Toddler Fun - Making Cupcakes

We had great fun icing these cup cakes together - it was a messy job, though !

My mother recently gave me some paper cup cases, and ever since then my daughter has been nagging me to make cup cakes with her ! So, I obliged the other day but must admit that I was in a bit of a rush at the time and as you can see by the photo, the cup cakes came out a bit like …errr … well I’m not quite sure, but they came out in all sorts of shapes and none of them were round !

Let me explain (and I’m sure that other Mum’s out there will understand !) … I made the batter and had the cup cases all lined up on the baking tray and realized that once I’d filled all the cases there was still quite a bit of batter left over. So, instead of getting more cup cases out and filling a second tray (a real pain as my oven can only take one tray at a time, the kitchen was a mess and I was dying to put my feet up with a nice cuppa tea) I decided to just add a little more batter to each cup – oops ! As a result, they all overflowed whilst baking. Never mind, they were still fun to ice and tasted just the same.

My daughter wanted to share them as she was so pleased with her handiwork, so the dogs each got one (!!) as did the gardeners (much to their delight !) Upendo (Justin’s sister who is working here whilst he is on leave) and a special cake was reserved for Daddy when he got home from work ! (The cats turned their noses up at them, much to my daughter’s annoyance …)

This basic cake recipe is one my Mum used for all our birthday cakes when we were growing up. This is the only cake recipe I use – adapted for different cakes - so I’m sure that you’ll see it crop up more than once on my blog ! It is a real “flop proof” recipe and never fails.

(I should also just mention that as my husband had to make an emergency trip in to the “Big City” for farm chemicals this week, he was able to swap my expired milk so … we have milk in the house again …. yipeeeeee !)


Basic Cake Mixture

100 gm Margarine
¾ cup Sugar
3 Eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
½ cup Milk

Cream the margarine & sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture. Add the milk.

Pour into 2 greased cake tins or 12 cup cake cases and bake at 180’C/’F/Gas Mark 4 for 20 to 30 minutes.

Carrot Cake

I didn't eat the entire slice myself, but believe you me - I could have !

We had great fun at the Garden Centre today, despite the weather being a little overcast and drizzly. We had lunch at the restaurant there - I had a Spinach & Feta Quiche with a Greek Salad, followed by Carrot Cake … quite decadent of me as I honestly didn’t need it after the quiche, but I did share it so I don’t feel quite so guilty !

Carrot cake is one of my all time favourite “bakes” and I do make it from time to time at home, but usually only when we have guests as my husband doesn’t eat it and I can’t trust myself with a whole carrot cake begging to be eaten, and no takers except for me !

Here’s a slightly healthier version of the standard carrot cake recipe for you to try, the topping is also not too sweet -:

Carrot Cake

125 gm Margarine (use a “Light” version)
125 gm Brown Sugar
90 ml Clear Honey
175 gm Carrots, grated
125 gm Raisins, seedless
50 gm Dates, stoned & chopped
½ tsp Ground Mixed Spices
150 ml Water
1 Egg, beaten
125 gm Cake Flour
125 gm Wholemeal Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder

Topping
200 gm Low Fat Cottage Cheese (Cream Cheese)
10 ml Clear Honey
5 ml Lemon Juice
15 ml Walnuts, chopped

Mix the margarine, sugar, honey, carrots, raisins, dates, mixed spice and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil & simmer gently for 5 minutes. Turn out into a mixing bowl & leave until cold, then add the beaten egg. Mix the flours & baking powder together, & fold in to the fruit mixture until well combined. Pour in to a 23 cm greased cake tin & bake at 180’C/350’F/Gas Mark 4 for approximately 1 hour (or until firm to the touch).

Blend all the topping ingredients together (except for the walnuts). Spread the topping over the cake once cooled, and scatter the chopped walnuts over the top.

Enjoy a slice with a nice cuppa tea !

Mum's Banana Bread

Delicious served with cheese, too !

Thanks to everyone for the great comments and emails on what to do with my glut of bananas ! I had also not thought to freeze them whole for use in smoothies and milk shakes - that sounds like a great idea, and I will definitely try it soon.

This is an “old faithful” recipe that I have been making since …. well, it’s been so long I can’t remember as it feels like it’s something I’ve always made ! Before that, my Mum made it for us when we were growing up. I can remember having it for afternoon tea, and in my school lunch box too.

The great thing about this banana bread is that it freezes very well. The recipe makes 2 loaves so I usually slice and freeze the second one (if you slice it, it is easy to just remove a few slices at a time). My husband likes his with butter and cheese, but traditionally this bread is just eaten plain or “as is”. If it lasts longer than a few days (!!) and begins to go a bit stale, it is also great toasted.

Mum’s Banana Bread

½ Cup Margarine
1 ½ Cups Sugar
2 Eggs, beaten
2 cups Flour
½ tsp Baking Powder
¾ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 Cup roughly mashed Bananas (the riper the better)
¾ Cup Milk

Cream margarine & sugar together. Add beaten eggs. Mix well and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend well and pour in to 2 greased loaf tins. Bake at 180’C/350’F/Gas Mark 4 for ¾ hour to 1 hour.