Samsung TVC - Enjoy more

A while ago I was assisting Julie-Anne (food stylist extraordinaire) on the production of a TVC
for a Samsung fridge and washing machine. We spent three days cooking and baking like
maniacs as the food gets thrown through the air and it meant a lot of freshening up and re-setting.
It's great to see the ad looks so cheerful and fun.

Maybe one day I will have a kitchen big enough to own a fridge like that :-).

Behind the scenes photos:

The set.

The set.

Our kitchen.

Christina Tosi from Momofuku in Sydney

I was very lucky last week to get to meet Christina Tosi from Momofuku New York. She is here for the Crave food festival in Sydney and also visited us at Breville to give us a bit of an insight into her little success story. She is a pastry chef and runs a quite unique and highly successful bakery in New York called milk.

I found her story most inspiring and despite the success she seems to be very grounded. She told us that she always enjoyed baking, even as a kid and naturally would chose a path in the hospitality industry. She did a degree as pastry chef and worked in kitchens in the US, one of them was WD40 in NY.
Even though baking was her thing she wasn't too happy in restaurants kitchens and started an office job, at Momofuku. Missing her home baking though she would bake when at home to feed her colleagues and they were all in awe of her creations. Her boss (David Chang) took notice as well and when he got offered a small property spot in NY to run a bakery he came to Christina Tosi.

She now runs several Milk bakeries across NY and has gone from strength to strength in her endeavor to challenge the pastry world with unusual adaptations of old time classics.

Take her compost cookie for instance. That's what I heard first off. A very tasty cookie , so American in shape but with a list of, at first, weird ingredients, but it so works! And so it goes on... Milk also invented the cereal milk - toasted cereal steeped in cold milk, then strained and bottled up. She uses different types of cereal milk for her cookies and cakes but reckons that cornflakes gives the broadest spectrum of yummyness.

Instead of shortcrust she uses a range of crunches to cover the base and one of her most popular pie is the crack pie, which I yet have to try myself thanks to her cookbook. So far I have tried a few different cookie recipes and my family was most grateful. Home baking, but a little bit more fancy without the queues, that's quite something.

 

  

 

Spring has sprung in Sydney

Ah, spring has finally arrived! The colours, the smell the buzzing sound of all the busy bees - it's just so beautiful. The mornings and evenings are still quite chilly but as soon as the sun peeks out, it's getting very warm.

I have to thank one of my colleagues who told me about the cherry blossom festival in Auburn and that's where I went a couple of weekends ago to capture all the beautiful flowers and colours.

I wasn't alone, lots of people came, either to have family photos taken, to admire the beautiful landscape of the botanical garden and cherry blossoms or just to hang out.

Lovely cooking school in Italy

Ashley, a fellow food blogger happens to also run a cooking school in Italy with her chefie husband and she just send me some pictures from their past cooking classes. It really triggered my wanderlust. If the photos of the food and happy people is anything to go by - it must be a great experience and so much fun. Who wouldn't want to enjoy their home cooked dinner at a table outside under the stars like you see it here?

But first comes first: the cooking takes place in an old farmhouse taught by chef Jason Bartner. His credo is to take the ego out of cooking by creating simple, seasonal dishes at their organic farm and cooking school in central Italy. From the farm to the table at La Tavola Marche.

Dogs are the real champions in the truffle sniffing game. And - they don't eat them after they found them!

La Tavola Marche has been featured in many food magazines and it is definitely on my to do list when I am in Europe next.  Tutti a tavola! Can't wait!

Barbie cake for a birthday girl

Maggie, a friend's daughter turned 5 last weekend and I again made a barbie cake for her birthday bash. This time she asked me if I could dress barbie in rainbow colours. Rainbow colours can look a bit over the top but then I thought I might get away with using lots of different pastel colours to make up (or nearly) the colours of the rainbow.

I had not a great plan when I started of how I wanted the dress to look like it kind of evolved and it was so much fun! I guess I just still like playing with barbie even when I am way too old :-)
My daughter insisted on all the pearls and loved pressing them into the little flowers, couldn't have done it without her help. Just had to make sure she didn't eat too many before dinner, or no wait,  they must have dropped off the table (or so she said ;-).

August Daring Bakers Challenge - Choux Pastry

Kat of The Bobwhites was our August 2012 Daring Baker hostess who inspired us to have fun in creating pate a choux shapes, filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream. We were encouraged
to create swans or any shape we wanted and to go crazy with filling flavors allowing our creativity
to go wild!

Mmmhh, choux pastry! Is there anything more French than that? Somehow I couldn't get myself
to do swans even though I liked the idea (maybe for my daughter's next birthday party - however
might be too fancy) as I always had to think of eclairs. I love eclairs and they look so elegant.

