it's definitely one for the ladies!

This weeks recipe is a recommendation from the guys at www.bakingmad.com It's a lovely site about all things baking, they have a great archive of recipes & lots of baking tips. Have a peek if you get a chance. Now I really like Cherry Bakewells, but I have to admit I'm used to mine being from a certain Mr Kipling, topped with white icing & a cherry. Like the Millionaires Shortbread I made a few months back, I always thought they would be too tricky to make at home? It does take a little more effort than usual, but it is worth it. Baking Mad, I hope I've done your recipe justice, my cakes aren't known for looking perfect, but usually taste good!

For the base
300g plain flour
50g golden caster sugar
65g semolina
1/4 tsp baking powder
175g butter

For the filling
340g jar cherry jam

For the topping
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
175g golden caster sugar
175g ground almonds
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
175g butter melted
25g flaked almonds

1. Put the flour, sugar, semolina & baking powder into a bowl, rub in the butter until you get a soft dough. Take a baking tin approx 8 x 12 inches & press in the dough to form the base. I lined my tin with foil to make it easier to remove after cooking. Bake the base in the over on 180c/GM5 for 20 minutes. Lift out & leave to cool for a few minutes.

2. Whisk the eggs together, then stir in the sugar, ground almonds & vanilla. Next whisk in the melted butter.

3. Spread the base with the jam, I found it was easiest to empty the jam into a bowl & give it a good stir to loosen it up. Then pour over the eggy, almond mixture & pop back into the oven for another 25 minutes.

4. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds & return to the oven for a final 15-2o minutes, until the top is golden & set. Leave to cool completely in the tin (I tried to cut it when it was still warm & ended up with a gooey mess!), then lift out & cut into fingers, squares, whatever you like!

These are perfect with a cup of tea, sorry Mr K, your services are no longer required! Let me know what you think if you try them? I'm off to continue packing for the camping trip, it's currently a toss up between sleeping bag or shoes, there just isn't enough space in my rucksack & I've been told there's no way I can turn up with a wheelie suitcase! So, I'll see you in a week, when I will be all at one with nature & I'll tell you more about the plans to celebrate hitting half way in my 52 week baking challenge. Ta ta for now, Rebecca x

Week 23 - Strawberry Shortcake

Happy days cake fans! It's a gorgeous summer evening & I'm only writing this weeks post in the park! Bit later than usual this week, but what with all the football & Wimbledon (oh & that small inconvenience called work!) it's been tricky to find time to write. Thankfully, my love of cake always wins through & somehow I squeeze in the baking!

So, how do we fancy the chances of our, ahem, 'great', sporting nation bringing home a trophy of some sort this summer? I must admit I think there is something distinctly British about the way we follow sports which I love! We're passionate about it & will come up with the most creative excuses for our teams under performance. So far I've heard England's world cup performance put down to a new ball type, poor turf quality, altitude sickness or the fact the WAGS aren't there. Could it not just be we're actually just a bit rubbish? One world cup does not a great team forever more make! But, it seems the boys have bucked themselves up & actually won this afternoon, so we're through to the knock outs, but second behind the USA...who would have thunk that?? Fingers crossed for Sunday! Anyway, enough about football, maybe I'll share my tennis wisdom with you next week :-)

This weeks recipe is partly to celebrate Wimbledon, but also that it looks like summer has finally arrived. Strawberries are one of my favourite fruits & one thing I will get really fussy over. I'll only ever buy British strawberries when they are in season & if I can get to a pick your own, even better! This is an adaptation of a recipe card I picked up from a Safeway supermarket (remember them?) years ago. It's become one of my staple desserts & always goes down a storm. With all the delicious fresh fruit flavours, it tastes like summer!

120g butter
120g caster sugar
1 egg
120g plain flour
120g SR flour
200g strawberries (the riper the better!) sliced
1 apple, peeled & grated
Zest of an orange
2 tbsps strawberry jam
Sugar to sprinkle

1. Cream together the butter & sugar, then beat in the egg until light & fluffy. Sift in the flours, then combine until you get a soft dough, pop it in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes

2. Take half of the dough & squish it into the base of a loose bottom cake tin so it's even. Next spread the jam over the dough, then add the grated apple & orange zest. Finally arrange the sliced strawberries over the top.

