the 2011 innocent AGM (a grown up meeting) at fruit towers

A few weeks ago we held our AGM (a grown up meeting) at fruit towers, here's a short film of the day.

town criers are real

Town Criers are real. They still exist. They still cry about stuff. We have proof: behold, the innocent AGM Town Crier Challenge. Click here to see the entire cry.



We asked our Facebook fans to suggest some random words for town crier Alistair to build into a cry. We were sent a load of truly random words ranging from 'rambunctious' to 'endoplasmic' to 'big girls are beautiful'. We asked Alistair to try and build 5 into his cry. The result is... well, see for yourself and share amongst friends. It's not the kind of thing you see everyday.

tiffin o'clock

Kirsty made this Malteser Tiffin recipe for the AGM and it went down a storm

She found the recipe on Mumsnet and whilst we're not sure who the author is, they are truly an excellent person and have made a lot of people here very, very happy (if not slightly more rotund)

Here's the recipe for the tiffin of your dreams (which also happens to be extremely easy

Malteser chocolate tiffin

This is based on a recipe from the Blacksmith's Coffee Shop, Belsay, just north of Newcastle. Use the best chocolate you can get (minimum 60% cocoa solids for dark; minimum 30% for milk).

Ingredients

100g quality dark chocolate

300g quality milk chocolate

100g butter

3 tbsp golden syrup

275g digestive biscuits, crushed

250g Maltesers

1. Melt the dark chocolate, 100g of milk chocolate, butter and syrup together in a pan and stir in the crushed digestives.

2. Next, gently stir in the Maltesers and tip into a lined Swiss-roll tin (23 x 33 cm), levelling out the mixture with the back of a spoon.

3. Finally, melt the remaining 200g milk chocolate and pour over the top, smoothing out carefully.

4. Pop in the fridge until set and then once cold, cut into pieces.

 

 

dan's cookies

Dan B's Toblerone cookies were such a hit at Saturday's AGM afternoon tea/cake fest, that lots of people have already been in touch to ask for the recipe.

Dan has very kindly shared his recipe for you to make at home here (providing he gets sent a sample of all first batches. Usual address please).

 

Dan B's Toblerone Cookies

Ingredients:

• 75g butter or margarine
• 75g granulated sugar
• 75g light muscavado sugar
• 1 egg
• 175g self-raising flour
• 100g bar milk Toblerone, roughly chopped

Preparation: 

1. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets. Heat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4. 

2. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg. 

3. Fold in the flour and Toblerone pieces. Place large teaspoons of the mixture on the baking sheets, allowing room for them to spread. Bake for 12-15 minutes. 

4. Cool on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. The cookies can be eaten warm or cold. If they make it to the cooling rack that is.

 

home time

Questions over, cake finished, there's just time to enjoy a couple of mocktails before collecting a goodie bag

And heading on home

Collecting a final few smoothies on the way of course

Thanks to everyone who gave up their Saturday afternoon to come along, make smoothies, drink smoothies, eat cake, ask lots of interesting questions and get properly involved.

We'll be posting films of all the highlights from today (including Joe's dad's amazing closing poem constructed via our Facebook poll) on the blog very soon.

Meantime, if you fancy coming along next time, it'll be same time, same place next year. 

question time

Full of lunchcrushedfruitcakeandtea, it's time for Rich, Adam and Jon to take to the stools for the Q&A session

So far, questions from the astroturf have ranged from "Why don't you make fruit pots?", "When are you going to put the yoghurty drinks back in my local shop please?" to "What's the tipping point for innocent's growth?" and "What challenge would you set the teams if Alan Sugar had a little holiday half way through next series of The Apprentice?"

We'll be posting videos and transcripts of all the questions asked here in the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled.

tea time

It's 3:15 PM

Time for tea, cake and questions (in that order)

Tea made proper (in the pot)

A spot of tiffin balancing en route to the bean bags

And when it comes to getting the best cake, you have to move fast 

Or face the cake fall out

cake's up

Cake Club have excelled themselves

From Dan's Toblerone cookies

To Kirsty's Malteser Tiffin

And Rachell's incredible icing skills

They've also made macaroons, carrot cake and tiny banana and chocolate cookies from the Hungry? cookbook

Not to mention caramel slice

Victoria sponge, devil's foodcake, strawberry sponge

Butterfly cakes, pink cupcakes, marshmallow muffin mountains

And Tasha's famous Lemon Curd sponge cake

Good job Rich was on hand to help sample slice them all up

 

 

Adam's dad has come along too

(kicking all three founders' shoes into next Thursday)

exploration station time

Welcome, introductions and first set of slides done, everyone now gets to go off and visit the various exploration stations dotted round the building

First find your fruit

Then follow this chap

Maybe you'll end up in the kitchen

Maybe you'll end up learning all about juice

You might pass Rich answering questions live on Facebook

Or see Cake Club having a well deserved break after baking for days

Or you might end up here

Who knows? Where ever you end up, it'll be good

And then it's lunch time.