A Thread For All Uk Bakers!!
Decorating By hailinguk Updated 25 Aug 2017 , 10:29am by Magic Mouthfuls
I'm allergic to uncooked cranberries (cranberry sauce is fine) so this time of year is a bit of a nightmare for me. It makes me throat swell up and have trouble breathing, so have to be careful I don't accidently have any! Also had reactions to walnuts, pepper, pineapple, mango and tomatoes. And I've got some problem with wheat, but it's mainly breakfast cereal. Anyway, I was going to say I've never met anyone else with an allergy to cranberries! Apple sounds unusual too.
Those anti-gravity cakes look fab. I'd love to have a go at one. Got a busy weekend of meeting up with friends and visiting relatives, so not going to think about cakes for the next couple of days.
Sugar - hope your toothache improves and Chezzabelle - hope the pain is beginning to improve and you managed to get some sleep last night.
AHi All,
Ooh Suzanne hope your cube cake and gravity cake go ok! Looking forward to seeing the Plan B cake too, and your dress :)
Kathy, LOL it's Sugar getting married, not me :) I've never heard of an apple allergy either, loads if luck with the rest of the party plans!
Sock, oh dear that must be a right minefield with cranberries! One of those things people wouldn't necessarily think to tell you it's in stuff :/ have a lovely weekend though!
Was it Sugar who had toothache? Hope it feels better soon x
I really need to be getting on with stuff but just can't concentrate, got some family news last night which is good news, but has mostly made me sad and distracted :/ But I have to get on with my jelly experiments, so I suppose at least it might keep me busy. Why is there never any chocolate in the house when you need it LOL?!
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Kathy, LOL it's Sugar getting married, not me I've never heard of an apple allergy either, loads if luck with the rest of the party plans!
That's what I get for trying to be clever! I have a shocking memory - I'm always saying the wrong things to the wrong people! Sorreeee I want to be nosey and ask why you are sad if it's good news - but instead I am going to say that my daugher has a sequin mat (and I've bought her the ready mixed gold and silver from Claire B as a Xmas pressie) - did you use the mat for your sequins? Would a glaze spray make them more "blingy"?
Kathy
ALOL that's ok Kathy, I have to make notes most days to try and keep up with who's doing what :)
Yes I used the sequin mat for the ones on the left of my picture. They came out well, I think it was the red lace mix that was my issue, it wasn't red enough! The other mixes may well look much better, it depends what you want them for? I'm not sure if glaze spray would work though, the sequins are very delicate, like tissue paper, and I suspect they may 'melt' a little of you get them wet?
I've just made up a batch of strawberry jelly dots, and also improvised and filled the sequin mat holes with some of the mix too, just to see what happens with that. Fingers crossed something works!
Hi all,
Suzanne, go for it, make a gravity defying cake!
Sugar, hope your teeth feel better soon x
Chezza, how are you today?
Lizzy, 70C - make it an hour to be on the safe side. Take out of oven, gently but firmly (without squishing the SP) smooth down bubbles with a smoother until they no longer come up, leave for a few hours to cool down and dry. Voila! You have rock hard, super smooth, super dry cake board
Can anyone help? I've just made a batch of shortbread cookies. Used a food processor: 3 cups all purpose flour, 3/4 c sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and one cup butter.
I baked a small amount in a tart tray just to test it. It tastes ok but I'd like it to be more buttery. Is it possible to add more butter at this stage? I know the flour can be overworked, so I wondered about adding melted butter or kneading in some room temperature butter into the mixture.
And by the way, my mixture was incredibly crumbly- like sand. You'd have to press it down in a tin to get any shape out of it. I'm assuming this is normal?
Jean it's been years since I made proper shortbread (might have a go now you have said) and I pretty much remember it as being a bit like a crumble topping but you need to press it in the tin a bit - well that's what my nan used to do!
Mel - I am glad the sequins look like sequins if you know what I mean. I hope the silver and gold work OK - she is so longing to use the mat. Did you find it easy?
