Gluten Free Christmas Cake

I know this post is a bit overdue but then I was a bit overdue making this! Never mind you can eat cake any time you certainly don't need a special day. I got a recipe for a Christmas cake from this blog Frugal feeding and then had to modify it a bit to make it gluten free, less sweet and just a bit different but other than that it formed my base.
I am really pleased with it and it is a definite step up from the Baileys cake I made a couple of weeks ago, so yes you guessed it,  I used baileys again but this time the Aldi version.

Here is the cake...

It filled the tin and had a lovely smell as it baked.

It held its shape well when sliced.

So after refusing treats at peoples houses this last few weeks I am very pleased with this!

Most important it tastes great, I really appreciate now when things come out well after all the disasters I've had with the GF flour.

So here is the recipe and like I said I got the original recipe from Frugal feeding but altered it to meet my needs.  Thanks to Nick for the original recipe. (Nick put sherry and orange juice in his)

Gluten Free Christmas Cake 

500g of mixed fruit

200ml Baileys (or Aldi Irish cream)

200g Bertoli spread

100g brown sugar

1tbsp Golden Syrup

3 free range eggs

200g GF plain flour

2tsp baking powder

2tsp mixed spice

100g ground almonds

100ml soya milk ( or your own preferred)

Method

Heat oven to 150c, place mixed fruit, Baileys, Bertoli, milk, sugar and syrup in a saucepan. Heat gently and stir until spread is melted and allow ingredients to combine a little, remove from the heat. Beat the eggs in a jug, add almonds and spice to pan and stir, mix in the eggs then sift in the flour and baking powder and give it a quick stir through so all is combined but don't over do it. Pour into your lined tin (mine was a 2lb loaf) and cook for 1h 50 minutes.

Now I bought myself a GF fruit cake from Asda a couple of weeks ago, it cost me £2.50 and was a pitiful size, probably a fifth of the size of this one.  So I need to give myself a kick the next time I feel like wasting money like that!

So like I said, I know this is a bit late in the day for your Christmas celebrations but if you have been missing out on the treats and feel like giving it a go it is really easy, tasty and  good value.

Gluten Free Almond Slice with Chia Seeds

 I love almond slice and this is something I have missed since being unable to eat regular cake.  My mum always used to buy the little Mr Kipling ones and although they do not fill much of a gap I did love those little cakes.
This morning as I was up early again with the puppy (he still does not understand weekends!) I thought I would have a go at my own version of it.
I didn't want it to be too sweet as it was going to have jam on it, that would be sugar enough.  I also wanted to look at alternatives to using xantham gum, I'm not a fan of that stuff, I know it will be in the shop bought gluten free items we buy but I would rather avoid it.

Now I read that you can use chia seeds if you soak them in water first, I have these in the cupboard and they are so good for you.  If you don't have any you may need to substitute an extra egg white but I would recommend getting the chia seeds, they are expensive but you only need a small amount.
The recipe was an experiment as most of my food is but I like the end result, it is also quite guilt free due to the goodies inside.  If you were to used fresh fruit like strawberries or peaches on top instead of jam it wouldn't be naughty at all!

Now I had to taste this slice (for quality control of course) at 9.00 this morning! Oh so nice, people just do not get how exciting cake is unless they usually have to go without.

Gluten Free Almond Slice with Chia Seeds

3oz self raising Gluten Free Flour

3oz ground almonds

1oz sugar & 1tsp golden syrup

4oz  Bertolli spread (or any olive spread)

11/2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 2 tbsp of cold water

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla essence

100ml soya milk

flaked almonds for top

strawberry jam

Cream the sugars and the spread in a bowl, then beat in the eggs (add a tiny amount of flour as you do this) set aside the flaked almonds for the top then sift in all the dry ingredients, next add the milk, chia seeds and vanilla essence then fold in gently. Do not over work it. Finally pour into a lined dish or tray, it should be runny, cook on 200 for 20 minutes. 

My dish was 20cm by 25cm the only reason I used that one is I only a have a few and I use the same ones for many dishes. If you use a smaller dish then your slice will be deeper but I think an Almond Slice is supposed to be a bit flatter.

A Recycled Christmas

We ventured out today despite the rubbish weather and went to Wentworth Garden Centre we didn't really need anything it's just not that far and I do love to go and look at all the Christmas decorations.  They were gorgeous and as I was looking at the silver and white selection my husband said 'oh are you finally thinking about changing the colour scheme on the tree?' Well no I'm not and I  really don't see why I would, I mean how fed up can you get with something that is only up for a couple of weeks a year?  Also if I was I certainly wouldn't be buying them on the run up to Christmas.

My current decorations have been used for  the last eight years maybe more. I remember buying them from Matalan after Christmas in the sale and they were ridiculously cheap, if not I wouldn't have bought them as I was quite happy with the red and gold I had before.

So the ones I have now are gold, orange and purple they are biggest at the bottom and gradually get smaller. I love them and complete with gold tinsel they cost about £8.00 for the lot and fill a 7 ft tree!

