baking = love

A study in lanterns and dumplings

2012-02-04T00:12:00.000-08:00

The lantern festival marks the 15th and final day of the Chinese New Year holiday and every year the Asia New Zealand Foundation puts on the Auckland Lantern Festival: a lavish three day long extravaganza with glorious techni-coloured lantern displays filling Albert Park and street stalls of delicious asian food lining the length of Princes Street.

You really get the sense you're in some exotic bustling marketplace in South East Asia rather than the immaculately colonial Albert Park next to Auckland University.

Me and my girls from high school went last night on a beautiful if somewhat muggy Auckland evening and ate our weight in dumplings, noodles, donuts, and steamed buns.

{$4 for 6 pork dumplings. I kid you not. Make sure you get plenty of soy sauce and sweet chilli on these bad boys}

Festivities start in the early evening with musical and martial arts acts and carry on into the night. There are stalls if you want to buy your own lanterns, get your name written in Chinese or get your fortune told.

And what asian fair would be complete without stalls selling animal shaped beanies (C refused to let me get an Angry Birds hat. I am still dark about that).

{happy year of the dragon}

The festival is on until Sunday, so you still have tonight and tomorrow night to get yourselves down to Albert Park to partake in some fun by lantern light.

Make sure you have an empty stomach, open mind and prepare to be bedazzled.

{the hoards descend on princes street & watching the lion dance}

{perfecting the art of street eating is a tricky business}

{only in new zealand...}

{lantern loveliness}

{heading home with full bellies and silk-covered LED-lit stars in our eyes}

For more information visit: http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/en/ourauckland/events/pages/aucklandlanternfestival.aspx

Guilt-free Orange & Almond Mini Cakes for Chinese New Year

2012-01-29T13:38:00.000-08:00

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful ~ Mae West

Ahhh January.

Named after Janus, the god of the doorway in Roman mythology, January is the one (and probably only) month in the year when everyone is most likely to stick to their freshly made New Year resolutions.

Yes January, also affectionately known as Post-Christmas-Binge-Detox month. And since this year Chinese New Year also falls in the month of January, it seems like a good month to try and be good. After all the CNY feasting of course.

For Chinese New Year, I really wanted to make something orangey. Oranges in Chinese culture symbolise a prayer for good fortune and are considered harbingers of good luck. They are often used as offerings at temples and also as gifts when you visit people over the New Year period.

So Orange and Almond Mini Cakes were just the ticket as Detox Month/Chinese New Year baking. Gluten-free, lactose-free, flourless, butter-less, and oil-less: these little cakes may be guilt free but are most definitely not delicious free.

Originally I had envisaged making something luscious and exotic with orange blossom water, almonds and pistachios but a long and fruitless search for orange blossom water later, that plan was scrapped and new a recipe sought.

To be honest, I didn't start off looking for a "healthy" recipe. I was merely looking for a orange and almond cake recipe that looked yummy, wasn't too dense, and used the ingredients I had at home. Trawling supermarket after supermarket for orange blossom water makes one reluctant to even contemplate popping out to brave trolley warfare and queue shuffling yet again.

The recipe I found was simply the one that had the best ratings. It wasn't until I was mixing it all up that I realized, hang on a minute, this doesn't have any butter or oil or yoghurt in it. How could they possibly be good?? I thought I was heading towards an imminent utter baking disaster. As they baked I fretted about getting heavy bitter crumbly dry rocks that were more dense than lead.

I could not have been more wrong.

I was so worried about how bad sans-butter sans-oil gluten-free cakes would be that I held off trying one until the next morning. On first sniff they didn't smell so bad. Pretty good in fact, fragrantly orangey. I cut one in half, the texture seemed nice and light, loose and moist, not lead-like at all. Squeezing my eyes shut, prepared for the worst, I popped a bit into my mouth. A burst of zesty citrus and sweet nuttiness of almonds. Moist, oh so tender, light and spongey. The phrase that immediately jumped to mind: no way. So I had to try a second one to make sure the first was not a fluke. Yip, the second one was just as good.

This was a baking revelation. Boiling and using the whole oranges makes these cakes incredibly moist and gives an aromatic almost floral orange flavour, reminiscent of marmalade. The ground almonds also help keep the cakes moist and lends a gorgeous almond fragrance that marries perfectly with the orange zestiness.

As the recipe suggests, they really are much better the second day. I tried some straight out of the oven when I made a second batch and they hadn't developed that intense orangey flavour yet.

They are also a cinch to make. I used a stick blender to puree the oranges then switched to the electric whisk attachment to beat the eggs. Easy. But wait, there's more, they're easy to make and also very forgiving: I completely forgot to put the baking powder in one batch and they still turned out fine.

Delicate enough for a ladies wine party at a stately home in Parnell, hardy and tasty enough to hold their own at a summer bbq at Piha: fragrant, light, zesty, easy and forgiving, what's not to love about this recipe?

And if you wanted to try out different types of citrus fruits: lemons, limes etc I'm sure the recipe could be re-orranged for that.

Orange and Almond Mini Cakes

Adapted from a recipe from Taste.

Makes 24 mini cakes

2 large sweet navel oranges, washed*
1/4 cup white sugar (optional)
250g ground almonds
250g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 eggs
flaked/sliced almonds to decorate

*(choose nice looking ones with good skin, I stuck with sweet navel oranges as some of the comments on the website said the recipe was too bitter and I wondered if it was because they used a different type of orange?)

1. In a medium saucepan, cover the oranges in water, add 1/4 cup sugar and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour making sure the oranges stay covered. Drain and allow to cool.

2. Cut the oranges into quarters and remove any seeds. Blend the orange into a puree.

3. Preheat the oven to 150oC fan bake making sure the racks are nearest to the bottom of oven and you have two racks ready. Spray two 12-cup muffin tins with baking spray or line with baking cups. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy and tripled in volume (takes around 2 minutes).

4. Combine the ground almonds and baking powder making sure you get rid of any big lumps.

5. Add a third of the ground almond mixture to the eggs and fold in gently. Add half the orange puree and fold. Add the second third of ground almonds, fold in, then fold in the rest of the orange puree, followed by the last of the ground almonds. This is the "dry-wet-dry" cake method that helps get a fluffier lighter texture to cakes.

6. Scoop cake mixture and divide out evenly into the muffin tins, they don't rise that much so it's ok to fill the cups till pretty much full. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top of each mini cake.

7. Bake both muffin trays at the same time at 150oC fan bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on top and a toothpick/skewer comes out clean when poked in the middle of the cake. Leave to cool in the tins before turning out (may need to be loosened with a knife and then give them a little twist and a pat on the bottom).

These little cakes are best a day after they are made. Store them in an air-tight container and serve just by themselves or with a dollop of greek yoghurt with honey. Noms.

NB: The recipe can make also a cake. Just line a 21cm spring form cake tin and bake for an hour at 170oC normal bake (you may need to cover with tin foil after ~ 40 minutes to stop burning).

Chinese New Year Feast at One Dream, Mt Wellington

2012-01-24T18:47:00.000-08:00

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Year of the Dragon lovely people!

Chinese New Year is THE most important event in Chinese calender. It marks the start of the lunar year and starts with a family feast on Chinese New Year's Eve, followed by another massive feast on Chinese New Year's Day and ends with a feast for the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the lunar calender.

For our New Year dinner we went to our family's fav little Chinese restaurant in Mt Wellington. It's a gem of a place. Family-run and tucked away next to Harvey Norman on Mt Wellington Highway, One Dream specialises in home style Chinese cooking that's authentic, delicious, and incredibly reasonable.

They are usually closed on a Monday but the lovely owners open just for us for Chinese New Year Day. Legends.

Our first dish was actually Chinese style soup but I was so hungry I completely forgot to take pics. I knew it was going to be a feast to end all feasts so I made sure I only had one sandwich for lunch in preparation for the evening's gluttony and by the time the soup arrived I was ravenously hangry.

Once I had settled the hunger monster, I managed to capture our second course: Peking Duck. If you haven't had Peking Duck before, stop reading, go out to a good Chinese restaurant and get yourself some Peking Duck. You can thank me later.

Peking Duck is a famous banquet dish originating from Beijing (which used to be called Peking). The duck is roasted in a special way to get the skin super crispy, and then is carved into delicate slices so you get a layer of the crunchy skin with a little duck meat . You wrap your morsel of duck in a steamed pancake, add raw cucumber and spring onions and drizzle with sweet hoisin or plum sauce. Wrap it all up like a burrito and feast.

The One Dream version was top notch. They sliced up the duck with more meat than usual and not as much fat (awesome in my books) and the duck had been marinated with spices before roasting giving it loads of flavour. .

The rest of the duck meat is used to make our third course: San Choi Bao. The duck is stir fried with Chinese mushrooms, water chestnuts, tofu, in a spicy oyster sauce and soy marinade. You scoop some of the duck mixture into a fresh lettuce leaf, wrap like a cigar and munch away. Another course requiring manual labour.

Serving lettuce wraps is considered lucky as the Chinese words for lettuce sound like "rising fortunes". Meaningfulness aside, the crispy cool lettuce is a great contrast to the piping hot, spicy duck. So so tasty and fun too.

{braised chinese mushrroms wth fat choi and dried oysters, lamb casserole, scallops and snow pea stir fry}

Braised Chinese mushrooms with fat choi (hair seaweed) and dried oysters ("ho see") is a typical New Year dish as it sounds like "wealth and good business". The Chinese mushrooms were meltingly tender and although I'm not usually a fan of dried oysters these ones were actually pretty good, not too chewy or fishy tasting.

The lamb casserole was tender and flavourful, not a stand out but a solid entry and the scallop and snow peas stir fry was crispy and succulent with loads of fat scallops and sweet snow peas.

You always have a fish dish at Chinese banquets. The word for fish "yu" sounds like the words for 'wish' and 'abundance' so having fish as part of your New Year banquet symbolises wishing for abundance in the coming year.

For our fish dish, we had braised snapper with tofu and Chinese mushrooms. The snapper is deep fried before braising and served with a oyster sauce and soy sauce. The fish was super fresh and cooked to silky perfection. Truely, the whole meal was a testament to the chef and his dedication to picking only the freshest and best ingredients.

{White cut chicken with ginger scallion sauce, choi sum in broth. The chicken is served whole to represent wholeness and prosperity.}

By the time the white cut chicken with ginger scallion sauce came out, I was already bursting at the seams but it was so beautifully moist and topped with some of that yummy ginger scallion sauce I found I had to have two pieces. Which of course then needed to be balanced out with some of the choi sum with broth dish to make sure I eat my greens.

{sweet and sour prawns}

Sweet and sour dishes are popular at Chinese banquets, particularly for families hoping for a lot of grandchildren as the word sour sounds like "grandchildren" in Cantonese. My Mum ordered this dish. Subtle.

{sugar coated taro with toasted sesame and coconut}

Finally dessert time. Luckily, even though I was unbelievably full from the main courses, my dessert stomach still had some room to spare.

One Dream excels at traditional Chinese desserts. And not just any old desserts, the Sugar-coated Taro and Deep Fried Meringues are some of the hardest desserts to make in Chinese cuisine. For the taro: first of all you need to have Chinese taro which is more aromatic and sweeter than the taro grown here. Then you need to deep fry the taro so it is fluffy on the inside whilst crispy on the outside. After which you make sugar syrup and cook it at exactly the right temperature to get it to recrystallise and mix the taro and toasted sesame seeds and coconut through it. Too hot and you burn the sugar, not hot enough and you get soggy taro. Tricky huh?

The end result is a glorious stack of fluffy taro with a crunchy sugar coating scattered with toasted sesame seeds and coconut. I know it sounds weird but it is actually swoon-worthy: sweetly aromatic and fragrantly nutty. Couldn't get enough of it.

{deep fried meringues with red bean paste}

The other dessert masterpiece were the Deep Fried Meringues. Fans of Masterchef Australia would have watched 2009 runner-up Poh have a fried meringue disaster in the rounds, only to wow the judges with a successful attempt later on. Needless to say this is a dish that even Masterchefs often get wrong. I've had so many bad experiences with oily chewy disasters that we often don't order the dish. However, the One Dream Deep Friend Meringues are a triumph. Light fluffy clouds of meringue, so delicate and ethereal it was like they only dipped their toes into the deep fryer before being whisked out again. Gorgeous. I don't even like red bean and I liked this.

{They even gave us free fruit}

We had loads left over to take home, even though we had to be rolled out of the restaurant we were so full.

Massive compliments to the chef for starting our New Year with such extreme deliciousness. Can't wait to go back.

Rating: 4/5

At a glance:

One Dream Cafe Bar
46 Mt Wellington Highway
Panmure
AUCKLAND 1060
Ph: (09) 527 2078

Closed Mondays

Service: Family-run restaurant with quick and friendly service. We pre-ordered our banquet menu so everything came super speedy. Dishes are massive and piled high...we had to doggy bag heaps to take home.

Food: 100% Authentic and 100% delicious home style Cantonese cooking. Make sure you save some room to try their specialty deep fried meringues and sugar coated taro for dessert.

Setting: Small little restaurant with only 3-4 big tables and some smaller tables, open kitchen, has a Chinese tea house vibe. Plenty of parking.

Price (NZD):
12 courses (including 2 desserts) for 9 people. (eek sorry need to check how much it was....watch this space)

Summary: Tasty, speedy, the real deal. One Dream has become our go-to restaurant when we're craving home style Chinese cooking but can't be bothered making it ourselves.

Bake off winning: Apricot & Walnut Caramel Tarts

2012-01-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

The most exciting attractions are between two opposites that never meet. ~ Andy Warhol

According to pop psychology most people are either Type A or Type B personalities.

Type A's being highly organised, time-conscious, stressed out, and competitive and Type B's being laid back, relaxed, casual and not having a single organisational bone in their bodies. So it was rather hilarious, and not completely surprising, to discover over new years that the entire group of boys were, you guessed it, Type B, with their partners/wives/girlfriends all being exclusively and emphatically Type A. Leave the boys to decide on what to do next and we are still sitting at the beach hours later. Get the girls together and we're all planning out the next couple of days in minute detail: spreadsheets, packing lists and all. It seems opposites do attract.

I think it would be hard to argue I am anything but Type A: I like everything neat and organised, things to be planned well in advance, getting to places way early. C in his more cheekier moments has dubbed it Type A.R. But for a Type A, I don't think I'm that competitive. I don't even like competitions and while being last is never fun, being first seems to me like an awful lot of pressure.

And I most definitely don't like being in bake off's. If people actually like my baking that's enough of a win for me. I leave it to the truly talented to enter in baking competitions and then go about collect the winning recipes to try. Here is one of those winning recipes from a bake off C had at his work a wee while ago: Apricot and Walnut Caramel Tarts.

I've tweaked the recipe from Victoria (a colleague of C's) who originally adapted Jo Seagar's pecan pies to make Pecan Macadamia and Apricot Pies for their bake off. The addition of dried apricots is pure genius. I'm a huge fan of pecan pies but they are rather rich so the slightly tart, fruitiness of the dried apricots is the perfect counter balance for the buttery caramelly filling.

I used walnuts instead of pecans for my tarts (since that's all we had in the pantry) and added a good big pinch of sea salt to give the filling a salted caramel flavour. Divine.

The pastry for the tart cases were also incredibly short, buttery, and crumbly. That Jo Seagar sure knows how to bake! I made mine a little too thick for fear of the filling leaking through but next time I'm going to press it out a little thinner to get a more delicate pastry case since they are baby tarts and we wanna get loads of filling into these puppies.

These tarts were a perfect substitute for fruit mince tarts at our Christmas gatherings and got gobbled up in no time. Everyone went nuts over them. Can't wait to try them out again with different nut combinations and as bigger tarts!

Apricot and Walnut Caramel Tarts

Tweaked from recipe by Victoria. Original recipe for baby pecan pies by Jo Seagar found here.

makes around 36 mini tarts

Pastry
250g butter
2 cups flour
1 cup icing sugar (132g)

1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to mix until the pastry starts to clump around the blade.

2. Remove the dough from mixer and knead into log shape. Divide the log in half, then each half in to halves and halves again to get 16 even balls of dough. Roll each ball to get a sphere.

3. Spray two 24 cup non-stick mini muffin tins with non stick baking spray. Press each ball of dough into each cup to get a thin layer with a little lip over the top of the cup.

4. Chill the pastry cups in fridge for at least 30 mins.

Filling
1/2 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
1/2 cup walnut halves (or pecans, macadamias, or almonds)
60g butter
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
big pinch sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC or 160oC fan bake. Count out enough walnut halves to top all the tarts. Chop the rest of the walnuts up and mix in with the dried apricots. Divide the dried apricots/nuts evenly into chilled pastry cups. Place a walnut half on top of each cup.

2. Melt the butter in a pyrex measuring jug then add the egg, vanilla, salt and sugar to the melted butter and whisk until it forms a smooth caramel sauce.

3. Pour the caramel sauce slowly into each case (around 1 teaspoon per case), being careful not to overfill (or underfill!).

4. Bake at 180oC for 20- 25 mins or 160oC on fan bake for around 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the filling has set. Leave the tarts to cool in tins for around 5mins. To release each tart, twist the tops gently to loosen and put on a wire rack to cool completely.

Edamame, fennel & orange salad and a huge Happy New Year!

2012-01-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year beautiful people! May 2012 bring you all success, happiness and deliciousness.

We've just come back from our action packed South Island adventure. It was rugged. It was amazing. It was hardcore. We camped, tramped and road tripped our way through the deep south, visiting some of the most beautiful places on the planet. Cannot wait to post some of the gazillion photos I took on our trip. I can barely lift my right arm 'cause I took so many. Don't know if you heard me counting. I took over a thousand. (I actually did!!)

{sneak peek from our south island road trip}

I also have loads of new recipes I've tried out from our Christmas festivities which I'm dying to share with you so am mucho excited bout being back to blogging. Bring on twenty twelve baby!

Since it's a fresh new year, let's start off with a fresh salad recipe: Edamame, Fennel & Orange Salad.

This salad was inspired by an amazing meal I had on Cathay Pacific a while ago. We were lucky enough to be upgraded to business class and the food was sensational. Tell you what, a girl could totally get used to business class.

The salad on the flight paired fennel with edamame which is a combo I've never seen before but fell in love with. Inspired, I set about to create my own version of the salad, adding oranges to give it a citrusy zing.

I tested it out on my family at our Christmas eve bbq and it went down a treat. Everyone loved it and I just couldn't stop eating the stuff. It's completely addictive and incredibly good for you too. Bonus.

Edamame are young soy beans often served in the pod simply blanched and salted as a bar snack at Japanese sake bars. You pop the plump bright green gems out of their pod and into your mouth and discard the pod. They are buttery, slightly nuttery and utterly delish and go amazingly with a crisp dry beer.

Edamame are also packed with dietary fibre, omega-3 fatty acids, folic acid and vitamin K. Delicious and nutritious. You tend to buy edamame frozen (even at the supermarket these days) and luckily for me, you can get them already shelled to save the hassle of having to de-pod them (I made broad bean salad last year and de-podding was the bane of my existence).

