its been a while...

Ok, Ok, I know its been a while since I last posted, but I have been a tad preoccupied. You see, I went to Sydney last week....for this not-so-well-known-in-Australia group called Celtic Thunder...so please forgive me (I'm also going to be posting my review here soon, but first things first...).
While is Sydney, I made sure to go and visit somewhere well known...I went and visited Zumbo! Twice to be exact...I went and visited The Lab in Rozelle and then his long skinny Pattiserie in Balmain.

The mural made famous by Adriano's DVD

The whole building this time

Menu inside The Lab

Shop in Darling Street, Balmain

Signage in Balmain

Of course, i bought some Zumbaron's to bring home to Perth! I got: 2x Milo, 2x Musk Stick, 2x Salted Caramel, 2x Raspberry Caramel, 2x 70% Chocolate, 1 Lychee and 1 Plum Pudding. They were yummy!

*drools* chocolateeeeeee....

So this weekend's baking adventure was Cake! It took me a while to find a recipe that sounded good, but eventually i found one. I based it off of this recipe I found on Taste.com.au for Chocolate Celebration Cake.

I started off by making their linked Homemade Chocolate Cake, and let me tell you, it is an easy one to make and tastes soooo delicious and it very light and fluffy. As per the recipe, i divided the batter between two pans and baked them. My brother was amazed when they were out on the racks after cooking, as they seemed very flat, so I didn't need to level them off. I'm not sure whether that is what happened with this mix, or just this occasion - whatever the cause, 1 less job for me to do!

Next step was to make the ganache....mmmmm ganache....(my brother is so deprived - he had to ask what ganache was! I told him, like choc fondue except cold...). I ended up using a mixture of milk chocolate Lindt blocks, dark chocolate from Fremantle Chocolate Company and a few white/milk choc bits just to get the amount I needed. Add some cream, heat up slowly in the microwave and mix! Ta Da - Ganache. Now the hard part of letting it cool...About halfway through cooling, i added a bit of Frangelico and icing sugar (Frangelico coz its yum, icing sugar to speed it all up a little).

So eventually we got there and it was time to assemble! Place first cake on plate, and brush with a little Frangelico. pile on some ganache and spread to cover. I then added a secret ingredient - Crushed Malteasers! (You're salivating right now, aren't you?) I added a little more ganache to the bottom of the other cake layer and placed on top of the first. I put it in the fridge for a bit to let the filling set (so it doesn't just ooooozze out).

We're almost there!!!

Second-to-last stage was to cover the whole thing in more ganache.....easy job, and tasty too! After i covered it well, it was back to the fridge to set again. (Ok, seriously, stop drooling, you're making a mess). Once set, it was back out of the fridge again to decorte simply with Malteasers. This cake turned out soooo good! very tasty, not too heavy and looked great!

Sugary, Cookie goodness!

Well, another weekend has come and gone. They just never seem to last long enough! I decided to just bake something nice and easy this weekend, so I made Sugar Cookies! I cheated though - I used a packet (powdered) royal icing! But they turned out good. I did some ducks and mostly flowers.

For the cookies themselves, I used The Decorated Cookie's not-so-secret recipe, and it does make a nice sugar cookie! So without further ado - My Sugar Cookies!!!!!

Two little duckies sitting in a row....

Tray 1 of 4...and there's still leftover dough in the fridge

Just a quick one...

Hi readers,
Just a short blog today. I took my Salted Butter Popcorn Macarons in to work today for my colleague, and they were a hit. Everyone liked them! YAY! Its always good to head people like your cooking, isn't it?

On another note, see over there on the right hand side? --------->
There's a list of links, the first two of which I am asking you to click, one to follow me on twitter, and the other to like my facebook page. I would realllllllly love it if you could do these quick couple of clicks for me! It would be nice to see who my readers are (especially those from Russia, I am extremely curious!)

Cheers!

Bad Day to end the year :( Great, just great...

Good Morning folks, and happy new year!

So, yesterday I attempted Macarons. Hmm. Figured out that wasn't the best thing to do. Here's a tip for y'all - don't attempt to make Macarons when your having a bad day!

 I was already frustrated before I started baking from a bad morning....and it just got worse...and worse...and worse. Nothing wanted to work for me. But I persevered and baked macaroons. They're all different sizes, and I had to throw out the filling I made from the Zumbo recipe I was following and make a simple buttercream instead, but I got there and now have a box of Macarons on the counter.

It takes a lot of ingredients to measure out 3 batches worth!

 

Making the actual mix / batter was ok, not too much trouble there except for not being able to find my thermometer to test the sugar syrup, but it still turned out ok. Piping the macaroons was my first problem - I couldn't find the nozzle I wanted so had to settle for a smaller one which didn't help at all. So after an already bad day, I got frustrated. 

