Getting ready for Christmas

Christmas is really creeping up fast this year, before we know it will be the new year and we will all be back to making resolutions and trying to stick to them. 

I've been doing alot of Christmas baking and had a stall at a local christmas fair recently too. My stall was full of cupcakes all Christmas themed in minis and normal sized cupcakes.

I ended up staying up all night to get it all baked and decorated but was worth it in the end. Plus my favourite time to bake is usually 3 or 4am. 

It went pretty well actually and I had lots of fun doing it. 

We put the Christmas tree up this week too and I'm so fussy about. I have to put them all on in a certain order and colour so that they have an even amount throughout. I even pack them that way then I put it all away the year before to make it easier for myself the next year. I'm pretty sure other people do that too right??. My sister helped me do it this year and we had great fun even though I'm pretty sure the sitting room will always have glitter in it now and so will everything I wore while doing it. 

The other years we had two trees in the house but this year we just have the one in the sitting room so there is a lot more decorations then we need. The theme we go with is red and gold. Red because it's a Christmas colour and gold because it goes with the style of the room.

When I was saying that I have a certain way to put them all on I wasn't joking first I put on all the baubles, red first then gold glitter ones, then plain gold, then red then the mixed colours all in size, after that we move onto the glitter handpicked decorations like the shoes, bags, ballerinas, dresses ( can you tell I come from a family of mostly girls haha) and after that it's the "good" ornaments the ones given as gifts or collected while traveling or bought for a special reason. 

Then it's time for the angel on top which usually consists of an argument as the youngest of my sisters insists its her turn every year.. for 22 years. We also have a little tradition with putting robins in the tree because way before the elf on the self we had robins in our house and my Grandparents that was the little birdy that told on us if we were bold. It worked wonders especially in my Grannys I'd be afraid to do anything bold incase they told on me, it's nice to keep it going though I love traditions like that. 

Now that that's all explained I can tell you about the best advent calendar I found. It's a Tea advent calendar. I don't know if you're all aware but I love tea all tea just obsessed so I love this. It has 12 different teas so two of each for 24 days and Christmas themed too. It's by the English Tea shop and I got it in Tkmaxx for 8 or 9 euro. 

This year we will be having family visiting form England for Christmas and my niece will be celebrating her 1st Christmas since arriving a month ago so it's going to be a really exciting time. The turkey has been ordered and it's the biggest that the butchers sell and will hopefully fit in our oven as we seem to be feeding an army on Christmas day and I can't wait. I love getting dinner ready on Christmas day it's one of the best traditions we have as a family all working together to get it on the table and prepared since the day before.  

Latest Bakes

I have been baking a bit over the last few weeks with Halloween it's always fun to make festive treats. I ended baking so many cupcakes but they all found good homes in the end. These ones are vanilla cupcakes uncoloured some of the others where multicoloured sponge and vanilla butter cream.

I love these cupcake boxes. My sister got loads of them a while ago and gave me some for these. I made about 10 boxes of these cupcakes.

These are the toppers that I made for the cupcakes I was only making a few at the beginning but just kept coming up with new ideas so here is the result.

This week I was also making a birthday cake. I made a cake for them a few months ago and they wanted more or less the same but smaller. It's so much chocolate in this cake I wish I could have eaten some myself. It's chocolate sponge with chocolate fudge filling and also chocolate fudge on the outside with chocolate butter cream piped around the top and bottom of the cake. The inside was full of smarties so when it was cut open they would all fall out. I couldn't find a cake board for this cake so had to get one a little bit bigger then but then  had no box to fit it in. I figured it all out in the end but these little things drive me crazy, the baking and decorating I love though. 

I also have a bit of good news with the baking. Not only do I have a half table at a Christmas fair at the end of this month but I also have a full table at an event next week too. Next week's event has a theme so I will be busy this week trying out some ideas which will be so fun. This will be my first stall for cupcakes and I'm very excited about it. I had applied for a table at this event before but they already had a cupcake table and after a mix up had to refund me my money but then yesterday I got a call offering it to me if I was still interested as the original cupcake person pulled out. They even offered me the table for no fee for the little notice and the previous mix up. I'm so delighted and can't wait now.

