Celebrations and Making Memories

With busy lives and children seemingly growing up quicker these days, I try and make the most of birthdays and celebrations. We often celebrate international holidays such as Chinese New Year and Mexican Cinco de Mayo to name a few, but more important than this, I love to make sure birthdays are super special.

Not just for the children either, my husband loves a bit of a celebration so I include him in this too, making sure to decorate the house so when everyone comes down in the morning they see banners and balloons and making special cakes like this Maltesers cake I made my husband last year.

I remember when growing up, my dad who always left at six in the morning would put all of the birthday cards by the front door, like the postman had delivered them (receiving mail is still exciting right?.) It is something that has always stuck in my mind and so I hope that what I do for my children will for them too.

When it comes to birthday cakes there is nothing more special than a homemade cake, whatever your skills. I remember some of mine even now, with everything from the standard hedgehog cake of the 80s, to the time my mum made me a cake that looked like a house, with buttons used as tiles on the roof, it was the best.

This year has seen my daughter turn five and my son turn eight, my daughters tastes change all the time but we decided on something pinktastic. She is such a pink loving little girl and so when I found these fabulous Talking Tables candles on the Candle & Cake website I knew that these were going to be pride of place on her cake, along with a one of their fabulous little balloon numbers.

This particular cake consisted of three layers of sponge, layered in between with a bit of raspberry jam and some icing, followed with more icing on top.  The overall effect of this was really great, with the simple cake, topped off with the candles and balloon number.

My son wanted something that I knew would be a bit controversial, especially with members of the family who don’t like bugs! However, it was his birthday and so, after a busy Saturday drinking gin at the Gin Festival, I was up early on Sunday morning to make his chocolate covered bug cake.

With some Bon Anniversaire banners I'd picked up on our visit to France last year, party hats, and another of the fabulous balloon numbers from Candle & Cake his cake definitely had the required effect and he loved it.

These are the moments in life we remember forever, the memories that shape what we become and what we love.

Do you remember any birthday cakes or parties from your childhood?

Top 5 Easy Easter Activities

With an early Easter this year, there is no better time to think of some bright colourful springtime activities to do with the children, especially on the colder and wetter days.

So, I have put together our top five super easy Easter activities.

Easter Bonnets

These don't have to be expensive, most shops have reasonably priced hats now, or you could make some out of cardboard and tissue paper. We opted for some pre made hats with the addition of some feathers, little chicks, sheep and ribbons.

We started by wrapping the ribbon round the hat, using some sticky dots to attach it, then added on some tissue paper grass and the chicks, sheep and feathers. The sticky dots make it easier for the children to do this themselves, no mess which is always a plus.

Once you've finished your creation you are all ready for Easter and any parades you might have to go to.

Sweetie Filled Carrots

These easy to make sweetie filled carrots are the perfect addition to an Easter party or just as something different to put sweets in for your children on Easter morning.

To make them, all you need is some A4 orange and green card. To start, cut the orange card in half and then roll into a cone shape. Then, stick down with some tape or glue, you may need to clip with a peg until the glue is dry as the card springs back quite easily, if you had some cute easter themed washi tape this would look good too. 

Next, cut off the overhang at the top of the card to make the top of the carrot a circle, then using the green card or some green tissue paper to make yourself a green carrot stalk and stick this in place on the carrot. Now, unless you are intending to fill with lots of eggs, pop some tissue paper or shredded paper in the bottom of the cone and just place some eggs on top.

You could make smaller versions of the carrots by using a quarter of the card or any old bits of card you have lying around, these carrots could also be used as a prize at the end of an easter egg hunt.

Easter Cakes

I love baking with the children, it's a great way of getting them to help me in the kitchen and they can also enjoy the fruits of their labour afterwards. These are almost too easy but they look cute and can be altered to suit everyones tastes, cornflake cakes are by far the easiest of things to make, even for the non-bakers. You'll need chocolate (I use milk), cornflakes, chocolate mini eggs and some cake cases.

Take some chocolate, 200g should do it and melt in a heatproof bowl over some water, once melted add in some cornflakes, no real amount here just keep going until they are all coated and you've mixed them into all of the chocolate.

Once you've mixed all of the cornflakes into the chocolate, place a large spoonful into each cake case, add a few eggs onto each cake and then pop in the fridge to cool and harden.

Serve on a pretty plate at an easter party or just because!

Easter Tree

Each year we have an Easter Tree, don't ask why but we love to decorate a branch or piece of tree we've found with some easter decorations we've either made or found in a shop. It's a simple way of adding a little fun and colour to our home and has definitely become a tradition.

This year I have chosen some pussy willow branches as our tree, we already had a few branches from a winter bouquet so I bought a few more from a local florist. We would normally find a branch from a tree on one of our walks but as these looked so great we used them instead. 

