Review: Blogging - The Essential Guide by Antonia Chitty and Erica Douglas

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I am pretty blessed. I have a great bunch of friends. I’m rather proud that my friends are all clever, funny, incredible supportive and all very successful. Take Erica, for example. I first met Erica on my first ever blogging trip - we’re both members of the ‘Disney 7′. We all bonded over mojitos and have stayed firm friends. At the time it was such a big deal that a company were sending bloggers away on a trip that it was even mentioned in The Times.

Now, blogging is a much more popular pastime, but starting a blog can be hard. Occasionally I get emails from people asking how to get started. The conversation normally goes something like this:

Me: ‘Okay, well, y’know WordPress, right?’

Wannabe blogger: ‘No’

Me: ‘Erm oh. Well, you kind of need to… erm… Well, there’s a dashboard, see, and you can upload posts and then, erm…’

And there you have it: ‘how to blog’ by English Mum. It’d be a pretty crap book.

Luckily, then, the aforementioned lovely Erica has come to our rescue. Now a hugely successful ‘Mumpreneur’ who runs courses helping other mums start their own businesses and is the joint owner of ACE Inspire which provides remote courses and produces eBooks on business blogging, social media and online marketing, she still writes Littlemummy.com (when she has time!). Erica has come to our rescue and written a fabulous book: Blogging - The Essential Guide with her business partner, Antonia Chitty.

I think it says a great deal that even though I’ve been writing this blog for six years, I still learned loads of new things. For a complete beginner, this book is a blogging bible, with chapters on creating your blog, ideas for blog posts, loads of hints about community, sensible words about plagiarism and disclosure, etc. But more than this, there are some really clever sections on things like podcasting and eBooks.

So if you’ve ever thought about starting your own blog (I’m a pretty good advert for blogging, I reckon - it’s taken me around the world and given me a million and one brilliant opportunities), you should definitely buy this book. And if you’re already blogging, it’s invaluable for fresh ideas, as a great reference tool and for some really good, down to earth advice.

Blogging - The Essential Guide by Antonia Chitty & Erica Douglas is out now.

Great British Weekends

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What do you do at the weekends? After our lie in (that bit’s non-negotiable - I usually have to start crashing about or hoovering at about 11am or they’d sleep all day), we generally head out. We’re big on brunch and have tried most of the establishments in the area. Other than that, the Death Wish Dude is often at a skate park, near or far, the Mad Professor likes to socialise, or there’s cricket practice, chauffeur duty from various parties, a bit of baking for me… and then the large glass of wine and some trash TV to finish it all off.

Pretty boring, I suppose, but then apparently as a nation, Brits are pretty boring, weekend-wise.

Recent research has shown that over half of us rate our weekends as ‘average’ and, more shockingly, 18% say that their weekends are, and I quote, ‘boring’.

Going through this research has been a revelation. You’d think we’d love our weekends: an opportunity to spend time with our family, have a lie in, go out t eat… visit a local beauty spot, maybe? But no, apparently we’re a nation of boring old moaners who spend their weekends at home.

Shockingly, even though 91% of us said that we’d be prepared to use our cars for the weekend, the average we’d be prepared to travel is just 58 miles. 58 miles? That wouldn’t even get me to the seaside!

And even those who enjoyed their weekends didn’t get up to very much, the top weekend activity being, well, staying in.

Happily, the chaps at Allianz have decided that this has got to change, and have launched Great British Weekends, instilling us all with a fresh sense of adventure. And who can blame them, with this, the year of the Olympics AND the Jubilee (and those extra Bank Holidays), we should be out and about, enjoying our beautiful country - especially now summer is around the corner.

First off there’s the Allianz Your Cover Find & Drive Smartphone app which helps locate essential services when on the move, plus Allianz Your Cover Insurance is running a competition for two lucky Twitter followers to win an annual family National Trust membership. Just follow them @YourCoverUK to enter and use #GBweekend to find out more.

So what’s stopping you? Join the Allianz Your Cover Insurance Great British Weekends campaign by joining their Facebook page and get more out of your weekends!

To find more out about Allianz Your Cover Insurance visit www.yourcoverinsurance.co.uk

 

 

The Mad Professor’s birthday and the four tier jammy creamy birthday cake

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As birthdays go, I think the Mad Professor has probably had better ones (at least the start, anyway). We all overslept and there was loads of shouting, jostling for bathroom space, yelling at the cat and stuffing down of toast (I did manage to write ’17′ in jam on his, at least…), with no time for pressie opening or even a quick round of the happy birthday song (we like the Disney version, complete with clapping. Only if nobody else can hear). We rushed out of the door to school still wrestling blazers, tucking in shirts and eating toast.

One the upside, he only had one class today and I was supposed to pick him up at 11am, but then my lovely ex-sister in law, who I don’t get to see very much any more, popped round with a card, and we got chatting and…

I forgot him.

On his birthday.

In torrential rain.

When I finally got to the school, the birthday boy looked like a drowned rat and appeared to have lost his happy birthday sparkle. He was darned miserable. He sat next to me and heaved an unhappy sigh, wiping the mist off his glasses as the rain water dripped off his nose.

Still, to cheer him up, I reminded him that it was Birthday Cake Privilege time. As you’ll know, at English Towers, the birthday person gets to choose their own birthday cake. And I have to make it, no matter what they choose (I draw the line at novelty cakes though - they can only choose flavours. I’m not making bloody rabbits and scenes from Star Wars).

The Prof chose a four tier jammy creamy vanilla flavoured cake. Raspberry jam, PROPER cream, and lots of it. Then he took his soggy self upstairs to change and console himself with a couple of games of shooting people until their heads explode. As you do.

