Rhubarb schnapps.

When i was blackberry picking the other day i also got the chance to nab some freshly grown rhubarb from my aunties allotment.

I didn't know what i was going to make with it but i wasn't about to turn down some lovely rhubarb!

Then, somewhere in the back of my head, a little memory appeared. I had seen a recipe for rhubarb schnapps somewhere. But where? After thinking about it a bit more and raiding my recipe books i remembered it was a Nigella recipe. Perfect.

 

So using that for inspiration i decided to make some! I have been given two large glass demijohns which are just what you need for schnapps making. So the only other things i had to go and buy were a few bottles of vodka and some caster sugar.

 

I started off by cutting all the rhubarb into small pieces and  placing this in the demijohn.

I then covered them with a liberal sprinkling of sugar.

 

And topped the whole thing up with the vodka and gave it a good shake. Done, easy peasy.

Now all i have to do is give it a good shake once a day for a week or so and then once a week after that. It will now go into a nice cozy dark place to mature in time for Christmas. Hooray!

Ps i forgot to put the corks in the top of the demijohn before i took the photo. I obviously didn't try and shake them up without their hats on!

Been making some jam.

So the other day i told you that i'd been blackberry picking! I couldn't decided what i wanted to do with the tasty little blighters, so i fell back on an old faithful. Blackberry and apple jam.

First of all i had to wash the blackberries. You might notice that there is also a sneaky raspberry or two in there. I had them so i thought i might as well chuck them in!

 

I then heated all the fruit until the apples were soft. I don't like jam with bits in so i then gave it a bit of a smash with a potato masher and sieved it. Obviously this is not a necessity, but i'm a fussy madam!

 

 

The same weight of sugar was added to the sieved juice and it was put back on a rollicking boil for about 10 minutes. 

I had put a plate i the freezer before i started and used this to test whether or not the jam had set (you spoon a thin smudge on and the push it with your finger. If it crinkles it's done). 

Then i spooned it into the sterilized jars. Six little pots of loveliness! Yum. 

Mum's birthday!

Another day another birthday! And that means only one thing, birthday cakes. This time i decided to make cupcakes as i am given lots of lovely cupcake decorating bits and bobs and love any excuse to use them.

I started off with a basic vanilla sponge recipe with piped plain white vanilla icing. But then i went a bit crazy with the glitter and baubles! Hee hee.

I thought they'd be finished off beautifully with some nutcracker cake toppers i've been dying to use for ages. Lovely.

What do you think? They all got eaten immediately so i think they were appreciated!

It's that time of year again....

.....blackberry time!

This is my first batch of the season. It's a bit early but there was lots of the little tinkers about. Hooray!

Cake Pops!

The other day i got the chance to have a play with a new bit of kit. Cake pop making kit in fact!

I have made cake pops before, but have always made them the classic way - using crumbled up cake and butter icing to make the balls and then covering them in chocolate. This machine looked like it would be a lot quicker, but would it be any good?

 It looks like a weird shaped toastie maker (which is essentially what it is!).

I made up a basic vanilla sponge mix and then waited for the machine to heat up.

I then added the mix (careful not to overfill) closed the lid and left it for four minute to cook (i know, four minutes! so quick!).

They are quite small but seemed to come out really well. Soft and tasty.

So i decided that one on a stick would look diddy so i covered each ball in some melted chocolate and then added two to each stick with a marshmallow sandwiched in between. Yummy!

I think if you want to make cake pops quickly then this machine is fab, however they are teeny weeny and won't last as long as the traditionally made cake pops.

Have you used a machine like this before? What did you think?

Updated heirloom.

Recently i've been getting back to work on my heirloom quilt. It's slowly getting there!

I have blogged about this before, but it has been woefully neglected for a while. I have decided that instead of making a full sized quilt i am going to make a quilt for the baby's cot. I think it'll be really cute when it's done.

What do you think? Have you made quilts like this before?

(don't worry about the messy stitching.... that's just tacking to keep it in place whilst i sew them together).

This was how it was looking last week:

 After a couple more days of sewing it now looks like this:
 

Slowly but surely.....

A relaxing afternoon...

The other day i was bored at home. I decided to have e little mooch on Amazon and ended up ordering these lovelies. Naughty.

I haven't had a chance to have a proper read yet but i am looking forward to relaxing with a cup of tea and these books. What a perfect sounding afternoon!