Crazy for crazy cake (eggless, butterless cake)

I'm all for a quick bake. I mean, the amount of time you can reduce between baking to actual consumption the better in my opinion. And today's recipe does not disappoint in the speed stakes!

I came across a recipe via the blog Sweet Little Bluebird which is the cutest little blog full of fab recipes and other handy tips and I couldn't believe the ingredient list for this cake. How on earth could you make a cake from so few things? Then I read on and it seems the recipe hails from the depression era when food was limited which explains the short ingredients list.

Biscoff buttercream topped brownie cups

Have you tried Biscoff  spread yet? My twitter feed literally imploded last year when the famous speculoos cookie spread went on sale in supermarkets throughout the UK and I've been keen to try out a recipe using the jar I bought on a sweet filled shopping trip a few months ago.

I finally decided to try and keep it simple and make a biscoff buttercream so I could try it in a fairly easy recipe to start with - and I wasn't disappointed! Adding it to buttercream means you get the full biscoff flavour and whilst I expected it to be too sweet, it was just right.

Make your own chocolate jazzies

This sprinkle laden little bites of chocolate are called different things depending on where you hail from but I know them as chocolate jazzies and I kinda like that name. Do I do a little jazz dance whilst eating them? Well, no but jazz hands? Maybe...

You normally find these in bags from your local sweetie shop but will Halloween looming I'm trying to find ways of making little treats to use up some of my baking supplies as my sprinkle addiction is getting out of hand...

Reeses triple loaded peanut butter cookies

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am a peanut butter addict. I don't go looking for peanut butter related recipes but they have a way of finding me...or finding my Pinterest board at least...

I came across this super simple recipe for peanut butter cookies and I had *just* enough peanut butter left to give it a go. I think it originates from a Martha Stewart recipe but I've since found the same recipe accredited to a few different sources so I can't credit the original baker.

Browned butter and white chocolate cookie cups

As you might have read last week, I tried my hand at making browned butter for the first time. It was super easy to do and the mere aroma of the butter got my recipe cogs whirring as I tried to think up all the ways I could use my first batch.

We had a family day out planned to Creswell Crags in Derbyshire (more about that later!) so I wanted a treat which we could pop into our lunch bag. I settled on cookie cups as a sturdy treat and the cookie recipe I use is so easy to throw together that it literally took under an hour to make these from start to finish!

Let's make browned butter!

Ok, so I'm pretty late to the browned butter party but over the past few years I've seen the term creep up now and again and it's usually accompanied by the sentence 'life changing' so I figure it's a must try.

It's very simple to make and I *urge* you to try it once. Browning your butter brings out a caramelly-nutty flavour that you can't get any other way. It adds a new dimension to your standard butter flavour and changes the flavour of your baking with one simple substitute.

Frugal family summer: Make your own play 'dirt'!

Like most kids, my boys love getting dirty. There's quite a big age gap between my 8yr old and 3yr old but I find messy play brings them together by appealing to their dirt lovin' boyish nature.

In my search for frugal summer activities I have been trying to use household items to create messy play activities the boys can indulge in at a moments notice and without too much effort on my part (I'm still working throughout the holidays) and that generally means raiding the pantry!

Peanut Butter and Marshmallow bars

Regular readers of my blog will be familiar with my peanut butter obsession. I love peanuts and peanut butter in EVERYTHING. Sweet foods, savoury foods and smoothies - all taste better with peanuts!

A few months ago Duerrs got in touch and sent me some of the newly branded jams which I used to make some jammie biscuits. I'm not a huge jam fan so I'm not loyal to one brand of jam generally but I did like the samples they sent and they worked a treat in those biscuits.

But then Duerrs tweeted me (best tweet EVER!!) and offered me some of their new peanut butter and I *knew* I had to try it! I mean who'd say no to free peanut butter?