Food and Drink
Showing posts with label Food and Drink. Show all posts

Everything Is Better With Cake

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For those that red my blog regularly will know that one of little J's first clear words was 'Cake' Now we weren't sure whether it was just a word he had heard, found easy to say or whether he does actually love cake. Well we have soon realised he does actually love cake.

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Spooky Ghost Cake Pops Recipe

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Disclosure - We went sent ingredients to try out this recipe. Any thoughts and opinions are our own. 

We love baking and we recently tried this fun recipe to make Spooky Ghost Cake Pops. They are perfect for Halloween or a rainy day activity to do with the kids. 

ghost pops
SPOOKY GHOST CAKE POPS

Preparation time: 2 hours plus cooling and chilling

Cooking time: 40 minutes plus 10 minutes to melt 2 lots of chocolate

Ingredients

For the cake balls
120g Cocoa Extra Dark Fine Cooks Chocolate
150g soft unsalted butter at room temp
200g Light Muscovado Sugar
3 medium free range eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp Madagascan Vanilla extract

For the cake pops:
2 X 100g bags White Chocolate Chips melted for sticking the balls onto the sticks & coating the cake pops
Teaspoon of vegetable oil

To decorate the ghosts:
1 x  pack of Dr. Oetker White Regal Ice
Icing sugar for rolling out
Dr. Oetker White Designer Icing for sticking the regal ice to the cake pops
Dr. Oetker Jet Black Gel Food Colour.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 140°C (275°F, gas mark 1). Grease and line an 18cm (7 inch) square cake tin.

To make the fudge brownie mix melt the extra dark chocolate in a microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted,  or in a heat proof bowl on a gentle heat over a bain marie. Leave to cool.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand beater for approx. 2 minutes until pale and fluffy. If you haven’t got an electric mixer you can do this with a wooden spoon in a bowl .

TIP: if you are in a rush or the butter is quite cold, the addition of a couple of tablespoons of boiling water at this stage, beaten on slow until mixed will speed up this process.

Add your eggs on a slow speed about a third at a time, mixing until combined.

Add your cooled chocolate stirring continuously.  Add the vanilla Extract and stir. On slow speed mix in the flour until just combined. Do not over beat. Alternatively fold in by hand.

Pour the mix into your cake tin and bake for approx 40 mins. Check it with a sharp knife or metal skewer. You want this to be slightly under baked, so the knife should come out pasty, with a nice paste on the knife.

Leave to cool, then turn out into a bowl and crumble with your hands to fine fudgy crumb.

To make the cake balls, take a handful of fudge cake mix and squeeze together tightly - you are aiming for little balls about the size of a large walnut, approx. 30g each. If the mixture is dry, the addition of a little chocolate or vanilla butter cream will help the mixture stick

Once you have all of your balls ready, dip the end of your stick into the melted chocolate chips  and push the stick into each ball, about half way in. Hold the ball to stop it splitting open when the stick goes in

Once all the cake pops are ready, refrigerate them for 1-2 hours before dipping them, or pop into the freezer for 30 mins, so the balls are firm enough to hold when dipping in the coating

To coat the cake pops melt Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks White Chocolate on low power in a microwave bowl until just melted -  stirring occasionally.

Plunge each cake pop into the chocolate coating until completely covered. Tap the cake pop gently on the side of the bowl to shake off the excess. Once all are covered, dip each cake pop again

To decorate the ghosts roll out half the white regal icing into a large rectangle using plenty of icing sugar and a large plastic rolling pin. Roll fairly thinly – 2 to 3mm thick. Squeeze a little Dr. Oetker White Designer Icing onto the tops of the cake pops or brush with some melted white chocolate, to aid sticking of the sugar paste

Using a cake cutter or small bowl, cut out circles of regal icing and place on each of the pops, smoothing down with your fingers to create the white sheet effect. Allow a little wavy movement by using your fingers to create smooth.

Give them a try and we would love to see your creations. Tag us on socials @PlaydaysRunways.

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Michelle

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Chang to get the season started.

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As the football season has just begun the boys have gone football mad well Everton mad to be precise. Both Daddy and big J are big Everton Fans and have just purchased the new kits and Daddy has been enjoying the Everton sponsor Chang beer.
 
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I'm a #MorrisonsMum Thanks To BritMums | AD

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Disclosure - We were gifted £80 Morrisons vouchers for the purpose of this post.

£80 morrisons vouchers
I was so thrilled and honoured last week when BritMum's made me a Morrisons Mum. I was so excited when I opened my envelope and inside was a lovely letter telling me I had been chosen. Enclosed was £80 worth of vouchers for me to spend on May Bank Holiday Weekend.
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April 2014 Degustabox Review

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Degustabox
 We used to be quite adventurous when it came to food shopping but we now tend to buy the same items each week and it has become quite boring.  Receiving a monthly food and drink subscription box over the last few months has introduced us to lots of new brands and tastes. Aprils Degustabox arrived and there was plenty of treats for us to enjoy.
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Nakd Selection Box Review

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

Nakd selection box including mixed bars
I have seen Nakd bars in the supermarket when looking at the 'free from' ranges and I always think if they don't have something included like gluten or dairy then they probably won't taste nice. I was so wrong because after trying Nakd bars over the last week I can honestly say that they are actually really tasty.
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March 2014 Degustabox Review

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated.

open degustabox
Last week we got a lovely delivery from Degustabox. Big J was quick to tell me that 'degusta' means
'tasting' and so we had been sent a tasting box.
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Tucking In To A SugarPoke Treat

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

I love finding fun and quirky presents for all sorts of occasions especially the upcoming Mothers Day. I spend hours looking on the internet for companies that have great gift ideas and recently I found one Sugarpoke
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Nom Nom Kids Reusable Pouch Review

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own. 

Little J loves his fruit and yoghurts but when you're out and about it can be a pain if he doesn't finish one and wants the rest later. I usually throw half pots away because they cant be stored in my changing bag. This means more expense because I end up buying another later on. When little J was given the chance to try out Nom Nom Kids reusable pouches I was excited and eager to try them out.

When they arrived I knew instantly little J would love them. They are so colourful with animals design. They looked just the right size too for little hands :)

 
I decided to fill little J's with yoghurt and I am glad to say its really easy. There is a zip lock seal along the side which I opened and spooned in the yoghurt. I closed the zip seal and gave it to little J. You can either give it to your child to use direct or you could squeeze into a bowl or on a spoon.

He instantly put it to his mouth and began to suck. The yoghurt flowed easily and there was no mess at all.

 When it got towards the end of the yoghurt I did help him squeeze some towards the top. Once he had finished I washed it out, it looked brand new again.

On the back is a place for you to write your child's name, date, what's inside and also tick boxes which would be perfect if in nursery or school.

The pouches have been to the park with us this week and have been squashed and squeezed but bounce back to like new.

Each Nom Nom Kids Resuable Pouch is...
Easy to fill and clean
Dishwasher Safe
Freezer Safe
BPA, phthalate and PVC free
To heat just stand in hot water

You can purchase Nom Nom Kids reusable pouches by visiting Amazon

Pouches are currently priced at £2.95 each or 3 for £6.95

Michelle
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