Fondant Fancies - Cutest Little Teatime Cakes (Recipe) - Made the Easy Way !

Fondant Fancies are great little British retro / vintage style teacakes that commonly grace cake stands that used to be typically served on Sunday afternoons many UK households.

Afternoon tea isn't something most people do these days - it's far more common to go out for afternoon tea as a special treat or to purchase a "tea" at a cafe / restaurant / event.

Saying that - fondant fancies remain as popular and well loved as they have ever been. Most of us tend to buy them in packets these days and they are not a popular choice for home bakers.

Why ? Well - if you watched The Great British Bake Off (GBBO) last year - you'll realise why these pretty little cakes aren't made at home by more bakers..... They're renowned for being tricky little blighters to make.

Doing them my way makes it so so much easier ! 

Mary Berry is one awesome woman and don't forget that GBBO is a competition and a real challenge. I wanted to make fondant fancies and have them turn out perfect - with minimal mess and minimal fuss. If you've ever tried cutting a whole cake into squares and then dipping the mini cakes into gloopy fondant, you'll realise it's a messy, crumby affair and there can be a number of casualties !

Well - none of that here. I made 14 fondant fancies and every single one of them turned out just great.

To make these, you will need 2 x 6 cell silicone cube moulds, a small metal spatula (or flat granny knife), a cooling rack and a massive silicone mat (or a big tray to sit the rack over)

RECIPE - enough to make 12 large fondant fancies.

• 200g  self-raising flour
• 200g soft butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla or lemon extract
• 3 large eggs

Cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Beat in the eggs one by one, and then follow by adding the flour and extract.

Line your 2 x 6 cell 2" square cube moulds using two x 2" wide strips of baking parchment which have been lightly greased. This makes it SO easy to get them out later without any damage or loose crumbs and is honestly worth the effort !

Place the two moulds on a baking tray. Split the mix evenly between the 12 cells. Bake at 170 deg C for approx 20 minutes until lightly golden and a cake tester comes out clean.

Allow to cool. Once cooled, hold two opposite paper strips and your mini cakes will lift clean out the mould. When paper is removed, they will have lovely straight sides with sharp edges.

Use a serrated knife to remove the top. Pipe on a little blob of butter cream on to the flat top of each cake and then chill for at least 20 mins.

Take 750g of block fondant. You can buy this in any supermarket isle. Often also known as sugar paste, regal ice and others. Supermarket own brand is fine.

Make sure the fondant has been at warm, room temperature. Chop it up into small pieces. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and start to beat with a paddle attachment in a stand mixer. You can also do this by hand - but it takes a bit of effort !

If making these by hand, I'd suggest putting the chopped fondant and water in a glass bowl and sit over some hot water for 10 mins to soften before starting..

Add some more hot water, a tablespoon or so at a time and beat until a smooth, thick, runny, pouring consistency is achieved.

Have a glass of hot water to hand and a flat knife or small spatula.

Place the cakes on the rack over a large silicone work mat or tray (the mat makes for very easy clean up later !)

Pour or spoon the fondant over the cakes. If it does not totally cover the cake, dip the spatula in hot water and then use it to level out the fondant / cover any gaps.

Once done, leave for the fondant to dry before transferring to your cake stand or into paper cases. Our American Jumbo paper cake cases are a perfect size to pop your fondant fancies into !

Hope you find these as easy to make as I did - they're a true delight.

Happy Baking

Sarah-Jane Nash - www.siliconemoulds.com - September 2014

Chocolate Cupcakes (Eggless) with Gingerbread Frosting - RECIPE

These cupcakes have a deep, dark, delicious flavour and a real wintery / Christmas feel.

They are very simple to make and require minimal time and effort. My gingerbread frosting is silky smooth - not overly sweet and lightly spiced with a strong biscuity flavour.

The chocolate cupcake part of this recipe is suitable for vegans or those with egg allergies and handy to have in your recipe book.

The dinky little chocolate bars are made in the mini tablet bar silicone mould which is available to buy from our website at www.siliconemoulds.com - currently for £2.25 plus p&p. Simply pipe in tempered chocolate and leave to set. As soon as they are hardened, the mini bars are ready to use.

I used a JEM 2D piping nozzle for the swirls on these cupcakes and 18" strong, savoy disposable piping bags - currently a bargain at 10 for £1.00 !

