Mother’s Day looms. I already have my gifts; a little cardboard pot coloured in with felt tips and a card shaped like a tea pot with some letters written backwards. These are my riches and I’ll keep them until they wheel me into a rest home. If you’ve already got the card and have run out of cardboard boxes to colour in then may I suggest this little afternoon tea for your Ma?
I made a lovely video with the Scoff folks to show off how to make this afternoon tea. You can see the vid on my YouTube channel and also the Scoff one. You can watch it below too.
145ml very cold whole or semi-skimmed milk, plus extra for brushing
100g clotted cream
Mix the flour and baking powder together until well distributed. Stir the very cold butter pieces through the flour with a blunt knife until all the pieces are well coated. Wash your hands in cold water and rub the fat into the flour until you have a breadcrumb like consistency. You can also use a pastry cutter for this job if you have one.
Add the milk chocolate chips and stir well.
Zest the orange and add to the milk, then pour over the butter and flour mixture and bring together with a blunt knife, then use your hands to pull it together by squeezing. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7 and check the rack is at the top of the oven. Cover a baking sheet with non-stick greaseproof paper.
Flour your work surface, then pop the scone dough out onto it. Roll to about a 3cm-thickness then use a mini scone cutter dipped in flour to cut straight down, without twisting or turning it. Then place onto a baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used, you can re-squidge it but the scones won’t be as tender.
Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk, making sure that none of it runs down the sides as it will stop a good rise. Bake immediately for 10–15 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the scones are well risen. (A good scone has a little split in the middle, ready for breaking in two with your hands.)
Today I attended a Mother’s Day assembly that not one of my sons’ featured in. Not one. No, I was not being a kind soul and sitting in the audience watching a friend’s child whose mother has to work. Nor am I some kind of Mother’s Day service addict; a woman who can only cry through watching emotional clip art on a projected Power Point presentation set to Enya. (Like Helena BC’s character in fight club, though I seem to recall she was addicted to support groups). No, no and no. I am just deeply disorganised, though not in the traditional sense.
One of my very good friends, who I shall call Helena (for that is her name) noticed my strangely efficient style of disorganisation at university and commented that because I display a ruthlessly efficient façade everyone trusts me to know what to do, get them to places on time and generally mother people. But it’s all just smoke and mirrors and today reader, my cover has been blown.
Here is a pudding that is ruthlessly efficient. It uses these fantastic flan cases from Iced Jems. Serve it warm with a scoop of ice cream and perhaps some slices of banana. Or just alone if you’re in a not-very-efficient mood.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and pop 8 flan cases onto a baking tray. If you don’t have flan cases like these ones from Iced Jems then you could line a 12 hole cupcake tray with cases but beware that the cakes will take longer to bake – so these will be more like 20 – 25 minute chocolate cake puddings rather than speedy 15 minute ones. Right, logistics over. Ready?
Place all the ingredients into a large bowl and whisk with a hand whisk (or you can do this in a stand mixer or with an electric hand held mixer if you prefer) for 3 minutes. Then divide the mixture between the 8 flan cases equally and bake for 15 minutes. Check them after 10 minutes as all ovens are different and you don’t want a dry chocolate cake.
Either serve immediately with a large scoop of vanilla ice-cream and maybe some chocolate chips for good measure or serve alone. Cream might be nice too. These can of course also be eaten cold, just as a cake.
I may love Easter more than Christmas as Christian school holidays go. I know this might be controversial. Hear me out. (Most reasons are chocolate and present buying related for those wondering if this is a rather unusual Christian themed blog post):
There’s more chocolate about on a volume basis. Okay most of it is plain and shaped like an egg, but that reduces the risk of eating a strawberry crème so frankly, I’m okay with it. Plus excess chocolate eggs, bunnies and the like can be ceremoniously melted down on the last day of the Easter hols to be made into brownies for Mummy to enjoy at elevenses. If you snooze with the egg eating, the bunny gets it).
There is less expectation, so of course less stress. If you burn Christmas dinner the family will talk about it for years (and you will have to smile and laugh light heartedly and pretend you find it funny being the butt of the joke when really you want to cry and hide under the stairs and drink some gin), but if you serve raw lamb/burn dinner to a crisp or forget to make gravy on Easter Sunday no one cares a jot. They really don’t. They just shrug and ask what’s for pudding. Perhaps this is the problem with Christmas Day. Everyone knows what’s for pudding and most people don’t even like it.
