We’ve lived at the seaside for nearly 14 years. And we’ve always picked up bits and pieces of seaglass, which I’ve then sent on to people or just left in a big vase.
But it’s actually a worldwide thing, and in the next town, there is one of the more famous seaglass beaches! People come from all over the world to spend the day looking for that ultimate, rare piece!
And I found one haha! I’ve since had it made into a necklace and it really is stunning, but that’s what a lot of people now do, they find seaglass and make/sell it as jewellery, if you google it you will find some beautiful pieces.
The most common colours of glass found are white, green and then brown, but there are different shades that come from different kinds of glass objects. And then there are the rarer colours, like red, blue, pink, purple, and milk glass and then there are the ultra rare pieces like radium glass (that glows in the dark under UV light) and multis, pieces of glass from decorative vases with multiple colours running through them. A multi is the one I had made into a necklace, it’s nearly about as big as my thumb nail, and is reportedly from a vase made by a local glassmaker from 100 years ago.
For anyone who’s also into this, the beach is in Seaham, just south of where I live, and every time I go, there’s other people there seaglass hunting.
For the kids, we tell them the pieces are mermaid tears!
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Method: make up the pastry - I’m sure you know how to do pastry but here’s how I do it, add butter, icing sugar and flour to a bowl and stir with a fork until it resembles breadcrumbs (my hands are too warm to do it the traditional way). Add cold water and bring together with the fork, then dive in their and knead quickly for a short amount of time. Roll out on a floured surface. Line and crimp the sides (using two fingers) a round tart/flan dish with the pasty and trim off the excess. Add a sheet of greaseproof paper and baking beans to the pastry case. If you don’t have baking beans, prick the bottom plenty of times with a fork, the finger-crimped sides should stop them falling in on themselves. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and bake for a further five minutes.
Remove from the oven and set to one side, turn the oven down to 165/gas 4.5
In a clean bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until light and the sugar has dissolved. Add the egg yolks, milk, and vanilla and whisk again. Fold in the flour and semolina (or ground almonds) and set aside.
Spread a lay of jam over the bottom of the pastry case. Cover that with the cake mix you’ve just made, gently spread it to the edges of the pastry case and bake in the middle of the oven for approx 50 minutes. Once cooked, a skewer pushed in the middle will come out clean. It will be a darker colour but not burnt.
Leave in the flan dish to cool. Once cooled, mix up the icing, pink and white. Which is just icing sugar and water, don’t make it too thin. For the pink, use food colouring or beetroot juice (which works brilliantly, just don’t use the juice from beetroot stored in vinegar). Put the pink icing in a piping bag, cover the tart with white icing and with the pink, start in the centre and pipe a pink spiral all the way to the edge. Then, using a tooth pic, or skewer, or teaspoon handle, drag a line lightly from the centre to the edge at what would be 12, 3, 6, and 9 on a clock face. In the gaps in between, drag a line the other way, from the edge to the centre, allow to set and ... enjoy! Xx
Dogs come when called, cats take a message and get back to you at their convenience.
Talking of Christmas ... I just booked our works’ Christmas do night. Three kitchens are getting together and I’m sorting it all out. Our first choice was already fully booked and that was the middle of August!!
Dogs come when called, cats take a message and get back to you at their convenience.
Girlie was in her new flat. She’d invited laddo to stay with her over the holiday period and said that she’d like to do Christmas dinner for all four of us, if I helped out with shopping and her dad helped with Yorkshire puddings. So we did.
With no table, we took the fold up picnic table from the garage.
We were there for ten hours, it was one of the best Christmas days ever.
She’s still in the same flat but she’s had a move around and made it a one bedroom instead of two, so she’s looking to get a dining table for this Christmas.
Dogs come when called, cats take a message and get back to you at their convenience.
I always like to do something a tiny bit different with my Christmas tree. Over the past few years I’ve changed themes. We’ve had red ribbon bows and gold ball-chains, Mint green and fluffy white, chocolate and gold, peacock feathers and ribbons in a diamond pattern with ornaments made of multiple balls and ribbons etc, but after everything, last year I decided to think out of the box.
Last year, I totally transformed my tree and had ivy, roses, trailing leaves, sunflowers and butterflies, with proper old fashioned candles in their little clip-on holders. It looked beautiful. I wish I could put a little vid on for you.
I'm thinking...have you ever considered entering Bake Off ?
unfortunately, I’m not allowed to enter bake off. As a school cook, I’m classed as a professional in the catering industry. I could enter professional bake off but I’m not that good. All those contestants come from the big fancy hotels and have has experience in chocolate and sugar work to name but two. They’ve also all been through catering college etc, (probably) and I haven’t.
