Navigation
SEARCH
This form does not yet contain any fields.

    Entries in red (49)

    Thursday
    Jan292015

    Only a Time Lord knows what season it is cupcake

    'Only a Time Lord knows what season it is' Doctor Who cupcake

    Join me on Facebook

    You haven't even got time to put away your Christmas hat and it's time for Easter, well that's according to Australias major retailers. Hot Cross Buns and Easter Eggs have been on sale since January 5th. Easter Sunday is April 5th, Easter now runs a quarter of the year???

    Waiting in the queue at the supermarket... on the right of me a clearance rack of candy canes, on the left of me freshly baked hot cross buns, not forgetting the racks of foil wrapped chocolate easter eggs and the gaudy (or romantic... but it's the supermarket queue and romance isn't in the air) Valentines day cards.  

    But I did love Peter Capaldi in his first season as the Doctor in BBC's Doctor Who. So today we have a Time Lord figure. He started when I was practicing figure modelling and ended up being a center display cupcake for a Doctor Who cookie platter. 

    "Practice" it's boring I know, but it's how you get better. 

    I started with a print out of Peter Capaldi photos as the Doctor.

    Here is an earlier model of Peter Capaldi when I was toying with the idea of full caricature. The day was warm and he was still very soft and his hair is not attached as I was checking height.  I chickened out on the over blown features and went for a partial caricature... even then he had an eye removed and replaced after it looked, umm well I think the technical term would be "squiffy":) 

    You have to be fast!!! When working with fondant you have to be fast, drying time is in minutes for modelling. I used a 3 parts fondant to one part modelling chocolate to give me another 5 to 10 minutes to finish face. 

    Green: the green fondant here shows you the basic "eggish" shape most heads start with. I get ready with all the other pieces, such a nose, ears, eyebrows etc. You will have a series of wedges, beans, ovals and snake shapes. Then you start putting together and sculpting your head. I apply pieces with a small damp brush then use modelling tools and fingers to shape. You can give yourself a few more minutes by keeping pieces covered in glad wrap.

    If you don't use modelling chocolate mixed with fondant you might find yourself with the dreaded "elephant skin" as the fondant icing dries. 

    I use Bakels white fondant almost exclusively, colour with gel paste. CMC powder was mixed in the black and red fondant to firm.  

    Have fun, happy baking and do give modelling a figure a try :) 

    Proving I'm a bit of a sucker for a huge topper ... make  Eric the Valentine Emu

    or try a 'Love Caramel Cupcake' 

    Tuesday
    Oct282014

    Halloween Cake Lace Butterflies

                                   metallic cake lace butterflies 

    Join me on Facebook

    Can butterflies be creepy? I thought so when I was saying to a friend I was planning on making butterflies for Halloween, they disagreed but hey, I was determined to get more use out my gorgeous but expensive Claire Bowman silicone butterfly mat.

    Claire Bowman making cake lace butterflies

    As seen in the video, butterflies made the Claire Bowman way usually have a *first layer of pre made metallic icing and after baking a second layer of white cake lace icing. The second layer is to prevent brittleness, but since I haven't had a problem with the butterflies being brittle I just used one layer of silver.

    I baked the mat/butterflies for 5 minutes at 60 cel (140 F) . Leave to cool for a few minutes, check a butterfly by lifting a corner... they should peel off easily. If your butterfly still seems to soft, return to oven for a few more minutes.

    Once baked, I placed my butterflies on the back of an egg carton covered with plastic wrap to add shape.

    When fully set, a soft brush was used to dust on cake decorating black shimmer dust. The finished butterflies reminded me of vintage marcasite brooches. Attach the butterflies to cocktail and dessert glasses with a *tiny dab of cake glue and of course the butterflies make the perfect toppers for your Halloween cupcakes, chocolate truffles and cookies too.

     *for use on the glasses the single layer cake lace worked perfectly, staying firm and in shape all day. If you need to manipulate the butterflies further then I would recommended following Claire Bowman's instructions. 

    *make sure you only use a dot of cake glue if the butterflies become wet they will dissolve. 

