Sweetcorn powder now available at Kiwicakes

 

Every year I make a pilgrimage to Cook the Books cookery book store in Auckland. The knowledgeable owner has over the years recommended many awesome books, that have come home with me.

Some years back, her recommendation to me were the Milk Bar books by Christina Tosi

Christina is as passionate about food/recipes/talking about food/shopping for ingredients as I am. It's refreshing to know I am not a total freak, that there are others like me. The only difference is Christina is famous and I am not (and I'm totally cool with that, I actually don't wanna be famous)

If you haven't watched it already, I suggest checking out Chef's Table pastry episode featuring Christina Tosi.

In this episode Christina talks about creating "crack pie" now renamed "Milk Bar Pie". I immediately wanted to make this, but didn't know where to get sweetcorn powder. (Sweetcorn powder is also used in other recipes in these cook books, such as cookies)

I actually imported some from overseas, to first try these recipes. But now I am thrilled to say, you can buy it at Kiwicakes Now all I have to do is not make them too often!

Gâteau au chocolat et crème de marrons (Chocolate and chestnut spread cake)

This simply yet utterly amazing recipe came from a lovely French friend Aurelia. She is very giving with her recipes, and we are often found discussing food and recipes at length. Now living in NZ, having been born in France, she has a wealth of recipes I've never heard of. This is one of them.

What I still marvel at, with this recipe, is the sum of the ingredients are exponentially more exciting than what you'd expect

 

100g dark chocolate (I used Whittaker's Dark Ghana)

100g butter

3 eggs

Approx. 370g chestnut paste (you can buy this at specialty food stores and online) I buy at La Cave or Maison Vauron

2 handfuls of walnut pieces (optional)

Melt butter and chocolate and let cool 2 minutes.

Mix eggs and chestnut paste.

Add chocolate mixture.

Mix well.

Add walnuts and pour into buttered dish and cook between 20-30 minutes @200°

Bon appetit x

My son who has never liked "cake" is a great fan of this dessert, I made it last month for his 15th Birthday (this blog has featured many of his "not cake" birthday desserts over the years)

It didn't look overly celebratory with just candles so I crushed some chocolate coated honeycomb and sprinkled over the top.

We always serve with vanilla bean ice cream

How to create antique or vintage shades of buttercream icing

The good folks at Sprinks have supplied these awesome colour charts, to show you just how easy it is to create vintage shades using buttercream icing and the Sprinks range of gel paste food colourings.

The Sprinks bottles come fitted with an eye dropper, so you can easily count the drops. You can find the entire range here at Kiwicakes.

Passionfruit Crunchies a childhood favourite biscuit

Passionfruit Crunchies are an absolute favourite from my childhood. Probably because only 1 or 2 batches were made every passionfruit season. Then you had to wait until next year.

Mum (AKA Grandma Kiwicakes) made them every year. This year Grandma Kiwicakes passionfruit vine failed, as ours had taken off prolifically, I decided it was time I gave them ago and asked for the recipe.

Grandma Kiwicakes tells me the recipe was from "the Truth cookbook - an old scandal rag" - seen below without a cover. These recipe books certainly already expect you to know how to cook - with instructions like, "sandwich together with passionfruit icing" I used butter/icing sugar and 1 passionfruit to make my icing.

I doubled the recipe, and used larger than teaspoon sized balls, as mum always made them BIG. This resulted in two oven trays, with 34 halves, resulting in 17 biscuits when sandwiched together. You can make them any size you like.

I baked at 180C

Edible icing images not just for cake tops

 

Here in NZ my daughters birthday fell during level 4 lockdown. Luckily a few gifts had been purchased earlier in the year, so we still had something of a celebration. Although turning 17, I decided to turn it in to a treasure hunt (as she'd loved this as a child. And lets face it, I had to do something to fill those long lockdown days)

There were 4 of us at home, so I decided to make a small cake. I'd taken home some supplies on our last day of work prior to lock down.

I'd printed an edible image of our wee dog Kenzie. then trimmed the background so it was the exact height of the cake.

Whilst we are used to seeing edible icing images used on cake tops, I really enjoyed the different look of this one on the side of the cake

If you'd like us to print an edible image for you check that out here

Happy Father's Day

Happy Fathers Day to all the awesome dads out there 

This cake is a surprise for my husband. I’ve been asked so often “how do you do what you do?” 

Well without my husband, I simply couldn’t. Whilst I’m away on cake assignments - he keeps the home fires burning. And is often both mum and dad to our kids.

