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Lawyers, counsellers and doctors oh my!!

Well, here I am and the shock of my marriage break up dulled by being caught up in lawyer, counsellor and doctors appointments. 

Like Han Solo I'm trapped, not in carbonite but in a swirl of paperwork that binds me to my husband. Hopefully I'm not on my way to Jabba the Hutt!!

Now, lets talk chocolate :) 

Silicone ice-cube trays double as moulds for your chocolate creations, today I've used the large Han Solo mould for my cupcake topper. Your chocolate tempered or otherwise doesn't have the "high shine" finish of using hard plastic moulds, but this is more than made for with the plethora of designs that are available in silicone. 

Han Solo ice-cube tray

I half filled the mould with melted chocolate, sprinkled on chocolate pop rocks, then filled the rest of the mould. You end up with a "Choc Rock Han Solo Block"... or something like that.

Chocolate pop rocks

Use food paints and lustre dusts to colour your finished pieces. I sprinkled extra pop rocks and chocolate rocks on the frosting.

Thank you everyone for your messages/comments of support. I have read them all, please forgive me for not replying at the moment and I'm going to give Valentines cupcakes a miss this year too... but I'll be back in March with "bunnies" and Easter goodies.

The Lone Baker xx

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Sshhh, be quiet. Leave me alone, why do you keep talking.

I'm trying to sleep, cry, I just want to die.

What do you want? A cupcake to symbolise a "new start"? 

'Year of the Dragon Cupcake' dedicated to my step son Daniel who is wise beyond his years and the most inspirational person I've ever known.

January 23rd is Chinese New Year and fondant dragon cupcake toppers look stunning whether made as a gift, as center piece for your tray of pineapple tarts or even a bowl of Chinese candies. Here is how I made mine.... 

I start with a rough template of what size I want.

Then I rolled a snake shape from fondant, I'd usually use white but today I've used different colours to illustrate the different elements. Press a toothpick in now so you have a hole for later placement.

I added scales to the dragons body with the end of a piping tip. Then rolled and shaped spikes and detail from more fondant and adhered in place with water.

Once that was done I started to build the head, using plastic wrap to support drying pieces.

Then I added the legs and allowed the dragon to dry overnight.

Next morning I used a small paint brush to add copper food paint to the body of the dragon and gold lustre dust brushed over the entire dragon to finish, including the back of the piece. I painted the toothpick with edible paint and inserted it into the dragon ready to add to my cake. 

Happy Baking :)

Join me on facebook... 2012 is going to be a great year!!

Busy, busy, busy in the lead up to Christmas? I know I have, with barely the time to bake it's time for a super quick idea!! This rocky road recipe is easily doubled... and if you need more make seperate batches. There is a splash of liqueur in it, but if making for the kids just leave it out. 

White Chocolate Cranberry and Pistachio Rocky Road with Grand Marnier 

makes 12 to 16 pieces

Ingredients

300g (10oz) white chocolate 

25g (0.90oz) unsalted butter

100g (3.5oz) pistachios

100g (3.5oz) dried cranberries 

50g (1.75oz) pink and white marshmallows cut in half with oiled scissors

1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier (optional) 

Method

Line a brownie or slice tin with plastic wrap or non stick baking paper. If using Grand Marnier, mix the Grand Marnier and dried cranberries in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on medium low 10 seconds at a time until cranberries begin to plump. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl melt chocolate and butter over a pan of simmering water until just melted. Be careful not to overheat. Stir in pistachios, marshmallows and cranberries. Pour into lined tin and smooth top with spatula. Chill for 2 hours in the fridge. Turn out and cut into squares. Package in cellophane treat bags.

Merry Christmas!!!

Back second week of the New Year, safe and happy festive season to everyone... and happy baking :)

Two ingredients (rasberries and sugar) Rasberry Tuile Topped mini cupcake

Good griefl, I swear I had black and silver cases in "medium", but all I find was mini's. This left me with toppers that were far too large and since I'd already applied silver leaf to black choc candy coated balls I had to come up with a different topper. 

Two ingredient 'Raspberry Tuiles' have a long oven drying time, but other than that were simple and quick to make fitting in perfectly with "Christmas rush" mode that I'm well and truly in!! 

Now I did burn the first batch, second batch I reduced the cooking time by 20 minutes and they worked perfectly. I used a metal ruler and a sharp knife to cut strips; I then bent the strips and pinched ends whilst still warm.

The strips dry quickly to produce a crispy tuile that is intense in flavour, colour and is also vegan and gluten free. They are best made close to serving and perfect to top a range of desserts.

You just need raspberries and sugar for these... do give it a try and watch chef *David Carmichael the Executive Pastry Chef at The New York Palace demonstrate how the make the tuiles (recipe included).

