Baking

Apple and Blackberry Cake

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After foraging some blackberries, I decided to give apple and blackberry cake a go.

186g blackberries

2 x small gala apples

2 eggs beaten

1/2 tps cinnamon

4 oz butter

6 oz demerera sugar

8 oz self raising flour

orange zest

1tps baking powder

Oven at 160°c (fan assisted or 180 if not), line loaf tin with baking paper, or butter so the cake doesn’t stick.

Beat the eggs and greate the two apples including the skin down to the core into the egg, put in cinnamon and orange zest.

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Add the two together until you have a big bowl of runny, lumpy goo. Now add the flour and baking powder until you have a decent cake batter, then stir through most of the blackberries, careful not to break them up too much. Save a few for putting on top before it goes in the oven, and I sprinkled a small bit of demerera over the top as well.

Bake for around 50 mins to over an hour. I had to check a few times because it browned well early on. The knife test did it though, and it was perfect at about 1 hour and 5 minutes I think.

It was rather nice.

(c) K Wicks

Homemade cherry jam 🍒

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I have found jam making. I tried once a few years ago to make a plum jam, it was far too solid and sweet, and was forgotten. Until I had some cherries a few days ago, which i miss when they aren’t in season. So figured, starting turning things into storable items for when they aren’t in season. And being honest I wasn’t content with just cherry, so more to follow 😁

250g cherries

150g sugar

1 small lemon juiced

That’s it, just 3 ingredients and a short amount of time. Pit the cherries, cut up 3/4 of them, simmer in the lemon juice for 5-10 mins. Add the sugar, dissolve on low heat, then have at a rolling boil for 10 mins or so.

Then test, put a small blob on a plate in the fridge for 2 minutes, then check the consistency. That’s what I didn’t know to do years ago with the plum, which makes me one!

And from that, we get a small homemade jar of cherry jam 😋 🍒

(c) K Wicks

Granary bread recipe

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A small loaf of granary, a very easy recipe and perfect for someone like me who doesn’t eat bread all time. I can whip up a loaf on the day and it lasts a week or so.

250g strong bread flour (200g country grain/50g white flour)

3.5g dried yeast

1/2 tsp salt

150 ml warm water

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp honey

Put flour in bowl, yeast on one side and salt on the other. Mix the oil and honey with the water, and then add to the flour. Mix together until you have a sticky dough. Knead on a floured surface for around 10 minutes (or 5 mins in a mixer). Oil a loaf tin, and place the dough in, cover and leave to rise for around an hour. Needs to be slight warm place to help the yeast.

Once risen, put in oven at 180° for 30-35 mins until risen and brown. Job done.

(c) K Wicks

Homemade deodorant

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And another product you can easily make yourself. Why stop at moisturiser, bath bombs and salves? Another one that goes on your skin every day is deodorant, may as well be in control of what goes in it. Now updated to show the ingredients and method, not sure why I didn’t include that in the first place…

  • 32g Shea Butter
  • 32g Jojoba Oil
  • 21.3g Arrowroot powder
  • 16g beeswax
  • 8g Baking Soda (bicarb)
  • 5 drops bergamot essential oil
  • 10 drops lemon essential oil
  • 5 drop of cinnamon essential oil

Combine the arrowroot, jojoba oil and bicarb in a small bowl and stir until smooth with no lumps.

Melt the wax in a double boiler, and then add in the arrowroot mix.

When all melted again, add the shea butter and stir until just melted

Take off heat and allow to cool slightly, then add the essential oils and stir well.

Let cool until thick but still pourable, pour into tubes and allow to cool completely before adding cap.

(c) K Wicks

Homemade bath bombs recipe

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It’s incredibly easy and makes me wonder why I didn’t try making my own a long time now. But no matter, I know now. So, in case anyone else may like to try, here is is super simple recipe. I did need to buy in things to make it, but they aren’t that expensive for what you get and they go a long way.

128g – Baking Soda / Bicarbonate of soda

64g – Cornstarch / Cornflour

64g – Epsom salts

64g – Citric acid

3/4 tbs water

1 tbs essential oils – whichever ones you like, depends on if you want to wake up, relax, destress…

1 tbs jojoba oil / coconut oil

And some food colouring if you would like it to have colour.

  • Apart from the citric acid, mix all the dry ingredients together with a whisk.
  • Get a small jar or container with a lid and pour in the water, oils and colour and shake well.
  • Pour the liquid into the dry mix and use your hand to combine, then add the citric acid.
  • The texture should feel something like wet sand.
  • Mash the mixture into moulds tightly (i used silicone muffin mould), push in as much as possible.
  • Immediately loosen from the moulds onto wax paper/tray so they can dry for a couple of days.
  • Then store in a box for use.

(c) K Wicks

Homemade dandelion moisturiser – recipe

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On a bit of a mish for making things. Decided to go for moisturiser, having never really liked shop bought I tend to avoid it, but with making my own flower oils now, thought why not.

Only 4 ingredients. And a nice glass pot I found on ebay for not very much!

32g Shea Butter

1 tbsp dandelion infused oil

1 tbsp coconut oil

10 drop of essential oil – I’m pretty sure more than 10 hurtled out of the bottle, but it seemed ok.

(I chose orange essential oil for this one having bought a small selection last week).

Melt together in a double boiler and stir in the essential oil after, then pour into the glass jar and put in the fridge to set overnight (or for 6-8 hours), apparently setting it in the fridge bit is important, as it prevents is separating when it softens.

It does go quite soft once out of the fridge, but can be kept at room temperature and they say lasts for around 6 months. A small amount go a long way.

(c) K Wicks

Chocolate strawberries 🍓

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A spur of the moment purchase of strawberries and a bar of chocolate in the cupboard, combined for a very tasty indulgence. A couple with desiccated coconut and a couple with grated white chocolate. Just to make it a bit more special for a Tuesday night treat.

(c) K Wicks