Friday, 20 May 2016

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook Challenge - Custard Sponge Sandwich

Hey Guys!! You all know the Harry Potter series, right?? Well, I will be doing a challenge to complete all the recipes in Dinah Bucholz's 'The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook'. (It sadly does not have the butter beer recipe).

This week, I did the Custard Sponge Sandwich cake from the book. You are probably wondering why this is in the book. This cake is from book two from the Harry Potter series, the Chamber of Secrets. Hagrid sends it to Harry when Harry notifies him that Aunt Petunia has put the family on a diet to support Dudley during his diet. I chose this as my first recipe because I LOVE CAKE!!!! Anyhow, I am getting a bit sidetracked. Here is my wonderful experience...



When I made this cake, I was thinking, "Wow, this is going to be delicious!!" I never knew just how right I was...

I started off by whisking all of the dry ingredients together. Whisking is always fun, and it is my 3rd favourite part of making things, (2nd is sieving the flour, 1st eating the uncooked leftovers, isn't yours??)















Next I whisked all the butter and sugar into a really big bowl so that it looked like big yellow fluffy clouds! It was so cool and it looked amazing!













When I added the eggs it looked so delicious that I just had to give it a little taste.  Little did I know that my Mum was snapping a photo at that exact moment.  Sprung!







Mum helped me split the mixture and spread it evenly into two cake pans, and it we baked them for 20 minutes.

I felt like it took forever!  It just wouldn't bake quickly enough.


Next I made the custard.  It was fun separating the eggs because I got to see all the whites drizzle out.  It was a bit complicated keeping the yolk in the shell.  Mum showed me how to do it and I did the next two all by myself.


I made a mixture of milk and cornflour, salt and sugar, heated it in a saucepan and then added it to the egg yolks while whisking it really fast.  It was so much fun :)  That bit was called tempering.

I put that mixture back into the saucepan and heated it slowly while stirring until it was thick.  Actually mum did the stirring while I put my feet up.  Isn't she a legend?!

Finally, the cakes were done! Here's a picture of them:


Amazing, right? Next, I used a spatula to put all of the cream onto the bottom cake piece. i sandwiched the cake, and hey, presto! it was nearly done! We put icing sugar on top and dusted it, and it looked soooooo good!

We didn't get a picture of the final result, because when my mum released that it was done, it was gone!  (A.K.A my brother and I ate it... teehee! ;) )

Here is a pic we nabbed from the web we feel best represents our final product.





Because of copyright reasons, here is a link to the photographer (the person we got this photo from) url  (click to go to link) 

I hope you enjoyed my first post from the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook Challenge. 

Bye!  "And if I see anyone on their broom, they will be expelled before they can say 'Quiddich'. Do I make myself clear?" 
-Madam Hooch  (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)



Sunday, 24 April 2016

ANZAC Biscuits


     
     ANZAC Biscuits



"So yummy ...

I might just 
have one more!"...

... or something :)




Tomorrow is ANZAC day, so to mark the occasion I decided to bake ANZAC biscuits, of course!

For the recipe, I used a website I truly admire called Taste.com.au. 

In order to make these delicious delights, I had to have an empty belly!! (How else was I supposed to eat them?? :)  )  It didn't take long to make, and there were so many!!  Although I accidentally overcooked them, they were crunchy and yummy!! If you are careful not to overcook, they are soft, and smooth (and obviously delicious) :).



It was amazing how the butter and the golden syrup mixed, it was extraordinary! When we added some bicarbonate of soda, it looked like honeycomb that had come to life!! We had to put the butter on it's side and chop it and mix it for a bit, as it helped it melt a lot quicker :)
















It took about one second for me to grab a biscuit when they had finished cooling down, and they tasted like a heavenly bake dipped in yummy oats!! Delicious!

My absolute favourite part is eating the uncooked left overs!  Isn't yours?

My tips - I used castor sugar instead of brown sugar because I felt like it :) Tastes amazing- you should totally try it!!

Here's the beautiful result.  They smelled even better that they look!