Pumpkin Mac 'n' Cheese

This a lovely autumnal dish, that is ideal for this week when households are awash with Halloween pumpkins and squash. Rather than throw them out, it’s great to cook with pumpkins – they are packed with tons of vitamins and most importantly, it tastes great.

Mac n cheese is a family favourite - rich, oozing, delicious cheesy pasta with the addition of sweet roasted pumpkin only improves it further.  

If you'd rather make without the pumpkin - just follow the recipe below and omit the instructions re pumpkins. I roast the pumpkin whole and then cut it when softened to remove the hard work, as it can be tricky to chop raw. 

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

The below serves 6.

Here’s how:

• 1 large squash or pumpkin
• 400g macaroni
• 1.5 tbsp plain flour
• 1.5 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 250ml full fat milk
• 2 bay leaves
• 55g Cheddar
• 30g Red Leicester
• 10g Grana Padana
• Nutmeg
• Pinch salt
• Pinch black pepper 
• Firstly place the oven on high at 200 degrees, pop the squash on a baking tray and place in the centre to roast for 30 minutes. 

Fill and boil the kettle.

Now in a pan, melt the butter gently, once fully melted add the flour and mustard powder and use a wooden spoon to quickly mix all together and form a roux. Once all combined add the milk, slowly, a little bit at a time, wach time quickly stirring to combine the roux and form the basis of the sauce. Add the bay leaves here to flavour and season and allow to cook on a low heat for a couple of minutes.

Grate all of the cheeses and leave a small handful aside for the topping, and add the rest to the roux, again stirring all the time. The cheese will melt down and thicken the sauce. Now grate in lots of nutmeg, it's difficult to give an exact measurement, but I like to add quite a bit, probably around a quarter of the nutmeg, it gives a lovely warming flavour.

Now cook the macaroni for 7 minutes in the boiled water with another pinch of salt, then drain and add to the cheese sauce and remove from the heat. Stir to ensure the pasta is all coated gloriously in the cheese sauce.

Now remove the squash from the oven and cut in half, then remove the seeds and anything inedible. Scoop out the flesh and place into a saucepan. Once all is out, roughly mash with a potato masher and then stir through the mac and cheese.

Pour the cheesy pasta into a dish and then scatter over the remaining cheese and place into the oven for thirty minutes or until the cheese is oozing and beginning to brown.

Portion up and if serving to children, allow to cool for a few minutes, so they don't burn their mouths. Enjoy!

A couple of other pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin & Spinach Lasagne
Simple & Skinny Butternut Squash Soup

Thai Beef Salad

Thai Beef Salad

This Thai Beef Salad is utterly delicious and is so quick and simple to throw together, so perfect for mid week when time is often limited and precious. 

It's packed full of fiery and aromatic flavour and lots of wonderful textures and is a real crowd-pleaser.

You could use any cut of beef, but I particularly like to use a large sirloin for this and as we love it rare, that is what you will see here, but if you prefer your meat cooked a little more, of course do so to your taste. 

I like to marinate the meat overnight, but if time is lacking, marinate for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking. I have also made this with no time to marinate at all, and once drizzled with the zingy dressing it's absolutely fine, so make according to your time. 

You can also mix it up in terms of the vegetables and salad items you use - include your favourites and if you want to bulk it out, add some rice noodles and make a little extra dressing. 

Here's how:

• 1 large sirloin steak, about 2cm thick
• Marinade for the steak:
• 1 lemongrass stalk
• 1 large red chilli
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1-2cm piece of ginger
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Juice of half a lime
• 1 tbsp shaosing wine
• Drop of fish sauce

For the salad:

• 1 bag of pea shoots
• 1 large carrot
• 4-5 raddishes
• Handful baby corn
• Cucumber - about 3-4cm long section 
• Handful beansprouts
• Handful coriander leaves
• Handful salted peanuts
• 1 red chilli

For the dressing:

• 1 red chilli
• 1/2 lime juiced
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 clove garlic
• Freshly grated ginger (about 1-2cm piece)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

For the steak marinade, slice the chilli, mince the garlic and slice the ginger (no need to peel), and bash the lemongrass a little and simply throw everything into a zip lock food bag, or a plastic container with the sesame oil, fish sauce, lime juice and soy sauce. Throw the steak in and allow the flavours to seep into the meat. Be sure to turn the steak over every so often, to ensure  all of the meat takes in the flavours. Pop into the fridge if marinating overnight, or if you only have an hour, leave at room temperature.

