Ruffle Cake

I just think these are the most beautiful cakes and have been keen to try my hand at one for a while now but needed a reason. My sister Georgina left for Dubai to work for Emirates in March and was back on a layover for 24 hours, she is a real cake person, so I thought it would be perfect! I watched a few youtube videos to learn the technique and found this one the most helpful.

However, on the day I was pushed for time and had a very grumpy, clingy baby to contend with along with a phone that did not stop ringing (always the way isn’t it?). Then to top it off I couldn’t find my piping bag so had to do with a makeshift ‘Glad Bag’ and I ran out of icing to do the top! So my first attempt was no where near as perfect as the ones in the above collage (the ‘original’ Martha Stewart cake on the top right was my inspiration) but it still tasted good (that’s what counts I guess…) and I will definitely be giving it another go when I have more time and another special occasion.

Teed St Larder

Simon took me here for lunch today.  About time!  I had been wanting to go here for ages but every time we were in the area we had either already eaten or had food at home and couldn’t justify trying to find a car park.  However, the other day after his computer exam Simon went here for lunch, fell in love and had to go back, so I was in luck. 

He wanted to go back because he had seen there was a pork belly sandwich on the menu and we have never had a bad pork belly dinning experience.  As a side note, Cafe Hanoi down in Britomart does amazing pork belly (and has amazing service, awesome cocktails, a very chic downstairs bar to wait in if they are full … oh, I could rave about this place for ages!  It’s definitely a fave!).  There is also a cafe on Waiheke (which I can’t remember the name of, but it’s in the main shops in Oneroa over looking the beach and I know it is on the bus route from the ferry) that does an awesome pork belly sandwich and recently we had pork belly for lunch at the Ascension Winery in Matakana, which was divine.  You must eat at these places.

So yes, Teed St Larder.  Cool decor – crates all over the wall containing nick-nacks like old school enamel tea pots and biscuit tins.  And, the wall behind the counter is a massive backboard upon which they write down the daily baking on offer and the time it came out of the oven.

I had a hot chocolate made with real chocolate and their pancakes.  These come with bacon, which is hiding underneath the pancakes in the photo I took, lemon cream and candied lemon peel, which is what sold me on getting this dish.  Simon got himself a mocha and the pork belly sandwich – which I stole bits of meat from as the sandwich itself had onions in it, which I despise.

Oh, on the way out we grabbed one of their crème brulee tarts – this was a vanilla-ry custard heaven which we shared later once or lunch had settled :)

I took this pic for you Courtenay, so you could see some of the ‘fashionistas’ that we were dining with :)

Teed St Larder
7 Teed Street, Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand
Ph: 09 524 8406
www.teedstreetlarder.co.nz
You can find them on facebook too.

My day at the Auckland Food Show 2011

So, today I went to the Auckland Food Show.  Going on a Thursday, and to the preview day was awesome – still heaps of people but there wasn’t all the queuing to get to try stuff and waiting to move about.  I had quite a pleasant time taking everything in by myself.

I arrived there about 40 minutes before my truffle making master class so I looked around one of the halls.  Oh, before I looked about, I signed up on one of the computer terminals that were set up outside the main hall to get a sticker page printed off, containing my details so I could quickly enter ‘the over 60 competitions’ that were running at the show – don’t do this, I didn’t see all these supposed competitions.  There were a few, but really, you don’t need a sticker sheet to save you time in entering them.  Really they just want you on their database.

Annabelle White at the Truffle making master class

The truffle making master class.  I found this pretty disappointing.  It wasn’t all that different from going to one of the celebrity chef demonstrations except you need to pay for it.  And, since I knew how to make truffles I didn’t learn anything new there, however the other master classes, on topics I don’t know as much about clashed with the celebrity cooking demonstrations I wanted to see yet I still wanted to go to a master class so I was kinda stuck with this one.  I did get a goodie bag though and I learnt how to make chocolate into a play dough-like consistency so you can make stuff out of it, like the rose in the picture below.

Flower made out of chocolate and some of the truffles

My Whittaker’s loot from my goodie bag

Adam Liaw

After the master class I went and watched Adam Liaw in the theatre.  He made the most wonderful smelling chicken curry dish and some coconut rice.  He had recipes for other dishes but wasn't provided with the correct ingredients so he didn’t make them and he reckons he had just got off the plane from Aussie about 45 minutes before getting to the food show, so I don’t think he had the time or was in the right frame of mind to sort this out.  He would have been very pushed for time to cook anything else anyway, I think.  Adam was just like I remembered him off Master chef and I really enjoyed watching his demonstration.  I am inspired to try make his curry as it really did smell that amazing and I was sitting a fair bit away from the stage too.

