Weekly Bake-Off Challenge #5...

...and this one was just in time for my birthday...

Strawberry Creams with...

Vanilla Shortbread...This is a re-working of this recipe that I first tried over the Easter Holiday...the original was very popular, and has been requested again since then, but the Small Ones aren't too keen on Rhubarb, so I decided with it being the start of Early Strawberry Season I would make it with beautiful fresh strawberries instead...and i have entered this recipe into June's Challenge at Have the Cake...

Weekly Bake Off Challenge #3...

...Mary Berry's Ultimate Chocolate Roulade...

Easter Eats...and Treats...

So what did you and yours enjoy this past Easter Week?

We had a great selection of meals, treats and puds...check these out...

The spicy, rice'y' Gumbo...

...'Sunny' Spanish Paella...

...a lovely 'Fishy Dishy'

...my first 'Proper' Quiche...

Spicy Pork with Jewelled Couscous...

...'Tear n' Share' Hot Cross Buns...

Yummy Carroty Cake Muffins...

...Delicious Chocolate Whirls...

 ...The Classic, Easter Nests...

 ...My Marbled Easter Bundt...

...Rhubarb Creams with Orange Shortbreads...

I feel I should end with "...and a Partridge in a Pear Tree..."!! But maybe "...and an Easter Egg after my Tea!!" would be more apt!!

I hope you all had a great holiday, I know we did, busy as it was with cooking, guests, DIY'ing'...and the smallish people to entertain...

Rhubarb Creams with Orange Shortbreads...

...another mix of old with new...old recipe for Shortbread (tweaked to become Orange Shortbread) matched to a new recipe for Rhubarb Creams from April's Delicious Magazine...

Dreamy, Creamy Mascarpone...

...Ice-Cream no less...and another Lisa Faulkner special...that's 3 from this book in a week now!!!


To go alongside the Chocolate Almond Torte, Lisa recommends this ice-cream...I was so excited...it meant I could get my ice-cream maker out of the cupboard where is has languished for the last 10 years or so!!! (I told you I was a bit of a gadget freak in a much earlier post!!)...but alas...t'was not to be...said ice-cream machine was broken!!! Un-fixable!!! What to do???



Well there was only one thing to do, make it by hand of course!!!

Chocolate Almond Torte...

...Pudding for the weekend was the Chocolate and Almond Torte with homemade Mascarpone Ice-Cream...both of which came from my Mother's Day pressie cookbook..Lisa Faulkner's 'Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter' 

These are the second and third recipes I've tried from this book in the last week...(which is pretty good considering I only got it last weekend!!)

The pudding was originally planned for the Friday night, following the Veggie Indian Feast...here, here, here, here and here (will add the last two links when I post them!!)...but after that lot we were pretty full!! So the Torte got pushed to Saturday after the tasty Mushroom, Artichoke and Olive Bake...

'Dinner In' with Friends...

...a big thanks to Jules and family for being the hosts with the most...


...last night was a great night...the 4 of us went to friends for 'dinner in'...it's a great way to get together, no restaurant to book, no children to keep amused (they do it themselves when doing 'dinner in'), and a nice relaxed atmosphere...But best of all, we share the cooking!! The hosts do mains, the guests the puds...and as we were the guests, I got to make the puds...which last night were...

...followed by pancakes for dessert...

...more specifically Jubilee Pancakes!!


This has to be one of my all time favourite desserts, and it stems back to the days when as a child we would drive to my Nan's for the holidays, stopping on the way at a Little Chef...I believe they are still going strong today, and that the dessert menu is pretty similar to the one that I would have chosen from back in the late 70s early 80s!! 

It's basically a pancake topped with warm cherry pie filling and a dollop of vanilla ice-cream, and folded over...delicious!!

After Every Sunday Dinner...comes a...

Super Yummy Pudding!

This weekend it was my Deconstucted Pavlova...A firm family favourite and really so simple to make. I was scared of them for years until I asked my Mum how she made hers...This is the recipe she gave me, it's from The Dairy Book of Family Cookery.Which my Mum bought me many moons ago when I was a student (I think!)

Anyway...here it is...

...Sara's Mum's Yummy Scrummy Pavlova...