From my heart to your tummy.

Time for cake, Gromit

2012-01-29T18:30:00.005Z

I made this cake at the start of January, but had totally forgotten about it until today! I know, how could I forget such a cute face!

This cake is the Baz special, and for his 30th birthday I just had to make a cake of his favourite cartoon character, Gromit! It's a coffee sponge with coffee icing in various colours, with smarties for his eyes.

WOOF <3

PS health watch: Ran 8 k
Bike 14 k
Weekly total 22 k, and on track for my 1000k this year!

<3

week 3

2012-01-24T19:30:00.002Z

Stats: Ran 7 k (shite)
Cycled 20 k (deadly)

Total, 27 k! Not too shabby for my 1st full week back at college!
66k total this year.
<3

Week two, run to butter!

2012-01-14T14:45:00.008Z

This week has proved slightly more challenging in that I'm back at work, so I did my best to fit in the k's where I could!

Talley:
Ran 15 k
Bike 7 k

Total this week:22k! Total thus far, 39k.

Not too shabby! Although the copious amounts of alcohol and chipper on Saturday night may have cancelled out some of my efforts, dont think you'd see Rocky eating garlic chips at 4 am (although he could suprise you!)

<3

1000 k starts here.

2012-01-08T23:07:00.003Z

I know this little corner of the interweb is generally filled with hearts and butter and whimsy, but I have decided to introduce a new feature! Those who know me best know that I run best when it is a run towards butter, so this will not be entirely unfitting for this blog. Last year I decided to run a 10k for the Cancer Society, as it is a cause very close to my heart, and thanks to the generosity of my friends raised 630 euro! It took countless training runs (often accompanied by males much taller than myself to force me to get my arse moving) so thanks to Brendan Baz and Dave for all the training runs.

Without a goal I am a lost otter floating at sea, because, I am a competitive lunatic. This time I compete not with cancer, but with myself ;) So my goal for 2012? Complete 1000 kilometres. I want this to mainly be running, but I'm allowing myself to add in the aul stationary bike for when it's snowing/generally horrendous outside.

My weekly tally; Week 1 of 52:
Ran: 10 k
Cycled: 7k
Total: 17k
Since I spent the 1st 3 days of the week on holiday, eating basically everything, I am happy with the start! I'll post my progress here to keep me on track.

THERE IS NO TOMORROW!

Biscuit tree insanity

2011-12-20T17:09:00.006Z

Coz I'm a poet and I know it! Now, it has been brought to my attention that not everyone loves cake, and that my proposal of "heart-enomics" instead of economics, whereby everyone barters goods and services for cake, may not please the whole world (weirdos)!

One such freak happens to be someone very close to me (who luckily has an abundance of redeeming qualities) so instead of a cake, I fashioned him a Christmas tree from biscuits!

It took 4 hours, a lot of flour, a lot of cursing, a mucky phone, and icing EVERYWHERE, but it looks almost like it was made by a grown up!

<3

Is is a branch? Is it a tree? NO, it's a cake ya weirdo!

2011-12-20T17:01:00.007Z

Happy festive season everyone, I hope you are all relaxing and indulging in festive cheer! Thanks to the abundance of college-is-ridiculous I've had this year, my festive baking is a little more restrained and time limited, but here is the result of a days hard toil in the kitchen!

And little severed snowman heads which will come in useful later in the week (in a non-serial killer manner of course)

Holiday hearts! <3

Christmas wishes!

2011-12-10T08:36:00.006Z

Dear Santy,

Please can I have peace on earth. LOL joking, can I have ALL of these lovely things?

Ring, Argos

Penguins, ETSY

Ring, Arogos

Owl, ETSY

Owl, ETSY

Penguin, ETSY

Gift Voucher, Buff Day Spa

Owls, ETSY

Penguins, ETSY

Vintage leather driving gloves, ETSY

Feathers, ETSY

Feathers, ETSY

Penguins, ETSY
I have (mostly) been a good girl this year (we all have minor indiscresions *cough-Captain Morgans*) and would like some treats.

Thaaaaaaaaanks!

All Hallows Eve?More like Feck Off.

2011-11-01T17:50:00.005Z

To say I hate Halloween would be like saying that Eskimo's hate the sun. IT REPELS ME. I have no idea what fun is to be had with all the scary costumes, shenanigans, loud noises, and taking sweets of strangers (who might well be serial killers merely waiting for a plump child to land on their doorstep).

I do however love Autumn with it's lovely trees,mittens on a string, hot chocolate, and impending Christmas season.

The only way to celebrate this love hate relationship?

Baking gluten free biscuits in Hallows Eve shapes. Adding a bit of milk to make them more mouldable is as scary as I'm willing to go (the curse of the dairies?).

Now that bloody "holiday" is over with, roll on Santy!

<3

Pingu!

2011-09-30T17:24:00.004+01:00

Penguins are awesome.

Novelty cakes are awesome.

Novelty penguin cakes from an in-joke are awesome.

The rare times I can be artistic enough to make a cake that actually resembles what it's meant to are awesome.

Bren is awesome.

Enough said!

Happy birthday <3

Birthday biscuit bowls!

2011-09-30T17:17:00.005+01:00

After feeling inspired my the lovely Laura and Dave, and seeing how Bren is King of all the biscuits, it was only logical that for his birthday I would attempt an amazing treat.

Enter biscuit bowls! Granted, they were a tiny bit of a bodge (like their baker really) but were perfectly proportioned to house Rolo's.

Also on the menu were random shortbread with the added Bren burn (ie I bake them til they are perfect, then charr the feck out of them for an extra 5 mins while cringing silently that they are NO LONGER PERFECT- hey, what the birthday boy wants, he gets!)

I attempted shapes, then gave up after three. It's too bloody slow! In the mix was a dinosaur (a long neck :) ) a teddy bear, and a rocket (or as Bren guessed, "It's either a Christmas tree or a cock". Lovely stuff.)

Happy birthday!

They call me mellow lemon...

2011-09-19T17:50:00.004+01:00

Lemon cake is a classic in my house, with a recipe passed down from my Grandmother. I love making batches of these lemon cakes, and generally make three at a time (the logic being "sure feck it the oven's on anyway like").

For this particular one I decided to decorate a tad more inventively than I normally do for a family dinner time cake, and lashed on some sugared lemons and oranges.

This cake is light, airy and moist, and can win over even the most hardened cake dislikers (Alex, I'm talking to you! The only one I have ever shared this recipe with :) )

<3

Do you love anyone enough to give them your last rolo (biscuit)

2011-09-19T17:30:00.007+01:00

Ah biscuits. The ultimate comfort food, especially when accompanied by a cup of tea and a cuddle. Long time readers may remember my Biscuit Challenge last year, where I made Bren a new type of biscuit every single month for the year (and let me tell you, it's bloody hard to keep coming up with new recipes without descending into raisin sodden, ginger infused pieces of crap).

Alas, with that challenge completed, I have not made as many biscuits this year, a lazy habit I want to break. So this morning, I woke up with a whole day in front of me with no work to do, and decided to bake one of the winners of the Biscuit Challenge; Rolo Cookies!

Especially yummy when they burst; oozing hot caramel and cold hard calories.

They were safely handed over to Bren fresh out of the oven, begging the question of who will get the last Rolo?...

<3

Super cake.

2011-09-12T18:07:00.004+01:00

What better way to forget the bad things happening in the world than to don a ridiculous costume, eat a copious amount of barbequed deliciousness, and finish things off nicely with a mound of cake?

I personally became WonderWoman, sadly without the Lasso of Truth! Sometimes I would love super powers to help me balance college, placement, work, friends, family and health, but alas, a stars and stripes skirt and a black curly wig are as far as I've managed to get!

The cake was a simple chocolate tray bake, with lashings of blue buttercream icing. NOM.

<3

Jender and cakes

2011-08-21T19:22:00.008+01:00

My amazing friend Niall is currently fundraising for a massive cycle down to Electric Picnic, in aid of Temple Street Children's Hospital!

Despite my absolute, all consuming hatred of cyclists (as someone who drives, runs, and merely goes about my business) I decided not to begrudge sick kids (too much anyway!)

Part of Niall's plan for fundraising involves a table quiz, for which he asked me to bake some prizes! (and none of that GF shite either, I'm talking full fat, full buttery amazingness).

Topped with jender appropriate cake flags. Even if I personally would prefer a pirate cake (which brings me back to the days of jender stereotyped Happy Meals; the boys toy was ALWAYS better!)

I hope the lucky winners enjoy their nom!

If anyone has any extra cash, to sponsor Niall head to http://www.mycharity.ie/event/nialltourdepicnic where it's super easy to sponsor 2 euro :)

<3

Recovery Pizza

2011-08-21T13:35:00.007+01:00

After the assault on my body and sanity that was the 10 mile race, I needed an epic foods binge!

After I wept, had a bath and a mini nap, I was ready to start cooking! Thank addidas for my cooking partner in crime, who was on hand to help me make quite a fiddly dinner!

We made homemade pizza dough (GF, dairy free, egg free, topped with tomato sauce and GF sausages and rashers!!) The second pizza was topped with ham and pineapple ('cause 1 pizza just wasnt enough!)