When ready to make the salad, place a griddle pan on a medium heat and allow to come up to a high temperature.

Once hot, place the sirloin  in the middle of the griddle and allow to cook for two minutes, then turn over and cook for two more minutes, and then remove from the pan and allow to rest whilst you prepare the salad and dressing.

Use a large plate or platter and scatter the pea shoots across it first.

Now peel and cut the carrots into thin matchstick sized pieces, then cut the radishes and cucumber into similar thin sticks and scatter all over the pea shoots. Now throw over the beansprouts, coriander and peanuts. If you like a lot of spice, also slice the red chilli and place all over the salad plate. 

Now make the dressing in a small bowl, literally just combine the freshly grated ginger (to taste), sliced red chilli, brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil and mix well. 

Now slice the steak as thick or thin as you'd prefer, into gorgeous slithers, place over the salad and drizzle all over with the dressing. So fresh, so simple, so delicious. Enjoy!

Halloween Chocolate Cupcakes

Halloween Chocolate Cupcakes

These Halloween cupcakes are super fun to make with the children over the half term or if you're having a spooky themed soiree. Whilst the bright orange, spider-topped cakes are definitely geared towards the little ones, the glossy, rich and decadent chocolate ganache topped selection will hit the mark for the grown ups.

You could use any food colouring for the spider-topped cakes, we just went for orange as it's synonymous with Halloween and you could also use sweet laces for the spider's legs rather than icing pens if you prefer.

For the icing I'm afraid I jotted down my measurements in tablespoons as I threw it all together, which I've given below, which are hopefully easy enough to translate.

We grabbed a little Halloween baking set from Poundland which included two dozen spooky cake cases, and a variety of eerily topped cocktail sticks; perfect decorations for cupcakes.

The below makes six of each cake.

Halloween Chocolate Cupcakes

Here's how:
The cakes:

• 120g room temperature butter
• 170g self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa
• 170g caster sugar
•  2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 tbsp milk

For the spider topped cakes' icing and decor:

• x6 Giant Chocolate Buttons
• Black icing pen
• Red icing pen
• Blue and/or green icing pen
• 2 tbsp butter
• 6 tbsp icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp milk
• Orange food colouring gel

For the chocolate ganache icing:

• 60g dark or plain chocolate 
• 1 tbsp double cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• Drop of vanilla extract

Firstly pre-heat the oven to a low 160 degrees and line a muffin or cupcake tray with a dozen cake cases.

The cupcakes follow the super easy all-in-one method, which is great for kids! Add everything into a mixing bowl and mix well until a smooth cake batter is produced.

Divide between the cake cases and place into the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until well risen and you can pop a skewer or cocktail stick inside and it comes out dry.

Once out of the oven, place the baking tray somewhere away from the oven and after five minute, remove the cakes and place onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

For the chocolate ganache, break up the chocolate and place into a small bowl with the butter, cream and vanilla. Place over a pan of boiled water on a low simmer and allow to gently melt down, use a wooden spoon to stir and ensure everything is fully melted. Then remove from the heat, set aside and allow to cool for five minutes until it's easy to handle. 

In the meantime, make the orange butter cream by combining the icing sugar, softened butter, vanilla  and mix well. Add the milk sparingly until the buttercream is at the consistency you'd like. Now add a drop or two of the orange food colouring gel, and then mix thoroughly. Repeat this process until you are happy with the hue and then spread over six of the cupcakes as smoothly as you can. 

Pop a Giant Chocolate Button in the middle of each of the orange-topped cakes and then simply add the eyes, mouth and spider's legs using the icing writing pens. 

