I had a few old slices of bread sitting in my kitchen and I was about to throw them out when I remembered how my Mum use to make delicious bread pudding with old stale bread, a dessert my Dad really enjoyed. So I thought I would try it out. But I wanted to include my own twist, and as I had a bag of dried cranberries which were incorrectly delivered to me in my online shop (I ordered jelly babies and cranberries came instead, not sure how you mixed them up…) I decided to use them too. So I went onto the internet and searched for lots of different recipes. What I was looking for was a quick and simple recipe but I was not willing to jeopardise flavour either. It was not easy. However I came across a recipe that used store-bought custard instead of making it yourself. So I collected all the best bits from all the different recipes and created my own. I bought the custard and watered it down with a little skim milk. I poured it over my cut triangles and then sprinkled sugar on the top, before baking it in the oven for 25 minutes. The result was quiet tasty for a quick mid-week dessert. I was rather impressed. I love the idea of being able to still use something once its no longer fresh, for some other purpose. Bread becomes bread pudding, black bananas make great banana bread and other fruit which no longer looks pretty can be blended up in a smoothie. Unfortunately this is not true, or safe, with every food. 

February the 14th can be met in one of three ways. You either love it.  You are majorly anti it, as it is just a commercialised  holiday where the price of roses and chocolates go through the roof. Or you fall into depression because you did not get a rose or card. But I think there is actually a fourth way. One that takes something from each of the above mentioned ways. My Red Day thoughts are these; yes it is a day where the price of roses and chocolates and cards go up but who says you have to buy roses, chocolates or cards. You can still show love without buying  a gift. A small act of kindness can go a long way. Sharing your own talents with someone or offering them your time can also bless them and show them love. I decided I was not going to fall into the third category either, just because I didn’t have a valentine. So I decided to show some of my wonderful friends that I care on this Red Day. I invited a great friend to join me in her lunch break and I used Red as my theme. I was given these wonderful soup bowls for my birthday a while back and decided it was the perfect time to use them. I made delicious butternut soup and fresh rosemary bread for lunch. 

As my friend’s lunch hour was just that, an hour it was a quick but good catch up. I realised  there would not be time for dessert as well so I chose a chocolate, that was in keeping with my Red theme, that she could take with her and eat later when she had a break – have a break, have a KitKat. My day was not over yet, I then spent the afternoon with another great friend and kept an eye on her little angel, giving her a free hand to get some things done. It was a great day of food and love. Even my family got sent a picture of my heart-shaped cookies but unfortunately their phones could not open the image. Oh dear.

My Red Day did not stop there, if fact it started here:A breakfast fruit smoothie shot. I took lots of fruit and frozen berries and blended them together to make a delicious refreshing Red drink.

But why only think about Love once a year. We should think about it everyday. Everyday we should find small ways to tell the people around us we care.

It can start with a simple smile…

The reason I call this my chocolate chocolate cheese cake is because it has two layers of chocolate. Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Cadbury has brought out a chocolate cream cheese and it is delicious! So I decided I had to try it in a cheese cake. So I started off the cheese cake like any other with a biscuit crust. I then I combined all my delicious ingredients to create the first layer of chocolate (Where the recipe called for cream cheese, I just added the chocolate cream cheese). After that I added in some cocoa to give it a deep dark chocolate layer (It did not need it taste wise, it was purely for visual effect). I even marbled the top a bit. 

To add the finishing touches, after it had been baked and then cooled over night in the fridge, I grated a layer of white chocolate over the top of the cake. This covered up the lovely marble and also made it look like parmesan cheese which was not really the look I was going for, even if it is a ‘Cheese’ cake.

Looks aside, it was delicious!

I love a baked cheese cake!

I love theme days and the 14th of February really is a great excuse to get out my heart-shaped cookie cutters and have fun! I found these wonderful pink sprinkles back in January and decided to buy them to use for Valentines Day. I had so much fun making these heart-shaped cookies and decorating them with the different sprinkles. It took me a while to get the consistency just right for the icing, but I got there in the end. I had sprinkles all over the counter when I was finished, but it was well worth it as I was so pleased with how they looked. As I made these slightly before the 14th they were eaten straight away by many happy taste testers – I did not hear one complaint. I hope that they inspire you to make something sweet for your Valentine. 