Also in the mix was garlic bread! Not completely homemade, but I bought GF bread and with the help of Bren mixed garlic cloves and olive oil into the bread and grilled it.

NOM NOM NOM!!

....and no, I won't be running that much ever again. Just, no.

<3

THIS IS MADNESS

2011-08-19T22:46:00.003+01:00

Tomorrow I will get up at 7, shimmy into some lyrcra, have a bowl of porridge then drive to Phoenix Park to run/walk/crawl/cry my way through a 10 mile race.

Anyone who knows me knows I am an insanely competitive lunatic, and signed up for this race while still pumped from my 10k in the summer!

Anyone who has known me for longer than 6 years will also remember that I was the least fit person ever, whose idea of exercise was to shuffle around the field in school avoiding the dreaded basketball games in PE (hey, that sport broke my bloody leg ok?!)

So tomorrow is a challenge.

I have only ever run 8 miles before, at which point I wanted to lie down and weep!

I'm hoping thoughts of Rocky will keep me going, along with help from the friends I am running with, and thoughts of the pizza that awaits me on Saturday night.

Wish me luck!

See you on the other side! *

*if found weeping in Phoenix park, please return to somewhere with a lot of foods.

<3

Banana bread!

2011-08-02T20:46:00.006+01:00

Because I'm currently training for a 10 mile race (which is 16 looong kilometres let me bloody tell you) I'm always starving these days! Despite my general belief that fruit and baking do not mix and crucially SHOULD not mix, I decided to try out a new recipe.

Enter banana bread! Now, I'm generally not a huge fan of bananas (mainly because they smell and get smushed up in your bag; anyone who ever had their precious "Less Stress More Success" pass maths book covered in yellow goo will understand) but i effing LOVE bread. LOVE IT. To the extent that I sometimes just smell in longingly. Which isn't serial killer esque at all. *Ahem*

So this version is a special one, in that it is egg, dairy, wheat and gluten free (which is usually code for "shite") but alas, it was an amazing success! Dense but moist (da DA), very bready, and no mush in sight!

I'm just home from a 5k sprint, and nanar bread awaits me.

Hearts!
<3

Three's.

2011-07-17T10:55:00.010+01:00

I haven't been able to cook or bake anything of interest lately, as my home is still populated almost entirely by builders who gain great joy out of breaking our oven/pipes/general wellbeing!

So I thought a random post was in order :)

3 ways I'm still a kid...
1) I love Disney and all things related to it. Seriously. I'd take Eurodisney over pretty much any other European destination, and have given some thought to one day running the Disney marathon. Dressed as a Princess. YES.

2) I would rather eat a novelty cake or cupcake than any sort of grown up dessert.

3) I still get so excited about Christmas that I can't sleep the night before, and think that one of the reasons I'm happiest about moving out is so I can have my very own Xmas tree.

3 ways I'm a grown up...
1) Eh, just finished 1st year of a doctorate

2) I am moving out! To make my way in the big bad world and survive mostly off baked beans I'd wager, thanks to the no-monies.

3) I love spending time alone, at home or in coffee shops! Sometimes I like to lack the yaps.

3 things I want to do
1) Travel extensively!

2) Live with the dream team!

3) Do a half or full marathon

3 reasons I'm actually a man

1) I am insanely competitive. And like to cover it up by acting cute so no one suspects a thing...

2) I like man films! Die Hard, the Bond Films, cheesy 80's action films FTW.

3) I eat more than the men in my house. MORE.

3 reasons I am actually a girl
1)I love love <3

2) And bunting and tea sets and playtime and teddy bear otters

3) And I love a good cry. Especially when followed by tea, a hug, and a biscuit.

3 things I want to try in the next 3 months
1) Living away from home for the 1st time, and surviving!

2) Going away for a weekend with the lads

3) Hosting a tea party!

3 things I like about myself
1)That I'm like a dog with a bone when I want something! (woof woof)

2) That I am an all or nothing type of person. Which can be a massive inconvenience but also means I tend to win at things.

3) That I am a good friend (not to toot my own horn) and an excellent hug monger.

3 of my everyday essentials

1) Love <3

2) Tea

3) At least 5 meals.

3 things that scare me

1)Completing a doctoral thesis!

2) Blood tests *shudder*

3) Animals that act in an erratic manner (I'm talking to you, daddylonglegsees :(

Far too much info :)

<3

Vegan and wheat free cake and cupcakes

2011-07-02T14:25:00.003+01:00

Because I refuse to go without some delicious noms in my life, I need to be a little bit creative. Egg substitute, vegan spread and wheatfree flour are the basis of this chocolate tray bake and cupcakes!!

The imposter-butter-cream is totally delicious, and I'm fairly sure I wouldn't be able to taste the difference between that and real buttercream! (until my throat started to swell that is ;) )

Decorated with hearts and stars :)

<3

Spicy chicken and veg

2011-06-29T17:50:00.004+01:00

Peppers, courgette, chicken, and a feckload of spices over rice.

Who said healthy living cant be NOM NOM NOM?

<3

Potato bread binge!

2011-06-29T17:41:00.004+01:00

I love potato bread. Nothing chases off an 80's music inspired hangover better than a mega fry completed with the spuds of the just!

Unluckily for me, spud bread has all sorts of delicious things in it that would cause me to clutch my tummy in a comical manner.

Luckily for me, I have a Brendan :) who is willing to experiment and make me the ultimate wheat and dairy free potato bread!

It was bloody amazing!

*runs to frying pan*

<3 <3

Return to childhood

2011-06-20T17:38:00.003+01:00

Ah being a young 'un. I rmember the days of reading Roald Dahl books with wide eyes, and playing Stuck in the Mud repeatedly...I also remember the amazing foods of course!

I loved and continued to love chicken nuggets. So I decided to whip up a healthy dairy and wheat free version!

Using Cornflakes.
Oh yes.

They were amazingly crunchy and tastey, the only complaint being that I should have made more!

The meal was topped off with Rice Crispie treats, as (dairy free) butter and sugar combined symbolise the ultimate taste of my youth <3

Thank you cupcakes!

2011-06-05T12:26:00.003+01:00

These thank you cupcakes were made for my wonderful friends on placement, but I would like to use this post to say a big thank you to all the wonderful people around me!

My lovely partner and best friends for all their support, love and laughter, all my amazing sponsers for the marathon tomorrow, my fantastic classmates for getting me through the year, and all the other people who know I heart them

<3 Thank you <3

Wheat,yeast,dairy and egg free birthday!

2011-06-05T12:08:00.005+01:00

As if I haven't had enough brain things to be doing, now the challenge is upon me to figure out how to have my cake and eat it, without feeling horrendously sick afterwards thanks to numerous food inconveniences!

But who ever said that I couldn't make JUST ABOUT ANYTHING taste delicious?

As I celebrated my quarter century (*shudders*) I concocted my first ever vegan and celiac friendly baked goods! The cake was meant to be a Victoria Sponge. Despite ACTUALLY following a recipe which I never do, it was a total fail!

MMMMM what a lovely flat cake ;)

The cupcakes however were only bloody amazing. So much so that even the builders who are currently destroying/renovating my house kept coming back for more! ("I SAID ONE CUPCAKE YOU GREEDY GITS!")

Alas, even the dairy free "buttercream" or "impostercream" if you will was amazing.

Jen wins.

Take that evil dairy and wheat!

<3

Wedding bells

2011-05-27T22:57:00.014+01:00

You know you're officially getting old when friends start heading down the aisle! Imagine my delight at being asked to make the wedding cupcakes for my friend and classmate Eme. Being the ultimate purveyer of hearts as I am, this job was extremely fitting!

I bought beautiful embossed red cases, and tiny little sugar hearts.

I spent hours painstakingly icing, to the extent that I now possibly have the girliest injury ever.

Repetitive Strain Injury Induced by Piping.

It's this Jeneration's silent killer.

A toast to the happy couple, Congratulations and a million hearts :)

<3

Quite possibly my least healthy concoction ever.

2011-05-12T19:29:00.000+01:00

Now lets be honest. I am hardly a beacon of healthy living, thanks to my philosophy of calories out (go for a run), calories in (eat a slice of cake). But even I was somewhat appalled/oddly proud at this concoction. Now it has come to my attention that not everyone in the world likes traditional cake! Heathens if you ask me, but sadly the days of burning said people at the stake are long gone. So I decided to make a chocolate biscuit cake with a twist!

Lesson one. I hate rich tea biscuits, which all biscuit cake recipes use. Solution? Proper digestives.

Lesson two. I also hate the flavour off Golden Syrup. It's mank. Solution? Use a tin of horrendously fattening condensed milk.

Lesson three. There is no cake that cannot be improved with the addition of a load of Penguin bars.

Lesson four. Ditto marshmallows.

The outcome? A cake that was made up of a huge amount of chocolate, condensed milk, digestives, marshmallows and crumbled Penguin bars. Taste? FANTASTIC. Quite the sugar rush, which means the only thing to do is keep eating it on a continuous basis. Hair of the dog style. More accurately, hair of the penguin.

<3

Rainbow Brite

2011-05-08T12:59:00.006+01:00

Does anyone else remember Rainbow Brite?

