Blueberry Macarons

Wow! I can't believe it is November already, Christmas is right around the corner! I've finally gotten around to posting about my yummy blueberry macarons I made for my second birthday celebration (yes, it was all the way back in September!) I adapted my Raspberry Macarons recipe to make these and I was really happy with the flavour!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE blueberries AND the colour TEAL?! The colour didn't work out exactly as planned, I probably shouldn't have put the teal in because no one liked the colour...except me! Haha!

Blueberry Macarons 
Adapted from Women's Weekly Macarons & Biscuits 

Ingredients: 
3 Egg Whites
1/4 C Caster Sugar
Blue (and teal?) Colouring Gel
1 1/4 C Icing Sugar
1 C (120g) Ground Almonds

1) Line two oven trays with baking paper, once you have made your macaron mixture you can use small blobs to secure these to the tray.
2) Sift icing sugar and ground almonds together a few times in a separate bowl, set aside.
3) Beat egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks form.
4) Add caster sugar and a few drops of colouring gel, beat until sugar dissolves.
5) Transfer mixture to a large bowl and fold in sifted icing sugar and ground almonds in two batches.
6) Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 2cm plain tube.
7) Pipe 4cm rounds about 2cm apart onto trays. I like to print out circles on paper and put these underneath the baking paper so I get perfect circles (for some reason they all come out different sizes otherwise!) then you can remove the circle paper before baking.
8) Tap trays on bench so macarons spread slightly.
9) Let stand for half an hour.
10) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 150 degrees C.
11) Bake macarons about 20 minutes. Check to see how your macarons are doing after about 15 minutes. If they look like they are browning too much lower the temperature of the oven by 10-15 degrees for the next batch.
12) Cool on trays.

Blueberry White Chocolate Ganache 
Ingredients: 
1/4 C Cream
150g White Eating Chocolate (chopped coarsely)
1 T Blueberry Jam (warmed up and then sieved)
Blue (or teal) Colouring Gel

1) Bring cream to boil in a small saucepan.
2) Remove from heat and add chocolate, stir until smooth.
3) Heat jam in microwave and pour through a sieve.
4) Stir in jam and tint with colouring gel.
5) Refrigerate until spreadable.
6) Pair up macarons of similar sizes then pipe on the filling and squish them together. YUM!

Feeling Blue...in a Good Way!

I'm obsessed with BLUE at the moment, all shades of blue. Light blue, dark blue, sky blue, teal, turquoise, navy blue!

I don't know why BLUE is supposed to mean you feel down, when I think blue I think peaceful, organised, cute, maybe even yummy (if it's blue frosting!)

I also found this great post on the colour of the month via TomKat Studio about TEAL! Check it out here.

I want this blue (teal) kick ass oven!

I want this adorable blue cupcake that matches its case

I want a blue ice cream

I want some blue macarons
...wouldn't mind some more diamonds too

I want this to be my desk

If You Like Pina Coladas...and Yoghurt

A few weeks ago there was a little Easiyo yoghurt stand set up at my supermarket, giving out free samples of their new flavour range. I tried the coconut one, for something different and it blew my mind! The taste reminded me of Pina Coladas! I was singing in the supermarket (to my hubby):

If you like Pina Coladas

And getting caught in the rain

If you're into yoghurt

Then we're one in the same!

Pina Colada!

I didn't buy it straight away because it wasn't on special but last week I found it for $2.99! I went home and made it straight away. The next day when I got hom from work I poured myself a little cup full of delicious yoghurt! It tasted just like a Pina Colada...minus the rum and pineapple!

Easiyo - Greek & Coconut YUM!

This is a yummy, healthy snack that I won't be giving up any time soon!

Mini Pavlovas for the All Blacks

Seeing as this has been a very rugby-filled week (well in NZ it's been a rugby-filled two months actually!) I thought I would share with you the cute pavlovas I made for watching the final game on Sunday.

Pavlova is a very very Kiwi dessert. I think the Aussies tried to steal it from us but it is definitely a Kiwi dessert. It is basically eggs and sugar (a lot like meringue) baked then topped with cream and fruit.

