Soosan's Birthday Cake

One of my best friends Soosan had a Masquerade Ball for her party this year & asked me to make her cake. As she is one of the most wonderful women alive on this planet, I naturally said yes. I made her a two tiered vanilla cake covered in delicious vanilla buttercream. Everyone loved it & it was completely gone by the end of the night!


Soosan was the picture of elegance in her gorgeous black birthday dress & a fantastic red & gold mask. I'm so glad she enjoyed her cake & her party!

Last year I had a 'Prom Night' themed party that took hours & hours of preparation. I am very fortunate to have a friend like Soosan who gave up her Friday night to come over & help me cook (& bring me dinner)! Having a friend like Soosan makes me feel terribly lucky!

Love,

x Sunny x

Donna Hay Brownie Mix

I recently tried Donna Hay's new Brownie Mix and OMG it was flipping fantastic. It has shot to the front of the queue to become my new favourite brownie - pushing its way in front of all my non-packet-mix recipes. Yep, its that good.

But in the name of fairness, I took the brownies to work & gave some to my boyfriend to get an impartial opinion. All I received back were rave reviews and requests for more. At $8 a packet, it's worth every cent!

Also, the smell that wafts from the oven as they are cooking is ammmaaaaaazing!

Love Sunny xx

Tres Leches Cake (the cheats version!)

Picture source

Tres Leches cake (or ‘Three Milks’ Cake) is a Spanish cake usually made by soaking a sponge or butter cake in three kinds of milk – evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. It’s super yummy and completely addictive. My boyfriend who hates cake LOVES it!

Now whilst I am all for the authentic taste of starting from scratch, I prefer the shortcut for this recipe. And let’s face it, why make yourself slave in the kitchen all day if you don’t have to?

Ingredients:
1 box of vanilla butter or sponge cake
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tub thickened cream

Method:
1. Make the sponge or butter cake as per instructions on the box. I like to leave some of the butter out (if not all of it) to keep it dry.

2. Once the cake has cooled completely, get a skewer and poke some holes throughout the cake.

3. Pour the three milks into a container that is bigger than the cake – I like to use a large Tupperware container. Leave the cake to sit in the fridge for about 6 hours.

Depending on the size of the container you may need to either weigh down your cake in the liquid or baste it every hour or so. When the cake is done serve it as is, or ice it & top with strawberries. Just make sure you take into account the sweetness of the cake before icing!

Love Sunny x

Coconut Creme Caramel

Photograph by Steve Brown

I first saw this recipe on Taste.com & thought I'd give it a try as I LOVE creme caramel (or flan as we call it in my family). I was shocked at how quick & easy this version was & it is silky and delicious! It's so good, my boyfriend just aboiut wet himself with delight when he tried it!

Ingredients (serves 8)

1 1/2 cups caster sugar
300mls thickened cream
400ml can coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 eggs

Method

1. Place 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup cold water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to medium. Cook, without stirring, brushing down sides of pan occasionally with a wet pastry brush, for 8 to 10 minutes or until deep golden. Remove from heat. Pour caramel into a 6cm-deep, 20cm (base) round cake pan. Set aside to cool and harden. (Before pouring your caramel, make sure you have a pan that will fit in a bigger dish because the caramel will harden quickly once poured into the pan).

2. Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan-forced. Place cream, milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until hot and small bubbles form at edge of pan. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk eggs and remaining sugar in a large bowl. Slowly add cream mixture, whisking constantly. Strain mixture into cake pan.

4. Place cake pan in a baking dish. Pour boiling water into baking dish until halfway up sides of pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until firm and just set and the custard has a sexy jiggle to it. Remove pan from oven and water bath. Set aside to cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

5. Run a thin knife around edge of custard. Turn out onto a plate - To turn out, place plate over top of pan. Carefully turn pan over, pressing base of pan to release creme caramel - and serve.

x Sunny x

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photography by Mark O'Meara

I have recently been baking up a storm and this week my attentions were directed at making cookies! Yesterday I made a batch of Dark Chocolate & Walnut cookies and a batch of White Chocolate & Macadamia cookies. This recipe makes 30 small cookies or 20 regular sized cookies.

Ingredients:
125g butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, at room temperature
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons milk

Optional:
2 teaspoons Chai powder - I use Arcadia Vanilla Chai
1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choice
1/2 cup chocolate chips of your choice

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, chai powder and vanilla in a small bowl until pale and creamy. Add egg and mix until well combined. Sift the flour and baking powder over butter mixture. Add milk and stir until just combined.

3. Add your chocolate and nuts. Using hands, knead the dough to evenly distribute.

4. Using 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture at a time, roll mixture into balls. Place on baking trays lined with baking paper. Using a fork, flatten biscuits slightly (allow room for spreading).

5. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden. Allow biscuits to cool on trays for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Serve to happy people with big glasses of milk or hot chocolate!

The great thing about this recipe is you can swap the choc chips & nuts for just about anything, creating as many flavour combinations as your imagination will allow!

x Sunny x

Turtle Brownies

Today is Sunday and I had no plans. I woke up, kissed my lover goodbye & settled in for a day of cleaning, cooking & watching bad Sci-Fi television. Then I remembered seeing this recipe that The Pioneer Woman put up on her blog last week & I knew I had to try it!

Turtle Brownies (as the Americans call them) are brownies with a middle layer of caramel goodness. I amended Ree's recipe to suit my tastes and what was available at the time. Here's my version:

Ingredients
■1 box Chocolate Cake Mix (I Used White Wings Chocolate Cake)
■1 cup Finely Chopped Walnuts
■⅓ cup Evaporated Milk
■½ cup Butter, Melted
■½ cup Nestle Caramel Top'n'Fill (adjust to your own taste)
■⅓ cup Chopped Dark Chocolate or Chocolate Chips
■¼ cups Powdered Sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 160C degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter. Stir together until totally combined. Mixture will be very thick & similar to cookie dough.

3. Press half the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.

4. Mix caramel until it is smooth. Layer over brownie base. Sprinkle chocolate/chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.

5. Turn out remaining brownie dough on a piece of baking paper. Use your hands to press it into a large square a little smaller than the pan. Flip the paper over the mix to easily lay the brownie top on top of the caramel and chocolate. You could also create the square top on your work surface and move it across with a spatula.

6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to serve, generously sift powdered sugar over the surface of the brownies. Cut into twelve helpings and carefully remove from the pan.

Enjoy! But remember, make the servings small as it is devilishly rich!

x Sunny x

Sunny's Easy Caramel Pie

This is a quick and easy dessert that is sure to please! Perfect for dinner parties as 3 ingredients is all it takes to have dessert ready, leaving you plenty of time to concentrate on your other courses.

Ingredients:
1 sweet tart shell (available in the freezer section, near the pastry)
400 g can Nestle Top n Fill Caramel
1 cup thickened cream



Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Cook pastry shell in the oven until it is golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

3. Pour caramel into a bowl and stir until smooth. Scoop into pastry shell & and smooth into an even layer. Refridgerate.

4. Whip cream until it creates firm peaks. Spoon whipped cream generously over caramel. Serve.

To decorate you could use cocoa powder dusted over the top, toffee chips sprinked on top or crumble a flake bar on top.

x Sunny x