Pudding!

*This is a sponsored post for Itha's Puddings. I was provided a traditional pudding and a jar of brandy butterscotch sauce to sample and review.*

Ah, Christmas pudding. Bring to mind black and white movies where the perfect family of 4 sit down to a turkey, and finish the evening with a pudding, perfectly coated in custard and a sprig of holly.

Image found via Google

For my family, if we bothered to have one, it was always a flaming pudding.

Growing up, I thought the Christmas Pudding was simply something we set on fire at the end of the meal for the hell of it. Somehow, setting fire to food didn't worry me - I was more concerned that my cousins had scoffed the trifle while I was watching the adults incinerate dessert.

I never stuck around to eat it because I didn't fancy a bowl of ashes. It's fair to say I never waited long enough to get the full picture.

When I was approached to review a traditional christmas pudding, I did have visions of burning our home to the ground. I've never been very successful at anything requiring an open flame, unless you were specifically wanting ashes and gravy for dinner. In which case, I am a goddess!

Thankfully, Itha's Pudding arrived and it stated that flaming the pudding was optional. I could feel the house breathe a sigh of relief at the news.

Having never actually eaten a pudding before, I decided the entire family should take part on the review, to make sure I got a fair, well rounded opinion. The Man loves fruit and peel in things. I don't. I buy fruitless hot cross buns because fruit and peel in anything is enough to make me gag.

This review is more from him than me.

Itha's puddings are all handmade with fresh ingredients and a recipe dating back to 1912. The traditional pudding features a mix of vine fruits, mixed peel, matured brandy, nutmeg and cinnamon and smells lovely. It came wrapped in a cloth, and vacuum sealed - modern on the inside, traditional on the outside!

Image found here

It's worth noting that Itha also has a range of modern puddings available, such as Macadamia and Apricot or triple-choc-twist. Itha had me at triple choc.

The Man stated that the fruit to peel balance was spot on, but the brandy was very strong, so if you're not a fan of liquor then the traditional pud is probably not for you. The brandy butterscotch sauce was a winner for me, but the brandy flavour was a little strong for my taste.

However Itha does have sauce for those of us who like our ingredients a little less boozy, such as vanilla bean custard, mocha, creamy caramel and very, very chocolate. For a full list of available products visit www.ithaspuddings.com.au

www.choice.com.au listed Itha's puddings as number one out of the four finalist puddings in their higher end category for 2013.

Overall, The Man gave the pudding a 4 out of 5 and the sauce received as 4.5 out of 5. Worthy praise indeed since this is a man who is so fussy about his liquorice, it needs to be sourced from one specific confectionery boutique in South Australia!

So, if you're looking to impress the family with a flaming centrepiece, or just a pudding that will take your grandparents back to their youth, Itha's Puddings is certainly worth a look.

 (and The Man)

Cupcakes in the Oven...

**This is a sponsored post for Wholeberry Folk. I was provided with a sample of their Banana Split cupcake packet mix**

I've never been one for talent in the kitchen. The Man has forbidden me from ever attempting lasagne again, since every attempt has been regarded as a potential mass poisoning.

It's not my fault. I blame the oven. In every house we have ever lived in.

However, since becoming a full time SAHM, I have found myself in the kitchen more often. Through choice. But I have to confess that a majority of the goods coming from the kitchen are of the baked goodie variety.

Yes, I do make proper meals - but to be honest sometimes I wish I could serve chocolate cake for dinner, because that is a crap load more satisfying to make.

Recently I was approached to try a new brand of packet mix cupcake. Packet mixes are fantastic for when Miss 4 is desperate to help me make something, but I'm short on time and 20 minutes to measure out 1 cup of flour just isn't going to happen.

The Wholeberry Folk is proudly Australian made and owned, are preservative and additive free, and use spelt flour. Can you say 'terrifying mother's groups, judge no more my baked goodies!!'

These products are nut free, but do contain gluten (spelt, which is easier to digest and more soluble than traditional wheat gluten) and are made on a production line that produces products that contain milk products, gluten and soy.

I am always in a panic when I have to send food to preschool to share. I'm paranoid about children with allergies or intolerances and I don't want to be responsible for someone going home with explosive diarrhoea (or, god forbid, being hospitalised from an allergic reaction).

The butter in the recipe can be substituted for coconut oil, and milk for a dairy alternative so it's appropriate for vegans, too! My cousin would be thrilled - this is as close to vegan as I will probably ever be.

Miss 4 was ecstatic to be trying out the Wholeberry Folk Banana Split cupcakes, and they were straight forward to make. I loved it because it meant she could be fairly independent in putting the mix together, and she LOVES independence these days.

