M&Ms – Baking with Gab

I’ve been putting off writing this post for a while. Not for any sinister reasons , it’s just that this blog post hinges around waffles. Or the making of them.

I have been searching and searching and searching for a waffle maker so that I could post a recipe to accompany the review of Mooberry Neutral Bay which inspired me to make waffles in the first place.

I have had approximately zero luck finding a reasonably priced waffle maker! I thought I might be able to pick one up easily at Kmart or Target, but I have not had any luck. How is this? The few that I have found are either massive or too expensive. Where are the reasonably priced waffle irons that will fit in my small rental kitchen?

So this post has two parts – one part is telling you how awesome my Mooberry experience was. The second part is to implore you to help me find the waffle iron my dreams. Suggestions and donations welcome!

I was invited to sample Mooberry’s delights through my blog. I said yes, assuming that I’d get some froyo, which I love. I didn’t realise that Mooberry have so much more to offer than just frozen yoghurt!

I took the Boy along and we had a Mooberry date. It was so cute. The lovely Jamie, who took care of us, started us off with some froyo. The Boy got salted caramel with Maltesers, M&Ms and Tim Tam. It was the ultimate chocolate dessert.

He’d never had froyo before that day (because he thought it would be gross) and I think it’s safe to say that this serving changed his mind.

I got passionfruit with fresh strawberries and kiwi and lychee pearls. Those little pearls were unreal. They were like little bursts of summer. So you’d think that was it. Mooberry is predominantly a frozen yoghurt place.

YOU’RE WRONG! Perusing the menu I realised that they offer delicious, even healthy brekkie options. I didn’t sample any of these though, I focussed on the sweet things! The Boy and I devoured a hot chocolate each (go Belgian chocolate every time, it’s glorious) and split a waffle and churros.

Everything is drizzled in chocolate. It is basically my idea of heaven.

Jamie explained that they currently have their waffles delivered, but they’re experimenting with making their own. I will definitely be back to try out their house-made waffles, because if they’re better than the current ones, they’ll be divine.
It’s too bad I can’t try and replicate them. Who knew that finding a waffle iron would be so difficult?!
Mooberry Neutral Bay is friendly and funky. There are stag heads and faux grass on the walls, fairy lights adorning bannisters and Instagram pictures on the wall upstairs.

banana It’s a pretty photogenic place, as you may have seen, I insta-spammed my followers while I was there! The staff are sweet and super helpful, the Boy and I had a lovely time.

This week I picked the winners of my teapot giveaway. I asked entrants to pick one of the four teapots available (red, yellow, blue or pink) and tell me four things they associated with that colour.

Caitlin won the yellow teapot, she said “Yellow is my favourite colour, it reminds me of flowers (yellow roses are mum’s favourite), sunshine, primary school sports carnivals (I was in gold, obviously, cause I’m the best), and the yellow bike that I really really really want but can’t afford.”

Charlotte says the colour of the blue teapot reminds her of reminds her of “discarded bird eggs, stormy skies, baby blankets and… blu-tack!”

Amanda said that the pink teapot was the same colour as “kitten’s paws, rosy cheeks, pink marshmallows and fairy floss! Four things that make my life just that little bit more sweet.”

The winner of the red teapot is yet to check her emails to accept. Once she’s accepted, I’ll announce the final winner. Otherwise I’ll have to pick a new winner.

Thank you to everyone that entered, I loved reading all the funny, sweet and quirky things that everyone had to say. I can’t wait to run another competition like this, it’s so lovely to see everyone’s creativity!

Unrelated to tea pots, here is my final Christmas post. These little treats only require four ingredients, and three of these are different kinds of chocolate! They can be thrown together in 20 minutes and they’re perfect for kids and adults alike.
The only thing I should warn you about is that if you’re serving these babies in a hot climate (ie Australia), don’t take them out of the fridge until you intend to serve them, as the Christmas trees wilt a little if they get too warm.

Trees in snow:

Chocolate trees:

100g dark chocolate
M&Ms to decorate

Chocolate coconut snow:

280g white chocolate*
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
½ cup desiccated coconut

Line a large baking tray with baking paper and pour a small amount of M&Ms into a bowl. Set them both to one side. Melt your dark chocolate in the microwave and stir to achieve a smooth, even consistency.

Scoop chocolate into a snap lock bag and snip off a small section of one bottom corner. Working quickly, pipe zigzags of chocolate onto the baking paper – each zigzag will need to be slightly larger than the last to make it look like a Christmas tree. Repeat.

Don’t worry if your trees are different sizes or styles, this just adds to their cuteness!

Once you’ve piped each of your Christmas trees, place a few M&Ms onto each tree to look like Christmas decorations. Try to work quickly so that the chocolate doesn’t set too much before you’ve placed them. Once they’re all decorated, pop them in the freezer.

Line 16 cupcake tin cups with paper cases while the trees are in the freezer.

Melt your chocolate in the microwave, checking at regular intervals that it doesn’t burn. Combine both types of coconut in a bowl and pour the melted chocolate over the top. Using a spatula, mix the chocolate and coconut together until all coconut is coated in chocolate.

Scoop a heaped tablespoon of mixture into each paper case and flatten slightly with the back of the spoon. Using a butter knife, cut a shallow line across the length of each serving of chocolate coconut snow. When your trees have set, whip them out of the freezer and gently nestle one tree in each of the cuts that you made, ensuring that they are nice and stable.