She was my absolute idol as a childer. I decided to make a rainbow cake for Jo in order to recreate our distant youth! :)

It didnt turn out quite as planned as my purple food colouring totally failed on baking!

It was a plain sponge cake, sandwiched with LOTS of butter, divided into 3 portions before baking, and with a load of food colouring fecked in.

Yesterdays Cake Cafe visit was a mere warm up for the gigantic sponge.

Happy birthday Jo, you're the best :) <3

Travel Dreams

2011-04-25T13:07:00.015+01:00

I love to travel. My happiest and most memorable times have been on holidays, both exotic and hellish! When I went interailing a few years ago, we had 2 hospital visits, no money, and a few dodgy encounters with drug addled hostel owners. When in Berlin two years ago we stayed in a padlocked cell with a matress that was broken by a mere octopus impression. New York was an amazing whirlwind, made all the more ridiculous by the fact there was only a hotel for one person paid for- cue Jen hiding in the bathroom at length!

My travelling days have definately been paused of late due to college fees and a lack of funds! But I have a lot of dreams, and a lot of plans....

My dream travel list!
1) Road trip around America

2) San Fransisco

3) Vegas

4) New York

5) Vancouver

6) Quebec

7) Athens

8) Some lovely Greek island

9) Norway

10)Iceland

11)Japan

12)Jamaica or similar place where I can drink Pina Coladas out of a coconut shells

13) Oz

14)New Zealand

15)China

16)Cruise

17)India

18)Russia

They're just the main ones! Donations accepted to the travel fund ;)

Dreams and plans are what get me through the boring jobs and essays, so I plan to keep dreaming!

xxx

100th post!

2011-04-24T21:30:00.007+01:00

Wow, I didn't realise how many insanities I had put out there into the online world, I'm strangely proud! As pride apparently precedes a fall, I may as well throw in a delicious cake picture to taunt ye gods of baking karma.

Yep, it's a three layered lemon cake! Look familiar? This one differs substantially from the last in that it features merely one Easter chick, not a flock.

It consists of three thin layers of moist lemon sponge, sandwiched with lemon butter cream and decorated with a sense of whimsey. What in life cannot be improved upon with the addition of sugar decorations? I DON'T WANT A WORLD LIKE THAT THANKS.

It's also for mammy heart2tummy, happy birthday mom! Shared birthday with the Easter bunny, what a win.

xxx

Easter Chicks!

2011-04-22T16:21:00.008+01:00

What's the best way to make a Friday good? Sacrifice yourself for the sins of humanity, or bake a giant cake?

Hmmm.

Enter a three layered lemon cake, with a layer of lemon curd and a layer of lemon buttercream, covered in MORE lemon buttercream!

And little chicks :)

And mini eggs (just to add that touch of decadence)

Then to top everything off, I hand made a little chocolate bunny rabbit, which is (almost) too cute to eat! Not that that's ever deterred me...

Wishing you all a very happy holy weekend full of cake

<3

What a star.

2011-04-18T18:54:00.004+01:00

Ah 21st birthdays. I remember mine like it was yesterday, despite now approaching the ol quarter century! So you'll have to excuse me while I cry into the mirror while looking for grey hairs and signs of a quarter aged spread. STILL. I have to say I'm happier now then when I was 21 and merely a nipper, as now I'm surrounded by total besties and there is a whole lotta love in my life, and I'm not just talking from my Led Zep playlist. But I digress.

I like to think of Helen as my honoroury younger sister, mainly because I like to believe someone might look up to me instead of shaking their heads in a somewhat bemused way (hi friends!) So for her 21st, I painstakingly crafted a star out of 4 cakes (yes 4. Don't ask. I really do make things hard on myself!) then filled the cake with jam and buttercream, before icing it with (surprise surprise), MORE butter cream.

I also made little cupcakes and mini stars to feed the sheer amount of people at her shindig.

Happy Birthday Helen!
xxx

Lady and the tramp, or how all good food is linked to love.

2011-04-10T23:21:00.006+01:00

Continuing on with my dinner challenge, and my absurd level of prioritising foods over college work, I decided to make meatballs! Thanks to Jo for a delicious recipe :)

I didn't take any proper photos as they were in my tummy too quickly, but dinner consisted of delicious moist and tender beef meatballs, in a tomato sauce, served with spaghetti and garlic bread (just in case anyone felt carb deficient after eating half a pack of pasta- what can I say, I like Jenerous portions!)

I didn't share my bowl though. Sharing a single strand of spaghetti ala Disney may look romantic, but alas my hygiene fears could not allow such insanity.

<3

Coz sometimes one biscuit just won't suffice.

2011-03-26T14:24:00.003Z

One cookie? Mere snack food, practically diet friendly. A cookie within a cookie on the other hand? YES.

As a renowned fattie, of course I decided to try the double pleasure cookie. I got Oreo's (well actually, the Superquin own brand rip off version-student life means sacrifice) and made a feckload of cookie dough mixed with Penguin bars!

Why Penguins?

Why not!

Wrapped said dough around the fake Oreo's (or Foreo's if you will), baked till gooey, then they were in my tummy.

NOM

<3

SNAUSAGES

2011-03-07T18:28:00.003Z

Does anyone else remember the dog who used to say "snausages?" or has college made me insane?!

The cooking challenge continues. So far every month has involved sausages, the healthiest of all the meats!

This was a chorizo medley, with sliced chorizo, loads of veg, and homemade sweet potatoe wedges. Healthy for the amount of veg? Unhealthy because of the oil and meat? WHO CARES WHEN IT TASTES THIS NOM :)

<3

Cupcakes and Sponges.

2011-03-07T18:09:00.004Z

Can't think of a wittier title than that! These are coffee flavoured cupcakes with my super secret vanilla buttercream icing, decorated with Smarties, as only they have the answer as we are all aware.

Following a recent visit to The Cake Cafe, where I tried their victoria sponge (read: stole a forkful of Jo's cake), I felt I could do better! Mainly as their version was filled with cream. Which I hate. Dont even get me started on the evils of cream. Seriously, just freeze it to make a Ben and Jerry's Core Sundae or something, dont just leave it as thick milk :(

So my version involves BUTTERCREAM!

I know, shocker right?

Two vanilla sponge cakes sandwhiched together with jam (with no lumpy bits) and vanilla buttercream.

WIN.

<3

Growns ups!

2011-02-26T14:32:00.005Z

As Niall has finally abandoned me in the little corner of the country I call home (and more often, I call a massive inconvenience) I am now begrudgingly enduring many a bus journey home alone. I am delighted for him to have finally escaped the shitty bus routes, knackers and people-getting-lost-to-the-wolves-on-way-to-house-parties debacles which go hand in hand with this neck of the woods!

So to celebrate his house warmimg party, I baked a cake :) No real surprise there. It's quite the child friendly caca full of smarties and marshmallows and butter oh my!

And it will no doubt toast a farewell to the current political debacles which make up our country.

Congrats Niall!

<3

Hearts all over the gaff.

2011-02-19T16:41:00.003Z

As I may have previously mentioned, I am broke. Depressingly so really. With no prospect of acquiring a bucketload of cash in the near future (although sugar mama/daddies are welcome to email ;) ) I have resorted to making gifts for the people in my life.

Cheap?
Yes.

Delicious?
Undoubtedly.

Hence this lovely cake, an extra-strength coffee sponge, smothered in coffee butter cream, and decorated with edible silver spray paint and Smarties.

Maybe the student life won't be so hard after all!

<3

Twix-cuits.

2011-02-19T16:32:00.004Z

Following on from my sucessful completion of The Biscuit Challenge in 2010, I no longer spend the end of every month scrabbling around recipe books like a starving racoon trying to find a cookie recipe that isn't, for want of a better word, shite.

Now I make biscuits at my leisure! These little beauties are following on from my Smarties and Rolo cookies, and comprise of cookie dough, a feckload of brown sugar, and a load of chopped up Twix's.

They were for Valentines Day. They were not heart shaped.

I have thus shamed myself.

<3

OMG ITS A HEART-A-CAKE!

2011-02-13T20:06:00.003Z

Come on. Did you really think I'd leave it at heart cupcakes? Of course not. Valentines day is the perfect excuse to eat. If you're single, its a healthy amount of comfort eating with friends, a bottle of wine, and a (non-weepy or romantic) movie. If you're loved up, a certain amount of weight gain is par for the course really (or that's my excuse anyway ;) )

So I have amazing customers who support my endeavours to get through college without resorting to starvation or selling myself, or worst of all, RETAIL. *shudder*. First up we have a blue heart cake! A tad unorthodox you might say, but being the horrifically bad catholic I am that's quite fitting really. Blue as some sort of "sports team" have a blue jersey *shrugs*. I just provide the butter. It was a coffee cake, covered in 3 layers of blue icing to get the colour right, and smarties. My hands are still blue as I type. Time to get out the white spirits again.

Next up we have a chocolate Malteaser cake! Because Malteasers are the lighter option. The tub of butter included in the cake doesn't count.

Now if you'l excuse me, I'm off to wash that blue right out of my hair! (and skin, jumper, kitchen table, boyfriend...)

<3

PIZZA

2011-02-13T15:37:00.008Z

As anyone who has seen me eat 3 dinners in one sitting will attest, I am a monster. Seriously. I think I can be grateful to my genes and fail health that I'm not a total gigantor at this stage!

