cooking – Baking with Gab

Fairy bread biscuits and brightness

This week has been a bit of a crazy one! Sydney (just in case you missed it) has been absolutely hammered with rain. Train lines flooded, businesses closed, broken umbrellas were strewn about the city; nothing remained dry.

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It was actually kind of ridiculous. On the second day of ridiculous rain, I decided to bake away the grey. These fairy bread biscuits were the perfect counterbalance to the bleakness. This is such a simple recipe, but it gives such consistent, delicious results. Continue reading “Fairy bread biscuits and brightness”

Chocolate raspberry muffins and familiarity

Chocolate and raspberries are such a familiar combination. One of those things that I always fall back to when I need a fail-proof result. The sweet and tart notes of the raspberries, mixed with the sophistication of the dark chocolate turn out perfect, comforting little bites of homely muffins.

I always have raspberries in my freezer. They’re an easy way to jazz up a dessert, they’re a great addition to a smoothie, and I happily munch on them straight from the freezer sometimes. Actually, the reason I whipped up this recipe was because I needed to finish off my freezer stockpile. Continue reading “Chocolate raspberry muffins and familiarity”

Chocolate tart with raspberry poached pear

It just so happened that I came into a large amount of pears over the weekend. It was like my inheritance came in the form of pears. It was delightful.

The only problem is, pears do not last forever. And there are only so many pears one can eat before they start turn brown and mushy.

So I started brainstorming pear-based recipes. I’ve already blogged about my ridiculous love of pears and the many recipes I include them in, so I needed to think up some more plans. This post was a French-inspired one. I love everything about France. I love the people, I love the accents, I love their gardens, their buildings, their art, their FOOD. Continue reading “Chocolate tart with raspberry poached pear”

Quinoa breakfast cups and gluten thoughts

I’ve been trying to cut back on gluten in my life. Laughable, right? I bake nearly every day and I LOVE gluten. The more I look into gluten free options, the more I realise how hard it is to cut it out of your diet.

I’m not doing too badly – I don’t miss bread as much as I thought I would; I actually have to have a think about the things I put into my body; I’m enjoying the challenge of looking for alternatives.

But I like soy sauce, I like chocolate and lollies, I like oats! But most of all, I like the versatility of flour – it’s in cakes, pastries, cereals, gravies, my mother’s delicious omelette and most of the foods I like to eat. Continue reading “Quinoa breakfast cups and gluten thoughts”

Mini mushroom tarts and lady beetles

A lady beetle was the highlight of my morning.

I opened a bag of baby spinach to put in a breakfast smoothie and she was there. I stared at her for a second, because it’s not what you expect of baby spinach. When you buy unwashed greens you sometimes encounter slugs or a teensy snail, or something equally squeamish…but mainly they’ve just got a little soil clinging to a few leaves.

She was so still and curled up that I assumed she was dead. I contemplated how long this gorgeous little beetle had been alive before she landed on the wrong leaf and was packaged up, shipped and refrigerated. Continue reading “Mini mushroom tarts and lady beetles”

Norman and superstardom

The moment has arrived. The blog is going to take off.

Norman has been immortalised.

He is now bound for superstardom. He will, no doubt, shed me once he’s famous enough to do a solo Norman act. For now I’ll ride on his coattails.

I’m sort of kidding. Norman would never leave me, just as long as I promise to keep feeding him off-cuts of pastry and brushing him so his fur stays unmatted.

And he has been immortalised. Unfortunately it wasn’t because he was scouted on the street and noticed for his handsomeness. I requested he have his likeness made into a cupcake topper. Continue reading “Norman and superstardom”

Peanut butter cups and surprise outcomes

I intended to make something using mint today. Our garden is overgrowing with gorgeous, fragrant mint, and I had every intention of making some choc-mint creation to take advantage of it.

But I didn’t.

I got distracted and I washed Norman (check him out, bathing and being regal post-bath!) and my mint remained untouched. Continue reading “Peanut butter cups and surprise outcomes”

Banana cupcakes and product endorsement

In the last few weeks I’ve been presented with some opportunities to feature various products on Baking with Gab. Some I have simply refused because they don’t suit what the blog is about – others are pretty awesome! In the interest of being completely transparent, I’ll always tell you guys when I’ve been given a product. In saying that, however, I’m really excited to share some of the amazing products with readers! Continue reading “Banana cupcakes and product endorsement”

Domain names and giveaways!

This post is not going to feature any recipes – just a warning.

It will, however, feature a rambling, gushing Gab getting super excited about the way the blog is going. And some free stuff to keep you interested!

And then some T&Cs that I need to include. Continue reading “Domain names and giveaways!”

Edible flowers and trying new foods

My last post featured quite a few edible flowers. Truth be told, not all of those edible flowers needed to be on the cake, but they looked so gorgeous that I couldn’t resist (see the recipe here.) If I had an unlimited supply of blue starflower, johnny jump ups, violets and pineapple sage, I would have only topped the cake with these four.

Unfortunately, all of these flowers are teeny tiny, and it would take a whole lot of them to cover a cake. Also, I purchased a mixed lot of flowers, so I didn’t really have a choice in what went on my cake. Continue reading “Edible flowers and trying new foods”