Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween baking...

Halloween skull gingerbreads



Using the gingerbread recipe that I posted a little while ago and the really cute cookie cutters that I purchased for $2.99 at Aldi (yes I know, $2.99!!), I made these cute Halloween themed cookies today.

Halloween gingerbreads


There are scary Jack O Lanterns, vampire bats and skulls to munch away on.  The Jack O Lanterns were a little tricky to ice but they still have Halloween spirit.

zombie mardi


And keeping with the Halloween spirit, here is a 'zombiefied' me to get you in the Halloween spirit!  Happy Halloween!

Recipe Remix: Teeny, tiny carrot cakes... with a ginger twist!

Carrot cakes


So you know these teeny, tiny carrot cakes that I love to make?  Well, I decided to add a little fresh ginger twist to them!  It is super delicious and makes them lovely and fragrant too.  If you follow the basic carrot cake recipe ( I posted it here) and add a good tablespoon of freshly grated ginger to the batter, you too will have the ginger twist too!  Just make sure that you use one of those fine ginger graters, you don't want big chunks in your little cakes!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Gingerbread goodness...

Gingerbread fox
gingerbread fox.



I've always loved gingerbread ever since I was a child.  There is nothing better than a beautiful gingerbread man with cute iced clothing and raisin eyes.  I especially love the spiced biscuit.  I was inspired to make gingerbread recently for two reasons.  Firstly I had come across some Swedish gingerbread spice mix that I picked up from Nord Living.  It's by the company Two Swedes Cooking. 
Also I bought some cute cookie cutters from Ikea that I have used for my gingerbread.  They have cute foxes, squirrels and moose!

Gingerbread!
gingerbread dough ready to go into the fridge.


For this recipe I used my Swedish gingerbread spice as a replacement for all spices but you can use the spices listed below!


 Ingredients
  • 125g butter, at room temperature
  • 100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup
  • 1 egg, separated
  • 375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
  • 1 tbs ground ginger
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • Plain flour, to dust
  • 150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar, sifted
Waiting to be baked
gingerbread waiting to go into the oven.



 How to!
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare trays with baking paper.
  2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Press dough into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest - up to over night if you have time!
  3. Meanwhile, place egg white in a clean, dry bowl. Use an electric beater to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
  4. Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about 4mm thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart. Repeat with any excess dough.
  5. Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool.
  6. Place prepared icings in small plastic bags. Cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. Pipe icing over gingerbread to decorate. 
Gingerbreads!!!
they are finished!




Don't forget to keep your gingerbreads in an airtight container but they probably won't last long!  Also have fun with your icing!  Be creative with your cutters and icing - enjoy!

This is what happens when you share cupcakes...

Cupcakes

You get a weird hybrid cupcake made by your loving husband!  Thanks to Sugadeaux for the lovely cupcakes, we have pistachio/ cardamon on the left and a salted caramel on the right.  Mark thought it was pretty funny to serve this up for morning coffee!

You may also find this delicious!

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