Strawberry Cheesecake Icing and Strawberry Reduction

Well, what do you know - it's Sunday, and here's a recipe! But it's sort-of only half a recipe ... It's just  icing. And a strawberry reduction. So actually, its a recipe and a half. Bonus!

You can use the strawberry reduction on its own in or over cheesecake,  ice-cream, or any number of deserts.
Mixed into the icing (recipe below) pair it with vanilla or chocolate cupcakes (or vanilla/ chocolate marbled cupcakes) or even use it as their hidden centre; or as a fill for macarons...
 Too many choices for my end-of-term brain, so you choose, ok?!

I'm calling it Strawberry Cheesecake Icing even though it isn't, strictly speaking, cheesecake, but that just sounds better than "cream cheese icing with strawberry reduction", doesn't it?

Strawberry Cheesecake Icing:

Strawberry Reduction:
250g ripe strawberries (approx 12-15 strawberries)
(2 tbs white sugar*)

*Omit the sugar if using the reduction in the icing as below, but include it if you're going  to use the reduction on its own.

Puree the strawberries using a blender or food processor.
Simmer in a saucepan until reduced to the consistency of tomato paste.
Refrigerate to cool it before using in the icing.
(May also be frozen for longer storage).

Icing: 
100g butter
85-100g icing sugar (depending on how sweet you like it).
250g cream cheese (use the dense kind, like Lancewood / Philadelphia/ Woolworths low fat cream cheese) 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry reduction


Beat the butter until soft and creamy. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
Beat in the cream cheese and vanilla - don't over-beat.
Fold in the strawberry reduction.
Pipe onto, or into cooled cupcakes or between macaron shells.

Have a sweet week : )

xxM

Frangipani Cake

Can we just ignore the fact that as far as these pages go, last week didn't happen?
It was such a bleucgh week for me. (You won't find a definition for that word in any dictionary, but it describes the paler shade of green that I was feeling). Some inconsiderate virus didn't give any due to the fact that I HAD THINGS TO DO! and made me want to curl up under my duvet instead.
But I plodded through the week, and managed to get through everything that needed to be done - except post anything here... oops!

One of the challenges was this 21st cake:
What was I thinking?! Stripes in 40'C heat and with a zombie-brain.

And I had the idea of doing a frangipani ball for the top of the cake.
Well, frangipani's are easy enough to make. But I needed to wire them to attach to the central ball of polystyrene. They're not the easiest flowers to wire.
This is what I did: Made the flower, snipped off the twist at the base and stuck in the wire. Easy. Yeah, right. And then there's the matter of arranging them in a ball.
What was I thinking?!

It all kind-of came together in the end. And now, a few days later, I can say "It was a good learning experience"! I'll do things a little differently next time; but that's what experience is for. And to give you grey hairs! 

Here's a link to a frangipani tutorial: 

http://bakingdom.com/2010/02/tutorial-tuesday-frangipani-flowers.html

Happy creating!

xxM 

Cranberry and Macadamia Nut Blondies

I was thinking of making Sunday officially recipe / sharing day, but the tag-end of the weekend often passes in such a slump, that I don't want to make any promises I can't keep... And seeing as I'm writing this on a Monday, that's probably an accurate assessment!
So, I'll work on a Sunday/Monday deal, instead - ok?!
 
This recipe was inspired by Sheldene. She asked if a blondies recipe would work if it had quantities of ingredients similar to this date and nut brownies recipe.
I guess it does, Sheldene ;)
Thank you for the inspiration!

Cranberry and Macadamia Nut Blondies
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

Preheat the oven to 180'C
Grease and line a brownie baking pan.

Ingredients:
400g white chocolate, broken into small even-sized pieces
50g butter
80g flour
100g dried cranberries
100g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
100g caster sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate and butter together.
Set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and creamy.
Pour the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture. Add the vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until incorporated.

Sift in the dry ingredients. Mix briefly.
Fold in the cranberries and nuts.


Pour the batter into the prepared brownie pan and bake at 180'C for approx 40min - a skewer inserted into the centre of brownies should come out with sticky crumbs stuck to it.

Remove from the oven and cool. Cut into squares and dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

xxM 

Vintage White Cupcakes

This year has been colour-FULL!
I don't know what I was thinking. I certainly wasn't thinking about all the fondant that I'd have to colour black, navy blue, red, and cerise pink when I scheduled the past few months' class themes.
(I've been tempted to take pictures of my stained hands along the way, but there's nothing picturesque about them in that state!)
So, it was with great relief that I prepared for this class:
Vintage Cupcakes "A Whiter Shade of Pale". White and off-white. Only!

This very neutral shade is created with ivory and a drop of black.
Be very conservative with the black: otherwise the colour will go from neutral to dead.... Oops!

