The 1st Day!

Today is the 1st day on a very hard journey to give up the dreaded weed.  It may come as a little surprise to some of you that I smoked and I'm not going to give any excuses in saying 'Oh I got in with the wrong crowd as a teenager, or I enjoy it or even it's my body and I can do what I want with it' but I have been seriously thinking long and hard for a couple of months now to finally make the plunge and give it my best shot of giving up. 

With a more positive frame of mind I'm more determined than ever to win.  It's going to be hard, hence why I've enrolled in a no smoking clinic at my doctors in hope that the patches will give me that first step of breaking the habit, because thinking about it it is a habit that takes you over.

So I'm being a big brave girl now and going to break that habit, I can win, I can do it, I'm going to succeed! Thinking positive all the way and wouldn't it be great to link this post in a years time as my 1 year anniversary of being smoke free :-)

Wish me luck

Lynetta Xx

Another surprise parcel

Oh wow, another surprise parcel, this time all the way from America.  I am a lucky girl don't you think and I'm beginning to like this surprise kind of marlarky thing (I've never liked surprises, it stems from my childhood days but that's another story).

Not too sure how or where to use the Jell-o but I know someone who will be able to help me and I cannot wait to make the boys the Mississippi Mud cake bars, they look delicious on the packet and hope I can do them justice.

OOoh I am lucky, lucky, lucky.

Lynetta Xx

Week 15 - Orange Drizzle Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Quote & recipe from HERE: If you like Jaffa Cakes, you’ll love the moist, fruity cake.

It will keep for a week, but it’s unlikely to last that long

Faff Factor =8

Bake = 8

Keeping Up Appearances = 8

Total score = 24/30

This week I decided to pay homage to the humble Jaffa Cake.  I trawled the internet for a Jaffa Cake recipe and decided the jelly part was too much of a faff and then stumbled across this recipe.  Mmmm mmmm.  It's like a lemon drizzle but using orange syrup with the zest of oranges included in the bake and smothered with a Bournville ganache (no other chocolate would have complimented the zangy orange taste in my opnion). 

I was not dissappointed with this bake, and neither are the boys, however I'm only marking an 8 for the bake because I think the drizzle could have drizzled more into the cake, lesson learned - make more holes for the drizzle to drizzle. 

The texture is more of a maderia cake so can withstand you slicing a piece and eating without the aid of a fork, just what you need with a cuppa on this really miserable rainy Sunday.

Even though I have not topped this with a jelly it really tastes like a Jaffa cake, but more grown up.

So that's another one to my favourite collection and a copy in my own recipe file.  I did toy with the idea of baking Peggy Porchens Boozy Orange cake but thought I would leave that to more of an occasion so I can really faff.

I also remarked to Ian yesterday that I have now baked 15 different cakes/breads/pastry (notice the single tense here) this year alone and would not of thought that possible if I had not set myself this challenge.  So only 37 more recipes to find and I'm done :-)

Toot toot,

Lynetta Xx

Special delivery.......

I'm not quite sure what I have done to deserve this but when I got home from work yesterday there was a lovely little parcel happily waiting for me on my doormat. Carefully ripping it open I was greeted by this envelope which bought a HUGE smile to my face.  Firstly because I have never been called 'Divine' and secondly I knew immediatley who it was from because of the handwriting (have I ever told you that I adore your handwriting?) and this was inside:

new bunting :-)  isn't it just the cutest shabby chic bunting you've ever seen and all the way from Australia (that blows my mind that something so British can be sold in Aus) 

M55 NUT - I love you - Thank you :-)

I'm already thinking of it's uses, first it will be for the Jubilee and then I think it will make a visit on my tent, after this in my garden and it may even make an appearance in my little creating room, ooh the possibilities are endless. I will treasure this for the rest of my life.  Thank you sooooooooooooo much Xx (miss you like crazy too and BIG hugs back)

and then today, ding dong goes the bell and there was a little man on my doorstep handing me another parcel.  This one stumped me a bit until I read who it was addressed too, Lynneeeee, well that's my friend's Sarah's term of endearment for me.  Rip rip rip went the parcel and what did I find?

a lovely new book for my collection.  Oh I am a lucky girl.  Thank you Sarah, my PIC (Partner In Crime), this was just what I needed to keep my challenge going for the year.  I've watched all of Eric's Baking Mad programmes and he certainly whips up some tasty treats so watch this space for a little bit of Eric (and watch out Mary, they are hot on your tails).

I feel very blessed to have thoughtful friends who think of me and make me happy. 

Thank You Xx

Lynetta

Week 14 - Lemon Limoncello Cake

Quote from book This is a very lovely cake - light , moist and full of flavour with a refreshing pale lemon buttercream icing

Faff Factor =8

Bake = 9

Keeping Up Appearances = 7

Total score = 24/30

Move over Mary, Peggy Porschen's in the house.  This week I wanted to bake something for me and something girly.  Since going to the cake show the other month and meeting Peggy Porschen and buying her new book I have been itching to bake this cake and to have a go at piping buttercream.  The score I have given for keeping up appearances is a little low as I need alot more practice with my covering and piping (and the cake in the book had daises as a decoration and I did not have the time to make any) what took Peggy 20 minutes took me over an hour!.  I'm also not too happy with the cake board as it's little too big which meant I could not cover right down to the bottom, I think I'm being a little too picky here as it's only for aethesitc reasons why I say this. 

But the bake was wonderful.  I was a little worried as the recipe used 4 eggs with 200g each of butter,sugar and flour and thought it would be really dense and heavy, however it's light, moist and really really scrummy. 

I omitted the Limoncello though as I am a skin flint and could not justify buying a bottle at £14 so I made extra lemon sugar syrup to compensate and it did not dissappoint.  It has the right amount of lemony tangy taste but not bitter, if you know what I mean, as some lemon cakes are very sharp and over sweet.

Something I learned today was to brush the cake with the syrup, wrap in clingfilm and chill before frosting, I love learning something new in my baking challenge.

So anyone for a slice?  You better hurry up as this is the last slice remaining which I am sure will find it's way into my tummy before the end of the day.

Hope you're having a restful Sunday, I am.

TTFN

Lynetta Xx

Oh what a beautiful morning...

Oh what a beautiful day,

I've got a wonderful feeling,everything's going my way :-)

At last a little Spring sunshine morning.  Off to the garden centre with Mum to get some plants.  I have a little project I've been wanting to do for over a year and I may just get time this weekend to make that happen.

Toodle Pip

Lynetta

Xx

April showers

April Showers bring May Flowers - that's My Thought on Thursday!  and I've not done one of those for ages.  I read the other day that there is no such thing as bad weather if you are dressed correctly, good quote and positive thought but having this spell of wet and cold weather is a little set back to our lovely Spring weather we normally have.  On the up side, we may have a wonderful warm summer.....ooohhh the thought of sitting in the garden until late with a good book and a cuppa just lazing the evening away - I'm holding that thought for Thursday :-)

Hold your thoughts and see you soon

Lynetta Xx