As I am learning to cook properly, I decided to tackle pizza from scratch.

So I made the dough...

Then the sauce...

Then topped with sausage and rashers for my heart-attack pizza, and chicken and veg for my "healthy" (ahem) one!

Served with cornbread and butter.

Yes and yes!

cupcakes take the biscuit really.

2011-02-13T15:26:00.005Z

I love cupcakes. I love hearts. What better excuse than Valentines weekend to combine the two? Enter Malteaser marshmallow cupcakes. Coz just the one would practically be a diet food like.

I crushed up Malteasers and put them into the cupcake batter, and then baked them to perfection! I used my new piping set to slather them in butter, then decorated with mini marshmallows, Malteaser halves, and heart decorations!

Notice also the heart cupcake cases.

I may be insane.

Part of the charm really.

<3

CAKE-ENTINES DAY!

2011-02-06T16:19:00.004Z

They say the way to a man's heart is through his tummy. I say the way to a Jenefant's heart is via the same route!

The heart2tummy approach to Valentines Day cannot really be paralled. Nothing says "I love you", "I want to love you" or "I WANT TO BE ON YOU" more than a home-baked treat!

First off, we have heart shaped sugar cookies, 8 euro a batch (they take forever to make but are totally worth it!)

These bad boys are vanilla cookies iced with vanilla icing, sprinkled with pink sugar (less musical than the brown counterpart, but more fitting. If you do not understand this pun, get thee to the Rolling Stones greatest hits. Please. Don't embarrass yourself any further.

Also up for grabs are HEART CAKES! (€15)

Available in coffee or chocolate, these mega heart shaped cakes are a true delight. Pictures to follow when I am healthy enough to bake without needing to lean against the wall.

<3

Love is...

2011-02-06T16:04:00.004Z

Ah Valentines Day. I know this is one that divides people, and that so many people hate it! I of course, do not fall into this camp. Any holiday that encourages cuddles, cakes and love is pretty damn ok with me!

So to me, love is...

Someone who will keep you company at the doctors, and bring you food so you dont faint!

Someone who drives you to work then gives you a treat bag to make the day less shit

Someone who sends a get well card and chocolate when you're sick

Someone who comes all the way into town to meet you for the college lunch hour, bringing Malteasers and a hug.

Someone who invites you to their house to get rip-roaringly drunk, then puts you to bed and walks you home the very next day.

Someone who invites you to boys nights so you dont miss you friends

Someone who is there for you, whether it's to cry, to have fun, or to eat cake!

So just to say, even though Valentines Day is made for lovers, this is not exclusive! The love of my friends and partner are so important to me, so I encourage you all to celebrate this Valentines Day with the people you love, whether they're friends, family, a partner, or at a drunken wine-fest in the student bar.

<3 <3 <3

Friendship

2011-01-30T22:04:00.008Z

As you all know by now, I can best be described as being a bag of curvy cuddles. As you also know, I have the best friends in the world. Even though it's a total cliche, with the hell year I had last year, I have re-evaluated a lot of things in my life. I'm finally during the course I've always wanted, training for the job of my dreams, in an amazing relationship (<3), with a troupe of beautiful, hilarious, supoortive and honest friends.

Part of growing up and taking myself seriously as a woman and a professional has been to challenge my assertiveness. I've spent a lot of my life pandering to people, and forgiving people who really weren't deserving, because I thought I didn't deserve any better.

To use some psychological lingo to explain this, I say BULLSHIT! Look, I know we all try to go through life without ruffling too many feathers, and by being as compassionate to others as possible. I also know however, that life is tough! And the last thing we need is negative and undermining people around us.

Homework? Tell your close friends how much they mean to you.
Advanced homework? Be honest with that person who has most let you down. Free yourself to focus on those who really matter, those who make you smile, those who inspire and support, and those you know will always be an important part of your life.

<3

CREOLE!

2011-01-22T17:35:00.005Z

As I already consume an absurd (and whale-like if you will) amount of butter and sugar, I feel the next challenge is to learn to cook amazing delicious meals from scratch. Butter optional.

After seeing "The Princess and the Frog" with Aoife last year, I was inspired to try a southern dish! Enter Jambalaya, a delicious meat, rice, and veg stew.

I adapted the recipe as I hate seafood, apart from the "seeing food and eating it" variety, so mine was made with Chorizo, chicken, peppers, butternut squash, and broccoli. It was bloody amazing. Month one of my cooking challenge off to a good start!

<3

Happy Birthday to Niall...

2011-01-16T15:11:00.001Z

Niall represents not only one of my best customers, but also one of my very best friends. As I have a severe case of the "no monies", a baked present was in order to celebrate his youth or lack thereof.

Nothing says "I'm a responsible adult" like MARSHMALLOW CAKES!

Smooshy and delicious. Like their baker really.

Happy Birthday Ni! <3 xx

End of Christmas baking and some resolutions...

2011-01-16T14:21:00.004Z

Sad to say the Christmas season is over, and I somehow neglected to post up all the baking I did! So here's a little snapshot of...

A yummy Christmas hamper for Niall's family...

Christmas cookies...

A chocolate log...

Xmas pudding whoopie pies...

A coffee and smarties Christmas Tree!

I also finished the Biscuit Challenge! Ended on a high note with the Xmas pudding whoopie pies, the winner of the entire year's worth of baking was the Rolo bistcuits!

New years challenge? The dinner challenge! As I'm pretty good with the ol butter even if I do say so myself, every month this year I will be throwing a mini dinner party and trying out a new recipe for it. Stay posted for some potential amazingness and disaster!

Also to try? Soup and bread! I must master these.

<3's to all for 2011 <3

Come on Gromit...

2011-01-12T18:37:00.007Z

Time for tummies! Alas, the flu has claimed much of my Christmas holiday this year, and forced me to give my brother a non-character cake for his birthday last week. A situation I of course immediately had to rectify upon (near) recovery!

We love Wallace and Gromit in this house. The inventions, the wit, the cute characters, the CHEESE, W&G basically has it all!

So what better cake to fashion than Gromit, one ear cocked to listen out for mischief. Thanks to Brendan for drawing me a template as a guide, I was actually able to make quite a good fist (paw) of this!

His face is coffee cake, and his ears chocolate. Almost too cute to eat, but what mere obstacle has ever gotten in the way of me eating butter?

Happy Birthday Baz :)

<3 *woof* <3

This was the decade I...

2010-12-31T00:01:00.013Z

Changed utterly! I'm quite the lover of new years, as I like lists and plans and goals. I also like to take time to reflect upon the last 12 months, and it's highs, lows, and creamy middles. As this is also the end of the decade, I thought I might flash back to 2000 in the manner of a low budget movie montage. This was the decade I....

Was terrified that the world would end due to the Millenium Bug! (Yes, I think too much).

Did my Junior Cert!

Went to Delfi (Not the fancy mythology one of course, the lovely Mayo hellcamp)

Went abroad for the 1st time since Euro Disney aged 4!

Survived the Leaving Cert (nearly wasting away as a result but there ya go)

Went on a cruise!

Did a degree!

Went interailing!

Got my first jobs (which were, for the most part, AWFUL)

Became an Auntie!

Did a diploma!

Did a masters!

Fell in love <3

Got into a doctorate!

Started a blog!

Learned to cook and bake up a buttery storm!

Learned how to drive!

Along the way there have been extreme highs and lows. I have lost people I held dear to me, and life often seemed totally unfair. This year in particular has been both the best and worst year of my life. The mega highs of college wins and love and adventures came linked with the worst times of my 24 years thus far. I have learned so much about the people I truly love and hold dear to me, from the friends who offered love, hugs, lifts, invitations, movie nights, practical college help, and a million hearts in between. My impressions of people have certainly been challenged and enhanced, as those who I no longer feel close to slip away, and the people who showed their true awesome-ness become even more important to me.

So, I will certainly be delighted to toast the end of 2010 tomorrow in the company of my partner and friends, with a mug of pink champagne, a mouthful of pizza, and a heart full of love.

To those who we have lost, and those who we have found in this decade, CHEERS.

<3 <3 <3

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T23:19:00.007Z

Christmas is by far my favourite time of the year. I love an excuse to buy presents (months in advance of course!), bake loads of pretty nummy eats, and indulge in cuddles with my hearted ones.

As so many people are stuck in airports, and away from their loved ones, I have to say how glad I am that Aoife and Laura have made it home in one piece! Albeit after going through the kind of treks out of the UK that are reminiscent of a scene from "The Day After Tomorrow"!

My most important Christmas traditions?

1) That the 23rd is me and Brendan's own little Christmas day. Not even the snow could hamper us!

2) That there is a coffee Christmas tree cake. Ever since I was a Little'un this has been our cake of choice!

3) That we will always watch "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation" which is the funniest film I have ever seen, without question. And of course, Christmas film night with Jo, incorporating Die Hard and that russian Rocky movie.

4) That we all put our presents under the tree last thing at night on Christmas Eve!

5) That I will, without a shadow of a doubt, be the first person to wake up, hugely excited, and run in to my brothers room shouting "SANTY'S BEEN!"

Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope your days ahead are filled with love and butter.

