Food for thought

This week has been National Coeliac Awareness Week. This is something I feel is very misunderstood and sometimes seen as a fad. I am not going to go into what happens to someone who suffers when they ingest it but rather talk about how hard it is to avoid.

When you think gluten-free what springs to mind? Bread? Pasta? Pastry? Of course these all contain gluten normally but what you might have missed are sausages, soy sauce, stock cubes or cakes! Flour is put into so many things to stabilise, add thickness or simple bulk it up. The challenge set by National Coeliac Awareness Week has been to try for a day to go gluten-free and see how difficult it is. You will have to start with reading the labels on everything of course so watch out for your cereals and of course your toast is out of the question.  To help you though I will offer you a couple of recipes. They aren't mine but are well worth trying - lemon drizzle cake  and sundried tomato bread courtesy of BBC Good Food. Good luck!

Remember I do make gluten free cake just ask!

Film Premier!

Actual film poster

Last week I did something that was an entire first for me... I attended a film premier! What made this even more unique was that it was combined with a chance to network. And what fun we had. I have to say if you get the chance to go then you really must. We had an absolute ball! 

The film was called Shelf Stackers. A well done comedy both in script and filming. You can read all about it on Light Film's own website so I won't go on. Suffice to say this was not a piece of rubbish tagged on the evening. What I will explain more is about the whole event.

I have been to other networking events and found them sometimes a bit stuffy and filled with similar things (if you have ever been you know what I am trying to say!) but this had everything from schools and universities to marketing to utilities to cakes!  Oh yes you thought I might have sneaked something in there I know. This was my version of the film poster.

Shelf Stackers Cake

There was lots of mingling and chatting but nothing pretentious and there was a raffle for charity. I really don't think I've ever laughed so much. Between them, Jordan and Ed had their work cut out as they were close to being out witted by the school children who picked the winning tickets. Myself and my partner in crime for the night (my sister Sally, pictured below) found it hilarious. Every raffle should be done that way! Well done!

Our Stall

The best part about the whole thing is the people I truly networked with. I have had a few orders myself but more importantly I have a few meetings lined up that could launch all sorts of new things for The Cake Nest. Our cake balls seem to go down a storm (oh yes well really do give out freebies at events like these!), our cake cards were given a great response and our tea maybe off on it's own adventure! So watch this space.. like any great film there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes! 

The simplest things in life...

Recently I've discussing the joys of baking with children with some of my friends. It's when that magical moment comes when you are told to go away and they create something amazing by themselves.

My children are only small and so these magical moments work in a different way for me. They are just as creative and sometimes inspiring. So today I give you a recipe for a humble bread dough. The twist with this is i'm not going to tell you what shape to make it that's up to you. Don't be frightened, get your hands in. Break all the taboos and take a rolling pin to it and cut your favourite shapes out with cutters. It really doesn't matter so long as you give time to rise again after. 

Bread Dough

500g Strong White Flour

1tsp Instant Yeast

1tsp Salt

1tsp Sugar

300ml Warm Water (this should be hand warm not boiling!)

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6

• Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and make a hole in the centre.
• Pour the water into the middle and begin to mix the dry ingredients in
• Once it has started to come together take out of bowl and start to kneed. This is not so hard and can take some of a bad day away! The trick is to do it for about 10 minutes (If you have a mixer put it all in with a dough hook and mix for 5 minutes). It should be well mixed and not too sticky in the end.
• Shape into a ball and place back in the bowl with a tea towel over the top
• Leave for 1 hour to allow to double in size
• Take out, kneed briefly and play! Once you have made your shapes put them on to a baking tray and cover again with towel. After 30 mins place in oven. This is the only bit you will have to watch yourself! If you have made small shapes 15 minutes should be long enough but a whole big loaf could take up to 45 minutes! Don't panic, just keep an eye on it. Once the bread is golden brown it should be ready. Large loaves should be tapped underneath to make sure they are cooked (they should sounds hollow).

I really hope this helps you. I know there is the time element which can be tedious with youngsters so with the very small I tend to make the dough and allow it to rise first before getting them involved. And my surprise...? A lovely caterpillar! Clever thing put lots of balls together for her long creation!

Happy Baking!!

Resession? Cut The Waste - Spoil Yourself

Today I have the pleasure of giving you our first guest blog wonderfully put be @Inheritance_Adv. Check out his website too. Enjoy...! 

An acquaintance of mine changed jobs in the City of London – so just by way of making conversation, I said ‘so I trust you’re getting a decent bonus then’ to which her broad grinning reply was ‘I should be thankful that I have a job at all – that is a big bonus in itself’.

These days, it is  nigh on impossible to open the newspaper or fire up the wireless without being assaulted by stories of how much the cost of living is rising – as if anyone who does the weekly household shopping needs to be reminded the extent to which prices have risen and how much less the same amount of cash buys.  

