RAINBOW SPRINKLES FLAKE CAKE

Good morning! I hope you had a nice weekend. It's DECEMBER! Today is going to be a busy day - I have 310 Little Bow Thief wedding jams to make. Nothing that a little procrastination won't fix...

THIS: rainbow sprinkles flake cake. Hello. I made this for Lindsay's birthday back in July...2013. Oops. Anyway.

I mean the combo of sprinkles + flakes is just a treat for the eyes. It's like a swimming pool constructed of Flake logs and filled with edible confetti. It just makes me happy. The inspiration for this cake came from Steph at Raspberri Cupcakes. Her version leaves mine to dust, but I made Lindsay's cake for a small family lunch on his 28th birthday, hardly the time to bust out the novelty numerals. Thirty is fast approaching, though...

I used the 'fun size' Flakes (their definition of 'fun', not mine) for the border. Highly recommend you try this tasty little crowd pleaser! 

The inspiration. From the very talented Steph at Raspberri Cupcakes.

MAKING CUPCAKES WITH LITTLE PEOPLE

These pics are a couple of years old, but that's the result of my recent photo file spring clean. This day, my Mum and I made some cupcakes for Char and Izzy to decorate. I don't know why, but the photo of Izzy with her eyes shut just cracks me up! Their creations are too special not to share. x

PUMKIN GINGERBREAD SMOOTHIE + HALLOWEEN BAKE FEST

Here's a delicious Halloween kickstarter for you. You can begin the day healthily, even if you're going to end up in a sugar coma.

This recipe comes from I Quit Sugar and the recipe is as follows:

Gingerbread Smoothie
Serves 2

1/3 cup cashews soaked overnight (this is so they will blend properly; I didn't do this and as punishment, the cashews clogged up my straw)
1/2 banana, frozen (mine wasn't frozen; this step is for fancy people)
1/2 cup sweet potato puree (I cooked and pureed my own)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
Pinch of sea salt
2 cups almond milk (when I have almond milk, I buy Pure Harvest - fewest ingredients/sweeteners)

Add all ingredients to a blender, blitz until smooth. Retreat to spicy smoothie heaven.

Now, speaking of gingerbread, seeing as though it's the 31st, here's a little Halloween eye candy. Did you know that people make Halloween gingerbread houses?! Amazing!

In awe!

Voodoo Gingerbread Love. Snaggle-toothed Tim Tam bats. Of course.

Okay. This may be the official moment I fell in love with Halloween.

Hmm... this is starting to look a bit healthily gross.

Nope. Halloween Party Game Idea: Put these on the table and see if anyone will eat them.

I feel as though this post has lost its direction, haha, that's me done! Happy Halloween!

Halloween Images: One Two Three Four Five Six

SALTED CHOCOLATE CHIP OAT COOKIES

I don't know how I never considered this combination before, but I'm going to have a hard time making Anzac biscuits in the future without adding choc chips. These are really yummy. Last weekend we went on a picnic with friends and these went down quite a treat. I was secretly hoping there'd be some leftovers to bring home, but no such luck.

The version is based on the recipe my Nanna always used for her rolled oat biscuits, with some milk choc chips thrown in and a sprinkling of sea salt on top.

Recipe

1 cup plain (all purpose) flour
3/4 cup desicated coconut
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup rolled oats
125g butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
1 cup milk chocolate chips, approximately
sea salt

Preheat oven to 170 C or 180 C fan forced. Line two cookie sheets with baking paper.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter, honey and water together, then incorporate into the dry mixture. Add the choc chips, leaving some extras for the tops.

Roll approximately 2 teaspoons of mixture into balls and place on trays, pressing down slightly with the palm of your hand. Press an additional 4-5 choc chips into the top of each biscuit then sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on trays for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool
completely.

Coconut Bread // With a Fructose-Free + Whole-Wheat Option

This is one of my most favourite recipes.

