Step Right Up! Circus Circus Café

I thought I better give this café a mention on the blog as it is my favourite place to go for a late night hot chocolate and sweet treat.  Simon and I often come here for a coffee and some time out to catch up or read a book.  If I can't think of anywhere new I want to try, Circus Circus is where we head.  I love all the fairy lights which adds the ambience making the place feel nice and cosy inside.  The old circus posters about the place and the gold and red paint job are pretty cool too.

I love pretty much everything in their front cabinet - the chocolate cake is delicious, there is usually a yummy caramel and nut slice and everything looks really appealing.  It is really hard to choose what to get.  However, my favourite indulgence lately has been the Blackberry Creme Brulee.  It is sooo good.

Last night we had dinner there too, as they have a voucher in the Entertainment Book that gives you a complimentary meal when you purchase one and we had nothing ready for dinner (going to Circus Circus was a bit more appealing than getting take-out pizza).  Circus Circus has received the Entertainment Book award for the 'Best Family Restaurant' for the past three years.  I had the Pork Belly and Simon had the Salmon.  Both meals were delish.

So yeah, if you are home one night with nothing to do I recommend popping into Mt Eden for a visit to Circus Circus.  Order one of their large bowls of hot chocolate and pick something yum to eat from the cabinet :)

Circus Circus
447 Mt Eden Road, Auckland, New Zealand
Ph: 09623 3833

E: circuscafe@xtra.co.nz

www.circuscircus.co.nz
Open 6.30am - 11pm, 7 days

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

These would look pretty and festive on the table for Christmas or would make a cute gift for your loved one on Valentines Day.  I didn’t have reason for making them though, I just wanted to try them :)

Makes 8.

Whoopie Pies:
2 cups  flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons red food colouring

Cream Cheese Filing:
190g Cream Cheese
40g unsalted butter
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
65g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 190°C.  Lightly grease a Whoopie Pie tin or line a baking tray with baking paper.  In medium bowl mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in the egg and vanilla.  Next beat in the flour and buttermilk, alternating between the two ingredients.  Stir in the food colouring.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared Whoopie Pie tin or drop heaped tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about one inch apart.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the tops are set.  Cool completely on the baking sheets on a rack.  Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets.

To make the cream cheese filling:
Place the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on a medium – high speed for 2 –3 minutes or until combined and smooth.  Reduce the speed and add in the icing sugar and beat until combined.  Transfer to a piping bag and pipe onto back of ½ the cookies.  Sandwich with the remaining cookies.

Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies with Pecans

At coffee group today my lovely friend Cara made us all some delicious cookies that had white chocolate, pecans and cranberries in them, there is something about these ingredients that screamed Christmas to me! They were so good that I couldn’t even wait for her to send me the recipe so I could get a batch in the oven, so I googled them and found this recipe but I had to adapt it a little bit to include pecans, I also found it a little wet for a cookie dough so sifted in a little more flour and rolled oats. You can find my adapted recipe below.
Ingredients:1 cup plain flour
¼  teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup firmly packed brown sugar
⅓ cup caster sugar
1  cup rolled oats
¼ cup chopped pecans
100g dried cranberries
130g white chocolate chips
125g butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line two baking trays with wax baking paper.
Place dry ingredients into a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer. Add butter, egg and vanilla. Stir/mix (on slow to medium) until well combined. Shape small tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on baking trays approximately 5cm apart.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, swapping trays halfway during cooking, or until edges are lightly browned.
Turn biscuits onto a wire rack to cool.

Photo from taste.com.au

The recipe is perfect to place in a jar for a pretty and delicious Christmas gift as you can see from the above photo, just like the Sand Art Brownies Melissa posted the other day. To do this you will need a 1L jar and to sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Spoon the flour mixture into a 1L capacity glass jar. Top with brown sugar, then caster sugar. Top with oats, then cranberries, then chocolate chips and pecans. Seal jar and wrap with a ribbon along with a card instructing the recipient about what the wet ingredients are and the method to combine and bake.

