Baby Shower Onesie Cookies

Just a quick post so no one thinks I've fallen of the face of the earth. I have some great new recipes to share shortly, as soon as I get a chance to sit down and write something.

I made these cookies a few weeks ago for a friend to take to a baby shower.

They make me want to go shopping for onesis and booties but I doubt my cat would appreciate being dressed in baby clothes.

Happy New Baby!!

Beer Mug Birthday Cake

First of all please let me apologize for the huge gap between posts, for awhile I have been thinking about writing a post letting you all know I was going to have a month off from blogging. Well I though about it, I procrastinated, I spent a bunch of time looking at living rooms on pinterest, and procrastinated some more. With all my time wasting almost a month has passed anyway, so now I am back and all my time pinning lead to me buying a gorgeous new sofa so it wasn't a total loss.

So this first cake isn't a beer mug cake, clearly. It is the skydive cake I made for my Dad's last Birthday, to go with the skydive we got him as his present. There's still some debate whether it is a nice or nasty gift. Turns out I may have got my habit of putting things off from my Dad, one year on he finally booked his dive. On his birthday he jumped out of a plane!!

That's my Dad way up there. In all the excitement I missed out on some shots of the landing but you get the idea.

Pretty sure after the thrill of jumping out of a plane from 14000 feet a person deserves/ needs a nice big beer or in my Dad's case a giant mug of beer cake. 

My ideas for a beer tasting themed party were replaced by the skydive, but the beer cake was still a huge hit.

I took cake pictures super early in the morning because we had to leave to get to the skydive office. The early photos didn't work out so well, but I did get these few after Dad cut the cake. The inside of the beer mug was 4 layers of chocolate mud cake filled and covered with dark chocolate ganache. To get a little more height for the foamy head of the beer I added a thick layer of vanilla buttercream and covered the whole cake with fondant.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I've had a number of people asking questions about how to make this cake so rather than emailing you all personally I thought I'd add a few notes:

• The shape of the handle was out of light grey fondant, I inserted a pop-stick into each end of the handle to help support the weight when inserted in the cake. The handle was made a few days before so it would dry hard.
• For the board, roll out brown fondant to cover the entire board. I used a ruler the back of a knife to score in the wood and grain and let the fondant dry out before painting it with a mix of brown food colour and vodka. The Vodka thins the colouring and evaporates faster than water to stop the fondant from getting too sticky.
• I cake itself was made from two 6 inch chocolate mud cakes, with each cake split in two to give me four layers. 
• The cake was covered and filled with dark chocolate ganache. 
• Because the cake was quite tall, I didn't cover the whole cake with fondant as I usually would. Instead I wrapped the beer coloured fondant around the outside of the cake and then smoothed the join. The white fondant beer head shape was cut separately then draped over the top. 
• To attach the handle to the cake I put 2 small cuts into the cake fondant where the pop sticks would go in so it wouldn't indent too much. I brushed a tiny bit of water on the parts of the handle that would sit against the cake and then pressed it in while the cake fondant was still soft.
• The lines of colour on the sides were painted on with food colouring thinned down with a tiny bit of vodka, a mix of brown and yellow. 

I hope this helps a little. Leave a comment if there are any other questions I can answer.

Dinosaur Birthday Cake

I loved dinosaurs when I was little! For my 5th birthday I got a tape player and a bunch of tapes (those things that came before cds that came before Ipods). My favourites by far came with set of dinosaur books. The tapes told dinosaur stories and sang dinosaur songs and I thought they were the raddest thing ever. 

My inner five year old was very happy to be asked to make a dinosaur cake for a little boys 2nd birthday over the weekend. As long as it was green I was able to do what ever I liked, so I picked my favourite dinosaur (although its actually a tie between stegosaurus and triceratops) and had fun.

I ended up choosing to make a stegosaurus inspired cake because the plates would look really cool made out of fondant. The cake was made out of my favourite vanilla cake and frosted with vanilla buttercream. Steggy and parts of the base board were covered in fondant with the finishing touch of grass piped was on with left over buttercream.

Happy Birthday Dash!

