Chocolate Fudge all the way!

I ordered a personalised Gruffalo cake topper a couple of weeks ago when we had decided on the theme.  So I had to make a round cake which would be of interest to toddlers and mums alike.  Chocolate fudge seemed an obvious winner.  I went with the very straightforward Leiths tip it all into tje bowl and whisk recipe with sour cream ganache.  Came out super!  Looked a treat with the topper even with messed up edge!

Sausage rolls baby!

We're having a toddler get together tomorrow to further celebrate my sons second birthday.  Thought I'd make some sausage rolls to start.  Can't think of anything easier.  Ready rolled puff,  the rectangle is easiest.  Cut into two long strips.  Place little cocktail sausages along the edge of the length. Squeeze a little Tommy K in front of the sausages and roll up, making sure to eggwash the edges. Cut between sausages,  place on baking tray with some parchment or grease proof and bake at 180* fan assisted for about 15-20 minutes.  DONE!  On to the cake !

Mouse on a log

For my sons 2nd birthday I searched the web for some Gruffalo themed cakes. The ones that looked amazing were beyond my abilities and the ones within my abilities looked ..... shit!

So when my husband agreed to make a small mouse out of fondant to go onto whatever cake I made, the thought of the Yule Log I'd seen Mary Berry make on the Great British Bake Off Masterclass started to take shape.

I followed her recipe to the letter, and oh my is it easy!!! Mary does not tell porky pies!
I did mess up melting the chocolate into the cream for the ganache first time! So set on not burning the chocolate, I managed to leave some substantial chunks. Which then resulted in a massive clogging up of the nozzle of the icing bag.

So after cream and ganache version 2.0 had been applied the result looked charming and more importantly .... tasted excellent!  It does feed more than the suggested 6-8 people if used as cake along side other offerings of your choice ( I chose a quite simple but delicious New York Cheesecake by Nigella)

Would recommend recipe to anyone, especially novice bakers looking for a challenge :)
Original Mary Berry recipe