Strawberry Milk

I had bit of a poorly Big Girl at the start of last week - never a good combination during school holidays! What better to ease a sore throat than some homemade strawberry milk.

All you need is some milk and some fresh strawberries - we used half a pint of milk and six yummy strawberries.

Whizz in the blender and, hey presto, a refreshing comforting drink!

It's a mad rush in our house this morning and we are headed off to West Wales for a few days. Everything is nearly packed - just some good books and knitting to organise!



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Matilda cake

My friend Luned is providing the catering at a children's camp at Llanmadoc this week. Part of the theme for the week is Children's books and so I was asked to make a Matildaesque chocolate cake for the final evening. for anyone who is lost, and I must confess I had to jog my memory, this is in reference to the chocolate cake that features in the book Matilda by Roald Dahl. In the novel Bruce Bogtrotter, one of the characters, eats an entire chocolate cake without throwing up. Apologies if I've got any details wrong - it is at least 20 years since I read the book!

A suitably large and chocolatey offering has been gracing my kitchen - a moist and gooey monster of a cake. I have baked two 10" chocolate cakes which I split to provide four layers sandwiched with vanilla buttercream. The whole cake has been covered with a thick layer of chocolate buttercream applied with a spatula and a straight edge and then finished with an icing comb for effect. Not being a great lover of chocolate this mammoth creation is a bit lost on me. Am sure it will be greatly received by a bunch of 10-13 year olds though. This has made me feel a little *ahem* old, as I have memories of similar summer camps and it doesn't feel that long ago!

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Well the little virus I mentioned in my last post turned out to be a bit more than that! With 168 cupcakes to bake and decorate, as well as a sugarpasted cutting cake to make, 48 hours before the wedding I developed a dental abscess! Maaaaan, was I rough! The two dentists at my surgery were on holiday so I was referred to a covering dentist who drained it and gave me antibiotics. All the baking was completed on painkillers and the icing and decorating was all done the day the abscess was drained - the anaesthetic injection wore off with 12 cupcakes left to ice! Thankfully I got it all done.

The pictures aren't the greatest I'm afraid - partly due to the fact they were taken on my iphone and partly due to the fact I felt truly hideous!

The cupcakes were red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. The wedding theme was 'The Movies' so the bride had sourced some Hollywood style cake toppers for the decoration.

A view of some of the 168!

A blurry image of the cutting cake - red velvet cake, layered with cream cheese icing and covered with white sugarpaste. The Star Trek lego figures are a reference to the bride and groom who got married as Princess Leia and Han Solo!

The summer holidays are going swimmingly and I've accomplished quite a bit in the house as well as with some crafting projects. I have finished the Amy Butler knitted cushion cover - I shall refrain from posting a picture until I've decided on a suitable fabric for the backing. I'm off to the quilting exhibition at the Birmingham NEC on saturday so hope to find something lovely there!