Rain, heavy rain, light showers, more rain. No surprise our little ones are getting a bit of cabin fever. Trips to the park are off the list, as is playing in the garden that now resembles a pond, and if I have to sufferthe indignity of trying to squeeze my Mummy body up and down through the soft play maze one more time I may be forced to emigrate. The summer holidays haven’t even begun and the children are getting fed up. Drawing, sticking, teddy bears tea parties and den building have served us well, but just aren’t cutting the mustard anymore. Time to mix it all up with a bit of kiddy baking….yes I know it’s messy, a little frustrating (they probably won’t do it like you would) and won’t necessarily result in something you would feed your mates, but they love it! Not only do they enjoy it, but it’s a great chance to teach them something new…weighing ingredients, counting out cupcake cases, learning new words…when else will they learn about ‘whisking’ and ‘sieving’?

There are lots of simple recipes that are great for baking with kids, some more suitable for slightly older kids, but there is something for everyone. For the older kids make cupcakes, cookies and flapjacks, with the little ones chocolate dipped strawberries, cupcake decorating (bake them yourself first), even icing and decorating plain biscuits goes down well. If they like picking the food colouring off the shelves try making your own playdoh in the colours they choose, they will love to watch as the gooey mixture turns to what they recognise as playdoh.

Last week I went for chocolate dipped strawberries, simple but fun and just about all I was brave enough to manage with 1-year old twins and a 3-year old. It worked well but I thought my 3-year old was up to a bit more of a challenge. So today (whilst Dad bathed the twins) we baked and decorated cupcakes. Read on to see how we got on and for the recipe we used…

Hand washing to get us started….

Counting out the cupcake cases…

Getting the mixture in to the cases…sticky fingers time…

Sophie’s selection of decorations…vast majority of the blue sparkle ended up decorating the floor…

Topping the cakes…actually tasted very good!

All in all a SUCCESS!! A bath was required and the kitchen needed a scrub down, but we were happy!

If you fancy giving it a try here is the recipe we used, a few ideas for variations and some thoughts to help you survive your afternoon baking.

Basic Cupcake Recipe

175g soft butter

175g caster sugar

175g self raising flour

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon whole milk

Preheat oven to 180c

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Lightly whisk the eggs just to break them up, then add in the vanilla extract. Slowly add the egg mixture to the creamed butter and sugar.

Sieve the flour on to the top of the mixture and pour on the milk. Gently mix together until fully incorporated.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases (cases should be about two-thirds full) and bake in the centre of the oven for 18-20 minutes.

Leave to cool completely and decorate with toppings of your choice.

Toppings and variations

• Buy ready-made fondant icing, roll out and use a cutter to make circles to place on top of the cakes, then decorate with little flowers or hearts and edible glitter.
• Make some vanilla butter icing and pipe in large swirls onto the cakes; decorate with smarties or anything you like.
• Cut out a little sponge from the top of the cake, fill with jam, replace the ‘lid’ and cover with icing.
• For a chocolate surprise filling push a square of chocolate into the centre of each cupcake just before you put them in the oven.

A few thoughts to help you survive:

• Start with a shopping trip – take your little ones to the baking aisle and let them choose some cake decorating bits and pieces – most supermarkets have a great selection of coloured icing, cupcake cases and decorations. Perhaps set a limit to how many items they can choose. Whilst you are there you can get a bit of your weekly shop done too.
• If your children are very young weigh the ingredients yourself and set them aside. Let them have a go at breaking an egg into a bowl, then press on with your ready prepared ingredients (perhaps even make them yourself first and just let them do the decorating).
• Try and stay relaxed – the kitchen will be a mess (probably a complete right off), the kids will lick the bowl and try to eat all the decorations before you get started – just enjoy the chaos – there will probably come a time when they won’t want to spend a minute with you near the oven.
• Decant some of the decorations into small cupcake cases – this will stop them going wild and will hopefully limit the mess.

Give it a go and send us your photos…if not of the kids, at least of the mess they create!

Alice xx

This post was originally written for 4Manchester Women www.4Manchesterwomen.co.uk

There is nothing like a vintage tea party for versatility: pretty vintage teacups and saucers, embroidered table linens and exquisite vintage cake stands are admired by all the ages (especially the ladies); gooey cakes, tasty finger sandwiches and scones served with plenty of clotted cream are popular with everyone (especially the men and children); and there are not many who don’t like a proper cuppa made with loose leaf tea and poured from a vintage teapot.