If you want to make these yourself it's totally easy because you can cheat! (I did!) Buy six mini pavlovas, top with whipped cream and whatever yummy fruit is in season. Strawberries, kiwifruit and mixed berries go really well! I used some passion fruit pulp then topped with kiwifruit that I cut out with a heart shaped cookie cutter, then made some home made All Blacks supporter flags on toothpicks and popped them on top. Voila! Mini Pavlovas perfect for watching the game and VERY Kiwi!

Rugby Cakes for the All Blacks Win!

Last night was one of the most amazing moments in NZ history. The All Blacks won the 2011 Rugby World Cup!

Lets celebrate with some cake (and cookies?) Check out these bad boys below:

By Kylandi Catering

Photo from here

By Cakeology

By Heather's Cakes

By Emily's Custom Bakeshop

Rugby Cake Topper Found on WeddingStar.com

By The Whole Cake and Caboodle

Bake a Difference for Blind Week

This week is blind week here in New Zealand. I found out about this awesome fundraiser where you can sell your baking to raise funds for the blind called Bake a Difference. I immediately thought 'this is something I could do!' so decided to organise a small fundraiser at my work place.

I asked two of my work mates to bring in some baking to help out and was blown away with how enthusiastic and willing they were to help. They made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Melting Moments and Dreamy Lemon Slice. These yummy treats went alongside my Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Bake Goodies on Display at Work

I got a little carried away making an honesty box out of my Elizabeth Arden gift box. I printed out the logos from the RNZFB and Bake a Difference, glued it to my box then cut out a hole for the coins in the ribbon to make it look stylish.

Home Made Honesty Box!

I also made little flags with the Bake a Difference logo on them. I cut out rectangles and glued them on to bamboo skewers then popped these on to my cupcakes just before displaying them.

Red Velvet Bake a Difference Cupcakes

Red Velvet Bake a Difference Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Made by Ryan)

Dreamy Lemon Slice
(Made by Rachelle)

Melting Moments
(Made by Rachelle)

The fundraising went AMAZINGLY, we managed to make $255! Woohoo!

If you would like to do the same you can sign up online here. I'd love to see what you make and hear how it all went if you do!

Good luck to the All Blacks tonight, lets see them win the Rugby World Cup 2011!

Blueberry Pancakes

I love LOVE love blueberries and I love LOVE love pancakes. Lets bring them together to make a very happy Lydia...

I got the recipe off the side of the buttermilk carton. I use buttermilk in my Red Velvet recipe, but because it only uses one cup I always have leftovers, this is a GREAT way to use up that left over buttermilk!

Blueberry Pancakes
Recipe from the Tararua Buttermilk carton

Ingredients:
1 C Self Raising Flour
1 C Buttermilk
2 Eggs
2 T Sugar
1/2 t Baking Soda
Grated Rind of 1/2 Lemon (I didn't have any lemons so left this out)
3 T Margarine (melted)
1 C Blueberries (fresh or frozen)

• Mix all ingredients together, except the margarine and blueberries, to form a smooth batter.
• Add margarine and blueberries, mix well.
• Lightly grease a fry pan with some butter and add a large spoonful of mixture to the pan.
• Cook on a medium heat and flip when bubbles form.
• Serve hot with your favourite syrups and fruits!
• NOM NOM NOM!

Like my "takeaway" coffee mug? Cute huh!

Nike 'Kicks' Shoe Cake

My Hubby's work mate saw a photo of the Converse Shoe Cake I made for him a while ago and thought that a shoe cake would be very fitting (sorry, I love puns!) for her son's 18th birthday.

The story goes that every year she gets her son a new pair of Nike shoes, this year she wanted to get him something different for his birthday but she still wanted him to get his Nike shoes, thus the Nike shoe cake idea!

Before...

It wasn't exactly the easiest cake in the world to make, I'd never made a 3D shoe cake before and the shoe couldn't be too small or they wouldn't have much cake to eat!

The Picture I was Working From

Just Do It!

Stitching!

I didn't take many photos along the way (sorry) but I baked two square cakes and one loaf tin cake using 2 x my chocolate cake recipe then basically stacked them, with icing in between layers and hacked away at it with various knives from my kitchen. Then I covered the cake in black fondant and stuck on the other fondant colours, layer by layer. After all the fondant was in the right places I drew and indented my cake to give it all the details.

