Tag Archives: winter

Winter is Coming…

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Winter is coming. Right now I am sitting inside my cosy little house listening to my Mum rattle around the kitchen making pumpkin soup for dinner while the rain plinks gently on our roof. The sun has deserted the sky even earlier tonight and the rain clouds are obscuring the winter stars. Our home has been filled with the scent of baking for much of the afternoon, and the chocolate chip cookie I snuck in before dinner was just as warming as the red knitted socks on my feet.

A season of sweaters and sweet warm tea. (source)

A season of sweaters and sweet warm tea.
(source)

Yes, winter is coming and this year I am determined to enjoy the cold season. Winter, to be honest, is not my favourite season of the year, and I am so grateful that I live in Brisbane where the winter season doesn’t last for too long and isn’t overly nasty. Conversely though, I love to travel during winter; Melbourne with its driving icy rain and cold that seeps into your bones is my favourite place to spirit away to for a few weeks in the depths of winter. This year I will be tucking myself up cosily with my boy and a book, going running in preparation for the Gold Coast Half Marathon (by the way check me out here – super weird/super exciting to be nominated alongside some of my favourites), and making lots of cookies to fuel my writing and running.

Winter is coming, and in preparation for this season (like my preparation for autumn) I am giving myself a little list of things to fill  my winter days and nights.

Cooking:

Mmmm.....

Mmmm…..

Moving:

  • Going ice-skating at a local rink with some friends – Chris and I are both sure that we are going to break our legs in the attempt…
  • Winter morning walks with Mum and Molly on my cross-training days. Nothing like starting the day walking through the frost-crisped grass watching our breath form clouds in front of our faces while Molly trots along happily in front of us.
  • The Gold Coast Half Marathon is only a few weeks away now, and I know that this year I won’t meet my time goal but I am determined to just cross the finish line with a smile on my face.
  • Make use of the heated swimming pool only minutes away from my house and work on improving my lung capacity while staying warm!
Just pretty

Just pretty

Doing:

  • Printing out photos and decorating the walls of my room – it’s only been six years since we extended the house…
  • Hosting a Winter Solstice dinner for my friends. I am not a ‘Christmas in July’ person, but an observance of the season is always fun (and an excuse to make apple pie).
  • Set up a beautiful writing space to help me get through my fifteen-thousand word thesis next semester (I might need some cute organising stationery to help)
  • I still haven’t finished (or actually started, really) my scarf but this cute knitted owl blanket might have to go on my ‘When I Get Crafty’ list.

Thinking:

  • S-l-o-w-l-y digesting Cheryl Strayed’s ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ - I could speed through it, but I want to soak in each section and absorb the wisdom of her words. Every post makes me question my reaction to life and I need time to digest the emotions and conclusions.
  • My Mum and I cried and smiled while reading Angelina Jolie’s Op-Ed for The New York Times ‘My Medical Choice’. A brave choice, a beautiful woman, and an inspiration to all of us to take charge of our health and our bodies. You are the caretaker of this vessel and it will carry you through your life if you nourish it and care for it correctly.
  • Still enjoying ‘A Clash of Kings‘ (A Song of Ice and Fire book two) and about to start Kate Atkinson’s ‘Life After Life‘. Winter is the perfect season for curling up with a book, and a blanket (and my boy) – then again what season isn’t perfect for curling up with a book?

Tell me dear readers, what are you most looking forward to this coming cold season? What gets you through the dark nights and chilly mornings?

Northern Hemisphere sweethearts, what are you most looking forward to this summer? Make me jealous of your warm days….

Eggs and Tea

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Tonight I couldn’t stop thinking about eggs. Fried eggs specifically. Fried eggs with drippy, runny yolks on top of a pile of sautéed green things with salt and pepper, and just a little more salt. I sat in the lecture theatre tonight trying to engage in active thought about personal essay forms and Montaigne and Didion and Dillard, but all I could think of was eggs.

I don’t think it really was the egg specifically; more, it was what the egg represented: comfort, curling up under a green and floral motley blanket made by Mum, doing some writing while the TV plays some British police show or another in the background. I wanted my bowl of steamed greens, and my runny, runny yolk, and a cup of green tea to soothe my beating heart at the end of another full and wonderful day.

