Skipped my mind

Hello all.

I don't know what i have never posted about this before but in 2008 i went to the culinary Olympics in Erfurt (germany)... Being a cooking blog u would think that it would of been the first thing i spoke about... But you would be wrong lol.

Here are some of the pictures.. its was truly amazing. As always i spent my time hovering around all the sugary things!


Obligatory Chocolate Dragon (as you do haha)


Platted selection of chocolate, berry and hazlenut sweets (i think)


My favourite piece! No idea what went into it though lol... except a truckload of thought and precision.

All the pictures can be seen in my facebook pictures here!

Don't forget to like the page in the top right hand corner if you are on facebook guys, i appreciate the support a lot!

- As an extra bonus, Check out what i found on the web.... so simple and yet so effective! -



Until next time \(^_^)/

Mumbo Jumbo cakes!

I'm still on track with my new years resolutions and to date have managed not only to update my blog regularly, but also get myself to the gym, and focus more on what i moved out for!

In this post i'm going to pay my respects to (in my and many others opinions) one of the most talented and influential pastry chefs of the century, Pierre Hermé



Pierres elegant take on the archetypical French "Macaron" is what i believe shot him to notoriety! For those of you who do not know what a Macaron is just Google it and wait for the visual feast of colors.

Like all geniuses Pierre began at a young age. At 14 he began his career as an apprentice to Gaston Lenôtre, a prolific baker who sadly die a few years back. From here onwards Hermé went from strength to strength, eventually opening his first shop in Tokyo in 1998. Since then he has opened several other venues and written numerous recipe books and biographies. His work in the pastry kitchens is absolutely phenomenal.



The flavor combinations are themselves incredible, but what really is appealing with his creations are their appearances.. Hermé manages to bring the most simple of recipes to life with a variety of twists and tweaks.



Simply fantastic.... Ok Enough gushing haha!

This week i tried my hand at some classic flavor combinations with my own tweaks. its been a while since i did a recipe, but here goes!


Double chocolate cashew butter frosted cupcakes (kinda)



Ingredients:

~Cake base~
225G Butter (either salted of unsalted, depends on your taste)
225G Sugar
4 Medium Eggs
250G Milk Chocolate
225G Self Raising Flour
3Tbspn Milk
1Tspn Vanilla essence
3Tbsn Coco Powder
Salt to taste

~Frosting~
300G Smooth Peanut butter
180G Butter softened
1Tspn Vanilla essence
200G Chopped Cashew nuts
400G Icing Sugar



Method:

BEFORE ANYTHING PREHEAT THE OVEN TO Gas Mark 4 (180c degrees)

1. Combine all of the frosting ingredients in a bowl and make sure they are fully incorporated into the mix. Then set aside in the fridge or a cool place.

- Grease whatever tray you plan on baking the cakes in. i have one designed to make 12 brownies, 3x3 inches, this recipe makes about 15 of these sized cakes. -

2. In a large bowl combine the cake butter with the castor sugar and cream them together.

3. To this mixture add, 1 at a time, the eggs. make sure to fully incorporate the eggs before adding the next one.

4. Once the eggs are mixed in add the vanilla essence and the milk and mix in.

5. Mix in the Coco powder and the flour until fully incorporated.

6. Finally add the chopped chocolate and fully combine all the ingredients.

7. Place in the preheated oven for roughly 20 minutes, checking after 20 minutes to check with a skewer whether or not they are fully cooked through. If the skewer comes out wet then place them back in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes.

8. Once fully cooked through remove from oven and leave to cool, and then decorate with icing and garnish when cooled.

And thats it!

Complete! They arent Pierre standard but these were actually really good, i brought them into work and they were gone within a few minutes.

Enjoy.
See you next time \(^_^)/

Happy new years!

I know its a few days late but i want to wish everyone across the globe a happy new year! Hope you all did something worthwhile to see the new year in.

I went to a masquerade ball... which turned out to be mostly debauchery, but also pretty random and amusing so cant complain. especially when you wake up with pictures like this!


Obviously when i was told "Masquerade ball" i heard "Masked Waiters Ball"...


The new years gang in The last Tuesday society chaos


No words needed...

Needless to say my friends and i had a great time!

Lol. Ive made 2 new years resolutions. These are realistic ones that i cant really not start doing because time is getting away from me and i need to keep focused on atleast a few things once in a while.

The first is I NEED TO GO BACK TO THE GYM! i lay in bed playing with my belly fat about an hour ago and suicide seemed like the only other option. Suicide is messy and a bit selfish so the gym it is lol. Used to go religiously, but you know what happens when u take some time off and get lazy... you just forget about it :(

The second is to start working towards my entrepreneurial goals.... If i want to make it into the catering industry i need to pull my finger out and start actually doing some work.

Ah, before i go, The Christmas meal was delicious if i dont say so myself. I spent about 8 hours in the kitchen with my mother trying to get everything prepared and awesome looking for Christmas day. This is how it turned out.


The table did look very indulgent! especially that decanter... i dont even know where that came from lol.


These were my favorite, My sister and Brothers fiancé have dietary needs which wouldn't permit them to eat the meat. So we made these Pygmy cranberry, lentil and red onion stuffed pumpkins.

Wishing the best for all of you. Have a blessed New year and stay tuned!

See you soon \(^_^)/

Corinne Bailey Rae

This is my first artist review. As such i have chosen to go with one of my all time favorite songstresses.



Corinne released her first, self titled, album in February 2006 and believe it went to number 1 in the UK charts! With mesmerizing songs like "Choux Pastry Heart" and dazzling lyrics displayed in "Like a Star" (which was song recently by Rebecca on the British X Factor) it was obvious that Corinne would be an international sensation.



Unfortunately after releasing her first album her husband, jazz musician Jason Rae, passed away in what police announced as a drug related incident. After such a traumatic event it would of been understandable if Corinne didnt return to the public eye at all. However, in January 2010 She came back onto the radar with the release of her highly anticipated second album "The Sea". releasing the single "I'd do it all again" just before the album.



Whilst the songs are just as beautiful there is a definite sadness to many of the lyrics, and justifiably so.



Corinne has a soulful voice unmatched in grace and mellowness. After listening to any of her songs even once you will definitely want to hear more. She has collaborated with some interesting characters, such as John Legend and John Mayer at the 2007 Grammy awards, and has produced some beautiful covers of Bjork and Led Zeppelin songs. If you are looking for a calm yet memorably gentle sound then look no further!

See you next time!
\(^_^)/