Mary Berry Frugal Fruit Cake

Hope my readers are doing well. It feels a while since I shared a baking post. I had a long period of time earlier in the year of baking quite regularly. At the moment, I’m waiting for things to get back to normal after a kitchen reno but baking has been on my mind. 

I made this fruit cake in the summer, and it was one of my most successful bakes of the year. I used my trusted Fast Cakes book by Mary Berry. I was fairly new to making fruit cake but this recipe was good for beginners. I included butter for some indulgence, so in the end the cake tasted very nice and not at all frugal. I can see myself making this again, I enjoyed the baking process as well as the final result.

Have you ever made a fruit cake?

What are your favourite things to bake? :-) Xx

Winter Baking: Special Baked Granola

Hope you are all well. Today I’m back with a simple, delicious recipe that’s perfect for this time of year. It’s a recipe I’ve adapted slightly from one I found in my Easy, Peasy Sweetie Pie baking book by Mary Contini.

The original recipe is called crunchy munchies, with includes rolled oats, desiccated coconut, nuts, seeds, sultanas, sunflower oil and honey. I added all of these except the honey, and felt it was not necessarily needed if you didn’t have it in the cupboard, or wanted something less sweet. I added a few choc chips instead.

Basically mix all the ingredients together in a bowl except the sultanas, and then spread the mixture evenly onto a lined baking tray and place in a preheated oven. Add the sultanas afterwards, and voila!

We had this with yogurt, which worked nicely. It can also be used as a crumble topping, which I’m keen to try as I think the desiccated coconut would add something different to the taste. It keeps well in an airtight container, so you can have a bit at a time too.

A copy of the recipe is here, if you want to know the specifics for making it yourself. You can also buy the Easy, Peasy Sweetie Pie baking book here.

Have you been baking recently?

Is this a recipe you might like to try for yourself? :-) Xx

Photo Diary P1 | Helmsley, North Yorkshire Holiday

It’s been a while, welcome back! Today I have part one of my holiday photo diary from earlier in the year. We went to Helmsley, in North Yorkshire which was my first time visiting. We went for one week for a relaxing, laid back time.

We did go on a few outings such as a visit to the Rievaulx temple, which we had a tour of, and later a picnic. We went to the national centre for birds of prey, which was one of the highlights of our trip, and photos of the birds will be in the next part of this post series. I took some photos of a rose garden, I found in the national centre for birds of prey which are featured in this post.

I thoroughly enjoyed having a potter around Helmsley centre, my Mum and I went in some interesting shops. I bought a military jacket from Age UK, which is featured in this haul post. There was a beautiful book shop, but it was a bit overpriced, although they had a fabulous young adult section.

We stumbled across an unusual shop selling wool, and secondhand books. The books were in a room in the back, and they had an array of chick-lit and thriller books. I ended up getting one book on holiday, it was called The Mona Lisa Mystery by Pat Hutchins, which I found second-hand in Oxfam.

We found a beautiful forest which we visited most days, to get phone reception and a coffee in the campervan. I got some interesting ethereal shots of the foliage while visiting there. We went for a meal in a pub in Helmsley centre one day too, and I had a gorgeously presented salad.

The cottage was stunning, particularly my bedroom, it had traditional beams, and a hygge, cosy feel. Most days I had a wander around the grounds with my camera; as there was a large pond, horses, and so on.

Do cottage holidays appeal to you too?

What things do you like to get up to while on a break? :-) Xx