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.

Apple & Rasberry Iced Tea

What makes a great hostess? Who's with me in feeling like a failure in this regard most of the time? Guests swish in all glammed up, and you're standing there in the kitchen covered in a cloud of self raising flour in bare feet wondering where time got to. In a flash you have bolted to the bedroom, thrown on that trusty little black dress and cleaned up with a baby wipe-only to realise your guests are standing around without a drink in hand. There's nothing like that sense of  panic of feeling like the world's worst host or hostess (they should make a TV reality show on that one)
Never feel like that again. Be the host (est) with the mostest.

-Plan your gathering in advance. Try to visualize the ambiance, mood and the food you want to create. Make a list of cooking supplies you will need for your meal, as well as music choices for the night, beverages that you will serve and of course, dessert. Make a list also of when you will be making each of the edible components of the night. Make sure that there are a few you can make in advance to reduce the fluster and time spent in the kitchen when your guests are over. Ensure one option is non alcoholic, for those who are the designated drivers, or pregnant.

-Make sure you take into account any of the guests who may have allergies or intolerance when planning the menu.

-Feel free to buy any food from the store to make your job quicker and easier, as long as some components are home made (okay, lets leave that packet of quick cook pasta Alfredo on the shelf, though). You can buy things like meringue nests that can make putting together a dessert effortless and quick, and it looks like you've slaved the whole afternoon over the stove for your guests.

-Keep the food simple. You may want to look like Mather Stewart, but refrain from creating anything too complex and time consuming. At least make sure this is not the first time you are cooking the meal-it may go terribly wrong or just not taste as good as you thought it would. Also, if you are planning a three course meal, ensure there is a variety of textures and flavours. Too much of a good thing can often be a bad thing! (for example, risotto for entree, curry and rice for main and creamed rice for dessert. Too much rice, obviously. Keep the entree and dessert lighter than the main.)

-The first bite is taken with the eyes. Keep the dishes looking good! A sprig of fresh herbs here and there goes a long way and makes it look like you've made efforts where you have not.

 -Have your table set in advance, if possible. Also, any mood lighting such as tealights or candelabras should be lit before guests arrive so that they can experience the ambiance change as soon as they enter your house. If you are dining outside, such as the garden, fairy lights or tea lights set out in mason jars is a lovely way to make the even magical by creating warm glowing surroundings. If you're not planning on lighting any wicks, see if you can dim the lights a little.

-Prepare a welcome charcuterie platter in advance. You can whip this out of the refrigerator as soon as you hear the first knock on the door. Place it somewhere central where the guests can see it and help themselves to it while you fix the last bits and pieces of the food or set the table. You could also have a tray of drinks ready and waiting to be given for after your guests put down their coats and bags.

-Have a small table or coat rack handy so you can take jackets and bags when your guests enter. Your friends will love to be waited on, and it makes them feel more special.

-Surprise your guests with something unexpected. When my girlfriends come for tea, for example, I like to pamper them by offering to give them a Jamberry Manicure while we chat. This works well for an afternoon tea, but you might like to try something less time consuming if you're holding a dinner party. A friend of mine has a drinks trolley that he wheels out when he entertains. There's a cocktail book on the trolley along with a selection of liqueurs, and the guest chooses one, and the host will create it for them. You could also have a little take home gift of chutney or something you have made as a thank you for the guest's company.

-Make sure there is something on your charcuterie platter or tea and coffee tray that your guests have never tasted before, just to add to the experience. It might be some cookies from a foreign country, or wasabi covered dried peas to snack on-something exotic and unusual. These sort of surprised are often pleasant and make the night memorable.

-Chill out! Have a glass of wine or something to relax before any one arrives. Turn that groovy music on. And if anything goes off plan, go with it, just roll with the punches. Your guests are actually there for your company-the food, atmosphere and the rest are just a bonus. Enjoy yourself!

Do you have any other tips for entertaining? What's your fool proof go to? We'd love to hear! And while I'm waiting for your responses, I'm going to be sipping this delicious iced tea. Its delightful on hot summer days and so easy to make in bulk, you could pour some into a bottle and tie a ribbon around it and send it home with your guests! Perfect for sipping on a balcony with a good friend in the afternoon too, with a side of cake. There should always be cake.

