One last sweet treat /-/ Spiked Raffaello macarons

 

I am guessing depending on where you live you are either one days or two days away from New year’s Eve. Party planning or planning to go out; everyone has their own little away to celebrate one hell of year. Not only just for world politics, economics and pop culture (looking at you twerking) but in our individual lives as well.  

What kind of highlights did you have this year? Maybe you got a promotion or did you have a baby? Finish school? 

Something as simple as making a new friend is reason to get excited about ending 2013.

High lights of my year?

My final year of University has just ended , I have achieved my first year of blogging (yay!) and I have somewhat established a home business making cakes for people.

 Not bad for finally taking this baking thing seriously. 

I thank each and every one of you who read, RSSed, pin, follow, like, tweet my post. Nothing has made me happier than to get comment good or bad from you; it lets me know you care! 

So a big warm bakers thank you!

You guys have made this blog what it is today, so I can not wait to bring you into another year. I have already got a post ready for the 2nd! 

Forget your diet here guys. I am bringing you highlights from my Christmas, Cake and sweets galore!

 

Anyway this is a short post but I think a necessary one to finish the year.

ALSO it will not be a dessert blog if a final sweet treat did not top of 2013.

 Yes macarons, the year of the macron has well and truly past us. So as one last salute good bye to this wonderful treat I think coconut rum is called for. Not only coconut rum but an almond coconut crème reminiscent of a raffaello. 

Now re creating the filling for the raffaello is one of life's great mysteries. While this may not be a exactly the same, It does have the same qualities of found in the creamy coconut candy. 

Some of the ingredient used are not common like cocoa butter but you can use white chocolate if you have to! Simply reduce the icing sugar down to 200 grams and increase milk powder to 40 grams.

Seriously this only chocolate me and sister fight about getting in the sampler pack. ONLY 6??? WE demand more!

FYI; the makers of Raffaello, you need more in variety  packs.

Yes I am that obsessed with this candy. So this mac hack is a way better way of sharing the raffaello love among my family and friends. 

Creamy spiked crème sandwiched between that signature chewy but crispy edge cookie. Simply a tasteful mouthful that is easier than you think.

 The macaron may have had it is year but the legacy it has left has set a new bench mark for desserts everywhere.  

If you have not tried to make macarons your self; PLEASE TRY IT!! It is not as scary as it seems and the yucky batches as make great cookies in general. It is hard to go wrong when you have nuts and sugar in the mix.

 DO I really need to say more when I have done over 10 macaron devoted post this year?  Yes my family loves them THAT much and you will too with this recipe.

 

  

Spiked Raffaello macarons

Recipe adapted from Apple pie macarons and Tartelette recipe 

110 grams almond meal
90 grams egg whites
25 grams raw caster sugar
200 grams icing sugar

Pinch of nutmeg ground

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, nut meg 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.

Spiked coconut almond crème

100g condense milk spread

50g cocoa butter

100g coconut butter

50g butter, unsalted

25g full fat milk powder

300g pure icing sugar, shifted

1 tbsp white coconut rum

1 tsp clear almond extract

Toasted shredded coconut

In a medium sauce pan melt to together the cocoa butter, condense milk, butter, milk powder and coconut butter over a low heat.

Transfer to a stain steel bowl to cool then store in the fridge until harden over night. Take out 10 minutes before the next stage.

IN stand mixer, beat the semi-solid lump made in the previous step until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar in batches of three until combined.  Add your rum and almond extract then beat again.

Assembly

Pipe one teaspoon and a half of crème onto one macron shell.

Place another shell on top.

Roll the edge in the toasted coconut and set aside on a tray to cool in the fridge.  

Take out  1 hour before serving.

Post Christmas Puff /-/ Baked miso dust kale and tofu chips

I am guessing depending on your Christmas recovery bloat; you are feeling a wee bit guilt for eating all the pie and cake, then using the left over bread as a spoon for the gravy for breakfast (guilty as charged…)



Well I am here to tell you as a pervious ( and recovered) health obsessed addict; GIVE YOUR SELF A BREAK! This comes from a girl who used to watch her weight like hawk and track the “bulking and cutting” phases in her diet in order to achieve the desired results. I am taking obsessed, for example what kind of normal person writes down macro nutrient count for a days’ worth of eating? (CRAZY!!!)
 