The chocolate cupcake recipe is enough to make 12.
The frosting recipe makes enough to do 18 > 24 cupcakes. Extra frosting can be frozen.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES (EGGLESS)

1 cup (250mls) of milk - normal or soya
1 tsp cider vinegar

3/4 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

2tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup of plain flour

2 tbsp cornflour

1/2 cup of cocoa powder

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp of baking powder
good pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 170deg C fan / 180deg C normal.

Line a 12 hole standard muffin mould or pan with paper cupcake cases.

Sieve dry ingredients and add wet. Mix with a balloon whisk until well combined and no lumps remain.

Transfer the mix (will be runny) into a jug and split evenly between the 12 cupcake liners.

Bake for approx 20mins until cocktail stick comes out clean.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Here is the secret to my gingerbread biscuit frosting....

This stuff is awesome ! In Europe, it tends to be called Speculoos. In the UK, the closest we get are Lotus biscuits - yummy little carmelised spiced biscuits often served alongside coffee.

The lovely people at Lotus now distribute this as a spread in the UK and it's widely available in many supermarkets such as Waitrose and Sainsbury's.

GINGERBREAD BISCUIT FROSTING

125g salted butter

200g Lotus spread (1/2 a jar)

2 tbsp of condensed milk

1 tsp of vanilla extract
3 cups sieved icing / powdered sugar

150ml double cream

2 tsp mixed spice.

First of all, warm the cream and add the mixed spice. Leave to cool and infuse.

Cream the butter and Lotus spread until pale and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and infused cream. Beat with a hand mixer until thick and silky smooth (took about 10mins)

Enjoy !

Sarah-Jane Nash - www.siliconemoulds.com  - December 2013

Spiced and Iced Sweet Potato Pecan Loaf

I adore the warmth and fragrance of seasonal winter spices. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves. All deep and woody. They smell the way they make you feel - wrapped up in a warm and comforting blanket.

To go with them, the autumn and winter seeds, nuts and vegetables in a glorious array of colours. Sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and pecans are some of the best.

This cake recipe I've created is a mix of almost them all. Sugar, spice and all things nice !

Recipe - for the cake

200g / 8oz plain flour

200g / 8 oz sugar

100g / 4 oz of sunflower or corn oil

3tsp baking powder

2 beaten eggs

1 cup sweet potato (mashed) - or use pumpkin / squash

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

a good pinch of ground nutmeg

50g of roughly chopped pecans

Sift dry ingredients and then mix in wet until thoroughly combined.

Transfer into a 2lb silicone loaf pan mould which has been lightly greased with butter and then dusted with flour. 

Bake in a 170deg C fan oven for approx 55mins or until a bamboo skewer comes out clean.

Recipe for the Buttercream 

125g of softened butter
3 > 4 cups of sieved icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp of maple syrup

small amount of milk as required to bring it together

Spread the buttercream frosting liberally over the top of your cooled cake, then drizzle the top lightly with a little more maple syrup.

Recipe - for the  Caramelised Spicy Pecans

1/2 cup of  caster sugar

40mls of water

knob of butter

1/4 tsp of cinnamon

1/4 tsp mixed spice

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp salt

150g of pecans

2 > 3 table spoons of pumpkin seeds

Boil the sugar, water and butter for about a minute without stirring. Pour into a bowl over the mixed nuts and spices. Stir well.

Spread into a single layer on a silicone baking sheet. Pop into a 160deg oven for about 5 mins. Stir well and then flatten out again. Put back in the oven for another 5 mins. Keep a watch they don't burn !

Remove from the oven and stir well. Spread out flat once more and leave until cooled and sugar has hardened and caked to the surface. Break up if required. This recipe creates enough spiced nuts to liberally scatter over TWO cakes, or enough for one cake and a small jar as a gift.

Sarah-Jane Nash - SiliconeMoulds.com - November 2012

UPDATE - 3rd December..

Made this cake and took it along to December Clandestine Cake Club in Norwich.

Car was all loaded up with passengers. Only Oliver to drop at home with my husband. When we arrived, the house was in darkness. Steve was poorly and had gone to bed !

Oliver was very excited "I'm coming to cake club !"

Wasn't much else for it but to go for a little while complete with a little boy who really should have been going to bed !

