cupcakes

For a very special person in my life, a copy of a really simple, completely flop proof cupcake recipe.

Vanilla Cup Cakes

125g butter
150g sugar
3 eggs (room temperature)
5ml vanilla essence
280g cake flour
15ml baking powder
2ml salt
125ml milk

1. Beat butter and sugar together. Add eggs and beat until light and creamy. Add vanilla essence

2. sift flour, baking powder adn salt and add, with milk to the egg mixture.
Mix well. Fill paper cups or patty pan tins to two-thirds full.

3. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 13 minutes

Makes about 24.

Doggie Parlour

OOHHH Look Daddy, I am now nice and clean.

Gran generously decided to pay for the dogs to go to the parlour to be washed, trimmed and nails clipped.

Great excitement for Splash and Kelly to be able to jump in the car, Scamp on the other hand ran for the hills, after finally getting her into the car, it was off to school with the boys, with the dogs steaming up the back windows.

I thought it had all gone really well until when I went to fetch them and they jumped in the car, did we realise that one of them [probably Scamp] had in fact gotten sick in the car, so trying to keep them from standing in it, whilst making sure they didn't jump out the car into the road, was great fun. but we did it and now they are home again, with bows and ribbons in their hair to prove it.

Christmas decorations

Had to share my latest 2 Christmas decorations I bought at the local supermarket.

Unfortunately we don't have Christmas stores here, I think if we did, we would probably have shares in it though.

Aren't they cute?

You know when you get one of those recipes that is just too good to be true, well this is one of them, the easiest to do and so impressive looking.

Have fun.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

250ml (1Cup) water 4 eggs

115g butter 250 ml cream stiffly whipped (use Orley Whip)

250ml cake flour 100g chocolate

pinch of salt

Oven 200ºC. Grease a large baking sheet

Bring water and butter to the boil in a medium sized pot. Immediately add the flour and salt in one go, stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a paste and no longer sticks to the sides of the pot.

Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.

The mixture should form a stiff, glistening paste. You may not need to use all the eggs. Let the paste cool.

Drop teaspoons of the mixture on the greased baking sheet, spacing the rounds about 4 cm apart.

This mixture can also be piped onto the baking sheet.

Sprinkle with a little water to create steam.

Bake at 200º for 10 min. Reduce heat to 180º for another 15minutes

Allow them to cool.

Cut into each puff from one side and open just wide enough to insert nozzle of a piping bag. Fill puffs with the stiffly beaten cream and dip in melted chocolate.

Allow the chocolate to harden

Halloween

Its that time of the year and I am so pleased that my neighbours have young kids, as our kids are too old and too cool to go trick or treating.

Just spent the evening with Sam and Nicole and Shelly, planning what we want to do on Saturday night. Should be good fun, blocking off the road, putting wine barrels and fire pits in the road and just chilling out in the street.

We have a small note we are sending out to our neighbours to invite them to attendand if no one comes, we will just party by ourselves.

Yay!!

TEENAGERS

Well last night was an interesting evening, after carting 9 kids in the car, they all went off to a party. The latest trend with the teenagers is that someone books a venue, provides music and bouncers and publishes it on facebook, then ALL the kids arrive, pay their R40 - R50 cover charge and party the night away.

The problem with these parties are all the looser older kids 20+ that arrive and want to be cool, so they come with drinks and offer it to the younger kids.

Last night when I went to pick the kids up, they climbed in the car and I could smell straight away that one of them had been drinking, but 5 large 16year olds in a small Yaris, I couldn't work out who it was.

Well it didn't take me long as by the time we got home, one of them leaned out the window as we pulled into the garage and proceeded to throw up - LOVELY!!

He then stumbled into the house and passed out on the bed - now I was in a dilemma, has the child got alcohol poisoning, do I phone his folks to come fetch him? Rob was out on patrol so called him and he came home, managed to get the guy awake and outside to drink water. 4 glasses later the guy stumbled back to bed and passed out - this morning he came through rather sheepishly and apologised - but truthfully I don't think he learnt his lesson and will be doing it again.

Claims he can't remember what he drank, or how much - hmmmmmm . . . .

Was very pleased though that Chris wasn't part of this, although he does claim he was offered drinks as well. Oh the joys!!!