Wed, 28th March, 2012

I was once told by a wise teacher of mine, that if you play the triangle or tambourine (which I occasionally have reason to do) with an intention of love, then it will be heard in the sound you make.  I believed it then, and I believe it even more so today.  Let it be said, that what is true for playing percussion is true for baking.

I did not love these cookies.  And they showed me no love in return.

This week's recipe was for heart-shaped chocolate cookies with a coconut-cherry macaroon filling.  Since I don't have heart-shaped cookie cutters, I decided to go with snowflakes.  But I opted for white chocolate, as the idea of a brown snowflake just seemed, well, wrong.

To me, adding coconut to anything is like sprinkling on fun.  So the macaroon filling got some love.  Even cutting out the cookies was enjoyable, not least because I got to use my favourite rolling pin.

But when they came out of the oven, they appeared bland...and my affection for them quickly followed suit.  After a taste test my hunch was confirmed.  I suspected that not even a coconut sprinkle could revitalise them now.  I moodily filled each cookie with macaroon mixture and sat reluctantly for 15 minutes with only the faintest hope of redemption.  It never came. 

Now don't get me wrong, I think they look quite nice, and I'm happy with some of the photos I got. But perhaps its symbolic that in swapping a heart-shaped cookie for a snowflake, my love itself turned cold.

 

 

But next week is another baking day!  And I am postponing it by a couple of days, so that I can make hot cross buns on Good Friday.  I have made them once before, but they more closely resembled the rock that covered the tomb rather than the lightness and joy of the resurrection.  Here's hoping for the latter next week!

Wed, 21st March, 2012

I have been sitting on a little recipe for over a year that I've been meaning to try - Swedish sweet yeast buns called semla, and apparently they're traditionally made during lent.  Well, lucky me, isn't it lent right now!

So here's the lowdown.  First I baked the yeast buns...

 

 Then, after slicing off some hats, I made little hollows in each bun.  

Cute right?  This is where semla really start to come into their own.  Into each hollow goes a yummy almond-paste-mixture, followed by a *dollop* of whipped cream, and finally I pop their little hats back on!

This little guy is just begging to be devoured.  I fulfilled his wish within seconds of taking this photo...

Sadly, the day did not go all well.  I had lined up a beautiful shot of three picturesque lental buns when...

 

Man down!  We have a man down!  He couldn't be salvaged.  Neither could the photo, as I had run out of cream.  

But do you know what I discovered today?  Yeast is awesome.  Not only does it do amazing things to dough, but it makes your entire house smell like small cottage bakery.  That's a definitive win in my books.  See you next Wednesday!

Wed, 7th March, 2012

Living in a sharehouse often has its challenges, but the homies at our little pad seem to do life pretty well together.  To help, there's a couple of guidelines we like to stick by:

• No major life decisions are to be made after 10pm.  One cannot trust one's brain after this time.  

• Worried about you're outfit?  Well once you've touched the top stair of the staircase, you can't changed it.  Own it, sister.  You look fabulous.

• All effort will be made to pick up a homie from the airport when required.

• Birthdays are awesome, and must be celebrated.

Now I'll admit, I did not feel like baking today.  But a homie had her birthday yesterday and you can't break the homie code - so celebrate we must!  I strapped on the apron and poached me some peaches. 

This is one of the simplest and most delicious-smelling recipes I've done in a while.  For dessert, in lieu of cake, we made coconut cream rice and topped it with the vanilla-poached stonefruit.  The Yum factor was off the planet.  Like, pluto-distance.  That's some serious Yum.

I have some sad news - next week there will be no Wednesday Baking Day.  Boooooo.
But the following week I promise to make up for it with a recipe I've waited a looooong time to make.  And if I don't make it in the next month, I'll need to wait another whole year for the opportunity.  Wow, what could it be?!  This is edge-of-your-seats-stuff, people.

See you in two weeks,
xx