Not every bake will be perfect. Not every recipe will turn out well.
This week I prepared Mary Berry’s Iced Fairy Cakes. I wanted something easily portable to give to my friends at brunch last Saturday and I wasn’t necessarily looking for cupcakes. I stumbled upon the delightful sounding fairy cakes and decided what a lovely alternative to cupcakes!
I immediately began planning out my execution.
The recipe calls for using a specific fairy cake pan, but I didn’t have one and definitely didn’t have time to casually search for one either. There is actually a pretty big difference between a cupcake and fairy cake pan. The fairy cake pan is much shallower and the cups are smaller than that of the average cupcake pan. They are supposed to be daintier desserts and more delicate.
Online I read that you could substitute your cupcake pan for the fairy cake pan, no problem. So I moved on not worrying about whether or not it would work out.
Next I focused on the most important piece: the toppings.
Fairy cakes are different from cupcakes as they are also usually topped with icing rather than frosting. To top the icing, you use candies to decorate. This was obviously the most important piece for me. I began searching for bulk candy stores to find the perfect toppings for my dainty cakes. Luckily there was the American Bulk Food store near where I live and it was PERFECT. If you are near the West Bloomfield Township area, you need to stop in there. They have every candy basically in bulk, ice cream and coffee. What more could you want in life?
Naturally, I spent too much time in American Bulk Food and got more than I needed, but I did end up finding the perfect candy toppings and sprinkles. Since I was planning to make one batch of plain and one batch of orange cakes, I got two different types of topping combos. Plain: rock candy that I was going to smash and sprinkle over top, and Lucky Charms marshmallows to place in the middle. Orange: orange sprinkles and gold colored Sixlets.
I rushed home anxious to get to work.
But I was fooled into believing the recipes would turn out well.
The batter is super easy to whip up and I had zero issues with that, but the baking part is what I truly struggled with. I used my cupcake liners and pans for the batter to bake in and it was a disaster.
The dough rises A LOT.
I was so mad at how they turned out that I didn’t even bother to decorate the ones that didn’t turn out. Luckily I was able to decorate most of the orange ones for picture proof I did anything this past week for baking. But otherwise, it was a flop.
To be honest, I didn’t care for the cakes either. The consistency of the bake is between corn bread and cookies, and it was not sweet at all unless it had the ultra sweet icing on top.
I will probably try this recipe again at some point because it was too simple and according to Mary Berry, is so easy children could do it. The next time I tackle this, I will be sure to fill the cupcake liners with HALF of the amount of batter I initially used because I really don’t want to buy a special pan just for these cakes. I would also add more orange into the orange cakes as well, as the flavor was barely a hint. Overall the taste wasn’t all that bad, and I do think they could be an easy recipe to keep on hand for a birthday party or tea time treat.
If anything, I appreciated my meal prepping this past week more than I have my baking. We have recently become a little more conscious of our conservation efforts and going a little bit more green, so we cleaned out our Tupperware cupboard and replaced a lot of containers with these Prepit glass containers (we also got these ones as well that don’t have compartments). We can’t get enough of them! Not only do they not melt in the microwave and most likely fill our bodies with chemicals, but they are super easy to clean and don’t smell like last week’s stinky lunch.
I’ve been slacking in my meal prep game lately, so these new containers got me excited to get stuff ready for a new week! Plus I’ve recently picked up a taste for Indian cuisine after being surrounded by people at work who bring in yummy, foreign smelling foods all the time. After a trip to the India Grocers across the road, I set out to make this Chicken Tandoori Meal Prep Bowls recipe from the Girl on Bloor.
If you have never tried India food but want to dabble into it, this is an easy enough recipe to try and is quite delicious! Its a one pan kind of meal and is quick to prepare.
The Pakora (a popular Indian fried snack filled with veggies) was not something I wanted to make and was a little harder to find frozen…as in, if you don’t have an Indian grocery store nearby, good luck finding them. I did see Trader Joe’s had Samosas, which are also a yummy fried snack similar to that of a pasty (but with actual spice and flavor – HA kidding, I love my pasties too)! Both taste delicious after we fried them in our air fryer (which if I haven’t mentioned is AMAZING and you all need one so you too can transform your relationship with fish sticks and tater tots).
You really don’t need the Pakoras or Samosas if you can’t find them, so you could always pair your chicken tandoori with some rice! Jasmine is my fave. If you look closely, there is green goop also added in which is Chutney! I also got this in the frozen section of the Indian grocery store in a box of four 5 oz. containers that you microwave for a few seconds and serve with your food. I am not an expert on Indian food, but I do know there are different Chutneys and this one happens to be mint!
I’ll just throw the rest of my foods down below because I doubt you want me to blabber on about food forever.
The first meal was just venison sausage (from our own deer), this sweet potato and kale hash that was YUM but also a little spicy, and then these chocolate chip walnut banana muffins.
The second one is just plain yogurt mixed with honey and topped with fruit! The granola was a recipe I just threw together based on internet research and it turned out quite well! It needs a little adjusting based on how I like mine, but if you like extra crunchy and chunky granola, definitely try this out:
4 cups oats- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tbsp veggie oil
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg white (beat until frothy)
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper
- Preheat to 300 degrees
- Heat honey, vanilla, oil and salt in sauce pan until runny
- Mix liquid with the oats until well coated
- Add egg white
- Pour onto baking sheet and spread evenly
- Bake for 40 minutes, turning pan every so often to get even bake
- Pull out when granola is not longer sticky and golden brown
- Cool completely and store in an airtight jar or container
The only thing I would change for next time is to bake on separate baking sheets to allow for more chunky clusters, and I would add more honey/vanilla and possibly some craisins. Basically, add in whatever you want based on your taste! That’s what cooking is all about.
The third meal up there is nothing special with just some venison, jasmine rice and roasted broccoli. I did try a new steak rub and I rather enjoy it! Here is the mix:
- Paprika – 2 tablespoons
- Minced or chopped onion – 2 tablespoons
- Minced Garlic – 2 tablespoons
- Course salt – 2 tablespoons
- Fresh ground black pepper – 1½ tablespoons
- Dill Weed – 1½ tablespoons
- Ground coriander – 1 tablespoon
- Cayenne Pepper – 1½ teaspoons
As you can see, I was all set up to have a BEAUTIFUL week with delicious food and a new yoga studio to practice at (oh yeah, did I forget to mention that?). God had other plans in mind as I drove to work Monday morning. Alas, a piece of scrap metal flew from the back of a semi and hurtled towards my car, denting my fender and knocking off my driver’s side mirror.
This is the second time some sort of accident has happened to me on my way to work taking the expressway, so you could see why I would not be happy about this. Well, aside from not having a mirror for two days.
But my beloved husband came to the rescue and replaced it temporarily with a new one while we wait for insurance to be sorted out and until we can take it in somewhere to be fixed. I swear I am not a bad driver. Bad things just always happen to me.
I look forward to some baking this weekend, as well as more Indian eats! I’ll for sure share what I make this weekend next week 😉 Until then, pray for me and my car that we don’t get hit again ❤
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