HOW TO: Easy Decoration Ideas for a DIY Frozen Cake

There is no denying the popularity of Frozen; the characters, story lines, spin offs and endless merchandise are loved by children of all ages. My two daughters are big fans, so when Poppy turned three years old this year she requested a Frozen inspired day and cake. Embracing the challenge I started to look into Frozen cake designs on Pinterest, but was a bit overwhelmed at the idea of having to roll out fondant icing and cover a cake myself. Poppy's birthday was back at the start of summer, so we were still in lockdown and it wasn't very easy to just nip to a shop. I knew the cake needed to 'wow', yet be easy to put together and relatively quick too because lockdown life meant making a cake secretly was a real challenge!

HOW TO: Create an Easy Halloween Grazing Board

Halloween is just around the corner and things are about to get all kinds of spooky! However, as a parent of young children (and not one to like scary things in the first place) I much prefer to keep Halloween a fun, slightly spooky time of year. There are loads of non-scary bakes, crafts and decorations ideas, so to add to this I thought I'd put together a Halloween Grazing Board full of treats. The most important part of this Halloween platter is that it is quick and easy to put together, yet effective and can be enjoyed by all ages. The popularity of platters has rocketed in recent years and I think the pandemic has only increased their popularity further, as we all look for ways to celebrate different events from the comfort and safety of our own homes. 

RECIPE: Lotus Biscoff Cookie Butter Cake

Lotus Biscoff Spread is a thing of beauty, isn't it? The caramelised, slightly spiced, flavours have the power to make anything it comes into contact with undeniable moreish. The combination of Lotus Biscoff Spread with a caramelised sponge and sweet buttercream is truly heavenly, which is why this cake has to be one of my favourites. It's perfect for afternoon tea, celebrations, play dates or for baking with your children. My daughter's absolutely love the flavour of Biscoff, which all started with my Lotus Biscoff Loaded Caramel Swirl Ice-Cream. By using light brown sugar in the sponge you create an almost caramelised flavour, which compliments the Biscoff favour perfectly.

RECIPE: Lotus Biscoff Loaded Caramel Swirl Ice-Cream

Lotus Biscoff Cookie Spread is a thing of dreams and almost always a guaranteed winner when it comes to baking, cooking and creating in the kitchen. Making ice-cream at home couldn't be easier and there are varying techniques that go from being a labour of love to being quick and easy. This recipe is a combination between ice-cream and frozen custard, which not only makes it really easy to make but also slightly lighter too. 

BBQ RECIPE: Cajun and Piri Piri Corn on the Cob

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Corn on the Cob is a BBQ classic and as a vegetarian an absolute must. But why always serve it with butter and maybe a grind of black pepper? By adding a few extra ingredients you can transform the humble corn on the cob into something that will truly blow you away with flavour! Simple, easy and quick to prepare, these three ways are sure to be big hits at your next BBQ. There's something so understated about this usual side dish, but honestly the addition of Piri Piri and Cajun takes the corn on the cob to the next level. 

RECIPE: Seriously Indulgent Brownie Millionaire's Shortbread

Millionaire's Shortbread is such a popular sweet treat, but why not make it that extra bit indulgent by adding a layer of brownie in there too? When it comes to baking, two of my husband's favourite things I make are shortbread and brownies, which is where the idea for this recipe originated from. I wondered whether I could combine these two delicious traybakes into one seriously indulgent Brownie Millionaire's Shortbread. A few 'experiments' later and you have a buttery shortbread base, gooey chocolate filled brownie layer, smooth caramel and a thick layer of milk chocolate to top it all off. Certainly a treat and a small slice is more than enough; perfectly paired with a cup of tea if you ask me. 

RECIPE: Magical Flower Biscuit Wands

Biscuit wands are perhaps easier than you may think to make and they add such a magical touch for children. I absolutely love baking with my daughter's and when we decided to do a week of home learning about Cinderella during lockdown baking the Fairy Godmother's wand seemed perfect. However, when I looked in our baking cupboard we only had around 200g of plain flour left and couldn't find any during our essential food shop. 

RECIPE: Quick and Easy Dirt Bike/Motorbike Chocolate Cake

Do you know someone who loves motorbikes? Then this is the cake for them and best of all it is really easy and quick to make too (with the help of a few hacks along the way!). As a busy parent myself I don't always have time to bake from complete scratch, so I love to utilise the home baking kits supermarkets have. I don't want to call this a 'cheat' because in my eyes you are still home baking a cake, but a few of the 'making' steps are cut out so it is simple, quick and easy to do. The ideal solution for anyone with a busy lifestyle that still wants to make the birthday boy/girl a special cake that they'll love.

RECIPE: Caprese Pull Apart Cheesy Garlic Bread

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Oozy stringy mozzarella cheese, the rich depth of sundried tomatoes and the pungent flavour of basil are such a perfect combination, but why keep them to just a caprese salad? Bringing this traditional combination together with punchy garlic and a loaf of bread makes for the most delicious pull apart cheesy bread that is ideal for sharing with friends or family. It is incredibly easy and quick to make too, using largely store cupboard ingredients. My children also really enjoy helping to mix the ingredients together, spread the garlic herb butter and stuff the bread with the cheese. We love cooking together and if you do too then this is the perfect easy recipe to do together. 

RECIPE: Slow Cooker Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cinnamon buns are such a comforting treat, aren't they? The swirls of warming cinnamon contrast perfectly with the creamy frosting, but they can be lengthy to make from scratch. This is where the slow cooker comes in because there isn't any need for hours of proving time or kneading. The gentle cooking of a slow cooker is ideal for allowing the cinnamon bun dough to rise and bake without the need to stand and wait. Most of the time slow cookers are used for savoury main meals, so why not change things up and bake a batch of cinnamon buns instead? There's nothing more welcoming than filling your house with the sweet scent of cinnamon on a cold winters day. 

