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!”

Lime and raspberry cupcakes and unbirthdays

scene (416x640)I know too many people who were born in the last three months of the year, October is particularly packed. Lots of people, including the Boy, must be celebrated in such proximity to one another that I decided to throw another unbirthday party. It’s not that I dislike birthdays (quite the opposite, actually), it’s just there are not enough days to celebrate people properly!

The last unbirthday party I threw was mainly for one person, whereas this one was aimed at three people. It is worth noting that anyone can claim an unbirthday – as long as their birthday doesn’t fall on the say that it is celebrated!

I feel as though I’m becoming a bit of an unbirthday expert…

please

 

Norman, meanwhile, is an expert unbirthday crasher. He’s got his puppy dog eyes look sorted!
Continue reading “Lime and raspberry cupcakes and unbirthdays”

Birthday recap and jam ramblings

frameI spoke about preparing for the Boy’s birthday last post. The melting moments were sent off to his work (and Instagrammed by me, obviously) and thoroughly enjoyed by his work mates. I was informed that the vanilla melting moments were better than the chocolate – the chocolate ones are too cakey, you need a glass of milk to accompany them. Duly noted!

saladThis post is just a catch up of his birthday – which means no recipe, sorry friends! The boy requested salad and a sponge cake for his birthday meal and I’m fine with doing salads, it’s the sponge that irritates me. I can whip up multi-layered cakes without too much fuss, but sponges leave me stumped for some reason. Continue reading “Birthday recap and jam ramblings”

Chocolate melting moments and birthdays

stackIt’s the Boy’s birthday tomorrow. Every year I labour over what to buy him – whether he will like this gadget, or approve of that shirt. This year, I’ve gone for something different. He has far too many gadgets and says he doesn’t need any more shirts, so I’ve gone for something completely, outrageously odd. If I had to title it, I would call it “for the man who has everything.” I love it, so I hope he does too. Keep an eye on the blog, I may post pictures of it if he approves!

Being unemployed and slightly short of money, the majority of my present is going to come to him in the form of food. He wants a big salad for dinner and a sponge cake for his birthday cake.

I don’t love making sponge cakes, I find them temperamental and disobedient…he says he doesn’t mind if I don’t make a sponge though, he knows how much I enjoy making deliciously dense chocolate cakes! Continue reading “Chocolate melting moments and birthdays”

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”

Home made sprinkles and excitement

glassI can’t believe I’ve not posted this recipe sooner. I was so excited about these sprinkles when I made them – I Instagrammed them, I gave people a sneak peak on Facebook, and I used them as soon as physically possible on my caramel doughnut cake.

And then I just forgot to share them with you!! My apologies, dear readers.

I can’t take credit for the idea (as much as I would love to!)…I got the idea from Pinterest, which directed me to I Am Baker, who had a tutorial up for home made sprinkles. I modified the recipe slightly to suit me – and they are so easy!! Continue reading “Home made sprinkles and excitement”

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”