I once had to develop recipes with coffee and remembered a coffee glaze I used for a cake. This time I spread it on the eclairs and also put some coffee flavour through the whipped cream. Okay, here I actually used a short cut, instead of making a custard cream I only whipped some cream
but it's just as nice, I promise!

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Pate a choux

Ingredients:
½ cup (120 ml) (115 gm) (4 oz) butter
1 cup (240 ml) water
¼ teaspoon (1½ gm) salt
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

Method:
Line at least two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper, or grease pans well.
Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F/190°C/gas mark 5 .
In a small saucepot, combine butter, water, and salt. Heat over until butter melts, then remove from stove.
Add flour all at once and beat, beat, beat the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pot.
Add one egg, and beat until well combined. Add remaining eggs individually, beating vigorously after each addition. Resulting mixture should be somewhat glossy, very smooth, and somewhat thick.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm-wide plain nozzle. Pipe mixture into 11cm logs onto prepared trays, allowing room for spreading. Lightly sprinkle the trays with water. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 160°C. Bake for a further 30 minutes or until puffed and golden. Turn oven off and leave eclairs in oven, with the door slightly ajar, to dry out. Remove the pastries to a cooling rack, and let cool completely. Cut eclairs in half horizontally. Spread top of eclair with coffee glaze and fill with coffee cream. Assemble and decorate with melted chocolate and sugar flowers.

 

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Coffee cream

 1 cup thickened cream
2 tbs pure icing sugar
2 tsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp boiling water
1 tbs Baileys Coffee Irish Cream liqueur 

Beat the cream and icing sugar in a bowl until soft peaks form. Stir the coffee granules and boiling water in a bowl until the coffee dissolves. Fold the coffee mixture and Baileys into the cream mixture until combined. 

Coffee glaze

1 cup icing sugar
5 teaspoons strong brewed coffee
3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)

Combine everything in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Spread over the eclairs. Let set.

Beetroot

This weekend was such a nice outlook to spring. Saturday was still a bit windy but already so sunny and same on Sunday. Loved it!

Saturday is always my favourite farmers market at Carriageworks in Eveleigh. You get everything there and it's such a nice atmosphere. It's off the main road and there aren't any cars so it makes ideal to even bring the kids as you don't have to worry about the traffic.

I love all sort of vegetables but this weekend I felt especially inspired by the humble beetroot. It's a bit of a pain sometimes to prepare it as it stains everything and stubbornly but I love the earthy flavour. I prefer to roast them whole wrapped in foil in the oven and then just scrape off the skin (so easy) and since it already felt like spring I just teamed them up with my favourite soy and linseed bread from Sonoma Bakery, mixed leaf salad and labne cheese. So good!

Everything is so fresh and vibrant.

Carriageworks is such a great spot for the farmers market.

Enough room for the kids to wander around too.

Roasted beetroot, labne and good bread - 'nuff said!

Kiss Me Cake

I know Sonja, the owner of Kiss Me Cake, through our mutual friend Peggy Porschen. We both worked with Peggy in London (at different times though) but we had to move to the other side of the globe to get to know each other. She also worked for Konditorei and Cook in London as cake decorator and it's there where she decided to specialise in this trade.
Coming to Sydney she worked for the French cafe and patisserie "La Renaissance" in the Rocks and "Sweet Art" in Paddington.
However, it has always been a dream of hers to open her own shop and Sydney seemed to be the right place at the right time and so she started "Kiss Me Cake" in 2006.

The bakery.

Getting the order ready.

Square cupcakes - bestseller at Kiss Me Cake.

Off to the decorating corner...

Yum!

Rolling the fondant.

Homemade chicken soup

We are really blessed here in Sydney with the easiest winter one can wish for. Temperature hardly drops below ten degrees and the sky is most often blue. That's quite spectacular for someone like me who comes from the Northern Hemisphere were it's either grey in grey in winter or below zero, which sometimes leads to snow.

Funnily enough, it feels colder inside the house than outside. In fact I am sitting here, rugged up in blanket and getting cold feet and hands while typing and waiting for my chicken soup to warm up that I made yesterday. It's one of the best dishes in winter, warming and nurturing. I also add small pasta in shapes of letters and numbers to the soup. Childhood memory, in Germany we actually call this kind of soup "Buchstabensuppe" (letter soup) and that way it becomes a favourite meal for kids.

Here is my recipe for the chicken soup or Buchstabensuppe:

For the stock:

1 whole free range chicken (about 1.6kg)
 2 whole cloves

1 onion, peeled and halved
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 bay leaf
2 stalks parsley 

For the soup:
3 corn on the cobs, husk removed and trimmed

3 carrots, diced
200 g small pasta

100 g sugar snap peas

For the stock, rinse the chicken thoroughly and remove any excess fat. Place into a large saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, skimming off any scum that floats on the surface. Push cloves into onion. Add vegetables and herbs, reduce heat and simmer gently for 1 hour.
Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Strain stock and discard vegetables. Chill stock and when cold remove any fat from surface. Remove and discard skin and bones from chicken. Shred meat. 

