It is all about the face /-/ Vegan Fairy bread no bake cheese cake with sprinkle crumble

With the importance of social media ever growing and integrating itself into our lives; there is one aspect of it that I dislike a lot. I am saying dislike a lot because I feel I use hate to much but I hope you understand the loathing I feel for this. How many of you have taken a selfie? I think we all have.

 Yes even the older generation of IPhone and Ipad uses have taken selfies for their profile on Facebook. I am guilty of taking selfies too, however I have stopped. Mainly due to sheer laziness but it seems like my feed page is being bombarded with selfies. Only yesterday did I have an album pop up on my feed, that was filled with only selfies. Yes a WHOLE Album. Argh even the word Selfie is making me shutter.

I only realised the other day how many people on my friends list have more than 100 “selfies” photos, mostly of the same position and the same angle.

 You know the pointed up at 45 degrees and chin down photos with a slight tilt to the head to give the best shot.

There might be the “cute Asian shot” or the “middle finger shot” once in a while; or you can come across the “pouty lip shot and bend forward shot”. Sure the variation is good but most of them are taken with the camera face down and us looking up.

Now I am going to ask you guys honestly how many photos of yourself do you need to publish to face book? 

Do you not see yourself enough in the mirror when you get ready or have you forgotten that photos normally are taken a few meters away from you? 

Is it that you need to find the “best” shot of yourself to post to face book to show how “modelist” you are to the world?

We get it you are pretty, you are sexy, you are cute. Now post a photo of a funny cat picture and I will get on my way.




Another point: The rate of posting is also important. One in while selfies are OK. 

I totally understand the ease of a selfie when you change your hair of something. BUT posting several every day of the same shot of you? THIS IS NOT COOL. Even more annoying is when that same person (or persons in my case) are constantly posting ones in order to get likes or complements on their photos then dismiss the poster when they give a compliment to the photo. O.k but What is the use then? BLAH!! INSUFFERABLE!

I think we all have at least one person on our feed list who does all of these things. Maybe you used to be a serial “selfie” poster too. Tell me your views about it! There has to one other person who thinks is this serious problem.





I guess You could say the obsessiveness with photos take place more in the kitchen than on face book. Each time I take photos of food, it edges on 100 per shoot. Yep I am obsessive for food shots; none of them seem right to me. 

This is one of those photo shoots that I had a lot of trouble with the styling lighting, argh! Everything! However I think this is worth sharing as it is easy and proves that vegan food can be very very pretty.



Modelled after the iconic snack, fairy bread, I decided to treat myself to a cake. However this not cheese cake in the original sense but made from a raw base of cashews and topped with a layer of whipped coconut cream. I have been fixated by the raw cheese cake, simply because I can not imagine a no bake cheese cake that I would actually like. I find the no bake cheese cake too “heavy” these days and way too sweet.

Do not put off by the fact you need to soak nuts. The creamy emulsion of nutty almonds, essence and coconut nectar produces a texture unlike anything you have in a traditional dessert. I was once hesitant of vegan cheese cake being good but seriously it is texture unlike anything you have tasted before. Rich but yet light; which is great for things like cheese cake.It is simple but luscious; and leaves you mouth feeling silky smooth. How good is that a nutritious cheese cake which makes you even more beautiful? 




The cake is a darker than I hoped but is very flavoursome. The brown sugar produces a wonderful fall aroma., it is a wonderful fall cake and leaves your kitchen your smelling like the best scented candles. The one model after food of course! You can use your own cake recipe, just make sure it is a steady cake; not like a sponge.

Now the crumble add the texture to the no bake dessert. Beat it is all about balance right? In life and in food. The crunchy top gives way to sway of coconut whipped cream which we all need.

 Yes, even though this might be vegan, I am not selling it as health food.

 Now I may not be the expert on vegan food but I assure you, you will not disappointed by this no baked vegan dessert which proves vegan food can be main stream.



Fairy bread, no bake cheese cake with sprinkle crumble

NOTE!; Make sure your sprinkles are vegan too, Some contain animal products and oils. While I am not a vegan, people who are cooking this for their vegan friends may need to check



Raw cheese cake 
From Taste.com

225g blanced almonds, soaked for 4-6 hours

90ml lemon juice

90ml coconut nectar

90g soften coconut butter

50g sprinkles

2g pink sea salt

1tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a food processor but sprinkles and blend to very smooth. Set aside in a large bowl.