Julie Le Clerc

After Adam’s demonstration I watched Julie Le Clerc.  Apparently she has a show on Sunday, TV 3 at 5pm called ‘Cafe Secrets’.  I am going to try catch it this week as she is popping into little and friday which is one of my fave cafes.  She made dishes using tea – she marinated Salmon in tea and used tea to cook some rice.  She also made smoke paprika buttermilk scones and a chocolate yoghurt cake – yum, yum!

Once I had watched these two chef’s I went back to checking out the exhibitors at the show.  I was laden with two very heavy bags and my shoulders ached by the time I got back to my car.  I picked up a few show specials – yes, I did take up the GÜ show offer, I got myself some Pitango pouches, and subscribed to Foodtown magazine ($25 for a year and I got a goodie bag and a spin of their prize wheel - I won a pack of salmon!)

My GÜ score – cost $20 but you got a pot of puds, two lots of their desserts that come in their cute glass ramekins, a box of ganache tubs and a cute little coolie bag!

My Pitango pouches – it was 3 for $10.  Seriously if you want a quick and easy meal try one of their curry’s over that microwavable 2 minute rice.  I usually get the Red Thai Curry but I purchased the Green variety today for a change.

Simon feels like he missed out, in fact he had to sit a computer exam today, so we might head back to the food show in the weekend.

White Chocolate Chip Brownies

This recipe is from the back of the ‘Nestle’ dark cooking chocolate packet (I stocked up on their products to get a free apron) and it is very good!

Ingredients:
200g dark cooking chocolate, melted
200gs butter, melted
1 ½ cups soft brown sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cups plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
1 cup white choc bits

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 23 x 23cm tin with baking paper.
Combine the melted dark chocolate and butter in a large bowl.
Allow it to cool slightly and beat in eggs.  Fold in flour and baking powder, sugar and the choc bits.
Pour into your prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes.
Cool in the tin and cut into squares to serve.
*Tip: If you prefer your brownies a little fudgy you can reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.

There you have it, simple and delicious.  Enjoy!

SPCA Cupcake Day

Just to let you know, the SPCA Cupcake Day is coming up for this year.  This fundraiser is now running for its third year and will be held on the 29th August.

You can register now to become a cupcake cook, to make and sell cupcakes on the day, from which the proceeds will go the to SPCA.  There are also a couple of competitions you can enter; the most creative cupcake, and the most extreme cupcake eating.

So, if this sounds like a bit of you, check out a post I did last year about some of the entries they received or head on over to the SPCA website and sign up.

You could also visit Mr Vintage and grab yourself a cute tea towel to support the SPCA.  I’m very tempted!

Lemon Tart

I did it, I made a tart!  Twice in fact…

To make my lemon tart I had to make a short crust pastry for the base which I had never done before.  My first attempt was a bit of a fail – it shrunk away from the sides of the tart pan and didn’t really crisp up.  I thought that this may have been from my pastry being too wet and wanted to give it another go as the lemon filling was delicious and I couldn’t have it presented in stink pastry.  The second attempt was very successful; I used less water in the pastry and this made all the difference.  I had a beautiful pastry that didn’t shrink when cooked.  The next day I was watching TV and a chef was making a tart; I felt pretty proud when he rolled out his pastry to go in his tin and I could say that that was what mine had looked like!

Serves 8

1 quantity short crust pastry (see previous post)
¾ cup lemon juice
¾ cup caster sugar
¾ cup cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Using a 22cm fluted removable base tart tin or ring, prepare and bake your short crust pastry as directed in the short crust pastry post.  Reduce the temperature of the oven to 140°C.
Place the lemon juice and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the cream and eggs and stir constantly for 5 minutes over the heat ensure the mixture does not boil (remove from the heat for a bit if it gets too hot).  Pour into the tart shell through a strainer.  Bake the tart for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is just set.  Cool completely and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Short Crust Pastry

The other day I made a Lemon Tart, but first I had to make some short crust pastry to use for the base.  This is a very basic recipe, you can make a richer pastry by adding in eggs and sugar.