Let's make no mistake, like many loaf-shaped things masquerading as bread, it's not bread, it's cake. Still, you spread it with butter, so that's bread-like enough for me.

One of my best buddies, Melissa, gave me this recipe back in Year 8 (1998, for those playing at home). #truefriendssharerecipes. It's been a household staple ever since.

The reason I love this recipe so much is because, aside from being tasty, it has to be the quickest and easiest thing out there. Made from just 4 pantry staples, it literally takes 2 minutes to make the batter - with one bowl and spoon. An absolute winner for when unexpected guests pop by sniffing around for tea and cake.

I am sharing two versions of the recipe below - the original, and a slightly healthier option, which is still yum.

This bread is best served with butter. Read this for some info about the difference between butter and margarine. Our fridge staple is Mainland ButterSoft - contains just the basics with no additives but still spreadable.

Coconut Bread: Two Ways

The directions for each version are the same - it's just the ingredients that differ.

Preheat oven to 180 Celcius. Throw all ingredients in a bowl and combine (no need to sift the flour). Pour into a greased and floured small/medium loaf tin. Bake for 35 minutes. Serve warm or cold with butter.

Notes:

• You can use shredded or desiccated coconut, but I recently used coconut flakes and loved the texture.
• Dextrose can be bought from the home brewing section of the supermarket. It comes in a red box and has a picture of a beer on the box.
• Read about sugar alternatives (aka glucose/dextrose) vs. white sugar here.
• Read about white flour vs. wholemeal flour here.
• I'm a recent full-cream convert. I've used full cream milk in all three versions. Read about full cream vs. skim milk here. 

Original Recipe
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup full cream milk (can substitute for your milk of choice)
1/2 cup white sugar

Whole Wheat Fructose-free Recipe
1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup full cream milk  (can substitute for your milk of choice)
1/2 dextrose

Birthday Cake Mix In A Jar | DIY

Have you come across these Cake-in-a-Jar recipes before? I LOVE this handmade gift idea.

Today I wanted to show you a very simple version of the Cake-in-a-Jar that I made for Lindsay last year when we weren't yet living together. His birthday was mid-week and I was interstate for work, but I wanted to make sure he had cake!

As I said, my "recipe" was extremely simple (like, boy simple) - I poured the contents of a packet cake mix in a jar and wrote instructions to match. I included a separate mini jar of sprinkles in the bag. I had to stamp strict instructions for the present not to be opened until his birthday. Even so, I ended up making the cakes myself a few months later, haha - but the novelty was still there, and the jar will probably be around for a while! Here's the label I made...

And here are some of my favourite cake and cookie jars from Pinterest. Have you, or would you, make this as a DIY/BYO gift, and what would you put in the mix? Personally, that brownie mix is calling my name...

...but I love the layers on the bottom right one -- what a beautiful idea for Christmas!

An Australian version of the Twix Brownie // Twix Slice

I'm really quite proud of this recipe! Recently, a picture of a Twix Brownie floated into my universe via Instragram - no questions asked, this had to be made. But when I found the recipe, it was all Weird and American. We just don't have some of those ingredients down here.

The Twix thingy needed to happen regardless, so I made up my own version and the crowd was pleased. So was I!

Also, it's no longer a brownie, it's a good old Aussie slice.

This is pretty much a standard caramel slice with a few tweaks: the base is shortbread (because you know it's all about that base), the chocolate on top is milk chocolate (always) and I incorporated chunks of actual Twix into the top layer.

It's Twix on steroids. This one is definitely going into the book.

Recipe

Base
125g butter, softened
3 tablespoons caster sugar
1/2 tablespoon water
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup rice flour

Preheat oven to 160 C / 140 C fan forced. Grease a 27.3cm slice tin with butter.

Beat butter and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the water and flours, in two batches. Knead mixture until smooth, then press into the slice tin.

Bake for 40 minutes then allow to cool for about 30 minutes before you add the caramel.