<3

Quite the class act.

2010-12-21T21:37:00.006Z

Well, we have officially survived the first term, and are for the most part, still smiling. So what better way to thank my lovely class for all their support than with butter? One day I will learn of other gifts to give. One sad, lonely, bitter day. But for now, its time to get some fat on those hips! ...Yes I have been nicknames Tubsey (cheers Emma :P ) after years of being called "Tubby, Fatty Arbuckle, Tubsey Malone" etc by my ever supportive brother. How I don't have an eating disorder is anyones guess. As is my non-resemblance to a whale ("you ate HOW MANY DINNERS?!")

First up is a christmas tree cake for Kieron, chocolate with chocolate butter icing, decorated with smarties (coz my class are all very smart) and sugar decorations.

Next up is a chocolate log and cookies for Emma!

Snowman cupcakes for Kate :)

And because im just so JENerous, everyone also got a snowman cupcake, to stave off last minute essay printing munchies.

<3 to the Drs!

November biscuit of the month...

2010-12-21T18:53:00.005Z

Yes, it was a month late. But in my defense, the snow is silly and interferes with an awful lot of baked goods.

Biscuit of the month was shortbread rounds, iced with water icing.

Eaten before a picture could even be taken!

One month to go and the challenge will be complete...so here's a recap!

The winners are...
1) Rolo cookies!

2) Vanilla shortbread

3) Choc chip cookies!

4) MEGA NOMS

5) Vieneese if you please...

6) Smarties biscuits!

I am pleased not to have to keep trying new biscuits every month, as it's quite hard to keep finding different recipes without running the risk of ending up making raisin sodden pieces of crap.

Stay posted for Decembers special xmas biscuits!

<3

COOOOOOKIES

2010-12-14T19:35:00.003Z

Far be it for me to judge anyone, even every ones favourite heroin, I mean COOKIE addict. Cookies are a sometimes food? Sure, if by "sometime" you mean "at every meal time".

Cookies are for sale at this very spot, €5 a batch, for biscuits that DESTROY shop made alternatives.

Cookie dough also for sale, €5 for a generous tub.

Uses?
1) Eaten raw with a spoon and a sense of shame.
2) Baked freshly so your home smells like the Cookie Monsters Crack (Cookie) Den
3) Used to traumatise local children, "My house smells sooooo delicious but not for you. Silly scroungers".
4) Sneaked into exams for a sugar boost!
5)Mixed with smarties and ice cream for a mega dessert.
6) Given as a token of love to someone special. Just make sure you include a lighter

:)

<3

Another study day, another cupcake binge...

2010-12-12T13:35:00.003Z

Now that exam day is in T minus 3 days, OF COURSE I'm baking. Nothing makes a better study companion than a bowl of butter cream left over from icing 4 batches of cupcakes. It has the added bonus of giving me the hypers, which makes me all the more likely to revel in learning facts.

Also on the menu today was a mega chocolate cake! Not of the festive variety though. Every day is a cake day in the land of Heart 2 Tummy.

In other news, the Christmas tree biscuits from yesterday were brought to an XFactor party by my generous customer Niall, who understands that money can and should be exchanged for goods and services. I like to think that the party was full of drunken people screaming "YOU'RE A TERRIBLE PERSON AND HAVE A STUPID FACE" at Cher, with mouths full of biscuit.

I like to be a part of these judgemental and alcohol sodden events.

<3

Festive Baking!

2010-12-11T16:47:00.008Z

What better time to start a baking binge than the weekend before assignments and exams? Pfft I say, butter cures all ills, especially academic ones. I spent the morning baking mainly for my lovely customers, with a mini bowl of icing set aside for the baker of course. I was very lucky to have an assistant today, whose artistic abilities far excel my own! Hence the amazing lettering, if I had done it, I'm fairly certain it would have looked like a drunk and blind elephant (or jenefant if you will) had ravaged said cake.

I made a delicious and MASSIVE chocolate log, filled with chocolate butter cream and iced accordingly. I will post reviews from my lovely customer as soon as they have recovered from the inevitable butter coma.

Also on the agenda was festive biscuits, this time Xmas tree vanilla cookies iced with water icing, presented in little gift bags.

A gigantic chocolate Christmas tree made of approximately two thirds icing one third cake was also lovingly created, along with a plain chocolate log.

Yes, I will be baking all day tomorrow.

The plan? Write my exam on a gigantic biscuit. Who could resist my charms?

<3s to my amazing customers :)

Santa Claus is coming to town (and is bringing BUTTER)

2010-12-04T18:14:00.007Z

The Heart2Tummy Christmas shop is officially open!

Christmas Tree Cake available in coffee, chocolate, vanilla and lemon flavours €12.

Set of 4 Snowman Cupcakes €5.

Chocolate Log filled with your choice of vanilla or chocolate buttercream €10.

Novelty Christmas biscuit €5 per batch.

Also coming soon, edible Christmas cards €5 each! Good for environments and tummies.

Hampers available containing a chocolate log, set of snowman cupcakes, novelty biscuits and a delicious surprise for only €20.

Batches of cookie dough €5, to be eaten raw or freshly baked :)

I'm practically being Jesus here people.

Hearts to all!

Xmas treats for sale!

2010-12-03T19:35:00.006Z

Mini chocolate cupcakes iced in chocolate buttercream served in a vintage teacup €10.

Christmas tree cake available in coffee/chocolate/vanilla and lemon flavours €12 including giftwrapping.

Bow cakes available in chocolate/vanilla/coffe and lemon flavours €5 for 3 individually wrapped.

Store!

2010-12-03T19:33:00.002Z

Hi all,

If you're looking to give someone a homemade present this christmas, it's jen to the rescue!

There is something to suit all budgets, from Secret Santa cupcakes up to novelty character cakes. Details below!

Email heart2tummy@gmail.com for information :)

<3

Cupcakes €5 for 4.

2010-12-03T19:18:00.007Z

Chocolate and vanilla panda bears with Malteaser ears and chocolate faces.

Malteaser cupcakes.

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream icing.

Mini chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing, served in a vintage teacup and saucer (€10).

Character cakes €12-€20 depending on difficulty.

2010-12-03T19:11:00.006Z

Christmas tree, coffee, chocolate or vanilla with buttercream icing €12

Chocolate whale with vanilla icing €20

Chocolate fudge base with vanilla icing and popcorn €20

Lemon/chocolate/vanilla cake with buttercream and marshmallows €20

Chocolate fudge base with vanilla buttercream and marshmallows €20

Lemon/vanilla/chocolate cake with buttercream and Smarties €15

Chocolate/vanilla/lemon castle cake with buttercream and decorations €20

Cakes- €10 per cake.

2010-12-03T19:05:00.007Z

Coffee cakes, chocolate cakes, victoria sponge cakes, lemon cakes and more available!

Chocolate fudge brownies traybake.

Lemon cake with lemon water icing or lemon buttercream.

Coffe cake with coffee buttercream icing.

Chocolate traybake with chocolate buttercream and sprinkes.

Victoria sponge cake filled with jam and vanilla cream. Southy and drunken Jen not included.

Biscuits! All €5 per batch.

2010-12-03T18:45:00.009Z

Whoopie Pies; Chocolate biscuit with vanilla/mint/chocolate buttercream filling.

Vieneese Whirls dipped in milk chocolate.

Vanilla cookies filled with Smarties.

Plain Shortbread sprinked with sugar.

Vanilla shortbread.

Caramel flavoured cookies filled with Rolo's.

Chocolate and vanilla pinwheels.

Marshmallow bake, with layers of shortbread, jam, and marshmallows.

<

Vanilla flavoured heart biscuits iced with vanilla/lemon icing, and covered in pink sugar sprinkes.

Chocolate chip cookies.

Chocolate chunk shortbread with chocolate chips.

Santa baby...

2010-11-28T23:18:00.009Z

I've been such a good girl this year Santy. As per our verbal agreement, I would like the following in recompense.

Sincerely,
Heart 2 Tummy <3

It's really snow joke.

2010-11-28T18:27:00.005Z

Ah Ireland. Gotta love it. Soon as the snow begins to fall, the water goes. Now, I like sponging myself down with babywipes as much as the next person, but hot showers in cold weather are kind of up there with my essential needs.

Just as I was rejoicing the resurgence of the water, by having multiple baths and filling up the paddling pool (I jest), the power goes. As much as candle light is romantic, in my opinion it's romantic in a making-love-by-an-open-fire-in-a-castle-listening-to-The-Moody-Blues kind of romantic. Attempting to do college work without the Internet or a lamp? Not so much.

You can always rely on my neighbourhood to grind to a halt in any form of non-perfect weather, so for now I am cabin fever-ed to the max. Sadly I cannot bake, as to bake would involve leaving my house for supplies, and I'm fairly certain the snow wolves will get me if I venture out.

Guess all that leaves is to snuggle up with hot chocolate and a Twix, and not feel guilty about a lack of college work. Sure FUCK it's snowing, who can study in these conditions? Not teddy bears like me that's for sure.

I hope you're all enjoying the snow, making snowmen and causing a ruckus. As soon as my friends can come and play in my neck of the woods, I'll be right there with ya!

<3

Thanksgiving.

