Delissilinks

I know its AGES away but I turn 30 in January and I was discussing this with my 7 year old this morning as she likes to plan 6 months ahead for birthday parties. We (she) decided an 80's theme is right on the button and then made a comment that she's going to ask for Eighty's clothes for Christmas (?!?). Anyway....I found these beauties...



















(by a taste of whimsy)



And this...cuuuute!!! And of course I LOVED Rainbow Brite.















(by Cakesgarden)

And for a simple but obviously 80's inspiration is this. And I love it!



















(via cakehead.com)

Hokey Pokey Biscuits

A couple of weekends ago during the school holidays I spent a morning making treats with the kids. Sadly I forgot to take photos. Marshmallow and hokey pokey from the Edmonds cookbook gave us a morning licking bowls, marvelling at science and an afternoon chewing, chomping and enjoying the fruits of our labours!
When my Auntie Susie reflected back on making hokey pokey biscuits, of which I am sure I consumed many of in my childhood, I decided to make some.
Here's the recipe, from the Edmonds book:

125g butter
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups plain baking flour
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine butter, sugar, golden syrup and milk in a saucepan. Heat until butter is melted and mixture nearly boiling, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to lukewarm. Sift flour and baking soda together. Add to the cooled mixture. Stir well.
Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on ungreased oven trays. Flatten with a fork.
Bake at 180 deg. C for 15-20 mins or until golden brown.
Makes 22

And enjoy!

The Best Cake Recipe (well one of them)

When I was 14 I got the Kids Cookbook with Step by Step Instructions as a birthday present from my Auntie Lizzie.

My charming little model with Weetbix down his front

I proceeded to subject my family to the experiments and sometimes successes (but mostly messy failures) of this cookbook but there is one recipe that I have used in it so often that I have learned it by heart and have over the years adapted it in a variety of ways. That book was a turning point in my developing love of baking. I am not ashamed to admit it didn’t help my dinner cooking skills so much – that’s all still a work in progress. But I still have the book, albeit without its front cover anymore, and I would be more than happy to see my own kids use it one day. If not then at least one recipe will live on: Fudge Cake. It has been used in many of my cakes in this blog and is an easy, deliciously moist cake with the added bonus of being egg and dairy free. Just by experimenting I have come up with different versions to suit everyone’s taste from a richer chocolate (more cocoa) to vanilla (using quality vanilla paste instead of essence), lemon and coconut, and I’m pretty sure will work well with gluten free flour but I’ve yet to try that too.

This is the first time I have used limes though:

Oh and thanks Auntie Lizzie – if I didn’t write a thank you note back then, I’m really sorry.

xx

Delissilinks

• The Gingerbread Man. Cartoon by The Perry Bible Fellowship. Don't you wish?

• The Hello Kitty Death Cake. If you love Hello Kitty, you'll hate this site. Or not.

• Another awful cake from Tacky Weddings. Alright so it's made quite well and I imagine it tastes delicious (as long as you don't get bits of peacock feather in your slice) but I'm thinking there's just too much going on for that cake to have any class.

• Totally not cake related but I spent a good 20 mins of my life laughing my head off at the STFU, Parents blog. Okay so I have 3 young kids of my own and I can admit I've posted things on Facebook that my childless friends couldn't care less about, but I found this so funny.

• I wish New World did this.

Delissilinks

• I looove this Japanese inspired cake from The Cupcake Gallery based in Sydney. The figurine is just the cutest!

• Why do these guys look like like they've undergone some severe leg amputation? I love Igglepiggle and Makka Pakka and these guys are quite cute, but I'm feeling a little sorry for them.

• If you haven't checked out the Threadcakes contest entries yet then here's your chance. This is an online cake-baking contest run by the Threadless t-shirt company. Would love to see Mr Vintage run something like this! There are many to choose from but the deer cake below is my personal fav.

• If you are looking for some tutorials on cake decorating then Cake Journal is an excellent site to visit. Louise gives some excellent instructions and if doing it is not your thing then check out her wonderful creations at least. Look at this amazing petunia cake!

Thomas the Tank Engine

This is a 2 layer carrot cake with cream cheese filling. For little Elijah who is having his 2nd birthday party tomorrow. Choo choo!!

Ruths cake

This is a 2 layer lemon cake with a citrus cream filling. I know it looks more like a spring or summer cake but I couldn't resist using my little tulip cutter.
This is for a birthday morning tea at Holy Trinity this morning and ordered by my mother in law for her friend Ruth. Enjoy, ladies...