Coffee Morning

On Tuesday morning my Mam held a coffee morning in aid of Foot Prints For Leah. Coffee mornings are always a good way to help support a charity as it really gets people involved while raising money for a good cause. It was a nice morning out as well which always gets people out a little more. 

The day before my Mam spent the entire day baking Scones, rocks buns, brown bread, banana bread, tea cake and fruit buns. 

That night I got a little done myself making macaroons, chocolate biscuit cake and mini cupcakes. 

My aunty even baked for the day making slimming world tiramisu and black forest roulade so that the slimming world members that would be there that morning would have something nice with their tea or coffee and not go off their plan. There was enough to feed an army in the end but it's nice to treat those who come out and support the day.

 As it is the summer a some people couldn't make it as they are away on their holidays but where so nice to give a donation before hand or have some one who was coming drop it in. It's these days that you really see how generous and kind people can be. 

My Mam so happy with the turn out and all the donations for the day and to be able to help towards a great cause. 

Thanks for reading Neads xx

Latest bakes

So recently Iv'e been doing a little bit of baking so I thought I would share what Iv'e made.

Pink and white girly cake

Here's the communion cake I made for a little girl called Natasha. She asked for a white and pink decorated 2 tier cake. The inside was chocolate sponge with chocolate fudge icing. The house also smelled like chocolate all day. 

Very chocolate cake

Another communion cake this time for a little boy called Josh. He asked for a very chocolatey cake. So here is what I made. It's chocolate sponge, dark chocolate fudge icing with milk chocolate fudge icing around the top. I was also asked to decorate it with gold letters and a butterfly. The little gold balls on the bottom are painted malteasers. 

Cookies

I seem to be making these cookies a lot recently. There chocolate chip and sprinkle vanilla cookies. There so easy to make and I made it even easier when I made up a big batch divided it up and froze them so all I had to do was defrost and bake. 

Recent Baking

At the start of the month was my youngest sisters 21st. I was in charge of the cake making. I knew I had to do something different for this one so I went with black icing and neon colours. The best part was the inside. I wanted it to look great when it was cut open. This is why I went with multicoloured cake and cut a hole in the middle and filled it with smarties. I also iced it in chocolate fudge before putting the sugarpaste on. The cake didn't last very long with everyone at the party, which I take as a complement. 

This is the second cake I made which was for my Aunty's 40th Birthday last weekend. I wanted to do something different but girly at the same time. I have been dying to give a sprinkles cake a go for so long. I was afraid that it might go all wrong but in the end it turned out great and I found it really fun to make. I did however get sprinkles everywhere in the kitchen including under the dryer and even found some in my hair later on lol. It seems to be like glitter it gets everywhere. I bought the big bag of sprinkles in Decobake on Bachelors Walk a couple of weeks ago thinking I would need it all but surprisingly I didn't actually need loads. I may have over estimated it aswell and bought a 1kg bag of sprinkles. I have since bought a jar to store them all in and I'm already working out ideas to use them up.

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Baking

I have gone a little bit mad baking this week.

This is the result of a very late night of baking. When I entered a cake decorating competition a few months ago I was given some baking mixes . One of these was a cookie mix which was used a lot. I also got a muffin mix, a 3kg bag of it. I hadn't used it before now and thought I'd give it as go. I made some plain vanilla ones which were so nice. I then wanted to make some blueberry muffins , then some strawberry. I also made some banana ones by halving the liquid needed and adding 3 small bananas to the mix. These where the nicest of them all especially when they where still hot. I may have gotten carried away with baking and made a little to many, so anyone who came to visit went home with some haha.

What I've been up to lately.

I have mostly been planning my trip or at least trying to. I have also been packing up my room slowly as I keep getting distracted by things I forgot about for getting bored. Obviously I packed the important stuff first haha.

The week end before last it was my parents 30th wedding anniversary so we had a family dinner which I cooked and got a lovely black forest gatau for after. It had to be black forest as that was what they had at their wedding. Unfortunately my dad was called to work that weekend so they had to cancel their party, this is why we had a family dinner instead.