2010-11-26T15:17:00.008Z

Clearly my self-depreciating wit, penchant for sarcasm, and my irritability at loud people mark me out as NOT American, yet I feel a connection with Thanksgiving. A holiday about eating and being lovey, quelle suprise really. Sadly I did not have a roast on Thanksgiving, but I certainly gave thanks for my lemon meringue pie and sack of malteasers.

This has been a year of extremes, highs and lows. Sometimes it helps to take stock! In the manor of an awkward family dinner, full of relatives you see but once a year, I will proceed to give thanks. Not in a creepy religious way, more in a heart filled manner.

I am thankful for...

1) My partner and bestest friends. Who clearly rock, whether they're bringing me to see "The Snowman" or a ridiculously manly film (preferably with a male star with the ability to beat me up in a sexy way. What can I say, I like em rough. Must be my Tallaght upbringing), or ordering pizza while playing drinking games, going on walks and having chats. Alcohol plays a huge role, I'm not gonna lie. I definitely have the greatest troop of besties though ;)

2) My new college friends! Oh yes. Now that I am in my course, and have lost all my competitive urges, it's amazing to be in a supportive class where we have each others backs. And ability to eat cake together. And drink. And stay curious.

3) The fact I can now legally drive!! Best summed up by my brother, who told me he no longer felt the need to carry Rosary beads as my passenger.

4) Christmas is coming! And a month of college! SLEEP!

5) My family. Feck knows its been a shite year for us, but things are looking up.

I hope you all have lots to be thankful for, and if ya cant think of anything, be thankful that there's only 29 sleeps til Santy.

<3

25 things before quarter-life sets in.

2010-11-15T14:39:00.009Z

I am a lover of lists. I have notebooks for everything, including my favorite gift journal, where I plan all my shopping. College to-do lists, lists of lovely things to bake, the list (pardon the pun) really does go on.

So it's only natural really that I would have a life list. I post this with some things already completed as a totally incomplete list can be totally overwhelming!

Education
1) Complete masters. DONE.
2) Get in to doctorate. DONE.
3) Complete doctorate. Check back in 3 years!

Health

4) Get my arse back to the gym.
5) Commit to regular Pilate's.
6) Run a 5k for The Cancer Society.
7) Weekly yoga to calm my busy head.

Culture

8) Read The Bell Jar.
9) Read To Kill a Mocking Bird.
10) Read Dracula.
11) Read The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.
12) Watch The Godfather.
13) Watch Casablanca.
14) Watch Schindler's List.
15) Go to every decent free festival.
16) Do a photo an hour day.

Food.
17) Complete my biscuit challenge.
18) Learn how to make bread.
19) Make a recipe book.

Travel.

20) Go to New York DONE.
21) Go to London on a shopping trip.
22) Drive somewhere nice in Ireland for a weekend.
23) Drive up north.

Personal.

24) Get drivers license DONE.
25) Make the most out of life :)

Sometimes it helps to have wonderful things to aim for.

<3

Master of hearts.

2010-11-12T22:27:00.004Z

Having already completed a degree, diploma, and masters, I have a tendency to play down the auld academia. Especially with the masters, as it was only a year! But at my graduation today, all that changed. I feel proud I stuck with something I found so challenging, and pleased that it got me to where I am today. I guess I kind of have to accept I'm not stupid now! (Pass maths at leaving cert level excluded of course).

Even more amazing? When your best friend shows up in support. I didn't have a ticket for her, we couldn't even hang around for the free vino, but yet she came. And mocked, but that's only natural ;)

I couldn't well make my own cake (though if I'd had time, lets face it, I totally would have), so Superquinns finest was on hand. As a young ruffian I used to always get the Superquinn pink heart birthday cake, which they discontinued much to my chagrin. The pink circle just isn't the same!

Though my tummy wasn't complaining :)

So for everyone currently in college, or simply scarred from it, hang in there! It's all worth it on the day, when you receive your certificate whilst looking like a total twat in a gigantic dressing gown.

<3 to all, espesh to Jo :)

Princesses don't wear jeans aunty jen...

2010-11-07T19:57:00.004Z

Unless they happen to be making sparkly princess cakes that is! As I don't get to see my lovely niece nearly often enough, every time I do I make sure we bake together. Under extreme time pressure this weekend, where I flew over one day and back the next (thank YOU crazy college!) shortcuts were in order!

So we used a kit.

I know.

I hate them too.

....But they are efficient!!

And sparkly.

And crucially, covered in princess stickers. I totally wish I was a princess. Even if I had to abandon jeans.

<3

Snuffle

2010-10-30T17:46:00.002+01:00

I has the snuffles.

:(

Double chocolate chunk shortbread

2010-10-25T22:18:00.003+01:00

Many an ode has been paid to shortbread on this blog, as it remains one of the simplest and best forms of biscuit. Crunchy, sugary, and sweet, and crucially sans raisins/other miscellaneous shite which should form no part of a delicious home baked snack.

Previous variations on my patented shortbread have included vanilla shortbread, and iced shortbread hearts. Enter choco-shortbread! Yes, like some deranged and clearly atrociously unhealthy chocolate breakfast cereal, the worlds of chocolate and shortbread have now met and married. And had little chocolate chunk babies.

Basically I added cocoa powder to the shortbread mix, then chopped up a load of milk chocolate into leetle pieces and added them to the mixture.

The resulting Biscuit of October was crunchy, chocolatey, and unusual...Not my best offering but certainly respectable.

Hope everyones hearts are happy :)
<3

Ghosties!

2010-10-24T15:37:00.006+01:00

What a cop out biscuit of the month. Sometimes life gets in the way of baking! but never of eating :) enter my biscuit of the month for October...who ya gonna call? GHOST-BISCUITS!

So they were biscuits from a packet.

I still decorated them by hand!

It kind of counts.

It almost counts.

....It doesn't count at all really.

There, I said it. They were fairly tasty though, and took quite a while to decorate!
I like to think they represent the personalities of the decoraters. My ghost has a heart and a mucky face, demonstrating both my loveyness and my incapability to keep clean. Brendan's ghost has a goatee. In the manner of a pretentious photographer. *cough* Happy Hallows Eve everyone, please don't set of fireworks near me though. I dislike the startles.

<3

MEOW.

2010-10-23T18:39:00.005+01:00

Because sometimes we all need a laugh :)

Cats, while sneaky, are totally amazing.
<3 <3

Absence makes the heart and tummy grow fonder?

2010-10-22T21:05:00.007+01:00

I fear not! I have gone a long time without baking or updating my lovely little blog. College is quite insanely busy, but I will try to bake over the bank holiday, my tummy has cupcake withdrawal. I in turn have the shakes.

I've been thinking recently an awful lot about love. Quelle suprise you might say, as while I don't quite dot my i's with hearts, I am that sort. I was drawing up an extended version of a family tree, and it really got me thinking about relationships. Seeing the whole clan down on paper, and having to draw symbols to denote my relationship to them (i.e very close, distant etc) was quite the eye opener, as was putting in people who aren't "technically" family, but are to me. There's also nothing quite like being referred to as "family" by someone who isn't forced by blood to love you.

The non blood related people on my family tree are so important to me! And when I looked at all the people I have a close bond with, they had so many things in common, like kindness, openness, hilarity, and total heart fests.

It's not difficult people. If you love someone, make sure they bloody well know it. I think sometimes we can take people for granted, but sometimes we all need to take a minute and see how lucky we are. Yes the weather is shit, nobody has any money, and there are still people horrible enough to bring wallabies to parties (!) but we all have someone we love. I found that one of the most important people to me is no longer with us, but his impact on me and my life is something I'm so grateful for.

Assignment for the day? Find that person you love.
Tell them. Show them.
If you're lucky enough to have someone who makes you want to shout from the rooftops do it! I hope the people I love know how much they mean to me. *runs to roof with loudspeaker*

<3 <3

Babycakes

2010-09-27T12:40:00.007+01:00

We all know the sweetest things come in the smallest packages, hence this 5 foot 3 teddy bear. I'm always between two minds as to whether this applies to foodstuffs too, as little cakes often just leave you wanting more.

Solution? Make a feckload of them!

These are tiny chocolate cupcakes, piped with buttercream, and presented in a vintage cup and saucer for all our pretty delights.

Beauty overload :) <3

Ollie the Octopus

2010-09-25T22:57:00.015+01:00

Come on. We all knew it was long overdue. Following on from my successful* previous character cakes, which included a tub of popcorn, a whale, and a piggy, a ridiculous cake was obviously in the making!

Aside from the crushing criticm of my 5 year old niece ("It doesn't look very much like Peppa Pig Aunty Jen"), my cakes have indeed enjoyed a modicum of sucess.

The in-jokes fly with me and Bren, so for his birthday I had to attempt my most daring feat yet, a 3D Octopus with a lovely little face :)

My creative talents or lack thereof (Hello D in Junior Cert Pass Art) sadly limit my abilities baking wise, yet I think I made a jolly good fist of this.

So Ollie is made up of a chocolate tray bake, topped with a little chocolate pudding for his body. I iced him in purple food colouring, using butter icing, and piped on all his tentacles. Little fishie sweets finished off the display!

