TUTORIAL IT

Welcome to Mays AlphaBakes. We had lots of lovely B entries for Aprils challenge and you can see the round up on Carolines blog. We used a linky last month and it seems to work well so we will be continuing it for now. I am currently on holiday in America so I hope Ive set up the linky correctly. If not, I will try and fix it as soon as possible when I am back. Please email alphabakes@gmail.com if the linky is not working. So what letter are we using this month? Well the random letter generator came up with .... Q. I look forward to seeing your Q creations and if you need further inspiration then check out the previous Q round up.

Quick reminder of the rules....

1. Post your RECIPE on your blog and link it to The More than Occasional Baker andCaroline Makes, stating the relevant months host. If you do not have a blog, email us a picture and a brief description of your entry which we will include in the round-up at the end of the month.

2. You can use your own RECIPE or someone elses RECIPE. The recipe can be sweet, savoury or a mixture! Anything goes as long as the random letter is predominantly featured in the recipe as one of the main ingredients or flavours or in the name of the bake itself (i .e . not as a garnish , or using flour for the letter F!) You can also republish old posts/RECIPES but you must include the information for this challenge as stated in these rules.

3. Add the logo to your post and add alphabakes as a label to your post.

4. Entry is via the linky tool below. Alternatively, you can email your entries to alphabakes@gmail.com by midnight (GMT) 25th of each month. Please include:

• Your name (that you want included in the round up or we will use the name of your blog) 
• Your blog post URL 
• RECIPE title 
• Photo of RECIPE (to be included in the round up) 

5. You can submit as many entries as you like.

6. You do not have to participate every month to join in.

7. You may submit your entry to other challenges as long as it complies with their rules.

8. If you use twitter, please use the tag #alphabakes and mention @bakingaddict and @Caroline_Makes. We will retweet all those that we see. 

9. Have fun! :)

Can you believe its Novermber already? Where has the year gone? Thank you to everyone who participated in Octobers AlphaBakes You can read the "I" round up on Carolines blog. Weve had 2 months of trickier letters so Im sure you will breathe a sigh of relief to know that its a much easier letter this month which is .... H 

Remember to email your entries by 25th November to alphabakes@gmail.com. A round up will be posted on my blog before the end of November. 

Quick reminder of the rules...

1. Post your recipe on your blog and link it to The More than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes, stating the relevant months host. If you do not have a blog, email us a picture and a brief description of your entry which we will include in the round-up at the end of the month. 

2. You can use your own recipe or someone elses recipe. The recipe can be sweet, savoury or a mixture! Anything goes as long as the random letter is predominantly featured in the recipe as one of the main ingredients or flavours or in the name of the bake itself (i .e . not as a garnish , or using flour for the letter F!) You can also republish old posts/recipes but you must include the information for this challenge as stated in these rules. 

3. Add the logo to your post and add alphabakes as a label to your post. 

4. Email your entries to alphabakes@gmail.com by midnight (GMT) 25th of each month. Please include: 

Hi all, hope everyone had a good Easter. Sorry for the late roundup but its just been a little crazy lately. Plus Easter was really early this year and we extended the deadline to accout for Easter. Thank you to everyone who entered this month, a great selection of entries with lots of variety of Cs including a savoury entry. Do click on the links to visit the entries. If you havent already seen what letter we are using in April then do head on over to Carolines blog to find out. I will be back hosting AlphaBakes in May which will be the last letter of round two. See you all then :) 

1. Chocolate Cupcakes by Jacqueline, Carolines mum.

2. Butterscotch Cow Cookies by Caroline from Caroline Makes

3. Clementine and Almond cake (gluten free) by Clare, Carolines sister

4. Chocolate flower shape bundt cake by Jacqueline

5. Coconut sponge with jam in the middle by Jacqueline

6. Chocolate hot cross buns (gluten free) by Kate from The Gluten Free Alchemist 

7. Lemon and Mascarpone Mothers Day Cake with Painted Flowers by Caroline from Caroline Makes

8. Creme Egg & Malteser Chocolate Tiffin Bundt Cake by Karen from Lavender and Lovage

9. Banana, sultana, walnut and cinnamon hot cross buns by Dom from Belleau Kitchen

10. Apple and Cinnamon Caramel Cake by Corina from Searching for Spice

11. Chocolate Coconut Cannellini Cake by Choclette from Tin and Thyme

12. Easter Creme Egg Mousse Cake - gluten free by Kate from The Gluten Free Alchemist 

13. Lemon, Coconut and Cherry Loaf Cake (Dairy Free) by Suelle from Mainly Baking

14. Peanut Magic Bars (gluten free) by Kate from The Gluten Free Alchemist 

15. Chocolate Meringue Easter Nests by Kat from The Baking Explorer

16. Chocolate Easter Cake by Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker

17. Creme Egg Double Chocolate Muffins by Sarah from Plate To Pen 

18. Raw Cacao Easter Cupcakes by Elizabeth from Elizabeth;s Kitchen Diary 

19. Chocolate Easter Cupcakes by Caroline from Caroline Makes

20. Easter Caramel Meringue Nests by Laura from How to Cook Good Food

21. Broken Easter Egg Brownies by Dom from Belleau Kitchen 

22. Homemade Hand-Decorated Easter Eggs by Caroline from Caroline Makes

23. Easy One Tray Roast Chicken by Charlotte from Charlottes Lively Kitchen 

24. Floating Anti-Gravity Mini Egg White Chocolate and Lemon Cake by Caroline from Caroline Makes

25. Apple and Calvados Terrine by Jean from Baking in Franglais

26. Vegan Friendly Giant Jaffa Cake by Shaheen from Allotment2Kitchen 

27. Marzipan, Cherry & Orange Blossom Sweet Soda Bread by Charlotte from Charlottes Lively Kitchen 

Thats the end of the C round up. Till next time.... 

