Baking for Nightshift- Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Tonight I go back to work after having had the last week off sick. As you may have read in my previous post I have had issues with sore joints since I got a pretty non-descript virus a couple of months ago. So far it is still considered a viral arthritis BUT there is a 50% chance of it becoming permanent Rheumatoid Arthritis. As I am a 'glass half full' kind of person I choose to see it as being a 50% chance of it going away! Anyway as it got to the point of me not being able to walk properly or use my arms and hands properly, there hasn't been too much going on in the kitchen as of late. Luckily for me I have been started on a course of steroids and they have really made a huge difference to my being able to function...well once I sorted out the dosing that is. I am one of those irritating-to-some, 'active relaxers' and I find it really hard to sit still for too long so needless to say, the fact that I can now bake and cook again is wonderful...so long as I make sure I take some time out to rest a bit. As I am going back to work tonight armed with steroids and pain killers I thought I would whip up a wee cake to take with me. 


I had read about this banana cake on one of the many blogs I follow. I'm not really a big fan of banana cake to be honest but easy recipe+big cake+over ripe bananas+night shift=this recipe! Besides that, anything with cream cheese icing is sure to taste amazing anyway. I really liked that this cake is unadulterated and uncomplicated. It's just a plain banana cake with no bells or whistles entered into the mix. I have tasted it and I think it's lovely with the right consistency and crumb. I was a little confused as this is an American recipe and it called for Pastry flour which from my research has a bit more gluten and protein in it than our standard flour. I ended up using a mix of high grade and plain flour in the end. As well as that it took much longer to cook than what the original recipe stated and I ended up covering the top with tin foil to stop it from browning too much on top. Make your own favourite cream cheese icing recipe. I just put in about 100g butter with 125g cream cheese, some vanilla and icing sugar to get a nice soft consistency.


Banana Cake 



2 2/3c flour (I used 2c plain and 2/3c high grade)
2 2/3c sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 large or 4 small very ripe bananas
3 eggs
1/2c buttermilk
3/4c canola or grapeseed oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla 


Heat the oven to 170C.

Into a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, mash the bananas with an electric beater until smooth. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until each is completely incorporated, then mix in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Finally, mix the dry ingredients into the batter just until thoroughly combined.

Pour into a 25cm round cake pan . Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until cooked (you may need to cover the top loosely with foil if it is browning too much. Cool on a rack.

Baking for Nightshift- Black-bottom Cupcakes

I made these for night shift on Tuesday night. One of my latest book purchases is one called 'Mix and Bake' by Belinda Jeffery. After getting it out of the library a few times I decided it really was worth the purchase so had to do a mad search to find a copy of it. I eventually found one at Borders (which is becoming a big Whitcoulls) at Sylvia Park. Such is the desperation of a cookbook addict when a decision is made that she definitely NEEDS a certain book and her life just won't be complete without it....get my drift on the addict thing? 


Anyway this recipe is again, very easy to make. I found the cupcake bit at the bottom wasn't very light but I think this is because has no eggs in it. Next time I will make the cake component less and the cheesecake component more. I found that the cheesecake layer seemed to sink into the cupcake layer a bit. Nonetheless they were still pretty yummy. She says you can make them in any size cupcake you like and that they freeze well.


Black-bottom Cupcakes


1 1/2c flour
1c castor sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/3c cocoa
1c warm water
1 tsp vanilla
1/3c oil (I used grapeseed)
1tsp white vinegar


Topping
250g cream cheese
1/3c castor sugar
1 egg
1c or 200g dark chocolate buttons or chocolate chopped into small chunks


Oven to 180 and line muffin tins (I got 14 medium sized ones out of this recipe).


For the topping beat the cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate and set aside.


Sift flour, soda, salt, cocoa and whisk in the sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together the warm water, vinegar, vanilla and oil. Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir until mixed well but don't overdo this.


Spoon batter into cases until about 2/3's full. Spoon in a heaped dessertspoon of the cream cheese mix on top of each one.


Bake about 30-35 mins until cooked (I baked mine for 35 mins but I think it may have been just a bit too long). Cool out of the tin on a wire rack.

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Cupcakes....

For Cee-cee and Abbie's 5th birthday

For after Emily's funeral

Today I have been quite lucky that my hands and elbow joints have not felt too sore (yes the joint pain continues...), as I have had to bake quite a bit for tomorrow. The top two photos are the chocolate cupcakes I made for my twin nieces Cee-cee (Elise) and Abbie who turned 5 years old yesterday. I made a plain vanilla buttercream coloured bright pink on top of one of my favourite chocolate cupcake recipes. They look very pretty and I think the girls will love them. All up I have baked 60 medium sized cupcakes and 36 mini cupcakes so I am well over the smell of baking and the taste of buttercream!


