Honey & cinnamon frosted banana cupcakes

I'm baaaaaack.

As Johnny so frighteningly discovered, 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,' this proverb became R's and my motto last Sunday night after realising how wonderful it is to actually get out of the house, without our laptops, and relax in a new surrounding (Chateau Yering was where we had this revelation FYI).

That night, whilst laying in bed waiting for the elusive Sleep Fairy to come (tardy b*tch), we both decided that we would go to New Zealand the coming Friday, which would coincide with the Australia Day weekend, allowing us to miss only four rather than five days of work (being self employed this means we lose less $$).

The next morning I spent the entire day figuring out how much we could do in 6 days, what I didn't realise was how bloody big New Zealand is, and that driving from Auckland to Queenstown and back again was never going to happen in 6 days if we actually wanted to get out of the car.

Anyway, to cut a long story short - that's for you R ;) - I managed to figure out an awesome, if I say so myself and I do, itinerary that allowed us to see and do a lot in Queenstown, Bay of Islands and Lake Taupo. Having just returned from our most spontaneous holiday yet, I wish I could do it again this weekend, it was THAT much fun.

1.Queenstown, 2 (fur seal) ,3,4. Milford Sounds.

For all those who haven't been to New Zealand, especially you Australians, get your butts down there because it really is a beautiful country. I thought I would show you a few happy snaps from the trip, even though I was too busy actually doing stuff to take proper photographs.

 

1. Aratiatia Dam. 2. Aratiatia Rapids.3.Huka Falls. 4. Huka Lodge.5. Milford Sounds Stirling Falls.

The reason I am making these cupcake today is all thanks to my father. When he happily accepted my request that he baby-sit our dog and our house, I bought him a few things to eat. Upon returning I found out that he ordered pizza every night and had only depleted our food stock by ONE banana, that's right, ONE banana. As you can imagine, the fruit bowl, or rather the newly appointed fruit cemetery, was filled with fruit long dead and those nearing it's pearly gates. The bananas had to be used first lest they become zombies, and tomorrow, I will show you what I did with the fading peaches.

1. Lake Taupo. 2. 90 Mile Beach. 3. Cape Reinga. 4. Nevis Bungy. 5. Puketi Kauri Forest. 6, 7. Karapiti (Craters of the Moon).

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 12mins (make icing whilst muffins cook).
cooking time: 25mins.
total: 37mins plus cooling time for muffins.

taste: 3.5/5. This is a case of the icing killing the dull cake.

Let's start with the cake; it was very moist with a wonderful chewy, golden exterior, although I do think 25mins was a touch too long. The small chunks of yellow flesh help to remind you that this is a banana cupcake, otherwise the flavour is quite nondescript. Even my small, 1/2tsp of cinnamon added to the batter got lost in the final result. Therefore, as a solo act, it isn't memorable.

Now onto the icing on the cake; by itself, it's billowing, peaks speckled with cinnamon and naughty nutmeg (I added 1/4tsp) are as light as air and dissolve in your smiling mouth. I was a little sad that the gorgeous, clover honey courtesy of New Zealand was washed away by the icing sugar's saccharine supremacy but as an icing, it was lovely.

However, when icing met cake, icing dominated cake into submission.
Despite my caution to smear to less than 1cm height, all I could taste was icing, with bland, cakey chunks occasionally popping up through the icing cloud. It became an icing dictatorship - no banana overthrow allowed.

Overall, as a once a day treat with a cup of tea to wash it down, it would be nice, eaten alone and more than once = sickening for moi.

would I make it again: No - too sweet and not enough banana flavour for a banana cupcake.

recipe: Cinnamon & honey frosted banana cupcakes

Sofia's Kitchen - Coconut petit fours

Apologies for the lack of posts, but trying to organise an overseas holiday in a few days is tough stuff.
But no fear, I will be back next Thursday, and until then, here is the latest installment of Sofia's Kitchen.

Akin to a coconut macaroon, but with a touch more flair.

