Wed, 25 April, 2012

For all those who are not from Australia, today was Anzac Day.  And I made Anzac biscuits.

This is going to be a very short post, as I also had three rehearsals today and it's currently 11:51pm.  But despite the fact that lately I have often been burning things in the oven, I was pleased that these beauties turned out, well, beautie-ful!

I'm hoping to get a little more creativity back into my photography soon, but on days like these it's more a "just-get-the-job-done" situation.   Still, my leaning tower of Anzacs does make me smile.  They fell over about 0.1 seconds after I took the shot.  (The tiny sound of the shutter release was all the vibration required to topple such a precarious foundation.  Don't build your house on oats and brown sugar, I say.) 

The lucky guys in the tins at the back made it to rehearsal to feed the masses.  The irregular shaped guys at the front were reserved for housemates.  I don't think they minded. (The biscuits or the housemates, that is!)

Oh! And since next week will be May, I've decided to start themeing my months.  For example, gluten free month, tart/pastry month etc.  I have some ideas for May, but would love to know yours!  Please comment and let me know!

xx Leah

Wed, 18th April, 2012

Last Sunday I went to Bendigo to see the Grace Kelly exhibition.  While it was very enjoyable, I must confess that the highlight of my day actually turned out to be...a cookie.  And not just any cookie, let me tell you.  It was a Kahlua Cream-filled Melting Moment.  Out. Standing.

Inspired for this week's baking day, I put out the call to all my biscuity-friends to volunteer for a  kahlua-cream trial.  I was really happy with the turnout.  At least 20 biscuits showed up!  Some of them were a little burnt on the bottom, but beggars can't be choosy I guess.

Here they are arriving the door in the early afternoon.  A good looking bunch overall, don't you think?

So we got to work.  I adapted a Womens Weekly recipe for Monte Creams, substituting the delicious coffee-flavoured liqueur for the milk and vanilla in the filling.  Not only flavour, but consistency and texture were very important variables in this trial.

Never having conducted a trial before, I clearly did not plan well and only had time for one go at the filling.  The biscuits and I all agreed that it was a great first attempt though!  Just enough kahlua, and a nice smooth texture.  It lost a few points on consistency - I would have liked it a little firmer, but didn't want to risk adding more icing sugar and overbalancing the sweetness-factor. (Oh, and did I mention I ran out of time?)

Anyway, a fun afternoon was had by all, and everyone crowded in for a group photo before heading home.  It was a privilege to meet such a great bunch of biscuits.

Till next Wednesday,

xx Leah

Wed, 11th April, 2012

Madeleines!

Who knew these sweet little shell-shaped morsels could taste so delectable? 

This week two wonderful friends both contributed to Baking Day - one by lending me a madeleine tray, and the other by spontaneously loaning me two gorgeous cookbooks on tea-time treats.  What a lucky girl I am!

In amongst the glossy, mouth watering pages of "High Tea: Recipes With a Sense of Occassion" I found a recipe for lavender and honey madeleines.  Now I'll admit, I was dubious about the lavender.  I like the concept, and it suits our current season of harvest and dried herbs etc, but taste-wise? Really?

So it turns out that LAVENDER TASTES AMAZING.  I left the madeleines in the oven a little too long so they browned a bit more than I would have liked, but the combination of almond, honey and lavender kicked my tastebuds up off the couch and inspired them to throw a party in their honour.  Light and refreshing, perfect with a cuppa...need I go on?  These are definite repeaters.

 

You might ask, "Why the featured piano accordion in this shot Leah?"  Well, the simple reason is that I have a habit of naming instruments or objects that are dear to me, and my baby accordion's name happens to be Madeleine.  This combined with a distinct lack-of-any-further-inspiration for my photo shoot meant that she gets to have her 5 minutes of fame here on my blog.  See? Simple.

See you next week!

xx Leah

Fri, 6th April 2012

It's Good Friday, and today I made Hot Cross Buns (aka Rock Cakes)

Yup that's right, no prolonged build up this week, I'm cutting straight to the chase.  The flavour of my buns was GREAT - mixed spice with a little extra cinnamon, and I opted for dates and apricots rather than the traditional sultanas.  De-lic-ious. 

It's just that they were also, well...dense.

I suspected at first that the dough was a little dry, but after bit of kneading, it felt fine.  I believe this to have been a major culprit in the density-factor: Overkneading.  A classic trap for young players. They didn't rise all that much either, and as far as I know that's not a great sign of things to come.

So here is how they turned out.  I should reiterate, they were VERY tasty, so overall I'm pretty happy.  They just need a reheat and a good strong mandible to enjoy them fully!
 

My lovely friend Amy accompanied me on baking day today.  Here she is considering thoughtfully whether or not she likes the tops or bottoms of her rock cakes better...

Here's a shout out to Alexis for the recipe, John for the baking tips, Amy for the comradery and Linda who told me she will be simulbaking with me from Malaysia.  This has made me smile all day.

Happy Good Friday everyone!

xx Leah

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