Anyhoo, I set to work making a basic vanilla sponge. It’s easy peasy. Heavy on the vanilla as you really want the flavour to shine through:

The Mad Professor’s Four Tier Jammy Creamy Vanilla Birthday Cake

175g butter (room temp is best)

175g golden caster sugar

3 large free range eggs

2 tsp good quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

175 self raising flour

For the filling/topping:

Large tub of double cream (not whipping cream)

Jar of nice raspberry jam

  • So in the mixer, whizz up the butter until nice and soft, then add in the caster sugar and whisk until really soft, pale and fluffy.
  • Break the eggs into a bowl, give them a quick mix with a fork, then dribble them into the mixture. Have your flour weighed out so if it starts to curdle, you can add a spoonful to bring it back together.
  • Add in the vanilla and then gently stir in the flour.
  • Blob half of the mixture into each buttered, lined medium cake tin (you can weigh them to get them exact if you can be arsed)
  • Bake at 180/gas 4 for about 20 minutes. You want them just golden so they spring up in the middle when gently pressed.
  • Tip them out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, carefully cut each cake in half to create two layers.

Whip the double cream (I say double rather than whipping cream because it has a bit more body - useful when you’re layering - whipping cream tends to flump out of the sides and the whole thing can collapse if you’re not careful), then start to assemble:

Place your first layer on your serving plate or stand, spread generously with raspberry jam, then dollop on a couple of spoonfuls of cream. Don’t push down as you add the next layer or you’ll get unwanted splurging (and nobody wants that). Continue to add each layer, adding jam and cream until you add the top layer and dollop on the remaining cream. I decorated with little white chocolate thingies, but was told that this was ‘too girly’ and to remove them immediately.

And finally…

The smile was back.

Happy birthday Sam xxx

 

 

The one with expert travel beauty tips, plus WIN Elizabeth Arden Eight hour cream!!

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So recently I was having a chat with a fellow travelling Mum about long-haul plane travel. It turns out that our must-haves are pretty much identical:

  • Face wipes
  • Moisturiser - face AND hand
  • Loads of water (and strictly no booze)
  • Lots of thin layers
  • A pashmina or wrap
  • Plenty of stretches and exercise
  • Soft shoes (not strictly a beauty essential but NEVER use a plane loo in bare feet!)

As soon as I get on a plane, it’s off with the ol’ makeup, on with a thick layer of moisturiser. If I shouldn’t be sleeping there I won’t sleep (I reckon it helps with jet lag although some scientist or other would prove me wrong).

I have a make-up bag packed pretty much all the time so I don’t have to chop and change too much. My must-haves are

  • Dr Bronner’s liquid soap (you can wash your smalls in it too)
  • Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint SPF15 (I’m prone to skin pigmentation so I layer it under MAC Fortified Skin Enhancer SPF35 in ‘Neutralise’, which counteracts redness as well)
  • High factor aerosol sun cream (I was introduced to this by Liz on a recent trip - so easy to apply and you don’t have to rub it in)
  • Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream (I’ve just tried the new fragrance free one too - fabulous for parched lips, sunburned noses, dry elbows, cuticles and so much more - see competition at the bottom of the page!)

I asked some of my fellow travelling mums what their favourite travel beauty tips or must-take beauty essentials are. Here’s what they had to say:

Liz Jarvis (@lizjarvisUK) is a journalist and travel writer and also writes The Mum Blog:

  • A good quality suncare spray (much less messy than cream - I like Clinique’s Body Spray SPF 25)
  • Moisturing skincare wipes (so much easier than taking bottles, Simple Daily Radiance Cleansing Wipes)
  • Chanel bronzer (takes the shine off, and gives sunkissed skin a subtle glow)
  • Hawaiian Tropic After Sun Cooling Aloe Vera (in case of sunburn and if you can’t get hold of actual Aloe Vera - lovely and cooling)
Trish Burgess (@mumsgoneto) writes family travel blog Mum’s gone to…
I’m pretty hopeless at all the beauty essentials. Moisturising cream, suntan lotion of varying factors and a couple of lippies and I’m done. But, to be honest, there’s not much room in the case after GP husband has filled it with every lotion and potion known to man to cover most medical emergencies. He tells me if he can’t sort us out with his first aid kit then we need to be in hospital.
In his large plastic box he will squeeze in antibiotics, antihistamines, painkillers, tablets for when you can’t poo, tablets for when there’s too much poo, worming tablets (!), cream for rashes, cream for thrush, a variety of dressings, steri-strips, medical glue, insulating tape and duct tape.
However, whereas some families take handy-sized clear bottles in their see-though plastic bags through airport security, we use urine sample containers into which we decant our shampoo and conditioner. Classy.
Cathy Winston (@mummytravels) is also a travel journalist and soon to be become a new mummy! Her travel blog is: MummyTravels:
  • Multitasking products are a godsend. I’m rubbish at packing light, but finding something like a BB cream which will do several things (eg moisturiser, SPF and tint) is great for space saving. My current favourite is Boots No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream.
  • If you can’t live without it while you’re away, don’t put it in the hold. I ended up having to track down contact lens solution in Madagascar after Air France decided not to put my case on the same plane – which was not the easiest or cheapest thing to do. Bausch & Lomb do travel size versions that can go in hand luggage.
  • Always pack After Sun, even if you’re not going on a beach holiday. No-one ever expects to need it (who thinks, ‘this holiday I shall get sunburn’?) but as I’ve discovered, it’s very easy to burn even on an unseasonably sunny city break. Unless I’m actually guaranteed pouring rain, in goes AfterBurn gel, which is the best I’ve come across.
  • Always save those shampoo and conditioner sachets from magazines – they’re perfect for short trips away when you’ll probably only have to wash your hair once. I also hang on to little travel-size bottles, and decant shower gel and hair products to save buying endless mini versions.
  • However light you’re packing, there’s some essentials I always keep to hand on the plane, especially lip balm and hand cream as flying sucks all the moisture straight out of my skin. I also keep No7 Shine Free Make-up Base in my hand luggage to counteract plane-induced oil slicks. On longer flights, deodorant and mouthwash to make me feel almost human despite the jetlag.
  • No man on security will know what eyelash curlers are, and as the handles look like scissors, they’ll definitely get flagged up if they’re in your hand luggage. Be prepared to demonstrate. And try to explain in sign language that no, they don’t hurt.