Fold your sprinkle in lightly when ready to use


 Coconut whipped  cream

I made my whipped coconut cream topping from thekitchn


Cookie crumbs from Momofuku bar
found on Gastronomoy blog.

100g caster sugar

25 g brown sugar

90g cake flour

2 baking powder

2 pink sea salt

20g rainbow sprinkles

40 rice bran

12g clear vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 150C

Fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Combine the sugars, flour, baking powder, salt, and sprinkles. Beat until combined.

Add the oil and vanilla and beat again. Continue to beat until it froms large clumps.

Spread on a lined baking tray. You can break it up if you want smaller crumbs.

Bake for 20 minutes and stir every 5 minutes. Cool and dry on the tray, they should be pale but dry when they come out.

Cool on the tray and store in an tight tin till needed






Brown sugar almond cake

Adapted from Chow


120g all purpose flour

40g corn flour

4g baking powder

4g baking soda

2g fine salt

25g almond butter

245ml soy milk

5ml apple cider vinegar

114g vegan margarine

120g dark brown sugar

7ml vanilla extract

Pre heat oven to 180C. Line and grease your bread shaped tin on the bottom and sides

Shift your flour, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

Cream in a stand mixer the margarine and sugar for 5 minutes. It should be very light and fluffy. Add your almond butter and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy again.

On a low speed alternate between the flour mixture, and the soy milk mixture in three batches. Mix until just incorporated. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Pour mix into your tin, and bake for 35-40 minutes. Bake until the toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

Cool in tin for 10 minutes then turn out, inverted, on a wire rack. Cool for at least 4 hours before proceeding to cream filling.



Assembly

Make cookie crumbs and have extra sprinkles on you.

Make the case hollow out the cake to leave a 1.5cm broader around the cake.

Make and finish the cream filling. Pour onto the base cake layer and return to the freezer until set enough to spread coconut whipped cream on top. After sprinkle on cookie sprinkle crumb and extra sprinkles.

How to give/-/ Fig, walnut and dark chocolate cookies

Around this time everyone has got a pressing responsibility. This is so important that the choice you make here could set out the mood for your relationship with that person for the year to come. There are list and guilds telling us how to do it; where should we go and what should we do. You would think with all this press, we would not have so much anxiety round it right? WRONG



The thing I am taking about is Christmas shopping or Gift shopping for your co-workers, friends and loved ones. Even though Christmas gift time is meant to be about find gifts with heart, more often than not they are gifts with a price tag (the bigger the better). I know taking the cynical view of gift giving is easy, what with everyone shouting “consumerism has corrupted our society”…


Yawn, get a new slogan haters.



I am not troubled by the pricing fact of gift giving but the gender bias of gifts that occurs every year on the MUST HAVES FOR CHRISTMAS (In Australia we have already got full articles in the new paper about it)



Every year it seems to go like this; guys trendy techno wear, games and urban yuppie leather goods

Girls: designer clothes, jewellery and maybe the “feminised version” of a techno gadget. There are even sections for the mums and dads out there with mature aged sport wear, kitchen gadgets, crystals and things that remind them of their younger days (e.g novelty cars, model air plans etc.)



Now I think we need to update this list of to go to gifts. More importantly we need set what is a good gift and what is bad gift.

If you are boyfriend or husband; DO NOT get your wife a vacuum cleaner or to add insult to injury a dish washing kit. I think a lot of women can relate to this gift giving no-no.


If you are girlfriend or wife; DO NOT think that a he needs you to be his mother and pick our his clothes for him ( as much as it pains you too see his style); boy do not like clothes as gifts.


For the relatives from far away; Please do not get chocolates for them, they probably have been given 6 boxes of it by your other relatives too. This goes for shortbread too.


For the kids, this is easy. Go for your life kids! Get anything you want! As long as it is not dead animal or something along those gross lines you are all set! If I can recall the gifts I use to give as a kid; oh the shame of giving the multi coloured chalk dust in a bottle for Christmas and the poorly handmade towel; Parents are lovely people aren’t they?






But the most important rule of all to follow is: Give from your heart. If you have honestly put a lot of thought it into your gift, it shows. You can’t write a guild on this but trust in yourself and your gift will be great

Like the faith we put into gift giving, I feel the same way about new cookie flavour combos.

