Baking at altitude

This is something I had never even considered or heard of before, but recently I was told that because Calgary has an altitude of just over 1000 metres this affects ingredients when baking. This (I think!) therefore explains my not so great attempts at making sponge cakes here – in the UK I could easily rely on making a quick and successful sponge cake if needed.

My few attempts here have been rather flat and had huge bubbles appear on the surface, and one was very dry. I put this down to a) not having a big enough cake tin for one recipe! B) using cup measurements which I don’t think are as accurate as grams and c) getting used to different ingredients, e.g. The types of flour etc.

However, I have since looked online and found that the low air pressure above 1000 metres makes baked foods rise more quickly and lose moisture as water evaporates more quickly, therefore adjustments need to be made: adding more liquid, removing some sugar, decreasing amounts of baking powder.

As I only thought of looking into this part way through making my cake, I only had time to add more liquid, and so added an additional egg. The large bubbles on the surface of the cake suggest I need to remove some sugar next time. It is quite flat still so will need to investigate that further. It also cooked quicker than expected so is quite golden on top! I can testify though that it still tastes good!  

 If you are interested in looking into this further, check out this website Science of cooking

Experimental phone cases

This evening I’ve been experimenting with different designs for phone cases. The first one I made ended up being too small for the phone I designed it for (doh!) but luckily fits mine! I then made a slightly larger second case (which could still do with being another half centimetre bigger!) and quilted the wadding, which was much better at preventing it from slipping and giving the case more structure. I added an elastic loop to fasten onto a button, which seems to have worked well. I used a pale blue flannel for the lining but could do with cutting it slightly smaller next time as with the wadding, the inside of the case is a bit bulky, but I suppose it gives the phone more protection. I’m now going to make up a few more and add them to my etsy store. Watch this space! 

   

Bookmarks galore!

 I’ve had a bit of a crazy afternoon using up lots of scraps of fabric by making some bookmarks. I’m visiting lots of people over the next few weeks and thought these could be nice little Easter gifts for them. I haven’t added any interfacing, so they are quite flimsy, but being quite thin they don’t create any bulk in the books. Happy reading people!  

Snug as a bug in a rug (phone case!)

Although I’ve had my phone for 2 years I’ve never had a case for it (and it hasn’t fared too badly, with just one small injury!). However, that’s all to change as I have now got round to making a little quilted case for it as I had some batting scraps left over from a recent quilt project. I didn’t really take measurements, just wrapped some fabric around the phone and added a bit extra – it has turned out the perfect size and is quite snug so I’m glad it’s not any smaller (it also means it doesn’t need a fastening, which is good as I don’t have one!). I used a pretty ‘afternoon tea’ and candy striped fabric for the outside and lined it with a pale blue flannel for extra warmth (protection)! I kind of made it up as I went along, remembering a pattern for a tablet cover I’d seen online a whole ago. Hopefully, it will keep my phone protected for another 2 years!  My husband has now requested one, but I don’t think the afternoon tea fabric will be his top choice! 

  

So here is the one I’ve made for my husband, using a more masculine vintage map fabric.