...No, really, it is.
Just a teensy apology to you, my beauties, for being a selfish and terrible blogger. Having started a new job recently means I've had less time to blog, not to mention the fact that I've actually just made the Snowdrift Shortbread three Sundays in a row, so nothing new to add...
Next weekend I'm going to start making Festive fancies, as it's now justifiably Winter. I'll also be sharing with you my latest macaroon tale of woe.
All my love, stay warm! xxx
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Munching on a Winter Wonderland
Oh gosh. I hate to start out by being negative, and I really, truly love the book 'Eat Me!'....but. And it's a big 'but'. (Like the kind you'll get if you eat too many of my cakes.) But, the recipes often just don't work, or are missing vital instructions. It's a shame, and a good example of when style wins out over substance. Sadly, in cooking, substance is what you need. My pledge to you, beautiful readers, is to give you the most accurate recipes I can, so I've tweaked this one. In the next few weeks, I'm going to be making the transition from testing out the recipes of others, to making up my own, so please stay with me!
Shortbread base ingredients
3oz caster sugar
80z plain flour
40z unsalted butter, fridge-cold and cut into pieces
1. Fire up the ol' oven to 170C, and then set to greasing up a baking tin measuring 20 x 30cm. If you really can't handle that, then 8 x 12in. Greasing up. Greeeeeeasing up. Yuck. You'll most likely want to do this, and/or line it with parchment paper, unless you've got the best ever baking tin in the world, that never sticks (private message me if you do. I'll be having that please.)
2. Grab yourself a bowl, and mix together flour and sugar and butter. Yay! You're done!
3. So kidding. You're not back in Kansas yet, Dorothy. Get the butter and rub it in, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Press the mixture into the baking tin, evening it up as you go, making sure it reaches into the corners. Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
For the topping
6oz white chocolate
2oz desiccated coconut
1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. You'll want to do this JUST before you need it, because otherwise, it'll go from solid to liquid, then back to solid again. Kind of like the way Cheryl Cole went from being Pugnacious Chav, to Nation's Sweetheart, to Public Enemy No1 again.
2. Once the shortbread is cooked, cover with the fudge filling, then spread the white chocolate across, with a spatula. This will be tough! In fact, spreading white chocolate over fudge doesn't get much tougher than this, as they always say on Masterchef.
3. While the chocolate's still molten (brilliant word), sprinkle over the desiccated coconut and leave to cool, before cutting into squares.
4. Before you eat, you might want to book in with your local Weightwatchers group. Just a heads up.
All my love, and while my blog may have made you laugh (massive presumption on my part), please don't forget that today is Remembrance Sunday, and take some time to think about what that means to you. Diamond Doll xxx
Shortbread base ingredients
3oz caster sugar
80z plain flour
40z unsalted butter, fridge-cold and cut into pieces
1. Fire up the ol' oven to 170C, and then set to greasing up a baking tin measuring 20 x 30cm. If you really can't handle that, then 8 x 12in. Greasing up. Greeeeeeasing up. Yuck. You'll most likely want to do this, and/or line it with parchment paper, unless you've got the best ever baking tin in the world, that never sticks (private message me if you do. I'll be having that please.)
2. Grab yourself a bowl, and mix together flour and sugar and butter. Yay! You're done!
3. So kidding. You're not back in Kansas yet, Dorothy. Get the butter and rub it in, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Press the mixture into the baking tin, evening it up as you go, making sure it reaches into the corners. Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
For the fudge filling:
1 x 397g can condensed milk
2oz soft light brown sugar
2oz unsalted butter
1. I've never, ever had condensed milk before. I found the experience really rather exciting....
2. So easy peasy - all you have to do is pour the condensed milk, sugar and butter into a pan. Bring it to the boil, then turn the heat down, and cook for around 7-8 minutes, stirring regularly. The Eat Me book by 'Cookie Girl' says something COMPLETELY different. Ignore. Me and Cookie Girl will be on Jeremy Kyle next Wednesday, working out our difficulties.