For the remaining six cakes, use a spoon to pour over the thick and glossy ganache and allow to cover entirely. These are supposed to be rich and decadent, so don't scrimp here. Complete these by adding in a Halloween themed stick, right down into the cake so it stays in place. Enjoy!

If you are in need of further Halloween baking inspiration check out these Mummified Sausage Rolls, Chocolate Spider Biscuits or Halloween Biscuits that are are all great to make with the children this half term or in the lead up to 31st October. 

Seafood Spaghetti with Saffron and Chilli

Seafood Spaghetti with Saffron and Chilli

This is one of my favourite meals for Sunday when we're not having a roast dinner. I made it today and realised I've never shared the recipe. 

I used king prawns, mussels and squid today and it is a little faffy the way I prepare this with the squid being fried separately, but it well worth the preparation and extra pots and pans.

You could make these with prawns or mussels that aren't in the shell, however I urge you if possible to make with the shells still in-tact, it really does add to the flavour of the sauce.

People often marvel at the 'unusual' foods that my young daughters eat, including seafood, but it isn't unusual to them, as they have both had seafood from weaning and they absolutely love it, just like me.

I do use a cheat here, a pack of prepared Mussels in Garlic, which you can pick up from practically any supermarket; you can of course just use normal mussels, but the garlic sauce adds to the pasta sauce.

You could equally just throw the squid into the pan to cook with the rest of the seafood in the sauce direct if you prefer. I picked all of the seafood up from my local Morrison's and the kind fishmonger prepared the squid for me so I literally just had to cut, season and cook.

Here's how:

• 12 large king prawns
• Pack of mussels in garlic 
• 1 squid, body and tentacles
• 1 large white onion
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 red chilli
• 4 tomatoes
• 400g passata
• 1 tsp saffron threads
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Handful parsley to serve
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 300-400g spaghetti or other pasta
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 lemon

Fill and boil the kettle. 

Add the drizzle of olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pan and place on a low heat.

Finely dice the onion, mince the garlic and slice the chilli and add to the pan to saute.

Now roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the pan once everything else has softened down. Finely chop the parsley and set aside for garnish, and cute the lemon into wedges and set aside too.

Season at this point and add the oregano and saffron and allow to cook for a few minutes. 

Now add the passata and tomato puree and allow to cook for fifteen minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the squid. Clean if necessary, otherwise, finely slice into rings, and keep the tentacles. In a bowl add the plain flour and paprika and season generously with sea salt and black pepper, combine and then toss the squid rings and tentacles into the flour and ensure they are well-coated. Now set aside.

Once the sauce has been cooking away for fifteen minutes, place the pasta on to cook according to the packet instructions and when only eight minutes of cooking time is left, throw in the prawns and the mussels and immerse into the sauce, turning every couple of minutes to ensure they cook through. You can see when the prawns are cooked through as they will colour to pink. 

In a separate pan drizzle a little more olive or vegetable oil and place on a high heat and once hot, add the squid to the pan, allow to cook for thirty seconds, and then turn each squid over and cook for a further thirty seconds or until crisp, then remove from the heat and set aside. (Please don't be tempted to cook for longer, as it will result in chewy, rubbery squid, a common mistake.)

Before draining the pasta, add a serving spoon full of the pasta-cooking-water to the sauce to loosen up and help the sauce stick to the pasta. 

Drain and shake the spaghetti to remove excess water then add to the cooking pan with most of the parsley and stir really well, ensuring all of the spaghetti strands get a thorough coating and then quickly dish up for the family. 

Complete by scattering over a final sprinkling of chopped parsley and adding a few of the fried squid rings to each portion and placing a wedge of lemon with each. Enjoy!

Seafood Spaghetti with Saffron and Chilli

Some other seafood dishes you may enjoy:
Vicky's Special Seafood Stew
Crab and Asparagus Linguine with Parsley Grantitata
Prawn Summer Rolls
Prawn and Chorizo Carbonara
Honey Chilli and Coconut Prawns with Ho Fun
Gourmet Seafood Burger
Crab, Chilli and Asparagus Pappardelle
Spanish Prawns with Chorizo, Tomatoes and Peppers
Prawn Saganaki

Boozy Chocolate and Orange Brownies

We love chocolate brownies in all their various forms in our house, but these boozy chocolate and orange brownies are strictly for grown ups. 