*Note: chef Carmichael uses 4 pints (8 cups) of raspberries, I halved the recipe.

 if you use a silpat you will end up with a waffle pattern on the shiny side.

Happy Baking :) and Christmas preparations!!  

Goodness me, I must admit I haven't enthusiastically embraced my husbands choice of "purple" as a Christmas theme but I thought I should make an attempt and produced a batch of fondanted cupcakes... I stood back and they looked far too "menopause mauve". 

Instead I'll go with purple spun sugar Christmas tree toppers for my mini cupcakes. Watch out for tea light holders in your chosen theme, they make for fab mini cupcake stands like the one I've used today. 

cream horn form

To make the spun sugar tree you will need cream horn forms and follow the instructions for one of my earlier posts; blue sugar springs. Instead of using a spoon to create a spring use a kitchen fork to produce threads to wrap around the form. Start of third of the way up and scroll to the top. 

I used an empty egg carton to hold the cream horns whilst sugar is drying. Sprinkled on edible lilac disco glitter and star sprinkles. 

Storage: like all sugar pieces trees are best made on day of serving. Sugar work breaks down quickly in a humid enviroment. 

 Have fun, happy baking :) and Merry Christmas!!

Not enough purple for you? Try purple butterflies.

Chefs and baking professionals love a stock syrup, once you start using them you will too! 

Stock syrups are also known as sugar syrup, simple syrup, light or heavy syrup depending where you are from. Cakes are syruped to seal the cake preserving freshness, moisten the cake and can also flavour the cake. 

With a jar of stock syrup in the fridge you can quickly poach fruit, add to salad dressings, syrup your cupcakes, act as glaze, whip up a sorbet, make fruit sauces/coulis, cocktails, and a plethora of dessert applications.

Stock syrup is often infused with herbs, spices, citrus, ginger, vanilla, liqueurs, teas and flowers. 

Basic Stock Syrup 

Ingredients

2 cups of water

2 cups of white sugar

Method

Combine the water and sugar in a medium heavy based saucepan. Over medium heat bring mixture to boil, stirring once or twice along the way. 

Cook 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool. 

Basil syrup

one cup of stock syrup

strawberries

small fresh basil leaves

Put one cup of syrup in a small saucepan, pour remaining syrup into a screw top jar and refrigerate for up to three weeks.

Bring the syrup in the saucepan almost to the boil, add three basil leaves and cover... allow to steep for 20 minutes. Remove basil leaves and allow syrup to cool.

The basil after steeping ready to be removed. Whole spices, vanilla beans, and citrus peel may be left longer if desired. The syrup will pick up the colour of citrus peel with prolonged standing.

Brush cupcake tops with basil syrup, top with either marscarpone or cream cheese frosting. Toss chopped strawberries in the left over syrup and pile onto your cupcakes. Add small basil leaves for decoration.

Other flavoured syrups are created in the same way, try rosemary, thyme and mint. Vanilla made with a whole split bean, store the vanilla bean in the syrup for a stronger flavour. A bruised piece of fresh ginger makes a lovely syrup to use on fruit salads, so does split and bruised lemon grass... or how about a combo of the two "ginger and lemon grass". Tea bags, herbal, green or black make for flavourful infused syrup as does roasted coffee/cocoa nibs.

Allow one tablespoon of liqueur or rum/brandy/whisky per cup of syrup, this is a great cake syrup or even in your cup of coffee (though probably best not to have it with your brekkie cup). Zest strips from lemon, lime, orange, remove after 20 minutes for a slight citrus tang, leave overnight for a stronger flavour. 

Whole spices such as cinnamon or star anise can also be left in the syrup if a stronger flavour is desired. If using flowers keep the quantity of petals/buds small, a little goes a long way. 

*notes; cupcake pictured today is larger than real life version, the actual cupcake and subsequent basil leaves are small. To make a heavier/thicker syrup 3 cups sugar to 1 cup water, to make a lighter syrup 3 parts water to one part sugar.

That's it for today, hope you are all having a great weekend.

Happy Baking :)

Harriet and Emma

Meet Emma the 14 year old daughter of my best friend Jacinta. Emma is a fabulous baker and has kindly stepped in tonight as guest reviewer in a packet mix vs homemade challenge. Take it away Emma.....

Betty Crocker Vanilla Sprinkle Whoopie Pies

I don’t normally use a packet mix, but I love whoopie pies and thought I’d give the packet Betty Crocker Vanilla Sprinkle Whoopie Pies Mix a go.

straight from the oven

While the recipe and the whoopie pies themselves were easy to make and follow, the overall taste was very disappointing (such a shame because they looked very delicious).

making vanilla cream filling mix

finished Betty Crocker Whoopie Pies

They just had that artificial taste that you often get with a packet mix.