Oh Bellatrix, did you know I’ve won trophies through work for my baking? Think that was during my absence so you might not know. One of the things I made was a nut-free alcohol-free vegetarian Christmas mince pie, I made the sweet mince for it too. Scored a gold and best in class for it.
Dogs come when called, cats take a message and get back to you at their convenience.
Peppersmum, how are you at making vegan cakes? Have you a recipe that is tried and tested that you could share please? I want to make some fairy cakes for my granddaughters.
I make vegan brownies at work which can also be made as cupcakes. I have the recipe in my day book which I just happen to have here to prep my orders for September ...
This recipe is for 96 chunky sized ones so you might want to divide by 4 ... unless you are planning on feeding 96 vegans haha. Seriously, they taste very yummy.
2kg plain flour 2kg sugar 500g cocoa powder 40g baking powder 20g salt (I never put this much in, and if I’m reducing the recipe, I only put a pinch in) 2litre water 1.6litre veg oil Vanilla essence.
Combine dry in a large bowl. Add wet, mix well, portion into bun/muffin cases (I use a potato scoop) and bake 175degC for about 20 minutes. Every oven is different. Enjoy xx
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These are brilliant. I vaguely remember making them way back when I was at school and there’s a reason why I’ve never made it since. It’s really hard to get them to roll without cracking. Yours looks perfect. That would last about 5 minutes in my house.
I was really getting into baking a couple of years back. Both of our adult sons still live with us (long story) and when I baked they loved it. I found it very relaxing and I thought I had found a lovely new hobby. Then I got diagnosed diabetic and it’s too hard to make all these lovely cakes and not eat them so I stopped. Now I only really make scones because they’re so easy.
I might try and get back to it. I can have a small piece and it’s not as if anything I make will go to waste. That is unless I put raisins in as only hubs will eat them. I have a recipe for a light fruit cake that hubs loves and will eat all of so I’ll make that for him.
I have some out of date ground almonds in the cupboard so I think I’ll try a Bakewell tart. I make pastry the way my mum did..with SR flour and an egg but I need a good recipe for the almond cake mix if you’ve got one.
I do have a bake well tart recipe but it’s at work. Will pull it out when I get back to work.
The cracks will always appear in a Swiss roll of you roll it cold. That’s why you roll it from the oven and then open and fill it once it’s cooled. X
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this recipe is also fab if you want to do miniatures. We had the key worker children in on my birthday, so I shared it with them and made them all mini birthday cakes with edible candles, which i just made with rolled sugar paste the previous day. I did a plain Swiss roll base and a chocolate one, and left them flat to cool before using a small round cookie cutter to cut them out,
Dogs come when called, cats take a message and get back to you at their convenience.
Here you go Bellatrix 125g golden caster sugar (white granulated will work, golden caster is better) Three eggs 125g plain flour teaspoon vanilla essence jam/cream for filling sugar and greaseproof paper.
Oven on gas 4, about 175DegC
this will make enough for two regular baking trays approx 15cm x 24cm. They don’t need to be deep but staring sided if possible, and about 2cm deep.
ok, line the trays with greaseproof paper. in a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla using an electric whisk. Whisk for aaaages, I can’t stress how long you whisk this for, but at least until the sugar is dissolved and the mix is very pale and airy. Then whisk some more to be on the safe side. Scrape down the side of the bowl, and whisk again. Sift (I am not a big flour sifter at all but for this recipe, it’s a must.) the flour into the beaten egg and fold through well using a pallet knife.
pour into tray and spread to the edges - very important part as this cake has no fat and will not “melt” into position.
bake for 12 minutes,
while it’s in the oven, prepare the next part. Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper on the side and sprinkle with sugar to the size of the cake tray.
when the cake is baked, take it out of the oven and tip it straight onto the sugared paper, carefully with your fingers.
gently but quickly remove the lining paper, and start to roll from one end (Yes, while it’s warm, an with NO filling). Use the sugared paper as an outer layer so that when you get to the end, you have a roll of cake wrapped in paper.
put on a rack to cool.
When it’s cool, prep the jam by spooning jam into a small bowl and giving it a bloody good beat with a spoon, this will make it easier to spread, If you want cream in the roll, prep that now too. I don’t like cream so I just put jam in the roll and serve cream on the side (I think it rolls better without cream too.
OK, carefully unwrap the cake, spread with jam, and re-roll. If needed, trim the edged with a sharp serrated knife. Serve and enjoy.
I have a pic but i need to resize it - will add it tomorrow for you.
xxxx
Dogs come when called, cats take a message and get back to you at their convenience.