They're rich, decadent and the intensity of the chocolate flavour, if you use a good chocolate is just wonderful. If you follow the below, you end up with a glossy topping that is slightly cracking, but a soft and squidgy, fudgey centre - just wonderful. 

I tend to use Cointreau as it's something I always have in stock, but you could substitute for another orange liqueur such as Triple Sec, Grand Marnier, Blue Curacao or Mandarine Napoleon. You could equally switch for a shot of Tia Maria or whisky if you prefer, in terms of taste, but the chocolate and orange works really well together. 

Boozy Chocolate and Orange Brownies

Here's how:

• 185g salted butter
• 200g dark chocolate of at least 85% cocoa solids
• 80g plain flour
• 50g cocoa
• 3 eggs
• 275g caster sugar
• Zest of 1 orange 
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tbsp Cointreau or alternative orange liqueur
• 50g white chocolate
• 50g milk chocolate
• 1 tbsp icing sugar

Fill and boil the kettle and then pour into a small saucepan on a low heat. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease and line a baking tin or dish and set aside.

Break up the dark chocolate and place into a bowl with the softened butter and gently melt over the saucepan. 

Once fully melted, remove the dark chocolate and butter from the heat. Grate the orange zest and add to the chocolate alongside the Cointreau, mix to combine and then set aside away from the hot water and allow to fully cool.

Roughly chop the white and milk chocolate into small chunks and set aside. 

Sift the plain flour and cocoa into a small bowl and set aside for a moment. 

Now in a mixing bowl add the sugar and eggs and whisk vigorously - if you have an electric whisk, it will take about five minutes, or by hand a good eight to ten. You want there to be a thick and creamy feel to the texture, as if you was making mousse. 

Now gently pour in the chocolate mixture and combine as carefully as you can, trying not to knock the air out that you have just painstaking whisked in. 

Once combined, sift over the cocoa and flour, now use the figure of eight method of mixing in, again being careful to be as gentle as possible.

Once it has formed a wet batter, add the chocolate chunks and stir through - try not to over-work here as you will knock the air out. 

Now pour into the greased, lined baking tin ad try to even out as best you can.

Place into the oven, on a middle shelf and allow to bake for 28 minutes exactly. 

Remove from the oven and give a good bang, if there is no wobble in the middle, the brownies are done, if there is a wobble return for a few more minutes then check again.

Once out of the oven, keep in the tin and place somewhere cool. Allow the brownies to cool completely before you attempt to remove them.

Cut into your preferred sized portions whilst still in the tin, and before serving dust with a little icing sugar for a final flourish. 

These will keep in an air tight container for up to a week, however I doubt they last that long; they are very moreish. Enjoy!

A few other bakes you might like to try:
Mary Berry's Marbled Chocolate Cake
Apple Cake
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Coffee & Walnut Traybake with Vanilla Latte Icing
Peach Upside Down Cake
Lemon & Honey Yoghurt Cake with Blueberries
St Clement's Drizzle Cake

Simple Lamb Potato-Topped-Pie

Simple Lamb Potato-Topped-Pie

Ever since I was a child, I've disliked the flavour of lamb and whilst I have continued to try it as an adult, I just can't get on board with it. 

On the flip-side, my other half Glen, and our daughters Bridget and Beatrice adore it and miss out on me cooking it very often so if I'm heading out for an evening without them, I do try to prepare a lamb dinner for them. 

Some of the meals I do for them include tagines, stews, curries, hotpot and casseroles and they love a shepherd's pie too. 

This dish was absolutely thrown together in a mad dash whilst also getting ready for an evening at the theatre, and my lot absolutely devoured and asked when I would be making it again and while it is incredibly simple and quick to pop together, I thought it would be worth sharing for any other parents that always look for easy mid-week dinners for all the family.

I make no apology for the fact that I used a jar of Dolmio Creamy Lasagne White Sauce here, I do often make a bechemel sauce, but I always keep a jar of that in the stock cupboard, it tastes good and sometimes a shortcut is needed. Incidentally the Marks & Spencer Bechemel is good too.

