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Roasted Duck

I'm in the middle of packing up my kitchen so they can rip it out this week and pop in a new one. It's kind of exciting and totally exhausting. So I really hope that it looks great when they put it in. Oh, and I hope it stores stacks of stuff which is what I really need. I am a total cake and cookie decorating hoarder. My dining room has been a total cluttered mess for a couple of years now. So no baking now for at least a week.....and probably more as I imagine it will take me a while to sort out where everything will need to go. Luckily this week before I packed everything away I made up some easy to decorate babushka doll cookies that I will be sharing with you over the next couple of weeks. I'll start with the easiest cookies requiring the least equipment and work my way through to the more difficult ones. Today we have the evil ghostly babushka cookie. Next up will be the screaming ghoul cookie :) Because I have a few of these to get through I'll be back to my old posting schedule of a few times a week so check back on Tuesday or Wednesday. The cookie cutters I used are from Bisk-art and the easy vanilla sugar cookie dough recipe I used is from Sweets on a Stick. Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ) Ghostly Babushka Cookie if you like your ghosts a little bit cute rather than a touch evil just change the eyes to a more rounded shape and the mouth to a smaller happy smile. Ingredients and Equipment Babushka sugar cookies (baked and ready to decorate I used the recipe from Sweets on a Stick) Babushka cookie cutter White Ready Roll Fondant small rolling pin clean food safe brush and water cornflour (corn starch) Black edible pen Small amount of black fondant (white fondant colored black with food color) - optional you can just use the pen if you like Knead the white fondant until pliable. Dust the workbench with cornflour (corn starch) and roll out the white fondant until a couple of mm's (1/16") thin. Using the cookie cutter, press down and cut out a babushka shape. Brush the cookie with a small amount of water and press the fondant onto the cookie. Use the small rolling pin to adhere the fondant to the cookie by pressing down lightly, if necessary gently roll out the fondant to the sides of the cookie by lightly rolling the rolling pin towards the edge. If you are using black fondant for the eyes, roll out small amounts of black fondant into small triangles (see picture for example) and press onto the head where you would like the eyes to be. Use a tiny amount of water if necessary to stick the black fondant down, make sure you do not use too much or the black will run into the white fondant. Repeat for all cookies. Allow the fondant on the cookies to set for an hour of so until the surface hardens. Use the edible pen to draw on a large wide smile just under the 'neck' area of the babushka shape (see picture for example) draw small vertical lines across the mouth to look similar to stitches. Draw a couple of dots for nostrils and if you are using the pen to draw in the eyes do that at this stage as well. Ta-daaaahhh super easy evil ghost cookies come back in a couple of days for screaming ghoul cookie......

