Baking for Nightshift- Anzac Biscuits

I know it isn't quite ANZAC day yet but when I was reading a review about the Little and Friday book in the latest Dish magazine, they had published this recipe. The Little and Friday cookbook is one that I have been waiting for what feels like ages, to come out. I have yet to go to the actual Little and Friday cafe but I know it sounds like my kind of place to visit and the doughnuts sound legendary...in fact some days they sell over 400 of them! Anyway I thought I would whip these up for night shift last weekend and make them a little more decadent (as suggested in the recipe), to give them a bit more oomph! This was an easy recipe to make and tasted lovely with a nice chewy biscuit. However I thought as I was making them that the mixture felt a little too 'wet' and I think that is why they spread more than I wanted them too. It hasn't put me off getting the book though!


Anzac Biscuits (from Little and Friday)


1 c flour
1 c coconut thread
2/3 tightly packed brown sugar
1 c jumbo oats
125g butter
2 Tbsp golden syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp boiling water
Dark melted chocolate (if you want)


Preheat the oven to 160C. Line 2 trays with baking paper.


Put the flour, coconut, oats and sugar into a bowl and combine.


Melt the butter and golden syrup in a pot over a medium heat. While this is melting, put the soda into a bowl, add the boiling water and stir. Then stir into the butter mixture.


Quickly pour into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.


Roll spoonfuls of mixture into balls and place onto the tray about 3cm apart and flatten them slightly. Bake about 15-20 mins or until golden. Cool on a wire rack and when they are cool, dip into chocolate.

Cupcakes for Harry's Class

Tomorrow Harry has his class shared lunch to mark the end of the term. He was away from school today with a cold and a trip to the dentist to have a tooth pulled out, so instead of racing around doing all the things I had planned before the dentist visit, I spent the day baking. Not the end of the world that's for sure, but with a 7 year old who fancies himself as a bit of a budding chef and a mother who sees baking as a form of relaxation.... well somehow the two don't really go together! It seemed like the oven was on for the whole day as I made a huge Banana and Coconut Cake, a Caramel Weetbix Slice and these cupcakes. As it is Easter time of course the only flavour option was chocolate and this recipe is rich, light and delicious. To complete the Easter theme I topped them with green-grass buttercream and plonked a few little eggs on top. Unfortunately the heat in the house was pretty feisty so the 'grass' did wilt a little but I think these look pretty cure and I'm sure the kids will love them. 

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Wow it feels like forever since I last posted. Needless to say it has been a busy time. In the last couple of weeks I have been to Sydney for a conference, come back and caught up with all that needed doing since I had been gone, got back into the swing of being a mother of two boys and gone back to work! The night before I left we had a little get together for mine and my mum's birthday as on the actual days I was working night shift. 


I was mum's 21st birthday present as I was born only 2 days after she had her 21st. Imagine that! Being largely pregnant with your first baby and going into a long and difficult labour and delivery all on the milestone that is turning 21! For a couple of years it was just me and my mum until she met my lovely dad when I was nearly two. She had struggled a lot...especially having a baby on her own in the 1960's which was a little taboo (to put it mildly). It still amazes me that she pulled it off, as back then there were no benefits to help women in that situation and adoption was more the norm rather than the exception it is today. Life was hard for my mum as she had to go back to work when I was only about 6 weeks old, put me into daycare and negotiate all that went with having a little baby at a time when this was largely socially unacceptable. Thanks goodness she had the guts to not feel the pressure to adopt me out or allow my grandparents to adopt me. My mum is an amazing woman and I'm very lucky to have her. So on our birthdays we try to do something to mark the occasion.