These acts of reckless abandon would be impossible a few years ago; namely because I bought in the media hype of Christmas weight gain. Probably as a teenage I was more vulnerable to media messages of weight gain panic because it is SIMPLY THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD TO BE FAT!!! *sarcasm overload*

 

However If you REALLY think about it; what is one day going to do to you? Even what is one week going to do to you? Let’s get geek with some science….
 
You need to eat 37,000kjs (kilojoules) to again ONE kilo. I high doubt your indulgences would top that on TOP OF the normal energy need, which is about 8700kjs. Also lets look at the sodium levels of Christmas dinner; they are enough to challenge water sea in a salty competition. Simply lots of salt equals A LOT of water retention. 

So those kilos you gained over night; not really “ body mass”.

Sure you may be bloated as hell for one week after Christmas but that evens out. Think about the times during this year when you skipped meals because you were too busy to eat, times when you said no because you did not want to look gluttonous, or simply you became ill and could not eat.
So when you put it in perspective you are filling a negative void by eating at Christmas.
 
Also with New year’s coming up some of you will be dieting like hell to get into that new year’s outfit in 5 days.


Another thing I can devote my new outlook on Christmas eating has to be credited to my baking and cooking during the year. As the owner of baking and dessert focus blog, people may be wondering if I really DO eat all these things.

The reality is yes, Yes I do. Yep all those breads, macarons and ice creams are eating by yours truly. When I make cake for other people the left over cut off cake is stored away and eaten as little nibbles though out the year or in cold storage until we need it for cake pops (Yes They are disgusting; but My sisters are suckers for pretty things >_<””””). Integrating treats in to the year has shown me that; YES you can eat cake and still fit in to pants!


 
However in the Spirit of good will to the dieters out there; I am bring you a post about a relatively healthy nibble for the next 5 days before you go crazy on the booze. This before I overload you again with sweets.
 
We have all heard about kale chips well I am here to tell you to pair them baked tofu chips too! They are crunchy pairing to deliver a sustaining and filling snack. While normal seasonings are well and good, I found they are lacking that key taste of Unami. So to fix this I season mine with a combination of sesame seeds and this wonderful powder called Miso salt. Miso salt or dust is hydrated miso paste; all credited to this blog for the idea and Nobu cook book. If you go to this site I think your mind would be blown by how easy it is to create and taste is far superior any herb seasoning. 



Yes this snack does take time but I left mine in a very low oven over night and it was fine. Once you get the dust you only have to use a little bit too, like a teaspoon for a large bunch of adult kale and a block of extra firm tofu.
 
I would post what I did here but if you want the picture version go to that linked site. Crunchy and fragrant baked tofu and kale chips laced with a sweet miso dust and toasted sesames; perfectly balanced for a snack of the dieting virtuous. 

Miso dust kale and tofu chips
Makes 6 cups~
 
One large bunch of kale, washed, leaves only.
One block (250g) extra firm tofu, pressed for one hour.
1-2tespoons of Miso dust (Directions below)
4 teaspoons of rice bran oil
3 teaspoons of toasted white sesame seeds
Oil spray
Pre heat oven to 180C
 
Cut your washed kale to 2-3cm pieces. Slice the tofu as thin as possible about 1mm; yes I did mine by hand but you can use a thin slicer if you have one.
Place your kale in a one large bowl and your tofu in another large bowl. Divide the oil, miso dust and sesame between the two bowls. Gently toss the kale and tofu in the oil Seasoning mix.
Place on kale on a lined baking tray in one layer, bake for 8mins-10 mins. Remove from oven and allow cool on another lined baking tray. Repeat with remaining kale.
Turn the oven down to 150C. After place your tofu chips on the lined baking tray, spray with more oil. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, then turn the oven off. Leave for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
These are best eaten on the day made but store for one day in air tight tin.

Miso dust
 
White miso paste (about 100g)
2 baking trays
Baking paper


Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a 2 baking tray with baking paper.
Using a spatula spread your miso paste to 1mm thick (the thinner the better)
Place both trays in the oven, bake for 5 minutes then TURN THE OVEN OFF and leave overnight. If yours is still a bit wet, break the crisp bits off and repeat with the damp miso pieces.
Place in a mini food processor and blend to a fine dust. Store in an air tight jar away from sun light.

It’s not looking a lot like Christmas /-/ Quinoa peanut butter cup cookie slice

Walking around my house you would think we have forgotten about Christmas. No kind of whimsical ornaments with sparkles and glitter. No tree top star or angel; in fact not even a Christmas tree! However we do have a pile of pretty Christmas wrapped presents in a corner of our house (because all know that’s what REALLY people like about Christmas)


Blasphemy you say? What kind of people are we from down under?