Fennel bulbs (a.k.a. Florence Fennel) are rather sexy little vegetables. Used in Mediterranean dishes, it's not as strong as the fennel herb you get and has a crisp crunchy texture with a subtly aromatic aniseed flavour. When choosing fennel bulbs, go for the curvier rounded female bulbs as they are slightly sweeter. In fennel as in life, no?

Crisp aniseedy fennel combined with the sweet oranges and buttery edamame, and you have yourself a flavour-packed summer salad which is amazing just on it's own or partnered up with fish or chicken.

And since I seem to have a post-Christmas food baby that I just can't quit, this wee salad is def in my arsenal for trying to lose those post-Christmas pounds! Food baby be gone!

Edamame, Fennel and Orange Salad

Serves roughly 3-4 as a light meal or 6-8 as a side

1 x 450g bag frozen shelled edamame beans (countdown has them in the frozen vege aisle, or try an asian grocer)
1 fennel bulb
2 oranges
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (use the fruity yummy stuff)
2 big pinches of salt
freshly cracked black pepper

1. Bring a pot of water to the boil and boil the edamame straight from the freezer for 5 minutes. Drain and run under a cold tap to cool and place in a large salad bowl.

2. Cut the green tops off the fennel bulbs and set aside. Slice the fennel bulb in half vertically. Cut out the tough core and slice very very finely using a very sharp knife or a mandoline if you have one. Add the shards of fennel to the salad bowl. Pick some of the fronds off the green tops, chop roughly and add to the salad. Save some to sprinkle on top just before serving.

3. Cut the skin off the orange making sure you get all the pitch off and cut out each individual segment, cut the segments in half and add to the salad bowl.

4. Mix the white wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to make the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

5. Just before serving, toss the dressing gently through the salad and sprinkle some of the fennel fronds on top to make it pretty. Devour with gusto.

Merry Christmas & fairy lights ♥

2011-12-25T00:13:00.000-08:00

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. ~Agnes M. Pahro

May your Christmas be filled with laughter and sunshine.

May you be surrounded the people you love most and know you best.

May your bellies be filled with delicious food and your hearts be filled with delicious memories.

Wishing you all hope, joy and peace this Christmas.

Meri Kirihimete everyone.

xox

White chocolate eggnog fudge

2011-12-24T02:51:00.000-08:00

Last Christmas, my White Chocolate Eggnog Truffles went down a treat so this year I thought I'd stick with the winning flavour combo but in fudge form: White Chocolate Eggnog Fudge.

Following the raging success that was the Salted Caramel Fudge, I felt like a fudge ninja. I was on a fudge making roll.

The recipe is a microwave recipe which makes the whole process super easy. And at Christmas time, a recipe that doesn't require too much slaving over a hot stove is my best friend.

One little complication though was that the original recipe calls for marshmallow creme or marshmallow fluff which we can't readily get here in New Zealand. So I made a sort of marshmallow creme substitute by melting white marshmallows with some light cornsyrup and adding that to the mix.

Of course, this meant having to pick out all the white marshmallows from the bag and I now have a whole bag of pink marshmallows burning a hole in my pantry which I have no idea what to do with. Being a marshmallow lover you'd think I'd just scoff them, but I'm one of those people who, against all logic, are convinced that the pink ones taste different from the white ones. Perhaps a batch of rocky road is in order...

While the addition of the marshmallow may make the fudge smooth and help it set up, in the end I found it tasted a bit too overwhelming marshmallowy and not eggnoggy enough.

I also tasted a bit of the brandy essence that the recipe calls for thinking it would be gloriously intensely brandy flavoured but it was actually rather bland and insipid so I'm not sure what it adds to the fudge. Next time I think I'll just use some proper brandy in there and bump it up to a tablespoon or so which may help bump down the marshmallow flavour and boost the eggnogginess.

The fudge sets up fine at room temperature. The texture is a bit softer and smooshier than the Salted Caramel Fudge so next time I think I'd let it get to a higher temp on the candy thermometer. But all in all it was a yummy sweet christmassy treat, which I packaged up into wee cellophane bags to give to the North Shore Hospice for the Baking for Hospice Christmas Round.

White Chocolate Eggnog Fudge

400 g white sugar
115 g unsalted butter, chopped in small cubes
3/4 cup eggnog (I used homemade eggnog with brandy, recipe here)
100 g white chocolate chopped finely
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg, to taste
200g white marshmallows

2 tsp light corn syrup
1 teaspoon brandy essence (next time I'd use actual brandy instead)

ground nutmeg and cinnamon (or mixed spice) to decorate

special equipment: candy thermometer

1. Line a 23cm square baking dish with wax paper. In a large microwave safe bowl, mix sugar, butter and eggnog. Heat in the microwave on Medium-High in 2 minute bursts, stirring in between each burst for around 8-10 minutes total, until the mixture is bubbling and gets above 234oF on a candy thermometer.

2. Mix in the white chocolate and nutmeg until the chocolate has completely melted.

3. In a separate microwave safe bowl, melt the marshmallows and corn syrup in the microwave on Medium-High for 1 minute. Stir to get a fluffy sticky marshmallow creme and add to the eggnog chocolate mix along with brandy essence. Stir to mix thoroughly.

{melted marshmallows = uber sticky}

4. Pour the fudgey mixture into the prepared baking dish, shake from side to side to level mixture. Sprinkle sparingly nutmeg and cinnamon to decorate and allow to set at room temperature for at least 3 hours. If it isn't completely set, chill in the refrigerator. Cut into 2cm cubes with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife after each cut.

'Tis the season for sweet noggy eggnog

2011-12-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

Marge: [Opening the refridgerator] Homer, didn't you get any milk? All I see is eggnog.
Homer: 'Tis the season, Marge! We only get thirty sweet noggy days. Then the government takes it away again. [pours some on his cereal]
~ The Simpsons (Marge Be Not Proud, season 7, episode 11)

Sweet noggy eggnog. The best holiday beverage. Smooth, creamy and full of spices; it's like a chai milkshake but boozey.

According to legend (aka wiki), eggnog has its roots in medieval England having developed from "posset", a hot beverage made of sweetened hot milk spiked with ale or wine. Over the years eggs were added and more potent liquors like brandy, sherry and Madeira used. The drink was popular among the aristocracy as dairy products and eggs were expensive and did not keep well.

The "nog" part of the name may be referring to a small carved wooden mug used to serve alcohol which was called a "noggin" in Middle English or perhaps is a shortened version of "egg 'n' grog" alluding to the name for drinks made from rum.

I love the stuff and I really wanted to make eggnog fudge and eggnog macarons this year for Baking for Hospice and all our Christmas parties coming up. However, despite our colonial heritage, eggnog isn't a terribly common drink in New Zealand. Not many of my friends had tried it before and when I went out in search of premade eggnog in liquor stores I couldn't find it anywhere! So I made my own Sweet Noggy Brandy Eggnog.

Traditionally, eggnog uses raw eggs, mixed with milk, cream, sugar, brandy/rum and spices. Since I was making the eggnog fudge for Baking for Hospice I went with a cooked version for food safety reasons. It was actually much easier than I thought. You pretty much just make a custard, throw in some spices and spike it with as much (or as little) brandy as you like.

It totally kicks the pants off Bailey's AND you can make as much as you want, whenever you want. Even after the government takes it away. Heck, you can nog yourself out with it.

The recipe doesn't make a huge batch. Enough for a batch of eggnog fudge, a batch of SMBC for eggnog macarons and some left over for C and I to sip on for a couple of nights. If you were making it for a party, I'd probably double it (if not triple it).

You could also use rum instead of brandy if that is your tipple of choice. I just like the spicy festive, somewhat mellower taste of brandy.

I have yet to try it on cereal but I perhaps it could be yummy in porridge with some spiced plums?

Homer might have been on to a good thing there.

Sweet Noggy Brandy Eggnog

Makes 5 cups
(serves around 4 people, 1 drink each)

2 cups whole milk
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar (made it on the sweet side, I might add 3 Tbsp only next time)
1/2 cup brandy (I added an extra 2-3 Tbsp of brandy, just adjust to your taste)
2 cups cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1. In a medium saucepan heat the milk, cloves, vanilla and cinnamon on the very lowest heat until just starting to bubble (swirl to mix).

2. In the meantime boil a jug of water. In a large pyrex or stainless steel bowl, whisk yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy (~2 minutes).

3. Take the milk off the heat and add the hot milk into the yolks a ladleful at a time stirring constantly. Rinse out the sauce pan and fill the saucepan with the hot water and place over a medium heat. Place the bowl of yolks on top to make a double boiler (making sure the bowl does not touch the water) and heat the mixture stirring constantly until thickened and can coat the back of a wooden spoon (~3 minutes). Don't let the mixture boil!

4. Take the custard off the heat and let it cool for an hour. If you are using the eggnog for Eggnog Fudge, leave the cloves in for a fuller flavor, but if you are going to serve the eggnog sieve the cloves out. Stir in the cream, nutmeg, vanilla and brandy. Taste and add more brandy if you would like it boozier. For the best flavour, chill overnight before serving to let the flavors develop. Serve chilled.

Candy cane mint chocolate cupcakes

2011-12-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Jack Frost nipping at your nose

Yuletide carols being sung by a choir

And folks dressed up as Eskimos ~ The Christmas Song

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give ~Winston Churchill

C and I were discussing what our favourite Christmas carols were the other day. It was a surprisingly difficult decision to make. Do you pick the well known, often sung "Jingle Bells" or "Rudolph"; the local carol "Te Harinui", an oldie but goodie: "Feliz Navidad", hippy fav "Happy Christmas (War is Over)" or a pop anthem like "All I want for Christmas"(Yes, I'm a Love Actually groupie, loud and proud).

In the end I went with the classic: The Christmas Song. Maybe it's because I grew up down under where Christmas time = summer time so we don't get white Christmases, but there's just something awfully romantic about spending Christmas curled up next to a roaring fire. Sigh.

But whether you are celebrating a winter or summer Christmas in your part of the world, the season of giving is universal.

Baking = Love. Giving = Joy.

And it was an absolute joy last week for Baking for Hospice to start baking for Totara Hospice South Auckland. As a test run last Sunday (the main run being this Sunday), we delivered baking for their Volunteers' Christmas Morning Tea and as my contribution I indulged my mint and choc obsession and made Candy Cane Mint Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting.

I can't seem to get enough of mint and chocolate this Christmas but it is by no means a unique obsession or a trendy fad. Peppermint and Christmas have gone hand in hand since the 1800's, all thanks to the humble Candy Cane. According to snopes.com, candy canes were made to represent a sheperds' crook (as in the shepherds near Bethlehem in the nativity story) and passed out to kids to keep them quiet during cathedral ceremonies at Christmas time and to hang on Christmas trees as decorations.

While the mint flavour is subtle in the chocolately cupcake, the frosting is a creamy minty dream. I didn't know what I would think of the cream cheese + mint combo and I was really scared the frosting would end up tasting like toothpaste but I shouldn't have been such a worry wart: the balance was absolutely perfect. What you get is an unbelievably smooth creamy frosting that's so fresh and minty, you just can't stop eating it. Drool.

I was so unbelievably stoked with how these cupcakes turned out. They totally cane all other holiday cupcake flavours. Which is an impressive achieve-mint.

Yes yes, Christmas 'tis the season of bad puns also.

Candy Cane Mint Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

makes 26 - 30 cupcakes

2 cups flour

1 3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp vegetable shortening
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream

2 tsp peppermint extract

1. Line two 12 cup muffin tins and preheat oven to 180oC.

2. Place flour, caster sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Rub in shortening until it resembles bread crumbs.

3. Make a well in the centre and add eggs, oil, water, peppermint extract and sour cream.

4. Beat on high for 1 minute to incorporate.

5. Scoop into the baking cups, fill to around 2/3 - 3/4 full.

6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes turning once. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer immediately to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

makes only just enough to frost the cupcakes so be skimpy with your frosting to start off with.

250g cream cheese, room temperature

120g unsalted butter, room temperature
big pinch of salt

2 tsp peppermint extract

2-3 cups icing sugar (I used all 3 cups and think I could have used a bit less, just keep on tasting as you go)

optional: green food colouring

3 candy canes to decorate

1. Beat butter until fluffy. Add cream cheese and beat just enough to incorporate.

2. Add icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating only to just incorporate. Add peppermint extract and a drop or two of food colouring and beat to only just mixed through.

3. Pipe on to the cooled cupcakes. I used my fav Wilton 1M nozzle and piped a 1M ice-cream swirl (basically, do a spiral on top of the cupcake to act as the bottom of the swirl and then a mini swirl on top of the spiral, to give a fuller looking ice-cream sundae-esque frosting swirl).

4. Cupcakes will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

5. Just before serving, crush the candy canes in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin and sprinkle on top of the cupcakes. Definitely wait until just before serving to do this as the candy canes actually melt into the icing if they are left for too long.

Salted caramel fudge: russian fudge's creamy cousin

2011-12-11T16:39:00.000-08:00

Fudge, it seems, is rather difficult to fudge up.

They used to let us tackle it as kids to keep us occupied: just throw everything in a dish, microwave and stir, and voila you have fudge!

Making a grown up version however, proved a tad more challenging. I seriously stuffed the recipe up. I zapped it on too high a heat, didn't keep track of how long I microwaved it for, and generally didn't pay enough attention to the recipe. At one point I had laid out my just-starting-to-set fudge into the pan, then turned around to see the white chocolate that was supposed to go into it, still sitting on the chopping board. Then the white chocolate seized. This fudge really could've been an utter disaster, but miraculously, I still ended up with a delicious creamy fudge. Go figure.

A Nessie proof fudge is a fool proof fudge.

I've tried many a different types of fudge in my day: chocolate, peanut butter, russian, creme brulee even, but I'm not actually a big fudge fan. Sure, I'll eat a piece if offered, but I always find it crumbly, gritty and tooth-achingly sweet. Akin to eating a cube of sugar.

I wasn't a big fan that is, until I had some Russian Fudge the med students' association gave out when I was buying my ball tickets earlier this year.

It was a fudge revelation.

It was creamy, caramelly, not gritty or crumbly, not too sweet and so so moreish. It was fudgetastic.

So I set out to re-create that fabulous fudge experience so I could give them out as edible Christmas pressies this year and came up with: Salted Caramel Fudge. Like Russian Fudge but creamier and with an irresistible salty sweet combo.

The recipe really isn't terribly difficult. All it requires is putting everything in a bowl, microwaving and stirring. Perhaps that's why it stumped me, it was almost too easy.

I used a candy thermometer to get the mixture to a firm ball stage (like when you make caramels). The original recipe didn't require you to do that but I wanted my fudge to be like a cross between a fudge and a caramel. It did not disappoint.

Salted Caramel Fudge

recipe adapted from Taste.com.au

makes around 48 pieces

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
125g salted butter, chopped in to cubes
200g white chocolate, chopped finely
1 x 395g sweetened condensed milk
3 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 Tbsp golden syrup (I'm going to try and replace this with all corn syrup next time to mellow it out a bit)
1/2 - 3/4 tsp normal salt (or 1 1/2 tsp sea salt)
optional: extra sea salt to sprinkle on top (don't use normal salt though!).

1. Line a 22cm x 16cm rectangle dish with wax paper making sure it goes right up the sides with some overhang.

2. In a large microwave safe bowl, place brown sugar, butter, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, golden syrup and salt and stir to combine. Microwave uncovered on Medium-High (our microwave is 1200W) in 2 minute bursts whisking in between each bursts for a total of around 8-10 minutes until the mixture comes to a bubbling boil. I lost track of how many times I put it back in the microwave but I did make sure the mixture went over 244oF to a firm ball stage using a candy thermometer. If you don't have a candy thermometer, heat until you can drop some of the mixture into cold water and form a firm ball with it. Taste and add more salt if required - remember you'll be adding white chocolate so it can afford to be on the salty side.

3. Then, microwave uncovered on Medium-High in 1 minute bursts, stirring with a wooden spoon in between each burst for another 5-6 minutes. The mixture will thicken up and go a lovely golden colour. I made sure it reached 244oF again before I stopped microwaving.

4. Place the bowl on a heatproof surface and wait for the mixture to stop bubbling. Add the white chocolate and stir until smooth. Pour into your prepared pan and smooth the top. Let it set at room temperature for at least 3 hours. Lift the set mixture on to a chopping board. Cut into around 2cm cubes with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife between each cut (heating the knife would help with a cleaner cut too). Keep wrapped in wax paper in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Lemon sorbet: when life gives you lemons, make sorbet

2011-12-04T01:01:00.000-08:00

Every white will have its black, And every sweet its sour. ~ Thomas Percy

This year hasn't been the smoothest of years. A bittersweet roller-coaster ride of a year. It's crazy coz so many people I've talked to have also had a lemon of a year too. Illness, marriage problems, family dramas; not to mention earthquakes, tsunamis and riots: you name it, its happened this year! What was it about twenty eleven?!

This year I've gotten married, passed my first year of med school and celebrated NZ's historic RWC victory but also said goodbye to a dear family friend, my grandma and my uncle. This topsy-turvey year has really driven home for me two important truths:

Fact 1: Life really is like a box of chocolates....dark chocolates. The bitterness only makes you appreciate the sweetness all the more. The deeper that sorry carves into your being, the more joy you can contain ~ Kahil Gibran.

Fact 2: Everything happens for a reason so when life gives you lemons, make lemonade...or Lemon Sorbet.

Yesterday we farewelled my uncle at a beautiful memorial service at his old church in Belmont. It was a stunningly sunny summers day. Not a cloud in sight. There were as many laughs as there were tears, as much celebrating as there was grieving. It was exactly what Uncle Joe would've wanted.

Sometimes, every once in a while, I get all down coz I'm missing all those loved ones who have passed away. But when I shake out of it (usually with the help of some therapeutic ice cream) I think, actually I'm really lucky to have so many loved ones watching over me, smiling down on me and waiting for me in a big yum cha restaurant in the sky.

{via sayingimages}

This gorgeous lemon sorbet, like life, is a perfect balance of sweet and sour. Tangy and puckery, zesty and refreshing, it's like softly frozen lemonade. Sunshine in a bowl. It was exactly what I was craving in the baking hot sun.

Plus, I couldn't believe how easy it was to make! Granted the process is much easier when you have an ice cream maker, but get this, the only ingredients needed are: lemons, sugar and water. Yip, that's it. So, if you keep lemons in the pantry, you're only ever an hour away from delicious homemade lemon sorbet. Stoked!

Lemon Sorbet

From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

2 1/2 cups (625 ml) water
1 1/4 cup (250g) sugar
zest of 2 lemons
1 cup (250 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice (took around 4 of the massive lemons from our amazing lemon tree)

1. In a medium saucepan mix 1/2 a cup of the water with the sugar and zest. Heat on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add the remaining 2 cups of water. Refrigerate till completely cold.

2. Stir the lemon juice into the sugar syrup and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Dunzo!

Monsieur, a wafer thin mint? Or mint & dark chocolate ice cream?