If you'd like to see a tutorial on making a two-tone fondant cameo see here :
http://teacakeandcreate.blogspot.com/2013/04/sugarpaste-cameo-in-two-colours.html

Happy decorating!

xxM 

Black Forest Cupcakes

Not that anyone is counting (well, I'm not - are you?), but I realise that it has been a while since I posted a new cupcake recipe. I got seduced away by the glamour of big cakes.
 But then I began to miss the elegant simplicity of The Cupcake.
I often struggle to photograph slices of cake. Cupcakes are simpler. It's easier to find perfection in their compact composition. Cupcake. Icing. Sprinkles.

But after all that talk about simplicity, here I am with a relatively complex creation:
Black Forest Cupcakes. Complex but not complicated.
There are several steps involved. Each one adds a layer of deliciousness to the creation. Don't skip a step. Savour each one. I especially like the jam. I should have photographed the jam. I didn't. You can see some of it peeking out under the cream, though. It's good jam ; )  

Black Forest Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Australian Woman's Weekly


Preheat the oven to 170'C
Line a muffin tray with 12 cupcake cases.


Cupcakes:
425g can good quality pitted black cherries in syrup
165g butter
150g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
185g caster sugar
60 ml Kirsch (cherry brandy) / sherry
1 large egg
175g cake flour
20g cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Drain cherries, reserve the syrup.
In a food processor, purée 120 g cherries with 125ml (1/2 cup) syrup.
Reserve the remaining syrup and cherries four the jam.

Place the purée in a small sauce saucepan, together with the chocolate, sugar, butter and sherry.
Heat gently until the chocolate has melted. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
Leave to cool for 15min.
Whisk in the egg.
Sift in the dry ingredients and mix briefly until incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake cases.
Bake at 170'C for approx 25 minutes.

Cherry "Jam"

Remaining cherries - roughly chopped
Remaining syrup
2 tbs water
1 1/2 tbs corn flour
100g caster sugar
2 tbs Kirsch /sherry

Roughly chop the remaining cherries.
Mix the water and cornstarch together. Mix this together with the sugar, syrup and sherry and heat in a small saucepan. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens.
Add the cherries and simmer for a few minutes.
Allow to cool. Spoon onto the top of the cupcakes.

Whipped cream

250ml (1 cup) whipping cream
2 tbs icing sugar

Chill the mixing bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Sift the icing sugar into the cream and beat on high speed with the whisk attachment until stiff.

Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.


Chocolate shards

Use a vegetable peeler to shave shards of chocolate off a slab of dark chocolate.
Sprinkle over the whipped cream-topped cupcake.

Cupcake. Icing. Sprinkles. Enjoy. 

xxM

Raindrops and Rainbow Cookies

When I scheduled the "Raindrops and Rainbows" cookie classes, I thought I'd jumped the gun: it didn't look like the winter drought was anywhere near releasing it's hold on us. But on the very day of the first class, the spring rains arrived. What a co-incidence, huh?! On the one hand I was relieved that my theme wasn't completely seasonally in-appropriate (because these things matter to me!),  on the other it heralds the start of the challenges that spring brings. But at least there will be rainbows!

I knew from months before, that there had to be ducks in the cookie round-up. I couldn't quite connect the dots, though. Ducks and rainy days? It's the puddles, right?

So, to tie up the loose ends, I felt compelled to make a duck-in-a-puddle cookie. 

This is how: 

(And one with the cloud flipped over, because I thought that may be a more pleasing shape...

                                                                                                        ... which do you think is better?)

 For the cookie recipe I use go here;
and for the royal icing recipe and tips on icing techniques go here.   

Happy baking and decorating! 

xxM 

Choc-Cherry Brownies

Chocolate can be a real brat! (Another B word would also be appropriate here).
Talk about moody and temperamental.
Just the other day, we'd been getting along fine - and then it decided to have a major sulk, and sat in a huff in the bottom of the bowl, oozing disdain.

So, what to do with sulking chocolate? Brownies.
Brownies are always happy. Brownies make the world a better place.

Just take the seized chocolate (because, yes - that's what I'm anthropomorphizing here!)
and ignore the fact that is all huffy; continue as normal....

Choc-Cherry Brownies
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create


Preheat the oven to 180'C 
Grease and line a brownie baking pan. 

Ingredients:
400g chocolate - broken into small even-sized pieces 
80g butter
80g flour
100g glace' cherries, roughly chopped
100g flaked almonds
100g caster sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp vanilla extract



Melt chocolate and butter together (use a double boiler or the microwave on low power.)
Set aside to cool. 

Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and creamy. 
Pour the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture. Add the vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until incorporated. 

Sift in the dry ingredients. Mix briefly. 
Fold in the cherries and flaked almonds. 

Pour the batter into the prepared brownie pan and bake at 180'C for approx 35 - 40min - a skewer inserted into the centre of the brownies should come out with sticky crumbs stuck to it. 


Allow to cool in the pan before removing and cutting into squares.

Chocolate seized? Celebrate with brownies!
; )

xxM