Kathy
AHi Jean, I've only made shortbread once, using Nigellas recipe. I just checked and there was an awful lot more butter in proportion to flour than your recipe?
I think a very quick blitz to add in more butter then whack it in the fridge for a bit may work, melting the butter won't help I don't think, and kneading will activate the gluten?
Here's the recipe I used: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/vanilla-shortbread-234
HTH x
Mel, I'll try adding more butter in the food processor. Probably until it comes together a bit? I've been reading about shortbread just now, wish I'd known about the cornflour (or some recipes call for rice flour and I have that as well!), but I'm not going to tweak this recipe now that its all mixed up, except to add more butter.
Crossing fingers!
Mmmm my gingerbread (bars, not cookies) have cooled down and are smelling very lovely indeed!
I processed a small amount of the mixture with some added butter and it's in the oven. Hopefully the biscuits will be ok, with a nice crumbly texture but buttery flavour.
AI hope they work ok! Gingerbread sounds good :)
Just taken a red velvet out the oven, and it's looking a tad too brown :/ Used Sugarflair Xmas Red, but think I will have to get some red extra. Does anyone know if that tastes funny when used in large qty?
Sorry Mel, I have steered clear of velvet recipes, it just doesnt appeal to me!
Kathy, I've added butter and then pressed the mixture down in the pan. When I tried it before I added butter, I couldn't even dock it with a fork, it was that crumbly. I'm hoping this new mixture will be ok because the test batches seemed to be good.
My gingerbread tastes lovely, but I thought it would come out denser like brownies, but its more like a sponge! Gah, can't get anything right today. Hopefully, the shortbread is ok, it's cooling now in the pan.
AI am still feeling rough and in pain but on the up side I slept propped up on the sofa the whole night without waking up
AChezzabelle sorry to hear you're still in pain, hopefully that should subside soon. Hope you have another good nights slept.
AEvening all. :-) Loads to catch up on, I'll do my best but I'm so tired so I'll probably forget everything as soon as I start typing. School phoned me yesterday, I had to go and pick Leah up cos she was being sick. I've been up all night with her and washing all day. She couldn't even keep water down bless her. She's a bit better today (touches wood, crosses fingers, says a little prayer), she's just had a little drop of chicken soup and half a slice of dry toast. I hope she keeps it down, I can't cope with another night like last night!
Anyway, here goes, apologies if I forget anyone.
Glad to hear Sarah did well on the radio nanny.
Lovely photo's Lizzy, nuce to put a face to the name. :-) your cake is beautiful, I love the flowers.
Welcome to the thread Trudy.
Glad plan b is going well Suzanne, am I remembering right? Is it a monopoly theme? I second whoever said we need a picture of you in your dress. :-)
Ooh, toothache, poor Nicola. I really do sympathise, get some oraljel from the chemist (tesco sells it too I think) it's magic.
Good luck at the dentist Kathy.
Mel, try to concentrate on the good in the good news and not be too sad. If you haven't got any chocolate send someone to get some! In there's time I'm sending you a cwtch. X
Can't help with shortbread Jean, never made it. I've eaten copious amounts of it tho, and as far as I'm concerned the more buttery the better. :-D
That's it, my poor tired mind's gone blank.
AChezzabelle, glad you slept all night, sleep's the best medicine. Sorry you're in do much pain but it should only get better now. Get lots of rest and don't try to run before you can walk. :-)
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Hi all,
Suzanne, go for it, make a gravity defying cake!
Sugar, hope your teeth feel better soon x
Chezza, how are you today?
Lizzy, 70C - make it an hour to be on the safe side. Take out of oven, gently but firmly (without squishing the SP) smooth down bubbles with a smoother until they no longer come up, leave for a few hours to cool down and dry. Voila! You have rock hard, super smooth, super dry cake board
Thank you!!
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Nope, it's fine. I use probably 1/3 pot for a 9" cake
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Evening all.
