Duddleswell Tearooms - review

During the Easter holidays we had some lovely play dates planned, one of which was a walk at Duddleswell on the Ashdown Forest followed by cake at Duddleswell Tearooms.  I can highly recommend both!

Twins' 3rd birthday cakes - recipes and decoration - Pin it do it

I thought I'd finished writing this last year but apparently not!  I've just added the photos so here it is in time for this year's Halloween if you're after a spooky cake idea.  Sadly I don't really have any "during" photos as it was a bit frantic the evening before their party!!

For weeks before the big day, carrot cake was requested by the twins for their birthday cakes this year.  There was a last minute change from one of them suddenly wanting chocolate cake and so the two cakes this year were decided.  I had already chosen a design to go with their Halloween party theme and hoped to make two monster cakes much like the one I saw on Pinterest but as separate cakes.  I asked them which colour monsters they'd like and orange and green were the final choices.  (Perfect Halloween colours too!)

My 36th birthday

I often get upset that my birthday is in that limbo period between Christmas and New Year, being the day before New Year's Eve people don't tend to want to go out then and/or are skint.  Last year a few friends were going to be coming round for some cocktails but then the twins both got chicken pox and I had to cancel it anyway.  Nik was at work as it was a Friday and I was having a pretty rubbish day caring for two miserable 2-year-olds on my own.  But then some lovely friends each popped around with some treats for me and the kids, hugs and wise words, it ended up being pretty fab, thanks to my awesome friends!

This year was quite different, I decided not to bother with a party (and after a last minute change of heart found everyone was indeed too busy anyway) so on the day, it was just Nik, the kids and I as it was a Saturday and it was perfect!  It started off with a lie-in for me, I hadn't even noticed Nik getting up as I was so tired!  I woke around 9 and could hear them all downstairs but I lay in bed waiting to see if they'd come to find me.  They soon did.

It was lovely being woken by Kalyan all excited telling me it was my birthday tomorrow, lol.  I got kisses and then he climbed into bed with me to hide under the covers from Daddy and Priya who soon turned up with a bag of gifts and cards for me to open :)

Lemon & Lime Cake with Lemon Buttercream - recipe by Bex

I've made a version of this cake a few times now and it's always a winner!  It's light, moist and super tasty - sort of a cross between a lemon drizzle and a normal sponge cake with buttercream (I use my own buttercream recipe which isn't too sweet).  The original version includes lemon curd which I'm not a fan of but if you want it to be sweeter and even more lemony then by all means add a layer between the slices and mix some in to the icing.  I added the lime when I ran out of lemons and it worked well so here's my version of this delicious cake.

Black Forest Cheesecake Swirl Brownies - recipe by Bex

I made this recipe for my Baking Club Christmas do recently and was really pleased with it despite having preheated the oven for 3.5 hours!  (The kids woke from their nap far too early and I kept trying to get the brownies ready to bake, including the kids in helping, but I didn't manage until they went to bed again that evening - an hour early!!)

Anyway, I had the idea of brownies with cherries and had always wanted to try baking something with a swirl of cheesecake so I googled and combined a couple of recipes I found.  One from the American/Ukrainian Let The Baking Begin Blog for the cheesecake part as I liked the sound of adding sour cream but I couldn't be bothered converting all the measurements for the brownie batter too so I used one from Olive Magazine for the main brownie batter, although I did adapt it slightly by adding dried and tinned cherries as well as changing the method after a wasted pan of seized chocolate mixture!

Below you will find my combined and adapted recipe for my version of Black Forest Cheesecake Swirl Brownies:

For the cheesecake filling:

225g cream cheese
80g sour cream
70g sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg

For the brownies:

200g butter, plus extra for greasing
225g light soft brown sugar
200g golden caster sugar 
125g cocoa powder
100g dark chocolate, broken into chunks
¼ tsp salt 
2 tbsp kirsch or cherry liqueur
4 eggs
125g self-raising flour 
100g dried sour cherries
1/2 tin cherries (optional), de-stoned & halved

For the cream:

whipping cream 300ml
kirsch 2 tbsp (I added 4)
icing sugar 3 tbsp, sifted
1/2 tin cherries (optional), de-stoned and chopped

Method: 

Combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla extract and beat together until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the egg and beat until smooth again.  Put aside.

Preheat oven to 170oC.  Butter a 20 x 30cm baking tin and line with baking parchment.  (I only had square tins so split my mixture between two 20cm square tins, I still baked them for 30 mins.)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan then add the sugars and continue stirring until they start to dissolve.  Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring occasionally as the chocolate melts.  Add the cocoa powder and stir to combine.

Cool for 5 minutes then beat in the salt, kirsch and eggs until smooth again (I did this part in my Kitchenaid).  Stir through the flour and cherries, then scrape into the prepared tin(s) and bake for 30 minutes.

While the brownies are baking, prepare a roasting tin of iced water that will fit the brownie tin inside it.  When the brownies have a crisp top and only a slight wobble to the centre still, lift the tin from the oven into the water bath – this will keep the centre soft, but set.  Cool completely in the water.  Run a knife under hot water before drying and using to cut smoothly.  The brownies are nice and gooey which makes them stick to the knife.

To serve, whisk the whipping cream with the kirsch and icing sugar until softly peaked then stir through the cherries.  Dust the brownies with a little icing sugar and cocoa if you like, and add a dollop of kirsch cream with extra fresh cherries to serve.

I was really pleased with how these turned out!  They were squidgy, gooey and rich.  The Kirsch/cherry brandy was a nice addition and the dried sour cherries add a lovely bit of chewy bite to them.

Wilderness Woods - Fun Days Out - Review by Bex

We had a brilliant morning playing at Wilderness Wood in Hadlow Down yesterday.  As well as being a beautiful, family owned and run woodland, there is lots to do including organised activities and adventure playgrounds and a cafe selling delicious homemade cakes and other food.

Caramel Cake

For the twins, the playground by the cafe was the best bit with a mud kitchen, pirate decks and a tyre swing (which they're still a bit young for but Priya did a great job of holding on!)  There are picnic tables outside, beautifully decorated with wild posies and there's an outdoor kitchen with wood fired pizza oven.

Kalyan wanted to push Priya on the tyre but didn't quite get the concept of it swinging back towards him!

After a play next to the cafe, it was time to head off and explore.  We found muddy puddles, a wigwam, logs (which K tried to lift before giving up and trying a piece of bark), lots of trees and birds.

 The adventure playground area was quite small with just a zip line and a slide but we all had fun!

And then we set off on another trail through the Christmas Tree field and down, finding bugs, brambles, butterflies and sticks along the way...

Before heading back up to the cafe for cake!

Mum and I had the caramel cake and Nik, Dad and the twins all had the orange cake.  Both were moist and delicious and extremely generous slices.  For 5 pieces of cake and 4 coffees it cost £23.  For entry to the woods you just "pay what you feel" to help maintain the area.

Afterwards, Nik had to go to work so he and Dad left and Mum and I took the twins for another little walk in search of the fairy garden we heard about.  We never found it (the map could be better!) but enjoyed another trail exploring through the woods.

It was a great morning out and we will definitely be returning!  We could easily spend a whole day there if the twins didn't get tired and need a nap.  I'd like to go for lunch next time and sample some more of their yummy food!

They run lots of workshops and activities for older children too with lots going on in the holidays and monthly BBQs.  You can also camp there or just hire a space for a BBQ yourself.  They do weddings and have a Yurt with fire pits and there's also a Forest School for little ones (age 2.5+).

See the Wilderness Woods website for more details and check out the Wilderness Cafe website for their menu and info too.