The intense heat must be sucking the Christmas cheer out of the Aussies.

No it is not that. Simply, we do not need it to know it is Christmas.



You might be thinking about why we adopted this approach. No it is not some black lash at the selling/buying of Christmas cheer or the uncontested promotion of Christmas as the ONLY holiday going on right now( shout out to my Hanukkah and Kwanzaa party people!)

Other things remind us that Christmas is here. Also as terrible as this sounds, the process of taking down Christmas decorations ranks up there with one of the world worst jobs.


Here are thing that make my Christmas

Intense sticky kitchen environment; The weather does a number on my kitchen making it like sauna (I think I have spoken about that before too)

The overflow of gifts from my mother’s work mates; she is very loved by her work place ( why wouldn’t she; she brings them left over cake and desserts!)

The winding down of family life; during the year my family do not have time for “family time”, so Christmas means we able to have a meal as a WHOLE family not just one or two of us.

Sleeping; Oh boy the amount of naps have sky rocket recently (combo of heat and the scheduling of cake orders I have)

My kitchen is filled with the warming scent of bread baking (yes I am taking advantage of the heat for a quick rise of bread)



Lastly and I think the most important; I get to watch Christmas cooking specials without looking crazy! Yep, All the famous chefs that have a Christmas video; I have probably seen it.

I really do not have any traditions or fare to my Christmas it is simply about play, resting and cake. I think that is loveliness of living in Australia is that there is no one Christmas everyone does anything they want; Lasagne and dim sum at Christmas? Why not? As long as it taste good.

Have you got traditional rocking this year? Or gone minimal. I would love to hear what other people do.

Now this slice is my attempt to work whole grains and natural sugar in my baking. While the addition of Tim tams and Peanut butter cups do cancel out of efforts; they can be easily sub with nuts or dried fruit.

I do not like icing on sliced cakes when it is hot. Speaking of which; Sydney is reaching the 30C; so icing and heat never mix. However I still wanted to look a bit pretty so I push some chopped PB cups, and Crushed Tim tams in the top: The base of the cake is inspired and adapted from this snack cake I found on My darling Thyme; her version is very bright and summery.




I think Christmas deserves a little more indulgence; don’t you? I changed the texture of my slice to be more like snack cake rather than a bar by grounding down 2/3rds of the quinoa flakes and using corn flours instead of brown rice flour. Yes I have left out the raw sugar but I really do not think you need it when you have 200g of Peanut butter cups and a packet of time tams in this slice.

The honey acts a wonderful complement to the peanut butter and chocolate tone. One you bite in to slice, you are hit with of the malted good ness of the time tams then it gives way to a soft and tender crumb studded with melting pockets of Peanut butter She writes about the subs on the blog, so go look her slice (her photos are stunning too!)
Happy whatever you do peeps!
 
Quinoa peanut butter cup cookie slice
Adapted from My darling thyme

Makes 16

70g quinoa flakes

260g quinoa flour (ground flakes)

70g fine corn flour

1 packet of tims tam crushed, divided (use gluten free choc biscuits if needed; You can get ones like Tim Tams from This company; Macro foods double choc biscuits)

10g ground cinnamon

10g gluten-free baking powder

a good pinch fine sea salt

80ml rice bran oil

150ml thick dark honey (almost like treacle dark)

100ml soy milk


2 large free-range eggs

200g chopped up Peanut butter cups.(Ditto to the chocolates in this slice)

Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and line a 28 x 18cm slice tin with grease proof with 2 cm extension on each side.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well to combine.

Combined oil, thick honey, soy milk and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted together. Set aside to cool.

Pour into dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Whisk in eggs and mix well. Fold through 2/3 soft the crushed Tim tams and half of peanut butter cups.

Spread in you prepared tin. Sprinkle remains of the Tim tam and PB cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden around the edges and firm to the touch in the centre. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool before slicing.

Will store airtight for 2-3 days, or in the fridge for longer.

Retail rumble /-/ Twisted roasted pepper and cheese scone

Maybe I think too much about things (hey, you got to do something when you stay up as late as me) but every year I have a question about end of year sales. To be honest do we need end of year sales anymore?