2011-11-27T23:17:00.000-08:00

Maitre D: And finally, monsieur, a wafer-thin mint.
Mr Creosote: No.
Maitre D: Oh sir! It's only a tiny little thin one.
Mr Creosote: No. F*** off - I'm full... [Belches]
Maitre D: Oh sir... it's only wafer thin.
Mr Creosote: Look - I couldn't eat another thing. I'm absolutely stuffed. Bugger off.
Maitre D: Oh sir, just... just one...
Mr Creosote: Oh all right. Just one.
Maitre D: Just the one, sir... voila... bon appetit...
[Mr Creosote eats the wafer-thin mint. The Maitre D takes a flying leap behind some potted plants. There is an ominous splitting sound. Mr Creosote explodes.]
Maitre D: [returns to Mr Creosote's table] Thank you, sir, and now the cheque.
~ Monty Python, The Meaning of Life

First: A lesson in Kiwi slang.

mint:
1. A flavour based on the mint herb.
2. A hard candy of mint flavor.
3. A place where coins are made.
4. What collectors call something in perfect condition.
5. Something is cool, great, sweet, excellent, good: e.g. "I had a mint weekend."

I really did have a mint weekend. Literally and figuratively.

Saturday: Went to good mate of mine's wedding at the beautiful botanical gardens. Stunning setting, absolutely stunning couple. Got to catch up with some of my fav people in the whole world, spend the day in the sunshine, and then stuff our faces at the Chinese banquet. And I got to exercise my democratic rights, flex my civic duty muscles so to say. A pretty mint day really.

Sunday: Made Mint and Dark Chocolate Ice cream. You could say I had an ice cream Sunday. A mint Ice cream Sunday.

Oh dear, I'll stop that now.

I wanted to use real mint leaves to make this mint ice cream but last time I flew home I discovered that mum and C had let my beloved herb garden die out and get overgrown by weeds. Herb murderers.

I managed to coax the mint from the brink of entering herb heaven but it's still not in any shape to be plundered for ice cream making purposes. So mint extract it was, and it was still delicious. If you haven't had mint ice cream before, it's seriously good. In a word it's refreshing. Cooling as well as cold it's just what you feel on a baking hot summer's day.

I had planned to make a classic mint chocolate chip ice cream but found that we were all out of choc chips - doh! So I went the stracciatella way...you know, that italian gelato style that has these tiny flakes of chocolate all the way through it. David Lebovitz in my new go to ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop, makes it sound super easy: just pour a thin stream of melted chocolate on the still churning ice cream and watch it all get broken up throughout the ice creaminess.

In reality it was way harder. For the life of me I couldn't get the stream to be thin enough and my ice cream maker churns at a nana pace (bless its little cotton socks) so I was getting big clumps of chocolate clogging up the blades. Less than ideal.

Despite the hiccups though, it turned out amazingly. The mint and dark chocolate is really a match made in heaven. Think of this as a pimped out, suped up wafer thin after dinner mint. Mr Creosote would've definitely been able to keep this ice cream down.

And another note, this ice cream is a custard-based ice cream rather than a cream only style recipe. Custard based ice creams just hands down make a creamier richer yummier ice cream. It is definitely harder to make, the custard making part is tricky (mine curdled ever so slightly but it was still good), but it is soooo worth it.

Mint & Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

adapted from a recipe in The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

makes 1 litre of ice cream

1 cup (250ml) whole milk
2 cups (500ml) cream
150g sugar
5 egg yolks
pinch salt
3 tsp mint extract
optional: green food coloring (I mixed some blue and yellow to get green...you need a splash more blue than yellow on account of the yolks making the custard yellowy)

120g dark chocolate (I used Whittakers 62% Dark Chocolate which is deliciously bittersweet)

1. First a bit of prep: in a bowl, whisk the yolks till fluffy. In a separate large bowl (stainless steel or pyrex) pour 1 cup of cream and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat milk, sugar, 1 cup cream over low-medium heat till warm like a nice warm bath, stirring. Pour into the egg yolks a ladleful at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon.

3. Rinse out the saucepan and boil a jug of water. Fill the saucepan with hot water and put back on the stove over a low-medium heat. Place the bowl of eggy creamy custard over the saucepan (making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water) and heat gently over a low-medium heat, stirring constantly (make sure you scrap the bottom!) until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a spatula. You can test if it's done by running your finger across the back of the spatula and it leaves a clear line. Pour the custard into the bowl of cream you set aside earlier and stir over a basin of ice cold water until cool. Add the mint extract and food coloring and mix thoroughly.

4. Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and follow it's manufacturer's instructions. (** If you don't have an ice cream maker, David Lebovitz has a great article about how to make ice cream without an ice cream machine which involves just good old fashion stirring every 30 minutes.). When the ice cream is just about ready, melt the dark chocolate in a pyrex measuring jug in the microwave in 30 second bursts. A the very last minute, pour the melted chocolate in a wafer thin stream into the still churning almost solid ice cream being careful to miss the blades and pour right on the ice cream. Like I mentioned earlier I found it was actually much harder to pour in a thin stream than I thought, I had to break up big bits of ice cream with a spoon. Ice cream should be ready to eat right away (it's the texture of soft serve) but if you want it firmer, transfer into a container and freeze for 3-4 hours.

Delicious expectations: mocha brownies

2011-11-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

Now, I return to this young fellow. And the communication I have got to make is, that he has great expectations. ~ Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

I love baking but I'm actually not that good a baker.

Dude, I've mistaken salt for sugar and made a very salty chocolate log and almost burnt our house down by using a plastic microwave muffin tin in the oven thinking it was silicon. Being debilitatingly clumsy, baking with me is not a pretty sight. It usually involves me burning myself on the oven, butter and sugar flying missiles because I've set the beaters on too high, and flour all over myself, the kitchen, and the dog. Hurricane Nessie has arrived.

I'd never ever back myself to go on any of those "Hottest Home Baker" or Masterchef shows on telly (as much as I love watching them, dramatic pauses and all). I'd just blush like a tomato, mumble to myself the whole time and probably drop my baking. Or burn it. Or start a fire.

What you see on the blog is after I've cleaned up the disaster zone that is a post-Nessie kitchen, after I've taken 100 photos just to get those few precious decent shots. So I am always surprised, relieved, and stoked when people actually like eating my baking or like things I blog about here.

But once you have a baking blog, you do get a rep as "The Baker" and people do expect you to be able to whip up something delicious. So when it came to baking for my path tutorial group (Team Faed), I was actually really nervous. What to bake in my little shared kitchen in Dunners that a) I had the ingredients for b) I could walk down to Uni and c) was delicious. What to bake for people who have great expectations, delicious expectations.

In a situation like that, a girl has to do what a girl has to do. Break out the big guns, one of those tried and true, trusted few recipes you've been baking for years: Mocha Brownies.

This recipe, along with favourites like Golden Syrup Dumplings and Chocolate Pancakes (which I will def blog about!), is from my faded, very 80s, heavily dog-eared copy of The Great New Zealand Baking Book by Alison Gofton. It still has $5 written on the inside cover which was what my Mum paid for it at a garage sale or hospice op shop years and years ago.

The recipe for Mocha Brownie, is easy as and uses ingredients you will have in your pantry. It has not failed me yet. It's not wow baking like macarons or a layer cake, but it is most definitely comforting, trust-worthy, sure to please a crowd kinda baking. A trusty old friend of a recipe.

This mocha brownie is chewy, cakey, and caramelly, you might say more a blondie than a true chocolatey chocolate brownie. A perfect mix of chocolate and coffee and some butterscotch thrown in too, thanks to the brown sugar and butter.

It is also another example of how to squeeze as much caffeine as you can in to your day kind of baking. Perfect for hopeless coffee addicts like moi.

{happiness = coffee + sunshine + new essie mint apple nail polish}

PS: The path tute loved the brownies. Whew. Best path tute group EVA.

Mocha Brownies

adapted from Allyson Gofton's The Great New Zealand Baking Book

Makes around 24 brownies

2 cups brown sugar
190g salted butter
2 Tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 Tablespoon hot water
2 eggs
2 Tablespoon vanilla essence
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips.

1. Melt butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring.

2. In a small bowl or mug, mix coffee granules and hot water till dissolved and stir into the butter/sugar mixture. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Preheat oven to 180oC and line a 23 cm square baking tin with baking paper.

3. Beat in eggs and vanilla essence into the butter/sugar mixture for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.

4. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Stir half in to the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in half the chocolate chips, then the rest of the flour, and finally the rest of the chocolate chips.

5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 180oC for 40-45 minutes or until firm to touch with a little softness in the centre for chewy ooey brownie goodness. Remember it's always better to undercook than overcook brownie!

6. Cool in the tin before turning out and cutting into squares. You can juj it up by drizzling the top with melted chocolate or just sift over a little icing sugar.

Going nuts over chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with caramel peanut glaze

2011-11-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

FACT: Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one's mouth.

Peanuts are so underrated.

Almonds are sexy thanks to macarons and friands. Pistachios are oh so exotic when doused with rosewater and honey in baklava. But the poor wee peanut doesn't have such a glamourous rep. They're always the ones left uneaten in the roasted nut mix and unlike delicious pecan pie and chic frangipane tarts you don't hear anyone sing the praises of a peanutty pastry creation.

It seems the humble peanut is relegated to being the boring forgettable nut-cousin. That is, until it's turned into gloriously creamy, deliciously salty sweet, Peanut Butter.

{peanut butter cream cheese frosting is a beautiful thing}

I'm a nutter when it comes to peanut butter. On toast, in peanut butter choc chip cookies, or just by the spoonful, peanut butter can do no wrong.

But for some reason, I've never tried incorporating it into a cupcake or cake recipe. Until now.

Hello Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Caramel Peanut Glaze. Where have you been all my life??

I have to admit when I first read about peanut butter cream cheese frosting on smitten kitchen I wasn't entirely sold on the idea. Cream cheese? With peanut butter? What an odd couple.

I was still skeptical even while making the frosting. Skeptical that is, until I tasted it.

This frosting Blew. My. Mind.

It's richly peanutty, incredibly creamy, but not too sweet or too stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouthy. Coupled with the moist chocolately cupcake and smothered with the oozing peanut caramel glaze: this cupcake is a peanut butter lover's dream. I swear it could convert non-peanut butter nutters. Heck, this cupcake may quite possibly be a cure for arachibutyrophobia.

I made these for the ever-so-lovely Jane's birthday which we celebrated with a good old kiwi barbie out at Piha in the weekend (god it's good be be home!). They tasted all the better seasoned with laughter and salty sea air. Delish.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel Peanut Glaze

adapted from a smitten kitchen recipe

Makes around 18-24 cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes

2 cups flour

1 3/4 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp salt

4 Tbsp vegetable shortening

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water (3/4 cup water for the cakes)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup sour cream

1. Line two 12 cup muffin tins and preheat oven to 180oC. (for a layer cake line two 25 cm spring form pans with a circle of baking paper at the bottom.)

2. Place flour, caster sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Rub the shortening into the floury sugar mix with your fingers until it resembles bread crumbs. Try to get rid of any biggish lumps.

3. Make a well in the centre and add eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sour cream.

4. Beat on high for 1 minute to incorporate.

5. Scoop into the baking cups, fill to around 2/3 - 3/4 full.

6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes turning once. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick comes out clean (for a layer cake - bake for 30-40 minutes, until skewer comes out clean.)

Peanut butter cream cheese frosting

250g cream cheese, room temperature (make sure it's not the spreadable stuff or low fat).

120g unsalted butter, softened

600g icing sugar sifted

2/3 - 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

***EDIT: Makes loads of frosting, so if you are only doing the rosettes rather than the 1M swirl you might be able to get away with halving the recipe. Thanks heaps Kelly for pointing this out!!***

1. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese and beat to combine.

2. Add the icing sugar a cup at a time, beating in between each addition.

3. Add 2/3 cup peanut butter and beat to mix. Taste and add more to get to how peanutty you like it - I liked mine rather intensely peanutty and used around 3/4 to 1 cup of peanut butter. If you keep the frosting in the fridge for a bit, let it come up to room temperature to soften up a bit before using (around 1 hour). I found my icing was quite stiff and popped my frosting bag! So maybe I needed to warm it up a bit in my hands or perhaps add a little milk to loosen it up?

Caramel Peanut Glaze

1 cup brown sugar
50 g salted butter
1/2 cup cream

1 cup salted peanuts

1. Melt brown sugar and butter in a small saucepan stirring constantly over medium heat.

2. When melted together, add cream and stir to mix. Let the mixture bubble for about 1 minute (stirring). Take off the heat and stir through salted peanuts. Let the sauce cool.

3. Spoon the caramel peanut glaze on top of the frosted cupcakes. If the caramel sets and is no longer oozy, microwave for 10 seconds to soften.

Assembling the cupcakes

1. Once the cupcakes are completely cool, spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with the nozzle of your choice. I used a Wilton 1M tip and piped in a rose shape (instructions on how to do this here) but I reckon the old 1M swirl would be awesome too...the more frosting the better right?!

2. Spoon some caramel peanut glaze over the frosting, bits oozing down the side only add to its appeal.

3. Cupcakes will keep for around 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Allow to come to room temp before serving. Best served with friends.

Lemon madeleines for Baking for Hospice and writer's block

2011-11-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it....And as soon as I had recognized the taste of the piece of madeleine soaked in her decoction of lime-blossom which my aunt used to give me .... immediately the old grey house upon the street, where her room was, rose up like a stage set to attach itself to the little pavilion opening on to the garden which had been built out behind it for my parents... and with the house the town, from morning to night and in all weathers, the Square where I used to be sent before lunch, the streets along which I used to run errands, the country roads we took when it was fine...so in that moment all the flowers in our garden and in M. Swann's park, and the water-lilies on the Vivonne and the good folk of the village and their little dwellings and the parish church and the whole of Combray and its surroundings, taking shape and solidity, sprang into being, town and gardens alike, from my cup of tea. ~ Marcel Proust from 'Remebrance of Things Past'

I made these Lemon Madeleines for our last Baking for Hospice spring themed round a whole week ago and for the whole week I've been writing, re-writing and re-re-writing this post but I just haven't been happy with anything I put down. It's like Proust did such a good job writing about madeleines that my brain is refusing to encroach on his territorry. There aren't even any good puns about madelines. No puns = no fun.

Or maybe it's something to do with all the electioneering going on on tv in the last little bit. All that politician prattle is frying my brain.

So I'm sorry if this post is a bit of a lemon.

Urgh writer's block, get thee gone!

{my gorgeous madeleine pan from my lovely law ladies}

Since I have no good stories or witty insights to share on this post, I will concentrate on les madeleines. Ahhh madeleines. So french, so petite, so chic. These scalloped shaped morsels are so delicate and pretty, you can't help but feel like a lady nibbling on them.

The beauty of the madeleine is really in its form. Such a pretty cookie. I can't say though that I'm blown away by their flavour - they are usually vanilla or lightly lemony scented spongey wee things that lean towards the dry side to make them perfect for dunking most elegantly into a cup of tea.

I also can't say that I'm particularly fond of dunking either. Quelle horreur, I know! I'm just not convinced it improves the cookie nor the tea. It always makes the cookie soggy and leaves floaties in the tea and I'm not a big fan of soggy anything. Or floaties.

Oh dear, I'm not really selling these am I? (See, what did I tell ya: writer's block!) C did love these lemon madeleines: they are lovable sweet little cookie-like cakes or cakey-cookies with an ever-so-slight lemon fragrance. In fact their almost-blandness makes it easier to down three or four in one go. And they are pretty. However, being a fan of big bolshy lemon rather than wimpy lemon, I think next time I'll give them a lemon glaze a la David Lebovitz to give them more of a lemony burst.

And did I mention they're so purty?

{my lovely madeleine humps, in the back and in the front, check it out}

According to those much more learned than I in the intricacies of french patisserie, the mark of a good madeleine is supposedly in its hump. Yes, desirable humps. Not such an elegant feature to this otherwise refined french pastry. Apparently these lovely humps are hard to achieve but the use of baking powder seems to be the key. Purists will turn their noses up at the addition of baking powder but if baking legends like Martha, Dorie and David Lebovitz use it, then who am I to argue non?

You may have noticed that madeleines kinda look like limpets, well they kinda stick like them too. You will see in the recipe I say to grease the madeleine pan liberally. I greased the living daylights out of the thing but still had to wash between each batch. I have a traditional madeleine pan (not a non-stick one) so greasing is really just to stop them from being totally stuck, rather than stopping them sticking at all. You have been warned.

{all packed up for Baking for Hospice}

Lemon Madeleines

Tweaked from recipe by Martha Stewart

makes 48 madeleines

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted (british standard = 354g)
3 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp lemon zest (around 3 large lemons)
4 Tbsp lemon juice (around 1 large lemon)

1. In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a separate very large bowl beat eggs, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, lemon rind and lemon zest until pale and fluffy.

2. While the beaters are still going, mix in the melted butter. Then fold in the sifted flour mixture gently. Let the mixture chill for 1 - 3 hours (apparently this is essential for getting the desired "hump").

3. Preheat the oven to 200oC. Grease your madeleine pan well with butter. Spoon around a desserspoonful of mixture into each mold to about 3/4 full. Bake for around 14 minutes until they are looking golden brown on the edges. Tip madeleines onto a cooling rack to cool completely. You will probably need to use a knife to loosen the edges from the pan. Madeleines are best eaten on the day but can last up to 3 days in an airtight container. Dorie says if you wrap them up well they can freeze them for up to 2 months. Enjoy with a hot cuppa tea - dunking optional.

Caramel Latte Macarons: coffee macs with salted caramel filling

2011-10-30T01:43:00.000-07:00

Actually, this seems to be the basic need of the human heart in nearly every great crisis - a good hot cup of coffee. ~ Alexander King

I know I've been moaning about exams and studying for a while. Now, looking back on it though, it really wasn't all doom and gloom.

Studying/working-till-all-hours teaches you all sorts of new skills and life lessons, like: how to take strategic 10 minute power-naps; how to disguise how scummy your hair is by putting it up in an alty top-knot; and most importantly: the art of getting as much caffeine into your system as possible.

Lately, I've been gorging myself on Nestle Caramel Latte sachets. I know all you coffee snobs out there are gasping in horror. I like to think of these instant coffee drinks as a caffeinated coffee flavoured treat rather than an actual coffee.

Caramelly and frothy and with that essential caffeine kick. What's not to love?

However, there is only so much coffee-drinking one can before the old bladder doth protesteth. That's when you get to the coffee-eating, that's where the coffee baking comes in: Coffee Macarons with Salted Caramel Filling.

Think caramel latte but a macaron. Words can't espresso how good these are.

This is my third attempt at macarons and I think my most successful to date. Sure, a tray or two still came out sans feet and looking like meringue blobs but the flavour combo was a total winner. And that's not just the caffeine addiction talking.

The coffee gives the macarons a bitter-sweetness that just balances out the salted caramel perfectly. And that ooey gooey caramel goes oh so well with the chewy goodness of the macaron. I can't stop raving about them. Just like how I couldn't stop eating them. Clearly, self control is an issue for me.

