I lit up Darth Vader’s lightsaber with a laser pointer – think it worked pretty well. And I also had a stab at BB8.

Most of my new posts are going on what is turning out to be my main blog. So, here are some pictures of a Danger Mouse cake.

One day I may post something that doesn’t involve food… Until that day.. With all due recognition of CressidaBell.com cakes for inspiration (but I’m afraid I don’t run to two hundred pounds for a birthday cake, even for my wife!)

Very quick one to share my two latest creations – a Death Star cake, and a Pokeball cake (the latter thanks to How to cake it – although it was my idea to fill it with Haribo)

Imperial Shuttle Chocolate Cake Equipment 20cm square baking tin, greased and lined on the bottom Modelling clay Cake board, black fondant icing, silver shimmer powder Ingredients: Chocolate Sponge Cake: 350g softened butter 350g caster sugar 6 large eggs 350g self-raising flour 2 tbsp baking powder 2 tbsp cocoa power (optional) Milk Chocolate Ganache (filling and crumb coat): 150ml double cream 150g good quality chocolate (dark or milk as desired) White Chocolate Ganache (detailing): 100ml double cream 100g good quality white chocolate Chocolate Mirror Glaze: 150ml double cream 135g caster sugar 55g cocoa powder 3 gelatine leaves Tempered Chocolate Wings: 500g […]

Just realised that I put the photos on my photo website, but never wrote the blog! This is my effort at the younger sons birthday cake this year. Pretty chuffed, to be honest. See bigger pictures at https://photo.eutony.net/Fire-Engine-Cake

Don’t often post meals, but this evening’s really was a stonker, and dead easy. It’s from Jamie Oliver’s recipe. Take a shoulder of lamb, poke with garlic, shove it in a pan with some veg, chopped toms, and wine, and cook in a low oven for 4 hrs, then shred. It’s going to re-appear in savoury pancake/wrap things tomorrow too! In pictures:

Phew, what a week. Absolutely manic at work at the moment (which is a good thing really – better than having no work), and No. 2 son has been an absolute tinker recently. Here’s when he’s woken up and required some intervention (milk/water/change/snuggle): Mon: 04:30 Tue: 02:00 Wed: 02:00 Thu: 06:50 (hooray!) Fri: 00:00 Sat: 06:30 (hooray!) What this doesn’t include is all the times he’s woken us up and not required intervention – for instance at 4.30 this morning, when he woke up, chatted and bashed around in the cot just enough to wake us up, then went back […]

When I was growing up, we had a bit of family joke. Us youngsters would ask “what’s for supper?”, and be told that it was “wait and see pie”. This happened so often, that “wait and see” pie actually became a specific meal – a steak and veg pie with a suet crust. It is one of my favourite dishes now, and while the exact recipe is a closely guarded secret, it is along these lines: Wait and See pie Serves approx 4-6 This is a two stage process – first you cook it on the hob, then transfer it […]

One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot recently is time, or more specifically pace of life. British life seems to be so pressured and hectic, and I find it really easy to be drawn in to charging from activity to activity. So when the train is 10 minutes late to see those 10 minutes as “wasted” somehow. The most notable exception to this in my life is Christmas Cake. For the last six years I have made a Christmas cake, and this year is no exception. It’s a very slow process. Everything about it is slow. You have to […]