I then decided to compare the packet ones with some whoopie pies made from scratch. I got the recipe from the “Whoopie Pies” book by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell, given to us by The Lone Baker.

I used the Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pies sandwiched together by a cream cheese filling.

classic chocolate whoopie pies

cream cheese filling

The homemade ones were far superior to the packet ones (they were just as easy to make as well). My family preferred the homemade ones over the packet ones.

 We soon devoured them all!!! 

Emma 

text and photography by Emma Darlison

The Lone Baker back tomorrow with two ingredient tuile... topping a cupcake of course :) 

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A quick little fresh cherry decoration today, that I think is so pretty... hope you do too.

It's summer in Australia and fresh cherries are in season. "Snow cherries" are a lovely decoration for your cupcakes, cakes and plated desserts for all your Christmas occasions. 

You'll need...

room temperature cherries with unbroken skins

white fondant

white disco glitter

small dry artists paintbrush

small piece of dampened new foam

Thinly roll out your white fondant, cut small sections and shape. Dampen one side of your fondant shapes with the foam. Pop a cherry in the centre of each piece of fondant and fold up to  attach. Using the dampened foam again, dampen the outside of the fondant and sprinkle with edible disco glitter. Brush off excess glitter that falls on the cherries with the dry brush. Allow to dry.

Cherries will keep at room temperature for 6 hours (though I have held them as long as overnight). 

Happy Baking :)

or what about making mini choc pudding cupcakes?

you might also be interested in...

Ode to Bounty Bars Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes

"The weekend started with hedgehogs, but finished with Teddy Bears"

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Hedgehog slices are popular in my home state of Victoria. Hedgehogs are a chocolate unbaked refrigerator slice (bar), mainly comprised of crushed biscuits (cookies). Usually store bought biscuits are used and it's a quick and easy way to use up leftover cookies from the Christmas season.

I was working on delveloping a hedgehog recipe on the weekend that did not contain raw egg; we are "thrill seekers" here in Oz and do eat raw egg in our hedgehogs that tends to cause "dread" in some other countries. 

My thoughts then went to Tim Tams. Australia's national biscuit is the ANZAC, but it's the 'Tim Tam' that is the iconic Aussie biscuit. My very own teddy bear, namely my husband Mark was in trouble this weekend when he offered to drop off eggs and Tim Tam Treats to my best friends house... Mark took the eggs and having second thoughts tucked away the Tim Tam Treats unbeknownst to me back in fridge. Goodness, that's what I like to see at Christmas... no sharing of treats and keeping them for yourself!! 

classic original Tim Tams and dark chocolate Tim Tams

Tim Tams sandwich light chocolate cream, inbetween chocolate malty biscuits that are enrobed in chocolate. They are what I use in today's recipe, but if you can't get Tim Tams go for the biscuit/cookie you think is closest to it. 

inside Tim Tams

Tia Maria Tim Tam Treats

18 standard cupcake cases or 36 mini cases, mixture can alternatively be pressed into a brownie tin.

*note on "raisins" that are used in the recipe... 

Raisins in Australia are larger and stickier than sultanas, if you can't get them chopped dates are a suitable substitute. 

on the right, raisins are larger and stickier than the sultanas on the left. 

Ingredients

150 grams of raisins or chopped dates

3 tablespoons of Tia Maria

400 grams 2 packs (14 oz) Tim Tams or equivalent

300 grams (8.8 oz) dark eating chocolate

150 grams (5.3 oz) butter

150 grams (5.3 oz) roasted walnut or pecan pieces

2 tablespoons sour cream

Method

Put the raisins along with the Tia Maria in a small microwave safe bowl, microwave on medium low in 30 seconds increments until Tia Maria starts to be absorbed into the fruit. Set aside.

Roughly crush Tim Tams in transfer to a mixing bowl.

you want pieces of the biscuits still to be visible

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat, stir gently until chocolate is melted. Set aside.

Add walnuts to the Tim Tams in mixing bowl, add sour cream, melted chocolate mixture and Tia Maria soaked fruit. Stir vigourously with a wooden spoon.

Divide mixture between paper cupcake case and press down firmly with the back of a spoon.

*Refrigerate overnight. 

the inside of the Tim Tam treats looks like this

Before serving top the Tim Tam treats top the treats with chocolate icing, melted chocolate or chocolate ganache if desired. 

*the refrigerating overnight step cannot be skipped, the biscuit pieces swell and the treats will be the correct chocolately fudgey consistency. 

Happy baking :)

 You might also be interested in: 

Toblerone dessert in 30 minutes

or try a white chocolate plastique recipe