The ones we were looking at in the garden centre today were gorgeous but they were between £2- £4 per bauble! Let me tell you the queues were long in the Christmas  shop so many people did not find this expensive but that is ok my focus is on how I manage my money. 

  Another decoration that I love that comes out again and again is this little Christmas village that lights up, it used to go on a coffee table but  it sits in front of the fire now and it is very cosy to look at.

I think it looks better in real life, the flash on the camera spoils the effect.

I have a star on my tree that my 16 year old made in Y1 and a couple of baubles at the bottom that they painted when they were tiny. These things did not cost a lot but they are very special I don't think we need to be updating Christmas do you? It should be recycled every year.  

If I did ever need to start again with the decor I would hope that  I could make or purchase it all as frugally as possible.  Some of the best rooms I have seen online have been done with such style,  a lot of imagination and creativity but not cost.

I would recommend looking at the gorgeous Christmas decorations of  junkaholique in fact look at the whole blog, I also love her work shed.  She has lovely touches around her home that spring from recycled items, nature and handmade.  I think these are always the best sources and you get a unique feel. She has some snow scenes in jars which I may have to have a go at, I have some jars I have saved, I was thinking I might use oasis so I can preserve the greenery though, I will have to look around and see what I can find.

We don't have a lot of people to buy for as we all opted out years ago (the family members that is) we buy for the children and a couple of friends and that's it. A  lot less stressful, the wrapping I do use is usually recycled gift bags and we have a few Christmas boxes that we have used for the boys stuff for years now. We carefully fold them down and put them away for the following year. We have had the odd roll of paper but we try not to go over board, beautifully wrapping something for it to be thrown in the rubbish really bothers me. I would urge everyone to use gift bags if they can as people often keep and re-use these. 

There are plenty of ideas on eco wrapping out there and a few here on inhabitat 

Yesterday a quick look in the charity shop resulted in this CD (yes I still buy CD's )

£1 bargain! Some really good tracks on here.

Revamp and Resize Jeans

Usually when family or friends are getting rid of old jeans I ask if they can pass them on to me and I use them for bags and pouches.  If you have a bit of a search on pinterest you will find there are all sorts of things that you can do with them.
A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine gave me a bag with a few pairs in and straight away I used a pair to make a bag (which I  shared on here). However there was another pair that was such good denim and although not my style or size I thought I will save that pair and see if I can do something with them.
Today I took the scissors to them and thought why not? If it all goes wrong the denim will go on other projects as originally intended.   They have a bit of bright fabric in the pocket if you read below you will find out why.
These are the finished jeans...

I tried them first and they were a couple of sizes too big, they were also loose all around the bottom and the style of leg was a wide boot cut.  The jeans are from Gap and have a slight stretch.

First of all I pinned them at each side of the waist how much they needed to come in.  Then I stitched that part first to see how the fit was.
 I had to cut a 'V' shape out of each side before I stitched to get rid of the rivets or the machine would not have been able to stitch over them .  If you are only adjusting  the waist of your jeans by a small amount then cut this 'v' out from the centre back seam only.
I also removed the belt loops at the sides at this point to add them on after if required.  Because of the amount I needed to take my jeans in I also had to remove the small riveted pocket within the front pocket.

I know one side is bigger than the other but that is easily trimmed to match.

Because I had removed this inner pocket I then added a piece of fabric that I like along with a piece of scrap denim beneath it for strength. I stitched this by hand over where I had removed the small pocket.  You don't have to add contrasting fabric you could just use another bit of denim.

Once this was done I stitched down the sides then tried them on for fit, I had to take a little more off.

Then I turned them inside out, tried them on  again and pinned all the way down each leg to make them fitted and straight legged at the bottom.

Then I sewed the seams following my pins as a guide.  Next trim away all the excess fabric and zig zag to finish.

I am very happy with the finished result and these are probably my best fitting pair of jeans now! It is very rare you can get a pair that fit you properly all over.

Here is the front...

Much better I think

I also like the fact that they come up higher at the back than most jeans now, I have a couple of pair that you don't want to bend down in without forever hoisting them up!

Charity Shop Bargains and Baileys & Sultana Cake

The weekend has felt really bleak the weather has really taken a turn now and going out for a walk means adding on the layers.  There have been a couple of times the dogs have had to be pushed out of the back door to go out because they really do not like heavy rain. The puppy has a little coat but obviously he doesn't wear that just to nip out for a wee! The dogs also get really dirty at this time of year as well, more so as they are all small and close to the ground.
We have been watching a Swedish crime series on the T.V called Arne Dahl I like watching
dramas from other countries and I think you become more engrossed in them as you have to concentrate more.
Yesterday we had a quick look in a couple of the charity shops near us St Lukes and Bluebell Wood (which supports the local children's hospice) We had a go on the raffle in both and I got a fantastic little next jacket for £6 I'm so pleased with it. I always have a look if I'm passing but I don't just buy stuff for the sake of it.

