laurasaur

found proof that this is what happens when you make 2 sets of cupcakes and a salad in one go in my tiny kitchen.

most awesome collosal mess. link to full size pics here

Urrrg. That is how you will feel when you consume as much of this as I have. My advice - do not sample it at all then you won’t have to try and stop yourself from eating it by the spatula-full.

How to turn sweetened condensed milk into this after the jump…

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This cake is so amazing. No one makes it better than Robyn but you can make a pretty good version yourself! It is so moist & one of my husbands favorites and mine too Instead of using 2 cups of rhubarb I used 1 cup + 1 of pulped feijoas as we have a ton at the moment. You could use any fruit you desired. I omitted the topping and iced with the passion fruit icing. We also had the Pineapple/Passion fruit variation on the weekend at Robyn’s and I prefer it to the feijoa and rhubarb version.

Recipe + Pics + Variations after the jump…

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I bought some cream cheese at the supermarket today and tried another attempt at probably one of my most favourite bakery/cafe items ever. You know the type, you always buy them but can never find a recipe that comes close.

Now there are literally thousands of recipes out there for cream cheese muffins, but in most of them the cream cheese is beaten in to the wet ingredients. The perfect cream cheese muffin to me requires delicious chunks of cream cheese goodness.  The recipe below I use when I need to use up any fruit, you can use whatever you have on hand or in a tin (I used canned strawberries lol).

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well after far too many cupcakes - I decided to make something a bit healthier… except that kind of backfires on me.. you see I always eat like one cupcake and give the rest away. However, I can never give muffins away, they just aren’t cute enough. Or perfect enough. Or yum enough.

1 more pic + recipe after the jump

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• puppy
• kitten
• slr camera - i have been wasting so much time reading about photography i would love to get a digi slr one day. why do they have to be so damn expensive! seriously. im scouring trademe for a second hand canon300D. plus then jonno can have my old camera and I wont have to worry about him damaging it.
• mini cheesecake pan, i love how the bottoms of these come off
• kitchenaid ice cream attachment, still havent worked out if I can make this go in the freezer.
• gym journal - i really need to buy a notebook so i can record reps/weight/etc in it, im sure it will keep me motivated too.
• new jeans

update ahhh I missed out on the best camera on trademe ever, sigh.

• change passport $150
• change name on drivers license $31.50
• change name at the bank
• close my old bank account that is accruing interest like crazy (not the good kind)
• make photocopies of important docos.

All of this so I can go travelling without worry that I have changed my name recently… sigh. Its so expensive!!

Ahh well at least I get new passport photos, hehehe

I finally found my reciepe that I used to make these for Christmas 07, so glad because I have been searching for it like crazy on the internet nearly every day since!! Unfortunately no pictures but I hope to upload some soon…

base
1 cup self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup dessicated coconut
125g butter, melted
2 tablespoons strong coffee
140g chopped walnuts

caramel
2 x 395g sweetened condensed milk
250g brown sugar (1 1/4 cups firmly packed)
125g butter
2 tablespoons strong coffee

ganache
270g dark chocolate
1/4 cup cream
1 tablespoon strong coffee

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line the base and sides of a 30cm x 20cm slice pan with baking paper.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the brown sugar, coconut, butter and coffee and stir well.
Press the mixture into the pan and bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly then sprinkle over the chopped walnuts.
Place the condensed milk, brown sugar, butter and coffee in a saucepan and stir over low heat until thickened, about 10 minutes. KEEP STIRRING, I burnt this quite badly the first time I made it, but it still tasted awesome
Spread the caramel mixture over the base. Return to the oven for 10-12 minutes until bubbling around the edges. Cool completely.
Combine the ganache ingredients in a saucepan and cook over a low heat until melted. Cool slightly before spreading evenly over the top. Refridgerate to set. Cut into slices to serve.
Makes 20 large slices.

From a foodtown magazine, no idea which issue!! (ripped it out)

I made these yesterday and took a batch to work which went down well and we have a huge jar full at home, this makes heaps!! My poor hips.

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Im always tryna find some way to disguse the disturbing amounts of protein I cook for Jonno and I now that we are both gym junkies, and since we have had this 2 nights running I hereby declare it a success. It is ready to eat in the time Jonno has had a shower and is a one pan dish which are huge bonuses too.

Garlicy Chicken Chilli Beans

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