No turkey curry to ‘get through’. Food should not be an endurance test.
Present buying is cheap as chips, or, well, Easter eggs. No child expects more than an egg at Easter. (Do they? I hope not…)
Present buying is executable in one shopping trip to the local supermarket. Bung one egg per child in the trolley and done.
Present buying is reserved for people under about 15 only. You do not need to buy your husband or wife or mother or father an egg. Even if Hotel Chocolat do very nice novelty grown up Eastery chocolate gifts. Resist. Just eat the eggs of a small child you own or know.
Present buying uses little imagination. All you have to think is ‘Would Charlie watch Star Wars or Scooby Doo if given the choice?’ Once you know the answer you pick the egg. If you don’t know the child well then buy a Buttons one. Or don’t buy one at all. Personally, I feel if you don’t know what TV programmes the kid likes you clearly don’t know them well enough to spend money on them. What a simple rule for life.
Gifting small inexpensive presents mean there’s less chance of being made to teach small people to ride their new bikes/scooters etc. Yes, what a misery I am but really, I like to save these kind of endeavours for the summer. I feel the cold terribly you know.
Easter weather is unpredictable. One year (I think it was 2013) we had snow at Easter in Leicester. Yes, snow! My sons have never forgotten it. They made a snowman and drank marshmallow spiked hot chocolate and made glittery Easter eggs at my pal Anuszka’s house who is altogether more fun than me and also more tolerant of glitter. Unexpected weather brings out the best in Brits. We love it. Christmas is always grey and a bit rainy.
Less present wrapping (ie/ none) means you can use the time better to make an elaborate pudding like this trifle. I dare you to make it. It’s good.
I made this trifle using the Kenwood Chef Sense which is available here. The full video of the recipe is below and can also be viewed here, plus some top tips from me on separating eggs here plus an easy way to make trifle sponges without lining tins here.
Juice the lemons using the Kenwood attachment and pour into a jug. Make the liquid up to 570mls using cold water then remove 100mls to soak the gelatine in. Once soaked for 10 minutes heat the gelatine and water in a small pan on a low heat until the gelatine has dissolved. Then add to the rest of the liquid along with the dried raspberries. Stir and leave for 30 minutes then strain through a sieve to remove the raspberries. Leave to set in the fridge.
To make the cakes:
Preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 3. Beat together the flour, castor sugar, butter, egg, baking powder, zest of the lemon and milk in the Kenwood using the K beater for about 4 minutes until light and fluffy. Divide between 4 cupcake cases and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until well risen, golden and a toothpick comes out of the centre clean.
Poke holes in the cupcakes. Heat the lemon juice and icing sugar in a small pan until dissolved and then pour over the cupcakes. Leave to cool.
To make the curd:
Place a pan of simmering water over a medium heat and place a heat proof bowl over the top, being careful that the water doesn’t touch the bowl. Place the butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice into the bowl and whisk. Stir until completely dissolved then add the eggs and whisk intermittently for 10 minutes until the curd has thickened. Chill in the fridge.
To make the custard:
Heat the cream and milk in a large pan until the edges are just beginning to bubble. In the meantime whisk together the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Once the liquid is ready whisk into the thick egg mixture stirring all the time then transfer back to the pan and heat on the hob, stirring with a wooden spoon until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon. Chill with the top covered in clingfilm (touching the custard) to stop a skin developing.
To assemble:
Slice the cakes and layer in a 2.2 litre trifle dish. Pour the Limoncello over the top and then cover with the lemon curd. Add a layer of fresh raspberries then add the almost set jelly. Leave to set in the fridge. Then add the cold custard. Lastly whip the cream to soft peaks with lemon zest using the whisk attachment of the Kenwood and spoon over the custard. Sprinkle freeze dried raspberries to decorate.
Disclaimer: the picture is rubbish, I know. I am going to endeavour to use my grown up camera this year rather than my phone.
