Nigella's Nutella Cheesecake

I contemplated many plans for this weekend but instead decided to stay and do traditional things with my darling girl.  She's certainly keeping me on my toes and requires constant attention and entertainment.

Dessert was never going to be allowed to be time consuming as the small person doesn't have a very long attention span.  She did enjoy watching the biscuits being crushed and the Nutella being combined with the cheese.

It's honestly the easiest and most impressive dessert. EVER!  Highly recommend it.  It's a busy person's dream.  I won't bore you with the instructions as they're freely available on Nigella's website.

Happy and blessed Easter to you all - Hristos Voskrese!

Christmas baking - gingerbread and cupcakes

What do you do when the supermarket is handing out christmas cookie cutters?  You bake cookies!  My brother is an athlete and my parents are health freaks and I feel guilty eating a mass amount of sweets so I never have anyone to bake for.  Lucky that this year I have a wonderful mothers group that I can fatten up with cookies.  

And while we're baking cookies we may as well make use of this cute cupcake kit.  

It was my very first time baking gingerbread.  Had no idea where to start and was recommended THIS recipe.  As I was going along it did seem a bit dry, but it is truly perfect.  The dough felt and tasted absolutely amazing.  Recipe is fool proof, I promise. 

I'm not sure if I baked them for too long, or made them too thin (or if my oven sucks) but they were a little too crunchy and over baked.  But not to worry.  They are incredibly fun to bake and ice and I can't wait to do them with Ari when she's a bit older and can help decorate and press the cutters into the dough.  

Bit of cellophane, ribbon and a christmas gift tag and voila!

And the vanilla cupcakes were wonderful too!

The christening cake challenge

What does a very sleep deprived mother of a 9 week old do on a Tuesday night at 9pm?  She attempts to bake a trial christening cake, that's what!  I'm fortunate that A has a great night routine - bath at 1815, feed at 1830 and well and truly out at 1900 so I have the nights to myself. Usually to eat and read and iron and mop and wash my hair and tidy the house.  Phew.

Everywhere I look, people are baking amazing christening/birthday/whatever cakes and I like the idea of having baked the cake myself for the occasion.  I have outsourced pretty much everything else (lunch is at the amazing Quat Quatta and they have gone above and beyond).  Just waiting on the stickers for the favour jars from Etsy and I'm all set.

Anyway, back to the cake. I decided to go for a simple dense, but fluffy vanilla cake using a tried and tested recipe. My oven a little bit strange so a trial was a must.  

I followed all the steps carefully, however I did find that the paddle attachment on my Kenwood still left a lot of chunks of butter which I had to break up with a spatula.  I am also used to sponges for cakes being thick, however this batter was virtually custard.  It was so light and fluffy, but a bit worryingly "thin".

My worries around the consistency were not warranted, as the cakes turned out perfectly.  The bottom did burn a little, but that's because my oven pretty much SUCKS.  I will have to turn it down to 170C and perhaps bake for a few minutes less.  The first cake was perfect, it was the second one that burn a little.  The actual cake will have 3 layers, so I will bake 4 and use the best 3.

Now, I underestimated the amount of white chocolate ganache that would be required.  I bought a 180g block of chocolate and some cream and butter.  I used the block, plus 1/3 cup of cream and 50g of butter.  Melted it and cooled in the fridge for about an hour.  THEN I WHIPPED IT!  Ganache is usually glossy and smooth, but the whipping turned it an incredible fluffy and delicious consistency.

Overall, not too bad.  Will need to do a better job with the icing to create the rough finish and will decorate with fresh flowers.  It's the effort that counts, right?

Tea Time

 

Setting up... 

 

 

I had some wonderful girls over on Sunday afternoon for afternoon tea.  I'd been meaning to do something like this for a while and had planned well in advance.  Sadly, the numbers kept dropping off as the day got closer so there was a lot of food to be consumed and a lot of bubbly to be drunk between a handful of girls.  Not that we complained!  It was such a fun and relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon, just sit and chat and not do much.  A nice change to the usual running around that we all do on a daily basis.  I was a bit worried about some of the things I baked, especially the scones as it was the first time that I tried that particular recipe.  But I think it all turned out okay!