DSC00365

 

Now I sit here, at an hour a little too late to blog anything particularly substantial because of a brain drained by discussing the central argument and tone of the fabulous Joan Didion’s ‘Goodbye to All That’ (check out this book for the essay and other wonderful writings). And I write about the want for eggs, and tea, and comfort. And I have had all three. And I am happy and ready to rest my eyes.

Now, off to bed with all of you and I’ll see you in the morning.

Sweet dreams dear readers.

Kitchen tables, and a pear cake

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The first was long and oval with six matching chairs gathered around its sides. The timber was stained a deep mahogany, and there was always, always a tablecloth: the pastel blue was always my favourite.

The second was rectangular, and made by my father from some leftover decking pieces from a handyman job. He had varnished the top until it was smooth, but the underneath was still rough. During dinner I would run my hands over the rippled surface; always praying that I wouldn’t get a splinter but revelling in the texture.

There were many more kitchen tables in my childhood. Now we have another smooth timbered surface, no tablecloth in  sight though. Truth be told, nowadays I can’t stand them and the way crumbs have a way of sticking in the weave and haunting you even with the most vigorous beating after dinner.

The kitchen table to me is more than a surface to eat from, more than a clunky piece of furniture that takes up nearly our entire (small) dining room, the kitchen table is where my family gathers.

Deep inside I know that if I sit at the table for long enough someone will come along and sit near me. Someone will wander in asking what’s for dinner, or tell you they are putting the jug on (‘Would you like a cuppa?’), or slide a page of newspaper under your nose asking for your opinion on a piece of writing.

I think that’s why I feel the need to spend most of my day at the table in our kitchen: breakfast, writing, university work, reading a book, having a cup of tea. I am a lonely sort of person and if I sit here I know my family will be here soon.

You are never alone for long.

 

Kitchen table pear and spice cake (gluten free)

Not overly sweet, with the warmth of numerous spices, this cake speaks to the place in all of us that needs comfort, company, and a little wholesomeness. An afternoon-eating sort of cake with a cup of tea, or try a slice warmed up a little with a plop of ice-cream that will slide down the slope of crumbs as it melts. Whichever way you choose to indulge, make sure you cut another slice for someone you love. You won’t be alone at the table for long.

Ingredients

  • 175 grams buckwheat flour
  • 50 grams almond meal
  • 100 grams golden caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 225mL milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup rice bran oil (or other lightly flavoured oil)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1 large pear
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar, extra

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180⁰C. Grease and line a 6-inch diameter cake tin.
  2. Peel the pear and cut it in half. Remove the core from each half. With half number one dice it into small pieces and set in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom. With half number two slice it thinly and leave aside until required.
  3. Sit a medium bowl on top of your kitchen scales make sure they read zero then weigh in the buckwheat flour, almond meal, and caster sugar. Then measure in the salt, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom. Whisk all ingredients together to aerate. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl whisk together milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour half of this mixture into the cake tin and sprinkle over the spiced, diced pear. Then pour over the rest of the cake batter.
  6. Arrange the thinly sliced pear over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with extra caster sugar.
  7. Bake for 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  8. Once it is cooked remove the cake from the oven and cool for 5 minutes in the tin. Remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool on a rack.

Or if you are like me, burn your fingers removing the hot cake from the tin and then console yourself with a warm slice of cake. Then return later for another, cooler, slice….

Blood Orange Poppyseed Cake (gluten free)

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Unexpected guests and unexpected gifts provided sweet seasoning to the flavour of last weekend. After visiting with some old family friends and passing some pleasant hours talking about travel, tea, and all other parts of life in between, a gift turned up unbidden in the middle of the week.

For me? I asked.

She wanted you to have it because she knows you will appreciate it, came the reply.

