dessert

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Goat Curd + Honey Ice Cream

January 21, 2013 in Ice Cream + Sorbets | 6 comments

DID YOU KNOW? Ice cream melts. The recommended storage temperature of this frozen treat is around -20° and is best served straight from the freezer. If left at room temperature for more than a few moments it will return to its liquid state. SCIENCE.

I’ve recently been reading The Food Stylist’s Handbook and, amongst the pages of wonderful lies of tall burgers hinged on unseen scaffolding and hidden blow-torches and paint brushes behind closed sets, lies this sentence:

“… fake ice cream is basically just powdered sugar and a solid fat of some sort… some stylists add corn syrup… your [fake] ice cream should have the texture of pastry dough of Play-Doh.”

Cream at Sassafras very kindly sent a jar of saffron + pear figlettes to play with, little did I know developing an ice cream recipe in conjunction with these little gems would send me into a melty spiral questioning the integrity of ice cream photography.

Here’s a thing some people don’t realise when gazing into a publication; when taking food photos the reality is ice cream melts. My personal reality is; I have no assistance and am often balancing on one leg to both take a photo and manoeuvre a reflector. My reality is; I have an incredibly small space to work with and even smaller backgrounds and surfaces. My reality is; by the time I stage the shoot, scoop the ice cream, position it properly, drizzle some syrup, clean my sticky hands and resume position behind the camera quick-as-a-flash (hehe pun) everything has already begun to topple. The texture of commercial ice cream we are so used to is lost in a matter of seconds; time is the nemesis of those who work alone, at least in this instance.

While I’m at it here’s absolutely everything there is to tell about these photos. The background is the back of a couch in the living room, the table is (I believe) an IKEA Lak I bought for $2 from The Bower; originally an offensive orange I painted it white but since the paint has begun to peel I’ve intentionally scratched it up for more character. I don’t have a macro lens; these were taken on my 85mm meaning I had to take a fair few steps back which, in turn, meant capturing areas outside of the table and background (couch). I wanted to keep my camera at f/2.8 (ish) for a bokeh explosion of shimmering pewter in the background however working with lights in a small space means they couldn’t be pushed back any further. The ice cream is sitting in what I can only describe as rusty canisters or filters I bought from Reverse Garbage ($1 for 10 of them as I remember), as were the pieces of fabric. The utensils in the background were purchased as part of my display at the COFA Annual late last year and that stein has been perched, untouched, on my coffee table in my bedroom ever since.

So, I became fed up with what ice cream should look like in the real world since I don’t operate in a real studio and decided to keep it as honest as possible. I stacked it high and watched it burn (melt) to the ground (restored IKEA table) and enjoyed it for a perverse thirty seconds. Hahahahaaa! I’m so zany I just don’t know what to do with myself. Some people rage at photoshopped images of women in magazines while I’m raging at faked ice cream.

Onto the recipe itself; the goat curd ice cream is a little different but great, probably not to everybody’s taste especially if they’re not into goats cheese. Don’t serve it by the bowlfull but instead as a course inbetweener or generous taster. It works perfectly with the figlettes and its syrup, though they’re definitely not essential. It’s not entirely sweet; just resounding flavours of goaty cheese and honey. It probably even warrants a quinelle. Whack it beside a soufflé and bask in the fanciness of it all.

Goat Curd + Honey Ice Cream
(an original recipe)

200g fresh goat curd (I used Meredith Dairy)
300ml cream
250ml milk
3 egg yolks
60ml (1/4 cup) honey
Tsp of salt
1 tbs sugar
1 vanilla bean
Jar of figlettes (optional)

1. Combine cream with goats curd until lumps are removed. In another bowl beat egg yolk with sugar.
2. In a saucepan heat milk, honey and split vanilla bean over low-medium heat until hot. Stir into egg yolk mixture slowly to temper then return to heat for a few minutes, whisking constantly until it begins to thicken like a custard.
3. Strain mixture into cream and goats curd mixture and stir well until combined. Place in fridge to chill and later churn as per your ice cream maker’s instructions. Serve with figlettes if you have any handy.

See the mess this stuff makes?! The concept of imperfection-as-perfection is far from revolutionary but goshdarnit melted ice cream is cool as heck. Cool and real.