In the middle of night we brain storm, we try it out and hope for the best. I am not a huge fan of fruit, nut and chocolate combos in cookies (the chewy dried fruit gets stuck in between my teeth); I really think figs are different. They are so soft! Which I only recently discovered after my parents purchased dried figs from cost co. They were like Taffy but with an edge of fruit tartness, seriously how could I have not eaten these before?



Yes dried figs are not as pretty as their fresh counter parts but they work wonderfully in cookies; namely these ones which have crusty exterior and thick chewy interior; laced with chunks of diced fig, walnut and dark chocolate. The bitterness of the walnuts work to balance the sweetness of figs and dark chocolate. The hint of salt in the batter is a nice addition too


I love this cookie base. It is an adapted version the Momofuku bar cookie which is a brilliantly buttery cookie as it is, so it not hard to make it taste good in my opinion. Now I just throwing out there, what could be more lovely than a plate full of these cookies when guest drop by this season; really the only more welcoming sight in the kitchen would be cake.



Fig, walnut and dark chocolate cookies

Adapted from the Momofuku bar Corn flake cookies ( I like the freezing process for a high butter biscuit)

Makes 45 small cookies



220g butter

100g brown sugar

150g caster sugar

1 egg plus one yolk 



60g caramel sauce

2tsp vanilla extract

7g baking powder

3g baking soda

4g salt

100g diced dried figs

150g dark chocolate chunk

50g chopped walnuts

60g ground walnuts

150g plain flour

50g bread flour



Shift flours, ground walnuts baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.

Cream butter and two sugars in a large bowl until very light and creamy (8 mintures)

Add vanilla, salt, egg and caramel; beat again until it is as fluffy as before.

With a mixer on low add the flour mixture. Mix for 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl. Mix for 30 seconds again.

Using a wooden spoon fold in figs, walnuts and dark chocolate.

On two large baking trays, lining with greaseproof paper and place teaspoon sized ball on to trays. Cover with cling wrap and freeze for at least one day (I find it just better the longer you leave it in the freezer).

Pre heat oven to 190c. Leave large gaps (5cm) between each dough ball. Bake for 15-18 minutes. They may seem soft but it will harden on cooling. Leave to cool on trays.

Keeping up with…/-/ “Tim tam slammer” Frozen yoghurt

I really hate food trends. Please do not tell me I am only one. Now my sisters might tell you I have always hate whatever is in “fashion” and that my “cynical” side means I will never be “conventional”; but!!! It is not that I try to be like that. Maybe I was born with the weird gene that made me dislike convention and allow me to like weird stuff.




 I honestly have no idea how these things pop up; really we had the cupcake phase, macaron phase, cronut or something phase and now the éclair phase. That is only the sweet world; I have no idea what is going on in savoury land with the latest technologies. It is almost too fast for me to keep with. Keeping up with the Kardashians? That is nothing compared to keeping up with gastronomy.


One thing that get me is when people being to start business capitalising on these trends. I have nothing against being an entrepreneur; believe me I am more than happy to live in a society govern by economics. However when I see 4 stores selling the same thing taking over a town; that is annoying. They are taking over my other favourite stores to visit!!

If you live in Sydney, it is impossible to not notice the boom in Yoghurt shops. You know the one that is promoted as the “healthy” alternative to normal ice cream but when you load it chocolate and other food stuffs; hmmm… not so much. Anyway, Even though I love deep in suburbs the yoghurt trend has even spread here. The last time I check there were 4 different frozen yoghurt shops in one shopping complex. I am just thinking “Who need this much frozen yoghurt?” Seriously. I have to question the creativity of the common Australian in food trends.



 There are only two ice cream stores in this complex but yet 4 yoghurt stores; what is up with that???
Maybe someone can start a French toast store, or MAYBE!! You can bring back my bagel bar *hint* *hint*. Oh well only time will tell what the next be thing will be. How about a pie store? Like the old fashion deep fried party pies that MacDonald’s used to do but have like loads of flavours (sweet or savoury) and a business to make a cake from pie. Has anyone done this in the USA?


The topic is very light hearted today because I am super relaxed. I cannot tell you how excited I am. I HAVE FINSIHED MY DEGREE!!!! *party balloons and confetti guns* After years of uni, endless essays and draining lectures ( seriously, you just sit their but I feel more tired after a lecture than when I went in) ; I am truly done!


