Gary The Ghost Chocolate Cake

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

A quick guide on how to create this little cutie (it’s a good one if you’re not overly confident with fondant).

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

  • mixer
  • 3 x 6” round tins
  • 1 x 1/2 split ball tin (if you don’t have this, a Pyrex dish works just as well)
  • cake board

INGREDIENTS

7 eggs (weigh your eggs in their shell, this will determine how much of everything else you need. These eggs were 420g)
420g caster sugar
420g margarine
380g SR flour
40g cocoa powder
200g butter
400g icing sugar
1kg white fondant

Preheat your oven, Gas Mark 4 or equivalent. Cream your margarine and caster sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in your eggs, SR flour and cocoa powder. Mix until all combined.

Split the mixture between the four tins and pop in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until fully baked. Take out the oven, remove from tins, allow to cool then trim your tops.

Make your buttercream by mixing the butter and icing sugar with a dash of milk. The longer you let that mix, the nicer your buttercream.

On your board, start stacking and filling – sponge, buttercream, sponge, buttercream and so on.

Once stacked, apply your crumb coat. You can pop a couple of skewer/straw supports straight through your cake to make it a little more stable (just remember to watch out for them when it comes to eating!). Let the crumb coat set, I usually leave it for about an hour. If you can fit the cake in a fridge, it’ll take about 30 mins to firm up.

Now to cover. Knead your fondant to soften it up. Roll out on a lightly dusted (either corn flour or icing sugar) surface to about the thickness of a £1 coin. The fondant needs to be big enough to cover the cake in one go. Carefully, move the rolled out fondant from your bench and drape it over your cake. Concentrate on smoothing out the top then let the sides fall. If the fondant is a bit too big, grab a pair of scissors and cut away any excess. Using black fondant, add eyes and a mouth. Blush optional. Place Gary in the centre of your Halloween table to show him off.

If you’re thinking of giving Gary a go and have any questions, drop me a message or leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you.

Spooky Graveyard Chocolate Pots

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

If you’re a chocoholic, you’ll love these little pots of heaven

INGREDIENTS

200g milk chocolate
200ml double cream
2 large egg yolks

Crushed Oreos, dark chocolate, chocolate sprinkles and fondant figures to decorate

METHOD

Break the chocolate in to a large bowl. In a pan, heat the cream until just before it boils. Remove the cream from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir until smooth and all the chocolate has melted. Beat in the lightly whisked egg yolks. Pour the mixture in to individual pots and pop in the fridge to set (this usually takes about two hours)

While the pots are setting, melt dark chocolate and pipe to make “trees”, add a few chocolate sprinkles for “leaves”. Split the Oreos, remove the filling and crush for “soil”. Using fondant, make “gravestones” and other Halloween characters (or cheat and use shop bought like I did).

Once set, take the pots out the fridge, decorate then enjoy!

Frankenstein Rice Crispie Squares

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

A super quick and super easy Halloween treat.

INGREDIENTS

75g rice crispies
50g unsalted butter
90g marshmallows
Green food colouring

Dark chocolate, mini marshmallows and candy eyes to decorate

METHOD

Melt the butter and marshmallows in a bowl over a pan of water.

Once melted and smooth, remove from the heat and add a few drops of green food colouring.

Stir in the rice crispies.

Shape and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.

Cut and decorate.

Easy peasy! Will you be giving the Frankenstein Rice Crispie Squares a go?

Family Staycation at The Snug, Otterburn

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , Leave a comment

At the start of 2020, when Corona was nothing more than a Mexican lager, we were kindly invited along to The Snug, Otterburn.

Located on the Otterburn Hall Estate, The Snug is a 3 bedroom boutique lodge suitable for up to 4 adults and 2 children. It has a private hot tub and decking area, deluxe kitchen, dining and living areas, free parking and complimentary WiFi.

The Snug is perfectly named and ideal for families.

