Macadamia and cranberry chocolate squares

I made these sumptuous squares of chocolatey goodness over the weekend and they were just too good not to share! The original recipe comes from “Ottolenghi – The Cookbook” and I adapted it to use ingredients that I had to hand. In the Ottolenghi version they included chestnuts and dried figs (which sounds utterly delicious!), but I opted for creamy macadamias and tart cranberries as these also taste fantastic with white chocolate. I also used chocolate coated digestives instead of the regular ones just to up the chocolate even more – go big or go home, right?

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The ultimate chocolate cake and October cake round up

November already and it feels as though we are hurtling towards the end of the year now. Hearing Christmas jingles on the radio, seeing mince pies on the shelves and receiving school newsletters reminding us that there are only five weeks (what?!?) left of this term do nothing to help quell the hysteria!

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Nutella and peach braid

I may have overdone it this time… dieters, look away now! I was recently invited to participate in a Mystery Box Challenge, and last week when I received my hamper full of tempting ingredients from the lovely folks at Today I just had to squeeze them all into my dish.

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Date and nut balls (with video)

Date balls for snacking.

Warning: parental ramblings ahead! I am sure parents everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief as school resumes for the third term. If I am honest I actually quite enjoyed the 3 week break from lunchboxes, school runs and most of all the dreaded “lurgies” that always make their way home from the playground. Yes, the holidays can push any parent’s patience to the limit at times, but all too often I am reminded of how quickly time goes and that this chapter in our family journey is really so fleeting and special. Even when I am knee deep in stuffed toys, picking tiny bits of muesli off the soles of my feet (did I not just sweep that floor 5 minutes ago?!?) and answering the same question for the tenth time whilst pureeing a chicken and veggie concoction for the babe. All to the soundtrack of the washing machine and Disney radio. Special times, chaos and all!

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For the love of cake: Cake round up

I feel as though CAKES have been my theme lately, with various celebrations that have happened over the last few months. So this week I thought it might be fun to share some of my recent cake creations with you. Let’s just clarify one thing out though – I looove to bake, but when it comes to cake decorating my skills are more on the rustic side. Some of the cakes worked out better than others, but all of them were made with love!

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Pumpkin spice cookies

While there is no denying that the arrival of summer is highly anticipated at the end of each year, I have to admit that I rather look forward to the autumn season. A welcome respite from the heat, beautiful red and brown leaves dotting the trees and an excuse to start enjoying some favourite comfort foods are just a few of the things that come to mind.

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Chocolate Easter nest cupcakes (with video)

 

I suppose I should be used to it by now, but I could not believe my eyes when just one week after Christmas the supermarket shelves were already filling up with Easter eggs! Of course now that it is March you cannot maneuver your shopping trolley without bumping into a chocolate bunny but it is a bit more acceptable now that Easter is just a few days away, yay! A few weeks ago a friend sent me a photo of a beautiful Easter bird nest cake. It reminded me of some Easter cupcakes I made years ago, and I decided they would be perfect to make again and share with you this week. They will make a colourful and delicious addition to your Easter table!

 

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Top Deck tea biscuits and a visit to RSG

In my last post I wrote about the blog turning two and how grateful I am for the opportunities I have had on this journey so far – well it wasn’t a day later when another one came along. Two years ago I could not have imagined that I would be chatting biscuits with a foodie legend on her radio show! Tomorrow morning I will be joining the wonderful Nina Timm on RSG to do just that.

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