And speaking of keeping it real, thanks again to Esme, Mark and Laura at Cream for the figlettes and please check out their online store or in person if you’re around the Dandenong area. My brief soap box moment of the day: supporting small businesses is very, very important; if you’re not already on that bandwagon get on it immediately, please!

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Apple Caramel Cupcakes

May 31, 2012 in Cakes + Cupcakes | 25 comments

Apple Caramel Cupcakes

It’s 2am. I’m perched before my computer in the shadows, my face illuminated only by the sickly glow of the monitor. My eyes, heavy like a million suns, desperately struggle to remain alert. Amongst piles of notes, papers (and at least 40 tabs open in Safari) sits a solitary tub of Nutella. From my mouth hangs a chocolate-stained spoon. Sanity in a jar. Sweet, hazelnutty stress relief.

Okay, I’m not the most poetic of writers so I’ll just draw the scene for you instead.

Apple Caramel Cupcakes

So amongst the chaos that have been the past three weeks (taking photos, essay writing, picture editing, interning, event snapping, illustrating, etc etc!) my dad asked yesterday if I could make something for his fundraising morning tea at work for tomorrow. WHERE WILL I FIND THE TIME TO DO THIS?! Oh dad, it’s lucky this is for a charity event and there’s no way I could possibly say no to you, lord knows how much I love to bake for a good cause and help you out.

Apple Caramel Cupcakes

I remember seeing this style of decorating around the internet, I’m sure if you google “apple cupcakes” some similar looking treats will appear. I just winged it (this is the first time I’ve ever used fondant, ahh) but if anybody knows the original instructions to transforming the humble cupcake into a sparkling faux-apple please let me know so I can link it!

I Instagramed this earlier today as I didn’t think I’d have the time (or daylight, rather) to photograph + blog which explains why I have no detailed/photographed instructions re: the assembly so I drew something stupid for your viewing pleasure instead. This recipe makes 12 adorable cupcakes.

Apple Caramel Cupcakes

Apple Caramel Cupcakes
(an original recipe)

Caramel apple
1 large apple, chopped into small pieces
20g butter
30g brown sugar

Cake batter
100g butter, room temperature
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
30g (1/4 cup) brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
170g (1 1/2 cups) flour
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon

Buttercream
150g butter, room temperature
350g (3 cups) icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs milk
Red and green food colouring (I used gel)

Assembly
Red and green sanding sugar
1 Flake
Fondant
Green food colouring

For the caramel apple
1. In a small frying pan melt butter and sugar over medium heat. Add chopped apples and stir until sauce has reduced and caramelised nicely. The apples should just be beginning to tender. Remove from heat and place in a heatproof bowl to cool.

For the cake batter
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Beat butter until it begins to cream and pale. Add the sugars and continue to beat until combined and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating and incorporating well after each addition. Add the flour, milk, baking powder and cinnamon and once again beat until completely combined. Stir in the caramel apple pieces.
3. Spoon batter into a prepared cupcake tin with liners. Place in oven and bake for aound 15-20 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched. Allow to cool for 5 minutes then transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the buttercream
1. Beat butter until it begins to cream and pale. Add icing sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until fluffy. Add milk until an ideal consistency is reached; it should be firm yet spreadable. Divide buttercream in half and add red colouring to one portion and green to the other.

Apple Caramel Cupcakes

For the assembly
1. Prepare fondant with green food colouring. Take a small piece and roll into a ball in the palm of your hand. Flatten into an oval shape and, with the back of a knife, score the piece vertically down the middle. Add a few additional, horizontal scores. Curl the leaf slightly, pinch its edges and allow to sit to return to room temperature.
2. Ice your cupcakes ensuring its entire surface is covered. Dip cupcakes into a bowl of sanding sugar ensuring the buttercream can no longer be seen. Gently break up the flake bar and insert a pice into each cupcake as the twig. Add the fondant leaves with a little buttercream to ensure they will stay put.

Apple Caramel Cupcakes

Okay, that was a nice distraction, I must now to finish this essay by midnight and it’s not going to write itself. Wish me luck!!

