Thursday, 5 July 2018

New Re-Vamped Blog!

Hi, Having neglected my blog for quite some years, I have decided to add more content again, pictures & details of what I do for my business- The Jolliffe Cake Company
Also my love of general baking, cooking & ideas for Vegetarian & Vegan meals following Slimming World. Having previously lost 4 & a half stone, I am back on it, with a vengeance!
If you scroll back you will find many crafting ideas from my Create & Craft Days, making samples for the wonderful Joanna Sheen & also as a demonstrator for Crafters Companion.
I started my cake business in 2012 under the name of Enjay's Occasions, so the water mark will be different in those pictures, as in 2014 I changed the name to The Jolliffe Cake Company & am now in my 6th year of business. November 2017, winning Silver at Cake International at Birmingham NEC, with my life size bust, in cake of the wonderful & sorely missed George Michael.

You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter for The Jolliffe Cake Compay
or for Slimming World

Tuesday, 19 January 2016

Quick & easy very low fat lunch, Vegetarian, virtually zero fat, low salt.

 Have found a new favourite lunch!

I spiralized a Conference Pear!!
Added a grated carrot, chopped some cucumber, finely chopped an onion ( I would have added spring onion instead, had I had any)
Drained a quarter tin of Chickpeas.
Sprinkled with soy sauce.
And my it was good! it makes a great sweet side salad

But as I wanted something to keep me going a bit longer, I boiled a handful of pasta in water with a small amount of salt
and tossed it all together.


Apart from soy sauce, no other seasoning was added.
A REALLY nice and quick lunch!
Would be great cold too, taken in a box for lunch at work or away from home.
Some Greek salad cheese or feta cubed and added would be wonderful with the pear, if I had any, must add to shopping list.
The Conference pears at just 59p in Lidl for a punnet full. at the moment.


Sunday, 17 January 2016

Certified Wilton Method Instructor

I am very pleased to now be a Certified Instructor for Wilton
Which means I can now teach 'The Wilton Method' 
Wilton are one of the main suppliers of cake products and decoration in America and worldwide!
And has been established since 1929.


I will be teaching at 'The Cake Decorating Shop' in Wokingham ,Reading, Berkshire

And am really looking forward to meeting many of you who sign up for the 
Wilton Cake Courses



Sunday, 10 January 2016

Healthy Virtually Fat free Vegetarian food.. One of my favourite dishes to make.... Chickpea & Butternut squash Curry and Cauliflower rice.



This can be made with whatever you have really and on a budget it does 3 or 4 meals no problem
Frylight for slowly frying the veg.
Garam Masala. but you can use a tandoori, tikka powder
Tin of chickpeas
Tin of plum tomatoes, or can use chopped tomatoes
Tomato puree
half a green sweet pepper, sliced and chopped
couple of onions, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
one third of a butternut squash, peeled and cubed
Mushrooms, sliced
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste.
1 vegetable oxo cube or equivalient


Spray, well, a heavy based pan with frylight until well coated.
Add all the prepared veg, apart from the tinned tomatoes & puree, spray thoroughly with frylight
sprinkle some salt and a vegetable oxo cube

Cover the pan with a lid and leave to soften and cook in own juices stirring frequently, so doesnt stick to pan.

Cook slowly for atleast half an hour
When butternut squash and potatoes have cooked and softened add the tin of tomatoes. a good few squeezed lines of tomato puree
and sprinkle a liberal amount of garam masala powder, fresh ground pepper and stir in well, 
Leave to simmer until completely cooked through. Stirring so not to stick to base.
Then while finishing cooking
Make the cauliflower rice



Removing the leaves grate, with course grater the white of the cauliflower, until you have desired amount.

 Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper.
With a frying pan, I use a ceramic pan, spray liberally with frylight and add the grated cauliflower and spray again with frylight.
on a low heat gently fry the cauliflower stirring continuously  it begins to fluff up, like rice, when ready and hot.
Add to plate with the curry and enjoy!!
To add even more healthy food have with a lovely salad.




Monday, 4 January 2016

2016!!!