Carefully unwrapped and laid out on the table like the treasure that they are was an absolutely beautiful fine porcelain tea set for six. Complete with tea pot, sandwich plates, and a tea pot warmer powered by a tea light candle. Milky cream porcelain with a golden rim, this tea set has travelled from Germany, and been loved and used for nearly 50 years. Now it is mine. Mine to love, and make memories with. All in the company and comfort of those who have used this before.

I am humbled by such a wonderful gift.

In return, I had to make a little something for afternoon tea and share a pot of tea and a slice of cake. To say thanks, and enjoy the ritual of chatting and pouring on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Here is the thank you gift I brought in return. Naturally gluten free, made from buckwheat and brown rice flours, seasoned with deepest winter’s blood oranges, and served with love. This cake is an everyday afternoon sort of treat. Share it to say thanks, and indulge in a little winter treat.

Blood Orange Poppyseed Cake

I baked my cake in an 8-inch ring tin but you could easily make 12 cupcakes, or use a conventional 8-inch round tin. You will just end up with a flatter cake. If you don’t require this cake to be gluten-free simply 225g of plain flour in place of the buckwheat flour, rice flour, and almond meal.

Ingredients:

  • 125 grams buckwheat flour
  • 50 grams brown rice flour
  • 50 grams almond meal
  • 110 grams golden caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 145mL milk
  • 80mL blood orange juice (About one really juicy orange. Save the other for decoration and juice for the glaze.)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 80mL rice bran oil (or other lightly flavoured oil)
  • Grated zest 2 blood oranges
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup poppy seeds

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Oil and line an 8-inch ring tin.
  2. Juice and zest oranges. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl put buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, almond meal, salt, caster sugar, baking powder, poppy seeds, and grated orange zest. Stir together with a whisk – my version of sifting for a cake like this. Make sure there are no lumps of sugar or almond meal. Set this aside.
  4. In a jug mix together milk, juice, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Beat this mixture well.
  5. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the lined ring tin.
  6. Place in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  7. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn out and cool completely.
  8. For the glaze: mix together 1 tablespoon blood orange juice and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Drizzle over cooled cake. Decorate with thinly sliced blood orange.

 

So tell me dear reader, have you ever had an unexpected gift?

Soothing Spiced Lentil Stew

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Mist rose steadily in clouds from the storm water creek as we started the day with a morning walk. The crisp air reddened cheeks and numbed hands even as the sun rose bright and clear in the unclouded blue sky.

In the depths of midwinter we decided that it was time to clean. To purge the old, save that which is needed and useful, and shed the superfluous in favour of simmering down to essentials. From the sorting and shifting, the de-scaling of our lives, there arises a sense of rebirth, of purity, of the elemental needs of life that are exposed when we chose to lose the clutter. It can however be a little exhausting, a little exposing, and soul-wearying. At the end of a day like this a soothing spiced lentil stew studded with sweet potato and peppered with kale serves to warm and restore.

Soothing Spiced Lentil Stew

A blend of spices lends this stew depth of flavour. I owe a great debt to Nigel Slater as this is adapted from one of his wonderfully warming recipes.

Serves 2 but is easily doubled, or makes great leftovers for a single girl like me.

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium brown onion, diced
  • 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 150g dried Puy lentils
  • 500mL water
  • 1 tsp powdered vegetable stock
  • Few stems of kale
  • Natural yoghurt, to serve.

Method:

  1. In a large saucepan heat a dash of olive oil. Add the diced brown onion and sweet potato. Cover with lid and cook on a low heat until onion has softened.
  2. Add paprika, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Stir to distribute spices, and take a moment to revel in their fragrance.
  3. To this pot add Puy lentils, water, and powdered vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. The lentils should still be firm and the sweet potato soft.
  4. While the lentils are simmering away add a splash of olive oil to another smaller pan. Keep on a low heat and add thinly sliced red onion. Cover and cook until onion is golden brown; then, add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.
  5. Remove stems from kale and roughly chop the curly leaves. Add to the cooked lentils and cover so that the kale wilts into the stew.
  6. Serve lentils topped with onions and a dollop of natural yoghurt.

Allow the stew to soothe you, and the spices to restore your soul. Then sit back and take in the night, and the new start that every dawn brings.