Sara and Chris have put a lot of thought in to the lodge – from the automatic down lights in the bathroom to the boot scrub and store outside. Not once did I think “the lodge doesn’t have this and really needs it”.

The Snug is really cosy and has a proper home-from-home feel about it, I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending The Snug to anyone looking for a lodge break in the Northumberland National Park. We thoroughly enjoyed our relaxing stay here.

You can find full details about The Snug on their website, https://www.thesnugotterburn.co.uk and on their Facebook and Instagram page.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Loaf Cake Recipe

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s that time of year: pumpkin picking/buying, pumpkin cleaning, pumpkin carving and wondering what to do with the pumpkin pulp. Here’s one delicious idea for you to try

Pumpkin Spice Latte Loaf Cake

INGREDIENTS

100g butter or margarine
175g caster sugar
2 eggs
200g pumpkin puree
75ml double cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp espresso powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
200 g self-raising flour

METHOD

Pop the oven on to Gas Mark 4 or equivalent. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (I picked one up from the Poundshop along with a pack of liners – bargain). In a bowl beat together the butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs followed by the pumpkin puree and double cream. Stir in the vanilla, espresso powder, spices and the flour. Spoon into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 1hr or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

DECORATION

I made a coffee water icing drizzle (cold espresso and icing sugar) and a simple buttercream (butter and icing sugar). Drizzled the drizzle, piped the buttercream, sprinkled cinnamon on top and added some fondant models. You can be as extra as you like when it comes to decorating, go wild and get creative!

The cake was like a cross between carrot cake and coffee cake. Particularly delicious with a cup of tea and a scoop of ice cream.

Will you be giving the Pumpkin Spice Latte Loaf Cake recipe a go? Or do you have a favourite recipe for using up the scooped out pumpkin? Let me know in the comments

Thanks for reading! ☺️

Ice Bar at STACK

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Currently the coolest place in Newcastle ❄️

Last week we were invited along to Stack Newcastle to check out their recently opened New York themed Ice Bar.

With temperatures ranging between -5°C and -10°C your 20 minute time slot is the perfect amount to enjoy everything in the bar before the cold starts getting to you!

Entry prices start from £10 per adult and include.

  • Coat
  • Gloves
  • Shot served in an ice glass
  • Hot chocolate

Kids aged 7+ are allowed in and there is a family package available which gives a little bit of discount.

The Ice Bar is definitely something different and we all really enjoyed it.


Full details and booking options can be found at http://www.stacknewcastle.com/blog/post.php?s=2020-01-24-ice-bar

We were invited along to this event and received free admission in to the Ice Bar however, we were under no obligation to post this blog

Jump 360 Newcastle Review

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Home Page

Last week we were kindly invited along to Jump 360 at Longbenton.

Harry’s been to a friends party here before and when he said “mam, it’s the greatest place ever” I thought “sure it is”. I honestly didn’t expect it to be any different to the other trampoline parks we’ve visited in the area.

How wrong was I?! It’s a trampoline and inflatable park combined with loads of head to head activities. From the Geordie Ninja Warrior Course to the Rotating Battle Beam, Evie and Harry could’ve easily spent longer than their 1 hour time slot in the arena.

The mezzanine cafe offers full views over the park and is a perfect spot to enjoy a coffee while the kids burn off some energy.

There’s plenty of friendly staff on hand to keep an eye on things and offer help when needed. The entire venue is very clean and tidy with loads of off-street parking. There’s specialised sessions throughout the week including an “Adults Only” hour on Saturday night.

I often see Jump 360 pop up on Groupon and they do offer deals direct so it’s worth looking online if you fancy visit.

Jump 360 Trampoline Park Newcastle

I’ll leave the final words to Harry and confirm that Jump 360 is “the greatest place ever”

Have you been to Jump 360? What did you think of it?

Gutterball Alley, North Shields

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

The old Star Bowl site (next to Wet ‘n’ Wild) has recently been taken over by the guys behind Lane7, they’ve given it a much needed refurb and opened Gutterball Alley.