3. What you're looking for is a slight darkening in colour. Don't worry too much texture-wise. It'll thicken up a bit, but when you leave it to cool, it will thicken even more so.
4. So, um, yeah....leave it to cool.
For the topping6oz white chocolate
2oz desiccated coconut
1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. You'll want to do this JUST before you need it, because otherwise, it'll go from solid to liquid, then back to solid again. Kind of like the way Cheryl Cole went from being Pugnacious Chav, to Nation's Sweetheart, to Public Enemy No1 again.
2. Once the shortbread is cooked, cover with the fudge filling, then spread the white chocolate across, with a spatula. This will be tough! In fact, spreading white chocolate over fudge doesn't get much tougher than this, as they always say on Masterchef.
3. While the chocolate's still molten (brilliant word), sprinkle over the desiccated coconut and leave to cool, before cutting into squares.
4. Before you eat, you might want to book in with your local Weightwatchers group. Just a heads up.
All my love, and while my blog may have made you laugh (massive presumption on my part), please don't forget that today is Remembrance Sunday, and take some time to think about what that means to you. Diamond Doll xxx
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Curiouser and curiouser....
Alice in Wonderland Cupcakes from the wonderful 'Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook'. These are stunners, and they will blow your mind. Even better, they will blow the mind of anyone you give them to. Ok cake fans, time to cook. This is an Aussie recipe, so all in cups...
Coconut and cherry cake ingredients
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
2/3 cup milk
400g sour cream
200g softened butter
1/2 teaspoon coconut essence
1/2 cups caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup chopped glace cherries
Makes 24
1. Preheat oven to 160C. Line two 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases, as bright as you like. Pink is obviously preferable, as ever.
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder, then add the desiccated coconut and mix, using your hands. Damn girl! You don't need no wooden spoons!
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each. It's tres tres important that the mixture is light and fluffy, or your friends won't ever speak to you again.
7. Add a third of the flour mixture at a time to the creamed mixture, and beat until just combined. Add half of the sour cream mixture and also beat until just combined. Repeat this until all the ingredients are combined. After the remaining third of the flour is combined, beat until mixed but not 'tough'.
8. Add glace cherries and beat until...until what? Yes! JUST COMBINED.
9. Spoon mixture into your cupcake cases, filling until half full. Bake for between 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
10. Once removed from the oven, take the cakes out and leave them to cool on a rack for around 30 minutes, otherwise when you ice it you'll get soup instead.
9 egg whites
6 cups dessicated coconut
9 cups icing sugar
pink food colouring
1. Industrial quantities of coconut ice!
2. Beat the egg whites for 15 seconds using a mixer on low speed. The minute it solidifies, you will get a rush of incredible wellbeing. I'd imagine that's how it feels to have a baby - not 15 seconds ago, you were cradling a sloppy mixing bowl of egg whites, and now look! A glorious mountain range, carved out in stiff egg....it's a miracle! Now hold it above your head to prove you've done your job properly.
3. Right campers - add the coconut, sifted icing sugar and 3-4 drops pink food colouring, or however much it takes to satisfy your cravings for pinkness. For me it's a lot more than 3-4 drops, I'll tell you that for free.
4. Listen up and listen well, and listen....good. This will SET. And it will set QUICKLY. So what you have to do is pretend you're in a sequel to 'Speed'. 'Speed 4: Race Against Coconut Ice'. (Apologies if there already has been a Speed 4. Apologies because it was undoubtely crap.) Goddammit you! You're gonna have to work fast! If you don't.....YOU'LL HAVE TO THROW YOUR ICING IN THE BIN.
5. Sorry, might have got a tad carried away. Now, I'm afraid there are no pictures of the following steps, because of Speed 4 syndrome - I couldn't possibly pause to photograph. Take my word for it. Here's what you do: Use your hands to roll a large spoonful of icing into a ball, around the size of a peach. Place it (QUICKLY) on top of your cake, and shape it. Sprinkle with more desiccated coconut and top with half a cherry.