Caramel Layer
400g can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir with a wooden spoon over moderate heat until boiling. Continue stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Spread evenly over the base. Return to oven and cook for a further 10 minutes. Cool before adding chocolate.

Chocolate Layer
350g milk chocolate
Packet of Fun-Size Twix; each Twix cut into 5 pieces

Place the milk chocolate (not the Twix) in the top of a double saucepan. Stir over a gentle heat until melted. Spread over the caramel. Press the chunks of Twix into the top of the chocolate layer. Refrigerate until set, then turn the slice onto a board to cut. Trim off the four edges before cutting into pieces.

Tips

• Ingredients: always use BUTTER, never margarine (mortal baking sin!) and make sure you use good quality chocolate in baking - NEVER that nasty Home Brand Cooking Chocolate stuff! On the other hand, Home Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk is perfectly fine and it's half the price.
• Caramel is easy to make once you've done it a couple of times, but my first attempt at caramel a few years ago was a concrete disaster (you could have built a house with that stuff). So, I'm going to spell this out. You want the stove temperature to be 'moderate', so set it just below the halfway point (maths for dummies: if you have 9 dials, put it on 4). The most important thing with caramel is that you must dedicate your life to it for 10 minutes - no texting or toilet breaks. Stir the mixture continuously until it begins boiling. Once it begins boiling you might start to fret that it's catching on the bottom - it will be catching on the bottom, but that's okay - the trick is to keep stirring continuously and very quickly for 5 minutes (time it from when it starts boiling) making sure that the caramel catching on the bottom doesn't get a chance to stick and burn. You might notice a few little lumpy bits floating around - don't fret - just keep stirring quickly. Stop at 5 minutes. The caramel consistency might seem runny, but just trust me, it's done.

CRAZY SPRINKLE WHITE CHOC CHUNK SUGAR COOKIES

We need to have a talk about these cookies. They gooooooooooooood!

My nieces and SIL came down for a picnic the other day, so I made them this crazy batch of cookies that I suspected their pretty little minds would love. I found the recipe on The Comfort of Cooking and adapted it by adding white chocolate chunks and coating the tops of the cookies in sprinkles as well as incorporating into the mixture. If you like the soft texture of a Subway cookie, changes are you will enjoy these!

Recipe

1.5 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sprinkles, plus extras for tops
Optional: 2 chopped white Freddo Frogs (70g white chocolate, chopped)

Method

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F). Line two cookie sheets with baking paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until combined. Add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of sprinkles by hand, and chopped white chocolate (if using).

Roll approximately 2 teaspoons of dough into balls and flatten slightly (so they are roughly 1.5cm high) and then dip tops and sides into a bowl of extra sprinkles. Place on the cookie sheet, leaving 1-2 inches between each cookie.

Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will not look browned or cooked - they will finish cooking while cooking on the cookie sheet. Leave to rest on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE FRUIT DIP

Fruit dip is the *perfect* way to screw up your healthy dessert.

Not that there's anything wrong with a healthy dessert, but you know when you're at someone's place for a meal, and you're wondering what's for dessert – maybe it'll be a three-layer triple choc Nutella fudge cake, or something – but then they deposit a fruit salad on the table and your internal complaints department goes, "Fru-ewwwwwwwwwt saaaaaaa-laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad" and pulls a face like-a this.

Well, fruit dip might appease the fatties. And by fatty, I mean myself, the individual described above, so don't be alarmed or offended. 

This was my first time making a fruit dip. Not gonna lie, probably chose the most calorific option. It was yummy and decadent, though I'd also like to find a slightly healthier version. Something in between the extremes of natural yoghurt and this dip made from dismembered Freddo Frogs would be good.

If you have a fruit dip recipe that you're willing to share, please do!

Recipe

Adapted from Canadian Living. Yields 1.5 cups.

