I know what you are thinking – Dukkah isn’t kids food! Well I thought the same things, so when H and I decided to make this homemade nutty dukkah the other morning. I wasn’t expecting H to like it. He has never been a huge fan of cumin so I thought there is no way…. But, I turned…
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Pickled veggies may not appear to be the most toddler friendly of dishes but my little one certainly approved. The pickling liquid isn’t too heavy on the vinegar so give it a try, you can always add a little extra sugar if you think it is still too vinegary. This is my favourite salad to serve…
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This Mexican black bean salad is super easy and super quick. I’ve used canned beans for convenience. They are the perfect fast food and I always have some in the cupboard ready for a quick side dish or lunch. I started giving H beans and chickpeas early on and would simply mash them with…
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Guacamole is the perfect toddler food. No cooking required, it’s healthy, full of flavour and makes a great healthy snack that the whole family will love – and they can almost make it entire on their own! I chopped all the ingredients and put them into tiny bowls. H mashed the avocado and assemble all the…
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Broccoli is my favourite green vegetable and H is a pretty big fan as well. In this recipe the broccoli taste is very subtle because of the huge amount of herbs, but I love that there is another veggie in there. I very quickly pulsed the broccoli in a food processor to achieve a rice like consistency and then cooked…
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Tomatoes are easily H’s favourite food so I knew he would love this dish. I have found that by adding Big H’s favourite foods to new dishes he is more likely to try new things, and get used to new flavours more easily. This dish is easy to prepare and the coriander lime dressing is lovely…
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These corn fritters are perfect as a starter to a main meal or they make a great light lunch or breakfast, just top with a poached egg and you have yourself a quick but healthy meal in a flash. You could also make them mini sized and serve them as finger food at your next party, topped…
I know what you are thinking – Dukkah isn’t kids food! Well I thought the same things, so when H and I decided to make this homemade nutty dukkah the other morning. I wasn’t expecting H to like it. He has never been a huge fan of cumin so I thought there is no way…. But, I turned…
A little bit like a shortbread these delicious little honey and walnut cookies are made using only 5 ingredients and are refined sugar-free. I have never had much luck with sugar-free cookies but these were an experiment gone right. They are also super simple to make; you simply beat the butter and honey and add…
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There isn’t a whole lot I like about winter, but juicy blood oranges are one of the few things that I can’t get enough of. The colours are just gorgeous and I love love love orange salads. There is another one that I make regularly with rosewater, pistachios and goats cheese – but I’ll leave that for another post! This citrus salad with fennel and…
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Strawberries and orange blossom water is a match made in heaven. Add to that ice cream and you have a huge winner! This is a simple ice cream recipe that is egg free, therefore doesn’t require you to make a custard. Simply whisk the ingredients by hand, then churn in an ice cream maker.
Happy New Year! I have a nice healthy recipe to start the new year. Apple chips with an optional rosewater toffee just to spice things up a little. H prefers his apple chips without toffee so I add toffee to half and leave the other half as is. I use a food dehydrator to dehydrate…
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The sous vide cooks apricots amazingly well. They have a beautiful delicate velvety texture once cooked. You could also make this dish on the stove top if you don’t have a sous vide. The flavour will be the very similar but you will lose the velvety texture. Little Big H loves the tartness of this…
Amaranth porridge with peach, passion and pomegranate is a new favourite breakfast. It’s nutritious, has a lovely nutty taste, it’s a good protein source and it’s naturally gluten-free – a perfect way to start the day. Amaranth take 25 minutes to cook on the stove, so for busy morning soak the raw amaranth in water…
Green smoothies are to H what lollies are to a lot of kids – he absolutely loves them. Guaranteed if we walk past a juice bar, he will drag me kicking and screaming until he gets one – he loves to choose the ingredients and it has become his little treat after daycare a couple of times a…
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This really is a deliciously healthy snack, dessert or even breakfast. Mango, Pineapple, Lime and Coconut Tapioca is also perfect to freeze. I simply warmed the mixture a little and it was perfect. So double the recipe if you like and freeze what you don’t use for another day – enjoy…
This is my idea of summer – A refreshing puree of lychee, pineapple & apricot. Perfect for baby and the entire family. No cooking which is always a bonus and could be served as a snack or with a dollop of natural yoghurt for breakfast. Baby will love it…
Making custard at home is a really great option. You can be guaranteed that it is sugar-free and free of all other nasties – something I am very particular about when feeding my son. This is an easy custard recipe and baby will love it. Stir though a little pureed fruit for a natural sweeter…
Breakfast… I was never into it before having H, but now it is one of mine and Harry’s favourite meals of the day. It’s always quick to prepare and usually made up of whatever we have in the fridge. It is the one meal I usually let H decide on so regardless of what he decides,…
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Chia seed pudding is one of the first recipes I posted on this blog. H and I both love it, and I love the convenience of it when served for breakfast. I always make it the night before and it is ready to go in the morning. It is so easy to make and requires…
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Beautiful Berry Coulis – sugar free Chicken with Apples and Thyme – such as great combination Delicate white fish with fennel and grapes I’m very excited to be sharing my very first guest post with you all, on a great blog called Never the Same Spice Twice. I have 3 new recipes suitable for babies…
Ciao from Isolation 🥴… words I never thought I’d be writing — but more on that later. First, the food. Today I’m sharing a classic French quiche recipe. Quiche is one of those wonderfully versatile dishes that’s surprisingly easy to make. For this version, I’ve used caramelised onions, perfectly ripe tomatoes, and for a little…
I’m sharing a simple recipe with you today – perfect stove top popcorn. Who doesn’t love salty buttery popcorn! It’s a H favourite so I make it often, minus the butter. I use coconut oil instead and it works a treat. I of course have nothing against butter, so feel free to melt a little…
We celebrated my babies 2nd Birthday on the weekend – can’t believe he is two already! H had a wonderful time with his cousins and everyone was super surprised when we cut into his Birthday cake to reveal the colours of the rainbow.