Loads to catch up on, I'll do my best but I'm so tired so I'll probably forget everything as soon as I start typing.
School phoned me yesterday, I had to go and pick Leah up cos she was being sick. I've been up all night with her and washing all day. She couldn't even keep water down bless her. She's a bit better today (touches wood, crosses fingers, says a little prayer), she's just had a little drop of chicken soup and half a slice of dry toast. I hope she keeps it down, I can't cope with another night like last night!
Anyway, here goes, apologies if I forget anyone.
Glad to hear Sarah did well on the radio nanny.
Lovely photo's Lizzy, nuce to put a face to the name.
your cake is beautiful, I love the flowers.
Welcome to the thread Trudy.
Glad plan b is going well Suzanne, am I remembering right? Is it a monopoly theme?
I second whoever said we need a picture of you in your dress.
Ooh, toothache, poor Nicola. I really do sympathise, get some oraljel from the chemist (tesco sells it too I think) it's magic.
Good luck at the dentist Kathy.
Mel, try to concentrate on the good in the good news and not be too sad. If you haven't got any chocolate send someone to get some! In there's time I'm sending you a cwtch. X
Can't help with shortbread Jean, never made it. I've eaten copious amounts of it tho, and as far as I'm concerned the more buttery the better.
That's it, my poor tired mind's gone blank.
Poor Leah, and poor you! I hope she keeps it down, it's not nice for anyone when there's puking going on!
Hehe, I wasn't going to post a photo of me when I saw the only one was without face, but I couldn't find a cake only photo, and you'd mentioned it a little way back so I decided to sod it
Must shoot, still going on today's cakes Losing my voice today too. That'll perk the kids up when they realise I can't shout at them
AAwww Maisie poor Leah I really hope she feels better soon for you and manages to get sleep tonight there are so many vomiting bugs going around this yr
Just a quickie... Daniel loved his cake. I can't tell you how quickly I put it together - trickiest bit was getting Smarties to stick to a straw using chocolate (royal icing is my 'glue' of choice, but one of the boys has an egg allergy! This was an egg-free chocolate orange sponge. Although my son doesn't have an allergy, it's his favourite cake, LOL).
Smarties doesn't look very good stuck on there, but I really was in such a rush doing it.
APoor Leah , hope she gets better soon.
Love the smarties cake, what have you put around the edge is it cigerellos?
Evening all :) unusually quiet here today!
Awww Maisie I hope Leah is feeling much better now after her soup
Chezza I hope you are feeling better soon too!
relznik fab anti grav cake
I've done nowt today, for the first time in ages I have just sat on my fat backside
AHa ha tiddy, so you've been a lady of leisure today then, did you go the whole hog with choccies & wine?
AEvening all, i'll put an end to the peace and quiet now.
Work for me today, then just too the 2nd layer of choc cake out, big 10" square, with choc ganache cream (mixed with buttercream I mean) and a layer of caramel sauce, yummy.
Oh tidds, you know you make your ganache with galaxy, how much do you use please?
Gravity cake looks abit alright doesn't it suzanne?
Awwww, poor leah, and poor you maisie, not nice to have that, do hope she feels better soon.
Chezza, how you feeling today?
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Evening all, i'll put an end to the peace and quiet now.
Work for me today, then just too the 2nd layer of choc cake out, big 10" square, with choc ganache cream (mixed with buttercream I mean) and a layer of caramel sauce, yummy.
Oh tidds, you know you make your ganache with galaxy, how much do you use please?
Gravity cake looks abit alright doesn't it suzanne?
Awwww, poor leah, and poor you maisie, not nice to have that, do hope she feels better soon.
Chezza, how you feeling today?
yay!
I use 600gm choc to 200ml cream
AHa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, so that's why I have a huge bowl of gorgeous liquid, duh, I always use 600mls of cream to 400grms of my normal choc, which works fine for me, so I thought it would be same type of quantitis, no worries it's firmer up now as added 200grms of the choc I always use. Will
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