APPLE & RASPBERRY ICED TEA

4 strong black tea bags
4 cups boiling water
2 cups iced water
1/2 cup concentrated Apple Raspberry cordial (add more or less to taste)
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup mint leaves

In a large heat proof jug, place the tea bags and boiling water. Stir the tea bags around and let steep for two or three minutes. Discard the bags. Add the chilled water and concentrated cordial to the tea. Add lemon to taste. Before serving, garnish with mint, ice and a slice of lemon if desired.

NOTES: this recipe is largely dependent on your tastes and the strength of your chosen tea and cordial brands. Alter as desired. A few tablespoons of sugar or honey may be added to the hot tea if desired to increase the sweetness. You can also use other flavours of cordial to change the type of iced tea-the options are endless!

Fluffy Pikelets

A parent requires a great deal of devious know-how. Often mind games and trickery are involved to get the goods into tiny bodies and picky little eaters. My mum used to try to disguise the left over breakfast porridge by adding it to our after school pikelets. It was a pretty ingenious way of getting more fiber into us and not wasting food. She inspires me-waste not, want not, right? Sometimes when I sweep the floor at home, my toddler and two preschoolers make sure I feel guilty at the amount of food swept from under the table and into the bin. It could feed a small army, I assume. Don't even get me started on the amount of remnants I find in the bin-bananas with one bite taken out of them, crusts from lunches that my daughter has snuck in there when I popped out of the room for a quick bathroom trip. I'm pretty sure we're fermenting various fruits under the couch, regardless of how frequently I sweep. That funky odor you may smell on entering the house? Possibly a lost orange stashed somewhere impossible, slowly rotting away.
Just kidding.
But sometimes this food wastage makes me thinking about how repetitive the snacks can become for the kids. That's when I make an emergency batch of soft, fluffy pikelets, sans the porridge. A small spread of jam on these warm little beauties and the plate is soon completely cleaned off. If you wanted, you could even make them bigger to make pancakes-they really are the same thing just in a different size. My favourite use for this recipe is making mini ones and stacking them with a fresh berry on top and a skewer through the middle-perfect appetizers and a great party food idea!

FLUFFY PIKELETS (Adapted from Taste.com)

3 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/4 cups Self Raising flour
2 tbsp sugar
extra butter for cooking

Place butter, milk and egg in a medium bowl. Add the flour and sugar. Beat with the electric beaters until incorporated and smooth. Heat  a teaspoon of extra butter in a large frypan; turn the heat down to low. Dollop the batter in spoonfuls onto the hot pan, leaving a little room for spreading. Flip the cooking pikelets when small bubbles come to the surface and the bottom is golden. Cook the other side until golden also. Serve with a spread of jam, or stack the small ones with a toothpick down the centre with a berry garnish on the top. The small stacks also look really pretty with a fine sprinkling of icing sugar on the top.