The below serves four people.

Here's how:

• 300g lamb mince
• 4 King Edward potatoes (other potatoes will do just fine)
• 1 white onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks celery
• 3 tbsp frozen peas
• 1 jar of Dolmio White Lasagne Sauce
• 1 tbsp grated Grana Padana or other hard cheese
• 1 Oxo cube
• 1 Knorr Lamb Stock Pot
• 1 tbsp red wine
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• Fresh nutmeg

Firstly peel the potatoes and cut into slices, about 1/2 cm thick. Wash them well and then place in a saucepan, pour over water just boiled from the kettle to cover them, add a pinch of salt and cook on a medium heat for five minutes. Drain and set aside.

Turn the oven on now to 180-200 degrees to pre-heat and prepare the filling.

Firstly dice the onion and mince the garlic and add to a large frying pan with a drizzle of oil to saute. Once soft, add the lamb mince, and use a spatula to gently break down the mince in the pan so it doesn't all clump together. Season now with salt and pepper and once the mince has begun to brown, add the cinnamon too.

In the meantime, peel and dice the carrot and finely slice the celery and add to the mince once it is browned. 

Now crumble over the Oxo cube and add the rosemary and frozen peas and stir well. Make up the Lamb Stock Pot - about 150-200ml and pour over with the dash of red wine and allow to cook down for twenty minutes until the gravy has thickened a little. 

Once you're happy with the consistency of the lamb, pour or ladle it into an oven-proof dish and cover the bottom. 

Simple Lamb Potato-Topped-Pie

Now layer the potatoes across the top, to make the potato topping, and then pour over the lasagne sauce to completely cover. 

For a final flourish of flavour scatter over the grated Grana Padana and finely grate over some fresh nutmeg before placing into the over for 30 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted and the top has some lovely golden brown patches. 

Simple Lamb Potato-Topped-Pie

Enjoy!

Here are a few other pie recipes that I've shared on here and which are great autumnal and winter warmers for all of the family:

Chicken and Mushroom Potato Pie
Mediterranean Makeover Cottage Pie
Squash and Goat's Cheese Pie
Chicken & Mushroom Pot Pie
Beef & Lentil Filo Pie
Steak & Ale Pot Pie
Steak & Lentil Cottage Pie

A Whistestop Tour of Wales

We recently visited Wales for a long weekend to celebrate my parent's 30th wedding anniversary staying at Bethany Baptist Chapel, just on the outskirts of the Brecon Beacons.

Our home for the weekend was an amazing converted church in the village of Treherbert, a great base for our adventures and you can find out about that here.

Barry Island

Whilst there were eight of us for the weekend, Glen and I came up early on the Thursday with Bridget and Beatrice and enjoyed a night's stay and a full morning taking in Barry Island. 

I'll admit our shared love of Gavin & Stacey and checking out the tourist spots from the show were a big motivator, but actually, as we travelled at night and our first real glimpse of Wales was Barry and Whitmore Bay, we were really pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it actually is. 

Whitmore Bay, Barry Island, Wales

Barry Island

We enjoyed a cooked breakfast at Whitmore & Jackson, a surprisingly hipster-esque joint that we found via Trip Advisor, a stroll on the beautiful sandy beach and then a round of the crazy golf, which was £4 per person and which was completely empty on a Friday in early September aside from us, which with a four year old and a 20-month old was rather good luck.We took our time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We found that the Pleasure Park didn't open until 11am and so killed a little more time with a beach-front stroll and a photo opportunity at Marco's Cafe, of Gavin & Stacey fame. 

From there we had half an hour in the good old-fashioned amusement arcades, where the girls were in their element and then we literally had the run of the Pleasure Park for an hour to ourselves too. A charming man was designated to be our guide around the otherwise deserted fair, and took us from ride to ride of the suitable ones for the girls. It was very reasonable and typical of a British seaside town. We were meeting my parents at lunchtime, but otherwise we could have easily spent the day in Barry and would definitely return.