Hopefully I can pass this finial year and gradate next year *fingers crossed*


Well I know some of my readers are facing the cold but in Australia it is warming up and that means it is ice cream time.


Modelled after a very Aussie tradition is a Tim tam slammer ice cream. If you unfamiliar with the Tim Tam slam it is when you bite the top and bottom off a tim tam and use it like straw to drink your coffee or tea. What you get is melted, chocolate, malted goodness for like 5 seconds before it goes to mush. Short but SOO… worth it. Now I have made several ice cream before this one, so I think it is time I try doing frozen yoghurt. I have always been sceptical of frozen yoghurt because I find it is always trying to be ice cream. If you want ice cream, eat ice cream; do try to pull the wool over your taste buds by doing a quick change at the yoghurt bar.


This is not ice cream, nor am I selling it as ice cream. Instead it is a tart but yet smooth frozen yoghurt which allows it to keep very well in the freezer and at room temp Also with the Aussie summer; anything to keep your ice cream from melting down your hand is bonus. By using a base of infused, coffee, chocolate Tim tam cream and then mixing it with yoghurt is possibly the best way getting a flavour into frozen yoghurt. While ice cream will still have my heart, however when I am in the mood for a darker and tart dessert with a smooth after taste; this is it. Also I am not paying 7 dollar for tub of something I can make in a larger amount.*cheap Asian Moment*

 


ALSO!!! I can trendy!!! SEE!! SEE!! I made a GIF!!!


YE take that! Sorry... Trying to fit in for once...


 


Tim tam slammer frozen yoghurt

- 150 grams chopped up tim tams.
- 300 grams heavy cream
- 120 grams golden caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, shifted
- 1 tablespoons instant coffee
- 1 tablespoons malted milk
- a good pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
- 500 grams (10 1/2 ounces) plain Greek yogurt


Place your chopped tim tams, coffee and malted milk powder in a large bowl.
In large saucepan bring to the boil your cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour is this over your tim tams in the bowl. Leave to cool for 20 minutes.
Once it is cool, stir in your salt and yoghurt until it is combined. Strain the mix, pressing it down as much as you can to intensify the tim tam flavour.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Whisk it before you use it and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Going halves /-/ Yeasted Ginger swirl bread

OK ladies, I have got a bone to pick with you. Yes this is a behaviour that I find extremely annoying and I guarantee at least every single woman and man has done this before. I have done this before and man, I am sorry to whoever I did it to because gosh is it rude.



How many of you have asked to sample a piece of another person’s meal ? (Normally it something that we would consider unhealthy) I do not mean the mutual agreement to share a meal and go halves on the payment. I mean when they order a tiny meal and then ask to have some of yours in exchange for theirs; for example when I used to work in a hospitality joint the number of times I would over hear the conversation start with “Can I have a spoon of yours?” then them proceeding to eat half their meal, is actually quite alarming



Essentially the root of the problem is if want some, can you not order one for yourself and save half for later? Or if you just want a spoon, please keep it at a spoon; do not continue ask for a another “tiny taste”.

I think I a lot of boyfriends have complained about this, particularly if it is something they are very fond of aka. Cake, steak and beer. From their accounts that spoon will often turn to half of the meal, almost 100% of the time.



Now I am not a good sharer when it comes to food I like or love. Of course I have gone halves with someone on a meal but that is only when I pay for half of it. If they eat more than me, so be it but at least I am rest assured that I deserved at least half that meal. However , do think you are fooling anyone by asking for a spoon? We all know what you are going to do. Well, at least the people who are eating that meal are.

But seriously ladies and gents, What’s up with the picking habit?



You deserve to eat a steak, whole slice of cake and whole burger, once in a while. You are not going to blow up or get fat. NO body is judging you for eating the WHOLE thing (such an annoying comment too). Simply if you want to eat it; please go for it. It will make you happier and you will not be on your partner’s or friend’s food hit list.

Thankfully bread or at least loaf bread is something I do not have go halves with anyone.

Yes, I am heavily procrastinating. I said before that I was going through exams but I am finally at my last test.