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Macaron Cupcakes (Vanilla Bean + Salted Callebaut Chocolate)

November 13, 2011 in Cakes + Cupcakes, Macarons | 6 comments

Macaron Cupcakes. MACARON. CUPCAKES. Why aren’t these a “thing” on the internet yet? A dessert garnished with another dessert; genius (if I do say so myself)! I first made a dozen of these a few months ago for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, an annual event to raise both awareness and funds for The Cancer Council. My vague instructions were to “make cupcakes, or macarons, or I don’t know, SOMETHING” so I took it in my stride to combine the two aforementioned goods to create the absolute ~CUTEST~ cupcake known to man. They were a hit! And of course the inspiration behind the alanabread logo.

So when my friend Bayden of Packwood recently asked if I could bring something along to the accompanying bakesale at Folkraiser @ Hibernian House this weekend there was only one adorable cake on my mind.

If you’re already experienced in macaron and cupcake baking then this should be an absolute breeze, albeit a little time consuming. The great thing about this combination is that you can mix up the flavours as freely as you’d like and, with the addition of some lovely pastel colours, they’ll always look fantastic. They basically advertise themselves! And who wouldn’t want a delicious cupcake with a macaron top-hat?!

This recipe will make 12 macaron cupcakes with some extra macarons to spare.

 

MACARON CUPCAKES

(an original recipe)

Macaron Shells

100g egg whites, room temperature

100g almond meal

200g pure icing sugar

30g caster sugar

1 tsp powdered egg whites

Powdered food colouring of your choice

 

Salted Callebaut Ganache

140g Callebaut chocolate, chopped (I used half milk, half dark)

80ml pouring cream

sea salt, to taste

 

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

100g butter, room temperature

1 cup caster sugar

1 vanilla bean

3/4 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup +2 tbs plain flour

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk

 

Cream Cheese Icing

250g cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups icing sugar mixture

Food colouring of your choice

 

Assembly

Mini cachous

 

For the salted Callebaut macarons

1. Preheat your oven 150°C.

2. Sift pure icing sugar and almond meal and place into a bowl and give it a quick stir.

3. Beat eggwhites and eggwhite powder in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Slowly add the caster sugar, beating well between each addition, until eggwhites are stiff and glossy. This process should take around 5-10 minutes.

4. Pour half of your dry ingredients into the bowl of beaten eggwhites and combine with a flat utensil, like a spatula, using “cutting strokes”. Once incorporated repeat with the remaining icing sugar and almond meal mixture. This is where things begin to get a little tricky as under-mixing or over-mixing will ruin your macarons as they attempt to rise and “grow feet” in the oven. Experts say to stir the mixture until it becomes the consistency of lava. The mixture will be sticky but you’ll know it’s ready when, upon holding your spatula above the bowl, it will begin just begin to flow freely back into the bowl. You’ll need to knock a lot of the air out of it.

5. Prepare a piping bag with the appropriate tip (around 1 cm or less), a baking tray with baking paper, and pipe small rounds (they must be small enough to balance on the cupcakes!). If there are any small lumps left from piping wet your finger and gently press them down (unlike cake batter, macaron mixture does not flatten out when in the oven). Allow tray to rest for 30 minutes.

6. Place baking tray in the oven and allow to bake for around 15 minutes (this time will depend entirely on your oven, so keep an eye on them). Within 5 minutes or so they will begin to grow feet.

7. Once ready, remove from oven, and after 5 minutes transfer to cooling racks.

8. Whilst your shells are cooling place your cream in the microwave for 30 seconds or until relatively hot. Pour your chopped Callebaut into the bowl and stir continuously until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is combined. Add sea salt, to taste, until you chocolate flavour begins to “pop” (this took me a few turns of my salt mill). Place bowl into the refrigerator to cool and thicken.

9. Prepare another piping bag with a large tip and neatly pipe rounds of ganache into half of the shells. To close, gently place its partner shell on top of the ganache and twist shut, taking care to prevent ganache spilling over the edges.

For the vanilla bean cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Beat butter until it begins to cream and pale. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod into the butter, add the sugar and continue to beat until combined and fluffy. You should be able to see the flecks of vanilla bean.

3. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Add the self-raising flour, milk, then plain flour once again beating after each addition.

4. Spoon into a prepared cupcake tin with liners, filling each to around two thirds full. Rap the pan by dropping it from a small height to knock out any air bubbles.

