Sugar Pie's Blythe Experience

20 days and sugar cookie invite success

So today I iced my cookie invites, so my icing technique still needs practice but I think I got better towards the end. Anyway my little parcels are complete and ready to pass on tomorrow.

I'm pretty happy with how they worked out.

Now I am waiting for my Molecular Gastronomy kit from Redspooncompany.com so I can start practicing spherification. I plan to make my own 'Cointreau Caviar' to be served on smoked salmon blinis as well as as raspberry spheres to mix in to a cocktail creation.

well 'sweet dreams',

xoxo

Sugarpie.

21 days and it's iced sugar cookie time

So it's time to do the invites for the dinner party (even though I know everyone has confirmed as is keen to go) and I have decided to move away from paper and card and into the realm of edible art! The plan is a pile of cookies with each one giving more party details as you move through the pile. From top to bottom it will be:a candy jar, a heart, a house, a teapot and on the bootom a big daisy with it's own cute little cookie bug!

So this afternoon I am baking my cookies using a favourite sugar cookie recipe:

2 cups plain flour, 175g unsalted butter, 130g caster sugar, 1 egg yolk and 1/2 tsp cinnamon  - mix and roll, cut out your cookies and bake for 10 minutes at 180c. Yummy.

And then I'll be ready for the icing:

Even the left-overs have a purpose. Tomorrow the Weber boys are coming to visit while 'mum' has a well earned rest. While the older Mr Weber sits outside with my other half doing their 'man stuff', the younger Master Weber will be decorating cookies for his mum! Mmmm better tell them to bring an extra tshirt - it could get messy!

So off now for some baking fun -

XOXO

Sugarpie.

24 days and a little 'designer crush'

So I have been trawling the net and magazines for inspiration for my little sisters wedding next year some time (come on Tim, set a date already) and I came upon the cutest dress ever in one of the wedding magazine articles. I am so in love with this address but sadly it doesn't come in my size!!!!! C'mon deigners how hard is it to go up an extra size and cater for size 16. Do you really want us 'at home sewers' to copy your designs instead of buying them from you? Anyway, here is the pretty little coral creation from the brilliant Jayson Brundson

Isn't it pretty! It makes me think of afternoon tea, Alice in Wonderland and sugar cookies. I am so in love with this dress. If you are a size 8 or 10 and like the dress try www.the-dreamery.com/Designers/Jayson-Brundson.

So I'm off now to write the shopping list for the dinner party before heading to work. I am so excited, I have a couple of lovely crafty ladies at work who are going to help me make the tonne of crepe paper flowers that I need for the gazebo which will make things much easier.

Stay smiling, 

xoxo

Sugarpie.

25 days left and the cutest mini eclairs...

So sunday night in the 'test kitchen' I had a practice run of my Choux Pastry recipe and made the cutest little chocolate eclairs for the test run.

Choux Pastry

30 g butter

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup plain flour

2 eggs

In a small saucepan bring water and butter to the boil, tip in flour and beat with a wooden spoon over heat until the dough comes away from the side of the pan and forms a ball.

Remove from heat and beat in the egges using an electric mixer. Using a Piping bag and a number 11 nozzle pipe 5 cm lengths onto a sheet of baking paper.

Bake at 220oC for 7 minutes then turn the oven down to 180oC and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, slit the side of each eclair with a serated knife and place back in the oven for no more than 5 minutes to dry out the insides.

Pastries can be kept in an air tight container for up to 4 days. To 'crisp' then up before filling put them on a cake rack and in thye oven at 150oC for about 5 minutes.

Fill each eclair with a flavoured custard of your choice (make the custard eclair friendly fold in some whipped cream to lighten it).

 

Melt some chocolate (a mix of milk and dark choc melts works best), add 15g butter and beat till 
smooth. Dip the tops of the eclairs into the melted chocolate - 'sweep' the eclair through the choc to get that nice surface.

Enjoy!

 

XOXO Sugarpie.

29 days and an online shopping spree

So no pretty pictures to share but a tonne of ideas instead.

First things though, the visit to Rocky was lovely. Our new god daughter Charlotte is soooo cute. with her big eyes and gorgeous red hair (yep, she's a ginger ninja blessed from both sides of the family) Charlotte never stops gigling and smiling.....except when she fell asleep in  my arms during her naming ceremony.

We had bought her the cutest little overalls with pink and red stitching and a pretty pink embroidered long sleeve top for underneath from Pumpkin Patch but one of the studs was faulty and broke when we tried to put them on. So the next day I went back and did a swap for a cute pair with blue and yellow flowers and so of course I had to get a yellow T-Shirt (with pretty ruffly sleeve edges with little bows) which of course led to a cute little yellow bucket hat!!!