Coconut Petit Fours
makes 30+

ingredients:

500G  castor sugar

500G  shredded coconut

9 TBLS melted unsalted butter

9 TBLS  self raising flour

9  eggs (small)

1 packet vanilla sugar

glazed cherries, halved

method:

Pre heat oven to 170C

Place sugar in a bowl and add the eggs one at a time beating well.  Beat mixture until light and fluffy.

Add vanilla sugar and melted butter to mixture and beat until combined.  Now put the mixer down and get ready to use your hands!

Add the shredded coconut, and flour and mix well with your hand making sure all ingredients are well combined.  Let mixture sit a little bit for the dry ingredients to absorb the wet.  The mixture should stick to a spoon.  If too watery you can a little more flour and coconut.

Place baking paper down on flat trays and scoop tablespoons of the mixture onto the trays allowing enough room for some spreading.  Place a glazed cherry on top and place into oven until they turn a light golden brown.

Petifours should have a crisp outside with a chewy moist centre.

Olive oil cake

This is a micro post - a mere pre-cursor to another edition of Sofia's Kitchen, soon-to-be-posted.

My husband and I have just gotten into Scrubs - what's great about finding a show late is that you don't have to wait for each episode to come out. However, every tvshow-marathon has a price; the 7th season took up more of my time than expected and I had only one hour to whip something up to take to my grandmother.

It also distracted me from the fact that my house was practically bare - save for the essentials, but even then I was out of milk. So I wracked my brain and came up with an olive oil cake. A dozen searches later and I still hadn't found a recipe that was either quick or that didn't require a dozen eggs or more than one bowl. So I half-arsed it - I figured out a guideline based on the recipes and hoped for the best (or something edible at least).

What I got was probably something close to a tea cake - best eaten on the day it is made. It is only softly fruity with hints of lemon and orange and the nutty-fruitiness of the olive oil. As it isn't very sweet on its own, I ate it with yoghurt and grapes. For a last minute throw-together that takes less than an hour to bake and go, it wasn't half bad at all.

Last-minute Olive Oil Cake

3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup milk
1 lemon, zest only
1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder

Lightly grease an 11 x 22cm loaf tin, and line the base and sides with baking paper. Beat the sugar and eggs together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Add the oil, orange juice, milk and lemon zest and beat until well combined. Add the combined, sifted flour and baking powder and slowly beat until just combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool for 5minutes and serve with poached fruit, yoghurt, tea - whatever takes your fancy.

Molasses cookies

Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom - if I could create a royal family of spices these lucky five would reign supreme, with cinnamon as King and cardamom as Queen - the other three; their loving, complimentary children.

What I love most about this brood is not only their talent to turn every sweet into something beyond comforting, exciting, enticing and drool-worthy, but their ability to do the same to the savoury side. Now, I don't eat meat any more (not since my Play School watching days, and right before my X-files ones started), but my husband does, and whenever I cook him up some ginger chicken, or pork with cloves, even cinnamon dusted lamb, it more than often results in two thumbs up and a very, very dirty face (fingers often included). Plus, their heady, fragrant aromas and pretty neutral shades also score points (as well as their eligibility as possible alternative children's names - Ginger was my favourite cast-away). The gathering of one or more of these spices are found very frequently in Christmas cooking, after all, it's only right the the Royal Spice family be the stars of that wonderful time of year.

Whenever I strike gold with a recipe that involves more than two of these tasty family members, it goes straight into my recipe pile, nudged towards the top. I am oh so glad freakishly happy I found this recipe as it means my search for a soft, crispy, gingery, Christmas-y spice cookie is finally over. Now, onto my next cookie hunt; the notoriously hard-to-get-right Chocolate Chip Cookie.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 14mins.
cooking time: 23mins for 3 rounds of baking.
total: 37mins.