5. Place in oven and bake for aound 15-20 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched. Allow to cool for 5 minutes then transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. While these are cooling, prepare your cream cheese icing by beating the cream cheese with icing sugar and food colouring until combined and creamy.

 

For the assembly

1. With a piping bag with a large tip attached carefully pipe cream cheese icing over cupcakes. Carefully take macarons and place at an angle on each cupcake ensuring their placed firmly enough that they won’t slip off. Sprinkle with mini cachous and place cupcakes in the fridge for the icing to firm up to ensure the macarons will stay put.

 

All packed up and ready to go!

If you’d like to hear more of Packwood’s tunes you can check out the Facebook page here, also the alanabread facebook page is here too. Here’s a fan-video from our friend Zohara from a show a couple of months ago (you can hear me playing piano at 5:30!):

Lessons learnt the past few days: 1) orchestral folk music is cool, 2) being a baker/musician for a night is a total dream come true, and 3) there is something strangely satisfying about baking your own logo.

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Apple Cider Baked Goods + Apple Cider Glaze + Apple Bark

October 4, 2011 in Cakes + Cupcakes | 11 comments

Before I begin my usual selfish ramble about how wonderful food is I need to thank Diana of Diana’s Desserts for this incredible apple cider baked donut recipe. I’ve seen the term “Apple Cider Doughnuts” wafting about food blogs like crazy as of late but after some investigation I’ve found most of them seem to stem from this recipe. So thank you, Diana, this recipe is amazingly delicious for something so simple (and since I busted my handmixer the other day this recipe was an absolutely blessing to my unfortunate circumstance).


I’ve added my own garnishes to these lovelies (because what’s the fun in cooking straight from a recipe?); my simple apple cider glaze and apple bark. It’s important to use a good quality apple cider here as it is the only wetting agent for the glaze (so if you were considering using Strongbow kindly close this browser now :) ). And as for my apple bark – this was a complete(ly successful) afterthought that went down a treat providing a welcomed crunchy tang.  You may want to organise this a few hours prior to baking your goods as it will need around 3 hours in the oven.

As you can see I’ve used donut pans, mini donut pans and a baby cupcake tin so in the spirit of concise headings I’ve umbrella’d these delicious gems under “baked goods”. This recipe does not discriminate against shape!

 

APPLE CIDER BAKED GOODS + CIDER GLAZE + APPLE BARK

Apple cider baked goods (from Diana’s Desserts)

2 cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/3 cup maple syrup (or maple flavoured syrup)

1/3 cup good quality apple cider

1/3 cup vanilla yoghurt

3 tbsp vegetable oil

 

Apple cider glaze

1 cup icing sugar mixture

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup good quality apple cider

 

Apple bark

1 apple

springkling of cinnamon

For the apple cider baked goods

1. Preheat oven 180°C.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

3. In another bowl combine wet ingredients; beaten egg, brown sugar, apple sauce, maple syrup, apple cider, yoghurt and vegetable oil. Give them a quick whisk then add your bowl of dry ingredients. Whisk until just combined.

4. Divide your mixture between pans/tins of your choosing. For a donut pan bake for 10 minutes, for mini donuts and baby cupcakes bake for 5-7 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched.

5. After 5 minutes transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

For the apple glaze

1. Combine icing sugar, cinnamon and cider in a small bowl and stir well to remove any lumps.

For the apple bark (do this the morning before)

1. With a sharp vegetable peeler peel thin strips of apple, including the skins, and place on a baking tray. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

2. Bake in a cool oven (around 80-100°C) until completely dried, between 2 -3 hours. (If you are doing this day before you may need to re-crisp your apple bark for half an hour before assembling). Once dried, the apple skins will shrink and curl like little twigs. The apple strips will look like leaves.

For the assembly

1. Hold your baked good up-side-down and dip into the glaze. Shake of any excess and place back on the wire rack. Take a piece of apple bark and place on baked good while the glaze is still wet so it stays in place once dried. Continue with the rest of your donuts and baby cupcakes.


Bring these along to any dinner party and they will be very, very well received.





Trust me; I know from experience.