Makes approximately 12snack sized pikelets, or 6 snack stacks

Banana Raspberry Bread with Lime Cream Cheese Icing

When a dash of love is added to cooking, it is instantly transformed into something infinitely more palatable. I think real cooking is love-it's giving. When I say real cooking, I mean throwing a wad of 2 minute noodles into boiling water doesn't count. It must involve some effort, some portion of your time, some giving--as all love does require.
Just think about it-when you cook, you cook for friends, family, yourself. Often it's performed because you have to, because there are rumbling tummies and tiny (or big) wailing mouths. But even when it's done through necessity, it is done because you love those people. Some people cook for themselves, preparing amazing dishes, for the love of food. Others cook for the love of money, and so forth, but basically, good  food and love revolve around each other.
When I was studying teaching at University before I met my husband, I lived with two other girls in a quaint little townhouse on the skirts of Melbourne. We all fended or ourselves food wise, never cooking for anyone but ourselves as we all had varied schedules. We were three very different people, all living different lives, and looking back on how we ate doesn't surprise me. One held a part time job, and basically lived off 2 minute noodles, ice cream and those cream and jam filled sweet buns. The other was a student like myself and it was toast and bought sushi for her. I lived off 8 cups of coffee a day and various blends of pasta and jarred sauce. Ugh!
None of us loved food enough to bother to make any effort. We had no one to cook for and didn't even love ourselves enough to at least make an effort to eat healthily.
It was only when I met my husband that I started taking an interest in food, especially as he was a big fan of everything I made. It was such an encouraging thing that it became an addiction, and I couldn't keep my mind off food and what I was going to make for him the next time he visited. Well, I married that man, and I also simultaneously married my food addiction. Now I actually eat. And I actually get hungry. And I limit myself to one coffee a day, just to kick start me in the morning. Jarred pasta sauces are not off limits, but used sparingly, only for those wild and woolly days, where you get to the end of the day looking like you were just thrown out of a hurricane and the kids are literally ripping the hair out of your head. I love my family too much to do that to them regularly-but sometimes, necessity calls for quick and fuss free!
Well, this banana raspberry bread with lime and cream cheese icing is certainly made with love, time and thought. I love how all these flavours come together to make for a delightful treat for the senses-the sweet moistness of the banana, the slight tart accents of raspberry, the creaminess of the cream cheese icing with a zingy hint of lime zest.We couldn't get enough of this delicious cake! The icing really was what took it up several notches, and I almost wish I had made more icing! If you're a big fan of cream cheese icing, you could double the icing recipe and cover the whole top of the bread. You will not regret it!

BANANA RASPBERRY BREAD WITH LIME CREAM CHEESE ICING (A Lick the Spoon Original)

6 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 eggs
4 mashed bananas
1 cup Self Raising flour
1/4 level tsp bicarb. soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
50g cream cheese, room temperature
1 tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp lime zest, finely grated

Preheat the oven at 180C. Line a loaf pan with baking paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg gradually, beating well between additions. Add the mashed banana and beat again.  Add the flour, bicarb soda and salt and stir through until well combined. Lastly fold in the raspberries.
Bake in the oven for 1 1/4 hours until nicely browned on top. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes or so before gently removing and placing on a wire rack.
To make the icing, beat the cream cheese, lime juice, icing sugar and zest together in a small bowl until smooth. You may add a little more icing sugar if you prefer the consistency to be thicker, or a little more lime juice if you find it too thick.
Pipe or spread over the top of the cooled bread before serving.

Makes one loaf.

Strawberry Creme Fingers

Last night I took my little daughter on a mummy-daughter date. We went shopping and had a baby chino and mini strawberry macarons together. My husband had set a meeting point for 8pm, and while heading there after our little girlie outing, I happened across a cute kitchen store that had these lovely omelet fry-pans with a non stick finish in a variety of colours. I couldn't resist, and bought a red one for my husband, knowing he would love it. Plus, his sunday omelets are to die for, and that was to be encouraged. We've been meaning to buy new fry-pans for a while and it just hasn't happened until now. I knew he'd appreciate it.
I saw him at a distance, waiting at the agreed upon spot. As I drew nearer I noticed he had a red no stick omelet fry-pan in his hand. My son ran up to me and said "Mummy! Look what we bought for you!"
Great minds think alike, right? Even the same colour!
The women at the store had a good old cackle when I took my purchase back to the store. They couldn't believe it! And I have a shiny new red fry pan.
It sort of reminded me of the idea that people and their pets begin to look alike after a long time of being together. My husband and I now think it unison. Or something like that.
Onto more exciting things, today we have Strawberry Creme Fingers for your viewing pleasure. I've been testing out my new softbox for the first time, as well as shooting in manual mode for the first time where food is concerned, and I'm rather happy with the whole combination. For the first time I have not had to edit my photos! (maybe I should have for a few, but hey, practice makes perfect.)
These elegant little fingers are perfect for a hasty, no bake afternoon tea for when you're thinking you have nothing to serve guests. I had these left over savoiardi fingers up in the cupboard after making a tirimisu. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, so I created a strawberry filling to wedge them together, and topped them with a berry (I only had some rather wizened looking frozen berries, of course fresh ones would look infinitely better) You can purchase these firm sponge fingers crusted in sugar crystals in the specialty section of most grocery stores, and last almost forever in an airtight container until you're ready to fill them. You can also use any flavoured jam in the filling, and any berries to garnish. Decadent!

