Mississippi Mud Cake and Gumpaste Peonies

I put aside the supermarket brand rolled fondant and went to a proper cake decorating shop for the goods recently. It was time to step up the cake decorating game, and I decided I'd give the whole thing one last whirl with more professional ingredients and see if it made a difference. I was sick of the frustration that came with tearing fondant, modeled creations that wouldn't dry and had no flexibility and no ability to hold up when rolled thinly. I was at the point where I was considering giving up cake decorating all together-it was one mess after another. Every youtube tutorial I watched, I saw the ingredients being so roughly handled and they still held their shape. I was missing something.
Then I bought gum paste. My whole view on decorating changed, as I discovered most of my struggles were due to inferior products. Yes, you can use rolled fondant instead of gum paste, but the difference in results is sizable. I also used CMC powder with these large peony creations, which reduced the drying time significantly (I highly recommend this stuff if you live in a humid climate like I do!) To make the peonies lighter, I also used small round foam balls for the centre. I highly recommend using a foam mat, rolling tool and the easy peony cutters for beautiful, gum paste creations that could grace any special occasion cake.
As usual, I made Mississippi mud cakes with premium bourbon whiskey. The peonies were made with the easy peony cutters which made for quicker creations without all the wiring involved. The cake also has decorations of edible lace sugar veil, and was covered with aqua fondant. The peonies were dusted with pink petal dust. I love this contrast! What is your favourite colour combination?

Pumpkin & Bacon Lasagne

Here's another nostalgic recipe from the other side of the family. It's loosely based on one of my husband's family favourites. His mum had created the recipe, but it was just something she kept in her head, not a written thing. I got the gist of it, added a few of my own bits and bobs, and have written up the recipe for sharing.
At first I was highly skeptical about how the pumpkin and tomato would mesh, but this wonderful marriage of flavours has to be tasted to be believed-it's honestly even better than a meat lasagne-and I have a wonderful recipe for that too! The bacon pieces scattered through the golden cheesy white sauce that tops this great family meal really makes it sing.  You could easily leave out the bacon for a vegetarian meal if you so desired.

PUMPKIN & BACON LASAGNE

800g-1kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cubed
1/2 cup sour cream or cream
3x chicken stock cubes
1/2 cup hot water
700g jar tomato passata
400g can diced tomato
1 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tsp mixed herbs
1-2 boxes dried lasagne sheets
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp plain flour
1 cup cheese, grated
2 cups milk
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
80g diced bacon


Place diced pumpkin in a saucepan with water covering the top. Cook until soft. Strain the water and place the pumpkin in a blender with the sour cream, chicken stock and water. Puree until smooth.
In a saucepan heat up the passata, diced tomatoes, garlic and herbs until warm.
Heat the oven to 180C.
Place a layer of the pasta sheets on the bottom on the 9x13 inch lasagne dish. Top with a layer of the tomato mixture. Place another layer of the pasta sheets over the tomato mixture. Spread a layer of the pumpkin puree over these pasta sheets. Repeat, alternating the tomato mixture with the pumpkin puree between the layers of pasta until exhausted (the ingredients, not you!)
The last layer should end with pasta sheets.
To make the white sauce which covers these pasta sheets, place the butter and flour in a saucepan on low heat. When the butter melts, quickly whisk the butter into the flour while pouring in a little of the milk at a time, to make a smooth paste. Add the remaining milk and heat through. Add the grated cheese and stir through, and continue stirring until it has melted, and the white sauce is thick.
Pour this white sauce over the final pasta layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan and cooked bacon pieces.
Cook in preheated oven for approximatey one hour, or until the top layer forms a golden cheesy crust.
Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

 

Mum's Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

Hand written recipes. Passed down from generation to generation.
The exact same flavours, textures and appearance experienced by those carrying the same genes, decades apart. There's something exquisite in the thought of family traditions, things enjoyed on repeat-those delightful family classics.
This is one of those family classics. It's mum's brownie recipe, and it's a real winner. I've tried other brownie recipes and I just can't find one quite as nice. It's fudgy, chocolatey and moist-simply delectable. Today my kids are making it and it's being enjoyed my the third generation. I hope it passes to many more!
What's your best family favourite?

MUM'S BROWNIES

1 cup (250g) butter
1 cup cocoa powder
2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp salt


Icing:
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup (60ml) cream 
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Walnuts to decorate (optional)

Preheat your oven to 180C.
Melt butter and remove from heat. Stir through the cocoa and brown sugar until combined.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Next, blend in the flour and salt. Spoon the batter into a greased and lined 18x18 square baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

To make the icing, place all the ingredients in a bowl, and whip on high until thick and smooth. Cut the edges off the cooled brownie, then cut into two. Lather one with icing, then place the other half on top and smooth on the remainder. You can use a fork to draw a line pattern in the top, and sprinkle crushed walnuts on the finished product if desired. Cut and serve!

NOTES: You can omit a tablespoon or so of the flour to make for a slightly fudgier brownie. Yum!

To Die For Snickers Bar Cake

It's almost been a year since I made this crazy decadent Snicker's bar cake for my hubby's birthday. I lost it's photos among the craziness that  followed two weeks later-the birth of my youngest son. Sometimes I feel like that newborn phase creates a mayhem that no one who hasn't been through it understands. For me that usually lasts the first year after baby is born. I'm coming out of the fog, people! Paddy is almost one, and while I still don't get any more than two hours sleep in a row max, I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (through droopy eyes.)
Baby experience or not, you may have a "food baby" after eating this cake, which is just a giant replication of your good old Snicker's Bar. It is seriously one of the richest most decadent things I have ever eaten, and I can't believe that my husband and I tackled this thing on our own. This is really the type of cake you could have at a party, it goes a long way because you cant eat too much at one sitting.
If you're not throwing a party, you could consider cutting this in half and freezing a portion. I had to feed half of this to the birds in the end because it took us that long to work our way through it that the custard began to go bad-it was such a shame I had not thought to freeze part of it!
It's insanely impressive in appearance and in taste, with decadent layers of Snickers, chocolate ganache, caramel, peanut butter custard, chocolate custard and biscuit. To die for!

