Stitch Nails

Spinach and Ricotta Cob

Spinach and Ricotta on Cob

Ingredients

Step 1. Begin by thawing and draining the 500g of frozen spinach. Make sure you drain all the water out.

Step 2. Cut out the "top" of the cob and pull out all the bread inside. Do not throw away this bread as it will be used for serving the dish. 

Step 3. Combine all the ingredients together and mix well. I added a little bit of white pepper just to give it a extra ZING!!!

Pour the spinach and ricotta dip into the cob just before serving. 

ENJOY!!

Spotted Illusion Nails

Spotted Illusion

This nail design was inspired by lava lamps except in black and white. 

Step 1. Begin by painting your nails black

Step 2. Paint half of your nails white.

Step 3. Using a dotting tool or the end of a bobby pin, begin dotting the opposite colour on each side of the halves. E.g. Black dots on the white half and white dots on the black half. Do this white leaving a tiny gap in between each dot to give the dripping effect. 

Step 4. Continue the spotting on top of the other spots as you see appropriate

Turtle Cake

It's my friend Krystal's birthday this Thursday and so all the girls are going out for dinner. As a surprise, I thought it would be fun to make her a awesome cake but I really had no idea what. At first I thought I would make her a Star Wars cake maybe of Chewbacca just because she has recently only started watching Star Wars and told me she really liked it but then I wasn't sure if she was a big enough fan to want it as a birthday cake. So after hours to thinking and researching I decided to make her a turtle cake just because that's what my little sister calls her as she always has a turtle expression/pose for photos.

I began by looking up a whole heap of turtle cakes on Google and YouTube. After a couple of hours of research I felt confident in knowing how I wanted to construct my turtle cake. 

 To make the chocolate cake for this turtle cake, I only used the store bought cake mixes rather than baking from scratch just because I find it takes too long to bake a cake from scratch then wait for it to cool so I can begin frosting the cake. 

For the turtle cake, I used two boxes of the Duncan Hines moist chocolate cake mix that I bought from my local Woolworths for only $ 2.99 per box. I have never use any Duncan Hines cake mixes before but after today, I think I would definitely use it again. The recipe was easy to follow and the cake was super delicious and moist. Another thing I really liked about this cake mix was the amount of detail of how long the cake should be cooked for depending on the size of you dish. However, the only thing I think I can fail about this cake mix is  the fact the the temperature of the oven is written in fahrenheit but that problem was easily solved by my good friend Google. 

Equipment required to make the turtle cake. 

* One large Pyrex mixing bowl (for the shell of the turtle)

* One oven proof bowl (for the head of the turtle)

* Four muffin moulds (for the four legs)

1. Begin by mixing up your cake mix

2. Separate into all the greased dishes as required. It may be easier to begin by pouring the mixture into the muffin tins then the small bowl (for the head) and finally the large mixing bowl (for the shell) to ensure you have enough batter.

3.  Place all the dishes in the oven and cook for as long as required. Keep in mind that the muffin sized cake mix will cook faster as it is smaller.

4. Once all the batter has been cooked, wait until it is all cooled before removing from the molds. Organise the cakes as shown in the picture below.

5. Begin by icing the shell of the turtle green. I used the Duncan Hines Vanilla frosting and added some green colouring into it. Mix well to ensure the colour is distributed evenly. This also softens the icing mixture so it is easier to spread.

( It does not matter if you don't spread the green frosting on smoothly as it adds to the texture of the turtle shell and will also be covered with shards of chocolate later. )

6. Apply the rest of the body parts with some brown chocolate frosting. 

7. Crack up the shards of chocolate and place them on the green frosting as you see appropriate. To temper chocolate, refer to this awesome YouTube tutorial.

I used Mentos as the eyes for my turtles eyes and attached brown mini M&M's onto it using frosting. I also used the left over green frosting to draw a face on my turtle. 

Green Tea Macarons with Green Tea White chocolate Filling

I don't know if it's just me but there seems to be a lot of buzz surrounding French Macarons lately. I had tried one not long ago and to be honest I have no idea what all the fuss is about. Aesthetically I would give it a 10/10 but taste wise... well let's just say I can hear my dentist laughing all the way to the bank if I ate anymore. 

Seeing as I am a baking enthusiast and my baby sister is a HUGE fan of Macarons, I have always wanted to try baking them but have hesitated due to the difficulty and my laziness. It wasn't until last Wednesday when my friend Angela gave me one of the ones she had made that I had made up my mind and decided to go for it. 

Below is my recipe for Green Tea Macarons that I have adapted from a Chocolate Macarons Recipe.

For the macarons:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup almond flour or almond meal
• 3 tablespoons green tea powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• Pinch cream of tartar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the ganache filling:

• 200g white chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), at room temperature and cut into cubes

For the macarons:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a large pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip; set aside. To help prevent the macarons sticking to the paper, spray a little bit of water on top of the baking paper

Place the powdered sugar, almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a large bowl. Sift all dry ingredients twice to insure there are no large clumps

Make a meringue by placing the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until opaque and foamy, about 30 seconds. Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed to medium high, and beat until the egg whites are white in color and hold the line of the whisk, about 1 minute. Continue to beat, slowly adding the granulated sugar, until the sugar is combined, the peaks are stiff, and the whites are shiny, about 1 minute more. Add food colouring (Do not overwhip.) Transfer the meringue to a large bowl

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry mixture into the egg whites in four batches until the dry ingredients are just combined. (The meringue will deflate.)With the final addition, stop folding when there are no traces of egg whites, the mixture runs like slow-moving lava, and it looks like cake batter. (Do not overmix.)

Transfer the batter to the pastry bag. Pipe out 2cm pieces leaving approximately 2cm gaps next to each other. Pick up the baking sheets and bang them against the work surface to help create the macaron base, or foot. Let the rounds sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to dry the tops and ensure even cooking.

Heat the oven to 150°C and arrange a rack in the middle. Bake the macarons one sheet at a time for 5 minutes. Rotate the sheet and cook for 5 minutes more. Transfer the sheet to a rack to cool completely.

For the ganache filling:

Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl.

Warm the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just starts to boil. Stir it into the chocolate without creating bubbles. Add in green tea powder and stir until it is mixed in thoroughly. Let sit for 1 minute. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Chill in the refrigerator until thickened but still spreadable, about 30 minutes.

To assemble:

Pair macarons of similar size. Remove the ganache from the refrigerator. If you choose to pipe the ganache, transfer it to a resealable plastic bag and snip about a 1/2 inch off a bottom corner. Squeeze or scoop the ganache to about the size of a cherry (about 1 teaspoon) onto the center of a macaron half.

Top with another half and press gently so that it looks like a mini hamburger. The filling should not ooze out the edges. Refrigerate, covered, at least 24 hours before serving.