All posts tagged: food

Whispering Sponge

Published by

Things have been busy, buzzing like a bee, hovering over a full Spring bloom. Not too much time in the kitchen for me this week, so I share with you my sisters work this week. She had a catering job, to prepare a birthday cake. The order was for one of her whispering blow away sponges. Now my mum is a champion sponge maker diva, and she’s passed on her secrets to us, although truth be it that I’ve never tackled one myself..not to disappoint! So I’ll just keep the secret onboard until I make one! What better way than to serve Sponge, filled with strawberry jam, fresh chocolate coated strawberries and fresh cream. Read on for the this special recipe…

Strawberries my love…

Published by

Seasonal flavours from the earth…. The sweet temptation of fresh strawberries. Nothing fancy involved, just pineapple jelly, blueberries and strawberries, vanilla ice cream sprinkled with white chocolate and coconut mixed topping. Served in parfait glasses. Mix 250ml of boiling water with the jelly, pour into serving glasses, insert fresh chopped strawberries and blueberries and leave to set overnight. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with melted white chocolate buds and shredded coconut. Sweet temptations! Did you know?? Strawberries are the only fruitwith their seeds on the outside! A strawberry treat. Enjoy! Yvette…x

Citrus Gold

Published by

What a glorious day! Sunshine beaming through the French windows over glowing freshly picked lemons, chamomile tea and a delicious lemon meringue pie. A touch of yellow for you my friends today. Yellow shines with happiness, enlightenment, joy, energy and sparks creative thoughts. A golden afternoon shared with you. Read on for this beautiful tangy luscious pie recipe and some more sunshine!

Creamy Cauliflower & Curry Soup

Published by

Autumn leaves are falling, a chill in the moonlight evening and what better way to warm your insides than with this creamy cauliflower soup.  The  warming sensation of blended spices  in the curry powder linger with every spoonful of this delicious creamy soup. So how does one get a full flavoured and bodied soup? One that’s going to warm the soul and not take the whole day to boil and bubble and simmer on the stove for six hours. Starting from a good base, sautéing vegetables and spices and gradually layering flavours. And let’s not forget the all important secret of any hearty soup or stew, the Rue. Join me by tantalizing your tastebuds with this delicious soup, read on for the recipe details.

A Swirling Treat

Published by

A combination of vanilla and chocolate S W I R L E D together to make a marbled effect. Oh, and be prepared for a few extra bowls to wash up. This cake is exhausting! Don’t get me wrong its a wonderfully delicious and moist cake, but it takes a little longer starting from scratch! But, of course all the more fun, when taking a knife, cutting a slice and seeing exactly what patterned you’ve made. Read on for the recipe…

Fluffy Pink centered Chocolate Eggcups & Tea

Published by

“Entertaining is a memory business because the pleasures of your hospitality become immortal in the memories of your guests.” The whimsical setting of our afternoon included feathered friends, Spring nests, Royal Albert teacups and charming chocolate delights filled with fluffy pink mousse.I couldn’t resist pearls, satin ribbons and silver. Antique Easter images and eggs. The afternoon sunlight filtering through the window, and the underlying music , left us under an inspiring cloud  capturing the finer things, and forgotten memories. I made these dainty coconut rough chocolate and mousse eggcups and used the same method in making these as my birds nests here   Continue reading to see my Tea Service and Recipe…

Hippety Hoppety..Easter’s..on its way!

Published by

Easter nest cupcakes have been on my mind for a while now…after reading about them somewhere..(honestly can’t remember), and then finding a recipe on the back of  the mini coloured Easter eggs. The recipe used the chocolate bar flake, but I decided to make a coconut rough mixture instead and actually make a nest form. I had a few ideas for these cupcakes and sort of rolled them all into one. Read on for my Easter nest cupcake ideas…

Food of the Gods

Published by

Easter is not far away, and it’s the sweetest time to indulge in some chocolate.Without the guilt factor – right! It’s also a time when I need to get cracking and hatch a few whimsically dressed eggs for festive Easter. We’ve only just said goodbye to Santa and his sleigh and it’s hello, Easter bunny. So it’s time to cook with chocolate. There are so many wonderful recipes that I’ve tried over the years and over the next couple of weeks will try and put together some of my favourites. This weeks recipe doesn’t call for chocolate, but cocoa powder, it’s a new recipe given to me from a friend, a chocolate taste with cocoa powder and maltesers. Maltesers consist of a roughly spherical malt honeycomb centre, surrounded by milk chocolate, and they give this slice a delicate ‘crunch’. Recipe: Malteser Fudge Slice 1 cup Self-Raising Flour 3/4 cup cocoa powder 120g Maltesers 2 eggs, lightly beaten 3/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons  vegetable oil 2 x 200g tubs light vanilla Fruche *Frùche is a soft, …

Springtime’s Laughter

Published by

  Dear Friends, With the changing seasons, some of us are ready to snuggle in front of fires and candles, Autumn leaves, warm hearty soups and woolen jumpers. Others are ready to bounce into the joyous season of Spring, blossoms and new sunny days after a very long Winter.I’m joining in the Celebration of Spring- A Return to Loveliness. The Victoria magazine has been part of my life since 1997, and looking back on many volumes the Spring April issue read like a pleasant opened rose with it’s petals softly falling and every petal a new inspiration and influence to how I could recall the new Spring days.Back issues and more information can be found here. If we listen carefully, we can hear the music of Springtime’s laughter. The tittering of tiny blossom buds, fresh green leaves that seem to giggle in the breeze, the chatter of tiny flowers, the twittering of newborn birds, rose buds that smile in the suns rays. A rebirth of growth within our garden, and enchanting Spring, a newborn season. …

Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

Published by

We’ve just started Autumn here in Australia, although our days are still sunny and warm, our days now are getting shorter and cool towards the evening. Last week we even experienced a few cloudy and rainy days, so for our dinner party we opted for a warming pumpkin and ginger soup. It’s not the first time I’ve written about pumpkin soup , however this version is made with added starchy vegetables and wholesome flavours. We garnished our pumpkin soup with a dollop of cream cheese and chives served with warm fresh bread rolls and homemade cheese crackers. This pumpkin and ginger soup is creamy, dense and tasty. What better than to start dinner, with friends,warm conversations and a warm hearty soup. This soup can also be made the day before, giving an enriched ginger flavour. Recipe: Pumpkin and Ginger Soup 500 g butternut pumpkin, chopped 500 g Jaradale pumpkin ( Australian ‘blue’ pumpkin) 2 sweet potatoes –orange, chopped 1 potato, chopped 1 leek, chopped 1/2 onion, white, chopped 1 cup chicken stock 2 cups water …