Monday Shmunday....

Rainbow Birthday cake - ooo I could do with some right now!!!

So its Monday again and I think life is just whirling by... Tomorrow is the 1st of March and I still haven't edited my daughter party photos since the 12th of Feb when it happened. (bad betty) but don't you find life gets that way some times? I keep meaning to edit some photos and type out some recipes but then I see some beautiful pictures of Italy on the internet and I daydream and click, click, click... and I look at the clock and oops I better run out the door to fetch my said daughter. And so life goes... cooking, cleaning, play dates, ballet, washing, eating, homework, internet - click click click... oops I must run again. It just seems to be that way at the moment. I am trying hard now to start prioritizing some things  1) how much cleaning I should do. 2) being on time for things. 3) using my computer time effectively 4)spending some time outside in the fresh air.


So I will try this for now and see how it goes. (even if I have to set a timer on my cellphone for myself)

So tell me - is there anything you are working on right now? Is life whirling by for you?



 

ps. And I'm going to drink more water
pps I must run so I am not late - early is the new black :)

THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE :)

• Friday afternoons and the promise of a beautiful weekend
• flowers from the man I love <3
• A clean house after returning everything I have borrowed after a messy party
• crazy twitter followers who say the funniest things! 
• A decent cup of coffee - freshly ground and brewed
• A friend who phones to ask what is your favorite flavour and darkness of chocolate :)
• comments from you - my lovely readers

  

Baking is FREE well it could be....

To all you lovely foodies out there - Baking isn't Free. It does cost Money $$$ and as much as I want to live the dream and bake and cook till I am in a sugar coma (ok not really ) sugar heaven then. Ingredients cost money.

So I am going to be super cheeky and put a tip button on my right hand side bar - it says donate. I would rather it say Tips for Betty Bake but Paypal didn't have an easy way to customize it - so, it says Donate. And if by any chance any of my wonderful readers - yes that's you. Don't look away - you staring at the screen. If you like reading this blog and feel like you want to give me money :) so I can drink more coffee and stay awake and type this blog :) or buy more ingredients to bake then feel free :) any amount would be awesome. Like paying a car guard R2 but I'm way cooler than a car guard , I am friendly and keep you company (sometimes) and I have awesome recipes that are gluten FREE and wheat FREE and that work :) and I don't come running upto your car at the last minute pretending I've been watching it the whole time. hahaha! Ok no pressure now :)
Ok you don't have to give me anything - A big corporate sponsor would be fine too :) 
Just saying.
You can pretend I'm not here - its ok.

I also accept chocolate ;)

anyway just so you know whats happening with the blog .... now you know
cheekiness has a name - its called Betty Bake hahaha ;) *winks

ps I have bought betty bake a .co.za - yay. It is taking a little time to set up as I am not as clued up as I thought regarding the world wide web... But things are happening around here - yay!

Happy Wednesday
kisses

EASY CARAMALISED PINEAPPLE DESSERT

 I created this gooey caramel dessert one weekend away, while we were all sitting around the dinner table feeling like something sweet and warm. I needed to be creative with the ingredients I had on hand, as we were at a self catering place and the shops were a good long drive away and by now closed. I'm sure you know how it goes if you go away to self catering places for holidays and pack stuff you never use and wish you had brought stuff along you had never thought of before! Well this time I had packed a pineapple thinking it maybe good for a healthy snack (brownie points for being a healthy mom) to cut up during and nice warm Saturday but we never got round to eating it. Well it was now night time and the weather had turned. Our longing for a sweet, warm, dessert was now much more important and that is how this caramelized dessert was born. Some sugar, a pan and some butter.... and some chopping and this dessert was born in no time at all.
 
So whether you are on holiday or at home, spend more time relaxing and less time standing on your feet cooking. This caramelized pineapple dessert is so easy to prepare it can be prepared over a camp fire in a pan or at home on the stove. No matter where you are it is easy and fairly quick and healthy too. Delicious and caramelized this pineapple dessert can be made into almost any kind of caramelized fruit and served up with cream or ice cream. (make sure to select firm seasonal fruit if replacing the pineapple for other fruit). The ingredients are a guide, so if you are out in the bush you can wing it.

All you need for Delicious Caramelized Pineapple Dessert is:

INGREDIENTS
1 to 2 medium pineapples
some brown sugar (roughly 4-5 tablespoons)
some butter (about a table spoon or 2)
some fresh cream (if you have)
ice cream for serving (optional)

METHOD
simply peel the pineapple and remove any eyes/bits.
Slice your pineapple into rings - as in picture above.
Place your pineapple rings in a frying pan with the brown sugar and butter.
Place over low heat and cook until golden and caramelized and slightly soft.
once all gooey and golden pour over a little cream.
Serve with whipped/pouring cream or your favorite ice cream

* you can use any fruit you wish - but harder fruits work better


Happy Friday

Wind, Bed, Mag, Sleep

Well today I am feeling weird -

• the clouds are stormy and the wind is pumping
• I wore a hat so the wind wouldn't annoy me and make my hair all knotty
• I feel like some tea in bed with a good magazine
• last nights Ravioli totally ROCKED and was worth all the time standing making it!
• I know I should be working on recipe posts but there is so many blogs I am catching up reading since I've not been in front of my computer for the last two weeks.
• Please forgive lack of recipe post and party post..... It is coming. Promise.
• I am moody and little things are annoying me
• My body is achey - I think some Panado and bed maybe in order
• night night
• Come back soon 'K

PARTY PREPARATIONS IN PROGRESS

 I apologize for my absence but I am busier than a bubble bee collecting pollen  - working on making party packs, baking, sorting, cleaning and tidying all in preparations for Saturdays party for my daughter in between school, homework, ballet, and the usual cooking and cleaning :) and of course valentines day on Monday - so working on that to.

