An Australian Kind of Christmas Cupcake

                an Australian kind of Christmas cupcake

Without a large showing for Halloween and no Thanksgiving, Australians go into "Christmas mode" very early. Christmas work parties are on, shopping centres are crowded and puddings are being boiled. 

Blue skies promise a hot and sunny Christmas and your not Australian if you haven't sat outside perspiring on a 40 Celsius (104 F) Christmas day, swatting away flies and eating a steaming hot bowl of your Aunt's special Christmas Pudding. 

Regardless of the hot weather we hold onto our British heritage, so along with the BBQ prawns and couscous salad there will be a hot roast turkey dinner or two, puddings, shortbreads, fruit mince pies and national dishes from the many different nationalities that make up Australia. 

It can all make for a hodge podge type of meal, but I love it and it's "us"... we have hot roast turkey and duck fat roasted potatoes and all the trimmings plus we have cold seafood and salads. Chocolate peppermint ice-cream pudding for dessert, with left overs and hot puddings to be served on Boxing Day. 

Today's Koala holding onto a Christmas pudding cupcake is topped partly with fondant and part fondant/modelling chocolate. The 50/50 fondant modelling chocolate is easy to work with when making figures, I do like white fondant for the white details. Happy Baking :)

The modelling chocolate recipe I used is here

Hubby Mark is 41 and still hasn't seen snow... but he does love Frosty the snowman.

Baby Blue Birds of Happiness Cupcake

                                baby blue birds of happiness cupcake

The Bluebird of Happiness; It is a widely accepted symbol of cheerfulness, happiness, prosperity, hearth and home, good health, new births, the renewal of springtime, etc. Virtually any positive sentiments may be attached to the bluebird.

blue bird of happiness wikipedia

Join me on Facebook, I'd love to see you there! 

"Egg birds" a quick little fondant bird that you can pop in a nest. Today it's bluebirds, though I also make white versions of these birds with a closed beak and an added comb for Easter chickens. 

Start by rolling small egg shapes out of blue fondant. 

Then roll out modelling paste/flower paste in different shades of blue. With small scissors (I have two pairs of nail scissors in my cake dec kit, one pair curved and one straight) cut feather shapes for the wings. Make incisions in each feather shape to mimic a real feather. Attach three feathers to each side of your birds with water or cake/flower glue. 

Roll a small amount of white fondant into balls for the eyes and attach. Shape a small amounts of orange fondant or modelling paste into beaks and attach. Allow to dry for a few hours before drawing black dots on the eyes with a food marker. My egg birds don't have feet, but of course you could add them if desired.

For the nest, using a clay gun extrude brown/chocolate fondant or modelling paste with the finest hair disc. Shape sections into nests, keeping a few single strands to one side. Allow to dry for a few hours before attaching to the top of your cakes with cake glue. Tuck in pieces of your reserved strands to create a "twiggy" nest look.

Put a small rolled round (dampened both sides) piece of fondant inside the nest, position your birds in the nest. Allow to dry for a few hours. 

Oh, and if you would like to make marbled fondant it's very easy, just twist together your desired amount of colours. The more you twist, the more muted the colours will become. Roll out.

Happy Baking :)

You might also be interested in all the shapes a clay gun can make!!

Dippy Hippy and Clay Gun Shapes

Update on Monday, October 3, 2011 at 12:51PM by The Lone Baker

Oh, my "Baby Bluebirds of Happiness" and "Dippy Hippy" cupcakes cake/s are on the wonderful Cupcake Takes The Cake!!! 

Cupcake Cases, Liners, Papers & Wrappers

Cupcake liners can match your theme, just be pretty or act as an inspiration like these two gorgeous cupcake case entries featured today. 

I'm now on facebook too!

Ok, these are super cute aren't they? Going dotty with polka dot free-standing cases. These cases can be used for small desserts, ice-cream to hold lollies, nuts or for baking cupcakes. They do have a plastic film interior coating and are made in a wide range of colours to match your theme. 

Available from The Party Studio (AU) and Bake it Pretty (US) 

In case you missed these on facebook... gorgeous SK butterfly cupcake cases.

Available in a range of colours from Squires Kitchen (UK)

I have a new "good luck' baking charm in the form of a Momiji doll :)

Momiji (pronounced mom-ee-jee) are collectible hand painted resin message dolls. The adorable dolls are given as small gifts to show friendship and love, each one has a place in the bottom for a hidden message.

