A Sweet Mother's Day Breakfast at Luxbite

I must be the last food blogger to try out Luxbite.  I have heard many good things about Luxbite and have been wanting to go for a long time.  Hubby finally took me on Mother's day weekend.  To be honest, the decision to take me was due to the reason pictured below.

They recently started serving breakfast and this dish was the special for the Mother's day weekend. It is called Sweet Benedict.  It consisted of donuts, bacon, burnt butter maple dressing and white chocolate hollandaise.  It was also dotted with fresh kiwi and decorated with a chocolate heart.

When we ordered it, we were not expecting it to look this beautiful.  It was hard to eat it because we didn't want to destroy the look of the dish.  However, it only took a few seconds of that thought before we plunged right in.

The donut was crunchy and delightful.  The saltiness of the bacon worked really well with the sweetness of the rest of the dish. The fresh kiwi gave it the freshness it needed.  Personally, the best part of the dish was the pork crackling and lemon crumbs.  This added a savoury element to the dish.   All in all, this weekend special was delicious and I hope this makes it back onto the menu on a regular basis.

We also ordered the waffles.  The texture was more bready than the usual skinny waffles you would normally get and together with the spices, it had a  more substantial feel and made it moorish.  The Heilala Vanilla roasted plums were sweet and tangy at the same time. Deanna happily ate the waffles with lashings of the whipped honey butter.

Now, how can I write about Luxbite and not mention their macarons.  They are much talked about. They have many unique flavours.  I wanted to try them all but I let Deanna choose what she wanted to eat.  So she chose watermelon and yoghurt, strawberry, passion fruit and the chocolate sprinkles.

I loved my first experience at Luxbite and I will happily go back again.  In fact, I am planing to going back again real soon.  After all, I have to try every macaron and cake they offer, don't I?

Luxbite
38 Toorak Rd
South Yarra
www.LuxBite.com.au

Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

Easter Bread and Butter Pudding

I love mid week desserts.  Especially ones that are quick and easy to make.  I particularly like the ones that only requires a quick assembly before easily placing in the oven.   I can sit back, make a cup of tea or coffee and just wait for the pudding to be baked.

My family loves bread and butter pudding.  It's especially special when I use Hot cross buns.  We had a packet in the freezer (when I over eagerly bought too many packets and couldn't consume prior to the use by date) and it would be a shame not to use it in this pudding.   This recipe is inspired by Nigella Lawson's recipe but as usual, I tweaked it a bit to make it my own.  In the recipe, the buns (or bread) is smothered with lots of butter and jam.  I used strawberry jam but you can use any flavour of jam, maramalde or conserve.  It gives it an extra umph to the dish so it's not all one flavour as you eat your way through.    

The pudding is best served straight of the oven with custard but can easily be eaten with cream or ice cream or if you're so inclined, eat it by itself.

1 packet of hot cross buns

butter

strawberry jam

4 egg yolks

1 egg

3 tbs caster sugar

500ml thickened cream

200ml full fat cream

2 tbs demerara sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 180degC

2.  Slice the hot cross buns in half

3.  Spread the buns with butter and strawberry jam

4.  Place in an ovenproof dish, spreading out evenly

5.  Make the custard by placing the egg, egg yolks, cream, milk and sugar in a small bowl and mix to combine

6.  Pour the custard over the bread and let sit for 10 minutes for the custard to seep into the bread

7.  Sprinkle the demerara sugar on top

8.  Bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes

9.  Serve warm with custard.

Happy Easter!

Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

Easter Chocolate and Dulce de leche Cake Pops. An International Incident Party.

I've been looking forward to this month's International Incident Party.  As always, it's hosted by the lovely Penny from the Jeroxie blog.  This month's theme is Cake pops.  Some might say that they are the new cupcakes.  They're cute, they're cool and they're fun and easy to make.  I've made cake balls before but have never made pops. Bakerella is known worldwide for this little ball of sweetness. You can see her demonstrate on how to make them here.  

