Ruby's "Boots" Cake (Dora)

My gorgeous niece Ruby turned 2 today. She requested a "Boots" cake. For those of you without children or kiddos older than 5, Boots is a character from Dora The Explorer. I myself had to do some research!

Happy birthday sweet Ruby xxx

The World's Best Brownie?

Yeah I know BIG call!

Who doesn't love a Brownie!? Most people have clear preferences to how they like their brownies. I like mine fudgy and chewy... not moist and cakey. I have a REALLY sweet tooth and I came across this recipe a while ago and haven't found one I like better (although that doesn't stop me trying new recipes).

Be warned, it is not for the faint hearted..... or calorie counters!

(Recipe comes from a well known bakery here in NZ)

Pandoro's Chocolate Brownie recipe

100 g cocoa
200 g butter, melted
400g or 2 cups caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
90 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
200 g chocolate chips

Sift cocoa into a large mixing bowl. Add melted butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix to a smooth paste. Sift in flour and baking powder, and then add chocolate chips. Pour mixture into a 20cm x 30 cm Swiss Roll pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees C for 65 minutes.

Cool in pan

"Mum I forgot to tell you....

There is a bake sale at school."

I am thankful for

- over-ripe bananas sitting in the fruit bowl
- the last 2 eggs in the carton
- and left over flowers sitting in my cupboard!

Hello Kitty

It's my 'little' girls birthday next week. Tomorrow we are having a family get-together so we will celebrate and eat cake!

She asked for Hello Kitty, bright green & pink.

The photo above was taken about 13 years ago.... she will be turning 15 on 2nd June *sob* ... my baby girl is all grown up.

Happy birthday Mikayla xxx

Roses & Dots

Chris's Hunting Cake

It's been 6 months since I have decorated a cake. I get quite a few emails asking for tips and advice on cake decorating.... the biggest trick in my opinion is PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! Cake decorating (for me) isn't like riding a bike.... I was rusty and this cake kicked my butt LOL

This is for my lovely (hunting mad) husband who turns 39 tomorrow. Made with loads of love (a few swear words).

x

Daisy Cupcakes

These were ordered by my Mum and have now been delivered to the District Nurses who used to visit my Dad on a daily basis over the past three years.

District Nurses do the work that none of us could or would ever dream of doing. The care and compassion shown to my Dad was amazing. I am so thankful that there are individuals out there who respond to this type of calling in life.... they are truly special and remarkable people.

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today was a housework catch-up day... until I got an email from Chelsea (a New Zealand sugar company). Thought the idea of adding a pudding mix into a cookie sounded interesting! http://www.chelsea.co.nz/

I either need to go on a baking ban, or hire a maid...

Instant Pudding Biscuits

***Please note: the recipe on their website didn't mention the egg in the method so I added it after creaming the butter & sugar.

Ingredients
150 g butter
3/4 cup Chelsea White Sugar
1 egg
1 packet (70 g) instant pudding - any flavour will do but our favourite is butterscotch
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sultanas or chocolate chips

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

Beat butter and sugar together in a bowl. (*I beat in the egg here). Add the dry ingredients and sultanas or chocolate chips. Roll into balls and flatten with a wet fork on the prepared tray. Make sure they do not touch each other and allow a little room for expansion. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

* I got 36 cookies

Anzac Cookies

Anzac Biscuits/Cookies

New Zealand and Australia share a tradition of Anzac Biscuits. Both countries claim to have invented them, but Anzac Biscuits are similar to many other older biscuit recipes that are designed to produce crisp, hard and nutritious biscuits that keep well.

One of the food items that women in both countries sent to soldiers during the First World War was a hard, long-keeping biscuit that could survive the journey by sea, and still remain edible. These were known as Soldiers' Biscuits, but after the Gallipoli landings in 1915, they became known as Anzac Biscuits. Soldiers themselves may have made a similar form of biscuit from ingredients they had on hand: water, sugar, rolled oats and flour.

The traditional Anzac Biscuit is hard and flat - ideal for dunking in tea and then eating. During the First World War, some soldiers used broken biscuits to make a form of porridge to add some variety to their diet.

Over the years, softer and chewier versions of the biscuit have appeared. There are many recipes for Anzac Biscuits. Common to most is the inclusion of rolled oats, coconut, butter and golden syrup. Eggs almost never feature. This may be because eggs were in short supply during the First World War. Many varieties of biscuit do not have eggs, however, and like Anzac Biscuits rely instead on chemical rising agents such as bicarbonate of soda (baking soda).

GIANT Anzac Biscuits (Cookies)

Recipe from Taste Au

Makes 8

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
125g butter, chopped
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in oats, coconut and sugar.