Happy Birthday Bren :) Make sure you enjoy your cake at it's octomum freshness.

*ridiculous

Thinking about your body, thinking about your cake.

2010-09-25T19:39:00.004+01:00

Ask yourself, would it really be a birthday without a homemade cake? Quite possibly. Would it really be a birthday party without someone passing out, or ransacking a house? Of course not! Don't be daft. Silly reader.

Sadly, Dave had bought a cake. Now, we could well have choked down a mediocre supermarket cake, but thank goodness I was on hand to deliver delicious moistness!

Jen's cake: 1
Supermarket cake: 0 (and unopened might I add)
Verdict: Of course I won. Not that I'm at all competitive. The pizzas were damn good though. Happy Birthday Dave!

Only Smarties have the answer.

2010-09-19T19:32:00.003+01:00

As I now have the letters "MSc" after my name, I figure I'm officially a Smartie. Enter biscuit of the month.

A short time ago I was introduced to the joys of Tesco Smarties cookies, and never have I enjoyed a chewy biscuit so much. Sweet sugar rushes of fantasticness they are, and I had a hankering to recreate them!

Basically I made a batch of plain sugar cookies, threw in some extra vanilla, and a tube of Smarties, before fashioning a number of large cookies. 15 minutes in the oven and they were ready for my tummy!

Verdict: Almost perfect.
Lesson learned: Always use more Smarties.

<3 to all.

Sundaes bloody sundaes.

2010-09-17T12:30:00.007+01:00

I always enjoy food more when its thematically appropriate. Following an Indian meal for 4, consumed by 2, what could be better than chocolate fudge sundaes?

Thanks to Jo for giving me amazingly retro sundae dishes for my birthday, so we could replicate the oft-forgotten Kit Kat dreams, I can now have sundaes whenever I please.

These were very simple, vanilla ice cream topped with a layer of chocolate sauce, then chopped up fudge pieces, and repeated by three.

Then they were in my tummy :) and on my hands, due to a lack of long spoons.

In other news, I offically got my masters today, and will celebrate with liberal amounts of baking and cocktails :)

<3 to all.

Precocious young women.

2010-09-12T16:10:00.009+01:00

Not many things in life are sweeter than cupcakes, but baking with your bestie may just be one of them. We decided to reward our day of hard toil shopping with a vat of buttercream, an order of pizza, and some titillating television on for our viewing pleasure.

We had a lot of fun decorating said cupcakes, and of course when surplus icing escaped our homemade piping bags, we had to rescue it. With our mouths. Ahem.

There were hearts, psychology symbols, jew stars and all sorts of artistic endeavours. Then they were in our tummies :)

The final result tasted as yummy as they looked.

Then came the cocktail reward.

<3s to my future wife :)

Biscuit of August- Vanilla shortbread

2010-08-29T12:33:00.005+01:00

On time for the first time this summer! My last concoction, rolo caramel biscuits, have beaten the biscuit challenge by outfoxing all my previous creations. If I was a normal person I might be quite happy to leave it be, and revel in my victory. But as psychology has made me a totally psychotic competitive maniac, I will try and best myself again!

As the humble shortbread started off my reign of biscuit victory, I decided to recapture my former glory, and bringing them up to date with a few tweaks. Enter egg yolks, a feckload of vanilla essence, and a sprinking of love, and the finished product were sweet, crunchy, and totally yummy. The verdict said they bested my previous standard shortbread.

Competitive instincts satisfied.

For now.

Total Pandamonium.

2010-08-29T12:16:00.004+01:00

Alas, the times they are a changing. With new adventures and challenges unfolding, the day as finally come for Aoife to set off into the big bad world, and move away for college. Such a momentous (and selfishly horrible) occasion had to be sufficiently marked, in butter form of course.

Ah cakes. They really have been done. Much as I love a good cake, sometimes a new challenge is needed. To mark our numerous adventures to zoo's, I thought an ode to the delightful and whimsical creatures was in order.

Enter Panda Bear cupcakes. My artistic ability is limited to say the least, so these posed quite the challenge. They are formed out of a regular sized chocolate cupcake, topped with a mini vanilla cupcake for the head. Malteaser ears (quelle suprise) and little faces painstakingly painted on finished them off.

They tasted fantastic (but you already knew that ;) ), marred only by the fact you had to decapitate the little cuties. Aoif- you're a total legend. Wishing you love and happiness and cuddles on your new adventure. <3 <3 <3

Oh stop being such a malTEASE.

2010-08-24T12:54:00.006+01:00

Ah malteasers. So fantastically delicious, and they have that illusion of being somewhat healthy. LIES. Sweet sweet delicious lies. I myself are quite the fan of aforementioned noms, and always on the lookout for new, fattening uses.

Enter malteaser muffins. Basically plain muffins, with the substitution of brown sugar which is always caramello-licious. And a load of malteasers thrown in for good measure. They were meant to be iced with butter icing, however a debacle with infested icing sugar lead only to tears and regret. So I decided to leave them as is, and make them even healthier. Wink. Shared with my besties, they got the proverbial thumbs up, especially when accompanied by a note advising others not to eat Jo's designated foodstuffs.

What happens when bad oinks happen to good drunks

2010-08-08T14:16:00.003+01:00

Aka the wonderful debacle that was Caras birthday! The night started innocently enough, bar a flashing incident and admonishment by world weary bar staff. Quickly the evening turned shambolic, as we went from bar to bar, getting in punch ups, oinking at upstanding citizens, and debating strip clubs.

One thing that can be counted on however? There were baked goods, mini cookies to be precise. Did they survive the singsongs, the velvet walled club and the taxi crash?

Only the great cookie monster above knows.

Birthdays and thesises and adventures oh my!

2010-08-08T14:08:00.006+01:00

A little late to be posting the cake from Aoifes birthday, but as usual my academic persuits have gotten in the way of my buttery dreams. I unfortunately didnt have time to make a ridiculous (read:whale) cake or similar, so this pink heart concoction was not one of my finest.

It tasted damn good though.

True story.

Caramello biscuit of the month(o)

2010-07-28T16:09:00.002+01:00

Phew July has really flown by in a haze of thesis and driving! Thanks to an intensive driving course I no longer pose such a danger on the roads, despite the fact my instructer has nicknamed me Rambo and installed a swear jar.

Much more ladylike is my persuit of biscuit perfection, so I present this months Biscuit of the Month! These delights are a variation on the shortbread recipe, with the addition of egg yolks for extra nom!

Then comes the twist that makes me such a smart bear. In the middle of each unbaked biscuit, place a Rolo. Thats right. You dont get to masters level without knowing a few things...about new uses for Rolos...yeah. (Incidently if anyone wants to you know, pay me to bake so I can concentrate on food instead of hard brain things, do let me know ;)

So these cookies really and truly beg the question, do you love anyone enough to give them your last Rolo?

<3

My cookie monster

2010-07-22T14:18:00.004+01:00

The Biscuit Challenge is back with a vengence! And this time it's angry. (Yes, I have been watching far too many "Arnie gets revenge for murdered family" movies of late). After skipping a month, my lucky biscuit recipient can cash in for two sets of biscuits this month!

I had heard tale of Laura's (http://lonely-earring.blogspot.com/) sex cookies from way back when, and once I sampled said delights last summer, I knew I had to recreate them. I tweaked them a tad, and made my good ol classic choc chip cookies, but added in the secret twist! (For once it's not just more butter!) So once your cookie dough is made, place a square of milk choc in the centre of each biscuit, and surround it with dough, before baking. Fresh out of the oven cookies have gooey middles thanks to the added kick, and microwaving the cookies once cooled also works a treat. I had one very happy cookie recipient on my hands (well, hand) as the pictures testify.

Healthy pizza!

2010-07-20T19:41:00.005+01:00

I had a bad case of the yum yums recently (also known as bleedin starving), and all I wanted was a Dominos! Lack of funds and person to share meal for 4 with forced a terrible choice upon me; do I order alone and eat myself into oblivian? Or do I go hungry? Nay dear reader, my creative instincts came to the rescue!

Take one tortilla wrap, and spread with Passatta (or ketchup if you're classy like that). Toast under the grill for 3-4 minutes til the wrap gets a leetle crispy, then take off the heat and add your toppings!

Start by grating a feckload of cheese onto the base, then I add sweetcorn, peppers and pineapple chunks, but you could also throw on some chopped salami. Throw it back under the grill til the cheese melts, and enjoy!

Obviously not as good as Dominos. You dont have to lay down and weep afterwards, bemoaning your swollen tummy. Not necessarily a good thing, but there ya go.

Kindness

2010-07-17T11:43:00.004+01:00

The bus is not usually a place inspired by kindness. It is generally more like a moving prison full of really, REALLY fucking annoying people.

People who listen to their MP3 players playing "techno" full blast?
People who sit too close to you?
People who talk non stop on their phones?

Just, no. So I was astounded a few days ago, when I was having a particularly bad day, to be approached on the bus. Not by a lunatic, but by a kind stranger offering me a Magnum icecream as he had bought a multi-pack and they were melting. It honestly made my whole day, and not just because Magnums are astoundingly delicious!

