Mini Meringues with Vanilla Bean Cream and Lemon Curd.

So I have been completely slack in the past four or so months! Due to my hectic schedule at Uni, I have sadly had little time to write up a blog post. This is not to say that I haven't found time to bake, as that is my trusty form of procrastination!

Here is a list of yummy treats I have been baking lately:

© Marshmallow sherbet cones
© Turkish delight macarons
© Coconut and raspberry slice
© Toblerone brownie bottom cheesecake
© Salted caramel brownie
© French toast with candied bacon cupcakes
© Nutella whoopie pies
© Mars bar cheesecake
© Choc-caramel shortbreads

And my latest baking treat...Mini meringues with vanilla bean cream and lemon curd.

It would have been my amazing Aunty's birthday this week. Her passion for cooking was such an inspiration to me, and I can only dream to be a fraction of the baker she was. When I was little, she taught me how to make meringues, so I thought it was fitting that I would give them a go myself.

Now because meringues use only egg whites, I found myself thinking about how I could put the leftover egg yolks to use. Did I want to make custard? Probably not. Meringues are sweet enough, that custard would only make the dessert super heavy. So lemon curd it was!


Mini Meringues with Vanilla Bean Cream and Lemon Curd

Ingredients

Meringue

© 3 egg whites
© 3/4 cup of sugar (I use caster sugar)

1) Preheat oven to 100 degrees Celsius.
2) Using a hand mixer or Mixmaster, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form.

3) Add in sugar very slowly. The mixture should begin to stiffen. You know the mixture is ready when the peaks stay stiff when lifted up using a spatula.
4) Add in any food colouring. You will only need a tiny bit! (I used pink. Surprise surprise!)
5) You can choose to either pipe your mixture on like I did, or plonk it on. Either way works, it just depends on the look you are going for!

 

 

6) Put meringues in oven for 1 hour. Once they are cooked, leave them in the oven with the door ajar for another 1-2 hours, so that they dry out and don't become stuck to the paper (trust me, that is not pleasant).

 

 

TPB TIP: When mixing your eggwhite and sugar, don't try any shortcuts. If the mixture isn't firm enough, your meringues will not hold their shape, and will become like flat pancakes (not attractive!)

While the meringues are in the oven, you can make your lemon curd!

Lemon curd

© 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
© 3 egg yolks
© 1/4 cup of lemon juice
© 90g butter (chilled and chopped up)
© 110g caster sugar

1) Using hand mixer, whisk the sugar and egg yolks until nice and creamy. Using a normal whisk will not work, as the mixture becomes stuck and is a nightmare to work with!
2) Add in lemon zest and lemon juice and mix till combined.
3) In a heat proof bowl, mix over a pot of simmering water for about 20 minutes, until the curd becomes nice and thick.
4) Take off heat and whisk in butter.
5) Place in the fridge until ready to use.

When ready to serve, place a nice dollop of cream and curd on top of the meringue. You can even pre-make these earlier in the day, to increase the gooiness of your meringue!

Delish!

Until next time, happy baking.

xx

Red...or should I say Pink Velvet Cupcakes.

Ahhh, the infamous red velvet cake. With the deliciously rich, dense cake topped with the creamy, delectable cream cheese frosting, who can deny that this combination is a match made in heaven!
Whilst many believe the reddish tinge comes from the reaction between the cocoa powder and the baking soda, this is not the case. Instead, the colour comes from a much more obvious source- the red food colouring.

I decided that I wanted to tackle this recipe once again, as the last time I did, there were foreign crunchy bits inside my mixture. Not very pleasant at all!

Because of my love for all things pink, I chose to use pink colouring instead of red, curious to see the result. If I am being completely honest with you, the result was no different to my red velvet cake. But I just love the thought of making pink cake! Silly, I know!

 

I researched a wide variety of recipes on the internet and in my cook books, and settled on a basic one found on taste.com.


Red (pink) Velvet Cupcakes (Taken from taste.com.au)

Ingredients

© 300g (2 cups) plain flour
© 30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
© 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
© 315g (1 1/2 cups) caster sugar
© 250ml (1 cup) buttermilk
© 200g unsalted butter, melted
© 2 eggs, lightly whisked
© 1 tbs white vinegar
© 1 tsp vanilla extract
© 1-2 tsp red food colouring (I chose pink instead)

1. Preheat oven to 170°C.

2. When I make cupcakes, I love to use the free-standing cupcake patty pans (See them below). They only require about a table spoon of mixture in each, making your cupcakes go a lot further! Also, you can bake as many as you want at a time, rather than being restricted by using a patty tin.

