Summer berries to the rescue! I have officially cracked the berry fastest way to serve cupcakes. If you need to produce something in a hurry or donate something visually impressive to the school fete then look no further. For my son’s recent cupcake decorating party I indulged in buying 99p store cupcakes. The concept of the […]
Do you need a stand mixer?
Well? Do you need a stand mixer? It’s everyone’s wedding list star prize. Most regular bakers have or wish they had a stand mixer. People get really sentimental about their stand mixers. They even give them names. I never understand this, if I gave the fridge or toaster a name people would think I was […]
Google Rainbow Birthday Cake
Every year I swear I won’t still be decorating Ted’s birthday cake during the party and this year I finally managed it. Surprisingly, this was his most complicated cake yet since I tend to duck out of pressure when I am my own client. Last year I was delighted he simply requested a cake covered […]
Appetite Food Fair Walthamstow
The calendar flipped over to July this week marking my 4th blog birthday. I was posting about the Classic French eclairs event on the 1st so waited until today to reflect on four years of blogging and share pictures of my pop up event at the Walthamstow Appetite Festival Gourmet Food Fair this weekend. Selling […]
Coffee and Walnut Eclairs
Eclairs, some people will have you, are the new cupcake. This is of course nonsense, eclairs have a short shelf life and are far more fiddly to make. This isn’t to say eclairs are difficult but there are more components each requiring more babysitting than cupcake sponge and buttercream. Eclairs compromise a finger of choux […]
Bush Hall Dining Rooms
Deepest darkest Shepherds Bush will always have a place in my heart: we lived there for eight happy years. Our returning there from Walthamstow is rare. So an invitation to review Bush Hall Dining Rooms was an ideal opportunity to check out our old neighbourhood. Read the rest of this post at Dinner With Crayons Restaurant Review […]
Lemon and Poppy Seed Cupcakes
Lemon and poppy seed is a classic flavour combination and works beautifully in these Lemon and Poppy Seed Cupcakes. The black sugarpaste flowers are an easy decoration you can add if you wish. Updated 2026 · Originally featured on UKTV Good Food channel’s website. An alternative decoration to the black sugarpaste blossom shaped would be […]
Dinner With Crayons: Yo! Sushi
Yo! Who says kids won’t eat sushi? (via http://dinnerwithcrayons.com) Maybe it’s the conveyor belt with everything temptingly sliding past. Maybe it’s the bento style plastic boxes that takeaway sushi comes in. My five year old has always been crazy for sushi. In fact he’s more adventurous than many of my grown up friends. When any […]
Baby Shower Cupcakes at Squires Kitchen Exhibition
Last year I had a press ticket to visit the amazing Squires Kitchen Exhibition show which takes place annually at their headquarters in Falmer, Surrey. There were so many incredible cakes there that for the first time ever I filled my memory card up and had to borrow Fuss Free Helen’s instead (we have the […]
Raspberry Quark Eton Mess
Those little tubs of ready-made meringues you get in the supermarket can come in very handy. I’ll never forget wowing the mums at my son’s 1st birthday party by serving them in dishes of strawberries drizzled with molten chocolate. My sleep deprived friends with babies of their own seemed to think I was some kind […]
Quark Lemon Cheesecake with Speculoos Biscuits
An easy no-bake lemon cheesecake-style dessert using low fat quark, lemon curd and speculoos biscuits – also known as Biscoff or Lotus branded biscuits. Some day or another I’ll get around to making a bona fide cheese cake that you bake in the oven – but for the time being I’m happy to cheat with […]
Quark Chocolate Mousse – Egg Free, Easy Dessert
Usually making chocolate mousse involves folding whisked egg whites into a chocolatey custard type mix and if I’m honest, it’s not something I do very often. When you can get a chocolate dessert that looks as good as the one above, why would you bother? Quark is one of those ingredients you hear about but […]