We have some little felt chickens and wooden eggs to add this year, I will add a few more as I find them and we will be making some more over the next few weeks.

Easter Egg Hunt

I love to do Easter Egg Hunts for the children, we don't go overboard on chocolate and just do a few eggs for them to find around the garden, but they love it and if the weather is fine it is the perfect way to get them out in the garden first thing to enjoy the morning sun.

You can buy cheap Easter egg hunt kits from places like Asda for about £1.50, and with some fillable eggs you can add your own chocolates or healthy treats or even something completely different, some little toys or pieces of a puzzle maybe.

These are just a few but there is so much more you can do, whether inside the home or out and about. 

If you are in Nottingham then Rufford Abbey have an Easter trail, you pay £1 and they give you a sheet to follow round the gardens. Once you've found all of the clues you get a chocolate, an easy way to get out and about an enjoy some fresh air and join in the Easter fun without having to set it all up yourself.

Why not check out your local garden centres and some of your favourite spots to visit, they usually have something on, either over Easter weekend or during half term.

I have started a Pinterest page with some of my favourite activites from other fellow bloggers too, there is some great inspiration.

Follow The Mummy Diary's board Easter Activities on Pinterest.

Healthier Halloween Treats

Halloween is a time where there are lots of sweets and treats. So, to try and cut down our sugar intake, Sykes Cottages have invited me to come up with some healthier options to serve this Halloween.

For the younger children, these banana and choc chip eyeball cakes are the perfect afternoon treat at Halloween. They are really easy to make, so it's a good time to get the children involved with the baking.

For the cake:

100g Butter, softened

2 eggs

175g Light brown sugar

225g Self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons milk

2 ripe bananas, mashed (use a fork to mash the banana)

50g Chocolate chips

For the decoration:

125g icing sugar

15ml warm water

Smarties, buttons, icing

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assisted and line a muffin tray with 12 cases (spooky ones if you have them!).

2. Place the butter, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, milk and banana in a mixing bowl and using a hand held mixer, blend until smooth, add the chocolate chips and stir in with a spoon.

3. Spoon the mixture equally between the cases and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

5. Once cooled, make the glacé icing. Mix 125g icing sugar with a teaspoon of water at a time until it reaches a smooth and thick consistency. Try not to make it too runny or it won't stay in the centre.  Place a teaspoon full of your thick icing on the middle of a cake and spread into a round(ish) shape.

I used some renshaw candy melts for the iris and a chocolate chip for the pupil, but you could use a smartie and some black icing, or a raisin. For the red around the eye I used a streak of red food colouring on the end of cocktail stick and just squiggled it through the icing before it set.

Once you have done this with all of them, there you have it, a spooky healthier cake.

Next up is a recipe I have made several times, it is a mix of raisins and nuts blended up. These bites are full of natural energy and perfect for slightly older children, although my three and six year old both enjoy them, I know some people like to be careful with nuts. They are blended into tiny pieces though so should be fine.

Ingredients:

100g Raisins
30g Cranberries
30g Cashews
30g Brazil nuts
30g Flaked almonds
20g Mixed seeds
1-3 tsps Honey
Liquorice Catherine Wheels for decoration.

1. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

2. Place the raisins, cranberries, cashews, brazil nuts, mixed seeds and flaked almonds in a mixer or chopper and blend until chopped and mixed, add a little honey at a time until it becomes wet enough to roll into balls without breaking apart.

Once you've rolled out the spiders bodies, cut the liquorice in half lengthways so you have thinner strips to make the legs. Add these to the tops of the bodies whilst still squidgy, once you have done this you can add little pieces of cranberry as eyes or leave as is. Place in the fridge to firm up and then  serve.

Together these treats look great displayed next to a pumpkin and some cobwebs...

This is my entry into the Sykes Cottages Healthy Halloween Treats challenge.

Princess Fairy Cakes - Toddler Fun

My daughter loves helping me to bake cakes, so when I spotted these princess cake cases and icing cake toppers I knew they would make it all the more enjoyable.

For this you'll need a basic Victoria sponge recipe, I use my old faithful Be-Ro recipe which I pop everything in the mixer and it never fails.

Once mixed, pop in to the cake cases and the once cooked we made pink icing, placed some super snazzy pink sprinkles on and then the cake toppers.

And voila, easy peasy pretty cakes that take about just the right amount of time for the attention span of a small child. They taste pretty nice too ;)

I love the time me and her spend baking, it is a great way to spend time together and always means we get to enjoy something afterwards.

Jubilee Mini Cupcakes

I bought some Petit Four cases ages ago and have never got round to using them,  I thought they would be perfect for making some mini Jubilee Cupcakes.

Quite a difference from a normal cake case!

I had a go the other weekend as I am hoping to take some to a party one of our neighbours is having.