WOOT! WOOT! I am excited because like I said before I am terrible at exams. Not to mention that I miss baking a lot…




This bread is a classic. The comfort spicy aroma of a fruit loaf with a ginger swirl, so fitting for the time of year too. With Christmas coming up, I love to give out homemade spiced bread as gifts. However with the spice in this loaf I took inspiration from that cookie, the ginger bread. I recently have been turn on to ginger bread, mainly because I actually found a recipe that did not just taste like dry, ginger cracker; but buttery ginger toned biscuit. The bread is whole meal base sweeten with the malty goodness of golden syrup and molasses; swirled with a fragrant gingery spice mix and dotted with plumped up dried cranberries and currents. I prefer cranberries because they are not too sweet



While this loaf is reminiscent of the classic cinnamon raisin loaf, I guess you can say it got a Festive makeover. Wonderfully soft loaf with a foldable crumb; sliced thick or thin you can enjoy the gingery tartness of this festive spiced yeast bread.





Yeasted Ginger swirl bread with cranberry and currents

 Adapted Bread recipe from Christine’s recipes

Ingredients:

200 gm milk

1 59g egg, whisked

120 gm Tangzhong (refer to this recipe)

20g molasses

20g golden syrup

5 g salt

350 g Atta Flour (it is the Indian whole meal flour, Slightly different to normal whole meal but works better with yeasted bread)

200g whole meal flour

7 g instant dry yeast

60 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

60g cranberries and 60g currents, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, drained





Ginger sugar spice mix

40g soften unsalted butter

50g brown sugar (dark)

2tsp ground ginger

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of all spice

1 tsp lemon zest

In a large bowl mix the wholemeal flour, atta flour, drained cranberries and currents, salt. Add the molasses, golden syrup, egg and milk. Mix until it is combined add the Tangzhong and knead to form a rough ball.

Flour a flat surface and turn out your dough, knead for 5 minutes then slowly knead in soft butter. Continue to knead for 25 minutes with a break for 5 minutes at half way. It should be a smooth, soft dough; maybe a bit sticky.

Place in large bowl that is greased and cover with cling film for 1 hour to proof.

Once proofed, punch down and place in fridge for 30 minutes to make it easier to handle.

Grease and line a loaf tin this one was 24cm by 9cm by 13cm

Roll your dough into a rectangle 26cm by 20cm. Using your hands smooth over the butter, then top with spice mix.

Roll in a jelly roll style to form a tight log. Using a sharp knife cut the dough in half length ways and braid the two strands.

Place in the tin with the ends tucked in. Cover with cling and proof for 45 minutes

Pre heat an oven to 185C.

Once proofed, brush with egg wash (one egg and tsp milk)

Bake in oven for 30 minutes. If it is too brown cover with tin foil. Turn out to cool on wire rack.

Mangy toes and eczema woes/-/ butter milk ice cream

As girl but mostly as a human being, there are topics which nobody ever talks about unless it covered by the lightness of humour. These are the topics which are designated to be the conversation starters of drunken nights out and brutish discern for femininity; you know jokes about farts, weird rashes and of course mangy body parts. Not even going to doctor about these things are safe any more because we are so afraid of the outcome.

Like a majority of the population I was not blessed with pure white skin and perfect limbs, so I do suffer a chronic and re occurring battle with eczema and my clumsiness has resulted in a number burns and disfigurements to my hand and feet. Yes, I have dropped a meat mallet on my toes; not a pretty sight.

They might not have gotten so bad if I was not so ashamed to go ask for help to treat them. Of course like a majority, I let it get worse to the point antibiotic s had to be called in to the fight the infection.




While Halloween has seen the boom in finger cookies and blood and pus type desserts; I have always wondered why we need humour to cover topics like these? Or more importantly why are we so ashamed to admit we suffer from problems like this? We have all seen embarrassing bodies right? For me this is probably the best thing to happen to medical programming since…well ever. A medical program actually telling us it is fine to have abnormalities with your body.



I am bringing this up (as disgusting as some of you might think it is, yes this a food blog but I want to talk about REAL topics here); is that please do not point out someone has a mangy toe or weird ass rash on their body. Especially if you the person who you are out on a date with. My love life is horrendous to say the least but a few weeks ago I went out on date; yes a real boy/girl date. Unfortunately at the time it was 30 degrees in Sydney and the unfortunate placement of a rash on my leg; I had to wear shorts in order for it “breathe” and not get worse.