In this batch I used moccona granules, which gave the macs wee bursts of intense coffee flavour, and of course, meir mmmm. But next time I think I'll try powdered instant coffee to get a more even scattering of coffee flavour.

And as much trouble as macarons are to make, these really are worth taking time out of your daily grind to try out.

Oh dear, I better stop before I give you all grounds for complaints.

Caramel Latte Macs: Coffee Macarons with Salted Caramel Filling

makes 25 - 30 macaron sandwiches

Coffee Macarons

3 egg whites (~100g)
50 g white sugar
200g icing sugar
110g ground almonds
3 tsp instant coffee

1. Age the eggs whites on a sealed container in the fridge for 24 - 48 hours or heat in microwave on medium-low for 10 seconds to mimic the aging process. Line 3 baking sheets with baking paper. The heavier weight the baking sheet the better. In food processor, blend together the icing sugar, instant coffee, and ground almonds.

2. In a separate, immaculately clean bowl, beat the aged egg whites to soft floppy peaks. Then add sugar gradually, beating continuously, till it's all shiny and glossy.

3. Macaronage: This part requires the old noggin to work a little coz you need to count the number of strokes you are doing as you are mixing! Tip half the almond/icing sugar mixture into the egg whites. Fold in gently for around 10 strokes. Add the rest of the almond/icing sugar mixture and fold for another 20 strokes (i.e. 30 strokes in total). Now, this is a real tricky part to judge but the mixture is ready when it looks like molten lava - a slow blobby oozing consistency...this should take no more than around 50 folds in total. (You really do just get the hang of it when you've made these a couple of times.)

4. Spoon the macaron mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle and pipe on to lined your cookie trays into roughly 1 inch circles, around 2 cm apart. Drop the trays on to the bench a couple of times to get the bubbles to come to the surface and pop them with a toothpick. Leave the trays of piped cookies to air for 60-90 minutes for the shells to form skins (this is crucial to get the highly sought after feet.) How long it takes will depend on how humid your place is.

5. Bake at 150oC for 11-12 minutes. Resist the urge to open the oven door before it's time! Cool completely on the tray before piping/spooning the caramel filling (recipe below) in the middle and making into sandwiches. Put the macs into an airtight container in the fridge overnight to "mature" before eating. If you can wait that long that is! It is supposed to improve the flavour and allow the macarons to absorb some moisture from the filling to get the perfect chewy texture.

Salted Caramel Filling

1 cup brown sugar
50 g salted butter
1/2 cup cream
1/4 tsp salt

1. Melt brown sugar and butter in a small saucepan stirring constantly over medium heat.

2. When melted together, add cream and salt and stir to mix. Let the mixture bubble for about 1 minute (stirring). Taste and add more salt if required. Take off the heat and let cool.

3. Pipe or spoon the caramel into the middle of a cookie. If the caramel sets too soon and is no longer oozy, microwave for 10 seconds to soften.

4. You can use any excess caramel over icecream, over chocolate cake/cupcakes, pancakes. Or just eat it with a spoon. Trust me it's good.

Victory

2011-10-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

{photo by Paul Estcourt via nz herald}

'Cause we are loyal. Keep it that way. ~ Dave Dobbyn

All Blacks 8 - France 7.

You beaut.

{a rare smile from old Ted}

{jubilation}

{elation}

{celebration}

After an intense, nail-biting, nerve-wracking, 80 minutes of rugby, the All Blacks finally did it.

Welcome home, Webb Ellis Cup.

We watched it all unfold from a bar in the Octagon in the heart of Dunedin. You could have cut the tension with a knife for most of the game. The predictably unpredictable French side played the best rugby they have played in a very long time (after a pretty bof tournament so far) and our boys were battling all sorts of big test nerves and injuries. Poor old Piri was having a kicking shocker (injury?) and child star Aaron Cruden suffered a nasty knee injury in the closing minutes of the first half.

It was an epic battle out there. Definitely not tiddlywinks, mate.

Hats off to Les Bleus for a pretty stellar performance but the night belonged to Black. All Black.

And after the year we've had; this year of earthquakes, shipwrecks, and tsunamis; it's awesome to have something to celebrate.

So proud to be a kiwi today.

Our World Champion All Blacks! from Jared Brandon Productions on Vimeo.

Paint it black

2011-10-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

{via mr vintage}

I look inside myself and see my heart is black ~ Rolling Stones

Big day today. HUGE day today.

Today is the day New Zealand has been waiting for, for the last 24 years.

Yes, my friends, today the final of the Rugby World Cup 2011 will be played at Eden Park by New Zealand and France. A complete carbon copy of that very first RWC finals clash in 1987.

Same bat-venue, same bat-teams and hopefully, same bat-result.

{air new zealand getting in amongst}

Saying that our country is obsessed with rugby and the Rugby World Cup is a massive understatement. We are all emotionally, spiritually even, invested in this game, this team, this tournament. Present company included.

And it has been a helluva roller coaster ride: the lofty highs of victory against Aussie (the neighbour we love to hate); to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (read: Dan and Colin's dodgy groins). We have all been watching at the edge of our seats.

If you're overseas and haven't been following the saga, in a nutshell: the All Blacks (best rugby team in the world) have been favourites to win this tournament pretty much every time it's been on for the last 24 years but somehow we always get knocked out just before or at the final. Then seeing as we are hosting the RWC, everyone's hopes and dreams were that this year was was going to be The Year.

And boy, were we playing well. Well, until our star player, champion playmaker: Dan Carter (often described as the best rubgy player in the world), who holds a key position (first five eight), tore a tendon and was out of the tournament just before the knock out stages. The nation was devastated. But wait there's more, the drama continued when his replacement, Colin Slade, also succumbed to a groin injury.

{the face that launched a thousand facebook captions}

And then came Piri.

Piri Weepu, a 54 cap veteran not even selected in the last RWC squad, came out of the shadows and with those magic boots of his, kicked our way to victory against Argentina in the quarters and Australia in the semis. In Piri we trust.

It doesn't get more exciting than that. They really should make it into a movie.

It is hard to contain my excitement. Aaaaaaaahhhh! *flaps arms around* I've learnt the names, the positions, the rules. I've baked the macarons. I even have my All Blacks flag, black face paint, AND a fan cape.

So no recipe today (sorry) but just a whole lotta love for our boys in black. You can doo iiiiiiit!

***EDIT 11:41PM: WE WON!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! YEEEEEEAH!!!***

A cookie paradox: Anzacesque oatmeal raisin cookies

2011-10-20T00:25:00.000-07:00

Such welcome and unwelcome things at once
'Tis hard to reconcile
~ Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 3, William Shakespeare.

Riddle me this: how is it that a cookie can be so average but so damn addictive????

I am hesitant to even blog about this less-than-ideal recipe but it is a complete cookie paradox that I feel compelled to share.

They came out of the oven and one bite told me:
a) the texture was blah: chewy-tough rather than chewy-good; and
b) the taste was blah: somehow both too sweet and too bland.

A pretty darn average cookie.

But I found myself going back for another and then another and another. I could not stop eating these things.

I tried them on C. Same effect. He ate one and diplomatically said well they aren't your best batch of cookies darling. But then, sure enough, he came back for seconds, thirds... fifths.

Which brings me to ask once again, how is it that a cookie so av could be so good?

I completely axe-murdered the classic Edmonds Anzac cookie recipe to create this Anzacesque oatmeal raisin cookie just because I had a mid-cram hankering for cookies and there were only raisins, oatmeal, flour and butter in the pantry.

Why I didn't just look up a recipe on the internet, I do not know.

I blame my study-addled brain.

{study notes meet cookie}

Nevertheless, while stellar they were not, they were gobbled up in no time.

I can't say I think I'll use this recipe again as is but hopefully with some tweaking the next batch might turn out less food-for-thought and more food-for-belly.

{Wanted: a good oatmeal raisin cookie recipe}

Anzac-esque Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Caution: Recipe Under Construction.

makes around 2-3 dozen

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
2/3 cups brown sugar tightly packed
100g butter
3 Tbsp golden syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp boiling water
1 cup raisins
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC and line 2 baking trays with baking paper. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter, golden syrup, and brown sugar in 30 second bursts in the microwave on high.

2. In a separate bowl place oatmeal and flour and stir raisins through.

3. Dissolve baking soda in the boiling water and add to butter/sugar/golden syrup mixture (will bubble up).

4. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and stir in liquid. (If the mixture looks a little dry, i.e. not sticking together, then add a little bit of extra melted butter or water).

5. Place tablespoon sized blobs on to the prepared baking trays and flatten with a fork (or your fingers)

6. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden. Cool on the tray for around 2 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Quickie: Chocolate Cake in a Mug

2011-10-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

We all got the email.

We all thought: Psssh there's no waaaay this could be good.

I have to say, I happily ate my words.

Mind you, not all the recipes for Chocolate cake in a mug are created equal. I tried out 3 different versions of this recipe before settling on this one. It was a harrowing process. There were a number of mug shaped hunks inhabiting the rubbish bin with consistencies ranging from tyre rubber to cow pat. Not a pretty sight.

This is a mash up of some of these recipes and the best of the ones I tried. While it doesn't hold a candle to a gloriously-chocolatey, lusciously-moist, oven-baked chocolate cake per se it is definitely passable for those chocolate cake emergencies. You know, when you're stuck at home studying and suffering from extreme chocolate withdrawal (and later stages of cabin fever and studyitis).

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

4 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (I used dark cocoa powder)
2 Tablespoons egg, whisked up a little
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil (I used canola but olive oil would be lovely and fruity or use melted butter - more admin but will give a richer flavor)
3 Tablespoons chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional...but I found it made a world of difference to the flavor)

Large Mug (it will overflow and mess up your microwave if you a normal sized mugs)

1. Mix all dry ingredients in the large mug.

2. Add milk, egg, oil, and choc chips and mix until just combined, making sure you get the floury bits at the bottom but not over mixing.

3. Microwave on high for 3 minutes (1000W microwave). Let it cool a little before eating. It will come out of the microwave thermonuclear so like a pie, always blow on your mug cake. Safer communities together.

Happy Birthday, Airplane Chan

2011-10-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? ~ B.O.B

Happy birthday Dad!

Today you would have been 55...still a spring chicken!

I used to s-t-r-u-g-g-l-e to think of something to buy for you that wasn't socks or a tie but this year I think I would've nailed it.

I would've gotten you a really flash bottle of merlot and a big punnet of strawberries (even though they aren't really in season but I know how much you love strawberries with french vanilla icecream and [ick] milk).

{dad was a travel agent by trade and was affectionately known as "airplane chan" by his mates and clients}
{via weheartit}

...and a Semi Final Ticket. You would have been absolutely frothing at the mouth over the Rugby World Cup and probably placed a cheeky bet or two for the All Blacks just for luck.

I would have baked you a black forest cake (I can actually bake now - no more salty chocolate logs) and we would've gone out to dinner at Canton Cafe or that steak place you love out in West Auckland.

And you'd tell me off for procrastinating rather than studying.

{via weheartit}

We still celebrate your birthday, you know. The steak place closed down a few years ago so we go to Canton and order that roast pork dish you like every year and when we visit you, we leave you a large cappucino with chocolate sprinkles.

{via weheartit}

I wonder how you are celebrating today? I bet you'll be playing mahjong with grandma and aunty wendy. Do you get to hang out with Michael Jackson at all? Actually, I reckon you'd like chewing the fat with John Lennon more than MJ.

There's so much I want to ask you, big things like am I doing the right thing? Are you proud of who we've become? And little things too like what's Einstein like? Is Marilyn as pretty in person? Did Steve give everyone free iPads up there?

Anyways, I will study now. Just for you.

Love you, miss you, happy birthday babi.

{via weheartit}

How thyme flies: Caramelized onion, thyme, and cheddar cheese muffins

2011-10-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

I think I blinked and missed the whole year. How on earth is it October already??

All of a sudden it's one week till exams and there's this much study to do and this much time to do it in. Sigh. Who needs sleep anyways? Sleep is for the weak.

Ok, enough of my study whine and on to the recipe.

Muffins are one of those things that like to be thrashed together at the last minute. It doesn't like you dwelling on its consistency or mulling over how best to fold the ingredients together. No no, no mollycoddling for muffins, thank you very much. Muffins just want you to chuck everything in, mix it up super quick and bash it in the oven. Wham bam thank you mam baking.

That's what makes these Caramelized onion, thyme, and cheddar cheese muffins perfect for when you have a friend coming over for lunch, you want to make something delicious but don't have much time.

{have thyme but no time}

I worked at a chain-store cafe for years in high school and we used make batches of muffins in the morning, eat the broken muffins for lunch, and get all the left over muffins at the end of the day. Muffins, muffins, everywhere. I got so sick of muffins that I can count on one hand the number of times I've eaten a muffin since I left high school almost a decade ago.

So I have to say I was a bit hesitant to make these to start off with. Could I overcome my prejudice against the muffin-kind? To muffin or not to muffin? In the end, they were just so easy to throw together, so versatile, and could be put together with things you already have in your pantry, I caved.

{light hands make light muffins, muffin}

I can't say I'm completely converted to muffins as a genre...I would pick bread roll or calzone any day but these muffins did win me over. They are packed with flavour, light and fluffy with gorgeously gooey tangy cheese. I'd definitely make them again. Perhaps this marks the beginning of my muffin-reconciliation?

They are best still warm out of the oven but are still good the next day. Zapping them in microwave for 20 seconds on high does wonders.

As Murphy's law would have it, we seemed to be all out of paper baking cups so I just made them by cutting up little squares of baking paper. You make one cut in the middle of each side of the square, leaving about a inch from the centre (sounds really complicated in words but it really isn't! Check out the pics below).

Lastly, I couldn't post this week without acknowledging the passing of an incredible human being: Steve Jobs. One of those visionary inspirational people that literally changed the world we live in. What an incredible loss. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

{Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did...Your work is going to fill a large part your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle...Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life ~ Steve Jobs}

The man. The genius. The legend.

Caramelized onion, thyme, and cheddar muffins

adapted from Alison Holts's Champion cheese muffins.

Makes 12 muffins

2 cups (200g) grated tasty cheese
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
handful of fresh thyme (remove the leaves from the stalks)

1 cup milk
1 egg + 1 yolk

2 onions thinly sliced
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

extra cheese and paprika for sprinkling on top.

1. Preheat oven to 210oC. Line one 12 cup muffin tray with paper baking cups. Microwave the sliced onions in a covered bowl for 5 minutes. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small pan, then add the onions and cook with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar until soft and caramelized (shouldn't take any more than 5 minutes). Season to taste.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, onion powder, cayenne, paprika and thyme to get rid of the lumps. Stir the cheese and onions through the flour mixture.

3. In a separate bowl, lightly beat together the 1 cup of milk, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in the eggy milk mixture into the well and mix together lightly until just combined.

4. Divide the mixture up into the 12 cups of the muffin tray, sprinkle a little extra cheese on top and a touch of paprika for colour. Bake at 210oC for 12 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Best eaten on the day (but still good the next day reheated in the microwave for 20 secs).

Procrastination station

2011-09-28T01:29:00.000-07:00

{via here}

If only studying was half as fun as avoiding it.

We learnt today in a clinical skills tutorial about some unusual symptoms that patients suffering a heart attack may experience. One of these unusual symptoms was "An Impending Sense of Doom".

That is also a symptom of the recurrent sanity-threatening condition known as Exams.

Yes, med school exams are a mere fortnight away and the I am severely under-prepared, under-slept, and under stress. Despite said stress I have also recently been suffering from a chronic case of motivation deficiency, which goes a long way to explain why the list of sites I heart on the right of this page is growing exponentially. Study one hour, browse food/fashion/design blog the next. I think it's a result of leaping from one life taxing project straight into another.

But The Exams are looming and time is running out. And I am actually going to knuckle down and do some study. (See if I make a proclamation online, then I've gotta stick to it)

So I am going to apologise in advance for the foreseeable upcoming delays in posting.

I am going to study and not tinker with my baking photos, look up new recipes to try, or spend hours penning puntastic posts. No, I am not going to trawl trade me for those bargains I just know are lurking around or look on fashion blogs to oooh and aaaaah over gorgeous outfits. Nor am I going spend hours being totally inspired by photography and design blogs.

No, no. I am going to study dammit.

Starting. Now.

{via here}

Sticky date cake with butterscotch swiss meringue buttercream & labours of love

2011-09-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

"If a man loves the labour of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him" ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Labours of love. We've all done 'em. Those little side projects that you pour your heart into for no reward other than a job well done at the end of the day. You know those ones? You do it because you love it or because you believe it's a good and noble cause. A labour of love can be hugely satisfying, incredibly fulfilling, and emotionally and spiritually rewarding.

They can also eat your life.

My all consuming labour of love for the last little bit has been helping put together the 2011 Med School Yearbook/Magazine. Rachel (our visionary editor in chief), Clark (graphic designer extraordinaire), and I (deputy editor/grammar police) have been like Siamese triplets for the last couple of months: slaving away on all-nighter after all-nighter, sucking down litres of coffee, umming and ahhing over articles/backgrounds/layouts, and battling through funding fiascos; to put together our beautiful, almost full-colour, totally badass magazine which is going to print Monday.

We love it like it's our first born. Our first born who we poured our blood, sweat, and tears into. Our first born who has grown up, graduated, and should really be moving out of home now.

So mucho soz for the big gaps in posting. It's because I've been consumed by this new amazing project, this current labour of love (and also coz managed to stuff my back but that's a story for another day). I don't think I've ever laughed so much, slept so little, worked so hard, and learnt so many new fandangled words. And I got to know and love two of the most creative and talented people I've ever had the privilege to work with. It's been incredible.

{spot the terrible segue}

You know what else is incredible: sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce - my favourite pudding. Before these last stages of manic craziness for the magazine fully set in, I was up in Auckland for a week on study break. I always bake like a banshee every time I go home and this time I made an adaptation of my fav pud as a birthday cake for a family friend: Sticky Date Cake with Butterscotch Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Butterscotch Sauce.

Sticky date pudding or sticky toffee pudding is a traditional British dessert which consists of a moist sponge cake (usually steamed) made with chopped dates served with toffee/butterscotch sauce. It's rich and decadent and since it has dates in it, lets you delude yourself into thinking it's kinda healthy since it has dried fruit. Nevermind the slathering of sauce you pour over it that's made of butter, cream, and sugar.

Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

This pud has a lot going for it: moist spongy date pudding with salty sweet toffee sauce - a smokey caramelly bonanza without being too sickly sweet. However, its triumph is also its Achilles heel. Trying to maintain that gorgeous buttery salty-sweet balance was the biggest roadblock to converting the pudding into a successful cake.

How to get that creamy butterscotch flavour into a frosting? If you just added the butterscotch sauce to a traditional buttercream recipe with all that icing sugar that would go into it, you would have a cake so sweet people would get diabetes just looking at it. And simply pouring the sauce over the cake just won't do.

Dilemma, dilemma.

My eureka moment came when I racked my brain for not too sweet frostings I know and swiss meringue buttercream immediately leaped to mind. Swiss meringue buttercream is a total mission to make and will use practically every pan you own, but the process of heating and whipping the egg whites allows you to make a silky-smooth fluffy frosting without adding heaps of sugar. I put two and two together and boom! Butterscotch Swiss Meringue Buttercream was born.