To start with I used my usual recipe for making the cakes halved:

50g Self Raising Flour
50g Golden Caster Sugar
50g Stork Margarine
1 Eggs
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Essence

Put everything in a food processor and blitz until smooth consistency, put about a teaspoon into the mini cake cases and cook for about 10 minutes!

Once they have cooled I iced with buttercream (I have my own secret recipe but if you need one this one on Baking Mad is really good) which I had split into three, added red to one and blue to another leaving one white.

Top Tip: If you are using a piping bag then a really useful tip is to put it in a tall glass and fold over the sides, you can then spoon the mixture in using both hands if necessary and it stops accidents!

Fold the bag over the top of a tall glass!

Using a Wilton 22 small star nozzle I piped little swirls onto the cupcakes in the three different colours, I decided they look like those mini gems you got when you were a kid. If you don't like too much cake then these are perfect, as well as for the kids!

Although they aren't bright red and blue I love them, if it's possible I think they look a little vintage!

Rainy Day Activity - Cornflake Cakes

There is nothing more satisfying in the world than melting chocolate, it's consistency is so lovely and I have no doubt I am not the only one who looks forward to licking the bowl!

Making cornflake cakes is a perfect rainy day activity to do with your children and this morning we did just that.

This is great fun for toddlers and preschoolers and brightens up the gloomiest of days.

I haven't put the amounts down as you can do them with as little or as much chocolate as you like and I never make them with weighed ingredients just however much looks like enough ;) Just add cornflakes a bit at a time and you can't go wrong.

In a bowl over a pan of hot water, melt some chocolate.

Be careful not to get any water in as this upsets chocolate

Once all melted carefully take off the heat

Add some cornflakes and stir (children are especially helpful at this bit)

Ensure the chocolate coats the cornflakes and add more cornflakes if it looks to chocolatey

Another child friendly part of making them, get them to put the cake cases into tins

Spoon the mixture into the cases and pop in the fridge to cool

Once cooled eat....

 We added some raisins to ours but you could also add nuts, marshmallows or anything else you fancy really.

Favourite Recipe Friday - Cupcakes

So in the past few months I must have made a batch of cupcakes every few weeks and so I thought it only appropriate this be my favourite recipe this week.

I use an all in one method, it is simple and easy and my son loves helping to measure out the ingredients and set the cases out into the tins.

The key is to make sure everything is at room temperature, I keep my eggs in the fridge as we don't have space anywhere else so always get them out a few hours before.

Ingredients:

100g Self Raising Flour
100g Caster Sugar (I always use caster sugar in my baking as it makes for fluffier cakes!)
100g Stork Margarine (I always use Stork as it makes them super fluffy too!)
2 x Eggs (I use large but medium are fine)

Method:

Place all of the ingredients in a food mixer/processor and blitz until smooth, you may need stop and scrape the sides using a spatula and then spin again to mix in.

Once it has reached a smooth consistency, spoon into your cake cases, this mix usually does about 14-16 but it depends on your cake case size.

Bake in a 160c oven for 15 minutes or until the cakes are a nice golden colour and spongy to the touch, you can also poke a skewer into the middle and it should come out clean.

 

Once cooled, decorate as required. Our favourite is some yummy butter cream and sprinkles, you can go mad with different colours, tastes and themes :)

Easter Activites

So Easter is finally upon us and with the weather not looking so great I have been looking at fun things to do with the children....

First on the agenda we have an Easter egg hunt, this is great for indoors or outdoors really and is super simple. I have some little chicks that are going to be guarding the eggs, my son just has to spot these to find his eggs (little chocolate eggs at each chick).

To decorate the house I have found these gorgeous garlands that you can print out at home and hang up around the house http://www.printablepaperproducts.com/printable-crafts/easter-bunny-garland or http://www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2011/04/easter-bunny-bunting/

I also found some masks in Hobbycraft that you can colour in and decorate, these are really great for toddlers and I will be using at my sons birthday party in a few weeks, but for now the bunny ones are great for Easter.

Next we will be baking some more Easter cakes, we had a test run last weekend and produced these beauties it is just a standard victoria sponge mix for the cakes and then a super yummy chocolate icing from the Hummingbird Bakery book on top, topped with some Easter treats.

Kids love to help decorate cupcakes

I have also bought some chocolate moulds from  Sew White, we have had a go with them already but will make some more at the weekend if it doesn't brighten up. My son really loved helping make them and the chocolates we made haven't lasted long either so they are big hit.

Posh chocolate button anyone?

Chocolate dinosaurs!

I think for breakfast tomorrow we will be having Madeleines, again using a new mould I bought from Sew White and then we'll be having Mutton for tea.

Should it brighten up there is an open day at a local Animal Shelter so we will probably venture to that, you get to see some animals whilst supporting the charity :)