how to – Page 2 – Baking with Gab

Ginger spice cake and excitement

above slice The closer it gets to Christmas, the more excited I get. The more excited I get, the more I crave clichéd Christmas foods – give me pudding and rich spiced cakes, mince pies and roasts. It’s funny that Australians indulge in Christmas foods inspired by their northern hemisphere counterparts. Even though Christmas day can be stinking hot, we still want to have delicious cooking smells filling the house.

Christmas day is supposed to be humid and rainy this year, but that’s not going to stop me. Continue reading “Ginger spice cake and excitement”

Choc hazelnut biscotti and Christmas food

The first time I ever tried biscotti was when it was brought home as a gift. One of the great things about having teachers for parents is that holidays always mean gifts. My dad would come home laden with Ferrer Rochers and Favourites gift packs, while my mum was gifted tea cups – my brothers and I took great delight in teasing them, trying to gauge who was the better teacher based on the volume of presents that they received. Continue reading “Choc hazelnut biscotti and Christmas food”

Choc cinnamon Christmas cake and delight

This cake is delightful. It’s festive and delicious – what more could you ask for over Christmas?

For those of you who aren’t big on fruit cakes (my mother being one of those people) it’s handy to have an alternative. If you forgot to start soaking your dried fruit weeks ago, or you’re just not that keen on hanging a pudding in your garage for months on end, this is the cake for you.

It can be made the day before, or even Christmas day and it is just as festive as my dad’s Christmas pudding or caramel-filled cinnamon men.

I have no better segue to introduce Miss Daisy than to compare her to this cake – she is also delightful. She is deliciously cheeky, excitable, and so tiny that she makes the handsome Norman look rather imposing (hah!) Continue reading “Choc cinnamon Christmas cake and delight”

Fruit bruschetta and Christmas recipes

I love Christmas. I can’t even wait until December to start posting recipes, I cannot contain myself!! A few weeks ago I was sent some bunting by Louise at Illume Designs, and I have been wriggling with excitement about Christmas ever since! I’ll use anything as an excuse to put up bunting, but metallic chevron bunting just seems so festive and Christmas appropriate!

So I’ve spent the past few weeks brainstorming Christmas recipes. And Pinterest has not been short of inspiration. Continue reading “Fruit bruschetta and Christmas recipes”

Chocolate caramel yay pie and new things

This pie is a little break from the ordinary for me – in any chocolate caramel dessert I make, the chocolate tops the caramel. Not in terms of taste, but in terms of positioning. Take my favourite caramel slice, for example, or my mini caramel egg brownies.

In the interest of chocolate-caramel equality, I thought that I’d switch things up a bit.

Anything combining chocolate and caramel is a winner for me – they’re both things that make me celebrate internally. As I combined these two dashing layers of deliciousness with the sweet, vanilla-laden pastry, all I was thinking was “yay, pie!” Continue reading “Chocolate caramel yay pie and new things”

Halloween recipes and squeamishness

I don’t rate horror movies. I’m a massive wimp. I startle easily and I make involuntary “eeps” when frightened. I don’t like doors slamming themslevs, and I’m awful at being home alone.

So Halloween is not really my thing. I don’t delight in gore. In fact, I’m almost the complete opposite of everything Halloween-y. Continue reading “Halloween recipes and squeamishness”

Chocolate pumpkin bundt and a cute Halloween

You’ve all seen how much I love bundt. I recently wrote about my love of mini tarts as well. My love of all things miniature doesn’t end there, though. Norman is testament to this! My older brother claims that Norman isn’t a real dog, and sometimes we joke that a few Normans stacked on top of one another would equal a “regular” dog. But I wouldn’t have him any other way. I just adore down sized versions of things! Continue reading “Chocolate pumpkin bundt and a cute Halloween “

Australian Halloween and pumpkin puree

Halloween was never big in Australia. Growing up, my parents didn’t even acknowledge it! Since starting the blog I’ve tried to overcome this ingrained notion of Halloween not being Australian, because, let’s face it, I’ll take any opportunity to bake.

But before I share some recipes that I consider traditional Halloween fare, I need to have a whinge: SO MANY of the recipes that I find on Pinterest, FoodGawker, etc, need tinned pumpkin or similar. Continue reading “Australian Halloween and pumpkin puree”

The Boy’s Nutella birthday cake and 4WDs

It was The Boy’s birthday on Friday and all he asked for was an “epic cake.” I always make him a birthday cake, so that was no big deal, but having it prefixed with the word epic made the task slightly more daunting.

I love baking, but presentation isn’t always my strongest point – I value taste over looks!

The Boy is a big fan of 4WDing (and I’ve played dutiful partner and tagged along before), so I decided to give him a 4WD themed cake. In the end it wasn’t hard, we just ended up with massive amounts of cake. Like, three tiers of cake. I know what I’ll be eating for the next week… Continue reading “The Boy’s Nutella birthday cake and 4WDs”

No-churn berry ice cream and Summer

I have a love-hate relationship with Summer. I love the wild-eyed excitement that sunny weather awakens in people. I hate that it’s too hot in the kitchen to bake all day. I love the amazing curls that sea water brings to my hair. I hate how I manage to get awkward burnt patches, despite religiously applying sunscreen. I love Summer fruits. I hate being stuck indoors when all I want to do is be in the glorious sunshine. Continue reading “No-churn berry ice cream and Summer”