2 cups plain flour
3 tablespoons caster sugar
150g cold butter, chopped
2-3 tablespoons iced water

Process the flour, sugar, and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  While the motor is running, add just enough iced water to the mixture so that it forms a smooth dough and process until just combined.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface until it is 2-3 mm thick (or desired thickness for your recipe) and line the tart tin (this recipe makes enough pastry to sufficiently line a 26cm tart tin).
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Place a piece of baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking weights or uncooked rice or beans.  Bake for 10 minutes then remove the weights.  Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden.
Spoon in your desired filling and bake as your recipe indicates.

Some notes…
The first time I made this pastry I found it shrunk away from the edges of the pie dish and didn’t crisp up as much as I would have liked.  I think this happened because I added too much water.  There are other factors that can cause your pastry to shrink, so here are just a few pointers to keep in mind when making your pastry:
- You need to keep the pastry cold – use ice water and make sure your pastry rests in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.  Placing the tin coated with the pastry back into the fridge before baking for a bit is a good idea too :)
- You could leave an extra 1–2 cm of pastry above the top of the tin and cut this off once you have baked it.
- Only use as much water that is needed to combine your mixture together.

Jaffa Cupcakes

Last Friday was ‘Red Nose Day’ so I did my bit by buying my red nose and packet of Jaffas and was inspired to make Jaffa flavoured cupcakes. I think I will have to be better organised next year and do some baking to donate for sale like my lovely friend Julie from ‘A Slice In The Life Of Julie’. Being a time starved Mum I needed it to be quick and easy so I adapted my ‘Easy Peasy Chocolate Cake’ recipe yet again!

1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups flour
1 egg
½ cup milk
150g butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2½ teaspoons natural orange essence 
Pinch of salt
½ cup boiling water
60g shaved dark chocolate

Place all ingredients in a bowl EXCEPT the water and chocolate.
Add water to all the other ingredients and mix.  Once you have a nicely combined batter add the chocolate and stir through.
Place batter into 18 cupcake papers and bake in a 180°C oven (fan bake).

I topped mine with a chocolate orange buttercream icing, some bitter sweet orange sugar crystals and a jaffa. 

To make buttercream icing you will need:
125g butter (room temperature)
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon natural orange essence
3-4 cups icing sugar (sifted)

Beat the butter until it is light and fluffy and add in the first 2 cups of icing sugar as well as one tablespoon of milk and the orange essence and mix well.  Continue to add the rest of your icing sugar gradually as well as the second tablespoon of milk until it reaches a consistency you are happy with (my icing was very light and fluffy).  Pipe or spoon onto your cupcakes and decorate as desired.

* Due to the fact we have received several questions about the buttercream frosting I am thinking that I will attempt to produce a video tutorial for you all when I get a chance – so keep and eye out for it!

 
If you missed red nose day but would like to donate to Cure Kids just click on the link and it will explain how, they are doing awesome work helping fund research into life threatening childhood illnesses in New Zealand.

Spiced Apple Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

I made a cake and I am pretty damn proud of it.  I don’t make cakes all that often and this one is a mix of different recipes that I found.  Because this is a mix of different recipes, there are a few extra ideas mentioned after the recipe below.  This cake is lovely and moist and the cream cheese icing is delish!

125g butter
1 cup cooked apples (about 2-3 apples) or 1 x 225g can apples (I used this apple pie filling stuff)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon each nutmeg, allspice and salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
icing sugar (for dusting if you don’t want to make the cream cheese icing)

Preheat oven to 160°C.
Melt butter in a medium-large saucepan.  Remove from heat and mix in apples and sugar.  Stir to combine then stir in egg.
Sift dry ingredients into the apple mix.  Stir just enough to blend ingredients evenly.  Spread the mixture into a greased 20cm cake tin and bake for 45 minutes.  When cool, you could dust with icing sugar, or coat the cake with the lemon cream cheese icing from the recipe below.

Lemon Cream Cheese Icing:
250g cream cheese
50g butter
2 cups icing sugar
Rind 2 lemons and the juice of ½ – 1 lemon

To make the icing, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric beater until thick and creamy.

You could also add in ½ cup of sultanas if you like, when you mix the dry ingredients into the apple mix. 

This recipe can also be made into muffins.  Divide mixture among 12 large greased muffin tins (allow ½ cup per muffin).  Bake for about 35 minutes, until risen and set.  Stand for 5 minutes before turning out.

Update…

On my food show decision.  I’ve got myself a ticket to the Thursday and a ticket to go to the truffle making master class presented by Annabelle White.  The master class finishes just in time for me to go watch Adam Liaw and the Julie Le Clerc.  Win!

