christmas shortbread stars...

you just have to make star-shaped biscuits for Christmas. it really is a must because they just look so pretty. I got this recipe from a friend as when I tried her biscuits they just seemed to melt in your mouth. the recipe is incredibly simple...2 cups of flour, 1/3 cup of icing sugar, 2 tablespoons of rice flour and 250g of butter. you rub in the butter and then knead into a dough and roll out the dough. it's super easy and great to make with kids. you bake them for about 15 minutes until lightly browned and then dust with icing sugar. pop in a jar and serve to Christmas visitors...Merry Christmas everyone!

apple streusel bundt cake...full of surprises...

this was absolutely delightful. it came about due to a sincere craving for something that tasted like my nana's apple pie but yet had a cinnamon swirl going through it. so I used dorie's double apple bundt cake recipe, with apple butter and grated apple in it. I omitted the cinnamon and instead hunted down a streusel recipe so that I could but the streusel in the middle of the cake. I found a recipe with butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. easy peasy! naturally I was extremely worried, as one always is with bundt cakes, that the streusel topping would stick to the pan and I'd be left with half a cake. thankfully though it came out pretty clean with only a bit of the skin missing. once it was iced with a vanilla bourbon glaze, it was ready to be delivered to the barbecue I was attending. the cake was delicious, however as it had only been baked that morning I feel it didn't have enough time to settle and the flavours to emerge. it also crumbled a bit, again I think in hindsight it would have been better to cook it the night before. the streusel swirl was delicious and gave a real intense kick to the cake. just wish I'd got a photo of the middle!

chocolate ganache topped devilish cupcakes...

so, i have always wanted to try making ganache but for the longest time thought it was a really difficult process. how wrong was i? it really couldn't be easier. you just make sure you have decent dark chocolate...I like 70% or more for the flavour and some cream. you melt the chocolate. heat up the cream. mix the two together and there you have it. the best part is how the consistency changes as it cools. if you want a thin glaze you pretty much pour it over your cake straight away. if you want butter icing type consistency you let it cool for twenty minutes or so. or if you'd like to make some chocolate truffles, pop it in the fridge until it is a thick fudge like consistency. it's wonderful and I can't believe I shied away from using it before...as you can see it make a perfect topping to my devil's food cupcakes...