Ingredients

• 85g (3oz) white chocolate, chopped
• 75mL (1/3 cup) cream
• 250g (8oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp grated orange rind
• 1 tsp orange-flavoured liqueur or orange juice (I used juice)
• Method
• In a heatproof bowl set over saucepan of hot (not boiling) water, melt white chocolate with cream, stirring gently until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.
  
  In separate bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until fluffy; beat in orange rind. Stir in chocolate mixture and orange liqueur.
  
  Tip: The original recipe says that this dip can be refrigerated for two days. Whilst this is true, refrigerating something containing chocolate will make the mixture quite firm, as it did mine, making it difficult to scoop! The consistency of my dip was perfect before refrigeration -- my tip is to prepare right before you need it.

HAMBURGER CUPCAKES

Last night we went to an at-home trivia night (such fun!) and this presented as the perfect opportunity to make these little bad boys. We had hamburgers for dinner, and hamburgers for dessert. These could be a great treat for any Father's Day luncheons you may be attending tomorrow!

This was my first attempt at hamburger cupcakes. They were a lot of fun to make - much Heston. There's definitely room for improvement so I'll be making them again but with a few tips and tricks up my sleeve. Here are my tips for you and me both:

- I used packet cake mixes to save time and sanity

- Use a few drops of yellow food colouring in the buttercake

- Tip for next time: make the icing much firmer, and put the cheese on the bottom layer to prevent seepage

- Amazing tip: use plastic zip lock bags with the corners snipped off for the icing (I can't believe I have never done this!)

- Tip for next time: bake the cupcakes without patty cases, so they don't have the crinkles from the wrappers

This is my kind of burger flipping!

Mustard and Ketchup <3

I'll just shoot myself in the foot now and leave you with a picture from Glorious Treats, so you can see what they're supposed to look like. Next time, Gadget!

YUMMY PANCAKES WITH SUGAR-FREE OPTION

Pancakes are one of those things that sugar quitters keep trying to tamper with, and I believe they should just STOP. Someone recently Instagrammed some Sugar-free Maca Coconut Buckwheat Protein Pancakes. Pancakes aren't supposed to be stiff and beige. Pancakes aren't supposed to be made from quinoa or sugar harvested from kale.

I have tried a few modified/healthified pancakes in my time, so I do know what I'm talking about. I have tried pancakes using wholemeal flour, and again I say to myself, "why?" I have also made pancakes using dextrose instead of sugar. The dextrose left a funny taste in my mouth. If you're going to go to the trouble of treating yourself with pancakes, you don't want them to be a chore to eat.

Thus I present to you a guaranteed YUM sugar-free recipe that will yield yummy pancakes!

It is by far the best sugar-free pancake recipe I've had, and all I had to do was... leave out the sugar from the regular pancake recipe I've used for years. I served them here with some frozen blueberries that I heated in the microwave.

Pancakes don't want to be a health food (they slipped me a note) but if it's just sugar you're trying to avoid, THIS is the recipe for you (obv. if you're totally avoiding fructose you'll skip the blueberries, but why would you, blueberries are excellent!)

PANCAKES

1 cup self-raising flour
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon bicarb soda
2/3 cup sour milk*
3 tablespoons sugar (simply leave this out if you don't want sugar)
1 egg
2 teaspoons melted butter

*Make sour milk by adding 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to the milk, microwave for 30 seconds, stir.

Combine dry ingredients. Mix to a smooth batter with beaten egg and milk. Melt butter then stir into mixture. This recipe is good for pikelets - for a thinner pancake just add more milk.

Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Rainbow sprinkles sponge cake made by my Mama.

Today is my last day as Alexandra Kate the Thirty-Year-Old. Tomorrow I will be Alexandra Kate Firmly In Her Thirties. It's a nice feeling to have a birthday that's not a momentous one. There's quite a lot of pressure on that 30 birthday... people asking if you feel different and teasing you like you're so old you're about to pass away. But it aint bad here, you know. 