    Happy Baking :)  

    You might also be interested in an attack of the swamp zombie cupcake

    or perhaps Poe is more to you liking with The Raven and Black Cat cupcakes

    Thursday
    Sep122013

    Honey Joy Cupcakes

                                                       honey joy cupcake 

    Join me on Facebook

    I do love a bit of retro, it makes people happy, it makes me happy :) and can anything be more retro that breakfast cereal? Hmmm, now I've said that you can probably think of examples that are more retro but ssshhh that will spoil the segue into today's story.

    Okay, cereal/childhood, childhood/cereal, those TV advertisements with Tigers, Monkey's, Roosters and Toucans to boot... little toys and collectibles hidden in the colourful boxes and those cute individual cereal packs that you always wanted your mum to buy you.

    That's probably a slightly glossed over version of childhood memories, no soggy flakes floating in milk today but rather a small vanilla cupcake, brushed with warmed honey, swirl of milky white chocolate ganache and topped with a mini honey joy.

    Honey Joys are a "side of the box" corn flake recipe that has been popular with Australian kids for generations. The Aussie alternative to the marshmallow rice krispies treats in the US perhaps? 

    Simple and inexpensive to make, honey joys are usually baked in cupcake paper liners in a cupcake pan. Today I've used silicone half sphere baking pans to make mini honey joys, but a buttered mini cupcake pan would also be suitable. 

    silcone sphere baking pan, standard honey joy, baked mini honey joys

    Honey Joys 

    Ingredients

    • 4 cups corn flakes (breakfast cereal)
    • 1 tablespoon honey
    • 1/3 cup sugar
    • 90g  (3.17 OZ) butter or margarine

    Method

    Preheat oven to 150C - 302F  (130C/266F fan)

    Melt butter, sugar and honey together in a saucepan until frothy. Add corn flakes and mix well. Working quickly spoon into the holes of silicone pans or buttered mini cupcake pans. Bake in a slow oven 150°C for 10 minutes for silicone or 7 to 9 for minis. Cool. Store in a single layer. 

    Cake batter

    Preheat oven to 180C/350F (160C/320F  fan)

    Ahhh, being a bit "Australian" sizing today because I've used smaller than standard cupcake but bigger than mini paper liners. Patty cake/Fairy cake sized... though I'm not really sure what the correct name for them is. You can use a mini cupcake tin and paper liners for a slightly small result.

    Line two 12 cup trays with paper liners (the small patty/fairy cake size)

    Ingredients

    125g butter (4.4oz)
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2/3 cup (150g) castor sugar (superfine)
    3 eggs
    1½ cups (225g) *self-raising flour
    ¼ cup milk (60ml)

    optional

    1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey warmed in microwave until runny

    Method

    Beat butter, extract, sugar, eggs, sifted flour & milk on low speed with an electric mixer until ingredients are just combined. Increase speed to medium & beat for 3 minutes until smooth and pale in colour.

    Drop spoonfuls of mixture into the paper liners. Bake about 20 minutes for patty cake sized and 15 to 17 for mini cupcake size. The cakes will be lightly golden with a slight spring when the centers are gently touched.

    Allow to cool in tins for 5 minutes removing to a wire rack. Brush tops of cakes with warm honey is using. Leave cakes to cool.

    Ganache

    Ingredients

    250 grams (8.8 OZ) white chocolate (finely chopped)

    125 mls (4.2 fluid OZ) cream 

    Method

    Combine the chopped white chocolate and cream in a dry and heat proof bowl over simmering water. (Do not let the water touch the bowl). 

    Stir occasionally until both chocolate and cream are almost all combined, but you can still see a little chocolate unmelted. 

    Remove bowl from heat and stir until the chocolate and cream are fully combined.

    Refrigerate until the ganache thickens and reaches piping consistency.

    Stir the ganache and either fill your piping bag and pipe a donut shape on top of each cake with a large round piping tip or use a teaspoon to drop a spoonful of ganache in the center of each cake.

    *Store any remaining ganache in the refrigerator. 

    Top each cupcake with a honey joy just before serving. 

    *can't find self-raising/rising flour where you are? 

    From the Australian Women's Weekly this easy conversion; To convert plain flour into self-raising flour, add two teaspoons of baking powder to each cup of plain flour. Adding one teaspoon of cream of tartar and half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to one cup of plain flour gives the same result.

    *left over ganache can be rolled into truffles or gently melted in the microwave for a white chocolate sauce. 

