Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake with Baileys Cream Cheese Icing
St Patrick’s Day is on Sunday and it’s always a good excuse to add booze to desserts! I added Guinness beer to the batter of the dark chocolate cake, giving it a rich and slightly bitter depth which contrasted beautifully with the sweet Baileys cream cheese icing. This is possible one of my favourite chocolate cakes to make now, moist and dense but not too heavy.
- 1 cup Guinness beer
- 250g butter
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 1¾ cups caster sugar
- 140 ml sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups plain flour
- 2½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 4-5 cups sifted icing sugar
- 100g butter at room temperature
- 250g cream cheese at room temperature
- 4-6 tbsps Baileys Irish Cream (to taste)
- Preheat oven 180°C and butter and line a 23cm springform tin.
- Melt the butter into the Guinness in a saucepan over low heat.
- Whisk in the cocoa and sugar and take the saucepan off the heat.
- Beat the sour cream with the eggs in a separate bowl until combined, than add to the beer mixture.
- Whisk in the flour and bicarb until combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the tin and bake for an hour. The middle of the cake may still be slightly wet when you take the cake out, but it will firm up as it cools down.
- Leave to cool completely in the tin as it is quite a damp cake and could collapse.
- Cream the butter and icing sugar together until well mixed.
- Add the cream cheese in cubes slowly until incorporated.
- Add in Baileys. Continue mixing for 5 minutes until the icing is light and fluffy.
- Dollop lashings of the icing onto the top of the cake to recreate the froth on a glass of Guinness. If you are feeling particularly dexterous, slice the cake length-wise and fill the cake with the icing too (there will be definitely be enough icing).
This icing recipe makes a lot, I spread mine just on top of the cake to emulate the froth on top of a glass of Guinness (and also possibly out of laziness and lack of time!). But feel free to ice the sides of the cake or even slice it in half horizontally and fill the cake with icing too. You can never have too much Baileys icing ;)
RivaReno Gelato, Darlinghurst
I LOVE gelato and was very excited to attend a taste testing with Mel and Tara at the newly opened RivaReno gelato at 280 Crown St, Darlinghurst. This Australian branch of the established Italian gelato chain is the first to be opened outside its homeland.
All of the ingredients (except the eggs, fruit and nuts) are sourced and imported from Italy, including the milk which is raw alpine milk from the high Cuneese valleys.
RivaReno offers an array of traditional Italian flavours along with American-inspired tastes (think chocolate and peanut butter), Indian (mango yoghurt) and a range of fruity sorbets and granitas.
The gelato is not displayed in the typical ice-cream counter where customers can see the products. It is stored in the traditional Italian cylindrical containers known as “pozzetti”, which are deep inside the counter so as not to be exposed to the air for better conservation.
Now enough waffling on, let’s try some gelato! We start off with the sorbets which are dairy-free and contain more than 55% fruit. My favourite sorbet was Lampone (Raspberry), with just the right amount of sweet and tartness and oh so creamy in texture. The granitas were also delicious, with my favourite being the Pina Colada, a refreshing treat made with fresh coconut milk and pineapple.
Looking inside the pozzetti you can see just how velvety and smooth the texture of the gelato is. This is my second favourite flavour on the RivaReno menu and it is Fior di panna (Vanilla). This creamy and silky smooth gelato has a hint of bourbon vanilla and really showcases the high quality milk and cream used.
Another highlight was the Cioccolato Extra-Fondente (Extra-Dark Chocolate). Bitter Manjari cocoa is added to RivaReno’s Dark Chocolate recipe to produce a rich and decadent flavour.
As a Nutella freak, the first thing that caught my eye when I entered the store (and elicited a lot of squealing) was this giant container of gianduja – basically a chocolate hazelnut sauce. It possibly tastes even better than Nutella (big call, I know).
Their cones contain less sugar so that customers can actually taste the genuine flavours of the gelato rather than being “distracted” by the sweetness of the cones.