So you can only guess what happen next. It became the topic of the day between me and this guy;

“How did you get it?”

“What is it?”

“Can you catch it?”


Seriously? This is way you woo a girl?


Argh boys.

Maybe it is because my blood boils over all too easily during exam but I have been craving ice cream ever since I started Uni. I never used to be an ice cream before I started University. Maybe it was because of an ice cream dish I tasted on my first University date. Yes with a boy even though it was a terrible date (lots of awkward silences and weird topics); however the ice cream was memorable. It was base of vanilla buttermilk ice cream on a chocolate Belgium waffle with a coco pop crunch topping.



Seriously amazing, crunchy, cold and sweet. While I am still working to re-create that at home, I think I have found essential buttermilk base ice cream. Working off smitten kitchen’s adaption of a Claudia Fleming’s butter milk ice cream and mixing it with Jeni’s ice cream formula, you get a tangy and creamy ice cream. Also the vanilla is more of a butter scotch flavour which is always good in my books (no boiling caramel here!)


At least if any more dates go bad, I still have ice cream. Whether you feel like a kid or adult, everyone will love a batch of butter cream ice cream. Sorry had to do the sprinkles.




Essential recipes; Butter milk ice cream

Adapted from Jeni’s ice cream base and Smitten kitchen’s adaptation


600ml buttermilk

450ml cream

2 tsp Vanilla extract

180g caster sugar

30g glucose

3g sea salt flakes

12g corn flour

40g cream cheese




In small bowl combine corn four and 60 ml milk to form a flour slurry. Set aside.

in a medium/ large sauce pan bring to boil all the butter milk, glucose, sugar, salt and cream.

Cook for 4 minutes while stirring continuously, Add the flour slurry while stirring. Cook for a further 2 minutes.

Place cream cheese in medium/large bowl and whisk in 60ml of the hot milk mix. Pour remaining milk mix into the cream cheese bowl while whisking.

Place mix in a sealed container in the fridge for 1 day before churning to your ice cream makers instructions. Just before churning add vanilla extract.

Chill ice cream for 4 hours before serving.

Serving ideas : Sprinkles and cookies for kids, grated salted dark chocolate, grated truffle, dark cocoa wafers etc.

White Noise /-/ Iced Vovo Macarons

My house is noisy but not in the conventional way of generalised chit chat, kid’s shouting or even dogs barking. I actually have none of those in my house, well the generalised chit chat but that is only at the dinner table and when my sister’s come over. I envy them that they only have to live in my house for a few hours because of this one problem. This one really big, headache causing problem.



My dad is really Asian. No I am not being racist. He is still devoted, whole heartily, to his homeland. While he does know how to speak relative good English and can read it quite well; he insists of keeping in touch with his heritage. I have no objections to this but ever since I was little girl this thing has bothered me about my dad. His Chinese’s radio.



My house is filled with constant buzz of a radio. A Chinese radio. A really annoying, constant ringing of a poorly received Chinese radio station. This is the only thing in my house which makes it almost unbearable to live here. I am not sure how many of you have someone in your house hold who needs noise constantly but the Chinese radio is 100 times worse. Ok, maybe I am blowing out of portion a bit; but give me a break! I think the first noises as a baby I learned to recognise was my parent’s voices, television and the high, broken streamed static coming from a poorly tuned radio. So for 19 years of my life, I have had the white noise of a Chinese radio ringing in my ears.



Technological improvement? Wouldn’t that help the static white noise?


This problem is getting WORSE as technology improves.


In fact the more technology improves the more technology my dad buys. This means my house is littered with no just one but 4 Chinese radios. All catered to different Asian stations. This year he got one that he can talk on the road now. Sort of like a walkie talkie shaped radio. ALSO for you guys who own one of the robotic vacuum cleaners or a Roomba, the noise from it drive me insane and he always places it on when I need to do work.




Let me explain my dad’s attachment to this… thing. In short it is almost like a second limb. Anywhere my dad is he has this radio with him. Even when he has his portable radio on him, he still insist on keeping the others on. The worse part about that portable radio is that also plays the radio on speaker. So there are 5 radios in my house catering to same thing, play all at the same time…




Peace and quiet? Not in my house… As a write this post the blaring distinct noise of that radio is puncturing into my inner soul. Almost 24 hours a day this radio plays, the only time when I can get some quiet in my house is when he goes to work and sleeps.