P.S. Melissa was right, I go nuts for Christmas! My tree usually goes up in November but it won’t this year as we are selling our house. I am also more excited for Christmas than any other year I can remember as I have Max to fuss over and he is old enough to at least enjoy ripping all the paper off his presents!

Mini Feta and Tomato Muffins with Salami and Pesto

Simon did our grocery shopping this week.  Yes, that was nice of him I suppose, but we ended up with nothing for our morning teas and lunches.  I’ve come to the rescue and made us these mini muffins :)
These make a cute snack and are pretty healthy as you don’t have any sugar or butter.  They are also a good finger food idea if you are having a party.

Makes 36

2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon chilli powder
⅓ cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped (I like the Delmaine tomatoes that are in water rather than oil)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
150g crumbed feta cheese
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large eggs, beaten
100g salami
⅓ cup basil pesto

Preheat the oven to 200°C.  Grease 3 12-hole mini muffin pans.
Place the flour, baking powder, salt, chilli powder, tomatoes and both cheeses into a bowl and make a well in the centre.  Add the milk, oil and eggs into the bowl and mix until just combined.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans and bake for 15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.
Cut each muffin in half and fill with a piece of salami and a smear of pesto.  Top each muffin with a small dollop of pesto if desired.

* If you don’t like tomatoes these can be omitted. 
** If you like onion, add one small one, diced.
*** If you don’t like spicy food or are making these for small children you might want to omit the chilli powder.

Sand Art Brownies

Psst… I’m already getting excited for Christmas.  It’s my first time that I have my own home to decorate and I really want to do it right now – except it is only November and Simon looks at me at any mention of Christmas and just shakes his head (which is why my excitement for Christmas is a secret because I’m sure most people would agree with him).  However, I didn’t think he would say ‘no’ to baking.  I think I am going to channel my eagerness into some Christmas-ey baking which might seem way to early for most of you, but it does mean that when Christmas does arrive you should have a few cute recipes on here to choose from when you are feeling festive (Courtenay also goes crazy for Christmas so you will probably see recipes from her too).

This jar of brownie ingredients looks really beautiful and would make an awesome Christmas gift.  I’ve tried baking as gifts for people in the past and it is actually stressful – late nights baking enough stuff and repeating batches of biscuits as one always gets burnt!  This idea takes the fuss out of it all; simply put the ingredients in a jar, tie it with a pretty ribbon and write up a recipe card.  It also means the recipient can bake the brownies when they feel like it instead of worrying about the baking you’ve given them going to waste because they already have heaps of food about for Christmas.

Now, if you aren’t in a Christmas mood at all you should still give these brownies a go as they are darn delicious!

Makes 16 pieces

1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
⅓ cup cocoa
½ cup white sugar
½ cup dark chocolate bits
½ cup white chocolate bits
¾ cup walnut pieces
125g butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

In a 1 – 1.25 litre glass jar, place a layer of ingredients in this order: flour, salt, baking powder, brown sugar, cocoa, white sugar, dark chocolate, (then milk chocolate if you’re a chocolate fiend like me), white chocolate and finish with the walnut pieces.

Seal the lid and decorate with a ribbon and card that has the following instructions:

To Make:
Heat oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm square pan with baking paper. Pour the contents of the jar into a bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and pour in 125g melted butter, 2 beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into the lined pan and bake for 30 minutes until firm. Cool in the pan and cut into 16 pieces.

You can download a printable version of the recipe card instructions and view a quick ‘How To’ guide on how to make a card like the one included in this post here.

Update…

Sorry, I didn’t do any baking over the weekend.  However, I have spent a bit of time adding new pages to our blog.  Let me run you through the new additions :)

There is now a banner at the top of the page which has links to the other pages available through our blog.  I have updated the ‘About Us’ page and added some new places to the ‘Worth a Visit’ page.

There is now a ‘Recipe Index’ page, like what you would find at the back of a recipe book which lists all the recipes that we have on our blog.  Just click on the recipe you are after and you will be taken to it!

