Like Roses

Whilst visiting York, we came across a shop called the The Yorkshire Pantry which sells products from local businesses and I bought a jar of Raspberry and Rose Conserve from Catherine's Choice. They've got a great selection and I just love their packaging design. I had some Essence of Rose in the cupboard at home, so now that I'm back, I got to making some Rose Cupcakes.

It's a simple sponge recipe - 200g marg, 200g sugar, 200g butter and 2 eggs - with a dash of milk and the essence of rose. The taste is very subtle in these, so next time I'm gonna put more in, perhaps a tablespoon. After cooling and before buttercream icing, I carved out the top and popped in a blob of the raspberry and rose jam!

Sticky Jam

After the fruit and veg picking I got to work making some raspberry jam. I got a really simple recipe from here and it really was so simple. They're right when they say homemade is best. Walking the dog in the park I have spotted the late blooming blackberries. After my raspberry jam success, I thought I'd give this a go. I only managed to pick around 150g of blackberries, and without planning or editing the recipe the result was a sticky disaster! Cooking is as much a science as it is an art! Nevertheless, if you abide by the recipe, homemade jam comes out a treat.

Prune Conserve

Today we popped along to the car boot sale at Epsom Hospital where Ben Smithers was selling his childhood for a bargain. I was enticed into buying an old Kodak camera for £1, which I've given to Brother Dowle to add to his collection, and bought these sweet jars of homemade jams. It's such a beautiful day, fingers crossed that it'll last for my last week at work!

Jam Jar

Since I saw these snaps from wikstenmade, I have thought alot about using jam jars as cups. Then yesterday, in the Evening Standard it was written about as a trend! We're having a bbq this weekend, and we're all bringing something so one idea is cocktails in jam jars. Or beetroot cake as per here, seeds and stitches which was mentioned in the article!

Images from wikstenmade

Mug Cake

Sunday afternoons are always full of procrastination. I just told Lauren how to make a cake in a mug, and hers came out so much more tastier than mine did the other day. Teamed with raspberry Bonne Maman jam and a chai tea latte, it's a delicious afternoon treat!

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
all mixed together in a mug and then
3 minutes in the microwave

VOILA!
I feel all creative on Sundays and I've been inspired to make some summer dresses like this one by Hanna at kiddet. Must get out the needle and thread!

Cake Face

One of my latest creations - cheeky so and so!