3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb soda into a bowl. Stir through the sugar

Now if anyone knows me, they would know that I am a lazy baker. I don't sift and I don't measure accurately. Whilst this normally works just fine for me, I have found with red (pink) velvet cakes, the dry ingredients do need sifting, otherwise the mixture becomes lumpy. Trust me, I learnt the hard way!

4. After this, add the buttermilk, butter, eggs, vinegar and vanilla into a bowl, and mix (I used my Kitchen Aid).

 

 

 

 

Now buttermilk isn't the easiest ingredient to find, as supermarkets are lazy and don't stock it often! If you don't have any, or can't be bothered making the trip to the shop, just add a tablespoon of lemon juice into a cup of milk (as low fat as possible). This just helps make the cake extra moist and yummy!

5. Add the dry ingredients into your milk mixture, and mix until combined. Add in your food colouring. Don't be scared to be generous! The more colour the merrier I say!

 

 

 

6. Bake for about 10-15 minutes. If you're not sure if they're ready to take out, put a bamboo skewer through the centre of a cupcake, and if it comes out cleanly, they're finished!

7. Cool on a wire rack.

 

 

Now, we get to the icing *sigh*. Normally, this is easy for me! I whip it up, slop it into my piping bag, and swirl it on. But today, that was not the case. Because of the lack of stock at the supermarket, the only cream cheese they had was one for cooking. That sounds fine right? Yeh, I thought so too. When adding it into my mixer, I just knew it'd be too runny. And yep, it was! My icing didn't set, and I was devastated! No matter how much icing sugar I added in, it remained as sloppy as ever. In the end, I took out a small portion of mixture, and added in extra icing sugar. This worked (to a degree), but wasn't as stiff as I had hoped. But this is all part of baking, and thinking on your feet is an important skill to have!

Cream cheese frosting

© 2 x 250g pkts cream cheese, at room temperature
© 300g (2 cups) pure icing sugar
© 120g butter, extra, at room temperature
© 1 tsp vanilla essence, extra

Mix your ingredients together, ensuring the mixture is smooth and lump free.

TPB TIP: Ensure that your butter is softened - not melted, but not hard either. This guarantees that your icing will not have yucky lumps of butter in it, but will also be firm enough to set.

 

 

Until next time, happy baking.

xx

 

My 21st Tea Party.

A couple of weeks I turned 21, and as I'm not a huge party girl, I decided to throw myself a High Tea for the occasion! I began planning months ago, as I knew uni would soon catch up to me! And alas, it did! However, not before I had everything ready to go!

Over the last few months, Mum and I have been visiting different op-shops, in the hope of finding some pretty tea cups, plates and tea stands. We found some beautiful treasures which fitted perfectly with my florally feminine theme.

Throughout this time, I was also making my own decorations. One super easy and pretty cute idea I found was bunting made out of paper doilies. All you need to do is find some string, and fold a doily half way and stick it there! Easy peasy!

I was inspired by a picture I had seen on the Internet, which showed jars filled with roses tied together, hanging on a wall. I just loved this idea, and decided to try it out myself. It worked out perfectly, and looked gorgeous on the day! My lovely friend Janelle also lent me her handmade bunting, and some super pretty table cloths to fit out my house.

One week before, I decided to make some shortbread for my guests to take home as a little gift. I used a cute teapot cookie cutter, which matched my theme perfectly. They turned out fairly well, however you need to be super careful when making shortbread. Firstly, you should only cook it for a fraction of the recommended time, as they don't look as nice when they're a shade of brown! Secondly, the consistency has to be spot on-not too crumbly, but definitely not too sticky and wet. Here is the recipe I used (Courtesy of Taste.com):

Traditional Shortbread

Ingredients

© 250g butter, at room temperature
© 100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
© 300g (2 cups) plain flour, sifted
© 90g (1/2 cup) rice flour, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Brush 2 baking trays with melted butter to grease. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy.
2. Gradually add the combined flour, beating on low speed until almost combined. Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth.
3. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Use your hands to shape 1 portion of dough into an 18cm-diameter disc. Transfer to 1 of the prepared trays. Use a flat-bladed knife to smooth the surface. Pinch the edges to create a fluted edge. Use a small sharp knife to score the disc into 8 wedges and use a fork to prick the dough all over. Repeat with the remaining dough to make a second disc.
4. Bake the shortbread in oven, swapping the trays halfway through cooking, for 40 minutes or until light golden. Set aside on the trays for 10 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

As I wanted the food I served to be as fresh as possible, I waited till the Thursday before the Saturday before I started baking. I made over 80 tart cases, as well as Rose Water Meringues. Whilst my mixture looked beautiful, I didn't leave the meringues in the oven long enough to dry out, resulting in them sticking to the paper, and losing their gooey centre. I learnt my lesson, and the second batch turned out perfectly!

