And the winner is...

Ferrero Rocher! Bring it on!

Flickr Friday - Shopping

Going shopping today :)

1. Record Shopping, 2. shopping floor, 3. Wreck this Journal: Shopping Lists, 4. Shoe shop, 5. Let the buyer beware (Gaunt shop), 6. Day 280/365: I Shop Therefore I Am, 7. finding happiness inside a shopping bag, 8. Manga shop, 9. shopping orange

Tuesday Etsy Picks - Bears

1. Cupcake Bear Sticker Sets by Notebooks, etc.
2. The Queen and I by Little Robot
3. The Giant Suburban Bear Monster by Matte Stephens
4. Masked Bear by Zukzuk
5. Snow White Bear with Crystal Egg in Paw Brooch by em's shop of bears'n'such
6. Little Bear by Craftpaca
7. He Says He Can Hear The Forest Whisper Card by Hide n Seek
8. Panda Bobby Pin by JooSweetie
9. Tiny Bear Head Vase by Pretty Random Objects

Baking Mondays - Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

This week I had some left over bananas that were beginning to get a bit overripe - so it was a perfect opportunity for some banana cupcakes. I decided to finish off the cupcakes with some lemon cream cheese frosting and it was delightful! I am very happy with these cupcakes.

So the recipes...

Sour Cream Banana Cupcakes (from The Australian Women's Weekly - Cupcakes)
Makes 12

90g butter, softened
110g brown sugar
2 eggs
75g self raising flour
75g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp mixed spice
2/3 cup overripe banana
80g sour cream
2 tbsps milk

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a 12-hole muffin tray with cupcake liners.
2. Beat butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Note: If I do these again I will beat the butter and sugar on its own first, and then the eggs to get a better consistency.
3. Stir in sifted ingredients, banana, sour cream and milk.
4. Divide batter amongst cupcake liners, and bake for 20 minutes.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Made more than enough for 12 cupcakes

60g butter, softened
250g cream cheese
500g icing sugar, sifted
juice of 1 lemon

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until combined, light and fluffy.
2. Add the icing sugar and beat until combined.
3. Add the lemon juice and beat until combined, and then keep beating until smooth.

And the ratings?

Me - 9/10 - yum, yum, yum! These were light, moist and delicious. The icing was very tangy and sweet - loved it! My only issue is that the cake could taste a little bit more like bananas.
Mat - 9/10 - best banana cake that I have made so far (even though I have only made one before :P)

A... B... Cupcakes! Brought to you by the letter 'F'

You know what time it is...

Voting time!! This week we are up to the fantastical, fun, fabulous letter 'F'! So without further ado here are the flavour choices this week...

Ferrero Rocher
Frangelico
Fudge

As per usual vote using the poll on the left - so go on you know you want to!

Flickr Friday - Motivation

Motivation is what I am lacking...

1. day 62 - school work, 2. ....a good way to motivate your model..., 3. Motivated, 4. motivation-001, 5. motivation, 6. A Little Push, 7. motivation, 8. internal motivation, 9. Motivation.

Baking Mondays - E is for Eskimo Pie

Chocolate cupcakes topped with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, drizzled with melted chocolate and sprinkled with 100's and 1000's

This week Eskimo Pie won the poll, which is lucky because I was actually a bit of afraid attempting the egg nog cupcakes. I would of liked to make these more attractive - but Zoe wasn't very happy while I was baking so I kind of had to hurry it along. So please excuse the messiness of these.

Boiled Chocolate Cake
Makes 35 cupcakes ;)

500ml water
660g caster sugar
250g butter, chopped
35g cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp bicarb soda
450g self raising flour
4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line 3 12-hole muffin trays with cupcake liners.
2. Combine the water, sugar, butter, cocoa and bicarb in a medium saucepan and stir over heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Add the flour and eggs to the bowl and beat with electric mixer until mixture is smooth and pale in colour.
4. Pour mixture into the cupcake liners and bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Follow the directions for almond buttercream but leave out the almond essence and use 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract instead of 2 teaspoons.

Chocolate Drizzle

340g dark chocolate
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Melt the chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cool before using otherwise the buttercream will melt ;)


The ratings?

Me - 7/10, yummy! The cake was really moist and the texture was great, however, it wasn't very chocolatey - so it isn't the best chocolate cake recipe. The buttercream is good as always and the chocolate + 100's and 100's makes for crunchy goodness.
Mat - 7/10, not as good as the peanut butter cupcake, but still good.

Happy 7 months Zoe!!

Love you baby girl.

Flickr Friday - Planning

Doing a little bit of life planning ...

