Puffin's Pots of Gold:
Just like how leprechauns hide their pots of gold at the end of rainbows, Puffin is hiding his own treats! He's hiding candy and chocolate around the castle in his own pots of gold!
These leprechaun pots are really easy to make and a great way to make a fun game! You can fill them with candy then hide them for people to find, just like Puffin is doing in the castle!
You Will Need:
• Empty Mason Jar
• Green Craft/Spray Paint
• Black Ribbon
• Yellow Felt
• Glue (Preferably hot glue)
• Gold Wrapped Candy
Instructions:
1. Paint the inside of the jar completely with the green paint before setting it to one side to dry.
2. Wrap a length of black ribbon (just long enough so that the ends overlap slightly) around the middle of the jar and secure with some glue.
3. Carefully cut out a yellow square of felt out (slightly larger than the width of the ribbon).
4. Cut the centre of the yellow felt square out and glue it where the black ribbon meets to make a buckle.
5. Fill with gold wrapped candy (or just use your favorite sweet treats)!
Happy, Handy Leprechauns
These jolly little creations are a great way to brighten someone's day and celebrate St. Patrick's Day! They also make great keepsakes for families as you have a memory of everyone's hands at the time that you made them - perfect for little ones that are growing every day!
You Will Need:
• White Card
• Orange Paint
• Scissors
• Small red pom pom/red crayon
• White Card
• Green Card
• Black Card
• Yellow/Gold Card
• Black Pen (to draw on the mouth)
• Googly Eyes
Pencil (to trace)
• Orange Wool (optional)
• Gold Glitter (optional)
• Green Glitter (optional)
Method:
1. Draw around your hand with your fingers spread apart just enough to trace around so that your fingers and thumb go in the same direction as much as possible. However, if you prefer a more wild beard for your leprechaun, spread your fingers out so that they point in different directions.
2. Carefully cut out your hand shape from the card.
3. Paint the fingers in orange. Add a line of paint around the edge of the fingers to connect the beard together, leaving room for the face of your leprechaun.
4. Now draw a rectangle onto green card. Then draw an oval underneath horizontally, making it slightly longer than the shorter side of the rectangle for the vase of your hat.
5. Cut the pieces out and glue the rectangle so that one of the shorter edges sits in the middle of the oval to make it look like a hat.
6. If you would like to make a sparkly hat cover your hat lightly with glue and sprinkle green glitter over the hat.
7. Once the hat is dry, cut out a small strip of black from the card and stick it on the base of the rectangle that sits on the oval part of the hat.
8. Now cut out a small square that is slightly higher than the black strip using the yellow/gold card. Carefully cut out the centre so that you have a gold buckle. You can add glue and sprinkle your buckle with gold glitter to make the hat extra sparkly!
9. Glue the buckle in the centre of the black strip.
10. Glue the hat onto your leprechaun's face, leaving enough room for their facial features.
11. Add the googly eyes.
12. Use orange paint or orange wool for the eyebrows.
13. Add the small red pompom or draw a red circle for a rosy nose.
14. Give him a big smile by drawing his mouth on.
Irish Apple Cake
The royal chefs are making all kinds of Irish dishes to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and this cake is sure to be a popular choice! It isn't too sweet either, which means that with or without a sweet tooth, every guest will probably want to give it a try!
You can enjoy this traditional Irish apple cake as part of your St. Patrick's Day celebrations or a tasty afternoon tea or simply for a delicious desert!
We've also added a scrumptious sauce to the recipe that you can drizzle over the cake if you would like to!
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
• 113g unsalted butter (room temp)
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 44 ml whole milk or cream
• 2 large eggs
• 156g all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 apples (Granny Smith is a great choice but the choice is yours!)
• confectioner’s sugar (to dust)
For the Streusel Topping:
• 94 g all purpose flour
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 84 g unsalted butter, (cold temp, cut into small pieces)
• 25 g old fashioned rolled oats
For the Custard Sauce:
• 76 g granulated sugar
• 6 large egg yolks
• 355 ml whole milk (or half and half or cream)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
3. Peel and thinly slice the apples. You should have just over a pound of fruit when you have finished.
4. Start by making the custard sauce. You can do this ahead of time. Carefully bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat.
5. Whilst the milk comes to a simmer, whisk the yolks and sugar until well combined.
6. Carefully drizzle a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture, continuosly whisking the mixture.
7. Drizzle a little more, then transfer that back into the pan of hot milk and continue cooking, stirring constantly over a medium heat, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon and develops a thickened and velvety texture. Make sure that you don't overcook the mixture to avoid curdling.
8. Stir in the vanilla.
9. Pour the custard through a sieve to get rid of any lumps into a heat proof jar or bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface so it won't form a skin as it cools.
10. Place the custard in the refrigerator until completely chilled.
11. When you are ready to move onto the cake, especially if you have made the custard ahead of time, you can start by making the streusel topping. Blend the flour, butter, oats and sugar together until the butter is fully incorporated. The mixture will have a crumbly texture.
12. Place the mix into the refrigerator.
13. Now you can start the cake! Take the sugar and butter and cream them together until light and fluffy.
14. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
15. Next, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
16. Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture, along with the milk (or cream).
17. Spoon the mix into your springform pan before smoothing it out.
18. Top the smoothed out batter with the sliced apples in a layer that is as even as possible.
19. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the cake.
20. Bake for approx. 50 minutes to an hour until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when stuck into the centre of the cake.
21. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to cool a little before removing it from the pan.
22. Dust the cake with confectioner’s sugar
This month we are celebrating the birthday of Mister Lorenzo Trudgealong, but his friends call him Speed!
This means Speed is a Pisces in the zodiac and aquamarine is his birthstone.
Pisces is the most intuitive and sympathetic of the zodiac signs and always goes out of their way to make sure everyone around them is happy. They are gentle, kind, and always ready to listen. They are very friendly and selfless.
Because it is so easy for the Pisces to make friends, they are often friends with many different kinds of people with strong personalities. They are the glue that hold these relationships together. Pisces are very tolerant and always willing to help others, no matter the situation; they often neglect their own self-care in the process.
Aquamarine symbolizes courage and friendship. It can also be used to improve communication skills and encourage quick response.
We think this sounds just like Speed!
Is your birthday in March or do you just like the color blue? Purchase your Aquamarine Birthstone Locket here!