Please forgive me, I'll be back on Tuesday :) ready to read and browse the internet and write a blog post or two. Happy weekend

Until then
 

Valentines Day Chocolate brownies

THIS IS A RE-POST FROM LAST YEAR'S VALENTINES DAY :)
ENJOY 

Heart shaped Chocolate Brownies

Valentines Day is a day of many beautiful opportunities to make something so delicious and thoughtful for the one you love :)
Just think luxurious and delicious - and my brain conjures up thoughts of  things made of chocolate :)

We all know most women love chocolate  - ALOT and so, that is why valentines day is the day of roses and heart shaped chocolates in heart shaped boxes in red heart shaped wrappers :)
Of course if your man is really romantic then some bling* wouldn't hurt either

So what better than to make your love some chocolate brownies.... mmmm I personally can't think of anything better!!!

So to give you some time to shop for the ingredients and plan ahead for valentines day - Here is the recipe.Taken from the AWW cookbooks and then adapted by me.

Read it through and take note of the suggestions - then go shopping, get everything you need and bake to your hearts content - he he he

Romantic Heart Shaped Brownies with raspberry cream

175g butter (must be real butter)
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup tightly packed treacle sugar (really dark brown sugar)
3 eggs
1/2 cup cake flour - I used wheat free flour by health connection
1/3 cup self raising flour - I also replaced this with wheat free flour by health connection and added 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I always use nestle cocoa powder in the tin)
some rolos or caramel centered chocolate
1 punnet of raspberries
1 tub (250ml) cream
1 vanilla pod or some vanilla ess
2 tablespoons icing sugar

NOTES*** (before starting) 1) oven shelf must be in the middle of the oven. 2) for the best brownies you really need treacle sugar -it's really really dark brown sugar. 3) you must use REAL butter. 4)  you MUST use baking paper - NOT WAX PAPER or they will stick badly and you won't like me any more cause all your hard work will be ruined!!!

right now we can get started :)

.Turn Oven to 180 degrees celcius.
.Grease and line a baking pan or oven dish about 19 cm x 29 cm - (I just use one of my medium lasagne .dishes) * Remember it must be proper baking paper and not Wax paper. The paper should stick up above the sides of the dish on all the sides just a few centimeters - roughly 3 - 5 cm.
.Put the butter in a small pot and and melt -don't boil (this could also be done in the microwave)
.In a nice sized bowl put the 2 types of sugar and pour the melted butter on top and mix together.
.Break the eggs into the bowl and whisk to mix together
.Sift the flour (add baking powder if using gwheat free flour) and cocoa on top of the bowl of ingredients and stir/whisk some more until mixed through
.Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin/dish and dot with Rolos cut in half - *NOTE do NOt push the Rolos down into the mixture as they tend to burn if on the bottom of the dish*
.Put the dish in the oven and bake for 15 min then cover with foil and bake for an additional 45 minutes
.Test with a skewer of knife to see if the brownie mixture is cooked -the knife must come out clean - if it has sticky batter on it - cook for another 5 min.
.Take out and leave to get cold in dish then remove and peel back paper
.The brownies will be very fresh right now and can be cut into squares but if you want hearts etc...it is best left in an air tight container for 24 hours before cutting into shapes - you may try just don't moan at me if they break :)
.ok when you are ready to cut your brownies - get out your shaped cutter and cut them out carefully
.whisk your cream to a nice thick-ish consistency
.Put your raspberries in a bowl(keep a few for decorating) and crush/smoosh together -not to hard jsut to make a little bit of pink liquid and break into pieces
.stir the raspberries into the cream and add a table spoon or 2 of icing sugar
.sandwhich the brownies together and style nicely on a side plate or saucer and serve :)

Best of luck little valentines
ps of course you can make these brownies and just enjoy for tea :) they are lip smacking delicious, If I do say so myself :)

ORIENTAL PARTY INVITATIONS

 It is my daughter's Birthday Party next weekend and I finally got around to doing the invitations.  She is having an oriental party and I've been focusing so much on what sweets I can find or make that are - wheat/gluten, corn/maize and glucose syrup FREE that I forgot about the invites! So this was my quick one school morning attempt. And they will just have to do... not to bad.

Just designed and printed on the computer and then used some glue to put some foil on and a pretty red sparkly square. I put them each in a white envelope and wrote each girls name in fancy, curly writting with red and black pens.
 

Happy Thursday!