On the shelf: on a night like this

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Tonight, the world is closing in on itself. Outside my window the view is obscured by rain; night is a damp, cold shroud over our house. No starlight can break through the cover of cloud. We are huddled in our little house, under blankets with our hands wrapped around mugs of tea. A little craving satisfied by a few chocolates, some strawberries from the local farm, and a few crackers with creamy dollops of avocado.

Here in this closed in world we are together, but alone. We all retreat to our corners to occupy our minds and hands with that which soothes our soul. Mum watches TV and loses herself in solving crimes. Dad drafts, and plans, and makes bits and pieces come back to life. The newlyweds do university work, or plan for their future.

Me? I read. Sometimes books, sometimes magazines, sometimes the beautifully crafted words of those who participate in this small, vast world of blogging.

On a night like this, I am losing myself in the words and images of these talented and insightful folks:

  • Dreaming of my next grand adventure in the USA. I long to criss-cross the landscape, revel in the view outside my window, and be privy to small towns that are missed in guidebooks. I was thinking of driving, but this article in Audobon Magazine makes me think a train journey would be pleasant. I wonder if I could hop off somewhere in Colorado for a hiking trip?
  • Falling even more in love with making bread, and wondering if I could have a bonfire night where I could use this idea from the inspiring lads and lasses at Kinfolk.
  • I purchased ‘Tender Vol. 1‘ over a year ago, and received ‘Tender Vol. 2′ (a.k.a. ‘Ripe’) for my birthday. I admired their weighty promise on first glance, and managed a cursory look when they first came into my possession. On these long nights I am enjoying the conversation of Nigel Slater, the evocative earthiness of his words, and the new life he is breathing into my vegetables and fruits. Expect inspired recipes here soon.

Cliff House – San Francisco. Another rainy day. Hope to be back soon…

My bed is calling to me early tonight. I am going to hibernate under the blankets and warm myself with dreams of travel, the heat of a proving oven, and summer tomatoes from an English garden….

Good Things: Early to Rise

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Moments where the stillness of the world, and the fogginess of the dawn, reflect into your own heart, and calm the tides of your thoughts, are rare in this world. I believe when we get the chance to welcome peace and quiet into our hearts that we should embrace it with open arms. I seek peaceful moments in my life and at the moment, although I spend a lot of time alone and lost in my thoughts, I need them, I crave them. If only to still me for a little while. To allow me to escape the loops and whirls of the million thoughts carousing in my brain.

Early Thursday morning I set out to follow Mum and Molly on their usual walk to the dog park. Every morning, summer and winter, Mum gets up before dawn and takes our three-legged lady for a stroll (well, she’s a malamute so it’s never really a stroll). Sometimes, I wake early to accompany them for the first mile of my run. Yesterday the day dawned foggy. So foggy that it was like walking into the set of a real life Brigadoon. Through the mists we strode, four rugged up human feet and three dancing, prancing puppy paws. The pastel streaks of a winter sunrise bloomed across the sky and our breaths came out in small steam train puffs as we crunched through the dew-tipped grass.

I left Mama and Molly in the company of their furry friends, and companion humans, and continued on my way. I started by telling myself that I would just walk; just saturate myself in the quiet of the morning and the expanse that one senses in the hours before most of the world awakens – my favourite time of the day. However, inside me there was the need to run, to chase the fleeting dawn, and to arrive breathless, sweating, and warm back at home where I could revive with a nice sweet cup of tea. So I did. I ran up hill and over dale, and felt the chilled air slicing into my lungs as I sucked deep breathes greedily in after climbing the hill. I ran, and found freedom just in the movement, and stillness despite the racing of my heart.

The rest of the suburb came to life around me, and busy people made their way to work, and school, and onto the other things, the bigger things that consume our thoughts. Here I was though, with that hour and a bit of quiet, of recalibration, of stillness in movement. A place, a sweaty memory, that I could retreat back to when I needed to calm myself in the crush of bodies, and other people’s minds and thoughts, that makes up our daily life. I am lucky. These are the good things in my life. The good moments of just being. Not expecting anything of myself other than to keep putting one foot in front of the other; not expecting any more of the world than the new light of day, and a path beneath my feet.

