Sponsored Post: Dishwashing Expert

An unlikely post, perhaps, but our dishwasher is broken. We came back from the hospital after Pip was born and the first time we tried to use it, it refused to start, flashed some lights and started beeping ominously. After a while we identified that it needed salt. I wish I'd known about this website which can help identify your dishwasher problems (without having to try and locate the manual). Not only can it assist with dishwasher troubleshooting but it actually answers questions that the manuals probably don't, such as why there may be traces of rust on some items which should be rust free.

Turns out adding salt didn't help. The repair man was called by our landlord. Whatever he did didn't fix it. He was called again. That still didn't work. Apparently the landlord has decided to replace it. We are still waiting for them to decide which dishwasher and come to install it. It needs to be a slimline one, as that is what they will be replacing. I think we could have chosen one and installed it quicker than them. Six weeks on and still no dishwasher.

Thankfully, until then, I have a husband.

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This is a sponsored post (but our dishwasher really is broken)

Valentines/anniversary cake

Although technically our anniversary is not until next weekend, and Valentines Day obviously not for a couple of weeks, this was husband and my last weekend on our own before either of those events. Usually I would bake a cake from one of my go to recipes but Baking Mad emailed me and asked me if I would try out their valentines cake. So, I thought, why not.

I won't list out all the ingredients here or the method, as you'll find that over at their site, but I thought you might like a few photos.

Notes:

I didn't have any heart shaped tins, so I made a thin flat cake in a Le Creuset dish, which I then used heart shaped cutters to cut out various sizes of hearts, some of which I double layered, some I left single.

As only husband and I were eating the cake, I halved all the ingredients for the actual cake and only used one egg. I also left out the milk. This, coupled with the way I cooked it, thin and flat, gave it a lovely almost brownie like texture, which was easier to cut out with a cutter.

I found I needed more icing sugar than they recommended for the icing sugar. I also omitted the type of chocolate they recommended, opting for 50g of melted dark chocolate, to 70g butter and probably 100g icing sugar. Just keep beating and tasting prior to adding the chocolate. 

I used spreadable butter, which was all I had to hand. It seemed to work ok.

I served the cake with tea, to husband, who seemed very touched that I'd made him a cake.

I think I will repeat this recipe next time I serve a tea party, possibly using a slightly bigger cutter than the mini one but leaving them single layered with icing. A nice bite sized alternative to cupcakes, ideal I'm the heart shape if you were planning valentines cupcakes.

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All photos by me, using my iPad. Which accounts for the poor quality of the snaps, but at least you get the idea.

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This is a sponsored post.