Paris Party Cakes & Cookies

Today I'm going to share with you how to create beautiful (deceptively simple  and gorgeous) cakes and cookies for a Paris Party. Last year's Café de Paris 11th birthday party was one of our best ever. It was fabulously gorgeous AND fun. I'm going to deliver the final installment on how to recreate this party by sharing with you how to make the Rosette Birthday Cake, the Eiffel Tower cupcakes and the gorgeous Café de Paris Cookies.

This is a post for beginners. If that sounds like you - this how-to post is for you. If I can do it, so can you (with the right equipment).
Pulling off these creations is totally doable by amateurs like me, as you will see. No need to spend gazillions on professionally-created delicacies in order to pull off a pin-worthy scrumptious party. Invest the moolah you'd otherwise spend in getting a few cake decorating essentials for yourself, that you can use again and again, year after year.
I am far from an expert cake decorator. My hand shakes and my rosettes are a bit wobbly, but the overall effect was amazing when it all came together. Read on, dear amateur cake maker - you can do this!

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Allergy-Friendly Chocolate Cake (that Actually Tastes Good)

Last week I hosted a wee last minute birthday surprise for a dear friend, who was right in the middle of a "Daniel Fast" - three weeks of eating nothing but vegan food, but with the added complicated of no gluten, no sugar, no caffeine and no alcohol. Awesome time to have a birthday, right? Not.
To put it plainly my friend had pretty much resigned herself to not celebrating her birthday, because, how?

A birthday with raw nuts, fruit and veg. I mean, not even a birthday cake?

We couldn't have that.

I remembered my clever friend Delissimon's amazingly easy, egg-and-dairy free chocolate fudge cake that I've made on a number of occasions, and decided to try and adapt that, to make it completely Daniel Fast friendly. thereby supplying my fasting friend with a birthday cake that sat within "the rules" of her fast.
Even after messing with the recipe to replace sugar with coconut sugar etc, it still tasted like a chocolate cake should - light, fudgey, rich and a wee bit decadent. The verdict from the birthday girl was a big thumbs up.

After posting photos on Instagram, I had a bunch of requests for the recipe, so I decided to share my version of it with my adaptations to make it everything-free.
This version used decaf coffee instead of plain water which gave it a rich fudgey flavour. As well as tasting great and being allergy friendly, it's ridiculously easy to make.

Here it is:

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Honey Roasted Pear Salad (the best you've ever eaten)

This salad I am about to share with you is hands-down the yummiest salad I've ever eaten. It's better than any I've tried at any restaurant, it's so yummy it makes me want to eat a whole bowlful, all by itself. I am not usually a huge salad fan, to be honest, but this salad? This one has me reaching for seconds.
And I invented it.

It happened one Thursday when I was cooking for my parents' weekly dinner; I'd planned steak with mushrooms, baked potatoes and salad, but when I reached into the fridge the tomatoes had gone soft and squishy. There was, however, a lone pear. And that gave me an idea. I'd heard of pears being used in salads, and I reckoned if I roasted this one, it would taste better.

The rest is salad history, set to the sound-track of much delighted groaning and guests exclaiming, "BEST SALAD WE'VE EVER TASTED".

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Easy Gluten-Free Scones (that aren't like bricks at all)

I am excited to share this recipe with you today - gluten free scones that are soft, fluffy, delicious and completely un-bricklike!

I've attempted a gluten-free version of my regular scone recipe before and they were VERY brick-like. Hard, crumbly, ugh. I had given up on ever being able to serve up scones that were gluten-free AND edible.

So yesterday when I invited my mum and dad over for afternoon-tea scones-with-cream-n-jam (and then remembered that they can't have gluten!) I turned to my friend and ally, Google....