    Happy Baking :)

    You might also be interested in chocolate scones 

    or Little Lime Lemon Lamingtons  

    I'd love to see on Facebook too. 

    Saturday
    Aug102013

    Once Upon a Time cupcake or Cinderella and the Brothers Grimm. 

                                       once upon at time cupcake

     Join me on Facebook

    But she could not get her big toe into it, and the shoe was too small for her. Then her mother gave her a knife and said, "Cut the toe off; when thou art Queen thou wilt have no more need to go on foot." The maiden cut the toe off, forced the foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the King's son.

    Cinderella Brothers Grimm

    Missed career... I would have loved to have been a "folklorist"... I do love a good story and what better than the Brother's Grimm. 

    The story of Cinderella gained popularity when a version was penned by French author Charles Perrault in 1697, popularity of the tale continued when the Grimm brothers included a version in there first volume of fairy tales in 1812. Of course we all know the 1950 Disney movie, but it's a Grimm brothers retelling that inspired today's cupcake. 

    making a fondant toe

    Having trouble shaping fingers and toes for you fondant figurines? Start taking photos of fingers and toes, yours, the kids, great Uncle Charlie and pop them a hands/feet folder in your computer for reference. Toes like fingers are rarely straight, ok this seems like stating the obvious but it is the common mistake that you see in fondant figures... super straight fingers and toes. 

    Once I made my toe shape it was just a matter of adding the details, no pedi's in those days so I aimed for a "rough toe", a bit dirty with chipped nail. Colouring was done with a small artists brush and blending white, brown, red and yellow petals dusts. A toothpick was inserted in the base of toe to attach it to the cake.

    making casual roses

    Small casual roses are easy to make for your cupcake toppers. Make tiny balls of fondant, to start the rose roll one the balls into a cylinder shape. Roll/squash the other balls into tear drop shapes.

    putting roses together

    Start to attach the tear drop shapes to the cylinder with a little water, build up the the rows by slightly overlapping the petals each time you go around. Oh, and make sure each row of petals is higher than the last row. Use your fingers to shape the petals as desired. You can make these roses very quickly once you get the hang of it. To finish, cut or pinch off the rear of the rose to neaten your work and adhere to cupcake with a little water or cake glue. 

    Red cake gel makes for great blood that stays in place. 

    Happy Baking :) and don't forget if you have a question or just want to say "hi" Facebook is your best bet for a fast result.  

    The Lone Baker Facebook

    Want to read Cinderella fairy tale in it's entirety? Here it is.... 

    The wife of a rich man fell sick, and as she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said, "Dear child, be good and pious, and then the good God will always protect thee, and I will look down on thee from heaven and be near thee." Thereupon she closed her eyes and departed. Every day the maiden went out to her mother's grave, and wept, and she remained pious and good. When winter came the snow spread a white sheet over the grave, and when the spring sun had drawn it off again, the man had taken another wife.

    The woman had brought two daughters into the house with her, who were beautiful and fair of face, but vile and black of heart. Now began a bad time for the poor step-child. "Is the stupid goose to sit in the parlour with us?" said they. "He who wants to eat bread must earn it; out with the kitchen-wench." They took her pretty clothes away from her, put an old grey bedgown on her, and gave her wooden shoes. "Just look at the proud princess, how decked out she is!" they cried, and laughed, and led her into the kitchen. There she had to do hard work from morning till night, get up before daybreak, carry water, light fires, cook and wash. Besides this, the sisters did her every imaginable injury -- they mocked her and emptied her peas and lentils into the ashes, so that she was forced to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked till she was weary she had no bed to go to, but had to sleep by the fireside in the ashes. And as on that account she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella. It happened that the father was once going to the fair, and he asked his two step-daughters what he should bring back for them. "Beautiful dresses," said one, "Pearls and jewels," said the second. "And thou, Cinderella," said he, "what wilt thou have?" "Father, break off for me the first branch which knocks against your hat on your way home." So he bought beautiful dresses, pearls and jewels for his two step-daughters, and on his way home, as he was riding through a green thicket, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. Then he broke off the branch and took it with him. When he reached home he gave his step-daughters the things which they had wished for, and to Cinderella he gave the branch from the hazel-bush. Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother's grave and planted the branch on it, and wept so much that the tears fell down on it and watered it. And it grew, however, and became a handsome tree. Thrice a day Cinderella went and sat beneath it, and wept and prayed, and a little white bird always came on the tree, and if Cinderella expressed a wish, the bird threw down to her what she had wished for.