Lulu Campbell (@familyaffairs) writes about family life and travel at Family affairs and other matters. Her must-haves are:

  • Simple make-up wipes
  • Kiehls moisturiser
  • Ear plugs
  • Preferably a neck support to avoid dribbling on the person next to you and a neck that doesn’t move for days. Failing that a cashmere poncho or pashmina to sleep against
  • Cashmere socks always a good idea during the flight - make sure you do your ankle circles and possibly even take half an aspirin to avoid thrombosis
  • Vaseline or a good lip balm
  • Eye mask in case you’re not towards the front of the plane!
  • Water
  • Riemann’s P20 sun cream - AMAZING product and brilliant for kids too - you only have to apply it once a day - easy to rub in and it stays on and really works.

Jen Howze (@jhowze) is a journalist and also writes expat/parenting/travel blog Jenography:

  • My essential product is Cetaphil - it’s a gentle cleanser that you can use on face or body and if you tissue it off instead of washing it off it’s moisturising, so it cuts down on what you have to pack for short trips. On overnight trips it’s one of the only things I pack.
  • When you get on a plane, slather your face in moisturiser and hand cream and keep doing it throughout the flight. The next day your skin looks so much better for it. Those little mister bottles that spray a fine mist of scented water are also nice, if you can remember to pack one.
  • Just forget about your contact lenses on long-haul flights! It’s not worth wearing them for vanity’s sake and the low humidity is not good for your eyes and will just make them red and scratchy. Not a good look.
  • It’s not a beauty tip but it’s always worth dressing with care when travelling. Wear something comfortable but stylish, whether it’s a car journey, train trip or flight. Travel is still an exciting experience, full of promise and adventure. Let your outfit reflect that.

The final word, however, must go to Victoria Wallop (@vwallop), who travelled the world with her children for nine months - you can read her adventures at It’s A Small World After All. Her new blog is Words and Pictures:

Shampoo is very useful for washing knickers and a small bottle of lavender oil is useful for when things get a bit smelly. I’m all class.

 

So over to you, then: got any fab beauty travel tips that you’d like to share? The best one will win a set containing:

  • a full size tube of Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant
  • a full size tube of the new Fragrance Free version
  • A travel size (30ml) tube of the original version
Entries must be received by midnight, Monday 30th April.
The judge’s decision is final. No cash alternative.
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR ENTRIES!

Trolls, perverts and tagging: a parent’s guide to Facebook

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Let’s face it: EVERYONE’S on Facebook. Legally, you’re supposed to be 13, but recently, when I found myself wishing my teenager a happy 22nd birthday, it dawned on me that most kids will have/want an account.

So as a parent, what can we do to allow our children a bit of freedom AND keep them safe? Here are my top tips - mostly stuff I’ve learned the hard way. But hey, even if it’s too late for me, you can still do it right!

1. Get to know Facebook yourself

I firmly believe that NO parent should be allowing their children access to something they know nothing about. If you’re not on Facebook, get on it now. Read up about it. Find out what it’s about. Help them with their privacy settings. Talk to them about it.

2. Be their friend

When our kids first wanted Facebook accounts, our rule was yes, as long as we had access to the email account that was registered, and that one parent was allowed to be their Facebook friend. Make it clear that every so often, you will be logging on to their account. Then do it: check their chat for anything untoward. This isn’t snooping, this is protecting your child.

3. Have’ The Chat’

I’m a heavy user of social media. This gives me a bit of an advantage as I know what goes on. I know people can be mean. I know people can pretend to be who they’re not (see number 4) and I know people can ‘hide’ behind their computer screens and say things there’s no way they’d say to a person’s face. Tell them about social media. Talk to them about trolls. Tell them that Facebook is a public forum… tell them that, like text messages, statuses can often be taken out of context. Something you think is funny can be hurtful to someone else. Likewise with smutty talk: they see it on the TV, but have chats about how it’s appropriate to talk to the opposite sex. We’ve had hilarious chats about this - but it all gets the message across.

4. Be careful with friends

Important rule here: be clear that they can ONLY be friends with someone they know in real life. Tell them FIRMLY: if someone sends you a friend request and you don’t know them IN REAL LIFE, don’t accept it. And don’t engage in conversation with that person either. We have the standard joke about the 40 year old pervert who looks like Comic Book Guy out of the Simpsons pretending he’s a 13 year old girl. They laugh. But it happens.

5. Establish ground rules

Our rules about statuses are simple. Live as you would in real life. Don’t say anything mean. Don’t be racist, sexist or homophobic (or anything else-ist for that matter).

6. Don’t embarrass them

Don’t comment on their statuses (especially when their mates are tagged - they’ll all get a message containing your comment, remember). And never pass on information you’ve gleaned from their Facebook pages. Even something as innocuous as ‘oh, I see you’ve got a puppy’ to your kid’s friend could mark you out as a snooper. Uncool.

Got a fabulous holiday photo of them licking an ice cream? Or maybe a cute baby photo of your kid that you think they’ll love? Just remember how bloody embarrassing your Mum and Dad were when you were a kid. Ask first - ‘can I post this on your timeline?’ ’Can I tag you in this photo?’ And if the answer’s no, it’s no. Which leads me nicely onto:

7. Set a good example

So you’re friends with your kids on Facebook? Remember all these rules apply to you too. If they see you bitching or making snarky comments, why shouldn’t they do it too? Set the tone and remember that you can exclude them from certain posts if they’re a bit too ‘grown up’.

8. Maybe set up a group

A good way to do family stuff without embarrassing the kids is to have a ‘family’ Facebook group set up. That way, Grandma and Grandad can keep in touch, they can chat with aunties from abroad and everyone can share those dodgy photos and family reminiscences - all without their mates seeing.