There may be many steps to create these little cakes but it is actually quite easy to make.  I wanted to make Easter Cake pops and I got my daughter to help decorate them.  It's a great kitchen project for children.  They can get really creative.  

You don't have to freshly bake a cake just to make cake pops (though you can, of course) but you can use left over cake trimmings.  Just freeze any left over cake (no icing) in the freezer.  It can keep for a few months.  When needed just defrost in the fridge.

I had left over devil's food cake from when I made my Christmas cake balls. Instead of using the usual cheese cream frosting, I used a can of dulce de leche.  I make these from cans of condense milk.  You can get recipe here.  The dulce de leche makes it luscious and sweet, just the way Hubby and my children like it.  You don't have to make balls, you can make any shape you like.  I experimented and made little bunnies too.

To make cake pops:

Crumble the cake until until it resembles bread crumbs.  Add about a third of a can of dulce de leche and mix thoroughly until the mixture is moist enough to make balls.  Don't add too much dulce de leche or the mixture becomes too sticky and hard to shape.

Take a heaped tablespoon of the mixture and roll in the palm of your hands.  Shape the balls into eggs and place on baking paper on a tray.  Place in the refrigerator for about an hour to harden a little.

Melt chocolate in a bowl over barely simmering water until shiny and smooth.  Take a lollipop stick and dip about 1cm of it into the chocolate.  Insert the stick about half way into the cake pop. Let it set for a minute.

Dip the cake pop into the chocolate and cover the whole cake.  Don't move it around too much as you might lose some crumbs into the chocolate or the cake might come off the stick.  You can decorate straight away with sprinkles or any lollies or you can let the chocolate harden and then decorate with liquid gel pens.

Deanna had fun decorating them

Dry the cake pops by sticking them into styrofoam.  Or you can do what I did and stuck it in a box that I made little holes in.  

Deanna and I enjoyed decorating these.  We spent the whole afternoon do this so it gave a great opportunity to have mummy-daughter time.  When you make this, make them with children.  If you don't have any, borrow someone else's.

You can check out everyone else wonderful creation :

Cook Book Challenge : Chocolate Meringue Roll

Theme 6 : Celebration

Cookbook : Australian Women's Weekly.  Cook

Recipe : Meringue roll

I love this cookbook.  It has nearly everything in it and I want to cook nearly everything in it.  It's my "go to" book when I can't find a recipe in my other cook books.

For the Celebration theme, I wanted to make something for my sister in law's birthday.  She was having a little family gathering and since she had just given birth to my beautiful nephew a couple weeks ago, family were bringing dishes to contribute to the party.

I decided to make a Chocolate meringue roll.  I changed the recipe a little because I wanted to include the last of my kalamansi that I harvested from my tree.

The recipe was just plain vanilla meringue but I added cocoa powder and sprinkled flaked almonds to add a crunch so the dessert is not all one texture. The filling was vanilla cream and kalamansi curd. I used the left over curd to fill my Easter chocolate creme egg cupcakes.  I have made the kalamansi curd so many times and I prefer it to lemon.  It has a little sweetness to it that the kalamansi has though the curd is still quite tart.

4 egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs of extra caster sugar
1/2 cup thickened cream, whipped
50g flaked almonds
kalamansi curd.  (you can get the recipe here)

1.  Preheat the oven to 200degC (180degC fanforced).  Grease and line a swiss roll pan (26cm x 323cm)
2.  Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating until the sugar dissolves between each addition. Sift the cocoa powder into the egg whites and gently fold in.
3.  Spread the mixture into the baking pan, and sprinkle the flaked almonds evenly.
4.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until browned lightly.
5.  Turn meringue onto baking paper, that has been sprinkled with the extra caster sugar.  Gently peel away the lining paper and let stand for 2 minutes.
6.  Spread the whipped cream onto the cake leaving about 2-3cm along the edge.  Spread the kalamansi curd on top.
7.  Using the baking paper as support, roll the meringue firmly from the long side.  Transfer carefully onto serving dish.
8.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

You can see my previous posts for this years CookBook Challenge here.

Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

Kue Lapis - Indonesian layered cake

My first experience of the kue Lapis was many years ago.  My friend and then co-worker, HT-F had brought back this layered cake from her recent trip back home to Indonesia.  She gave me a slice and after that first bite, I was hooked.  

I looked for this cake at Asian bakeries and grocery stores but couldn't find any.  Unfortunately, the only time I was to have any of this delicious cake was when she went back home and bought me some.  Her Auntie is famous for baking these for family and friends especially during the Chinese New Year. She makes large trays of it. So, the last time she went back, I asked her if she was able to not just bring me back some cake but also her Auntie's recipe.

And so, my friends, here is the recipe.  HT-F is so generous to let me share it with you.  I hope you give it a try.  It isn't difficult but  it does take about 4-5 hours and you need to be attentative.

We decided that we would try to bake this together.  As HT-F didn't actually watch her auntie make it, she translated the recipe and went on from there.  We also texted her mum, who is back in Indonesia, for help and tips. Our version turned out good for a first attempt.  The layers were not even and not evenly cooked so the colour wasn't consistent throughout the cake.  I also didn't chop the almonds fine enough so there were large chunks.  Overall, we were happy that it resembled a Kue lapis and it also tasted like one.

25 egg yolks

500g of dutch butter

75g plain flour. sifted

250g caster sugar

1/4 cup condensed milk

1 1/5 tsp kue lapis mixed spice

15g finely chopped almonds

Extra butter. melted

1.  Preheat oven to 200degC (180degC fanforced) and prepare a square baking tin with butter

2.  Cream the butter and condense milk together

3.  Add the yolks and sugar and beat till light and fluffy.

4.  Incorporate the flour and kue lapis spice into the yolk mixture

5.  Add the butter and mix to combine

6.  Add the chopped almonds and mix.

7.  Take about 2 tablespoons of the batter and spread out thinly and evenly into the baking tin.

8.  Place in oven and bake for 5-7 minutes until brown.  

9.  Flatten the cake with a flat utensil. (I used a cake decorating tool to smooth out fondant)

Flattening each layer

10.  Spread with the extra butter that has been melted until shiny.

11.  Turn oven to grill

12.  Add another 2 tablespoons of the batter and spread thinly and evenly

13.  Place under grill for about 3-5 minutes until browned.  Flatten cake

14.  Spread more of the melted butter.

15.  Repeat steps 12 to 14 until you have used up all the batter.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Coconut Rice Pudding with Caramelised Sweet Potato

A challenge has been set. " #TaytoRiCo. Thinking outside the box."  What is that, you ask?  @Jmfield, @TangledNoodle and @Dailyspud have created a challenge to come up with a dish that includes potato (Tayto), rice (Ri) and coconut (Co).  

The dish can come in any form and whatever derivative of the 3 main ingredients.  I had so many ideas and didn't know what to make.  I became inspired by the Autumn weather we are now having. Something warm and comforting.  Unfortunately, the day I decided to make this, the day was sunny and warm.  Oh well, it was delicious to eat, nonetheless.

I decided to make a rice pudding and give it a Asian/Filipino twist.  I had joked around with my twitter friends that it's not so much of  an "out of the box" idea but more of "sitting on the edge" of it.  

I substituted some of the milk with coconut milk and served with a caramelised sweet potato.  I've seen similar rice puddings but have never made it myself before.  The idea of the sweet potato came to me when my mum made kamote cue.  This is a popular Filipino snack where sweet potato is deep fried then caramelised with brown sugar.  I did a healthier version where I simmered in water then caramelised it.  It didn't come out crunchy and crispy like the original version but I wanted to get a softer texture to go with the rice pudding.