Auckland Food Show 2011

The Auckland Food Show for 2011 is coming up in less than a fortnight, running from Thursday 28th July through to Sunday 31st July at the ASB Showgrounds.  Doors are open from 10am until 6pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 10am – 5pm on Sunday.
I can’t decide what day to go.  I’ve been looking at the celebrity chef programme and have been trying to choose.  I seriously recommend going to watch one of the  chef’s cooking demonstrations – they are usually pretty inspiring and you get just that little bit extra out of attending the show.  I’ve managed to see Donna Hay cooking at two different food shows and watched Sophie Gray last year (pictured above).  Adam Liaw is going to be at the show this year – I religiously watched the season of Australian Masterchef that he was on and I reckon he would be awesome to watch cook.  I’m pretty interested in seeing Julie Le Clerc too – I have no idea what she is like, but I have some of her cookbooks and the recipes are all very appealing.
A new thing that has been introduced this year is the ‘Masterclass Series’.  You can pay a little bit more and attend a class, limited to 50 people, which runs for an hour.  There’s truffle making, learning about meat, making tapas, cheese tasting and a matching wine to your food class.  These intrigue me too.  Decisions, decisions.
If you’re not keen on celebrity chefs and master classes, you can always just attend the show for all the food that is on offer.  Each year there are new products on display along with hundreds of free samples and show specials not to be missed.  I’ve seen that GÜ will be running a show special ($20 for two puds, one pot of ganache and a tub of naughties) which is one thing I am decided about – I will definitely take advantage of it!
So, put the food show into your diary and have a great foodie day out :)

Kohu Road Cafe and Creamery

Simon and I stumbled across this awesome place on Saturday and we are very excited about it as I totally love the style of the place, they make yummy milkshakes with their super ice cream and it is in our ’hood - it is only a couple of minutes away from our place –win!

We had been in New Lynn (Auckland, NZ) as we had to stop in at the AA to organise a new drivers licence for me after some disgusting child at school stole my wallet on Friday afternoon (side story: AA’s motto is ‘Keeping New Zealander’s moving’ – I was waiting in the line to get to the counter for over an hour and the line wasn’t even 5 meters long!) and were heading to our local library as that was another one of the cards I needed to replace, when Simon saw this ‘Kohu Road’ sign so we decided to stop and check the place out.

I’m glad we stopped; the place is awesome and it totally brightened my day.  Walking through the door I was unaware I was going to be greeted by such an awesome cafe.  As I’ve said, I really like the style of the place; they have a vintage shop till perched on the counter – which looks like an old garage bench or made from scaffolding.  There is an old vintage car and caravan for kids to play in and they can put on DVD’s inside the caravan to keep them entertained.  I liked the beer crate and bottles that were used as vases when you walked in.  Also, by the entrance they have their inspiration board for the place on display which I thought was a cool touch.  As well as being a cafe this place is also the Kohu Road ice cream factory :)

Simon and I had milkshakes made from their ice cream and some cake.  We will be popping back in here another day to try out their lunch offerings :)

Kohu Road
44 Portage Road, New Lynn, Auckland 0600, New Zealand
Ph: 0800 Kohu Road (0800 564 876) or 09 373 5837
E: info@kohuroad.co.nz
www.kohuroad.co.nz
You can find them on facebook too.

Angel Cake For My Angel

 
So I finally got around to trying something different for Max’s 5 month cake (in case you have missed previous posts – I am making a cake each month for my son Max in order to try out new recipes and decoration techniques in preparation for his first birthday).  This month I tried and ‘Angel Food Cake’, I found the recipe in ‘Gorgeous Cakes’ by Annie Bell.  To be honest, I thought the icing (which I made to suit my tastes) was the best part, but I was quite proud as the cake is a type of sponge and it turned out pretty well!  I think I’m more of a ‘Devil’s Food Cake’ kind of girl.

Ingredients:
Cake:
8 medium egg whites
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
250 grams icing sugar (sifted)
140 grams plain flour (sifted)

Filling:
200 grams mascarpone
100 grams raspberry jam

Frosting:
120 grams butter
2 – 2 ½cups icing sugar (sifted)
200 grams cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
M&M’s or Smarties for decoration

Preheat your oven to 150°C and grease two 23cm round tins.
Whisk the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until they have risen.
Sprinkle in the icing sugar two tablespoons at a time while you continue to whisk, ensuring that you whisk well after each addition.
Fold in the flour in three separate additions.
Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden, springy and shrinking from the sides.
Once removed from the oven, run a knife around the edge of the tin and leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 30 minutes before removing them and cooling further on wire racks.

