Lent Baking Challenge

I have spent the past few years giving up something for Lent, either chocolate or alcohol and one year I even gave up both. This year I will not be giving anything up I will be indulging myself in my passion instead. I have decided to set up a Lent baking challenge and want to get as many other people involved as possible.

The Lent Baking Challenge is really simple - for the 40 days of lent instead of giving up something you indulge in cooking lots of lovely things. You choose if you want to make 5 or 10 recipes and I have created a Facebook group where everyone can post up their recipes and photos of the finished food. So let’s get everyone involved, you don’t have to be the best cook in the world, you don’t even have to choose difficult recipes, just try to make at least 1 thing you have never made before. Invite as many of your friends to get involved as well.

Here is the link to the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/357742617579679/?bookmark_t=group if you go onto the group then you will see I have posted my first of the ten recipes on there that I am making tonight. My hubby is also getting involved and has posted his first recipe on there as well. 

I have decided to try and use some of the cookbooks that I have not used very much or even at all. Here are my first five recipes for the challenge:

• Salmon Fishcakes
• Chelsea Buns
• New York Cheesecake
• Bitter chocolate and orange muffins 
• Fruit and spice soda bread

I have not made any of these before so they will all be a nice challenge for me and I intend to finish the challenge by making a Simnel cake ready for Easter. 

Why not get involved and indulge yourself this Lent.  

Twitter + Cake = Yummy!

I had a very interesting morning yesterday, I made my way up to Cambridge and met with Miss Sue Flay (say it out loud) a lovely lady who runs her own business on top of a full time job and has started Twitter workshops. I use Twitter almost as much as I use Facebook and think I might be starting to become addicted to it as I look at it as soon as I wake up and just before I go to bed. I know I am a very nosey person so it helps me find out what other people are doing without actually having to talk to them.

I want to start using Twitter properly and to promote my business, Little Sprinkles, so I went along to find out what hints and tips she could pass on. I was greeted by a fantastic looking table with some very yummy looking food on it. I managed to wait at least 10 minutes before starting to eat all of this yummy food. I met three other really interesting ladies, two were foodies like me and the other a Twitter Newbie who wanted to start using it. The morning progressed, lots of tea was drunk and Cheese Scones, Coffee and Walnut cake and Rocky Road bites were eaten and it turned into a bit of an ideas session as we all bounced ideas off each other and suggested things that we could do.
It was a really worthwhile morning and I came away with my head spinning with ideas.

I have lots of things to start planning as well as real life that just keeps getting in my way. I have now left my job (or rather was made redundant) and have managed to secure another job this week which means we have to move about 80 miles from Bristol down to the Somerset/Dorset border. I start my new job on the 12th March and before then we have to find a house, a nursery for Nathan and move! I have not been slow in finding ways of getting myself out down there and have a table at a Mother and Baby Market next Saturday at Sturminster Newton so have to make a few cakes for that.

I think I can safely say that my February Challenge is going to go the same way as my January challenge but I have a new idea to get people baking and sharing their results so watch this space as I will share it with you all this week.  



All in the name of love

Well I decided to bake Stu a valentines present this year as we are not big valentines day people. And I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and make him something out of one of the books in my challenge! It's a bit cheeky but I did choose a recipe from my 1001 cakes & cookies book so I had a lot to choose from and I found something that I knew he would like. Cheese scones (heart shaped)

I haven't felt much like baking so far this month as I have had bigger things to think about. We have made a huge life changing decision, as it is my last day of work this Friday we have decided to leave Bristol behind us and start a new life in the country. We are moving down to the Dorset/Somerset border as soon as we can find a house.
It is a very scary but exciting decision and I have already started finding new ways to promote my business down there. I have a table booked at two wedding fayre (thanks to my mother in law) and a table booked at a mother & baby event so hopefully I will start to spread the word about Little Sprinkles down there.

Had better go do the washing up as it would be a bit mean to make Stu do it!

13 days down, 1 recipe made, 5 to go in 14 days

New month, new challenge

Well I was three recipes short on my January challenge. Life took over and baking had to take a back seat as I had to look after my little man who was properly ill for the 1st time at the end of January.

But I have decided not to let this beat me and I am going to take the remaining 3 books and add the 3 books I got for my birthday and use them as my February challenge, the other books are:
The Great British Bake Off
Old Fashioned Sweet Shop
There's a Zombie in my Cupcake

I only have 2 weeks left at work so should have a lot of free time on my hands after that. But then again I might not as the husband has 2 job interviews for proper teaching jobs this week, 1 in Yeovil and the other in Bournemouth so if he gets either we will be moving away from Bristol so the end of February could be very busy with packing and moving. I have already said I want a house with a big kitchen!!

