'Crunchie Rocks' !

Ever fancied making your own Crunchie at home?

Here's how!

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Honeycomb is surprisingly simple and cheap to make! It uses regular household ingredients and tastes fabulous!

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Ingredients:

4 tablespoons Golden Syrup

200g Caster Sugar

3 teaspoons Bicarbonate of Soda

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Method:

Line a baking tray or cake tin

In a large saucepan: heat the golden syrup and sugar together. 

Bring to the boil, and then simmer on a low heat for 5-10 mins.

To test when if your mix is ready, drop a small amount of the heated mix into a glass of water. If the mixture turns solid then it is ready! 

Remove the pan from the heat and add your bicarb.

Mix together quickly as your mixture will foam up instantly!

Pour your mixture immediately over a lined baking tray or into a lined cake tin.

Leave to set!

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This is my honeycomb ready to go into the fridge!

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Once the honeycomb is set, take it out of the fridge and break it into chunks!

I put my honeycomb into a freezer bag then hit it with a rolling pin to create lots of broken pieces in a range of sizes.

Ideally, if you use a baking tray, you can use a knife dipped in boiling water to slice through the honeycomb, creating bars.

Then drizzle over melted chocolate, or dip the bar fully into melted chocolate, and wa-la!

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Note: This honeycomb is rather chewy: some of you may like that, some may not. Add a tablespoon of Vinegar to your sugar and syrup mix whilst its on the hob! This should make it 'crunchier'!

'Crunchie Rocks!'

Golden Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies

Raisins= Fruit, and Fruit= Healthy- Result!

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These cookies actually melt in your mouth straight out of the oven. And what better excuse to eat them straight away than to kid yourself anything with fruit in is healthy! Furthermore, seeing as it is practically just porridge oats and raisins you could certainly call it breakfast! 

Go on then.. have two!

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Ingredients:

110 g Butter

150 Light Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons Golden Syrup

100g Self Raising Flour

Pinch of Salt

200g Porridge Oats

100g Raisins

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 egg

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Bicarb

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Method:

Melt butter, sugar, and syrup (over the hob or in the microwave!)

Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl

Mix both bowls together and add the egg

Put some baking paper over your scales and weigh 75 of mixture out at a time and shape into a ball

Place the 75g balls on a lined baking sheet

Keep them as balls- they do not need to be flattened! They do the hard work themselves!

Bake for 10 minutes at 170 or 150 for Fan oven

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Eat one as soon as it is cool enough! The rest? Hide from friends and family if you want to see them again!

"All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much."

Or so George Harrison said.. but in this case- have as much as you like!

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This is a dark chocolate cake with orange chocolate fudge icing inside, and orange chocolate ganache on the outside. This is the ultimate in chocolate heaven!

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The drape is made of sugar paste with painted gold lustre dust stars. 

To replicate this, or to create your own design, first sketch out your templates on a piece of card. Use small scissors to cut the inside out, leaving you with a ready to use template.

Place this template over your rolled out sugar paste and, using a delicate paintbrush, paint inside the templates with lustre dust.

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Alternatively: Use a stiff template (i.e. a bought one made of plastic or metal, or stiff cardboard will do). Place the template over your fondant. Paste soft royal icing over the entire template. Lift the template to reveal your pattern.

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This is too good not to share:

Chocolate Ganache Recipe

- 200g Dark Chocolate

-200g Double Cream

*I added orange essence here- why not add peppermint for a fresh, sharp taste?

Melt both in a saucepan over a low heat. Stir continuously until thick and creamy with a glossy finish. 

Here you have two choices:

1. Use immediately. Pour over your cake to give a wonderfully rich, glossy, icing. Key tip: Place your cake on a cooling rack with a plate under. This catches any run-off icing and you can re use it!

Or...

2. Place your ganache in the fridge for up to two hours. This will allow the ganache to set, turning into a thick, rich, paste which you can then spread all over your cake using a palette knife.

This was the method used on the cake above. 

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It was my sister's 18th birthday so this cake was topped off with a tiara and a purple sparkly decoration. The champagne bottle candles were stuck to the cake board with icing to prevent them falling over whilst lit in the restaurant.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!