Wow cant believe the last time I have blogged was February last year!
I have since then lost Four stone in weight, although my business is making cakes... I am very keen on healthy eating, being a Vegetarian I have to tweek recipes to make them suitable for me to eat and Slimming World friendly which is what I followed to loose the weight.
I wholeheartedly recommend going to a Slimming World Group... The biggest step is walking through the doors to your first meeting, but rest assured you will have a great time, you wont be judge and will, as I did, meet some lovely people and make some firm friends in the process!
I am not linked to Slimming World, apart from having lost weight their way.
So Im starting a fresh and have two stone I want to loose, which I am going to do myself...hopefully, but may well re attend classes to keep up to date with their latest ideas and get their lovely recipe books!
Last year I purchased a Spiralizer from Amazon and it was a great purchase, I use it mainly for making courgetti which is courgettes that are turned into spagetti shaped strands, but without the carbs!
Tonights meal consisted of
1 medium Courgette , spiralized
1 Carrot - Sprialized
Half a green pepper- cut into strips
Four or five closed cup mushrooms- sliced
A onion chopped.
A quarter of an Aubergine, cut into small strips
25g of greek salad cheese cubed/crumbled ( the cheaper version of Feta}

1 Linda McCartney Rosemary & Red Onion sausage, cut into pieces.

Frylight to  cook with
Salt, pepper, Soy sauce and Jamaican Jerk perfect shake seasoning from Shwartz.


I sprayed my ceramic pan with a good covering of frylight, add the vege sausage and cook for roughly 5-10mins and slice into pieces when defrosted enough and then I added the onion, mushrooms, green pepper , aubergine, sprinkle a small amount of sea salt (It helps the aubergine soften quicker) and re spray with Frylight and gently cook on a low heat for 10 to 15 mins, until the sausage pieces are cooked, shake soy sauce, Jamaican Jerk seasoning, ground pepper and lastly add the spirlaized carrot and courgette, stir and continue cooking until the courgetti is warm, dont over cook or it will be a soggy mess, you can eat courgetti raw, so no worries how little you cook it! oh and in the last few minutes sprinkle the Greek salad Cheese ( I use Lidl)
Add to plate and I also had pickled onions & beetroot.
A massive plateful, with lots of colour and taste and virtually fat free!





Wednesday, 10 December 2014

Home Baked Rice Pudding!!!

Very simple and not a lot of ingredients are needed to make a lovely filling pudding.
Just like my Mum used to make!

The original recipe is
For a very rich creamy pudding :-

2oz/50g of Pudding Rice
1oz/25g of granulated sugar
1 tin 410ml of Carnation Evaporated milk 
Milk to make evaporated milk up to 1pint/600ml
1oz/25g of butter
grated nutmeg to garnish

Add all ingredients in an ovenproof bowl with a lid, leave in the fridge overnight to soak or atleast 30mins 

If using a conventional oven, 
Place covered bowl in oven gas mark 2 300f/150c  for 2 to 2.5 hours
This produces an amazing 'skin' on top!! My favourite!!

Microwave version

Add all in a glass bowl
Cook on defrost full power uncovered,  stirring frequently,until starts to boil,
Cover and Cook on 50%/defrost for 30- 40 mins + stirring frequently, until rice is soft and liquid has thickened, this depends on your preference, if you like it really thick, rich and creamy leave it longer, taking care to stir regularly.

A lighter not so rich version
Simply add 1 pint/600ml of milk , this makes a whiter, more child friendly rice pudding.

Grate some fresh nutmeg on top before serving

Gas mark 2/ 300f/150c
Use metric or imperial don't mix both.




Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Personalised 50th Birthday cake

I was asked to make an 8ins round Vanilla sponge cake, but with a figure looking like the birthday boy,sat in a comfy chair, playing a guitar, watching tv.

And his favourite newspaper is the Sun
The figure, chair and tv is made out of squires flower paste, so can be removed from the cake and kept.
The rest of the cake, including the music border,mat & paper are all edible




Monday, 2 December 2013

Quick & Easy Syrup steamed pudding using a microwave. In 10 minutes

Heres a very quick pudding if your rushed for time, but its good however long you have.
You need a microwave,
A 2pint microwave proof bowl, or any similar sized bowl.
4oz/100g Butter or Stork
4oz /100gSelf raising flour
4 oz/100g caster sugar
2 large eggs
A dash of vanilla extract if preferred.

2 tablespoons / 30ml of water

Golden syrup
Lemon juice

Grease your bowl with butter or Stork margarine.

In your bowl pour  a good amount of golden syrup into bowl so the base of your bowl is covered, depth about half an inch, depends how much syrup you like.
Pour the lemon juice over the top of the syrup, till syrup has a layer of juice on it and mix all the juice in till a runny syrup.