Alternative names I have for 'desiccated coconut':
Decimated coconut
Coconut and cherry cake ingredients
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
2/3 cup milk
400g sour cream
200g softened butter
1/2 teaspoon coconut essence
1/2 cups caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup chopped glace cherries
Makes 24
1. Preheat oven to 160C. Line two 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake cases, as bright as you like. Pink is obviously preferable, as ever.
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder, then add the desiccated coconut and mix, using your hands. Damn girl! You don't need no wooden spoons!
3. In another bowl, mix togther the milk and sour cream until smooth. If your cream isn't sour enough, tell it it's wife cheated on it. That should help. Inappropriate?
4. In yet ANOTHER bowl, cream the butter and coconut essence together for 1-2 minutes - this should really help add a 'heart' of coconut to the recipe, instead of just adding it to the mixture later.
5. Add the castor sugar a third at a time, and beat for 2 minutes between each addition. It may sound labour intensive, but you really won't regret it - when you're using something like desiccated coconut, the rest of the cake needs to be EXTREMELY SMOOTH. As smooth as...no, no, I do that joke every blog entry. After the last addition of sugar, keep beating until you can hardly feel your wrist. You want it to look as though the sugar has almost completely dissolved into the mixture.
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each. It's tres tres important that the mixture is light and fluffy, or your friends won't ever speak to you again.7. Add a third of the flour mixture at a time to the creamed mixture, and beat until just combined. Add half of the sour cream mixture and also beat until just combined. Repeat this until all the ingredients are combined. After the remaining third of the flour is combined, beat until mixed but not 'tough'.
8. Add glace cherries and beat until...until what? Yes! JUST COMBINED.
9. Spoon mixture into your cupcake cases, filling until half full. Bake for between 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
10. Once removed from the oven, take the cakes out and leave them to cool on a rack for around 30 minutes, otherwise when you ice it you'll get soup instead.
Pink Coconut Ice Frosting
9 egg whites
6 cups dessicated coconut
9 cups icing sugar
pink food colouring
1. Industrial quantities of coconut ice!
2. Beat the egg whites for 15 seconds using a mixer on low speed. The minute it solidifies, you will get a rush of incredible wellbeing. I'd imagine that's how it feels to have a baby - not 15 seconds ago, you were cradling a sloppy mixing bowl of egg whites, and now look! A glorious mountain range, carved out in stiff egg....it's a miracle! Now hold it above your head to prove you've done your job properly.
3. Right campers - add the coconut, sifted icing sugar and 3-4 drops pink food colouring, or however much it takes to satisfy your cravings for pinkness. For me it's a lot more than 3-4 drops, I'll tell you that for free.
4. Listen up and listen well, and listen....good. This will SET. And it will set QUICKLY. So what you have to do is pretend you're in a sequel to 'Speed'. 'Speed 4: Race Against Coconut Ice'. (Apologies if there already has been a Speed 4. Apologies because it was undoubtely crap.) Goddammit you! You're gonna have to work fast! If you don't.....YOU'LL HAVE TO THROW YOUR ICING IN THE BIN.
5. Sorry, might have got a tad carried away. Now, I'm afraid there are no pictures of the following steps, because of Speed 4 syndrome - I couldn't possibly pause to photograph. Take my word for it. Here's what you do: Use your hands to roll a large spoonful of icing into a ball, around the size of a peach. Place it (QUICKLY) on top of your cake, and shape it. Sprinkle with more desiccated coconut and top with half a cherry.
Alternative names I have for 'desiccated coconut':Decimated coconut
Desegregated coconut
Disingenuous coconut
Disgraced coconut
You may know it by many others. It is a master of disguise.
You may know it by many others. It is a master of disguise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)