AND... he wonders why I stay up to late too. Only one word RAGE! (for those of you who watch dragon ball z abridge will get this)


There is no question that I like to bake at night and into the wee hours of morning. Macarons need full concentration on my part because even though I started making these little cookies over 3 years ago, they provoke as much anxiety as the first time I EVER made a batch. Time does not always heal anxiety in my books.



I need to give an introduction to these macarons because the Vovo biscuit may be new to our Northern hemisphere viewers. The Iced Vovo is a malted milk rectangle biscuit which is has two strips of pink marshmallow fodant and a strip of raspberry jam in the middle. After it is coated in finely shredded coconut. Really it is pink, fluffy, pink and sweet as; it the essential Australian childhood biscuit. Like the oreo cookie for you Americans. The toping actually reminds me of the finger cream bun.

Some hate it, some love it. Either way if you are Australian, you have had this cookie once. So as I feel bad that I often dis Australian food, I guess this is my sorry to Australia sweets. The chewy and crispy raspberry flavoured shell gives way to a pink coconut mallow frosting and filled with a centre of smooth raspberry jam. I recommend you try to make butter cream with melted marshmallows instead of marshmallow spread; it is lot more stable and I find it pipes realty well once cooled. Also when it is cool, it is not as hard as normally butter cream. So even if you forget to take it out (I do this lot), you can still eat it.





Iced Vovo Macarons (raspberry , coconut and marshmallow macarons)

Recipe adapted from Apple pie macarons and Tartelette recipe



110gram almond meal

95g egg whites

39g raw caster sugar

200g icing sugar

10g freeze dried raspberries, crushed finely


If you want to colour you may I used peach and pink Combo

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream

Place the powdered sugar, raspberries and almonds in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets.

Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 280F/150C. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture.

Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.

Coconut marshmallow Butter cream

150g Butter, soften

250g icing sugar

1 packet of white marshmallows (about 300g)

2 tsp cream

2tsp coconut extract

Pink food colour

In a microwave safe bowl, melt your marshmallows and cream in the microwave for 40 seconds. Once melted stir to form a wet paste. Set aside to cool

In a stand mixer beat your butter until it is pale and fluffy. About 10 minutes, then scraped down the bowl.

Add your extract and marshmallow mixture. Beat until it is combined, it will be runny but you need to place it in the fridge later; so no panics.

Add your icing sugar and beat until is well combined. Transfer to the fridge for 1 hour.

After one hour, beat it again in your stand mixer until it is white and fluffy. About 5 minutes. Add your pink food colour. Beat again until it is evenly coloured



Assembly

1 recipe of macaron shells

1recipe of the butter cream

100g or so of raspberry jam

100g very finely grated coconut.



Pipe your butter cream on one of the shell halves in a donut shape. Be generous with the cream.

In the middle cavity, place half a teaspoon of jam in the middle.

Place another shell on top.

Roll the macaron carefully in the coconut.

Transfer to a lined baking tray to fridge for one hour before serving.

The other side /-/ Ice cream sprinkle cake with "birthday cake" butter cream and oreo crumb

Before I go on to talk about this cake, I feel I need to address an issue often promoted by post such as these. I am talking about childhood nostalgia and all the positive emotions that come along with the expression of innocence. While I may use my childhood as a reference point for some of happiness and memorable moments of my life; if I was honest a majority my childhood was filled with some of the loneliest and soul crushing experiences. I guess they say what does kill you makes you stronger right? If that is true I have a heart of stone and a skin as thick as quick sand.



The reason why I am bring this up is that my sister just had a little baby girl. Yes, she is too cute and totally chubby bubble that you want to eat but whenever I look at her, I hope she does not grow up with a childhood like mine. Not that my family life was bad, that was actually the good part; I am referring to when she goes to school and interacts with other kids. I have been a victim of school yard bullying not only school yard but anytime I came to interact with other kids in public.



I do not know how many of you can relate to this but I was the kid most people picked on. “Oh woe you”, some will say as they roll your eyes. “We all feel like this at one stage” and to some extent I agree with them. However when you experience being the unpopular pick on kid for a majority of your primary (kindergarden to year 6); you become different. I was the person mostly to picked last in the team for school sports and segregated from playground games. I was the unpopular girl who was friends with one of popular girls; the tag long essentially. For any of you who can relate to this it is incredibly painful as child not be accepted by your peers; mocked for the simple reason of “we do not like you”.