9. Remind them you’re always here

Just as it’s important to know that you’re not going to dive in and spoil their banter, it’s important for them to understand that you’re there if they’re got a problem. Make it clear that you’re always open to dialogue and check every so often that everything’s cool. Likewise if they’re worried about someone else, reassure them that it’s not ‘snitching’, it’s being a good friend.

10. Be prepared to let them go

By the time they get to 16, the hope is that you’ve instilled them with enough knowledge to go forward without you. If they want to go it alone, then you’ve got to let them go. If they want to still be friends, happy days, but if they need their privacy, trust them to go it alone and do the right thing, knowing you’re there if you need them.

And that’s it. Now who wants to see this awesome picture of the Death Wish Dude in his birthday suit…

Jokes!

Video of our fabulous weekend at Disneyland Paris 20th birthday celebrations

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So I’ve already told you about our marvellous trip to Disneyland Paris. I think one of the best things about it was spending a whole weekend just with one of my children (the other was rather happy to have some alone time with his Xbox AND without his little brother, don’t worry). The Death Wish Dude and I had an absolutely blast and really enjoyed each others’ company. And let’s face it, when they’re 14, the opportunities for ‘quality time’ are few and far between. We whizzed on rollercoasters, whooshed on rockets, oohed and ahhed at amazing sound and light shows and got all competitive zapping in Buzz’s Laser Blast, but more importantly we laughed. And laughed.

Here’s a gorgeous video that the lovely chaps at Disney made for us. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried buckets!

I love this: The Muppets are announced as New York City’s new ambassadors

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You’ve got to love those Muppets. And fresh from their turn presenting at this year’s Oscars, it’s just been announced that they’ve been appointed New York City’s official family ambassadors.

For the whole year, they’ll be encouraging families to visit New York City. I only wish I’d been at that press conference - can you imagine? The poor Mayor of New York City, Michael R Bloomberg sharing the stand with Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo the Great and Pepe the King Prawn. Hilarious.

And in the best soundbite in the whole history of soundbites, Miss Piggy had the following to say on the matter:

New York is the most fabulous city in the world. In fact, it’s almost as fabulous as moi. And trust me, that’s high praise indeed! So don’t just sit there! Get ready world! You’re about to take the ultimate diva’s tour of moi’s favorite city! Lucky vous!

For more info, you can check out the Muppets’ personal views of New York at nycgo.com/family, including my favourite bit, the Swedish Chef’s pick of New York cuisine.

In which our hero attends the launch of Gatwick’s business plan to 2020 (and suffers a handbag malfunction)

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So my lovely chums at Gatwick rang me a couple of weeks ago asking if I’d be prepared to attend the meeting to launch their new business plan. Basically, Gatwick are in the process of investing over a £1 billion (yes, BILLION) on improvements to the airports (not just for passengers but for their other customers, the airlines, too) and this was the first time that the great and the good of the airline industry were brought together to see Gatwick’s plans and thoughts as to how the money should be spent.

Myself and a couple of my fellow Gatwick Passenger Panel members Mike Toynbee (2nd from left) and the adorable TV legend, John Carter (far left) would just be there to answer a few questions and give our thoughts on what our different passenger groups (in my case, families) say they would like to see from their perspective.

Easy peasy.

Train to Euston, tube to Victoria, Gatwick Express to Gatwick South all went well, but it was on the shuttle between the South and North terminal that it all started to go a bit wobbly. Plunging my hand into my handbag to grab my phone, I inadvertently managed to pull out with it the entire contents of the side pocket of my bag, showering my fellow passengers with tissues, lip balm and..erm… let’s just say feminine hygiene products.

I quickly stuffed everything back in, and to hide my furiously burning cheeks, bent my head to check my phone (and share my mortification with all my Twitter followers - I know, what can I say? I’m an oversharer).

Arriving at the hotel, I was fitted with a microphone and battery pack (I was wondering here what exactly I was letting myself in for that required me to wear a microphone) and while I was being briefed, completely zoned out in panic, meaning that I came to just at the moment the Gatwick lady went ‘okay then? Any questions?’. Erm…

Ohhhhh dear.

Anyhoo, as it turned out, it was okay. A large meeting room full of impressive business suited-type people is pretty intimidating, yes, but my message in all of this is a pretty straightforward one. I know about family travel. I know what would make things easier for families (a lot of these we’ve discussed before) and they were very nice to us all. I even managed to squeeze in a quick moan about the travel industry making holidays VERY expensive during school holidays and passed on my standard whinge about why we can’t get buggies back at the bottom of the plane steps. (WHY?! WHY?!)

Job done.

Only…

As I walked away, it dawned on me that a couple of those airline and travel representatives might be curious enough to look me up on Twitter. And my last tweet was…

Yup, you guessed it, the one about throwing tampons all around the Gatwick shuttle carriage.

Oh, the shame.

More sensible stuff on Gatwick’s future plans after the next meeting very soon.

 

 

The 2012 International Travel Photographer of the Year

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This fantastic competition is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and as always there are some fabulous prizes (as well as plenty of prestige) available for the winners!

Don’t think you have to be a professional to enter, either. The competition is open to everyone, of all ages and of every nationality! There are special categories (with amazing prizes) for young photographers with the theme ‘Places and Faces’.

The prizes are amazing too - from the latest Fujifilm cameras, to trips to places like Kenya and Morocco. Why not have a go?! You could even win a paid commission to go on assignment with Condé Nast Traveller magazine.

For more information, go to www.tpoty.com. Entries close September 17th 2012. Entry fees from £10, Young Travel Photographer of the Year entries are free.