The sauce itself is delicious. The recipe makes enough sauce for adding to the frosting and to drizzle over the top of the cake. I had originally thought I'd just eat the rest of the sauce over ice cream (or with a spoon) rather than drizzling it over the cake but once I had frosted it, I felt like the cake needed something else. Drizzling the sauce over and letting it ooze down the sides totally pimped the cake out. I mean, who can resist oozy butterscotch sauce?

The transformation of the sticky date pudding into a cake worked out beautifully. The cakes turned out really moist thanks to the dried dates and has this deep smokey carameliness to it, almost a golden syrup flavour even though there isn't any golden syrup in the recipe. Structurally though, it had some minor issues: my cakes sagged a little when they had cooled. Not sure if this was a recipe thing, user error, or whether it was because my baking powder was old, so I think I will just have to make this cake again just to check. Oh and then I'll have to eat it. Life is hard.

Sticky Date Cake with Butterscotch Swiss Meringue Buttercream & Butterscotch Sauce

Sticky Date Cake

A Jo Seagar recipe slightly tweaked

2 1/2 cups pitted dates, chopped
2 1/2 cups boiling water
2 tsp baking soda
120g butter, chopped
1 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 180oC. Line 2 x 22 cm round spring-form pans with baking paper. Place chopped dates in bowl. Pour over boiling water then add baking soda. The baking soda will start fizzing. Mix together and leave for 5 mins. Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

2. In the meantime, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

3. In a food processor or with a hand held blender whizz the date mixture till liquid but still a bit chunky.

4. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat till just combined. Then add 1/2 of the date mixture to the butter mix and beat till just combined. Add 1/3 of the flour mix, beat. Then 1/2 date mixture, beat. Add the last of the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

5. Divide cake batter evenly between the two cake tins and bake for 45-50 mins at 180oC until a skewer comes out clean. If the tops are getting too brown, cover with a piece of tin foil. Cool for a little in the tins before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack.

6. To assemble the cake: spread some butterscotch frosting over the top of the bottom layer. Drizzle over some butterscotch sauce. Place the second layer on top. Smooth a thin layer of frosting over the cake to act as a crumb layer. Let the frosting set in the fridge (I just pottered around for about an hour running errands). Then frost the outside with the rest of the butterscotch frosting and finally drizzle over the butterscotch sauce.

Butterscotch Sauce

1 cup soft brown sugar
3/4 cups cream
1/4 tsp salt (or 1/2 tsp sea salt)
50 g butter

1. In a small saucepan melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat stirring.

2. When melted, add cream and salt and heat until bubbling, stirring constantly. Bubble to let it reduce a little then take off the heat and leave to cool. The sauce will thicken on cooling. This sauce is dangerous. You will want to eat it all even before it makes it on the cake. Exercise self restraint.

Butterscotch Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I only had just enough of this frosting to cover the cake let alone doing any thing fancy with it so if I was making this again I would probably double the recipe of the buttercream (which would mean you would need more sauce also).

3 egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
200g unsalted butter, room temperature cut into cubes.
1/2 cup butterscotch sauce

Equipment: instant thermometer

1. In a large metal or pyrex bowl over a simmering saucepan of water, beat the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar until the mixture gets all foamy and bubbly and measures 150oF. Take off the heat and beat on high until the mixture is shiny and glossy with stiff peaks.

2. Add in the butter a couple of cubes at a time, beating the whole time on medium speed. The mixture will look like it's curdled for a bit, but have no fear, just keep on trucking and it will come right and get all silky and glossy.

3. Beat in the butterscotch sauce. Spread over cake and smooth (I used a pallet knife but a normal knife would work too).

Just beet it: Roasted beetroot, caramelised onion, goats cheese and orange salad

2011-09-11T03:08:00.000-07:00

The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious. ~ Tom Robbins

Ahh beetroot. Love em or hate em you gotta admit they are a striking vegetable. Intense and majestic, so deep red it's almost purple. I used to hate beetroot. Mainly because I'd only ever had the canned stuff. The sugary pink gelatinous slices you get in burgers that made the buns soggy and left pink smudges on the lettuce. Yuck.

But then I had a culinary experience that changed my life: I had the degustation menu at the incomparable French Cafe in Auckland and my gastronomical horizons were forever widened. Never had I experienced such sophisticated flavour pairings, intricate techniques or inventive textures. That meal truly made me fall in love with food all over again. One of the dishes was the French Cafe signature: Roasted goats cheese, caramelised onion and beetroot tart and it completely changed my entire outlook on these ruby red gems.

I was a hater no longer.

And in an homage to that glorious tart I wanted to recreate those flavours in salad form with a Roasted Beetroot, Caramelised Onion, Goats Cheese and Orange Salad.

When shopping for good beets, look out for ones that are nice and firm, not wrinkled, with fresh looking tops. Be careful when handling beetroot because they can stain your clothes and skin pretty good. I usually use gloves. And also, just as a word of caution: deep red they look going in, deep red they'll look going out...

Aren't red onions and beetroot just the prettiest vegetables to look at? You can't help but love the shiny purple outlined layers in the onion wedges and the ruby red crescents of beetroot. Food is most definitely art.

Roasting the beets does wonders to their flavour, it intensifies their natural sugars and gives them this gorgeous yielding texture that still has a bite. Worlds away from the icky canned stuff.

The onions and garlic also go all gooey sweet and caramelised in the baking process. Baking them mellows out the flavours and brings out their natural sweetness. Who would've known just putting them in the oven could make so much difference!

If you are a beetroot hater, this salad will definitely change your mind about this scarlet root veg. The combination of the pungent goats cheese, sweet beetroot, onions and garlic, tart balsamic dressing and fresh nuggets of orange is to die for. I even got my sister in law, a beetroot hater, to eat this!

You could say, this salad is hard to beet.

Roasted Beetroot, Caramelised Onion, Goats Cheese and Orange Salad

Roasted beetroot and caramelised red onion
1 kg beetroot
2 red onions
10 cloves garlic, peeled
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Salad
130g mesclun salad mix
1 large orange, segmented
200g goats cheese, cut in to little pieces (or you can substitute feta cheese)

Dressing

3 Tbsp olive olive oil

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 cloves chopped garlic
orange juice from the segmented orange
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC. Peel the beetroot and cut into wedges and place in a large baking tray. Be careful coz beetroot stains! I always use gloves to peel beets so I don't get purple hands. Peel the red onions and cut into wedges and place in to the baking tray with whole garlic cloves. Mix the veges in the tray with the brown sugar, olive oil, balsamic and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until the beetroot is soft and cooked through stirring occasionally.

2. When the beets have cooked, let them cool (you can serve the salad warm or wait till they are completely cool to serve). Taste the beets and add more balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper if needed.

3. To put the salad together, in a large salad bowl place the mesclun salad mix. Peel the orange using a knife to expose the segments and cut out the segments in between the white membrane separating the segments. Save the orange pith. Place the orange segments, goats cheese, roasted beets, onions and garlic in the bowl with the salad, toss lightly.

4. To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Squeeze all the juice out of what's left of the orange into the dressing. Dress the salad just before serving.

All Black Sesame Macarons with Coconut Buttercream for Baking for Hospice

2011-09-06T00:31:00.000-07:00

Rugby is a wonderful show: dance, opera and, suddenly, the blood of a killing ~ Richard Burton

I'm baaaaaack! It was study break last week and I was up in Auckland spending lots of quality time with family. A happy sad week, witnessing the beginning of a brand new life and the twilight of another. Reliving old memories, making new ones. Lots of laughs, lots of tears. It might look like I abandoned the blog for a bit but I was baking up a storm so watch this space for all the baking shenanigans I got up to!

Well, if you're in New Zealand, unless you've been living under a rock, you will know that little old NZ is hosting the Rugby World Cup 2011.

It's kind of a big deal.

Rugby is our national sport. Kiwis live and breathe rugby and the All Blacks are national heroes. But despite the All Blacks being favourites to win practically every Rugby World Cup since it's inception, we unbelievably haven't won or hosted the prestigious Webb Ellis Trophy since the very first RWC in 1987.

But this year is THE year! I can feel it in my bones.

So naturally, to show our support for our men in All Black, the Baking for Hospice theme this round was The Rugby World Cup round. And for my contribution I made All Black Sesame Macarons with Coconut Buttercream.

Go ABs!

{Paint the town black, all black}

Believe it or not I've only just realised the irony in me making French macarons to show my support for the All Blacks.

We have had a somewhat checkered rugby history with the Gallic side. We beat them in the final to win the 1987 RWC (the only time we've won) but were knocked out of the 1999 and 2007 tournaments by the French team. I can still remember being on my knees in front of the TV, head in my hands, fighting back tears, when we lost that 2007 quarter final. The entire country went into mourning. I kid you not.

{Demonstrating my knowledge of rugby positions in macs thanks to coach C.}

Black sesame is a traditional Asian dessert flavouring and might not be something you've come across before. It's a delicately nutty and sweet flavour that pairs really well with coconut and padan. The sesame seeds need to be toasted before using them in baking, otherwise they tend to taste a little chalky. Just cook them in a dry pan until you can smell the beautiful nutty aroma and grind in a spice grinder.

I added black food colouring to get a really intense black and white effect to mimic our AB's uniform but you can leave it out and get prettily speckled grey macs. The black food colouring leaves you with a black tongue after you eat them, all the better to support the All Blacks with. Plus no one will be able to tell if you burn them...bonus!

This was my second time making macs and I was really nervous that this time it might be flop. Especially, since I was being filmed this time for a Baking for Hospice segment and as Andrew Mehrtens said of the French after the All Blacks lost in 1999 RWC, macarons are also predictably unpredictable.

Luckily, the mac gods were smiling on me. I managed to only botch up the first tray and got pretty feet on subsequent trays. I am thinking the trick is to leave the macs to air for aaaages and form quite a firm skin before you bake them.

Let's hope the success of these macarons, and the Baking for Hospice round, is an omen from the rugby gods.

May RWC victory will be as sweet as macarons.

{Actually, they do look a little bit like tiddlywinks after all. Just saying, Tana.}

All Black Sesame Macarons with Coconut Buttercream

Black Sesame Macarons

3 egg whites (~100g)
50 g white sugar
200g icing sugar
70g ground almonds
40 g toasted and ground black sesame seeds

optional: black food colouring

1. Age the eggs whites on a sealed container in the fridge for 24 - 48 hours or heat in microwave on medium-low for 10 seconds to mimic aging process.

2. Toast around 50g black sesame seeds in a dry pan (no oil) stirring frequently until you can smell the nutty sesame aroma. Grind the sesame seeds in a spice/coffee grinder. Measure out 40g of ground toasted sesame seeds.

3. In food processor blend together the icing sugar, ground sesame seeds and ground almonds.

4. In a very clean bowl, beat the aged egg whites to soft floppy peaks. Add sugar gradually beating continuously till glossy and shiny. Add black food colouring to get a dark blackish hue. I was in a hurry so tipped in around 2 Tbsp of colouring but I think I could definitely have used less. What's more the macs are pretty enough without the colouring so feel free to omit.

3. Macaronage: Tip half the almond/icing sugar mixture into the egg whites. Fold in gently for around 20 strokes. Add the rest of the almond mixture and fold for another 20 strokes. The mixture should ooze look like molten lava and it should take no more than around 50-55 folds in total.

4. Scoop mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe on to lined cookie trays into roughly 1 inch circles. Drop the trays on to the bench a couple of times to get the bubbles to come to the surface and pop them with a toothpick. Leave the trays of piped cookies to air for 60-90 minutes for the shells to form skins (this is key to getting the highly sought after feet.)

5. Bake at 150oC for 11-12 minutes (better to overcook than undercook). Cool completely before piping buttercream and making into sandwiches. Put into an airtight container in the fridge overnight to "mature" before eating. It's supposed to improve the flavour and allow the macarons to absorb some moisture from the filling to get the perfect chewy texture.

Coconut Buttercream

3 cups icing sugar

225g unsalted butter, room temperature

pinch salt

1/4 c milk, room temperature

1 tsp coconut essence

1. Cream butter till fluffy. Add icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time and beat to incorporate. Add milk, salt and coconut essence and beat to mix through. Add more milk or icing sugar to get the right consistency for piping.

2. Using a piping bag with a round nozzle, pipe on to the botton of one macaron then sandwich a second on top to squish the buttercream to the edges.

Beer o'clock: Chocolate Guinness Ruffle Cake with Salted Caramel Whipped Ganache Frosting

2011-08-22T03:56:00.000-07:00

He was a wise man who invented beer ~ Plato

I'm a beer girl.

Yes yes being a little Asian girl I'm not exactly your stereotypical beer guzzler. Not that I'm a huge drinker mind you. Hardly. Just like your stereotypical little Asian girl, I am a complete lightweight. A pretty cheap date. But give me a cool refreshing beer on a hot summers day and I'm a happy chappy. Give me two and I'll probably be under the table.

Now, there are beers, and then there are BEERS. Guinness, the infamous Irish dry stout, falls in the latter category. Big, bolshy, in your face beer. A meal in a glass. Liquid bread.

Being such a lightweight and thus naturally preferring lighter wheat beers and largers, stout has never been my cup of...beer. And on top of that, beer and chocolate is not exactly a combination that screams delicious. But when my Mum fell in love with this Chocolate Guinness Cake I knew I had to try and recreate it for her.

We first tried this cake at my father in law's bday party. A family friend, Melodie made it and kindly shared the recipe with us. The cake was dark and moist and had such a strong chocolatey flavour that I was very surprised to see that the recipe used cocoa and didn't have dark chocolate in it.

I swear I could taste a hint of the Guinness in the cake, just a touch of that famous roasted unmalted barley but that might have entirely been a product of my overactive imagination.

I deviated from the original cream cheese frosting the cake had and opted for my tried and trusty whipped ganache frosting in order to up the chocolate factor...and also because I had seen this amazing ruffle cake on the incredible Sweetapolita blog and was completely blown away. Ever since, I've been just hanging out for the perfect opportunity to try it out in all its ruffly glory. You could say, this post has been brewing for a while now.

My attempt was no where near as pretty or magnificent as Sweetapolita's cake. So there are definitely a few pinters for next time. For starters, it's a bit of a midget (I decided to make two cakes so Mum could take one to work) and it's bald on top (I ran out of icing as there were two cakes to frost instead of one) but all in all I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt at the ruffle cake.

The ruffles were easy to do in concept, but a little bit tricky in execution but really only because I mucked up the salted caramel stage and had lumps of hardened sugar which got stuck in the teeny tiny petal tip and caused a pressure build up followed by a frosting explosion. Messy messy times.

The cake itself was definitely moist and chocolately but on my second time tasting it I reckon it's a little lacking in sweetness. So delicious this cake certainly was, but soz Nigella, it's not quite The Chocolate Cake recipe I've been dreaming of.

Still, it was super easy to whip up and mum's colleagues loved it, so ales well that ends well right?

Chocolate Guinness Ruffle Cake with Salted Caramel Whipped Ganache Frosting

Recipe by Nigella Lawson

250 mL Guinness
250 g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into thin slices
75g cocoa
400 g caster sugar
142 mL sour cream
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
275 g flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC. Line one 22 cm round springform pan with baking paper.

2. Heat Guinness and butter in a saucepan until the butter has melted. Add cocoa powered and sugar and whisk to combine.

3. In a separate bowl mix together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla and then pour into the cocoa/Guinness mixture and beat to combine. Whisk in flour and baking soda.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 - 60 minutes. Cool completely in the cake tin.

5. Frost when completely cool.

Salted Caramel Whipped Ganache Frosting

Recipe Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.

225g dark chocolate
3/4 cup cream
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
225g butter, room temperature, cut into around 1" cubes

1. Chop up the dark chocolate and place in a large heat proof bowl.

2. In a small saucepan, combine cream and salt. Bring to a low simmer and stir until the salt is all dissolved. Take off the heat. In another saucepan, combine water, sugar and corn syrup and heat on medium high until the sugar is all dissolved and the mixture is an amber colour. Take off the heat, and add the warmed cream - be careful it will bubble up ferociously!

3. Add the hot caramel to the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute to melt the chocolate. Stir a little with a silicon spatula to make sure the chocolate is melted.

4. Beat the chocolate/caramel mixture on low/medium low until the mixture is cool. .

5. When the mixture has cooled, crank the beaters up to medium high and add the butter a couple of cubes at a time until light and fluffy and smooth. You might need to put the frosting into the fridge to set up a little before piping if it's a bit too oozy. Or if you've had it in the fridge for a bit and it's a bit too hard just let it warm up on the bench until it's warmed up.

6. To make the ruffles: You need a piping bag and a petal tip. I used the wilton 104 petal tip which worked a treat (but it I wasn't a poor student I'd get a larger one). Now the process to make the ruffles is are to explain in words but I found this video on youtube by Sweet and Saucy Shop which was super helpful. First, using a pallet knife, cover the cake in a layer of the frosting to flatten out the surface. Then fill your piping bag and tip with the frosting, start at the bottom of the cake with the thin side of the tip pointing outwards and the fat end of the opening touching the cake pipe the frosting side to side to get a ruffle around 1 inch wide. When you get to the top of the cake, taper off and start right next to your first ruffle, repeating the motion and making sure you get the second ruffle as close to the first as possible - touching even.

7. Continue making the ruffles until you have gone round the entire cake. Now for the top, you can leave it flat (like I did) or make ruffles on the top too. Have the nozzle lying flat on the cake right at the edge with thin part of the nozzle facing towards the circumference of the cake and fat part towards the centre. Now pipe little semicircles to get like a wave border round the very outside. Now repeat with a second layer closer towards the centre of the cake slightly overlapping the outer border. Carry on until you get to the middle.

8. Keep the frosted cake in the fridge for up to 3 days but let it come to room temperature before serving (so the frosting has time to thaw out and get nice and moussey).

Homemade Oreos for Baking for Hospice

2011-08-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

Procrastination is the thief of time. ~ Napoleon Hill

I'm supposed to be writing a genetics essay that's due this Friday but instead I looked up quotes on procrastination for this blog post. Ironic. The quotes are mostly all gloom and doom about how procrastination is bad yada yada yada but what the quotees have completely missed is this: Procrastination is fun.

I could've been looking up journal articles but instead I spent many a happy hour browsing Asos, Street Peeper, The Superficial, Tastespotting, not to mention all the food, fashion and design blogs I follow. And now instead of essay writing, I am blogging. Incidentally, blogging a post that I should have blogged about ages ago since the Baking for Hospice round I baked these Homemade Oreos for was waaaay back in July.

Yes, I am procrastinating by blogging about a recipe I have been procrastinating posting. Poetic really.

The theme for the July round of Baking for Hospice was The US of A since baking day fell on 5 July (the day after Independence Day). What could be more American than Oreo cookies? And I could not have asked for a better excuse to try this Smitten Kitchen recipe out that I've had my beady little eyes on for ages. Yes, it seems the stars and stripes were aligned.

