chai tiramisu cupcakes

To celebrate the birthday of the lovely Caroline I wanted to make her a cake that was nothing less then special. I've been thinking about this combination for a while now. Tiramisu is traditionally with coffee so I figured chai tea would work in a similar way. The first time I made this dessert it didn't work at all, actually it reminded me of clag glue with honey; Obviously I'm not very cluey with custard! So to make it a little easier on myself I thought - Cupcakes!  Hooray for Cupcakes!

I bought the very special Dolfin Chocolat, au hot masala. A lovely subtle chai spiced chocolate from Belgium and teamed it with some marscapone and a custard flavoured cupcake - Ta dah! Chai Tiramisu Cupcakes!

Make them for someone special.

Ingredients

3 cups Self Raising flour, sifted
2/3 cup vanilla custard powder, sifted
dash of salt
1 cup caster sugar

2 cups water
2/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice

100g Dolfin Chocolat - au hot masala (2 x 70g packets)
2 tablespoons pouring cream

125g marscapone

Ground cinnamon, for dusting

How to make your Chai Tiramisu Cupcakes

Pre-heat oven to 180C or 160C fan forced. Line 2 x 12 hole muffin pans with cases.

Sift flour into a large bowl along with salt and custard powder. Stir through caster sugar. In a seperate bowl combine water, oil, vanilla and lemon juice. Whisk the liquid into the dry ingredients until smooth. Divide among cases. The mix is quite runny, don't worry! I use a 1/4 cup measure which gives me 24 cupcakes exactly.  bake for 25 minutes. Remove when ready and allow to cool slightly in the muffin tray. Cool completely on a rack.

When cooled and you are ready to serve them cut out circles in the top of each cake, cutting an an angle, almost like a funnel shape, keeping each round as you'll place these like a hat over the choc and marscapone (I used a muffin tree which held 19 cupcakes and the chocolate mix was just enough. If you want to make the full 24 chai tiramisu cupcakes you can either use a little less chocolate in each cupcake or use more chocolate in the melting process)

Using a small saucepan add 2 tablespoons of pouring cream and 100g of the hot masala chocolate. Using a spatula stir over a low heat until melted and smooth. set aside to cool for a minute.

Spoon in a little pool of chocolate into each round, top with a little dollop of marscapone (roughly the same amount) place the round at a slight angle and dust with the ground cinnamon. Enjoy immediately. Maybe with some chai tea too!

Happy Birthdays!

a little place called.....kiama

Not sure if I have mentioned this before but I grew up in a little place called, Kiama.  Back then it was a lot smaller and a lot quieter. I remember we couldn't buy bread on the weekends; and the nice man at the petrol station use to fill up our car for us and give our windscreen a clean too and I always slept with my window open. If it was really hot I'd prop the back door open too which use to be opposite my bedroom door. The smell of the beach, the cool air of the mountains and the warmth of the sunny sunshine always take me back there.

As we get older I think we all have a soft spot for where we grew up, especially if we no longer live there. At the moment I am about a 2 hour drive away from Kiama, which doesn't sound too far away but having 2 small children in the car, it always feels like 8 hours!

Over the last couple of years the following pieces have come my way by chance. Something makes me look under a certain book or peek inside an old yellowed envelope or flick through a stack of magazines or even a fleeting coversation with a new friend from Etsy can bring me exciting things.  From these moments, these pieces have found me and they stay close to me and they remind me of home.

I bought a gorgeous vintage piece from Vegas and Rose on Etsy and the lovely Penthea gave me this amazing spoon of the Kiama Blowhole.......it literally blew my mind!

February 1998 issue of Country Style - Kiama - Mountains by the sea 

A gorgeous old map of the local kiama area from 1932

It now lives in my sons room

8 fabulous old black and white snap shots of Kiama.....I nearly didn't look in the envelope but my curiosity always gets the better of me!

I almost wish this photo of the Post Office was in colour! I remember when they painted it pink in the 80s, yep, pink! It took the town a little while to get use to that one!

No regretsy on Etsy - 2 years of fun!

Hello there! Today I celebrate 2 years on Etsy...YAY! Here are some of my favourite things - my favourite pieces and my favourite photos! that I thought I would share with you all. time flys.....

I remember when I found this beautiful breakfast in bed tray....my heart stopped beating! I knew exactly how I wanted to photograph it. My great grandmother hand stitched the place mat that you can see in the pic too!

This is my all time favourite picture. Something about milk glass, I just think it is stunning and the colour of this wool with the feather, just divine!

