Weekend Moments

Hi lovelies!  I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.  My favourite kinds of weekend involve moments like these ones.  I lay in bed reading The Alchemist, went out for tea and cake (or scones) with my family to celebrate my Gran's 89th birthday and I tried out a new perfume, Elizabeth Arden's Untold Absolu.  More on that soon.  What have you been up to this weekend?

Belle's Patisserie

Cotton On dress | Aldo wedges | Blackcherry bag | Zuri earrings

Last week my sister and I headed to Belle's Patisserie to help them pick out their Ultimate Summer Cupcake and I decided to throw on something light and breezy such a sugary occassion.  Cupcakes for breakfast?  Sounds like the best kind of breakfast.  I wore this dress with my favourite wedges which I can't seem to stop wearing.  They're just the very best shoes for daytime events because they're comfortable, summery and a little more casual than a stiletto heel.

The Ultimate Summer Cupcake flavours had been narrowed down to Orange & Ginger, Coca Cola, Lavender, Summer Fruit and Pina Colada.  It was a tough decision but the Pina Colada cupcake was my favourite flavour for summer and I was thrilled to find that it has since been named the Ultimate Summer Cupcake.  You need to try it!  The Orange & Ginger cupcake and their all time classic Red Velvet are aslo winners in my book too.  If you're looking for a sweet treat, you definitely need to visit Belle's Patisserie at the Blubird Shopping Centre.

Tel: 011 440 4474

A big thank you to Belle's Patisserie for inviting me to take part in the Ultimate Summer Cupcake selection.  It really was so much fun!

Vanilla and Chocolate cupcakes

I made these delightful cupcakes for my sister's birthday and they were too good not to share!  They're super quick and easy to make and they always come out so well.  This recipe is tried and tested, I can guarantee you will love them.

 To make the cupcakes: (Makes 12 cupcakes)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
140g margarine
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
1 ¾ cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

1.      Cream margarine and sugar together.

2.      Add eggs and mix well.

3.      Add flour, milk and vanilla essence alternatively.

4.      Add baking powder, mix well and spoon into patty pans.

5.      Bake for ten minutes.

6.      Once baked to cool completely.  After cooling, use a knife to cut a small circle in the top of the cupcakes and hollow it just over half way down.

For the icing:
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
5 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 
3-4 tablespoons milk

1.  Whip butter and cocoa together until smooth in a large bowl.  Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar.  Slowly stream in milk until frosting reaches desired consistency.  Scrape sides and whip again until light, fluffy and smooth for 1-2 minutes.  

Martha Stewart's Marble Cake Recipe

For me, Marble Cake just hits the spot when I'm craving something sweet and delicious.  I love taking a moment to have a cup of tea and a slice of this moist cake with my sister or friends after a busy day.  I have yet to find a person who doesn't enjoy this cake so I'm pretty sure you will love it too.  It's quick and easy to prepare so it's also perfect for whipping up for unexpected visitors.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

1 3/4 cup cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

2/3 cup buttermilk at room temperature

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

2. Grease loaf pan.

3. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

4. With an electric mixer beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (5 minutes).

5. Add eggs 1 at a time until combined.  After each addition, scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

6. Mix in vanilla.

7. Add flour in 2 batches alternating with buttermilk; starting with and ending with flour.

8. Set aside 1/3 batter.

9. Mix cocoa and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water with rubber spatula until smooth.

10. Add cocoa mix to reserved batter and stir until well combined.

11. Spoon batters into prepared pan in 2 layers alternating between spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate to simulate a checkerboard.

12. To create marbling, use a knife and run it through batter in a swirling motion.

13. Bake, rotating pan halfway through until cake tester comes out clean, for 50 minutes.

14. Transfer to wire rack after 10 minutes to cool.

Enjoy!

Banana Bread Recipe

One of my favourite home-baked goods is banana bread.  The smell takes me back to my childhood instantly.  Here's a great recipe for this traditional loaf.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 eggs lightly beaten
5 large bananas (mashed)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (350 degrees F).   Grease a loaf pan; set aside.  In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg,  and ginger.  Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, mashed bananas, sugar and oil.  Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture.  Stir until moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Spoon batter into prepared pan.

3.  Bake for 60minutes.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for ten minutes.  Remove from pan.  Cool completely on wire rack.  Ideally store overnight  before slicing (however, I can never wait this long).

That's it! Quick and easy  xxx

Milk Tart Cupcakes

My dad came home with the most delicious milk tart cupcakes from Spar a while ago and everyone in this house keeps talking about how amazing they were.  It was my boyfriend’s birthday last week and he asked if I could make a homemade version of those delights for him.  I couldn’t find any recipes for these sweet treats so I combined two recipes to make my very own one.  Here’s how I did it!

To make the cupcakes: (Makes 12 cupcakes)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
140g margarine
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
1 ¾ cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

1.      Cream margarine and sugar together.

2.      Add eggs and mix well.

3.      Add flour, milk and vanilla essence alternatively.

4.      Add baking powder, mix well and spoon into patty pans.

5.      Bake for ten minutes.

6.      Once baked to cool completely.  After cooling, use a knife to cut a small circle in the top of the cupcakes and hollow it just over half way down.

To make the milk tart filling:

4 ½ cups milk
1 cup sugar
3 beaten eggs
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1.      Pour the milk into a medium sized pot and add the sugar.  Bring the mixture to boil over a low heat, stirring frequently.  (This takes quite a while to do but don’t be tempted to turn up the heat too high because you will end up with curdled milk and need to start again.)

2.      Beat together the eggs, flour and corn starch.  Mix well so that there are no lumps in the mixture.

3.      Once the milk has boiled, pour it into the egg mixture while stirring.  Once blended, pour the whole mixture back into the pot.  Place it on the stove at a medium-low heat and stir until the mixture thickens.  Remove the pot from the heat and add the margarine and vanilla.  Stir well until the margarine has completely melted.

4.      Spoon the mixture into the hollowed cupcakes until each has a nice peak.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and leave in the fridge to set, preferably overnight.

Happy Monday 

xxx

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Chocolate Chip Muffins

I’ve been craving chocolate chip muffins lately so I decided to whip out my grandma’s vanilla queen cake recipe which cannot be beaten.  I threw in some chocolate chips right at the end and voila the most delicious chocolate chip muffins.  I’ve eaten way too many but they’re so yummy I can’t help myself.

xxx

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Tuesday's Top Picks

Red velvet Cupcakes!

I bought my sister the prettiest red velvet cupcake from the Neighbour Goods Market. Too bad it only looked good. Martha Stewart has a great recipe for these recipes that I'm so excited to try out.  Find it here

Happy Tuesday!

Images for Arum Lilea.

Queen Cakes

Having a dinner party?  These simple little treats are just what you need.  Here is a recipe that my gran has passed down to me from her mom so it's very special to me!

Read more »