    It happened, however, that the King appointed a festival which was to last three days, and to which all the beautiful young girls in the country were invited, in order that his son might choose himself a bride. When the two step-sisters heard that they too were to appear among the number, they were delighted, called Cinderella and said, "Comb our hair for us, brush our shoes and fasten our buckles, for we are going to the festival at the King's palace." Cinderella obeyed, but wept, because she too would have liked to go with them to the dance, and begged her step-mother to allow her to do so. "Thou go, Cinderella!" said she; "Thou art dusty and dirty and wouldst go to the festival? Thou hast no clothes and shoes, and yet wouldst dance!" As, however, Cinderella went on asking, the step-mother at last said, "I have emptied a dish of lentils into the ashes for thee, if thou hast picked them out again in two hours, thou shalt go with us." The maiden went through the back-door into the garden, and called, "You tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to pick

    "The good into the pot,
    The bad into the crop."

    Then two white pigeons came in by the kitchen-window, and afterwards the turtle-doves, and at last all the birds beneath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and alighted amongst the ashes. And the pigeons nodded with their heads and began pick, pick, pick, pick, and the rest began also pick, pick, pick, pick, and gathered all the good grains into the dish. Hardly had one hour passed before they had finished, and all flew out again. Then the girl took the dish to her step-mother, and was glad, and believed that now she would be allowed to go with them to the festival. But the step-mother said, "No, Cinderella, thou hast no clothes and thou canst not dance; thou wouldst only be laughed at." And as Cinderella wept at this, the step-mother said, "If thou canst pick two dishes of lentils out of the ashes for me in one hour, thou shalt go with us." And she thought to herself, "That she most certainly cannot do." When the step-mother had emptied the two dishes of lentils amongst the ashes, the maiden went through the back-door into the garden and cried, You tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, and all you birds under heaven, come and help me to pick

    "The good into the pot,
    The bad into the crop."

    Then two white pigeons came in by the kitchen-window, and afterwards the turtle-doves, and at length all the birds beneath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and alighted amongst the ashes. And the doves nodded with their heads and began pick, pick, pick, pick, and the others began also pick, pick, pick, pick, and gathered all the good seeds into the dishes, and before half an hour was over they had already finished, and all flew out again. Then the maiden carried the dishes to the step-mother and was delighted, and believed that she might now go with them to the festival. But the step-mother said, "All this will not help thee; thou goest not with us, for thou hast no clothes and canst not dance; we should be ashamed of thee!" On this she turned her back on Cinderella, and hurried away with her two proud daughters.

    As no one was now at home, Cinderella went to her mother's grave beneath the hazel-tree, and cried,

    "Shiver and quiver, little tree,
    Silver and gold throw down over me."

    Then the bird threw a gold and silver dress down to her, and slippers embroidered with silk and silver. She put on the dress with all speed, and went to the festival. Her step-sisters and the step-mother however did not know her, and thought she must be a foreign princess, for she looked so beautiful in the golden dress. They never once thought of Cinderella, and believed that she was sitting at home in the dirt, picking lentils out of the ashes. The prince went to meet her, took her by the hand and danced with her. He would dance with no other maiden, and never left loose of her hand, and if any one else came to invite her, he said, "This is my partner."

    She danced till it was evening, and then she wanted to go home. But the King's son said, "I will go with thee and bear thee company," for he wished to see to whom the beautiful maiden belonged. She escaped from him, however, and sprang into the pigeon-house. The King's son waited until her father came, and then he told him that the stranger maiden had leapt into the pigeon-house. The old man thought, "Can it be Cinderella?" and they had to bring him an axe and a pickaxe that he might hew the pigeon-house to pieces, but no one was inside it. And when they got home Cinderella lay in her dirty clothes among the ashes, and a dim little oil-lamp was burning on the mantle-piece, for Cinderella had jumped quickly down from the back of the pigeon-house and had run to the little hazel-tree, and there she had taken off her beautiful clothes and laid them on the grave, and the bird had taken them away again, and then she had placed herself in the kitchen amongst the ashes in her grey gown.

