Back to life, back to reality...

Apologies for such a long break since my last post, the reality of the real world hit. I have been working full-time for five weeks now, but I have to say I am enjoying the challenge and the satisfaction of feeling like you're contributing to something again.

The other reality is you must fit the rest of you life in to 'out of work' hours. This means a lot less time for baking, eating, socializing and going on adventures...One day I hope to perfect the concept of the work/life balance, but for now I think I am stuck on the seesaw.

 Anyway, on to more important things...

Something yummy...

Tamarillos are currently in season and our household can't get enough of them! They are so delicious. Their flavour really packs a punch and its followed by a subtle sweetness. To accentuate their sweetness I decided to use them instead of plums on top of Annabel Langbein's Vanilla Plum cake. I was a little worried about the juice running in to the cake but they turned out perfect.

Something not so yummy...

How disappointed was I when I tried the new Whittakers L&P chocolate bar! I usually love Whittakers but they really have missed the mark here.

I picked it up at the petrol station before battling the Friday night traffic on the Southern motorway. Oh what a bad choice! All you can taste is fake lemon essence - like the one you can buy at the supermarket. The only reason I ate the whole thing was because it was the only edible thing I had in the car, and after an hour on the road and only half way home I got bored.

The only positive thing I can say is that the popping candy is great fun. In my opinion though you're better off buying a Cadbury creations bar, at least it would be fun and taste good too. 

eating...'little and friday' treats & fabric browsing at Martha's

Today I had the pleasure of experiencing 'little and friday' and Martha's Furnishing Fabrics in New Market. 'Little and friday' have the most beautiful food, sweet or savory it is hard to decide. You actually want a few people in front of you to give you time to consider your options thoroughly before reaching the counter. 

I was looking for tonights dinner so I ended up with a blue cheese, beetroot and spinach quiche, an onion jam quiche, a chunky slab of chocolate and meringue yum yum slice, and a rhubarb and fig tart. Yum! 

Next time I have my eye on their old fashioned jam donuts and about ten other items of yumminess...

'Little and friday' sits inside Martha's Furnishing Fabrics and oh what fabrics! They have rolls and rolls of fabric in all colours and textures. Your imagination runs wild with ideas on how you could use each and every one. If only I had some basic sewing skills...

Martha's Furnishing Fabrics | No.12 Melrose street, Newmarket 

Opening Hours: Monday - Friday: 10am - 5pm | Saturday: 10am - 4pm | Sunday: 10am - 4pm 

heaven...The Chocolate Line by Dominique Persoone

After 11 months in Belgium I can not believe I only discovered The Chocolate Line two weeks before I am due to depart. 

What is The Chocolate Line you ask?...To say The Chocolate Line is just a chocolate shop is a huge understatement. It is founded by famous "shock-o-latier" Dominique Persoone and is 1 of just 3 chocolate shops in the Michelin Guide. The quality and variety of chocolates is out of this world. Edward Vanhoutte sums up the experience pretty well below. 

"Surprise yourself with exciting flavour contrasts, subtle aromas, and long undertones. Indulge your palette of flavours, broaden your chocolate experience and shock your expectations. Because nothing is what it seems." 

And this is exactly what we did. We decided to share a mixed box as the variety was just too overwhelming on the first visit. I have to say the only evidence I have of this is the empty box and menu guide. The excitement of each little chocolate got the better of me and my camera was forgotten. Luckily their website was well stocked with images of each tasty delight. I do not want to bore you with a description of each one so I have picked 3...

Love at first sight: "Apero"

It's bright green shell caught my eye immediately and once I had read the description I was sold. But when I bit into it the flavour blew all of my expectations. Sharp passion fruit and lime, sweet white chocolate and a naughty splash of vodka...what more could a girl ask for?

Surprising delight: "Italiaanse Javanais"

While these traditional Italian flavours are not what you would usually associate with chocolate, the

balance was just right and surprisingly delicious. The initial tang of the sun-dried tomato and olives is unusual to start with, but then you are left with the sweetness of the chocolate and basil and wondering why you had never thought to put this combination together before. 

On the list for next time: "Cebolla"

I think purely due to my upbringing this is a must for next time. What Onion farmers daughter could resist trying this intriguing combination? 

Yes that's right there will be a next time! I will definitely be squeezing in another visit to Brugge for another fix during my last week here. We will see if any last long enough to make it in to my suitcase...

Image source: Individual chocolate images from The Chocolate Line website. 

Tour of Flanders, treats and travel...

What a busy few weeks we have had...the tour de Flanders, visitors from home bearing gifts of Marmite, Cream Eggs and warm socks, followed by great adventures in Berlin and Barcelona.

Firstly, the Tour of Flanders, a huge cycling race in Belgium that takes place every Spring. Cycling to Belgians is like Rugby to New Zealanders, so not knowing a lot about it we were in good company with some locals that knew the who's who. We were up early and arrived in Brugge at 8am to ensure a good viewing spot of the stage. The square filled up pretty quick and soon the teams were riding over the stage and signing the race board. At 10am our toes were frozen to the bone and the riders were off with a bang.