 

Birthday cake small

The ultimate chocolate cake with coconut ganache frosting for the Death Wish Dude’s birthday,

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It’s been an odd weekend. First of all we watched ourselves on the telly (it’s a very weird experience, I can tell you). We took part in a Channel 5 programme being made about Disneyland Paris’ 20th birthday celebrations when were out there a couple of weeks ago - it aired yesterday. I actually managed to take a picture of the Death Wish Dude being interviewed - here he is in all his widescreen glory! Anyhoo, after all that excitement, it was straight on to the birthday cake challenge. As you might already know, it is the tradition at English Towers for the birthday boy to pick his very own choice of birthday cake. Usually they choose something hideously difficult to make (just to annoy me), but this time, the Birthday Death Wish Dude wanted nothing more than a big fat chocolate cake.

Easy peasy. The only difference is that I had a little experiment and tried making the ganache with coconut milk instead of double cream. It came out deliciously light and whipped beautifully. Highly recommended.

To make the Death Wish Dude’s Ultimate Coconut Ganache Chocolate Layer Cake, you’ll need:

175g butter (I use salted)

175g golden caster sugar

3 eggs

150g self raising flour

20g good quality cocoa powder

100g good quality dark chocolate

For the ganache:

400g tin coconut milk (I used the full fat stuff)

500g (yes, yes, I know… ) good quality dark chocolate

1 packet Maltesers

So firstly, melt the chocolate (you can do it all at the same time or in the two batches. It’s quite easy to pour the melted chocolate into the mixer bowl when it’s sat on the scale) in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Don’t let the water touch the bowl (yeah you know the drill).

Beat the butter in the food processor until light, then add the sugar and whizz again until pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs (I beat them, then add them a dribble at a time - helps with the odd bits of dropped shell too), then stir in the sifted flour and cocoa. Finally, stir in the 100g melted chocolate.

Bake in two medium lined tins for about 20 minutes until just springy in the centre. Allow to cool.

For the ganache:

Warm the coconut milk in a saucepan - don’t allow it to boil, it only needs to be warm enough to melt the chocolate. Then just turn off the heat, plop all the chocolate in and stir occasionally until it’s all melted.


Transfer to a bowl and chill down completely in the fridge.

To assemble:

Carefully slice each cake into two. Pick a nice flat one as your top layer and remember which one it is!

Take the ganache out of the fridge and whip until light and fluffy (or you can just spread it).

Layer the cake slices with a thick spreading of ganache then finish with a nice layer of ganache all over the cake. If the thought of 500g of chocolate gives you a heart attack, you can halve the quantities and just layer the two cakes together.

Finish with Maltesers (beer can candles optional).

And here he is with his birthday cake of choice. Happy birthday, Charlie! xx

 

A celebrity tea party at the Disneyland Paris 20th anniversary celebrations

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Well, the celebrations continue at Disneyland Paris (even though I’ve now left - fancy partying without me!) for the park’s 20th birthday. Yesterday, all sorts of famous faces (I spy Kym Marsh, super duper uber model Erin O’Conor and Lisa Maxwell) took part in a really lovely British celebrity tea party on the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups ride in Fantasyland (one of my faves), complete with cute dainty sandwiches, cakes and chocolate dipped strawberries. Mickey and Minnie Mouse also joined the party, bringing an amazing 20th Anniversary tiered cake, magically created (in Scotland!) especially for the tea party:

The celebs also got to watch the new Disney Dreams show and the amazing the new parade that we saw last week too. Here they all are telling us all about it:

If you want more information about the 20th anniversary celebrations at Disneyland Paris, read all about my visit here.

First Choice’s all inclusive calculator - it all adds up y’know!

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So what sort of holiday do you yearn for? We were recently debating this as we’re planning on taking a trip with the Disreputable One and his good lady later on this year. All was well until the subject of board came up: ‘of course, we’ll be going half board’, said my Dad.

‘Oh’, I said, ‘only we really like going all inclusive’.

My Dad was a bit surprised as, being a food lover, he thought I’d be happier to get out and about and try different places for dinner. The thing is, though, as I explained, when taking a beach break with kids, it’s easier to go all inclusive, given the constant stream of requests for cokes, ice creams, snacks and more cokes. It’s so much easier to budget when you know everything’s paid for in advance.

It’s also rather nice for them to have the independence to wander off and get their own snacks and drinks rather than constantly having to ask. On our recent trip to Mexico, the Mad Professor would alight from his sunbed, have a stretch and then say, rather magnanimously, ‘right, it’s my round then’.

And yes, I am a food lover, and on different holidays we’d maybe choose B&B or self catering, then eat out - especially with city breaks - but on a good old ‘slob out on the beach’ holiday, the last thing I need is to be constantly badgered for my purse.

Interestingly, then, First Choice, the holiday company who have recently changed all their holidays to all inclusive only, have come up with a new ‘calculator’ tool so customers can measure the cost implications of self-catering versus all inclusive.

First Choice say that recent research has shown that choosing an all inclusive holiday can save a family of four £500 compared to going self catering over a week’s holiday.

If you want to have a go at First Choice’s new all inclusive calculator, click on http://blog.firstchoice.co.uk/all-inclusive-calculator/ - be warned, you have to let it do its bit before you can enter your own information. It’s an interesting guide, though, and will even let you enter how many fizzy drinks or meals you think you’d normally use on your hols.

It’s a clever app and pretty thought provoking. Now, whose round is it?

Fabulous new cookery books for Spring: epic tomes and fresh flavours

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There’s a real sea-change in my cooking at this time of year. I want brighter, fresher meals and newer, interesting flavours. And while the weather over Easter left a lot to be desired, it also left me a bit of time, while waiting for my slow-cooked lamb, to wade through the enormous pile of new books I’ve received recently, to find the best ones just for you (you’re welcome).

