Afternoon Tea Baby Shower

This year has been full of pregnant ladies and babies, and two of those pregnant ladies just so happen to be my sister and her sister-in law. This seemed like a perfect excuse to make up a dessert table and have an afternoon tea (here is the first dessert table we did). Afternoon tea's and dessert table's are brilliant because they give you the creative licence to do whatever you want with the decor and the menu.

We decided to make the invitations ourselves (which we had a lot of fun doing), most of the pom poms were home made as was the bunting hanging from the table. Food wise we had a mix of home made and shop bought which turned out really well, because if you don't have time to make all the food there are so many bakery's, deli's and other food places that do brilliant food for occasions like this. It always worth having a look around in your local area for places like that. For serving dishes we used a combination of things that all three of us had, what our mothers had and we hired the tea cups and tea pots from the bakery where we got the cake from (And the dish ran away with the spoon). Flowers also make everything look prettier, we decided on one big pitcher of flowers and a few smaller jars of flowers dotted around the table.

All in all I think it was a big success and it just goes to show that a mix of home made and shop bought can work really well, and just have fun with it. Here is the vlog of the whole thing

  

Ladies Lunch and Baking

Recently I have notice the growing trend in 'Tea rooms' and dessert places opening in my local area, and the other day my mum told us about one that had opened near us, so we decided to check it out. CommuniTea Rooms is a none profit organisation that is part of a community scheme. All of the profits that they make go to organising local community projects and events. All of the food is made by them and some of the member of the community also make cakes so it all tastes great. Its brilliant that these guys are make our local community better and organising events for people to get involved in (you can find out more about them here). 

Also that same day I had a bit of a baking day. Now if you follow me on instagram (@capturing_my_world) you will know that a few weeks ago I experimented with making cornbread and it went down so well. Since then I have made it at least once a week and it is fast becoming a family favourite. It's perfect for anyone who is on a gluten free diet or even if you just want to try something different to your normal bread. It couldn't be easier to make

What you will need 

• 265g coarsely ground yellow cornmeal 
• 1 tsp sea salt 
• 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 60g butter melted and slightly cooled
• 4 tbsp honey 
• 340g yoghurt
• splash of milk   

What you will need to do 

• Pre heat your oven to 190c/gas mark 5/375f (170c for fan ovens) and grease your tin
• In the bowl you are going to mix you wet ingredients in, put in your butter and melt it in the microwave. When melted leave to one side to cool slightly
• In a large bowl mix together the cornmeal and the rest of the dry ingredients  
• To the bowl with the melted butter add the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk until well combined 
• Make a well in the middle of the cornmeal mixture and pour in the wet mixture 
• Whisk until its all combined and forms a batter 
• Add a splash of milk to loosen the mixture slightly 
• Pour the mixture into you baking tin and bake for 30-35 mins until the cornbread is golden brown, our when you poke a skewer in the middle it comes out clear
• Slice it up and enjoy :)

Tips

• Instead of using yoghurt you can use buttermilk, in that case you don't need the splash of milk because it will be looser batter.  
• I also prefer to mix the wet ingredients in a jug instead of a bowl because then its easier to pour in the dry ingredients 
• This cornbread is perfect with your favourite soft cheese and a mixed salad
• You can also experiment with adding different flavours such as mixed hers, spice and cumin  

My sister and I also made a Banoffee pie which we have loved making (and eating ;)) for a long time. For the recipe check out my sisters blog here. I also filmed that day so here is the vlog.

Eid and Bithday celebrations

The day after the blessed month of Ramadan is over it is Eid (specificly Eid-ul fitr). One the day of Eid it is custom to pray a special Eid prayer and spend time with family, friends and loved ones. It also seems to be an excuse to eat food all day and have a permanent food coma :-). A tradition in our family is to always have seviyan (sweet vermicilli in milk) and boiled eggs; and the we spend the rest of the day with extended family at my grandma's house. On Eid-ul fitr there are also gifts or money given to loved ones as well. Also coincidently this year Eid landed on my dad's and cousin's birthday, so there was a lot of cake consumed. Here is a short video of the day.