Almost ready for bed, Oliver dragged blankie all round the venue.

Oliver looks carefully, then chooses a piece of Lucy's spiced chocolate cake !

Lorraine and Oliver do stickers !

Oliver loved the knitted Nativity and enormous knitted Christmas tree (yes , really) in the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich

Thanks to everyone at CCC - especially Lorraine for the stickers and Lucy for the santa and snowman that were on top of her cake !

The Seven Deadly Sins Chocolate Cake

This cake is the essence of all evil. It's BAD very bad. Chocolate covered biscuits, chocolate butter cream (lots of it), brightly coloured candy coated chocolate. Never mind Devils Food Cake. This stuff is demonic. Be warned - it's serious fun and would make a stonking birthday cake - but is a serious chocolate overload.

One good thing is that it is very easy to portion. The sides of the cake are made up of 2 finger bars of Kitkats, held into place with a copious amount of chocolate buttercream. The main part of the cake is a chocolate sponge, split with chocolate buttercream in the middle.

It's actually very simple to make !

Chocolate Cake Recipe

grease and flour or grease and line a two 8" round baking tins - preferably spring form.

• 2 cups white caster sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• 
  

I use a cup with 250ml volume

Combine all wet ingredients. Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix until combined.

 Bake in an oven at 180deg / Gas mark 4. I used 170deg Fan oven.

When cooked (approx 30 mins), remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

4 cups icing sugar

115g salted butter (soft)

1 tsp vanilla extract

50g cocoa powder

1/4 cup milk

1 cup dark chocolate chips (melted)

Beat the butter and add icing sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder and milk. Beat until smooth and creamy. It is best to use a mixer, and beat for at least 5 mins. All melted chocolate and beat in. If the buttercream is too thick at this point, add some extra milk.

Split the cake in half. Spread some buttercream on one half and sandwich the rest together. Use the rest of the buttercream to cover the top and sides of the cake.

You will need 2 packs of 2 finger Kitkats (I think that's 16 bars) plus an extra finger. Alternatively, you could use  our new Chocolate fingers / dipping sticks silicone mould and make your own ! As kids, we were always overjoyed if we got a Kitkat finger which was solid chocolate with no wafer.

Here are some subtitles for the above video. A toddler speaking in a silly voice isn't always the easiest to understand.

"Hello Bloggers. My name is Oliver and I DO like chocolate cake !!"

Stick the chocolate fingers round the outside of the cake and secure in place with a ribbon. Fill the top part (as full as you want) with Smarties or M&M's. We used just one packet of M&M's. They only just covered the top - but that was plenty candy !

I guess you are wondering why seven deadly sins... Well Oliver had been baking with me as you can see. However, just after this little video (whilst I was taking photos) he decided to go to the chicken coop and collect the eggs.

Naughty Oliver purposely broke 5 eggs. He had enjoyed cracking them on the morning to make the cake far too much ! That's got to be 5 sins..... After that, he decided to get his little chair, go down the back of the coop and try to climb up and pull unripe apples off the tree. The chair went over backwards. Oliver landed in the nettles.... He did get a telling off and no chocolate cake - though to be honest, I found it very hard to be angry with him and he needed lots of cuddles due to the nettle stings. The seventh was for tipping out an entire bottle of bubble bath in the bath.... Tired Oliver = naughty Oliver. Mummy should have known better. That witching time of day just before dinner and bed

Penance was that the chocolate cake was not to be cut that evening. Naughty boys don't get chocolate cake. The seventh sin was mine. Oliver got chocolate cake for breakfast the next morning and promised not to break any more eggs (on purpose that is...)

Sarah-Jane Nash (and Oliver age 2.3/4) - July 11

Roses - Cupcake Bouquet (Tutorial)

Aren't cupcake bouquets beautiful ? So different, inexpensive to make and a lovely home made gift.

My first ever attempt was a mini cupcake bouquet. That later evolved into my idea for the rosebud fudge candy bouquet.

More recently, I had been admiring photos  last week of one a customer had made, and she directed me to some YOUTUBE videos (try searching for cupcake bouquets)

I made this on Monday (I think) - could have been Tuesday. I forget as much of this week has become a blur. Certainly, I started it one day and finished it the next ! That's what happens when you start a project at 2am. I made two lots of  the framework at some silly hour of night and made / iced the cupcakes the following morning.