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Cooking Together is Very Entertaining

It's an idea we'd thought of before, cooking together. One Christmas I even bought the husband "Jamie's 30-Minute Meals". It was always something we thought we might enjoy, but not something we ever got round to.
Until my ever-practical counselor suggested it as a way for us to connect more.
See, in the ever-crazy busy-ness of life we were too often passing each other like ships in the night, our opposite personalities, different ways of relaxing and seldom-intersecting schedules meaning that too often we would only talk deeply when the crap hit the fan. Anyone else know what I'm talking about?
What the engine of our marriage needed was some regular interaction, a shared activity that would bring us together to just hang out on regular basis. Something do-able. Something that wouldn't end up in the too-hard basket. And something we would both enjoy.

Like cooking together.

[Tapas is all about little bites - this is lamb balls, marinated anchovies with tomatoes and olives with dips]

When I ran the idea past the husband he was all for it. Like I said, it's something we've wanted to try for ages but never got around to it.
The husband is pretty useful in the kitchen, with a number of go-to recipes he can whip up when needed, but he was keen to expand his repertoire.
Meanwhile, I was bored to tears with churning out the same tried-and-true dinners on rotation. Sure they were easy, but it would be cool to try new stuff and expand the pool of quick and easy meal options I could call on.

[What Jamie calls a Potato "tortilla" - it's really like a frittata - pan-fried potato cubes with fennel seeds, rosemary, garlic and egg]

And in the past whenever hubby and I managed to work together on a project, we've found it very rewarding, so this was a win-win proposition, in theory. Now it just had to be DONE.

The first week I scoured Jamie's 30-Minute Meals book looking for something that would be fun to cook, not tooooo challenging and something the kids would eat (two out of three of our bunch are super-fussy, and very nervous about trying anything new).

[Sticky Glazed chorizo with the cured meats and cheese platter]

The best option looked like Jamie's Tapas Feast, mixed and matched with a few substitutes from other meals that looked simple enough. Yummy - and hopefully fun to create.

• Cured meats & cheese platter drizzled with honey and ground coffee (!!!)
• DIY anchovy skewers with cherry tomatoes, lemon and thyme
• Sticky chorizo sausage and ciabatta bread
• a Potato "tortilla" with fennel seeds and rosemary
• roasted peppers with Brie
• Minted Lamb balls
• Dips and Spanish olives
• rocket with herbs
• Sliced oranges in chilled sparkling water and Sangria to drink

I figured we should be brave and invite some guests to join us. Saturday night was the appointed time. The ingredients were bought, the brave guests confirmed.

Meanwhile, I was having trouble pinning down my cooking partner as he rushed from one appointment to another, a fifty K cycle to the gym. The husband never sits still (unlike his couch-potato wife, moi).

The conversation would go like this:

Me (waving Jamie's book): "Babe have you got a sec to go through these recipes with me so we know what we need to do on Saturday?"

Him (rushing out the door wearing lycra): "yeah, yeah, I'll get to it, I trust you, just whatever...."

[I wound jute twine around the necks of jars to give a rustic feel]

Saturday dawned, another crazy day of sport and taxiing kids. Come 4pm, we still had not sat down to discuss our menu plans. I began setting the table, rigging up candles in jars, setting the atmosphere.

Where was my cooking buddy? He ended up racing out to get some drinks and the olives I'd forgotten, so I ended up glazing chorizo and roasting fennel seeds alone.

He came back just in to light the candles and save my hanging jar display from falling on our guests' heads. I cooked alone.

The meal was superb, the guests AND kids enjoyed it immensely but I cooked it alone.

[Our friends Gail & Mark came with their kids - who loudly enjoyed the the Tapas feast]

But don't worry I wasn't going to let my cooking partner off that easily. We teased him and got smart about me doing it all alone, and he tried to plead his case ("But you did it so well! This is amazing! you're so good at it!"). Not the point buddy! We're doing this TOGETHER. And there's always next week...

I was not put off. We were going to DO this. TOGETHER. And to make sure I got complete buy-in I asked him to tell me what HE wanted to have a go cooking next time.