So my promise to Charlotte on her naming day is to teach her to cook amazing food and to spend all of daddy's money shopping.

That brings us to the shopping part.

Have just been to The Gourmet Grocer Balmain's on-line store looking at little delicacies for the dinner. Have made my list ready for some ordering on wednesday. They carry a line  products for use in Molecular Gastronomy recipes so I am picking up some Spherical compounds and an emulsifier and may some Fizzy!!!

Best of all though is that they stock Persian Fairy Floss (Pashmak) which I will be using on one of the desserts as a special luxury treat.

So I may also have to think of a new dish to replace the Jewel Salad as it seems I have missed the pomegranate season and unless I can find a suitable replacement I will have to pick something else!

Off to search for more  new and exciting things to try - and to make some of the pretty decorations.

xoxo

Sugarpie.

39 days and macaron success....

So completed my second attempt at Macarons tonight and they worked out pretty well.

So the perfect time is 12.5 minutes at 155c in the fan forced oven. I even managed to get 'feet' ( that little extra layer bit at the bottom). Standing time will need to be a bit longer next time and I need to perfect the piping so they are all smooth on top and then total perfection will be reached.

Oh and don't you love my retro enamel cannister! It's part of a set of three picked up at a garage sale.

Well they will enjoy morning tea at work tomorrow.

Sweet dreams,

xoxo

Sugarpie.

40 days and one not so impressive batch of Macarons!

So my first batch of Macaron's didn't go so well. I think I need to test some small lots to see the best temperature and time combo. I tried the 160c @ 14 minutes and 13 minutes but both too crunchy. I also tried 150c @ 14 minutes and 13 minutes. I ran out of mixture so tomorrow night I will try 150c for 12minutes as I think it was pretty close. Well practice makes perfect.

Xoxo

Sugarpie.

42 days, 3 pretty Wedgewood photos and 1 recipe.....

So my Tipsy 'Kahlua' fudge cakes went down a treat, I was asked a few times for the recipe so here it is. It also makes a great dense cake for wedding or celebration cakes and ices nicely (just adjust the recipe amounts to suit).

Tipsy Fudge Cake

(makes a 22cm round/19cm square or 24 mini loave cakes)

In a large saucepan melt and combine:

• 675g dark chocolate
• 430g unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tbs instant coffee
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed.

Sift 1 3/4 plain flour, 1/2 cup self-raising flour into a bowl.

Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl and when cool add:

• sifted flours
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup kahlua (or any nice liqueur)

Pour into prepared baking pan/s.

In a moderate oven bake round/square cake 2 1/2 hours. For mini bar cakes approx 1 hour  - cakes should feel firm to the touch.

So I've been looking around for more pretty inspirational bits and bobs and found these wonderful Wedgewood pieces in Myers .... I wish I could afford them all.

 

Tomorrow I am making my first test batch of french macarons. I think I will stick with a basic vanilla bean flavour in maybe a pretty pastel blue? I have a pack of Wilton gel colours which is what the book recommends so you don't add extra moisture to the mix. Only problem is at the moment I don't have a mixer (I have a pretty red KitchenAid Mixer on layby) so I will be doing it all by hand. Should be a fun day when you combine it with cleaning out my wardrobe, painting the details on some timbre car garages for my nephews and making lasagne.

Only decision left for tonight is what to watch on TV. Last night we giggled our totally excellent way through 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure' so tonight it's a toss up between 'Bill and Ted's Bogus journey' or the new Jason Statham movie 'Blitz'.......mmm laugh fest or eye candy.......

Have wonderful saturday night.

xoxo

Sugarpie.

 

45 days to go

So today I made morning tea items for tomorrow.

So I made Tipsy Fudge Cakes, honey comb and flavoured coconut ice (mint and rose). Tomorrow night I will post the recipes as it's a bit late now and I still have 3 batches of cakes to go!!!

Happy baking till then,

xoxo

Sugarpie.

46 days to go...

So I was going to make the Coconut Ice tonight but I didn't buy enough coconut!!! How silly. So I will pick some up tomorrow and it will be a bit of a cook off tomorrow night.

I've been looking at some more recipes and have decided on a lovely combination of Yellowglen Bella Vintage (Pink) Sparkling Wine, rose water and silver leaf to make a luxurious 'Champagne Granita' to start the evening. It will be small glass of sparkling jewels reminiscent of my favourite pair of earings.

So easy night tonight  - bring on the rush tomorrow.

xoxo

Sugarpie.