I am from Australia so our big stock take sales have not yet begun but the reports in the USA on the black Friday sales have me scared. I never knew a fire could break out in a Wal-mart.

Even in a world where shopping can be accessed anywhere and at any time, the shopping complexes are as crowded as ever, as busy as ever and brings out the worst characteristics of each bargain hunting shopper. Is the shopping center or complex to blame for the rise of in store fires and fights over tea towels? Or does something in the solar system change around Christmas our desires fuels us to bargain hunt like our lives depend on it.




I have always had a dislike of shopping centers, let alone ones crowded with people. As a child I would often get lost in the shopping center which sparks memories of panic, distress and leave me crying my eyes out only to find out that my parents where only 10 meters away in a different department.

Yes, even as a child I panicked about everything and anything. Does this make me bias on this topic? Maybe but I am sure even those of you who love shopping have questions about the change in behavior at the end of the year.



However I am no misery guts. I love shopping. Me and the internet shopping have a good relationship. Sure 15 years ago when Shopping centres use to only open 6 days a week and we had no access to internet (remember AOL? And dial up?); I could see the need to go to this end of year sales. It was a time when you could get the electronics you desired, stock up on half priced Christmas goodies and fashion shop your heart out. My family even had a yearly tradition where we would line up on boxing day to go to city just to shop. Ah good times in the mist of all that fear.

Do you think shopping centres are still relevant? Are you are shopping junkie too? Tell me about it!



Craving rustic delights I made this Twisted roasted pepper and cheese scone. I love scone and have failed to make them more often in favor of cookies this season. However I feel I need to remind us that baking can be incredibility stress relieving during a time when the kitchen is hot housing tempers (MOSTLY MINE). All that turkey, cookie and cake time for the Christmas day can take its toll on a cook. When I am after some therapy baking I make scones.

 Not only are they quick but provide a buttery base for sweet or savoury fillings. This time I was craving a savory treat, remembering the delicious sweet tones my roasted pepper corn bread, I place those same flavors in cheesy scone twist. Scone loafs are so much better when you want chunky fillings. The base is a nutty and sweet thanks to the roasted peppers and whole wheat flour however it would not be scone without cheese.





Yes, 400 grams of cheese, Approx. Yes that is correct.

Hey, I might not know savory food but I know I like cheese. Whether you are stress relieving baking or need help rising your saturated fat levels, this scone can for fill that wish.
x





Twisted roasted pepper and cheese scone
Adapted from Lemon Pi
Makes 1 large loaf

400g whole meal flour
2g salt
29g baking powder
50g cold unsalted butter in cubes
50g cream cheese, cold in cubes
100g edam cheese, grated
50g feta, in small cubes
3 red peppers, roasted and diced
2 eggs
250ml full fat milk
1 egg wash
120g grated cheddar
80g grated parmesan cheese


Pre heat oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper
In a large bowl mix with a whisk your flour, baking powder and salt. Rub in the butter and cream cheese cubes until you get a crumbly moist texture. Stir in your bits of red pepper
Add the milk and fold in to form your dough. Turn out on to a well-floured surface, Using your hand pat it out to a rectangle 30cm X 40 cm X 1.5cm. Lightly oil the surface and sprinkle your Edam cheese, and feta cubes.
Roll up the dough length ways to form a log. Using a sharp knife cut down this log carefully to hold the two sides to not let all the fill fall out
Push together the ends of these two lengths of dough. Twist the lengths over on top of each other while rolling in to wreath shape. Push the other ends again to seal the wreath.
Brush a light coating of egg on the outside. Sprinkle your remaining cheese on top
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then cover with a foil tent and continue to bake for a further 20 minutes.

Most delicious failures /-/ Triple chocolate ombre coffee cake

Failing. No matter how, rich, famous, beautiful or old you are; we all experience the sting of failure more than once in our life time. It is almost impossible to avoid failing at least once. 

Well there is one way were you never try new things thus there is no possibility for failure or success; however how sad is that? Without failure there is no growth, no improvement or even sucesss.


 
For some this sting of failure is enough to paralyze the hopes or dreams of that person; others it serves as the catalyst to something great. Whether you see failure as a positive or a negative; you got to admit fails in the kitchen are possibly the best ones to have. In fact, you SHOULD fail in the kitchen; some of the greatest cooking techniques are the result of forgetfulness, random experimentation and slip ups of the hand.

 It reminds of me the dish of “son in law eggs”. While the story may be made up; it is exactly all the rights that can happen when you are panicked.