To make the framework / base cupcake bouquet you will need the following :

1 sheet of green tissue paper

2 sheets of tissue in colours of your choice

1 piece of cellophane (optional)

an old cardboard box (preferably double wall thickness)

a staple gun

double sided sticky tape

glue gun (optional)

7 disposable plastic cups

1 metre length of ribbon

The first thing I did was fold the green sheet of tissue into four along the long side and then the opposite way into thirds. When cut, this gave me 12 squares. These tissue pieces were for going inside the cups to create a leaf effect.

I folded each square in half (across the diagonal to give a triangle) and each triangle in half to give a more elongated triangle. Then, snip the bottom 20mm / 3/4" off. It's just like the photos for cutting the circles - except you care cutting off the bottom part rather than the top.

When you unfold it, you will be left with a square which has a circular hole in the middle.

Originally, I tried taping them to the outside of the cup, but that did not give as good an effect. Taping them to the inside was a really slow job and very fiddly. Through trial and error, I found it was easier to do it as below :

Take two plastic cups. Put the cup base through the hole in the tissue square. Secure with a small piece of double sided tape approx 1/3 of the way up from the base of the cup. Put another piece of double sided tape on the opposite side of the cup.

Peel off the backing tape from both bits of tape. Gently squash the top of the cup with one hand. Take a second cup and insert the cup (with tissue on outside) about 1/2 way in. The tape will grip the inside of the cup and stick the tissue on the inside as you  remove the inner cup.

With all the cups done, it's time to piece them together. You have three choices here. A stapler is the fastest and easiest. It is likely to split the cups though, so put some sticky tape on them before you staple. Alternatively, you can use double sided sticky tape as I did on one of mine. It's possible to also use a glue gun - but be careful - the plastic cups melt a bit with the hot glue. I stuck my fingers together. Hmmm.

You want one cup in the middle(rim higher than the rest, and fasten the other cups round the outside

Take another sheet of tissue. Fold one corner up to meet the side across the diagonal. Cut the remaining strip off. Opened up, you now have a square. Keep folding across the diagonal and then cut the top piece off in an arch. When you open the paper up - you should have a circle (or something that resembles one !). If you want a really full and fluffy wrapped bouquet, also cut a piece of cellophane wrap in the same way

Draw round a 6" / 150mm saucer on to a piece of card and cut it out. You need to stick this to the bottom of your plastic cup to complete the frame. Glue gun works best, but I also had good success with double sided sticky tape. 

Put the glue or tape round the outside edge of the base of the cups and press the cardboard disc to the bottom. Place this on top of your tissue / cellophane circles. Bring the sides of the tissue / cello up. It's handy to have someone hold this for you - but if it's 3am and your husband is asleep.... I'd suggest a bit of double sided tape on either side to help keep it in place !

Tie the ribbon around the base to secure.

Now the base is done, all you need to make is a batch of standard size cupcakes and some buttercream icing. This mould is ideal. We also keep a wide selection of paper case cake liners. 

I used the vanilla cupcake and buttercream recipe I posted back in February here.

To pipe the roses, I used a disposable piping bag and a closed star tip..... But I believe a Wilton 1M tip gives even better results !

Take the piping bag, and using a small brush, apply some gel paste food colouring to the inside of the bag. You need only a very small amount. Rub the sides of the bag together. Snip the end off and insert the tip. You may need to wipe excess colour off the tip end with a cloth after insertion. The colour on the inside of the bag is going to create the two tone effect on the edge of the piped rose swirl.

Squeeze a little of the buttercream through. The colour will follow. After that, you can pipe the swirls. 

Start on the inside and pipe round the outside in a circle. Super video of it being done here

Once the buttercream on my cupcakes had hardened off, I popped them into the plastic cups. The cups hold them securely in place. Nothing else is needed.

I've been keeping my husband busy this week. We've been building a run for the chickens. It's not totally finished yet as the company that supplied it have not sent all the correct parts for the roof and there are loads of bits missing. Pah. They've promised twice to phone me back and sort it - nothing yet..

Chickens have been free range in our garden for almost 2.1/2 years now and give us loads of lovely fresh eggs. At this time of year, too many. Scrambled, fried, boiled, omlet, in cakes and still excess to sell. In the winter, very few.