Us at Barry Island

Caerphilly

We met the parents at Caerphilly, famous for it's cheese and the beautiful Caerphilly Castle. We had a wonder around the town and moved on for a drive closer to our weekend retreat.

Caerphilly Castle

Me, Bridget and Beatrice outside Caerphilly Castle

We lunched at the Red Cow Inn in Pontsticill, a spot popular with ramblers and dog-walkers. We ate good, hearty, honest and most importantly, home-made food and the drive to and from was exceptional. 

Brecon Beacons

Brecon Mountain Railway steam train

Brecon Beacons

Views from the Brecon Beacons Mountain

The Brecon Mountain Railway Selfie

On the Saturday, when the entire party was in situ we enjoyed a wet morning at the Brecon Mountain Railway starting at Pant station in Merthyr Tydfill. The Brecon Mountain Railway, is a range of steam trains, with a heritage of over 100 years and is described as a 'special way of seeing some of the scenery in the UK'. Despite a rather grey, drizzly day we couldn't disagree, it really was something special. The magnificent steam trains were quite fascinating and did put me in mind of the Hogwarts Express but the views were just sensational over the Brecon Beacons, taking in Pontsticill, the gorge of the Taf Fechan River and the Pentwyn Reservoir it was a wonderful way to while away the morning. The Brecon Mountain Railway is priced at £14.50 per adult and was well worth it, it was £7.25 for Bridget and Bea was free as she is under three year's old. 

We enjoyed a late lunch that day, at the award-winning Pen-y-Cae, a gastro pub, boasting good food and a mini-zoo outside which was a great incentive for Bridget and Beatrice. 

Before heading there we were able to visit the nearby Henrhyd Falls - something I was very keen to do. Unfortunately due to the rain, it was a difficult task with Beatrice in tow, so Glen stayed with her in the car where she happily napped and Glen stayed out of the rain. 

Henrhyd Falls, Wales

As the tallest waterfall in South Wales, with a drop of 90 feet, Henrhyd Falls is nestled within National Trust woodland and the walk down is quite vigorous for a trek, particularly in wet weather. I'm certainly no regular hiker, and bringing Bridget, who was almost four, was risky, but well worth it. 

I was so proud of her for making it both down the valley to the falls and then up again, no mean feat for an adult let alone a child of her age. She got a little scared when we were close to the fall, as the ground was very slippery. The greenery on the way down was beautiful but the actual fall itself was just stunning. My brother, Dad and brother-in-law had a stroll behind the fall, but Bridget was really nervous so we admired from afar which was just fine for us. 

Bridget with proud Grandad and Uncle Dan at Henrhyd Falls

Having only stayed for three nights in South Wales, I feel as though we only scratched the surface of what's on offer for families in this beautiful part of the UK and I have a yearning to return and explore more with my family - watch this space. 

Bethany Baptist Chapel - A Family Retreat in the Brecon Beacons

Bethany Baptist Chapel, Treherbert

I wanted to share a post about an absolute gem of a holiday home; Bethany Baptist Chapel, that we had the pleasure of enjoying a weekend's stay at recently via airbnb. 

We visited the Brecon Beacons, Wales as the final celebration for my parent's 30th wedding anniversary in September and our party included the four of us, my parents, my brother and his partner - eight of us in total. 

Finding spacious, comfortable accommodation for eight that happens to be child-friendly, and within a reasonable budget can be a tricky ask, but this quirky, Grade II listed building and former church provided the perfect base for our stay.

Nestled at the bottom of the Rhigos Mountain, which you through en route to several places and which offers fantastic views of the beautiful countryside and valleys, the house is in a great location for exploring the nearby Brecon Beacons and surrounding areas. 

As a former church that has been renovated well, this house has maintained many original features and transformed them into this eccentric home; from the organ that forms a feature wall in the master bedroom and a walk in wardrobe on the other side, a stained glass window, and the hand-crafted pulpit with mezzanine which creates a rather dramatic dining area where we enjoyed our breakfast each morning.  

