I am Back

Its been a long while. New job or Jobs, weddings, moving house etc etc etc have prevented me doing what i love best. COOKING so anyway i am back i am ready and i am rearing to go.

What i want to do from this is post my love of cooking. I am a made baker and really want to bring back somthing from a world past.

People dont seem to want to bake anymore. If you call mixing up a store bought packet baking well it kinds is but there is nothing more satifying for me than to whip up a batch of Lemonade scones, Brownies or my favorite (hence the blog name) Red Velvet cake. i am also a mean Cupcake baker.

Whilst most of my posts will be about baking i want to also incorporate some simple easy yummy home cooked meals aswell.

so stay tuned.

Brett.
xxoo

Engagement Cupcake Tower

This Weekend we celebrated my Brothers Engagament party. I was lucky enough to be able to be given the opportunity to make there cake. We decided on a cupcake tower, me being me decided that I would not only make the cakes but make the actual tower for it to be displayed on. After much research, stress and many hours of design. We (my Dad and I) finally came up with a good solution. I am very very very pleased with the result as were teh happy couple and there guests It was very well received by all..

Cutting Cake

(Decorated in White Lizzies and Singapore Orchids)

Cake Stand (FINALLY finished LOL)

All 100 cupcakes were

Double Chocolate with a Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1st birthday cake

Last saturday was my cousins 1st birthday and I was lucky enought to be ablt eo make his cake. I adore the final result and look forward to making thsi cake again. next time i will do it in fondant though rather than buttercream.

the cake was a choc fusge with choc buttercream layers. was a HUGE hit. all the kids loved the cupcakes and asked was teh chocolate op top mousse. it was choc buttercream but tasted like mousse..

Brett

40th Birthday cake

A few weeks aga I did a 40th birthday cake. The cake was HUGE 14" caramel mud cake with a butterscotch buttercream filling. Finished of with a vanilla buttercream and decorated with gorgeous Lizzies.

This cake was VERY heavy. Please excuse photo quality my camera is playing up so these are my mobile phone shots. .

Stay tuned for this weeks cake my little cousin Coopers 1st birthday cake..

Caramel Mud Cake

As I am nowe the designated cake make at work. I baked a caramel mud cake for my bosses wife's birthday tomorrow. It is really lovley and smells DIVINE. the forsting was rushed due to a late night home last night and me forgetting that it needed to be iced LOL

Macaroon Heaven

Another site i stumbled accross today
Mad Baker

I feel i am about to stumble into a WHOLE new territory of baking

xxoo

Some Fab Sites i found today

These would just have to really take the cake at just how simple and gorgeous both of these creations are. you could just imagine yourself sitting back in a chair with some Hot choc and unwrapping your little box of treasures and taking that first bite.. Alll in complete and utter Silence.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Laduree
(website in french)

Cupcake Towers

Hi All,

Sorry for my lack of posts. Recently my Brother came to his senses and asked his gorgeous Girlfriend to marry him YAAAAAAAAAAAYYY.

So I will be making there Engagement cake. Design is yet to be choosen and I suggested to my Future Sister In law that maybe a cupcake tower would be nice. (they are having 160 guests) so this thread is purley just to show her some cupcake tower designs..

xxoo

Graduation Cake

Hi All,

I hope everyone enjoyed there long weekend. I sure did

I was asked to make my Red Velvet Cake for a friend of a friend for her Graduation this weekend. The cake as mentioned is a Red Velvet Cake with an Orange buttercream frosting it is topped with dark and white chocholate curls. the ribbon matched her graduation colors. I was pretty happy with the result as was she.

xxoo

Cupcakes

Who does not love a gorgeous fresh cupcake?. Simple always works for me Vanilla in flavour with a soft yummy buttercream frosting.

My next atemp will be Gingerbread cupcakes with a yummy vanilla frosting. I think these will be the perfect Xmas treat, but I am not waiting 8 months for that so with a few practice runs in between I think I will be making these for Xmas in July.

Anywho I was doing a little searching on the net today for ideas, and I found some really gorgeous decorated cupcakes so I thougt i would share. xxoo

Some Recipes

Hi Guys,

I have had a few requests for the Swiss Meringue Butter cream and Chocolate Ganache that I do.

This Butter cream is a good recipe and flavors can be adapted to a wide variety of choices. (lemon, orange curd, purees etc or fresh grated rinds etc) Its not a sweet butter cream so if you want it sweeter you could increase the sugar. or even whip in some pure icing sugar towards the end.

