I keep going back to the classics

It's hard not to love a classic.

I am a recipe follower, I generally know what I’m doing and the steps to take, but I like to refer to the recipe to make sure my measurements are correct and I’m on track. I do find that when I’m baking a classic, it’s good to stick to the recipe – mainly because everyone knows the cake, knows the flavour, and are harsh critics. You stuff up a classic cake, and you’re out… well, maybe not out, but I imagine your reputation would take a little hit.

One classic that I make regularly, and still follow the recipe for, is carrot cake. It is delicious and I reckon it’s the best recipe around for carrot cake. I don’t add sultanas or nuts to the cake, just keep it simple. The cream cheese icing is essential! And getting the balance of sweetness is very important.

New job cupcakes

A few months ago I started a new job. After over 5 amazing years working for a performing arts venue, as well as about 3 years before that working with other performing arts companies, it was time for a change.

I was ready to step into a new role. I was ready for more responsibility. I was ready to take on the challenges of a new industry. Well, kind of a new industry, I was only stepping over into visual arts, where I guess you could say the performance occurs on the canvas instead of a stage. Either way, it was new.

In the interview it came up that I could bake… not really sure how, I guess I weaved it in there to “sweeten” the deal. But after starting and focusing all my energy on figuring out what I was doing, I was too drain too try and impress with my bake prowess. Every time we had a morning tea, and there seemed to be one almost every week, I either had a function or something on the night before and couldn’t make anything. A few months went by until I finally showed I could produce the goods. And that came in the form of my fresh strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing and (to make things extra special) lime zest AND edible glitter. I think the whole office was taken by the edible glitter, it was all anyone could talk about. And to make things even better, I could tell who had eaten my cupcakes as a few specks of glitter could be seen on their faces. Success!

De-stress baking

I was just sitting at my computer, feeling a little irritated and stressed, so decided to take 5 minutes to browse some of my favourite blogs. I always find this takes my mind off being annoyed and helps me refocus. Yes, technically I am at work and should be "working", but today I haven't had a lunch break so don't believe I am being naughty :-). Also, I'm in Marketing, so any website or blog browsing can be considered research... kind of.

So, I started looking at my top 5 blogs. I started with Raspberri Cupcakes and found a delicious looking Orange Tea Cake and instantly decided I needed to do some baking tonight. That then reminded me, I haven't posted my cheesecake from my sibling's dinner last week - whoops. So here it is, along with my Top 5 de-stress baking blogs (in no particular order): Raspberri Cupcakes, Sprinkle Bakes, Bakers Royale, Sweetapolita and Tastespotting.

Cheesecake makeover

It was my birthday recently and I felt like celebrating with something pretty, but fresh and tastey. It's been a while since I've made a cheesecake, so thought I'd whip out my favourite recipe and give it a makeover. What resulted was a wonderful white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake. As always, the cheesecake was light and fluffy, but had a delicious sweetness from the white chocolate and a fresh buzz from the strawberries. It was a great way to celebrate entering the final year of my twenties.

Good food and food company

I believe good food makes people happy. Good food and good company make for a fantastic night. And good food, good company and a great bottle/s of wine is always memorable. I started getting into baking when I wasn't the happiest in life, it acted as an escape for me and also gave me something to be passionate about and enjoy. Eating the food was also amazing, however did cause a fair bit of weight gain - so a lesson, moderation ;-).

I find my baking can make others happy. I am filled with pride when I present a layer cake to a friend or family member to celebrate their birthday. I love hearing the mmmmmmm from people when they take the first bite of a treat I've lovingly prepared. And I love when friends or family ask me to bake something for them, as it shows my passion has transferred to them and they want to share good food with their friends or family. (My photography is not great though, so I think that should be the next thing I work on...)

This recipe is for my uncle. He has shared many cakes and desserts with me and during the week asked if I could make something special for a lunch party he was throwing. Blueberries are just coming back into season here, so I decided on a blueberry sour cream cake with a white chocolate cream cheese icing. I was later told it was a hit!

The mighty Red Velvet

This week is a massive hub of activity at my work as the exclusive season of The Bolshoi Ballet opens. Almost everyone at work is somehow involved, and having The Bolshoi come exclusively to QPAC (ie NOWHERE else in Australia) is a big achievement. I'm mainly working on other projects, so not heavily involved, but wanted to congratulate my teammates with a cake that symbolised the Bolshoi. I could have played with something vodka infused, or done the Pavlova to link to the first Bolshoi Australian visit, but I wanted to do something that linked to "Big" and "Red" - a Red Velvet Cake. I know red velvet feels more American than Russian, however it is red, it is big, and it will impress!

The main reason I've avoided red velvet in the past is because that on my first red velvet experience, I could taste the food colouring. I hate the taste of food colour and that turned me off. So, wanting to make something special for the Bolshoi but avoiding that bad food colouring aftertaste, I started a search online for a great red velvet recipe with minimal red food colouring. Most recipes called for 2 or 3 ozs (up to 6 tbs) of red food colouring, which was way too much for my liking. Then, via tastespotting, I found a recipe that required just 1 tbs. It even called it a "sexy" red velvet, so I went with that. 