Gutterball Alley promises to “Make Fun Great Again” and we had an absolute blast when we were invited along last week.

The bowling lanes have had a good tidy up and the sport showing TV’s are a very welcome addition.

Gutterball Alley isn’t just all about the bowling; there’s ping-pong, pool, arcades and the not-yet-opened-but-coming-very-soon bull pen, mini golf and curling.

The food currently on offer at Gutterball Alley is very similar to Lane7 but the menu isn’t as extensive. Gutterball Alley are playing it safe offering mainly burgers and hotdogs, no complaints from us as these are our go to options anyway. The food we tried was nice and I loved the cheese sauce on the nacho dog.

Overall, we had a very enjoyable time at Gutterball Alley. Harry’s already asked if we can come back in January for his birthday!

For full details, pricing and booking options visit https://www.gutterballalley.co.uk

DISCLAIMER: We were offered a free game of bowling, food and drinks but all thoughts are our own.

Festive Family Fun at Woodhorn Museum

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

If you’re looking for a chilled family day out once the kids break up for Christmas, I highly recommend a visit to Woodhorn Museum!

We were invited along to check out the “Festive Family Fun” events currently running and had a brilliant day seeing Santa, skating and exploring the museum.

Tales with Father Christmas

You can meet the main man and enjoy a seasonal story featuring classics like ‘The Snowman’ and ‘The Polar Express’. The groups aren’t huge and the whole thing felt very personal. Santa takes his time to speak to each child and they all leave the experience with a lovely age appropriate gift.

For full details and booking availability go to https://museumsnorthumberland.org.uk/festive-tales-with-father-christmas/

Pit Yard Skating

Situated right in the centre of the museum grounds, the synthetic rink is a good size and has skating aides available which are free to use

For prices and booking options, visit https://museumsnorthumberland.org.uk/pit-yard-skating-at-woodhorn-museum/

The museum cafe is the perfect spot to refuel and warm up, it’s super spacious so the tables aren’t rammed in next to each other. The hot roast sandwich was absolutely delicious!

The outdoor playground at Woodhorn is a firm favourite with Evie and Harry, they’d spend hours there if I let them!

The exhibitions are always worth a wander round, we’ve walked through the museum so many times yet we still learn something new.

All in all, we found our Festive Family Fun Day excellent. Woodhorn’s event calendar is always busy so the yearly pass is super value for money. Follow the museum’s social media accounts to keep up to date with what they have on.

DISCLAIMER: We were offered free tickets to the festive events but all thoughts are our own.

Lumiere Durham

northeasteatsandkids, , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

From the 14th to the 17th November 2019 The Lumiere Festival returns to Durham City Centre for its tenth year.

In the most ambitious edition of the festival to date, there are 37 installations throughout the city; a mix of old favourites and new commissions.

The festival is open from 4:30pm until 11pm each evening. Between 4:30pm-7:30pm access to the Central Peninsula area of the city is by ticket only. If you don’t have a ticket, don’t panic, there’s plenty to explore outside of the ticketed area (including my favourite installation)

New for 2019, there is a Lumiere Durham app. It guides you around the festival and will help you make your most of your time in Durham.

If you’re thinking of attending the festival before it leaves (and hopefully returns in 2021) I’ve put together my top tips for visiting…

1. Plan your route

2. Use Park & Ride or public transport

3. The festival is busiest between 4:30pm-7:30pm, try visiting outside of these times

4. Download the app

5. Wrap up warm

6. Bring a torch

7. While in the city, pay a visit to one of the many amazing eateries. I highly recommend The Boat Club, Durham.

8. Get social and share your experience online using #LumiereDurham

As the festival draws to an end, I hope it’s been a huge success – This is Durham and Artichoke Trust have, in my opinion, put on an absolutely cracking event!

Have you been to Lumiere 2019? What did you think of it?