Large chocolate buttons with trail mix

I can't believe it is only a month until Christmas - can't wait!

I have always loved Christmas - for us, it really is all about getting together with loved ones, enjoying some lovely food together and generally having a break.  There are little traditions we have as a family (I am sure most families do), for example, no matter how old we are now, we still have to stand outside the living room door and wait to be called in to admire the tree.  At my mum's, we always have a real tree with real candles - always have done, even when we were all small children.  Needless to say, the candles aren't lit the whole time and never without anyone watching but it just makes it so festive and cosy :-)  And there are always lots and lots of different types of Christmas biscuits/cookies my mum makes for the occasion.  Christmas bakery is very big in Germany and there are some classic recipes like cinnamon stars (Zimtsterne) and other decorated biscuits/cookies.  I will see if I can make some cinnamon stars and share the recipe here - it's a great one as it is gluten free, so watch this space.

Chocolate buttons with trail mix

If you like homemade gifts, then you might enjoy this little edible treat to give away in a pretty jar: chocolate buttons with trail mix.

The ones pictured have the added bonus of protein powder thrown into the mix, making them into little protein treats but they can just as easily be made without.  A quick and easy treat or gift that looks really cute and tastes delicious.

Cookie monster

It's been absolutely shocking weather here - yesterday especially we had torrential downpours and temperatures never got over 8 degrees.  Brrrr!  Now, it's not just that I hate getting cold and wet when walking Keith the dog but on a much more serious note I am very concerned about the impact the weather is having on crops etc.  I haven't seen more than a couple of butterflies so far this year and the bees are not really coming out, so how on earth are plants going to get pollinated?

To cheer us up, I made a couple of batches of biscuits (cookies) which turned out rather lovely with a slight crunch on the outside but soft & chewy middle: chocolate chip & hazelnut and cranberry & blueberry oat ones. 

Both were definite winners and replacing some of the flour with oats (as suggested by Mr Happy Larder) gave a great texture to the fruit ones.  I didn't have quite enough dried berries, so used some frozen ones instead which tasted yummy but made for slightly soft biscuits the following day.  I'd recommend using just dried fruit if you are planning on storing these.


A couple of these with a hot mug of tea helped us forget the rainy day ;-)

Sniffles...

Typical - I've managed to stay healthy for over a year with not a sniffle in sight and just before we are due to go on holiday, I get ill :-(. Mr Happy Larder is on dog walking duties this morning and I will hopefully be back to normal soon.  Lots of hot drinks and vitamins for me and a bit of sleep - I usually fight these things off quite quickly :-).  For dinner tonight, we will just have a pork casserole - it's so easy to just throw together and leave to slow cook in the oven - the perfect food when ill as there is really just minimum effort required but you still get the goodness of a home cooked meal.

Talking of food and recipes, I have just realised that I haven't yet posted the recipe for the chocolate cake we had for Easter, so without further ado, here it is.

Have a lovely weekend!

Rabbit-proof fence...and the giveaway prize...

I promised to share my cake with you today.  It's taken me a little longer because I had run out of KitKats (other chocolate fingers are also available ;-)) and Mr Happy Larder had to dash to the shops to get some more.  So, finally, here it is:

I hope it tastes good - fingers crossed!  I saw the KitKat fence idea a little while ago online and thought that would make the ideal decoration.  Unfortunately, I can't remember where I saw it but if I do, I will let you know.  The cake itself is just a simple chocolate sponge with a layer of chocolate ganache in the middle and on the outside.  Ganache is something I had never made before but it is very easy - it's basically just heated double cream with melted chocolate.  Once cooled you can use it to create a wonderful even glaze on a cake or leave it a little longer and it becomes pipeable and spreadable for cake decoration.  The little carrots in the picture are shop-bought, the rabbits (recognise Karl?) are made out of marzipan and the lawn is just a bit of green icing, rolled out thinly.  The ribbon came from one of my birthday presents - I knew it would come in handy one day :-).  So, all in all not a difficult cake at all but I am very pleased with the result and hope my niece and sister-in-law will be too.

I had also promised you some more details about the next giveaway.  Please remember to stop by on Monday, leave a comment and you are in with a chance to win a copy of the River Cottage Handbook BREAD.  It is an absolute gem of a book and got me into making my own bread, so I hope the winner will enjoy it as much as I do.  Also, there is a US version available, so I can get that one for the winner if preferred.

Right, time to lay the table for coffee and cake now...

Have a very happy Easter!

PS:  recipes for the chocolate sponge & ganache to follow shortly...

Sunday afternoon treat

Sundays used to be all about the cake when I was a little girl.  I can picture my mum now, standing in the kitchen with her apron on and stirring in a bowl or another.  Every now and again little fingers would appear out of nowhere trying to steal a bit of the delicious mix she was creating.  And soon after the lovely smell of cake baking in the oven would fill the house.  She always made the time to bake for us - amazing really when I think that she brought the five of us up by herself after my father passed away.  But in doing so she lay the foundations for our appreciation of homemade food and shared meals.  Sitting around the table on a Sunday afternoon with her baked goodies, telling stories and laughing is one of my fondest memories.  And now, when she comes to visit us here, we still keep up our little tradition, only this time I return the favour and serve one of my cakes.

The following recipe is one of those baked treats she used to make for us and it is still a favourite now.  Easily put together, it can be baked in a loaf tin, square or rectangular tin as I have done here.  You can cover it in chocolate icing and decorate it or leave it plain - it is yummy and moist and quite different to chocolate brownies but definitely worth trying, I think.

A chocolate hug

There is lots of snow across parts of the UK today and although it has not hit us here just yet, the cold is making me think of curling up by the fire with a mug of hot tea and - you guessed it - chocolate...or cake...or both rolled into one.  Whether you like it dark & bitter, milky-silky or simply any type in large amounts, melt-in-the-mouth chocolate does the trick...and so do these lovely brownies.

Brownies...

Studded with little chunks of white chocolate they are gloriously rich; divine as an afternoon treat served with a little vanilla ice cream on the side.  A small piece goes quite a long way but fear not, these freeze well for when you next need a chocolate hug. 

Early bird catches the...cake

Chocolate cake...

We got up early this morning and by 8am I had already changed the bed linen, fed the dog & myself and baked & decorated a chocolate cake - not bad!  It's one of those fool-proof recipes that is just so easy to make but tastes yummy at the same time - very moist and chocolatey with a hint of coffee.  Given the occasion (a friend's baby party tomorrow), I put some pink and blue sugar pearls on top of the icing.  And although it was so early in the day, I had to try a little piece - would have been rude not to :-)

I fear today will be a day for indoor chores as it is really windy and rainy again.  Probably just as well as I do have a few things to do - more washing, tidying up, cleaning, ... It never ceases to amaze me how much time can be spend keeping a house in order.  And that's with all the time/labour-saving devices we nowadays have - God knows how long it would take otherwise if we had to wash the clothes by hand, scrub the floors etc.  So here's a big hooray for irons, hoovers etc!

Good enough to eat

Millionaire shortbread...how decadent!

It's been a very foggy day so far and it doesn't look as if the sun will come out today.  The dog decided that the best way to deal with this type of weather is to go to sleep...he's only just waking up now after a 90 minute nap :-)  Whilst he was snoozing, I managed to prepare dinner and also finish off decorating the millionaire shortbread ( = caramel shortbread) I made last night.  I thought it wasn't going to come out right but it did in the end.  Sometimes I think we strive for perfection when what we do is already good enough.