Milk Chocolate Malt Pots

As i child I loved a nice warm mug of Horlicks. It always made me feel sleepy and comforted. I realised recently, for some reason or another, I haven't had a mug of Horlicks in years (I know! Pretty disgraceful!)

So since i really fancied something rich and chocolatey today, i thought "Can't go wrong with a chocolate pot, in fact i think it's just what the doctor ordered" and of course it had to be a malted milk chocolate version. Yet again the weathers awful outside and now we have a toddler running around, full of the cold. So i think we both need something nice, warm and comforting.

Glazed Walnut, Maple and Autumnal Spice Muffins

The weather today was rotten!!!

'What a negative way to start a blog post' I hear you scream, but it's the truth. It rained pretty much from the moment i got up (6.45am if you really wanted to know, one of the best bits about having a toddler), The Man was away at 5am to Dublin for one of his Karate competitions and so there I was in my dressing gown thinking what the hell do I do today??!!

Oatmeal and Raisin Cookies - A cookie that's sort of healthy!!

So after a few weeks of being told what to bake via The Great Irish Bake Off i woke up feeling a little lost this morning. With no weekly task having been set as the competition has finished i really didn't know what to do (yup it was that bad!). Although i think the Man is secretly pleased it's over as he doesn't really have a sweet tooth and me forcing him to try everything I've made....all the time....was probably slightly torturous.

So i managed too polish of the rest of the chiffon cake last night........by myself.

*hangs head in shame*.

Unfortunately i am the only one in my Irish family that likes dark chocolate so although the Man loved the lime sponge he wasn't overly keen on the dark choc ganache. "If it was milk chocolate it would be A.M.A.Z.I.N.G" were his exact words.

Spooky Lime and Dark Chocolate Chiffon Cake

The final installment of the Great Irish Bake Off competition is here and it's a sad day. It's been great fun baking things i probably wouldn't have baked if it weren't for this competition.

Also through this competition I've got to know a few other Irish bloggers which has been great and if anyone has been keeping an eye on us on twitter you've probably been thoroughly entertained by the banter and attempts to psych each other out. I'm definitely going to miss taking part in this competition.

Scottish Vanilla Tablet

I am so excited to bring you this post, purely because i have always wanted to give sweets like fudge or toffee a go but the lack of a sugar thermometer has always put me off.

However after getting back from Scotland on a trip to see family and running out of the tablet i brought back with me i thought this was the perfect time to try and make sweets myself.

A Mini Croque-En-Bouche

So here are, potentially the last installment to the Great Irish Bake Off competition run by wholesomeireland.com. It's a little sad as now i shall have to find more excuses to keep baking every week

 ('because I'm greedy' apparently isn't a good enough reason).

Funfetti Cupcakes

 Ok so here's the next blog post and another one to do with the kiddies. Now before i give you the recipe i have to explain the distinct lack of Funfetti in my cupcake. It seemed that my sprinkles were to pastel to show up in the cupcake and so only the yellow and the pink sprinkles have made an appearance but since 1. these seem to be the only sprinkles available in the town that i live and 2. i was baking with a 19 month old who i don't think even really cared that we were baking she just revelled in filling her tummy with the sprinkles, i made do with what i had. So the funfetti effect isn't as impressive as it could be but that just means next time i'll have to find the brightest coloured sprinkles i can get my hands on.

Banana, Chocolate and Cinnamon Muffins

Finally i'm home from my wee holiday over on the Isle of Skye, which means i now have my kitchen back (woohoo!). Don't get me wrong it was fun and interesting cooking with an oven with no thermostat but it's nice to now bake in an oven that actually stays at the temperature you want it to be at.

So after winning a mini Dr.Oetker hamper which had some cute, large cupcake cases. I knew i wanted to test them out and i really fancied making something really yummy but i wasn't up for piping icing, so muffins it was.

Gingerbread...with the kids!

So after my successful chelsea buns (i managed to win last week) i was very pleased to hear that this weeks Great Irish Bake Off task was gingerbread but not only that, it was a bake with your kids task aswell.

So i thought 'Great, i'm on holiday with my 19 month old and i'm staying with my sister who has a 2 year old' so frankly it couldn't be more perfect. So not only do i get to whip out the mixing bowl again we can get the kids covered in flour and icing sugar.

Chocolate Cinnamon Chelsea Buns

So not only am i currently on holiday on the Isle of Skye staying with one of my younger sisters, it's also another week of The Great Irish Bake Off competition courtesy of Wholesomefoods.com.
So not only have i had to contend with yet another recipe I've never before made and a new kitchen with new equipment but also for some reason my sisters oven lacks a thermostat so this was a real risky bake hen i couldn't even control the temperature of the oven!!!!