Toad-in-the-Hole, he said. That classic English pub dinner of sausages baked in batter.

Righto, you're on, pal.

I searched online and found Jamie's Toad-in-the-Hole recipe. We booked in another round of brave guests to experiment on (it's always more fun with others to share the culinary adventure) and through the week I kept reminding my cooking pal that THIS TIME WE'RE DOING IT TOGETHER.

This time, he did not shirk...

He sprinkled cinnamon, pinched pastry and whisked eggs. He zested oranges and wrangled sausages into hot oil. (He DID question Jamie's wisdom about having a whole CENTIMETRE of vegetable to cook the batter in, but I assured him Jamie knew best).

[Traditional English Toad in the Hole]

Our Toad-in-the-Hole turned out perfectly. Two roasting trays filled with the best Westmere Butchery beef-and-Guinness sausages and melt-in-your mouth Yorkshire pudding batter, delicately flavoured with rosemary. Mmmmmhmmmmm.

[Our brave friends Carla and Bonnar seemed to enjoy their classic English pub fare, as created by us]

We served this English classic to our guests and our kids, with onion gravy, mashed potatoes and peas (your choice of mushy or non-mushy). Classic English pub fare, proudly created by me and my hubby working TOGETHER to feed two hungry families on a wet and wild Saturday night.

For dessert we made Jamie's "Quick Portuguese Tarts" (cinnamon infused pastry shells, filled with zesty custard and topped with homemade caramel). So delish!

It was better than any restaurant. The kids came, ate and then went off to play, while we got to hang out with our (very appreciative) friends, feeling proud that we did it. Together. There was no teasing the husband for leaving it all up to me this time!

I really think we are going to keep doing this on a Saturday night. It means one less night eating takeaways. It means we plan ahead and invite friends to join us, which results in us being more social; our kids get to hang with their friends and so do we. And best of all - we are having fun and connecting while working on creating something together.

Next week we're cooking Italian, and attempting a Tiramisu, among other things. Another family of brave food-testers will be joining us. Can't wait.

LINKS:

• My Recipe Page
• Jamie's Tapas Feast
• Jamie's Toad-in-the-Hole recipe (we doubled the amounts to feed two families)
• Jamie's "Quick Portuguese Tarts"

Mmmmmmmuffins! Feijoa & Cream Cheese (gluten free)

Yesterday I had a hankering for feijoa muffins, which is weird because I'm not usually a fan of feijoas - at least not in their natural state. But something about the sharp tangy-ness of them in a muffin had me dreaming of baking a batch all afternoon, until at 3 o'clock school pickup time I could stand it no more, and googled myself a recipe.

When this one for feijoa and cream cheese muffins popped up, it sounded perfect - nice and simple, plus I had all the ingredients. Most importantly I had a tree full of feijoas wasting away.

After sending out Scrag to gather the necessary fruit from the backyard (in gumboots to avoid feijoas getting squished between his toes) I road tested the recipe. I've made a few simplifications and adjustments and I've used gluten-free baking mix instead of standard flour (if you don't need gluten free, just go ahead and use regular plain flour).

Here's the recipe, perfect for using all those feijoas that are lying around getting squished underfoot, a delicious Kiwi taste of autumn...

FEIJOA AND CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS (GLUTEN FREE)

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of feijoa pulp
1/2 cup of caster sugar (fine grained)
75g of melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of sour cream OR plain yoghurt
the zest and juice of one lemon
2 cups of all-purpose gluten free baking mix (or plain flour)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

125g of cream cheese (small pottle)

METHOD:

