This Easter holidays we spent another week down in Mudeford in my Dad’s caravan. I say caravan, it’s more of a mobile home – except it’s not mobile… Anyway, whatever you want to call it, we had a fab time and I didn’t want to come home! It’s such a wonderful area for a family holiday, with so many things to do. Even with some dodgy weather (we had everything from beautiful sunshine to full on thunderstorms with hail!) there was plenty for us to do, even if it was just spending time together and playing board games as a family.

The caravan is really near to the beach so most days started with a morning walk on the beach. We found a great cafe where Dale and I could relax with a coffee while the girls played in the sand. We also went crabbing at Mudeford Quay and took the ferry over to Hengistbury Head where we flew kites and had a picnic.

We spent one day in Bournemouth playing crazy golf, walking on the pier, eating fish and chips and visiting the Oceanarium. We even sat on the beach in the boiling hot sunshine while it rained! Good old English weather!

We shall be heading back for another holiday by the sea at the end of August – fingers crossed for less changeable weather then!

A few weeks back we had the first meeting of the Eastleigh Clandestine Cake Club, which was really great fun. Our theme was fabulous fruit cakes and we had a great mix of flavours to try. After a few last minute cancellations, there were five of us and enough cake to feed about 50! Everyone got to take home a large box with huge wedges of left over cake.

We had:

Lyn’s apricot fruit cake

Carrie’s banana loaf cake

Julie’s peach and blueberry upside down cake

Michelle’s Victoria Sponge with berry filling

My apple crumble and custard cake

Everyone enjoyed getting together and having a good natter over delicious cake and we all agreed that we’d like to carry on the club. So our next meeting will be on Wednesday 16th May at 7:30pm with a theme of Jubilant Jubliee – cakes fit for a queen. To find out more details about the event and how to book your place, have a look at our Clandestine Cake Club page.

Lots of people have asked for the recipe for my apple crumble and custard cake, so here it is…

Ingredients

300g unsalted butter or Stork baking margarine

300g golden caster sugar

300g self raising flour

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping

2 apples, diced

75g self raising flour

35g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

35g golden caster sugar or demerara sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

For the filling

100g unsalted butter, softened

200g icing sugar

1 or 2 tbsp custard

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C and line two 9 inch round cake tins (you could bake it in one deeper tin for longer and slice in half before filling).

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, either using a food mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon.

3. Lightly beat the eggs and vanilla extract together then mix it in with the butter and sugar, a little at a time. Adding a tbsp from the flour after each addition of egg will stop the mixture from curdling.

4. Fold in the remaining flour and split between the tins.

5. To make the crumble topping, rub the butter into the flour (or use a food processor) until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then stir in the sugar and cinnamon.

6. Sprinkle the diced apple over the top of one of the cakes followed by the crumble mixture.

7. Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes until the cakes are risen and golden, and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

8. Leave to cool in the tins for 5-10 minutes then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

9. To make the filling, beat the butter and icing sugar together until they are well combined – I use a food mixer to do this. Then stir in the spoonful of custard. It can be tricky to get the right texture, so add the custard slowly until you get the flavour and texture you like.

10. Spread the bottom cake with the filling and top with the other sponge.

It feels like we have been trying to get Grace to ride her bike without stabilisers forever! To be fair, we hadn’t really thought about a good approach and hadn’t put any sustained effort into it, so we decided that the Easter holidays provided the perfect opportunity to try properly.

So, after a little research, Dale took the pedals of Grace’s bike (effectively turning it into a balance bike) and spent a little time each day taking her out around the park so she could get used to balancing and pushing herself along. After 4 days, she finally cracked it and she is incredibly pleased with herself – as you can see from this little video…

I’m pretty sure that when you have children it is compulsory to make these chocolate krispie cakes – especially at Easter time using mini eggs. I’m not a huge fan of just mixing rice kripies or cornflakes with chocolate as I find they tend to set rock solid, so I always use a mixture of butter, sugar, cocoa powder and syrup.

Faith adores making these cake with me and, because it’s so simple and quick to prepare, it’s just perfect for her short attention span. In fact, most of the time is taken up with her deciding which mini egg colour combinations she wants to use! They’re not that easy to store as the cereal tends to go soggy but, if you’re anything like us, they won’t last long anyway.

To make these simply mix together 125g unsalted butter, 50g caster sugar, 4 tbsp golden syrup and 4 tbsp cocoa powder in a large saucepan over a gentle heat until they are well combined. Then mix in 175g cornflakes, stirring until they are coated with the chocolate mixture. Divide between 24 paper cases (the smaller, fairy cake size) and top with mini eggs.

This makes a looser mix than if you use chocolate so I keep them in the fridge to help them hold together. We took some as Easter gifts for the family today and they went down a storm!

