Chocolate coconut slice and decadence

yumThis slice is not for the faint of heart. It’s not hard to make, despite being split into three parts – the making it is the easy part… the problem is that this slice is decadent and delicious and pretty addictive too. So when you find yourself slicing of a little slither before breakfast, don’t act like I didn’t warn you!

If chocolate was at all appropriate to give to dogs, Norman could have used some of this Floormanslice yesterday. It was super windy here and he was scared. He moped around the house for so long that I had to force him to go outside and be adventurous for ten minutes. He mostly just hid behind shrubs, trees, flowers – whatever he thought might shield him from the wind. He was not a happy pup! Continue reading “Chocolate coconut slice and decadence”

Spooky spider cupcakes and witches

creepinEven though I’ve never trick or treated, or had clusters of kids roaming my streets in dress-ups, I love that there are parts of the world which are neighbourly enough for this to happen! I’ve got some pretty decent neighbours, but I know that there are a few grinches on the street as well… my brothers and I used to think that one elderly woman who lived next door was a witch!!

We’re yet to see evidence to prove us wrong.

She used to hoard our tennis/bouncy/basket/cricket balls when they went over her fence – she’d line them up so that we could see them from the top of our steps, as though goading us into knocking on her front door. Then when we ran out of balls, we’d play scissors, paper, rock to determine who would knock on her door. Continue reading “Spooky spider cupcakes and witches”

Earl grey poached pear muffins and thriftiness

fluffyThese lovely little muffins are gorgeous and packed with floral notes. They’re the perfect afternoon pick-me-up because they’re full of pears and they’ve not got too much butter or sugar in them; the sweetness in the mixture mainly comes from the vanilla bean and the earl grey tea. They’re also great because there is no wastage! You make use of the poaching liquid and the pear peel, so they’re super thrifty! Thriftiness is in at the moment, thank you Macklemore!

I bought my tea from a fabulous little tea supplier I stumbled upon at the Marricvkville organic markets, but you can use whatever type you want. The Ttotaler tea that I used is particularly special because it’s bursting with rose petals, which give the mixture a beautiful fragrance and a pop of colour as well. Continue reading “Earl grey poached pear muffins and thriftiness”

Perfect icing and more unbirthdays!

sliceIf you read the last post, all about the unbirthday party I threw, you would have seen the cake that I posted. I’ve put up the recipe for the the cake before (here), but I haven’t posted the Swiss meringue buttercream recipe for some reason. This buttercream is gorgeously silky in texture and makes your cake look super professional.

This recipe makes enough to generously cover a sandwich cake – it will fill the gap in between the two layers and then cover the cake entirely. Continue reading “Perfect icing and more unbirthdays!”

Speculoos biscuits and travel adventures

stringIn February of this year I was in Belgium. It sounds so far away from where I am at this moment that it’s quite hard to comprehend. Like a lame tourist, I indulged in waffles and ‘frites’ because I believed that was what I was supposed to do. I bought loads of chocolate (some amazing, some disappointing) and generally ignored the fact that my cholesterol was probably going through the roof! But speculoos was a shining beacon of delicious individuality amidst all the tourist trappings. Continue reading “Speculoos biscuits and travel adventures”

Honey and cranberry loaf and baking adventures

butterThis loaf came about a little bit by accident. I had delicious candles that I was given by Cate from Queen B candles and I wanted to use them to complement something that I’d baked. The candles have this faint smell of honey when you light them, so I thought I’d make something honey-based.

(Queen B also writes a blog, it’s lovely to meet fellow bloggers! And Cate’s beautiful beeswax candles can be purchased at http://www.queenb.com.au/)

I’d already posted a recipe for honey jumbles (and they were delicious, check them out here), so that was out of the question. I’d also done honey tea cakes, so I was at a bit of a loss for what to bake. Browsing Pinterest for inspiration, I found this delectable looking bread, which  inspired me to come up with my own! Continue reading “Honey and cranberry loaf and baking adventures”

Scale apron giveaway ends soon!

Norman giveawayHello fellow bakers!

No recipe in this post – just a reminder that my scale apron competition closes at 5pm Sydney time today! Norman has taken a serious liking to it, he would have entered by now if he could! All you have to do to be in the running to win is like Baking with Gab on Facebook, like the most recent post and then email bakingwithgab@gmail.com with the subject “Scale Apron Giveaway” – that’s it!