Fresh Strawberry Glazed Doughnuts

I have had strawberries on the brain for the last month, but have been having such a hard time finding any! It is the very beginning of strawberry season here in Queensland so lucky for me strawberries are slowly coming into stores. After a shopping trip last weekend I came home with two punnets of sweet little strawberries and knew exactly what to do with them. 

While wasting time on pinterest I came across these drool inspiring strawberry doughnuts by Heather Christo Cooks , I've been thinking about them since and was excited to try them for myself.

I was so super impressed by the recipe, the dough is the nicest I think I've made, its silky smooth and when it rises it's so fluffy! And just to let you know how yummy the Strawberry glaze is, I seriously had to talk myself out of eating it by the spoonful. Although I kind of enjoy fake strawberry flavouring, the flavour of the fresh strawberries in the glaze is really amazing.

When I was making the dough for the doughnuts I remember thinking 'hmm that's a fair bit of flour', but it didn't dawn on me until I was cutting out 30 plus doughnuts and doughnuts holes that this recipe made a lot.

Lots of doughnuts means sharing, If the people you share them with aren't your friends now, pretty sure they will be after. As soon as they open the container it will be like bam! punch of strawberry smell to the nose and then bam! You have a new best friend.

For the Doughnuts (scroll to the end for full recipe)

15 grams instant rise yeast

¼ cup warm water

1 ½ cups whole milk

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs (room temperature)

1/3 cup Crisco (I used half butter, half vegetable shortening)

2 ½ cups plain flour

3 cups fine cake flour

1 litre vegetable oil (for frying)

To make the Doughnuts- Pour the milk into a small saucepan and bring it to the boil, once boiled turn off the heat and allow to cool.

While the milk is cooling prepare the yeast. Add the warm water to a small bowl and empty in the sachets of yeast. Mix the water and yeast together. Set the bowl aside in a warm spot for ten minutes while the yeast activates, it will bubble and double in size.

Add the milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening/ butter and the plain flour to a large mixer bowl, mix well.

Pour in the yeast mixture and beat until smooth, add the cake flour and mix until combined.

Continue mixing the dough on high for about 3 minutes until it is smooth.

Cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap and place in a warm breeze free spot for 1 to 4 hours, the dough will rise and double in size. I always love this part, the dough got so huge it almost filled my kitchen aid bowl.

Sprinkle a clean work surface with a little plain flour, turn out the dough and roll to around 1/2 an inch thick..

Using a doughnut cutter cut out your doughnut rounds and holes. If you don't have a doughnut cutter a large and small circle cutter are just as good.

Transfer the doughnut and hole cutouts onto a tray lined with baking paper and allow to rise once more for at least 30 minutes.

To fry the doughnuts heat the oil to 180 degrees c. (350 f.) in a large saucepan. I'm so happy I finally got a thermometer.
Carefully drop the doughnuts into the oil and fry until light golden brown.

 Flip the doughnuts over with a wooden skewer or oil safe strainer, fry until evenly coloured on both sides.

Remove the doughnuts from the oil and place on a wire rack with paper towel underneath to catch any excess oil. Continue frying the remaining doughnuts and doughnut holes.

  See how fluffy and yummy looking they are!

For the Strawberry Glaze
2/3 cup pureed strawberries
½ cup butter
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the Strawberry Glaze- Puree the strawberries in a food procressor.

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Add the vanilla, strawberries and icing sugar to the melted butter. Stir the glaze until smooth. Take it off the heat. (I mad the mistake of cooking mine too long and it got too thin)

Dip the doughnuts into the glaze. At this point most of the doughnut holes somehow disappeared.

Place the glazed doughnuts on a wire rack and allow the glaze to set. Have a tray or paper under the rack to  catch the drips of glaze.

Enjoy!!