RECIPE: Peach and Raspberry Dutch Pancake

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Pancakes are glorious whatever the day, time or season, but especially at the beginning of the year. Pancake Day is around the corner, warm comfort food is needed and spring is on the horizon. American pancakes, crepes and scotch pancakes are all pretty common, but have you tried a Dutch pancake? Think Yorkshire pudding vibes with a sweet twist; absolutely heavenly topped with jam for sweetness, fruit for freshness and yogurt for creaminess. The good news is, they are also very easy to make and don't require standing at the hob individually turning each pancake. 

BREAKFAST: Three Caribbean Inspired Recipes for Children

Today marks the start of Caribbean Food Week and to help celebrate it I have put together three delicious recipes that make a totally tropical breakfast or even sweet treats for dessert. Caribbean food is full of flavour with ingredients such as coconut, mango, pineapple and jerk seasoning all working together to create refreshingly flavoursome meals. A lot of the Caribbean recipes you find on the internet are full of spice, which is absolutely delicious for us adults but children may not appreciate it so much. This is why I decided to put together a Caribbean breakfast for Isabella and Poppy, filled with Caribbean fruits and flavours they love.

PARTY: How to Make and Decorate Ice-Cream Biscuits

After deciding on an ice-cream themed party for Isabella and Poppy my attention turned to what I could make, bake and create. I love adding my own personal twist to any special event I host, so the girls joint party was the perfect opportunity to get creative and browse Pinterest at length! I've put together a blog post with all the ice-cream party inspiration you'll need and how the party actually turned out, in case you're also in party planning mode.

RECIPE: Easter Mini Egg Fridge Cake

Easter is quickly approaching, the shops are filling with Easter Eggs and it's the perfect time of year to indulge in all the chocolate. I don't know about you but around Easter I become some kind of Mini Egg addict, seeing every occasion as an excuse to either eat or bake with them. This obsession was the driving force behind creating this indulgent, rich Mini Egg Fridge Cake, which works perfectly at Easter but can easily be made all year round. The combination of smooth milk and plain chocolate, crunchy biscuits, soft marshmallows, crispy cereal and sugary sprinkles makes for a well deserved treat at the end of a long week, something to enjoy with a cup of tea or for a special occasion. 

RECIPE: Nutella & Roasted Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

Nutella. We know it isn't the best for us, but it is so good. On toast, with croissants, stirred into porridge...however you enjoy Nutella you will love this showstopper of a cake. Layers of rich chocolate sponge paired with a light Nutella buttercream and crunchy roasted hazelnuts all make for a delicious cake for special occasions. To give this cake a bit of height I decided to cook the sponge in these small cake tins I picked up from The Range, however as I only had two of them it did mean cooking the cakes in two batches. You could always use regular sized cake tins and skip the part in the instructions about repeating the cooking process again, just depends on your desired outcome. Also, if you have any leftover Nutella buttercream (that you can resist eating straight from the mixer!) you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

RECIPE: Spiced Caramel Feather Cake

I first came across the Feather Cake phenomenon while browsing Pinterest and fell in love with how effective something so simple could be. Essentially, you make 'feathers' out of Candy Melts or coloured white chocolate and then attach them to a cake of your choice. It seemed a pretty quick way to create a showstopper cake, so I couldn't resist having a go for my husband's birthday. I ordered a range of Candy Melts from Hobbycraft, as well as some new paintbrushes and was ready to get started! 

RECIPE: Spiced Quorn and Potato Traybake

This was one of those meals I didn't think much of prior to making it, yet it ended up being one of my new favourite meals. It's so simple to prepare, easy to make a meat and vegetarian version (my husband eats meat and I'm a vegetarian), seriously flavoursome and the leftovers are even better. Roasting tin meals are perfect for mid-week dinners because there's minimal washing up, anything that reduces washing up is a winner with me.

MEAL PLANNING: A week on a toddlers plate #2

A while ago now I put together a meal planning post featuring lots of Isabella's meals, which you can see here. It went down really well, so I thought I'd put together another one to help meal planning and ideas. It can be tricky thinking of new, interesting meals, so I hope this inspires you to try something new with your little one. All of these recipes are easy to put together and I will often make a batch of something and then give it to Isabella in different forms throughout the week, in an attempt to keep her discovering new foods, flavours and tastes. 

RECIPE: Nutella Flapjack - an Edible Gift

Giving the gift of food is almost always received with open arms and a big smile because who doesn't love a tasty treat at Christmas? Now that Isabella is old enough to help with baking I've decided to make a few different edible gifts for family and friend's this Christmas. One of which is these indulgent flapjacks, flavoured with some of our favourite things: peanut butter, Nutella and chocolate. I mean what is there not to love? It is easy to whip up a batch of these, place them in a cellophane bag or gift box with some red ribbon and you have a thoughtful gift for a very affordable price. That is if they make it to the lucky recipients; they're incredibly moreish!

RECIPE: Comforting Pumpkin and Apple Soup

Pumpkins are in excess this time of year, especially if you've embarked on the annual event of pumpkin picking. I've already published a recipe for Pumpkin and Chicken Pie with a Halloween Twist, which you can read here, so today I thought I'd bring you one of my favourite pumpkin soup recipes. It's comforting, warm and perfect for these cooler autumnal days. I've packed it full of goodness with loads of vegetables and the addition of apple makes this soup slighter sweeter. I love picking apples from our garden and visiting a pumpkin patch for the pumpkin; you don't get much fresher ingredients than that. It is also the perfect opportunity to discuss where the ingredients come from with Isabella, which she finds so interesting.