3. Take the other half of the dough & roll it out so it roughly fits over the top of the fruit. It doesn't have to be perfect, so you can try & flatten it with your hands instead. Sprinkle a good shower of sugar over the top & bake in the oven on 180c/GM5 for around 50 mins until golden brown on top. Leave to cool completely before taking out of the tin

There are several different ways you could serve this, warm with vanilla ice cream or cold with double cream. My favourite is warm with a generous dollop of marscapone cheese, delicious! If you follow the serving suggestion on the original recipe card, it should be enjoyed with a bottle of Lambrusco!
Enjoy the sport, but if you're really not a fan why not take to the kitchen & bake yourself a cake, with 23 weeks worth of recipes I hope you'll find some inspiration here! Keep cool, Rebecca x

Week 22 - Cafe au Lait Cupcakes

Good news! I didn't drown myself surfing so I'm back to bake another week! I had a great time in Cornwall, I can really see how people get the surfing bug. Lets face it, I was fairly pants, but I did manage to catch a few waves & although I didn't actually get on my feet, I managed to get about half way up which was far better than I expected. It sounds ridiculous but the most challenging part of the weekend was getting into the wetsuit. It wasn't easy, especially on the 2nd day when I felt muscles I didn't even know I had, aching in my arms! Thank you to Oakley for a fab prize & to the guys at Big Friday for organising a great weekend.

Back to the cakes & this weeks recipe is another request. In a shameless plug for the brand I work for, I made this using Douwe Egberts Pure Indulgence coffee (I'm a slave to the brand I know!) I find you need to use quite a strong coffee to make sure it gives a rich enough flavour to the cake. I came across a recipe for an American Frosting in a Good Housekeeping cookbook from the 70's, so I thought I'd have a crack at that instead of traditional butter cream for the topping. It's given them a lovely glossy finish, but if I'm honest I think I prefer butter cream, the frosting tastes nice, but it's got a different texture, but different is good sometimes, right?

For the cupcakes
125g butter
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
Few drops vanilla essence
125ml milk
4 tsps instant coffee dissolved in a little water
200g plain flour
2 tsps baking powder

For the frosting
175g brown sugar
1 egg white
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
30ml water

1. Cream together the butter & sugar, beat in the eggs then add the rest of the liquids & beat well until light & fluffy. Sift in the flour & baking powder & fold together. Line a 12 hole bun tin with paper cases & divide the mixture evenly between them. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM5 for 20 minutes, leave to rest for 5 minutes in the tin, then lift out onto a rack to cool.

2. To make the frosting, put all the ingredients into a bowl & whisk until combined. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water & continue to whisk until it thickens & the mixture forms soft peaks. Now I started with an egg whisk, but realised I was getting nowhere fast! (Especially with achy surfy arms!) So I switched to my electric whisk & it thickened in no time.

3. Leave the frosting to cool for a few minutes so it's not quite as runny, then coat the top of each cupcake. I finished them off with a white chocolate coated coffee bean!

I called these Cafe au Lait as the milk in the recipe gives it that lovely creamy taste. The brown sugar in the frosting gives a complimentary caramel flavour. If I was to make them again, I'd make a vanilla butter cream instead. I guess you could also turn them into Mocha Cupcakes by adding around 75g of cocoa powder to the cake mix...mmm, might just try that!

So I've taken on blogging, marathon walking & surfing so far this year...I need to give some thought to my next challenge. Have a good week, enjoy the sunshine, Rebecca x

Week 21 - Black Forest Gateau

Aloha cakies! How are you all? I'm so excited, I'm off to the south coast this weekend to attempt to learn to surf! I've never even so much as body boarded before & have a serious case of wet suit fear...I mean how on earth do you get yourself into one? Thankfully I'm a fairly strong swimmer so I'm hoping I won't drown myself, but I think there's probably only an outside chance of me actually getting upright on a surf board. But you never know, I might take to it like a duck to water & transform myself into a surf babe worthy of a part in Blue Crush! It's going to be a lot of fun with a packed schedule, we've got surf lessons & yoga, think I might need another holiday to recover!

So, it's been a while since I've baked what I'd call a proper cake, so I thought I'd have a crack at a 70's classic, Black Forest Gateau. It ended up being a bit of a feat of engineering to construct, but I hope you'll agree it looks impressive (if not a little hap-hazard!). I think the original recipes suggested using tinned cherries, but I really struggled to find them. Instead I made my own cherry compote, it takes a bit of time but is well worth the effort. I didn't want to buy Kirsch so sneaked in a little bit of brandy to give it a kick!

For the cakes
225g butter
225g sugar
4 eggs
225g plain flour
25g cocoa
2 tsp baking powder

For the filling
300g cherries
100g soft brown sugar
50ml brandy (optional)
50ml water
300ml whipping cream

1. Cream together the butter& sugar, then beat in the eggs until light & fluffy. Sieve in the flour, cocoa & baking powder, fold together until all combined. Grease 2 sandwich tins & divide the mixture between them. Bake in the oven at 190c/GM5 for around 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin, then tip out onto a rack.

