Shabby

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

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!

Sunday, January 09, 2011

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.....

Saturday, January 08, 2011

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.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

What I wake up to


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

Monday, January 03, 2011

New teacup!


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

Sunday, January 02, 2011

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.