The sun is shining, Wimbledon has started and theres a heatwave. Hurrah for summer! Welcome to Julys AlphaBakes. If you havent already seen last months "O" round up on Carolines blog, do check it out. This month the random letter generator has come up with ... U
Look forward to seeing all your Unique U entries! Entry is via the linky tool below and if for some reason its not working then please email alphabakes@gmail.com by 25th July 2015.

Welcome to Novembers "H" AlphaBakes round up. Its been a busy month for me and Im guessing its also been a busy month for most of you as we had less entries than usual. Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. Ive chosen a winner at random from all eligible entries for our prize this month which is a copy of 500 Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly & Judith Fertig sponsored by Quarto Publishing. Read to the end to find out who the lucky winner is. 

Jean from Baking with Franglais made a hazelnut, plum and chocolate cake. Its a recipe from the BBC Good Food website for their October Clandestine Cake Club in Loire Valley as the theme was "a taste of autumn". French plums and hazelnuts were the seasonal ingredients and the flavour combination worked beautifully. Its certainly a very impressive looking cake and is quite easy to make. 

Kate from the Gluten Free Alchemist made chewy, chocolate, cherry and chili flapjack. The H comes from Hungarian paprika and Hot chili! The chili is subtle and really elevates this traditionally sweet treat. She made 2 batches of this delicious treat, do head on over to her blog to find out why! 

Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe made a healthy treat which is gluten free, vegan and full of good oats and seeds. Its a Glo Bar and he H ingredient is hemp seeds. She got this recipe from a fellow blogger, Angela Liddon who blogs at Oh She Glows. I love how shes decorated it which has given me ideas for the future.

Laura from Id Much Rather Bake Than... made Chilli Mayonnaise Brownies using Hellmans Mayonnaise. Its a healthier alternative to traditional brownies as the mayonnaise replaces a lot of the fat and some of the eggs and theres no loss of flavour or satisfaction. Its a lovely chocolatey brownie with a hit of chilli! 

Suelle from Mainly Baking made a cake specifically for AlphaBakes using a Harry Eastwood recipe. Its a Honey Breafkast Fruit Cake which uses finely grated butternut squash to replace much of the fat and it of course contains honey! The cake was delicious with almond being the predominant flavour but you could also taste the honey and the lemon zest.

Kate from the Gluten Free Alchemist is back but with something completely different this time... Homemade Fresh Gluten Free Pasta. Her daughter was diagnosed with Coeliac disease so she has been making all sorts of gluten free recipes and finally decided to try her hand at making her own fresh pasta. She experimented with a few new ingredients and it looks and tastes just like regular pasta. 

Stuart from Cakeyboi shared with us an old recipe but a good recipe nonetheless. The recipe is Honey and Ginger Cookies made with Manuka honey and Root ginger. The cookies are crisp on the outside but soft in the centre and you can clearly taste the honey plus you get little hits of ginger. 

Fiona from Let Them Eat (gluten free, lactose free) Cake! was all set to make an apple butter victoria sponge but she was struck down by a cold. She made these ginger, lemon and honey biscuits instead which she maintains helped cure her cold. They are light and tasty and of course gluten free!

Thats the end of the round up. As promised, a winner has been selected at random (names in a hat) and the lucky winner is.... Laura from Id Much Rather Bake Than...  - congratulations! Remember to check out Carolines blog on 1st December to find out what letter we are using in December. See you all in January!

So sorry I missed out my co-host Caroline from Caroline Makes second entry. Clearly great minds think alike as she also made a hot chocolate cupcake with marshmallow fluff. She served hers in cute tea cup moulds and cupcake cases and topped them with marshmallow fluff and colourful shaped marshmallows. The cupcakes were chocolatey, light and fluffy which closely resembles hot chocolate. 

Welcome to March AlphaBakes. Its officially the start of spring and Easter is in March this year so lots to look forward to. If you havent already seen the Yummy "Y" Roundup on Carolines blog then do head on over and check it out. For this month the random letter generator has been kind to us and we have a really easy letter which will fit in nicely for Easter as the letter is ... C 

As Easter is at the end of March and you may well want to enter your chocolatey Easter creations, we are extending the deadline for March until 30th March 2016. The roundup will be posted a few days later and Caroline will start the next challenge on 1st April 2016.  Entry is via the linky tool below and if for some reason its not working then please email alphabakes@gmail.com by 30th March 2016.

Quick reminder of the rules....

1. Post your RECIPE on your blog and link it to The More than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes, stating the relevant months host. If you do not have a blog, email us a picture and a brief description of your entry which we will include in the round-up at the end of the month.

2. You can use your own RECIPE or someone elses RECIPE. The recipe can be sweet, savoury or a mixture! Anything goes as long as the random letter is predominantly featured in the recipe as one of the main ingredients or flavours or in the name of the bake itself (i .e . not as a garnish , or using flour for the letter F!) You can also republish old posts/RECIPES but you must include the information for this challenge as stated in these rules.

3. Add the logo to your post and add alphabakes as a label to your post.

4. Entry is via the linky tool below. Alternatively, you can email your entries to alphabakes@gmail.com by midnight (GMT) 30th March 2016. Please include:

• Your name (that you want included in the round up or we will use the name of your blog) 
• Your blog post URL 
• RECIPE title 
• Photo of RECIPE (to be included in the round up) 

5. You can submit as many entries as you like.

6. You do not have to participate every month to join in.

7. You may submit your entry to other challenges as long as it complies with their rules.

8. If you use twitter, please use the tag #alphabakes and mention @bakingaddict and @Caroline_Makes. We will retweet all those that we see.

9. Have fun! :)