Tim Tam Cheesecake - For K's 23rd!

Wednesday the 11th of June was my gorgeous, wonderful, lovable partners birthday so we spent the week sick with chest infections in Melbourne - isn't that what everyone does? hahaha.

Luckily i freighted his birthday cheesecake all the way down before we were sick so it wasn't contaminated with my evil sick germs.

Either way, the cheesecake turned out great! I can thank Kel from Sweet Treats for the pic and the recipe as i was in no condition to take photos :) Although it looked almost exactly the same so that shows what a great recipe it is!

For all those Tim Tam lovers and cheesecake lovers find below Kel's recipe from her blog. it was delicious!

Base Ingredients:
1 250g packet Chocolate Ripple biscuits (these are a plain chocolate cookie, for those international visitors!) - I couldn't find these elusive chocolate ripple biscuits so i used half scallywags (my fave) and half butterscotch snaps. worked really well!
130g butter,melted
50g milk or dark chocolate,melted

Filling:
3 tsp gelatin powder
1/4 cup of water
2 x 250g packets Philly cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 x pkt Tim Tam biscuits ,chopped (OK, so maybe you international people may have trouble finding Tim Tams...but seriously, these are the best bickies EVER)
1 x 300ml carton thickened cream, whipped

Method:
Process chocolate biscuits until finely crushed. Add butter and process until just combined. Press biscuit mixture evenly over base of a 20 cm spring-form tin. Cover and refrigerate while preparing filling.
Sprinkle gelatin over the water in a small heatproof jug.Stand jug in a small pan of simmering water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Leave aside to cool slightly. Beat cream cheese & sugar with electric mixer until smooth. Stir in gelatin mixture, then chopped Tim Tams. Fold in whipped cream. Pour filling into prepared tin. Drizzle choc in parallel lines (about 1cm apart) across cheesecake. Pull a skewer backwards & forwards through choc to create a lovely pattern on the top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate cheesecake for about three hours or until set.

Love and kisses on both cheeks,

Sunny xxx

I heart CIA Network

I really like thi slady and i think she's onto something with those flowers.... my nanna will love them for her b'day.

Hmmm cookies. I love anything i can just shove in the freezer and forget about! hahaha Now - lets jump to some savoury...

This recipe was first given to me by my friend Scott from work who is the typical aussie bloke. This was the only recipe he could always guarentee would work :)

And of course, everyone loves soem tempura :) especially tempura broccolli... yummers!

Love and kisses on both cheeks,

Sunny xxx

B's House Warming Cupcakes - made from leftovers :)

These are the cupcakes i made to take to work tomorrow. They were leftovers from Pamela's order and i was sitting here thinking: "How on earth do I get rid of these?" and voila, B from work is moving house this weekend.... I'll give her the cupcakes! mwahahahahaha.....

Anyway they are vanilla butter cake topped with a layer of chocolate icing and then vanilla icing piped onto them. I was also trying to use up the rest of my icing! Then topped with the remaining blue white chocolate stars.

They turned out pretty well considering they are leftovers :) If only all my leftovers were as pretty!

Love and kisses on both cheeks,

Sunny xxx

Flower Nail - My Newest Purchase

Here is a demo of how to use it:




I wish I had her skills! Check out how fast this next guy does it -




This next one i like mostly because she mentions the odd number system which i find many people don't follow anymore!





Anyway I can tell my new flower nail will get much use over the next couple years :)



love and kisses on both cheeks,

Sunny xxx

My First Catering Job! Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Well this week Pam from work asked me to cater for a baby shower she is throwing. I was honestly taken aback! I have no formal training other than a Creative Cake Design class i took at school for a couple years (i went to a creative arts school which gives you an extra 3 classes per week called 'Nova'). Anyway after i gave her some options she chose a double/triple decker cake and a batch of cupcakes. The only specifications were that the cake had to say "Tina and Vik's Baby Shower" or "Baby Shower".

This is the triple decker cake.Here is the lay out:

~First Layer - Chocolate Mud
~Chocolate Icing
~Second Layer - White Chocolate Mud
~Vanilla Icing
~Third Layer - Chocolate Mud

Then i covered all of it in chocolate icing.



I was nervous about the writing, as i don't have the best piping script, so i decided to do it in white chocolate. I piped the chocolate onto a piece of baking paper with a piping bag using a small writing nozzle. The hearts were a practice go with the piping bag to see how it would turn out, obviously it turned out well and i ended up using them! (and eating one :) ).



I let the icing set in the fridge overnight before i piped the border and stuck the letters on. I could have made it smoother but decided a few strokes here and there can hide any movement when placing the letters and hearts on the icing.



Cupcakes!! Here are the blue and white cupcakes. Both are vanilla icing. I piped the icing on all the cupcakes using a star nozzle. i decorated them with:

~White chocolate stars (i coloured them with some blue chocolate powder when cooking them)
~Blue Sparkle Sugar
~White Sprinkles
~White Sugar Paste Bows
~Yellow and White Sugar Paste Ducklings - although they look more like birds :S




The white and pink pallet - my personal favourite :) Again vanilla icing, decorated with:

~White Sugar Paste Bows
~Yellow and White Sugar Paste Ducklings
~White Sprinkles
~Pink Sparkle Sugar
~Pink Cachous




Here is a close up of the pink pallet.... see what i mean about the ducklings? I think the beaks aren't big enough. Either way they are cute!