As always, I made the cake with my son. He got so excited when we added the red food colouring and cocoa, as it change the cake from ordinary to "OH MY GOD, LOOK AT THAT COLOUR!" We definitely had fun making this cake, so much so, I might try red velvet again. ENJOY!

Mother's Day inspirations

Things I love about being a Mum:

• The feeling of pride as my son surprises me with a new thought or learning.
• The warmth of his cuddles as he squeezes me.
• The joy I feel when planning special games or activities to share with him that I know we'll both enjoy.
• Having him sit o the counter while we bake together.
• Hearing the stories from his day.
• Knowing I've done something right when I might be feeling upset or stressed and he spontaneously cuddles me and lightly pats me on the back. 
• The look of absolute love he gives me. 

I don't think I can write down all the joys of being a Mother. I know I can complain about the hardness at times, but I would go through it again in an instant knowing there are so many amazing moments of joy that come with parenthood. I have changed more than I expected since becoming a Mummy. I may have lost personal time and irresponsibility, but I have gained strength, wisdom, courage and a love which cannot be explained or described.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mums out there. Enjoy the beautiful day you deserve!

Monte Carlo is more than a place

Another post of something that links to my childhood food memories. It's a similar story to my Kingston Biscuits post, the Arnott's Monte Carlos were always popular among my family. I was also excited to see them in my lunch box at school, especially if they got a little soft, as the jam in the centre would be a tacky and I could chew it for longer. I also loved opening the two biscuits up and trying to get equal cream on both sides to eat individually.

But why make Monte Carlo biscuits now, you ask. Well, all week my morning coffee shop have had the nicest looking biscuits on display. They were thick and crumbly with either a buttercream or cream cheese centre. The girl who works there said they were going to have Monte Carlos tomorrow and that set my brain on the path of how I would make Monte Carlos. So, last night with no "treats" for my sons lunchbox in the cupboard, I decided to make some Monte Carlos. Enjoy.

It's a tarty Friday treat

You know what's really funny? Giving a child a lemon to taste for the first time. I don't mean to be cruel, but it's one of those reactions that you can't help but laugh at. The innocence as they inspect the brightly coloured fruit, then naturally raise it to their mouth to taste. Then as the juice hits their tongue, the instant screwing up of their face followed by a look of complete shock - how can you not start to giggle, at least out of recognition of the situation. 

I've never been a huge fan of the tartness of lemons, however as I get older, I seem to be more tolerant to their refreshing flavour. I also accept that most other people like lemons and citrus flavours, so thought I should probably add these to my baking list more often (and on a plus, if I don't like it, I will automatically eat less).

So, here are some lemony cheesecake tarts for my friends in the office today. They mainly act as a farewell for two wonderful people, neither from Australian so deserving of a fresh, tangy treat to remind them of their time here and working with our team.

Crumbling over cupcakes

I ask you, what do you like doing on the weekend? Do you like hanging out with friends? Having a beer? Chilling out? I'm going to assume you answered yes to all those questions, because if you didn't, I'm sorry but we can't be friends. The best we'll be is somewhat acquaintances who nod politely at each other when we meet in public.

So, why do I bring this up? No, I'm not culling my Facebook friends (not before Christmas anyway, are you mad!!). I'm just testing the waters to find out if these cupcakes are for you. They are pretty special, so you'd want to share them with some pretty cool friends. They are great with a beer on a hot afternoon. And they are also great to use as a hearty farewell! These cupcakes were made especially for my friend who was moving jobs - bigger and better things. They are everything a good cupcake should be - moist with layers of flavour, topped smooth frosting and a delightful crunch. ENJOY!

Celebration cheesecake!

My friend recently got married over in Fiji and last night was the first time I saw her since she changed from a Miss to a Mrs. Something was in order to celebrate, however being a Friday I was again lacking ideas and energy/time. The last time we caught up we chatted about cheesecake. I remembered making the Nutella No-Bake Cheesecake for my brother and his girlfriend a while ago and it was super fast and easy. On my way home I picked up the few ingredients I needed and went home to prepare. As I started making it though, I decided I wanted something different and suddenly craved caramel. So switched ideas and started making a caramel sauce. Before long dessert was ready and in the fridge to set. 

Dinner was a middle eastern inspired vegetable and chickpea stuffed eggplant (with some champers to celebrate). After dinner we busted out the wedding photos, all 800+ of them. It was so lovely seeing their day through the photos and the excitement and love they shared for each other. With so many pictures, we decided to stop half way for dessert. It was so creamy and smooth, and the caramel made it super rich. I found it hard to finish mine, however it was the perfect sugar kick to continue looking through the rest of the photos and amazing stories from their time away.

This is such an easy dessert, I think anyone could master it (even you Ms Borgna...). I think next time i make it I'll try a fruity flavour, maybe a mango or passionfruit. ENJOY.