Bethany Baptist Chapel, The Pulpit and dining area

Bethany Baptist Chapel, Treherbert, Wales

Master bedroom complete with organ

Bethany Baptist Chapel, Airbnb

Bethany Baptist Chapel

Bethany Baptist Chapel has five bedrooms, one king, two doubles and two singles in the remaining rooms, and three bathrooms, which made it perfect for us. 

It's difficult to convey the sheer size and space of this unique property, set over two floors, the ground is largely open plan and has a great living area with sofas and coffee table, as well as armchairs in front of a wood-burning oven. A small play corner with a vast amount of children's books and toys made it popular with Bridget and Bea on arrival, and the small upstairs lounge area with a huge bookshelf packed with novels was incredibly inviting for the bookworms amongst our party (me). 

There was also a selection of board games and a darts board which provided great evening entertainment. We booked it as a base but actually found ourselves wanting to get back and enjoy the property in the evenings, which is testament to how much we enjoyed it.

The village of Treherbert was quite residential and had a few local shops, takeaways and a couple of pubs if you wanted to order in or venture out for a local pint; we didn't but the option was there.

Overall the house really was fantastic, it wasn't perfect, there were a few little niggles, the sofa was a little tatty and could have done with a new cover or even a throw to freshen it up, but in general we were more than satisfied and in terms of what we paid for the weekend, we were delighted. When we arrived we had been gifted with fresh milk, bread and butter as well as essentials such as tea bags, sugar and coffee too, a nice touch.

If you are looking for a beautiful base by the Brecon Beacons I would urge you to check out Bethany Baptist Chapel; priced from a hugely reasonable £150 a night, it's an absolute steal.

This was my first trip to Wales since I was a teenager and I really did fall in love with the beautiful, rugged and gloriously green country. We got to enjoy plenty which you can read about here but I'll look forward to returning with the girls when they are a little older and can do some more energetic hiking. 

Pancakes at The Diner, Spitalfields

Bridget enjoying her pancakes at The Diner

We love pancakes at our house and Bridget in particular, always chooses them for birthday breakfasts or anytime we're eating out for breakfast or brunch.

One cold morning in the early part of the year, Bridget and I had to head into to Shoreditch for a little job Bridget was doing in the area (she does the odd modelling assignment) and I promised her we could head for some pancakes when we were finished. 

After seeking out ideas from Twitter, someone mentioned The Diner in Spitalfields which is where we ventured too. Unsurprisingly enough, it is in the style of an American diner in decor, all red leather booths and menu, from the breakfast options, shakes, and the range of burgers, dogs and other diner-esque cuisine. It reminded me of the fantastic Tick Tock Diner in New York; hearty well-cooked food but with a friendly service. 

Visiting with a then 3-year old, the staff, all of which were dressed in definite Shoreditch hipster attire, were very welcoming and pleasant. Our kind waiter made helpful suggestions and promptly brought an activity pack with colouring in for Bridget which immediately made him a friend.

Bridget and I both chose pancakes - me the simple buttermilk variety, with maple syrup and honey butter and a side of crispy bacon; on holiday these are always my guilty breakfast indulgence and they didn't let me down here. Perfect fluffy pancakes only improved with the salty crunch of bacon and the sweetness of maple syrup. They were simple, hearty and absolutely fantastic on a snowy-cold February morning. 

As it was a treat, I allowed Bridget the chocolate chip pancakes, which were as mine but enhanced with generous chunks of milk chocolate. Also served with maple syrup, which Bridget hadn't had before, she was beside herself with this decadent dessert breakfast/brunch. She chose an adult sized portion as the chocolate chip variety weren't available on the children's menu, which meant three large, fluffy pancakes; and she eat two of them and some of the third which I think is testament to her verdict. I naturally tried them too and they really were delicious. 

Buttermilk Pancakes at The Diner

The Diner offers reasonably priced children's menu too which includes a single buttermilk pancake, a cheeseburger, chicken strips with fries, mac and cheese and even a vegan burger, and we will definitely return to try some of the other items on the menu.

I paid around £20 for our pancakes with a latte, sparkling water and juice for Bridget and will be sure to return. I would love to try the thick shakes or a coke float, for a trip down memory lane next time.