Place butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until melted. Remove from heat. Combine bicarbonate of soda and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Stir into golden syrup mixture (mixture might become frothy). Add immediately to flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Roll mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, into balls. Place 4 biscuits on each baking tray. Flatten to about 12cm (diameter) round, allowing room for biscuits to spread. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, swapping trays after 10 minutes, or until biscuits are golden. Allow biscuits to cool completely on trays.

These are crisp Anzac biscuits. If you prefer them chewy, flatten biscuits to 10cm (diameter) rounds and reduce cooking time by 1 to 2 minutes.

**I halved most of the mixture and made smaller cookies, which I baked for about 12mins.

***My husband rated these as the best EVER.

Lest We Forget

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

The date, April 25th, marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

In 1915, in World War I, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, with the objective of removing Turkey from the war.

However, the bold plan failed, and troops were withdrawn after eight months of stalemate, heavy casualties suffered by both sides. Over 8,000 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers died.

News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.


The Poppy

Poppies have an enduring association with Anzac Day, dating back to the 1920s. Throughout New Zealand, people of all ages wear a red poppy as a mark of remembrance for the men and women who have died in the course of service for their country. Poppies made of light cloth or paper are also woven together to form wreathes which are laid at war memorials up and down the country.

The poppies are a vivid reminder of the sacrifice - the blood lost - in war. The connection between red poppies and fallen service personnel has its origins in the Napoleonic Wars of the early nineteenth century; red or Flanders poppies were the first flowers to bloom over the graves of soldiers in northern France and Belgium.

It was in the same region - the Western Front - a century later that red poppies were once more associated with those who died in war. Canadian medical officer John McCrae penned the famous and moving lines

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

Decorating Cupcakes Has Never Been Easier!

A few weeks back I posted this picture of cupcakes I had made, decorated with the gorgeous cupcake toppers my friend Glory in the USA had sent me.

Glory has finally buckled under the considerable pressure to start up an online store so we can purchase her wonderful creations.

Australasian customers can go here: The Cupcake Courier AU (Loads of other cupcake goodies to tempt you too!)

For the USA & Rest of the World, check out her Etsy store: Glory's Store

For Natalie

Crystallised Violas

It was my Father-in-Law's birthday today. My Chocolate fudge cupcakes are a family favourite. I have been wanting to crystallise some flowers for cupcake toppers for a while now. I think they look quite sweet.

I now have about 24 plants in my garden to give me a good supply. These are Violas and they come in the most stunning array of colours.

Make sure you get the spray-free variety from your local plant shop, brush with egg white, sprinkle with a little caster sugar (I added a tiny bit of edible glitter to my sugar) and leave to dry.

Love Buns :O)

Straight out of the oven, still steaming, just glazed.... first time making hot crossed buns. Did half with hearts for the kiddos after school treat.

Recipe from Taste.AU

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (375ml) warm milk
2 tsp (7g/1 sachet) dried yeast
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
60g butter, melted
1 egg, lightly whisked
4 1/2 cups (675g) plain 00 flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp mixed spice
1 cup (170g) sultanas
1/4 cup (45g) currants
1/4 cup (50g) mixed peel
1/3 cup (80ml) cold water
1/2 cup (170g) apricot jam

Method

Combine the milk, yeast and 1 tbs of sugar in a small bowl. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 10 minutes or until frothy.

Combine the milk mixture, butter and egg in a jug and whisk to combine. Combine 4 cups (600g) of flour, salt, mixed spice and remaining sugar in a bowl. Add the sultanas, currants and mixed peel and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the milk mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until just combined, then use your hands to bring the dough together.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp tea towel and place in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 23cm square cake pan. Punch the dough down with your fist. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 16 even pieces and shape each portion into a ball. Arrange dough portions, side by side, in the prepared pan. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 30 minutes or until dough has risen 2cm.

Meanwhile, mix the remaining flour and water together in a small bowl until a smooth paste forms. Place in a small plastic bag and snip off the end. Pipe a continuous line down the centre of each row of buns, lengthways and widthways, to form crosses. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180°C and bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through (buns are ready when they sound hollow when tapped on the base).

Turn onto a wire rack. Place the jam in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until jam melts. Strain through a fine sieve. Brush hot jam over the buns. Serve warm with butter, or toasted.

Notes & tips
Note: Also known as baker's flour or strong flour, 00 flour is a super-fine grade flour, traditionally used to make pasta or bread. The gluten content is higher, giving bread its chewy texture. It is available from supermarkets and delicatessens.
Variation: To make chocolate hot cross buns, replace 1/4 cup of flour with 1/4 cup of cocoa, and replace the sultanas, currants and mixed peel with 250g of chocolate chips.