SNICKERS BAR CAKE (Heavily adapted from Baker's Royale)

2 packets of rectangle Arnott's Milk Coffee Biscuits
12-14 mini sized snickers bars, chopped

Pudding:
2/3 cup corn flour (corn starch)
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch salt
6 cups cold whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

Ganache Pouring Sauce:
2/3 cups dark chocolate
1 tbsp heavy cream
4 tbsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)
4-5 tbsp warm water

Caramel Sauce:
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

To make the pudding and assemble the main:
In a large heat proof bowl, place the corn flour, sugar, salt and milk. Beat with electric beaters until well combined. Transfer to a heavy based saucepan. Over a very low heat, stir continuously until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leave ribbons when drizzled on itself.
Add vanilla and stir through to combine. Divide the mixture in half. Add the chocolate to one half, and the peanut butter to the other half. Stir both separately to combine thoroughly. Line a 8x8 pan or two 4x8 loaf tins with grease-proof paper, with the sides of the paper hanging over the edges for easy removal. Line the bottom with a layer of the biscuits laid side by side, breaking any biscuits that don't fit to make a good base. Spread a thin layer of the chocolate pudding over this biscuit base. Make the second layer of biscuit over this. Spread with a layer of the peanut butter pudding. Continue until the pudding is used up, and finish the top with the final biscuit layer. Cover in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Half an hour before removal make the ganache pouring layer.

To make Ganache Pouring Sauce:
Place heavy cream and chocolate in a bowl over another bowl of hot water. Let sit for 5 minutes before stirring through until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix until until smooth. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until pouring consistency is reached.
Remove the cake from the freezer. Pull the paper sides to release the cake from the tin. Place on a serving platter. Pour the ganache over the top biscuit layer to cover. Sprinkle with the chopped snickers bars. Then make the caramel sauce to finish the cake off.

To make the caramel sauce:
Place honey, butter and sugar in a small saucepan over a low flame. Stir as the butter melts, continuing until the mixture boils. Cool for a minute or two before quickly drizzling over the top of the cake (this dries quickly in the pot, so make haste)
You can return the cake to the freezer to firm up before cutting, or serve straight away. Semi freezing is advised for nice neat cuts.

Decadent Creamy Rum Balls

I sit here with a large glass of green smoothie. It's chlorophyll packed, vitamin packaged and nutritious, to counteract a week of indulgent eating in Melbourne. Alright, one smoothie isn't going to cut it, but these drinks are becoming a regular, and I feel good! I'll tell you what else feels really good-belly laughs. Yes, I had a really good one the other night. It concerned coming home to my little family after my "annual leave" to hear my 5 year old son talk repeatedly of these great "chocolate energy balls" that daddy put in his lunchbox. There was talk of how there were a few left over for other lunches. Chocolate energy balls this, chocolate energy balls that.
Thinking Dad must have bought some new fandangled treat when he went shopping, I thought little more of it-until I saw a few remaining energy balls in the refrigerator on a late night raid.
Chocolate energy balls.
Laced with good, and I mean, very good, lashings of Mount Gay Rum. Not chocolate energy balls, but adult only style rum balls.
All of a sudden I envisioned my son at school writing his letters a little less than precise, reeking of Mount Gay Rum. Fumes on the breath. Teacher's eyes bulging a little at the recognition of the scent of liquor surrounding a kiddo in her class.
No wonder they were so good.
Before I left for Melbourne I made my hubby some of these delicious adult treats, but I fear the Tupperware slice container made them look rather child friendly and fooled him. I mean, there's not so much rum in them to affect a kid, but still, it make me cackle wildly in the dead of night.
Next time he requests those "chocolate energy balls" for his lunchbox, I'll be holding off on the booze!
I took a container of these "energy balls" on the plane with me to Melbourne to give to my mum as a gift. I got stranded for a good few hours at a train station in the city and, not having eaten for about 8 hours, retrieved them from my bag and started on my lunch of decadent creamy rum balls. While I indulged, I watched a man scrounge through a garbage bin and thought about offering him a few. Then I was distracted in that moment by a woman sitting in a cafe. She started vomiting all over the cafe table-violent vomiting. The man ran away from the bin in a screaming rage at an invisible person.
Eventful and random morning. I continued eating through the box of rum balls-feeling very fortunate all of a sudden. Sorry Mum.
This recipe comes from my good friend Ursula, and they are her specialty. She made me a lovely gift box full of them for me at Christmas, and I knew I had to get her to share the recipe with me. They are so delicious-definitely not your average rum balls. The Secret I think is in the addition of butter. They are creamy! Decadently creamy, chocolatey and rummy. Moorish.

URSULA'S DECADENT CREAMY RUM BALLS

2 cups icing sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
2-3 tbsp good quality rum
2 tbsp vanilla extract/essence
125g melted butter

Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Add the rum, vanilla and melted butter to the dry mixture. Combine thoroughly. Roll into bite sized balls and refrigerate until ready to consume.

NOTE: if the mixture is a little too dry and the balls do not hold together well, add a tiny little bit of water or rum until the texture is corrected.