I have also added a ‘Weights and Measurements’ page.  If you like to work using measurements, weights or temperatures from a different system to what we have mentioned in our posts you can convert them using the guides on this page.

Last thing, I have moved our blog buttons onto their own page.  Please free to take one and spread the love by displaying it on your blog.

I hope you find the new changes useful.  If you would like to see anything else or want to give some feedback please write us a comment.

-Mel xx.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

I went to the first of this year’s Christmas gatherings today, my coffee group arranged a catch up for the families from our ante-natal class to get together before it all gets too hectic with kids 1st birthday parties, husband’s work functions and family Christmas’. In true Kiwi fashion we all took along a plate. My contribution was a gluten free chocolate cake (as one of the Mum’s in my coffee group has a severe gluten allergy). I was a bit nervous about it having never done any gluten free cooking before but it turned out well and was the most moist chocolate packed creation I have ever made!

Ingredients:
Cake:
170 grams dark chocolate (broken into squares or chopped)
115 grams butter
¾ cup white sugar
3 large eggs
½ cup cocoa
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Glaze:
80 grams chocolate (broken into squares or chopped)
25 grams butter
1½  tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon honey
¼ teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180°C.  Spray a 7” round spring-form cake tin with cooking spray, line the bottom with wax paper and spray the top of the wax paper as well.
Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir until chocolate and butter are melted and smooth.
Add sugar and salt, reduce heat to low.  Cook while stirring for about one minute, until sugar starts to dissolve.
Remove pan from heat.  Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and whisk. The mixture should look smooth and glossy.
Sift cocoa into mixture.  Whisk until the cake batter is smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes.  The centre of the cake should be just firm to the touch, but be careful to not over bake the cake or it will be dry.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Invert the cake on a plate.

To prepare the glaze, melt chopped chocolate and butter in a saucepan.  When melted and smooth, remove the pan from heat.
Add milk, honey and vanilla and stir until smooth and glossy.
Let the glaze cool for about 5 minutes before pouring it on the cake.
Pour all of the glaze in the middle of the cake.  Use a silicone or rubber spatula to spread the glaze evenly over the cake, allowing the glaze to evenly run down the sides of the cake.

Savoury Scones V2.0

I love a good savoury scone but sometimes scones can be a bit too heavy. One of my friends Stacey kindly shared her recipe for light, no fail, quick scones with me, she thinks it originates from Kiwi baking legend Alison Holst. Where ever it comes from it is good and I thought I should share it with you. Scones are one of those versatile recipes where you can chop and change what you add to them, I added cheese and ham to mine but you could leave them plain and have them with jam and cream, add dates or whatever you feel like. Below is the basic recipe.

Ingredients:
50g butter
¾ cup milk
2 cups self raising flour
1 teaspoon salt

Method:
Preheat your oven to 210°C and line a baking tray with wax baking paper.
Melt butter, add milk to it and set aside.
Measure flour in bowl, add salt and fluff it up a bit with a fork then once your oven has reached 210°C, add butter/milk mix as well as cheese and ham (½ cup of each) – or whatever other ingredients you desire to flour and fold to combine.
It makes a slightly wet mix but once you spread it out, quick knead to shape with extra flour it is fine.
At this point you can cut the scones to your desired size and shape, I used a circular cookie cutter to cut mine out and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Cashew Pesto and Parmesan Muffins

These are a scrummy quick and easy muffin to whip up for a weekend brunch/lunch (would be very easy to freeze and pop into lunch boxes during the week) or if you find out you will be receiving visitors on short notice. I had some pesto in the fridge that I had picked up after reading about the Italian cooking demonstration Melissa went to on Friday night and thought I should put it to use and make something for two of my sisters who were coming to visit for lunch (along with some Black Forest Brownie)

Ingredients:
50g butter, melted
¾ cup milk
2 cups self-raising flour
2 eggs
3 tablespoons chunky pesto with cashews
¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
¼ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a muffin tray
Melt butter and mix with the milk.
Place flour, parmesan, salt and pepper into a medium bowl.  Dot the pesto evenly throughout the flour mix to ensure even distribution before making a slight well in the centre and add the eggs and pour in the milk and butter mixture.
Fold the ingredients together, cutting the mixture rather than stirring it.
Once well combined, portion the mixture into greased muffin tray and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes (makes 12 standard muffins).
Remove and cool on baking rack.
*** If you can’t get your hands on cashew pesto you could use 2 tablespoons of pesto and 1-2 tablespoons on diced up cashews.