My Momiji 'Pixie' came packaged in a noodle box and is available from Tesora (AU)  

and Amazon (US)  

Happy Baking :)

you might also be interested in...

vestli house cupcake cases

or brights

Blue Heaven, have we grown up?

 

 blue heaven milkshake and raspberry and vanilla macarons 

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When I was experimenting with fruit loop cupcakes this week I was surprised to hear how many adults still start their day with a bowl of fruit loops! I fell into the other camp of "oh, they so sweet and artificially coloured!" I can't believe I ever ate them".  Ha! This was as I bit into my artifically coloured and very sweet macaron.

I wondered if any of us really grow up at all? Are macarons the fruit loops for grown ups?

Whether it's a pink frosted cupcake, purple macaron or that spearmint green ice-cream cone you like so much, chances are it's the artificial colour that attracted you and the sugary sweet taste that soothes your inner child. 

'Blue Heaven' milkshakes are an Aussie icon, I loved the blue milky frothiness  as a child and had absolutely no idea what flavour they were. Recent taste testing in our house led to guesses of vanilla/strawberry, vanilla/pineapple, berries; no one had the same answer so I rang McKenzie's the manufacturer of the syrup during the week to find out "What flavour is Blue Heaven" and the answer is... Vanilla Raspberry.  

If you are having a retro moment and are planning on serving milkshakes to adults, try going "small" with the serving size; a stomach full of milk loses some of it's appeal as an adult. Baby food jars are perfectly sized for job, as we have no baby at home I buy the apple puree and use the puree in cake recipes. 

Glass baby food jars perfect for milkshakes, mini layered desserts right through to baked chocolate custards.

That's it for today, happy Baking :)

you might also be interested in Raspberry Marshmallow

Baking Straight Cupcakes

                          peace on earth cupcake

I was thrilled to be invited to give a ten question interview on the gorgeous blog "Haniela's", pop on over and read the interview here and whilst there don't miss Haniela's too, too beautiful Christmas cookie collection!! 

"Ignorance is bliss"

Wow, if you use gmail you'll know it stacks your emails under what google call "conversation" view. I turned off conversation view today and now I'm feeling sick! I've only answered the first and second mail from each batch coming from The Lone Baker, I didn't realise there was more mails in the "stack". I think we can safely say that I'm being cursed all around the world for not answering the July wedding emergency emails! Sorry ):

One of the most popular questions is "how do you bake your cupcakes to look so straight". I do like the look of straight sides on a cupcake and really came across how to do it when I was tackling the other most asked question "cupcake case fall". 

There is three elements to baking cupcakes with straight sides; 

Firstly the cupcake tin/pan... I use Wilton, it's not the heaviest/best quality tin on the market but the cup holes have straighter sides.

                    Wilton cupcake tin

Secondly the liner... You're looking for liners that have straighter sides, higher too if possible.

 

            the centre liner has higher sides

the centre liner is less flared & perfect for straight cupcakes

                

                           the fit of the liner

These cupcake liners in the pan demonstrate liners "fit", the black fox run liner fits perfectly into the tin, the donna hay liner will drop into pan hole with the weight of the batter and the last one is a Wilton case that does not fit the Wilton pan! Note the folding around the edges that happens once it is weighted, this is exactly how they bake with over half the cupcakes I baked with these liners having folds around the side. 

Thirdly the batter... You need a cupcake batter that isn't too high in fat, (butter, cream, oil, chocolate) so the double choc sour cream cupcake won't be as straight as a sponge or standard cupcake batter. Also avoid the liquid batters that you pour into the cases if you are after straight cupcakes. 

All these elements will also reduce to eliminate "case fall" too. Other tips for reducing case fall is to remove the cupcakes from the tin as soon as possible to reduce "sweating"; moisture from being left to cool in the pan and humidity can both lead to case fall. Also you might be tempted to under-fill the cases with cake batter so you have more decorating room once baked, however under-filled cases can lead to case fall simply because the case doesn't have enough cake batter to grip onto. 

Those dreaded minis and that "case fall"

Alas too late??  I've found a type of mini cupcakes cases that don't fall... I've tried three batters in them, left them to dry, tested refrigerated and froze/defrosted and they've stayed in place. They are the "minis" part of the High Tea range.

Since they have the same base diameter, it has to be the height of the case that is keeping the case on. 

