Brownies

I'm baking like a mad thing for Dairsie Does Different at the moment.  It's on Saturday - how did that come round so quickly??!!!! Anyway, not much time to sit and chat, so this will be brief.  It occurs to me as I type in a fug of cinammony air that there are few things in life finer than a freshly baked, gooey, rich, chocolate brownie.  Add to that some excellent tunes on the Ipod and things really don't get much better! Just cut a batch fresh from the oven and they look scrummy, if I do say so myself.  These are for an order but there will be plenty on the stall on Saturday.  Hope you can come along!

Chocolatey goodness!

Cranberry Crumble Cake

deliciously naughty!

One of my greatness pleasures in life is discovering a new cookbook!  Something to tantilise the tastebuds, get those creative juices flowing and open doors to endless possibilites of taste sensations.  I weakened at the weekend and purchased such a luxury.  Having spent a happy morning lusting over the colour pictures, devouring the ingredients mentally and then absorbing the methods, I settled on a Blueberry Crumble Loaf Cake as my first foray into baking heaven.  Well, except I had to vary it a little as I had no blueberries but loads and loads of cranberries in my freezer instead (courtesy of Sainsbugs much cheapness section at Christmas!) - hence, my Cranberry Crumble Loaf Cake.  It is beautifully buttery, not overly sweet, has a subtle hint of cinnamon and the tartness of the cranberries works oh so well with the crunch of the pecans.  And, it looks pretty too with the cranberries peaking through like little jewels of bright red juice! Oh so scrummy and delicious!  It is so delightful, I think it may become a regular - maybe with blueberries too! - and it is on my "to bake" list for Dairsie Does Different.

sprinkles and sugar flowers

My Spring and mother's day sprinkles and cupcake cases have arrived.  Yeah!!  Lovely pretty pastel colours, spring flowers and hearts galore!  As much as I love my chocolate stars and edible glitter, new pretty and cheery sprinkles do gladden my heart and put a wee bounce in my step!

Mum has been on the case for me again too making pretty little daisies.  She has become my first official employee/volunteer I think!! I've decided that as the daisy has kind of become my logo, it is going to appear on all of my orders so keep an eye out for it when you take delivery of a Bakehouse bundle of goodies!  No doubting who the cakes have come from then!  Daisies make me feel all cheery and smiley too so hope they do the same for you!

The new sprinkles and cases will make their debut at Dairsie Does Different I think, if I can wait that long to use them!

daffodils and roses, forget-me-nots and daisies

chocolate mint cake and girly pink birthday cake...

Eliza's birthday cake.

Been a busy few days at the Bakehouse.  I started with Eliza's 2nd Birthday cake - all pink, girly and pretty.  Who can resist pink birthday cake?!! It's a flavourful vanilla sponge underneath the gooey pinkness.  Simple yet tasty.  A perfect combination if you ask me.


I followed this with, what I believe to be possibly one of the best after dinner birthday cakes, a chocolate mint cake. Made to feed a crowd for a 40th Birthday.  Suitably chocolatey with a subtle minty buttercream - who can beat that?!

a little bit of chocolatey minty heaven

And this morning's fun and games has been cupcakes.  Made all the more interesting with the addition of a powercut!!!  Fun! Fun! Fun!  I've done very chocolatey fudge ones decorated with lovely swirls of fudgy icing and tiny chocolate stars.  And, my current cupcake preference, the coconut & lime taste of tropical heaven.  Made all the sweeter as the sleet batters against the windows and the temperature plummets again.  Thought it was Spring!?  It's a lovely coconuty light sponge with a swoosh of citrusy lime buttercream speckled with tiny flakes of lime zest.   Yummy!

I've planned well and have a few extras left over to enjoy with friends, wine and pizza tonight!!  Has to be a wee perk to the job you know!

coconuty lime loveliness

chocolate heaven

Adrian Murray @ Dairsie Does Different

Back to Dairsie Does Different for another stall holder! I promised you a jeweller and Adrian Murray is just that!   

After graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone and specialising in Jewellery and Metalwork, Adrian has spent time playing and experimenting with various materials to produce one off works of design and has been involved in some projects that have been given the name of technocrafts. His work includes aspects of play which the user/wearer are able to interact with.  

Sounds intriguing!!  You'll have to come along to Dairsie Does Different to see his very special creations for yourself.  In the meantime, here's just a flavour of what he does:

  

Something a bit more foody...

So, after being completely absorbed by Dairsie Does Different of late, I thought it was about time I did something food related on the blog.  It is what I do after all!  And besides, I need to re-ground myself in cake!!  It is, of course, the answer to everything.

Elmo

I've had a busy couple of weeks with birthdays so cake has been much needed.  It does of course, make a birthday does it not!  And, when I'm making cake for friends and family I get to experiment too.  They are used to me, believe me!! Red Velvet Elmo cupcakes and Coffee and Walnut Cake were the main event this month.  The recipient of the Elmo Cupcakes is probably old enough to know better but hey, who doesn't love Elmo??!!!

