• Crafts for adults - gingerbread house

    Our 2017 Gingerbread House {Witch’s Cottage}

    December 9, 2017 - By 

    We love gingerbread houses – but you know that, right? Over the last few weeks I bought a few gingerbread house kits which I couldn’t wait to make with the family. But then I came across the BKD Mini Bakers Club and found out that the December theme was a gingerbread house – so of course I went and subscribed. I actually found a 50% off code which made the price of the box very reasonable. A few days later there was a knock on the door and the Postman handed me our box. I’ve tried a few products from…

  • Easy Unicorn cupcakes {thanks to Lakeland}
    baking - homestyle

    Easy Unicorn cupcakes {thanks to Lakeland}

    November 28, 2017 - By 

    A few weekends ago my daughter had a party for her 6th birthday (which is actually today!). We bought the cake, a rather spectacular PJ Masks one, but wanted some special cupcakes to share with friends who were coming back for a playdate after the party. When I was shopping in Lakeland I spotted this rather fabulous Make your Own Unicorn Cupcake Kit. It was pretty pricey for a box of cake mix – but my daughter loves unicorns – so I bought it. The kit contained everything needed to make and decorate the cupcakes – cake mix, icing, sprinkles…

  • Delicious Swedish Ginger Cake recipe
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Swedish Ginger Cake recipe

    November 16, 2017 - By 

    I really love ginger in any form. When I spotted a recipe for Swedish Ginger Cakes in Christmas Prima Makes magazine I knew I would have to make them for myself. I adapted the recipe slightly as I couldn’t find black treacle. Ingredients to make Swedish Ginger Cake 100g butter 175g light brown muscovado sugar 2 balls of stem ginger, chopped 1 tbsp of the syrup from the stem ginger 200g plain flour 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp mixed spice 2 medium eggs 150 ml soured cream How to make Swedish Ginger Cake Melt the…

  • What is Stir up Sunday
    baking - Christmas - homestyle

    Stir up Sunday comes early

    November 13, 2017 - By 

    Have you heard of Stir up Sunday? It’s the day when you make your Christmas puddings. They taste best if are cooked in advance and left to mature for a few weeks. Now is the time to get yours ready for Christmas! Stir up Sunday came very early this year. Traditionally Stir up Sunday falls on the last Sunday before Advent, this year that will be Sunday 26th November. However we made a head start on ours at half term when we visited my mum. The first thing we did was to leave the dried fruit to soak overnight. You can…

  • Miffy Sugar Skull gingerbread biscuits
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle - Miffy Mums

    Miffy Sugar Skull gingerbread biscuits

    October 28, 2017 - By 

    I had a really silly idea a few weeks ago and it took me a long time to get round to making it. Half term has been busy and so much fun, but I’ve missed my crafting time with the kids being off school. My 5 year old adores Miffy (so do I). We have a Miffy biscuit cutter and I thought we could bake and decorate Miffy Sugar Skull gingerbread biscuits for Halloween! Miffy Sugar Skull gingerbread biscuits First I made my usual gingerbread recipe which you can find here. Then we cut out lots of Miffy shapes. When…

  • Easy Halloween bark recipe
    baking - crafts - Halloween crafts

    Easy Halloween bark recipe

    October 24, 2017 - By 

    Are you keeping your kids occupied over half term? The weather hasn’t been too bad considering the time of year and we’ve been able to get out and about. It’s lovely to come home and snuggle up with a film and we whipped up some easy Halloween bark to enjoy whilst watching the new PJ Masks DVD. It’s so easy to make and you can adapt it to any season (we’ve already made delicious chocolate Easter bark!). Easy Halloween bark recipe 1 x bar of white chocolate 2 x bars of milk chocolate Halloween sprinkles Halloween sweets How to make Halloween…

  • Baking Speculaas Spice Biscuits for Autumn
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Baking Speculaas Spice Biscuits for Autumn

    October 18, 2017 - By 

    The weather has turned over the last few days so I spent today in the kitchen baking. I love baking, especially in Autumn. It instantly warmed the house and filled it with the most delicious smells. I’m a huge fan of gingerbread and spiced biscuits so today made some delicious Speculaas Spice Biscuits. I used a delicious speculaas spice mix and speculaas mould from The Speculaas Spice Company. Speculass spice was used in The Netherlands in the 18th century due to trade with the East. Many Dutch families and independent bakers used their own blend of secret speculaas spice mixes…

  • Halloween Monster Bagels
    baking - Halloween crafts - homestyle

    Halloween Monster Bagels

    October 14, 2017 - By 

    I love Halloween. Have I said that enough lately? I love coming up with Halloween crafts and I’m not sure what’s more fun – Halloween crafting or seeing my kids faces when they discover what I’ve been up to! Every day at pick up they ask me for a snack. It’s now fully ingrained in my head that I have some yummy healthy snacks for them. Today, however, I didn’t pack treats. Instead I spent the afternoon making them some very spooky Halloween treats – monster bagels for when they got home. As a busy mum I love to share…

  • Sylvanian Families inspired gingerbread biscuits
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Sylvanian Families inspired gingerbread biscuits

    September 7, 2017 - By 

    Over the summer holidays my daughter wanted to bake some biscuits. She’s going through a massive Sylvanian Families obsession at the moment. Our house looks like a toy shop as her playsets cover the floor. For some reason I used a packet mix I picked up at Waitrose. It was one I hadn’t tried before but only needed an egg white so was easy to make with my daughter – I’ve forgotten the name but I’ll add it if I remember. She made the gingerbread dough, we chilled it briefly, before rolling it out. Ages ago she received a plastic…