Strawberry Fairy Cakes

I was given a baking recipe book for my recent birthday by one of best friends for my recent birthday in return for the recipe book I gave her on hers. (I included a joke in there about her adding it into a collection of books that will help her once married, so this was her way of repaying the, urm, gesture!)

Obviously when you flip through these books all you want to do is either start baking immediately, or immediately start eating everything.

I did the former, (so I could do the latter!) and had the excuse of visiting my cousin over the weekend to bake something nice for her and her family.

Now, my cousin has five kids. Yes, you read that right, five. So I tried looking for a recipe that would appeal to a range of different tastes and I found

Strawberry Fairy Cakes.

To make twelve.

Ingredients in order you'll need them:

125g Caster sugar

100g Unsalted butter

2 Eggs

150g Self raising flour

1tsp Vanilla extract

2tbsp Natural yoghurt

50g strawberry jam (the best quality you can afford.)

Strawberries to decorate.

To Prep: Turn the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade, and place your muffins cases into the muffin tin.

Firstly, the butter and sugar needs to be creamed to a fluffy consistency.

Eggs to be added once this is done; one at a time mixing well after each addition.

Sift the flour into the mix and mix well.

The yoghurt, vanilla extract and the jam needs to be added and folded in until just blended in.

Ladle the mixture into the muffin cases and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until brown.

*Tip: Try not to open the oven door when baking, or if you have to try to wait until near the very end of the baking time. Stick a knife in and if it comes out clean/dry the cakes should be done, if there is mixture left on the knife, it means it needs a little more cooking.

The Almighty SLEEP!!

A few of my friends have insomnia. I myself have never suffered from this; I am naturally an early sleeper and early riser. =) -which is bad sometimes!


However I came across a website today that puts into words what I have been trying to explain to my friend's when they ask me for advice. An excerpt:


       "I read that most insomniacs are people who go to bed when they aren’t sleepy. If you aren’t sleepy and find yourself unable to fall asleep quickly, get up and stay awake for a while. Resist sleep until your body begins to release the hormones that rob you of consciousness. If you simply go to bed when you’re sleepy and then get up at a fixed time, you’ll cure your insomnia. The first night you’ll stay up late, but you’ll fall asleep right away. You may be tired that first day from getting up too early and getting only a few hours of sleep the whole night, but you’ll slog through the day and will want to go to bed earlier that second night. After a few days, you’ll settle into a pattern of going to bed at roughly the same time and falling asleep right away. So if you want to become an early riser (or just exert more control over your sleep patterns), then try this: Go to bed only when you’re too sleepy to stay up, and get up at a fixed time every morning.'' -May 23rd, 2005 by Steve Pavlina

For the full entry: How to Become an Early Riser