My original idea was to create a checkerboard cake out of the different colour layers, so it would also look like lego on the inside – but I got lazy and went with a rainbow cake instead.
Rainbow cakes are surprisingly easy to make, albeit a little time consuming! I have detailed the steps I took to make the cake along with how I made the edible lego.
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(halve the mixture and make 3 layers at a time. It is a lot easier to manage)
4 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 1/2 cups caster sugar
500 g butter , melted
2 cups milk
8 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
food colouring in red , yellow and blue (see notes)
500 g butter , softened (not melted)
4 cups (640g) icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
fondant in RED , YELLOW, GREEN and BLUE
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). If making 3 layers at a time, grease 3 cake tins; set aside. Place flour and sugar in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time. Alternate adding the flour and milk and while beating ending in the flour.
Using scales, divide the mixture into 3 bowls. If you don’t have scales use a cup to scoop out the mixture, cup at a time into the 3 bowl until it is divided evenly. Add the food colouring for the suitable layer and pour into the greased cake tins. Bake for approximately 30- 40 minutes or until cooked through. Test with a skewer or sharp knife. Cool slightly in the tin and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat steps to make the other 3 layers if necessary.
Place softened butter in a bowl and using an electric mixer, beat for approximately 5 minutes or until creamy. Add icing sugar and vanilla and beat for a further 10 minutes until light and fluffy
Cut the tops of all the cakes. Place your purple layer on the plate you will serve it on and spread a good layer of the icing over the layer. (you can see from my pictures I didn’t use a huge amount of icing in-between each layer) Repeat with all the layers. Then spread a VERY thin layer over the entire cake (called the crumb layer). Fridge the cake now to set all the crumbs in this layer. Once cold the icing will set hard. This makes it a lot easier to ice and prevents you getting crumbs in your icing. Remove from the fridge and add the remaining icing and smooth using a large knife.
Roll out the fondant to a thickness of about 12mm (half and inch). Then using a sharp knife cut it into rectangles about 30mm x 15mm (1 1/4 inch by just over 1/2 inch). With the off cuts roll it out so it is a couple of millimetres thick and using a round 7mm plunger cutter (available from baking shops) cut the 6 circle and place on top of the rectangles as you go. Use a little water to moisten the top if they aren’t sticking. The lego will stick to the cake icing no problems.
If making the cake a day or two ahead of time, keep in the refrigerator unit the day. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Please note an Australian cup is based on a 250ml cup.Food colouring for the cake layers: AmeriColor works really well to get the intense colours. I used colours: 106 Electric Blue, 107 Lemon Yellow, 119 Red Red. If buying small bottles I would recommend buying a larger bottle of the red as you will use the most of this colour.
Cake colour mixes: Red layer: just pure red. Orange layer: Yellow and Red. Yellow layer: pure yellow. Green layer: Yellow and Blue. Blue layer: Pure blue. Purple layer: Red and Blue – I used to much of both colours and it was too dark.
* I have altered the recipe slightly from when I first posted it, to make it easier for people to halve the recipe
A big thanks to my sister for being my photographer on the day – Kerry Franks Photography
Words cannot express what you mean to me. You are my world. From the moment you came into my life I was totally smitten and love you more and more with each day. I’m so proud of you.
This evening you feel asleep on my chest, I know they say its a bad habit to get into, but it is these moments that are so special and that I will remember forever.
Your infectious laugh, you are the funniest and happiest person I know, you make me laugh a hundred times a day. You have the most gorgeous smile and dimples that everyone comments on. You are so friendly and everyone knows you in our neighbourhood. You wave and say hi to the barber, the shop assistants and the bus drivers everyday when we go for a walk. The man in the fruit shop always gets a high five, you can’t help but make those around you happy – even complete strangers.
Thank you for choosing me to be your mummy. I hope you have a wonderful birthday baby boy.
Lots of love mummy xxoxoxoxoxoxoxo x infinity 🙂
ps: with any luck this blog will still around when you are older and you can browse through and see some of the things we got up to when you were just a little guy.
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