Now we come the "alas" part; I went to buy more and I can't find them now, the standard sized 'High tea' range is everywhere but not the mini's... if you have spotted them please let everyone know. 

It's always nice to get thank you emails and this is an especially nice one from Sophie;

Subject: Thankyou
Message: Hi,
 My name is Sophie,
 I am 11 years old,
 I would just like to say thank you for giving me this great advice on how to clean my toffee pan because I couldn't find any other way.
So Thank you
Bye

Thank you Sophie, glad I could be of some help :) 

Clean you toffee pan the easy way

 You may also be interested in Twirly Swirly Chocolate Decoration ... fab for New Year & Celebrations; 

Lastly, thank you everyone who phoned/text/messaged/emailed condolence messages on the passing of our beloved 'Marvin the Pug'. He was our darling boy. 

Back mid week with more Christmas goodies. Happy Baking :)

Stockists:

Dove cupcake pick by Birchcraft has now been discontinued... a shame, their metal cupcake picks were lovely... today's dove I painted the toothpick with blue lustre edible paint. Do look for metal charms, scrap booking pieces or metallic dresden's to turn into cupcake picks, you'll end up with something unique & perfect for gift giving. 

Wilton cupcakes tins ; Australia Everten Online  UK Cakes, Cookies and Crafts  US  

Martha Stewart makes Cookies App Review

              variations of Martha Stewart's chocolate crackle cookies

UPDATE: February 9th.... please note the glitch in the text display with the Martha Stewart make Cookies App has been fixed. Plus more cookie recipes were added with the last update. We can presume at this stage cookies will be added to the app at regular/holiday intervals :) Don't forget to sync your ipad! 

As a self declared Martha Stewart fan (or insert "fanatic" perhaps?), I just had to get the 'Martha Stewart Makes Cookies' app for ipad! 

welcome screen "Martha Stewart Makes Cookies" ipad app

Pros; well it's "'fun and gorgeous", but I guess you want to hear about the features... 

It's easy to choose any of the cookies with the apps intuitive navigation methods; either scroll sideways through the images and "touch" to make your selection, or use the selection wheel to dial a flavour/type of cookie and of course you can always go old school and type the cookies name or ingredient into the search box.

scroll sideways then touch to select 

dial a choice with the selection wheel

Helpful pre-set timers are built into the recipes to aid with preparation and baking times.

setting the timer for 11 minutes for beating meringue

Ready to share; Loved the recipe you just baked? You can share any recipe through email, Twitter and on Facebook with a touch of a button.

share a recipe

emailing a recipe, the full recipe arrives in your inbox complete with small colour image of the cookie.

Other main features include a dozen short videos showing a cookie being made or technique, shopping list and the ability to bookmark favourites. The new recipes featured and twists on classic recipes are delightful.

Cons; first up the price at $7.49 (US) or $9.99 (AU) is high for an app. I'd definitely like more packaging ideas (the same two come up over and over again) and more recipes!! If you already own Martha Stewart's Cookies book or are a Martha fan you will find a lot of familiar territory covered; traditional shortbread, sugar cookies, mexican wedding cookies, and yes... biscotti. No metric!!

There is a small programming glitch (that I'm sure that will fixed in an update) that blurs the third line of each cookies intro page. 

double blur on third line of all the cookie intro pages

Personally, I'm loving this app for the share and timer abilities, ease of use, the twists on Martha's classic cookies plus the gorgeous photography. This app would suit Martha fans and those ipad carrying people that are new to cookie baking. Whilst there is room for improvement, for a first app it's fantastic and I'm looking forward to future Martha Stewart apps. 

'Martha Stewart Makes Cookies' app from the iTunes store

In the 'Martha Stewart Makes Cookies' app you will find a variation of the classic Martha Stewart 'Chocolate Crackle' cookies, this one containing ground almonds... with only a half cup of wheat flour this recipe would be ideal to convert to gluten free.

Chocolate-Almond Crackles using Martha Stewart Makes Cookies for iPad

8 ounces (225 grams) bittersweet (dark eating chocolate), finely chopped

1 cup blanched almonds, toasted

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon coarse salt

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup confectioners’ sugar 

1 Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, stirring. Let cool slightly.

2 Pulse almonds in a food processor until very finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.

3 In a separate bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in chocolate. Reduce speed to low, and add almond-flour mixture. Cover and chill 1 hour.