This year I made a whole of of yummy nibbles and in the interest of it being a birthday celebration had to make these cupcakes. This recipe is from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book and I have long wanted to try them. I saw them blogged about which not only reminded me about the recipe (when you have so many it can get a little confusing), but also said how delicious they were. And they are! If you love Tiramisu (as I do), you WILL love these cupcakes. The cupcake recipe was easy and delicious and the syrup only makes them better. You will think that there is no way you will use it all up, but you do and they aren't soggy and over-syruped at all. And of course anything with mascarpone has GOT to be good. So these are for you mum xxxxx


Tiramisu Cupcakes (Martha Stewart 'Cupcakes')


Cupcakes


1 1/4 c flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 c milk
Vanilla paste or extract (about 1 tsp) 
70g butter
3 large whole eggs and 3 egg yolks at room temperature
1 c sugar


Oven to 170C. Line muffin tins (I got about 26). 
Sift the flour and baking powder together (If you are using unsalted butter ad in 1/2 tsp salt. Heat the milk until bubble just appear around the edge. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla then stand for about 15 mins.


With an electric mixer on medium, whisk together whole eggs, yolks and sugar. Set over a pan of simmering water and whisk my hand until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm. Remove the bowl from the heat. With the electric mixer on high speed, whisk until the mixture is fluffy, pale yellow and thick enough to hold a ribbon on the surface when the whisk is lifted.


Gently but thoroughly fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture in 3 batches; stir a 1/2 c of the batter into the milk mixture to thicken then fold that into the batter until just combined.


Fill the muffin tin 3/4 full and bake about 20 mins. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.


To finish brush the tops with the coffee syrup until all the syrup has been used. Allow the cupcakes to sit for 30 mins then put the mascarpone frosting on top and dust with cocoa powder.


Coffee Syrup


1/3 c espresso or strongly brewed coffee
1/4 c marsala or Kahlua 
1/4 c sugar


Stir together until sugar is dissolved.


Mascarpone Frosting


250g mascarpone
1 c cream
1/2 icing sugar


Whisk cream until stiff peaks form. Whisk the mascarpone and icing sugar together and gently fold this into the mascarpone.

My lovely friend Andrea and I

Harry and Ruby

Yum!

Red Velvet Cupcakes and Birthday Time

So the other day was my birthday. It was with HORROR that I realised I was actually a whole year older than I thought I was once Harry asked how old I was and I recalculated it! As I was working night shift over the weekend and going into my birthday I thought I would take some food in to share with all the girls. I made these Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and took in some other bits and pieces for us to all nibble on. It was so lovely as the girls all sang Happy Birthday to me in all their different languages so it was sung in Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog, Arabic, German, English and there was also a really lovely different birthday song in Mandarin wishing me luck, health and happiness. I'm so lucky to work with all these amazing women!


Anyway these cupcakes can be found here. I did have to add a little bit of water to the cocoa, food colouring mix as I found it didn't make a paste at all so I just added enough water to make it a thick paste as I didn't want to alter the consistency of the mix too much. It didn't seem to affect it at all. As well as that I just made my own icing with some cream cheese and butter then some vanilla and icing sugar as I prefer my cream cheese icing to be less 'wet' as it can get when there is a large cream cheese component. This means that it is more likely to hold it's shape if you pipe it on. I topped mine with some edible glitter which always looks better and more glittery than it does in the photos. This was a lovely recipe and made delicious cupcakes.

Dons and I on our way out to dinner the other night

The cake Dons whipped up for me...looks like the house is going to catch fire with all those candles!

Me with Reuben and Harry

Dons, Harry and I

With my too-tall baby Reuben

Degustation at Kermadec

On Tuesday night Dons and I went to Kermadec Fine Dining Restaurant on the Viaduct for their degustation menu. As it's my birthday next week we thought we would have an early birthday dinner to celebrate as on my actual day I'm coming off night shift so will be no good for anything then. I got a voucher off GrabOne which was $120 for both of us instead of each so all we had to pay for was wine...and champagne of course. It really was a lovely experience. We had a fantastic waiter and the place, instead of feeling stuffy and pretentious, felt comfortable and an easy space to be in. So here are the course we had... (note the photos were taken with my iphone so could have been better but really weren't too bad)

Yellowtail kingfish sashimi, hadjiki, pickled peach, sesame, mirin dressing

The picture above was taken halfway through eating as I totally forgot to snap a photo. This course was lovely and refreshing and a great way to start the meal.

