Barbie Cake

Yes, it is a in a Barbie birthday cake, as per many a little princess's early memories.

One such little princess is a wonderful friend of mine, so when she put in her request, I was on a mission.

Definitely one that has to be planned ahead, but SO much fun to make.

I won't go into all the ingredients etc on this one, but basically it consists of 2 cakes, one made in a pudding bowl (I used a glass Pyrex one) and copious amounts of buttercream icing.

You bake both cakes, when they are cool punch a circle out the middle, then merrily ice your way into Barbie land, inserting the doll and icing her in at the end. Her bodice is made from fondant icing.

This had a pink layer under the yellow to make it all the more dynamic when slicing in.

The whole thing is dairy free, but I'm sorry to say there's no way it could pass as healthy.

NB: Due to its height it's a wee bit of a mission to transport!

Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Spinach Curry

A tasty veggie curry with lots of aromatic, earthy flavours. The sweetness of the potato really compliments the rest of the flavours. You could easily use butternut squash if you wanted to.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (cook for 3 min on high in the microwave to speed up cooking time)

1 Tbs tahini

2 Tbs tomato paste

2 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp curry powder (use whichever heat you prefer, I used medium)

1 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp brown sugar

6 Tbs hot water

50g green beans, trimmed and chopped

6 mushrooms, chopped

1 cup water

150g fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

1 tin chickpeas, drained

2 Tbs fresh coriander, chopped

1 tsp Nigella seeds

To serve...

Rice

Pita or naan bread

Chutney

Plain soy yoghurt

To make:

1) Spray a large saucepan with low fat cooking spray and put over a medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring. Add the sweet potato and cover, cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

2) In a small bowl, mix together the tahini, tomato paste, lemon juice, curry powder, garam masala, salt, ginger, cinnamon, paprika, and brown sugar. Gradually add the hot water, stirring.

3) Add the mix to the sweet potato and onion mix, recover and cook for another 10 minutes, checking every few minutes and stirring in the water gradually as the sauce reduces.

4) Add the beans and mushrooms and cover again, cooking for 3 minutes. Then add the chickpeas and spinach and cook for 3 minutes, until the spinach is well wilted.

5) Mix in the coriander and turn off the heat. Pour into a serving dish and sprinkle with the Nigella seeds. Serve with rice, breads, yoghurt and chutney.

Serves 4.