2. Cut the cherries in half & remove the stones, this is a bit fiddly & you will end up with pink fingers! Keep a few fresh to decorate the top with. Put the stoned ones in a small pan with the sugar, water & brandy, give it a good stir. Put it on a gentle heat & bring it up to the boil. Simmer until the mixture has reduced by half & the liquid has thickened into a light syrup. Put to one side to cool.

3. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks, then slice each of the cakes in half, I find it easiest to use the bread knife to do this. Now starts the construction! Place a base layer of cake, drizzle a little of the syrup over the top, then add a layer of cream, a scattering of cherries & another layer of cake. Repeat this pattern until you pop on the top, then add a final topping of cream & a few more fresh cherries to decorate.

This is a delicious gooey tower of chocolate, cherry & cream. For the full effect I feel like I should be presenting it on a hostess trolley! Only problem is I'm wondering how I'm going to fit it into the fridge? Oh well, might just have to eat it instead! Maybe this could be the first in a series of Euro inspired cakes? Germany can't be the only one with a famous cake? Well for now, auf wiedersehen, wish me luck for surfing & I'll see you all next week. Take care, Rebecca x

Week 20 - Rock Buns

Notice anything different about the blog this week? Yes, we've had a bit of a bank holiday makeover! The blogger template was great to get me going, but now I've found my feet a bit with this blogging malarkey I thought it was time for a new look. The design comes from a great site called www.yummylolly.com. It's run by a fab designer who has been kind enough to share her blog templates for free! I loved her designs & found it tough to pick a favourite, it's great, with this new look I feel like a proper blogger now!

This weeks recipe was a suggestion from Our New Life in the Country & it got me thinking back to some of my earliest memories of cooking in home economics at school. The first thing I think we ever cooked at middle school was potato pie. Now from what I remember 'pie' was used in the loosest sense of the word, we basically made mashed potato, tipped it into an oven dish & topped it with grated cheese! I feel sorry for my Mum & Dad who were probably made to eat it, having to make the appropriate noises of appreciation! I do also remember baking at school & have the battle scars to prove it. One week I came home from school with my arm wrapped in cling film after dropping a baking tray out the oven onto my arm. Unfortunately my clumsiness seems to have got worse with age & I'm still a bit of a liability in the kitchen!

I'm sure we made rock buns at school, the traditional ones with mixed peel & sultanas. But keeping with the makeover theme for this week, I thought I'd try a new more grown up version, see what you think?

100g butter
50g light brown sugar
1 egg
225g self raising flour
100g fudge
100g milk chocolate
Dash of milk

1. Cream together the butter & sugar, then beat in the egg until it's all light & fluffy

2. Chop both the fudge & chocolate into small chunks (or use chips instead), add them to the mixture along with the flour. Fold it all together until it combines to a stiff dough, use a little dash of milk to help it along if its a bit too dry

3. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper & place on small dollops of the mixture leaving a gap to allow them to spread. I made 12 rock buns out of a batch

4. Bake in the oven at 200c/GM6 for 10 minutes until they have just started to brown on the top. Leave to cool completely, then peel them off the paper.

I'm really pleased with the result, the fudgy bits on the top have melted into delicious caramel gooeyness & the cake itself is lovely & crumbly! I hope you like the new twist on an old classic? However if you're a bit of a traditionalist & want to stick to the classic, then simply substitute the fudge & chocolate for 150g of mixed fruit & a good pinch of mixed spice. Right I'm off to research food processors, managed to break mine in the process of this weeks baking...what was that about liability in the kitchen?? Till next week, Rebecca x

Week 19 - Paradise Cake

Hello! How are you all this week, hope you survived the mini heatwave! I'm struggling a little bit with the heat at the minute. Some of you may know I live in a loft apartment (ooo...makes me sound very SATC!), only problem is heat rises & my flat is quickly turned into a sauna. Now seeing as I spent most of the winter complaining how cold it was in the flat, you'd think I'd be happy...but no, I'm British, it's genetic that I have to complain about the weather! Never mind, saunas are meant to be good for you no?

So this weeks recipe is another one rescued from my Mum's scrapbook, she's raved about it for as long as I can remember, but I only ever think she's made it once! I've no idea where this recipe came from & I've never seen it in any other cookbooks, turns out it's a traditional Scottish recipe & that was about the sum total of Googles insight. That makes sense though, as both sides of my family are from the North East & I grew up pretty close to the borders. It's simple to make although I have to admit to taking a shortcut!

