Baked

Well, I completely missed Wednesday! How's your week going so far?

It was my husband's birthday yesterday so I hung with him and baked him chocolate pavlova. He's Australian, so he grew up having summertime birthdays, hence the summery pavlova ;)

Chocolate Pavlova with Raspberries - makes 4 small, or one large

4 egg whites
3/4 cup berry/caster sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
50g dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

To top:
fresh raspberries
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
shaved chocolate

Preheat oven to 275f/140c. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Add sugar mixture, a tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in cocoa, balsamic vinegar, and chopped chocolate.

Spoon mixture onto baking sheet and form into mini round(ish) pavlovas. With the back of a spoon, make a little well on top of each pavlova.

Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Turn oven off, open door a little, and allow to cool completely in oven. Should be crunchy on the outside and kind of like marshmallow inside. So good.

Top with a little whipped cream, raspberries and shaved chocolate. Enjoy!

Canada

I hope you're all having a fantastic day! If you're in Vancouver, quick, head outside, I see a ray of sun ;)

Have a great weekend everyone! Back soon.
janis

Baked

Hello Monday! I'm trying to be a little peppier on Mondays. Hmm. Still think we should have a 3 day weekend. Hope your week is off to a good start!

This weekend I made a batch of cupcakes to take to our friend Daniel, co-owner of the shop Walrus. He had a special birthday, so he deserved some sparkly cupcakes. Sparkly cupcakes need sparkly wine to go with them. It was a fun way to wrap up the weekend. Oh, and the Canucks won too!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Pistachio Praline Whipped Icing - makes about 36 mini cupcakes (this is a Donna Hay recipe)
4 1/2oz/125g softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup berry/caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk

Pistachio Praline:
5 1/4oz unsalted pistachios
1 cup berry/caster sugar
1/2 cup water

Whipped Icing:
1 cup berry/caster sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 egg whites

To make the pistachio praline, place the nuts on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat and stir, until dissolved. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Cook for about 8 minutes or until dark golden brown. Remove from heat, allow the bubbles to subside and pour mixture over nuts. Allow to cool completely. Break praline up into small pieces, place in a food processor and process to a coarse consistency. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 320f/160c. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, and beat well. Sift over the flour and baking powder and beat until combined. Fold through the milk, then spoon into mini muffin tins lined with muffin papers. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a skewer, inserted in centre, comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

For the whipped icing, place the sugar, water and cream of tartar in a saucepan over high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar mixture and beat until thick and glossy. Spread the icing over the cupcakes with a palette knife and top with the pistachio praline. Eat and enjoy. These are incredibly good.

 

These are really simple and fun to make. Would be great for Easter brunch too. 

Have a good day! Back soon.

janis

Sunday Observations

That's what I got up to today. What did you do? Let me know!

Back tomorrow with a little baked something (see birthday box, above).
janis


PS: any Canucks or Blackhawks fans out there? Watching this series? Loving it.