Bake Escape

Lovely Lavender Cupcakes

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:13:06 +0000

Some gals are suckers for pink everything...And whilst I am partial to pink, it's lavenders and lilacs that really hit the spot for me!

So I say, this Valentine's Day, buck the pedestrian pink and red trend and go for a lovely lavender hue...

Specifically...bake these Lovely Lavender Cupcakes!

Home-made Oreo's

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:23:12 +0000

Dear Readers...I am still alive! I've not forgotten you and in actuality I've been baking my little heart out!

You could say I am rather a constipated blogger as I have so many blogs backed up! (boom-tish!)

Forgive me for being a little neglectful over the Christmas period and I'll take you to Oreo heaven!

Gingerbread Heart Cookies

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 04:02:54 +0000

I heart hearts. Really, I do. Sometimes I wonder whether as a mum of two now, I should act my age and start getting into other, more "grown up" symbols. Maybe symbols that aren't splashed all over t-shirts at Supre?

Anyhoo, these cute as a button Heart Gingerbread Cookies embrace everything I heart about baking...

Hot Buttered Banana Bread

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:38:35 +0000

I used to be able to get Milo's attention with these four little words...

"Mummy's made banana bread!"

But one morning my plans were thwarted by none other than Fireman Sam...I tried waving the plate full of hot buttered banana bread around in front of him suggestively...no good. I even resorted to shoving it in my mouth whilst saying, "oh mum's done it again baby, this banana bread is YUMMO!" But do you think he moved from the couch?

Oaty Craisin Cookies

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:34:16 +0000

Yesterday was one of those crappy days that propelled me to bake for self preservation purposes. Usually, I think about what I am baking in terms of 'who' is going to help me eat what I make. Not today. Today, I was going to bake exactly what 'I' felt like. Actually...I felt like Honey Jumbles, but when discovered I had no golden syrup I had to come up with a fall back...

Once I had finished baking my 'second choice' of Oaty Craisin Cookies, however, I was actually glad my pantry had let me down!

Pancake Sunday

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 10:10:50 +0000

Pancake Sunday is a time-honoured tradition in our little family.

We eat pancakes and we drink tea. Out of a pot.

People laughed at my hubbie and I when we told them that our beloved tradition of Pancake Sunday would not falter once we had babies.

But they didn't understand our love for this precious time together. Sure, what used to be about flicking through the papers leisurely has become a bit less...peaceful. Sometimes our pancakes get cold from juggling our two cherubs under two. But the sentiment is still there...

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 04:01:36 +0000

I love me some craisins...whether they are spiked in oatmeal cookies for a bit of zing, tossed through summer salads, or just snacked upon with some almonds. Craisins are the bomb diggity! Never are they more scrumptious, however, than when they are combined with zesty orange in my moorish Cranberry Orange Muffins!

Cake Pops Disaster

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:19:23 +0000

Ever wanted to be someone you are not?

Heck, I do it all the time. Mostly, when I carry on in this manner, it is when I am trying to be decorative or artistic in any way. Sure, I can bake, but I just don't have the magic hands or patience required to make things look...'purty!" Never have I demonstrated my shortcomings any clearer than with my attempts to make pretty pink & lavender Cake Pops for my niece's recent birthday....

Darn Good Chocolate Cake

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:38:59 +0000

A few years back my hubbie confirmed that if he were to ever leave me, it would not be for a younger, firmer, child-free model, but for an 84-year-old woman named Barbara Berman...Why, you ask? For her drool inducing self-named 'Darn Good Chocolate Cake.'

After having a "how could a cake make you want to throw away 14 good years" argument, I tried the cake. And I concurred.

I too would leave my husband for this cake. And so began the quest for the recipe...

M&M Cookies

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:57:34 +0000

After watching Sesame Street one morning with my little man, we spent much of the day growling, "Me want cookie!" So, late in the day when Milo said, "Mummy, cookie puhlease!" I knew what I had to do. I had to bake...copious amounts of C-O-O-K-I-E-S for my little Cookie Monster! Little did I know the gluttonous Cookie Monster had nothing on me...

Getting Spoiled

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 05:30:01 +0000

When we moved back to Australia from Atlanta Georgia over 8 years ago now...It was incredibly hard. We had to leave our US based family and friends as well as all of our 'things.' I felt particularly guilty, being the Aussie who had lured away a young Southern gentleman back to her home country...So, needless to say, it was SO nice to see Lola May meet her Grandparents.