The Finished Product

I hope you like it, I'm pretty proud of it myself!

5 Things to Bake Before the end of the Year!

It's a bit of a risk putting a goal such as this on my blog. It's almost like me saying what weight I'd like to be in January 2012 (yeah right, I'm not telling you!) But I would like to bake the following five things in the next few months..hopefully I have opportunities to make them all. Also, hopefully I don't EAT them all, if I ever want to get to that goal weight! .

UPDATE!
Okay, you caught me, I haven't made ANY of these things...maybe I can try and make them over the course of 2012?! I'm terrible! I knew I shouldn't have put a goal on my blog! Haha!

My Top Five: What I want to bake before 31st December 2011 31st December 2012!

  

1) Pumpkin Pie
In November 2012 I finally attempted my first Pumpkin Pie. It was more work than I expected, mainly because I'm absolutely terrible when it comes to pastry. But in the end I had a fabulous tasting (not lookin) Pumpkin Pie that I'm proud to say I baked!

2) Salted Butter Popcorn Macarons
I still haven't made these! Perhaps if I'm feeling creative I'll get onto it for Christmas!

Popcorn Macaron
Photo and Recipe here

3) High Hat Cupcakes
Still haven't attempted these. I think they would be great for a birthday party, hmmm whose birthday?

Hi Hat Cupcakes
Photos and Recipe here

4) Whoopie Pies
My first attempt at Whoopie Pies was an interesting one, one I know I won't have trouble forgetting easily! Though they didn't look like the ones I see in photos, they still tasted pretty good. Maybe I need a bit of practice, anyone willing to be a taste tester?

5) S'mores Cupcakes

These were a fun idea for a cupcake. To be honest, I didn't realise they had a cookie and chocolate base until I read the recipe. They tasted great but boy oh boy were they messy to eat!

I'll update this post with my results and of course I'll blog about them all! Wish me luck!

Mitsubishi Cake

Here are some photos of a cake I made for a friend whose partner is a BIG Mitsubishi enthusiast! She wanted the cake to be from their baby daughter, Anja.

How to Make Black Icing

I've had quite a few people ask me how to make black icing and I thought it might be a good idea to share with you my experiences.

Black icing quite often can make your mouth black too, it's not pretty! But sometimes you just gotta have your icing black (like if you're supporting The All Blacks?)

Black Buttercream:
I think the easiest way to make a black buttercream is to start with a chocolate buttercream (or add cocoa to your icing) it tastes good and will instantly make your icing darker.
Next add a small amount of black gel colouring using a toothpick and mix in.
Keep doing this until your icing is starting to look a bit darker. The colouring will develop over time so it's best to make this in advance and leave it for a few hours. That way you can check back on it to see if it has turned completely black, if it hasn't then just add a little bit more black again.
You can use liquid colouring too but you may have to use lots!

Photo from here

Black Royal Icing:
Royal Icing is a bit harder to make than buttercream. The best method I have used it to add a whole bunch of gel colours together to get a disgusting dark colour, then add black gel colouring. The reason I do it this way is because when ever I have added black gel to royal icing all it does is eventually go dark grey, not black.

Photo from here

Black Fondant:
Black fondant is a pain in the bum! If you are planning on covering a cake in it I would suggest buying some because it will save you a lot of time. You can also buy it then add it to a chocolate fondant then add a little black gel, that way you're stretching your bought fondant a bit further.
Failing that, here's how to make black fondant: start with a chocolate fondant (I use Bakels) add black gel colouring using a toothpick, knead the colouring into the fondant until it is all one colour. This takes quite a long time but in the end you will get black! Remember that the colour will develop over time so best make this the day before you need it...also because your hands will go BLACK!

All Black Rugby Cupcakes!
Photo from here

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes to the Rescue!

When I have extra cake mixture after baking a cake or two here is what I do with the leftovers, make mini cupcakes and share them with the world!

Tiny little cakes of happiness topped with joy (and chocolate frosting!)

I took these cupcakes to church for a shared lunch:







I took these cupcakes to work:







If you want to make these absolutely delicious cupcakes (one is never enough!) then just use my chocolate cake recipe but only bake them for about 10 minutes (keep an eye on them in the oven)

ENJOY!