taste: 4.5/5. Thanks to these bad boys I now have a cookie-addiction. My husband had to stage an intervention last night as I ate my fourth consecutive cookie in 3minutes flat.
They are my dream texture - a slightly crispy outer layer revealing cakey crumbs leading to a glorious, dense, chewy, moist centre. The spices give it a Christmas feel making it the perfect night-cap cookie. Everything is perfectly balanced - no spice tries to best another and although the molasses is the leader, it is clearly a team effort with no one taking the praise alone. It is a sweet cookie but not enough to warrant washing it down with water straight away.
I used a touch less brown sugar and they were still sweet (I also skipped the icing).
I'm not sure what 3/8 of a cup looks like so I used 1/3 cup - and it was just right, any more and it would have been too strong a molasses flavour for me.
I experimented a little with cooking times and I found 5mins50seconds yielded my favourite cookie - firmer than the 5minute and moister than the 6min05seconds.

would I make it again: Yes - when I am clean-and-cookie-free for at least two weeks.

recipe: Molasses Cookies

Vanilla semolina puddings with cinnamon & raspberry compote

Although the dust has long since settled; crinkled fragments of wrapping paper torn in excitement have been thrown away, and the fallen Scrabble bocks and Jenga bricks, previously used to pass time from last year to this one have returned to their rightful boxes, I have not yet managed to 'return to schedule.'

Hubby went back to work on the 2nd of January, I however, have chosen to languor in the house, in cotton maxi-dresses, ordering groceries online so that I don't have to drive my car and actually do something. The chores still get done, eventually, but I am having trouble letting go of my holiday laziness. On the positive side, I have managed to do a lot of reading, napping and television watching, all of which get neglected when I am working and being 'productive'. On the downside, my physical appearance has taken a bit of a downturn and I am a little, dare I say it, bored.

This morning I decided that today would be my last day of nothingness - tomorrow I shall be 'back to work' at my computer, staring at stockmarket charts with my dog sleeping happily at my feet. I sometimes get stuck in my office, eyes glued to the screen, which diminshes the time I have to make soemthing to eat and most often this leads to grabbing 1-minute or less snacks such as nuts, fruit, muesli bars, crackers, chocolate etc - not excatly filling or super nutritious food to last me an entire day.
So I set aside an hour today to prepare tomorrow's snacking menu. Seeing as though I had time, I thought I'd make something today to spoil myself with tomorrow, and nothing helps me relax as much as eating semolina; a childhood favourite.

This recipe which include raspberries, a Summer favourite, looked perfect, and I could make enough to  help myself to seconds as well as share some with family.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 2mins to get milk mixture and raspberry compote on the stove.
cooking time: 16mins to cook semolina and put into pots (add more time if you wants yours chilled).
total: 18mins.

taste: 4/5. I tried these both hot from the stove and chilled from the fridge - I much preferred the oatmel-esque comfort the hot and steamy variety gave me - when chilled its flavour is dulled and the texture too gelatinous. When warm, the vanilla flecked innocent, creamy semolina is corrupted wonderfully by the punchy, vibrant raspberries. Without the gutsy raspberries it would be too timid for my palate. Together they form a yin-yang of deliciousness.
I added one teaspoon of cinnamon to the semolina and it gave it only the slightest hint of woody-warmness.
It was also a little sweet for me so next time I would decrease the sugar by 20g or so.
I would also double the amount of raspberry compote as by the time I had reached the lower third of my glass they ruby fruit was gone and it became a little banal.
I also had to add an extra 4 tablespoons of semolina to thicken it up.
Whilst I loved this, hubby couldn't eat more than a spoonful as he doesn't like the texture of semolina, poor thing never got to experience its greatness as a child, and now cannot warm to it as an adult - so more for me:).

would I make it again: Yes.


recipe: Semolina puddings with cinnamon and raspberry compote

Spiced coconut rice with berries

Happy 2010!

Finished with another decade and onto a new one.
I wonder what this one will be called, so far I have heard it phrased as the 'teens' - I have a feeling that one might stick.