It sums up the experiences I've been having recently. Amazing friends who are always on hand to give me lifts, take me to dinner, order pizza with me, send me parcels from London, bring me to the cinema, make me laugh, and generally get me through the current debacles. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by the best friends in the world, and hope they all know how much my tummy hearts them.

Scones

2010-07-17T11:29:00.005+01:00

Although my Biscuit of the Month challenge has been temporarily suspended (Read- gone tits up), I decided to make scones for the Biscuit King, in hopes of mastering a new savoury treat. They were super easy to make, and best served warmed with foily butter and jam, with a defibrillator nearby for when you eat seven in a row.

Verdict? 5 Hearts.

Moral? Sometimes a break from biscuits is ok.

Final musings? If the break goes on any longer you may find my head on a spike somewhere. My biscuits really are that in demand.

Terrible. Just Terrible.

2010-07-17T11:13:00.007+01:00

My lack of blogging that is! Things have been slightly mad here, and I can honestly say this has been the most challenging few months of my life (And not a good challenge where I get to destroy those who compete against me ;) ) So clearly my lovely little blog has taken a back seat. But no more! I have hardly baked over the last while, but I have some photos and inane ramblings as per usual.

First off, my birthday! Yes, the big 24, which I later decided should have been celebrated by assigning everyone CTU codenames, leather jackets, and shouting "TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO KNOW" quite frequently. This may have proved slightly difficult to incorporate into an event where the eats are paramount sadly, as Jack Baur does not eat, instead he is fuelled by steel and rage.

Now there is a cult classic movie known as "The Room", which is blindingly appalling. Watched alone it makes for an awkward cringe-fest, watched in the company of a load of wine-fuelled shirtless lunatics and it becomes one of the most fun experiences ever! I can honestly recommend the film for a truly memorable night. Just remember to leave your sense of shame at the door.

Most importantly however, is the FOOD! In keeping with my "Feed them till they rub their tummies and cry" motto, I made three mega cakes; Lemon (aka heroin cake, so called for it's addicitve properties as opposed to any unsavoury ingredients), a victoria sponge (my personal favourite as it reminds me of girls wearing bonnets and sipping lemonade on the grass- note to self- buy bonnet), and of course, a mega chocolate malteaser cake (malteasers of course being a healthy option, and very low in calories. That is, until you throw in two packets of butter. Cant win em all, hips!) Also on offer was a multitude of cupcakes and coooooookies, all of which were lovingly dispensed into party bags as the guests left.

I wish it was my birthday more often. But at least every day can be a cake day.

<3

Viennese if you please.

2010-06-01T16:59:00.005+01:00

Biscuit of the month for May comes a day late, but with extra chocolate to make up for it. These bad boys should, as always, look neater than the abominations i seem to churn out on a regular basis, but on this occassion I'm blaming my piping bag. That piece of crap cost me five euro, which as we all know is five euro I could have spent of contingency foods. Bastards.

So after one pipes the biscuits*, they are baked, dipped in a bucketload of melted chocolate, and consumed until a certain person fails to fit into her birthday romper suit. Not birthday suit you understand. That always seems to fit. As always, a heart rating will be posted as soon as they are judged (favourably, if he knows whats bleedin good for him!)

<3

*manhandles them while filled with rage at aforementioned broken piping bag

EDIT: These got an unprecendented 5 hearts, thus knocking the sex cookies off the no 1 position after shortbread!

Doctor-dom!

2010-05-28T23:30:00.004+01:00

I know I have previously blogged about what an epic trek it is to get anywhere in psychology, so imagine my absolute shock and amazement to have been accepted to my dream doctorate :)

I didnt need to compromise/move to the UK/give up!

Had to share the win, and some silly pictures to boot.

Mega hearts!

Biscuit challenge, the year thus far...

2010-05-23T21:11:00.006+01:00

You may recall, that in a vain attempt to not simply rehash the same recipes every week, that in January I set myself a very biscuity challenge. A brand spanking new biscuit every single month, to be reviewed and ranked by Brendan :)

Now, as everyone knows, I am very good at taking criticism. That is a blatant lie. I'm a petulant child, and god help anyone who dares to go up against my baking. If you're thinking about it, don't. Actually, on second thoughts, do. Have a go. I'll destroy you and revel in your defeat.

*cough*

So, the leader board is as follows...

In first place, SEX COOKIES!

Joint second place is shared by the valentines day heart cookies, and the MEGA mint biscuits!

The loser biscuit is, of course, my jammy (not-so-delightful) delights. Which I choked down to prove a point. That I don't lose. HMM.

Stay tuned for May, and something very special for June...

<3

Because sometimes you need something to go with whiskey and remorse...

2010-05-23T17:23:00.004+01:00

Generally speaking, biscuits are fantastic. Not difficult to make, not time consuming, but always delicious (apart from my misguided jam cookies. Which I maintain were nice in an insane way. Much like their baker really).

Shortbread however always come out on top. Nearly half way through the biscuit of the month challenge, whereby a new biscuit every single month is baked and noshed on, shortbread are still the undefeated champion. A bit like The Undertaker in Wrestlemania, if you're in to that type of thing.

Simple, delicious, sweet, and always go down fantastically.
I could make a pun. I refrain.

<3

A timid foray into bread making

2010-05-23T17:15:00.002+01:00

Top of my list of New Years Resolutions for 2010, were my pledge to start driving, and to learn how to make bread. The driving thing isn't going so well, mostly due to my complete absense of spatial awareness, and my road rage whenever I see a cyclist/potential cyclist/general fool in my eye line. Bread however had to be conquered.

Ever since I went to a rodeo show last year, and ate proper cowboy food, cornbread has been on my mind. Hampered only by Dublin's total refusal to sell polenta in any shop that doesn't smell weird when you go in, or have pots of "Mankuna" honey (Aka overpriced sugar rush)for sale. I dislike these shops. Food is not a medicine, it is a pleasure. (My general excuse for adding more butter to anything)

The bread making itself wasn't too tricky, more odd. The dough was extremely thick and hard to handle (da DA!) but once baked in the oven it finally resembled cowboy bread! AMAZING. It turned out like a delightful mixture between madeira cake and white bread...all the better when smothered with proper butter. While wearing a cowboy hat. Hopefully with an absence of any actual horses. Because horses are mean, and far too organised in their phalanxes of evil.

<3

More birthdays and fruity delights.

2010-05-03T18:51:00.003+01:00

Also celebrated this week is Dad's 60th birthday! He's a bit of a legJENed, so pampering was a must. On the menu was spag bol, garlic bread, and lemon cake. Had a really chilled out day to celebrate, marred only by the necessary studying of psychometrics (or as I call it, "useless shit"). Offie pie was also scoffed by my brother, who in all fairness deserves individual desserts thanks to his ability to calm me down during exams by updating my mp3 player so I get a nice, Slash filled surprise on the bus. Epic high fives to the boys :)

Peaceful birthdays for the win. The next family birthday is my own, there will be more cakes than people. The ratio of booze to people should be just about accurate though, knowing my friends :)

<3

The world's most GIANT bucket of popcorn.

2010-05-03T18:33:00.004+01:00

Ah silly cakes. So far, I have concocted a Peppa Pig cake, a moon cake, a whale cake, and a princess castle cake. All with their own back story, all with a certain level of ridiculousness. So when Jo was to be celebrating the 2nd anniversary of her 21st, a celebration peppered with cocktails, romper suits, and sexless neighbours making noise complaints, only an epic cake would do.

Flash back to 2nd year psychology, where me and Jo had a mega stress day that involved plagerising, and ditching work in favour of going to watch "Casino Royal" in the cinema, avec popcorn and white magnums. This is one case where white supremecy is not only hilarious, but quite frankly common sense.

For the cake itself, I made a chocolate fudge base, smothered in vanilla icing. To decorate, I asked Jeeves for a vintage popcorn sign, lashed on some smarties and malteasers, and finished off with some actual popcorn. Transporting said cake from Knackville to Jo's gated community was not without strife (not least thanks to ending up half naked on a bus- a story for a far less classy blog), but alas it arrived intact. Verdict? YES. Tummies? Satisfied. Hearts? Need plenty of. Exams finish at the end of this week, so roll on more time to bake! I plan on making cornbread. Oh yes.

<3 to all, and special hearts to the birthday girl :) <3

Weekends are fantastic

2010-04-26T19:18:00.003+01:00

Especially when you spend your pre exam weeked cooking, baking, and eating :) As yesterday was Mums birthday, I had a mega excuse to indulge. I made a giant homemade lasagne and garlic bread, followed by banoffi pie (or offie for me- I like it sans the ban), and finally lemon cake! We have all put on some butter weight, but totally worth it :)

Things are a bit mental at the minute, so extra hearts are always good. Mean stuff, not so much.

<3

PS one exam down, three to go!

Future...

2010-04-24T14:28:00.003+01:00

So I'm facing my masters exams at the minute, followed by the thesis of doom. After 5 years in this field and very little progress it can get disheartening! So what to do? Stick with it, and hope I qualify before the age of 30? Give up and do something else? It's so hard to know! At the age of 17, 18, should any of us be filling in that bloody CAO, given that we are typically encouraged to do either business, computer science, or law? I'm not so sure I should be basing my life on decisions made so long ago. Any college people reading, I feel you pain! And wish you hearts for the exams :)

<3