The Bloke's birthday dinner

It's The Bloke's birthday. What he really really wants is a bbq and a few drinks around the tiki bar. That would be fine if we lived in the USA or England, but in NZ, it's winter...and raining again! So it was an indoor buffet instead. Still I think he enjoyed his celebration, surrounded by all his progeny. Roast pork with crackling, roasted red beet and orange salad, potato gratin, green buttered peas, so good. I made the mochaccino cake which was a hit, and set up a pinterest-inspired icecream sundae bar. Everyone left sated. It was a lovely evening.

                                           Red beet and orange salad

                                          Potato gratin

                                          Mochaccino birthday cake

 
                                          Icecream sundae bar

Yum yum... mochaccino cake

This recipe came from New Zealand Taste magazine's baking issue last year.
It is super easy, just throw all the ingredients into a food processor, whizz for a minute or two, then pour into a tin and pop into the oven. It is a very liquid mixture, so don't get a fright, it is supposed to be that runny.  It makes a lovely tall, moist but solid cake. Great for decorating.

I've made this cake numerous times and always have people coming back for more. I recently made it for the get together after Sunday mass and it was gone within 5 minutes! I didn't even get a piece!

So remember when you make this you may have to hide it from the family so they don't gobble it up in one sitting.

Find the recipe here

Baking is fun

I love to bake. I'm not always a success at it, sometimes the kids just look at my offering and say "no thanks Mum" while backing away, that's a sure sign it's bin filler! Still, 'never give up, never surrender', is my baking motto. A few days ago, I felt the baking frenzy descend. It was kind of late, so I wanted something simple to make. Consulting my trusty Donna Hay Modern Classics vol 2 baking book, I whipped up a batch of ANZAC biscuits. ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) is an acronym from WWI. The ANZAC's and ANZAC day are hugely important in New Zealand (NZ) and Australian culture. If you want to find out why check out this link ANZAC day . ANZAC biscuits were used to raise money for the war effort and have been a New Zealand baker's staple ever since, for the full story click here . The basic biscuit is made of flour, rolled oats, sugar, coconut, baking soda, golden syrup and butter. The result is a delicious, slightly gooey golden mouthful of buttery goodness (unless you get distracted and leave them in the oven a shade too long, in which case they are hard as rock and need to be dunked in hot tea to be edible!). Find the recipe here and feel free to ad lib, raisins, chocolate chips, nuts, etc.

Banana cake

I know some people who would consider baking a cake after returning home from work their own personal torture.  But for me, I find baking relaxing and comforting and nurturing. What could be better than the sweet scent of cinnamon and bananas wafting through your home on a cold and dark winter's night?

This banana cake makes a large flattish cake. It has the consistency of a steamed pudding and would be perfect with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle (or a deluge) of salted caramel sauce. Find a link to the recipe below.

Banana cake