icing for joy: 2013

Saturday, 23 November 2013

oh autumn.

autumn photography - icingforjoy.blogspot.co.uk

the beautiful hues,

the crisp, cold air,

the bright, golden glow,

the soft, baggy jumpers,

the crispy leaves.

autumn.

Saturday, 9 November 2013

Hello, hey, hi! It feels so good to be back here and I think it's about time I gave a little update.

The summer has flown right by and it's pretty unusual that I've not done any baking or blogging the whole season. In actual fact, I haven't been sitting myself in front of the tv the whole time but was involved in a short term mission trip to Croatia to spread some love to children living in some not so well-off villages.

I flew with another 18 people and together, we learnt how to communicate with the Roma people living there, sharing our Christian faith through singing, dancing, drama, arts and crafts and stories.

For me personally, I have learnt so so much from the trip and believe it is a blessing that God has given me this opportunity to reach out and love many more people. It was difficult in the beginning - I did not know the language and it was proving to be an obstacle for me to connect with the children. However, God used me well and I learnt how to communicate through actions such as holding hands, spinning in circles and of course through some what-turned-out infectious smiles.

It's has been an eye-opener to see that simplicities such as a football could bring joy and happiness to the children. In our daily lives, we don't appreciate the beauty of this world often because we are so consumed by luxuries such as our phones, and I am guilty of this too - but if you take a step back, you can see that happiness doesn't necessarily come from our riches, but from the people around us who bring us joy.

I think I will remember a little girl called Mirella forever. She's this playful girl who at first wasn't so sure about me like the other children, but came next to me and held my hand. When I looked at her, she would just look back and giggle. She made efforts in talking to me but I couldn't understand her at all so all we could do was effectively "communicate" through actions. There was an extremely hot day whereby it got to nearly 40C and she still wouldn't let go of my hand even though they were sticky from the sun. Wow, I've never had a child so eager to hold my hand! But I didn't mind, all I wanted was to let her know I loved her and she could hold my hand as long as she wishes.

By the end of this trip I still could not speak Croatian fluently but miraculously, I managed to form a lot of well-cherished friendships with some extremely cute and beautiful children and found that my developed bonds with them made it so hard to say goodbye.

The village will remain in my heart forever and I am so thankful for this experience.

Friday, 19 July 2013

Cinnamon swirls

Summer is finally here!! If you live in the UK, you'll totes know what I mean by the rush of happiness you get when you check the weather forecast and all you see is a big yellow sun. The weather has been at the high end of the twenties meaning shorts out sunglasses out! I don't know what has come over me today but I've decided to bake some cinnamon whirls in this "baking" hot weather. Let's blame it on the summery party fever.

The posh name for these are palmiers, but I like to call them cinnamon whirls for the childhood memories they bring back. I remembered these being the best things ever and don't get me wrong, they still are; the smell of sticky sugar with a hint of cinnamon, the golden brown colour. Mmmmm.

I absolutely love the way the whirls have such imperfect looks when they go into the oven but come out as puffed joys. There's always something to rejoice about in baking.

These perfect little treats take no time at all so I can safely say they could make perfect party food. There are also so many possibilities with them - add honey, pecan nuts, try a savoury version!

I have always been a fan of puff pastry if you haven't realised already. Some highlights are my salmon puff pastries and my creamy rhubarb tarts. And I must warn you, it is possible to become addicted to puff.

Cinnamon Whirls

Ingredients:
375g ready-rolled puff pastry
3 tbsp golden caster sugar + extra to dust
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1 medium egg, beaten

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200C/180 fan/gas mark 6. Sprinkle work surface with sugar, roll pastry to 14 x 9 inches. Trim the edges then cut vertically down the middle to make two smaller rectangles.
2. Mix the cinnamon, mixed spice and remaining sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle half the mixture evenly over the pastry.
3. Fold the top and bottom edges into the middle so they meet at the centre. Sprinkle remaining spice mixture. Fold upper and lower folded edges in to meet in the centre again. Finally, fold in half lengthways to make a log shape.
4. Make sure the seam is faced down then trim edges. Cut 1cm slices and lay spaced well apart onto non-stick baking sheets.
5. Lightly brush each pastry with beaten egg, sprinkle with icing sugar and bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool before serving.

Thursday, 27 June 2013

Insta-Thursty: Week 11

Wow! It has been so long since I've written a post! This past month and a half has been absolutely crazy - I had 14 exams and as soon one ended, I had to prepare for the next one. It is such a relief that my exams are OFFICIALLY OVER. I really hope to blog a lot lot more this summer but for now, a long overdue insta-thursty post!