And what was my favourite flavour of all? Alice! Which also happens to be RivaReno’s most popular flavour. It features mascarpone combined with a splash of Masala and then topped with melted giandiuia. Heavenly.
We ofcourse had to indulge in a big scoop of Alice!
So how does it compare to it’s competitor down the road, Gelato Messina? To be honest it’s like comparing apples with oranges. Whilst Gelato Messina (who I love) is known for unique and outrageous flavour combinations (think peanut gelato with potato chips, honey and rosewater or rambutan and coconut) RivaReno sticks to it’s traditional Italian roots and does it very, very well.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Red Velvet Surprise Cupcakes with White Chocolate Icing
I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, however I do love receiving gifts AND kitschy baking so I can’t complain. I found the most gorgeous Valentine’s Day cake toppers months ago and have been dying to bust them out. I pimped out my standard red velvet cupcake recipe by adding a white chocolate cream cheese icing (heaven, I can assure you) and putting a little surprise inside each cupcake…
I love you!
Sweets for my sweet
And what is the surprise inside each cupcake, I hear you ask? Something I see as synonymous with Valentine’s Day – Lindt balls! I used a selection of milk, dark, white and hazelnut balls.
- 120g butter (room temperature)
- 2 eggs
- 1⅓ cups caster sugar
- 4 tsp cocoa
- 4 tsp red food colouring
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 240ml buttermilk (or add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to normal milk)
- 2½ cups plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tsp white wine vinegar
- 100g butter at room temperature
- 250g cream cheese at room temperature
- 250g white chocolate, melted and cooled
- 4-5 cups sifted icing sugar
- 24 Lindt balls
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
- Cream the butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl mix the vanilla extract, cocoa powder and red food colouring into a paste. Add the paste to the creamed mixture.
- Add half the buttermilk and mix until combined, followed by half of the flour and baking powder. Mix until incorporated and then add the remainder of the buttermilk and flour and mix thoroughly.
- Add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and white wine vinegar and continue mixing for another 5 minutes until combined.
- Spoon the mixture into prepared muffin tin and fill approximately ¾ full. Pop a Lindt ball on top of each cupcake (they will sink as they bake).
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cupcakes slightly spring back when touched.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool slightly in their tin before turning out onto a wire rack
- Melt the white chocolate in short bursts on a medium heat in the microwave. Set aside and cool until lukewarm.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth in a large bowl.
- Gradually add in the icing sugar until incorporated. Continue mixing for 5 minutes until the icing is light and fluffy.
- Spoon icing into a piping bag and pipe swirls onto the cooled cupcakes.
I also made some little chocolates – hearts and cats, because I love cats! The heart moulds were a gift from a friend and the cat moulds I found in Japan.
My favourite is the sleeping kitty.
Nutella Cheesecake
Happy World Nutella Day everyone! Every year on 5 February, Nutella fans around the world celebrate this delicious chocolate hazelnut spread, sharing recipes, photos and more. Hosted by Bleeding Espresso and Ms Adventures in Italy, it’s a fun way to think up new Nutella based recipes and basically just a good excuse to eat more Nutella (than usual).
I wanted to create a delicious and decadent Nutella cheesecake after being requested to bake something “chocolate or cheesecake” for a dinner party. Why not combine both together? I stumbled upon this super easy Nutella Cheesecake recipe from Chocolatesuze a while back and decided to combine it with a hazelnut crunch base, dark chocolate ganache and cover in toasted hazelnuts.
- 250g packet of sweet biscuits, crushed (I used butternut snap biscuits)
- ½ cup desiccated coconut
- 4 tbsp roasted hazelnuts, chopped
- 120g butter, melted
- 500g cream cheese, room temperature
- 100g icing sugar
- ½ cup double cream
- 400g of Nutella
- 115 grams dark chocolate, chopped
- ⅓ cup double cream
- 1 tsp butter
- ½ cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
- Preheat oven to 180ºC. Arrange hazelnuts on an oven tray and roast for 10 mins.
- Transfer roasted nuts to a clean tea towel and gently rub off the bitter hazelnut skins.