First up, then is Bill Cooks for Kids. I love Bill Granger’s food, and he certainly fits the ‘brighter, fresher’ theme very well. His new book is jammed full of really great, interesting recipes to cook with children and I love that there are some more complex flavours in amongst the more simple cakes and biscuits: spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, ricotta, spinach and Pecorino is easy to cook, but Bill makes it much more interesting (and appealing to adults to) by roasting the cherry tomatoes with garlic and red onion first. If you’re looking for simple, fresh suppers and rainy-day baking, look no further. A great book with Bill Granger’s easy style and bright, stylish photography. Loved it.

Bill Cooks for Kids is out 10th May, currently priced £6.79 on Amazon.

Claudia Roden’s new book, The Food of Spain, is nothing short of a magnum opus. This absolute feast for the eyes took, apparently over five years of research, and it shows. Roden travelled extensively around Spain to bring us delicious, traditional dishes from every region, plus interesting commentary and fascinating notes on ingredients. This book is a MONSTER. I’m only about a third of the way through but so far I’ve marked so many pages of incredible food - I’ll be working through it for a while. The papas arrugadas y mojos canarios reminded of my Disreputable Dad, who adores the salty Canarian potatoes, while the almond ice cream takes me straight back to the Majorcan holidays of my youth. I can’t wait to dive into a proper paella and the Catalonian chocolate and almond cake looks utterly sumptuous. With gorgeous photography and Roden’s trademark attention to detail, I reckon this is a must-buy for anyone who adores food.

The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden is out now, hardback priced £15.00 on Amazon.

Donna Hay is another writer who consistently produces beautiful, inspiring cookery books and her new offering, Seasons, doesn’t disappoint. The photography is gorgeous and the recipes, while being garnered mainly from her eponymous magazine, will be new to most of us here. As it’s (obviously) split into seasons, this is the book to grab NOW for inspiration for fresh new dishes for spring. The coconut bread (made with buttermilk and ground almonds) is an absolute delight and the pan-fried salmon with fennel salad has already been bookmarked for one of this week’s suppers. My one complaint is that the book is so massive, it’s difficult to perch somewhere in the kitchen while you’re cooking! It’s actually quite magazine-like in its feel (if not its weight!) and I love Hay’s choices of recipes - from easy midweek suppers to gorgeous dinner party blowouts.

Seasons by Donna Hay is out now, priced £14.48 on Amazon.

Last, but my no means least, and actually quite Claudia Roden-like in its delivery, is my surprise of the season: Cooking from the Heart: A Jewish Journey Through Food, by Hayley Smorgon and Gaye Weeden. This is another epic tome, but if you’re a bit of a food buff, like me, you’ll adore reading the stories of the Jewish people in the book (who all ultimately ended up in Australia) and sharing in their stories and family recipes. You know me: I love a bedside book with proper food stories, and this is one to get lost in. There are plenty of what you would consider classic Jewish dishes, but lots of fabulous fusion too. Utterly adorable and addictive: buy it for someone you love.

Cooking from the Heart is available now, priced £22.63 on Amazon.

 

 

You can keep perfect. I’m happy with good enough.

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So big changes are afoot at English Towers. English Dad has been offered the job of his dreams. A job that he’s wanted for years. A job that he’s worked his butt off to qualify for. The perfect job, in fact? Well, no, because the job is based a long way away. This ‘perfect’ job will take him away from his family for long periods of time, and will be challenging and dangerous. Perfect? No. Good enough? Hell yes.

This seems to be a bit of a theme recently, this not-quite-perfection in everything…

Take last weekend – a press trip to Disneyland for me and the Death Wish Dude. We loved it. I’m happy that my travel writing is being taken seriously and I’m lucky enough to be invited to these amazing events. But a problem with an aircraft meant that English Dad ended up being stranded in Ireland, which left the Mad Professor on his own for the weekend. Our scatter-brained, clever, forgetful teenager, alone. Yes, he’s nearly 17, but a teenager? On his own for the whole weekend? Not great.

But do you know what? He survived. His Dad and I rang him often. His Grandad took him out for dinner, he spent one night with friends. And he was fine. He didn’t burn the house down, or have a massive party. He looked after himself and our home and he was trustworthy. Not a perfect situation, but hey, a good enough result I reckon.

And as the invitations continue to come in, I’ll continue to thank my lucky stars that I’m doing something I love, and that I’ve got my family - my so not perfect but definitely good enough family - to help me out with the odd bit of teenager watching.

I’ve got a keyring attached to my car keys. It’s a little chrome heart with the words ‘I love you’ written on it. I saw it in a little shop when I was with the boys. I mentioned to them that I’d love it if their Dad was romantic enough to buy me stuff like that (he’s just not the romantic type). Imagine my surprise, then, when I opened a box from him on my birthday to find that heart gleaming up at me. My boys had told their Dad about the heart and he’d gone and got it. Not maybe the spontaneous romantic gesture, but a wonderful team effort from all my lovely boys. I smile every time I look at it.

So you see – sometimes it just doesn’t matter if things are perfect. Just like the fact that I’ll never get the perfect photo of them in their school uniforms, because frankly they’re far too silly to ever pose properly for a photo, all that matters that it’s them. And they’re mine, and they’re fab. They’re good enough. And good enough’s what counts. Don’t you agree?

Step by step spiced orange hot cross buns

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Let’s face it: Easter just isn’t Easter without hot cross buns.

And chocolate.

But mostly hot cross buns.

If you’re feeling a bit daunted by the whole prospect of making your own, don’t be. Let Auntie English Mum guide you through the whole process. Think of me as a little friend hovering at your shoulder in the kitchen. Actually don’t. That’s a bit creepy.

Anyhoo, it’s really easy (with a bit of waiting around), and the gorgeous scent of these spicy orangey wonders fills the whole house. So let’s get cracking.

You’ll need:

150ml milk

150ml water

Zest of 1 orange

50g butter

450g strong white bread flour

1 tbsp mixed spice

1 tsp salt

75g sugar

1 x 7g sachet dried yeast

100g sultanas (or mixed peel if you must – bleurgh)

For the cross:

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp caster sugar

For the glaze:

1 tbsp orange marmalade, rindless or sieved

Step one:

Before you start, assemble and weigh out your ingredients. This will save you time and prevent any flapping half way through the recipe.