Sometimes you just need cake

I try to be good. I try not to eat too many sweets. I try to ignore the lolly jar at work. But sometimes it's just too hard and you just need to let go and enjoy yourself. Last night I made a "healthy" pasta dish and afterwards was feeling like I still needed something. I went through a pantry and fridge check list in my head and realised i had everything I needed to whip up a carrot cake - even cream cheese for the icing. So, I popped into the kitchen and before I could say "what's up doc" I had a cake in the oven. The cake was ready 20 minutes later (I split the batter into two tins to make it cook faster, and also allowed me to have a layer cake = double the deliciousness!!) and after leaving it too cool for another 15/20 minutes, it was iced and ready to eat. As I'm generally baking for other people, it's rare I eat cakes so soon after coming out of the oven. Last night's treat was still warm however cool enough for the cream cheese icing to stay firm. It was also so soft and delicate. So so good! And worked perfectly in lunches today (which is Friday, always a day where a sugary treat is needed).

Welcome Spring!

Winter is over and Spring has sprung. The weather has been perfect, making it feel like the colder months are over and we have blue skies and sunshine ahead of us. To celebrate the start of Spring, I bought 4 big punnets of strawberries (they had a special of 2 for $3!!!) from the markets. With so many strawberries, I decided to share the Spring love and give one punnet away, then I planned on using the others for some baking and weekday lunches.

When I think of strawberries, I immediately match them with cream. Strawberries and cream is such a classic dessert, everyone has something they associate with strawberries and cream. For me, it would have to be going to a school art fair with my Mum. I remember nothing about the art fair, or what else was actually there, but I do remember Mum buying us a cup of strawberries and cream each for morning tea and sitting in the sun to eat it. I think I was only 12 at the time and this was the first time I had enjoyed strawberries and cream just like this. It felt like Mum and I were doing something special together, just the two of us, without Dad or my siblings. The memory is sweet and innocent, just like the dessert.

So, with that in mind, I wanted to use my strawberries to make something that represented that memory. While the toddler was resting on Sunday (supposed to be resting anyway, he skipped his nap and decided to "play", aka trash his room), I researched strawberry recipes. I stumbled across this great looking strawberry cake via Pinterest. It had a deliciously pink colour and a new way to make a french meringue buttercream - I had to try it.

So, with strawberries ready and beater out, Reuben and I started baking post "rest". The cake itself was super easy to make and the buttercream turned out perfectly - I am definitely changing methods to this one from now one! There was heaps of batter so I made a bundt style cake as well as 6 cupcakes. Next time I think I'll split the batter to make a layer cake and add some strawberry jam in the centre. Enjoy.

Third cake of the week

Today is my brother's birthday and he's turning 30 (dirty 30!). He is one of those big brother's who is over protective and always looks out for his little sisters - sounds cliche, but that's who he is. He is impossible to buy for, as he just buys whatever he wants himself and isn't fussed with other stuff. So, I decided to make something special for him - chocolate sour cream cupcakes with a chocolatey-raspberry cream cheese icing. We had lunch plans, so Reuben and I baked them in the morning just in time for lunch (actually, we were late because I lost the keys somewhere in the house while I was rushing to leave - that's another story). We finally got to the restaurant and as I was getting out of the car I fumbled and dropped the tin causing all the cupcakes to flip and go everywhere in the tin. I managed to salvage them using a knife in the restaurant - whoops. I don't think the messy presentation put anyone off though. The cupcakes were crumbly and moist and the icing was sweet with a lovely hint of tart raspberry. Happy Birthday bro, couldn't ask for a better brother!

My brother and I riding "horses". Possibly aged about 4 and 2.

A little pick-me-up

I love my coffee! I am not the best morning person, generally need something to get me started. During the week, especially if I know I have a busy day ahead, my starter is coffee. The cafe at work is a bit hit and miss when it comes to a good coffee, but it's better than nothing.

I had a bit of a coffee craving last night and wanted to treat my work mates with something, so went hunting through my Hummingbird Bakery cookbook and came across a coffee cake. I've made this cake before and it's huge, I always have to half the recipe. On this occasion, I made cupcakes and paired them with a mocha cream cheese icing. An amazing match and a great (sweet) way to kick off the morning. ENJOY

What's sweet and disappears fast?

We don't really celebrate Halloween in Australia, however it's becoming more common. I don't actually know what Halloween is about. I think it's the eve of something to do with ghosts, but not even sure about that. What I do know is that it's a quintessential American holiday that, like most things, has made it's way off shore and embedded itself into our annual calendar.

Two years ago we completely forgot that it was Halloween, so when the kids came knocking we had to turn them away empty handed. I think we were the first house they visited, as they looked pretty disappointed. The word must have gotten around quick that we had no sweets, as no one else knocked on our door. Last year I was more prepared, however bought cheap chocolate. We had a few kids and their parents come knocking and when I handed over my brandless chocolate, I got some puzzled looks (insight into our neighbourhood - we're the worst house in the street, so most of the households would definitely be brand households). Not that I really care what the neighbours think of us, but I'd like to think if they saw someone trying to brake in while we weren't home, they'd ignore our poor choice of chocolate and call the police. To ensure this is the case, we have delicious brand chocolate this year (note - they were on special).