4 Preheat oven to 175 celsius (350°). Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar to coat, then in confectioners’ sugar. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until surfaces crack, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Coloured Sugar: I made coloured batches of icing sugar by whirling icing sugar and either powdered food colour or gel paste colour in the food processor. You do get tiny dots of intense colour with both powder or gel. I wanted them to match the flavour variations I had planned....

I made one batch of these Chocolate-almond Crackle cookies and rolled them in white icing sugar.
Then I made a batch of the traditional Chocolate Crackle cookies from Martha Stewart's website. I divided that dough in half adding a 1/2 cup of chopped dried blueberries to one half (rolled in blue) and 2 teaspoons of raspberry liqueur to the other half to be rolled in the pink.

*note if you are using the recipe for Chocolate Crackle cookies from Martha's website there is one step missing that is included in the cookie book. Roll your cookie dough balls in granulated/white sugar before rolling in icing sugar... this step ensures a pristine finish for when you need to package your cookies as gifts.

Happy Baking :)

you might also like Martha's Baking Handbook review

today's main photo Daniel Paxton-Zahra

Cupcake Cases, Liners, Papers & Wrappers

bright solid colour cupcake cases

Cupcake liners can just be pretty, act as an inspiration or match your theme like these versatile solid colour cupcake cases.

I'm impressed with how these solid colour cupcake cases are true to colour after baking... even with chocolate batter. They keep their shape well & I haven't experienced "case fall" with them. 

red and aqua blue used that I used for coca-cola and bounty bar cupcakes

 One problem, about 5% arrived with wrinkles still usable but not terrific for presentation

wrinkle mid way up the case on a small percentage of those that were delivered

Other than that I love these 100% Nordic greaseproof cases, with over 10 colours to choose from they are sold in packs of 40 from Fancy Flours (US)

*Fancy Flours; you will need to search for each colour separately 

Continue the pattern

blue modelling paste swirls top a chocolate frosted mud-cake in blue swirl liner

Quick Tip~ Continuing the pattern

Adore a pattern on a cupcake liner? Why not continue the pattern to the cake itself; use fondant, modelling paste, buttercream piping, food paint, royal icing or chocolate. It can be as delicate as a soft toned floral peeping over the edge or perhaps polka dot royal icing love heart cookies topping cupcakes in polka dot liners. 

Do it yourself at home by scanning in your cupcake liner and either copying the pattern by eye or tracing it & transferring to card-stock so you can cut a stencil.

hmmm, would have been better if I had ironed this cupcake liner between baking paper ;)

Don't stop there, bring the pattern into gift tags for boxed cupcakes and favour bags too.

Happy Baking :)

*I used the foil liners I was having trouble with other day... even with the heavier mud-cake batter they still separated from the sides. I did ganache the cakes at first and it leaked down the sides so I had to spread frosting over the top to cover.

Tool Time & Chocolate Curls

Tool Time the kitchen tools and gadgets I love

Yes, it's a veggie peeler! A sharp vegetable peeler is used in chocolate work to trim up those rough edges & ties in with a couple of email enquires I had this week asking how to make the small chocolate curls I used in the Colouring Chocolate entry earlier this month.

Curls are made straight from a block, bar or in the case of my coloured chocolate "a blob". Hold the chocolate in one hand and firmly and evenly run the peeler down the narrow side. Pressing firmly gives you a tight curl, not as firmly gives a softer curl. The curls have a slightly wood-grain appearance.

tight curl & two partial curls

blobs of chocolate for the small amount of coloured curls I needed

finished chocolate curls

My peeler of choice to do this? An Oxo Good Grips swivel peeler, it's sharp and the rubber non-stick grip makes it so much easier to hold. I have two, one for chocolate work and one for the veggies! 

You might also be interested in:

                     Musk

Cupcake Cases, Liners, Papers & Wrappers

Cupcake liners can just be pretty, act as an inspiration or match your theme.

I do like a design to carry through to the base of a liner like this fabulous swirl pattern does on these bold solid colour liners. Imagine a spring time yellow theme, blue cries out for piles of white frosting and green is just so minty!

These cases have straight sides, are of medium size and are made from quality greaseproof Swedish paper. 

Available in six different colours: Yellow, Blue, Green, Red, Purple & Gold

The cases cup in packs of 40 from Fancy Flours