Hi everyone, I suppose the answer to the question should be ‘ How good have I been?’ which technically is another question…..oops!
Anyway, I already know most of my gifts because at my ripe old age, my family *cough* husband isn’t willing to leave it to guesswork. Which is fine by me 😊 as I’ve been wanting an edible airbrush kit for a while now. Because I’m not sure whether I’ll be any good at using one, I’ve been dithering. I had it on my wishlist for Christmas, then changed my mind. Then changed it again! So when a friend said she was selling hers after only using it once, it seemed like fate!
As you can see from the picture, it’s a Cassie Brown model, (now marketed as SprayCraft) and I can’t wait to start practicing! First though, I had to buy some colours, I mean I don’t want to be getting up on Saturday morning and not be able to play do I? Luckily for me, I got an early birthday present of an Amazon Gift Card, so I got busy on t’internet and ordered all 3 primary colours plus black to start off with. I went with Classikool brand as I’ve used their products before and been pleased with the result. Basically, they cut out the fancy packaging and charge less! At least this way I won’t have spent too much if the technique gets the better of me 😊
I’m a bit of a flirt when it comes to colour brands mind you. For gel food colour I have both Wilton and the Rainbow Dust Pro gel. And I have both Rainbow Dust (especially the silk range) and Sugarflair Dusts too. What can I say? I like to have choices!
So, roll on Saturday 🎂
Today however, has been all about my mother and father in law’s 63rd wedding anniversary 😍
So we invited them to our house for an ‘afternoon tea’ style lunch. I made 3 different sandwiches, quiche, sausage rolls, fruit scones with jam and cream, and a lovely lemon buttercream sponge cake. I had been planning a new icing technique, but ran out of time, so I went with a comb effect…….very forgiving, but looks pretty too 😊
The cake: Preheat oven to 160°C fan
Ingredients:
250g each of butter, sugar and Self Raising Flour
4 eggs
Zest of one lemon
Juice of half a lemon
Method:
Place all ingredients in a stand mixer (mine is KitchenAid Artisan) and mix until well incorporated.
This mix was enough for 3 X 7″ sandwich tins
Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from tins after 10 minutes, then allow to cool completely before decorating.
Buttercream:
Ingredients:
225g softened butter
500g sifted Icing sugar
Juice of half a lemon
Hot water
Method:
Cream the butter in a stand mixer with paddle attachment for at least 5 minutes until pale and soft. Add half the sugar and beat until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the rest of the sugar and the lemon juice and beat again. Scrape the bowl again and check consistency. Add hot water a little at a time if needed.
Needless to say, I won’t be eating again today!
Well I think I’ve waffled on for long enough now, so I’ll let you go
Until next time
Stay safe and healthy
Debbie ❤
Baking for Therapy 