I’m not going to pretend like these are healthy, because sometimes you don’t want healthy. Sometimes the kale and the almond milk chat and the steaming rather than frying can give you healthy fatigue. If that’s the case then I prescribe something so trashy, so incredibly grubby that it sends you straight back on the wagon. This is that very thing. You’re welcome.
NB: They need to be eaten within 7 days of baking OR you can freeze them and then defrost at room temperature. Why not pop down to the corner shop, buy some Mars Bars, bake a batch, cut into little pieces and then open freeze, before storing in a freezer bag until you’re ready to decide which day is trashy day?
I made a lovely video with the Scoff folks to show off how to make these brownies. You can see the vid on my YouTube channel. You can watch it below too.
Makes 9 large brownies or 16 smaller ones – cut them as small as you wish
Ingredients:
325g dark chocolate
125g butter
150g castor sugar
90g soft brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
100g plain flour
4 x 51g Mars Bars
Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm tray and preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large saucepan, stirring regularly to ensure the chocolate doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat when molten and add the sugars, eggs and flour. Stir well. Pour half into the tray and then slice the Mars Bars into 6 pieces and layer over the brownie mixture. Pour the rest of the batter over the top, ensuring the Mars Bar pieces are covered.
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until the brownie has stopped wobbling and is starting to look a little cracked at the edges. Cool on a wire rack and refrigerate for an hour before cutting with a knife dipped in warm water. You can clean the knife after each cut to get perfect little squares.
NB: You can make this less floury and substitute the flour for ground almonds if you wish.
NB II: I have noticed that when using very expensive 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate these brownies get a kind of funny space crater like look on the top. To avoid this then use a chocolate with a lower cocoa solids content – something more like 40%. I am a big fan of Lidl’s cheap dark chocolate for baking. It seems to melt and bake very well indeed.
There’s nothing I hate more than a January diet. Apart from dry January bores. For I am a January baby, forever condemned to live out my days attending birthday celebrations where friends toast me with an orange juice. So, in the spirit of ignoring any abstinence I offer you these sunshine granola breakfast muffins. They’re lemony and light and soft. Perfect for breakfast. And they’re not fried in any way, so surely they’ll pass the January diet police?
I made a lovely video with the Scoff folks to show off how to make these muffins. You can see the vid on my YouTube channeland also the Scoff one. You can watch it below too.
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and line a 12 hole muffin tray with cases. Mix together the dry ingredients (including the granola) until well combined. Mix together the wet ingredients and set aside for 5 minutes. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. (Don’t over stir as this can result in a tough muffin!) Pour the mixture into a jug to make it easier to fill the cases.
Pour the mixture gently into the cases and sprinkle a little granola on the top. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until well risen and brown. Cool out of the tray on a wire rack. Can be eaten warm or cold!
That’s quite enough showing off for one blog post (no-one likes a show off do they?) Instead, here are your top 10 blog posts of 2015:
1) A very humble ginger cake that I made with the folks at Scoff. You just mix it up (not even with a mixer… just a spoon will do), bung it in the oven and top with a little icing sugar. Easy as.
4) Flourless chocolate cake. Now if you want this gluten free then be sure to source GF chocolate. Not all chocolate is created equally.
5) Cut out vanilla biscuits. The best biscuit dough ever for making cute cut out shapes. Ice or don’t ice.
6) Carrot, courgette and cheese mini pancakes. Mini pancakes or fritters? Whatever you call them, they’re delicious. My sons love them, my Dad loves them. I love them. Canapés that work as weaning fodder get a big tick from me.
7)Lemon button biscuits. Look good, taste good and one from my book. I made these in honour of my very talented Nanna who used to be a bespoke tailor-ess.
8) Easy chocolate cupcakes. Another easy recipe with no mixer required. These are way too easy to whip up. Pass the chocolate ganache icing will you?
9) I’ve written a recipe book! Not even a recipe in sight – just a post about my book, which is out now and is doing well (hurrah, thank you to you gorgeous lot who have bought it!)
What does 2015 hold? Well there will be very few giveaways I’m afraid. They take me way too long to set up and with three boys and loads of other bits and bobs of work I just can’t spare the time. I’ll be trying to shoot some videos (which will likely be dreadful at first so bear with me please) instead and will continue with the weekly recipes I so love to blog. Probably included will be a fair few weaning and finger food recipes, for that is what life is about at the moment. Little Lawrence may even make a guest appearance in some of the recipes.