I am a huge fan of oreo cookies. The dark crumbly salty sweetness of these iconic cookie sandwiches have a special place in my heart so this recipe had big shoes to fill.

The verdict? Homemade oreos were most definitely delicious. But exactly like oreos they were not.

They were more like a yummy chocolatey cookie. Not as crumbly as oreos, nor as salty sweet. Just not quite as oreo-y as oreos. Nevertheless, they were pretty tasty and the ones we kept for ourselves were gone in a blink. Mainly to my belly. Gotta be quick around me. Lightning fast eating reflexes is my super power.

Homemade Oreos

A Smitten Kitchen recipe.

makes around 30 cookie sandwiches

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup dark cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/5 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
142 g unsalted butter
1 large egg

1. Preheat the oven to 190 oC, making sure two racks are in evenly spaced the middle of the oven. Line 2 cookie trays with baking paper.

2. In a food processor, whiz up the cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the butter, pulsing to mix, then the egg and continue processing until the dough comes together as a lump.

3. On a clean surface, roll out the cookie dough to around 5mm thick. Using a round cookie cutter or top off a tube of spices (like this one) cut out 3.5 cm discs and place them on your prepared cookie trays around 2 inches apart. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating top to bottom and back to front once to make sure the cookies cook evenly. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before icing and making into sandwiches.

Buttercream filling

60 g unsalted butter, room temperature.
60 g vegetable shortening (like Kremelta)
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Beat together butter and shortening until thoroughly mixed. Gradually beat in icing sugar then vanilla on low speed. Once everything is in the bowl, crank up your beaters to high speed and beat for 2 - 3 minutes to get the buttercream really fluffy.

2. To assemble: first match up all your cookies so that they are in pairs of similar shape and size. Using a pastry bag with a large round nozzle, pipe the buttercream onto the middle of the bottom of one of the cookies (around a teaspoon size) then squish the filling with the second cookie until the filling reaches the edge of the cookies. Keep cookies in a airtight container for up to a week.

Climb every mountain, make your own wedding cake

2011-08-14T01:52:00.000-07:00

{photo by jel photography}

Climb every mountain, ford every steam, follow every rainbow, till you find your dream ~ The Sound of Music

Well, blow me down and call me Ed but I seem to have been conquering all sorts of culinary Everests recently. Like macarons, making my own 2 tier wedding cake was for me an act of baking mountaineering.

I think this is one of my proudest baking achievements. Really takes the cake.

What on earth possessed me to want to make my own wedding cake you ask, when a) I was living in a different city to where I was getting married, b) I've just started at Med school and c) I'd never made a tiered cake nor worked with fondant before??? Well, with professional wedding cakes costing around the NZD$1000 mark, there was definitely a huge financial incentive. And then there was the reverse psychology incentive: the more people warned me against doing it, the more determined it made me. You say: "Not a good idea Nessie, too stressful", I hear "Go on, I dare you".

Me, stubborn? No...

{photo by my cousin David}

Before this wedding cake, I had never ever made a multi-storey cake. I was a complete cake engineering rookie and thought heck how hard can it be right? You just bake two cakes and plonk one on top of the other - done burger! Turns out, it is definitely no cakewalk. There's a lot more to it than just playing jenga with 2 cakes; you need particularly sized cake tins, cake boards to match, wooden dowels and even a saw to cut the dowels with. Yes, a saw. Heavy duty artillery. I'm surprised no number 8 wire was needed.

Making and assembling this cake was a multi-stage process that I did over the period of about a month and a bit (but can be done over a couple of days). Sure, that sounds super complicated but actually splitting up the work over a longer period of time lightened the workload and made the process considerably less stressful.

Before I started, I was most terrified about the cake assembly part (what if it all crumbles just as I put one on top eek?!) and the fondant part (what if the fondant doesn't like me and rips/bubbles/melts/bites me eek?!) but actually, the hardest part of the whole process wasn't either of the above.

The hardest, most frustrating part, the I-want-to-throw-this-cake-out-the-window part was actually getting the ganache layer smooth. It just wouldn't smooth out. The experience was kinda like trying to lick your elbow, doomed to frustrated failure.

{photo by jel photography}

Having said that though, it really wasn't as hard or stressful as I had thought. Sure there were tears shed, mini melt downs had and 1.5 kgs of chocolate used but it was one of the most satisfying and fulfilling baking experiences I've ever had.

See, who said you can't make your cake and eat it too?

Step One: Baking the Cake a.k.a The Easy-Lull-You-To-A-Sense-Of-False-Security Part

Chocolate Fruit Wedding Cake

Adapted from recipe by Nigella Lawson

600 g pitted prunes, chopped
500 g raisins
250 g currants
350 g unsalted butter, softened
350 g dark muscavado sugar
1 1/3 cup honey
4 Tbsps golden syrup
3/4 cup brandy + extra for brushing
2 Tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water
3 oranges zested and juiced
2 tsp mixed spice
4 Tbsp cocoa

6 eggs, lightly beaten
300 g flour
150 g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Makes 1 x 30 cm (12") cake and 1 x 20 cm (8") cake.

1. Line one 30 cm baking tin and one 20 cm baking tin with 2-3 layers of newspaper then 2-3 layers of baking paper.

2. In a massive saucepan heat over medium heat the butter, prunes, raisins and currants, sugar, honey, golden syrup, coffee, brandy, orange zest and juice, mixed spice and cocoa until the mixture comes to a gentle boil stirring as it melts. Simmer for 20 minutes. Take off the heat and let cool for an hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150oC

3. Once the mixture has cooled a little, add the eggs, ground almonds and sift in the flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix well.

4. Pour into the prepared cake tins and bake for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, until the tops of the cakes are firm and look shiny/sticky but a skewer comes out with wet crumbs from the middle.

5. Cool the cakes in the tin. Once completely cool, remove from the tins but keep in the baking paper. Brush the top and sides of the cake with the extra brandy to seal. You could freeze the cakes if needed at this stage by wrapping them in the baking paper, then cover with a layer of tin foil then a layer or two of clingfilm and freeze. The cakes will keep in the freezer for months. Or you could freeze after applying the ganache (I froze with ganache and they defrosted fine).

6. To defrost frozen cakes: take the cakes out of the freezer and let them defrost in the refrigerator still wrapped overnight.

Tips:

~I think next time I'll put dark chocolate chunks in the cake mixture to chocolatify it more.
~ I didn't have the bigger sized cake tin (30 cm) so instead of forking out money to buy one I just rented one for around $6 from a place in Birkenhead (Auckland). Easy peasey.

Step Two: The Ganache Layer: The Like-Trying-To-Lick-Your-Elbow Part

Making the White Chocolate Ganache

500 ml cream
1.5 kg white chocolate (use white chocolate drops rather than good white chocolate, according to the experts it's easier to work with)

1. Break chocolate up into little chunks (or chop finely) and place into a large microwave safe bowl. Make sure the bowl and everything that touches the white chocolate is bone dry. White chocolate is fussy and will just seize up even if there is a speck of water.

2. Put cream into the bowl of chocolate and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Take the bowl out of the microwave and wriggle the bowl to get choc under the cream - don't stir. Let the chocolate rest for 4 minutes.

3. After resting, microwave on high for 2 minutes, wriggle and rest for another 4 minutes.

4. Microwave again for 2 minutes. Take the bowl out (should be warm to the touch at this stage). Stir the mixture with a silicon spatula (not a wooden spoon as a wooden spoon can retain moisture and cause the chocolate to seize up) until all the chocolate is off the sides. Let the chocolate rest for 4 minutes.

5. If the chocolate has not completely melted, microwave for 2 minutes more. Whisk the chocolate to make sure all melted through. It should be no warmer than your finger.

6. Once the chocolate and cream mixture is completely melted and smooth, let it cool to room temperature until it hardens to the consistency of soft serve ice cream. You can make the ganache and use the next day, leaving it to set in the fridge overnight. Let the ganache come up to room temperature and heat in the microwave in 30 second bursts to soften.

Tips

~ Remember, make sure everything is super dry when you work with chocolate.
~ If the ganache is too hard, it won't spread well, just microwave for 30 seconds bursts to get it to the right consistency.
~ When it comes to smoothing, a hot L shaped ruler / meat cleaver / pastry scraper is your friend.

How to ganache the cakes like MacGyver

1 x large thick cake board for the bottom layer
~ chose one that's larger than the diameter of the cake if you are not using a cake stand. If you are using a cake stand, choose one that's around the same diameter of your cake if not roughly 1 cm larger.

1 x thin cake board for the 2nd layer (same diameter of the cake if not a little bit bigger)

1. To prepare the cakes for ganache, take your completely cooled cakes out of the baking tins and trim off the tops to flatten. Then turn the cake upside-down and place on top of their respectively sized cake boards. Ganache one cake at a time. Make sure the cakes are totally cool (or up to room temperature, if you are defrosting them).

2. Get the ganache to the consistency of soft serve ice-cream (by either allowing to cool down if just made, or if you've been keeping in the fridge, by heating in 30 second bursts in the microwave). Use an offset pallet knife and plonk a big dollop of ganache on the top if the cake. Spread the ganache evenly over the top of the cake. At this stage you are only doing a thin "crumb layer" to kind of set the cake so that no crumbs will come off it. The crumb layer also makes it easier to get a smoother surface. Taking more ganache, cover the sides of the cake too, being careful to get the layer even.

3. Let that layer of ganache set to had before putting on the next layer of ganache. Make sure the ganache is the right consistency (heat in microwave for 30 second bursts as necessary) and put on a thicker layer of ganache on the cake again starting at the top, then the sides making sure the sides are flush with the edge of the cake board (on the smaller cake boards). All the tutorials I watched on the internet made the ganache layer around 1/2 - 1 inch thick. I think mine was more like 1 cm thick. Let the ganache harden between each layer.

4. Then to make the ganache really smooth, the trick I saw on the internet was to use a stainless steel L-shaped ruler/set square heated in hot water (and dried) to smooth over the sides first, then the top of the cake. I didn't have a set square like that, so I channeled my inner MacGyver and used a large meat cleaver. It worked really well, way better than when I had tried with the pallet knife but I still could't get it looking super shiny smooth like the pros do. Mad props to the pros.

Tips:

~ I started off with dark chocolate ganache but found white chocolate was far easier to smooth. If you're using dark chocolate the ratio to cream is 500 ml cream to 1 kg dark chocolate (and adding a splash of brandy in there is really nice too.)

~ Even though I couldn't get the ganache to be super smooth, once I put the fondant on it was actually ok...whew!

Step Three: Oh Fondant, my Fondant

This part was the part that I was pretty scared about (fondantophobia perhaps?) so there aren't any photos of this part. The concentration was great. This part is really hard to describe in words, but there are some great video tutorials on youtube which are worth having a look at. I liked this video by Inspired by Michelle.

3 packets of pettinice fondant icing
Duster
Large rolling pin (preferably silicone)

1 Tbsp apricot jam
2 tsp hot water

2 x fondant smoothers

To make a duster:
Pair of clean thin pantyhose you don't mind cutting up
2 Tbsp cornflour
2 Tbsp icing sugar

1. First of all make the wee duster, its cute and really handy in the fondant process. You can use it to dab a mixture of icing sugar and cornflour on to your work surfaces and to the fondant itself to stop it sticking. All you need to do is to cut off around 5 inches from the toe to make like a pantyhose sock. Mix the cornflour and icing sugar in a bowl then pour into the sock. Tie the blob of icing sugar/cornflour off making sure the blob has a little bit of give and voila! You have your own duster!

1. On to the fondant part now. Make sure you have a large clean smooth dry surface (like a bench top or table top) to work on. It's really important that it is clean, coz the white fondant will pick up every little speck! Dust the surface using your new toy a thin layer of powder.

2. Combine all 3 packets of fondant and knead. It is quite hard to start off with (like plasticine) but knead it until its got some give and is more pliable. You might need to dust it while kneading to keep it sticking.

3. Roll out the fondant to around 5mm thick and roughly in the shape of a circle. It will look massive, way bigger than you actually need for the cake but this makes it easier to get the sides smooth (a great tip given to me from a friend!).

4. Take the bottom (larger) cake with the ganache layer completely set and hardened. Mix the apricot jam and hot water to make a glaze and brush over the ganache to make sure the fondant sticks. Drape the fondant over your rolling pin and very carefully place the fondant circle over the cake making sure the cake is right in the middle. You shouldn't move the fondant once you put it on the cake as the glaze and chocolate will stain the fondant. Smooth the top and down the sides gently stretching the fondant out to get rid of any folds. It's hard to explain clearly what to do and a picture tells a thousand words so do have a watch of this video coz I reckon it all becomes clear when you watch it being done!

5. Cut around the edge of the fondant, right at the seam between the cake and the cake board (or further out and then wrap the fondant over the cake board if you are using a cake board that is flush with the cake. Re-knead the excess fondant and roll out to cover the smaller cake.

6. Smooth the fondant using the fondant smoothers (these are truely the most awesomest invention!). They are like these plastic paddles that with handles that you rub over the fondant that magically smooths the surface, cracks and all!

7. Don't put the cake in the fridge after it has been fondanted (it will melt the fondant) and don't wrap completely with plastic wrap as this will cause the fondant to weep. Loosely cover the cake with plastic wrap and keep in a cool dry place.

8. Cover any excess fondant in a layer of shortening and then wrap in 2 layers of plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for later use.

Tips:

~ If the fondant keeps tearing, it could be because it is too dry. Try kneading some shortening into it to moisten.

Step Four: Assembling the cake

~ 8 wooden dowels (or plastic ones)
small saw
fine sandpaper

1. Poke one of the dowels in to the middle of the bottom larger layer to gauge the height of the cake. Saw the dowels to the exact height of the cake and sand to remove splinters. Evenly distribute 6-7 dowels within the area that the top layer will sit on top of to support that layer.

2. Place the second layer on top of the bottom layer, right on top of the wooden dowels that have been pressed into the cake. You are supposed to take a sharpened dowel at this stage and poke a big long one through the top and bottom layer to make sure the layers didn't slide on top of each other but I was too scared to do that so skipped it!

Step Five: Decorating the cake

small bouquet silk flowers (or fresh flowers)
plastic wrap
white ribbon

1. Take your silk roses and poke them into the top of the cake as a decoration. If the stems are too long, cut them and wrap in plastic wrap if there is a metal rod in the middle of the silk flowers. Alternatively, if you are using real flowers, you can get little test tube things to push into your cake which you can put a little water in to keep the flowers alive. Don't push the fresh stems straight into the cake, it will wilt the flowers and the chloroform from the fresh flowers will leech into the cake making it taste grassy.

2. Attach one end of the ribbon just by wetting a spot on the cake where the ribbon will go (right on the bottom edge). Wrap the ribbon around and using a spot of icing stick the end on top of the other end.

The End

And you're done burger!!! Finally! And the fact that you made it yourself is just the icing on the cake.

Sunshine and Fush 'n' Chups at Tunnel Beach

2011-08-08T03:03:00.000-07:00

{Tunnel Beach, Dunedin, New Zealand}

What's more, if you turn over a new leaf, and keep it turned, I'll cook you some taters one of these days. I will; fried fish and chips served by S. Gamgee. You couldn't say no to that. ~ J. R. R. Tolkien (The Two Towers)

An almost wordless post today.

Am a bit of a busy bee this week, working on a monster of a post bout the wedding cake making process, it's massive, gargantuan even, a post to end all posts and also writing up articles for our med school yearbook, organising our next round for Baking for Hospice, while trying not to think about exams fast approaching...

So instead of my usual verbose offerings, here's a tranquilly almost-wordless photo spread from an oh so kiwi fish and chips (or as we apparently pronounce it "fush 'n' chups") picnic at Tunnel Beach, Dunedin, New Zealand. Just another gloriously sunny but mind-numbingly chilly day down south.

{cute little fish and chip shop we got our lunch at}

{heading down the long dirt track. yes those are sheep in the background. go ahead...make your sheep jokes}

{slip sliding in the mud right down to that rocky outcropping}

{baywatch}

{picnic of champions - battered fish, chips, squid rings, onion rings and tomato sauce (watties of course). mmmmm deep-fried greasy goodness}

As far as fish and chips went, the batch we got from Mayflower Takeaways wasn't too bad. The fish was flakey and moist, the chips were big and fat, all crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The squid rings were just your av frozen squid rings and the onion rings were tasty but super messy to eat. Instead of thin crunchy rings, they were literally discs of onion deep-fried so all the moisture made the batter soggy and it fell off as you were trying to eat it. Greasy messy fun.

{a picnic with a view}

{the stunning nat}

{pretending to be a aeroplane. as you do.
photo taken by the talented nat}

{cliffhanger}

{erin all rugged up. sunny it may be, warm it most definitely wasn't}

{the tunnel the beach was named after. legend has it that a rich benefactor had this tunnel built so his daughter could go down off the hill to the beach on the other side and as the story goes the daughter then tragically drowned at the beach}

{picking through the rocks}

{obligatory beach jumping shots}

Fish and chips wrapped in newspaper on the beach, sunshine and loads of photo taking...who could ask for a more perfect day. Merci beaucoup, Erin and Nat.

Best Blog Award: ta muchly Bunny Eats Design!

2011-08-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

The gorgeous Genie from Bunny Eats Design has passed on the Best Blog award to me - what a total sweetie! Thanks so much hun!!!

Ok so the rules are that I'm supposed to answer some questions about myself and award 15 other blogs the award too and let them know all bout it. So here goes!

The Questions:

Whats your favourite colour?
My standard answer is Blue. Not even sure if that even is actually my fav colour though. If you go by what I wear it would be grey or navy, go figure.

Whats your favourite song?
All time fav song would have to be Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight, the song for our wedding dance...always had and always will makes me smile.

What is your favourite dessert?
But if I pick only one, it would be like cheating on all the others? Well, if I could only eat one dessert for the rest of my life it would have to be icecream. I've polished off a whole 2L tub of jellytip on my own before in one day. I sometimes have it for breakfast. I am PRO at eating icecream.

Whats pissing you off?
The person who lives in the flat above me who gets up every morning at 6:30am and stomps around with the worlds loudest elephant feet. I dub thee "Stompy".

Oh and computer viruses. They are the devil.

When you’re upset you…
Eat. Lots. Icecream, chocolate, cheese you name it, I'm shovelling it into my mouth.

Black OR white?
Black, so the food stains don't show up.

Biggest fear?
Spiders. Get them away from me.

Your best feature?
Hmmm maybe my ears...I love listening to people's stories.

Everyday attitude….
Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you

What is perfection?
Being surrounded by people you love, eating good food and laughing lots.

Guilty pleasure...
Facebook stalking. You know you love it.

15 Blogs to be Best Blog

Would love to give a shout out to some of the awesome blogs I've recently discovered and some old favs that never fail to inspire me.

1. Through Rose Coloured Glasses
My amazing friend Sarah's blog on love, life and dreaming. She's such a free spirit and has this beautiful way with words.

2. Katie Maree Cole
Another extremely talented friend of mine who is a totally gifted fashion designer. Always been incredibly stylish and I want to steal her wardrobe so badly.