I thought I could wear it at Christmas, I will wear the same dress I made for Christmas last year as it has only been worn once.

Really pretty lining too I like little details like that.

I also got a couple of books for my son who I am trying to encourage to get back into reading.  At 13 he appears to have lost interest and the selection at the library for teens is a bit poor. Its all werewolves, death and vampires.  I don't know how the two I picked up will stand up to the challenge but we will see.

They were 70p each and in good condition.

Today I was making the dinner and I decided to quickly make a gluten free cake for me.  Everyone else was having banoffee cheese cake and sometimes I just want a desert, all the GF pre made stuff is such a rip off.  

So like I said very quick...

Baileys & Sultana Cake

4oz GF flour

4oz margarine

4oz sugar 

2 eggs

2 handfuls of sultanas (didn't weigh them!)

1 tsp mixed spice 

1tsp baking powder

 A glug of Baileys (about a double measure)

Splash of soya milk

Cream sugar and margarine, beat in the eggs, sift in dry ingredients, fold in, add the sultanas, Baileys and soya and  give it another very quick stir. I have a loaf tin but it is a bit big for this mixture but never mind, in it went.  In the oven at 200 for about 20-25 minutes.

Now it slopes a bit to one side due to wrong tin size, but it is really nice. I cut it in half so half can go in the freezer, had  a slice straight way and wrapped the rest to go in the cupboard.  It will not win any beauty contests but it's cake.  

Art Doodles

At the start of the summer holidays I bought myself some coloured pencils and fine tipped pens. This was inspired by an evening I attended at a friend's house. We all created some art on a postcard and the theme was based around the work of Hannah Dunnett. Now you may have seen some of her beautiful work without realising it as she has lot of it out there on greetings cards and posters.
I really enjoyed doing this and promised myself I would take the time to do more as the process was really relaxing whatever the end result.
Sad times at the start of the summer put a halt on all creativity with the passing of my father and the business that followed helping my mother.
I did manage to create a couple more however and while they may not be the standard of Hannah Dunnett  (I'm not an artist) I am happy with them and feel I will continue to try and get some ideas on paper no matter how infrequent.
Here is one of them, I followed her same detail of adding Bible passages but I suppose you could use favourite poetry, song lyrics or your own musings.  I just chose a word as my theme on this one and linked verses to it, the others I did were pictures.

I suppose the big thing at the moment is adult colouring to relieve stress, I like the idea but prefer to make my own images to fill. The pencils I bought are Derwent Academy and the pens Scribblicious.

I think sometimes as we get older we feel a bit guilty if we sit and do something like this.  There are always so many other things we feel we should be doing, and most of the time they are things people don't notice or that don't really matter.  I saw a bit of a show on T.V about people who clean obsessively, hoovering numerous times a day and cleaning the bathroom four times a day.  What on earth are they doing? Hiding evidence? It's insane and they will never get that time back but the dust will return.  I watched ten minutes of it that was enough.  

Anyway if you would like to take a look at more of Hannah Dunnett's  work there is a collection on pinterest here

I'll try and add one but it may not save...

Hannah Dunnett art. God is Good.

Here you see, her work is fabulous.

Craft Library Books

Yesterday I mentioned how I always have too many books on the go, well not too many but maybe I need to narrow my focus a little. I was searching on Amazon and happily clicking away adding things to my wish list  earlier, now many of them will never be bought, as I change my mind but it's good to have options.  I then take my list and see how may I can get from the library for free by searching the online catalogue.  Now this is usually disappointing as the ones I want are often not in the system, also the search tool is a little flawed.  For some reason you can type in the exact title and author and it will come up item not found, then you can try with some vague description and it will find the book you were looking for all along!

Now that is what it is like with the Sheffield Library catalogue let me know what it is like in your area.  Well I had that same problem today and I thought I wasn't going to have any luck at all then I stumbled across these ...

They were not the exact ones I was looking for but I just put in searches like craft for sale, marketing crafts, craft as business etc.

       

There were also a couple of other non craft related books on my list and I will look forwards to those arriving at the library. I do buy some second hand off Amazon occasionally but I like to get most from the library.

I am re-reading parts of Fluent Forever (which I did buy) at the moment. I am still not convinced by this title but maybe my resolve isn't as strong as the authors. One tip which is to watch a Spanish film, then watch ten minute slots repeatedly until you know them by heart has left me a little exasperated. 

I really enjoyed the film ( The Sea Inside, and Javier Bardem was amazing in it) but rewinding and repeating over and over was driving me nuts. I will have to concentrate on other tips from the book.

Here is a little peak at some of my bookcase...

Quite a mix I know, classics, self improvement, languages and young adult fiction, oh and recycling on the end there.

This amuses me, so much Spanish on the shelf more of it needs to be in my head!

Right I'm off to do my ironing while listening to Paul Noble.