For those of you who laugh in the face of Christmas day, shouting ‘it’s just a big roast, what’s all the fuss about?’ then go away and be smug in the corner. (I admit I have said the same thing on this very blog, my apologies is all I can offer).
For anyone who is doing it for the first time, or who feels a slightly sense of dread then read on. Some of this is obvious stuff, but I personally find it very useful to have everything in one place. Here’s my plan, for what it’s worth:
My festive (but not so extensive that you end up distressed) Christmas day menu
Breakfast:
Pannetone, toasted or not.
Terry’s chocolate orange – 1 segment each so as not to ruin your lunch.
Tea/coffee/juice.
I have one included this breakfast suggestion so as to prove that on a day where a lot of the focus is on eating, breakfast doesn’t need to be another meal where you push the boat out. Either let people have their usual cereal/toast/yoghurt/fruit or offer some pannetone. I really wouldn’t start creating more washing up by offering eggs Benedict or scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.
Drinks:
Prosecco or elderflower fizz to start.
Red and white wine.
Apple juice for the children.
More elderflower fizz or other non boozy drink for drivers/non drinkers.
Tap water on the table in big jugs.
Tea and coffee.
Gin & tonics later in the evening.
I keep it fairly simple with drinks on Christmas Day (CD from now on at risk of RSI) but that’s mainly because everyone drives to our house, so they’re not exactly going all out on the booze front. Every year we over buy alcohol to be left with a fair few bottles left. Then my husband and I selflessly plough through the remainder between CD and New Year.
Starter:
No starter.
I know this is controversial but really, unless you want to, and have the fridge/hob/oven space and inclination, then just don’t bother. In years gone past I have done starters, trying to cater to a vegetarian who dislikes mushrooms, blue cheese, goat’s cheese and peanuts, an OAP who hates garlic and a gaggle of meat enthusiasts. I am being kind to myself this year. If you must do some canapés instead then choose something easy like mini Yorshire puds with roast beef and horseradish, smoked salmon and potato bites, spicy prawn sticks, brie and cranberry cups or garlic beany toasts. But only choose one or two at a push.
Here is where I like to give the illusion of offering lots of choice but really, doing very little. So I offer up Christmas cake (already made, hence no effort), Christmas pudding (already made and sits steaming away in the slow cooker so no hob space taken and no real effort), a mince pie (again, already made) or an alternative that does not include dried fruit. Usually chocolate based. Beware that what tends to happen is that people opt for a bit of everything.
Salad bits – tomatoes, cucumber, bit of lettuce, maybe a few carrot sticks. Obviously no one will go near this what with cheese, ham and trifle on offer, but it’s tradition in out house to offer it up.
Cheese and crackers – always some Stilton. We have been known to drive to the dairy at Long Clawson before to buy a huge chunk of the stuff.
A pork pie – buy this!
Homemade coleslaw – I use the one in my book which is fresh tasting and has a sesame seed crunch, but you could try any other you fancy. I am not a fan of making things for the sake of it, but the difference between homemade and bought coleslaw is HUGE.
Vegetable samosas (I have in years gone by made these but this year I am buying them from the Leicester Sweet Centre as they’re just so incredibly delicious and moreish).
Lots of pickles, chutneys, relishes, interesting bread, salted butter, you know the drill. Don’t forget the gherkins and piccalilli.
The weekend before Christmas
Clean the fridge – there is nothing but nothing that makes one feel prepared for war, sorry, Christmas day catering, like a clean fridge. If you can’t be bothered then delegate this to another adult. Shelves out, little tray thingies in the door out and a warm soapy wash down in the sink. Dry with a tea towel and suddenly everything feels a bit more ready.
Either buy a bag of ice or if this seems like a terrible waste of money (just me?) then start making a couple of trays of ice a day. Set a reminder on your phone for 9pm or whenever you might feel most in an ice making mood. If you have some lemons and limes knocking about, slice them and freeze them in wedges too. Add directly to drinks on CD for instant citrus iciness without the inevitable dilution ice delivers.
