White Chocolate Cranberry and Pistachio Rocky Road

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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 :)

Basil Syrup - A tiny taste of Summer

                                         a tiny taste of summer cupcake

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 :)

A Zumbo Macaron

clockwise front: raspberry caramel, lime and mint mojito, cola, lemon verbena, caramelised pumpkin seeds and milk chocolate, chilli and cinnamon.

On a recent trip to Sydney my step son Daniel and his beautiful girlfriend Trish went macaron shopping at pastry chef extraordinaire Adriano Zumbo's Balmain store. Daniel returned to Melbourne laden with pastries and boxes of macarons. 

Daniel and Trish

Goodness all the macarons were incredibly good and the perfect example of what a macaron should be. With super thin crisp shells yielding to soft and chewy interiors and "oh, the fillings" well, lets have a look at the flavours.... 

Raspberry Caramel; this reminded me of something from childhood, perhaps the caramelised jam at the bottom of jam pudding?  I, who doesn't like caramel usually loved this one. There is the traditional "burnt sugar" taste to these and the punch of raspberry from the not overly sweet jam like filling.

Lime and Mint Mojito; Daniel and Trish's favourite flavour... and my husband was quiet taken with these too. The strongest colour and flavour of all macaron's we tasted, a clear burst of lime followed by a fresh mint flavour. Bit "sparkly" and pretty these ones :)

Cola; Yes, it tasted like "cola". Nice colours, we all liked it with Daniel commenting he would have liked the cola flavour to be more pronounced. 

Lemon Verbena; Who would have thought?? After 18 years of marriage my husband and I finally agreed on something!! We both voted the unassuming, pale leafy green macaron our "favourite". Beautifully balanced flavour and it is was refreshing and creamy at the same time.

Caramelised Pumpkin Seeds; Voted "ok" by all of us. They weren't awful, but they weren't a "stand out" like some of the other flavours. 

Milk Chocolate Chilli and Cinnamon; These were "yum", just the right amount of heat in these babies, contrasting with the creaminess of the milk chocolate filling. If I was only to buy one flavour to serve at a party/dinner these would it. Fun and delicious.  

We also tried a few individual tarts, including 'Grandma's soap' a lavender concoction comprising of blueberry compote, fresh blueberries, lavender chantilly & almond cème. The classic passionfruit curd and and pâte sucrée and the fab 'Whizz Fizz'...

Inside the Whizz Fizz tart with it's raspberry meringue, sherbet, raspberry compote, liquorice crème. This was "Wow!!". The pastry in all the tarts is so good and unlike any pâte sucrée I've tasted before, my goal for 2012 is to emulate, that taste, texture and flavour.

Well, it's a big week for Adriano Zumbo with his new store opening at Star Casino. If your in Sydney you must go check it out. 

Oh, don't forget it's Zumbo's MACARON day this Sunday... go with an empty belly and fill up on the plethora of fabulous flavours. Get all your updates for the day straight from Zumbo's website, browse the patisserie menu whilst there.  Zumbo 

Happy Baking :) 

I'll looking at the Zumbo cookbook in up coming weeks but for now you might be interested in; Daniel's review of Lindt's Chocolate Cafe  

or a review of the Laurent Patisserie 

Menopause Fairy Cupcake

                                                 menopause fairy cupcake

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Where are the middle aged fairies? All faires seems to be young, nubile and so perfectly pretty... then we jump to the elderly fairy godmother. What happens in between? One of my girlfriends suggested "perhaps they just aren't seen". Oh, that is a sad thought... so if you know a fairy or a woman between 45 and 55 make sure they are "seen" today!! 

I've always loved the fairies that the fabulous cake decorator Dot Klerck of 'Eat Cake Party' makes; today's "Menopause Fairy Cupcake" is a spin on Dot's design. To see the talented Dot's fairies and the rest of her amazing cakes check out her flickr photostream.

I used fresh lime leaves to create the fondant leaves

Don't have leaf cutters or leaf veining moulds? In a pinch you can roll your fondant or modelling paste onto the back of a food safe, unsprayed leaf. Washed and dried mature leaves work best. Place a small ball of fondant on the back of the leave, roll lightly over it with a rolling pin. Peel off the fondant leaf, trim if necessary and drape over rolling pin or spoon to create shape, leave to dry.

Happy Baking :)

You might also like Eric the Emu 

Apricot and Rosemary Syrup Cupcakes

      apricot and rosemary syrup cupcakes with mascarpone whipped cream

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Herbs and flowers make a lovely addition to your dessert baking, the trick when using them is a light hand; whilst too much rose water can leave you with a soapy taste, too much rosemary or sage can leave you with a "oh, wow it's roast chicken!"

Spring has arrived in Australia and our rosemary plant is sprouting new growth, the soft sprigs are a perfect addition to poached dried apricots. 

Poached Dried Apricots with Rosemary

Ingredients

12 dried apricots halves

2 small sprigs fresh rosemary

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

Method

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan, stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the apricots and rosemary, bring to the boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until fruit is soft and plumped. Remove from heat. Allow to cool.  