Korma, Dansak, Tikka, Terminator, Custard, Blackie, Feathers, Henrietta and Fancy Pants.

 I really didn't want to pen them in - but the garden is pretty much destroyed. They've dug massive craters in the garden that used to be a  lawn (WHAT LAWN ??). Craters big enough they can jump in and hide.

 Open the kitchen window just a little, and they squeeze in and sit on the sink draining board. Leave the back door open for two seconds and they're in the house. In as quick as you can turn round, there will be a chicken in the living room watching tv or sitting on the sofa. I swear - they are taking over !

Korma likes to sneak in and stand in front of the kitchen cooker. We joke she's oven ready.

Well - they are going to have a massive run. Between that and Oliver's trampoline, there isn't a great deal of space left....but ..... I'm looking forward to being able to open the door again and not be falling over a rabble of chickens begging for some pasta or rice !  Shame we have to restrict their free ranging, but it's got a bit silly.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this slightly different blog entry. It's a bit more crafty this time - but still food orientated :-)

Sarah-Jane Nash - www.siliconemoulds.com - silicone bakeware / cookware -  July 11

Homemade Lemon Curd and Cupcakes - FOODBUZZ #5 on 28/6/11

The tang of lovely, sharp lemon curd. Thickly spread on fresh bread, in a swiss roll or as a filling for cake. Mmmm. DELICIOUS.

Lemon curd is one of my Dad's very favourite things. I made him some and sent it to Scotland with a great big jar of homemade pickled eggs in time for Fathers Day. With the rest of the lemon curd, I made some lovely lemon curd filled cupcakes, with a lemon buttercream and topped them with some pretty patterned white chocolate discs.

The lemon curd came first. It's simple to make.

LEMON CURD RECIPE (makes two jars)

200g sugar

3 eggs + 2 yolks

100g melted butter

250ml lemon juice (or 150ml lemon and 100ml lime)

zest 3 lemons

The lemons I bought looked sublime, but infact were very disappointing.... Loads of peel and very little juice.I used 5 lemons and still had to top up with 100ml of lime juice on this occasion as I ran out of lemons !

First of all, melt the butter and them add the lemon juice and lemon zest.

Whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar in a pan, then whisk in the butter and lemon mix.

Stir continuously over a low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Put into sterilised jars and seal. 

This lemon curd recipe does not need a double boiler. Keep a sink full of cold water nearby. If it looks like it might split, plunge the pan bottom into the water and then whisk like fury. I've never had it split yet...(though I've water dunked it once or twice before).

I used the same vanilla cupcake recipe as I did here in February (see Valentines Cupcakes - February)

Once cooled. I cut out a circle from the centre and filled the hole in the cake with some of the lemon curd. I kept the top of the piece removed and placed it back on top as a plug.

For the lemon buttercream, I used 4 cups of icing sugar (sifted), 155g salted butter (softtened). Instead of adding the normal 1/4 cup of milk - I put 2 x tablespoons of lemon curd into the 1/4 cup measure and topped it up with lemon juice.  Whip it up by hand or in a stand mixer until pale coloured, light and fluffy. I normally make buttercream in my mixer and beat for about 5 minutes.

This made a really nice, fresh tasting lemony buttercream.

I'd been desperate to play with chocolate transfers for some time - and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. The transfer sheets had been sitting in my kitchen waiting around for quite long enough !

Basically, what you do is take your transfer sheets and cut them up as required. I cut mine into strips.

Place them with the rough side up (plastic face down) on to a chopping board or similar. An over turned baking tray would work fine too.

Melt the chocolate in a melting pot or in a double boiler (glass bowl over a pot of simmering water) until just melted. Allow to cool and stir in some more solid chocolate until no more will melt to temper it. After doing so, spread it over your chocolate transfer sheets.

I used a WEDGE HEAD SPATULA for spreading. I love that thing. It makes spreading chocolate, ganache and icings on the top of cakes and flat surfaces sooo easy !

Leave until semi set and then mark your shapes with a cookie cutter. Leave to fully harden (I shoved them in the fridge) before removing the backing paper.

Note - I find it much easier to temper bitter (plain) chocolate or milk chocolate. Get your chocolate too hot and you get white marks where the cocoa separates or  not hot enough and it crystallises. I wrecked my first lot due to crystallisation !