So in a small saucepan (or jug if you’re doing it in the microwave) warm the milk, water, orange zest (use the finest grater you have) and butter until the butter is just melted, then turn off the heat. Let it cool so that when you stick your finger in, it feels like blood temperature.

Step two:

While the liquid is cooling, sieve the flour and ground mixed spice together into a large bowl. Next, stir in the salt, sugar, dried yeast and sultanas (have a quick pick over to make sure there are no stalks left).

Step three:

If you’ve got a mixer, pop in all the dry ingredients, then set it on low and slowly pour in the milky mixture until the dough comes together (you might not need all of it so go steady), then plug in the dough hook and set it to knead for a good five minutes.

If you’re old-fashionedy or are still waiting to meet the mixer of your dreams (they do actually come out nicer and lighter if you knead them by hand), you’ll have to get to it for at least ten minutes. Yes, I know, sorry, but it’s true. Knead away, holding the dough lightly with one hand while you stretch it away from you with the other, before bringing it together and repeating the process. The sultanas keep trying to escape, but grab any of the little blighters trying to make a quick getaway and poke them back in. Keep going until the dough is nice and springy and firm (think the texture of a boob, or possibly a bottom cheek - poke your finger in - if the dough springs back, then it’s done - if not, knead a bit more). Disclaimer: possibly best if you don’t actually do this with people’s boobs.

Step four:

When your dough is sufficiently springy, leave it covered with a clean tea towel in a warm place until it’s doubled in size. Then, just knock it back with your fist and cut it in half, then half again and half again. Form each of your 8 pieces into a ball and place them on a floured baking tray. Cover and rise again until they’re puffed up.

Step five:

If you want to add the cross, then mix about 2 tbsp flour, a tsp of caster sugar and enough water to make into a thick paste and either just dribble it with a teaspoon, or pipe it onto your buns (ooer Missus) with a disposable piping bag. Or, you can cut a cross in the top of the buns and pipe the cross into the little lines. Totally up to you.

Step six:

Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 180/gas 6 until they sound hollow when patted on the bottom. Finally, when they’re just out of the oven, warm up the marmalade with a splash of water and brush it on for extra glossy stickiness (use rindless here - you don’t want bits of peel sticking to your buns). If you’re going to freeze them, slice them in half first so they can go straight in the toaster.

And that’s it. Congratulations, you are a master bun maker. Go you!

The 20th anniversary celebrations at Disneyland Paris - our amazing weekend

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The Death Wish Dude and I arrived at St Pancras (in sizzling sunshine - don’t you just love London when the sun’s out?) to board the Eurostar. We’d been invited to join the great and good of the world’s media to celebrate Disneyland Paris’ 20th anniversary and to get a sneaky preview at some of the new parades and shows especially created to mark this incredible birthday.

Disneyland Paris opened on 12th April 1992, adding Walt Disney Studios Park in 2002. It’s within easy walking distance of its very own Eurostar station and there are seven hotels located near the site too. It’s a real ‘one stop shop’ as far as entertainment goes, and we love it.

The Eurostar journey is another favourite of mine. I love being able to walk about, chat, eat and relax while being whizzed towards France. It’s such a relaxed journey. The Dude hadn’t experienced it as a foot passenger before and thoroughly enjoyed being fussed over by the Eurostar staff!

On arrival, we dumped our bags at the hotel (The Hotel New York, one of my favourites) and rushed straight to the park. I decided to give the Dude the same introduction to rollercoasters as I’d received myself back at Walt Disney World, the amazing Rock’n'Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith - one of the fastest rides of all the Disney parks and, so I’m told, with acceleration akin to that of a Formula One car. The dude was hooked and we headed straight back to the front for another go. This ended up setting the scene for most of our weekend - a veritable orgy of thrill rides, maximum velocity and loop the loops, with a lot of Disney magic thrown in!

I wanted to head over to the the Toy Story Playland at the Walt Disney Studios Park as it was just being opened the last time I was there. We weren’t disappointed. The Toy Story themed area is packed full of amazing rides - we loved the Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop, and the AMAZING RC Racer (don’t go on this one if you like the feeling of being dangled in mid air before rocketing backwards and forwards at very high speed - we loved it!). Carrying on the maximum velocity theme, we headed back over to the Disneyland Park (we weren’t very good at planning our route - too darn excited) for Discoveryland’s Space Mountain and Star Tours. Both with puke-making potential, but loved equally by the Dude.

We headed back to our lovely hotel for a dip in the pool (the outside bit was completely deserted and we swam and sunbathed - blissful) before heading back out to the park to enjoy a private dinner in the (now closed) Walt Disney Studios, catching up with a few of our favourite characters too. After a quick scream on the Tower of Terror with our favourite Disney Dave, we had several whizzes around Crush’s Coaster - another amazing indoor/outdoor thrill ride before retiring, somewhat giddily, for the night.

After a late start (another thing I love - breakfast served until 11am!) and mountains of pancakes and maple syrup later (you can’t visit a Disney resort without eating a pancake mountain or two), we headed straight for the Disneyland Park for a duel on one of my favourite Disney attractions, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (for some reason it really tickles me that his French name is ‘Buzz L’Eclair’). I decided to share some of my favourite rides with the Dude: the wonderfully themed and bone-shakingly brilliant ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril’ coaster, and the beautiful, gentle and atmospheric classic, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.

Disney Magic on Parade!

Next it was time for the first showing of the brand new ‘Disney Magic on Parade’, a riot of colourful characters on amazing floats (I’m still singing the fab new music!) celebrating Disneyland Paris’ 20th birthday. I love Disney parades (I always have a little cry) and was ridiculously pleased to see that the Death Wish Dude was entranced as well. Look out for the Toy Story float (one of my favourites) and the lovely Rapunzel too. Watch out for the fabulous bumblebees floating around Winnie the Pooh.