Even though I have only been on this earth for 21 years, I have accumulated a LONG list of fails in life and in the kitchen. Yes I have failed at making cookies and cake to this day even though some may consider me an experienced baker. Experience protects you from failing? HA! Who ever said that has not made macrons.

 

It is important to me that this message does get out there. During festive season the pressure on bakers for the big Christmas day is enormous. We all want to create a master spread of food in order to show off our culinary skill to the family critic, loving grand parent or light up the faces of the young family members. While kitchen ambition is needed, this season do not let it steer you away from what is really important when you bake. You bake because you love to do it, even your bakimg fails are considered o.k.

 At least you got to bake right?
 


Your love of baking means you are able to learn the quirks of your oven and stove. You will go lengths to figure out the particular way you lighten flours in your old shifter to get maximum air. You will figure out how to turn your cake fail in to a trifle masterpiece with a few extra recipes. Bakers and cooks will learn these things because we love it, it is not out obligation. We love success but we also treasure the fails. Also who is going to complain of extra few broken cakes to eat if they still taste good right?
 
This Christmas season give yourself a break. If you fail, you fail; at least you go to do something you love.

 
This cake was made for a very special reader who ordered a cake with me through this blog!

 I was so honoured that she though my skills as a baker were good enough to create this for her friend’s birthday this week. So a special shout out to you two; and I hope the Birthday girl love this cake.
 
The cake feature is the ultimate chocolate and coffee lovers dream cake. This cake consist of five coffee liquor soaked layers of tender espresso hazelnut sponge, sandwiched with a filling of creamy nutella mousse. The cake layers are not just coffee scented but they are a flavour packed hit of caffeine delight. The mousse acts as a nice contrast to bitterness of the espresso and the toasted ground hazelnuts.


 
While I could of have gone down many paths to decorate this cake; I took inspiration from two of the most influential dessert bloggers to date. Steph from Raspiberri cupcakes for her macaron cakes and Heather from Sprinkle bakes for her candy cheesecake have inspired this design. 

 To decorate she loved the idea of ombre, so I created an simple ombre pattern using dark chocolate, milk and white chocolate butter cream. Decorated with a garden of chocolate delights and finished a border of the chocolate sprinkle covered macarons, ferrero chocolates and coffee candies; this cake is not just a one toned dessert. It is a candy desert bar and cake wrapped up in one!

  One word of warning do not serve this to your children under 6; they will be bouncing off the walls from sugar and caffeine overdose. However this cake makes a lovely treat for an adult party; perfect suited for an after dinner dessert cake.
 
Now the recipe; you will need to complete ALL the recipes listed to construct this cake. So prepare the parts of the cake first before even trying to put it together.


 
Triple chocolate ombre coffee cake with mixed choc candy topping and macarons
Acknowledgements above
Serves at least 14
Five to six 18cm layers

Hazelnut espresso cake
 
200g unsalted butter
400g caster sugar
100g brown light sugar
6 eggs
250g self raising flour
100g ground hazelnut meal
100g cocoa powder
12g baking powder
2 tsp coffee essence mixed with 60ml double shot espresso
50ml milk
 
Pre heat oven to 180C. Grease and line three 18cm cake pans. Shit your flour, hazelnut meal, cocoa powder and baking powder over a medium bowl, set aisde. Combine your coffee mix with milk, Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars in a stand mixer for 5 minutes or until pale brown and fluffy. Add eggs one at time beating well between each addition.
Alternating between flour mix and milk mix add these to the creamed butter, egg and sugar mix.
Pour in to your tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cake begins to pull away from the tins and the skewer poked into the cake comes clean.
Once baked, leave in tin for 10 minutes then turn out to wire rack to cool completely.

Simple coffee syrup
 
240g caster sugar
240 ml water
60ml hazelnut liqueur
50ml coffee liqueur

In small sauce pan over medium heat melt tother sugar and water till dissolved
Nutella mousse
Adapted from the Gunny sack
 
350g cream cheese soften
160 pure icing sugar
180g nutella
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g marshmallow creme
 
Beat cream chees and icing sugar together. About 3 minutes
Add your nutella and vanilla extract for 2 minutes.
Add the marshmallow cream in two batches until just combined.