    Next day when the festival began afresh, and her parents and the step-sisters had gone once more, Cinderella went to the hazel-tree and said --

    "Shiver and quiver, my little tree,
    Silver and gold throw down over me."

    Then the bird threw down a much more beautiful dress than on the preceding day. And when Cinderella appeared at the festival in this dress, every one was astonished at her beauty. The King's son had waited until she came, and instantly took her by the hand and danced with no one but her. When others came and invited her, he said, "She is my partner." When evening came she wished to leave, and the King's son followed her and wanted to see into which house she went. But she sprang away from him, and into the garden behind the house. Therein stood a beautiful tall tree on which hung the most magnificent pears. She clambered so nimbly between the branches like a squirrel that the King's son did not know where she was gone. He waited until her father came, and said to him, "The stranger-maiden has escaped from me, and I believe she has climbed up the pear-tree." The father thought, "Can it be Cinderella?" and had an axe brought and cut the tree down, but no one was on it. And when they got into the kitchen, Cinderella lay there amongst the ashes, as usual, for she had jumped down on the other side of the tree, had taken the beautiful dress to the bird on the little hazel-tree, and put on her grey gown.

    On the third day, when the parents and sisters had gone away, Cinderella went once more to her mother's grave and said to the little tree --

    "Shiver and quiver, my little tree,
    Silver and gold throw down over me."

    And now the bird threw down to her a dress which was more splendid and magnificent than any she had yet had, and the slippers were golden. And when she went to the festival in the dress, no one knew how to speak for astonishment. The King's son danced with her only, and if any one invited her to dance, he said, "She is my partner."

    When evening came, Cinderella wished to leave, and the King's son was anxious to go with her, but she escaped from him so quickly that he could not follow her. The King's son had, however, used a strategem, and had caused the whole staircase to be smeared with pitch, and there, when she ran down, had the maiden's left slipper remained sticking. The King's son picked it up, and it was small and dainty, and all golden. Next morning, he went with it to the father, and said to him, "No one shall be my wife but she whose foot this golden slipper fits." Then were the two sisters glad, for they had pretty feet. The eldest went with the shoe into her room and wanted to try it on, and her mother stood by. But she could not get her big toe into it, and the shoe was too small for her. Then her mother gave her a knife and said, "Cut the toe off; when thou art Queen thou wilt have no more need to go on foot." The maiden cut the toe off, forced the foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the King's son. Then he took her on his his horse as his bride and rode away with her. They were, however, obliged to pass the grave, and there, on the hazel-tree, sat the two pigeons and cried,

    "Turn and peep, turn and peep,
    There's blood within the shoe,
    The shoe it is too small for her,
    The true bride waits for you."

    Then he looked at her foot and saw how the blood was streaming from it. He turned his horse round and took the false bride home again, and said she was not the true one, and that the other sister was to put the shoe on. Then this one went into her chamber and got her toes safely into the shoe, but her heel was too large. So her mother gave her a knife and said, "Cut a bit off thy heel; when thou art Queen thou wilt have no more need to go on foot." The maiden cut a bit off her heel, forced her foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the King's son. He took her on his horse as his bride, and rode away with her, but when they passed by the hazel-tree, two little pigeons sat on it and cried,

    "Turn and peep, turn and peep,
    There's blood within the shoe
    The shoe it is too small for her,
    The true bride waits for you."

    He looked down at her foot and saw how the blood was running out of her shoe, and how it had stained her white stocking. Then he turned his horse and took the false bride home again. "This also is not the right one," said he, "have you no other daughter?" "No," said the man, "There is still a little stunted kitchen-wench which my late wife left behind her, but she cannot possibly be the bride." The King's son said he was to send her up to him; but the mother answered, "Oh, no, she is much too dirty, she cannot show herself!" He absolutely insisted on it, and Cinderella had to be called. She first washed her hands and face clean, and then went and bowed down before the King's son, who gave her the golden shoe. Then she seated herself on a stool, drew her foot out of the heavy wooden shoe, and put it into the slipper, which fitted like a glove. And when she rose up and the King's son looked at her face he recognized the beautiful maiden who had danced with him and cried, "That is the true bride!" The step-mother and the two sisters were terrified and became pale with rage; he, however, took Cinderella on his horse and rode away with her. As they passed by the hazel-tree, the two white doves cried --

    "Turn and peep, turn and peep,
    No blood is in the shoe,
    The shoe is not too small for her,
    The true bride rides with you,"

    and when they had cried that, the two came flying down and placed themselves on Cinderella's shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left, and remained sitting there.