For the soup, return stock to a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the corn and carrots and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked. Remove corn and let cool a little. Meanwhile, cook the and pasta and shredded chicken and cook for a further 5 minutes until pasta is just cooked. Cut away the corn kernels from the stem and add the kernels to the soup. Season well with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice.

Laterne, Laterne...

Laternelaufen is a German tradition for the time around St. Martin's Day. On 11 November children ,usually in kindergarten age or younger, walk along the streets holding colourful, often self-made lanterns (Laternenumzug, ‘Lantern Pageant’).

Legend has it that St. Martin, a soldier, gave a beggar the half of his soldier's coat to protect the man from freezing to death. Afterwards St. Martin became a bishop in order to help poor people.
Laternelaufen is a memorial to St. Martin and usually takes place on 11 November, in some regions of Germany (that are rather Protestant) it may take place already on 10 November, because it is mixed up with the celebration of Martin Luther's birthday (Martinisingen). In some regions there is no fixed day. In Catholic regions Laternelaufen is also called Sankt Martinsumzug (‘Saint Martin's Pageant’) focusing on the aspect of sharing.
During Laternelaufen children often sing Martinslieder (‘Martin songs’) that glorify St. Martin's act of sharing or songs about their lanterns.

Because of the different seasons here in Australia we decided to still do in winter and not so much care about the St. Martins day. It's so much fun for the kids and drafting and crafting your own lantern is great fun too. We had so many great designs I just to share them.  

Since it's held during winter, everyone gets a warming cup of Gluehwein (for the grown-ups)  after the walk and the kids will get a  snack and kid's Punsch without alcohol. 

Such great creations!

Cut open a plastic bottle and glue translucent paper on it. Lantern done.

Some soccer fans among the dads.

Going back to the community hall for some kid's punsch.

Skiing trip to Thredbo

This was our first skiing trip in Australia and I really liked it. We had a fantastic time despite the weather being quite stormy towards the end. A few colleagues said that skiing in Thredbo was not worthwhile, too expensive and not good enough snow. Expensive it is unfortunately, but that is the same in Europe. The snow was good, no complains here. I think it's cool to only have to drive 5 hours from the coast inland to be able to ski, but that is because my hometown is Hamburg which is far away from any mountain.

A bit of rain, a bit of hale and rainbows all along.

Love the clouds in Australia!

Thredboland for the kids and the rest for us.

Daring Bakers Challenge June

Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

When I saw this cake first I wasn't really sure what to make of it. It looks a tad too old school for my taste but then curiosity got the better of me, and I am glad I made it. I used marzipan to wrap around and it's delicious.
 
The Battenberg cake is based on German-style of cake making and traditionally includes marzipan (love marzipan)
and apricot jam. The cake was first made to celebrate the wedding of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter,
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine and was named after her husband, Prince Louis of Battenberg.

The cake itself is like a pound cake with extra almond in it and that gives it its beautiful nutty flavour.
I blended almonds in their skin as that brings out more flavour but also means the cake will not
be as light as with blanched almonds.

Instead of pink/red food colouring I used 50g mashed raspberries to enhance flavour and texture.
The batter was quite dry and therefore I added a bit more milk which worked fine.
Since I had still vanilla buttercream left from the Bratz cake I made a day earlier I cheated and used this.
It was just enough and I was happy not to waste any leftovers.

I would also recommend to beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. I think that will give
a much better texture.

Such a cute little cake which is more like a petit fours than a cake really.

 

Traditional Battenberg:

Servings: +- 8

Ingredients
¾ cup (1½ sticks) 175gm / 6 oz Unsalted Butter, softened; cut in cubes
¾ cup / 175gm / 6 oz Caster Sugar
1¼ cups / 175gm / 6 oz Self-Raising Flour
3 Large Eggs, room temp
½ cup / 65gm/ 2 1/3 oz Ground Almonds (Can be substituted with ground rice) I used 75g of ground almonds
3/4 tsp / 3½ gm Baking Powder
½ tsp / 2½ ml Vanilla Extract
I also added 6 tablespoons milk
1/4 tsp (1¼ ml) Almond Extract - didn't use
Red Food Colouring, paste, liquid or gel - I used 50g mashed raspberries instead

To Finish
1/3 cup (80 ml) 100gm /3 ½ oz Apricot Jam - I used leftover vanilla buttercream
1 cup / 225gm / 8 oz Marzipan, natural or yellow