Make a list of the food you are serving on the day and write a related shopping list, grouping it in the sections it appears in the supermarket ready for the 7am dash on Christmas eve. Of course you may be more organised than this and have booked a delivery slot. In which case I simply salute you and wonder why you are reading this.
Make a Christmas pudding, cake and/or a batch of mince pies if you still haven’t. My recipes do NOT require maturing. If this is too much add them to the shopping list to buy instead. Or ask any guest to bring one or some of them. Most people like to palm off their mince pies on others, having made ridiculous quantities for ‘unexpected visitors’ who never turn up.
Check you have enough tables (I am not kidding, it’s very easy to forget people actually need a place to put their plate, especially when the numbers can be so many more than usual), chairs, plates, bowls, cutlery, napkins, glasses and serving dishes. I write on little bits of paper what is going in each serving dish. My brain barely works these days, so addled is it with Lego making and paper chain creation.
Crackers! I know they’re a bit crap but you do need some, especially if there are kids around the table, so add to the list. Or you could task older children with making some. Better go hunt for some old loo roll centres.
Check the hand soap, washing up liquid, foil, batteries, bin liners, clingfilm and loo roll situation. If audit proves low then add to list. Very easy to forget essential items when focusing on pork pies and booze.
Write a little menu. Ask a small child to write it if you have one or can borrow one. Children’s writing is so cute and seems to induce extra Christmas cheer. Plus people like to know what they’re having so they can adjust their roast potato consumption depending on whether the puddings do it for them or not.
Check the TV listings. If there’s anything you really must not miss then record it otherwise you may become the nightmare twitchy host/ess wishing everyone would JUST GO HOME so you can watch Eastenders in peace and find out who killed Lucy.
Write some name place tags (can be on scrap paper or could do personalised baubles, you know how busy you are) and a table plan. Think about who likes who, which children might need most supervision. It might be amusing to put a 3 year old next to Great Auntie who can’t hear but it could well finish her off. And A & E is very busy on CD with drunk people. Give them a break.
Make the ice-cream if you’re going for the homemade option. It’s an easy win in my opinion and takes little effort.
Buy or locate some empty plastic take away containers for freezing or giving away excess leftovers on the big day. This can be most helpful if you have a fridge mountain or are off to visit relatives for a few days and don’t want good food to go to waste.
Work out now what you are eating on Christmas eve. You could make my sausage, sage and squash lasagne, freeze it and bake from frozen, or you could serve party nibbles, or anything else you fancy. A takeaway might be nice?
Consider plate warming for CD. You could use the oven if you are lucky enough to have a huge range thingy. Or the dishwasher short cycle, or the microwave… But do think about it as in my experience most over 40’s have an issue with cold plates.
Beg, steal or borrow some festive tunes. When alone in the kitchen on the big day, these really do cheer the soul.
23rd December
Today is action stations. You need focus, you need a good breakfast inside you and you need to remember that getting organised today makes everything else run smoothly.
Write a timing plan, working backwards from when you want to eat. Don’t forget time to rest the meat. I know writing timing plans is boring but it will stop you serving dinner at 10pm whilst crying.
Put out a carrot of three, a mince pie and a little snifter of brandy for the big man.
Other things that are important not to forget
Have spare milk and bread in the freezer.
Have some baked beans and other simple, not very challenging food like pasta and pesto in the cupboard. Sometimes after a lot of Stilton, ham and cranberry sauce you need something to take you back to when times were less festive. Simpler times.
Give a small, energetic child the job of rubbish collecting when opening presents. They seem to love this. I personally hate bending over to pick up minuscule pieces of sellotape.
Agree before CD who is responsible for washing up. There’s nothing worse than feeling like the only person doing all the cooking, drinks, cleaning up, washing up etc. It can make one feel positively unfestive.
Happy Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful day.
This is almost too quick to knock up. Like one of those cake in a cup jobs that leads to 10pm cravings and tighter jeans. This freezes well and is delicious toasted for breakfast with a little butter spread on it.
I made a lovely video with the Scoff folks to show off how to make this loaf. You can see the vid on my YouTube channel and also the Scoff one. You can watch it below too.