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Jasmine + Pandan Macarons

September 29, 2011 in Macarons | 14 comments

About a year ago I was transformed into a macaron making machine. Macaron after macaron, request after request, I was churning these mothers out like a, ahhh… like something that prepares a lot of macarons (you can find some evidence in my old kitchen porfolio). Unfortunately this lead to a great macaron meltdown. I had grown so tired of these adorable, French biscuits I began to despise the process and thus began my temporary retirement. It was an epic rage quit inspired by sugar and ground almonds. Months later (last night) however and due to popular demand (a friend) I managed to pull myself out of my rut and make a great macaron comeback.

The first time I ever tasted pandan was in cake form accompanied by a cup of jasmine tea; a seemingly apt combination for a macaron. If you have reservations about opening an entire can of coconut milk for only 2 tbs I completely understand and suggest you use regular milk. However, like salt to lemon, coconut and pandan compliment each other so wonderfully it really is a shame to tear them apart.

Apologies as mine are a little on the thick side; my excuse being I was adjusting to a brand new piping nib… and I’m out of practice.

 

JASMINE + PANDAN MACARONS

(an original recipe)

For the shells

1 teabag (or 1 heaped tsp) jasmine tea leaves

100 g almond meal

200 g pure icing sugar

100 g aged eggwhites, room temperature

30 g caster sugar

1 tsp powdered egg whites

 

For the pandan buttercream

100 g butter, room temperature

2 cups icing sugar mixture

3/4 tsp pandan paste

2 tbs coconut milk

1. Preheat your oven 150°C.

2. Sift pure icing sugar and almond meal and place into a bowl with your jasmine tea leaves and give it a quick stir.

3. Beat eggwhites and eggwhite powder in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Slowly add the caster sugar, beating well between each addition, until eggwhites are stiff and glossy. This process should take around 10 minutes.

4. Pour half of your dry ingredients into the bowl of beaten eggwhites and combine with a flat utensil, like a spatula, using “cutting strokes”. Once incorporated repeat with the remaining icing sugar/almong meal/jasmine tea mixture. This is where things begin to get a little tricky as under-mixing or over-mixing will ruin your macarons as they attempt to rise and “grow feet” in the oven. Experts say to stir the mixture until it becomes the consistency of lava. The mixture will be sticky but you’ll know it’s ready when, upon holding your spatula above the bowl, it will begin just begin to flow freely back into the bowl. If it’s too watery then you may have mixed too much!

5. Prepare a piping bag with the appropriate tip (around 1 cm or less), a baking tray with baking paper, and pipe rounds. If there are any small lumps left from your piping tip wet your finger and gently press them down (unlike cake batter, macaron mixture does not flatten out when in the oven! Also, ensure you don’t leave drops of water on your macarons or they will balloon whilst baking). Allow tray to rest for 30 minutes.

6. Place baking tray in the oven and allow to bake for around 15 minutes (this time will depend entirely on your oven, so keep an eye on them). Within 5 minutes or so they will begin to grow feet.

7. Once ready, remove from oven, and after 5-10 minutes transfer to cooling racks.

8. Whilst your shells are cooling place butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add pandan paste and beat further. Slowly add coconut milk until the buttercream reaches desired consistency.

9. Prepare another piping bag with a large tip and neatly pipe rounds of buttercream into half of the shells. To close, gently place it’s partner shell on top of the buttercream and twist shut, taking care to prevent buttercream spilling over the edges.

Making macarons is no easy task. This process takes time, patience and most of all PRACTICE. There are too many things that can so wrong so if they haven’t turned out as well you’d like don’t give up! Try, try, try again. It’s a tremendous feeling getting these right. But once you make them…

… they won’t last long.

PS. Have you said hello on Facebook yet?

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Home Made Salted Framboise Caramels

September 13, 2011 in Candy | 8 comments

Fancy beers and candy making. This new, almost-obsession of mine would not be possible without the influence of my boyfriend, the boutique beer connoisseur slash home-brewer, who has taught me there is life outside of gaging over Coronas.

This little experiment is testament to the cliché “if at first you don’t succeed; try, try, try again”. My first attempt tasted spectacular but didn’t set. My second attempt set however lacked that caramely-smack-in-the-mouth (is that even a thing? It is now). My third attempt, thank goodness, was wonderful!

