Year Two: Everything In-Between

Hello!

It's been a long time since I've checked back here and the year has been crazy long. I've done a lot of things; graduated university, started a job, acquired a second beautiful nephew. 

Of course, all you guys care about is the baking and it's time I started up again! But while I think of something to bake, why don't I share a few of the ones I did over the last year...

Mini Cheesecakes

Evaluation

5/5 stars: Taste.

4/5 stars: Ease of Recipe.

4.5/5 stars: Presentation. The first batch were a little untidy as I took them out too soon but the second were gorgeous.
3/5 stars: Time. It's worth it, but be aware you've got to leave them in the freezer overnight if you really want them to set and decoration is fiddly and therefore takes time.
5/5 stars: Overall success. I've made them about three times now and they always go down wonderfully!

Original Recipe

http://www.finedinings.com/mini_cheesecake_recipe.htm

________________________

I changed the recipe a lot. Mostly because it was American measurements. I didn't use the nuts, I used caster sugar instead of granulated, I used lemon/ lime juice in the citrus ones. Just a tiny bit of each. I used ginger nut biscuits as the base of the citrus ones to give them that extra kick. I didn't use corn starch. I used fresh fruit. This is basically one of those recipes you have to rip to shreds to get something good out of. But when you have, it's excellent. 

Please note: Since I'm doing a few of these I'll just post original recipes and note changes I made for each, but if you do want to make any of them e-mail me at contactheatherwarren@gmail.com and I'll get it for you! I have a paper copy of most of them and don't mind typing them up if there's interest.

Halloween Buns

Evaluation

4/5 stars: Taste. The ghost ones were more like a 3.5 as they were just too much icing but the bn mixture was moist and tasty and the chocolates on top of the others made them very yummy.

5/5 stars: Ease of Recipe.

4/5 stars: Presentation. We got lazy! We were already tired and there was a limited time to decorate, but they still turned out pretty cool and spooky.
4.5/5 stars: Time. Depends how long you want to spend decorating. The buns are quick and easy, the decorating a little less quick but still less than an hour to make them all.
5/5 stars: Overall success. Great fun!

Original Recipe

A very basic bun recipe and then we used a few sites as inspiration for the decor and used fondant icing. 

Christmas Chelsea Buns

Evaluation

4.5/5 stars: Taste. A little bit less filling next time but other than that, awesome!

4/5 stars: Ease of Recipe.

5/5 stars: Presentation. Look how beautiful and golden brown they are!

3.5/5 stars: Time. You need to leave the bread to rise so it does take a long time, but you've got to be prepared for that if you want home made bread.

5/5 stars: Overall success. These were a really great thing to make and a good way to eat through some of that leftover turkey. I'm not going to lie though, we had to make a new pack of stuffing as we did not have enough left over and you've got to have plenty of cranberry jelly in the house.

Original Recipe

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/turkey_stuffing_and_77957

Add in some fresh cranberries as they make them taste and look so much better! Use a little less turkey and don't worry so much about the rolling. We didn't stretch ours as much as he suggested and they came out fine. Also, keep a good eye on them in the final stages. You don't want to over-cook them.