1. Send a small child out to pick up a bowl full of feijoas. Slice each feijoa in half, scoop out the flesh, repeat until you have a cupful in a mixing bowl. Smoosh the flesh with a wooden spoon (pound on it til it's nice and slushy).
2. Heat the oven to 200°C.
3. Add the sugar and melted butter to the smooshed feijoas. Mix well.
4. Whisk together eggs, sour cream (or yoghurt) and lemon zest+juice. Combine with the feijoa mixture.
5. Sift in GF flour, baking powder and cinnamon until just combined. (Don't overmix or muffins will be rock-like!)
6. Spoon the mixture into greased or lined muffin tins (I use silicone). 
7. Plop a teaspoonful of cream cheese into the top of each muffin. Push it in a little. ***If you have no cream cheese sprinkle the tops of your muffins with brown sugar instead***
8. Bake for 20 minutes, then enjoy them warm from the oven with a cuppa on a cool autumn day. 

Mmmmmmm. Very satisfying and delicious!

This recipe made 18 muffins - enough for all of us to enjoy as a treat for afternoon tea, dessert AND lunchboxes the next day, with more left over. (As I type this I've been munching on one for my morning tea).


(original recipe found here)

• More favourite tried and tested recipes

How to Make Your Own Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Milk

 Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Milk has been a bit of a sensation here in NZ hasn't it? Supermarkets can't keep up with the demand; as soon as they get stock in, it sells out. People have queued for hours to get a bottle of the stuff!

Why all the fuss? Well, it IS yummy (I know cos I've tried it. I spotted it in the drinks fridge at Petite Kitchen's cafe). Yep, it's good. Mostly I think it's gotten famous because there's almost nothing to it. No preservatives, no nasties. Just whole organic milk and the best chocolate in the world - Whittakers.

Anyhoo, the other day Dash was home from school and we were out getting stuff at the supermarket and he said, "Hey mum can I get some of that famous chocolate milk to try?"

Of course they were sold out. Of course they were.
But they did have plenty of the plain white stuff in stock.
Which gave me an idea - the famous chocolate milk is meant to be just Whittakers Chocolate in Lewis Road Creamery Milk, so why not make my own?

I did, and here's how you can make your own too. Queueing be damned!

Make your Own Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Milk

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 750ml bottle of Lewis Road Creamery whole milk*
• 1 x block (or share pack) of Whittakers Milk Chocolate

*(or some other whole/organic/unpasteurised milk if you can't get Lewis Road Creamery Milk where you are)

METHOD

• Pour the milk into a small saucepan and place on the stove, on a medium heat; stir (or find an assistant stirrer).
• Break up the chocolate into smallish chunks and add to the milk; keep stirring. (You can vary the amount of chocolate according to taste; half a block will give a pleasant chocolaty flavour, a whole block is like drinking liquid gold)
• The chocolate will begin to melt into the milk; keep on stirring.
• When all the chocolate is melted into the milk remove saucepan from the heat. **Do not allow to come to the boil**

Now you have two options:

1. Drink it warm (it will slip down like silken liquid chocolate, warming the cockles of your heart) OR
2. Pour it into a suitable container, chill in the fridge and sip it cold on a hot day.

Either way it's GOOD.

[We poured our homemade brew back into the milk bottle and chilled it in the fridge]

Let me know if you give it a go!

OTHER FAVOURITE DRINKIES

• Old Fashioned Lemonade
• Sangria for Young and Old
• Easy Eggnog
• Green Tea fruit Punch - Delicious Fizzy & Sugar Free

Sugar Free | Delicious Green Tea Fruit Punch

A few people have asked for my recipe for delicious sugar-free green-tea fruit punch.  So although I have included the recipe in my various impromptu party posts, I thought I'd single it out for some special attention and give it a post of it's own.

I invented this concoction myself, and it has been guzzled with glee by kids and adults alike. The drink is light, refreshing and - dare I say it - good for you.

It's a great alternative to fizzy drinks at birthday parties, satisfying the little people's desire for something fizzy while satisfying the concerned mamas' need avoid their littlies bouncing off the walls. The use is not limited to parties OR children though,  oh no.