TPB Tip: When making meringues of any shape or form, make sure you leave them in the oven for at least an hour, ensuring that they don't stick to to the baking paper!

On the Friday, my beautiful Oma and Nan came up to help me prepare for the following day. We had so much to prepare, and together, we pulled it off! Our task list was as follows:

© Make lemon curd
© Make caramel filling
© Make cheesecake filling
© Make sponge cake
© Make chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes
© Make vanilla and cream cheese cupcakes
© Prepare wonton cases
© Make custard filling
© Wash all tea cups and plates
© Set out table

It was such a lovely day spending it with these two amazing women, and I am so thankful to have them in my life!!

My mum made an amazing spread of savoury food, including caramelised onion and brie tarts, pin wheels, chicken wonton cups and mini sausage rolls. My brother and dad served cider & long island iced teas to the guests, and did an awesome job might I add! I was so proud of each of them, and I am so so blessed to have them in my life ©

The day went perfectly, and I was totally spoilt by all of my lovely friends! I couldn't have done any of it without my family, and I love them to bits!

P.S. Sorry for the super long post!

Until next time, happy baking.

xx

The Ups and the Downs of my Favourite Creations.

As I  mentioned in my first post, I love baking. My love for it began when I was little, as my Mum gave me so many opportunities to cook. From baking shortbread with her at Christmas time, to making kiss biscuits with my Nan, my love for it has never waned.

I have always been a bit of a sweet tooth, so I tend to sway towards sugar-based recipes. I am always up for a challenge, and in the past year, have attempted some desserts I have avoided for many years. And whilst the end product may look pretty, the process wasn't necessarily as attractive.

Blueberry and Custard Pies
 

As you can see above, I tried two different types of toppings for this specific filling. I was unsure whether the blueberry would make the pastry soggy, hence the meringue topping. However, what I found was that after the pies had cooled down slightly, the meringue began to pull away from the sides. This not only looks unattractive, but also causes difficulty when cutting the pie.

TPB TIP: To deal with this issue, make sure you spread the meringue mixture right out to the edge, covering the crust, anchoring it there. This should ensure that the meringue does not pull away after cooking.




Strawberry and Cream Spongecake

 

The infamous sponge. I had avoided this recipe for the entirety of my baking life, and after constant pleading from my Dad, I decided to give in. If I was going to fail, I might as well get it out of the way. After taking immense care with the sponge mixture, I ran into my first roadblock. The recipe asked for two tins of the same size, but I only had one. I made the decision that I would have to bake one cake at a time, and I had no idea what affect this would have on the end result.
My first cake came out beautifully, and I was so happy. I then looked at the mixture sadly waiting in the bowl, and it looked miserable. The airiness of the batter had disappeared, and it was flat and lifeless. I decided to try it out anyway. What a waste of 40 minutes that was. The cake came out of the oven looking worse for wear. It was dense and wet, and I was not a happy camper. I refused to give in, and made a second batch of mixture, which turned out perfectly!

TPB Tip: If you are making a spongecake which requires two cake tins, don't think you can defy the odds. Put the cakes in at the same time, or if you only have one tin like I did, make two half batches. It will save you a heap of stress and disappointment!

Also, be careful when leaving hot spongecakes on cooling racks. The mixture is generally very sticky, and will quite often stick to the wire. Recipes will call for the use of baking paper on top of the racks, but as I discovered, that does not prevent sticking either. My suggestion is that you monitor your cakes, transferring them from tray to tray every couple of minutes.

                                                                                    Chocolate Eclairs



And at last, we reach the eclair. A delicious treat, but one which does not come trouble-free. Over the past couple of years, I have attempted the croquembouche, and have been semi-successful. The one element which trips me up every time is the choux pastry. Either it doesn't rise like it should, and is dense and doughy, or it cracks.

For Christmas, my brother gave me a book dedicated to eclairs, so I decided I would attempt the tricky dessert one more time. I followed the recipe step by step ,with so much care, I thought nothing could go wrong. I was wrong wasn't I? The pastry was the right consistency, and looked great when I piped it onto the tray, but as soon as it entered the oven, it turned into a deep-fried mess. The butter oozed out of the eclairs, and ruined the pastry completely. I felt deflated and disappointed. But as I said before, I love a challenge, and was determined to beat this recipe.