I went to the Bray air show that weekend too. It was a great day even if I came home burnt to a crisp. I was wearing factor 30 but unfortunate wasn't high enough for the sun that day. I burn so easily. I went with my Mam, Sister and Two of my little cousins who had a great time on the amusements. My younger sister was there aswell with her boyfriend and his brother so was a big day out. We found them on the carousel having a great time haha.

I had family in Ireland form Australia over the last month or so and they where leaving to go home so went to see them on their last night.

This was my outfit I wore. A cream dress I have had so years and still love it's lovely for the weather we are having. Cream shoes with flowers on them , flats of course I can't wear heels for a while since hurting my leg. Last but not least My coral bag I got on ebay a few months ago for a bout €9 I think. I also wore a necklace my sister made me.

My make up I tried to keep simple but of course couldn't resist using my contour palette.  I wore pink blush and a gold smokey eye. My lipstick and lipgloss where a light glittery pink. 

My hair was easy to do and love doing it this way. I twist the hair along the hairline on the top and around the back and them plait at the side. so simple and looks summery. I also find that doing this before my hair is completely dry helps to keep it in shape longer.

As one of my Aunty's will be away on holidays when I'm leaving she came down for a few good bye drinks last during the week and surprised me with these lovely balloons. I love the batman one it's huge. We had a great night. Another Aunty popped down aswell and my Mams friend also came down so ended up being a great night in with a lot of laughing.

I was making cupcakes this week for a Hens party. My sister's friend is getting married soon and asked if I would make her cupcakes for the hens party. This is what I made. The cupcakes are vanilla sponge with chocolate buttercream. They are decorated with fondant roses, wedding rings, L plates in pink and white and some purple stencilling. The yellow flowers are the colours her wedding flowers are going to be. 

Last but not least I finally went to see the Fault in our Stars movie. I have been wanting to see it but hadn't gotten around to it yet. I love going to the cinema and love cinema popcorn. The movie was great and having read the book I couldn't help compare them but actually wasn't that far off like other books that get made into movies.

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Visa, Shopping and Baking.

So this I week had a few exciting moment like applying for my 1 year working holiday visa for Australia. I applied and paid on-line through a company as I was interested in a package they had, not so happy with the package now though as including bank account and tax file number sounds like they arrange things with you or for you not email you a pdf with some information about how to do it all yourself and why you should. Felt a bit ripped off to be fair definitely not work the extra  money. I filled in the application for the visa and dropped it in to town and the next day was told it was approved. That part at least was easy and quick. 

I also done a little shopping on ebay for things that I need for my trip. I will do a post on them all when they arrive. I also got a couple of bits in Penny's (Primark) and Euro General shop which I may like a little to much but I do keep finding great things there. 

I got another Osiris CC Cream because I have gone through yet another one but accidentally got it in tanned.  I did a review a while back that you can find here. I tried it a little and it's not that drastically dark or anything so maybe if we keep up with this nice weather it might be ok .I may also be a little to optimistic sometimes. 

I also picked up this Argan Oil Night Repair Serum. I'm not sure if this is any good I haven't used it yet or heard anything about it but I have used the shampoo, conditioner, hair mask, heat defence spray and hair oil and was a fan of all of them even felt nice on my skin so hopefully this will too. I have done a review of the Hair mask that you can find here. I will also do a post on it after I try it out. This night repair serum was only €1.50 and so was the CC Cream.

In Penny's I didn't buy anything overly exciting just some socks two 7 packs one black, one white for €3 each. Then toothbrushes which I'm sure will be fine as I usually get the same type for sensitive gums but these where 5 for €1 and I couldn't leave a good bargain.  I also got a new top its a blue knitted string top which I thought I might like for the summer it was also €3 and my sister bought one to.

I finished The Fault In Our Stars on Friday and it was so sad I don't want to give anything away so I'll keep it short but even though it devastatingly sad it's also one of the best thing I've read in a while so I highly recommend giving it a go if your looking for something to read. It's not a book I would usually read but I was so surprised at how I just couldn't put it down. I didn't know what to do with myself when I finished the last few pages. I am just not sure if my next book I read will be as good. 