- Chop hazelnuts as finely as possible, putting 4 tbsp aside for the base and the remaining nuts for the topping.
- In a food processor, finely crush the biscuits. Add coconut and hazelnuts.
- Add in melted butter and pulse until combined.
- Press the biscuit mixture into a 23cm/9″ round spring form cake tin and put in the fridge to set.
- Place the cream cheese and icing sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add in the Nutella and double cream, beating until smooth and creamy.
- Pour onto the biscuit base and return to the fridge to set.
- Bring the cream and butter to boil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy.
- Pour the ganache over the Nutella cheesecake and sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts over the top.
- Return the cheesecake to the fridge and let set preferably overnight.
- To serve, release the cheesecake from it’s springform pan and serve on a cake stand.
World Nutella Day coming soon
It’s February and I am getting excited about that special day looming in the near future. No I’m not talking about Valentine’s Day, or ever Chinese New Year. I am talking about World Nutella Day! The founders of World Nutella Day, which falls on 5 February, describe Nutella as more than just a “chocolaty hazelnut spread,” it is a way of life. Want to get in on the act and help celebrate the joy of Nutella? Here are some recipe suggestions:
A super simple and delicious recipe featuring buttery cookies with a huge dollop of Nutella in the middle. Heaven.
You can also stuff the Nutella inside the cookie for a nice surprise!
♥ Triple Decker Ferrero Rocher Cake with Nutella Buttercream
This cake combines the flavours of Nutella – chocolate and hazelnuts, a decadent Nutella buttercream, and Nutella’s best friend, Ferrero Rocher!
♥ Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream
Bake these delicious Devil’s Food Cupcakes, and substitute the chocolate ganache for this Nutella Buttercream. Thank me later.
And what am I baking this year for World Nutella Day? Well, here’s a teaser:
Hell. Yes. Stay tuned on Tuesday 5th February for proper photos and the recipe!
Tim Tam & Milo Truffles – Happy Australia Day!
Happy Australia Day for tomorrow, everyone! Australia Day is celebrated on the 26th January and the date commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. As Australia Day falls on a Saturday this year, we get to enjoy a long weekend and take Monday off work, yippee!
For Australia Day, I wanted to combine 2 iconic Australian snacks foods – Tim Tams and Milo. I also wanted to incorporate the good old lamington into the recipe (like I made last year) and ended up rolling my Tim Tam & Milo truffles in coconut for the effect (and to satisfy my ongoing coconut obsession).
You know that old adage, “Do as I say, not as I do”? Well it certainly applies to this recipe! DO follow the recipe and only use 3/4 can of sweetened condensed milk. DO refrigerate for the suggested amount of time. Considering I wrote this recipe you think I would follow my own advice, no? Well I was a little heavy handed with the sweetened condensed milk, I insisted on baking on a hot and humid day and I impatiently didn’t give them enough time to properly set in the fridge. By the time I had stacked them into a little truffle pyramid and anointed them with their Australian flag, they were starting to look a little… droopy.
I ended up transferring them into mini cupcake cases and returning them to the fridge where they hardened up nicely – and it proved to be a cute way to serve them to guests.
- 200g packet of Tim Tams (I used the dark chocolate ones)
- 4 tbsp Milo
- ¾ of a 400g can of sweetened condensed milk (save the rest for Viet iced coffee)
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- Blend Tim Tams in a food processor until finely crushed
- Pour the contents into a medium bowl and stir in Milo
- Add in ¾ of the sweetened condensed milk and stir until well combined
- Transfer mixture to the fridge and let set for at least an hour
- Once the mixture has firmed up, roll mixture into teaspoon sized balls. I find it easiest if your hands are slightly damp
- Roll each ball into the shredded coconut and transfer back to the fridge to firm up before serving
Pineapple and Coconut Cupcakes
After returning from a wonderful holiday in Vietnam I had a new found appreciation for tropical fruits. I was constantly snacking on a variety of fresh pineapple, dragon fruit and lychees and drinking copious amounts of fresh coconut juice (straight out of the coconut of course!)