Buon Appetito!

Next Door for Lunch

Simon and I went to Next Door café for lunch today.  He had driven past it a few times and thought the decor would appeal to me even though the only thing he could tell me about it was that it had pastel mint green walls!  The decor is pretty cool though – maiden hair ferns, tea pots with cosies, record covers displayed as art and mis-matched light shades were just some of the cute touches about the place.  I especially loved the vintage teaspoon collection displayed on one of the walls where it was surrounded by doilies.

However, I should probably talk about the food.  Our meals were delicious.  Next Door has breakfast / brunch offerings but we chose from their lunch menu.  I had the Pork Belly and Simon had the Duck Leg (I wouldn’t let him get Pork Belly because I wanted to try something else :P )  The Pork Belly just melted in your mouth.  It came with watermelon, peanuts and sprouts which I thought seemed an odd combination but they actually complimented each other really well.  The Duck leg came with a red Thai curry sauce and rice.  My hot chocolate and Simon’s coffee were good too.

Next Door is quite a big café – there’s an outdoor area (which wasn’t in use as the weather in Auckland today couldn’t decide if it wanted to be sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy or a mixture of things) and a more formal room with a large table for bigger groups (which looked like you may be able to hire out).

Simon got himself a citrus tart as a parting treat.  The cakes and slices at the counter and in their cabinet looked beautiful but I was too full to try any.  Perhaps we’ll make another visit soon so I can :)

Next Door Café
589 Mt Eden Road, Mt Eden, Auckland City
Ph: 09 638 9676

Buon Gusto! Italia Cooking Demonstration with Jo Seagar

I got to met Jo Seagar!

So, this evening I went to a Jo Seagar cooking demonstration at the Nosh store on Dominon Road held as part of their ‘Good Food Recipe Series’.  O.M.G. It was pretty damn AWESOME!  I had a front row seat, we got to taste all the lovely food that was made, I got her BEAUTIFUL new cook book and… she said I was gorgeous and she wanted to keep me as her daughter!  LOVE!  Yes, I am gushing about the experience, but I am so super glad I went.  The very nice ladies that sat either side of me were totally rapt they attended too; one was being treated for her birthday and the other had driven up all the way from Hamilton!  She said it was well worth the trip :)

I  remember watching Jo Seagar on our television years ago; I think hers was was one of the first cooking series I ever really watched because truth be told I don’t find cooking shows that interesting.  I still don’t watch many cooking shows – Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver sometimes, Masterchef Australia more often but that is about it.  Jo Seagar was just as lovely in real life tonight as she was when I was younger and she was whipping up cakes on the television screen in our living room. 

She shared stories about her trips to Italy and told us how her cookbook ‘Italia’ came about.  Each year she ventures over there taking about 15 people with her as a fundraiser for Hospice.  They stay in Umbria for about three weeks and immerse themselves into the language and culture and learn how to cook.  It sounds like a pretty unforgettable trip to make but sadly slightly (well, quite a bit) out of my price range.  But, perhaps with specially chosen music, beautiful wine and some recipes from her book I could fool myself into thinking I was there, yes?

Now, sorry if the photographs in this post aren’t the best – the ones below were taken on my lap with my ‘needs-to-be-retired’ camera and the lighting wasn’t the best.  Since everyone was slightly older than me, looking very sophisticated and didn’t have cameras out I felt a little shy about getting snap happy and didn’t take many photos of Jo Seagar herself.  However, this is what Jo made for us from her book:

Parmesan Crackers with Fennel and Cumin Seeds (middle of pic), Fried Crumbed Olives (left), Piccolo Peppers Stuffed with Bocconcini and wrapped in Bacon (right)

These were all little nibble type things and I can’t wait to make them myself.  All of them were super tasty but I think I liked the peppers the best.
She also made a Fennel, Celery and Blood Orange Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing which was really delicious delicious but I didn’t get a photo of it.