The cakes would not have survived transit to Scotland - but they were polished off by work colleagues and the next door neighbours in no time at all. I can honestly say these were some of the best cupcakes I've ever eaten.

The last one got eaten by the postman who collects our big wire crates of mail at night. It was the eve of his retirement. We were sad to see him go and wish him lots of luck and happiness.

Not forgetting Oliver - he does love licking the beaters from the icing bowl !

This picture was from a day trip to Bressingham Steam Museum that Oliver and I took a couple of weeks ago  (day or two after I made the cakes). It was a dismal and wet day, but Oliver enjoyed riding the rails on the narrow-gauge steam trains and the Gallopers carousel. That's my handbag behind him (after I got off) - he was sat on a double horse as he's too little to ride it on his own yet.

Hope you all enjoy the weekend x

Sarah-Jane Nash - www.siliconemoulds.com - silicone bakeware specialist cook shop

Melting Moments With Chocolate and Hazelnut Buttercream

Well - these really did not take long to make, and they did not last long either. These cookies are buttery and melt in the mouth. Two of them sandwiched together with buttercream in the centre creates a cookie that is very like a yoyo in size and shape !

Rather than just make a normal vanilla buttercream, I vamped it up a bit and added a load of cocoa about 3 tablespoons of toasted and ground hazelnuts which worked beautifully.

They would make the perfect accompanyment to a cup of tea and a super size to pop on the top or centre tier of a cake stand. Or share as I did with a best friend over a cup of tea !

They're easy and quick to make and the recipe produces only 8 > 9 filled cookies - so not too many either. I had one with a friend the morning I made these and then too the rest into work.

Recipe - Melting Moments

170g salted butter

60g icing sugar

170g plain flour

60g corn flour (I used rice flour as had run out !)

2tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy and then gently combine the flours.

Roll into walnut sized balls on to a baking tray prepared with baking parchment or a silicone baking sheet /tray liner. Flatten with a fork.

Bake for approx 12 mins at 160deg C fan until just starting to take on colour.

Once totally cooled, fill with your buttercream.

I had no real recipe for this. I started with a dollop of butter and some icin sugar, added some cocoa, a splash of milk and about 3 tablespoons of hazelnuts (ground and toasted).... then a bit more icing sugar to get the right consistency.

I piped the buttercream using a 1cm nozzle on to the cookies for neatness.

I've been really busy the last few weeks and am still VERY unorganised for the coming show. There is lots and lots of work to be done.

I'm honoured to have had some bloggers helping me out with some photos for my slideshow presentation to be part of our stand at the Ideal Home Exhibition at the SECC 27 > 30th May. Do come and say hello if you are there ! We'll be opposite the farmers market at the division between homewares and the food halls.

I'm dying to show you some of the photos - but need to get up to date with a load of work yet.... but they'll come soon :-)

The last few weekends have been rather packed. The week before last, we made a day trip to the seaside. I was upstairs in Oliver's room gathering some clothes and towels when suddenly it got very dark. There was a hot air ballon directly behind the back of our house and totally blocking out the light from the window.

I shouted down stairs and my husband quickly put some clothes on Oliver and they raced outside to see the balloon land. Unfortunately, from where I was, it was not possible to get a photo. Oliver is a bit wary of sitting high up on Daddy's shoulders and was gripping on just a bit too tight....

We all got to watch once Oliver relaxed a little !

Then it was off in the car to the seaside on the North Norfolk Coast with Victoria, Emma, Maurice, V's dad and nanny.

Looks lovely - doesn't it. Gloroiously sunny day - but VERY windy and bitterly cold !

You would never guess hwo cold it was. Oliver even took a dip (albeit accidentally) in the sea ! There is a video clip of Youtube. He really wasn't expecting what happened.

Emma having a cuddle with her mummy (Victoria) in an effort to warm up.

Sun, sea, sand and WIND !

.

Two freezing children - by this time, Oliver was practically turning blue ! Still took a lot of effort to "remove" them from the sand and head home

On the way home, we spotted a tiny little bicycle for sale by the side of the road for just £5.00 - so Oliver now has his first real bike. He had to practise riding it with Daddy as soon as we got back.

Sarah-Jane Nash, http://www.siliconemoulds.com/ - silicone bakeware specialists May 11