Well, here we have the Pink Lady Cake.  

It should taste lovely if you like coconut and cream cheese.

The tip given to ensure this cake is soft and light, was to beat the butter and sugar for at least 15 minutes in your cake mixer.  The texture will be very white and light and fluffy.  Then to add the coconut, after beating in the eggs, very quickly, then fold in the flour taking care not to over mix.

I will be taking this cake to friends this afternoon, where my two best cake critics will try it.

I hope they enjoy eating this cake, as much as I enjoyed making it for them. xx  

Back in the Blog!

Hi there, I am back.  I notice my last blog was 30 April last year!
That doesn't mean I havn't been baking, it just means I havn't been bragging about it.
I have been watching with interest, along with my friend Annette, Nestle NZ's Hottest Home Baker.  I have been expecting to be impressed with all the wonderful mouth watering cakes they so cleverly create.  But I have been very disappointed.  They don't appear to be good bakers at all, making really basic errors.  I know what your thinking, that I should go on the show and see how many errors I make!!! ha.  No thanks.
Instead, I have been following a blog called 'Heartbreak Pie'.  It is really entertaining. The writer is a 20-something lady from Wellington called Delaney.  She has some wonderful recipes and she goes through what she bakes giving little hints along the way.  Last week she made Ray McVinnies Pink Lady cake that he published in the Sunday Star Times.  So I am giving it a go this weekend to take to friends on Sunday night.  Will share how it goes.
We are heading off on a cycling trip to France this week and I thought I would write my diary on this blog.  Hopefully you will find it interesting.  We start in Avignon and end up in Geneva two weeks later.  We are to climb every mountain on our bikes (and we are calling it a holiday!).  My view on the holiday will be very different from everyone elses, as the riding does not come as naturally these days, to me as it does to others, so a few laughs are assured.

Goodbye to our friend Gunna

What a sad weekend it is for our family.

Our great canine friend Gunna, has passed away and the gap he has left behind, is huge.

Gunna was only 7 and a half years old. We discovered he had a cancerous tumour in his chest and numerous others appeared too. After several doses of chemotherapy, his kidneys failed, sealing his demise. While under the wonderful care of the staff at Vetspecs, he made more friends. They are a great bunch of caring people and so this week I have the need to bake for them.

So I found a recipe in the Treasury of NZ Baking book from Alexa Johnston called Dream Kisses.

This has a lovely soft brown sugar buttery base with a walnut and coconut moist topping.

I also threw together a double batch of chocolate chippie cookies that never go astray and that everyone seems to love.

So morning tea at Vetspecs tomorrow morning in on me to show my appreciation for their wonderful care and love for our Gunna.

Back in the Groove...

Well it has been a while since I last blogged, or even baked for that matter! I have been spurred on by the fact that the weather has turned chilly on us and the days are shorter, also because my daughter and number 1 food critic is about to head away for a while, leaving me as the sole food preparer in our ever decreasing household of eaters! (I am sure that is bad grammar, but this is a foody blog not an english lesson!)

With the southerly wind lashing the kitchen window, I donned the apron, took the butter out of the fridge and grabbed the Treasury of NZ Baking book and scoured the recipes for some comfort food to bake. It is our good friends' birthday today and what better gift than some homemade biccies. I made some afghans and chocolate chips, then attempted a lemon shortbread......it was a big fail as it spread all over the baking tray. The self-raising flour and baking powder was all just a bit much I think. Never mind, two out of the three looked presentable for delivery to his workplace at lunch time.

But it didn't stop there. Tomorrow a bunch of us girls are getting together for a yarn and a coffee so that calls for a Capuccino Date Slice from the same book. It is lovely and light and a thin delicate layer of coffee icing on top. It is a Jo Seagar recipe so it should go down a treat.

So, I hope you enjoy reading this very brief and trivial blog in your busy day. You can look forward to many baking stories as I bury myself amongst the butter and sugar as my dear girl travels the globe. Hubby and son will need to step it up as chief baking tasters.

Luxury

the cook and the baker

Sensational Recipes from Mark McDonough and Dean Brettschneider. Mark is the Cook, he can be found at Zarbo Deli and Cafe in Newmarket Auckland. Dean is the Baker, known all around the world as the Global Baker and known locally as one of the judges on televisions Nestle New Zealands Hottest Home Baker.

I gave this book to Emma for Christmas and it is full of delicious recipes that are just that little bit different with the odd difficult twist that makes everything taste so much nicer.

I am making the Luxury milo fruit and nut slice this week.

Starting with a baked shortcrust base, the dried fruit and nuts give the topping a little kick and the ganache and toasted-coconut icing provides contrast. Its a very rich slice ideal for serving with coffee.

I was not going to bother with the shortcrust base, but I think that would be the most challenging part as I don't normally 'do' pastry!

Also, my history on ganache making is rough, so will see how this one goes.

Well, it is made and maturing in the fridge. The proof will be in the slicing and tasting.

Family should all arrive home from various parts of the country tonight so I am looking forward to sharing it with them all.

Naiomi Bars

I am sampling this weeks baking as I write this and the laptop is now smothered in sticky chocolatey muck! It is absolutely delicious and I just know it is not going to last long in the fridge.

The weekend was a busy one and a hot one. Yesterday nothing was done around the place as the mercury reached 35 in the shade. So the plan today, was to attack the mountain of ironing and washing that was neglected over the weekend. This hasn't been done yet and its 4pm. It has been raining very hard today so it is the perfect conditions for baking.

Brother-in-law Eddy reaches my age today so I thought I would put together a large lunch box of baking for him. I made the usual choc chip biscuits and a yummy fudge with cranberries and walnuts. Then I saw a recipe for a slice called Nainoma Bars, sometimes referred to as Continental Fudge. It is a custard flavoured, chocolate covered, malt biscuit based, fudge.

The book I found the recipe in is the Ladies, A Plate , on page 47. The recipe is from Bev Burgess back in 1963.

I will be giving this away. It is far too delicious to have in my house!

Happy Birthday John

It is that time of year again when hubby gets another year older.

Which means that I will attempt a sponge for the second time in my life......will let you know how that goes!

In the meantime I thought I would make him some cornflake cookies, a recipe that Richard Till put in the Sunday paper this weekend just gone. They look really cute and the mixture is quite firm, but there is absolutely no taste to them at all. Bland boring biscuits!! ha ha

So I made some fudge as well only to realise that John really is not a fudge fan! Oh well, more for any visitors that may come by this week.

A chilly day today as the wind blows in from the South, so a good day to fill the house with baking smells.