Happy New Year!!
The first Saturday of the month is when I share all the things that I baked in the previous month. There really a lot of baking done this month as I have been busy doing things like going to concerts and the like.
As you would expect, it's been a busy baking month in December!
I started with a Gingerbread Souffle. When I was writing my post for a few weeks ago about Lebkuchen, I searched for the word gingerbread and was reminded that years ago I wrote a post about seeing French chef Eric Lanlard make a Gingerbread Mousse and that it didn't seem that difficult! After all these years, I made it, and it wasn't that difficult!! You can't really see it in these ramekins but it did puff up beautifully! And I would make it again, maybe a touch less rum!
Next up was the Raspberry Swirl Pavlova which I made for the family Christmas with my husband's kids! I am quite pleased with how this turned out! This is a Donna Hay recipe.
The I made Orange Poppyseed Syrup Cake. I bought oranges to make the aforementioned Lebkuchen but that didn't happen, so then I decided to make Orange Poppy Seed Syrup cake from Emelia Jackson's book First, Cream the Butter and Sugar.
And my final bake for December was for a family dinner we hosted on New Year's Eve and for dessert I made a Raspberry Peach Meringue Tart which was another Donna Hay recipe. This was a lot of fun to make. It starts with cooking the filo pastry, then making the fruit filling and then topping with a meringue, so it really is just a case of putting each of the individual components together. The recipe says to put this under the grill, but we took the opportunity to use our kitchen torch to flame the meringue.
I was very spoilt for Christmas and got a few different food related gifts. First up, I received two new cookbooks. The first one is the Donna Hay cookbook that I got the above two recipes from, and the other is Baking Yesteryear by B Dylan Hollis. I really enjoy watching his Youtube videos where he makes old recipes that sound....interesting. The recipes in the cookbook start in and then go through to the 1980's plus a chapter of the worst sounding recipes. Here's an example of one of his videos.
A couple of months ago I was making square chocolate cakes, but then I realised that I really needed a square platter. It turns out that square platters are not on trend at the moment and when I looked I couldn't find one. Fortunately, someone found one for me!
I was also given an ice cream accessory for my Kitchenaid! I need to clean out the freezer in order to be able to use it as you need to freeze the bowl for at least 16 hours in order to make ice cream.
How cute is this tiny sieve! I am not sure where I saw this now, but I mentioned it to my husband and next thing I knew I had received a package! The idea is that you can put a small amount of icing sugar/cocoa/whatever in the bowl, then turn it over and sprinkle! If nothing else, I like to play with it while I am working, but I can't wait to actually use it for it's intended use!
When my sister and her family visited us on New Year's Eve, and they bought us some homegrown produce. You can't really tell in this photo, but the zucchini is about 50 cms long which means that it is huge! And the lemons are massive too! The big question is what to cook with them.
I am sharing this post with In My Kitchen hosted at Sherry's Pickings.
Weekly meals
I enjoyed your post. Looks like you got some practical gifts. I hope you enjoy them. The Raspberry Swirl Pavlova looks amazing. Thanks for hosting .
ReplyDeleteThe Raspberry Swirl Pavlova Wreath was delicious, and easier to make than it looks!
DeleteYour month of baked treats must have been very enjoyable! Have a good year in your kitchen in 2024.
ReplyDeletebest, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
It was pretty good Mae. Thanks for stopping by
DeleteEverything looks delicious, I haven't been baking as much, my oven needs a bit of upkeep/repair in the gas line. Have a great week ahead.
ReplyDeleteHope it gets fixed soon Melynda
DeleteI love the small sieve, that would be so handy. I have a new Donna Hay cookbook which I am looking forward to using. Her recipes never fail. I must use my ice cream maker again, it's a hot summer. Great post thanks.
ReplyDeleteI am very happy with the small sieve! Can't wait to try it out.
DeleteWe are still waiting for summer to arrive here in Melbourne!
Happy New Year! I love Donna Hay's cookbooks, they are so inspiring. I am not a baker but that Raspberry Swirl Pavlova had me rushing to find her upgraded Christmas book. I will take a look at that YouTube video.
ReplyDeleteYou can look for the pav on Youtube too Liz!
Deletethanks for joining in Marg. I love Dylan's videos, and i have his book. I even made a recipe from it - the choc mayo cake. I don't mind donna hay but she doesn't thrill me. i had that book from the library as we were using it for cookbook club in december. I find her recipes kinda clunky and old-fashioned tbh but okay. Have a great 2024!
ReplyDeleteoops that Anon person is moi! sherry
ReplyDelete