Rose Cupcake with White Chocolate Frosting Recipe

This year I've decided to pay for a long distance feline medicine education course which involves a lot of reading and a monthly assignment to finish by the end of the month.

For the past 15 years I've been a last minute kind of assignment person. I work best in a pressure cooker (yes, I've been watching a lot of masterchef) and July 31st 2012 I was at it again, hurrying to submit my assignment before the stroke of midnight. In order to be this rushed usually involves a lot of procrastinating. I dream of going for a jog, or baking and even at one desperate moment - doing my taxes.

Well today I went for that run and made these yummy rose flavoured cupcakes with white chocolate and cream cheese frosting. I love the first of every month. It's the time of the month that is furthest from having to submit another assignment. Those taxes however suddenly don't look as appealing. Maybe tomorrow.

Cupcakes Recipe

• 120 g Plain flour
• 140 g Caster Sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
• Pinch Salt
• 40 g Unsalted butter, room temp
• 120 ml Whole milk
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Rosewater 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170c. Fill a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

2. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a medium size bowl and beat with an electric mixer on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency, and everything is combined. 

3. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorportated.

4. Whisk the egg, vanilla extract, remaining milk and rosewater together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated. Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.

5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack.

White chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

• 200g white chocolate (I used Cadbury Dream block)
• 100ml Thickened cream
• 250g Cream Cheese
• heat cream in a small pan (do not boil!)

Method

1. Beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy

2. Add hot cream to white chocolate and allow to sit for a couple of minutes before stirring to achieve a smooth and homogenous consistency

3. Mix chocolate and cream cheese and continue to beat. If mixture is too soft at this stage, refrigerate for an hour and beat to achieve a fluffy consistency.

4. Top completely each cooled cupcake with an elegant swirl of white chocolate frosting. See here for a good video for a rose frosting decorating demonstration.

Banh Xeo Recipe (Vietnamese pancake)

As a child, we would have a bowl of rice with two or three Vietnamese dishes every night. Without fail. And if you didn't feel like rice, well TOO BAD, that's what you'd get no if, buts or maybes. After I moved out, it was both a source of freedom and sadness.

If I wanted to eat a nasty ass $5 pizza from Dominos then I could. But then again, I had to actually eat the nasty ass pizza from Dominos and not some delicious, healthy home cooked mum meal. Well we started off pretty pitifully as no one taught Kevin nor I to cook and we survived on pre-packaged bottled pasta sauce and overcooked soggy 59c spaghetti for our first year living together.

We're now onto our fourth year living together and I've taken on the role as primary cook and Kevin as head washer. It's a natural division and most couples will naturally migrate to the role that they are better at. Plus I really hate washing up. This is my first attempt at making Banh Xeo and I gotta say, it's pretty good for a rookie and a far cry from bottled pasta sauce. 

Banh Xeo Recipe

Pancakes

1 cup rice flour (Thai versions are fairly easy to find)

1 cup water

1/2 cup of coconut milk (canned)

1 tablespoon turmeric2 tablespoons banana/prawn fritter flour (optional - gives extra crunch)

pinch of salt

4 shallots (thinly sliced)

vegetable oil for frying

Filling

250g small prawns

1 pork rasher, thinly sliced

1 small onion, thinly sliced

6 medium mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 cups bean sprouts

dipping sauce (see below)

In a bowl mix the flours, water, shallots, turmeric and salt. 

Heat a little oil in a hot non-stick pan and cook the onions, mushrooms, pork and shrimp. 

When cooked through pour in 1 ladle of batter on top of the fillings and tilt the pan to spread the batter like a pancake. You should try spread the batter thinly and add small amounts of batter to fill in any gaps. 

Top with bean sprouts and cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottom of the pancake is browning and very crunchy and the edges are super crisp.

The pancake should be able to hold its shape without tearing. Using a spatula, carefully fold the pancake in half slide out onto a plate (this may take several attempts to perfect). Serve with lettuce and dipping sauce.

Nuoc mam dipping sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2-3 Tablespoons fish sauce

1-2 T lemon juice or white vinegar

1/4 cup boiling water

Put sugar in a small bowl and add hot water.

Mix until sugar is dissolved and add lemon juice (or vinegar) and fish sauce and taste. 

There should be an even balance between sweet, salty and sour elements. Don't be afraid to adjust it!

Kevin said once he could smell it climbing up the stairs of our three floor apartment block he started running up the steps. He's too cute for words. And nothing tops a good ol' Asian meal like a fresh young coconut. Nom nom nom.

Apple and Oats Crumble Recipe

I'm a bit of a fad eater. I like to try new things and if I find something I like, I eat it to exhaustion. I think I have a highly addictive nature. Hence I stay away from anything really nasty like drugs and One Direction. However food-wise, sashimi was last Summer's addiction.

And now that the weather is getting cooler, it's oats. Now you can just cook oats in a saucepan with some milk, add a bit of honey and sliced banana and you have a pretty awesome breakfast right there. I've been having that for breakfast every single morning. Just ask my work colleagues (I use the instant stuff in that case).

But, I also made this super yummy crumble after dinner the other night. It's so easy and only requires one bowl, a baking dish and a chopping board. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3 cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped - I used granny smith apples
• 1/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Lightly grease a medium sized baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour and butter. Mix until crumbly. Place half of crumb mixture in pan. 
3. Spread the apples evenly over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and top with remaining crumb mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

So crispy on the outside and a bit tart and very gooey on the inside. Perfect with a bit of tea on a sunny but chilly morning sitting on the balcony and contemplating the mysteries with of life. Can't do that with just plain cereal!