The beer I’m using is a framboise; a lambic beer brewed with raspberries. Timmermans is a more syrupy beer than most which makes for a fantastic ingredient in this recipe (if you’re eager to enjoy one in its pure form however I would recommend a Lindemans Framboise for its tangy edge. Mmm).

Combined with caramels, you’ll get sweet, salty, tangy and berry all in one mouthful. Heavenly. And the best advice I can give before you begin this delicious journey into sticky bliss; follow the recipe to a tee! The figures are there for a reason. I’ve based my recipe from this spiced apple recipe as it allows room for variation. Bust out your candy thermometers, things are about to get messy.

 

HOME MADE SALTED FRAMBOISE CARAMELS

2 cups (or 1 bottle) Framboise beer

2/3 cups cream

1 tsp salt + more for garnish

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cups corn syrup / glucose

80 g butter, cubed

powdered red food colouring

1. Pour framboise into small pan and simmer over medium heat until reduced to 1/3 cup. Place in fridge (or freezer) to cool.

2. Line a square tin with baking paper. Once your reduced framboise has cooled, combine with cream, salt and food colouring.

3. Combine sugar and corn syrup over low heat until dissolved. Increase heat until syrup has caramelised – 112°C on your candy thermometer. Do not stir during this process or the syrup will crystallise.

4. Remove from heat and slowly pour in your cream mixture, stirring quickly as you do so. Be careful has the concoction will splutter everywhere. Continue to stir to break up the caramel ball formed whilst adding the cubed butter. Don’t worry if you’re unable to dissolve everything.

5. Return to low heat and stir frequently until the temperature reaches 120°C on your candy thermometer.

6. Pour caramel into prepared tin and allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle with rock salt and allow to cool completely – either overnight on your kitchen bench or in the fridge to speed up the process. Cut into small squared and wrap with baking paper, twisting at the ends like traditional candies. Sprinkle with more rock salt if desired.


Being married into beer culture can be pretty neat sometimes.

 

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Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream + Chocolate Covered Pretzels

September 6, 2011 in Ice Cream + Sorbets | 20 comments

Some people eat their emotions.

Some people fall into a pit of despair so deep however they’ll go out of their way to create some ungodly concoction to cry over; behold, my peanut butter pretzel ice cream with chocolate covered salted pretzels. This, my friends, is misery personified. Mmmm, misery.

The concept is simple: make ice cream, throw peanut butter in the creme anglaise, churn, add salted pretzels shards, coat more pretzels in chocolate and assemble. ENJOY. Easy! This is ridiculously good.

 

Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream

(an original recipe)

1 cup milk

100 g sugar

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup cream

3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

3/4 cup crushed salted pretzels

Chocolate covered pretzels

chocolate and whole salted pretzels (too easy!)

 

1. Heat milk in a small saucepan while beating your egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl.

2. Once warmed, slowly pour the hot milk over the yolk/sugar mixture whilst stirring constantly. This is to temper your eggs.

3. Pour the mixture pack into the saucepan, add peanut butter and whisk until it has dissolved. Continue to heat and whisk until mixture has become thick like custard.

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool then place in refrigerator to cool overnight, or at least 6 hours.

5. Prepare in ice cream maker as per manufacturer’s instructions – as ice cream is churning pour your pretzels into the machine.

6. Melt chocolate either in a microwave or over a double boiler. Coat your salted pretzels, dangle and allow excess chocolate to drip off (I employed the use of two chopsticks for this step) and place on baking paper to cool in the refrigerator.

7. Once everything is prepared scoop ice cream into cute ramekins and adorn with your chocolate pretzels.

Sweet ice cream, salted crunchy bits, chocolatey coating; this dessert is a walking contradiction but believe you me it may just be the most delightful comfort food you’ll make this Summer. And if this what pours out of me when I’ve had a bad week, well… maybe I should keep to my bad moods a little more often. Emotional eaters unite!

PS. I’ve started a facebook page so drop by and say hello! I might just become a little less ~emo~ if you do!

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Cappuccino Cupcakes for Steven

September 1, 2011 in Cakes + Cupcakes | 19 comments

Steven is a beautiful friend of mine I miss every day. His presence in my world is testament that life can work in mysterious ways. Should he still be with us today would be his 30th Birthday – and what a day! There’s such beautiful sunshine here in Sydney inviting us into Spring.