The rest of the photos are the cupcakes I made to take to Emily's funeral tomorrow. The photos don't really do them much justice as the flowers on top look more vibrant against the rich chocolate buttercream icing. I have discovered a new wonderfully dark and rich cocoa powder. The flavour is delicious and it is a lot like the expensive Valrhona cocoa which costs a small fortune. The brand is..... Homebrand!!! Sometimes the most expensive isn't necessarily the best or only option when you want quality. I had planned to make a vibrant pink icing but as I had made the flowers earlier, I thought they would get lost in the colour. Emily was a stand-out girl so it made no sense to have wallflower-flowers!


This will be a short post but I want to end it by wishing for Emily peace, love and a wonderful journey ahead of her. May she rock the afterlife and find peace, serenity and happiness there xxxxx

Baking for Nightshift- Lemon Syrup Bundt Cake

Tonight for night shift I thought I would make this delicious bundt cake. I got the recipe from one of the many blogs I follow and first made it for my friends cafe the other day. Although I have had pretty bad joint pain for the last couple of months, I can't stand lying around at home doing nothing. However I have had to strike a happy medium lately and make sure I rest up so my joints aren't too terrible when I go to work. Today I thought I would bake a cake for work before resting up a bit in the afternoon. This is a very easy recipe to make and any chance I get to pull out my bundt tins, I tend to jump at. In fact I'm waiting for a book to come from Amazon called 'Kiss my Bundt' so hopefully in the not-too-distant future I'll be posting about all sorts of fabulous bundt cakes. This cake has a lovely lemon syrup poured (or brushed) over top and then has a basic glaze poured over it to accentuate it's lovely angles and curves. 


Lemon Syrup Bundt Cake


The Cake
1c yoghurt (I have also used buttermilk)
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1/4c lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
230g butter
2c sugar
1 1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2 3/4c flour


The Syrup
1/2c sugar
1/2c lemon juice
1/4c water


The Glaze
Icing sugar
Milk to get the right consistency (a bit like very thick pouring cream)


Oven to 175 C and grease a 10-12c bundt tin well. You could also make this is a 25cm tin.


Whisk together the yoghurt, vanilla, lemon zest and juice.


Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda.


Cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy then add each egg one at a time beating well after each. Add half the flour mix followed by the yoghurt mix then the rest of the flour mix. Do not overbeat and mix until each is just mixed in.


Bake about 40min (this all depends on the size of tin you have used so make sure to check it with a skewer first).


Cool on a wire rack for about 15mins before turning out. Brush and spoon over the syrup while still warm then pour over the glaze when cold.


To make the syrup- put all the ingredients into a small pot and bring to a boil. Simmer a few minutes until syrupy.

Italian Mama Moment with Homemade Mozzarella

A while ago I was reading one of the many blogs I follow by Mrs Cake when she posted about making mozzarella. She used a Mad Millie kit (the Italian one) to do it and posted great step by step photos. I went out after reading that post and bought my own kit. It cost around $40 for the kit but that makes about 15 batches of cheese so cost-wise it should be pretty reasonable. The funny thing is, is that I don't eat cheese! As a child I used to make myself eat a slice of good old Chesdale cheese as I was determined to like it. Now I can eat cheese but only if it's 'cooked' and not too 'cheesy'. Any sign of 'raw' cheese sends me running so all that hard work making myself eat the stuff (and gagging all the while), as a child never paid off. I guess I should be happy about that as I know that if I did like cheese it would be game and kilos on! 


However despite not liking cheese I love the idea of making my own. I figured mozzarella is perfect for pizza which I can eat, and I know I will make mascarpone as even though I'm not keen on the flavour on it's own, what is a Tiramisu without it? While I haven't done the step by step photos (check out Mrs Cake's site) I have posted photos of the final product. I think it was pretty cost effective and the process was really easy. The only thing I will do differently is to stretch the cheese a bit more. The milk cost about $11 and the yield was around 600gm of fresh mozzarella. Dons immediately made a mozzarella, tomato and basil salad and she said the cheese was delicious...very creamy and moist with the perfect flavour. 


Although it played havoc on my sore joints (which I have had since I got a virus 2 months ago), it was well worth the effort and subsequent joint pain. We had it on homemade pizza where I made my own base and tomato sauce and I have to say it was really good. Give the kit a go...you will feel like a true Domestic Goddess and Holly-homemaker.