Mascarpone whipped cream topping

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla essence/extract

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup sifted icing sugar (confectioners sugar/powdered) 

Method

Mix mascarpone, vanilla and icing sugar together, in a separate bowl mix cream until soft peaks form. Fold cream into mascarpone mixture. Chill.  

Cake 

Use your favourite vanilla cupcake as the base cake or as I've used smaller cases today I've included a basic small quantity "Australian" type cake... it's firmer which suits toppings that are moist. 

Preheat oven to 180C/350F 

Line two 12 cup trays with paper liners (the small patty/fairy cake size)

Ingredients

125g butter (4.4oz)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (150g) castor sugar (superfine)
3 eggs
1½ cups (225g) self-raising flour
¼ cup milk (60ml)

Method

Beat butter, extract, sugar, eggs, sifted flour & milk on low speed with an electric mixer until ingredients are just combined. Increase speed to medium & beat for 3 minutes until smooth and pale in colour.

Drop spoonfuls of mixture into the paper liners. Bake about 18 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool in tins for 5 minutes removing to a wire rack to cool.

Assemble

brush syrup over cake top

Brush tops of cakes with syrup from the poached apricots, top with a spoonful of mascarpone whipped topping and a poached apricot half, drizzle a little extra of the syrup on if desired. Decorate with a small sprig of rosemary.

Whether it's strawberries and basil, lemon and sage, apple and thyme or apricots and rosemary: enjoy playing with herbs in your desserts, cookies and cupcakes. 

Happy Baking :) 

Japanese Slipper Cupcake

                                               Japanese Slipper Cupcake

I've started recipe development and baking for my return to blogging. Sneak peak of what is going on... it's Japanese Slipper cupcakes today, orange cointreau cupcake, silky MIDORI butter cream & sugar isomalt toppers. 

The cakes themselves are hand mixed, however the swiss meringue buttercream frosting is best made with a stand mixer such as a KitchenAid. 

Orange Cointreau Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 180c (350F) line cupcake tin/s with paper liners

Makes 12 standard sized cupcakes with a moist pound cake like texture. These cakes are fairly light on with alcohol content, however do remember approxmately 45% of the alcohol content will remain after baking in the cakes and all the content in the frosting.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups plain flour (all purpose)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar 

1/2 cup unsalted butter melted & cooled

1 egg

1/2 cup plain yoghurt

1 tsp grated lemon zest

2 tsp orange zest

2 tbs cointreau 

1 tbls orange juice

Method

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.

In a large bowl whisk together sugar, butter and egg until smooth. Swap to a wooden spoon and add yoghurt, zest's, liqueur and juice, beat until smooth. Add flour mix and beat until just smooth.

Spoon into your prepared cupcake pan/s.  22 to 25 standard sized until the centres are just set and spring up when lightly touched. Cool in tin for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack until completely cold. 

Midori Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe for vanilla buttercream

Ingredients

Makes about 4 1/2 cups, enough for about 14 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups sugar

5 large egg whites

2 cups (450g or 1lb) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon Midori melon liqueur 

*125g (4.5 oz) of melted white chocolate, cooled slightly 

electric green food colour or a combination of green/yellow food colour

Method
Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.
Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.
 Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add midori, and beat just until combined. Add food colouring drop by drop until desired colour of green is reached. 
Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 4 minutes. Add melted white chocolate beat for one minute or until combined.

If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. *Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes. Pipe with a round or star tip onto cooled cakes. 

* make sure melted chocolate and beaten frosting mix are approximately the same temperature, if the frosting is too cold when the chocolate is added it will partially set and not incoroporate fully.

* when you start to beat your buttercream from it's refrigerated state, the buttercream will look curdled; don't be worried it will start to incorporate as it beats further. 

I will be adding the isomalt topper instructions this week... 

Until then happy baking :)

PS I'm now on facebook  join me to keep up with blog updates, little extras & give a ways. 

The Men Bake Birthday Cake

A slice of what the men can do!! Chocolate peppermint birthday cake.

It's my birthday and husband Mark and Step son Daniel baked me a cake!! This year they baked their first full sized cake from scratch & what a fabulous result!! Mark actually came away from the experience saying "oh, that's easy!" something I didn't think I'd ever hear. 

They used a Nigella Lawson recipe for 'Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake' page 166 from 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess'. Mark and Dan used a square 23 x 23cm (9 x 9in) pan instead of the loaf pan, topped the cake with peppermint whipped cream, chocolate ganache and crushed peppermint candy bars.

If you can't recall last years birthday cake it was a "do it yourself" chocolate peppermint cake ;) A bought chocolate cake with chocolate peppermint candy bars to crush as topping. Truthfully, I'd love any cake they gave me, but it was extra special this year with them baking for me!

 I learnt a few lessons watching the less experienced bake, what I just take for granted everyone knows i.e. "creaming the butter and sugar" Mark didn't know and was asking "how much cream?". I will discuss it with you more fully at a later date... but for now it's my birthday and I'm off to do birthday things.

Happy Baking :)

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 

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