On Saturday evening we were invited to the 20th anniversary celebration gala dinner. The venue was like nothing I’d ever seen before. We were led along a path lit by glowing orbs into a massive marquee (the word ‘marquee’ doesn’t really do it, but it’s the best I can do), lit by chandeliers and sparkling with glitter and glass:

I’m going to have to do a separate piece about the food because it was SO fantastic I can’t possibly elaborate enough here! We had our faces painted by amazingly talented artists, and were all given glow sticks while clouds of smoke billowed out into the venue from hidden smoke machines. The atmosphere was just incredible - here’s one for the family album:

After the gala dinner, we were led to the park (by a man in a suit with a giant balloon strapped to his back) past amazing street performers on stilts and in spectacular inflated and illuminated costumes, to the park, which was lit with a million lights and looked spectacular.

As we entered, all the cast members were lined up, waving huge glowing light sticks and calling out ‘bienvenues!’ and ‘bon anniversaire!’. It was absolutely magical and strangely emotional too. We listened to speeches by the CEO of Disneyland Paris and Zinedine Zidane before walking down Main Street USA with huge confetti cannons going off all around us, blasting little golden ’20′ letters into the sky which was awash with colour and sparkles.

Disney Dreams!

Next up was the new sound and light spectacular that will be performed at Disneyland Paris from now on in the evenings (always check the schedule for timings). This show was SO amazing that we sat next to Jonathan Ross and didn’t look at him once. Yup, THAT amazing.

I can’t even begin to describe the show, but with the aid of clever lighting, the castle was transformed into jungle scenes, Notre Dame and even a huge waterfall. Images were somehow played on walls of water, and massive flame throwers whooshed into the sky. Just. Incredible.

After the amazing show, we were interviewed by Channel 5 (everything was so surreal this weekend, even THAT seemed normal). Here’s the Dude who was, apparently, a ‘natural’:

After a final day in the parks, whizzing around on Space Mountain, getting competitive on Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast and screaming our lungs out on the Tower of Terror, we headed, knackered, to the Eurostar station. What a thoroughly amazing weekend - I have to say it’s probably my favourite ever Disney visit, and that takes some beating.

A MASSIVE thank you to the very lovely and incredibly hard-working Disney team and a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to Disneyland Paris too. For all the rest of the photos from this trip, go to my Facebook page: facebook.com/englishmumdotcom

During the 20th anniversary celebrations at Disneyland Park, prices for a two-night, three-day package including return travel with Eurostar in April 2012 start from £856 for a family of two adults and two children (aged 4-6 years). Price includes return travel with Eurostar, two nights’ accommodation at the Hotel Santa Fe and three day hopper tickets with unlimited access to the Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park and is based on two adults sharing.

For longer stays, Disneyland Paris is offering guests up to 40% off Disney Hotels and park tickets as well as kids under 7 visiting for free. For more info call 08448 008 111 or visit www.disneylandparis.com.

 

The Easter chocolate roundup - I’ve got everything remotely chocolatey for you!

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First up, Hotel Chocolat sent us one of their new, and rather heavyweight, Extra Thick Easter Eggs to try. The packaging is really glossy and attractive (it looks a little like a hatbox, decorated with ribbon) and the egg inside doesn’t disappoint either - we tried the Rocky Road to Caramel egg which had two really chunky halves of chocolate: one side was embedded with all sort of goodies like biscuity pieces and puffed rice and the other was a scrummy mixture of caramel chocolate and milk chocolate. Inside were more delicious Hotel Chocolat chocolates.

The verdict? All round a heavyweight contender but, as usual with Hotel Chocolat, it’s a bit of a luxury item at £26, although weighing in at a hefty 500g there’s plenty of actual chocolate for your money.

Montezumas sent us a couple of their new Monkey Bars. Celebrating all things British (a ‘monkey’ is Cockney rhyming slang for 500) in this the year of the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee, these bad boys are pretty enormous (I’ve provided you with a fork so you can get the idea) and were absolutely delicious. They snap into big chunks (so you don’t feel overly guilty: ‘what? It’s just one square’!). Our fave was the ‘Nanny Goat’ salted peanut and butterscotch. Priced at a bargainous £13.99 they’re available from Montezumas shops and John Lewis, amongst other places.

The lovely chaps at Biscuiteers have added hand-iced chocolate eggs to their lovely range of biccies. Quite pricey at £25 but their stuff is notoriously high quality (I often send their biscuits as presents and they’re always amazing)

Or maybe if a chocolate egg isn’t going to be quite enough, I could interest you in a break at the Chocolate Boutique Hotel? Decorated in gorgeous chocolatey browns (of course), the hotel provides everything you could possibly need for a choctastic weekend away, including ‘choctails’, chocolate fountains in your room and even chocolate making workshops. What’s not to love?

If you’re interested in shopping locally, I thought Big Barn was a good idea. It’s kind of like Amazon or Etsy, but for local food. Click on http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/marketplace/?vendorsearch=chocolate to find Artisan chocolatiers near you or online.

There’s loads of other chocolatey stuff going on this Easter including:

A free Easter fun day at the Boat House Restaurant and Bar in Chertsey on Saturday 7 April 2012, including mini cupcake decorating and an Easter egg hunt. There are two sessios: 11.30am and 5.00pm. Contact 01932 565 644 or email [email protected]

An Easter egg treasure hunt organised by the Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes London as part of their ‘Family Fun in the City’ package. In true Sherlock Holmes style (deerstalker optional), the hunt takes you round some nearby attractions including the Sherlock Holmes Museum and Madame Tussauds. Everyone who completes the quest gets an egg too! The package includes accommodation for two adults and two kids under 12 in lovely mini-suite style accommodation with loads of extras like in-room movies and meal vouchers. Plus breakfast is free for kids! A great little getaway