Apple-Cranberry Walnut Pie

Screaming Ghoul cookie OK this past week did not go exactly as planned. Nope not even close. I was supposed to post tutorials for these 2 cookies during the week and be up to a new one today. Real life can be so time consuming sometimes. My new kitchen is almost finished, tomorrow they pop on the finishing touches and then there is just the painting to go. Oh and install lights, which sadly will not be the chandelier that I bought and had to return due to the fact that Mr Sweet could not actually walk through the room without ducking.........Oh my goodness I am so dumb sometimes I don't think about that stuff.......next house for sure. Nervous Monster Cookie, or maybe he is super scary but needs to pee.... Anyhoo I am trying a new tutorial style today to save me a bit of time and plus these particular cookies are pretty simple so I hope y'all like it. CHRISTMAS COOKIE DEMONSTRATIONS IN BRISBANE and if you are in Brisbane don't forget that I have some Christmas Cookie demonstrations on the 27th of October (yup next weekend) and the 17th of November as part of Hands on Brisbane. I will be demonstration how I roll out the cookie dough, how I get an even finish and then decorate a range of cookies from elegant snowflakes to these cute babushka snowmen and penguins. The demonstrations are very interactive and limited to 15 people so you can feel free to ask me as many questions about cookies or blogging that you would like. The sessions are on from 10:30am to 12:30 at the Bleeding Heart Cafe Brisbane and are $30. Tickets are available HERE. GIVEAWAY Plus also for those of you in Brisbane I have giveaway for a double pass to the Brisbane Good Food and Wine Show. The pass will be for a Flavour Session and one day general admission to the show. The Brisbane Good Food and Wine Show is on from 9 - 11 November at the Brisbane convention center and are lots of super exciting things to do including celebrity chef sessions, exhibitor stands, masterclasses and Chef's Book signings. Pop over to the official website HERE to see all the important information. I will be along one day to check it all out and can't wait. To enter the competition simply follow the instructions on this Rafflecopter giveaway, it's open until next Sunday...Ummm I'm a little unsure of the actual time due to timezone difference but the Rafflecopter has a countdown thing going on. a Rafflecopter giveaway OK and for everyone even those not in Brisbane......on to the tutorials. If you totally hate this new collage style I have done up let me know :) Screaming Ghoul Babushka Cookie Ingredients and Equipment Babushka sugar cookies (baked and ready to decorate I used the recipe from Sweets on a Stick) Babushka cookie cutter Black Ready Roll Fondant small rolling pin clean food safe brush and water cornflour (corn starch) or crisco/oil for rolling out fondant Small amount of white fondant 1. Knead the black fondant until pliable. Dust the workbench with cornflour (corn starch) or rub on a little crisco/oil and roll out the fondant until a couple of mm's (1/8") thin. 2. Using the cookie cutter, press down and cut out a babushka shape. 3. Brush the cookie with a small amount of water and press the fondant onto the cookie. Use the small rolling pin to adhere the fondant to the cookie by pressing down lightly, if necessary gently roll out the fondant to the sides of the cookie by lightly rolling the rolling pin towards the edge. 4. Take a small amount of white fondant and using your fingers shape it into a ghoul face (see step 4 for example) and press onto the cookie in the face area. Shape a small amount of the excess black fondant into eyes and mouth (once again see step 4 for example of shapes). 5. Press the black fondant eyes and mouth onto the face where you would like them. Use a tiny amount of water if necessary to stick the black fondant down, make sure you do not use too much or the black will run into the white fondant. Nervous Monster Babushka Cookie Ingredients and Equipment Babushka sugar cookies (baked and ready to decorate I used the recipe from Sweets on a Stick) Babushka cookie cutter Green Ready Roll Fondant small rolling pin clean food safe brush and water small sharp knife cornflour (corn starch) for rolling out fondant Small amount of white fondant Black edible pen 1. Knead the green fondant until pliable. Dust the workbench with cornflour (corn starch) and roll out the fondant until a couple of mm's (1/8") thin. 2. Using the cookie cutter, press down and cut out a babushka shape. 3. Brush the cookie with a small amount of water and press the fondant onto the cookie. Use the small rolling pin to adhere the fondant to the cookie by pressing down lightly, if necessary gently roll out the fondant to the sides of the cookie by lightly rolling the rolling pin towards the edge. 4. Using the sharp knife cut some of the excess green fondant (that is still rolled out) into two monster arms, shape see step 4 for example. You may need to manipulate the monster fingers a little with your own fingers to get a shape you are happy with. Stick the arms onto the cookie at each side. 5. Roll out some of the white fondant to make a large oval eye and stick onto the cookie where you would like it using a tiny amount of water to adhere if necessary. Allow the cookie to dry for an hour or so and then use the edible black pen to draw a black dot on the eye, a mouth (I made mine a little wonky) and a short line at the bottom to make legs). * * Note any of these directions are just suggestions, it's a monster it could have 5 eyes and no legs :) The cookie cutters I used are from Bisk-art and the easy vanilla sugar cookie dough recipe I used is from Sweets on a Stick. Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)

We have an abundance of pears at the moment, and I wanted to put them to good use. This pear and vanilla upside down cake was a wonderful way showcase how delicious pears can be. So delicious in fact that even my non pear loving boyfriend loved the cake and asked for more. I think I may have converted him! Which is a good thing as we still have quite a few pears left, which I already have plans for.