This is the perfect light refresher to serve chilled on a hot summer's day, any day of the week. You can serve it up at barbeques, at lunch, or sip it as you're reading in a sunshine-dappled hammock, with a gentle breeze wafting through... (we can but dream).

Without further ado, here's the recipe for my Green Tea Fruit punch - in two versions Berry and Apple. Feel free to adapt, add your own flavours, get creative and ENJOY!

Berry Fizz (green tea punch with a berry infusion)

BERRY PUNCH BASE:
1 litre of boiling water
4 green tea teabags
zest and juice of one lemon
1 cup of frozen berries
Two tablespoons of runny honey.

First dissolve the honey in the boiling water; then add the green teabags, lemon and berries and steep overnight in the fridge.
The next day strain your punch base into a drink dispenser (or large jug) and add 1 litre of sugar-free berry fruit juice (e.g. "Juice Juice" Strawberry & Kiwifruit or Blackcurrant & Apple)
Add 3 litres of chilled soda water and voila - a delicious healthy fizzy drink.
So light and delicious, with no artificial colours or flavours and refined sugar free.

(NOTE: Never put berries in the drink dispenser as a pretty garnish. They clog it up and force you to ladle out the fairy fizz with a scoop! Gah).

Apple Fizz (Green tea punch with an apple infusion)

APPLE PUNCH BASE:
1 litre of boiling water
4 green tea teabags
zest and juice of one lemon
1 large grated apple
Two tablespoons of runny honey.

First dissolve the honey in the boiling water; then add the green teabags, lemon and apple and steep overnight in the fridge.
The next day strain your punch base into a drink dispenser (or large jug) and add 1 litre of sugar-free apple juice (e.g. Just Juice which has no added sugar).
Add 3 litres of chilled soda water and serve.

OPTIONAL: Add a drop or two of natural green food colouring for a green-tinted drink; perfect at Star Wars parties as Yoda Soda and the like.

..............

OTHER FAVOURITE PARTY DRINKS:

Old Fashioned Lemonade

Sangria for Young and Old

Easy Eggnog

Delicious Cakes (Sugar-Free and Good for You!)

It's been roughly six weeks since we took the plunge and went (mostly) sugar-free.
Can I just say two things about that:
1. I have NEVER EVER successfully followed through on changing my diet before I did this
2. It has been easier - and more enjoyable - than I ever imagined

In case you're new round here, you should know that I am the self-confessed Lazy Mother who always looks for the shortcuts, and despite all appearances (i.e. my party posts) I have never thought of myself as a baker. Or a cook. Or anything else which required too much time in the kitchen on a regular basis.
True story.

But all that is changing. And I have never baked so much.
Never have my kids had such interesting, healthy lunchboxes on a consistent basis (which, might I add, they are still making themselves.) They are short on processed crap and filled with stuff like unflavoured milk, strawberries, pistachios, lemon-dipped carrot sticks, chicken salad sandwiches on grainy bread, and plain yoghurt flavoured with (homemade) berry coulis.

John Campbell's lunchbox nazi would find little to complain about here.

But best of all are the cakes. The Cakes. The CAKES.
Mostly from Petite Kitchen, my new favourite cooking-gal. I even bought the recipe book.

I have made these recipes more than once, sending multiple guests reeling in astonishment when I revealed that these drool-worthy delights are not only gluten-free but sugar-free too.

They are SIMPLE to make, and delicious to eat, as well as being so good for you.

First up, my version of Petite Kitchen's Simple Almond Cake.

Orange Almond Cake With Berries Gluten free and Sugar free

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of ground almonds
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup of runny honey
• 60g butter (melted)*
• the zest of one large orange
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder

Preheat the oven to 160oC (not fan bake). Beat all ingredients together until smooth then pour batter into a round cake tin lined with baking paper. Sprinkle over the top:

• half a cup of frozen blueberries (or mixed berries)

Bake for 25 minutes or until the top of the cake feels firm when lightly pressed.

