Layers of crisp brown sugar and almond meringue nestle between clouds of whipped honey cream, fresh dates and soft dried figs, as warm honey cascades down the sides of this beastly yet elegant mountain of texture, colour and soulful flavour. And it’s easy. I’m all for easy recipes lately. Life is flying by way too fast, but I’m still determined to bake wherever I can. So that means I’m turning to recipes that can be planned ahead, prepared in sections and offer a low flop-risk. So voila!
Isn’t ice cream is one of life’s loveliest pleasures? If I had to choose one single dessert to eat for the rest of my life, I’d graciously wave away all the towering layer cakes, lavishly decorated tarts and labour intensive macaroons… and sit myself down with a spoon in front of a big bowl of ice cream. Or gelato. Maybe in a cone, depending on my mood. And now I have discovered something wonderful; this spectacular semifreddo recipe has the same silky smooth consistency as the best gelato, but it doesn’t require any fancy machines or hours of work. It’s quite simply delicious. This summer sensation is flavoured with fresh strawberries and white chocolate, and the result is a vibrant, rich and gloriously creamy ice cream for those of us who need a scoop or two at a moment’s notice. It’s also perfect for a pretty little Valentine’s treat… Enjoy!
P.S. Today just so happens to be the birthday of the fabulous friend who I made a tub of this ice cream for, so a sneaky but enormous Happy Birthday to my PA!!
These pretty little cookies are chunky, chewy and full of cheer! Packed full of cranberries, macadamia nuts and white chocolate, each mouthful promises little jewels and treasures and deliciousness. They are perfect for serving up to friends, wrapping in cellophane and pretty red ribbon as a gift, or dunking in steaming tea as you curl up on the couch this Christmas. With that blissful combination of crunchy edges and a pillowy-soft centre, whatever their destiny they won’t last long!
7000 views later and a small but swanky little creation to celebrate; three layers of fudgey, rich, chocolate buttermilk cake, stacked between slatherings of silky chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. If there’s one thing I enjoy more than chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, it’s a collaboration of white, milk and dark chocolate swiss meringue buttercream all in the one cake. The buttermilk cake is soft and moist, and has very little sugar and lots of cocoa so is quite intense, perfectly offsetting the sweetness of the frosting.
If you like your cakes pretty, pink and delicious, then take a moment to imagine this; three layers of velvety coconut cake held together by fresh raspberry buttercream, wrapped in a whisper of white chocolate ganache, to which sweet little coconut flakes cling. Top the darling creation with delicate raspberry meringue kisses, and you have an irresistible collaboration of a few of my favourite things. Continue reading
It’s starting to feel like Autumn. Right now, the streets are adorned with vivid crimsons and fiery golds, the air is crisp and laced with the scents of log fires and fresh rain, and the kitchen smells like warm hot cross buns. I’m getting ready to hibernate for a winter of baking, drinking tea, reading, lambing, going for long walks… I’m definitely a cold weather frog. And after months of no rain, dry paddocks and hungry sheep, winter couldn’t come sooner! This scrumptious cake holds the last of the season’s blackberries, and fed a gang of friends and family as we huddled by the fire last night. Three layers of fluffy white chocolate cake are held together by velvety swiss meringue buttercream, flavoured with fresh blackberries and white chocolate. The berries are a wonderful offset to the sweetness of the chocolate, and I had a lot of fun (in hindsight) experimenting with the ombre frosting effect…not as easy as it looks but definitely worth the challenge!
After mastering the creation of a meringue kiss that tasted just like a Ferrero Rocher (see here), my next challenge was to devise a recipe for the Ferrero Rocher’s devilishly dainty little sister, the Raffaello. Fine almond meal is folded through these crisp, light meringues, before they are dipped in silky white chocolate and delicious dessicated coconut. As you bit into the kiss, the chocolate cracks away to reveal the airy, crunchy merinuge nestled inside. The whole blissful bite quickly dissolves on your tongue, leaving the texture of the coconut and almond to be discovered.
All three of my favourite things in one moist, crumbly, fluffy muffin that is so moreish, you’ll need to quickly give some away to avoid inhaling several as they come out of the oven. I slightly adapted this recipe from one I found on Sally’s Baking Addiction. Sally’s blog is one that I often refer to and scroll through when I’m looking for inspiration, she does everything right and her posts are a joy to read and cook from.
one perfect mess 