Now I know I've always said that baking is easy & cake mix shouldn't come out of a box, but LIFE'S TO SHORT TO MAKE PASTRY!! I have tried many times to make it & it always ends up a complete disaster. The first time I tried to blind bake pastry I didn't have any baking beans, the recipe said you could use rice instead. What I failed to notice was it said to wrap the rice in something first, I didn't, so ended up with uncooked grains of rice embedded in the pastry! I still haven't bought any baking beans & have come to terms with the fact that Jus-Rol can do something I can't & that doesn't make me a bad baker :-) Here goes...

250g shortcrust pastry (ready made or your own if you're feeling brave!)
100g butter
100g caster sugar
1 egg
60g glace cherries chopped
60g walnut pieces
60g ground almonds
100g sultanas

1. Grease a pie tin approx 18cm across. Roll out the pastry to line the tin, then trim off any excess

2. Cream together the butter & sugar, then beat in the egg until light & fluffy. Next stir in all the other ingredients & spread the mixture evenly into the pastry case, no need to blind bake!

3. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM5 for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin completely before tipping out

That last point I share with you from first hand experience, I got a bit over excited & tried to tip it out early! Lets just say you're lucky there's a picture this week, it took me a good 15 minutes to reconstruct it. But as I've always said, my cakes are not supermodels & it still tastes fantastic, I can see why Mum has gone on about it so much!

Have a good week, I hope the sun stays with you. We're fast approaching half way in my baking challenge & I'd really love to include some more of your requests, so please send your ideas my way. Ta ta, Rebecca x

Week 18 - Mediterranean Muffins

I made it, I've survived my first marathon! Now this may be stating the bleedin obvious, but man alive 26.2 miles is a long way! Although I'd followed the training plan & was feeling ready for it, I don't think anything can prepare you mentally for the challenge. I also underestimated the difference of walking at night, it's all very well training in the Great Park after a good nights sleep & in the sunshine, but in the cold, depth of night, it's tough! That said it was an amazing experience, I have a huge amount of admiration for the Walk the Walk organisation, they have created a fantastic event & have raised a massive amount of money to support the fight against breast cancer. My own fundraising effort far surpassed my expectations & my total currently stands at £776, so thank you to everyone for their support.

I feel like I've consumed a huge amount of sugar over the last few weeks, so I've opted for a savoury recipe this week. I've chosen to use some of my favourite med style ingredients, but there are lots of other options like mozzarella or sun-dried tomatoes, the worlds your lobster!

300g plain flour
1tbsp baking powder
150g halloumi cheese
125ml milk
40ml olive oil
2 eggs
50g olives
2 tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Sift the flour & baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Grate the halloumi & mix it in with the flour.

2. Lightly beat together the eggs & milk, stir in the olive oil, roughly chop the tomatoes & olives & add them to the liquids along with the oregano & some seasoning.

3. Add the eggy, milky mixture to the flour & stir until all the flour is combined. Line a 12 hole bun tin with paper cases & divide the mixture evenly. Bake in the oven at 190c/GM5 for 30-35 minutes until well risen & golden brown on the top. Leave to rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool.

I like these best when they're still warm & you could easily pop them back into the oven for 10 minutes to warm them up again. Hope you enjoy this weeks savoury interlude! Next week I'll be digging out another of my mum's old recipes, we have no idea where it came from & have never come across it since, trust me it's a treat!

Also, just wondered if anyone had any tips or suggestions to improve the blog? I'm still new to this (well I've been doing it 18 weeks!) but would be grateful for any advice on how to improve it, or get more people to read it! Have a good week, Rebecca x

Week 17 - Gingerbread Walkers

Hello cake mates! It's finally here, it's Moonwalk week! I'm so excited, I've finished training, my bra is definitely decorated in the 'Showtime' theme & I just want to get on & do it now! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far, not just with sponsorship, but with encouragement & footcare advice. Thanks also to Mum, Michael & Gemma who have given up a nights sleep to come & volunteer at the event, they'll be on one of the water stations & seeing them on route will definitely spur me on! This weeks recipe has been created as a last minute fundraising effort, on Tuesday I held a cookie sale at work & raised a fantastic £56. Thanks to everyone who bought one!

So my boss has now headed off on maternity leave & last week I mentioned I'd made an alternative cake for her. Well here it is, a nappy cake! I never knew such a thing even existed until I googled baby showers, but I've since found out they were featured in Sex & the City! It was a lot of fun to make, the gifts you can't see that were attached to the back included a rather large bar of chocolate, pro plus & ear plugs! It was quite an eye opener, who would have thought you could find a video tutorial on youtube on how to make a nappy cake. (And people think I have too much time on my hands!) Anyway, it went down a storm, so much so I think it's being kept as a decoration in baby's room.