 

This was the first time my arts background snuck into my listings. This was one of a series that I titled, "Still Life" a piece with various findings and this was one of the items that the lovely Kristy from Flights of Fancy bought. She uses this piece as part of her props now!

If I could, I would fill my house with flowers everyday! and every now and then I buy a big bunch and use them in a photo or 2 for my listings. I loved the shape of this pitcher; it was so thick and heavy and had a real history about it. Just a gorgeous old piece that was perfect as a vase too!

Luminarc glassware is just classic, isn't it? I imagine these being used at a wedding or any fancy soiree. I just loved the light through them and the lady who bought them was so incredibly happy with them. It's always nice to get such lovely feedback!

This set was originally a set of 10 and I sold part of it as a set of 4 so yes, I still have 6 for myself! That blue against the white is just such a pretty combination. The Etsy Shop Sadie Olive even featured this pic on her blog - she loved it too!

My heart went a flutter when I saw these pretty things too! Westminster tea cups in perfect condition with a white exterior and each interior a different pretty pastel tone. From memory this was my quickest sale! It was gone 3 hours after it was listed!

This is one of my most recent sales. I loved this collection of china but each piece had cracks, chips or crazing; they reminded me of the mosaic I bought from the Art Centre many years ago where the artist used vintage china. So I thought these pretty pieces would look gorgeous in a mosaic too!

Sometimes you come across something beautiful where you least expect it. I always love looking at old furniture, not that I have anywhere to put it! but I enjoy looking at beautiful pieces. I remember seeing this gorgeous old kitchen dresser with the prettiest old metal handles in the shape of a rose. I pulled on one, opening  the drawer just slightly and saw these beautiful pieces of old wallpaper being used as liners. 5 pieces of equal size. Just stunning. A lady from the US bought these pieces and I would still love to know what she ended up doing with them!

wow! There were so many more pictures I wanted to add but hey, you can just go and check out my shop......have fun! ;-)

peanut butter and chocolate freddo brownies

Oh dear, we have been eating our daughters daycare fundraiser chocolates like they are free! Eating one each night along with a cup of tea after the kids have gone to bed. It's an expensive slice of heaven but a small price to pay for a few minutes of sanity in our day! We are half way through the box, only 24 to go.....I am 2 kilos heavier (though that could be all the  lasagne I've been enjoying this winter!) and my husband, who is a keen cyclist, has noticed his waistline has ever so slightly expanded too.....We have to get through these chocolates sooner rather then later and we need to share them with people....lots of people. Maybe I could grate up the chocolates and hide them in a peanut butter brownie?.....done!

Ingredients

1/3 cup  or 70g softened butter

½ cup  brown sugar or approx 90g

2 eggs

1/2 cup smooth full fat peanut butter 0r 120g (at room temp)

1 cup plain flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon bicarb soda

good dash of salt

2 x 35g freddo frog chocolates, grated

How to make your peanut butter and chocolate freddo brownies

Pre heat your oven to 170C. I reccomend using a slice tin without baking paper as the mix is quite thick and tricky to smooth down. Just make sure you grease it well. Otherwise, use baking paper and smooth it the best you can.

In a bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition until light and fluffy. Stir in peanut butter.

In a separate bowl mix together the sifted plain flour and the bi-carb soda and salt.

Add the flour mix to the egg mix and fold together gently. Add the 2 grated freddo frogs and mix gently.

Add it to your slice tin and smooth down. Pop it in the oven and bake for approx 30 minutes. Take out when centre springs back and cut into 12 pieces or any size you like. Enjoy warm and with or without a sprinkle of icing sugar.

quilt crazy

I take my hat off to anyone who can sew. When I was young I thought Doris Day was the beez kneez. I remember buying pretty vintage fabrics in buttercup yellow or fabric with little cherry motifs and making my own skirts. Very simple skirts I should add. But that was about as far as I got. These days I let my Mother in law do all the sewing. You see, she is one clever lady when it comes to a needle and thread and one of her big passions is quilting. It's one of those crafts that I didn't really think about until she made my husband a quilt (one of her first) back in 2001. It was just a small one to throw over the couch but it was in these lovely olive, black and mustard tones.  She must have sensed that I was a little envious of this beautiful quilt as  I received mine a few months later for my birthday; a bright yellow and hot pink one! Over the years we have been lucky enough to have been given 7 more beautiful hand made quilts.

