Our Little Blossom turns Five

It has been a wonderful weekend for our family. Our darling little blossom turned five and we had a great party hosting all her fabulous little buddies. 


Things were a little frantic on Sunday morning, and both us had been cooking for the best part of two days prior to the party. Little Miss got up really early with a mind full of party activities. 


There is nothing better than sharing some cake with your best buddies.


I made a rosewater sour cream cake decorated with cream cheese frosting. I didn't take any tutorial photos, as time was too short!

 Butterflies were the order of the day.

 I made Profiteroles, Lemon slice, Chocolate Mud cup cakes, the Cookie Jar selection, Jellies with fruit and Quince cupcakes - I'll be blogging those soon. Mum made some Chocolate crackles, just like when we were children!

 The man-of-the-house made all the savoury treats and cut the fruit selection.

Party Dancing and musical cushions time! We had a great time with all our friends. Thanks so much to you all for making this such a special day! School days here we come...

Delicious Biscotti for The Party

It's a big and exciting week at our house as we gear up to Little Miss' big 5th birthday. Just like one of our previous play dates, she wants a cookie jar as part of the party food; so I've got a head start by making the Biscotti early. We have a buddy with a nut allergy, so these ones are all fruit, but you can substitute some of the fruit for almonds if you please. This recipe uses a meringue base for a lighter, crispier biscuit.

Biscotti - Meringue Based

3 egg whites
a pinch of cream of tartar
100g caster sugar
400g mixed dried fruits - I used glace cherries, whole cranberries, preserved ginger and golden sultanas
the zest of 1 lemon
the zest of 1 orange
90g flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 180deg. C. Line a loaf tin with baking paper.

Wash the fruit to remove any syrup, sugar or grit. 

Allow it to drain. 

Cut up the ginger, cherries and whole cranberries. Zest the lemon and orange and add to the fruit.






In a scrupulously clean bowl whisk the egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar until soft peaks form. 

Gradually add the caster sugar to form a firm meringue. 

Using a spatula, gently fold the fruit into the meringue. 

Sift the flour and fold into the meringue with the vanilla. 











Place the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 

Allow to cool completely in the tin before turning out.











Slice thinly and lay the slices out on a lined oven tray. 

Bake at 120deg. C for a further 20 minutes until toasted and crispy.










These delicious little biscuits will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. 

Time to switch on the coffee machine and take a break before the real madness begins! 

I'll be keeping you updated on all the lovely party food we will be making for our little blossom's big day. 

Little Miss Party Girl

We had a lovely party on Sunday. Little Miss 4 had a wonderful time with her buddies. They were entertained by Melanie Poppins with face painting, balloon toys, the party rabbits, entertaining puppets and a magic show.



Everyone enjoyed the hospitality. The chef made the sandwiches and sushi - and the impressive centre piece made of fruit and vegetable flowers. I wondered what he was doing carving at a melon, and low and behold, he pops this impressive vegetable arrangement on the table!

This is a small sample of the sweets - with more goodies outside on the children's table.

Little Miss 4 wanted a Barbie Mermaid cake. I made a Carrot Cake using my usual recipe and decorated it with Cream Cheese Icing sprayed with green cake decorating spray. I couldn't bring myself to colour the whole batch of icing green. The image of green tongued little people leaving the party was too terrible to contemplate. I covered the Barbie with pink tinged Bakels Pattinice White Icing to form her tail and bodice. The children all wanted a slice of the tail!

Happy little party girl making friends with one of the party rabbits. We all had a lovely party; thanks to all our wonderful guests for sharing a great party afternoon with us.

Cinnamon Kiss Pops



Part three of party baking preparations: more treats on sticks. Many will tell you that there is no such thing as too much chocolate. However, with Chocolate Mud cupcakes on the menu, and inspired by Macaroons presented on sticks, I wanted to trial another flavour possibility. Enter the Cinnamon Kiss Pop. This recipe is adapted from the Chocolate Baby Whoopie Pies in the latest Countdown Food magazine. With the cinnamon instead of cocoa, the little treats are far more kiss than pie. The idea of just tossing all the ingredients into the beater is also very appealing indeed; however I couldn't help myself but cream the butter, sugar and eggs first. 

Cinnamon Kiss Pops

100g butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 2/3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 190deg. C.
Cream the softened butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.
Add the remaining ingredients into the beater and briefly mix.
Put the mixture into a pipping bag fitted with a round, wide nozzle. Pipe out into small rounds on a naking paper lined tray.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. They should not brown.  

 Mocked Cream Frosting

100g softened butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons hot water

Place all the frosting ingredients into the beater and beat until light, pale and fluffy. 

Pair up the kisses.
Place teaspoon lots of frosting onto one of the kiss pairs.
Make an indentation in the centre of each one, and fill with a half teaspoon of jam.
I used the Plum jam I made a couple of weeks ago. Don't put too much in or it will squirt out when you sandwich the kisses together.
Push an ice cream stick into the frosting filling and leave to set before attempting to stand the pops up.

They got the birthday girl approval, and Little Miss was very happy to take them to preschool in her lunch. All part of the pre-party excitement!

