My Favourite Things - Birthday

Hey

This week was my birthday, so here's a few of the lovely things I received.

Weekend Surprise!

Gifts from Friends

Sister's Home made Gift

Birthday Roses

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Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

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Personalised and home made gifts just have an extra special touch to them. That's why I made my mum some chocolate chestnut truffle last week for her birthday. These truffles are simple to make (even if I have to chill them for longer just so I could shape them and a mess was still made). I'm slowly making my way through My Little French Kitchen cookbook.

First melt some of the chocolate then allow it to cool slightly.

While the chocolate is cooling, take the cooked chestnuts, soften butter, sugar and vanilla essence to and blend together. I had to use my sister's smoothie maker as we don't have a blender - it worked but just took a bit longer to ensure that everything got blended.

The next step is combine the cooled chocolate and chestnut mixture. I then had to chill my total mixture for at least 30 minutes to be able to make some sort of ball shape with them. As this was the case I had chilled my shaped truffles over night before coating them in chocolate.

To dip my truffles, I used a forked and then tapped the fork on the side of bowl to allow excess chocolate run off before using a cocktail stick to slide my truffles on to a wire rack to set.

I decorated and finished off my truffles with crystallised violets. Perfect for a gift or to finish off a dinner party.

xxx

Marble Halls

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With the return of The Great British Bake Off this past month (I can't believe it is half way through already), I've been inspired to get baking again. I think I got a bit uninspired after doing quite a few cakes close together. To kick start my return to regularly baking I chose to go with puddings so that I could use my new Pampered Chef single serving pan. I didn't make self saucing puddings but it was a Mary Berry recipe so still very much in line.

A normal sponge mixture is made by combining all the ingredients together. Then divide it to create the marble. Add vanilla essence to one half and dissolved cocoa to the other. Alternate the flavour as you pop it in to the single serving pan. Once all the mixture has been used, use a cocktail stick to swirl the flavours together. Then bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

The chocolate sauce is super easy as well. Heat a can of evaporated milk to just below boiling point, Remove from the heat and add in chopped chocolate and stir until melt. Then pour and enjoy!

Ingredients:
6oz softened butter
6oz caster sugar
6oz self raising flour
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder blended with 2 tbsp boiling water
2 tsp vanilla extract
6oz plain chocolate
1 x 170g evaporated milk

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O Can Ye Sew Cushions?

Hey

My sister got a sewing machine the other year for Christmas and recently we have been trying to learn the basics. So as a belated birthday present my mum organised a sewing class for my sister which we all got to participate in. We all made something different, my sister made cushions, my mum made a bag and a half. While I made napkins from the my Paris theme fabric. Yes they were simple and I ended up doing lots of pressing (which you partly need asbestos hands for). I then used the off cuts to make napkin rings (I only managed two after doing my napkins) with button holes.

We are now looking into getting a new sewing machine, so once we have purchased one, I can finish my other napkins and make a few more napkins as well.

The class we took was at Spinney Brook Workbox. The day was so relaxing and home made lunch and cake at the end of the day. I definitely wouldn't mind going back with a Christmas theme so that I could make the Christmas tree skirt I bought fabric for.

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My Favourite Things

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This Time Last Year

Latest Cake Order

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Tiny Parcels

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I have been trying as many new recipes recently as I have a few cake orders to fill. Saying that when I do have the chance I tend to reach for my favourite cookbook.

Individual beef wellingtons was my pick (in the book they are made with venison but I'm personally not a fan). They also have caramelised red onions instead of a mushroom level which is also a bonus as I'm not a fan of those either. 

First step is to season and then sear the meat for 30 seconds on each side.

Then in the same pan caramelise the chopped onions with salt, butter and sugar for around 20 minutes before adding the Armagnac and cooking for a further 10 minutes. Leave the onions to cool slightly before blending to a paste.

Quarter the puff pastry and roll out into a rectangle and then cut in half so that it is slightly larger than your meat. Repeat to create enough for all your streaks.

Brush the streaks with mustard before placing in the middle of one the squares. Top with some of the onion paste before placing another square of puff pastry on top to make your parcel.

Seal the parcels by crimping with a fork and cut a cross in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake in an oven 200C for at least 12 minutes (for medium rare). Enjoy!

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Everything Changes Extra

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I seem to have been really busy recently even though it's been quiet-ish at work. In between cake orders and my sister's birthday a couple of weekends back, I had time to point and line another box that was gifted to me at Easter. As blue is my favourite colour, of course I painted it in my Annie Sloan Greek blue and in a similar fashion as my bargain box I found last summer.

The box itself is a shoe shine box that my mum found at our local vintage shop. It was in good condition and only needed a bit of clean inside.

I did end up waxing the entire box with my Annie Sloan wax but the unpainted sections didn't really need it.

I then used some board my dad cut to the correct size to line the box. I picked up some striped material from Hobbycraft, of course in blue to match.

The material just stuck on with double sided tape and a little bit of fabric glue to help in the corners and then they just slotted in to a place. I just a laid a piece of the material on the bottom to finish of the lining before the sides were put in.

Now I have two boxes to sort my magazines in.

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My Favourite Things

Hey

Sister's Birthday Cake

Wedding Cake order finished

My Jo Malone Pamper

Paris D.I.Y Xmas present

Mum's Rachel Khoo inspired dessert

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Duck

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I got introduced to duck while I was at Uni, but I only really have it when I eat out. So I decided to finally try the recipe for duck with fizzy orange sauce. I cooked the duck according the instructions on the packet rather than what it said in my recipe book just to be on the safe side. 

marinate duck in orange juice and zest, olive oil, ground cumin and salt

Roast for 90 minutes at 170C, basting half way through

The sauce is made from reducing the fizzy orange and Cointreau by half on a high heat. Then add salt red wine vinegar and orange segments before simmering for 5 minutes.

I now have a bottle of Cointreau, so I might have to experiment with making some Cointreau truffles or chocolate and Cointreau cupcakes.

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My Favourite Things

Hey 

Parisian fabrics for DIYs

First home for my KitchenAid

Beautiful quoted mug

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Orange Blossom Lane

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I always enjoy baking orange meringue pie. It is one of my favourite recipes but I don't bake it enough. So for Easter I gave it a chocolate twist. I have been thinking for ages of trying the pie with a chocolate pastry to create an orange and chocolate meringue pie as the combination of the two flavours is a classic. I finally found a chocolate pastry that seemed simple.

Rub together flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter until breadcrumbs are formed. Then add a beaten egg and combine until the mixture just forms a ball. Then roll and line a fluted pie dish and prick the base before chilling for 30 minutes. Blind bake for 15 minutes with baking beans and without for 5 minutes (I think it could probably be blind baked for a bit longer as the base was still slightly soft once fully baked. Once the base is blind baked, brush with egg whites.

To make the orange filling - combine the juice of 2 oranges and zest of 4 oranges in a pan with 55g cornflour and 2 tbsp orange blossom water. Add 300ml of just boiled water and stir. Simmer for 3 minutes or until thickened. Whisk together 4 eggs yolks and 160g sugar until pale. While stir beating, add the orange mixture. The mixture can be returned to the heat if it is still runny. Allow the filling to cool before pouring into the pastry case. 

Top with a meringue mixture, and I slowly bake my pie so that the outside of the meringue is crisp but the inside is chewy.

It seemed quite fitting for dessert on Easter Sunday as my sister said that it looked like a creme egg.

xxx