How to sprinkle Icing sugar

Tips, Hints and Help

Every now and then I will be adding little baking tips to the blog.
Hope you like it.

What to do when you want to sprinkle icing sugar on something but you don't want it to go all over the place?

If you find yourself in the position of having to decorate something delicately with a sprinkling of icing sugar here's what you can do:

Use a tea-strainer,
one of those small balls of wire-mash that you can put fresh tea leaves into and leave in the mug / cup to soak.
Just scoop some sugar into it and dust away.

I used it to decorate the individual vanilla pudding I served at Christmas.

You can find that recipe here too, look for 
Recipe Vanilla Pudding from scratch
http://topoftheworldcakes.blogspot.com/p/vanilla-pudding-from-scratch.html 
  

Carrot ? Cake... with chocolate trees

First up...
My Early Winter Nights cake.

Here we go ... (and you just sort of have ti imagine the sound track from Super Mario Bros playing... dum, dum, dum , durrrum, durrum, durrum, durrumm durrummm dumm dumm dumm)

You will need...
2 eggs
180 gr. sugar
150 gr flower
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp milk
100 ml. oil
4 shredded carrots
50 gr dried apples (you can use fresh apples but I like the chewy texture of the dried ones.)
50 gr chopped hazelnuts

one oven heated to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit or there about)
one mixer
one spatula
two baking tins (mine are round 22cm in diameter)
baking parchment (that's posh for paper)

You will then:
1. Beat together the eggs and sugar until the mixture is nice and light and fluffy, about 5 min. in an electric mixer at medium to high speeds, depending on how dangerously you want to live. (meanwhile you could peel the carrots, shred them and chop the dried apples, it's just a suggestion you don't have to... I mean there's no law) You could do the mixing by hand but if you do it's gonna be hurting tomorrow.

2. Add the cinnamon, baking soda and powder to the mix and stir together, just a little bit... be gentle. Then the oil and milk and now you should have some brownish- orangy looking goo. DON'T PANIC.

3. Stop using the electric mixer and add the flower bit by bit mixing it gently, try folding it in with a spatula. You don't want to beat the air out of the mixture with too much force because you want to make the cake nice and fluffy don't you?... yes you do, I know because I read minds.

4. Then you dump in the carrots (which by this point should be peeled and shredded), the apples (which should be chopped to little bitty bits) and the hazelnuts (which you should have bought pre-chopped, if not... well I guess the whole thing is ruined then isn't it?)

5. Now 
I like to keep my baking tins clean by lining them with the paper... but it's your mess, you can opt out and just smear them with butter and dust them with flower. (if you have no idea what I'm talking about let me know, but I will be adding this little tip in the "hint's and help" section sometime later)
Pour the mix into the tins dividing it evenly between them... no favorites, it will get you nowhere.

6. Oven... 20-25 min or until it's nice and golden on the outside and the edges are firming up. Test it by stabbing it with a little prick, it should come out clean... or knife. (I use a knitting needle, it's the only thing they're good for... just an opinion)

7. Let it cool down... give it time, it should be very soft and fluffy.

8. Do you want to put cream on it?

You will need

200 gr Mascarpone cheese (it's white and really creamy. You could spread it on bread but then you might as well soak the bread in double cream.)
180 grams powdered sugar (fluffy white stuff)
1 tbsp butter, really really soft... like leave-it-on-the-table-for-a-long-time soft.
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp Maple syrup

Put in a bowl and mix until smooth.
You may want to taste it and see if it needs some more vanilla or maple syrup (or just because you want an excuse to eat nothing but the topping.)

9. Spread over the cake once it has fully cooled down or the cream will melt into the cake. (I'm warning you... I mean it.)


Enjoy
And remember to lick the bowl clean.

Gingerbread cookies.. or House... or Boot... or whatever

So I finally got round to writing this down for all y'all out there.
This recipe is actually really simple and easy to make and doesn't have to be cooled over night in a refrigerator like so many others.
No, You can use it while it's nice and warm.
That also means you can make nice cookies at short notice.
Great for impatient kids.

You will need.
100 gr butter
150 gr brown molasses sugar (the really dense dark brown stuff)
150 ml syrup
a sprinkling of ginger
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
5-600 gr flower

What you want to do with that is this:

Put the butter and the sugar and the syrup in a big pot and melt it thoroughly together... it needs to start boiling slightly.
You may want to keep the kids away from this part.
When it's nice and dangerous go ahead and take it off the heat and let it cool down so that it's a little less dangerous.
Then...
Add the spices and stir.
Then...
When it's cooled down a little bit more... add at least a third of the flower.
Now it should look like a really gooey brown, sweet smelling, sticky mess...
You've done good so far.
If you feel up to it try to kneed more flower into it...
If it's still too hot... give it a moment... it's been through a lot.
Ok now you should be able to dump it on a tabletop along with the rest of the flower, make a little nest in it and crack open the egg...
It's gonna wanna run, but you mix it up and squish it in.
Now you just keep kneading it until it's nice and smooth... shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
Roll it out thin and go wild with the cooky cutters.

fire that oven up to 180 C.
Bake in oven for 10 - 15 min depending on the thickness of the dough.

Let them cool
Decorate if you must...
No I'm kidding... decorate them with Icing sugar and candy, they'll be great.

Good luck
Sweet times.

Chocolate tree... chocolate trees... chocolate forrest.

I've just added a step by step guide of how to make a Chocolate tree in the Hints, Help and How to section... Try it out.
It's not even as messy as you would think... although I don't see why that should be a problem, chocolate is supposed to be good for your isn't it?

I pay particular attention to the temperature of the melted chocolate, it's best if it's around body temperature, that makes for an excellent excuse to "test" it regularly.

Let me know in how you get along... if you like what you see, or if you have any questions.

Chocolate fingers all around :)
Happy baking.