London Cupcakes!

▲▲▲ I haven't been trying out new recipes I haven't blogged about lately. However, I've had these cupcake toppers in the cupboard for a while now. Baby T keeps asking me to give him one once in a while. He is crazy about cars... So finally got round to making "sponge cake cupcakes" a few days ago.

Classic sponge cake

▲▲▲
225g caster sugar
225g softened butter
4 eggs
225g flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
1/2 a vanilla pod

Preheat oven 180°C
Mix sugar and butter until creamy and white
Add the eggs. Beat well.
Add in the flour and baking powder.
To finish add in the milk and vanilla.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

You may want to divide the batter into 2 and make bake cakes to make a Victoria sponge cake with whipped cream and fresh berries. It is still on my list, so I will definitely post photos when I make one!

Avocado salad with carrot & ginger dressing

▲▲▲ A salad with a Japanese flavour!

SERVES: 2
TIME: 5 minutes

For dressing:
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped 1 or 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger depending on how strong you wish the dressing to be	1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (can be replaced with your usual cooking vinegar) 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seed oil (can be replaced with 1 more olive oil tbsp) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons water
For salad:
1 head of baby gem lettuce (or any greens), roughly cut	1/4 red onion, thinly sliced 1 avocado, diced

In a blender, mix all the dressing ingredients.
Combine the lettuce, onion and avocado in a bowl, drizzle with plenty of dressing and serve.

This is a recipe adapted from the GOOP website.

Classic scones

▲▲▲ I came home from England and was very inspired by my trip to make these scones for our afternoon tea this Sunday.

Ingredients:
40 g butter, at room temperature
225 g flour
5 g raising powder
1½tablespoons sugar
a pinch of salt
75 ml crème fraîche, or Greek yoghurt
75 ml milk
a little milk and extra flour (for brushing the tops)

Pre-heat the oven 220C.
In a mixing bowl, mix butter, flour and raising powder.
Then add the sugar, salt and finally the crème fraîche and milk, a little at a time. The cream and milk should be mixed together beforehand.
Knead the dough. It is easier on a flat surface. (Sprinkle with flour to prevent from sticking)
Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 2 cm.
Cut out with a round cutter.
Place on a paper lined baking sheet.
Put a little milk on the scone and sprinkle with flour (I find using a sieve makes it easier).

Bake for about 12-15 minutes until golden.
Transfer on a cooling rack.
Scones should be eaten warm, with butter or clotted cream and strawberry jam.

Today I only had melon jam. But it was delicious with Earl Grey tea.

3D Paper Apple

▲▲▲ You will need :
Coloured drawing paper

Stickers
Crayons
Glue

First draw a template on white paper. Use it to reproduce the apple on the coloured drawing paper (make 6 apples).
Fold each apple into two.
Stick the apples together once they have been decorated.

For the stem of the apple, roll a rectangular piece of paper. You can add glue to make it more solid.

Homemade play dough

Baby T's crazy about "play-doh" at the moment. So we decided to do our own today. He participated in the making of the dough and then directly played with it. The whole experiment took us for at least an hour of fun. There are many different recipes on the web. Here is the one I used. I had to add a bit more water to make the dough more elastic. 

▲ ▲ ▲ The recipe:

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup salt

2 tablespoon cream of tartar (find it at the chemist's)

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup water

food coloring (we used natural ones I had for making cupcakes, but I read you can also use paint)

1. Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm.
2. Remove from heat and add flour.
3. Stir, then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don't have it on hand.
4. Store this dough in an airtight container or a Ziploc freezer bag.