Finally got them into the oven, and apart from being different sizes and a couple collapsing, most were ok.

 

 However there was a stubborn bunch that just refused to cook the whole way. After putting them back in the oven and out again and in and out for about 15 minutes, I turned them over so their bottoms faced up - and Ta-da, they finally cooked!

The next disaster to happen was the filling. It calls for egg yolks (and one whole egg) to be whisked whilst pouring in a sugar syrup, and as you keep whisking it is supposed to thicken as it cools, then you slowly add butter and you have a buttercream filling. But did that want to work? No, of course not. I think it was partly to do with not having my thermometer again. I got very annoyed and threw the whole thing down the sink.

In the end (after having left it all for a while so I could try and calm down) I ended up just doing a simple buttercream with the right flavours added. I did that, and finally assembled the macarons, after about 5 hours making them start to finish. They still looked good even if they were different sizes, but more importantly, they tasted as they should!

 So here i now present you with...

 Salted Butter Popcorn Macarons!

Will attempt the next flavour tomorrow

...after I go and purchase a new thermometer.

Merry Christmas and Happy Macaron!

Howdy All! 

Well, Christmas is pretty much over for another year (although I do have 1 more christmas lunch this Sunday...) Got some good gifts, including my favourites - Adriano Zumbo's cookbook, a $100 gift voucher for Matchbox, and a boxful of Twilight goodies (ok, so I may have bought that last one myself...but I didn't open it till christmas!).

Zumbo and the other 3 cookbooks I got for christmas!

I can't wait to get in this weekend at make some of the Zumbarons! Although probably not some of the wilder flavours in the book like Kalamata Olive, Salt & Vinegar or Raspberry Beetroot...

Zumbarons are Macarons, just with some more bizarre flavours. Now, don't get Macarons confused with Macaroons, there's a whole 'O' of difference! Macaroons have coconut, Macarons do not, they are based on meringue.  But if you want a more technical definition, check it out below.

"A macaron is a sweet confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. Its name is derived from an Italian word "maccarone" or "maccherone". The cookies is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour."

- Wikipedia

 In case you haven't seen the book, the flavours in there are:

Sticky Date

Licorice

Salted Butter Popcorn

Strawberry Bubblegum

Blackened Vanilla Bean

Chocolate Mayo

Chocolate Marshmallow

Chocolate Orange

Chocolate H20

Cherry Coconut

Vegemite

Pandan Coconut

Raspberry Beetroot

Kalamata Olive

Mandarin & Tonka Bean

Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Jelly

Chocozumbo (chocolate & corn)

Salt & Vinegar

Chocolate Salt & Vinegar

Rice Pudding

Caramel au Beurre Salė (salted butter caramel)

Salted Milk Chocolate Caramel

Chocolate Banana

And don't worry, i will be taking lots of photos and let you know how they turn out. I cant wait!!!!!!

OMG, No way! Isn't That.......

I have been lucky enough over the past couple of years to see and also meet some famous celebrity chefs. One of my favourite events each year is the Perth leg of the Good Food & Wine show, held at the Perth Convention Centre. I go with my mum each year, sometimes other join us, sometimes its just her and I. Its a great day out - if you have never been before, they are held in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane every year.

In 2010, I met Tobie Puttock and got him to sign his latest book, 'Italian Local'. I am a big fan of Tobie, after first seeing our Aussie lad on my all-time favourite chef Jamie Oliver's TV show many years ago (2002 to be specific!). I have hated myself ever since that day in 2010 as it was the one time I didn't take a camera with me!!! :( :( :(

 

 

In 2011, at the Next Food & Wine Festival, I got to meet Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris, of MasterChef fame. I also got them to signed their collaborative book 'Your Place or Mine?'

 

 

At the 2011 show,  I also saw Marion Grasby, from MasterChef series 2, and she was nice enough to take a photo with us.

We also watched Matt Moran who made a surprise appearance at Gary and George's Celebrity Theatre show, and Alistair Mcleod who played host.

I cant wait for 2012! It will be a while yet till the Celebrity Guests are announced, but its worth the wait.

I do believe introductions are necessary...

Hi Everyone!

My name is Louise, I am twenty-four years old and live about an hours drive south of the city of Perth, Western Australia. Blah Blah Blah...

Okay... now that the boring part is out of the way, on to the reason why we are all here. I love baking. It's something I had done for many years, starting way back when, helping mum make cakes in the kitchen.

These days, I love to cook, but in particular, baking. Cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, muffins... the list goes on. I adore relaxing on the couch on a Saturday afternoon watching various cooking shows - they have so many ideas, tips and tricks!

I decided to start this blog as way to share the things I've made (helped along by the photos I take of my scrumptious creations) and also to spread around the tips I know. So please, stay tuned!