There were quite a few times, through my late twenties, when I'd look back on ways that I'd thought/acted in my earlier twenties and it amused me how much my ways of thinking had changed. I can't remember a single anecdote, but my point is, I'm expecting those 'ah ha' moments to continue, and that's a really good thing.

Thirty has been an interesting and challenging year for me. I decided to quit my good job and take up teaching. I moved out of my parents' place, for the third time, and into my boyfriend's place. I moved from Sydney to Wollongong. I went back to uni to start teaching. Something didn't feel right. I went through a battle with myself where I had to turn inside out to figure out what I needed to do and how to make sense of my unease. I challenged my fear and let my guard down to speak to a psychologist. My biggest failure this past year has also been my biggest victory. Feeling beaten, I sat in the university library in between classes and wrote a 10 page letter to myself, trying to make sense of the situation. I didn't feel the pull towards teaching that I wanted to feel, that I thought I needed to feel, and I feared I would arrive at the destination only to have come to the wrong place. Not because that place isn't wonderful... and that's what was so hard. While I was at Uni I had a notebook that I'd fill with creative teaching ideas as they popped into my head. I knew that so much about teaching would be fulfilling and I knew that I could be good at it - but something that couldn't be pinpointed was telling me that this was not my destination. It was not easy to let go. I was scared of what people would think if I backed out. My colleagues from the company I'd left, my boyfriend, my family, his family, my teachers. Who is this girl, who flits around making grand decisions and then backs out on them, they'd think. Well. My triumph is that I was able to put that aside and put myself first. I had to block it out and do what I needed to do. Things don't always go according to plan, and still, I suppose there is a little mystery surrounding this whole thing, and I wonder if it's something I'll one day look back on and be able to see a lesson. As yet, I don't know. The last five or so months have been clouded with indecision about where to work (location and commuting being a big issue) and what to do. I feel like I'm beginning to come out of the cloud. Just in the past week I've made another decision that has been momentous and scary. Up until now I've been applying for jobs both in Sydney and Wollongong. Any Sydney job would require a huge commute (up to 4 hours daily). I recently said to myself that I would only accept a job in Sydney if it were at Bauer Media or Pacific Magazines. Ever since I went to Pacific Magazines as a 16-year-old for work experience, it's kind of been a 'dream' (more like a simmering idea) to go back there to work. Last Friday I received a call from Pacific and an invitation for an interview. There was my window. I thought about it over the weekend, and then decided not to attend. Massive. Window closed. Mistake? No. Even when I lived in Sydney I didn't like the commute into the city. I think you have got to consider the whole picture. Your picture. What is your happy picture? What are you willing to sacrifice; what chances are you willing to take for things to turn out better?

My friend sent me a text yesterday and it said: "There's a ball of fire in the sky keeping everyone warm... everyone okay with that?" I wrote back, "And a big rock lamp that turns on when it gets dark".

What are we doing, walking around all serious and acting like it's normal to be on a dirt ball, spinning around the big fireball heater/light in the sky -- it's not. Life is too crazy amusing to take too seriously and to waste time doing things we don't like. I think that is why I have not been hasty on pulling the plug when things aren't ticking the happy box.

I'm at a point where I'm able to make some decisions for me. I also feel like there are so many possibilities out there, but that often we only see the world through the limited scope of our individual experiences and old goals. I want my scope to open. I'm excited to explore something new and ride the journey towards that. I'm feeling positive as we head out of winter and into spring. The past is behind. Tomorrow I'll be 31 and it's a fresh start for a new year. I'm looking forward to new inspiration, new energy, and happiness. 

MARSHMALLOW SLICE

Aint she pretty? On Tuesday I was going to visit my good pal, Mel, and her handsome 4-week-old bubba, Duke. We three planned to catch up over tea. My inner Country Women's Association self decided it would be proper for us to have a little slice with our Earl Grey. It was a lot of fun to get stuck back into some old fashioned, sugar + flour, baking. My marshmallow received rave reviews (it's perfectly OK, in fact, preferable, if your rave reviews come from your Mum).