Roast Pumpkin and Baby Carrot Soup

My meal plan for the week always revolves around what's on sale at the supermarket. So this week both butternut pumpkin and baby carrots were on sale at Coles which to me equates to a yummy warm soup for lunch tomorrow. Something really thick and hearty to balance out this rainy miserable weather. And why not make it a vegetarian meal as well! Mix it up a bit. 

Also, I love savoury dishes that have a tinge of sweetness to them and the honey in this recipe really tickled my fancy. I read somewhere on the internet (as a Vet I hear this at least once a day in the consult room) that roasting the vegetables gives the soup an extra lift, I tried it and I don't think it warrants the effort. Next time I'll just boil everything straight from the bat.

Recipe
Half a medium sized butternut pumpkin
6 baby carrots
1 large potato
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
500ml vegetable stock
1/4 cup of thickened cream

Method
1. Roast vegetables for 45 minutes at 200 degrees C mixed with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the honey.
2. Move to a stockpot and add the vegetable stock and spices, salt and pepper and boil for a further 30 minutes or until vegetables are soft. 

3. Blend (I have a little rocket blender so this took ages as I had to do it in 5 separate batches) with the cream.
4. Enjoy with some fresh coriander or crusty bread. 

Baked London Cheesecake

Baking is a really relaxing way to spend your day off and my absolute favourite thing to bake is a Nigella Lawson London Cheesecake. 

It's a layer of crumbed biscuit then cream cheese, topped with sour cream. Add some blueberry syrup and you've got yourself a pretty yummo way to spend your night off as well. 

I adapted this recipe from 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess' and cut everything in half so as to make a little 18cm diameter cake. It's a cake for one. I also use a handy dessert ring I got from Target which expands so you can vary how big your cake will be. 

Ingredients

100g milk arrowroot biscuits (half a pack)

70g unsalted butter (room temp)

250g cream cheese (room temp)

65g caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolks

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp lemon juice

300ml tub sour cream (room temp)

1/4 cup caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Pulverise the biscuits (I use a bowl and the end of a rolling pin) but you can use a food processor if you want to get all fancy about it. Add the butter and rub into the biscuits till they resemble breadcrumbs.

2. Line the bottom of your cake tin and press the biscuits down firmly with the bottom of a spoon, making sure to compact them right into the edges. Put the base in the fridge to set and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

3. Beat the cream cheese til it's as soft as creamed butter, then add the sugar and beat in again. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk, then the vanilla and then the lemon juice. Put an almost full kettle on to boil at this stage.

4. Pour the boiling water into a roasting dish so it comes up halfway around the cake tin and place this in the oven. This water bath is apparently supposed to make your cake velvety smooth and technically you're supposed to wrap the cake in foil and put it IN the bath but I can't be bothered and found this that technique very likely to give you third degree burns. Take out your cake tin with the breadcrumbs from the fridge and pour in your cream cheese mixture.

5. Place the whole thing in the oven next to your dish with water and bake for 30 minutes till it feels set when you lightly touch the surface, and it wobbles like a set jelly.

5. Whilst the cake is baking, beat together the sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Once the cake has set, pour the sour cream mix on top of the cake and bake for a further 10 minutes.

7. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. Once it has cooled completely, leave it to set in the fridge for about 4-6 hours as it helps to make the cake more solid and the flavours meld together. Unmould and use a knife which has been run under hot water to cut and top with syrup and fresh berries or not (sometimes you just can't wait, I know the feeling).

Blueberry Syrup

1 cup frozen blueberries

2-3 tbsp caster sugar

1/4 cup water

Blend the blueberries with water and run the puree through a fine sieve to remove the seeds and skin bits. Pour the sieved puree into a small saucepan and stir in the sugar. Turn the heat up to medium and bring the liquid to a simmer while stirring constantly till the sugar has dissolved, then leave the liquid to simmer till the mixture has considerably thickened and become sticky and syrupy, and tastes like blueberry jam. 

Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

I am not a good cook by any means. And certainly not an Italian maestro. But I can do a pretty awesome spag bol. The boyfriend is a big fan and I think the secret is fresh herbs. I'm also very haphazard with quantities and guesstimate everything. Scales are for sissies. Here's the recipe and I'll put it in a language that even Kevin can understand (maybe he'll even surprise me and make it on his own one day).

Word of warning, this takes about 2 hours in total to make so don't start making it at 7pm like I did where then both of you are almost passed out on the floor from hunger at 9pm. Luckily it makes A LOT of spag bol so be ready to carb it up for dinner and lunch the next day!

Ingredients

500g veil mix pork mince

1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped, diced into 5mm cubes

3 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 large carrot, diced into 5mm cubes

1 teaspoon black pepper

100g diced bacon

Pinch of sea salt

1 cup full-bodied red wine (I use just a cheap cab sav)

400g Bolognese tomato sauce (about 1/2 the usual sized bottle)

200g tinned diced Italian tomatoes (about 1/2 tin)

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

2 heaped teaspoons dried oregano

2 heaped teaspoons dried thyme

about 15 basil leaves (to cook and to serve)

400 gm spaghetti

Method

1. Add extra virgin olive oil on a medium to high heat pot.

2. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, bacon and a little sea salt and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it caramelized. Then add all the mince and cook for another 3 minutes.

3. Add the red wine and bring to boil.

4. Add tomato sauces and paste, thyme, oregano and 10 basil leaves (loosely shredded). Add seasalt and black pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes with the lids on and stir occasionally.

5. Take the lid off and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Cook your pasta and drain it.

7. Prepare pasta and the bolognese sauce into a plate.

8. Sprinkle with Parmesan and scatter with 2-3 fresh basil leaves

P.S. Leftover tomato sauces can be frozen and defrosted for the next time.