The Diner is a cosy, welcoming American diner in the heart of Spitalfields and when the weather is cold and damp, I doubt you'll find a more welcoming port in the storm.

Sweet Drip Cake

Sweet Drip Cake

I'd like to begin by saying that I made this with absolute pleasure for Bridget's fourth birthday cake. It was by no means perfect in terms of appearance compared to some of the Insta-delicious and Pinterest-perfect creations I sought inspiration from (Ange des Sucres, Rosie's Dessert Spot, The Kitchnn I'm looking at you!) . Having said that, it tasted fantastic, was enjoyable to make and my two little girls were delighted with it. 

The drip icing was quite difficult to master, and master I didn't, my 'drips' were rather large compared to the desired result, but again, I was pretty chuffed with the end result.

I made a very simple all-in-one Victoria Sandwich cake filled with raspberry jam and then iced it with a simple buttercream. 

For the drip effect having referred to various sites and resources online, I chose a white chocolate ganache with a little food colouring to give the peachy colour required. Making it into gloriously unctuous and glossy icing was actually quite easy, but I think a few more attempts before I get the neat and tidy drips.  

The fun thing with these cakes is you can top them with all of your favourite sweet things, I used an array of jelly sweets, some Party Ring biscuits, pink macarons, pink wafer biscuits, marshmallows and a couple of lollipops but the choice is endless.

Here's how:

The sponges: 

• 225g butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs

The filling

• 3 tbsp raspberry jam

The buttercream:

• 300g salted butter
• 500g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Tiny drop of peach food colouring

The ganache drip icing:

• 160g white chocolate
• 140ml double cream
• 3-4 drops of peach food colouring

The sweet toppings:

You can use a combination of any of your favourite sweet things, I used:

• Rose macarons
• Pink wafer biscuits
• Party Ring mini biscuits
• Jelly sweet assortment
• Marshmallows
• Lollipops

Firstly pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees and then grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins with parchment paper. 

As this is an all in one cake add all of the ingredients to a large bowl or mixer (sift the flour) and mix well until completely blended. Pour half of the mixture into each of the sandwich tins and then level out as best you can so they are fairly even. Pop into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until they have risen and bounce back if pressed lightly with a finger. You can use a skewer to check if they are baked through, if you spear the cake and it comes out dry you know they are ready.

It's important that you completely cool the sponges before icing so be sure to turn out onto a wire rack or if you haven't got one a flat chopping board will suffice just as well. Set aside and cool for at least an hour.

I like to prepare my cake on a cake stand, but if you have a cake turner this will be great here, or a simple plate or board is also fine. 

Spread the jam generously onto the top of one of the sponges - don't scrimp here, this is an indulgent cake.

Now carefully and as evenly as you can muster, place the second sponge on top of the first sponge.

Firstly make the ganache icing so it has a little time to cool. Break up the white chocolate and place into a heavy-bottomed pan with the cream and place on a low heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until fully melted and glossy. Do not allow to boil. Once you're happy with the consistency, remove from the heat and add the food colouring of your choice and stir through to ensure you're happy with the colour of the icing. Set aside for a while so you can make the buttercream and cover the cake.

To make the buttercream combine all of the ingredients and mix well until thoroughly blended and smooth - you don't want to see lumps here. 

Now you want to cover the cake and then use a pallette knife to smooth the icing around the cake. You want as smooth a finish as possible here as it fits the style, and particularly the top does need to be as flat as possible. Once you are happy set aside for the moment.

Sweet Drip Cake before the ganache

Once the white chocolate ganache is cool to touch, you can begin the icing work here, give a good stir and you're ready to begin.

Firstly spoon on some icing at the edge of the cake, a good tablespoon, then gently push a little over the edge to create your first drip. Repeat this process all around the cake until you have lots of drips and then spoon over the ganache on the top of the cake and ensure it is covered on the top.

Now decorate with your choice of sweet things in any design you fancy. This is the time for fun and indulgence so don't hold back. I added a gold 4 candle to mine, and you could do the same with the appropriate age or even add a sparkler or any other kind of decoration to add to the fun of this sweet drip cake. Enjoy!