Here is the recipe for your retro enjoyment. x

2 cups Weetbix, crushed (can also use cornflakes)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (s'ok to leave out if the cupboard is bear)
120g butter, melted

Marshmallow

3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon gelatine
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Pink food colouring
Coconut for sprinkling

1. Combine crushed Weetbix, brown sugar, flour, coconut and walnuts. Add melted butter and mix well.

2. Press mixture into greased slice tin. Bake at 160 Celcius for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

3. Wait until the slice has come out of the oven and cooled for 10 minutes before you prepare the marshmallow. Place caster sugar, water and gelatine into a saucepan and stir constantly on a low heat until the sugar and gelatine have dissolved and mixture is clear (will take a few minutes). Do not boil. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.

4. Stir in vanilla essence and 3-4 drops pink food colouring. Whip mixture using an electric mixture until fluffy and almost set. Be patient; this will take approx 12 minutes.

5. Pour marshmallow over slice and sprinkle with extra coconut. Leave to set for approx. 30 minutes before slicing.

TIP: Wear an apron when beating the gelatine mixture - it will splatter!

RASPBERRY RIPPLE FAIL

On my recent visit to Grafton my cousin Steff and I continued our baking tradition. In the past we've attempted Melon Sago and Mint Patties; this time we decided to try the Raspberry Ripple from Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar book. I had heard a couple of people singing its praises so we were pretty excited to try it. However, the results were less than impressive! After eating our Ripple, certain family members requested Aunty Wendy's leftover cheesecake. Burn. Our Raspberry Ripple split - meaning its layers separated, and it did not, taste good. The section that didn't split was reasonably yummy, but too salty. I wondered what could have gone awry, as we are such talented cooks, generally. That's when I took to the internets and uncovered a whole trove of comments form I Quit Sugerers saying that their Raspberry Ripples had split, too! Methinks this recipe is no match for a Women's Weekly triple tested number.

Make at your peril.

PUMPKIN CUPCAKE WARS

This year I set out to explore the exciting world of sugar-free baking, and it's no secret I've come across more doozies than winners, so far. This weekend I decided enough was enough, and took the plunge into the frightening realm of inventive baking, taking one of my favourite cupcake recipes and tweaking it. WELL, guesswat, the results were fantastic!  I bestowed my treats upon guests at a Eurovision gathering on Friday and yesterday's mother's day lunch. And of course, I tasted them myself. I'm pleased. I'll make these again.

To make the fructose-free variety, all you need to do is follow my original recipe (which varies from the original original recipe, pictured below) replacing the white and brown sugar with equal quantities of dextrose (which you can find in the beer brewing section at Big W). You can make a fructose-free icing by playing around with cream cheese, butter and a little dextrose or glucose syrup, or just leave the icing off altogether - they're quite nice plain. Happy cupcaking. x

PEARL OYSTER BISCUITS

This weekend my beautiful little niece celebrated her 5th birthday with a Mermaids & Pirates party. Her talented mama did such a fabulous job, decorating the house with pretty aquas, pinks and whites, and setting out a scrumptious sea-themed feast with delicacies such as Seaweed Skewers (grapes threaded onto skewers), Crab Claws (carrot sticks), Fish & Chips (Dixie Drum Sticks and French Fries chips). For the party, I recreated some pearl oyster biscuits that I spotted on babyology.com.au. Who'd have thought a bunch of kiddos would gobble down a plate of oysters so quick?!

I used a basic shortbread recipe for the biscuit, fondant and an edible pen for the eyes, butter cream icing and metallic sixlets for the pearls (from Candy Bar Sydney).

Also, have a look at the sensationally sea-savvy party bags made by the hostess with the mostess (my SIL). Beautiful!