Right, back to my little gingerbread walking buddies. I love gingerbread but don't make it that often, I'm a bit lazy when it comes to rolling & cutting out dough! It's easy to make the dough, it just needs a bit of muscle when you have to combine the flour. Make sure you keep an eye on them in the oven as they can turn from golden to burnt very quickly!

100g butter
100g demerara sugar
200g golden syrup
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsps bicarbonate of soda
1 egg
500g plain flour

1. Put the sugar & syrup into a pan & bring it up to boiling point over a gentle heat. Add the bicarb & give it a good stir, it will turn cloudy & froth up a bit so make sure you have room in the pan!

2. Chop the butter into small chunks & put into a large mixing bowl. Add the syrup mixture to the butter & stir until the butter is melted. Beat in the egg, then mix in the flour a little at a time until you end up with quite a stiff dough.

3. Dust a work surface with flour, then roll out the dough to about 2mm thick & cut out whatever shapes you like! I roll it out a little at a time as it makes it easier to handle. Pop them onto a baking tray lined with baking paper leaving a little space in between as they will expand.

4. Bake in the oven at 170c/GM3 for 10-15 minutes. I baked mine in batches, using a fresh bit of baking paper each time. That way it's easier to leave them to cool before decorating. I used a tube of writing icing to decorate mine. But in the past I've also used jelly tots & smarties, attaching them with a little bit of icing.

I never quite know how to eat a gingerbread man, legs first? I feel a bit bad biting his arms off! Never mind, they taste so good I quickly get over it! So that's me done for another week, wish me luck for Saturday, there's still time to sponsor me, just click here. Thanks again to everyone for their support & also for the messages letting me know you're still reading. I had a horrible feeling last week I was talking to myself, lovely to know I'm not! Take care, Rebecca x

Week 16 - Millionaire's Shortbread

Hello, hope you all enjoyed the long weekend? I managed to time it perfectly & take advantage of the 5 hours of sunshine we did actually get! I completed my final long training walk on Saturday, 18 miles in 4.5 hours. So that's it, training done, I'm ready for the Moonwalk & I can't wait for the 15th May. I'm just hoping my feet heal in time, I'm still having problems with blisters & there doesn't seem to be enough compeed plasters in the world to help. I've even taken to padding around the office barefoot to avoid shoes making them worse! If anyone has any tried & tested methods to fix blisters, please please let me know, I've only got 10 days to go.

This weeks recipe is a request & one of my favourite sweet treats. I used to buy it ready made from the supermarket & always thought it would be really difficult to make at home? I came across this recipe in the Christmas edition of Olive magazine & thought I'd have a go! It's easier than you might think, it just takes a little time as you have to allow for cooling in between layers. That said, the result is amazing & I'll never go back to the shop bought stuff! Piccie will follow, my chocolate topping hadn't quite set yet!

Shortbread
50g caster sugar
150g butter
200g flour

Caramel
225g caster sugar
142ml double cream
25g butter

Topping
200g dark chocolate
40g butter
60g white chocolate

1. Blitz together the flour, sugar & butter in a food processor until you get a soft dough. Line a tin approx 20cm square with baking paper, leaving an overhang to make it easy to lift out of the tin. Tip the dough into the tin & firmly press down so it's evenly spread. Chill for 10 minutes, then bake in the oven at 160c/GM4 for 35 minutes until golden brown. Leave it to cool completely in the tin

2. To make the caramel, place all the ingredients into a pan & over a gentle heat bring it up to the boil until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer rapidly for about 30 minutes, it's tricky to know when it's ready, but I'm told you should drop a blob of caramel into a glass of water, if it stays together, it's done!

3. Once the base is cool, pour the caramel over the top & leave it to cool completely. Melt the dark chocolate & butter together, then pour over the caramel. Leave to set, then melt the white chocolate & drizzle over the top. Once it's all set, you can use the paper to lift it out of the tin & cut it into chunks

There's something really satisfying about making Millionaire's Shortbread, maybe because of the time that goes into it! The request came from my boss, who is leaving us (temporarily) to have a baby. So, I hope you enjoy it Kerry & that baby makes a safe arrival in the not too distant future! I have also made an alternative cake to mark the occasion, but as that's a surprise for Friday, I'll tell you about that next week. Right cake done, it's on to bra decorating for the Moonwalk...it's a very creative week! Enjoy, Rebecca

p.s. I'm not really sure if anyone is still reading this? If you are, make yourself known please :-)