a touch of sweetness

Some biscuit baking the other week - I highly recommend these Polish Lemon Sandwich Tea Cookies, easy to bake & also delicious. They didn't last long, which I always take as a good sign when I bake something new.

A couple of notes:
~ I used the zest from a whole lemon in both the biscuits & the filling (so two in total), rather than splitting the zest from one
~ I don't own a 1-inch cookie scoop (or any cookie scoop), so I just used a tablespoon - which must be bigger, since I only got 18 sandwich cookies (36 biscuits before filling)
~ also, the filling/icing is really nice, but the recipe does make lots - we ended up baking a butter cake later in the week to use it up (poor us, lol). If you get more biscuits/are more generous with the filling, you might not have this problem though.

Happy baking.

something sweet | brisbane

a selecion of the delicious things we ate while we were away (there were lots of other lovely meals too - which we mostly neglected to photograph, lol).

photos 2,4 & 5 taken by Kathryn

sweetly...

sweetly scented & simply lovely - our honeysuckle put on a magnificent display this year.

sweet spice...

I've been wanting to try baking these muffins for ages - something about the combination of tea & poppy seeds just really appealed. I much prefer chai tea to earl grey though, so I simply substituted chai teabags when infusing the milk - plus a dash of vanilla in with my wet ingredients - and went with apricot jam for the glaze.

A double batch (with an extra egg) yielded 3 dozen nicely sized muffins - although they seem more like cupcakes to me... but then again, I really couldn't describe what the difference is. Not that it matters, as they are soft & delicious, with a beautiful hint of tea & spice.

Just in case I haven't tempted you enough, a few other recipes I've had success with recently(ish) - Spelt Apple Teacake (& Amy also made this Spelt Carrot Cake not that long ago), Magic Custard Cake, & the chocolate version too. Plus, I had this awesome chocolate cake for my birthday :)

no-bake choc fruit bites

You might remember my mention of working towards launching our shop blog - which is now live. There will be recipes, craft, articles about things like aromatherapy & much more. I am one of four contributors & my first post is about these awesome no-bake fruit bites.

They are delicious, healthy, easy to make & did I mention delicious? You can find the recipe here.

sweet somethings...

I think I already mentioned that we've been baking lots of goodies for Christmas...

we baked lots of honey cookies - they're something my Babcia (grandma) has always baked. Ours are never quite the same, but they're pretty good, if I do say so myself...

& I do mean lots...

I also baked a pair of boiled fruit cakes - we've already ah, 'sampled' one. Actually it's pretty much all gone - this is the recipe I use - with the addition of a teaspoon of coffee, dissolved in a little hot water - I also just used a mix of the dried fruit we already had (including sultanas, cranberries, apricots & peaches)...

& I baked these rye muffins last week, to help with the cleaning.  I adapted them slightly - in a double batch I added an extra egg, some mixed spice & some chopped dried fruit - they make a very nice snack.

cake { the teleidoscope }

delicious & colourful - week #46 of The Teleidoscope - Cake.

I can't take any credit for the awesomeness of this cake - it was all Kathryn. She spent pretty much all day making this epic seven-layered rainbow sponge cake. Plus she helped me with my photo & let me use her photo set-up. Thanks gorgeous!

actually, I'll take a tiny-tiny bit of credit, I was able to give her a little advice at the adding colour stage.

*diptych photos taken by Kathryn, also she played tripod/remote for my sp

on Flickr

Milk & Choc Chip Cupcakes

When I saw these gorgeous cupcake over on Raspberri Cupcakes, I knew they had to go on my 'to-bake' list (which is alarmingly long, darn you pinterest). As we've never quite gotten the cookie-dough obsession in this house, I felt quite safe leaving that part of the recipe out. And sadly, my cupcakes are much less fancy than the ones Steph made.

I did make the condensed milk icing & even had a go at piping it on. Although the icing did taste awesome, the general consensus was that it was a bit much in piped quantities, so I only did one each like that - the rest I spread a smaller amount on.