And as for the Coffee and Walnut, well, who doesn't adore that?!  Richly coffee-ey and chock full of walnuts, it is a wee bit of tasty sophistication if you ask me.

Coffee and Walnut in all it's glory

I've had a carrot cake thrown into the mix for good measure too.  And it is a carrot cake - devoid of nuts, raisins, pineapple or any other contaminants!  My carrot cake is full of only carrots....as it should be if you ask me!!  Moist, suitably cinnamon-y and delightfully speckled with shredded carrot.  Mmmmm.....who could resist that!?!

Today's plan then is to enter into the spirit of British Pie Week. A good excuse to make pie I think!  I feel a savoury option coming on today - possibly a good ol' Homity Pie,  full of lovely squishy potato, a creamy sauce and topped with cheese.  Yummy! Or, having had a look at the British Pie Week website, it could be the Roasted Veg Pie.  To tempt you too have a look at the website! - http://www.britishpieweek.co.uk/   Sweet Pie will feature later in the week I'm sure!

Eleanor Mathers @ Dairsie Does Different

So, every event like Dairsie Does Different needs some form of papercrafting and we are lucky enough to have the creative talents of Eleanor to fill that gap.  She produces handmade cards, gift boxes, bags and nursery wall-art, all of it beautifully hand-crafted and creatively designed.  


After bringing up a family of five, Eleanor decided, quite rightly, that she was due a little more time to herself to pursue and indulge her passion for papercrafting.  She has loved crafting since childhood and has spent any spare time that she has had sewing, knitting, painting and so on.  All the items she makes are made with great care and attention to detail and use quality materials.  Her aim, she says is to give pleasure to the recipient - and I have every certainty that she achieves that!  I'm adoring the froggy things - oh, and the wee birds!  Pics attached to tempt you!


Another great reason to visit Dairsie Does Different if you ask me!! (but then I am slightly biased!! :) )

             
                        

Creature Couture @ Dairsie Does Different

Blair McCafferty and Danna Muir are putting together a variety of items for us at Dairsie Does Different.  Yep, another stallholder!!

I've worked out that artists and makers explain what they do best themselves, so as they say, "they produce cute little treasures from a place that could be here, but instead is slightly there".  That just makes you want to come along and see what they are showing, doesn't it?!!

From plush toys, artwork and accessories, you are bound to find something that appeals and makes you want to see more.  Images attached to tickle your creative taste buds!!

Can't wait to see what else they bring with them for us to see!  exciting!!

Mike Middleton @ Dairsie Does Different

As promised, Mike's images.  What can I say? They are fabulous....and so good you don't need a huge rave review from me to confirm that.  Just spend 10 mins having a look to see that yourself! They provide a fabulous and diverse range of work.  I'm loving Gnomeland 2011 and have a soft spot for the Bell Rock 2010.   And, they'll be even better as originals on the day of Dairsie Does Different so make sure you don't miss it.  You are in for a treat!!

The Middleton Miscellany @ Dairsie Does Different

The Middleton Miscellany is just that....a mix of things you didn't know you'd love but you do!  We are very pleased the Middleton gang are coming to Dairsie Does Different as a stallholder.

You'll find a variety of things made by a very talented family.  Yep! The whole family is involved with this!! One of the main points of putting together Dairsie Does Different is to showcase new works and to have some fun doing it! The Middleton Miscellany certainly fits that category perfectly! Dad, Mike is a great artist who is showcasing some of his paintings (in his first ever show of this kind - exciting for all!!),  Lucy has designed and made a range of very cool unique finger puppets....which also work as pencil toppers and Naomi is following in her father's footsteps and is displaying some fantastic pencil sketches of animals.  Mike's work is really great so have a look in tomorrow when I'll have some photos of his work for you to see.  In the meantime, just to tempt you, I've attached some of Lucy and Naomi's work.

some of Lucy's puppets

love the chicken!!

I'm already the very proud owner of a frog!!

Mountain Goat

Lion

Giraffe by Naomi

WhimSicAL LusH @ Dairsie Does Different

Next confirmed stallholder at Dairsie Does Different is WhimSicAL LusH, the unique and fantastic "baby" of Suzanne Scott.  


There is no better way of summing up what WhimSicAL LusH is about than in Suzanne's own words.  She says 


" You need to work hard in life to achieve your goals.  So it is important to bear in mind the little things in life that make you smile. So the more whimsical the better...right?" 


I adore the things Suzanne does.  She loves drawing, taking photos, playing in the darkroom, ceramics, kintting and sewing along with a vast list of other things.  Her latest obsession is screen printing which she is currently learning and loving!  Check out her website www.whimsicallush.co.uk/ or her facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/WhimSicAL-LusH/183188165028143?ref=ts&v=wall to see what she is up to.  You'll see her mad, crazy knitted rabbits on there which I am head over heels for!! Worth a look without doubt!


And, as an added bonus for Dairsie Does Different, Suzanne designed our amazing poster which appears above.  It is fabulous and sums up what we are trying to do so well!   We aren't your traditional craft show by any means!