So no wonder that so many people are hosting vintage tea parties for so many different occasions. Alice’s Vintage Pantry has been super busy this month, booking for a wide variety of occasions, they include: a 40th garden party, a little boys 3rd birthday, a leaving do, afternoon tea for a girly get together, a Ladybird Ball, another 40th, several weddings and a golden wedding anniversary – phew! Whatever gathering you are planning, consider tea, cakes and vintage china…

From picnics to sports day – how to bake the perfect sponge cake

Winning the Mum’s race at sports day just isn’t that cool is it…nor was coming last as I remember from my last encounter with such an event (oh my goodness, how on earth did I manage that?!). What is cool is donating a beautifully light and perfectly risen Victoria Sandwich to the refreshments stall. Rising above the tray bakes and cupcakes the perfect sponge will make you proud that you tied your apron strings rather than the laces on your trainers. Whilst others are in their lycra sweating (yes, some Mums actually do put themselves and their kids in training for sports day!), you can be in the kitchen sipping tea whilst you mix your buttercream. And baking your own is at least a zillion times better than shop bought sponge. Not only does it taste far better, it’s cheaper, you know what’s in it and it’s a creation you can be proud of. This is all sounding a bit like a Kirsty Allsop dream…the reality is that many of us don’t have much success in getting our sponge to rise…flat cake syndrome is all too common and puts many off baking their own sponge cakes…so what to do about it? Well, there are some basic rules to baking that whilst pretty straight forward really do make all the difference to turning out a cracking cake. Have a read below, give it a go and let us know how you get on….

• Weigh and measure all your ingredients before you get started, and do it accurately – it’s well worth investing in electronic scales. Baking is basically science, so you need to get the experiment spot on.
• Grease and line your cake tin before you begin to mix, if you leave your mixture sitting around whilst you get this job done air bubbles will start to rise to the top and limit your cakes ability to rise.
• Use the best quality ingredients that you can afford and make sure it is all at room temperature before you get started.
• Get some decent measuring spoons – if a recipe requires a ‘teaspoon’ it means 5mls – most ‘teaspoons’ measure less than this.
• Use really soft butter – make sure you get it out of the fridge well in advance of your bake-off. If it is still feeling a bit on the hard side when it’s time to get started either pop it in a warm place, microwave it for a few seconds, or grate it on to a plate.
• Most sponge cakes start with creaming together butter and sugar – take this process seriously. Creaming together doesn’t mean a quick mix, it means fully incorporating the ingredients and then continuing to mix for at least 5-10 minutes until really light and fluffy. This is pretty hard work if you are doing it by hand, so if you are planning on doing a bit more baking (or even just mixing pizza dough or bread mix), invest in an electronic mixer.
• When it comes to adding the eggs make sure you do it slowly. If you go too quickly the mixture may curdle and result in a heavier sponge. So just a little at a time with a good mix after each addition.
• Make sure the oven set to the correct temperature before you put your hard work in it. Modern ovens are generally pretty temperature accurate but they do vary slightly so get to know yours.
• Have your cooling wire at the ready, but leave your cake in the tin for two minutes before placing it on the wire.
• And last but definitely not least…whatever you do don’t open the oven door!!

Victoria Sandwich recipes seem to be everywhere I look – with jubilee celebrations and the picnic season well and truly upon us, every supermarket shelf and magazine is offering us their variation on the classic sponge recipe. At Alice’s Vintage Pantry we use a tried and tested recipe that turns out the most delicious Victoria Sandwich…needless to say I’m quite keen to keep that one close to my chest, so here is another created by the super talented and much loved Delia Smith.

• 110g butter
• 110g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• A few drops of vanilla essence
• 110g self-raising flour (sifted)
• Jam to fill, and sifted icing sugar to top

Preheat the oven to gas mark 3 / 170c. Grease and line two 18cm cake tins.

Cream butter and sugar together. In a separate bowl beat the eggs together thoroughly then slowly add to the butter and sugar. Stir in the vanilla essence. Sift the flour on to the mixture and slowly incorporate using a metal spoon. Divide the mixture equally between the two tins and bake for 25 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch.

Feedback and photos please!

And if you don’t want to put your apron on don’t forget we can bake one for you – we deliver anywhere in Manchester, Cheshire and the surrounding areas.

