All posts tagged: recipe

Chocolate Rum Balls

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Sugar and spice make these Chocolate Rum Balls a decadent ultimate Christmas treat. Aromatic spices of cinnamon and mixed spice, rolled in chocolate sprinkles and coconut.  One bite size of pure bliss. During Module 1 of The Art and Business of Surface Design course, we created moodboards and colourboards that we shared with all the other participants. It was four weeks of creative works and wonderful new friendships and energy, and I look forward to modules 2 and 3 in 2012. One of my boards I created was chocolate brown and red, and it’s somehow has influenced also this post. Just a little romantic touch also in my moodboard! Read on for this delicious recipe for Chocolate Rum Balls and a little more festive red and chocolate brown.

Christmas Sugar Cheer

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What better way to start the countdown to Christmas than sharing some festive Christmas sugar cheer. Our sugar project; prepare some Christmas treats to see around thirty smiling faces. With so many ‘little’ treats to choose from we short listed some of our favourites, and created a couple of our own. The main feature, a ‘Pandoro’ Christmas Tree. Pandoro (pan d’oro) is a traditional Italian sweet yeast bread most popular around Christmas and New Year . Typically a Veronese (someone or something from Verona, Italy) product, pandoro is traditionally shaped like a frustum with an 8 pointed-star section. Cut crossways it’s shaped like a star, and then layered usually with Chantilly cream, custard or even ice-cream. It is often served dusted with vanilla scented icing sugar made to resemble the snowy peaks of the Italian Alps during Christmas. Ours was filled with fresh whipped cream, cherry syrup jam and cherries (tinned). Decorated on top with fresh cherries and puff pastry reindeers and snowflakes sprinkled with icing sugar. These pastries are based on cream horns, see details here. …

Festive Favourites

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The list is long, of all the special sweet treats that you might write on your wish list of baking for this festive season. My niece wanted to bake something and one of her all time favourites is fudge…you bet chocolate, cocoa, coconut fudge brownies. So her eyes went bounding through many of our cookbooks, which were scattered over the kitchen table and she found this easy delicious recipe.   Looking almost in every kitchen shop, I finally found some snowflake cookie cutters, so I decided to cut snowflake shapes of this choc fudge. I think they look great, it does take a little extra time however, but you know me anything for a little more loving detail. Recipe: Peppermint Candy Cane Slice 125 grams butter, melted 1 cup (220grams) brown sugar ( we didn’t have quite a cup full so I added fine caster sugar) 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon peppermint essence 1/2 cup desiccated coconut 1 cup (150grams) self raising flour, sifted 2 tablespoons cocoa 3 or 4 candy canes, roughly chopped/crushed 375 gram …

Red Rhubarb Pies

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It was mid November when I last posted something about my baking..I made these rhubarb pies a couple of weeks ago and  on my first baking adventure the pies vanished before I got my photo’s in. So today I baked and photographed all in one. Didn’t want to miss out this time sharing with you this simple recipe…but more importantly showing you this wonderful pie mold I found. Believe me, your pies look perfect! Recipe: Red Rhubarb Pies 1 bunch of fresh rhubarb 1 granny smith apple 2 tablespoons of brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon icing sugar 4 frozen pie crust sheets 1 egg white, lightly beaten Isn’t it a beauty, take a look at what I found…It’s called a Petite Pie Mold. You can see details here. Preheat oven to 190° degrees. Take the frozen pastry sheet from freezer and leave at room temp. Cut roughly the rhubarb and granny smith apple, add a couple of drops of water, add the brown sugar and place on a medium heat until rhubarb has softened. …

One for us…

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I’m not sure about you, but since being immersed into the world of cupcakes, nothing is impossible, those little things once in your life are hard to get rid of. I guess we love them even more because they’re inexpensive to make, can be made in batches of twelve, our creative mind and hands can do their work and best of all they’re portioned sized…right! We take one, no more, just one and indulge in a decadence of flavours, frostings and taste sensations. All under control! I wanted to put a little pizzazz on that little cupcake…made for ‘little’ grown ups and a little surprise for those taste buds.   A red velvet cupcake mix, with a surprise dash of kirsch, cream cheese frosting and chocolate Monetta luxury cream wafers. How does that sound to get your taste buds tingling! An easy entertainer…and a great eye teaser!

Rocket Pesto and Pasta Salad

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This month’s Regional and Seasonal Challenge from Tandy over at Lavender and Lime, is to cook with rocket. Rocket and Rucola (Italian) is also known as arugula, roquette, rugula and is popular in Italian cuisine, it’s an aromatic salad green. I love it’s peppery, mustard-like flavour, and is great just with a dash of virgin olive oil, and grated shards of parmesan cheese, settled on a tenderloin. This recipe is one of my favourites however…Rocket Pesto and Pasta Salad served with Prosciutto and a Balsamic Glaze. Recipe: Serves 4 Boil ,(as directions on packet) drain and run under cold water 250grams dry pasta, I used orrechiette, any of the spirals, or mini shells would be fine, Combine and chop 1 packet (125 grams) of fresh rocket, 1 big bunch of fresh basil, 1 clove of garlic, 6 heaped tablespoons of parmesan cheese and a handful of pine nuts, while mixing drizzle in 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. In another bowl, wash,cut into quarters and scoop out the middle seeds of 1 punnet of …

Whispering Sponge

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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…

Italian Almond Cupcakes

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On visiting Tandy’s blog, Lavender and Lime her challenge for this week was to bake something sweet using almonds. Looking through some new acquired cookbook magazines, my Mum asked if I had tried a  recipe  – Italian Almond Cupcakes….on the same day visiting Tandy’s blog. Coincidence –  I decided to try the recipe and link back to join Tandy and her baking challenge. On further research of the recipe…the advertisement in the magazine was saying Italian Almond Cupcakes and the main ingredient  –  Dilmah’s Exceptional Tea. An adventure begins…

A touch of Hope

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Today in Australia, August 26th is Daffodil Day. The Daffodil is the international symbol of hope for all those touched by cancer. So today my life is touched with golden yellow flowers, of Daffodils, sunshine, cupcakes and marshmallows. The daffodil is a sign of HOPE for a brighter, cancer free future, and funds raised today are essential for cancer research, prevention and support services. Fresh Daffodils were on sale at retail outlets, and for every fresh bunch sold $1.00 (Aus) was given to the Australian Cancer Foundation. Theres every chance within our lifetime, our lives will be touched by cancer, either directly or through the experience of family and friends. So I’m sharing some golden sunshine with you, friends. How about trying these wonderfully decorated cupcakes. Aren’t they just special. I’ve seen these before around blogland and have been wanting to try them for some time.You’ll enjoy this video found here and its even more enjoyable making them. Firstly make a basic cupcake recipe.My favourite one bowl wonder plain cake mixture recipe found here. Then …

Baking Vanilla Apple Cake

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My goodness, its been a while since I’ve baked something, so I’m happy to share this moment with you. The sun was shining through the windows and the kitchen had a warming magnetism, and in my head I could hear a voice saying come on Yvette, get creative and make something delicious for morning tea.   So not resisting, I made something that I know the children love as well. The fruit bowl had an overload of apples, so the choice was easy Vanilla Apple Cake. This my friends is a little something, petite isn’t it. It’s a Royal Albert petite china Christmas decoration. Design ‘Old Country Roses’. The little cup is actually joined to the saucer and has a beautiful ribbon with embossed gold calligraphy. Can you imagine your Christmas tree decorated with these and full of fairy lights. I know you won’t be able to resist this apple cake, so read on for the recipe…