Birthday Cupcakes

This week, it's my turn to to tick over another year, and to celebrate, I had a party (because it was a more momentous birthday than usual).

Ever over-ambitious, I decided to make my own cupcakes, and of course, I wanted fancy-ish.  Accordingly, I went on a mission to reproduce the Whimsical Cakehouse bow cupcakes by myself.  I used pre-prepared chocolate fondant for the bows - and by the end of it, I was pretty sick of making them, because they are quite fiddly.  The chocolate fondant was significantly stiffer than the white fondant, making it a bit of a pain to work with. 

The end result of my labours was an awful lot of these: 

 
Oh, and  I made a gluten free, dairy free version of the cakes using this recipe and plain white chocolate in place of ganache for Craig.  That version was a little scary as the cake was crumblier  and generally more fragile, and the white chocolate doesn't take to hot-knifing at all.  In the end, I got something that looked like the other cakes and decided to leave it at that. 

For my party, I went all crafty and covered a cardboard cupcake stand in keeping with the brown colour scheme of my invitations, and made some ball on stick decorations from fondant and gold lustre dust: 

It was a fun night, and the only reviews I have received of the cakes have been good - so I will believe them, despite the cakes being far from perfect.  

Hope you have been having a relaxing weekend.

FFwD - Spiced-poached pears

This week's French Friday with Dorie recipe is Spiced-Poached Pears.  Apples and stone fruit were other options, but I am a sucker for a poached pear, and could not go past these for my fruit choice.

The syrup in which the pears are poached contains orange and lemon zest and juice, sugar, honey, water, star anise and cinnamon. Unfortunately, I found the poaching syrup to be rather tart, and did not enjoy it that much.  I have other sweeter recipes for poached fuit, and I will stick with those in the future.

To see what the other Dorie cooks thought of this recipe, visit the LYL section of the website on Friday, US time.

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting for Jess

It was Jessie's birthday on Wednesday, so I made her Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting to celebrate.

The recipe I used for the cake was from pp 22-23 of  Sugar Sugar by Kimberley Reiner and Jenna Sanz-Agero.  You can find the recipe online here.   The cream cheese frosting was the same one that I used here, except that I did add the butter and vanilla this time, making for a smoother, creamier frosting - proof that all ingredients have a purpose!

Here is Jessie holding up the first slice of cake, demonstrating the colour and crumb of the cake: 

And the verdict?  Voted delicious by everyone, and definitely a keeper red velvet recipe.

Happy birthday Jess! 

Wednesdays with Donna Hay - Baked Chicken, Lemon and Pea Risotto

Hey, hey, it's Wednesday, which means it's time for Donna Hay.

Before I get onto this week's recipe, I wanted to share with you my photos from my vacation on Norfolk Island last week.  You can find them here.  Norfolk Island is a truly beautiful place, and is a little different in that it is a quieter holiday destination than most - you can truly relax and unwind while enjoying its stunning natural beauty and learning about its brutal past, the Pitcairners settlement and current industry.  Norfolk Island is accessible by air from Brisbane or Sydney. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

For WWDH this week, my pick was Baked Chicken, Lemon and Pea Risotto.  This dish took a while to make, as there is stove top prep to do before baking in the oven for 40 minutes, but the means justify the end - this risotto is absolutely delicious, and is a keeper for me. It results in a creamy risotto with a subtle blend of complimentary flavours.  I love the simplicity of baked risottos when compared with the traditional stove top method - I seem to have better luck with the baked variety.

To see what Kayte, Margaret and Chaya thought of this dish, visit their websites.  And you can join us in WWDH - next week's dish from Off the Shelf is Thai Caramelised Pork Salad (p120), chosen by Kayte.

No FFwD today

Sorry folks, I have not had time to get to this week's FFwD - things finally overtook me, and I have not won this race.  When I get to this recipe (and the buttered glazed carrots), I will post it.  Have a good weekend.

BWJ - Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake

 This week for Baking with Julia, the challenge recipe was Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake, hosted by Marlise of The Double Trouble Kitchen and Susan of The Little French Bakery.

This is the fourth recipe that I have been called on to make in the last month or so requiring nectarines - but it's winter in the Southern Hemisphere, so no nectarines here guys.  Once again, I used canned peaches in place of the nectarines.

The highlight of this cake was the streusel, which is placed in the middle of the cake and doesn't get a guernsey in the title of the cake:

 

Just look at that heavenly, crunchy, spicy ribbon!  The rest of the cake was good, but man, the streusel lifted it into the extraordinary.  I reckon that this cake would be terrific served warm with icecream.

 

Visit the Baking with Julia LYL section to see other gorgeous Nectarine (or some other fruit) Upside-Down  Cakes.

WWDH - Bok Choy and Noodle Stir Fry

 
This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay recipe is Bok Choy and Noodle Stir Fry from p62 of Off the Shelf, chosen by Chaya.

This is a lovely light dish full of fresh Asian flavours such as garlic, ginger, chilli and soy.  Doesn't it look delicious:

Loved this dish!  To see what Chaya, Kayte and Margaret thought of this dish, visit their sites.