Rice Pudding recipe
1 cup pudding rice (or aborio rice)
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups full fat milk
1 tsp vanilla paste
5 tbs of caster sugar

Caramelised Sweet Potato
1 medium sweet potato, halved then thinly sliced
1 large knob of butter
3 tbs brown sugar


1.  Preheat oven to 170degC (150degC fanforced)
2.  In a 1.5liter capacity oven dish, place all the ingredients for the rice pudding.
3.  Cover dish with foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for a further 35-40 minutes
4.  To make the caramelised sweet potato, pour water into a large frying pan, about 3-5 cm deep.
5.  Simmer the sweet potato until all water has evaporated or until the potato is tender.  If not yet tender, add more water
6.  Add the butter and brown sugar to the potato.
7.  Cook until the sugar has melted and has covered the potato all over.

To serve, place the rice pudding in serving bowls and top with the sweet potato.  Drizzle some of the caramel over the rice.  The rice pudding can be eaten hot or cold.   Hubby suggested cold rice pudding can be eaten with a dollop of your favourite jam.

Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

Quezo Chiffon Mini Cupcakes (Filipino Chiffon Cake with Cheese)

I was flicking through some of my Filipino food magazines that I collected when I went back a few years ago and I saw this.  I've been wanting to make this cake since I first saw it years ago.  Even my friend, Hilda, made an Indonesian version of this cake for me a few times.  So I decided to make it for the Cooking The Books lunch I hosted at my house.  

Now you might think that cheese does not belong on top of a cupcake.  But I have to tell you, this works.  The salty cheese goes really well with the sweetness of the cupcake.  It also gives the cake a different texture. I urge you to try this.  You will be surprised.

cupacakes
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs of self raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 egg, separated
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 oil
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbs sugar

butter icing
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup icing sugar

For topping, Edam cheese, grated (or if you have it, quezo de bola)

1.  Preheat the oven to 180degC and line 12 hole mini muffin pan.
2.  Place in a large bowl, flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.  Using a whisk, stir until there are no lumps.  Make a well in the center and add the egg yolks, water, vanilla and oil.  Blend till smooth.
3.  In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peak form.  Gradually add the 2 tbs of sugar and continue beating till stiff.
4.  Fold a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture then gently fold in the rest.  Do not over mix the batter.
5.  Fill the cupcake cups 3/4 full and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack.
6.  Make the butter icing but combining the butter and icing sugar in a bowl and mix till light and fluffy
7.  Once the cupcakes are cooled, spread the butter icing on top and sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Cook Book Challenge : Raspberry Delight

Theme 3: Love

Cookbook : Little Kitchen by Sabrina Parrini

Recipe : Raspberry Delight

Love.  This theme can be interpreted in many ways.  The way I interpret this week's theme is Deanna.  Yes, I love her but the reason I chose her for this theme is that she loves to cook and bake.  She recently turned down an invitation to attend a previous blogger lunch, simply because there will be no cooking involved, unlike the last one she attended.  You have seen many posts on her and her kitchen creations and I am certain you will see many more in the future.

Having children in the kitchen can be a bit messy but they always have fun.  So if you don't worry about what needs to be cleaned up afterwards, children can get be quite helpful

Since this recipe came from a children's book, it's very easy and really only requires a few ingredients.

300ml cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 punnets raspberries (we used frozen mixed berries)
2 tsp caster sugar

1.  Put the cream and vanilla bean paste into the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat till soft peaks form
2.  Tip half of the berries into a small bowl and mash them with the sugar using a fork until it forms a runny sauce
3.  Arrange a layer of cream in a glass then spoon a layer of the berry sauce then the whole berries.  Repeat till you have about 2-3 layers of each or until you reach the top.

We also add crushed up biscuits (scotch finger) to the top and Hubby and I drizzled some butterscotch sauce on it as well.

Deanna layered her own glass (with a little help from me) and I did the other.  She also made another two smaller ones but they didn't photographed well (read : messy) but all 4 glasses were very delicious no matter what they looked like.

Check out my previous posts on this year's Cook Book Challenge


Bon Appetite,
Cherrie

Strawberry Ice cream Sandwich

This is my first time to join the Pinoy Foodista Cooking Challenge.  I am happy to join this group of fine Filipino Foodies.  You can find more about them here.  Please click here and vote for my sandwich.