Hope you all had a prosperous Ramadan and a wonderful Eid xxx

Ramadan gifts

As many of you know the holy month of Ramadan is in full swing now. In this month of Muslim's will fast from sunrise to sunset. Also in this month Muslim's increase their worship (through praying and reciting the Qur'an etc) to the all might Allah and increase their good deeds. Doing all of this helps Muslim's build their patience, be grateful for what we have that others around the world may not have, and most importantly to get closer to Allah in our hearts and on a spiritual level. The month of Ramadan was also the month in which the Qur'an was revealed and sent down to the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

It is custom in Ramadan to take gifts when visiting  loved ones and neighbours, and normally these gifts include a box or tray of dates (which many Muslim's open their fast with at sunset). However I wanted to try something different with dates this year. I made mini almond date truffles and mini coconut macaroons instead. I saw the recipe for almond date truffles about a year ago and thought they would make perfect Ramadan gifts, and my recent love for making coconut macaroons can be read about here. In the recipe for the truffles it does ask for medjol dates (which are quite sweet) however I didn't have any at the time so I used the dates I had and the added a bit of honey for some sweetness. I unfortunately didn't take any pictures of the process of making them but I did take a picture of the finished product.

Finished product tied up with ribbon and a home made gift tag

Close up  

The tags I made using parchment paper and washi tape for the decoration. On the other side of the tag I wrote a sentimental message, 'May this Ramadan bring you peace, prosperity, good health and brighten your life forever Ameen xx'. For your Ramadan gifts you can put whatever message you want, whatever feels right. Hope you all have a blessed month and may this Ramadan bring you peace, prosperity, good health and bright your life forever, Ameen xx

'They aren't macaroons, they don't have two sides'...

.....Was a direct quote from my cousin when he saw these coconut macaroons. Obviously he was thinking about their more fashionable and popular cousin the French macaron. I said to him 'just because it doesn't look like a typical macaroon, it doesn't mean that it isn't a macaroon'. Anyway the recipe and the method couldn't have been easier and the outcome of it all is even better. They had a wonderful marshmallowy taste to them and were just scrummy. The recipe I used was from here, but at the end I did dip each macaroon into dark chocolate just to add a little extra to them. I actually made mine quite big, I think I might try and make them a bit smaller next time, but you can make them whatever size you want. 

All of the ingredients that were used

Getting ready to mix

Mixing away

Ready for the oven

Baked and dipped in dark chocolate

 

First Birthday Party

Now we all know that children never remember their first birthday party, so bearing that in mind my sister really wasn't intending to do anything for my niece's first birthday. Also it did come a day before my cousin's wedding and everyone was busy with that. However my mother, brother in-law and sister's father in-law started talking about do something for the occasion. On the actual day we just had an impromptu lighting of candles on a bakery bought cake with just the people who were already over at our house. Then a week later we ended up doing a proper thing at my sister's in-laws. This was an excuse to make up a dessert table, which to be honest me, my sister and her sister in-law were more excited about putting that together than anything else. Here are some pictures from the occasion.

I wasn't going to put any pictures of the impromptu thing but I like this
 picture of my brother in-law light the candle

On the party day, barbecue on the menu

It was lovely eating in the garden 

For the dessert table: Brownies with hearts on made by me 

Biscuits made buy my sister's cousin in-law 

Vanilla cupcakes with strawberries and Thorntons smiles on top of buttercream
made but my sister's sister in-law

The whole dessert table 

Buttons, paper straws and mini spinning wheels  

Chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream and gold glitter covered cherries, also made by my sister's sister in-law

Even though my niece was actually asleep when we did the actual cake cutting a lot of fun was had. I can't believe my niece is actually 1 years old mashallah, it just seems like yesterday my sister told us she was expecting. Here's wishing her a long, happy and prosperous life inshallah.

Strawberry Jam and Coconut Cake

Who remembers school dinner from primary school? Do you also remember the cakes the you used to get with strawberry jam and coconut on top with custard. Well for a bit of nostalgia me and my sister decided to make it. For the actual cake we just used a basic sponge recipe which you can find on her blog here. Once the cake is cooled you just spread the top with your choice of jam (we chose strawberry) and sprinkle it with dessicated coconut. It's such a simple yet effective way to decorate not just a cake but cupcakes as well.

Covering the cake with coconut

Completely covered 

Finished product

Coconut

Corner