Ok, it’s not as scary as it sounds. You won’t find me out shopping in my birthday suit but, after a good rummage through my wardrobe, there are certain items of clothing that I will shortly be saying a fond goodbye to.
I’ve never been known for my fashion sense but I do have lots of clothes that I love. I also have many clothes that are years and years old! In fact, I’m pretty sure some of my clothing is so old that it will be back in fashion very shortly.

There is actually a very good reason that I’m pleased to be giving my wardrobe a spring clean and that is because I’ve lost weight. Yes, since January I have been working very hard at shifting the excess pounds (or stones!) that I have been carrying for 7 or more years and I have lost 1 and a half stone so far! Several items of clothing are now too big for me. I cannot describe how amazing this feels!

The second good reason that I’m pleased to be having a sort out is that these clothes, many of which are still in great condition, are going to help a very good cause. I will be taking them down to my local TK Maxx this month to support their Give up Clothes for Good campaign. All the items donated through this campaign will be tagged, sorted and sold through Cancer Research UK stores and all the money raised will be used in the fight against kids’ cancer. The campaign is now in its 5th year and, I’m sure you’ll agree, is raising money for a very worthwhile cause.

One item that will definitely be heading off to help this great cause is a blue strapless dress I bought from Monsoon. I have only worn it a couple of times – both to weddings, but it just doesn’t suit me! The fact it is strapless makes my arms look like tree trunks and the colour really doesn’t do anything for me. It is in great condition still and is wasted just hanging in my wardrobe. I hope someone will get better use out of it than I do.

Along with this dress I will be donating a couple of skirts that are also in great condition but are far too dressy for me now I mostly work from home, some tops that make me look a bit like a granny and a pair of trousers that are unflattering on me but are bound to look great on someone else.

Spring is the perfect time to have a good clear out so if you have anything that still has plenty of life left in it but isn’t any use to you any more then please think about supporting this campaign. You can read more about it on the Tots100 blog, where there will soon be a carnival highlighting all the other clothes that bloggers will be giving up for good.

Blue dress - age 6!

While digging round in the loft, my Mum found several bags of clothes that I used to wear when I was a child. There was loads of great stuff (and a few not so great!) and most of it 30 years (or more!) old. Quite a lot of it is M&S – or St Michael as it was then.

Faith fits into most of the dresses really well and wherever we go, we get loads of comments and people asking where we got them from. They are generally amazed when I explain they are my old clothes and have lasted 30+ years. I can’t imagine much of today’s clothing lasting that long.

One thing I have noticed is that children 30 years ago must have been much smaller than they are today. The blue dress Faith is wearing in this photo is age 6! She is just 4 and is pretty average for her age. I can’t quite make out what the label says but it looks like it says ‘The Young Idea’.

Red dress - St Michael age 5

This red dress is one of my favourites – it’s just so different to anything you find in the shops today. When Faith is out and about wearing this, I can guarantee we will get stopped several times by people who want to ask about it! It is an age 5 but fits her perfectly. She also loves wearing a pair of my old grey shoes with it. Although they are exactly the right size, I only let her wear them in the house for about 10 minutes at a time as they haven’t lasted so well and I’m worried they’ll hurt her feet. They’re still in pretty good condition considering their age!

Grey patent leather shoes - Clarks

Last up we have a pale pink dress. I’m not a huge fan of pink for the girls – I think having  two girls can lead to a pink overload! But the pattern and style of this dress are so cute and really suit Faith. This is another age 5 dress from St Michael. I’m surprised the elastic has lasted so well in the front of this dress, but there’s still plenty of stretch in it. It seems clothes really were made to last.

Pink dress - age 5 from St Michael

We’ve got loads more, including dungarees, trousers, sweatshirts, velvet knickerbockers  (oh yes!), shirts and skirts. It has really given Faith’s wardrobe a lift and we can guarantee that nobody else will be wearing the same.

Do you have any of your old clothes? Have you kept any in the loft for future children or grandchildren? I wonder if any of these clothes will last to see another generation…

This is one of our favourite, quick and easy cake recipes. It is ideal as a lunch box treat and is great for taking on picnics in this lovely, sunny weather. In fact, I might bake some tomorrow morning and take Faith out for a little picnic lunch!

Ingredients (makes 12 squares)

200g unsalted butter/Stork (I always use Stork for this cake)

175g golden caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

200g self raising flour

2 tbsps jam (I use strawberry)

4-5 tbsp desiccated coconut

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and grease and line a 23cm square cake tin.

2. Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until they are pale.

3. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a tbsp of the flour with each egg.

4. Fold in the rest of the flour and mix until it is well combined.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the cake is golden and springs back when pressed gently.

6. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

7. Spread the top of the cooled cake with jam, then cover with the desiccated coconut, pressing it down to make sure it sticks. If you prefer, you can cut the cake into squares before covering with the coconut, then you can dip the tops of the jam-covered cake into the coconut instead.

8. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Oh, and there’s one very important step to remember – make sure you have a small helper (ideally dressed in a rabbit costume) ready to help clear up…

We try our best, but I think it is safe to say that when it comes to gardening, we’re not the best! However, this never puts the girls off trying, so they were very excited when Innocent offered them a little gardening kit to get them started.

They received a shiny new watering can, some special seed packs, some tools, stickers and money off vouchers. Grace was keen to get started planting one day after school so we used the empty smoothie cartons, which we cut the tops off and washed out.

Grace filled them with soil, planted the seeds (she chose violets, cress and basil), covered with a little more soil and then watered them. We have looked at them every day since but I’m getting slightly worried we may have killed them already! Keep your fingers crossed for us…

Luckily, until the end of April, every box of Innocent kids’ smoothies and fruit tubes comes with a pack of easy to grow seeds so if these don’t grow then we will get another chance! There are six different varieties to collect including carrots, tomatoes, cress, basil, violets and sunflowers. Also check out the innocent kids website for lots of fun facts and top gardening tips.

Grace has made a little video to tell you how she planted her seeds…

So, if you fancy doing a spot of gardening and would like to win a gardening set, seeds and money off vouchers then all you need to do is answer one simple question:

Take a look at the photo below – where do you think we have hidden our seeds*? Leave a comment to let me know and enter the giveaway.

*Clue – they are somewhere inside the house, I hope they don’t get dizzy…

 The giveaway will be open until 10pm on Tuesday 2nd April, when I will choose a winner from the correct answers using random.org. I will pass the winner’s details onto Innocent, who will arrange for your prize to be delivered to you.

Good luck and happy gardening!

Disclosure: We were sent a free gardening kit, seeds and money off vouchers by Innocent.

There are so many great things to make and bake at Easter time and hot cross buns are one of our favourites. They don’t always look as neat and tidy as the ones you buy in the supermarket, but they certainly taste just as good, in fact, they probably taste much better!

You may think that they are fiddly to make, but actually, they aren’t too tricky. All you need is a little time, a few inexpensive ingredients, and if you have a couple of small willing helpers then it’s all the more fun.

Along with Mari from Mari’s World and Cathy from Nurturestore, I am joining in the fun debate on parentdish.co.uk to decide the best Easter Food. Whilst lamb is great and chocolate bunnies are cute, hot cross buns are true Easter fare and I really do think you should go with tradition and head on over to vote for me on parentdish.co.uk. The person with the most votes in 2 weeks time wins, so come on, click, click, click…

While you’re over there, make sure you enter their competition to try and win yourself a family break at Alton Towers. Click, click…

So here’s the (winning) recipe for delicious hot cross buns:

Ingredients (makes 12)

150g dried mixed fruit
black tea (enough to cover the fruit)
225ml warm milk
50g unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
500g strong white bread flour
1 7g sachet dried fast action yeast
3 tbsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground mixed spice

For the crosses

25g butter
50g plain flour
water (enough to mix into a paste)

For the glaze

2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp milk

Method

1. I like the fruit in my hot cross bun to be nice and juicy so after washing it, I soak the dried fruit in hot, black tea for 30 minutes while I gather together the rest of the ingredients. Drain it well before adding it to the other ingredients so you don’t make the dough too sticky.

2. I often make my dough in a bread machine so if you do this, add the ingredients in the order that your machine instructions indicate (mine is liquids first followed by dry ingredients).

3. If you are making it by hand, place the bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, ground mixed spice and cinnamon in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the egg, milk and melted butter and mix until the dough comes together.

4. Make the dough into a ball and leave to rise in the bowl in a warm place, covered lightly with a tea towel or oiled clingfilm.

5. When the dough has doubled in sized (after around an hour), tip it onto a lightly floured work surface and knock the air out of it gently. Then knead in the dried fruit, form into 12 equal balls and place on a baking tray. Cover and leave again until the have doubled in size.

6. Preheat the oven to 200°C and make the pastry for the crosses. Melt the butter then sift in the plain flour. Mix until it is well combined then add a little cold water, a teaspoon at a time until the pastry is soft enough for you to pipe.

7. Place the pastry into a piping bag, snip the end and pip a cross on top of each bun. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15-18 minutes until the tops of the hot cross buns are a deep, golden brown.

8. While they are cooking, make the glaze by heating the milk and sugar in a small pan until all the sugar has dissolved.

9. Remove the buns from the oven, brush with the glaze and leave to cool.

These are delicious eaten warm and spread with butter or toasted the next day… if they last that long! Enjoy!