Gnocchi with Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce

Lime and Black Pepper Ice Cream

This ice cream was AMAZING!  Pepper in Ice cream?  Well it worked!  That’s what all the black specks are. Surprisingly delicious!

One thing Jo Seagar said that I thought was pretty cool was that she believes recipes are like kisses; they shouldn’t be kept to yourself they should be shared and given away.  Isn’t that gorgeous?  Can someone please send me to her Cook School in Canterbury for a day?!

Check out Jo Seagar’s website to purchase a copy of one of her books, buy other cookware, find new recipes and info about her Cook School.

Banana Pudding with Caramel Sauce – made in a rice cooker!

This is yum!  The caramel sauce is addictive; I was such a piggy that I licked the leftover off the plate!  I was interested in this recipe as it is made in the rice cooker and the only thing I have tried making in the rice cooker before apart from rice has been a risotto, not exactly adventurous.  You do need to check the rice cooker every now and then to ensure it is on the right setting as specified in the recipe.

Ingredients:
Banana Pudding:
30g butter, melted, plus 60g extra
2 tablespoons brown sugar, plus ⅓ cup extra
1 small banana sliced, plus 2 extra, mashed
1 egg, lightly whisked
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup self raising flour

Caramel Sauce:
300ml cream
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
80g butter

Method:
Grease and line the base of a rice cooker bowl with baking paper.  Drizzle the 30g of melted butter over the paper in the base of the bowl and sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of brown sugar evenly over the top.  Layer the sliced banana on top of the sugar and set aside.
Combine the extra melted butter, extra brown sugar, egg, cinnamon, extra mashed banana and milk in a medium bowl.  Sift in the flour and fold it into the banana mixture gently.  Spoon the mixture over the bananas in the prepared rice cooker bowl.
Carefully level the top and cover.  Press the rice cooker to ‘cook’ and cook for 5 minutes.  Switch the cooker to ‘warm’ and stand for 10 minutes.  Put the rice cooker back on to ‘cook’ and cook for a further 3 minutes.  Switch it back to ‘warm’ and stand for 10 minutes.  Do not remove the lid during this process.  Repeat the process twice more or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out cleanly. 
Turn the pudding onto a serving plate.  Remove and discard the baking paper.

To make the caramel sauce:
Wipe the rice cooker bowl clean.  Add the cream, sugar and butter to the bowl and stir well.  Press ‘cook’ and bring to the boil.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until  the sugar dissolves and the mixture has thickened slightly.  Transfer the sauce to a heatproof jug.

To serve, drizzle slices of the pudding with the caramel sauce and plate with ice cream or whipped cream.

Rosy Cakes

 
My lovely friend Jess has started her own cake making/decorating venture from home. She started playing around with decorating cakes as a bit of fun after having her daughter Molly earlier this year and realised (with a lot of convincing from friends and family) that she has a real talent.

 
Jess is still refining her art but as you can see she has a real flair for what she does. If you have a party coming up and are based in Auckland Jess may be able to help you out with a cake, cupcakes and simply gorgeous cookies, if you are further a field and haven't been able to find the cake topper you are after Jess can do those too. Click here to see the Rosy Cakes facebook page which also has contact details and remember to hit 'like' so you can keep up to date with her latest creations, remember you can also find us on facebook (if you haven't already) here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Halloween Ghost Cupcakes

I just whipped these up quickly as I know I promised you something last week but I have been incredibly busy with a trip down to New Plymouth and a teething baby, so they are nothing exciting but they are cute! It is a basic chocolate cupcake made using this recipe with a purple buttercream icing and a little meringue ghost topper. To make the ghosts I whipped up a meringue mixture popped it in a piping bag and piped my ghosts on to wax baking paper before baking them like normal meringues.