Cupcakes for Emily

Tonight is the fundraiser for our lovely friend Caroline whose daughter Emily was taken from her a few months ago. Some of the girls from work have been doing some fantastic things to raise money for Caroline to use for whatever she needs to give her a little help during this terrible time. Adelle initiated and made up an amazing hamper from things people brought in and raised a fair chunk of money. Luanne, Meredith and Tamara have all organised tonights event which is a movie night. Lots of people who couldn't make it to the evening have donated money and those of us going are making nibbles and food to have before the movie with a glass of wine. These cupcakes are my contribution.


Even though I never met Emily I feel like she is a part of our family as over the years I have worked with Caroline (or Blondie as I know her), we have talked a lot about each others families. Therefore I feel like I knew Emily pretty well. Caroline was and is an amazing mother. Any child lucky enough to have a mother like her is indeed, a very fortunate child. That girl was so loved!!! 


When I think about what Emily is like and from what I have heard about her, I think glamour, striking, sparkling and above all fun! I know it is pretty much impossible to put these into a cupcake but in my post night duty haze, I think these will suffice enough. They are my most favourite rich and delicious chocolate cupcakes (the ones I make all the time for the Crabapple Bakery Cookbook), with a nutella and chocolate filling and a simple, but yummy, chocolate buttercream on top. I wanted to keep the cupcake and icing all one colour to let the glittery hearts shine as Emily did. The hearts are a slightly offbeat shape, as Emily was her own person who conformed only to herself, and the colours are a vibrant pink and pure, glittery white. Although I could have gone way over the top with these, I wanted to keep them classic yet fun....which is how I see Emily.


To all the girls who have organised all these wonderful fundraising things....thanks. You are all amazing.

Baking for Nightshift- White and Dark Chocolate Jaffa Swirl Cake

First of all I know the photos are a bit poxy BUT at least you can still see how the cake looks inside. This is what happens when you have two boys wanting to have a piece of cake after coming home from school starving...no time to make it look too pretty. This recipe was from one of my many new cookbooks called 'Mix and Bake' by Belinda Jeffery. I know I have said it before..."My name is Megan and I'm a cookbook addict"...I can hear some of you saying "Hi Megan" now, well those of you who have joined me in the Obsessed-With-Cookbooks Anonymous support group anyway. I have a few more books coming from Amazon.co.uk (is it MY fault that the postage is free and all you have to spend is 25 pound to be eligible for free postage...and the exchange rate is SO good at the moment....) and after that I WILL NOT buy anymore. I promise! Really!


Anyway this book is really fantastic. It is easy to follow and the recipes look really good. The only thing you need to remember is that is is Australian and therefore you have to make sure a tablespoon measure is actually 20ml instead of 15ml we use here. I love any excuse to use my bundt tin and this meant I could break it out of captivity again. This was a very easy recipe to make and tasted fantastic. When marbling it's amazing how little you have to swirl it to get the right effect. As you can see if I had swirled it a bit more it would have all blended together and while still tasting good, it wouldn't have looked all that great. I drizzled over a bit of ganache...not too much so you hide the curves and angles of the bundt tin, but enough to lift the flavour of the cake. This cake is largely made in the food processor but I prefer to do it the old-fashioned way and used my mixer so the method will be this way rather than the recipe way.


White and Dark Chocolate Jaffa Swirl Cake


55g white chocolate, finely chopped
55g dark chocolate, finely chopped
290g butter, at room temperature
2 1/2c flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2c caster sugar
1c buttermilk
1 1/2tsp vanilla
1Tbsp finely grated orange zest (I used 1 1/2 oranges to get mine)


Melt the chocolates in separate bowls (in the microwave) with 20gm of the butter in each bowl. Cool to room temperature.


Cream the remaining butter (250g) until light and creamy. Add the caster sugar and beat until creamy.. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition then beat in the vanilla. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add in 3 parts alternately with the buttermilk beginning and ending with the flour. Don't overbeat. Separate the mixture equally into 2 bowls then add the white chocolate mixture into one and the dark into another. Mix until just combined.


Grease a bundt tin (or else a 25cm tin would be ok too). Spread half of the orange mix in the bottom followed by the dark mix and repeat. Try to not mix them together. Then get a thin knife and swirl gently...try zigzagging it. Don't be tempted to overdo the swirling or it will all blend together.


Bake about 55 mins or until cooked. Drizzle with a bit of ganache when cool.