Doughnuts

15 grams instant rise yeast

¼ cup warm water

1 ½ cups whole milk

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs (room temperature)

1/3 cup Crisco (I used half butter, half vegetable shortening)

2 ½ cups plain flour

3 cups fine cake flour

1 litre vegetable oil (for frying)

• Pour milk into a small saucepan and bring it to the boil, once boiled turn off the heat and allow to cool.
• Prepare the yeast. Add the warm water to a small bowl and empty in the sachets of yeast,mix together. Set the bowl aside in a warm spot for ten minutes while the yeast activates, it will bubble and double in size.
• Add the milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening/ butter and plain flour to a large mixer bowl, mix well.
• Pour in the yeast mixture and beat until smooth, add the cake flour and mix until combined. Continue mixing the dough on high for about 3 minutes until smooth.
• Cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap and place in a warm breeze free spot for 1 to 4 hours, the dough will rise and double in size.
• Sprinkle a clean work surface with plain flour, turn out the dough and roll to around 1/2 an inch thick.
• Using a doughnut cutter cut out your doughnut rounds and holes. If you don't have a doughnut cutter a large and small circle cutter are just as good.
• Transfer the doughnut and hole cutouts onto a tray lined with baking paper and allow to rise once more for at least 30 minutes.
• To fry the doughnuts heat the oil to 180 degrees c. (350 f.) in a large saucepan.
• Carefully drop the doughnuts into the oil and fry until light golden brown.
• Flip the doughnuts over with a wooden skewer or oil safe strainer, fry until evenly coloured on both sides.
• Remove the doughnuts from the oil and place on a wire rack with paper towel underneath to catch any excess oil. Continue frying the remaining doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Strawberry Glaze
2/3 cup pureed strawberries
½ cup butter
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Puree the strawberries in a food processor.
• Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. 
• Add the vanilla, strawberries and icing sugar to the melted butter. Stir the glaze until smooth. Take it off the heat. (I mad the mistake of cooking mine too long and it got too thin)
• Dip the doughnuts into the glaze.
• Place the glazed doughnuts on a wire rack and allow the glaze to set. Have a tray or paper under the rack to  catch the drips of glaze.

Salted Brown Butter Choc-chip Cookies

Autumn is awesome! It has been getting cooler and cooler the last couple of weeks. The one maple tree in my street has been dropping red and orange leaves for me to crunch through on my walk to work. I am loving the cooler days and chilly nights, its the perfect time to enjoy some hot chocolate with some yummy cookies.

Before I started blogging I had a bit of a bad habit of repeating the same recipe over and over again. I'd become obsessed with a particular treat and bake it time and time again until we got tired of eating it. I still haven't been able to face another red velvet cupcake and its been at least 2 years.

These choc-chip cookies were one of those recipes I made many times in a row, but the cool change in weather and a couple of tweaks to the recipe have made me fall in love with them all over again. I think its hard to find a bad choc-chip cookie so its nice to have something a little different, the dark brown sugar and browned butter add extra caramel and nutty flavours to these cookies that make them really special. Want to take it a step further? How about a little sprinkle of salt flakes for that salty sweet taste that works so well.

For the Cookies (for the uninterrupted recipe scroll to the end of the post)
250 grams unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark choc chips
1 cup roughly chopped dark eating chocolate (pick your favorite)
Rock salt flakes

To make the Cookies- preheat oven to 190 degrees c. and line 2 trays with baking paper.

Melt the butter in a small pan.

With the heat on medium allow the butter to simmer until a golden brown colour skimming any foam off the top as you go, this takes about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Add the butter, sugars and cream together.

Add in the egg yolk and milk and mix until well combined.

Gradually add the sifted flour, salt and baking soda, mixing until all the flour is incorporated.

Lastly stir through the chocolate chips and pieces.

Cover the bowl with cling wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for half and hour.

After the dough is chilled scoop heaped tablespoons and roll into balls.

Place the balls of dough onto the cookie sheets about 5cm apart.

Flatten the dough down slightly.

This next part is optional, sprinkle the unbaked cookies with a tiny bit of salt flakes. (I did half with salt and half without.)

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on trays.

If you can wait that long! Enjoy.

Brown Butter Salted Choc Chip Cookies
250 grams unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark choc chips
1 cup roughly chopped dark eating chocolate (pick your favorite)
Rock salt flakes

• Preheat oven to 190 degrees c. and line 2 trays with baking paper.
• Melt the butter in a small pan. 
• With the heat on medium allow the butter to simmer until a golden brown colour skimming any foam off the top as you go, this takes about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
• Add the butter, sugars and cream together.
• Add in the egg yolk and milk and mix until well combined.
• Gradually add the sifted flour, salt and baking soda, mixing until all the flour is incorporated.
• Lastly stir through the chocolate chips and pieces.
• Cover the bowl with cling wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for half and hour.
• After the dough is chilled scoop heaped tablespoons and roll into balls.
• Place the balls of dough onto the cookie sheets about 5cm apart. 
• Flatten the dough down slightly. 
• This next part is optional, sprinkle the unbaked cookies with a tiny bit of salt flakes. (I did half with salt and half without.)
• Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes until golden brown. 
• Allow the cookies to cool on trays.