So we now have 24 days left and 6 recipes to go. Best get baking!

January Blues

Well I've had a hard week to say the least, it started very nicely spending the weekend with my two favourite men. We went out for lunch on Sunday and Nathan did very well with his lunch, hardly any of it ended up on the floor! He did seem to prefer the carrots to anything else on his plate, I really shouldn't complain about this.

I managed to get two recipes done on Saturday afternoon, a very yummy Chocolate Cups from my Life is Sweet book and a hard candy from the Vintage Teaparty book. The chocolates are all gone but I have popped some in the post to a very lucky lady. The hard candy are still in the fridge as they are very sticky but taste good.

The week soon went bad, had decided to work from home on Tuesday to give myself some time to start the job search when at 10.30am I get a call from Nathan's childminder to say he has been sick and can I come and pick him up. I then have him with me for the rest of the day, luckily the two times he was sick at home was in the kitchen were it is all wipe clean, my kitchen floor has never been so clean!
It is only today that we have not had to clean up any more so he can head back to the childminders tomorrow. Trying to get work done and dealing with a small child do not mix, thank god for my mother in law who did the three hour round trip to look after him today which has helped keep me sane!

So here we are with five days left in January and I have done five out of the eight books and have three left, gingerbread, doughnuts and chocolate eclairs! Am hoping to get the gingerbread and doughnuts done this weekend which just leaves the eclairs. Think I may just do this challenge by the skin of my teeth!

Baking to calm a troubled mind

I spent last night baking my next recipe in my January challenge, ham and mushroom muffins to try and take my mind off work things. It did work for a short time but real life reared it's ugly head today. The muffins tasted good, they were lunch for both Stu and myself.
I was not sure they would turn out alright as the mixture was very gloopy and as I have not made savoury muffins before I was not sure what they should look like.

I got a cupcake and cakepop order today and Nathan took 6 steps today so it is turning out to be a good day.

I am very aware that I still have 5 recipes to make and am quickly running out of days in January but am planning on making my doughnuts at the weekend (this could be very dangerous if they turn out to be easy to make) and I hope to make the chocolates as well . The people who bought me the book that the chocolates come from might get a nice surprise in the post as well.

So we are 20 days and 3 recipes down and have 11 days and 5 recipes to go, better get cracking.

Extreme baking!

Well it is 6 days into my task and I have done 2 out of the 8 recipes.

Today I made cola cupcakes from my Cox Cookies and Cakes book that my inlaws gave me for Christmas, they include a can of coke which I managed to break a nail opening. My first baking related injury!

I needed some time to myself today and this was a good way to take my mind off my work related issues. Am not going to bore you with the details but baking is the best therapy for me and it costs a lot less than the professionals!

I have found a distributor that I can buy sweets from and they can help me set up a sweet shop either online or on the high street. Got quite excited about this, can see things starting to fall into place for the next step I want to take with Little Sprinkles. Exciting times ahead!

Best head to the kitchen to do the washing up then am heading to bed. Nathan is sleeping through the night but still thinks 5am is a good time to wake up - not good!

6 days in, 2 recipes baked, 6 to go in 20 days

One down, seven to go

Well I have baked the first recipe of my January task, Green & Blacks brownie crisps.
They were something I had never made before and they have got Stu's approval as he has already eaten three!

I have got the ingredients all ready for the next recipe, cola cupcakes. As well as picking out all the other six and I am pushing myself to make some things I have never made before so this will be interesting.

I have decided that I will give myself this type of task each month as I have loads of recipe books that I don't use enough so this will make me use them more.

1 recipe down, 7 to go in 23 days

New task

Having failed miserably on my task set at the beginning of this blog I thought it was time to rethink and set smaller monthly tasks for myself.

So my January task is to cook one recipe from each of the fabulous books I was given for Christmas, which as you can see from the photo is a fair number!

I was given the following books for Christmas:
The Vintage Tea Party book
Cox Cookies & Cakes
Green & Blacks Ultimate Chocolate collection
Doughnuts (and a doughnut maker)
1001 Cupcakes, Cookies and other temptations
The Hummingbird Bakery Cupcake & Muffins
Life is Sweet
And Dress Your own Gingerbread (that I did already own, sorry Mum)

Phew that is a lot of books - so that means I have to make a grand total of eight new things in the 26 days left in January which does sound easy, but once I factor in my full time job plus my one year old and life in general I think it is a tough challenge.

If anyone has any suggestions of any favourite recipes from any of these books do let me know. All that is left for me to do is choose the recipes I am going to make, which could take all of January!