3. Hungry Little Heart
Pierre is a chef turned med student and shows that you can be a med student and still have time to cook and blog. Just. Total legend.

4. The Little Foodie
Mariko juggles being a mum, an amazing baker and a great photographer. Inspiring.

5. Journey Kitchen
I've recently discovered Kulsum's blog and I'm in love with all her photos. Check out the black and white egg pic from her post on brownies...can't take my eyes off it!

6. Sweetapolita
Absolutely stunning photos of stunning cakes made by Rosie. This blog is total eye candy.

7. Treehousekitchen
Mel is a fellow kiwi food blogger. Super witty posts, has me laughing out loud regularly.

8. Time for a little something
Another recent discovery, Jemma has just started this blog and it rocks!

9. Bunny Cakes
Such a super stylish crafting blog. I am in love with her party styling.

10. Wendy's Lookbook
Just discovered Wendy's style blog through Youtube actually. She has the most moving and inspirational story and I adore her outfits and photos.

11. Glass of fashion
A mostly fashion with a dash of cooking blog by Katie in the UK. Love browsing through her photos - the ideal for procrastinating.

12. Steph Modo
Another uber stylish design blog I love.

13. Mark Meets World
My globe trotting friend Mark now working for an organisation that runs chilli farms in Mozambique. Living the dream. So proud of him.

14. A Pinch of Love
I'm always oggling at Ananda's gorgeous photos of food and life. Simply stunning.

15. Darjeeling Dreams
Joyti's blog is another recent discovery...love her styling, recipes and photos. So so creative.

Hong Kong Honeymoon: Foodies Highlights Part 2

2011-08-04T00:54:00.000-07:00

{prawn and spinach dumplings? why yes please}

Before I get into the post proper I need to vent just a little....I was an unfortunate victim of a manky computer virus that had my poor laptop down for almost a week (a week!?) and requiring a lot of TLC to cox it back to life. People who make viruses = not cool. Grrrrr.

Ok, now that I got that off my chest...back to the foodie posting!

Now, how could I possibly blog about the wonders of Hong Kong food without talking about yum cha? Yes, my friends, the 4th wonder of this Hong Kong Foodie Top 10 is not a dish but a whole way of eating. In fact, this whole part 2 post chronicles uniquely Hong Kongese styles of chowing down.

Of course, this is by no means all the wacky ways of getting your eat on in HK...this is after all a top 10 from our trip and 6 days does not a comprehensive foodie tour make. But even in 6 days we managed to rack up an impressive repertoire of eating styles, so without further ado, let the Hong Kong foodie good times roll.

{daikon cake? don't mind if I do}

4. Yummy Yum Cha

It's actually illegal to go to Hong Kong and not do yum cha. Yip, the Food Police will arrest you and lock you in Food Jail for such gross negligence.

Yum cha is a total mainstay in Hong Kong culture. I grew up on this mid-morning feast of dim sums: dumplings, steamed buns and egg tarts, oh my! All of which you get to pick off carts trundling around the restaurant pushed by little Chinese ladies shouting out their wares. Think Chinese-style tapas that come to you. These days however, many restaurants will have menu cards at your table (invariably in Chinese) that you use to tick off the dishes you want and the waitress will bring the lot to your table. Either way, what you get is a glorious selection of tasty morsels of your choosing served in little plates or steamer baskets.

{Shanghai pork soup dumplings ("shao long bao") & steamed barbeque pork buns ("char siu bao")}

There are gazillions of yum cha places in HK so there's bound to be one around no matter where you stay.
We always just to go where our relos want to meet up (lazy, yea I know) so I don't really have a list of recommends but I reckon if you are travelling in Hong Kong, ask a local where to yum cha and you can't really go wrong.

{veges with oyster sauce, shrimp mousse crab claws, and crispy gluten wraps}

For the uninitiated, there are some basic rules of engagement. Firstly the term yum cha literally means "drink tea" so the drinking of tea is an integral part of the meal. The stock standard tea served is jasmine tea, but our family usually orders the intensely pungent smokey black tea called "bo lei" or ("pu er" in mandarin). It's supposed to aid digestion and is a great accompaniment to the meal. You should always top up the tea cups of those around you before pouring tea for yourself. And to say thanks if someone else is pouring you tea for you, it's polite to tap the table next to your cup with your pointer and middle finger while they are pouring.

There will usually be a set of communal chopsticks on the table (in addition to ones you have next to you), you use the communal pair for picking the food up from the dishes on the table and putting in your own bowl/plate and then use your own personal chopsticks for eating. If the dim sum you are after in particular proves to be a slippery wee bugger and is resisting being picked up by chopsticks, use a toothpick to skewer it rather than poke your chopstick into the culprit. Don't be embarrassed to ask for a fork and spoon if using chopsticks proves to be too daunting, the waiters might even just give cutlery to you automatically if they see you are not Chinese (They get my husband every time even though he can use chopsticks and he's so dark about it!! :P).

I love yum cha, it's such a bustling, busy and fun way to eat. What could be better than getting to try little bits and pieces of everything. Saves having to steal bits off of your friends' plates when you have dish-envy no?

5. Steamboat is my dream boat

Steamboating a.k.a. Hot Pot a.k.a. "da been lo" involves a big bubbling bowl of stock in the middle of the table in which everyone cooks very thinly sliced pieces of meat, seafood, tofu and veges. You flavour the cooked morsels with a sweet garlicky soy dipping sauce and at the end of the meal get to drink the intensely flavoursome soup. It's rib-stickingly good and perfect for chilly winter nights.

Ok ok, so this method of eating isn't exactly unique to the Chinese, they also cook this way in Japan (shabu-shabu in Japanese). But I'd like to just go ahead and claim the steamboat/hot pot for Team Chinese over Team Japan (wiki got my back) kinda like how Australia claims everything over New Zealand (Phar Lap, Russell Crowe, Crowded House...)

{thinly sliced beef, oh sir... it's only wafer thin}

The fun of it is that you get to choose what to eat and you can cook it how you like. You even get to choose what soup base you start off with - bonus! For artillery, you get two pairs of chopsticks: a "raw" pair for putting the raw meat into the soup and an "eating" pair for eating. You also get a cute little slotted ladle you use to cook your meat in. It has a hook at the end of the handle to hook on to the edge of the stock pot so don't loose your ladle and you bits of tasty goodness.

There is most definitely an art to not loosing your piece of meat into the abyss of bubbling stock, one that I unfortunately have not yet mastered. It's also a fine balance in making sure your meat is cooked properly but not boiled to the point of being meat flavoured bubble gum - vigilance is key.

{yummy bits for your soy dipping sauce - crushed garlic, fried garlic, chilli, spring onions and a range of other sauces you can mix and match to your heart's delight}

One of the best parts of the meal is getting to make up your own dipping sauce. I am a garlic fiend, so load up my sauce with double garlic, a little spring onion and chilli, topped off with a slightly sweetened light soy sauce. You can add sauces like satay sauce, mustard but I like it better with just the aromatics and soy - sweet, salty, garlicky, spicy = amaze-balls.

{the deep fried crispy curly things were a revelation}

To go in your steamboat, there is often a range of meats (beef, pork, lamb) sliced to paper thinness, slightly thicker slices of fish, an array of different types of dumplings, meat balls, tofu and veges. A completely new accompaniment we discovered, thanks to my cousins, were these deep fried curly things that were kinda like a pastry. You dunk them the soup for 30 seconds and they soak up the broth on the outside but stay crispy and crunchy on the inside. So. Darn. Good. Deep fried is my friend.

There is a bit of an unwritten rule that you cook and eat the meat and seafood first before throwing on the vege and tofu. Not exactly sure why, but that's just how they roll.

You get to drink the stock at the end and boy is it good: it's intensely flavoured by the original stock used and all the ingredients that were cooked in it and bubbled down to concentrate the flavours. It's seriously delicious speshly with the big fluffy pillows of tofu that have soaked up all the soupy goodness. A perfect way to end the meal.

6. Hong Kong Foodcourts are on crack

Ok so foodcourts aren't unique to Hong Kong either but Hong Kong foodcourts are a truly breed of their own. They like a normal foodcourt on crack: a thousand times more people, more stalls, more choice, loud, bright, manic.

They also don't even operate like a normal foodcourt, where you go up to the stall, order your meal, pay and eat. Oh no, you have to go to the store, line up to order your meal, order, they then give you a ticket that says has what you ordered on it which you take to a cashier on the other side of the food court. You line up again to pay, pay, get a receipt which you then take back to the particular stall to collect your meal. Got that?? To top it all off, there aren't any instructions anywhere explaining this process. You just have to figure it out all on your own trying not to look too much like a clueless tourist.

And I can't even begin to describe how totally packed out these food courts get. It's hard to move, let alone get around carrying a tray of hot food. And good luck finding a seat. You have to hover creepily over people that look like they are just about to finish eating, then dive into the seat the moment their bum lift off the chair.

It's brutal, survival of the fittest, winner takes all, gladiator foodcourting.

But it's totally worth it. The standard of food is top notch and it's an exhilarating experience. We discovered incredible Korean food at these food stalls, not to mention the amazingness of "durian pancakes" (which I will elaborate more on in the last of this series).

{mean view from foodcourt in Harbour City mall in Tsim Sha Tsui}

So there you have it, a quick perusal of some of the weird and wacky ways of eating in Hong Kong. I haven't even gone into street food, dai pai dong, tea houses, herbal tea stalls, cake shops and the myriad of other ways one can dine out in this food-obsessed city. It's no wonder why the traditional Cantonese phone greeting is "Sik jor fan mei ah?" ("Have you eaten yet?").

Hong Kong is like one big foodcourt and I can't wait to eat my way through it again.

Still to come: Part 3 of the Hong Kong Foodie Tour

Let it snow: Vanilla macarons with rose quince buttercream

2011-07-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

"They're crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside and taste very hard to make" ~ my husband when he tasted his first macaron.

Macarons: delicate little cookie sandwiches that are the epitome of french baking chic. These wee things may look pretty and delectable but macarons are notoriously difficult to make. Apparently even seasoned patisserie chefs can get a dud batch depending on the humidity, weather and a million other mysterious variables.

I have never got the guts up to try to make macarons. Yes, the thought of making these dainty morsels scared the bejeebers out of me! Until finally, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to face my fear. I decided to make macarons.

Seems appropriate that seeing as it is snowing outside today, I blog about my attempt at tackling my culinary Everest: Macarons, by making snowy white Vanilla Macarons with Rose Quince Buttercream.

{snowed in: road closed, lectures cancelled...time for a cuppa}

"Can the Snow Queen come in?" said the little girl.
"Only let her come in!" said the little boy. "Then I'd put her on the stove, and she'd melt."
~ Hans Christian Andersen

Was this cookie just as hard to make as I thought it would be? You bet!

It used practically every bowl and mixing instrument in my kitchen. And the difference between the good batch (albeit slightly undermixed) and the bad batch (overmixed) was literally an extra ten strokes of the mixture. Ten strokes!

Finickity little things.

But when they came out of the oven with feet glorious feet, I burst into a happy dance in the kitchen, squealing and clapping and all. Pow! Take that bad macaron mojo - I got FEET!

The buttercream was less than ideal though. I used loads of quince paste but since the quince flavour is so subtle and ever-so-slightly rosy as well, the rosewater overpowered it. Next time I might just stick cubes of quince paste in the middle rather than mix it.

However, even though you couldn't taste the quince, I still loved the combo of vanilla and rose. The macarons are just so delightfully light and ethereal, the floral rose flavour goes with it perfectly.

I think I've fallen in love with macarons. The chewy gooey centre with at crisp outer shell is the most incredible mix of textures. The nutty hint from the ground almond makes these cookies totally moorish. And the million different flavour combinations you can make, make you want to go out and make every one of them.

But are macarons the new cupcakes as so many have speculated?

{waiting for the shells to set before baking}

Personally, I don't reckon they are. As delicious as they are, they are still pretty darn fussy to make and you put in a heck of a lot of effort for a not very big batch of cookies. Cupcakes on the other hand are so much more substantial, have a bigger wow factor and are more accessible to more bakers.

But why should it be one or the other? There is definitely place for both in my belly.

Vanilla Macarons with Rose Quince Buttercream

recipe from the Demystifying Macarons article by Helene Dujardin in Desserts Magazine

3 egg whites (~100g)
50 g white sugar
200g icing sugar
110g ground almonds
1 tsp vanilla

1. Age the eggs whites on a sealed container in the fridge for 24 - 48 hours or heat in microwave on medium-low for 10 seconds to mimic aging process. Beat egg whites to soft floppy peaks. Add sugar gradually beating continuously till glossy and shiny.

2. In food processor blend together the icing sugar and ground almonds.

3. Macaronage: Tip half the almond/icing sugar mixture into the egg whites. Fold in gently for around 20 strokes. Add the rest of the almond/sugar mixture and vanilla and fold for another 20 strokes. Now, this is a real tricky part to judge and apparently you only know when it's ready with experience but the mixture should look like lava and it should take no more than around 50 folds. (I thought my mixture looked undermixed so went ahead and mixed another 10 folds, so 60 in total, and it was enough to overmix it....rookie mistake!).

4. Scoop mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe on to lined cookie trays into roughly 1 inch circles. Drop the trays on to the bench a couple of times to get the bubbles to come to the surface and pop them with a toothpick. Leave the trays of piped cookies to air for 30-60 minutes for the shells to form skins (this will help the cookies get the highly sought after feet.)

5. Bake at 150oC for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely before piping buttercream and making into sandwiches. Put into an airtight container in the fridge overnight to "mature" before eating. If you can wait that long that is! It is supposed to improve the flavour and allow the macarons to absorb some moisture from the filling to get the perfect chewy texture.

Quince and Rose Flour Buttercream

This is not your normal buttercream recipe. It uses a flour and milk roux-like base so you use less butter and sugar.

3 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
120 g butter
3-4 Tbsp quince paste
1/2 - 1 tsp rose water (to taste)
few drops pink food colouring

1. Whisk the flour and sugar in a small sauce pan to remove lumps. Add milk and heat on medium heat, stirring constantly till the mixture thickens. It will thicken all of a sudden and turn into almost a opaque paste.

2. Take off the heat and let cool until warm. Add rosewater and beat on high for 5-7 minutes until completely cool.

3. With the beater on medium, add the butter around 5-6 cubes at a time. When all the butter is added, beat on high until fluffy. Add food colouring to your desired pinkiness. (I added the quince paste here and beat it in but I reckon the flavour would be way stronger if I had just added little cubes in the middle of each cookie in the buttercream).

4. Pipe onto a macaron shell using a round tip and squish it down with a second shell.

Wedding = love Part 3: My big fat Chinese banquet reception

2011-07-24T03:59:00.000-07:00

{all photos by Jel Photography unless otherwise stated}

Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast. ~ William Shakespeare

It's finally here! The last installment of my Wedding = love album!

Having had a white wedding, our reception was a Big Fat Chinese Banquet. And yes I mean really do mean big fat banquet with a whopping 12 courses!

No sirree, we don't do nothin' by halves down here.

{Menu with all 12 courses of our banquet complete with the meaning behind each dish! Photo taken by David Chan}

And as with all things wedding-ey, there are traditionally set game-plans on to how the receptions are run e.g. what speeches there are, who speaks, when they speak etc. Interestingly, Western weddings and Chinese weddings have similar but also rather different 'set-pieces'. Same same but different.

The Entrance

Usually in a Chinese banquet, the newly weds are waiting at the front of the restaurant greeting guests as they come in. There would be a welcoming table for the guests to sign in, their red pockets/gifts are recorded by a little team of helpers (usually bridesmaids/family) and they are directed to their seats.

We decided to go with the western entrance, with the MC announcing our arrival after everyone sat down (this decision may or may not have been influenced by the fact that we were running late because someone couldn't find his speech notes as we were leaving for the restaurant...)

The Food

Our food was very definitely Chinese. In fact it was so Chinese, the dishes even had cute elaborately grandiose names and meanings behind them.

1. Appetizer platter with roast meats and jellyfish.

2. Golden Crab Claws stuffed with Shrimp Mousse
This dish represents the groom, the ‘Dragon’, which is the yang aspect in the marriage.

3. Gold & Silver Scallops
Sautéed and deep fried scallops with vegetables.
The Chinese word for scallops is a homophone for children, and serving scallops wishes the newlyweds lots of happy children.

4. Chinese Style Soup with Fish Maw and Crab(not pictured)

5. Braised Abalone with Chinese Mushrooms & Lettuce

The Chinese word for abalone (bao yu) sounds similar to “assurance of wealth”, thus wishing the new couple prosperity and good fortune in their new marriage.

{photo by David Chan}

6. Sautéed Shrimps with Cashews in a Crispy Taro Nest

A nest made of fried taro symbolises a new nest and happy home. The Chinese word for prawns is “ha” which sounds like laughter and represents a happy marriage filled with laughter.

7. Crispy Roasted Chicken (not pictured)

The chicken represented the Pheonix or the bride (the yin aspect of the marriage). The chicken is always served whole to symbolise together and completeness.

8. Whole Steamed Fish with Spring Onions & Ginger

The Chinese word for fish “yu” sounds like “plentiful” and it is served in the hope that the couple will experience a life together with abundance.

We also had but didn't manage to get photos of:

9. Braised E-Fu Noodles: The noodles are served to symbolize longevity

10. Fried Rice.

11. Lotus Seed & Lily Bulb Dessert Soup: The dessert soup symbolizes a sweet happy marriage as anything sweet brings happiness. Lotus seeds are traditionally highlighted in the wedding banquet as the name in Chinese sounds like the Chinese saying "every year a son".

12. Chinese petit fours: heart shaped coconut marshmallows and heart shaped jellies.

We didn't have the traditional Shark Fin Soup or Suckling Pig with the apple in it's mouth that you would find at more hard out banquets. Wasn't too sure how our kiwi friends and relos would take a suckling pig with blinking LEDs for eyes! Apparently the suckling pig is supposed to represent the bride's virginity. Awkward conversation starter that one.

All our dishes we did have though were delicious and stunningly presented and we were just so so stoked with the food and service that I would love to give a wee plug for the restaurant Sun World Chinese Restaurant in Newmarket, Auckland: thank you so much for making our night run smoothly and for being such an amazing venue!

The Speeches

Modern Chinese weddings and Western weddings have pretty much the same speech line-up: Father of the bride, father of the groom, best man, maid of honour and groom. Modern Chinese weddings now also invariably have cheesy powerpoint presentations showing pictures of the bride and groom as they were growing up just to maximise embarrassment to the newlyweds.

{C making his speech in front of a tribute to my Dad}

We got the best of both worlds...all the speeches, the slide show the whole shebang. It was equal parts embarrassing, touching, hilarious, and moving. We laughed till we cried, and cried as we laughed. Who knew we were in the prescence of such talented orators!

The toasts

In Chinese weddings, at a particular point in the night (I know it's supposed to be in between certain dishes on the menu but I can't remember which!), the bride and groom make their way round each table with all the members of the head table and toast each table to thank them for coming.

Our glasses were supposed to be filled with cognac but since I am the most lightweight drinker in the world, I just had good old beer in my glass. Who said I wasn't a classy broad.