Glorious Cupcakes

These gorgeous cupcake toppers where made by my friend Glory who lives in the USA. I have been pleading with her to open her own online store, she makes THE most amazing creations... and the prettiest cards I have EVER seen!

Bakers’ Best Friends

I get loads of emails asking advice on baking, recipes and equipment. While working, baking and looking after my family I don't always get time to answer in detail so I have decided to try and make a regular post on my blog to share some of my favourite tips/recipes with you.....

Equipment & Tools

Whether you’re an avid baker or just enjoy having homemade treats on hand for your friends and family, there’s no harm in making sure you have the appropriate cookware sets and bakeware available to you at a moment’s notice. As baking is considered more of a science than cooking, it’s helpful to keep a great set of measuring cups and spoons on hand to ensure your baked dish has the correct proportions and will cook through evenly. Furthermore, you can never have too many mixing bowls for complex recipes that require special blending instructions or indicate that specific ingredients need to be kept separate.

Depending on your experience, dough may be one of your most basic ingredients that you have to prepare for each dish. Whether you roll out mounds of dough once per day or as little as once per month, it’s never an easy task if you aren’t equipped with a quality rolling pin that does a great job every time. In addition, it’s a smart idea to splurge on a hand or stand mixer from KitchenAid that ensures a good blend every time you use it. Investing in low-quality baking basics will leave your oven running for more time than you wish as you’ll be spending extra time rolling, blending, and mixing.

To add versatility to your baking experience, consider purchasing a variety of different shaped baking pans that include the basic shaped pans like rectangular, square and round. This will give you the versatility you need in the kitchen to keep up with all of your delicious recipes whether you’re making a side of cornbread, a pie for dessert, or breakfast muffins. If you’re a cookie connoisseur, the top bakeware items on your list should be a reliable baking sheet and durable cookie cutters that will make clean cuts in your baking designs. Plastic baking sheets typically are more expensive than dishwasher-safe aluminum ones but are easier to roll on and are less sticky when coming in contact with cookie dough. In contrast, shop for metal cookie cutters as this sharper material provides a cleaner cut and truly defines the shape of your cookie.

Happy Baking :O)

Jammy Dodgers

(Taste NZ Magazine)
Makes 16-20

250g butter, softened
125g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
375g plain flour, sieved

200g raspberry jam
juice of 1 lemon

Beat butter and sugar until pale & creamy.

Add vanilla and egg yolk and beat until just combined, then gradually stir in flour until the mixture comes together.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 30mins.

Preheat oven to 180c fanbake

On lightly floured surface roll the dough out to about 3-4mm thick and cut into 8cm rounds. Use a small cutter to remove the centre of half the rounds. Re-roll and cut out trimmings.

Bake in preheated oven for 10-12mins or until lightly golden. Transfer to cooling rack and leave to cool.

While the cookies are cooling, put the jam and lemon juice into a saucepan and heat it until it just comes to the boil, reduce and simmer for 2-3mins, then remove from the heat. Spoon about 1 tsp of jam over each of the whole cookies and top with cookies who have had the centre removed.

Store in an airtight container. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Butterfly Cupcakes

Little sponge cupcakes filled with the most delicious lemon curd, whipped cream & topped with 'butterfly wings' and a dollop of jam.

Thank You Cupcakes

Mocha Fudge Cupcakes

Sweet Valentine

I guess these guys got to give chocolate & roses all in one go! :O)

"Mwah Mwah!"

Wishing you a happy Valentines Day xx

Baby Shower Cupcakes

Cupcakes made for my lovely neighbour Odette who is having a baby shower for her daughter Rachael today.

Chocolate fudge cupcakes topped with milk chocolate frosting

Merry Christmas!

All my cakes & cupcakes are finished for 2008. Once again my family and friends have kept me busy this year!!!

I have been flat out in the last month putting together Christmas Baskets. This year they contain Christmas cakes, relish, cookies, preserves, baby Christmas mince pies and my homemade vanilla extract.

I wanted to take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas... hope it is a very happy and safe one for you all.

Kathryn :O)

Little 6 inch fruit cakes


Homemade Vanilla extract

Rhubarb & Vanilla bean Christmas mince

Christmas mince gift boxes

Homemade relish

Homemade Chilli Jam

Christmas Chocolate Cookies

Ben 10

Happy 5th birthday Mclain!

Molly's 'Barbie' Doll Cake

Chanel Makeup Bag #2

A 'Grown-Up' version of the last Chanel Makeup Bag Cake.... for a 60th birthday

Again all accessories are handmade and edible

Penrhyn's Chanel Makeup Bag

All Make up is hand made and edible