Being Easter weekend, after the start we warmed up with some chocolaty delights at one of the many local chocolate shops. I decided on a traditional hot chocolate with marshmallows, while the others experimented with more adventurous flavours including chilly and ginger.

Once back at the apartment we continued eating, drinking and gaining additional insights from our Belgian guests. They nervously watched the television religiously until Fabian Cancellara finally crossed the line to take the win...a very Belgian day with a Swiss finish!

disney...here we come!

We are heading to Disneyland Paris this weekend which calls for some appropriately child like treats to take along. Presenting...chocolate chip cookie and jelly bean rocky road!

Rocky road is truly the easiest thing to make and you can put just about anything in it. For example, while searching for the ingredients for my chocolate chip cookie and jelly bean concoction I came across coconut covered marshmallows. I stood there for a while deliberating and came to the conclusion...why not! So they went in too.

Chocolate Chip Cookie and Jelly Bean Rocky Road

600 grams Milk Chocolate

300 grams Coconut covered Marshmallows (Or plain with a little shredded coconut)

225 grams Chocolate Chip Cookies - roughly chopped

200 grams Jelly Beans (I used all the berry flavors out of a mixed bag)

100 grams Peanuts

1. Line small tray or medium sized cake tin with baking paper.

2. Melt chocolate in a large bowl, either on top of a pot of hot water or in the microwave. Just remember that chocolate burns easily so keep an eye on it.

3. Pour all of the other ingredients into the bowl with the chocolate and mix through, making sure everything is covered in the chocolate.

4. Pour the mixture in to the tin. You may need to spread it out a bit with the back of a spoon to make it roughly even in thickness.

5. Place in the fridge until set and then chop into chunks with a warm knife.

On another note...It is finally starting to feel like Spring is on its way. The water features are back to liquid form, flower buds are starting to emerge and you can get away with wearing three layers instead of the usual four. While this is a nice change, it is bitter sweet. By the time the real warm weather turns up we will be returning to a New Zealand Winter...

  

love...fresh as

I used Fresh As raspberry powder to flavor the icing for my chocolate and raspberry layer cake (recipe here) and have become a big fan.

Fresh As source high quality, ripe and sweet fruit and then freeze-dry it to produce intensely flavoured fruits and powders. You can add the powders to icings, smoothies, or in my opinion just about anything that needs a little flavour kick. They suggest dipping the whole/sliced fruits into chocolate, crumbling them over ice cream or adding to your cereal. You can find their retailer list here or purchase from their online store here.

Can't wait until I get back and can try out the rest of the range!

birthday bash...

Celebrating my beautiful little sisters 21st with the family...Finally got to do some real baking and had a go at flower arranging too!

Layered Chocolate Cake with raspberry frosting...

60g dark chocolate

1 cup hot water

1½ cups flour

1¼ cups cocoa

1½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt 

2 eggs

2¼ cups caster sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

¾ cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Line the bases of three round cake tins with baking paper and spray them with cooking spray.

2. Place the chocolate and hot water into a bowl and stir until the chocolate has melted and then set aside.

3. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a separate bowl.

4. Place the eggs in an electric mixer and beat on a medium-high speed until they are pale and thick. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla essence and buttermilk and beat until combined.

5. Fold in the dry ingredients and the chocolate mixture.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared tins. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of each cake comes out clean.

7. To assemble, spread or pipe the buttercream between each layer and top the cake with decorations of your choice.

Swiss Buttercream frosting

1½ cups caster sugar 

4 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

300g butter, soft but not runny

2 Tablespoons 'Fresh As' freeze dried raspberry powder (I purchased some from Farro Fresh in Mt Wellington)

1. Place the sugar and egg whites into a small heatproof bowl and place it over a pan of simmering water. Stir continuously until the sugar has melted and the mixture 
is slightly thicker and foamy (about 5 minutes).

2. Remove the bowl from the heat. Pour the egg white mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on a medium-high speed until the mixture is cool, thick and glossy white. 

3. Add the vanilla essence.

4. Slowly add the butter, mixing well after each addition until it has been absorbed into the mixture. 

5. Add the raspberry powder and mix until combined. 
The frosting should have a similar consistency to whipped cream.

eating...white chocolate and oreo rocky road

It's not Christmas time without some decent sweet treats so this week I made a variation of my rocky road using white chocolate and oreos. It is super easy to make and great for parties or just to have in the cupboard for a mid afternoon pick me up...

Ingredients...

125 grams Salted Peanuts - lightly crushed

180 grams Marshmallows - could use minis or chop normal size in half

100 grams Cranberries

12 Original sized Oreos - lightly crushed...you want some nice chunks in there

400 grams White Chocolate 

1. Line small tray or medium sized cake tin with baking paper.

2. Melt chocolate in a large bowl, either on top of a pot of hot water or in the microwave. Just remember that chocolate burns easily so keep an eye on it.

3. Pour all of the other ingredients into the bowl with the chocolate and mix through, making sure everything is covered in the chocolate.

4. Pour the mixture in to the tin. You may need to spread it out a bit with the back of a spoon to make it roughly even in thickness.

5. Place in the fridge for about an hour until set and then chop into chunks with a warm knife...yum!