I think I will be making these on the day as they are definately better fresh.

Chocolate Mud Cupcakes for a Little Party Girl

When did small girls' parties become such a big old deal? I'm not sure I know the answer to that question; but I can tell you that the food for Little Miss nearly -4s party is shaping up to be quite a big deal indeed. She is so excited that we have had to keep playing it down.
"Is it my birthday tomorrow Mummy?"
"No, not tomorrow; not for a long time yet. Don't worry we will remind you when it arrives"
"We will have party hats wont we Mummy?"
"Sure will"
"And all my Buddies will come to my party"
"Sure will"

This is the second part of my food auditioning exercise. It's one thing to bring out all the old favs, but I don't want to be making the same old thing as last year. The Man-of-the-house got me this recipe from one of his Baking Colleagues after we were lucky enough to sample them. The had intended them to be much smaller, but the mixture rose and rose. Its a great recipe for a crowd as it will makes at lease two dozen smaller cup cakes. Not sure how many actual cupcakes will be eaten, as icing licking is often the order of the day!

Chocolate Mud Cupcakes with Chocolate Butter Meringue Frosting

250g butter
250g dark chocolate
1 double shot of espresso coffee topped up to 185ml hot water

290g flour
10g baking powder
60g cocoa powder
2g baking soda
500g caster sugar

3 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
30ml oil
125g sour cream

Preheat the oven to 160deg. C
Combine the hot water and coffee in a double boiler; add the butter and chocolate. Melt over a low heat until smooth. Allow to cool a little.










Whisk eggs, oil and sour cream to combine - be sure to beat the lumps of sour cream out or they will show up as white spots in the mixture.

Yes that's my little kitchen helper on whisk duty!







Add sieved dry ingredients to the egg mixture with a spatula.
Lastly stir in the chocolate mixture.











Pour into the cupcake cases and bake for approximately 35 to 40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Don't over bake or the cupcakes will be dry.










 Chocolate Butter Meringue Frosting

4 egg whites
2 cups sugar
a splash of water
4 tablespoons cocoa
500g butter

Yes this recipe is huge! But you will need it all to decorate all those cupcakes.





Beat the egg white with a pinch of salt until they form stiff peaks. Don't over beat; they shouldn't look dry.
Put the sugar into a large pot and add the water. Melt over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar is melted. Stop stirring once the sugar is dissolved or the syrup will turn grainy.
Boil the sugar until it reaches 120 deg C on a sweet thermometer.
With the mixer running, gradually pour the sugar syrup onto the beaten egg whites to form an Italian meringue. Once all the syrup is added, beat for a few minutes longer until the mix starts to cool. Add the cocoa to the mix and beat again. Be careful not to start the beater too fast or the cocoa powder will fly everywhere.
Lastly add the cubed, softened butter, and beat into a soft, light butter cream.
I used a piping bag to pipe rosettes onto each cupcake. You can just spread the mixture on with a knife, but I find piping quicker and easier to get a professional finish.

Little Miss nearly-4 helped to decorate them by adding the sprinkles, and we served them to our friends for an all important taste test. I will definitely make them smaller for the party; with less mixture in each case so they don't rise over the edges.
They have made great lunch box treats this week, with plenty of icing licking opportunities. 

Auditioning the Party Food

This was a bowl full of delicious Bacon Wrapped Beef and Goat Feta Meatballs. As often happens when we have guests, I forget to get the final shot before the dish goes to the table. The proof of all dishes is in the eating, and these, as you can tell by the almost empty plate, were delicious. Little Miss 3 has a birthday soon - much excitement in our house - and with lots of her little buddies and their parents coming to the party, I need to try out some possible yummy cocktail food solutions.

Some lovely friends of ours came around this morning for coffee and a catch up - the perfect guinea pigs for a bit of party food.

Bacon Wrapped Beef and Goat Feta Meatballs

750g beef mince
150g fresh white bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes 
1 onion
a handful of fresh herbs - parsley, basil, mint
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon chilli sauce
2 teaspoons salt
75g goats milk feta
approximately 28 strips of streaky bacon 

Preheat the oven to 200deg. C. Line an oven tray with cooking foil.
Put the peeled onion and garlic into the food processor; cut a cross into the top of the tomatoes, squeeze out the seeds and add to the processor with the oil, chilli sauce and salt. Blend into a semi-smooth paste. Crumble the feta.
Combine the mince, crumbs and tomato mix.








Lastly mix in the feta - you don't want it to crumble too small, so try not to over mix.













Roll the meatballs about the size of a small walnut. Cut the streaky bacon slices in half, and wrap each meatball in a section of bacon. Skewer two meatballs onto each small cocktail stick and place them onto the oven tray. At this stage the meatballs can be stored in the fridge until required.







I baked them for about 20 minutes in total, turning them half way through the cooking process. The bacon should be crispy and the meat balls cooked through.

Then just serve them up and enjoy. Lucky last ones left. Yes I had eaten two previously - quality control of course!

I'm thinking of just serving one per stick for the party, as there will be plenty more treats on offer for our little guests.