I Added fresh raspberries to the mix which was nice. here is the link There is also a video that was handy

Chocolate Ganache

Ganache really is very simple and basic to create and you can increase the chocolate and cream to your liking. for my parents cake i used

2 x 220g blocks dark chocolate
1 3/4 cup cream

Break chocolate up in a large bowl and set aside
Pour cream into a medium saucepan and gently bring to boil
pour hot cream over chocolate and leave for 5 Mins
Mix until combined and refrigerate until firm

You can then use this mixture as it is to spread on cakes etc. or you can GENTLY whip it to get a fuller consistency.

* be careful not to over whip as this will cause it to seperate and have a grainy consistency

My parents Birthday Cake

Well another friday night was spent constructing icing and decorating a cake. thsi weeks was a triple layer mud cake with Raspberry Swiss Meringw buttercream covered in whipped choc ganache decorated in my chocolate butterscotch balls and fresh raspberries.

Thsi was my first attampt at chocolate ganche and as yummy as it was next time i wont be whipping it or maybe not as much.

It was WELL recieved by all. A very rich cake but yummy and moist and just divine. These pics are not that great but iw ill upload the real ones tonight..

I really need to start taking proper pics of my cakes sliced..

Chocolate Balls Recipe

1 Packet sweet Buiscuits crushed (arroowroot, malt o milk etc)
1 Tin Sweeteend Condensed Milk
1 Cup Dessicated Coconut
2 Tablespoons Cocoa
Approx 2 Tablespoons Liquer. Scnapps, Baileys, Rum etc

Mix all ingreedients in a large bowl until well combined. roll into balls no larger than a teaspoon and roll in extra Coconut or cocoa. chill in fridge until firm.

No baking this weekend BUT

We got our new fridge delivered on saturday morning. I was so excited. I had just gotten back from the markets with an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies in preperation for the fridge arrival and they called to say she was coming. YAY

When they bought her in I was like. "um thats the worng one its to big" LOL. but she fitted and I instantly fell in love with her.

We have gone from a 300 litre to a gorgeous 520 litres of just wonder, upside down also so I am SO HAPPY.

Stay tuned for this weekends New orleans mud cake with a raspberry Swisss merinque buttercream covered in dark choc ganache MMMMMMMM

xxoo

Easter Baking

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I am not one for really celebrating Easter, I am not a religious person so Easter to me is a time to spend with family I refuse to become trapped in the commercialism of it all and in my opinion kids get WAY to much chocolate. So instead of buying eggs this Easter weekend i thought I would do some baking with a chocolate theme.

First stop was a Flourless Chocolate cake. This is really really yum and well worth the time. the finished cake is not all the appealing its a bit small looking but taste's amazing its like a brownie very moist and with a great texture due to the almond meal. I topped it off with some fresh whipped cream and fresh strawberries. a really lovely cake. i think next time i may try and tweak the recipe and make it bigger. Click here for recipe

Whoopie Pies

Next were Whoopie Pies. Apparently they are an Amish treat. I just had to make these. They were going to be bright red but I ran out of food dye so they just became chocolate. SO YUM very moist rich chocolate kind of cake/cookie. with a vanilla cream cheese butter cream. these were such a hit, all my family loved them.

Cupcakes

I was lying in bed Easter Sunday morning thinking to myself I need to be making cupcakes today. I was thinking Vanilla Buttercake With a chocolate cream frosting with a maltezer to top it off.

After trying an new vanilla cupcake recipe and failing miserably as i was then short on time I then had to try and find a shop and as terrible as this is i bought a packet mix, Greens buttercake, but you know it was divine the cakes were lovely. The icing was some left over whipped cream i had from the flourless chocolate cake so i whipped it up with some icing sugar and cocoa. it was just heaven, really lovely. I must say i am very proud of these little critters.

This weekends baking was bought to you from the gorgeous Pink Kitchen Aide that was on lend to me from my dear friend and I have to say those things rock. I borrowed it to see what all the hoo haa was about and to convince my dear husband that I need one I have to say I am SOLD SOLD SOLD. I think I may be getting the Almond Cream version for my birthday, these things are a amazing so effortless and wonderful to use and not as noisy as i was expecting it to be.


We also had some great news this weekend. My brother finally asked his wonderfull Girlfriend to become his wife such great news we all love her she is just a fantastic girl. so Guess who is making an engagement and wedding cake?? ME YAY so excited.

