We're back!

It's been a while I know! Finally the kids are back at school. I've been using the last few days to get my thoughts together and get into the swing of things trying to become a more organized person in general so I can execute 'the plan' better.

We had plenty of visitors in the last three weeks. First, my brother came from England for a week, and then our friends from Madagascar/Athens came for a long week-end too. There was lots of cooking, eating, baking, walking, visiting other friends and playing SCRABBLE with the kids! It's their new favourite game. My brother also brought a couple of nice books for Fin, the sort which take a bit longer to read. He is really enjoying reading stories where you have to wait until the next chapter to find out what happens next...

So, what have I been baking? I owe you something with chocolate, so here we are...


What's so special about these, you might ask? Well, for a start they contain this...


and then there's this


Inside there is this:


Yes, they are filled cakes. Chocolate ganache. Finally to really make them to die for...


I dipped some of them in the leftover ganache. And WOW. More about that in a minute.

I adapted the recipe by Deb at Smitten Kitchen. If you do a quick google search of Guinness and Bailey's you will find plenty of versions of this flavour.

The idea of dipping them came from Kari at Retro Bakery One look at their menu page will have you reaching for the nearest sweet thing you can get your hands on.

I've been meaning to try this recipe for a while and since the recipe makes 24 cupcakes I wanted to make them when I could give several of them away! I have to say that even though the cakes were amazing I promptly made some notes on what I'd do differently when I make them again. I don't think I'd put them on my menu exactly as they are, but the same elements in some different combination maybe.

January is going to be a busy month. I'll be attending HO.RE.CA (an expo for the hotel, restaurant and cafe business) in Athens at the end of the month. Hopefully we'll be applying for some funding within the month and we are also working on the website. Things are definitely going to be getting more business-oriented around here! I'll still post about how great it is living in the country though! I can't help that (like planting my lettuce seedlings into the garden this morning and going down to the beach this evening with the kids to collect driftwood for the fire).

Finally thanks to Gasteroplix and Xanthi for nominating me for a sunshine award! That's so kind of you both. I really appreciate it. It's difficult for me to choose who I'd nominate for one, especially since many of the lovely ladies I read have already received them, so I'll just name some of the blogs I love to read...

So apart from the above mentioned Asproula's recipes and Gasteroplix here are some food related blogs I enjoy reading.

Asterolila, Betty, Ivy, Maria, Cheryl, Eleftheria, Kiki, Niki, Recipes of the heart, Lila

Actually, I check out many more blogs, not all food related, too many to mention here. These are just a small selection that are capable of making my mouth water at any given time! So, for that have a cake...


I'll leave you with the thought of those for now. Soon I'll post some other pics of things I baked on my 'blog holiday'.

Liz