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

]]> http://morethancupcakes.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/i-love-hearts/feed/ 1 morethancupcakes mini hearts big hearts a better look at the different sprinkles I used close up hearts http://morethancupcakes.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/tea-party-with-style/ http://morethancupcakes.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/tea-party-with-style/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:36:06 +0000 morethancupcakes http://morethancupcakes.wordpress.com/?p=1228 Continue reading →]]>

Recently I had the honour of being asked to take the photos at my friend’s birthday party. Being a guest was a great honour too, but I love being behind my camera and where food is involved, I love it even more. Everything looked beautiful. It was a tea fit for a palace of princesses. Not only were there platters and plates filled with sweet treats; there were scones and tarts in the oven, filling the air with a wonderful sent. It was a wonderful celebration!

Thanks Erna for a lovely party.

I love knowing what is going on behind the scenes. So often we just see the photo or production or are a guest at the party. But I love seeing and being a part of  making the end result. It’s just so much more fun and often you don’t always realise how much hard work and preparation went into making something run smoothly, look delicious or taste out of this world! So I thought I’d share a few snaps with you, and reveal the ‘behind the scenes’ for my final shoot.

Last year I had the amazing opportunity to study to be a food stylist! I learnt so much and loved ever second of it. I met wonderful and interesting people and even got to help out(by help out, I mean wash dishes for the food stylist, but learnt masses and saw lots of awesome behind the scenes things) on a real food shoot for BBC GoodFood magazine! The magazine just came out this month and it was great to see the photos, when I know I was standing just beside the camera when they were taken. The food was so delicious! I now can wait to recreate it for my friends. The food styling course ended with a final shoot where we got to style our own food. I knew I had to bake something. My friends and colleagues loved me in the weeks running up to this shoot, as they pretty much received cake on tap as I practiced all my different techniques. In the end, I baked a 5 layered chocolate cake with a caramel filling, coated in dark chocolate ganache and decorated with curved milk chocolate shards. Chocolate heaven, if I do say so myself. The deputy art editor of GoodFood magazine, Stuart Ovenden, took the photos. The photo above is my final piece. I so enjoyed the final day of shooting, I was so sad when it was over. Well the course is over the styling is only beginning…

What can I say, it was a piece of cake…

I love paella! I have a great recipe, but it is fairly long, so when I came across Donna Hay’s quick and simple paella recipe I thought I would try it out. It was incredibly quick. It took longer to chop the ingredients then it did to cook them. What added a real kick to this dish was that it had chilli flakes and smoked paprika, two ingredients I had not used before but they made it totally delicious!

While in Australia I had the wonderful opportunity to try something new – Abalone. Abalone is a mollusc and therefore seafood. If you live in Britton you may know them as Ormer and if you are a South African you know them as Perlemoen . My brothers went diving for these just off the beach with nothing more than a snorkel and a knife. They brought them home and stuck them in a cool box  under ice until they were ready to clean them. I found it fascinating watching them clean each abalone carefully and place them in the bowl ready for the next stage.

Matt did a great job cleaning. When he was finished I could not believe how many there were to cook. 

Then it was Steve’s turn to lay them out and give them a good bruising. He told me you have to beat them around a bit, other wise they are very tough. 

Now they were ready to be dipped in flour, egg and flour again and then deep-fried. The end result (as seen in the 1st photo) was enjoyed by the whole family and it did not take long before the plate was empty. They were served with sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce. I was a little nervous to try them as I have some weird allergies, two of which are seafood. But I was told they have the texture of calamari and the taste of a prawn, neither of which I am allergic to and both I happen to love! So I tried a bite, to be on the safe side, and really enjoyed it. So next time I will eat a whole one as one bite caused no allergic reaction!

Thanks to the 4 divers, cleaners and cooks who made this starter possible!

I had fun experimenting with these cupcakes. I had left over candy melts from making cake pops and I enjoyed making squiggles and dots. I made them for my friend Elzeth’s farewell party.

This cupcake was made using white chocolate paste. I bought a leaf cutter which made it really easy yo stamp out perfect leaves. The rose is just a long rectangle rolled up.

This cupcake was made with candy melts swirled onto a non-stick sheet and then placed onto the cupcake after it had set.