The chocolate butter creams 
You will need to make one in white, chocolate and dark chocolate
 
Milk chocolate butter cream
200g butter, soft
360g pure icing sugar, shifted
2tbsp cream
230g milk chocolate, finely chopped
 
In a bain marie(bowl over simmering water), Melt your chocolate in heat proof bowl until melted and glossy. Set aside for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add icing sugar and bet again until fluffy and white
Add chocolate and cream in a steady stream while the mixer is still on. Turn the mixer on to high and beat for 5 minutes.
 
White chocolate
Follow above instruction but use 300 g melted white chocolate instead
 
Dark chocolate
Follow above instructions but use 230g dark melted chocolate.

Assembly
 
One recipe of Hazelnut espresso cake
One recipe of nutella mousse
One recipe of soaking syrup
One recipe of white, milk and dark chocolate butter cream
One recipe of plain macarons (go here for recipe) with dark chocolate filling or milk.
Lots of different candies and sprinkles in chocolate and coffee (I used mini and normal M&Ms, sprinkle ice cream mix , cookie bits, mini chocolate chips, Ferrero chocolates, and coffee hard candies.
 

Trim any uneven tops off the cakes. Cut each cake into half.
For nutella mousse layers, using the white chocolate butter cream, pipe a ring on one layer. Paint on a layer of simple syrup in the middle of this ring.
Spoon on 1/3 cup of mousse and spread to even layer with small of set spatula. Place another layer on top. Repeat for all layers but the top layer.
Crumb coat outside of cake with white chocolate butter cream. Chill in fridge for at least 15 minutes. Starting at the bottom, spread the dark chocolate butter cream over the bottom third of the cake using an offset spatula. Repeat with milk and white chocolate, allowing each colour to have one third of the cake. Using a small spatula blend the colours were they meet.
Transfer to fridge for 10 minutes 
Gently sprinkle with assorted candies on the top of the cake leaving a 2 cm boarder to place the macarons and Ferros. You may need to do a bit of artist placement to achieve a nice look.
After place your Ferro chocolates hard coffee candies and macarons around the boarder, alternating between each one.
Place in fridge for 2 hours before serving.

Breaking the height barrier/-/ Thick and chewy "Dude food" cookies

How many of you have dinned out this week?
Did you play attention to how your food was presented? I guessing, no.

However I am finding the plating trend in food very problematic for eaters and aspiring chefs a like.
Even though I know the importance looks plays in food, I finding it difficult to justify the obscene amount of work that goes into one of those meals of a "hatted" restaurant. 

The oval, the splatter, the smear; these are just a few of the culinary plating techniques I have picked up in my culinary adventures. Also the plating on different surfaces such as a wood logs, slate and industry metal; seriously what happened to just using a different coloured plate?



Each technique becomes more flamboyant and pretentious than the next. As an eater the thing I am most worried about when I face a meal like this is, how the hell do I eat it?

Well you know this question comes from an embarrassing (recent) event in my life. Recently I had a meal that was described as anti-pesto vegetable grill. Let me set the scene; it is small café, casual dining not one of those big restaurants or anything, normal made to order food off a set menu.
Sure so I am thinking, “yes, this will be nice and easy to eat”, it can only be a sandwich right? Two slices of bread with filling, maybe a salad on the side? At most they might try to so a smear of sauce or dressing on the plate to get some points for trying. 
 

 
What came out was a sandwich plater that defined gravity. This dish came with 3 sandwiches comprising of a grilled mini brioche burger bun with layered filling of grilled vegetables, salad and anti-pesto; here is the kicker each one was it is was almost 15cm tall and max 6 cm wide. I went to a cafe and got the leaning towers of veggie grills.

Next to this sat organised pile of chips; each one having a place and purpose to keep up the pile of golden chips. Finally smears of sauce on the plater and smashed peas around the plate.

There was no denying this sandwich stack was beautiful and testament to the chef’s platting skills, however did they fail to deliver a manual with the order on how to eat burgers than are almost three times taller than they are wide?

Well they did give me knife and fork which describes the nature of this café. No greasy burger fingers allowed at this café. I was trying to up hold the beauty of the dish while destroying it at the same time. When did food become more about the looks than us exactly eating it?

 Nothing is worth comprising the taste for a pretty presentation in my books. I know it might be against the trends in food, but there can be a balance between visual appeal and culinary delightfulness.
 
Maybe I am too unsophisticated to appreciate the architectural beauty of piling your chips, steak and veggies in a 20 cm tall stack.