On the menu were chicken sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, macarons, strawberries, cupcakes and a lemon tea cake.  I might sit tonight and post some of the recipes.  

Definitely an afternoon I'd love to have again.

Easter Bread

Easter is one of my favourite times of the year, especially to reflect.  The year always gets off to a flying start so it's a good time to clock up some serious church time and enjoy the long weekend and re-evaluate.  While most of the world rejoices over Easter and the impending warmer and longer days, in Australia we are winding up the summer and all the festivities.

The oven also gets a nice little workout and it warms the house just enough without needing to turn the heating on yet.

I trialled this excellent recipe from Gourmet Traveller (as much as I love that magazine the recipes are often far too difficult to pull off) last year, but didn't get to post it, so I'm sharing it this year.

Using the dough hook on a mixer is the absolute secret for this recipe, the dough ends up incredible.  Even my husband, who is a bread and dough expert was very impressed.

500 gm	(2 2/3 cups) plain flour
21 gm	(3 packets) dried yeast
125 ml	(½ cup) milk
2	eggs, lightly beaten, plus extra for brushing
50 gm	caster sugar
Finely	grated rind of 2 oranges and/or lemons
2 tsp	mahlepi or nutmeg
75 gm	softened butter, coarsely chopped, plus extra to serve

1	Combine flour, yeast and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, form a well in the centre, set aside. Add milk, eggs, sugar, orange rind, nutmeg and 100ml lukewarm water and mix until a soft dough forms (5-7 minutes). Gradually add butter, a little at a time, mixing until a smooth soft dough forms (3-5 minutes), place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size (approx 1 hour).
2	Red Easter eggs are painted mainly by those of the Orthodox faith as they symbolise Christ's blood.  They can be dyed using dye available to purchase from European delis or traditionally the skins of red onions which are collected since Christmas.
3	Knock back dough and divide into 3 pieces. Roll each piece into a 45cm-long cylinder, plait pieces together, then bring ends together to form a wreath and squeeze to join. Place on an oven tray lined with baking paper and set aside to prove slightly (20 minutes).
4	Preheat oven to 180C. Brush wreath with eggwash, gently push red Easter eggs (unpeeled) into wreath and bake until wreath is golden and cooked through (25-30 minutes). Cool on a wire rack, serve with butter. It tastes amazing eaten same day, usually baked early in the morning in time for lunch.

Recipe: Raspberry & Banana Muffins

Isn't life an unpredictable ride?  

I've spent the last 10 years racing through it.  I sit down each January and set goals.  Usually to do with property purchases, pay rises, promotions, a trip to a new destination, something new to study?  More more more, quick quick quick.  

Well not this year.  This year is all about me and my health.  Today was the first day in ages that I didn't HAVE to be in 3 places at once.  And more than ever I'm starting to say no.  Just doing things that make me happy.  I'm winding down some things on the go and January is traditionally the craziest (and the most fun and exciting month) but I need to take better care of myself and draw the line somewhere.

Cooking and exercising and spending time with my amazing husband are top of my list.  I'm also treating myself to a trip to Sydney in February, selling most of my belongings on eBay, going to the country to see the Grace Kelly exhibit in March and going home more often to see my parents.

My heavy duty kitchen mixer died late last year, which almost excited me because I thought that MAYBE it was time to get a KitchenAid.  But it seems not yet.  I fell in love with a beautiful Kenwood which was reduced from $300 to $219.. which then scanned for $129 at the register.  HAPPY!  Which meant some left over money on the voucher for some goodies from Chanel.

I took it for a test mix today and made some raspberry and banana muffins.  The recipe can be altered to just about any sort of muffin.  I usually halve the amount of sugar in recipes, so if you like your muffins sweeter, I have stated the amount of sugar the recipe calls for.