I found another recipe online, and decided to give it a go, and voilà, it worked! The eclairs looked perfect!

Below is the recipe I used, to save you from any eclair disasters! (Taken from taste.com.au)

Basic Choux Recipe

      Ingredients
©   2/3 cup cold water
©   60g butter, chopped
©   2/3 cup plain flour
©   3 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Combine butter and 2/3 cup cold water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until butter has melted and mixture just starts to boil.
2. Reduce heat to low. Add flour. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture comes away from side of pan and forms a ball. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
3. Reserve 2 teaspoons egg. Using a wooden spoon, gradually beat in remaining egg until well combined and mixture forms a glossy dough (mixture should drop from the spoon).

Until next time, happy baking.

xx

Biscuit Boxes.

So last year for Christmas, rather than giving my close relatives presents, I decided I would bake them something. I found a great idea in Donna Hay's Celebrate magazine from 2011- a biscuit box, and I really wanted to give it a try! This entailed creating cardboard boxes, which had about six individual areas, then filling them with different types of homemade biscuits. I allowed myself about four weeks for this project.

I began the construction of the boxes, a process which took a lot longer than I first thought! After about two weeks, I finally finished! To make the boxes pretty, I tea-stained some paper, printed Christmas carols music onto them, and created paper flowers, which were placed into one of the segments. I also lined the sections with browned baking paper and paper doilies. If you want to try the paper flowers yourself, the link is here:

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/origami_kusadama_flowers

I planned which biscuits I was going to make, and started on the dough. I knew that attempting to make seven different batches of dough, baking and assembling them all on Christmas Eve would be too much work. However, I wanted the biscuits to be as fresh as possible. After all, they were going to be a gift. Admittedly, I was scared that freezing the dough would ruin it, but I was willing to risk it! Over the next few weeks, I made the dough for each type of biscuit. The biscuits were as follows:

 

Chocolate and Peppermint Creams, Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti, Spiced Brown Sugar Cookies, Shortbread Caramel Sandwiches, Choc-Vanilla Cookies, Coconut and Jam Hearts & Sour Cherry and Lemon Shortbread Fingers.

Two days before Christmas, I spent the whole day rolling, baking and assembling the biscuits. Everything was working out fine, until my last batch of biscuits...just my luck!
The time then came for me to put the biscuits into the boxes! I wrapped them up in clear cellophane, and tied a beautiful big bow around each. To finish them was a great feat!

The overwhelming sense of satisfaction when I gave each couple the box made this experience totally worthwhile, and whilst it was a lot of work, I highly reccomend that you give it a try one day.

Below is the picture of my finished product!

One recipe which is cute and simple is the Choc-Vanilla Cookies. Here it is (Courtesy of Donna Hay):

 

 

Choc-Vanilla Cookies

 

Ingredients

©      1/2 cup castor sugar

©      125 g butter

©      1 egg

©      2 tsp vanilla extract

©      1 1/2 cups plan flour

©      1 tbl cocoa powder

 

Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour and beat until a smooth dough forms. Remove 2/3 of the dough, leaving 1/3 in the bowl. Add the cocoa to the bowl, and beat until combined. Roll each dough portion out between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper to 3mm thick, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius. Using a 7cm-round cookie cutter (I used a drinking glass), cut out as many circles as possible. Using a star-shaped cookie cutter, cut stars from chocolate dough and place on top of vailla rounds (I used a bit of milk under each star, to make sure it stuck! I also tried it in reverse, having the cookie round made of chocolate dough, and the star made out of vanilla dough). Place cookies on a lightly greased baking tray, lined with baking paper, and bake for 12-13 minutes, or until lightly golden (Make sure you keep a close watch, as I only had mine in for around 5 minutes. The dough is thin, and I wanted mine pale).

TPB Tip: Freezing dough works perfectly fine. Make sure you wrap the dough up tightly in gladwrap, and freeze immediately. The defrosting process takes around 1 hour.


Until next time, happy baking.

xx

Welcome.

 

Welcome to my blog, The Pink Baker.

I was fairly sceptical about starting up a blog, as I didn't think I would have anything to write about.
However, there is one thing in my life I love doing, and that is baking! Combined with my love for all things pink, I thought I could start a pretty blog, full of yummy treats, recipes and inspirational photos.

Wish me luck!

x

P.S. These amazing creations are not mine, but are definitely where I gain my inspiration from!

Picture. tthejourneyy.blogspot.com.au

Picture. ladylikei.files.wordpress.com

Picture. iambaker.net