So dear reader, where do you find your stillness? Are you a dawn chaser like me, or a night owl?

Sweet Sunday: Chocolate ‘Man-cakes’

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I dream about food. In fact, sometimes my waking dreams about food are so intense that I grab my phone and search for a recipe just to be sure that there is such a delicious thing in existence, unable to trust the ethereal matter that wove itself around my brain in my non-waking hours.

Sunday morning was such a day. I woke with a yen to make pancakes. Not for me, I am a rather stubbornly boring breakfast eater and will find something I like and latch onto it, consuming the same rice porridge for about six months until I happen to suddenly become enamoured of another a.m. food. No, these pancakes were intended for my Dad. The man who will unashamedly layer ice-cream and whipped cream onto his breakfast and devour it with gusto. He is my favourite pancake eater, and it has been a while since I made this breakfast treat. So Chocolate ‘Man-cakes’ were born.

Chocolate pancakes

Stack ‘em high

These fluffy creations are a subtle merging of cocoa and a hint of coffee and are brilliant when slathered with jam, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, Nutella, or in true Dad-fashion, with ice cream and whipped cream.

Chocolate ‘Man-cakes’

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups plain flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

4 tablespoons caster sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder

2 eggs, separated

Method

  1. In a bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons sugar.
  2. Dissolve coffee powder in a small amount of the milk, then add the rest of the milk. To this add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat well to combine.
  3. Place egg whites in a bowl with 1 tablespoon sugar and beat to medium soft peaks.
  4. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
  5. Add a third of the egg white mixture to the batter and fold until incorporated. Then fold in the remaining egg whites.
  6. Heat a large fry pan and spray with oil. Pour about 1/3 cup of batter onto pan.
  7. Bubbles will begin to appear on the surface of the mixture. When most bubbles have broken then flip the pancake and cook on the other side for 30 seconds.
  8. Place cooked pancakes on a plate and keep this covered while cooking the rest of the mixture.
  9. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, fruit, jam, or any kind of delicious sauce you have in the cupboard!

Oh, yeah

The rest of our sweet Sunday was spent reclining and reading a stack of second hand food magazines that I unearthed on Saturday. In the afternoon Jess and I went for a wonderful walk in between the rain showers. Now, I’m off to browse some more fabulous food to fuel my dreams…

Thursday Good Things

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Brisbane in winter. The fickle lion who at once will roar with might, and then mew like a kitten.

This week has seen stormy nights and days with skies of brightest blue.

Autumn leaves on a tree

The cold stays though, lighter during the day when sunny patches can be sought, then heavier at night when the only thing to do is snuggle under the patchwork quilt my Mama made me with a cup of tea and a book. So then, in the spirit of a fickle winter, as I am on occasion a fickle woman ruled by the weather, I present to you my list of good things this Thursday.

This is an issue that divides many people, in many countries, but for my opinion, I believe in marriage equality. The right for any of us to declare to society that we love someone, and we commit to them, in the most binding of ways. GetUp Australia has released a beautiful video about marriage laws in Australia.

Now, for the lighter side of the list. I am currently on holidays and scrambling to catch up on some much-neglected reading. I am a true lover of cosy mysteries so you can bet there are a few of those on my shelf to be enjoyed in the spirit of all things Marple. One series that has recently caught my fancy is the ‘Cupcake Bakery Mysteries’ by Jenn McKinlay. I read the first in the series (Sprinkle with Murder) while I was writing my assignments and I was instantly enchanted and had to order the whole series. Immediately. Others on my reading list include novels by John Connolly, which promise to be darkly gothic and ghostly – perfect for winter reading; ‘The Marriage Plot‘ by Jeffrey Eugenides – recommended to me by my lovely friend Jenny; and, continuing my Geraldine Brooks obsession (I just finished ‘People of the Book’ not twenty minutes ago), ‘Year of Wonders: a novel of the plague‘.

