Galettes

Got some puff pastry recently to try out a Strawberry Galette recipe. Turns out that having the pastry handy is great since I can whip up a nice snack really quickly.



Just some apricot jam spread onto the pastry, put on the fruit, glaze edges with milk and bake at 200C until nicely puffed and golden.



I tried it with canned pineapple also and it's yummy too!

CNY presents

Received my CNY pressie from Mammo and Mathilda yesterday! Lots of nice little goodies for me :) Yay!

Got myself a couple of nice things today

We went to Camberwell market this morning as shoppers for a change and I spotted these really cute chrysanthemums. I am not usually a fan of chrysanthemums but these pompon ones are just so amazing! I spotted people admiring them on the street too. Hehe!



When I saw this biscuit tin at David Jones, I really couldn't resist either! Rose biscuits and beautiful tin. What a winner :) The biscuits are fantastic! Studded with almonds and scattered with French crystallized rose petals. Ooohh.....

Green tea panna cotta

Been seeing so many panna cotta recipes around I decided to give it try. This is adapted from all the different recipes I've seen.

Ingredients: -
* 4 leaves gelatine
* 50g caster sugar
* 1 cup milk
* 1 cup cream
* 1 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method: -
1. Place the gelatine leaves in a bowl and cover in cold water. Stand for 5 minutes and once soft, using hands squeeze out all excess liquid.

2. Combine the sugar, milk and cream in a small saucepan over a low heat, add the vanilla extract and matcha powder and allow to simmer for 4-8 minutes. Add the gelatine and continue to whisk to create a thicker smooth mixture. Cool slightly.

3. Pour the mixture into small ramekins and place in the refrigerator for about 6 hours or until set.

What I wake up to

A little fella waiting for me to come and play :)

New teacup!

New year, new cup to drink from =)
Love how cute little red riding hood is!

Honey fruitcake

I've tried this recipe from Martha Stewart a couple of times now. It is good - much healthier than the store bought ones probably. Although the recipes makes a dozen muffin sized cakes, I've done mine as a whole cake each time just so it seems even more like a Christmas fruitcake. I used a 20cm x 20cm square tin. I also added all kinds of other dried fruit like currants and ginger too! I dropped making the glaze because I think it tastes great on its own already :)

Ingredients: -
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon coarse salt
* 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (about 170g)
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/3 cup honey
* 1/4 cup apricot jam
* 2 large eggs
* 1 cup ricotta cheese or 3/4 cup whole milk
* 1 cup pecans or almonds, toasted and ground
* 1 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots (5 ounces)
* 3/4 cup chopped dried cranberries or cherries (5 ounces)

Method: -
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt.
2. Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in honey and jam, and then eggs. Add flour mixture, and beat, alternating with ricotta/milk. Beat in nuts and dried fruit.
3. Press a square of parchment into each cup of a standard muffin tin to create a liner (you can also use baking cups). Divide batter evenly among liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. I baked the whole cake for approximately 45 mins to 1 hour. Transfer tin to a wire rack. Let stand for 10 minutes.