laurasaur

I’m trying to start a tradition.. pancake Saturdays. So far I have found the best time to do it is when we have people staying.. cooking pancakes for other people is easy and fun and most of all satisfying. I’m attempting to try a different recipe every weekend until I am satisfied.. but I am tempted to stop at these…

Look how perfect they are.. mmmmm. Even without the single egg pan I am lemming at the moment P

Sour cream pancakes

1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Combine eggs, sour cream, water, and vanilla in medium bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until moistened.

Preheat frying pan or skillet over medium heat; grease lightly. Pour about 1-2 tablespoons onto hot pan for each pancake. Cook until tops of pancakes are bubbly; turn and cook until browned the way you like.

Feijoa Juice:
Shell loads of Feijoas.. see first pic. Mix with a handful of ice and blend until smooth. Drink straight away.

Bye bye to my work and my workmates.. it has been cool working with everyone from BCM.. I certainly have learnt a few things that I will take with me .. hehe… I will miss you all.

I don’t really have anything new to post but I just thought I would share how super cool and cute this JellyBelly dispenser is!!

My hubby put one in my bag to surprise me (yeah, I know, so awesome) and it is super cute. I have always loved Jelly Belly’s (especially the flavour that most people hate: buttered popcorn) ever since my trip to America when I was about 10.

So no new baking for now, I spent a few hours on Sunday making a huge brownie platter for an event we went too, 2 batches of regular brownies, 1 batch of caramel brownies, whipped cream and a rich chocolate sauce.

There was less than 10 people at the event and about 2/3rds of the brownies got eaten so definately a success, pretty much my backup plan when I need to bring something sweet and I don’t have much time or energy.

So apparently I now know the fundamentals of the Wilton cake decorating method. This was my cake for my final class or lesson 4. I’m not really feeling like it was my best work but considering I was in bed all day yesterday sick and still not well today I think it turned out OK.

The icing layer is too thin and you can see the chocolate cake (Nigella chocolate fudge) through which really bugs me. Also I hate the Wilton class buttercream so I frosted the cake in a classic buttercream made with butter not shortening. It’s still tooth-achingly sweet and if time had permitted I would have made an italian meringue buttercream but some of us have to work too P

Oh and once again my roses were average. But my technique definitely improved towards the end of the class.. I actually find them quite quick to make now.

Frosted with mocha buttercream and garnished with a rose (ok, a crappy rose) from my course tonight. Perfect light moist rich chocolate cupcakes, you can’t go wrong with this recipe.

The original recipe calls them “Old Fashioned” and they are just that. Perfect base recipe.

They also bake lovely and flat so perfect for decorating! Because of this, you need to be careful to not overfill the cases or they will actually sink. 2/3’s full is the magic number.

113 grams / 1/2 cup  / 1 stick butter, room temp
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk or water
1 teaspoons vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees centigrade.
2. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Measure out the milk or water and vanilla and stir to combine
6. Add all the dry ingredients and mix till just combined.
7. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F/180 degrees centigrade and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.