To balance out all that snuggling under my quilt, I will be keeping up my training for the Southern Cross University 10km run. This race is part of the Gold Coast Marathon festival, where I completed the half marathon last year, this year Jess and I will be up early and doing the 10km race while Mum and Dad do the 5.7km walk. Nothing like team spirit! Especially at 5.30am in the middle of winter….

Oh, and one last really good thing for the list, because I really never can have too many red sequins in my closet….(check these out)

A Sweet Return

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Hello my darling readers!

I am finally finished with assignments and portfolios, classes, tutorials, and late night finishes for the next seven weeks! (Can you tell I’m just a little excited for the break?)

The past few weeks have been full of wonderful adventures of the literary and scholarly kind. Thanks to my assignments I have had the chance to step back into Victorian England and speak to ghosts with one of my heroines, travel up the coast of Australia fleeing the scene of a vicious attack with another, and make all sorts of deviations along the way while trying not to get sucked into the oh-so-tempting world of researching a novel. Now I am looking forward to doing some more writing (without the pressure of a due date), reading some of the stacks of books I have somehow amassed during semester, doing some long distance runs, and stepping (actually skipping gleefully) back into the kitchen and flexing my culinary muscles.

Over the past two weeks I have also been lucky enough to celebrate the birthdays of three of my favourite women: Jess, Casey, and my wonderful Mama Chickpea! These three ladies are my holy trinity of love, support, and inspiration. Every time I face a dilemma, encounter a drama, or just can’t get out of bed, there they are waiting with hugs, cups of tea, shoulders to cry on, and reality checks when required. I love you all.

Glass of pink sparkling wine

Pink sparkling wine for Jess’s birthday – thanks Bree!

Now, what would a birthday be without some kind of sweet treat?

To celebrate Casey’s birthday I put together these little treats: Very vanilla mini cakes with vanilla cream and strawberries.

Look, drool, then make.

Vanilla mini cakes sandwiched with cream and strawberries

Very vanilla mini cakes with vanilla cream and strawberries – oh yeah…

And here my lovelies, for whatever occasion you might require a special little cake, is the recipe. There are a few different parts but they are quite easy to make ahead of time and then assemble into the final product just before you wish to serve them.

Very vanilla mini cakes with vanilla cream and strawberries

I would recommend making the cakes the day before, or the morning of, the day you wish to serve them. The cream can also be made ahead of time, and the strawberry filling can be made a few hours before required.

I used a 12 cup loose base dessert pan (available here) you could also use a muffin tin, or make it into one large 9 inch diameter cake.

Very vanilla mini cakes

Ingredients

225 grams butter at room temperature

225 grams caster sugar

1 tsp salt

4 large eggs, lightly whipped together

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (if you do not have this just use 2 tsp vanilla extract)

225 grams plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 12 cup mini cake tin. Sift together plain flour and baking powder and set aside.
  2. In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high until light in colour and very smooth in texture. Then add sugar and salt and beat for 2 -3 minutes. The mix should be quite fluffy by this stage.
  3. Add eggs slowly and beat until fully incorporated. Then add vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste.
  4. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour mix slowly. Mix until just combined.
  5. Spoon into mini cake tins. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden on top and cakes spring back when gently touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

 

Vanilla Cream

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

4 tbs sour cream

1/3 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Method

Beat cream to medium soft peaks. Then add the rest of the ingredients and beat until very thick and airy.

Store in refrigerator until required.

 

Strawberry filling

Remove tops of 250 grams of strawberries. Quarter the berries and place in a bowl with 1 tbs sugar. It is extra delicious if you have some vanilla sugar left in the cupboard, however you can use caster sugar and it will be just as scrumptious.

 

Putting it all together

Garnish: 250 grams strawberries and 12 Lindt white chocolate balls.

Slice cooled cake in half  and place bottom half on plate.

Spread over about 1 tablespoon of cream mixture and top with 1 tbs of strawberry filling.

Top with the other half of the cake, and place a small dollop of cream on top. This will help to anchor the strawberry and Lindt ball garnish. Then sprinkle with a little icing sugar, because enough is never really quite enough.

The delicious finished product!

 

Enjoy, my darlings! I am so happy to be back in the blogging world.