Triple-Layer Red Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing.

Drool.  This is the birthday cake I made for my sister.  I was a tad hesitant.  I’ve never made red velvet cake before and I’ve heard that it’s ok, but not amazing.  Anyhoo, I know Rach has always wanted to try one, so I decided to surprise her with one for her birthday.

I would have to say that the cake itself it’s not the most amazing cake I’ve ever tasted, but the divine icing and the colour make up for that.  It was definitely a crowd pleaser and I would make it again.

Before you start, make sure you have a LARGE mixing bowl to use.  I used my large one, but I once I’d added the eggs in, I realised you really do need a LARGE one.  Mine was only just big enough and I spent 20 minutes wiping all the red splatters off the bench and walls and floor and myself while the cakes baked.  What fun.

Ingredients:

 250 grams butter (softened)

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

30ml red food colouring

3 tablespoons cocoa

3 cups flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Method:

Preheat oven to 165 degrees.

In a LARGE bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Mix food colouring with cocoa and add to the mixture, mix well.

This is where I strayed from the recipe slightly.  I didn’t think three tablespoons was enough, so I put in about five… and then I had to add more food colouring to even it out.  I don’t think it made much difference to be honest, apart from making it slightly more chocolatey.

Add flour and buttermilk alternately, then vanilla and salt.  In a small bowl, combine vinegar and baking soda and gently fold into the mixture, being careful not to over mix.

If you are like me and you only have one 20 cm cake tin, pour a third of the mixture into your lined/greased tin and bake for 25 minutes.  Leave the cake in the tin and cool for about half an hour, remove the cake and set aside to cool.  Repeat x2.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

500 grams cream cheese (softened)

375 grams white chocolate

250 grams butter (softened)

Method:

Melt white chocolate and allow it to cool to lukewarm.  In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in white chocolate and softened butter.  Continue to beat until it is the consistency of whipped cream.

Once all three cakes have cooled completely, use equal quantities of icing to layer the cakes up (mine was a lot more even than it looks in the photos!).  Put enough icing to cover the top of the bottom cake of each layer, but not so much that it squeezes out the sides - it’s much easier to ice the outside without squishy-outy bits. 

Once your cakes are layered, make sure the sides are lined up nice and straight and ice the outside (I did the sides first and it worked a charm).

Top with candles and present with a song.

The end pictures are not the greatest, but I will blame the lighting at my parents’ house for that. The red was a nice rich red, rather than the pinky red it looks in the photo, and the icing was much whiter.  But hey… at least I remembered to take a picture this time!

xo

Two-Oh.

I love this picture.

That’s me holding my little sister, Rachel.  As you can see, she’s pretty stoked about it. 

She is actually one of my earliest memories, well, her belly button is anyway.  I was only 22 months when she was born, but I remember that fresh-from-hospital belly button as clear as anything.

Today is her 20^th birthday and I can’t believe it.  It’s crazy how time flies and things change. 

I’m so proud of the person Rach has grown into.  She’s smart and funny and kind and creative and I love having her around.  It seems like yesterday we were losing her in the ball pit at Georgie Pie, ‘painting’ the bricks at Granma’s house and arguing in the backseat over who had to be Isaac while we sung along to Sarah’s Hanson cassette tapes.

Happy 20^th birthday, Rach.  I guess we can’t call you our little sister anymore, but you’ll always be our baby sister.  I love you to bits, you’re so special to me and I am blessed to have you not only as my sister, but one of my best friends too.  I hope you have an awesome day today and that you are spoiled, spoiled, spoiled.  You deserve it.

 xox

The Weekend.

Mike and I spent the weekend mugging our yummy nephew.   We drove down to New Plymouth on Friday night and then back to Auckland on Sunday afternoon, so it was a bit of a flying visit, but it was well worth it :)

Our wee nephew is so gorgeous and he has changed so much since we saw him last.  He wriggles almost nonstop and he is starting to smile as well – he makes you work for them though!

We definitely made the most of him while we were there.  We smothered him with cuddles and kisses and loves…

Uncey Mike even took him for his first “horse” ride.

Sarah looks amazing.  And she is such a good mom; my nephew is a very blessed little boy :)

It has always been hard leaving for home and not taking her with us, but this time was definitely the toughest.  It’s hard being so far away and not being able to pop around to her house like I thought I’d always be able to and especially now that there’s a small person in the picture, too.  It’s safe to say I imagined things a lot differently, but Mike did remind me on the way home to be thankful she’s only a five hour drive away and not in another country.  I am very grateful for that!

xox

Moist Chocolate Cake with Ganache, Whipped Cream and Berry Coulis Filler

(aka Crowd Pleaser)

I love to bake.  I would stay home and bake all day if I could.  There is one rule that I always follow when baking:  Always make sure your shoes match your apron.

I am not kidding.  It will make your baking experience so much happier.

Back to the cake… this is one of my Mom’s recipes, I have been baking it since I was about 11 years old and it has not failed once.  It’s delicious while it’s still warm from the oven and is just as yummy with chocolate butter cream icing slathered on it as it is with ganache.

