At the Family Favourites workshop

Pineapple cheesecake

Ask 10 people what their favourite desserts are, 7 of them will tell you they like a chocolate based one.

And the pineapple is a favourite fruit. As this pineapple cheesecake will testify to. It drew the most amount of oohs and aahs.  

Black forest gateau

What is it that makes the black forest cake so popular?

Lemon curd  and chocolate buttercream cupcakes

And cupcakes, I think, will never go out of style.

Chocolate truffle cake

But for me, the timeless and absolutely decadent chocolate truffle cake with layers of gooey ganache will always be a favourite.

Next workshop on November 15th, 10.30 am- 2.30 pm.

The Christmas Bakes workshop

Well, this is what finally happened at the workshop on Christmas Bakes-

We set the pudding alight!

But before that, the ladies

 made some mincemeat tarts for Santa,

baked Christmas tree cookies for Rudolph to hide behind

and made a fruit filled golden fruit cake.

I do hope they had a good Christmas!!

Many thanks, Vidya for the photographs.

Family favourites- a workshop

Always wanted to make a layered cake with ganache but not sure how to go about it?

At an upcoming workshop "Family Favourites", learn to make a  chocolate truffle cake or turn it into a cupcake, a decadent black forest gateau, lemon cupcakes and a glazed pineapple cheesecake.

The workshop will be on Saturday, November 15th, 10.30am - 2.30 pm at Kottivakkam.

Merry Christmas

At last, the baking's done. Fruit cakes and cookies packed and dispatched, my kitchen clean and gleaming, and the madness of the last month now but a memory...

...Not really. I had a fruit cake left over from last week's workshop. There were times when I was tempted to slice it and have it with a cup of tea.

Yesterday, I decided to ice it. And go the whole hog while at it! So, made some marzipan and I had this conversation with myself whether to cover the whole cake or only the top. Finally the whole cake got a coat of it. I also noticed the family giving me strange looks. Wonder why...

An overnight drying( I know it's not enough) and then a coat of royal icing. The remaining marzipan was rolled out and cut into 3 trees and stuck together, dried overnight and outlined with royal icing. I also managed to pipe out a star for the top of the tree.

A few holly leaves and berries with flower paste, a red ribbon and an unexpected discovery of a packet of santas completed my cake.

Here's wishing all of you a very merry Christmas and a joyous new 2013.


 

Christmas Bakes- a workshop

It's never too late to bake a cake for Christmas. And a lot of other goodies, as well!!

So, at a workshop on Christmas Bakes, what's on the menu?

A golden fruit cake. This one's a breeze to make and tastes absolutely yummy.

Then, what's Christmas without mince tarts? No, no, not the meaty ones but tarts that are filled with fruits and spices and baked in sweet pastry cases. And topped with a golden star.

Christmas tree cookies are a perennial favourite. Making these cookies is a good way of keeping kids busy during the holidays.

And finally, a microwaved Christmas pudding. Not been able to make a Christmas pudding yet? Don't despair, this one takes 10 minutes to cook and is loaded with fruit. Put the pudding in the microwave to cook as you sit down for the Christmas meal. And of course, don't forget to make a wish as you stir the batter.

The workshop is on December 13th, 10.30am-2.30pm.

www.baketales.com/2012/12/the-christmas-bakes-workshop.html

A gift for Christmas

 Look what Santa brought me...

 ...an early Christmas present.

After the most boring fruit and veg I've been seeing in vegetable stores day in and day out, this is a real treat.

Yellow baby tomatoes, mini red tomatoes from Spain, a Thai pineapple, kaffir limes and their aromatic leaves, krachai, Thai red chilles, gem lettuce, a red potato, endives, a soursop, a big juicy tomato, a lotus stem and the yummiest of all, a punnet of blueberries from Argentina.

The tomatoes and lettuce were my lunch today. Tossed through with a bit of French dressing.

Thanks, Satya from https://www.facebook.com/Fruitmarx/