June's bake of the month

I’m going back to basics for this month’s bake of the month, and what could be more basic than a sponge cake.

The traditional two, four method is probably one of the first cake recipes that children (and men...) are taught when they embark on their baking journey. It’s so easy to remember – two eggs and four oz’s of butter, sugar and flour.

I’m going to make things even simpler. All it requires is for you to remember one number. The eggs, still in their shells, are weighed, in grams as it’s more accurate, and whatever it says on the scales, you weigh out that amount of flour, butter and sugar. It really is as simple as that.

So for a two egg cake mix if the two eggs weigh 137g measure out 137g of self-raising flour, caster sugar and butter/margarine. No matter what the eggs weigh always use the same weight for the flour, sugar and butter/margarine.

 Lemon sponge cake

Ingredients

• Two eggs
• Self-raising flour
• Caster sugar
• Butter/margarine
• 1 level tea-spoon of baking powder
• 1 lemon, grated
• Lemon curd
• 4 table-spoons of icing sugar
• Juice of one lemon or Jiff lemon juice

Method

• Line two 7 inch/18cm round cake tin with baking parchment or non-stick liners.
• Pre-heat oven to 180º c/Gas Mk 4. Fan oven 160ºc
• Weigh the eggs, still in their shells remember and whatever the eggs weighs in grams, that’s the amount you’ll need for the flour, sugar and butter/margarine.
• Put the sugar, butter/margarine and grated lemon into a bowl. Sift the flour along with the baking power into the bowl then add the two eggs.
• Beat well until everything is combined and the mixture is smooth – to the point that it will drop off the spoon when you tap it against the side of the bowl.
• Pour the mixture into the cake tins, trying to get the same amount in each tin (I weigh them to make sure). Make a slight well in the centre of each cake. This will stop the centre from rising too much.
• Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Try not to open the oven door during the cooking as this can stop the cakes from rising. If you think that they may be browning too much only open the door when you are past half way into the cooking time.
• To check to see if the cakes are cook gently press the surface of the cake you’re your finger. If it springs back it’s cooked. You can also test it by using a skewer (or knitting needle or a piece of spaghetti). Pierce the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean then it’s done.
• Once the cakes are cool, spread the lemon curd over one of the cakes. Try not to get the lemon curd too close to the edge as it will spread naturally to the edge when the other one is put on top of it.
• Take the other cake and carefully put it on top off the lemon curd layer.
• Sift the icing sugar into a bowl to get rid of any lumps. Add a little of the lemon juice/Jiff lemon juice and mix together carefully until the icing is slightly runny but is still quite thick in consistency.
• Pour the icing into the centre of the cake and spread it out to the edges. Don’t worry if the icing runs over the sides. Wait until the icing has set before cutting into it.

The wanderer returns

Sorry for the radio silence. Whilst I love sewing I find I need to recharge my batteries every now and then so for the past few weeks I’ve only been doing just a small amount of sewing – hence the lack of postings.

I’ve been using the time to catch up on some reading. I’m slightly dyslexic so it takes me a while to finish a book.  I’ve also been trying to get my head around social media for Gertie’s Bags business.

My Flickr account is up and running and I’ve taken the plunge and become a tweeter. I took an online twitter course so am trying to put what I’ve learn into practice. Next to conquer will be facebook.

While I’ve been away I’ve had a couple more Gertie’s Bags sales; another from eBay and my first one from Etsy. Hopefully once I’ve mastered (or at least got my head around it....) social media it will generate more sales.

One of the things I’ve been sewing during my time away is some potholders for a friend’s house warming present. I worked on the similar idea I did for my friend’s potholders last year, though instead of cats, I used items from a kitchen.  

 

Have a great week.

Gertie xx

PS why not pop over to Handmade Monday to see what other fellow craft bloggers have been up to.

May's bake of the month

Who doesn’t love bourbon biscuits? These were my favourite (and still are if I’m honest) as a child.

I would break the biscuit into two (getting crumbs everywhere much to the annoyance of my mam!!!) and eat the top layer first then the yummy creamy bottom.

If, like me, you find rolling things out a pain, here’s a great tip for stopping the dough sticking to the work surface and rolling pin. Roll it out onto cling film. Works every time....

When sandwiching the biscuits together instead of simply spreading the filling over the biscuit, here’s a great tip for making them look really elegant. Take a freezer bag (any size will do) and snip off about ¼ inch/1.5 cm from one corner. Fill the bag with the filling then pipe a couple of strips onto the biscuit.