 STRAWBERRY CREME FINGERS (A Lick the Spoon Original)

1 tbsp. butter, melted
2 tbsp. strawberry jam
1 tbsp. heavy/thickened cream
1 cup icing sugar
30 saviovardi sponge fingers
1 tbsp extra icing sugar to dust
15 fresh berries to garnish

Melt the butter in a small bowl. Add the jam, cream and a little of the icing sugar to the butter. Stir, gradually adding the remaining icing sugar. Beat on high with an electric beater or mixer until thick, smooth and creamy. Fit a piping bag with a small star nozzle, and spoon the filling into the bag. Pipe lines of this mixture along the centre of half of the sponge fingers. Place the uniced sponge fingers on top of the iced ones to form pairs. On one end of each pair, pipe a small star, and top with a fresh berry. Dust with the extra icing sugar before serving, if desired.

Makes 15

Step by step photos:

Shabby Chic Bridal Shower Hightea

It's been quiet around the blog since my camera gave up the ghost, despite the fact I have been quite busy in the kitchen. Christmas Holidays meant taking time off to be with the family, but I had a few parties in the mix too. One of which was a gorgeous shabby chic style high tea held in honor of a friend who was to be married. It was for her bridal shower and screamed all things feminine and girlie. I themed the menu so that everything was decadent and pink, featuring roses and sugared rose petals, pearls and floral fondant toppers. Teapots sporting beautiful roses, delicate ferns, and lisianthus decked a table strewn with cake stands and champagne glasses, tiered high tea trays and pretty china saucers. Our poison was sweet moscato, with the addition of old fashioned pink lemonade for the non drinkers, and we also had some Rose on the side.
The trays were piled with ornately decorated cupcakes, mini banoffee tarts, mini lemon meringue tarts, pink lamingtons, cake pop skewers, pastel meringues, coconut ice domes topped with edible roses, jelly cheesecake shots, dark chocolate cointreau truffles, white chocolate Tia Maria truffles, dark chocolate royals, and a strawberry topiary.
And, as you can see, one of my Christmas presents was a nice camera, which I was able to take these photos with. I am still working out all the settings and getting used to it, so please bare with me for a while while the photos are not at their best. I will eventually get there! (If you wish for any of the recipes for the above menu, click on the word above--it will take you to the recipe link. Any that are not linked up, these recipes are yet to come! Keep checking back!)

Shabby Chic Bridal Shower Hightea

Marshmallow and Strawberry Jam Slice

I expect my husband's former colleagues will now be free to withdraw from their gym memberships. Those yoga buffs in the Botanical Gardens will have to go elsewhere to seek their clients. (Seriously yogis and personal trainers, we could go into business here--I keep them eating and you keep them working it off. Win win situation) Belts will once more be able to be tightened, notch after notch.
Seriously, I'm going to have to start finding other places to off load the goodie boxes. At least until all the "I will not indulge in sweet food" new years resolution wears off, and people begin to succumb once more to the beckoning of the truffles and slices and cakes.
Is there anyone out there that hasn't decided to eat more healthily this year? I'll take that as a no. Don't worry, the pictures of recipes on this blog are all completely fat free--if you can resist the temptation to make them.
Even the queen of sugar here has been painstakingly closing her eyes to the come-hither look that comes at me from the slice box every time I open the refrigerator. Marshmallow and jam slice lays cut into squares within, just waiting to be eaten.
Truth be told, I almost didn't send this slice along to Luke's work for morning tea with his collegues. "Luke" I said "I dont know if I can send this slice, it may just have to stay home with me. I just cut it up, and it looks pretty messy."
I left the kitchen and returned some ten minutes later to find the slice on the bench somewhat reduced in size. "I think we may have--mice"
The tell tale strand of sticky marshmallow trialling down my husband's chin made me laug, and then he said "You have to let me take this to work!"
So reluctantly I put the messy looking slice into the catering box and shipped it off with hubby the next morning. He returned to tell me it had been a hit, and I must put up the recipe on the blog--so here it is.
Fear not the stringy sticky mess! I found out the next day, while cutting the remainder of the slice, that if I had only let it cool down a little more before dipping the blade into it, I would have come out with neatly cut squares. After refrigeration, the marshmallow had reset and it was simple and mess free to cut. Unfortunately I took the photos of the slice after cutting it the first time, so it does look a little oozy...but oh so good!