    When the wedding with the King's son had to be celebrated, the two false sisters came and wanted to get into favour with Cinderella and share her good fortune. When the betrothed couple went to church, the elder was at the right side and the younger at the left, and the pigeons pecked out one eye of each of them. Afterwards as they came back, the elder was at the left, and the younger at the right, and then the pigeons pecked out the other eye of each. And thus, for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness as long as they lived.

    ###


    "Cinderella". Brothers Grimm, transl. Margaret Hunt, Grimm's Household Tales, Vol. 1, 1884.

     

    you might also be interested in.... White Chocolate Plastique (Modelling Chocolate)

    or how about making your roses from fruit chews? Starburst flowers cupcake

    Saturday
    Jul062013

    Dragon Egg Cupcake 

                                                dragon egg cupcake 

    Join me on Facebook

    “Well, I don’t have any pet dragons – maybe they would come in handy from time to time– nobody has given me any dragon eggs and since she had to walk into fire in order to hatch them I am not sure I particularly want that bit of it.”           

    Prime Minster of Australia Julia Gillard 

    Guardian UK May 27th 2013 political editor Lenore Taylor discussing HBO's Game of Thrones with Prime Minster Glilard.

    Dang, maybe Prime Minster Julia Gillard should have risked that walk into fire because one month later on the June 27th the morning newspaper read... 

    Ok, it's an emotive headline... but hey Australia was having it's own "Game of Thrones" moment when Julia Gillard was replaced by Kevin Rudd who had been replaced by Julia Gillard three years earlier.

    Confused? here is a mini Australian leader explanation before we get onto the cupcake...

    Ok, it works like this a Prime Minister has a decline in his or her personal ratings, and a perceived loss of support amongst the MPs in their own party. Sometimes you might be directly challenged by an MP who thinks they can be a better leader and they have the numbers..  and at other times like with Prime Minster Gillard you are so sure of the support of your MP's you make the challenge to squash any rumors. But oh dear, then there is a spill, MP's "cross" and all of sudden you aren't Prime Minster anymore. Kevin Rudd is the new Prime Minister of Australia. 

    For the cupcake today I wanted a melted/worn... but pretty (ok, that last bit isn't too Game of Thronesish).

    I started with a simple fondant egg shape, narrowing a little more at the top to allow for layers of fondant scales.

    The scales are tiny triangles of fondant. Attach the scales with water (that is as in "dampen backs slightly" you don't want wet fondant), starting around the centre and working up and then down if you want to the whole egg. I gently pressed down on the scales with a downward movement to go with the melting/worn theme today.

    Using silicone cog moulds, I moulded fondant cogs and stretched and squeezed them lightly into "worn like" pieces. I attached the cogs using water around the edges of a red fondant covered cupcakes. Let everything dry at this point because once dry you are going get a out a small *paint brush and your metallic food paints and get painting. 

    For the wings cut some wing shapes from modelling paste. The wings must be rolled out as thinly as possible as to not add excess weight to your eggs. 

    Wing with base coat of metallic dust. Please forgive food coloured hand.

     Now for the fun part, paint your cupcake to your hearts desire. I used a small artists brush I dabbed various Americolor airbrush sheen colours on the top of the cakes. The cogs were painted with copper and bronze food paint from the same range. The dragons egg was swiped in downwards motion with blue and green sheens. For the wings I used petal dusts in jade, slate and white shimmer and blend, blend, blend until you happy with the result. Lastly a light dusting of jade dust on top of egg and white shimmer on the front. 

    Cut slits in each side of your eggs, flick out a few scales as your dragon is breaking out. Insert the wings that have a little cake glue applied on wide end. Prop your eggs to support the wings drying in position, this can take a few hours to overnight depending on the temperature where you are. 

    So, coming to close now and if you still wondering "where in the hell is Australia?" or "what is this thing called HBO's Game of Thrones?"... tune in later in next week for pulled sugar work or if you are a fan of the Iron Throne check back on the weekend for some Game of Thrones baking. 