I am so happy the new year has come as it means Christmas and NYE are over and my house can finally stay clean for more than one day. It also means I won't be clocking extraordinary hours in the kitchen, as much as I love cooking, I also love a break now and then.

Hubby and I stayed in NYE with our dog and chose to make New Year's Day a technology free one. Because of our jobs and our love of the internet in our spare time we spend a average minimum of 14 hours per day on our laptops, we also spend at least 2 hours watching a movie or a television show - pretty shocking and our wrists and eyes do pay a price for it. We really wanted to stick to this ban so we drove to Toys R Us and bought a boot load of board games such as Jenga, Scattegories, Trivial Pursuit etc. The end result  - apart from one movie we spent the whole day playing games, playing with the dog and having fun.

In the morning, well around 12:15pm to be exact, we awoke from our NYE slumbers. Seeing as though I had no time limit I thought I'd make a slow breakfast, and nothing sounded better than a comforting rice porridge with antioxidant rich berries.

ease: 4.5/5.
prep time: 10mins.
cooking time: 50mins.
total: 1 hour.

taste: 4/5. The cardamom reigns as King with cinnamon it's servant. The luscious, creamy rice allows hints of coconut to come through, but only briefly as the spices dominate before the tart, luscious berries burst through, dissolving the cream and leaving your mouth refreshed.
The texture was on the runny side for me so I would subtract 100ml of soy milk, and also a touch less cardamom to allow cinnamon a touch more flavour. Overall the berries (I chose blueberries and raspberries), spices and creamy rice (I used carnaroli) contrast and compliment each other beautifully.

would I make it again: No - takes too long for brekkie.


recipe: Spiced coconut rice with berries

Peppered apricot & apple

Larry (from Curb Your Enthusiasm): Can I tell you something about apricots? 1 in 30 is a good one. It's such a low percentage fruit.

Growing up I spent a lot of my youth running from my parents car to my grandmother's door as fast as my uncooridnated spindly legs could move. To enter my grandmother's property you had to swing open a whiny metal gate, broken and battered from too many swings. As you took your first step, you had to duck your head should you poke an eye with a heavy, hanging apricot.

Her apricots were always the best; you hardly ever sunk your teeth into a bad one. I have found that when purchasing an apricot, as Larry said, there is a high chance that it will either be too acidic, too bruised, too something. I am fickle when it comes to eating apricots fresh - they have to be just right. I wolf them down once they are dried, but I prefer to cook them fresh to improve their flavour.

This recipe was intriguing - few ingredients, and an odd combination at that.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 5mins.
cooking time: 45mins (includes cooling time).
total: 50mins.

taste: 4.5/5. This is like rain in Summer for your taste buds. The first sensation is the cool, voluptuous cream that envelopes everything with a cloud-like comfort. I used less as I thought it would be too obnoxious but I would definitely use the amount listed next time as it was oddly my favourite part.
I was cautious with the pepper, as my husband and I are pepper/chilli intolerant. The pepper is mild, I used two grinds to dust the fluffy cream of each glass (and also four twists into the whole fruit compote), which perhaps was too little as only once did I detect it's zest.
The marshmallow cream occasionally parted and I tasted the intense, tart apricot with the juicy Granny smith apple. Along with the sour was the citrus punch from the lime, all combined to make an incredibly tart fruity medly. The apricots also gave their distinct sweetness with their soft, spongy flesh that helped to subdue the firmer acidic apple (you could use a sweeter apple but I prefer the tart Granny Smith.)
I used slightly less sugar (74g raw sugar) and it was just the right amount of sweetness for me, as I wanted this to be a refreshing, palate cleansing dessert which it was.
The cream really is necessary for this to work, as the fruits would be too strong and abrupt if eaten without the soft cream.
I had to add a couple of tablespoons of water to get the fruit to become soft and a liquid to form, as it was just sticking to the pan without the extra liquid.
My husband didn't like it as much as me, it found it too 'fruity' but I thoroughly enjoyed its simple complexity and freshness.

would I make it again: Yes. Although hubby didn't rate it too highly (3/5) I enjoyed it and find it a simpler, healthier alternative to most desserts.

recipe: Peppered apricot & apple

Vanilla bean creme brulee with blueberries

Christmas as a child was magical.

