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.

Time to get my baking shoes on

It's been a busy week. Lots of work on and not much time to do it. Weeks like these, sometimes you get to the Thursday night, knowing you're so close to the weekend, and you just want something to treat yourself. Then you also see that there's nothing nice in the fridge for lunchboxes the next day and the decision's made - it's time to bake!

Last weekend I made fluffy pancakes with maple syrup and bacon for breakfast. I LOVE this combination, it's amazing. The only thing that can top it is to add some caramelised banana slices (done easily on the grill or fry pan with a little bit of sugar to assist in the caramelisation). After breakfast, we had a fair bit of maple syrup left over. And yes, I realise it can be stored easily, however I had the delicious taste of maple teasing my tastebuds and vowed to make my next baking venture in maple! 

So, back to Thursday night and the need to bake something... a bag of pecans sitting in the cupboard just waiting to be used, left over maple... it was a no brainer!

 

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!

Early morning rise

This morning I woke up at 4.30am when my son called out from his room. I was daft and checked the time before I went in, which meant as soon as I got back to bed, I knew it was almost time to get up and my head didn't let me go back to sleep. I started thinking about all the meetings I have on today, then about some of the projects I have at work, then about what we're doing for Mother's Day, then I checked Facebook and Instagram (surprisingly not many updates from last night). Then I started asking myself if I should just get up and if I did get up, what I could do... This all feels less crazy when I'm lying there in these moments than it does writing it out now. Anyway, I remembered a recipe I found the other week for a sticky bun. It takes about 20 minutes prep time, an hour to rise and then about 30 minutes to bake. I didn't have the time last week, however being awake so early this morning and knowing I'm leaving for work a bit later today, I thought "why not get up now and make that bun!". So, I did. And here it is in it's gooey, warm, goodness! YUM. Hope your breakfast was as delicious ;-).

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.

Showering a friend with sweetness

A few weeks ago we through a baby shower for my manager at work. She has been an inspiration to me and many others I work with and we wanted to show her how special she was by throwing a party for her and bub. I've been saving this post until Baby Stalley was born... and we just got the news that he arrived. So a BIG congratulations. We cannot wait to give him cuddles.

Moving sucks, cupcakes don't!

My brother and his girlfriend are in the process of moving house. Everyone knows moving sucks. Packing everything and making sure it gets from one place to the other safely is not fun, especially when you have been living in said place for many years and have accumulated many unneeded items. I wouldn't call my brother a hoarder... because he's not, but he does have a lot of books, DVDs and "stuff". To make it worse, my parents recently cleaned out our old bedrooms and made him take a lot of his old things (better known as crap) home with him. Now they are packing and tossing and getting ready for their new home. So when I get a text requesting cupcakes, I immediately get into the kitchen and prepare an impromptu afternoon tea.

Mixing the need to provide a good dose of energy (in the form of sugar of course) and a civilised afternoon tea, I decided to make a jam drop inspired cupcake. A chocolate cake base with a surprise raspberry jam centre, vanilla swiss buttercream icing and a freshly baked jam drop perched on the top. It had height, it had flavour and it had the right amount of deliciousness to keep them going for (hopefully) the rest of the week as the pack, sort and toss. Good luck guys!