 

 

Bourbon biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 oz/50g margarine (or softened butter if you prefer)
• 2 oz/50g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 4oz/110g plain flour, plus a little extra if needed
• ½ tsp bicarbonate soda
• ½ oz/15g cocoa powder

Filling:

• 2oz/50g margarine (or softened butter if you prefer)
• 4oz/100g icing sugar, sifted
• 2tsp cocoa powder, sifted
• Few drops of hot water

Method:

• Pre-heat oven 190º c/Gas Mk 5. Fan oven 170ºc.
• Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment or silicone liners.
• In a large bowl or mixer cream the margarine/butter and sugar together till pale and fluffy.
• Beat in the golden syrup then sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa. Mix to a stiff dough.
• Tip the dough out onto a work surface and knead well.
• You can do this next bit by either flouring the work surface or using cling film.
•  Roll out the dough to a depth of ¼ inch/4mm.
• Cut the dough into long strips about 1 inch/2.5cm wide then cut these strips into 2 inch/5cm lengths.
• Carefully transfer to the baking trays then prod several times with a fork. Bake for about 15 minutes until the edges are slightly scorched.
• Leave the biscuits to cool on a wire rack.
• To make the filling cream the margarine/butter, icing sugar and cocoa together in a large bowl or mixer till you have a spreadable consistency. You may need to add a few drops of hot water to it.
• Once the biscuits are cold sandwich two together with the filling, gently pressing them together.
• Now for the really hard bit. Let the filling firm for about an hour before eating.... 

April's bake of the month

Made it by the skin of my teeth again....

Chocolate cake or a simple plain cake. When you want can’t decide which cake to have, why not have both.

A marble cake is perfect when you want the best of both worlds. Whilst it looks impressive, it really is so easy to make.

The beauty of this cake is you can mix and match the flavours. How about a chocolate and orange or chocolate and coffee. The possibilities are endless.

Like I always do when I’m making a sponge cake recipe I weigh the eggs, still in their shells, and whatever it says on the scales, I weigh out that amount of flour, butter and sugar.

For example the two eggs – still in their shells – weigh 187g’s. Measure out 187g’s of self-raising flour, caster sugar and butter/margarine. No matter what the eggs weigh, always use the same weight for the flour, sugar and butter.

Marble cake

Ingredients:

• Two eggs
• Self-raising flour
• Caster sugar
• Butter/margarine
• 1 level tea-spoon of baking powder
• 25g cocoa powder

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 180º c/Gas Mk 4. Fan oven 160ºc
• Line 1lb loaf tin with baking parchment or non-stick liners.
• Weigh the eggs, still in their shells. Whatever the eggs weigh, that’s the amount you’ll need for the flour, sugar and butter/margarine.
• Put the sugar and butter/margarine into a bowl. Sift the flour along with the baking power into a bowl then add the two eggs.
• Beat well until everything is combined and mixture is smooth, to the point that it will drop off your spoon.
• Pour half of the batter in a separate bowl – don’t worry if it’s not exact – and leave to one side. Add the cocoa powder to the remaining mixture and beat until it’s has been combined.
• Starting with the batter mix that was put to one side, take an ice-cream scoop (or a tablespoon) and dollop spoonfuls of the mixture into the tin. Then fill the remaining gaps with the chocolate mixture. There are no hard and fast rules here, be as creative as you like.
• Finally to make the marble effect take a skewer and swirl it around the tin a couple of times (I’m afraid I forgot to do this...).
• Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until golden brown. To check to see if the cakes are cook, gently press the surface of the cake with a finger. If it springs back it’s cooked. You can also test it by using a skewer (or knitting needle or even a piece of spaghetti). Piece the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean then it’s done.
• Leave the cake to cool for about five minutes then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

I like to serve my marble cake ‘naked’ but it would be just as lovely decorated with melted chocolate or water icing.

What’s in your bag?

Thank you so much for your comments of support about the custom bag. They really took away any niggling doubts I had that I did the right thing. 

As I haven’t got any sewing to show I thought I’d show you something different, the contents of my sewing bag. I like to keep in this little bag (it was first attempt at making a quilted bag) all the essential items I need whenever I’m sewing.

Here we go:

Plasters (or band aids for our friends over the pond) – for when needles or pins attack!!!

Light and dark tacking threads

Small scissors

Vanishing fabric marker pens

Sewing needles (and a safety pin)

Left-handed tape measure – yes they really do exist...