The cake cutting

Yes my lovelies that's the cake!!! I am SO excited to show you this first pic of the wedding cake. But since I'm going to dedicate a whole post to the making of my wedding cake I'm going to leave you in suspense for just a little while longer...

The bouquet toss/handover

The bouquet toss: the part of the wedding all the single ladies are waiting for right? Well we did it a wee bit differently. Instead of doing the old chuck the bouquet into a screaming clawing crowd of singles we decided to do a Bouquet Handover. We first saw this cool little tradition at C's cousin's wedding, where they called us up on to the stage during the reception to hand over the bouquet to us as the next couple getting married.

So we decided to follow suit and call up our friends Henry and Ranyi who will be getting married at the end of this year, to pass the bouquet on to. Congrats guys!

The First Dance

There were high expectations for us on this first dance. I did ballroom dancing for many years and had taught a couple of my friends their wedding dances.

On the other hand the odds were also stacked in favour of one or the both of us being badly injured during this part of the festivities, you see, C has two left feet. Two left baby elephant feet, at that. AND as I was now living in a different city to my then fiance, practising was out of the question. Tricky...

In the end, we decided to go with my fav Sinatra number and a nice simple rhythm foxtrot to The Way You Look Tonight with a high risk maximum impact manoeuvre as a finale....the scoop lift.

It paid off! The start was a little shaky but we managed not to trip each other up, drop me and inflict any broken noses or bones. Success!

And from there, it was everyone on the d-floor for some shimmying, boogieing and bootie shaking for the rest of the night with The Claw making an appearance just once or twice.

Couldn't have asked for a more perfect end to a more perfect day.

For parts 1 and 2 of the wedding = love album see here and here.

Bean there, done that: Rosemary & garlic cannellini bean dip with parmesan

2011-07-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm having a luxuriously lazy weekend...my husband flew down yesterday morning for the Med School Ball last night (wicked fun!!) and we've spent our Sunday sleeping in, cooking together, eating together, nana-napping and chit-chatting about everything and nothing. Simple wonderfully normal moments that I've missed so much. Doing the long distance thing makes old routines new again. So often it's the little things in life, so easily taken for granted, that can contain so much happiness.

The boy was feeling the effects of the late night (the morning after is never quite so good as the night before) so while he was having a wee snooze I had a quick flick through my last couple posts and realised I haven't posted any recipes for ages! Quelle horreur! So as a brief interlude to the multi-barrelled photo posts of late, I present: Rosemary & Garlic Cannellini Bean Dip with Parmesan.

I made this when my girls came over for a mid week dinner and it was a hit! It's ridiculously easy to make, takes less than 5 minutes from start to finish, and kicks the butt of store bought hummus. Make it, I dare you...you won't regret it!

The secret is using really fruity flavourful olive oil and plenty of garlic. This dip packs a flavour punch with loads of garlicky goodness, herby grassy freshness from the rosemary, parsley and olive oil and the lemon juice kicks it up a notch and makes all the flavours hold hands.

I am not kidding about how quick and easy this recipe is - it's a wham bam thank you mam recipe. So it's perfect for when you have friends popping round or if you're running late and need to bring a plate.

It's pretty versatile too, just heat the beans up in a pan before adding the rest of the ingredients and mash with a fork instead of blending it and you have yourself a yummy bean mash to serve with dinner. A nutritiously delicious substitute for mashed spuds. Or if you're feeling lazy, just heat for two minutes in the microwave instead of in a pan. And I reckon you could heat add stock (or pureed cooked cauliflower) and make a cannellini bean soup!

Rosemary and Garlic Cannellini Bean Dip with Parmesan

1 x 400g can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly
1-2 tsp rosemary finely chopped (thyme works really well as well.)
handful of flat leaf parsley
2 - 3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup really fruity extra virgin olive oil + extra for drizzling
zest and juice of 1 -2 lemons, to taste
a pinch of salt and 2-3 Tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese to taste or 1/2 tsp sea salt or 1/4 tsp normal salt to taste.
Loads of freshly cracked black pepper

Crackers or pita crisps to serve

1. Place rinsed beans, rosemary, parsley, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper into a food processor and blitz until just blended, leaving it a little bit chunky for texture. Taste and adjust seasoning as you like it. And voila, you have bean dip. Yip that's it...done burger!

2. Serve with crackers, pita crisps, on toast, in sandwiches or just eat with a spoon! Keep in the fridge and it's even more delicious the next day.

Hong Kong Honeymoon: Our Top 10 Foodies Highlights Part 1

2011-07-12T02:55:00.000-07:00

{That, my friends, is A Foodcourt With a View.}

So sorry for neglecting my post as of late, blog post that is. It was the university hols and we were lucky enough to get to spend some of it in the shopaholic/foodie's dream city Hong Kong for our sort-of honeymoon.

Why sort-of? Well, it was our first trip away together (and first full week of seeing each other) after getting married which is very honeymooney. But the main purpose of going back was to have dinner with and catch up with my relos in HK which is less honeymooney. And my Mum came with us - not that honeymooney at all.

So while it was technically our honeymoon, hopefully we'll get to go somewhere later on and lie on a beach for days with just the two of us (hint hint darling husband??).

So as a blogapology for the post-tardiness I present you our Top 10 Hong Kong Trip Foodie Highlights.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of what you should eat when in HK. That would need to be a top 100 at least! No, no, this is a much less ambitious venture: a round up of the tasty meals and morsels we loved most on our trip back this time. I'd probably need to go back for months to get a more definitive must-eat list...which I would LOVE to do sometime, so if you're reading this Harper Collins - call me??

1. Hong Kong Breakfasts

Even a simple a meal as breakfast, is a whole different affair in Hong Kong when compared with the western style brekkies we are used to in New Zealand. Instead of the brunch offerings we know and love like the french toast, pancakes and eggs bene; Hong Kong breakfast fare is decidedly more savoury with options like noodles, congee, and glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaves.

You're definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

{rice congee with yau-ja-gwai}

Congee or jook is a very traditional breakfast food. It's a rice porridge typically made by boiling rice in water or stock for ages till it breaks down and thickens like a soup. You can have chicken congee (cooked with chicken broth and with shredded chicken), pork congee (pork stock with shredded pork), fish congee...you get the picture. There's a whole heap of condiments you add to the congee like finely spring onions, picked spicy mustard greens, fried shallots, peanuts, etc and it's often served with deep fried bread sticks (called yau-ja-gwa in Cantonese) which give a salty crunchy contrast to the smooth congee. For me, it's comfort food at it's best, not to mention a pretty nifty hang-over cure.

{oodles of noodles: beef satay noodles, seafood noodles, hot & spicy noodles with dumplings}

We ended up dining at Chinese food chains most mornings since they had fancy menus with pictures we could point at. Each restaurant would have every type of noodle soup dish under the sun and would come with a drink for around HKD$20 - $50. Bargain!

It's not all weird and wacky looking fare for breakfast though, a more familiar sight are the cups of white tea or coffee that invariably come with breakfast sets. However, things are not always as they appear - one sip and you'll realise it's like no tea you've drunk before. Hong Kong style milk tea is tea that's been brewed to an inch of it's life, so strong it's like a punch in the face and has evaporated milk rather than fresh milk which too is a punchy flavour. I love it. My Mum loves it. My kiwi husband was not so keen on it.

If you order a tea in HK, this is what you will get so bear that in mind if you are thinking of having a cuppa. I asked my Mum why they use evaporated milk rather than fresh milk and she mused that it was cheaper than cow's milk and keeps longer. Makes sense, us Chinese are all about cost effectiveness.

{pineapple bun and iced lemon tea}

If milk tea isn't your thing, you can choose instead an Iced Lemon Tea ("dong-ling-cha") which is made of strong black tea, sugar and lemon slices. It's cool, sweet, tart and deliciously refreshing. My husband loved his lemon tea and even learnt how to order it in Cantonese. Well done old chap.

If you're into sweet things for breakfast, unfortunately there isn't much of a selection. Having said that, a pineapple bun (bolo bao) with butter is a favourite breakfast or afternoon snack for Hong Kongians. It's a super soft sweet bun with a crunchy almost cookie like crust. Kinda similar to the Rotiboy buns I think? It's called a "pineapple" bun because the top resembles a pineapple.

2. Fruit Desserts aka Mango with Mango on Mango

{mango with mango on mango dessert with dragon fruit}

There might not be a huge range of sweet things for breakfast but Hong Kong sure knows how to knock up a mean fruit dessert. My absolute favourite is Mango Sago and Pomelo Sweet Soup (yeung gee gum lo) - it's a cold dessert made with mango puree, chunks of mango and pomelo, sago, coconut milk and sometimes mango sorbet. Affectionately known by my family as Mango with Mango on Mango. Divine. The sweet juicy mango that looks and tastes like sunshine with the tart grapefruity pomelo and creamy coconut milk is a match made in dessert heaven. It's light, refreshing and utterly addictive.

{honeymoon dessert's version}

And since it's so packed with fruit you don't get that dessert-binge-guilt you get when you eat that mountain of chocolate pud with icecream. In fact, we were so liberated from said post-binge-guilt that we would sometimes have dessert twice a day. Om nom nom.

In HK, you really don't have to go far to find a place to satisfy your dessert cravings, dessert bars everywhere. Big chains brands such as Hui Lau Shan and Honeymoon Desserts are honestly in every mall and just about on every street corner. The menus conveniently have English subtitles and photos to help us non Chinese readers pick our sweet treats.

3. Korean Food

{kimchi beef with rice on a hot stone pot}

What's Korean food doing on a list that's supposed to be about Hong Kong food you ask? Well folks, this HK trip marks our big discovery of this awesome cuisine. C and I had never really had much experience with Korean food before. It's not terribly common in New Zealand but when in HK I kept noticing Korean food stalls in big food courts that were always packed out. As a naturally ~~nosey~~ curious foodie I just had to try it out. And boy am I glad I did.

Be it a noodle soup or rice stone pot dish, the meals were always packed with veges, packed with flavour and packed with kimchi. I had tried kimchi years ago and didn't care for it but in these dishes it made the dish sing. Slightly tart, crunchy, spicy and with a sesame hit, the kimchi made the dishes complex, rib sticking, eye-wateringly good. I can absolutely see why the Korean food is the cuisine du jour these days. Hmmm about time I check out that Momofuku cookbook methinks...

Most food courts in the big malls like Langham Place (Mong Kok) and Harbour City (Tsim Sha Tsui) have Korean stands at their food courts.

Well this has been an epic post, so I'm going to leave you in suspense for the next in this series!

So just watch this space for Parts 2 and 3 of our foodie tour of Hong Kong... :)

Trash Tuesdays: Double Double Downs at KFC

2011-06-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Double chicken, double bacon, double cheese, double awesome. ~ KFC ad

When Kentucky Fried Chicken brought out their Double Down "Burger" it created a frenzy of controversy. Every where you looked there was the Double Down, on every tv channel someone was eating it, a nutritionist lambasting it or an anti-obesity group declaring it was evil incarnate.

The official tagline is that it is a "bun-less burger" with two chicken fillets, two slices of bacon, two slices of cheese (one plain, one cracked pepper) lavished with the Colonel's own special sauce. I could feel my arteries clogging up even as I that typed out. It's basically deep fried grease with grease doused in grease.

So what better way to break my wedding healthy eating regime than with one of these bad boys. Better yet with two of them: a Double Double Down Challenge.

Kids, don't try this at home.

Alright, alright I didn't actually eat two in one setting (even I have my limits). I had the Double Down Original Recipe the Friday straight after my wedding, and Jess and I chowed down on the Zinger Double Down the next week. My kind of post-wedding blow-out binge.

{pre-ravishing zinger double down}

The Original Double Down was seriously greasy. So greasy, I literally had oil dripping down my arm. My hands looked like I had just dipped them in a vat of oil. A deep-fried heart-attack with 11 herbs and spices. I didn't have my camera on me but the lovely Sarah managed to capture the occasion...will update with those pics when I get them off her.

You would think with so much grease it should have been rather tasty no? Alas, my friends, tasty it was not. For a fried piece of chicken with the Colonel's secret herbs and spices, bacon, cheese AND a special sauce it was surprisingly bland and insipid. Very disappointing.

{anatomy of a zinger double down}

The Zinger Double Down on the other hand (or should that be other hip?) was far superior. After the Original Double Let Down, I had low expectations of its Zinger cousin. How, wrong I was. The Zinger wasn't greasy at all, the coating was crispy and crunchy and not gluggy and the Zinger marinade was super tasty: tangy, spicy and just hot enough to give you that warm glowing warming glow. The chicken was moist and succulent, cooked to perfection. My brain knew it was terrible for me, it's K-Fry for crying out loud, but I found myself enjoying every bite and quietly gutted it was a limited time item. Quelle horreur!!

UnFortunately the Double Downs were indeed only available for a limited time and are now off the KFC menu so I can't be tempted to go chow down another. Who knows though, with the media hype it created I wouldn't be at all surprised if we haven't seen the last of this "burger" just yet.

Trash stats:

Double Down Original Recipe & Double Down Zinger available at KFC outlets
NZD$7.90 for the burger and $10.90 for a combo (includes the burger, chips and a drink).

Takapuna Beach Cafe, Takapuna, Auckland

2011-06-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

{house hot chocolate}

The three most important things in real estate is location, location, location ~ Unknown

You would really be hard pressed to find a better location for a cafe than the Takapuna Beach Cafe on Auckland's North Shore.

It sits literally metres away from Takapuna Beach with it's golden sand and sprawling pohutukawa trees, overlooking the ocean with Rangitoto Island in the background. Combine that with the grandiose floor to ceiling windows and the uber stylish decor, and you've got the recipe for a cafe you just want to while away the day in.

When the Takapuna Beach Cafe (TBC) first opened, it was the place to be. Be you a celeb, a lady who lunches, muso or suit you wanted to be seen having a coffee at the TBC. Best people watching spot ever.

We used to go to the TBC all the time when I was living in Auckland, I loved the consistently excellent coffee, the impeccably attentive service and most of all the exceptional restaurant-quality food that was always creative and always delicious. So when my cousin and his girlfriend were over for our wedding, I couldn't think of a better place to show off Kiwi cafe culture.

The question was, would the TBC still be as good as I remembered? Would the setting, coffee, service and food still be as good? Well...turns out 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

The setting

{glass dome love}

The stylish interior of this cafe was just as chic as I remembered. Modern, sleek and minimal. The glass tables combined with the floor to ceiling windows just made the whole place light and airy, a total sun-trap. Beautiful glass domes filled with cakes and sweet treats sat temptingly in the middle of the cafe and the open kitchen meant you could see all the chefs hard at work cooking up their culinary creations.

I want my house to look like this cafe. Mad decor envy.

{light fittings love}

It was also a gloriously sunny day. Auckland really turned it on for us. The beach was as pretty as a picture, with plenty of people out and about walking their dogs and launching their boats into the water. Just another day on the North Shore.

The coffee

{house hot chocolate}

The star drink was the House Hot Chocolate. A chocoholics dream. Melted chocolate sat at the bottom of the glass served with a pitcher of hot foamed milk and a small dish of chocolate shavings. You added the milk to the chocolate to your own taste and sprinkled the choc shavings on top. Decadent, chocolaty goodness.

I ordered my usual flat white and found myself eyeing Tracy's chocolate concoction with thinly disguised envy. At a steep $9.00 though, the House Hot Chocolate is not for the faint-hearted.

Our coffees arrived quickly, were hot and really good. My flat white was thick and creamy with good crema, Mum's tea was a loose leaf English Breakfast blend which she was very happy with and Clement enjoyed his mochachino. So a big thumbs up for coffee quality.

The Food

{eggs benedict with lemon cured salmon and side of roasted portobello mushrooms}

In terms of food, it was a bit of an eggs bene bonanza. Mum, Clement AND Tracy all ordered eggs benedicts with lemon cured salmon, albeit with different sides.

Each eggs benedict came with two poached eggs with a generous dollop of hollandaise served on a bun. The eggs bene brigade didn't mind the bun saying that they weren't too hard at all, although Mum would have preferred the traditional English muffin. The salmon portions were generous and the salad greens were a nice fresh touch.

Mum's kumara cake side dish was delish, a fluffy sweet potato cake. The mushroom side was a bit of a let down however. We thought we had ordered the mushroom side with the creme fraiche and black truffle oil but they came without (must have been a miscommunication). With nothing on them the naked mushrooms they were pretty plain and snoro-o-boro.

{roasted portobello mushrooms on sour dough}

I ordered the roasted portobello mushrooms on sour dough with creme fraiche, black truffle oil and bacon. Surprise, surprise, when do I not order the mushrooms?! Especially when there's truffle oil and bacon in the mix - sold!

However, I am afraid to say, I was rather underwhelmed. The herbed creme fraiche needed waaaay more herbs, the mushrooms themselves had no flavour, the sour dough was touch as nails and I couldn't for the life of me taste the truffle oil. It came off as just bread, bacon, mushrooms and creme fraiche - which is exactly what I ordered sure, but there was no zing, no pizazz, it was bland and completely uninspiring. It needed something to kick it up the backside like lemon juice or balsamic...something.

{chicken livers with cumin & herb cream}

I was feeling gluttonous so also ordered a side of chicken livers with cumin & herb cream. The livers were cooked to perfection: smooth creamy and unctous. The sauce, however, left a lot to be desired. It just tasted like cream with cumin. I've had curries out of a jar that were tastier. It needed more spices, more herbs, more depth, and a kick of acidity to cut through the rich cream and the rich livers.

Am gutted bout this since this cafe is such a fav of mine. The menus are updated regularly though so hopefully next time we come the reincarnations of these dishes will be back up to the old TBC standards.

Service

The service on the other hand was faultless. Chatty friendly waitstaff seated us right away, kept our water glasses topped up. They made sure we were happy, comfortable and caffeinated. There also, wasn't much of wait for the coffees or the food despite the place being packed out. Mahi pai guys.

{getting shots of a stoic seagull}

Rating: 3/5

At a glance

Takapuna Beach Cafe
22 The Promenade
Takapuna
North Shore
Auckland
(09) 484 0002

Service: Friendly, attentive and efficient.

Food: Sadly lacking in flavour. Portion sizes generous though and there was a big menu selection.

Setting: You can't beat the setting at TBC: modern interiors, stunning view, you'll want to stay there for hours.

Price (NZD): Prices are typical Auckland cafe prices. Breakfast for four was $126.00

House Hot Chocolate $9.00
Flat white $4.50
Mochachino $5.00
Special Blend English Breakfast Tea $4.50
Eggs benedict with lemon cured salmon $18.50
Roast portabello mushrooms on sour dough, creme fraiche, black truffle oil with bacon $23.50
Chicken livers with cumin & herb cream side order $8.00
Sweet potato cake side order $5.00
Roast portobello mushrooms side order $5.00

Summary: Location, location, location may be everything in real estate but for a cafe: flavour, flavour, flavour is king. The coffee, setting and service were great but the food just wasn't up to scratch - bland and boring, which was surprising since it's usually top notch. However, we will be back so fingers crossed next time we'll be blown away.