They were delicious...well, I'm assuming they were - I sure as hell didn't get any!!

If you want to be able to make yummy food that you won't gt a chance to eat, you can find the Wholeberry Folk range at Woolworths, retailing for $6.49.

Happy baking!!



  

My first ever foodie post - Red Velvet Cupcakes

Usually I'm not one for sharing recipes. Anyone will tell you that I'm not known for producing food.

Known for destroying the stomach lining of my family? Yes. Known for having to throw away cookware that was fine before I got to it? Damn right.

As a result, The Man has requested that I NEVER make lasagne again.

But I've been doing a bit more in the realm of baking since I became a 'lady of not-really-leisure-but-that's-what-people-think-when-I-say-I'm-a-SAHM'. It's had it's good days and it's bad.

Today, I did a trial run of the cupcakes I'll be making for Hermione's birthday party in a couple of weeks. In the past, I wouldn't bother. I have an almost 5 year old, and those 4 birthday parties have given me plenty of experience to be confident in making a batter and then baking! Well, that's what you'd think anyway.

Tragically, it's my baking experience that has taught me I should always make a trial of anything, not to mention that someone else should be asked to proof read the recipe and then double check all the labels on all the things I plan on mixing together.

I blogged my near miss with mass poisoning. I'll give you a minute to refresh.

See. I can't be trusted.

However, today, I managed to overcome my massive failings and actually produce something perfectly edible. Which is typical - now we have a dog that will eat anything, I become Nigella-fucking-Lawson.

And so, without further ado, I present you with a recipe and pictures!

RED VELVET CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS
* 2 cups plain flour
* 1/4 cup cocoa powder
* 1tsp bi carb soda (and this isn't a typo, it's 100% bi carb soda, not baking powder)
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 200g unsalted butter, melted
* 2 eggs
* 1tbs white vinegar
* 1tbs vanilla extract
* 1-2 tsp red food colouring (I use gel rather than a liquid as a little goes a long way and you get a richer colour. You might need more or less depending on what shade of red you're looking for)

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS
* 2x250g packets of cream cheese, room temperature
* 2 cups icing sugar
* 120g unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1tsp vanilla extract

CUPCAKE METHOD
* Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
* Sift flour, cocoa, caster sugar and bi-carb soda.
* Whisk buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, vinegar and vanilla until combined.
* Combine wet and dry ingredients together until just combined and add the food colouring, until you achieve the colour you desire.
* Pour mixture evenly between cupcake cases and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
* Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING METHOD
* Combine cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth.
* Sift in icing sugar and combine.
* Use a piping bag to frost your cupcakes, or simply apply with a knife. Decorate as desired.

Because Hermione is having a Parisian Cafe themed birthday party, I decided to use edible glitter lightly dusted over the frosting with some edible pink pearls.

They turned out quite nice, even if I do say so myself!

So there you have it - a baking success with no casualties. The cupcakes are lovely and moist and the cream cheese adds just the right amount of savoury to cut through the sweet of the chocolate cupcake.

When I make these next time I'm going to be more liberal with the frosting. I was restrained this time as I didn't want to drown the cake.
Apparently I've never met me. The words 'too', 'much' and 'icing' have never even passed through my brain before, so I have no idea what the hell was going on in my kitchen today.

If you try these, please let me know how you get on and if you have any hints or tips for working with cupcakes please feel free to share.

The girls gave them 5/5 finger licks.

It's a miracle!!!!

March Photo A Day: Day 25...

 

Day 25

| Breakfast |

Miss 3 fed her Baby bananas and we had bacon and eggs. I think we won.

 

 

Want to play along? Visit www.fatmumslim.com.au for all the details

 

 

 

March Photo A Day: Day 21...

Day 21

| Delicious |

When I make cheesecake, this is the one that everybody begs for. Thankfully I've not screwed it up...yet. 
Thank you to Philadelphia for publishing a cookbook - my family is grateful.

Want to play along? Visit www.fatmumslim.com.au for all the details

March Photo A Day: Day 12...

Day 12

| Fork |

She wields it like a weapon. No meal is safe.

Want to play along? Visit www.fatmumslim.com.au for all the details

March Photo A Day: Day 2...

Day 2

| Fruit |

Some lemons from a friend. They are enormous and soooooo juicy - I can't wait for them to ripen up.

Want to play along? Visit www.fatmumslim.com.au for all the details

February Photo A Day: Day 27...

Day 27

|Something I Ate|

Well, I completely forgot the subject until after I ate it - so here are the awesome Tacos I ate, in their new home. Also known as mah belleh!!  I love Tacos and Mexican food in general - YUM!