They came such a long way to catch up with Lola and her big brother Milo...all the way from Chattanooga, Tennesee to be exact.

And guess what? They came bearing gifts!

Struggle Street with Sick Kids

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:24:00 +0000

Nothing cuts me to the core more than seeing my babies sick. Knowing they they are not coping only leads to one thing...me not coping. Over the last three months my family has been hammered with illness. Several bouts of colds and flu, tummy bugs, and a charming dose of conjunctivitis...(as so beautifully modelled by my little flower bud, Lola May above) She's SO delectable, even with conjunctivitus!

Feeding Miss Lola May

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 03:31:05 +0000

My little cherub Lola May can put really put it away! As you can see she is well nourished...I think her cheeks alone weigh the minimum weight recommended for her age!

And I wouldn't have it any other way! With both my bubs I made a decision that I was going to feed them food that I had made with love from the very beginning. So I wanted to share with you Miss Lola May's absolute favourite fruit blend of the mo...Apple, Pear and Blueberry Puree. Nothing fancy or unusual about it, but for some reason if I feed her this little concoction she squeals with delight!!!!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:06:25 +0000

My son loses all composure when baked goods are at stake. This morning as he swallowed his porridge with gusto, he reached into his pocket and said, “Here’s one hundred dollars for you mummy!” I said, "for me?" And he said, “Yes! I give to you!” To which I replied, "Why don’t you keep your 100 dollars? We could spend it on some nice new toys!?"

"No mummy," he said, "just some cakes....I spend it on cakes."

This prompted me to bake naturally...

Slow Cooker Pork and Polenta Pie

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:51:05 +0000

It’s a grey old day outside AGAIN...Hasn't the weather been ominous indeed these last few weeks?

Venturing out for groceries with two under two in typhoon conditions isn't exactly my idea of fun...and unforch the budget will not stretch for takeaway. Alas, dinner must be made. I am going to whip up my Slow Cooker Pork and Polenta Pie!

Getting your HAPPY back!

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 04:39:45 +0000

I’ve been a bit down in the dumps lately...maybe it’s the weather? Or maybe it’s the theft...yep, recently some low down dirty theives made off with a large amount of our gorgeous Smitten products...pretty paralyzing for a teeny weeny business like us...

But I am making a promise to myself and my readership of 6, right here right now that those buggers will not get the best of me! Sometimes, in the words of Nene from The Real Housewives on Atlanta... you just need to find a way to 'get your happy back.'

Spicy Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Bread

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:00:14 +0000

My beautiful friend Elisa came over for a long awaited catch up over the weekend. It was cold, windy and miserable...the perfect conditions for my Spicy Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Bread!

I started making this bread a few years back when I was in a banana bread rut. I had dabbled in pear and raspberry, flirted with coconut and romanced apple cinnamon bread, but nothing has EVER rocked my boat in the bread stakes more than this spicy, moist yumminess in a loaf.

Gooey Chocolate Brownies

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 10:17:48 +0000

Sometimes on a very bad day...I mean a colossally bad day...only warm, fudgy, piping hot, molten, chocolately brownies will do.

I won’t bore you with my tails of woe, other than to say...From the time I emerged from my warm bed this morning in my adult-sized onesie (Peter Alexander of course!) today has totally bitten the big one...

The Snickerdoodle Cookie

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 06:49:35 +0000

Today I want to introduce you to the unfortunately named Snickerdoodle cookie.

Clearly the creator of the Snickerdoodle didn’t envisage that mature adults who are old enough to operate an oven would find humour in a cookie with the word “doodle” in it!

But we do don’t we!

Whilst pondering the origin of the name of the cookie over a Snickerdoodle and a cup of Chai tea I realized something...I DON’T CARE!

Welcome to Bake Escape

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 03:42:13 +0000

Dear Readers...all three of you....and yes, that’s counting you mum!

Welcome to Bake Escape, the ramblings of a 30-something year old, time-poor mum of two under two, with a compulsion to bake.

Since this is the first entry of my blog in which I am about to bare my baking soul, I feel the need to introduce myself properly; so before I launch into my delicious debut recipe here goes...