Flower head pins

Thread nipper

Seam ripper

Tweezers

Thimbles – and a little sticky-tape to help it say on my finger...

Measuring gauge

Needle grippers

Sewing gauge/point turner

Hera marker – for making creases/marks on fabric

Seam presser

Compensation plates – when starting to sew through thick layers of fabric, these little bits of plastic slip under the machine foot to keep it level

What do you keep in your sewing bag?

Have a great week.

Gertie xx

PS why not pop over to Handmade Monday to see what other fellow craft bloggers have been up to.

March’s bake of the month

Opps I nearly did it again!!!! These months are really flying by. Before I know it, Christmas will be here....

So what have I got for you this month? How does double chocolate chip cookies sound. They’re really easy to make but incredibly yummy.

As with all cookies recipes you can add or change things to suit your own personal preference. Say for example, you like white chocolate but not milk. Simply replace the milk chocolate chips for white ones.

Or, what about adding some nuts to the cookies. Chopped walnuts, pecans, Brazil, macadamia would work. The possibilities are endless. Just have fun making and eating them....

Double chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients:

• 4oz/100g butter/margarine
• 3oz/75g soft brown sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 5oz/125g self-raising flour, sieved
• 1oz/25g coco powder, sieved
• 4oz/100g chocolate chips (I used both milk and dark but any will do)
• 2tsp milk

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180º c/Gas Mk 4. Fan oven 160ºc.
• Grease or line two baking trays (I used Lakeland non-stick liners but greaseproof paper/ baking parchment would be fine).
• Beat the margarine until soft then add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy.
• Stir in rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Place spoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the baking trays – I used an ice-cream scoop as I’m hopeless at getting things the same size.Flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers, and make sure the cookies are not too close together otherwise you’ll end up with one giant cookie.
• Bake for 8 -10 minutes then leave them on the tray for one minute to firm up slightly before lifting them onto a wire rack. I found they were too soft to move otherwise.
• Leave on wire rack to cool. Resist if you dare!!!!!

A sour note

Gosh has it really been a month since I last blogged. Where has the time gone !!!

Thanks to everyone for their comments about freebies. It certainly has given me some ideas.

So what have I been up to whilst AWOL. I made another three 'Jenny' bags. I'll put them up on the blog once Mr Gertie does his David Bailey with them....

Speaking of photos. I'm slowly coming into the 21 century with regards to social media as I've got myself a flickr account. There's only a handful of photos on there at the moment as I haven't had time to do more. However I'm coming to a quite spell, sewing wise, so I should be able to get more up.

Shortly before Mr Gertie retired I made a list (think jumbo size loo roll!!!!) of jobs that needed doing around the house. I'm pleased to say that painting and decorating the living room and dining room can now be crossed off the list.

On the 'Gertie's Bags' front I had another eBay sale and also a request for a custom made bag.

The customer liked the 'Jenny' bag she's seen on eBay and asked if I could make it in a different foxy print fabric. As the correspondences about the bag progressed (what size did she want etc), she gave me details of what fabric she wanted (a lovely non-foxy print from Cotton Patch).

She also came back with images of a backpack she'd seen elsewhere and asked if I could make one like that instead as she wanted lots of pockets. I pretty much had to design the bag from scratch but I love a challenge so it didn't bother me.

When I finished the bag I contacted the customer and the good relationship we'd built up turned slightly sour. She wasn't happy with the price - £40 - and asked for a complete breakdown of the costs as she had been expecting to pay £25, the same as the 'Jenny' Bag.

The raw materials (as well as p&p) came to over £25 and I only charged £15 labour - £1 per hour - even though I spent a lot more than 15 hours designing and making it.

To be fair to the customer, she did accept that as she had requested a custom made item she would have to buy it, but would like the bill to be reduced to something more favourable (I'm guessing no more than £30). I thought long and hard about it and decided that as I wasn't prepared to reduce my hourly rate down to 33p I withdrew the bag from sale.

I know some would say that I cut off my nose to spite my face as I've now been lumbered with the bag when I had a sale for it. When I set up 'Gertie's Bags' I did so because I loved sewing and wanted people to enjoy having something that was completely unique. I knew that as she wasn't happy with the cost instinct would make her dislike the bag. The last think I wanted was for the bag to be stuffed in a cupboard because of the issue of the price.

No doubt you'll tell me I'm mad.....

Have a great week.

Gertie xx

PS why not pop over to Handmade Monday to see what other fellow craft bloggers have been up to.