As you will be layering the cakes remove the top of the cake that will become the base, do this by using a serrated knife and starting at the lowest point on your cake, ensure that the cake is level as you will be sandwiching it. 
For the filling blend the jam and mascarpone and smoother the top of the bottom layer of your cake, leaving about half a centimetre at the edge as the filling will spread when you place the top layer on.

For the frosting combine the butter and cream cheese together, when it is well mixed and fluffy, add the vanilla and gradually add the sifted icing sugar until it reaches a consistency that you are happy with.
Use a palette knife to spread the frosting all over your cake and chill in the refrigerator, remove when you are ready to serve and decorate with M&M’s (I chose them because of the M for Max) or similar, for a bit of fun.

Inspiration: Whoopie Pies

So, I have two weeks of holiday starting at the end of this week.  I've already said that during that time I want to make a tart.  I'm tossing up between a lemon or a chocolate one, but I do really like Alison's (from Pease Pudding) comment about making both.  I've got two weeks so I could do one each week.
During my holidays I also want to try making Whoopie Pies.  I've never eaten one in my life but they look so delicious, all cake-y and icing and cute!

Stevens Bake Sale

Stevens are having a bake sale, starting today and running until Sunday 7th August.  I might pop in and get myself a new slice tin since Darren, our old flatmate, decided cooking chips in it and ruining the bottom of the tin was a good idea.  If I didn't already have a boxful of cupcake papers I would get some more of them too!

Coffee Group Treats: Cheesecake Brownie Swirls and Savoury Scone Scrolls

It was my turn to host coffee group for the Mum’s and Bub’s Max and I hang out with every week so I had to whip up some treats.  I got this amazing ‘Cheesecake Brownie Swirl’ recipe from one of the Mum’s on a baby forum that I chat on – the bonus of living in this age I guess is that when you are at home with bubs you don’t have to be ‘alone’.  So thank you for sharing Caroline (or maybe not, as these are SO good that they have to be absolutely no good for me or my waistline!).  Baked cheesecake on a rich brownie base, truly irresistible!


Ingredients:
Cheesecake mix
1 egg
250g full fat cream cheese
50g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brownie mix
115g plain chocolate
115g unsalted butter
150g soft brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
50g plain flour

Preheat oven to 160°C, grease and line a 20cm square shallow cake pan.
To make the cheesecake mixture, put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat well together.
To make the brownie mixture melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water, or in the microwave.  When melted, remove from the heat, stir well then stir in the sugar.  Add the eggs a little at a time and beat well.  Gently fold in the flour.
Spread ⅔ of the brownie mixture into the base of the prepared tin.  Spread the cheesecake mixture on top.  Spoon the remaining brownie mixture on top in heaps.  Using a skewer, swirl the mixtures together.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until just set in the centre (there will still be a wobble to your cheesecake), Leave it in the oven with the door ajar for 30-60 minutes then remove to further cool on the bench.
Remove it from the baking tin when completely cool and cut in to squares to serve – I cut mine into 16 but you could go bigger for a dessert.
* Note, if you leave your cheesecake to cook for too long it will crack, don’t be afraid to turn the oven off as long as your center has set, this was my first go at making a baked cheesecake and I probably left it 5 minutes too long and as you can see below, some small cracks in formed on the surface of cheesecake.


I also whipped up some savoury scone scrolls using this recipe Melissa posted earlier in the year, except I filled mine with shaved ham and a sprinkling of the new ‘Egmont’ cheese that Mainland have released (they are right – it is great in baking!).


And just because I can’t resist – here is a pic of Max with his ‘birthday buddy’ Sophia at coffee group this week :-)

Inspiration: Tarts

I want to attempt making a tart during my upcoming school holidays.  I can’t decide if I make a lemon one or a chocolate one.  Your thoughts?

Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding…

On Saturday while out shopping Simon and I found a set of ramekins on sale for under $10 at Stevens so we grabbed them (as they were a bit bigger than the weenie ones we had) and they actually came in handy that night :)
Andie, Rob and Matthew came around for a visit so we tried out Courtenay’s Self Saucing Pudding recipe, but made it as individual servings in the ramekins.  It worked really well – I thought the pudding tasted delicious and they looked pretty awesome in their little dishes.  Thanks Courtenay for the recipe!