For our weekend company, I planned to make a Limoncello layer cake with lemon curd and mascarpone frosting. I found the recipe on epicurious.com --it was originally published by Bon Appetit, April 2003. The reviews of the recipe were mixed, and many reviewers felt that the cake was bland. There was no lemon zest anywhere in the recipe. I used a different lemon curd recipe (theirs was made on a stovetop and had no lemon zest); used a DH yellow cake mix for the cake part instead of their sponge cake; and substituted Limoncello for the lemon syrup. To decorate the top of the cake, I used a resealable quart-size plastic bag as a pastry bag, cut the bottom corner and inserted a star pastry tip. This recipe can be made in stages: lemon curd one day, cake the next day, and frosting and assembly the next day. The cake is amazing. Lemon flavors come through strong, but the delicate mascarpone and cream soften the lemon and smooth it out. Here's the recipe: Microwave Lemon Curd: 3/4 cup sugar 2 large eggs 3/4 cup lemon juice 2 Tbsp. lemon zest 1 tsp. orange zest 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted Whisk together the sugar and eggs in a 1-1/2 quart microwaveable bowl. Stir in the juice, zests and melted butter. Cook in microwave on high, stopping and stirring at one-minute intervals until the mixture can coat the back of a metal spoon. (It should take less than 5 minutes. It will bubble up quite a bit.) Cool on counter, whisking occasionally, for about an hour. Finish cooling in fridge. Lemon Syrup: (make this only if you are not using Limoncello) 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup boiling water 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice Mix all ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool. (If you are using Limoncello, you will need about 1/2 cup.) Cake: Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix (not the butter type) 3 large eggs, room temperature 1 cup water 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/3 cup oil 2 Tbsp. lemon zest 1 tsp. orange zest 1 tsp. pure lemon extract 1/4 tsp. pure orange extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour 2 8-inch cake pans. Set aside. Combine all ingredients in large bowl of mixer and follow directions on package for mixing cake. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 28-35 minutes, testing for doneness at 28 minutes by first pressing lightly on center of cake with fingertips, then inserting a toothpick in center. Toothpick should have just a slight crumb on it when removed. Cool cakes in pan on counter for 10-15 minutes, then invert and finish cooling on cake rack. Filling and Frosting: 2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream 2/3 cup confectioner's (10X) sugar 16 oz. mascarpone cheese, softened OR 8 oz. mascarpone cheese & 8 oz. cream cheese (I used mascarpone & Neufchatel) 1-1/4 cups lemon curd (homemade or purchased) Place large mixing bowl and wire whip beaters in freezer for 10 minutes. Remove and whip the cream till stiff. Slowly add the sugar and continue beating till stiff again. In separate smaller bowl, by hand or with electric mixer with wire whip attachment, beat the softened cheese and chilled lemon curd together till well combined. Add the sweetened cream and beat again till everything is well blended. Assembly: Cut the cooled cake layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Place the first layer, cut side up, on serving plate. Using pastry brush, brush 1/4 of Limoncello (or lemon syrup) onto the cake. Top with 3/4 - 1 cup of the frosting. Place next layer cut side down and repeat process. Frost the outside of the cake and the top. If desired, decorate top using a pastry bag (or resealable plastic bag with corner cut and star tip inserted in cut corner) and star tip. If you do not have a star tip, you can decorate top with chopped nuts, chopped crystallized ginger, or thin lemon slices. Yield: 10-12 servings. The cake should be refrigerated for at least 6 hours before serving. It's really like a Tiramisu and it WILL pick you up! (Tiramisu means literally "pick me up.")

I like Halloween. Apparently it used to be widely celebrated here in Australia before the Depression and then fell out of favor. Well that's what I read in one of the local popular magazines......if it's in a magazine it must be true right? Um right............Anyway Halloween Love it! and if the local shops are anything to go by it's coming back into fashion here. Is that a bad thing, I'm not sure? For me the chance for the kids to dress up, interact with the neighbours and eat sweets.......as long as it's supervised and once a year I'm totally ok with that. We don't actually indulge in the tricks if there are no treats so hopefully it's not too great a burden on the neighbours. Plus Halloween cookies are pretty cool. These ones are Chocolate cookies made using a square ruffle edge cookie cutter from my d-line set - I picked mine up at Kitchnwear Plus. But you could use a round cutter if you don't have a square cutter or if your not really into square cookies. Although I really couldn't imagine anyone not being into square cookies, so just if you don't have the cutter on hand I guess. A circle would pretty much work just as well. and I also made some matching cookies in a floral pattern with a kinda cute striped flower. Bird Silhouette Halloween cookies Ingredients and equipment Square Cookies Square cookie cuter Orange Ready Roll Fondant Black Ready Roll Fondant (I used chocolate fondant colored black with some Americolor super black) Small rolling pin PME Robin (bird) butter small Carnation cutter Black Royal Icing in a piping bag with a small round tip (eg #2) brush and water sharp knife Roll out some orange fondant (marshmallow or shop bought) on a workbench lightly dusted with cornflour (corn starch) and cut out a square using a cutter a little smaller than cookie. Brush the cookie lightly with water using a clean brush and adhere the fondant to the cookie, using the rolling pin to lightly press it down. Roll out some black fondant onto a workbench, you can dust it lightly with a bit of cornflour (It's what I use) but if you find that it shows up white on your fondant you can grease the workbench lightly with some crisco or a spay of vegetable or rice bran oil, just a bit. Cut out the bird shapes and carnation shapes then roll out thin pieces of black fondant with your finger tips to make long ropes that you can shape into the branches.# Look at the cookie to see an example of how you can shape the branch and where to place it. You should be able to press the branches directly on the orange fondant without water but if you have used the oil they may not stick. If necessary use a very teensy small amount of water, the brush should nearly be dry otherwise the black will run. Once the branches are in place adhere a bird so it is sitting on top of the branch and then trim the carnation either using the cookie cutter or a shape knife so it sits in the corner. Then pipe black dots of royal icing around the edge of the cookie to finish off. #If you like you can use the black royal icing and pipe branches instead of using the rolled fondant. Oh and I have noticed that over on Amazon you can peek into a PREVIEW of the first few pages on my book plus the index. Also the cover of the book is different if you pop into the preview and shows up a few different treats in the book.

This post comes courtesy of Jenn Yee, a member of the Williams-Sonoma culinary team. Lemon and lavender is one of my favorite pairings when baking.