Serve with homemade berry coulis and plain yoghurt (with just a dash of added honey)

Soooo good.

This next recipe would have been tricky to execute if I hadn't recieved, that very day, a special delivery from one of the companies my hubby does business for. See, I haven't had a food processor since I melted our old one in the dodgey dishwasher. I've been making do with a hand-held electric beater and a bit of elbow grease. But since hubby's points earned me this new kitchen Whizz, I now have a MACHINE to do all the heavy lifting. (for meeeeee, for freeeeeee).

This cake is to die for, and with my new magical Whizzer, so simple too. Truly.

So without further ado, here's my version of Petite Kitchen's Decadent Raspberry Torte.

Decadent Raspberry Chocolate Torte Gluten free and Sugar free

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup of runny honey
• 60g butter*
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dessicated coconut
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda

Preheat the oven to 150oC (not fan bake). In your (shiny new) food processor, whizz the frozen raspberries until they are as smooth as you can get them.

Melt the honey and butter together in the microwave and once melted, whisk together lightly before adding to the raspberries; add the rest of the ingredients and whizz together in the magical whizzer. Wahoo!

Pour batter into a lined cake tin and bake for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed.

Then enjoy with a friend, with a little coulis on the side and some honey-tinted yoghurt. 

Don't even bother to feel guilty, because it's ALL GOOD FOR YOU.

*To make dairy free substitute butter with 1/4 cup of coconut oil.

Easy Berry Coulis

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of frozen berries
1/8 cup of water
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice (about half a lemon's worth)
2 Tablespoons of honey

Put all the ingredients in a pot, simmer on a low heat, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and squishy. Now you can either serve as is, with berry bits (a simple berry sauce) or you can turn it into a "coulis" by mashing it through a sieve and discarding all the seeds and pulp.

Add it to plain yoghurt in place of those awful sugar-loaded pottles your kids have been guzzling that you used to think were healthy til you knew better. They will love it, trust me.

OTHER POSTS FROM MY SUGAR FREE QUEST

• Going Sugar Free (Thanks Nigel Latta!)
• Going Sugar Free- Mission Progress Update
• Blueberry Honey Muffins (refined sugar free)
• Spiced Carrot Muffins w. cream Cheese topping (sugar free)

An InLinkz Link-up

Sugar-Free Spiced Carrot Muffins (Super-Moist & Delish)

Sorry to overload you with my sugar-free excitement, but I just had to share this delicious recipe for spiced carrot muffins with y'all.
This recipe is a winner on all counts: The muffins are easy to make, they are full of goodness and have no nasties, they are moist and delicious -  even the next day - and were gobbled up and raved about by those fussiest of food critics - my kids.

These muffins are refined sugar free (sweetened with honey) and even have an optional delicious cream cheese topping with no sugar.

I adapted the recipe from one for healthy carrot cake on Sugar and Cinnamon Blog, which was shared with me by a reader. I didn't have a few of the ingredients and I'm trying to make my baking gluten free where possible, so I substituted a few ingredients and these babies are the result.

I promise you will love them. xx

Sugar Free Spiced Carrot Muffins (with cream cheese topping)
adapted from recipe found here

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of runny honey
3/4 cup yoghurt
2 eggs
the zest of an orange
1/2 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of oats
1+1/2 cups of grated carrot
half a teaspoon each of: cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of mixed spice

METHOD

• Beat the eggs until they are pale and fluffy, then mix in the wet ingredients (honey and yoghurt)
• Stir in orange zest, spices, carrot, flour and oats until just combined
• Place spoonfuls of mixture into muffin tins lined with cupcake papers or silicon baking cups
• Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180oC  or until firm and golden.
• Makes approximately 18 muffins

TOPPING (optional)

250g pottle of cream cheese

juice of half an orange

2 teaspoons of runny honey to sweeten

Whizz together the ingredients then spoon onto muffins once they have completely cooled. (This mixture is a little bit runny due to the addition of the orange juice, so you may prefer to use zest instead for a stiffer, thicker topping.)

