red velvet.

Millsy b is the biggest red velvet fan i know so for her birthday i didn't even have to ask but was excited to try out an ombré style for the occasion. I realized as I started that it wouldn't be an entire red velvet due to the gradiated colours but nevertheless knew she (and everyone else) would love the surprise once the first piece was cut. have a go with any color combo or rainbow!  oh and the mascarpone cream cheese frosting was a good call.

I made the recipe below as instructed minus the cocoa powder and then divided it into three bowls, 1 1/4c each. the colors don't change much while baking and make them each a shade darker so to blend once cut. next time would probably make a regular vanilla cake for the lighter colored cakes.

ta-dah...

the last layer needed a little more red but the other colours were spot on. 

adapted from joyofbaking.com..

for the cake

the ingredients

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp (15 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1c (226g grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 tbsp  liquid red food coloring

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks, 226g) unsalted butter at room temperature

the temperature 170C, 350F for 20 minutes

the preparation

in a mixing bowl sift together the flour and salt and set aside.

beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. scrape down the sides of the bowl. add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

add the buttermilk. with the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

in a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. 

divide into bowls and add colouring as desired.

for the mascarpone cream cheese frosting from epicurious

the ingredients

1 cup (227g) cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of kosher salt

1 cup (227g) mascarpone 

the preparation

beat the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the mascarpone on very low speed until just combined. (be careful; once you've added the mascarpone, excessive beating can make the frosting curdle.) stir in the vanilla extract.

whatever you want.

here's a recap of a few birthday cake requests I've had since the beginning of the year. I'm more than willing to try something new so love when I get a specific request.

march:

"something with peanut butter and chocolate"

my dear friend mima usually only requests this combo (who could blame her?!) although the cake collapsed a bit while cooling it was easy to hide. Will definitely try this one again!

Barefoot Contessa's Beatty's chocolate cake, peanut butter icing with a chocolate and peanut butter ganache. garnished with bronze edible crunch from Waitrose 

may:

while it wasn't a birthday..or a cake I was putting together for this time, it was so much fun prepping these sweet thank yous for the first bachelorette/hen, of the group! 

june:

"a large cupcake cake"

for my sweet friend kitty's birthday I made as requested and all i can say is 'phew' when the cake came out of the pan easily! (Grease well with butter then dust lightly with flour)

I mixed the tiniest bit of rose water to the buttercream frosting which complemented the rich chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. I had fun experimenting with different piping techniques and voilà, giant cupcake cake! no arguing over cake for this birthday girl and boy!

july:

"whatever you think!"

busy mom of two is getting ready for the second round of 'first birthdays'. having friends with little ones means i can test out cute character cakes such as this one! can't wait for the next one to turn 4! 

hummingbird bakery chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.. chocolate eyes and Cadbury fingers for antlers

not the greatest photo but you know who it is...

august:

i don't even need to ask the august princess-i'll be creating another (but slightly different of course) red velvet treat. stay tuned!

you win some you lose some.

it seems I've hit a point where I have no 'recipe I'd like to try' list so when Mills and I decided to have (yes another) barbie I turned to my pavlova loving friend Sarah for suggestions. the fact that i refer to her as pavlova loving should've been a hint as she suggested a baked alaska. the thought was daunting but i love trying something new and it seemed easy enough so went with it. a cooling, refreshing summer passion fruit dessert, mmm, the girls will love that. (And if pulled off right looks quite impressive too) 

well, turns out in this moment of time an electric whisk would've been perfect. I thought I could whip egg whites by hand but the combination of the heat and my weak arms got me no where..the bowl also went around the table for all to join in too.

I finally gave up put all was not lost. I still cut out rounds from the flan sponge (will obvi bake my own next time if serving this way) served with vanilla ice cream and passion fruit sauce (which did turn out well, yippee!).. and dessert was served. 

so lesson learned: 

•don't attempt beating egg whites by hand 

•definitely don't attempt it in the heat!