This month’s theme for SABH is Tropical Paradise and I instantly wanted to recreate some highlights from my Vietnam holiday within the dessert. Inspired by the piña colada cocktail, these cupcakes will have you reminiscing about your last tropical holiday in no time.
I loved the idea of sticking a cocktail umbrella in each cupcake to echo the piña colada theme, however after trying 5 different stores I gave up. They were ALL sold out of cocktail umbrellas. Have people been partying too much this summer?!
I ended up making pineapple flowers to decorate my cupcakes. Slicing the pineapple thinly can be a bit tricky but drying the rings out in the oven and shaping them into flowers is super easy. They are an eye catching decoration that really set the cupcakes off.
- 2 cups self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 50g toasted coconut (I used shredded)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150g butter, softened
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 x 400g tin chopped pineapple, drained
- 600g sifted icing sugar (4-5 cups)
- 100g butter at room temperature
- 250g cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 tbsps coconut essence
- Shredded coconut to decorate or 1 pineapple for pineapple flowers
- Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
- Spread the coconut onto a baking tray in an even layer. Toast until golden brown which will only take around 2 minutes (watch like a hawk!)
- In a large bowl beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk. Do not overmix!
- Add the pineapple and toasted coconut and stir to combine.
- Fill cupcake liners about ¾ full with mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden brown. This recipe makes approximately 20 cupcakes.
- Allow to cool in tin for 15 mins and then turn out onto a wire rack.
- Cream the butter and icing sugar together until well mixed.
- Add the cream cheese in cubes slowly until incorporated.
- Add in the coconut essence and continue mixing for 5 minutes until the icing is light and fluffy. Pipe onto cupcakes.
- Decorate with shredded coconut or pineapple flowers
- To make pineapple flowers, turn over down to 110°C.
- Thinly slice a pineapple (or split pineapple rings in 3 horizontally) and arrange rings on several lined baking trays.
- Bake for 30 mins, then turn and cook for another 30 mins.
- Transfer rings to a muffin tin so they form the shape of a flower.
High Tea at Bistro Fax, Radisson Blu
Disclosure: This high tea was provided by Groupon for my review
I love high tea and always jump at the chance to try out a new place around Sydney. The guys at Groupon offered me the chance to try out one of their current restaurants that were being offered and when I received an email advising me of a high tea at Bistro Fax at the Radisson Blu, I couldn’t wait. This particular deal was $79 for two with a bottle of French sparkling rose and was worth $175.
The Groupon process was pain free and after acquiring the deal, the voucher was emailed straight to my inbox. I then emailed the Radisson to book in my high tea and received an almost instant reply to my request and we were good to go.
We arrived at the Radisson on a rainy afternoon, the perfect weather to cozy up on the couch and eat and drink as much as possible. I presented my Groupon voucher to the hostess and we were shown to our table.
Our bottle of French sparkling rose soon arrived which was delicious.
We ordered our hot beverages, a (rather average) Vittoria cappuccino for my friend and Twinings English Breakfast for me.
Our three tiers of treats is soon brought to our table and the waiter rushes off without so much as a hint of what we have to eat, let alone plates or cutlery. We spend the next 5 minutes fervently trying to get the attention of any of the waiters, finally flagging down another waitress who brings us cutlery and plates and talks us through the tiers upon request.
On the bottom layer is a selection of cucumber dill sandwichs, salmon toast with cream cheese, dill and capers, rare roast beef and horse radish sandwiches and curry chicken puffs. The standout was definitely the curry puffs, full of flavour and the right amount of spice.
Tier 2 consisted of a selection of plain and fruit scones, with cream and jam. The scones were lovely, the perfect texture and not too dry.
Saving the best to last, we attack the top dessert tier. My favourite was the key lemon tart with its rich and tart filling, closely followed by the strawberry Swiss roll (I’m a sucker for anything with strawberries and cream!) The passion fruit jelly pots were very tasty but unfortunately the jelly wasn’t set properly. I only managed a mouthful of both the seasonal fruit and custard tart and the chocolate walnut brownies with double cream – by this stage I was stuffed!
