I'm Busy Today

I will be working on my To-Do List today.

Cheer Me Up Yellow

Lemon Vanilla Cupcakes

Today's cupcakes are inspired by my new favourite board on Pinterest - Cheer Me Up Yellow.



There's nothing like a little yellow to put a spring in your step.

xx

Breakfast Cookies

What do you get when you cross a breakfast cereal with a cookie ? Breakfast Cookies.

I know they're an old favourite of many, but I have only recently jumped on the Cornflake Cookie bandwagon.

And, I know that traditional recipes involve sultanas, but I don't like sultanas (aka 'flies') in my food, so I replaced them with dried cranberries (one of my new favourite baking ingredients).

Ingredients (serves 20)

125g butter

140g (2/3 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 eggs, at room temperature

275g (1 3/4 cups) self-raising flour

170g (1 cup) cranberries

80g (1 1/2 cups) cornflakes, lightly crushed

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Use an electric beater to beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until pale and creamy.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until combined. Fold in flour and sultanas until combined.

Place the cornflakes on a plate. Use your hands to roll tablespoonfuls of the cookie mixture into balls, then roll in cornflakes to coat. Place the balls, about 3cm apart to allow room for spreading, on prepared trays.

Bake in preheated oven, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven. Set aside on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

xx

Spending Time With Me

Ever had a really nice weekend, when after two days you reflect and realise just how good life can be ?

I have. And right now, life is good.

Perhaps it has something to do with the brief sunshine we experienced on Saturday morning ?

I took advantage of the nice weather and took Miss Emmy for a walk at the beach.

After being unwell earlier in the week, the fresh air was just what the doctor ordered.

On Sunday morning, my 'Me Time' continued at the Adelaide Showground Farmers Markets.

Unfortunately, the weather was not as friendly but that didn't seem to impact attendance and even though I was only there to look, I picked up a few things as I wandered.

Flowers, coffee, sour dough baguette and raspberry cheesecake = heaven.

Aren't those flowers devine?

I caught up with a few friends and family over the weekend too and did a little baking, but I am learning that spending time going places alone is very rewarding. Plus, there's no arguing about what to do or when to go! 

I hope you all had an equally wonderful weekend.

xx

Strawberry Shortcakes

OK - They're not shortcakes, they're pancakes.. But either way, they were de-licious!

And, they were the solution to my 'too much buttermilk leftover' issue after the Chocolate Mud Cake baking.

Pancakes are the one thing I can make in the kitchen without a recipe.

As a teenager they were my easy, afternoon snack solution.

But I've never made them with buttermilk before.

The recipe ?

1/4 cup caster suger

1/4 tsp bicarb soda

1 cup self-raising flour

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg

Combine dry ingredients in  bowl.

Whisk buttermilk & egg

Stir into flour mixture until combined

EASY

And sooooo good.

xx



Fun and Flirty

This one was inspired by Miss Atlantic Pacific. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I LOVE her style.

And now I'm totally in search of a gorgeous pink skirt.

This is my idea of the perfect outfit for spring (yes, I'm dreaming of spring, because I have to remind myself that this miserable cold weather is not forever!)

Fun and Flirty  featuring a summer blazer

xx

Got a Craving for Chocolate ?

I promise that this cake will satisfy your chocolate cravings..

I have wanted to try this recipe for MONTHS.

It's from the Planet Cake cookbook and every few weeks I vow to pick up some buttermilk from the supermarket with the intention of baking this cake. Unfortunately, my memory seems to evade me when I'm shopping and I kept coming home without it.

So after a long wait.. I've finally made the Planet Cake mud cake and let me say - it was worth the effort!

Ingredients

220g butter

220g dark chocolate, chopped

25g coffee granules

125g self-raising flour

125g plain flour

50g unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

480g caster sugar

4 eggs

7 tsps vegetable oil

100ml buttermilk.

On a side note - when I measured out the buttermilk, I couldn't believe how little 100ml actually is. I only bought the small carton, but there was HEAPS leftover. A quick Google search and I found another recipe to use up the remaining buttermilk (but that's for another post..)

OK, so preheat your oven to 160C.

Melt the butter, chocolate and coffee in a saucepan with 160ml of water

Sift the flours, cocoa and bicarb soda into a large bowl

Stir in the sugar

Add combined egg, oil and buttermilk

Then stir in the chocolate mixture until completely combined

Pour mixture into greased cake tin and pop into the oven

The 'official' recipe says to bake for 1 hour 40 minutes, but because I used a bundt tin my cake was done after just 1 hour - So keep an eye on your oven.

And, asif the cake itself was not chocolatey enough, I mixed up a quick icing with cocoa powder, butter and baileys.

There it is. Chocolatey goodness. YUM

xx

Healthy Lifestyle

Right now, I'm all about keeping healthy.

Found this one on Pinterest

xx

You're a Peanut

This one's for you Miss Pip.
(Who is known to eat peanut butter out of the jar with a knife at work...
yep, we love her coz she's a lady)

Peanut Butter and Choc Chip Cookies

I've been struck down by a winter virus and as a result have been holed up in bed for a few days reading trashy magazines. However, yesterday I decided a bit of easy baking would cure both my boredom and my craving for something sweet.

This particular recipe is from the latest OK! magazine.

Ingredients:

150g brown sugar

100g butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

300g peanut butter (I used smooth)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

225g plain flour

200g dark choc chips

OK - here we go ...

Preheat oven to 180C

Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth

Add vanilla and egg

Beat in peanut butter

Then add salt, bicard soda & flour

Mix until just combined

Fold in choc chips

Roll dough into balls and place in rows on lined oven tray

Press each ball with a fork

Bake for 10 minutes

Cool on a wire rack before eating

*Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to four days

The verdict ? If you don't like peanut butter you will HATE these cookies.

It seems obvious, right ? But although I like peanut butter (particularly on toasted thick white bread) these cookies are VERY peanutty.. and I'm just not convinced that such a peanutty flavour belongs in a cookie. The jury's still out.

Pip - I think these ones are all yours :)

xx