Last year my Mother in law moved onto making one for my Brother in law and his new wife and it was spectacular. I was SO jealous!!!  It was different shades of cream with white. Hard to explain but just stunning. My Mother in law asked me if I would like her to make one for our bedroom too. After a quiet happy dance I said, "I would love one!... in soft blues please ;-)". And this is what she came with. If I hadn't seen her working on it for nearly 6 months I would swear that this quilt had been bought from a shop. I take my hat off to you Helen!


This beautiful quilt has brought such calmness to this space. I love laying on the bed flicking through a magazine or sitting on the armchair in the corner reading with the sun on my back....bliss!

the blue circle in the middle is the centrepiece

a close up of all the tiny details

And here's my effort! My Mother in law had some fabric left over so I made a simple tissue box cover to match!

pineapple chai muffins

I was flicking through a magazine last week and came across a recipe for pineapple and coconut muffins. It made me stop and think. It made me realise that I only ever eat pineapple on pizza! Clearly something  had to be done about this..... Later that week I found myself craving some home made chai tea.  Could pineapple and chai tea thrown together in a muffin really work? Make them and find out........I dare you :)

Ingredients

7grams of ginger, skin off
10 cardamom pods
10 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tea bag of your choice (I use a plain black tea bag)
3/4 cold water
60g butter
100g brown sugar
1 egg
1x 225g tin of pineapple in juice, drained, juice discarded. Reserve 9 pieces of pineapple for the tops.
170g Self raising flour


how to make your Pineapple chai muffins


pre heat your oven to 180C. Get your muffin tray ready with baking paper, cases and/or oil spray. This mix makes 9 muffins.


Place ginger, cardamom pods, cloves and the cinnamon stick in a saucepan with 3/4 cup of water on high heat, bring to the boil and boil for  4 mins. Reduce heat to medium, add soy milk and the tea bag and simmer for 2 minutes. remove from heat, . Strain the liquid into a jug or bowl  (making sure there is no debris left in the chai tea mix) and set aside to cool. You will only use 1/2 cup of this chai liquid so at this point you could just enjoy the leftovers.


Place butter and sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer untl pale and thick.  Add the egg beating well. Fold through flour and pineapple (don't forget to keep 9 pieces aside) , alternating with the chai liquid until well combined. Pour into prepared muffin tray/cases and pop a slice of pineapple on the top of each muffin mix.  Cook the muffins for about 25 minutes, checking them as you go. Set aside in the tin for a few minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack.  Enjoy warm from the oven or at room temperature.

Strawberry Muffin Goodness

 Whenever I head to the markets I always have to take some tasty morsels with me to ward off "market fatigue". Even if I've had a decent breakfast of porridge and a cup of tea, after 20 minutes of walking around a market I start to channel Bear Grylls, "Ooooh, is that a grasshopper? mmmmm, this little fella is just oozing with good protein!" That's why I really have to take something with me; especially if I'm going with friends!  
 I like muffins that look kinda healthy. Ones that are preferably filled with a fruit of some description. Ones that don't make you feel so guilty about eating them at 7am! I think this recipe kinda covers all those things........brown sugar is good for you, right?

Strawberry Muffins with oats

 Ingredients

 300g plain flour, sifted

1 tablespoon baking powder, sifted

½ teaspoon bicarb soda

Dash of salt

2 eggs, beaten
155g brown sugar
1 cup natural yoghurt
½ cup melted butter (approx. 115g, pre melted weight)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

From 1 punnet of ripe and sweet strawberries, I used 185g (with stalks still on) Take stalks off and slice.

¼ cup oats or quick oats, toasted (You can do this on a piece of baking paper in your microwave. Set to 850 watts, microwave at 20 second bursts for 1 minute. Make sure they don’t burn. Moving them around after each 20 seconds)

Combine ½ teaspoon each of brown sugar and cinnamon, for dusting

 Method

Pre heat oven to 190C. Spray your 12 hole muffin tin with olive oil spray or pop in cases.

Sift flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.

Beat the eggs in the base of another bowl. Add the brown sugar, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla. Mix together until all well combined.

Add the wet mix to the dry mix and fold together gently using a rubber spatula. Adding half the strawberries and mix through gently.

Fill your 12 hole muffin tin with your mix. On the top of each one, place the remaining strawberries and top with the oats. Sprinkle with the combined brown sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 15 – 18 minutes. Just check that they spring back to the touch. They should be lightly browned. Leave in the tin for 5 mins then take out and place on a cooling rack. Enjoy! If taking to a picnic, once they are cooled you can pop them in zip lock bags and keep at room temperature.