What was once humble, is now extraordinary

The Affogato

Growing up, trips to the beach meant trips to nonna's. Having your grandparents perfectly situated near the beach opened up the possibility to a plethora of yummy snacks after coming up from the beach with a rumbling tummy. One fond memory I have of our family trips to the beach, was when the clock struck 4 and the sun was slowly beginning to cool, we would make our way up to nonnas, and there waiting for us, would be a jug of chilling espresso and a large tub of ice cream, thus is created, 'The Affogato'.
This enticing and perfectly balanced mix of the sense, taste, smell, touch, are the fundamental aspects to making an affogato. The simplicity of this beverage is completely disguised by the awesomeness of its flavours.
An affogato is made up of two parts: ice cream and espresso coffee. Remember to add sugar to the hot espresso if 'bitter coffee' is not your preferred choice. You simply pour the espresso over the ice cream and voila`, an afternoon tea delight.

Accompany this beverage with some home made biscuits and you have a treat to please even the fussiest critics.

My take on the Fondant Cake

For quite some time now, the creation and mastery of the fondant cake has fascinated me. Being an extremely hands on person, I felt cake baking and decorating was just another creative task I could delve into. Initially I thought that the best way to learn the tricks of the trade would be to participate in a cake baking course, but something told me I should give it a good old try first before enrolling in a course.

To my great surprise, I took to it like a fish to water. As long as I had an empty environment, free from distraction, I was able to focus my concentration to perfecting the fondant application and detailed filigree. For my first attempt at a fondant cake, I chose to use it as a canvas for experimenting with filigree designs and cake detailing.

This one initial "practice cake" inspired a desire to continue practicing and perfecting the craft, and what better opportunity to do so, than to make my very own 21st birthday cake. Although looking back, I can see various minor details that can be improved, I could not be happier with my cake. The dense chocolate mud cake within, was rich, flavoursome and much enjoyed by all of my guests. The Ivory coloured fondant and filigree, borded with a black ribbon and clear diamantes not only matched my invitations but perfectly represented my personality. I could not have been more proud of this two teared chocolate mud.

  
My next cake challenge was for my grandmother's 80th birthday. Although she was under the impression that we were ordering and purchasing a cake from a bakery, we had other ideas for her surprise birthday cake. My original idea for the birthday cake, was to create a present in the shape of a box. But after reviewing and researching the design, we decided to adapt the present idea to make it more appropriate for a woman of 80 years old. For the colour pallet, I decided to base it on aspects of her personality. The ivory fondant encompasses her nurturing and delicate persona, but the red perfectly depicts her spirit. I chose to use different techniques when decorating this cake, as I like each of my cakes to be different and unique.

Asian Persuasion

Ok, so I decided to tackle asian food, and like i predicted, it was ridiculously complex. It may have been my attempt to create a 5 course asian banquet or my complete lack of knowledge when it comes to asian sauces and spices. But thankfully with the help of my wonderful mum, we managed to pull off quite a nice meal.

Our Entree`: Soba noodles and seared scallops, served in chinese soup spoons and homemade teryaki sushi

Main: Chinese special fried rice, singapore noodles, BBQ Pork and stir-fried vegetables

Dessert: Contrary to my initial ideas for dessert, we decided on a fruit platter, something light and refreshing. My original idea for dessert was a Caramel and flaked almond baked banana.

But I must admit, I was very pleased with my first attempt at cooking asian food. It may be a while before I try another banquet style dinner, but I very much enjoyed experimenting with new flavours, ingredients and cooking methods. The great thing about asian cuisine is that, the flavours are completely up to you. Try different flavours, add spices and sauces until you find the flavours that perfectly meet your taste bud's requirements.      

Nutella Gelato

One of Italy's finest exports, Nutella, eaten by all; on bread or simply with a spoon.
Together with ice cream and hazelnuts makes a delectable dessert.

Although you can be creative and make ur own ice cream, to make life easier for yourself, simply buy a 4 litre tub of vanilla ice cream and set aside until slightly melted. (Do Not let it melt completely, as when it re-freezes, it will become icy) Melt about 2/3 cup of nutella in the microwave until it is runny. Roughly chop up about a cup of hazelnuts and using an electric mixer, combine the ice cream, nutella and hazelnuts.

Use the original ice cream container from the vanilla ice cream, and poor the ice cream mix back into the tub and leave to freeze over night.

If you want to get decorative and creative, you can make some chocolate shapes. All you need is melting chocolate and a thin nozzle piping back.

This dessert is perfect for finishing off a meal, or while your curled up on the couch, watching a great movie.

Enjoy

Sister's Birthday

Today is my little sister's birthday and I will be endeavouring to make her a cake that will rock her world ;)
I'll upload photos to show you how it turned out

Ok, I'm please to inform you that the cake was a masterpiece, one that actually brought my sister to tears. The 3 and a half hours it took to make and design the cake was well worth the time and back aches.

The one piece of advice I can give when making novelty cakes is USE A TEMPLATE, that and a sharp knife. They make cutting out shapes so much easier and more realistic.
The icing i used for this cake was a chocolate ganache: 100 ml thickened cream and 200gr of melting chocolate, combined in a saucepan until combined and smooth. Ganache is perfect to use warm or cold (set in the fridge). A trick I discovered while decorating the cake, if you find that you ganache is running outside of your decorative lines, hold a large ice block about a cm away from the icing. The ice block will harder the ganache, thereby making it easier to work with.

NOTE: Mud cake is a lot easier to work with than a simple chocolate cake. The cake itself if more dense, so when icing the cake, you will find that less of the cake will break or crumb off in the icing.

Also, if you have a steady hand, don't underestimate your abilities, the decoration on the top of the cake was done free hand, either with a spoon or a piping bag.

Also, note, if you plan on making a white ganache, white chocolate melts and cream make a yellow tinged icing. So if you are dead set on a white icing, maybe don't go with the ganache.

And just for some decoration, make some shapes out of melted chocolate, using a piping bag, because not only do they look affective, but they are a nice touch, to give to everyone with a slice of this yummy cake.

Hey everyone and welcome to my blog

This blog is aimed at showing the world my passion and love of cooking.
I will try to keep you updated with my latest creation and cooking masterpieces :)