This blog was originally posted on the 4Manchester Women website www.4manchesterwomen.co.uk

The Perfect Scone

Scones come in all shapes and sizes, a wealth of recipes are available from savoury to sweet, fruit or cherry filled, milk, buttermilk or cream. Then there is the shape – drop scones, triangle, square or the more commonly used round scone. Topped with butter, jam, fresh cream or cream everyone has their favourite scone. At Alice’s Vintage Pantry we have tried lots of different recipes and make different scones for different occasions. Our most commonly used recipe is one used by 5* Mayfair Hotel Claridge’s. No matter what your favourite type is or what recipe you are using, if you are baking your own follow our scone tips to get your perfect scone.

• Don’t spend too long rubbing the butter in to the flour – the quicker you do it the lighter your scone will be;
• No matter what your recipe says, make sure your butter is at room temperature, if its too cold it will take too long to rub in to the flour and will result in a heavier scone;
• Roll out your dough to a depth of no less than 2 cm’s. This will seem deep but will give you a greater height to your scone;
• Make sure you apply even pressure to the rolling pin, to get an even rise to your scone the best way to start is an even dough;
• Dip your scone cutter in a little flour prior to cutting, it will prevent the dough sticking to the cutter and will help give a more even rise;
• Once you have cut your scones, place them upside down on the baking sheet, again this helps them to rise more evenly;
• If you want a softer top to your scone, cool them on a wire rack and place a slightly damp clean tea towel over the top;
• Whilst scones do freeze well, they are always best baked fresh and served the same day.
• And of course make sure you serve them on a tiered vintage cake stand with a cuppa served in a dainty vintage teacup!

Try these tips with Delia Smith’s basic scone recipe…

225g self-raising flour

40g butter, at room temperature

1½ tablespoons caster sugar

a pinch of salt

150ml milk

Preheat the oven to gas mark 7 (220c). Grease a baking sheet.

Sift the flour into a large bowl and rub the butter in rapidly using your fingertips. Stir in the sugar and salt, take a knife to mix in the milk little by little. Knead the mixture to a soft dough.

Turn the dough out on to a pastry board and roll it out using a floured rolling pin. Cut the scones out using a 4-5 cm cutter and place on the baking sheet. Dust each one with a little flour. Bake near the top of the oven for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy with good quality jam and clotted cream.

Baking is basically chemistry, the recipe books you follow the result of a series of science experiments. You don’t however have to be a scientist to learn to bake. You just need to know some basic rules and tips. Chemistry was the very first subject I dropped at school, well was forced to drop by some wise teachers, thankfully it hasn’t affected the light texture of my Victoria Sandwich or the height of my Carrot Cake. There are many rules and tips I could share, here are a five to get you started, more to follow;

• Be organised, get out all the equipment you need and weigh your ingredients, cake mixture does not like sitting around waiting whilst you look for the vanilla extract
• Always get your ingredients to room temperature before you start baking, too cold and your experiment won’t be as good as it could
• Line your baking tin before you start, once your ingredients are mixed it needs to go straight in to the tin, leave it sitting around and it will begin to form air bubbles which will affect the look and texture of your cake
• On the subject of lining, whether the recipe tells you to or not line both the bottom and the sides of your tin for a more even colour
• Don’t be tempted to open the oven door, really really don’t, there is nearly nothing worse for a rising cake than the temperature to suddenly drop

If you have baking tips or photographs of your ‘experiments’ you would like to share with our readers please post them here.

My first experience of making flapjack was in Home Economics at school, using the recipe from the back of a pack of porridge oats. We came across this recipe a little while ago, and as far as flapjack is concerned, have never looked back. It has a lovely fruity flavour but still retains the stickiness of a plainer flapjack. Yum! It stores well and can easily be layered (just put a little greaseproof paper in-between layers) so is a great alternative in the biscuit tin, or for picnics. Two tips for making this work well: don’t overcook, when you check it at 25 mins it will still be bubbling and may not look ready, don’t worry, as it cools it will all come together; press the mixture in to the tin using a wide flat surface like a palette knife or a spatula, press it down again when you get it out of the oven.

You will need

• 175g butter
• 175g soft light brown sugar
• 125g golden syrup
• 350g rolled oats
• 150g sultanas
• 100g chopped dried apricots
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 orange, rind zested

Preheat the oven to 180c / gas mark 4. Line or grease a 16x16cm baking tin.

Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan over a low heat, stir occasionally.

Whilst it is melting mix the remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and combine. Press in to the prepared tin.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the mixture starts to brown a little at the edges.

Cool in the tin, then use a very sharp knife to cut in to as many pieces as you like.

Have a go and let us know how you get on….next recipe will be an Orange Sandwich Cake from the 1930s…watch this space.