 
 Speaking of which, how many cookies can you pile on top of each other before it falls? My max is 8 but I think it is because I fail at balancing things. We all know cookies are a must at Christmas. There is nothing more welcoming when unexpected guest drops by. It just screams “you are loved”.
 
So today is cookie can be whipped in up in under an hour, is highly adaptable and features anything you please. Much like the compost cookie these cookie feature an array of random, delicious treats; mine is geared towards the men or boy in the audience. I am not sure if you have heard of this category of food but we know it was “Dude food”. Essentially it is food that traditionally is considered street or junk which is made into a high class delight. 

 
The thick baked cookie texture holds each ingredient without masking the cookie add-ins with a heavy dough. So using maple covered cashew nuts, crushed chocolate oreos, salted potato chips, and chewy milk duds wrapped with butter and BACON fat cookie dough. Yes bacon fat; indulgent yes but you are worth it.
Anyway the corn flour trick and egg yolks lend itself to instant the chewiness of this cookie and help hold all the stuff in. Also I used corn syrup or glucose here, I am not sure what this does but I am sure it helps it maintain the average 66% moisture content of chewy cookies (geek kitchen stuff here).
Whether you are looking for an instant gift or wanting to save money or even clean out the kitchen; this is the recipe for you!



Dude food cookies
Makes 30 large (like at least 7cm wide) cookies

110g butter, soft
110g bacon fat
120g brown sugar light
100g raw caster sugar
40g glucose
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
260g plain flour
30g corn flour
6g baking soda
2g baking powder
 
40g ground oats 
9 crushed chocolate Oreo
2 tsp coffee grounds
100g finely crushed maple covered cashews (1-3mm bits)
50g  finely crushed potato chips
50g milk duds, try to chop these in quarters.






Pre heat oven to 180C, Line three trays with baking paper. Shift your flours, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. 
In a stand mixer, cream your butter and sugar for 5 minutes. Look for a Fluffy and light batter.
 
Add your vanilla and egg yolks. Beat the mix again till the same fluffy and light texture.
 
Using a wooden spoon mix in your flour until combined. Add in the oats, crushed chocolate oreos, coffee grounds, crushed maple covered cashews, crushed potato chips, and milk duds.
 
Using a cookie scoop or a table spoon, , shape out rounds of cookie dough on your trays at least 5cm apart. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until the base of cookie is a nice golden brown when lifted up with a spatula. Cool on tray then transfer to wire rack once cooled.

367 days and counting (ONE YEAR OF BLOGGING!!)/-/ Mini rainbow cheesecake topped cupcakes

Today’s post is going to be a thank you to your readers. For today ( or at least on 7th) was the anniversary of the FIRST EVER post I did on this blog. If you look back my first post was for a recipe which used a sour dough starter to create a “Hong Konng style bread bun”, very fluffy and with a shred texture. Oh good times, I still use that recipe if you would like to know (seriously it is THAT good)

 

HOWEVER enough about me! I want this post to be a thank you to you. Yes you, the loyal reader who comes here twice a week to read my rambles, often filled with cynical woe and over rational thinking. I cannot believe you have put up with me over this year. Every time you comment it fills my heart with warmth and makes me a giddy as a school girl all over again.


For you who have Pinned my works, I cannot thank you enough too. It makes me feel so humbled that you believe my kitchen works are that good to pin. Some of them have even gone viral; this makes my brain spin about how many people like the stuff I do. I have to pinch myself every day to believe all of it.


Also for all the comments about my Photography; I am deeply touched that you like them!
Really, I am a girl just playing around in light room and running around with a DSLR. To be honest, I really do not know what most of functions on the camera are for and what the functions in light room do. Seriously, I go by what I think looks ok…. *fail whale*



I am not sure where my blog is heading but I will do my best every week to bring you recipes and a story. Sometimes I may not get it 100 precent right (please point it out if you find it!!) and I will work even harder to improve my recipe writing skills.

 I think this proves that you do not have to be a great, well anything, to start a blog. So I leave with you an oldie but a goodie; “If I can do it, anyone can!”
So, what would you like to see me do here? Any ideas are welcome.

 Overall meaning of the post?

Thank you for putting up with me, Belinda of “The moon blush baker”, for 367 days!




I feel I need to deliver sometime special today for such an event. To prevent you from going out on unnecessary shopping trips this season I have a cupcake which is fun, rainbow and features a cheesecake.