On Saturday I made a cake for a 30th Birthday. It was chocolate biscuit with white SugarPaste  icing and decorated with Yellow, Purple and Pink sugar paste including three handmade roses. I like making this cake I was a asked to make it colourful with a white base. That is usually the cakes I love to make. 

On Sunday as it was Father's day we had a family meal of Roast turkey that my Dad marinated and I cooked with baby potatoes, roast potatoes, lots of veg and potatoes that I'm not sure what you would call them but are mashed then piped into swirls and baked again in the oven until crispy and a little browned. Anyway they were lovely I kept seeing them and wanted to make them so thought today I would give them a try. Thankfully they turned out nice. 

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Another week, another cake

After the last cake I made for a book club member I was asked to make a another. I got a phone call from the woman that asked for it and said that she loved the cake and so did her son. As he is making his Confirmation and liked the cake she asked if I could make one similar but in white and blue and instead of books on top could I put a dove on it. A dove is the sign for Confirmation.

The cake I made was chocolate sponge with chocolate fudge icing. I cover it in white and blue sugar paste. The decoration was white and blue beading, Confirmation day on the top and the name Alan in the center on the front. I also made a white sugar paste dove. I had not originally planned on doing this as I have a dove plunger but I couldn't find it so thought I'd give making one go.

So this is how it turned out and they where very happy with it as was I. I was so organised for this as I'm also studying for exams so had to be on top of everything but then just as I was about to decorate it I re tore the muscle in my calf so had to hobble around the kitchen for a few hours. I was exhausted the next morning. hopping around on one leg takes alot of effort. I also burnt my hand while melting the chocolate for the fudge icing. I'm a bit of a disaster if you haven't noticed but I do get the job done in the end. 

Home Made Bread

The finished Project 

I decided to spend my Sunday baking bread. I haven't done this in ages and forgot how long it takes, but very worth it. The house now smells of lovely fresh bread and it tastes gorgeous. I went with a bloomer type loaf and am so happy with how it's turned out that I think it has brought back my bread baking bug. My sister who is coeliac has now asked me to make one but gluten free so that's what I will be working on this week. Since I don't like recipes that don't turn out as well as hoped I usually make up my own and a fluffy and crusty gluten free loaf is my next project.

                              After all the kneading and proofing and ready to go in the oven.

Gluten Free Ginger Bread Men Recipe

Here is my recipe for Gluten free ginger bread men. It's actually quite easy to make and they taste delicious.
Bake them in the oven on a medium heat, I usually go with 180 degrees until they have browned a little. Don't forget that they are a little soft still until they cool down.

Gluten Free Cupcake Recipe

Here is my Gluten free cupcake recipe. It's very easy to make and they turn out lovely, you would hardly know the difference.
Just Add a bit of buttercream to decorate.

Baking

One of my biggest hobbies is baking. I've always loved baking and think it's just something that runs in my family. A lot of my family bakes, Grandparents, parents, Aunty's, sisters, the lot. Most of what I have learnt over the years have come from my Mam. When I was little she would make wedding cakes. She has always made us birthday cakes and her brown bread gets baked almost daily still. A few years ago my older sister found out she was Celiac, this means she cant have gluten ( wheat, barley, rye....) It was really difficult at the time to find a lot of gluten free foods such as pizza (that didn't fall apart before baking it), Pies, breads, cakes and basically anything. So over the years I've tried out recipes but never completely successful. This is why I started to work out my own. It really thought me lots about different ingredients and measurement and how to create recipes. I don't just bake gluten free I also bake with gluten, but not for my sister. I like to bake for family events and friends. I do get asked from time to time to make certain cakes for different people. Her are some of the cupcakes and cakes that I have made over the last year or two. 

Cupcakes

Cakes

My younger sister also bakes and has even started to make tutorials on You Tube you can find her HERE. She is hoping to start her own baking business in the future.

More information about my cakes and cupcakes can be found on my baking blog called Neads Kolourful Cakes. I have even entered one of my cakes into a competition on facebook to see how to vote for it click HERE. I will also start posting yummy recipes on my blog including Gluten free recipes so keep and eye out if you are interested in trying anything new out.