Beetle turns one!!!

How on earth did that happen? It seems a mere moment ago I sat cradling a minutes old newborn, blinking his big blue eyes at me and trying to work out exactly how he got here when he was so nice and cozy, and yet suddenly, a year has passed, and those big blue eyes are full of mischief and […]

gluten free, guerrilla style

  To make life easier for a dear friend who is gluten-intolerant, we declared our end-of-year party for Bible Study to be completely gluten free. Surely it couldn’t be that hard, thought I. Of course, my first stop was Pinterest, where I filled my baking board with a heap of yummy looking GF recipes. This one in particular caught my […]

just keep rolling

Holidays mean lots of baking, because lots of little people need lots of food. One new thing we tried was this honey cream swiss roll. I won’t show you a photo of the top, it got cracked pretty badly (any tips on how to not crack a swiss roll?), but it tasted the part. I had to improvise a bit […]

19::20 {white velvet cake}

PROJECT PROGRESS: 19/20 OCCASSION: practice for “someone’s” birthday BRIEF & RATIONALE: It looked like something that the birthday “someone” would love. SOURCE: http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2012/10/white-velvet-cake.html via Pinterest EASE OF MAKING: 8/10 CHILD FRIENDLY? not really REALITY V COOKBOOK: Pretty close – though I used a white chocolate ganache instead of the marshmallow frosting, and went with a single layer square cake instead […]

18::20 ~ apple cinnamon donut holes

PROJECT PROGRESS: 18/20 OCCASSION: a lazy Monday at home with the girl BRIEF & RATIONALE: I was in the mood for something different for this week’s baking, and decided to check my baking pin board SOURCE: Domesticate Me via Pinterest EASE OF MAKING: 9/10 CHILD FRIENDLY? yes REALITY V COOKBOOK: reasonably close – though I used patty papers to make […]

16::20 ~ banana bread

PROJECT PROGRESS: 16/20 OCCASSION: over-ripe bananas in the fruit bowl + school holidays BRIEF & RATIONALE: Entertain the children, provide them with morning tea, use the bananas turning brown in the fruit bowl SOURCE: The Essential Baking Cookbook EASE OF MAKING: 8/10 CHILD FRIENDLY? yes REALITY V COOKBOOK: Not too shabby! TASTE: 9/10 FINAL VERDICT: I’m not sure why we […]

best. idea. ever. {tiramisu inspired mocha cheesecake}

PROJECT PROGRESS: 15/20 OCCASSION: Why the heck not? BRIEF & RATIONALE: After a fabulous run-in with a decadent tiramisu flavoured gelato on holidays, I figured a cheesecake version would have to rock, right? SOURCE: A friend’s basic cheesecake recipe, then added the flavours until it tasted right. EASE OF MAKING: 7/10 due to fudging as I went. CHILD FRIENDLY? 4/10 […]