1. Day 16: Plans, 2. Development Plan, 3. Weekend Plans, 4. plans for the living room, 5. And the white king spoke: We need a plan!, 6. planning the technology curriculum, 7. Planning sewing room, 8. Weekend planning, 9. The Plan

Wednesday Etsy Picks - Adelaide

A shout out to all my local etsy sellers :)

1. Kimono Amigurumi by Chu Things
2. Plushie Tie Pendant by Miss Kitty Charms
3. Retro Dots Zip Pouch by Odds & Blobs
4. Baby Babushka Doll Hanging Ornament by De Nardi
5. Cactus with Wallpaper by With Wallpaper
6. Lily Dreams by Peach Patrol
7. Black and Red Skull Hair Tie by Sossory
8. Miss Polly Summer Smock by Miss Polly
9. First Spanner (Baby Rattle) by Fede
10. Erica Photographic Print by Samuel Nelson Photography
11. Birdie Card - Love by The Jade Leaf
12. Stripe and Spot Kangaroo Purse by Rose-Anne Russell

A... B... Cupcakes! Brought to you by the letter 'E'

It is time to vote again. We are up to the excellent letter E! So your choices this week are:

Eclair
Egg Nog
Eskimo Pie

As per usual vote using the poll on the left - so go on you know you want to!

Baking Mondays - Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

This week I wanted to try another chocolate cake recipe out and instead of a chocolate frosting I was in the mood for peanut butter flavoured swiss meringue butter cream (SMBC). Can I just say yum! These were great and I will definitely make them again.

Chocolate Cupcakes from Confetti Cakes for Kids by Elisa Strauss
Makes 12 cupcakes

6 ounces plain flour
2 ounces cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 ounces sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 ounces unsalted butter
7 ounces caster sugar
1 egg
5 ounces strong prepared coffee

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a 12-hole muffin tray with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and vanilla extract.
4. In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until smooth.
5. Set the mixer to low speed add the egg and then scrape down the sides.
6. Alternately add the flour and sour cream mixtures to the butter mixture in 2 batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl after each addition.
7. Gradually pour in the coffee. Scrape down the bowl and beat until combined.
8. Divide batter among the muffin holes and bake in oven for 20-25 minutes.

Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Follow the recipe for almond SMBC but put in 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, omit the almond essence and add 4 tablespoons of peanut butter instead.

The ratings?

Me - 9/10 - loved these!! Just need to perfect the baking time once I have an oven that can hold a steady temperature.
Mat - 9/10 - top stuff - SMBC was sensational!

Flickr Friday - Confused

Confused is what I am right now...

1. I'm confused, 2. Confusing Intersection, 3. Confused lady street worker, 4. Dazed & Confused, 5. confused, 6. Been dazed and confused for so long it's not true, 7. Confused, 8. Dased and Confused, 9. Confused Sign

Wednesday Etsy Picks - Black

1. Swings by Jennopolis
2. Jellyfish vinyl messenger by Sugar Lust
3. Baaad sheep - zipper pouch by LouLouBell
4. Black Kitty Cat Crocheted Fingerless Mittens with Vintage Buttons and Bow by Coquelicot Salon
5. Amelie brooch by Tilly Bloom
6. Bat house, eco-friendly reclaimed cedar by Andrew's Reclaimed
7. Black Bird Listening to Music on Headphones, Wall, Vinyl, Sticker, Decal by Designfruit
8. Black autumn leaf earrings by Labelle Moon
9. Driftwood - giclee print by koniver
10. Fitted slouch shoulder top, black by lamixx
11. Hair Clip Felt Cute Skull Rock Star BLACK by siiri made
12. The World Is Your Oyster by The Love Shop

Baking Mondays - D is for Doughnuts

Doughnut cupcakes filled with raspberry jam, topped with a doughnut glaze and sprinkles.

This week I was on a mission to make doughnut flavoured cupcakes. I scoured the blog world looking for a suitable recipe and I came across this recipe from Coconut & Lime. Looked good so I thought I would give it a try. I decided to double the recipe so that Mat would have enough cupcakes to take to work and there was my first mistake. Here is a simple mathematics question - what is a quarter of a cup of butter doubled? I can tell you that it is not 1 cup of butter - which is what I accidentally put in. Thankfully the cupcakes still turned out alright even though I doubled the amount of butter in them. While the Coconut & Lime recipe suggested using icing sugar on top of the cupcakes I decided to make a glaze that was on Bakerella's website - wasn't quite what I was looking for, but oh well.

Now the ratings...

Me - 6/10, the cake tasted good but not amazing - and it didn't taste much like a doughnut at all :(
Mat - 6/10, he wasn't sure why there was a need for lemon zest in the cakes. He thinks I should of consulted him on the flavour of the cake and that I need to try again :P

ETA - If I had actually put in the right amount of butter I'm sure these cupcakes would of been great - note to self: redo the batch if I make a mistake like that again (sorry Rachel from Coconut & Lime for not mentioning this earlier).

Flickr Friday - Road Trip

We are off to Mildura tomorrow - back Sunday!

1. Road Trip, 2. Road Trip Eyes, 3. flickr.com/photos/48384955@N00/348815948/, 4. Road trip, '97, 5. road trip 2008, 6. Three Dog Road Trip, 7. Gallery Space Finalist #51: Road Trip!, 8. Cali Road Trip, 9. What's a Road trip Without a Road