All year my brother and I would wait with anticipation as heavy as lead for Christmas to come. When we spied bon-bons at the supermarket and festive wreaths adorning the grey spire of telephone poles and golden stars strewn across shop windows, our excitement would keep us as energetic as the Energiser bunny. But when the Christmas tree lights lit up our lounge room with fragments of rainbows we were beside ourselves with glee. There was just nothing like the night before Christmas; dreaming of Santa Claus, reindeers, elves and the gorgeous, colourful bow-tied gifts that would be waiting for us under the evergreen needles.

But eventually you get older, wiser and discover that just like the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny, Santa Claus isn't the one bringing you the gifts, they are courtesy of your parents trips 4:45am trips to the car or a hidden room. After that the Christmas lights don't transfix you like they used to, the swarm of a Christmas stampede as everyone rushes to buy gifts becomes annoying rather than festive, and then the eventual task of having to buy gifts and make meals for others leads to the feeling that Christmas is a hectic, expensive time of the year. Sometimes it just makes you tired thinking about it. Perhaps it is because my husband and I are no longer children and neither do we have any. I am sure once we see the joy it brings our own children, some of that wonder will rub unto us and remind us of how happy Christmas made us as children, because after all, nothing brings out the child in you like your own child.

This year I am the one holding Christmas for my 30odd relatives. Whilst all my gifts-to-be are wrapped and underneath my 58% completed silver Christmas tree (hubby's pick) I still have to pre-order my copious amounts of meat and seafood for a Christmas Lunch fit for Dionysus himself. All of this organising has definitely frazzled me and I am desperately looking forward to Boxing Day the 26th of December, when I can put my feet up and just do nothing.

In the mean time I felt I should reward my organisational skills with a dessert I always order when out but never make at home -Creme Brulee.

ease: 4/5.
prep time: 25mins.
cooking time: 1 hour.
total: 1 hour & 25mins (plus at least 4 hours chilling time).

taste: 4/5. These would have been awarded a 5/5 when eaten the same day, however after an overnight stay in the fridge the custard left a powdery residue on my tongue after eating, nothing like the smooth, velvet custard from the day before. After only leaving them in the fridge for 4 hours they had a luxuriously vanilla flecked smoothness akin to satin sheets. I used vanilla sugar to sprinkle on top and then melt beneath my blue flame to form a deep, amber toffee crust that cracked beautifully beneath my spoon. The tart indigo berries complimented the sweet creme as beautifully as night compliments day. It is unfortunate that a longer stay in the fridge changed their disposition to 'gritty'.

would I make it again: No, only because it changed texture the next day.

recipe: Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee & Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla cookies

Somehow I must have sent out a telepathic invitation to the only two insects I don't mind, as the last time I posted, two white butterflies came to cheer me up, and today, hidden underneath my kettle of all places was perhaps the only insect that everyone likes, the shiny scarlet ladybug/ladybird.

I was a little perplexed as to how a ladybird came to be crawling along my kettle; carefully I offered my finger and as it crawled along, tickling me, I took it outside and placed it on my bonsai. After I came inside I thought I'd look up what a visit from a ladybird might mean, the most common folklore was that if a ladybird visited you at home, you should count the number of spots on its shell as that would be the amount of money you would unexpectedly receive. Immediately after reading that good omen I raced outside to count spots, but it had already flown off, perhaps to some better-informed person's house. Even though it's just a goodluck superstition thought I'd buy a lottery ticket anyway, who knows, maybe I'll have some ladybird-luck.

I have been busy working and trying to fit as many things in before Christmas and therefore haven't baked much. But today I was really craving something warm from the oven. This recipe was quick, easy and simple - and it filled the house with that wonderful hug of a cookie smell.