Want to play along? Visit www.fatmumslim.com.au for all the details

February Photo A Day Challenge: Day 6...

Day 6

| Dinner |

Mum's Roast Chicken with Veg...well, what's left of it, anyway...

Want to play along? Visit www.fatmumslim.com.au for all the details.

Food, Glorious Food...

Except food's not glorious. Well, not at the moment, and not for me.

Food is a pain in my arse. Why? Because food is too freakin' hard, that's why.

I feel like my whole life revolves around food, and not in a good way. I feel like I spend all my time thinking about food - through deciding what to give the Toddler for breakfast, what to pack for lunch, what will I eat if I don't take lunch, what are we having for dinner, do I have to take anything out for dinner, do I have all the crap I need to make dinner etc etc etc.

I honestly wish we had a cook. Just a cook. I'd happily clean and cover all areas of domestic goddess-ness if I didn't have to think about food. Or cooking the food.

Besides, everything tastes better if someone else has gone to all the effort.

My GP tells me that I have to revisit my diet - that it's not good.  My blood tests came back a shambles, and apparently I have the vitamin D levels of a person who has never been outside. Ironic considering where we live, the number of times I've been sunburnt this year and the number of play dates that include swimming in unshaded pools.

I don't really see the issue with my diet - not eating breakfast, living on coffee, snacking all day and then going home to the easiest dinner available and then continuing to snack well into the night has done WONDERS for my waistline.

In fact, it's never been so big. Winning! Or not.

The mysterious thing is that the Toddler has the best diet in the world. I just can't seem to apply the same principles to myself. It all seems too hard if applied to me. For the Toddler, I'll do whatever I have to.

She has fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, a sandwich and fruit at lunch and dinner is either some pasta, or meat and veg or even a facy baked potato with yummy filling. She snacks on sultanas, blueberries, strawberries and rice crackers during the day. She always asks for water and that's what I give her. Sometimes she'll ask for cordial and I'll make her some.

It tastes like water...but it has a bit of colour to it, and that makes her happy.

The only difference is day care days where she gets more elaborate meals during the day because they have a COOK. I mean, they have all sorts of great lunches and snacks, all made from scratch and organic.

See what I mean, a cook can make life so much better!

The poor Guru ends up being served whatever I can be bothered scraping together for the adults of the house. Hence we are both sporting waistlines that aren't anything to be proud of.

His family regularly point this out to us. They are blunt about it. It pisses me off.

I know the reality - guess what, calling me fat to my face won't make me feel good enough about myself to change that fact, so how about you shut your pie-hole?

I just can't quite figure out when food became the enemy. I mean, I've never been small. The smallest I've ever been was a size 10, and that was when I was 17-18 years old and in the midst of a depressive episode. I stopped eating altogether, so naturally I shrunk.

When I have really bad days of hating myself, I wish I could go back to that dark place, just long enough to 'get skinny'. Ha. As if I have a control switch I can flick on and off to control my weight.

And that dark place isn't worth the weight loss.

I always felt good about myself when I was a size 12/14. Well, less critical anyway. Which, I believe, is the average size for an Australian woman, a healthy size and is an achievable goal.

Getting there is the challenge. But I have to do it.

We want to have another baby. And I want to be healthy and able to care for the family I have, and just feel good in my own skin again.

I have to get my shit together.

No if's, and's or but's. This is the way it is, and I am young and able enough to make the change.

I can do it.

And I'll do it for ME.

Food, glorious food.

Last night was the best meal I've had in a long time...a really long time!

And dessert was a stand out because I've never seen a toasted marshmallow this big...

And the lemon wedge isn't what you think...the rind is real, but the flesh is actually a lemon jelly - and the marshmallow was full of a lemon curd/butter.

I had chocolate cremé bruleé with vanilla bean icecream...

Sigh - if only we could dine like this every night.

Then again - we should all learn from Mr Creosote...



And kids, that's why we never, ever have a 'wafer thin, wafer' after dinner.

Friday Fluff: Cake, Candles and Overall Success

So I promised you all a proper walk through the cake business for the Toddler's 2nd birthday. Well, at the very least the tale of the trial cake/day care cake.

And as promised, the whole sorry tale is laid out before you...

 

This is the time of night on a Tuesday that I decided to create my cake. Yes, 10pm the night before I need it to be done. Organisation fail.

This is the cake tin I chose. I chose to do a giant cupcake...and I chose to buy 2 tins. Because when I've finished baking with them I can use them to dress as Madonna and strut around to 'Vogue'.

Cupcake, anyone?

Oh yeah, I'm all class, baby.

Ah, the recipe. A standard vanilla sponge recipe - it looks so simple and fool proof. But they haven't met me.