We noticed other tables having their wine topped up regularly, however we were left to our own devices. Overall we had a lovely afternoon enjoying wine, tea and delicious treats at a heavily discounted price – I just hope Bistro Fax makes significant improvements to their service.
Brownie Cupcakes with Strawberry Santa Hats
This month’s SABH is of course Christmas themed – Sweets for Santa! One of my favourite combinations is strawberry and chocolate (as seen here), and I loved the idea of individual brownie cupcakes decorated with strawberries, cream and white chocolate for the perfect Santa treat.
- 190g soft butter
- 190g dark chocolate
- 3 eggs
- ½ tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1 cup plain flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 75g chopped hazelnuts (or nut of your choice)
- 75g white chocolate chips
- 12 Strawberries
- 50g white chocolate
- 200ml pouring cream
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large saucepan or in short bursts in the microwave.
- In a bowl beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla.
- Sift the flour into another bowl and add the salt.
- Let the chocolate mixture cool a bit before beating in the egg and sugar mixture, and then the nuts, white choc chips and flour.
- Fill cupcake liners about ¾ full with mixture and bake for around 20 minutes.
- When it’s ready the top should be dried to a pale brown but the middle still dark and slightly gooey.
- Cut the base off each strawberry so they can sit upright.
- Melt the white chocolate and spoon into a plastic zip lock bag. Snip a small corner off one end of the bag and carefully pipe a dot on the tip of each strawberry. Allow to cool and harden.
- Pipe a dot about the size of a 10cm coin in the middle of each brownie and press a strawberry down on each cupcake. This acts like a tasty glue!
- Beat the cream with electric beaters until firm peaks form. Spoon into a piping bag with a star nozzle attached and pipe little stars around the base of each strawberry.
Tada! Little Santa hats!
Sydney Food Bloggers Xmas Picnic
I woke up early on Saturday morning with a mixture of excitement and stress. It was the day of the Sydney Food Bloggers Xmas Picnic – hooray for catching up with friends, meeting new people and eating delicious food. But I hadn’t baked anything! After the success of my ginger cupcakes at the last Food Bloggers Picnic I knew I had to create something equally delicious. I settled on my spiced cookies with salted caramel buttercream.
The cookies came out of the oven fragrant and crunchy from their raw sugar coating. It took all my willpower not to devour several whilst I waited for them to cool down!
I sandwiched them together with salted caramel buttercream and they looked delish! But alas as the salted caramel took forever to cool down I was running late…
I must admit I spent far too much time socialising and eating instead of taking photos of all the delicious food, but here is a sample of some of the delicious creations!
First up we have a gorgeous Strawberry Fresh Cream Cake (shaped like a Pig) by Jen Is Hungry
Delicious krokets by Irenes Getting Fat
Cookie Dough Dip with Apple and Biscuits by Cooking Crusade
Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies by Spoonfuls of Goodness
Rhubarb Meringue Tarts by Muppy (these were heavenly!)
Homemade Cheese Plate (!!) by Nic Cooks - I didn’t get to try any of Nic’s delicious looking homemade cheeses nooo!! Feel free to make some more?? :)
Thai Chicken Wonton Cups by The Sticky and Sweet. These were absolutely delicious, I must get the recipe!
Vegan Pumpkin Pie with a Quinoa Crust by 84th & 3rd. I am often sceptical of vegan desserts as I feel the more butter and eggs the better, but JJ’s pie was delicious! And she ensured it had no nuts so I could safely devour it hooray!
Donuts! I have no idea who bought these but thankyou. I love donuts :)
Thanksgiving Turkeys by Gucci & Gyoza. So adorable!
A quick glance of my container and half the cookies had promptly disappeared. They were shortly polished off as sun + buttercream are not friends and things got really messy really quickly!!
And of course the obligatory group shot!
Thanks so much to Chocolate Suze and Grab Your Fork for organising yet another successful picnic!
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