easter 'heart you' cake

A tradition many of you will love this Easter is this delicious chocolate mud cake, hidden under a finely rolled layer of coloured pink fondant, and with a sprinkling of love.

For those who love a good cake and want to show off a little next time friends are over, then I suggest Planet cake.

There are a range of courses to learn basic and more experienced cake making & decorating tips. One tip from me to you to perfection, is that it really is all in the preparation, which is neatly hidden under the perfectly rolled icing!

happy easter,

love amie x

Pintxos in San Sebastian

I couldn't wait to arrive, the Basque country side in Northern Spain. Pintxos or 'small plates' of tapas adorn most bar tops in this quaint old Euro holiday destination, that is San Sebastian. Money has come and gone, and come again to this Spanish sea side town. Blue and white striped umbrellas and sun kissed Euros are the majority. We settle into the relaxed lifestyle easily, as most Aussies do. The food and beers flow freely, and the warm European summer has us feeling slightly fuzzy after a few Spanish beverages. The highly social and relaxed nature of the Spaniard is enviable and the pintxo bars work on an honour system where you pay at the end of your time based on the number of pintxos you have eaten or as it's called the 'toothpick' system. It's adorable and fun at the same time. Even the un-foodiest friend will enjoy this Basque tradition. love amie x

Parlour party! The next big thing in parties!

Beetroot carpaccio

Let beetroot be the hero in a salad and your partner won't be disheartened this Valentines day!
Ingredients

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 large or 3 small beetroots, peeled, thinly sliced (0.5cm)
2 oranges or ruby grapefruits, peeled, segmented
1 pomegranite, peeled
1 avocado, peeled, thinly sliced
100g goats curd
to do
Combine vinegar, olive oil and sugar in a bowl and whisk until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place beetroot slices onto a large baking tray lined with baking paper and drizzle with the vinegar dressing. Cover and set aside for an hour.
To assemble the salad layer beetroot, orange segments, avocado and sprinkle with pomegranite and dollops od goats curd. Drizzle with extra olive oil and serve with a side of green salad.

a cake cleverly disguised as a hat

Cake decorating definitely doesn't come easy, however one cool evening we created a hat masterpiece for a 'Step up' dance party. A delicious chocolate cake was hidden under a thin layer of white fondant icing and then accessorised with licorice.

love amie x

merry 'almond' christmas to you'll!

Almond crescents are the perfect gift or a sweet goodness to have just lounging around at home over the Christmas break.

makes 30 keeps 1 week in an airtight container

ingred's

250g butter, softened

2/3 cup icing sugar

1 1/4 cups almond meal

2 1/3 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

to do

Pre-heat a conventional oven to 175˚C for fifteen minutes.

Beat butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes, until light and creamy. Add remaining ingredients and stir until the mixture is just combined. Turn dough out onto a clean bench and roll into a dough ball. Divide mixture in two halves and wrap in cling wrap to rest.

Roll half the dough into a long log, cut into 10cm pieces and turn the edges inwards to make crescent moon shape, repeat with remaining dough.

Place biscuits onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, 3cm apart.

Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden and the base of the biscuits is golden brown.

Set aside on trays for 5 minutes, transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Dust generously with icing sugar. Serve.

Christmas special For white chocolate and passion fruit crescents - Add 1 cup white choc chips & 1 tablespoon passion fruit pulp to the mixture before rolling out.

love amie x

zucchini ribbon, buffalo mozzarella and lemon tart

If you are a 'last minute Lucy' as I tend to be with mid week dinner's on my mind. You and your crew will happily appreciate this throw together summery Zucchini tart.
makes 4 tarts prep 5 mins cook 20-25 mins
ingredients
3-4 zucchinis, very finely sliced
2 frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed, sliced evenly into 2 pieces
1 egg white

1-2 fresh buffalo mozzarella balls, shredded

1/2 cup round mint leaves

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon, optional

salt and pepper, to taste

to do
Pre-heat oven to 180C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Place pastry pieces onto baking paper and using a fork pierce holes in the top of each pastry half. Layer 8-10 pieces of zucchini on top of the pastry leaving a 1cm border clear. Brush zucchinis with egg whites (to prevent over browning).
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from oven and transfer tarts immediately to cake cooling racks (prevents pastry going soggy), sprinkle each tart evenly with buffalo mozzarella, mint, lemon zest and juice. Season to taste.

love amie x