We met a show five years ago and continued seeing shows together like the sweet indie kids we were at the time. Coincidentally we ended up working only doors away from each other so every second-or-so afternoon we would meet in a downstairs cafe, order two coffees and discuss the day’s events. To this day a cappuccino will always remind me of dear Captain Steve who is my inspiration to this lovely recipe – replicating this warming friendship via a warming beverage with warming cake . This will serve 12 lucky caffeine fiends.

 

Cappuccino Cupcakes for Steven

(an original recipe)

150 g butter (room temperature)

1 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

2 shots (60 ml) espresso

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbs dutch-process cocoa

Espresso Syrup

3 shots (90 ml) espresso

1/4 cup sugar

Vanilla Buttercream

100 g butter (room temperature)

2 cups icing sugar mixture

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbs milk

extra cocoa, for dusting

wafers, chocolate-covered coffee beans for decoration


1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 12-cupcake pan with cupcake liners of your choosing.

2. In a bowl, beat butter for a few minutes until it begins to pale. Add sugar and eggs, one at a time. Beat until fluffy.

3. Add flour, espresso, milk, vanilla and cocoa and beat until combined and light.

4. Divide mixture between your cupcake liners – they should be around 3/4 full. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are springy to touch.

5. While the cupcakes are baking in a small saucepan combine your espresso and sugar. Allow to boil and leave on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes without stirring until the mixture thickens to a syrup. Be wary of leaving it too long or it will become toffee.

6. As soon as your cupcakes are removed from the oven lightly prick them a few times with a fork and spoon your espresso syrups over the tops. This will take a few scoops as you must allow the syrup to slowly seep into the cake before the next. Allow to cool.

7. To prepare the vanilla buttercream beat the butter and icing sugar until just beginning to combine. Add the vanilla and slowly add milk until you reach the desired texture.

8. To assemble: prepare a piping bag and carefully ice your cupcakes. There’s no need to apply too much as the cupcakes are already quite sweet; we want to create a nice base to replicate the froth of a cappuccino. Lightly dust with additional cocoa and adorn with wafers or any other relevant candies of your choosing.

 

 



Life is precious and I’m so sorry I couldn’t make these for him sooner. Happy Birthday, my wonderful friend! We miss you.

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Apple Pie Ice Cream + Caramel Sauce + Candied Cornflakes

August 29, 2011 in Ice Cream + Sorbets | 5 comments




Inspired by the impending Summer whilst witnessing Heston Blumenthal hurl an entire cherry pie into his creme anglaise on tv I thought – how hard could this be to create a pie-infused ice cream? The answer: NOT VERY. But perhaps I got lucky as this trial-and-error experiment came out pretttttty, pretty good.


Unfortunately the ice cream making process is nowhere near as exciting as Masterchef makes it out to be, no blast chiller means there’s a lot of time spent waiting so if you’re planning on having people over for an ice cream party I suggest you allow a day or two for everything to be prepared, lest you end up with a bowl of slushy, chunky custard. In the meantime however get your patient pants on and prepare a few garnishes like I have below.

 

APPLE PIE ICE CREAM

1 cup milk

100 g sugar

2 egg yolks

1 medium sized apple pie (from your local bakery or frozen)

1 1/2 cup cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp ground cinnamon

CARAMEL SAUCE (adapted from the Women’s Weekly Cooking Class Cookbook)

70 g butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tbs golden syrup

1 tsp (heaped) cornflour

2 tbs cream

CANDIED CORNFLAKES

2 cups cornflakes

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbs corn syrup

For the icecream

1. Heat milk in a small saucepan while beating your egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl. If the apple pie your using is frozen this is a good time to place it in the oven.

2. Once warmed, slowly pour the hot milk over the yolk/sugar mixture whilst stirring constantly. This is to temper your eggs.

3. Pour the mixture pack into the saucepan and heat, whilst stirring, until it becomes a thick custard. Ensure you do this slowly or you’ll end up with sugary scrambled eggs (eww).

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool for half an hour. Add the vanilla, cream and stir to combine. Crumble your pie into the mixture.