Store muffins in an airtight container and pop them into lunchboxes for a healthy delicious treat that your fussy kids will not turn their noses up at. (They are still yummy without the topping and are less messy, so you might want to keep a few muffins plain for this purpose).

OTHER POSTS FROM MY SUGAR FREE QUEST

• Going Sugar Free (Thanks Nigel Latta)
• Our Sugar Free Mission Progress

An InLinkz Link-up

Unbelievable Sugar-Free BlueBerry Muffins (for brunch)

So today I took my own advice, inviting a friend for brunch (and madly doing a cleaning spree in honour of her arrival).

Some of you are blessed to know my friend Sammy; we go back a long way - pre-blogs, pre-kids - so even though we live a fair distance apart and our paths no longer cross naturally, we are making a conscious effort to stay connected and book in regular hang-out time.

[Sammy and "Grace" - my Friday morning brunch date]

It's important to do that, when you have a friendship that spans the years, heartbreaks, triumphs and shared history. It would be easy to let a valuable friendship drift into obscurity, but Sammy and I have determined to MAKE TIME and space for each other, which is so so awesome.

At our last coffee date I promised to make her brunch (she'd seen how I made brunch for Deb, and was keen to have her turn; it might become "my thing").

[The juice is a new flavour from Just juice: Kiwifruit and strawberry = YUMMO]

Day before yesterday I get a text, "Oh and I better let you know that I'm gluten free and sugar free! Haha!"
Oops, so no waffles then. Omelettes are go, but what about something desserty? To nibble on while sipping coffee?

Google Search to the rescue. After a few false starts, I landed on a blog, "Gluten Free with LB", and found a nice simple recipe that seemed to fit the bill.

With just a few substitutions I was able to whip up a batch of THE MOST DELICIOUS honey-and-blueberry muffins. Sooooooo good, healthy AND delicious, I just had to share the recipe with you all, so you can make them for your guests (the ones you invite over to motivate yourself to get tidying, remember?)

The muffins were a hit, as was the (oops slightly burnt) omelette and we thoroughly enjoyed our catchup (even venturing into politics, as you do). Next time I'm going to Sammy's house.

Blueberry Honey Muffins (SUGAR & GLUTEN FREE)
Original Recipe found here

3/4 Cup of gluten free all-purpose flour
1/3 Cup of Rolled Oats*
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Yoghurt
1/3 Cup melted Honey
30grams(2 Tablespoons) melted Butter
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup frozen berries

[OPTIONAL CRUMBLE TOPPING]
1 tablespoon melted honey
1/4 cup oats*
Pinch of salt


METHOD:

• Preheat your oven to 180oC.
• Combine all the ingredients until just combined; add the blueberries last.
• Spoon mixture into lined muffin tins and sprinkle over crumble topping.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and set.
• Makes six largish muffins (perfect to serve for morning tea with a friend or two)

*OATS: Most Oats are not truly gluten-free as traces remain from the processing/harvesting methods, therefore if you are coeliac and cannot tolerate traces of gluten, you should substitute dessicated coconut for the rolled oats and use chopped walnuts (or similar) in the crumble topping.

So.... who's next for brunch???!

• My Favourite Recipes Page 

How to Make a Sleepover Birthday Cake (step-by-step)

Right now I'm feeling so proud of myself that I just couldn't wait to share this creation with you all. I've wanted to have a go at making one of those "heads in the bed" cakes for a sleepover party like, forever. This morning I began with a plain, round, white layer cake. Within a couple of hours it had been turned into the cutest sleepover cake ever, complete with bed, quilt and six little sleeping beauties.

Here's my Sleepover Birthday Cake, with step-by step instructions.