While most people have got into the red, green and white; I go the opposite in direction. My once brown and black baking gets hit of colour around Christmas; the summer season does that to me.
The thing about cupcakes that bothers me the most is that people never eat the icing; they only like it because it looks pretty. Like many cupcakes before this I aim to make the topping or icing just as loved as the cupcake itself. If this means cooking up crazy topping ideas, so be it.



I am sure you have seen that GIF of this cheese cake being made, so I will not go into details about that. However the rainbow strip design is very impressive for a minimal amount of work. Also this no bake cheese cake topper, so no worries about cracks!

Who doesn’t like instant cheesy, sweet goodness? To make it more look like traditional birthday cake I used vanilla marshmallow butter cream and covered the sides in sprinkle.

  

You may use whatever colours you like this cream cheese mix; you could even do an ombre topper!
The base is my recipe for a yellow cake. The glorious yellow toned mixture from egg yolks bakes itself it to a delightfully buttery light but flavourful cupcake. I like to finish my cupcakes off with a bit of coarse sugar. It helps create a light crunchy crust which means that you really do not have to do much to these cupcakes pretty. I finished it off with a bit of stabilised vanilla whipped cream, but if you want you could use butter cream or fluffy icing.
A tiny slice of rain bow cheese cake on a tender yellow cupcake with lots of vanilla whipped cream. These seriously fun and tasty dessert even adults can enjoy. During Christmas we can all use a little rainbow in your kitchen right?




Mini rainbow cheesecake cupcakes
Makes 12 with one left over cheesecake


Yellow Cupcake
Makes 12

80g butter
130g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Pinch of salt
7g baking powder

130g plain flour, shifted

30g custard powder

3 egg yolks

125ml milk

50g raw sugar

• Preheat oven to 180C, line a muffin tin with cases.
• In stand mixer place, fitted with the paddle mixer, cream your butter and caster sugar for 5 minutes or until very light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla and salt, then beat on medium until fluffy again. Scrape down the bowl.
• Add egg yolks and beat for two minutes.
• Alternating between flour and milk, add these to the butter mixture. Combine until just mixed.
• Using ice cream scoop, fill your muffin pan half way. Sprinkle on raw sugar. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a tooth pick comes clean.

Vanilla marshmallow Butter cream
150g Butter, soften

250g icing sugar

1 packet of white marshmallows (about 300g)

2 tsp cream

2tsp vanillla extract

• 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

Tiny rainbow cheese cake
 
Makes 2x 12cm cheese cakes


Base
 
50g melted butter

180g sugar cookies, crushed



Filling

250g cream cheese, room temp.

90g caster sugar

1 tsp clear vanilla extract

1.5 tsp gelatine powder, dissolved in 40ml hot water

150ml pure cream, Food colours or gels.

Half recipe of vanilla butter cream

100g sprinkles

• Line and grease the bottom and sides of 2, 12cm spring form cake pans.
• Combined crushed sugar cookies and melted butter in a small bowl until combined. Press the cookie mixture into he bases of these two lined tins by using the back of a metal teaspoon. Place in fridge until needed.
• In a medium bowl, whip your cream to soft peaks. Set aside.
• In large bowl, mix your soft cream cheese, caster sugar and vanilla. Beat for 3 minutes until combined and fluffy. Add your gelatine and beat again.
• Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream in the cream cheese until combined. Fold the remaining whipped cream until just combined.
• Divide your cheese cake mix into 5 even qualities in small bowls. Dye each bowl a different colour, I used gel colours here but I think liquid will work too (10 ish drops?). Mix to combine. Take out your bases from the fridge.
• In your order of choice pour half of each colour mixture in to each lined tin. Allow to settle then pour the next colour in. Do not force the colour to set, simply tap the tin on the surface to quicken the movement. Continue to do this for each colour until you age used up all your cheese mix.
• Place in fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
• Once set, gently remove from spring foam tins. Place sprinkles on a baking tray.
• Holding the wide faces of the cheese cake, quickly but gently roll the sides of the cheese cakes in the sprinkles. Return to fridge for 1 hour. Make your butter cream.
• Using a piping bag of your choice pipe stars on top of the cheese cakes.

Assembly

One batch of whipped stabilised cream

One batch of decorated cheese cakes

One batch of cupcakes

• Pipe whipped cream on each cupcake with a medium star tip (about 1 cm).
• Cut each 12cm cheesecake into 8 slices. Carefully place the cheesecake on top of your iced cupcakes.
• Transfer to fridge for one hour to set. Serve on the day.