360g plain flour

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

150 g caster sugar (recipe calls for 270g)

180g butter

200g sour cream

1 small banana

1 punnet raspberries

Preheat over at 180C.  Sift together the dry ingredients.  Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thick, then continue to beat while adding the butter, adding in the flour mixture.  Add sour cream and mix for a further 1 minute and fold in the fruit so it doesn't crumble.  Spoon into paper cases and bake for around 15 minutes.  The sour cream is the winning touch in my opinion and these are great frozen and popped in the handbag for a snack during the day.

Recipe: Choc Chip Cookies

It's well past midnight and here I am baking cookies for my colleagues for our Christmas BBQ.  I'm terribly excited as we're "shutting shop" at midday and heading to a nearby park for a BBQ, prawns and champagne.  And it's going to be a warm and sunny day.  Happy!


I got home very late tonight as I went to the ballet (Swan Lake - wish it was Nutcracker), which didn't leave much time for cookie baking.  But I had promised everyone as I left the office.  What's a girl to do!?


These cookies are virtually fool proof and are very soft and fluffy. (provided that you do not overbake them like I did with the first batch tonight) Once lent is over, I'll be baking a round just for me.  It's torture with the smell wafting out of the oven and me surviving on carrot sticks and hummus.  But that's a story for another day.


Ingredients

150g melted, unsalted butter

100g brown sugar

100g caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

300g flour (sifted)

1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 x 300g choc chips


Preheat the oven to 160C
Whisk butter with sugar 
Add vanilla and eggs
Add flour and bicarb soda and slowly mix
Fold in choc chips and leave to rest in fridge for half an hour
Spoon a heaped table spoon of mixture on baking tray (ensure cookies are spread out as they do rise and expand)
Bake for 13-15 minutes


ENJOY!

Recipe: Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee is without a doubt my favourite dessert.  When it's my turn to choose a restaurant, I'm always swayed by those that have creme brulee on the menu.

I've recently learnt to make it myself using a very simple Masterchef recipe.  It literally takes about 10 minutes (plus baking and setting).  I recommend making it the night before and leaving it to set overnight.

Remind me to get a torch to caramelize the sugar.  It's just not the same without snapping the caramel with the spoon, is it?

The mixture

Even divided into ramekins

Ready to "bake" with boiling water half way up the ramekins

The finished product - minus the burnt caramel....

Recipe: Sape

I grew up on a very simple repertoire of recipes.  My mum had a menu Monday to Sunday, so each night you knew exactly what you were eating.  But she made fabulous desserts.  I'm sharing a very simple recipe for biscuits, called "sape" (pronounced "sha-peh").

100g sugar

100g hazelnuts or walnuts

170g flour

200g butter

2 whole eggs

Throw all the ingredients together and mix

Grease a tray

Spoon dough into moulds

Depending on your oven bake for 10-20 minutes at 180C

Monty says hello :)

Sprinkle with icing sugar and voila!  Wonderful with tea, coffee or hot chocolate

New week, new me...

Over the last few weeks I've felt rather flat.  Life has not gone to plan lately, friends have disappointed me again and again.  Sometimes I struggle to get out of bed, let alone to wash my hair and get dressed and leave the house.  And the cold weather is going straight through the bones.

I'm going to try and beat it one day at a time.  Today it was with baking, tomorrow, hopefully with exercise. And I promise I'm going to care about what I'm wearing to work next week!

Tonight's recipe - an apple & strawberry sponge pudding.  A variation of a couple of different recipes

Ingredients

• 4 granny smith apples
• punnet of strawberries - you can use any berries or even rhubarb
• 120g butter
• 220g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 100g self raising flour
• 50ml milk

Boil apples and berries in 100ml water & 100g sugar for 15 minutes

mix butter, sugar, eggs, flour and milk

spoon the fruit (minus the juice) in a baking tray.  pour the sponge mixture over it.

bake for 30-40 min at 180 degrees.  custard is optional

perfect with a cup of tea on a cold winter Sunday night

xoxo