125mls orange juice (this is equal to the juice of 2 large oranges)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
120g dried cranberries
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and grease and line a loaf tin. Mix together all the ingredients apart from the cranberries and beat for about 3 minutes with an electric mixer or 5 minutes by hand until light and creamy looking. Add the cranberries, stir lightly. Pour into the tin and bake for 30 – 40 minutes (depends on how large your tin is, the larger it is the quicker it should bake) until a toothpick comes out of the centre of the loaf clean. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes on a wire rack before removing the tin.
P.S. To sign up for my free monthly newsletter just click here. It has a baking SOS, recommendations on bits of kit I can’t live without, my kitchen catastrophe of the month, a sneak preview of a recipe coming up on this blog and a letter from me telling you what I’ve been up to. Remember to check your inbox for a confirmation email and also to add my email recipesfromanormalmum@gmail.com to your contacts. Otherwise I could go to spam.
Look, I know Christmas is coming and all that, but just for a day, maybe even a few days (depends how long these last) I think we should stop and appreciate something that isn’t overly spiked with cinnamon, ginger, cloves or nutmeg. I know that might seem controversial what with stir up Sunday just having passed, but hey, let’s try and eat something that tastes of sunshine and summer. If you just can’t do it then have a crack at my Father Christmas’ Cheesecake recipe instead.
80g Greek yoghurt (I used fat free but can use full fat)
150g sour cream
100g castor sugar
10g cornflour
Zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Grease and line 20 x 20cm tin, preheat the oven to 160c/gas 3. Crush the biscuits (in a bag with a rolling pin or in a food processor) and mix with the melted butter. Press into the tin. Whisk together the cream cheese, Greek yoghurt, sour cream, castor sugar, cornflour, zest and eggs until really smooth, using either a handheld whisk or a handheld mixer/whisk attachment in stand mixer. Pour over the biscuit base. Bake for about 35 mins until the sides are puffed up and risen but there’s still a wobble in the centre. Cool in the tin and then chill in the fridge. Please note that if you use a smaller or larger tin the bake time will vary. The larger the tin the shorter the bake as cheesecake topping thinner.
P.S. To sign up for my free monthly newsletter just click here. It has a baking SOS, recommendations on bits of kit I can’t live without, my kitchen catastrophe of the month, a sneak preview of a recipe coming up on this blog and a letter from me telling you what I’ve been up to. Remember to check your inbox for a confirmation email and also to add my email recipesfromanormalmum@gmail.com to your contacts. Otherwise I could go to spam.
I’ve been to LA. I’ve been to New York. I’ve been to Miami, albeit briefly. I have been to San Francisco many, many times. If I were to visit an American pal for Thanksgiving this is what I would take. Though I doubt it’d stay frozen what with the long transatlantic flight.
I made a lovely video with the Scoff folks to show off how to make this pie. You can see the vid on my YouTube channel and also the Scoff one. You can watch it below too.
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Blitz the Oeros in a food processor until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add the butter and blitz again. Press into a 28cm wide pie dish or tin and bake for 5 minutes.
Whisk the double cream to stiff peaks then in a separate bowl mix the cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla seeds until really smooth and well combined. Fold in the shipped cream using a large metal spoon and a cutting motion. Pour into the pie crust and freeze for 1 hour. Just before serving dribble with melted chocolate and a couple of Oreo biscuits crumbled over the top.
P.S. To sign up for my free monthly newsletter just click here. It has a baking SOS, recommendations on bits of kit I can’t live without, my kitchen catastrophe of the month, a sneak preview of a recipe coming up on this blog and a letter from me telling you what I’ve been up to. Remember to check your inbox for a confirmation email and also to add my email recipesfromanormalmum@gmail.com to your contacts. Otherwise I could go to spam.
I’m a mum of 3 boys, a cookbook writer and also a finalist on the 2011 Great British Bake Off.
I’ve decided to record the recipes I use, partly to save them somewhere and partly in case someone else might like to use them...
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P.S. To sign up for my free monthly newsletter just click here. It has a baking SOS, recommendations on bits of kit I can’t live without, my kitchen catastrophe of the month, a sneak preview of a recipe coming up on this blog and a letter from me telling you what I’ve been up to.
Remember to check your inbox for a confirmation email and also to add my email recipesfromanormalmum@gmail.com to your contacts. Otherwise I could go to spam.
Holly Bell 