Tale #2 Have you heard of Vacuum Cleaner Cakes? They come from Sweden, where their name is Dammsugare. They're traditionally made with all the crumbs leftover in the bakery. I have seen them in the IKEA food section - then found the recipe in my Bronte Aurell book. I loved the name and decided to make some for the family. Three problems ensued - firstly I popped a tiny bit of the soft truffle-y mixture in my mouth, and my filling promptly came out. Secondly, my book said the quantity of ingredients would make 60 cakes. I was sure that must be a mistake, as it would mean each cake weighed less than 10g. I did my best - but mine came out much smaller, and nothing like as neat and uniform as BAs [I could never go on GBBO] Finally, I couldn't get my marzipan that vivid green colour. Maybe if I'd started with white 'natural' marzipan it might have worked - but this was leftover golden stuff from my Christmas Cake. But they do taste good, and being smaller it is easier to ration myself. Here's a picture of my little bites next to the recipe book. 
I found a link to the recipe online [see above] and it is identical to my cookbook except it says "makes 20" so I think my book has a misprint!
Oh wow, good for you, the tiny cakes look great in my opinion, and you had to sacrifice a filling, I Know how that feels!
ReplyDeleteYes, we breed vacuum cleaners in our part of west Wales.......2 old panasonics relegated to garage, excellent suction and longevity but hard work to use in older age, all that pushing and pulling. We have had dysons - one still lives here under false pretences, husband likes it because it's cordless, but at random it decides to choke up its dusty contents thus defeating the object of it's task! I'm not surprised to read that the line of discarded dysons is the longest at the tip. At the moment I'm using a shark, it's not perfect but it manages to fill up every day with Labrador hair which our golden girl finds superfluous to her requirements 😉
Thanks for your blog it made me smile on a rather bleak betwixmas morning x
Alison in Wales x
We no longer have a dog - but I know other pet owners find their Shark vacuums very efficient
DeleteI was told the Dammsugare were made green to resemble the first Husqvarna vacuum cleaners.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you for that added bit of information!
DeleteWhen my husband asked me to marry him his kindness, punctuality and tidy garage clinched it for me oh and we both had Sebos. 25 years later we have an upstairs and downstairs Sebo still going strong. Jill x
ReplyDeleteThat is truly lovely - may you have many more years of love, laughter and vacuuming together! ❤️
DeleteWe have had all types of vacuum cleaners through 52 years of marriage and our latest is a Shark. I detest it as it doesn’t collect small bit and pieces from the floor. We previously had a Dyson but it became too heavy to use easily and gave it away on FB page. The best cleaner is the industrial one that lives in the workshop and I sneak it i to the house when I want to deep vacuum the floors. Catriona
ReplyDeleteMany members of my family prefer Henrys. The choice of vacuum cleaner is surprisingly personal, isn't it?
DeleteI have two. One is a good old fashioned electric one and one is a cordless Gtech, which is great for a quick sweep through. It only lasts for a certain time before needing recharging, something I tend to forget so am left in midsweep. Often.
ReplyDeleteBob won a GTech and uses it for car cleaning, so it lives in the workshop. I agree about the loss of charge issue
DeleteCurrently using Dyson cordless; bought before Dyson announced he was in favour of brexit and then moved his factory to Asia! I would have chucked it in the tip there and then, but for the fact we paid good money and it's working fine!
ReplyDeleteI suspect you are not alone in having conflicted feelings about Mr D, his politics and his products!
DeleteWe're a Sebo family too, we used one in a holiday cottage many years ago, and were instantly converted!
ReplyDeleteWe have a G-tech Air-Ram cordless for quick clean ups, and a G-tech Multi hand held, for even quicker clean ups!
Husband has an enormous industrial vacuum cleaner out in his workshop, and until recently, there were two Dysons and a very lightweight stick model out there too, waiting to find new homes. Eventually they went to the local charity shop which accepts electrical goods!
We gave away three vacuum cleaners when we moved here to the bungalow, they had been breeding in our old (big) house, and were seriously not needed here!
We also have three carpet cleaners, two are in working order, (one small, one enormous and very powerful) so husband is going to attempt to get the third (again, enormous) operational and it can then be charity shopped.
Why don't we just get rid of them the minute they're replaced? X
The problem is that we think "don't throw it away, we'll fix it when we have a spare moment" and the collection of "to be fixed later" gets bigger and bigger.
