Can you believe we’re almost at the end of November?! I am glad it will soon be Summer here in New Zealand though. I miss NYC but I really don’t miss the bitter winters they have there! Last weekend I took a trip to a strawberry farm in Clevedon. Even though it’s not Summer yet, the strawberries were sweet and delicious. I got my mum one of the frozen yogurt cones blended with strawberries, which she really enjoyed. I will definitely be making more trips back there before the season is over. Check out my Instagram feed for photos.
Recipes
Chocolate Ganache Filled Cupcakes With Meringue Ghosts
It’s almost Halloween! I’ve always enjoyed dressing up in costume and going to a party or event to celebrate. I think my favorite costume was when I dressed up as a lolita doll (Japanese style). I went all out, including buying those special contact lenses which make your iris look extra large & round. I chose purple ones and I had such a hard time putting them in my eyes! I’d never worn contacts before, and it took me 20 minutes just to put one of them in! It certainly took some getting used to, but I loved the effect it gave my eyes. This year I’m not dressing up (boo!) but I had to make something Halloween-themed to eat. I decided on chocolate cupcakes, filled with chocolate ganache, and finished with whipped ganache and a meringue ghost. Talk about chocolate overload! This is seriously one of the best cupcake recipes I’ve made, the cupcakes are so rich but not overly sweet, thanks to the ganache. And the meringue ghost makes a cute addition. You can either ‘paint’ the eyes on the ghosts with melted chocolate or by using an edible gel pen. The pen would be the easiest way, but I went with the melted chocolate & a toothpick as it’s what I had on hand. I hope you all have a scarily good Halloween! 🙂
S’mores Cake
Today is National S’mores Day, so what better day than to share with you the S’mores cake I made last weekend for a friend’s birthday. This girl loves anything chocolate, so when i asked her what kind of cake she would like this year, she first replied ‘something chocolate’. Then a few minutes later she sent a text saying ‘Actually, can you make a s’mores cake???’ The funny thing is, I had planned to make a s’mores cake back in June for my boyfriend’s birthday, but I didn’t have some of the necessary equipment (you will need a blow torch!) and I was short on time. I ended up making a chocolate cookie dough bundt cake, which didn’t require any decorating time.
Cherry Pie
Cherries are one of my favorite summer fruits; as soon as they come into season I always make sure I have them in my fridge. So it goes without saying that cherry pie is my favorite of all fruit pies. This recipe is all from-scratch, and trust me, it’s worth it! I used to be intimidated by making my own pie crust from scratch, I thought the whole process was too involved and tricky. After doing it several times, and improving each time, I realized it’s actually very easy, you just need to understand the golden rule of keeping all the ingredients cold. Only use as much water as you need for mixing the dough. It also pays to make some room in your freezer for the pie, so you can put it in there 10 minutes before putting it in the oven. This will ensure that the crust stays intact and the sides don’t droop.
Matcha Coconut Energy Balls
Matcha and Coconut are two of my favorite things. It was only a matter of time before I put the two together to create a satisfying treat. These energy balls are raw vegan, and come together in a matter of minutes. Matcha ( a special form of green tea from Japan) has many health benefits and also gives you a boost thanks to the caffeine. Matcha is made from high quality tea and the leaves are ground down into a fine powder. Because whole leaves are injected, this makes Matcha a more potent source of nutrients than green tea. It is rich in antioxidants that can help prevent cancer and heart disease, and can help to regulate sugar levels in the body.
Black Sesame & Chia Seed Granola
I grew up in New Zealand eating toasted muesli with milk for breakfast. I never liked the untoasted kind, it just didn’t taste as good to me. As far as I know, we didn’t have granola, that was more of an American thing (which I didn’t discover until adulthood). Both muesli and granola are made with nuts,…
Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns are a staple at my house during Easter. My Mum is a big fan of them, however it wasn’t until I became an adult that I got a liking for them. I was one of those children that used to turn my nose up at anything with raisins in it. I’d eat the raisins by themselves, but if they were in a muffin, I wouldn’t touch it. How times have changed! Now I can’t get enough of cinnamon raisin bread and hot cross buns.
Salted Peanut Butter Cookies
If you read my food reviews, you’ll recall a recent post about Ovenly and how sinfully delicious their baked goods are. Especially their salted peanut butter cookies! I was so taken aback with how good these cookies were, that I knew I had to find the recipe and try to recreate them myself. Well I did it! It wasn’t such a hard task, thanks to Ovenly having this recipe in their cookbook. Smitten Kitchen featured the recipe on their website, so I was only a short amount of time away from having these amazing cookies baking in my oven.
For this recipe to be successful, you need to use a processed peanut butter such as Skippy or Jif. The natural peanut butters are too runny so don’t be tempted to make these cookies more healthy. Just enjoy them for what they are: pure peanut butter heaven. To achieve the shape seen in the photos, you will need to use a cookie scoop. Freezing the dough is mandatory if you want to get the pretty striations on top of the cookies.
Pancakes with Caramelised Bananas & Maple Syrup
In 2010, 2 years before I came to live in NYC, I read about Clinton St. Baking Company and how famous they were for their breakfast items, especially the pancakes. I went on Amazon and ordered their cookbook so I could make these, along with other specialties, at home. These are quite simply the best pancakes you can ever have. Neil Kleinberg, co-owner and chef at Clinton St. Baking Company, perfected the recipe entitled ‘Neil’s Pancakes’ and made them classically authentic – something delcious, wholesome, truly satisfying and as natural as can be. Two flavors were put on the menu: blueberry, using tiny wild Maine berries, and banana-walnut. After weeks of experimenting, Neil came up with his now famous pancake base: fluffy, chewy and crispy on the edges, with all the complexity of a yeast-risen cake.
I wanted to put my own spin on this amazing recipe, so I decided to caramelise bananas using coconut sugar, cinnamon and a touch of coconut oil for frying – keeping with the natural tradition of Clinton St. Baking Company
Maple Cinnamon Christmas Cookies
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying some quality time with loved ones. For those back home in New Zealand, it’s already Christmas Day & here in New York City, it’s Christmas Eve. This year in New Zealand, my family will all be gathering at my cousin’s farm. She has two children, and I’m going to miss not seeing their faces light up when they open gifts. And of course, it goes without saying I will really miss the delicious feast, which usually involves a roast lamb with all the trimmings, and my favourite pavlova for dessert. For those not familiar with pavlova, it’s a meringue cake that has a hard shell and is soft and fluffy on the inside. It’s then topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Since it’s Summer there, strawberries are a popular topping.