And just to top of my fab Easter weekend yesterday We bought a new Fridge YAAAAAAYYYYYYY a 520 litre fisher and paykel upside down fridge. I am so excited we currently only have a small fridge that has broken shelves, So I am just over the moon. Hopefully she will be delivered this weekend or early next week YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Brett
xxoo

I am in LOOOOOOOOVE (click for link)

Just doing my usual internet digging and I came across this cake that I have instatly fallen in love with. I think it is just divne. Yes I will be making it. I have my parents birthdays coming up next month and whilst it is a bit kiddish i think i will be able to make it look a little more grown up. I also have my little cousins first birthday in may so hopefully his mummy will let me make this for him. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Excited. I love Butter Cream cakes

Brett xxoo

Gulab Jamin

A lady that i work with bought in an Indian desert today called Gulab Jamin. So yum They are like Golden syrup dumplings but with a softer texture. They start off like marbles sized balls that are deep fried then you put them into a syrup made of cardamon pods, rose water and a few others ingredients. then the balls soak up the syrup and they expand. Just amazing. the flavours are wonder full. some may not like them due to the rose water. These ones were served with a gorgeous King island cream. as lovely as that was i would like it served with ice cream. or even on there own are just divine. They are really lovely and something different. I will make them myself very soon but i am going to alter it and in place of rose water i am going to try Orange extract or i may even see what happens when i add some orange zest. i love the flavour orange zest adds to cooking its such a delicate but lovely flavour. here is the recipe if anyone is interested in trying it Brett xxoo

Gulab Jamin

8 Tablesp full cream milk powder

3 Tablesp self raising flour

1/4 teasp cardamon

1/4 teasp bicarb

1 Tablesp butter or ghee
2 Tablesp Water

Syrup

4 cups water

2 cups sugar

4 bruised cardamon pods

6 drops rose water or 1 tsp

Mix together the dry ingredients. Rub in butter/ghee, then add water and mix. Shape into balls (bit larger than marbles). Dont make them too big as they will break up in the syrup.

Heat mixture of oil & ghee in a small pot - mixture will need to mostly cover jamin. When oil is hot and on the lowest heat, put in a jamin balls. It must bubble. Cook slowly until golden then take out with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper. Cook the rest of the jamin (in a small pot I cook 4 at a time). When they are cool, put in the syrup. The balls will expand as they absorb the syrup.

To make syrup Put water, sugar and cardamon together in a saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved. When cool add rosewater

BIG Weekend Of Baking

I Was up very early on sat morning as I needed to go to the flowers markets to get flowers for the big 30th birthday cake. I was Awake and ready to go at 5am ZZZZZzzzzz I got home about 6:30. So what else do you do at that time in the morning you may ask??? You bake marble cupcakes thats what you do. This was a recipe I had not tried before, but I was very impressed they were great, nice consistency and crumb and also moist. We had a big family get together so these were very popular especially with the kids. I do love a good cupcake.

Just to add a little more mixing, beating to the mix I then decided to also make a Citrus Meringue Pie. I used to always do lemon but a few months ago i did things differently and replaced the lemon juice with a mixture of Lemon,Orange and lime juice with the addition of lemon and orange rind. It is just gorgeous. as it is not to tart and just so yummy. Brett xxoo

30th Birthday cake

My dear Friend Kylie celebrated her 30th birthday over the weekend, this was held at the Victoria room in Darlinghurst. High tea was served and it was a great afternoon sipping tea and eating lots of yummy morsels of food. I cant reccomend this place enough. My partner and I held our Wedding reception here in Oct 07.

I decided I would surprise Kylie with one of my special Red velvet Birthday cakes. somthing that was just going to be an ordinary cake ended up looking like it should be a wedding cake. BUT non the less I am very pleased with the result and my friend more inportantly was very surpried and impressed.

I decorated in in White standard roses and gorgeous pink David Austin roses. its been a very long time since I have smelt roses that actualy smelt like roses should do. they were just divine.

This cake is a Red Velvet cake (Think Devils food cake with an intense deep red color) with an delicate orange buttercream filling. YUM

Happy Birthday Kylie..

Brett
xxoo

Hello

Ok i am new to this but i Wanted to have a little place all of my own so that i could showcase my love of baking. I hope you all enjoy my blog and come back frequently to see my yummy morsels.

Baking for me allows me to be creative. It relaxes me inspires me and i love nothing more than to create yummy morsels of food for friends and family

I am also hoping that my love of baking will inspire more people to stop buying store bought cakes,slices and yummy stuff and get back to good old Home cooking.

Brett
xxoo