One thing I love about birthdays is making a birthday cake. I almost almost always use a box cake mix for guaranteed yumminess. The part I enjoy most is coming up with the decorations for the top though. We recently hosted our daughter’s fourth birthday party and she chose a rainbow theme. Pastel rainbow to…
baking
Never-fail (cakey) chocolate brownies // recipe
The connection between food and memories comes into play big time for me with this one. I was lucky enough to have a lovely friend living four houses down the street from me as I grew up and this was our staple baking treat. Frances, this one’s for you 🙂 We always called these chocolate…
Banana Bread Recipe
Banana bread is one of my favourite baked goods. If it’s a nice one that is! Sometimes they can be so dry and flavourless. But I assure you, not this one! It’s just the right moistness, heavy enough to be filling and oh so flavourful. Walnuts add a little crunch and if eaten while still…
Bunny Cake Topper with Fabric Flower Crown // DIY
Looking for a statement Easter cake? Maybe you weren’t, but let this bunny cake topper change your mind. I mean, it’s even got its own little flower crown. It would be great for a themed birthday cake too and can easily be adapted to be a little fox or cat. Maybe I’ll need do that…
Sweet Potato and Date Brownies (Sugar, Gluten, and Dairy free) // Recipe
Sweet Potato and Brownies are not words that I would have thought I’d be saying in the same sentence. Unless, of course, the brownies were as dessert after the sweet potato. But you know what? They go together SO WELL! Whether you prefer to eat sugar, gluten, grain or dairy free foods, you need a recipe…
Heart Funfetti Cookies // Recipe
Do you ever feel like you just need to add a little sprinkles to the everyday things of life? It is way to easy for our day to day activities to take over and the fun side of life to get pushed aside. While small, funfetti is a great way to add an extra little bit…
Valentines Day Heart Cookies // Recipe
Do you plan your Valentine’s Day in advance? Almost every year we end up waking up a day or two before and realising that we’ve made no plans yet. Of course this means all the good restaurants are already booked out and we normally end up having a picnic or making a meal at home….
Christmas Marshmallow Rice Krispie Treats // Recipe
It’s just too days to go until Christmas! Are you still looking for a simple little something to add to your holiday table? These little Rice Krispie Treats made into Christmas Trees are a cute little DIY addition. They could even be left plain and used as a fun decorating activity to keep the children…
Easy Wooden Cake Stand // DIY
We’ve all had that time where you’ve got a beautiful cake (maybe one you’ve slaved over for hours), you expect it to look amazing on the table with the rest of the snacks at your party, but then it just looks, well, meh! It somehow gets lost amongst the rest of the food. Or is that…
Oat Waffles // Recipe
Are waffles not one of the best treats? My parents bought us a waffle iron back in the day and it somehow became the job of one of my brothers and I to make the waffles. I certainly wasn’t complaining though. In fact, I’ve borrowed that very waffle iron to use myself. I’m not sure my mom realises how…
Chocolate Coated Pretzels // DIY
One of my favourite treats has always been chocolate coated pretzels. I somehow fool myself into thinking it’s a healthier option (and well, chocolate). Shop bought ones always leave me feeling disappointed though (because well, not enough chocolate). My obvious solution is always to make my own homemade ones and you can too!
Lettered Cupcake Toppers DIY // Tutorial and Free Silhouette Download
I’ve been thinking about this project for a while, trying to come up with a fresh idea. You know, cake toppers a little over done, right? In fact, I’ve been thinking about it for so long that it’s actually too late for Michael’s birthday. Whoops! I wanted a sophisticated cake / cupcake topper that is…
Chocolate cake with whipped cream cheese icing // Recipe
I really like cake stands. Like, really. I don’t have that many, but I also don’t have much storage space in the kitchen. Urgh! Anyway, Michael said I could get ONE more, so it had to be a good one! I found this cute little one at Mr Price for a steal and just had…
Shortbread with chocolate, rosemary and hazelnut variations // recipe
I remember the first time that my mom made rosemary shortbread for us, when i was a kid and I thought “Eeew, herbs aren’t meant for yummy sweet things. That doesn’t make sense!”. But…it tastes good! When I was making this on the weekend I decided to play around with some other flavour variations too….
Cinnamon buns with hazelnut and chocolate chips // recipe
Makes 12 large cinnamon buns Ingredients 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons butter 3/4 tsp salt 3 1/2 tsp flour 2 1/4 tsp yeast 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1 tblsp light margarine 1 tblsp cinnamon 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts (optional, but good) 1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional, but good)…
Apple crisp // recipe
Earlier this year one of my blocks for university meant that I had to spend 4 weeks in a kitchen that catered for a retirement village. One of the assignments involved preparing a menu item for the residents. I decided to try and make a healthier version of apple crumble, which was a dessert that…