             

MARSHMALLOW & STRAWBERRY JAM SLICE (Adapted from Coles Recipes)

1/3 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened dessicated coconut
1 cup plain flour3
Weet-Bix, crushed
150g butter, melted
2/3 cup strawberry jam
400g marshmallows (I used Pascal's berry swirl marshmallows)


Preheat the oven to 180C (or 160C if your oven is fan forced). Grease and line a  18 x 28cm slice or lamington tray with baking paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, coconut, flour and crushed Weet Bix. Combine well, then stir the melted butter in until well incorporated.
Using the back of a spoon or fork, flatten this mixture into the lined tray and press down until there is an even layer on the bottom.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden.
Remove from oven and spread the warm base with the jam. Arrange the marshmallows on the top of the jam to cover the entire surface. Return to the oven for about 7 minutes until marshmallow begins to soften. Place underneath the grill on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute for a slightly browned top.
Cool completely before cutting.

NOTES: For clean cuts, use a wet blade. Slice is best served the day it is made, or the day after. Ensure it is stored in an air tight container.

Mango Butter Cream Sponge Cake

 I've been noting the trending goings-on in the food world of late. One of the great things about food blogging, is that even people who approach me and don't know me always have something interesting to share about their food experiences. Food is such an awesome universal binder, is it not?
Anyway there have been a few trendy things going on of late. Forget bacon on sweets and salted caramel,  that's so 2012. Things have gone to another level, with bars serving fried locusts on the side of cocktails (to be eaten) and some sort of sand worms have also made an appearance in fancy restaurants up here in Queensland. I know St. John lived off locusts and honey--but would you choose it when you have a menu of delicacies before you? (Having said that, apparently they are low fat and high protein, might make a good snack for weight watchers!) Call me a wimp, but I don't go in for these things. That includes sheep's brains, offal, haggis and the likes. Really, some things should not be eaten.
Speaking of unsavoury things in Queensland, what's with the fried feet? You'd think no one owned shoes around here. (Seriously this is a great embarrassment to me, seeing grown people walking about the streets and in shops with no shoes. We don't live in a seaside town either. I have the feeling we're going back to primitive times.)
On a loftier note, mango is back in season, and I couldn't help myself with this gorgeous sunny, fruit laden sponge cake. You will love the airy texture of this quick and easy sponge, layered with decadent mango butter cream and girdled with toasted coconut. It's a wee piece of heaven, and makes an effortlessly impressive addition to any table.

MANGO BUTTER CREAM SPONGE CAKE (partially adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, April 2010)

1 cup self raising flour
1 tsp cornflour
1 cup caster sugar
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp melted butter
3x 60g eggs
finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. baking powder

Preheat the oven to 190C.
Grease and line two 20cm cake pans with butter and baking paper. Sift the flour and cornflour into a large bowl, then add sugar, milk, butter, eggs and zest and beat with the electric mixer on high. Beat until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Fold the baking powder into this mixture.
Divide the mixture evenly between the two cake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden in colour and cooked through when tested with a skewer.
Leave to cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to complete the cooling process on a wire rack.

To make the Mango Butter Cream:

*please note, quantities stated below are just rough measurements, I tend to add a little more icing sugar or liquid until I reach the desired consistency, so feel free to do the same*

1 mango, peeled, seeded, pureed
3 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup toasted coconut, to decorate
1 extra mango, sliced, to decorate

Place pureed mango, icing sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with an electric beater. Gradually add the cream until the desired texture is achieved. Whip until light and airy before smoothing between the two sponge cakes, on the sides and the top. Press toasted coconut to the sides of the cake, and decorate with extra mango slices if desired.


NOTES: This sponge cake is best eaten on the day it is made, for maximum softness.