He’s a lot like Mr. Snuffleupagus (from Sesame St) not often seen, doesn’t want his picture taken/shared. And for those who don’t know us well, they wonder if he really exists. (Just like Mr. Snuffleupagus)

My kids really lucked in with their dad. He’s 100% devoted. With current jobs including taxi driver, chef, soccer and table tennis coach, driving instructor, tutor for maths, physics, chemistry, biology and English, amongst other things. 

This is a lemon poppy seed cake, which will pair nicely with his Father’s Day present of NZ made gin from Lammermoor Distillery which I can totally tell you about today, as he’s not on social media, so won’t see this post.

Supplies purchased from Kiwicakes of course!

 

Colourful candy range at Kiwicakes

At Kiwicakes our candy range has had a huge makeover. With close to a tonne of candy being delivered. The photos below are just the tip of the ice berg. We've a huge range of single colour candy such as jelly beans, chocolate gems/drops, choc balls, shaped candies and more. perfect for cake decorating and drip cakes. Along with baby showers, candy buffets for weddings and party favours You can check it all out here

I'll leave you with just a small snapshot of what we have a vailable

 

Baby figuring cake topper tutorial

This great fondant baby tutorial comes to us from the uber talented Lisa Hansen. You can click to blow up each page and print off for future reference. It requires little in the way of equipment and is suitable for all skill levels.

Print your own alcohol label for your cake

Our graphic designer has come up with some new options for you for edible image printing. Choose the birthday persons favourite tipple Rum/Whisky/Bubbly/Whiskey or vodka. And have their birthday year/name added to the bottle. Them make them an awesome cake to put it on. Which is your favourite?. I am a bubbly girl, so that'd be my choice

Details on how to order are here

 

Happy Mother's Day Grandma Kiwicakes

Happy Mother’s Day to Grandma Kiwicakes. 

Our family has been lucky enough to have Grandma Kiwicakes in our bubble since level 4 lockdown. 

Like all mums she’s always been there for me. But you guys are lucky to have her too. As she helped me get Kiwicakes off the ground, and put hundreds (who am I kidding thousands) of unpaid hours in to get us where we are today. 

This Battenberg cake is her favourite- but lucky us. We get to help her eat it tonight

A tool I cannot live without - pastry blender

 

My lovely hubby swears I’ve too many baking gadgets but sometimes the right tool just makes everything easier 

Instead of getting my hands in and rubbing my apple pie pastry for a few mins (pain to clean greasy hands). Today I got in with my pastry blender and was done in under a minute. 

You can find this indispensable item on the Kiwicakes website of course. Because when I love something I want you guys to have access to it too

Cream Cheese Guava tart

INGREDIENTS
1 large egg
1 tsp water
180 grams cream cheese at room temp
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 1 1/2 cup fresh guavas depending on size
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 square sheets frozen flaky puff pastry (allow to thaw)

I made this tart in a 13.5x4.25" fat daddios quiche pan

Preheat oven to 180C or 160C fan bake

Start by lining your pan with one square of pastry, you will then need to shop a piece from the second sheet of pastry, to finish the end of pan. The top of the tart should be cut to the same size of the base of the pan.
Leave the edges of pastry 1"/2.5cm jigher than the edge of pan, these flaps will be folded over the lid.
Whisk your egg together. Remove 1 tbsp to a separate dish, adding the 1tsp of water, this will become your egg wash for the top of finished tart.

In a food processor mix your cream cheese, lemon juice, egg, brown sugar and vanilla. Remove 2/3 of the mix and spread over pastry lined tart tin. Cover with 2/3 of your whole guavas.

add 1/3 of your guavas to the remaining mix in your food processor and blitz until a smooth paste. Spread this over the guavas in your tart.

Place lid on top of filling and fold over flaps of pastry. From your remaining pastry scraps, use a blossom plunger cutter to add pretty shapes.

Brush with egg wash and bake until golden brown aprx 18 mins.

No Baking staining on your cupcake papers with Wilton Colour cups

Today I baked our new white chocolate mud cake mix. I was curious to see if the white chocolate flavour came through. 

These bake low and slow (for cupcakes 30mins at 130c) not long after this photo was taken, I devoured this cupcake. I’m pleased to say I could smell and taste the white chocolate (I used 100g of Whittaker’s white chocolate) 

And a shout out to Wilton Colourcups!. I love these cupcake papers. They’re my all time go to, as they ALWAYS look this good after baking. Even at higher temps.

 

Rainbow coloured chocolate curls

 

These awesome curls were made by layering Wilton candy melts up in a plastic container (allow each one to cool before adding the next colour). Once set pop out your block - and curl away with your vege peeler 

This was part of a recent candy melt/chocolate demo at Kiwicakes