This is the newest member of our family. She is red and fabulous. Her name is Poppy and she does all the hard work. I love her.

Oh yeah - I'm powering along and the baking process seems close. At this point I'm feeling confident and fabulous and I'll have this in the bag by midnight.

Notice my attractive spatula in matching red? And my nails in coordinating watermelon pink?

Yep - I was on fire that night. I had it all under control.

It came time to fill the pan...and it was fair to say I had underestimated the amount of batter needed to complete this cupcake.

And so a secondary batch was quickly made up to complete the filling process. Once the tin is full it's shoved in the oven.

Cooking in the oven at a toasty 180 degrees.

And 45 minutes later it emerges from the oven as...

A GIANT CUPCAKE!!

It's a miracle but I actually managed to produce a cake that even I could be proud of.

And it was here that the trouble started.

A taste test was required and the Guru readily volunteered his services as official birthday cake taster. He's a trooper.

The only problem was his expression wasn't what I was looking for. The expression on his face made me think of him eating my first attempt at lasagne. God knows he tried, but his stomach would have none of it.

And this was eerily similar.

So I dove in for a second opinion...and I chewed...and I chewed...and I discovered the problem.

It tasted like a fluffy, cake based, toilet duck:

And so the Guru asked me if I was sure I got the recipe right. I angrily replied that yes, I did in fact get it all right and there was absolutely nothing wrong with anything I put in there.

The Guru discreetly looks over the recipe in the book and compares the ingredients smothering the kitchen bench. I proceed to curse the cake gods. Loudly.

And then the Guru hit the 'ah huh' moment.

Much to my shame I had got something wrong. Very wrong. But in my defense, it was a simple misunderstanding.

I now fully understand that Baking Powder and Baking Soda are two entirely separate items and should NOT be substituted.

But I would like to point out to the Baking Soda people that putting 'baking' on a package and then have the contents not suitable for human consumption is a completely, terrible idea! I mean, there could be not so many, many other people out there who could make this mistake and not have a taste tester willing to risk his life in checking these things. Baking Soda people - consider yourselves notified.

Now, if MY box had said this, I might have thought twice about adding it to food...

Anyway...by this stage it is about 1am and I am a sobbing puddle on the kitchen floor mumbling something into my hands about trying to poison innocent children.

The Guru pours me into bed and makes a shopping list. He is the only one who can save this project, and it's well and truly gone beyond the 11th hour.

At 6am on his daughter's second birthday the Guru rushes through Coles to get everything - including Baking POWDER.

By 6:45am I am working on getting my cake together. Again. Minus the inappropriate ingredient.

Thank all that is holy, it's a success and this time I even made enough batter for the tin in one go. It gets shoved in the oven and during this time I manage to get myself showered and dressed, and even the Toddler is organised.

The cake emerges from the oven some 45 minutes later and miracle of miracles it looks right. I sneek a taste...and it doesn't taste like death.

Excellent start.

Carving off the excess to make a smooth 'join' was the easy part...

Yet surprisingly the cake came out of the tin perfectly and it looked like I had finally achieved something. It's around this point, while I allowed the cake to cool before icing, that I sent my boss a text advising of the cake drama and ensuing cake mission of the morning and that I would be considerably late.

Her response?

'No worries. You should have used a packet cake!'

Sage advice...shame it was 12 hours too late.

And so I embark on the icing. And it's safe to say that (a) I had no plan and (b) I had no ideas. And the result of this blank canvas, also known as my brain/imagination is as follows...

I managed to get the cake and my child to day care in 1 piece and as soon as everything was settled and in it's place I made a run for the door.

And I made it to work by a respectable 10:30am.  Nice.

Throughout the day I kept my eye out for any emails from the Centre for Disease Control on strange poisonous cakes and small children falling ill in large groups. But there was nothing, and I was confident that when I went back to day care in the afternoon, everyone would still be alive.

And happily, they were! And there was even left over cake which I was willing to donate to the carers, but which my child insisted had to come home.

Fair enough - she obviously knew my fragile state in regard to baking and thought that if she takes some cake home it'll be enough to keep her going until I've worked up the courage to face baking again.

Clever girl.

We make it home and I decide that candles are in order...and so we light up the top of her giant cupcake and celebrate her second year on this earth.

This is the child of a parent who will never look at Baking Soda the same, again.

YAY! Candles!!

'Phhhhhhhhhhhhh!'

What do you mean they don't light up again!?

And I should say right here that I have a renewed sense of awe and gratitude for the Guru. Anyone who is prepared to rush around a supermarket at a stupid hour of the morning to save his daughter's birthday and his wife's fragile cooking ego is one hell of a man.

And I'm so glad he's ours.