Don't you just hate it when bloggers you follow just vanish? No explanation. Poof! Like that last slice of cheesecake you tucked away behind all the turkey leftovers in the fridge.... When I wrote that last post - January, 2020 - I knew that I had wrapped up Tea, Cake and Create decorating classes (with work and family commitments, classes had simply become to much to juggle). But I honestly expected to continue to bake and post recipes on the blog. Then 2020 happened and ...well, you know. 2020.  I started out with a diary of lockdown days on Instagram, and then that grew a little ..read more

Clouds of flavour ... that's how I'd describe these.  And I'd have to admit that I am usually not a big fan of meringues,  but these have just enough crunch, just enough chewiness, and just enough tartness to make them quite delicious.    They are good, really good.  Pair them with ice-cream and fresh berries, and you'll have an easy yet impressive dessert.  When I made the first batch, I only had 2 fresh eggs in the house. This was just before Christmas, where you avoid going to the shops at all costs.  So I made up for the absent egg by reconstituting meringue powder with warm water ..read more

I may or may not still be catching up with posting the festive season recipes... Ok, full disclosure - I am still catching up. But whoa - slow down 2020!  I thought that taking a sabbatical from classes would give me a little more time this year, but so far all gaps have just been filled up with other demands (admittedly, I have given myself a bumper list of things to tackle in the next 12 months!) This cheesecake was made for a pre-Chritmas Christmas dinner with friends. I use my standard cheesecake recipe and just change it up a bit for the different flavour versions. Salted Caramel Chee ..read more

And then there was one! One day left of 2019, and still so many things to do before the end of the year! In all reality, most of them can wait. But not this last post on Christmas cookies.  It would be anathema to me to be talking Christmas after the 1st of Jan (yes, the tree is already down and all the ornaments are packed away. We start the New Year  without having the depressing business of clearing up Christmas decorations hanging over our heads. And by we, I mean me - because while the kids are at the age where they gladly decorate the tree, they sure as heck aren't going to help un-decor ..read more

Ok, so I might just be avoiding today's real task of cleaning the house and cooking Christmas Eve dinner But it is also important to get these cookies logged before Christmas 2019 comes and goes, right?! This was the first time I made Santa and Mrs Claus cookies for a class - I've avoided them before because it's a whole other colour to consider, but I justified making flesh colour by using it for Rudolph's snout too: I know that some gel colour ranges have a copper colour that works well for skin tones, however I always use a mix of soft pink and ivory - because that's what I've ..read more

I called these cookies Zombies, but my son pointed out that they're not - they're more like voodoo doll cookies aren't they? But that idea creeps me out a little too much (i'm not sure why - 'cos I'm not overly sensitive to ghoulishness!). So I'm calling them zomblings, ok? Ok! What I didn't mention when I posted the Sugar Skull Cookies on Instagram and FB, was that those stunning skull cutters, were custom made for me by Treat Boutique.  Lauri and Brad are always so happy to accommodate my requests for new designs! But I thought of making these Zombling characters at the last minute ..read more

Well, now.... I'm just about a decade behind on cookie posts. But you've seen the clips on Instagram and Facebook, haven't you? It's been hard to keep up with everything this term. Just this morning I was fantasising about self-driving cars - I could just send the car to fetch the kids from school. But then I'd miss out on that flow of information that comes out when they get in the car. And the chance to connect with other mom's while we're waiting for the children to come out. There's a new show on Netflix called Living with Your Self. In a Netflix-nutshell, it's about a man who inadvertentl ..read more

If I'm baking cookies these days that aren't for the classes, you must know that it's not me behind the sieve. My daughter loves baking. (Don't know where she gets it from). And during the school holidays she was determined to make cookies.  I gave her one of my simplest recipes to make completely solo - these three ingredient peanut butter cookies - which she very capably did. But her brother was super unimpressed because he claims to be allergic to peanuts (he's not). He insisted that we make more cookies just like those, but without peanut butter. So we made these... chewy on the inside, c ..read more

I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Things to Bake. And there are many many things to bake in this world. Usually I just land up baking the tried and tested, because I don't have time for untried and untested.  But sometimes I do.  For last weeks class, I made  chocolate and raspberry panna cotta. The plan B if those weren't a success was this chocolate babka - a recipe that I'd pinned a while back. So, I'm sorry last-week's-ladies ... if you'd rejected the panna cotta, you'd have had the opportunity to sample this instead. And you really should try it - I don't care who you are o ..read more

My mother was from a generation when you had to own a cheese platter and a punch bowl if you entertained.  Cheese platters have been replaced by beautiful organic cheese boards, but if a flat, round, frosted glass plate came to mind when I first mentioned  "cheese platter" - you're probably a child of the 70's like me!   So, when was the last time you had punch out of a punch bowl?!At a retro party perhaps. Although, "retro" now means 80's, doesn't it - we'll have to start saying vintage parties to mean the 70's!  Anyway... the point is, if you've had a beautiful glass punch bowl h ..read more