Wednesday 18 April 2012

We Won!

Do you remember the caramel slices, the will-power required to resist and the crumbly, sticky, creamy yumminess when I finally caved in and launched into my daughter's pile of biscuits, baked to perfection?

Well... we won!

I say, 'we'. I provided the flour, the kitchen and other essentials, and performed a slight detour on the way home following a desperate text message to buy some emergency condensed milk, but, otherwise, my role in their creation wasn't huge. Nonetheless, the deal was that if I entered the competition on Scottish Mum's blog, then the £100 prize money - in the very unlikely event it should come our way, I was keen to stress - would be shared between us.


But, my youngest looked a little disconsolate, I do cook tea every Wednesday, she pointed out. She does and she does it very well. She also bakes tremendous cakes. So then we decided we'd split the fictitious prize money three ways. I'm not sure where poor Dad was during this conversation but he did enjoy the caramel slices and some would say, helped himself to more than his fair share.

The conversation moved on and we talked of doing something special together as a family, at which point I performed one of those annoying mother's painfully obvious tactical manoeuvres of changing the conversation; the fear of their disappointment weighing heavy.

But, we won! So, now we have to decide for real. I was rather hoping for a new iron, having dropped mine on the quarry tiled floor once too often. I think my children have designs on (a contribution to) Alton Towers.

I'm sure that in the ensuing conversation they will remind me that memories do last longer.

Many thanks to Appliances Online http://tinyurl.com/c5ggols and to Scottish Mum for hosting the competition. Scottish Mum's blog is a great mix of foodie recipes and insight, as well as a number of other family related topics - well worth a look http://tinyurl.com/89brpaw. 

11 comments:

  1. WELL DONE! So are you going to share the recipe then? Waiting hungrily :)

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  2. Thanks Skyblue!You're not the only one who's asked about the recipe, should have thought of that...I'm off to hunt it down. Watch this space!

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  3. So, the eagerly anticipated,recipe for Chocolate Caramel Shortbread taken from Marks and Spencer's book, Beautiful Baking. I should say here that I'm NOT on commission but it has some wonderful recipes. I also recommend the Cherry and Cinnamon Tartlets. Mmmmmm!
    (Slightly abbreviated)
    Makes 12: Oven 180 deg C. Greased and lined 9 inch square tin.

    Cake: 115g butter, 175g plain flour, 55g golden caster sugar.

    Filling and topping: 175g butter, 115g golden caster sugar, 3 tbsp golden syrup, 400g canned condensed milk (the tube stuff, a bit thicker, is great too), 200g plain chocolate, broken.

    1. Butter, flour sugar in food processor until it begins to bind. Press mix into tin and smooth the top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden.

    2. Filling: butter, sugar, golden syrup and con. milk in a saucepan, heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mix becomes very thick. Pour over shortbread base. chill in fridge until firm.

    3. Topping: melt chocolate. Leave to cool slightly then spread over caramel. Chill in fridge until set. Cut into 12 pieces with a sharp knife.

    4. Put the kettle on, choose a great book and savour a slice, or two. (I added that bit)

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  4. Wahoo, fantastic, well done the the Buxton team. Loved the blog as well, right there with you in the domestic scene!

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    1. Thanks Lyn :) Think the girls may get their baking skills from their grandmother, not from me!!

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  5. Well Done Jax. They do look very nice.

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  6. Thanks Charlie! How are you? How's the writing? Prolific as ever??

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  7. I am so excited for you! I can definately vouch that they truly are extremely yummy! Not that i would have more than my fair share of course(yeah right!) Think Alton Towers might have to win though!

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  8. Thanks Antonia :)You'll be happy to know that Alton Towers is the front runner at the moment. The iron is held together with black tape which, although a definite fail on health and safety grounds, does still do the ironing. Well, I'm still waiting for a machine to do the ironing for me but you get my drift... Thanks for reading!

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  9. Replies
    1. Thanks Fun-as-a-gran! I love the idea of the scrap book present, over on your blog by the way. I might have to pinch that idea one day. Thanks for dropping in.

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