First, start with your favourite cake recipe as a base. The birthday girl requested "a vanilla cake with white icing, please", so I used Meredy's easy vanilla cake recipe, and made a double mixture, baked in two layers in a greased springform cake tin.

MEREDY'S EASY VANILLA CAKE

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 125g butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Throw all ingredients in a bowl and beat on medium for five minutes. bake at 180oC for approx 30 minutes (or until cake springs back when lightly touched)

Once the cake has cooled spread with white buttercream between the layers and all over the cake.

I made my life super easy by asking in the bakery department of my local supermarket if they would sell me half a kilo of "mock cream" (a.k.a. buttercream). They were more than happy to oblige and even put it into a piping bag, charging me just $1.50 for the lot! It saved me time and money, and helped me avoid my least favourite task - beating butter to within an inch of its life.

For the "bed" base I baked my favourite easy peasy brownie, and split it in half once it cooled.
Smother the bed base with a bit more of that white buttercream.

(The extra half of the brownie has been cut up into chunks for our sleepover dessert bar).

Next we begin on the bed details. To create the "bodies in the bed" I used chocolate finger biscuits. there will be six girls at the sleepover, so we lay out six biscuits "bodies".

To make the "pillows" I slice white Mr Mallow marshmallows in half, lengthwise. These are the perfect shape for pillows, once we cut them down a bit.

Now we make the heads...

Use white fondant (available from any supermarket in a packet), and add colour by working it in with our fingers. It's just like playing with playdough, truly.

Once you've mixed your colours (see the graphic for details) pinch a bit of fondant and roll it between your palms until you have a nice round ball. Do this for each of the "heads".

For the hair, break off a bit of the hair colour and pinch it between your fingers into a round-ish shape (you don't want it took perfect looking). Wrap each piece of hair around the "head" ball as shown in the picture. It's actually really easy to do! (I figured it out while giving it a go today; much easier than I thought it would be).

Now we lay out our heads on the bed...

Next, we make the blankets.

First, The Quilt.
Break off a largish piece of white fondant and rub it between your palms to make a sausage shape. Now roll it out using a rolling pin. To avoid the fondant sticking to your surface or your rolling pin, sprinkle some icing sugar on both surfaces..

Once your fondant is rolled out nicely, trim one edge off nice and square with a sharp knife (this is the top of your quilt) but you can leave the other edges wavy (they look nice once draped on your "bed").

Mark the quilt squares by laying down a metal skewer and pressing lightly to form a grid pattern.
Carefully move your fondant quilt to a flat plate or board "floured" with icing sugar (so the fondant doesn't stick). You can now start colouring in the quilt.

I used my edible metallic liquid paint pens from KiwiCakes to colour in the squares in a random pattern, sticking to soft colours (pastel lilac, pink, baby blue, light gold and pearlescant white), but alternatively you could paint food colouring on with a brush.

So pretty. See how that grid pattern gives it a slight 3-D quilted effect?
Before placing your quilt on the bed, first make a "top sheet" by rolling out another piece of white fondant. It needs one nice sharp edge, but doesn't need to cover the whole bed as only the folded top will be seen.

Place your "sheet" on the bed, half covering the heads. It will be folded back in just a moment...

Now carefully drape your "quilt" over the bed and fold back the top sheet. Isn't that grand?



Time to make the headboard.
This was ridiculously easy. I used chocolate covered wafers (Pams brand) and some more of those chocolate fingers for the posts...

Simply cut the wafers to size and then poke them into the cake. Easy peasy.

Around the sides of the cake I scattered fondant stars, coloured with the same edible liquid pens as the quilt...

Now all that remains is to add faces onto the heads...

To do this, simply dip a non-toxic pencil into black food colouring and draw eyes and mouth - much better control than with a brush.

You should have seen Miss Fab's face when she came home to find this birthday cake waiting for her. There was squealing (and fake fainting).

I think this is quite possibly my BEST BIRTHDAY CAKE EVER.

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