This month's challenge is "Strawberries in a sandwich".  I have to credit my sister-in-law with this one.  She suggested doing an ice cream sandwich.  I ran with that idea and made a Strawberry meringue ice cream in a Triple chocolate cookie sandwich.

I don't have an ice cream maker so I had to find a easy ice cream recipe that I can make.  I found this recipe while watching a children's cooking show.  Yep, that's right.  The best thing about this recipe is that it's very simple and children can help you make it. 

I got Deanna to help me.  She loves cooking and as soon as I told her what I was going to make, she put on her apron straight away.

Strawberry Meringue Ice cream

250ml double cream

4 heaped dessert spoons natural yoghurt

4 level dessert spoons icing sugar

12 large strawberries, hulled and smashed with the back of a fork

2 meringue nest

1. whisk the cream in the bowl, until it’s light and fluffy. 

2.  Add the yoghurt and icing sugar to the cream and whisk it more.

3.  Place the strawberries in the mixture.

4.  Hold a meringue nest over the bowl and crush it in your hand and then drop it into the mixture and give it a gentle stir.

5.  Pour the mixture into the lidded container and put it in the freezer for at least two hours or preferably overnight.

Take out of the freezer about 30 minutes before sandwiching in the cookies to soften a little.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

125g unsalted butter, softened.

1 1/4 cups tightly packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tbs cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

3/4 cups dark chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180degC.  Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and creamy.  Add vanilla and egg and stir to combine.  Stir in the sifted flour, cocoa powder baking powder and salt until just combined.  Fold through the  rocky road.

Place spoonfuls of cookie mixture on a lined baking tray, allowing room for spreading.  Cook for 15-20 minutes, until they turn pale gold.

Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before placing biscuits on a wire rack to cool further.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Banoffee Sundae. An International Incident Party

This month you are all invited to our Sundae International Incident Party and as always, it's hosted by the lovely Penny from Jeroxie Blog.

I love ice cream, and who doesn't, right?  For this month's theme, I was dreaming up all sorts of combinations and concoctions.  I was feeling ambitious.  However, as usual, time got the better of me and so I needed to do something quick and easy.

For my contribution this month's theme I made a Banoffee Sundae.  A banoffee pie is an English dessert containing bananas, toffee and cream in a pastry or biscuit base.  This makes for a great combination for a sundae.

I don't have an ice cream maker but after some research and brain storming, I came up with a way to make a delicious no-churn banana ice cream.  It's very easy and it only uses 3 ingredients.  It freezes well.  Just remember to take the ice cream out of the freezer 30 minutes before you want to eat it so it softens a little.

Banana Ice cream recipe

5 ripe bananas

1 x 395g sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup cream

1.  Peel and chop the bananas.  Place in a snap lock bag and freeze over night.

2.  Whip the cream till soft peaks.  Set aside

3.  In a food processor, place the frozen bananas, condensed milk and cream.  Whiz till the ingredients are well combined and the bananas have been pureed.

4.  Pour into a container and place in the freezer.  Stir the mixture every hour for 2-3 hours. Freeze for at least 4-5 hours or even better, overnight.

Butterscotch recipe

150g brown sugar

150ml cream

125g chopped butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins.

Hot Fudge Sauce recipe

140ml cream

30g unsalted butter

45g coco powder, sifted

70g caster sugar

60g soft dark brown sugar

pinch of salt

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until the mixture is melted and smooth.   Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

To assemble the sundae.

No churn banana ice cream

butterscotch sauce

hot fudge sauce

biscuits of your choice, crushed

fresh bananas

In a bowl or dish, place 2-3 balls of the banana ice cream.  Drizzle the butterscotch sauce and the hot fudge sauce all over ice crea.  Sprinkle the crushed up biscuits. Garnish with slices of fresh banana.

You can see my posts for previous International Incident Party themes here

Go and check out what everyone else brought to the party by clicking below or by going to our forum.