Vanilla Snap Biscuits
from Marie Claire Flavours by Donna Hay

185g butter, chopped
1 cup caster sugar
2 1/2cups plain flour
2tsp vanilla extract (or use vanilla seed paste)
1 egg

Place butter, sugar and vanilla in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the flour and egg and process until combined. Remove mixture and wrap in cling-wrap. Refrigerate the dough for 30mins. Preheat the oven to 180C. Roll out the dough on baking paper or lightly floured surface until 5mm thick. Cut the dough, using  7cm round cookie cutter and place the biscuits on the trays lined with baking paper. Bake for 10-13mins until the cookies are golden on the bases. Cool on trays. Makes 24.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 38mins.
cooking time: 10 mins per tray - I had to do two lots.
total: 58mins to make 32 cookies.

taste: 4/5. This is like a shortbread with it's butteryness, however it is moister with a finer crumb and a softness of fragrant vanilla. I added a touch of vanilla seed paste, I would recommend using that rather than extract so that you get the wonderful flecks of black seeds. Also, a light dusting of sugar before going into the oven would make them prettier also.

would I make it again: No - but that's because I'm not really a fan of shortbread.

Mascarpone & mango pavlova with mango in vanilla syrup

My steps were short and heavy as my arms bowed under the weight of bags straining to hold their profusion of Christmas-presents-to-be.  I exhaled sharply as I lifted my legs over the front step, exhausted from many hours of shopping and the stinging neck pains that resulted.

At that moment, while I was fumbling for keys, two white butterflies unhurriedly danced between my legs, as if I were a calm tree, and not some crazed woman with holiday frustration. I forgot my search for the keys, my arms no longer complained of exertion and I exhaled with a smile, not a burden. Their dance around my ankles may have only lasted a few seconds, but in those seconds I was refreshed and I could hear my heart laughing. Somehow that one moment erased all of the irritation I had collected during my Christmas shopping.

With my butterfly-induced good mood I decided to make something as equally refreshing and wonderful.

Mascarpone & mango pavlova with mango in vanilla syrup

4 egg whites
220g (1 cup) caster sugar
Mascarpone & mango filling
125g mascarpone
1/3cup thick cream
200ml mango puree (about 1 1/2 mangoes)
1/4tsp vanilla extract
Mango in vanilla syrup
75 (1/3cup) caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cinnamon stick
2 mangoes peeled, stone removed and thinly sliced

Using an electric mixer, beat eggwhite until firm peaks form, then gradually add caster sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating well until sugar is dissolved before adding more, and beat until thick and glossy. Divide mixture among two base and side-lined 22cm springform pans and bake at 140C for 1 hour until firm and dry to the touch. Turn oven off and cool pavlovas with door ajar. For mascarpone and mango filling, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until firm peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until ready and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until liquid is reduced and of a syrupy consistency. Place mango slices in a bowl, pour warm syrup over, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until ready to serve. Place the less perfect meringue on a serving plate, spoon filling over, then top with remaining meringue. Serve slices of pavlova with mango in vanilla syrup.

ease: 4.5/5.
prep time: 10mins to get the pavlova into the oven (make the rest while it cooks for an hour and cools).
cooking time: 5mins to put it all together.
total: 1 hour and 40mins (includes cooling in the oven).

taste: 4.5/5. Beautiful, fragrant vanilla with sweet cinnamon hits your tastebuds first followed by creamy, mango puree that dissolves to reveal chewy, sweet pavlova before your mouth is refreshed by the juicy mango slices. The pavlova allows both incarnations of the mango to shine brightly and please your palate whilst providing a delicious base.

Despite cooking it for 10mins less than recommended, it had already browned too much and was therefore chewier - it also refused to yield to my knife as a donkey does to being pulled, causing the filling to come oozing out and the layers to flatten. Despite this, the flavours made up for the firmer texture and difficulty in serving it. Just keep an eye on it and if it starts to brown turn the oven off.

would I make it again: Yes - it has the potential to be a great dessert to serve to guests.