    Happy Baking :)

    You might also be interested in Bubble Wrap Chocolate 

    or how about a candied beetroot topper?

    Monday
    Dec102012

    Cherry Eton Mess

    cherry eton mess

    Join me on Facebook

    Tis the time for lots of macaron's that haven't quite "footed" and meringues that didn't quite, ummm "meringue?". What to do? Why make Eton Mess for dessert of course.

    Eton mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries, pieces of meringue and cream, which is traditionally served at Eton College's annual cricket game against the students of Harrow School. wikipedia

    Oh my, I couldn't resist the boxes brimming with sweet dark cherries that fill the Australian fruit shops in December, plus I had macarons "oddments" and end of batch meringes from Christmas gift baking. So lets make a delightful mess... albeit a bit "girlie" today, I'm afraid I went too far with the 100's and 1000's (nonpareils).

    Cherry Eton Mess 

    (by all means go traditional and use strawberries instead if preferred) 

    Ingredients 

    *2 cups of chilled whipping cream

    2 tablespoons of sugar

    1 vanilla pod scraped of seeds (use vanilla extract to taste if you don't have pods)

    700 grams (25oz) of fresh cherries 

    leftover macaron shells, meringue pieces or buy a packet of meringue shells

    Method

    Pit most of the cherries, leaving a few whole ones for decoration. Place the pitted cherries and one tablespoon of the sugar in a small bowl and give the mixture a gentle squeeze to release a little of cherry juice, stir to combine. Refrigerate until serving time.

    Whip the cream, with the remaining one tablespoon of sugar and seeds from the vanilla pod until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until serving time.

    Assembly

    When you're ready to serve, in no particular order, spoon cream, cherries, broken pieces of meringues and macaron's into serving glasses. 

    Top with whole cherries dipped in melted white chocolate if desired. 

    *variations; try adding plain yoghurt or creme fraiche to the whipping cream. I often use 1 1/2 cream to half yoghurt, it will lighten the mouth feel and is more refreshing in summer. 

    Macerate the cherries or strawberries with sugar and a juice or alcohol of choice before assembling, brandy, grand marnier or a favourite dessert wine are good choices.

    Have fun and happy baking :)

    Want to make your own meringues? Here is a recipe for 4 individual pavlova shells that you can break up for your Eton Mess... omit or change colour as desired. 

    More desserts in glasses? How about Peach Verrines in Minutes

    More cherries? A quick cherry cupcake decoration

                          Snow Cherries

    Wednesday
    Oct032012

    Shark Nuggets

    panko crumbed shark nuggets

    Order 'Fish n' Chips' in my home state of Melbourne it's most likely going to include fillets of 'flake'; flake is a generic term used here for shark, usually gummy shark. Gummy shark is a popular eating fish for it's boneless plump white fillets and mild flavour. 

    Two flake and chips from our local fish and chip shop

    Mustelus antarcticus 'Gummy sharks'

    wikipedia

    Gummy sharks are small variety of shark with a minimum catch size of 45cm (about 18 inches), making them a popular with weekend fisherman.

    Today I'm making panko crumbed shark nuggets. Served with a chilli lime mayo, you might prefer sweet chilli sauce or tomato sauce (ketchup) for the kids. 

    Method

    Cut the flake fillet (preferably Gummy) into bite sized pieces. 

    Dip pieces in seasoned plain flour (all purpose), shake off excess. Dip into beaten egg, allow excess to drip off. Roll in Panko or breadcrumb of choice. 

    Shallow fry in batches for 3 to 4 minutes depending on the size of the your pieces, allow a test piece to break open and check if it is cooked. Your looking for the fish to have changed colour and be white throughout and still juicy.

    Drain on paper towel.

    Serve with salad, as part of a Japanese meal or as an appetiser with drinks. 

    Happy Baking, or in this case frying :)

    Sunday
    May062012

    A nice pear, but not much else

                                                red wine pear

    I had an idea, yes I did.

    It was a bad idea, yes it was. 

    the lone baker

    Red Wine Pear Cupakes or not all my ideas work

    I was making red wine pears when it came to me "ahhh haaa!" what if I diced the pears into the chocolate cake batter and topped it with the top of the pear creating the illusion of the whole pear in the cake like those cute winter puddings do. 

