Hubbie and I have been away for the weekend with family. Ever so often we all meet up, drink lots of drink, eat lots of food and then all crash out at the house of who ever is hosting the party. We were planning to have a BBQ, but with the recent weather being the … Read more
This month’s Fresh from the Oven challenge was hosted by Chele. Although the recipe appeared challenging at first, it was certainly enjoyable…and delicious. As there is only 2 of us a batch of 24 wasn’t exactly practical so I halved the recipe then froze half of the buns to be baked at a later date. This is the … Read more
Films, literature, a walk through York or London and even browsing wikipedia will make you believe that us Brits drop everything mid-afternoon and eat Afternoon Tea or Cream Tea. Trust me, I don’t know a single person who regularly eats Cream Tea, I bet even the Queen doesn’t. However, with the current trend of getting … Read more
This entry is more of a tribute. The lady who inspired the Cream Tea Diaries blogposts, my Grandma-in-law, passed away suddenly in July at the grand age of 90. I promised to keep our Afternoon/Cream Tea visits in her memory. While on holiday in Wales we were recommended a great place called Gliffaes for Afternoon Tea and it didn’t disappoint. Gliffaes … Read more
The tradition to begin Christmas food preparation, inparticular the Christmas Pudding, begins on Stir up Sunday which is the last Sunday before advent. This year falls it falls on 21st November. The term Stir-up Sunday comes from the first verse of the collect for the day and has been adopted by the Anglican church. Stir up, we … Read more
We all have ingredients we can’t do without. The ingredient that appears in nearly all the dishes we make and our cupboards are full of its variants. For me, and probably a great deal of the population, it is salt. Fish & chips are not the same without the salty tang and bread made without … Read more
Possibly the worst pie in London or maybe should that be Derbyshire. Pen is going to be so proud of me for fitting a musical connection into my blog post! For those who don’t follow me on Twitter you may not realise that Hubby & I are going to a Halloween Party as Sweeney Todd & Mrs Lovett. Going as … Read more
We don’t celebrate Halloween as such in our household. Well we don’t trick or treat or encourage trick or treaters, but I do use it as an opportunity to take something and give it a gruesome twist. Last year was a Sweeney Todd Pie to accompany my Mrs Lovatt costume. This year as inspired by a copy … Read more
Those of you with entomophobia (fear of insects) may want to look away now. When I heard that the first Derby Clandestine Cake Club theme would be Trick or Treat I knew that last year’s Black Beetle Cakes would have to make a reappearance but in a slightly different form. The Clandestine Cake Club (CCC) has strict rules: no brownies, … Read more
This Strawberry Milkshake Birthday Cake is delicious and easily adaptable for any shaped cake. The sweet pink icing is flavored with an ingredient you probably already have in the cupboard to give it the authentic milkshake taste. Little Baker (LB) is thankfully still very much in the easy to please stage. Just before her 4th birthday, I … Read more
Depending as to where you’re from will dictate what first pops into your head when you hear the word ‘macaroon‘. For me it’s these sweet coconut delights that take me straight back to being 11. Some people call these coconut haystacks. Before trialing this recipe today I think the last time I baked these retro … Read more
After making Heston’s Macaroni Cheese last week (seriously try it, it’s amazing!) I was left with most of a packet of cream cheese. Here it’s the kind of ingredient that can languish at the back of the fridge until we remember about it and it’s beginning to grow a fine layer of slimy mold. Ignoring the … Read more