However, the rising cost of food is no reason to eat badly.  Simply ditch the ready meals and the processed foods – not only are they cheaper, they are much healthier for you – you know what’s in it.  You don’t have to be as skilled as Delia Smith or be capable of winning Masterchef, all you need is the desire to eat properly. 

Here’s a simple experiment – if you’re the sort who buys sandwiches [as opposed to making them], personally, every time I buy a sandwich, I end up at best feeling hard done by at worst robbed – the ingredients are far from the best, there’s so little of it, and the whole lot is very expensive. If you made exactly the same sandwich yourself it’ll cost you no more than 20% of what you’d pay in the shops – yes the retailer has a living to make, but I fail to recall any act of parliament that says that has to be at your expense.  If you bought sandwiches at work every day, just think how much cash you’d save – it’ll only take 5 minutes of your time to make your packed lunch – and if you get bored of bread with a bit of filling, mix it up a bit – just make an extra portion for supper the evening before.

And the reward – one can really feel good when ‘splashing out’ and buy a wonderfully delightfully scrumptious gift even to one’s self like a cake card – I’m told these things are best shared.

Thanks Ade! Couldn't have put it better myself! A little thought is all it takes and that boring cheese sandwich can be a delight, become the envy of the office. Give me 5 minutes please I'm off to make a butty!

Cake Britain 2!

Need cake but can't find someone local that produces yummy scrummy delights to order? Or want to send a friend or relative cake but don't know anyone where they live? Look no further! About four months ago I started putting together Cake Britain, a simple map filled, with wonderful cake makers across Britain. All you have to do is zoom into your area and see what cakes are hovering there!

View Cake Britain in a larger map

You may be wondering why you can't find these people yourself. Here is the simple answer we are baking from home mostly. We don't have beautiful high street shops but then I also think that's not what you are looking for. My guess is you are looking for that personal touch, someone who makes things only to order and that come with a heap of personal recommendations. Word of mouth is now collated for you! Bookmark it and save it for the future too, although you will always be able to find it on my website. 

I'm sorry if your area is lacking but it is growing all the time. If you are a cake maker yourself join in! Just contact me and I will add you for a small admin charge of £5. Simple click here to pay and then email info@thecakenest.co.uk with your postcode, brief description and contact details.  We have had over 27,000 viewings so far as testament to cake power and put people in touch with everything from a box of cupcakes to wedding cakes to a deal with a soft play centre. I look forward to meeting you! 

If you would like to read about the inspiration behind Cake Britain 
click here for my original blog

 

The Fun We Had

I wanted to share something with you. It's something that has been bugging me for a while and nothing to do with cake...

Like many other people I love my family and so take lots of photos and video when we are out and about. This is great and the kids love it the problem comes with what to do next. Do you develop your photos and put them in an album or just leave them in the envelope they came in? Do you add them to Facebook or Flicr maybe? And then what, press delete? Maybe you put them all on to CDs to cherish forever? There are problems with whatever you choose. Technology is changing all the time and CDs are becoming a thing of the past. What if your chosen website is no longer your favourite and you start to use something else. Your pictures will be scattered everywhere and no where at the same time! How will you show your children what they looked like when they were babies? You can't leave it all on your computer indefinitely.

So now what? I don't have the answer, only questions! And the reason i'm asking? Well isn't it obvious? My memory is filling up, my babies are growing up and I don't want to lose it all.

My mum and mother in law have beautiful albums all neatly written up. Something we really can cherish forever (well unless the house burns down!) However, I have to admit I do not have the time or if i'm honest the patience to do this, although i did start with our eldest - eldest always privileged right? More time and in awe of the tiny thing we have made? I also made DVDs of all the little video clips, you could see her every development. Sorry number two I love you just as much, but time just doesn't seem as abdunant now.

This is what I have done... I have found out that our iMac is amazing and can do the work for me. I have made slide shows of everything and loaded them on to iTunes. Now the children are watching, in amazement, themselves 12 months ago. I am feeling all teary eyed at how much they have changed. Am happy now, at least for the moment we can remember the fun we had!

Chocadores Hot Chocolate Cubes

As you are all aware, I don't do reviews very often but there are some things that are close to my heart and for these I will always save a space on my blog. Today it is Chocadores Hot Chocolate Cubes. These fascinate me. I love the idea of something that looks like a piece of chocolate and dissolves perfectly into a cup of hot milk. Now to make this a bit different I would like to borrow two minutes of your time...! Promise it's painless and the best bit is you can see the results!

Thank you Chocadores. A lovely indulgent drinking chocolate that truly dissolves to nothing in the cup!

If you would like to try some yourself they cost £5.95 for 150g bag

And excitement! order before 17th January and get a 10% discount! Just add the code HCC10