Chamomile infused Marlborough salmon, watercress, young vegetables a la grecque, salsa verde

Yum. yum and yum. I LOVE fresh, raw salmon and this course did NOT disappoint. The salmon was perfectly complimented by the accompaniments and had a lovely flavour from the infusion.

Seared Scallops, sweet corn, duck egg, bacon crumb, truffle mayonnaise

The most amazing course of the whole dinner. We both could have eaten just this over and over again. I loved how they got the perfect caramelisation on the scallops without overcooking them at all. All the flavours worked beautifully together. YUM!!!

Crispy skinned Hauraki Gulf snapper, courgette and crab beignet, court bouillon in its entirety

This course had a hard act to follow after the divine scallops. We both thought the fish was a touch overcooked and I had a bone in mine which was no big deal but a bit of a faux pas for such a fancy restaurant.

Wild red venison, sweet corn custard, pickled shitakes, thyme popcorn, Puy lentils, sauce Rouennaise

Neither Dons nor I eat venison but as we were there with the voucher we were unable to change this. While it was better than I thought and very tender, this was my least favourite course. For me the flavours weren't quite right but I was glad that I tried it...


Now I totally forgot the photo of the dessert can you believe it!!!! It was small and a perfect end to the meal and was...Fraisier, Sable Breton, Heilala vanilla cream (fantastic), violet espuma, strawberry consomme (fresh and delicious), wild thyme honey ice cream (repeated a little afterwards and for me the flavour was far too strong)

Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake

Don't be fooled with how this looks....although I love the shape of this Bundt Loaf tin, because it tastes fabulous. The lemon syrup and glaze really add to the lemony flavour and the texture is fantastic. It was also taken to work on Friday and seemed to go down a treat. Delicious, easy and well worth making. I know I'll make it again and again.


Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake


For the Pound Cake:


225g butter
1 ½ c flour 
1/3 c poppy seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt (I only added 1/4 tsp as I used salted butter)
1 ¼ c sugar
2 Tbsp grated lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons juice 
4 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Lemon Syrup

1/3 c freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 c sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:
1 c icing sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


Preheat the oven to 170 C. Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess (I used my lovely bundt tin)


In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.


In a small bowl, toss 1 Tbsp of the flour mixture and poppy seeds together and set aside.


Melt the butter and whisk to reincorporate any separated milk solids.


In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process sugar and zest until combined, about five 1-second pulses. Add lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla; process until combined, about 5 seconds. With machine running, add melted butter through feed tube in steady stream (this should take about 20 seconds). Transfer mixture to large bowl. Sift flour mixture over eggs in three steps, whisking gently after each addition until just combined. Fold poppy seed mixture into batter after flour is incorporated.


Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 160C and continue to bake until deep golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto wire rack.


While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.


Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.


To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Chocolate Afghans

So I have just finished a set of three long days...which has been more than a shock to my system as I usually work night shift. On Thursday I baked 3 things to take on both Friday and Saturday. These made it to the Friday goodies..... I like my Afghans to be crispy rather than soft so I made sure to cook them for a little bit longer. I also discovered that I had no walnuts left so instead used some toasted slivered almonds which were perfectly good with these biscuits. I also made a yummy chocolate buttercream for the top as this seems to be more traditional to me than a ganache, and it tastes a lot better in my opinion.


Chocolate Afghans


200 g butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla 
1 1/4 c plain flour
1/4 c cocoa
1 1/2 c cornflakes, crushed



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


In a large bowl beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Sift in flour and cocoa, stir thoroughly with the butter mixture until combined before stirring in the cornflakes.


Roll heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture into a ball and put onto the baking tray then press down a bit with a fork. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before icing.


Use your favourite chocolate buttercream icing and top with either a walnut or toasted slivered almonds.