While I did grow up to except I would never really fit, a moment in my in year 5 changed my outlook on life. In short the new girl I became friends with, introduced to my friends; inevitably turned the entire year on me (she started “I hate Belinda club”). I hate admitting this because I believe I should be stronger, but I remember crying almost every night because I was taunted every time I entered the playground. From that moment on not only did I believe I was geneticly made to be hated but it prevent me from talking to anyone for about year and half. I guess this is why my spoken English is so bad.



Yes I have gotten over most it, but I felt I need to address that REAL childhoods are not all filled with sprinkles and unicorns popping marshmallows.

Now after that long and depressive post, I bring you sprinkle cake! Of course all the popular babies get sprinkle cakes for their one month birthday right?




This may look fancy and complicated but this cake is simply the easiest cake I have ever made. I might be a baker but sometimes I need a quick cake that requires less effort. You can call it my love/ hate relationship with baking; sometimes I can go all out, others not so much.



The ice creams on this cake not are just for decoration but the cake is made from melted ice cream, box mix, eggs and milk. Yes, simply the easiest cake you can make and it taste like ice cream. Honestly I cannot think of better cake when you are short on time. I saw this recipe and honestly I was sceptical of the end result however I was pleasantly surprized at the end texture. It is not dry and keeps a very tender crumb. Well you cannot really go wrong with cake mix and tub of ice cream can you?



The icing is butter and almond flavoured Swiss butter cream to replicate the “birthday cake flavour” found in Store bought birthday cakes. Very vanilla flavoured ice cream cakes sandwiched with creamy buttery “cake” icing and crushed up birthday oreos is just the thing to mark my little nieces 30 day birthday. While this may not be a mind blowing original cake, it is still fun and way too easy not to share. Even the clumsiest baker can do this! What are you waiting for? Try it!







Ice cream sprinkle cake with birthday cake butter cream

From cookie and cups



Cake

1 box cake mix, I used vanilla

1 pint ice cream, melted

3 eggs

2 8 inch pans or 4 5inch pans







Preheat oven to 180C

Grease cake pan liberally with cooking spray or butter and flour.

Mix the cake mix, eggs and ice cream together and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.

Follow box for baking times. Time will vary based on type of pan you use.

Let cool and remove from pan.

Allow to cool on wire rack.




Butter cream recipe

French butter cream

6 yolks

250g caster sugar

30ml water

450g butter

2 tsp clear butter flavour

1tsp almond extract







In a stand mixer beat egg yolks until pale yellow and fluffy. This takes about 7 minutes.

At the same time, in a sauce pan combined sugar and water. Place on stove on medium heat. You are making sugar syrup.

Heat the syrup, swirling to evenly distribute heat. Bring the mix to 118C.

Once it reaches this temperature, drizzle the syrup into the beating bowl of egg yolks. Make sure to pour down the side to avoid the beaters.

Continue to beat until this mix is room temperature. It will not be as big as the normal egg white mixes but it should be pale and creamy.

Change to paddle.

Add the butter slowly on medium speed. Scrape the bowl often. Continue this process until all butter is added.

Add butter and almond flavour beat on high medium until fluffy.

Set aside.




Assembly

One cake recipe, cooled and trimmed

One butter cream recipe

One packet of crushed oreos (I used birthday cake ones)

6 waffle cones, trimmed to the mini, mini size. About 3 cm tall cones

100g melted dark chocolate

Baking tray

2 packets of sprinkles



Cut the domes off your cakes and set aside.

Ice and fill each cake, you can get wonderful tutorial here on Bakers Royal but just do not do the ruffles. Before you place on the other layer place crumbled oreos in the middle.

Set in the fridge to cool for 1 hour

Make your ice cream cones

Using a melon baller, take scoops of butter cream and place on the mini cones. Fridge for 1 hour

Dip the butter cream into the chocolate then top with sprinkles. Fridge again for 1 hour or until needed.

Continue on with the cake and finishng it

Follow the cakes blog tutorial for the cake: GO HERE!!!

Honestly it is best tutorial you will find and it is so clear

Place on your cones, secure your cones with a little melted chocolate.

Fridge until needed