buttermilk pancakes

All this talk of golden syrup on buttermilk pancakes, I had to follow it up with action.

The recipe I use is from Joy of Baking, found here. I offer it with one small addition:
Pile pancakes in a stack. Drizzle with a generous amount of golden syrup.

Block out all feelings of guilt, you can deal with it later. And enjoy!

make your own tea cozy

There's something comforting about a tea cozy. Tea time just isn't complete without one, for me. This is my second attempt at making one. It took some mental gymnastics to get it right. Here's what I did.

what I did with my round tuitt

I finally got a round tuitt! Here's what we did with it...

South African baking: crunchies

One of the most treasured items in my pantry is my golden syrup. The way I hoard it you'd think it was made of real gold. I've never been that good at sharing ;) I grew up on Illovo syrup in South Africa, but this British brand at Andronico's is just the same.

Golden syrup is just the best on crumpets (aka US pancakes, AUS pikelets), nothing can beat it!
But it is also great for baking crunchies. I finally got around to making some recently after a South African blog I follow posted the recipe (thanks Kit!).

These things bring me straight back to my childhood. My mum used to make them a lot on the farm. I don't think her version had cinnamon so I left that out, and I used dark brown sugar to make it a little less sweet (at least that's my theory). They turned out just the same as I remember them.

Soft, warm, and, well... crunchy :)
The perfect complement to a cuppa tea!

Crunchies

3/4 cup plain flour
2 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/3 cups dessicated coconut
pinch salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
30 ml milk

1. Combine flour, oats, coconut, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Gently melt together butter and syrup on the stove, then stir into the dry ingredients.
3. Dissolve bicarb in the milk and add to the mixture stirring well.
4. Tip into greased baking tray, press down all over till even with the back of a spoon.
5. Bake at 350 F/180 C for 15 - 20 min until golden brown. Cut into squares in tin then leave to cool for a while before taking out of the tin.

March op-shop finds & sticking to a budgie

This year I've been enjoying working with my budget in a much more intentional way. Usually I'll just guesstimate as I go along from month to month, since I'm not typically a big spender and figure it will all even out in the end.

But what I'm finding is that being intentional about what I spend, and keeping a close tally of where it all goes, is actually pretty rewarding. I have a wish-list of things I want to get, which helps me keep an eye out as I shop. This week I happened to stop by the goodwill store (op shop, in Aussie terms) and knocked out three things from my list, and for much, much cheaper than I was expecting to pay for them new!

March op-shop finds:
24 Wilton mini muffin pan 2.99
aluminium ring mold pan 2.99 (no, spellcheck, it's not aluminum)
Target black flats (brand new with the tag) 9.99

fairy cakes

My first shot at making cupcakes from scratch!

I have to say, I'm not sure I can ever go back to using a box, these cupcakes were so light, and a cinch to make, too. I used a recipe from Nigella Lawson's cookbook, "How to Be a Domestic Goddess" (I cringe to quote a title like that! haha).

I was icing them in a bit of a hurry, so some of the flowers (which I bought pre-made from Spun Sugar) ended up sinking into the icing before it was set. But overall I was very happy with the result and can't wait to make them again.