Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Special Baking!

So I did have great plans for my first post of creativity-sharing and involved sunlight, walks in the woods, twigs picking, happy mucky dogs running down the stream, between the trees and great pictures of all that!! Instead, for the past 2 days, the world outside my window has looked like this....




...and because I still don’t have my amazing new camera.... :(

...there will be no amazing outdoorsy pics!

So, as planB, I decided to do something that goes with rainy days and share with you some of my Christmas presents, especially this one that my friend Jordane gave it to me!

...wait for it...



...wait for it...

               TA-DAHHHHH!!!

Isn’t it simply fabulous?!! I just LoVE it! Can’t help myself but imagine all the buns I’m going to make and how they’ll look in their new house of prettiness! And look, LOOK! Most amazing of all...wait for it...it ROTATES! Oh yah! This is no ordinary House-of-Buns! (I really don’t like the name party platter, sounds like the place where shrimp-on-crackers would live!) Hahhhh!...... So beautiful!... Thank you Jordan! You just made soooo happy the Bree Van De Kamp in me! J

So! Better start getting some tenants for our House-of-Buns, shall we?


Blueberry Buns with Cheese Icing:

There is something you need to know about me and my cooking: I never follow recipes...I don’t do measures....I cheat all the time....I make up along the way...I cut all the possible corners... BUT! I also like simple recipes, with ingredients that you can actually pronounce and find in the nearest shop+ will not use up all the pots in the kitchen+will taste great! If you feel the same way about cooking, these recipes are for you! J I promise I’ll be the most accurate I can and give you cata vs The Recipe Book alternatives. Let me know if you have any questions.

You will need:

2 cups of flour (I always use gluten free for lighter cakes)
2tsp baking soda+2tsp baking powder (I use self raising flour so no need for these. Ha!)
Pinch of salt (1/2 tea spoon, as if!)

1 cup of sugar (the recipe says 2 though...)
4 eggs (I have used 1,2,or 3 eggs before, depending on my stash, it turn out fine too!)

1cup of vegetable oil (Argh!! I always use real butter, sorry arteries...)
200gr of blueberries (because the packs they sell in the shop are 200gr)



How to:

Beat the eggs with the sugar until white, creamy and foamy.
Melt butter in the microwave in a cup. Use a square of kitchen paper on top of the cup so you won’t have to spend the next six months scraping butter from the inside of your microwave.

 You might need to add a bit more butter after melted and in to the microwave again. Until you have a cup almost full of melted butter.
Mix all the ingredients



The blueberries in the end


Fill your bun-shapes, not too full, they will grow!
I always use the silicone cases. They are just brilliant! No need for greasing! They Never EVER stick! And that's what I like!

Put them in the oven at 180 mark for 15 min (this will change according to your oven so keep an eye on them)

To see if your buns are ready stick a sharp knife on them. If the knife comes out clean, they are ready! Yey!


Let them cool before taking them from the shapes and let them REALLY cool before putting the icing on them or the icing will melt.

For the icing:
1/2 pack of cream cheese
1/2 pack icing sugar (or 250gr)
1/2 tea spoon of melted butter
a drop of blackcurrant concentrated drink to make it pink!
Mix it all using this



What’s its name? In Portuguese is varinha magica: magic wand. So appropriate!!

Then, when your buns are cool and off the silicone shape u can decorate them with the icing and whatever else you fancy. Make sure when you do so you get all giddy and hyper of happiness and delight with all the prettiness you’re just after creating! Be proud! You just made the world a better place!





Careful with the helpers you pick!....








Then, but only if you lucky enough to have a super-duper-amazing-ROTATING house-of-buns like mine, can you show off like this

                                          TA-DAHHHHH!!!






Hahhhhh! Thanks Jordan J
Happy backing to all and please send me back pics from your own pretty-buns!

Love, Cata xxx

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Handmade X-mas tree!


(crochet stars inspired by Lucy of Attic24 and crochet baubles inspired by Pip of MeetMeAtMikes)

Getting Started! Hurray!

Welcome and thank you so much for stopping by! This is the Blog of the random bits of my handmade life and hopefully there will be loads of making and sharing!I hope you like as much as I do of little handmade things that in their simplicity make our lives so much pretty+happy+yummy! My main handmaking interests are crochet, card-making, cooking+baking, photography and buttons! Oh yah Buttons! I just LOOOOvE buttons and all the stuff you can do with them! Or just having them ;)

Hope this first post has sparked your curiosity and that you'll be back to check on madebycata! For now I'm going back to study this blogging business!...It's no piece of cake! So please be patient and don't give up on me. I promise I wont give up on what looks very much like chinese to me right now...! See you soon!

Love,  cata