    Many sliced and diced winey pears later I put a test batch of cakes in the oven, there is reason they're called a "test batch", the test failed with the pear top totally sinking beneath the surface and the batter coming over the side. Test batch two; new thicker cake batter and trimmed down top section... bet that will work. 

    Hmm, ok at least the pear wasn't sunken, well anyway not all the way down.

    Of course I could have A. started a third batch or B. have dinner before the first episode of MasterChef Australia starts. Chewing now... bye. 

    Happy Baking 

    Tuesday
    May012012

    Wild Hibiscus Mini Cupcake

                                      Wild Hibisicus Mini Cupcake

    Join me on facebook

    The roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a species of Hibiscus native to the Old World tropics. In Australia we know the roselle plant as 'Rosella'. wikipedia

    Rosella cordial and jam has been made in Australia since the colonial times, popular in Queensland where the Rosella plant flourishes. It's a bit cold where I am for a Rosella plant, but spurred on by successful plantings on the gardening forums I'm going give it a try and plant this spring. It can be grown as a perennial or annual, so I'll be trying to grow this small shrub as an annual.

     image wikipedia commons

    Love, love, love the raspberry/plummy flavour of Rosella jam and can't wait to make a batch myself, but in the interim I have a jar from the supermarket and syrupy wild hibiscus flowers that I used to top today's cupcake.

    wild hibiscus flowers in syrup and rosella jam

    You may have seen these wild hibiscus flowers in a champagne cocktail, though they are equally at home paired with brie as part of a cheese platter or topping a pavlova. Fabulous stuffed with sweet or savory fillings, or try dipping the bases in white chocolate to serve with after dinner coffee.

    I used flowers straight from the jar to top today's mini cupcakes; the rosella flowers are sweet, soft and fleshy with notes of raspberry/plum and rhubarb. 

    For chocolate flowers pat the flowers dry with paper towel before dipping the bases in tempered chocolate. The chocolates can be make ahead of time, with the flowers taking on more of a fruit leather texture as they dry.

    rosella jam; I'll be using this in upcoming weeks

    the petals open and take on an opaque quality as light streams though the glass

    I used soda water in a wine glass for the photo today, to illustrate the bubbles opening the petals of the flower. If you are planning to use wild hibiscus flowers in champagne flutes at a wedding, first test that the flowers open in the glasses you have chosen. You need a champagne flute that isn't too narrow at the bottom to allow room for flowers to open.

    Have fun trying them, happy baking :)

    For cocktail recipes and more visit the official Wild Hibiscus website here

    You can find jars of the flowers in varying sizes in Australia from the bushtucker shop in Europe from Wild Hibiscus shop Deutschland. Plus good kitchen supply and bar supply stores.

    And of course they are available from Amazon too.

    You might also like....

    golden apple cupcake

    recipe mini vienna almond shortbread chocolate bars, topped with gold leaf tipped vienna almonds

    Saturday
    Dec242011

    White Chocolate Cranberry and Pistachio Rocky Road

    Join me on facebook... 2012 is going to be a great year!!

    Busy, busy, busy in the lead up to Christmas? I know I have, with barely the time to bake it's time for a super quick idea!! This rocky road recipe is easily doubled... and if you need more make seperate batches. There is a splash of liqueur in it, but if making for the kids just leave it out. 

    White Chocolate Cranberry and Pistachio Rocky Road with Grand Marnier 

    makes 12 to 16 pieces

    Ingredients

    300g (10oz) white chocolate 

    25g (0.90oz) unsalted butter

    100g (3.5oz) pistachios

    100g (3.5oz) dried cranberries 

    50g (1.75oz) pink and white marshmallows cut in half with oiled scissors

    1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier (optional) 

    Method

    Line a brownie or slice tin with plastic wrap or non stick baking paper. If using Grand Marnier, mix the Grand Marnier and dried cranberries in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on medium low 10 seconds at a time until cranberries begin to plump. Set aside.

    In a mixing bowl melt chocolate and butter over a pan of simmering water until just melted. Be careful not to overheat. Stir in pistachios, marshmallows and cranberries. Pour into lined tin and smooth top with spatula. Chill for 2 hours in the fridge. Turn out and cut into squares. Package in cellophane treat bags.

    Merry Christmas!!!

    Back second week of the New Year, safe and happy festive season to everyone... and happy baking :)