Recipe: Millionaire's Shortbread

Words cannot describe this! You have to try it....

250g Shortbread Biscuits, crushed
55g Melted Butter
150g Butter
150g Dark Brown Soft Sugar
397g Can Carnation Condensed Milk
200g Milk Chocolate
55g Milkybar

1. Combine biscuits & melted butter and press into a parchment lined tin. Chill for 20mins
2. Heat sugar and butter gently, stirring until melted together. Add Carnation milk and bring to a rapid boil, stirring continuously. Cook for a minute or two until the filling has thickened
3. Pour the caramel over the base and chill for 30mins
4. Melt the chocolate. Pour the milk chocolate over the caramel and add spoonfuls of white chocolate. Swirl for a marbled effect and chill until set

My Home Decorated Cakes

I love making cakes. I don't claim to be any good at it, but I enjoy it and people enjoy eating them, so I'm happy. I started making them as a teenager, although my first 'proper' cake was for Little Miss's 2nd birthday. Encouraged by a friend who was having a joint party with us, we decided to make a cake each out of one of my books. She chose a frog and I chose the Fairy Toadstool shown in the pictures below - probably not the easiest cake for a first attempt! We started around teatime and 5 years on, I can still remember decorating these cakes into the early hours of the morning! 

We then both attended a couple of classes that showed us how to make sugar paste models and I got the hang of covering a cake in icing. 
I do 'cheat' most of the time in that I buy a cake mixture from my local shop, although the fairy toadstool I did make totally from scratch. I would like to go on courses one day as I do enjoy it as a hobby. I haven't yet attempted to create a cake from my imagination, I use pictures I have found on the internet and also some books that I have. Little Man's 5th birthday is coming up - last year I did him the Spiderman cake, so I'm not entirely sure how to top that. Any suggestions greatly appreciated - feel free to link me!

National Trust - 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4

I think most people by now have heard of the National Trust's '50 things to do before you're 11 3/4'. I had seen adverts for it, but hadn't really thought any more of it. Last week we went to an event in our town and there was a stall there full of leaflets for cycling routes, walking routes, local country parks and in amongst all those, I saw the booklet from the National Trust. It is a pocket sized scrapbook detailing the 50 things and giving you enough space to put a photo, a drawing, or a small piece of art related to the task. You can also get a sticker from participating National Trust places, to stick on the page of the task you are doing.

There is also a web address you can log on to where you can register and design your own Virtual Explorer to guide you through. From here you can find out which National Trust places are near you and which tasks you will be able to complete there. You can also tick off your adventures, upload pictures and explore the 50 things in more detail.

Some of the tasks are relatively straightforward such as climb a tree, play conkers, make a daisy chain and climb a huge hill. These can be done easily with younger children in tow. Some of them are a little harder, such as go on a nature walk at night and canoe down a river, and you may have to wait a few years before you can complete them. 

We are aiming to do a lot of them this year and look forward to completing our scrapbooks. Check back later in the year for an update on how we are doing!

Recipe of the Week - Banoffee Pie

Here is another one of my favourite pudding recipes, although it is saved for VERY special occasions due to calorie and fat content!

Biscuit Base:
250g Digestive or Gingernut Biscuits
100g Unsalted Butter

Filling:
150g Unsalted Butter
150g Light Muscovado Sugar
400g Can Condensed milk

Topping:
4 Bananas
300ml Double Cream
1 tbsp chopped, toasted hazelnuts
1 chocolate flake




To Make:

1. Whizz the biscuits in a food processor or place in a polythene bag and crush until they turn to crumbs. Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan and stir in the crumbed biscuits. Spread over the base and around 5cm up the sides of a 25cm loose-bottomed cake or tart tin. Chill for 20mins
2. To make the Toffee Filling, place the butter and sugar in a saucepan and heat until the sugar is dissolved, then pour in the condensed milk. Cook over a medium heat for 5-6mins, stirring continuously until the mixture has thickened and turned golden
3. Pour the toffee mixture onto the biscuit base and chill for 1 hour until firm
4. To make the topping, slice the bananas and place on the toffee mixture, saving a few for the top of the pie. Whip the cream until it holds its shape and pile on top of the bananas, then decorate with the leftover banana slices, chopped nuts and crumbled flake.

*Originally taken from www.idealhomemagazine.co.uk