I've Moved!

My blog has now moved to a brand new site! It's designed by the wonderful Sociates and I can't wait to share my baking in a pretty new setting! Check it out at http://www.afternooncrumbs.com/

Christmas Pudding

Christmas puddings ideally need to be made well in advance. We made ours last weekend while we were all at home together, as we have a tradition of all giving it a mix and making a wish. The recipe is from Mum's school days and was given to her by a teacher. Once all mixed together it is then steamed for four hours and then tightly wrapped until Christmas day. I'm not massively keen on eating Christmas pudding but making it is fun and on Christmas day you can't beat watching a bit of brandy being set on fire.

Dreamcatcher Cake

Today is also the wonderful Alexia's birthday. Since our visit to Santa Fe she has liked dreamcatchers, and now they remind me of her. I used chocolate roll out icing and melted chocolate to pipe the strings. To make the feathers I borrowed my sister's feather necklace to make an imprint which I then cut around. Happy Birthday Alexia!

Birthday Bass Biscuits

One of my best friends has been playing bass since I can remember. He's amazing. So when I was in New York recently and saw this cutter, I knew exactly what I wanted to make him for his birthday. I decorated them based on my basic knowledge of what a bass looks like, simple and cute if you ask me! I displayed them in this round glass jar and finished with some ribbon. Happy Birthday Sam!

Happy Birthday To Me

This amazing birthday cake is for me, made by my incredible mother. It's so pretty and such a great idea. I love the colours and how she included some orange in it (my favourite colour). Her birthday cakes are such an inspiration and I can't wait to devour the slice that literally has my name on it!

Trick or Treats

I'm not normally a Halloween person, as it's the day before my birthday. However, this year we organised to go in mild fancy dress for Tapas. I took along these pumpkin cookies and a some candy corn in gift bags for my friends.

Chocolate Cheesecake

I love watching cooking shows and then immediately making the yummy things I see. This cheesecake from Lorraine Pascale's Home Cooking Made Easy had to be made. I adore cheesecake anyway and so one packed with tons of chocolate had to be amazing. And it was. We attacked it before I even had a chance to take photos! I made minor adjustments in that I used a different type of chocolate (dairy milk) for the hard top than in the filling and used Bill's orange chocolate buttons to make the pattern. I think the orange made it look almost festive for halloween. It was so good I even made mini ones to take back to university for my housemates.