Category — how to

I’m into easy “baking”. These have been winners in our house recently:

12 minute Coconut Ice
(this is not a hard version and we keep it in the fridge once made)
1 can condensed milk
3 & 1/3 cups icing sugar
4 & 1/2 cups desicated coconut (I use shredded sometimes)
coctineal

Combine condensed milk, icing sugar and coconut and mix well
Divide mixture in half, press half into base of slab tin and colour remainder with a few drops of coctineal (we do other colours if we fancy). Press coloured mixture over white in slab tin. Chill until firm. Cut into bite size pieces. Go easy – it’s quite sweet…..

I am also utterly obsessed with gingerbread at the moment. We made these ones yesterday:

The girls helped so we did some for our favourite teams as well as those playing. Poor Saints – I was hoping you’d get there. At least then some mates wouldn’t have painted their fence in vain…..

Anyhow, the gingerbread recipe from taste.com (we don’t do the egg white icing either, in fact we rarely ice them, they are so delish without it):

Makes 20

Ingredients
Melted butter, to grease
125g butter, at room temperature
100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup
1 egg, separated
375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Plain flour, to dust
150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar, sifted
8-10 drops red liquid food colouring
8-10 drops green liquid food colouring
Smarties, to decorate
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush 2 baking trays with melted butter to lightly grease.
Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
Meanwhile, place egg white in a clean, dry bowl. Use an electric beater to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Divide icing among 3 bowls. Cover 1 bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Add red colouring to 1 bowl and stir until combined. Add green colouring to remaining bowl and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about 4mm thick. Use a 9cm gingerbread man cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart. Repeat with any excess dough.
Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Place prepared icings in small plastic bags. Cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. Pipe icing over gingerbread men to decorate. Finish with Smarties.

I have been making a few of these for gifts.  We had a mass production session recently.  They are sooo fun (as in the tiaras, not the 5 hours of sewing with kids pestering you - although 5 hours of sewing would be fun if you had someone else to manage each and every want 7 children can come up with).   It was actually a lovely day – an almost guilty pleasure hanging out for the whole day – kids and all.  You can’t do that often or with just anyone.

Follow this link to my attempt at a tutorial - Sequin Tiara - and make one for yourself – or for someone who you think would appreciate some party headwear.  Go on -  “HAVE A CRACK!!”

I have been busy fulfilling a private order, making new baby surprises and i have my bro’s wedding coming up so a new mobblegobble tutorial might be a while yet.  Below are some links to make this easy tutu (or ones like it).  get busy, this month the focus is on kid’s and craft items at Hand Made Helps Out.

http://plumtickled.typepad.com/plumtickled/2007/08/tutu-tutorial-t.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_2072479_nosew-tutu.html

via this lady’s article in kids issue of mixtape.  The kids had SO MUCH fun doing this.  I forgot to use masking tape though so that’s something I wont forget again… And as my children (and our dish-delish visitor on the day) are glitter freaks, we did this outside…..

Excerpt from mixtape:

“Place a large piece of contact paper on the table or floor, sticky side up and masking tape the edges down.  Place a handful of collage bits (pipe cleaners, leaves, tissue paper, shapes, flowers, wrapping paper, feathers, buttons) next to it and your child can go crazy.  To seal it, remove the masking tape and fold the contact paper in half – or – cut another piece of contact paper and put it on top.  Looks colourful hanging in a bright window – or you can make small ones for the christmas tree!”