Pink Ombre Vanilla Cake

This past weekend Butter Hearts Sugar turned 2!

Two years in I can't imagine not having this blog. Its my creative outlet, my recipe storage spot, a place to ramble, a place where I can talk cakes and cookies as much as I want without driving boyfriend nuts and sometimes its just my excuse to make yummy treats and not feel bad.

When I started this blog I had no idea anyone would actually read it, so thank you for all your visits, lovely comments and encouragement, you make me smile daily.

I've been making so many cakes for other peoples birthdays lately, sometimes resisting the urge to just cut a slice, sit down and enjoy it is pretty tough. I have never made myself a birthday cake, boyfriend's birthday is a few days before my own so I usually just make a cake for him. I decided my blogiversary was a great opportunity to make a cake just for me my blog. Nothing fancy just a fluffy vanilla cake with yummy airy vanilla buttercream exactly as I'd like it.

It might seem a little on the boring side, but I love vanilla cake. When that yummy vanilla cake is decorated with pretty pink ombre buttercream, well pretty sure you cant get any better than that. This recipe is very similar to the one I've mentioned in a number of recent posts (Lamington Vanilla Cake) with just a couple of changes to the ingredients. The main difference in ingredients is the changing from regular self raising to cake flour, I enjoy the texture cake flour gives and it takes it one step closer to a packet mix taste in a from scratch cake.

For the Vanilla Cake

3/4 cup milk 

5 egg whites 

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

2 3/4 cups cake flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

170 grams salt reduced butter (softened)

To make the cake- Grease and flour two 8 inch round cake pans and preheat oven to 180 degrees c.

Set aside 1/2 cup of the milk.

In a medium bowl combine the remaining 1/4 cup of milk, egg whites, vanilla extract and paste and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the softened butter and the 1/4 cup of milk and mix on low to prevent flour going everywhere. When the ingredients come together increase speed to medium and mix until smooth, about a minute and a half.

Add the egg and milk mixture one third at a time, beating on medium for about 20 seconds between each addition. The mixture should be smooth and fluffy.

Divide the cake mix between the two prepared pans and smooth over the tops.

Place the cakes in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes keeping an eye on them toward the end to make sure they don't over cook. Test the middle of the cake with a metal skewer, if it comes out clean the cake is ready.

Allow cakes to cool in pans for about 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely. Cool top side up. While the cakes are cooling prepare the frosting.

Basic Vanilla Buttercream
200 grams salt reduced butter (softened)
6 cups icing sugar
pinch salt (optional)
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pink food colouring gel

To make the buttercream- Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer, beat on medium until fluffy and very pale, for around 3 minutes. Turn the mixer down to low so you don't fill you kitchen with clouds of icing sugar. Gradually add the icing sugar and milk along with the vanilla and salt and mix until combined. Add a little more milk or sugar if necessary to get your desired consistency. Turn the mixer speed up to medium and beat for another 2 minutes until fluffy.

Divide the frosting into four bowls and colour to the desired shades of pink. Spoon the buttercreams into four piping bags fitted with plain round tips with a 1cm opening.

Trim off the domed tops of the cakes and sandwich the two layers together with some buttercream. Before decorating the cake cover the whole thing with a thin coat of frosting. This will stop any crumbs showing up and ensure no naked bits of cake peek through the decorations.

Starting at the top pipe a straight line of dots vertically down the cake. Start with the lightest colour at the top and end with the darkest at the bottom.

Using a small offset spatula or round ended butter knife, press gently on each icing dot and spread horizontally in the one direction.

Pipe a second line of dots over the trails of icing, continue piping and spreading the icing around the rest of the cake.

When you get to the last gap between the icing, finish with a line of  dots.

For the top of the cake use the same technique but work in circles, starting at the edge complete one circle at a time.

Once again work through the colours from light to dark.

Continue until the entire cake is covered.

 Yum!!