Even without the icing the cupcakes were delicious - next time I'll probably just make them & not do the icing at all. I doubled the cupcake recipe (adding an extra egg), which made 30 cupcakes. I only did a single batch of icing, which made a nice amount per cupcake - even with the piped ones.

choc chip cupcakes with milk icing

from raspberri cupcakes

(makes 12-15 cupcakes)

 
For the cupcakes:
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
155g sugar
2 eggs
225g self-raising flour + 1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Optional: 1/2-2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (or finely chopped chocolate)

For the icing:

350g unsalted butter, chopped into cubes

400g icing/confectioner's sugar, sifted

1/2 can (200g/7 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Make the chocolate chip cupcakes; Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer at high speed. Beat in eggs one at a time and then fold milk, flour, salt into the mixture until smooth.
Stir chocolate chips into the mixture and then spoon into a 12-hole cupcake tray lined with papers.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until cupcakes are golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in tin for 5 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Prepare the icing; remove the butter from the fridge about 30 mins before starting.
Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high until smooth and fluffy, then reduce speed and gradually add icing sugar. Beat again on high until well combined. Add condensed milk and beat on high until fluffy.
Place in a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round tip and pipe swirls on top of cupcakes. Or spread generously with a knife. Can be served immediately or stored in the fridge in an airtight container for several days. Remove from the fridge 30 mins before serving.

tower { the teleidoscope }

An edible tower of stars for week #9 of The Teleidoscope - Tower.

I baked spiced shortbread stars, as well as plum jam-filled shortbread cresents? half-moons? half-rounds?...they were a much more defined shape before they were baked.

Even though I wasn't sure how they'd turn out (I just decided to put the jam in the middle) & regardless of the shape, the jam ones are the definite favourites & won't last much longer :)

on Flickr

sweet treats { melbourne }

lemon berry tart, fruit toast, french toast with caramelised apple, fig cake, macarons (pistachio, hazelnut & dark chocolate)


I did eat some proper food too, honest ;)

Not-Banana Bread

Recently I've started following some food blogs (I blame pinterest & all the gorgeous food photography) & rather than just looking at the pretty pictures, I want to actually try some of the recipes.

Not too long ago I came across this delicious sounding recipe for banana bread. Bananas are ridiculously expensive here at the moment (I think they're 'down' to $15/kg) so a little adaptation was necessary.

We had some cooked fruit stashed in the freezer, so the first batch was plum & apple, followed by plum & nectarine, plum & peach....you get the picture. This batch is a mix of peach & apple (tinned pie apple to be exact, cooked with a bit of cinnamon & mashed).

I made a single batch the first time....every one since has been a double mix though :)

So,  this is super easy & delicious. Moist, fruity, full of cinnamon & spice....& if it lasts long enough it's rather nice toasted, with butter (under a grill though - I wouldn't put it in a toaster).

Not-Banana Bread

makes one 9×5-inch loaf

recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

1 cup stewed fruit – such as: apple, plum, nectarine, peach, apricot

1/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 cup vegetable oil, (I have used either olive or grapeseed)

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup unbleached spelt flour

1 cup wholemeal spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking soda (as in bi-carb)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon mixed spice

Generous pinch nutmeg

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, place the stewed fruit, sugar, pineapple, and oil and whisk briskly to incorporate.

Sift in the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined. Fold in the coconut.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. The top should be lightly browned and a skewer inserted through the centre should come out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes before transferring out of a pan and onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice generously to serve.

*I usually make a double batch, adding a couple of tablespoons extra fruit to help it stay moist. Also, the spices (except for the cinnamon) are approximate; I do them slightly differently each time.

christmas treats...

This year we have made chrusti for a special christmas treat...

Chrusti are a Polish 'biscuit' - sweet pastry, rolled thin, twisted, deep-fried & then covered in icing sugar.

They are very light & easy to eat (possibly not such a good thing ;)  & these are coming to adelaide with us - part of Babcia's christmas present.

wishlist wednesday...

I'm in the mood for something sweet...

Tea and Honey 8x12 photo by honeyandjamphotos

One Heart Trinket Dish by Misspottery

 Petite Amber ring by bluehourdesigns

Trust by joojoo

Hearts Entwined by Epheriell