Ingredients:

150 grams butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

3 tbsp golden syrup

Vanilla essence

¼ cup cocoa

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 ½ cups milk

2 cups flour

Method:

Cream butter and sugar.  Mix in egg, followed by golden syrup and vanilla essence.  Next, sift in cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. 

Lastly, add flour and milk alternately.  Like the pics?  I did that just for fun.  That’s me alternating.

Pour half the mixture into a lined cake tin and cook at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Repeat with the remaining mixture. 

Once the cakes have cooled, set one aside to use as the top layer and place the other on a cake stand (best to use one with a nice wide base).

Use a fork to poke holes all over it and then pour on just enough ganache to cover the top of the cake, without it running down the sides. 

On top of the ganache, spread whipped cream (about 2cms thick).  Spreading the cream like I have will help the cream to squidge nicely out the sides, rather than dribbling down the cake, or not showing at all.

Top the cream with berry coulis, or just berries if you prefer, but I love how the coulis tastes with the cream.

Carefully place the second cake on the top and drizzle with enough ganache to cover the top of the cake, drizzle down the sides and puddle around the edges.

Now comes the shameful part when I have to admit to you all that yes, I did forget to take a picture of the end result.  Sigh.  I was in too much of a rush to get to the party and EAT the cake that I completely forgot. 

It was pretty impressive, too.  Shiny, drizzley ganache and berries scattered on the top.  And by ‘scattered,’ I mean carefully placed.  Last time I made this cake, my sister helped me put it all together and arranging the berries on the top took longer than whipping the cream, spreading it on the cake, adding the coulis, placing the second cake on the top and perfecting our ganache drizzle.  I have been referred to many times as a perfectionist, but I prefer to label myself with ‘a good eye for detail.’  But I digress…

For those who haven't made ganache or berry coulis before, they are both super simple. 

Ganache:

Cream

Chocolate

Put equal quantities of cream and dark chocolate in a microwave save bowl/jug and heat in the microwave for one minute at a time.  If you want to thicken it, there are two choices; either put it in the fridge for half an hour, or use less cream/more chocolate!

Berry Coulis:

2 cups fresh/frozen berries

½ cup sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until sugar is dissolved.  See?  Super simple.  But delicious.  And you can serve it with so many things.  It’s yummy on porridge, pancakes, apple crumble, or even just ice cream.  Yum, yum.

My Granny

Friends, meet Granny.

Isn’t she awesome?  She is from Trinidad, but she doesn’t look anything like you’d expect a Trinidadian to look like.  To be honest, I was expecting her to look a little more like this…

I loved Granny before I’d even met her.  Mike had told me all about her and I was so excited to meet her.  She is the kind of granny everybody wants to have.  She tries to force feed us biscuits when we go around to visit and she always tells us how lovely we look together.  She is always so happy to see us and she gives us big hugs and says “You come back soon now, you hear?” when we leave.  She is the kind of granny that everyone calls Granny, whether she’s really their granny or not. 

Yesterday was her 81^st birthday - Happy birthday, Granny, I love you very much and I feel very blessed to have you in my life xxx

Happy Mother's Day.

In celebration of Mother’s Day, here is one of my favourite pictures of me and my mom.  It was taken at my 21^st birthday party last year.

My mom is awesome.

I put her through quite a lot while I was growing up.  You could say I was quite a challenging child, but that would be an understatement.

I was nicknamed Biffy at a young age, because I used to throw things.  A lot.  I remember packing my suitcase and running away from the babysitter.  And drawing all over the toilet seat, carpet and lounge suite with Mom’s lipstick.  Oh, and there was also that time I squeezed the entire bottle of expensive shampoo she had treated herself too down the sink hole. 

And that, my friends, is merely the tip of the iceberg.  I was by no means an ‘easy’ child.  Nor teenager for that matter, but that is a whole different story!

Miraculously, after everything I have put her through, Mom and I have a great relationship now.

My mom is kind, generous and thoughtful and she has taught me a lot over the years.  She’s always been there for me – whether I need scraping up and putting back together, or help with pumpkin soup – and I know she always will be.

Thanks for everything, Mom.  I love you xxx

Lest We Forget.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

I know it was a week and a half ago now, but I’m writing about it anyway, because Anzac Day has always been special to me.  My family has gone to the dawn parade since I can remember.  Each year we get up at 5.30am, wrap up warm, don our Anzac poppies and go to the dawn parade.  My favourite part is always the recessional, when everyone stands either side of the road to applaud the veterans as they march past.

There used to be a man in the parade every year.  I remember seeing him marching with the other veterans and then for several years watching his son pushing him in his wheelchair alongside them.  But now, his son walks in his place.  And each year when I look out for that little old man with the crocheted blanket over his knees and the medals pinned to his jacket and he’s not there, a few tears escape.  Yes, for a man i never met or spoke to and no, I don’t know exactly why.  I’m not one of those girls that cry all the time, but something about his absence squeezes on my heart a little bit.

I will never know what it was like to go to war, because another generation did that for me.  I can never understand what those men and women went through, but I can honour their sacrifice by showing gratitude and respect, and I can remember.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.