•arrowroot is key in thickening sweet sauces. (Texture gets thick not so much the sauce like cornflour) win!

rosemary sprigs dress kebabs up nicely...cheers Jamie O

Millsys delicious salad with beetroot, goats cheese and caramelised onions 

root veggie crisps.

 inspired by the root veg crisps from our picnic MD was excited at the idea of home baked ones (I think he's secretly enjoying to cook). 

preheat the oven at 200c/400f. a quick peel and slice is all it takes. drizzle with olive oil a dash of s&p and in the oven they go for about 15 minutes or until the edges become light in colour. was a nice little nosh while we waited for our pizza dough to rise.. watch this space for grilled pizza!

parsnips, turnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots.. which root veg crisp is your fave? 

two bite picnic delights.

at last! summer vacay is finally here. it's been a glorious start to freedom and since summer weather has found London it's all about the picnic. picked up a few things on the way and had a chilled out arvo in Kensington gardens with MD. (awaiting the arrival of baby prince G) in honor of his favorite dessert i wanted to make something more picnic friendly. am usually apprehensive to experiment but pleased with how these came out..and think he was too!

This recipe made 8 cheesecakes in a muffin/American cupcake pan, however for future would fill each cup more and make 6. 

Adapted from Jamie Oliver and Giada De Laurentiis..

the ingredients 

200g digestives (graham crackers)

100g butter, just under 1 stick 

1/2 c sugar

1 tbsp corn flour 

200g / 7 oz cream cheese

1/4c soured cream 

1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla

a bit of lemon zest

optional compote:

cherries or blueberries or any other fruit of choice

sugar

water

Optional- splash of port if using cherries 

the temperature

180 for the base then turn up to 200 for cheesecake

the preparation

prepare the base by combining digestives and combine sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. add cream cheese and mix until creamy. add the egg and then soured cream, vanilla and zest. spoon the mixture (about 2 tbsp) into each muffin. 

bake for about 20 minutes but keep an eye after 15 minutes depending on the size pan. let cool then refrigerate for about an hour to set.

for the compote:

combine all ingredients over medium heat until warm then lower as it thickens.

fourth of JUly fun.

although the Fourth of July isn't quite the same over on the other side of the pond, i still embrace it with the Brits.. and whatever Americans i can gather round. no celebration is complete without a flag cake and think this was one of the best yet. This year I used Ina's strawberry country cake recipe and whipped cream.

another success from Ina!

nom nom nom

some days you just don't feel like cooking and indulge with an unhealthy but i don't care because it's tasty, take away.  sometimes they hit the spot and other times you actually think about what it is you're eating. my last Chinese food craving of sweet and sour chicken brought these thoughts exactly and remembered our wonderful cooking class in Vietnam when we made it in a few minutes with fresh ingredients from the market, easy. couldn't remember the recipe just roughly the ingredients so had a look online and Mills and i had fun trying to recreate our meal with Lee in Vietnam.  it's such an easy recipe that I've already made it again. adjust measurements for the sauce to your liking, this was just my starting point. I've seen recipes which marinade the chicken but didn't seem to make much difference. will just have to try again!

We ended up with lots of veg and enjoyed a much tastier and healthier (because we knew what was in it) version! 

The ingredients

For the sweet & sour sauce 

1/4 c ketchup

1 tablespoon corn flour

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 c rice vinegar (or white wine) vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar 

The preparation 

cut the chicken into cubes, dust with corn flour and fry with peanut or olive oil. add a splash of soy sauce. remove chicken once cooked and add veggies until softened. 

meanwhile, combine ingredients to make the sauce. start on medium heat then lower as it begins to thicken. 

once veggies have softened add chicken  again. pour sauce over the entire mixture or when serving.

easy alternative to egg fried rice:

cook rice as usual. whisk one egg into a saucepan and cook, slowly folding into thirds like an omelette.. or just scramble the egg if it doesn't go as planned! cut into strips and add to rice along with peas. 

enjoying our Vietnamese creations, at the market in Hanoi

back in London