In a mixer, or by hand.
Add all the ingredients, Stork/butter ,Caster sugar,Self raising flour, two eggs and vanilla and very important extra for microwave, 2 tablespoons/30ml of water and mix thoroughly for two mins, until light and creamy.
Carefully pour over top of your syrup mix ,trying to avoid it coming up ontop of  cake mix.

Cover your bowl tightly with clingfilm and pierce with a knife.
Cook on full power for 5 mins and leave for 5 mins
Turn out onto a plate, making syrup at the top.
Server with your favourite
Custard, ice cream, evaporated milk.

And enjoy!

Alternatives
Add a handful of mixed fruit, for spotted dick
or replace 1 oz /25g flour with 1 oz/25g cocoa for chocolate cake.
Or add some ground ginger to spice it up.

picture shows double the amount mix done in a 4 pint bowl.


Friday, 29 November 2013

1st Birthday cake

Here is a 10ins round ,4ins deep chocolate fudge cake.


 I made all the individual animals with Squires flower paste.

Leaving them for a week to dry.


They can now be removed from the cake and kept in a dry cabinet on display or cardboard box with tissue.


Never store your toppers in polythene or an airtight container when dried as it will make the icing hold moisture and eventually melt your toppers.








Keep checking bad for added pictorial on how to make models using flowerpaste.

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Another Poppy


Here is another version of a poppy, this time its made using edible rice paper or wafer paper.
Each petal is cut out and painted with edible paint.

A very easy technique to achieve.

Monday, 4 November 2013

Design Teams

I now work solely for myself.
Using my knowledge, for my gains.
I am no longer on any Design teams for Companies showcasing their products for their advantage only.
I will ofcourse be more than pleased to use products which are of use to my business and showcase them for my benefit, giving credit, where credit is due to the company I have used them from.
Anybody wishing to use my images will require permission before doing so, in a form which will be advantageous to both parties. 
For many,many years I have hidden in the background of companies, spending hour after hour perfecting samples to be seen on tv craft channels and magazines for **them to take the credit for my work(as their own, they 'just knocked them up on the train on the way down!'), for little or no gain to myself ,but major ones for the said companies. 
From now on what you see is Me and How I work.
What I do,
How I do it
and What I like to use.
I hope you will join me and continue to add your valued support and kindness.
I have reached a point in my life, where I will no longer be used as a tool.

** with the exception of Joanna, Noreen, Linnie, Tina, Karen or Jeanette.

In Remembrance....


This week is all about Remembering those who have fallen in war and my grandad who is still going strong and was in the medical core, being one of the first group of medical help to go into Belsen Concentration camp in world word II.

Here is a large poppy made out of Sugar, this is approximately 5 ins in diametre and is definately a less is more statement on a cake.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Sugarcraft Tea Rose

 Here i have hand made a life size sugar rose.
This is made out of flowerpaste, which dries to an all most porcellain finish.
Very delicate but i can roll the icing out so thinly you can see print through it, which gives the rose a translucent effect when made up.
Each petal is cut by hand and veined using Squires kitchen Tea rose silicone mould and then seven layers are made into the rose. The rose measures 4ins in diametre approx

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

Food Standards agency

Well i have been a very bad blogger, i have been following a different line in my crafting.
I am a fully registered business with full insurances and public liabilty. Also i am happy to announce that my new hygiene inspection from Wokingham Borough Council  Environmental health/Food Safety Officer gave me a 5.
Which is the highest mark available.

Sunday, 23 September 2012

Sneek Peek! Pick of the week- Toread's


Well they are nearly here! The legendary Tiny Nymphs! 
The delightful little characters called 'Toreads'
On Friday 28th September 2012 on Create & Craft tv, Ideal World 
Crafter's Companion will be launching stamps and cds.
My sneek peek is slightly different, but shows just how versatile the characters are!
I used the image flora from decoupage section and imported into my software and made into a sheet of cupcakes toppers,quite easily,to print onto a sheet of edible icing,printed with edible inks .
So all you cake fanatics can make use of the cd's also! And what an eye catching display they would make for a celebration!
Keep checking back and popping over to Crafters companion blog  News & views and join in the competition.


Welcome to my wonderful world of Crafting

Thankyou for looking at my blog pages.