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/160°C Fan Assisted/Gas Mark 4
2. Grease an 8”/20cm square baking tin with butter
3. Line the tin with parchment paper, creating a divide in the middle with the parchment (or foil)
- Tip: See photos or watch video above for detailed instructions
4. OR Prepare Battenberg tin by brushing the tin with melted butter and flouring
5. Whisk together the dry ingredients then combine with the wet ingredients in a large bowl and beat together just until the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth
6. Spoon half the mixture into the one side of the prepared baking tin
7. Add a few drops of red food liquid/gel/paste to the remaining batter, stir until the colour is thoroughly distributed, add more colour if needed
8. Spoon the pink batter into the other half of the prepared baking tin
9. Smooth the surface of the batter with a spatula, making sure batter is in each corner
10. Bake for 25-30mins until the cake is well risen, springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes out clean (it should shrink away from the sides of the pan)
11. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out to cool thoroughly on a wire rack
12. Once completely cool, trim the edges of the cake with a long serrated knife
13. Cut each coloured sponge in half lengthways so that you are left with four long strips of sponge
14. Neaten the strips and trim as necessary so that your checkered pattern is as neat and even as possible
15. Gently heat the apricot jam and pass through a small sieve
16. Brush warmed jam onto the strips of cake to stick the cake together in a checkered pattern (one yellow next to one pink. On top of that, one pink next to one yellow)
- Tip: See photos for detailed instructions
17. Dust a large flat surface with icing sugar then roll the marzipan in an oblong shape that is wide enough to cover the length of the cake and long enough to completely wrap the cake
18. Brush the top of the cake with apricot jam
19. Place the cake on the marzipan, jam side down
- Tip: Either in the middle or to the one side of the marzipan
20. Brush the remaining three sides with jam
21. Press the marzipan around the cake, making sure the join is either neatly in the one corner, or will be underneath the cake once turned over
- Tip: If you put the sponge to the one side of the marzipan, I found it easiest to "roll" the sponge over and over onto the marzipan instead of lifting the marzipan up onto the sponge
22. Carefully flip the cake over so that the seam is under the cake and score the top of the cake with a knife, you can also crimp the top corners with your fingers to decorate
23. Neaten the ends of the cake and remove excess marzipan by trimming off a small bit of cake on both ends to reveal the pattern.

Bratz cake

Just finished this Bratz cake for a girl's 6th birthday party. The Bratz is not so different to Barbies but a bit less princessy and rather funky. Apart from their awful shoe choices I quite like the idea of a more contemporary fashion doll. Rock chick versus Cinderella anyone?

The tin for the cake was a bit too small so I baked another 22cm cake to put underneath to cater for more people. Since the Bratz has a much larger head and eyes it doesn't look too awkward having a bigger body now. It actually looked quite elegant with the longer body. Nothing wrong with being long and tall.  However my daughter noticed the big bum right away;-)

That's how I've done it: You'll need a Dolly Varden or similar shaped tin and a 22cm in diameter round cake tin to bake the cakes. In this instance I didn't bake the cake but here are some tips on how to best bake the cake).
You then need approx. 2 kg of ready-to-roll fondant icing and approx. 500 g chocolate icing, cachous. I used white, black, blue and purple icing already dyed from essential ingredients.
They are around $17 per 1 kg, quite pricey but the colours are very funky. You can also just get white and dye them with food colouring yourself. Be warned thought, the more colour you put in the stickier the fondant becomes.

Invert the cake and trim the base to ensure it sits flat. Brush away crumbs. Use a palette knife to spread the top of the round cake with a thick layer of chocolate butter icing and position the body cake on top. Cut along the edges so it looks like a cone again. With the palette knife spread a thin layer of butter icing around it (crumb coating) and let set in the fridge.

Apply a second thick layer of butter icing to the cake and smooth then put back into fridge. Roll out the purple fondant icing until 3 mm think and cover the cake board, cut along the edges to get a smooth finish.

Now is the time which for me is always a bit nerve wrecking. You have to move the cake from the working board to the covered board and to place the cake in the right spot. I use a big and sturdy palette knife to lift the cake up and over to the main board. Smooth and trim icing if necessary.

Roll out white icing to 2 mm thick and cut in a shape of a large triangle. Roll out black icing and cut uneven stripe and shapes and stick onto white triangle to create an animal print (at least, that's what I tried). Stick onto cake.
Roll out blue icing to 3mm thick so it fits around the cake and drape back over the white/black icing. Carefully trim icing at the bottom.

Insert the doll into the centre of the cake and make the bodice dress part. If you don't have the half-doll topper you can use any barbie with cling-wrapped legs. You then have to cut a wider hole to fit the torso into the cake (it's a bit of an operation really- but don't tell anyone).

Now comes the really fun part. Roll out any leftover icing to style the doll with any attire you can think of. The top of the dress, hand gloves, capes, belts, bracelets, you name it. Most often I make those cakes for little girl's birthday parties so sparkles, sprinkles and cachous are always involved ;-).