Peggy Porschen teapot cookie and cafe

Jan 26, 2011

There’s a very cool cookie, cake and cupcake shop in Victoria which I’d recommend – Peggy Porschen Cakes. I’ve just been in there to buy this lovely pink teapot cookie for my friend as it’s her birthday tomorrow and unfortunately, she’ll be travelling back from Switzerland rather than kicking back with a glass of wine. This was a lovely little treat to cheer her up! At Peggy Porshen’s as well as being a cake shop, they have two tables in there and serve a selection of nice teas. I am hoping to try out the cupcakes for myself very soon! I have also spied that Peggy Porschen is running cupcake masterclasses…They also have an online shop which has lovely gifts. Will keep you posted on the cafe review soon!

10 great Valentine cake ideas

Jan 18, 2011

With just under a month to go before Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be a good time to share some Valentine cake and cupcake ideas with you. There’s a savoury idea in here too if your man isn’t in to cake. Ignoring the latter sentence, cake is a great way to show your love for someone – surely that is undisputed! Here are a few ideas to get your cakebuds going.

1. Make heart shaped cupcakes – you can buy a cake mould with a set of 6 little cakes from Amazon here

2. Make a heart shaped cake – perhaps a chocolate sandwich sponge cake with red foil heart shaped chocolates in the middle of the cake around the edge – a bit like a heart treasure chest cake! Cake tins can be found here on Amazon

3. Make heart shaped cookies, dipping one half of them in dark or milk chocolate; buy cookie cutters here and you can even put them in heart celophane bags

4. Make a red velvet cake or red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting from the Hummingbird Bakery recipe book

5. Make vanilla cupcakes in these cute cases with hearts on them

6. Make cupcakes and sprinkle with these lovely edible glitter hearts or heart smarties

7. If your man isn’t in to cake but you still want to do something cooking related, how about bake him a pie in one of these magnificent red Le Creuset dishes?

8. If you’re a guy and London based, why don’t you book for a special Valentine afternoon tea at Bea’s of Bloomsbury which includes a gift bag of limited edition heart shaped meringues or if you’re feeling  a little more flush how about the afternoon tea at Claridges which includes champagne and heart shaped macarons? On a related note, check out the pic of these amazing heart macarons made by the Mad Baker – blog post here.

9. Oh and if you want to see a fab Valentine cake display from last year, see my post on a Harrogate bakery here

10. Bake chocolate brownies and make a raspberry coulis for the side – BBC Good Food has a recipe to try

And what will I be baking for my fella you ask?! Secret…until after 14th Feb!

BBC Good Food Christmas pudding ice cream

Jan 11, 2011

This is a cracking little recipe for Christmas, New Year, or anyone wanting that little reminder of Christmas in January. This is a picture of my sister-in-law’s Christmas pudding ice cream which she made for our family on New Year’s Eve. It looks very impressive, a great alternative to the traditional Christmas pudding and can be made in advance. The recipe is from the BBC Good Food website and dare I say that this photo does the recipe a lot more justice than the BBC’s photo! I can’t say this is the healthiest dessert at a whopping 675 calories per serving but it tastes darned good. The boozy fruit in the ice cream is complemented nicely by the cranberry compote which is drizzled on top. It makes a fabulous and dramatic contrast too. Enjoy!