5. Put in the refrigerator to cool overnight, or at least 6 hours.

6. The following day strain your mixture to separate the creme anglaise from the apple pie pieces. With a fork, mash the leftover apple pie pieces into a very vague puree and combine once again with creme anglaise. This is entirely optional but I find the pieces of pie in the ice cream create a lovely texture.

7. Prepare in ice cream maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.

 

For the caramel sauce

1. Combine butter and sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to bowl then reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

2. Combine water, golden syrup and cornflour in a separate bowl. Add to brown sugar mixture and stir to combine. Bring to boil, reduce heat and summer for 2 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in cream.

 

For the candied cornflakes

1. Combine sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until combined and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and add cornflakes. Stir until cornflakes are completely covered in syrup and turn out onto baking paper and allow to dry. Once dried, break into shards as a lovely garnish.



 

For the assembly

1. With a warm ice cream scoop, place a few spoons of ice cream in adorable bowls. Top with generous servings of caramel sauce and adorn with candied cornflakes.


And here I was thinking “transeasonal” was a term only used to describe fashion.

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Double Chocolate Oreo Cake

August 6, 2011 in Cakes + Cupcakes | 9 comments

Layer cakes. Who has zero experience in making them? ME. My first attempt at this cake a few days ago was disastrous despite it starting so well; maybe it was the kitsch silicon baking ‘tins’ I was using, maybe it was the cakes baking to thin, maybe I didn’t let them cool enough before handling, whatever the case there were cake crumbs EVERYWHERE. Oh and due to over-pulverizing and over-mixing my oreo cream cheese icing began to turn grey… this was one ugly test cake.

Using 9-inch rounds was a much better idea. The chocolate cake recipe below is adapted from Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss fame. There are a few concessions made in this recipe due to necessity (and laziness) – for example, using less sugar in lieu of the torrent of oreos, substituting buttermilk for yoghurt as I was running low and generally fixing some of the measurements for a more metric experience. It’s a fantastic chocolate cake and coupled with a whole lot of cream cheese icing with smashed oreo stirred through… this is about to get intense.

 

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE AND OREO CAKE

(cake recipe adapted from Buddy Valastro; makes two 9 inch rounds)

FOR THE CAKES

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup caster sugar

125 g butter, room temperature

1/3 cup good quality dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

150 g melted chocolate

1/2 cup hot water

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup milk

1/4 natural yoghurt

FOR THE OREO CREAM CHESE ICING

250 g cream cheese (Philadelphia)

70 g butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups powdered/icing sugar

1 x 150g packet of oreo biscuits

FOR THE ASSEMBLY

1 x 150g packet of oreo biscuits

 

1. Pre-heat your oven to  175°C.

2. Beat the butter until it begins to cream. Add flour, sugar, cocoa and baking soda and and beat until combined.

3. Pour in melted chocolate. Beat for one minute, then pour in the hot water. Continue beating until combined then add the eggs one at a time, adding the next one after the previous has been absorbed. Pour in the milk and yoghurt and beat for a few minutes until the everything is well combined, the sugar has dissolved and the batter is lovely and velvety.

4. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with oil or greasing with butter. Divide the mixture between the two pans and bake for around 30 minutes or until the cake begins to peel away from the sides and is springy to touch.

5. Allow to cool to room temperature before turning cakes out of the pans. Refrigerate until ready to decorate.

6. Break up one oreo packet into shards, preferably by hand as to not create to much ‘rubble’.

7. Beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract until beginning to cream.

8. Add the icing sugar one cup at a time until incorporated and fluffy. You can add more/less icing sugar to taste.

9. Divide icing in around half – but preferably 70/30. In the larger portion stir in your oreos carefully – just enough to combine but do not overmix or the icing will begin to turn grey.

10. With either a piping bag fitted with a large nozzle or a very handy spatula, layer your larger portion of oreo icing over one of the cakes. Make sure to keep this as level as you can so the cake layers look nice and even once sliced. Place your second cake on top.

11. Take your leftover cream cheese icing and layer over the very top of the cake. Once again, break your other packet of ores into shards and scatter atop the cake. Be sure to cover all the ‘white spots’ so the cake looks dense with cookies.

This cake is now packed away ready to take to a friend’s dinner tonight, thank goodness I’m not being left alone with this hot mess of chocolate.

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