DeleteWhen my ancient Siemens (bought 1990) developed a fault, I got it repaired, but also bought a new one. The old and heavy Siemens now lives in the loft, where there are no sockets, however when cobwebs appear up there I can easily plug an extension cable in upstairs and carry the flex up the loft ladder. Very useful! Pam
ReplyDeleteI don't vacuum my loft!
DeleteI had one of the very old Dyson DC01s until earlier this year but although it was still working perfectly it was too heavey for me so I've got a cordless Shark. Still. a local church was very grateful for my old workhorse of a Dyson!
ReplyDeleteSomeone donated a sebo to our church too. Wonderful generosity
DeleteMy cordless Hoover has just bitten the dust, not that old either. My Shark corded one lives permanently upstairs as I couldn't lug it up anymore. Awaiting delivery of a Shark cordless found reduced on a certain site. Hope Bob manages to make one good hoover out of your two old ones. Gill Xx
ReplyDeleteOh he will, I'm sure. Enjoy your shark
DeleteWe have a central vacuum system but my husband didn't think it did a good enough job so we also have a regular upright one. I have a cordless lightweight I use on the main level to pick up pine needles etc. that folks bring in from outside and use it daily by the doorways. Also a lightweight plug in which stays up in the upstairs closet. We also have a wet/dry vacuum which lives in the garage and a hand vacuum rechargeable for bits and pieces but kept in the laundry room. Sounds like a lot of vacuuming but I am lazy and should use the main one more!
ReplyDeleteJanF
Well equipped - all you need now is motivation!!
ReplyDeleteYour Sebo is exactly the same one I used at work many moons ago! It was state of the art then! The only thing I didn't like was The cumbersome hose at the back. The catch broke within weeks and I had to keep it in place with a bit of string! The bags and filters were expensive too (John Lewis).Then my boss got a robot vacuum but it wasn't good in corners and the motor gave up with too much dog hair to pick up. Then she got a cylinder Sebo, which I now have in my house and use quite happily. The worst vacuum was the Bosch cylinder which she bought next. That too was a real chore to drag around the downstairs. Upstairs, Mr. Henry was the vacuum of choice and I have to say, was the very best vacuum of all. Outlasted all of the others!
ReplyDeleteAltho I got my sebo from John Lewis, I found a cheaper source of spares online. Wouldn't fancy lugging one upstairs these days. Living in a bungalow has many advantages!
DeleteMr Henry permanently lived in the linen cupboard upstairs!
Deleteforgot to say that my local hardware shop sells cheaper substitute bags.
DeleteOur local hardware shop closed this summer
DeleteThey never carried anything cheap!
DeleteThe cakes look gorgeous, the name evokes a Panetone colour! We had a central vac installed when we built our house 33 years ago, and it was horrible dragging the hose around and I hated emptying the canister in the basement. We replaced some of our wall-to-wall carpeting with hard flooring, and now only have the family room and 3 bedrooms with carpet. I have a Dyson Animal V10 which has changed my life as I can just grab it and vacuum the front mat any time, do just one room or all three, and it is easy to empty. If I want to, I can just do a deep clean of a corner that I left when in a hurry - no hoses to drag around up and down stairs.
ReplyDeleteI think Central vac systems are much more common in the USA. I don't personally know anyone in the UK with one
DeleteI used to have one vacuum cleaner for the longest time, then, my daughter gave me the small one we bought for her apartment, saying it didn't vacuum that well. And just this Christmas, my daughter gifted me a robotic vacuum cleaner! We used it for the first time, today. It misses certain spots, but, we had a lot of fun watching it vacuum while we sat!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of vacuum cleaner cakes, though!
I love the idea of a robotic cleaner, but I'd be afraid it might get stuck under a chair or coffee table, and keep going in a tiny loop
DeleteWe have a Miel hoover we bought from our landlord/lady from the bungalow we rented before we bought our house. Still going strong but I've realised that now Wilko has closed, where will I buy the cheap re placement bags I used to get for it?
ReplyDeleteBefore that, we had my mum's old Dyson upright which broke. She then got it mended and used for several years. Never actually bought a new hoover so have no idea what I'd choose! Maybe get my Dad to look on Which?for me! Kxx
I have always heard good reports of Miele
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