I love the colour of the white chocolate stars. They really came out gorgeous and took like ten second to make - literally! Oh and FYI the cupcakes were Vanilla Butter Cake.



The Sugar Paste Bows are better in real life as they are sparkly and looked very formal and pretty at the same time.

I felt bad that she gave me money for it as i absolutely LOVED making them, I am a cake decorating-aholic. I would do it every day if i could!

So who knows, this may be the start of a change in career! Stay tuned to find out how i develop and better myself in the cake world :)

Love and kisses on both cheeks,
Sunny xxx

Sunny's version of Chocolate Truffle Snowballs

Ingredients

2 Packets of Milk Arrowroot Biscuits
2 Cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
4 Tablespoons of Cocoa
2 Cups Dessicated Coconut or chopped white chocolate

Method

1. Smash up the milk arrowroot biscuits. By smash, i mean really hack into them. I prefer to put them in a freezer bag and have at them with a meat mallet or rolling pin. Picture your boss's face in the bag and that will get you going! You can also alternatively put them in a blender and blend until there are small chunks about the size of a fly. You can completely process if desired but i prefer a bit of texture in them.

2. Combine condensed milk, smashed arrowroot biscuits and cocoa powder in a bowl. Make sure your hands are clean and then get in there and get dirty mixing it all up. You can try and do it with a spoon or utensil of some variety but I'm telling you, its futile. Hands are the only way to go!

3. When the mixture is well combined and nice and sticky (and your hands are completely covered in it!) roll them into balls and then roll the balls into the dessicated coconut or chopped white chocolate until evenly coated.

4. Chill for about half an hour and them eat until your heart is content or your chocolate craving is gone :)

Makes about 30-50 truffles depending on the size of the balls.

I made these today for my work friend who is giving me driving lessons in exchange for food. I'm sure she will love them and the rest of the office will love the leftovers!

Love and kisses on both cheeks,
Sunny xxx

Mud Cake for Morons

Ingredients (serves 8)

200g butter, chopped
300g good-quality dark chocolate
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup self-raising flour
pure icing sugar, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 6cm deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Line with baking paper.

2. Place butter, 200g chopped chocolate and hot water in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until smooth.

3. Add cocoa to warm chocolate mixture. Stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla, caster sugar and egg. Sift flour over chocolate mixture. Stir gently to combine.

4. Pour half the batter into cake pan. Chop remaining chocolate and sprinkle half over batter. Top with remaining batter and chopped chocolate. Bake cake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging.

5. Allow cake to cool completely in pan. Remove and dust with icing sugar. Serve.This cake keeps well for up to 1 week stored in an airtight container lined with baking paper.

I hope you enjoy it as much as i did! i like to heat my slice in the microwave for 40 seconds and then top with cream or ice cream and suddenly nothing else in the world matters!

Love and kisses on both cheeks,

Sunny xxx

Parmesan Chicken Tenders - Aka. better-than-sex-food

Ingredients
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup or about 250g), melted
1 cup dried bread crumbs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt or chicken salt (which ever you have on hand)
A large pinch of dried Italian herb mix
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
600g (approx) Chicken Tenderloins

Method

1 Preheat oven to about 210/220 Celsius in a fan forced oven.

2 In a bowl, combine the minced garlic with the melted butter. In another bowl mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, salt, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into garlic butter, then into crumb mixture to coat. Double crumb if you want a crunchier finish.

3 Place coated chicken pieces on to a baking dish. Try to leave a little room between each piece. Drizzle with remaining garlic butter and bake uncovered 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Note that the chicken will get much more browned on the bottom side than on the top.

Serves 4-6 - or two very hungry people :)
Try it for yourselves and you'll see what I'm talking about! The original recipe (which i have altered a little) came from http://www.elise.com/recipes/.

Love and kisses on both cheeks,
Sunny xxx

Recipe Resolutions

This past week i made three of my recipe resolutions:

1. Parmesan Chicken Nuggets - and oh my lord you have never tasted a better nugget! i made mine as tenders rather than nuggets using tenderloins from my local deli (they were on sale). It was like heaven in my mouth. Even the minions scoffed them down and asked for more - and that's saying something seeing as it had green herbs on it :) this one is going in the must cook again list!

2. Scones - these went down extremely well at work. Everyone loved them and were amazed at how easy they were! I ate them with strawberry jam and whipped cream (the morning tea of kings!!)

3. Chocolate Mud Cake for Mothers Day - my mum (and minions) loved this and i couldn't believe how simple and tasty the recipe i found was. It took me all of 30 minutes to make and looked brilliant. This will definitely be one of my regulars.

What have your resolutions been like these past couple weeks?

Love and kisses on both cheeks,
Sunny xxx

Recipe Resolutions

Here are my recipe resolutions for this week or so:

1. Scones - see recipe below
2. Chocolate Mud Cake - for mothers day
3. Parmesan chicken nuggets
4. Matchsticks - Puff pastry goodness!

Keep tuned to see how these resolutions shape up!

Love and kisses on both cheeks,
Sunny xxx