The apron was donated to me for the giveaway by Ria from Zambella Gifts and Homewares – check out her shop, she has some lovely items!

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Raspberry cupcakes and food obsession

close upMy last post was about giving in to the gym. It’s day four of me signing up to the gym and I’ve been good so far. Except for the fact that I spend my entire life pinning, instagramming and Googling baked goods.

To say I’m obsessed is an understatement. I’m fairly sure I was dreaming about eating these cupcakes last night, because I was awoken by a sharp pain – I’d bitten the inside of my lip hard enough to draw blood!

These gorgeous little cupcakes came about by accident. I was actually trying to create cupcakes with bubblegum icing; the cupcake was supposed to be a platform to raise my glorious bubblegum icing to dizzying sugary heights.

But the icing never really made it. It didn’t taste as bubblegummy as I’ planned (don’t get me wrong, it was delicious, it just wasn’t bubblegum flavoured), but it didn’t matter, because the cupcake outshone it!!

The cupcake is light and airy. It’s delicately fruity and a little bit like eating a raspberry cloud. Or how I imagine that would taste. The icing is sweet and soft, the perfect complement to the raspberry cloud!

biteRaspberry cupcake clouds

Makes 24

  • 120g butter
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup raspberries
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1-2 tsp pink food colouring (optional)

Icing:

  • 50g butter
  • 50g cream cheese
  • ¼ tsp strawberry essence
  • ¼ tsp orange blossom water
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups icing sugar

raspberriesPreheat your oven 180°C and grease a 12 capacity cupcake tin.

Cream your butter and sugar together until pale. Add in your raspberries and blend until smooth. This should take 1-2 minutes to eliminate all of the lumps and bumps. You can leave chunks of raspberry in if you’d like, but I prefer them all mixed in, it makes for a smoother batter.

mixAdd in the teaspoon of vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time.

Scoop your flour into the mixture and mix well, ensuring no pockets of flour remain. Add in the milk and combine.

At this point, the raspberries will have added a slight tinge of pinky-purple to the mixture, so you don’t have to add colouring. If, like me, you can’t resist a pop of colour, add in some pink food colouring!

That’s it! These cupcakes are so simple, but the result is so impressive.

lolliesSpoon the mixture into your prepared cupcake tins and bake for 16-18 minutes.

Once the cupcakes are out of the oven, allow them to cool for ten minutes. While they cool, mix the butter and cream cheese together until there are no lumps and the mixture is pale. Add in the strawberry essence, orange blossom water and vanilla, followed by the icing sugar. Keep blending until all are combined and smooth.

sceneDecorate using a piping bag, or just spoon it onto your cupcakes and smooth with a knife. I added little chewy lollies to the top of mine, but don’t worry if you don’t have any they’re sweet enough without them!

Serve with a strong black cuppa to balance out all of that sugar.

Enjoy!

Nutella fudge and gym memberships

stackBaking with Gab is slowly killing me with buttery, sugary kindness. It’s a good thing!! I’m not complaining, I’ll happily take the ridiculous sugar highs with the lows, and the cravings as simply being a part of the blog. I love baking and I love the satisfaction of creating something delicious and beautiful out of raw ingredients.

It just means that I need to go back to the gym.

I don’t always bake things that are ridiculously bad for you, but I’m not going to pretend that they’re all calorie free. They’re baked and delicious and that’s all I care about! I haven’t been in a gym for about two years, but I figure that Baking With Gab is going to be a long-term thing, so I need to start looking after my body a bit more. I’m  having a seven day trial, and then most likely signing up.  Continue reading “Nutella fudge and gym memberships”

Choc coconut bites and election day

croppedIt’s election day in Australia! At some point I have to tear myself away from baking and vote, but for the moment I’m busying myself making peanut butter cupcakes for a friend’s housewarming! That recipe will be posted tomorrow – get excited!

These glorious little coconutty bites are moist and crumbly in perfect proportions. With only six ingredients, they’re the perfect morsel to throw together when you have people drop in unexpectedly, or when you want to make something fun and nutritious for the kids. Continue reading “Choc coconut bites and election day”