This has been one crazy week, to say the least! I left New Zealand on Tuesday to return to New York City and I was feeling a range of different emotions. Even though my Mum has made an amazing recovery in the past 7 months, I still worry about her a lot and it was very hard to leave her. For now, we will have to make do with phone calls and video chats. It eases my mind somewhat to know she has a great support system around her. We really made the most of our last few weeks together, including a trip down to Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. The beaches down there are among my favourites, and we took her dog Jessie with us, and she was loving all the bush and beach walks.
Recipes
Lemon Drizzle Cake
If you’re looking for the perfect, no-fuss cake to serve with tea or coffee to your houseguests, look no further! This lemon cake is packed full of flavor, isn’t too sweet, and has an irresistible lemon syrup poured over it instead of icing. It’s quick, easy to make and your guests will love it.
Coconut & Mango Chia Pudding
We’re almost at the end of 2017! It’s been a very dramatic year for me, I can only hope 2018 will be a lot calmer. Still, I am very thankful to be ending the year on a high, and with my beautiful Mum by my side. The past week has been super indulgent for me,…
Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf
Can you believe we’re almost at the end of November?! I am glad it will soon be Summer here in New Zealand though. I miss NYC but I really don’t miss the bitter winters they have there! Last weekend I took a trip to a strawberry farm in Clevedon. Even though it’s not Summer yet, the strawberries were sweet and delicious. I got my mum one of the frozen yogurt cones blended with strawberries, which she really enjoyed. I will definitely be making more trips back there before the season is over. Check out my Instagram feed for photos.
Chocolate Ganache Filled Cupcakes With Meringue Ghosts
It’s almost Halloween! I’ve always enjoyed dressing up in costume and going to a party or event to celebrate. I think my favorite costume was when I dressed up as a lolita doll (Japanese style). I went all out, including buying those special contact lenses which make your iris look extra large & round. I chose purple ones and I had such a hard time putting them in my eyes! I’d never worn contacts before, and it took me 20 minutes just to put one of them in! It certainly took some getting used to, but I loved the effect it gave my eyes. This year I’m not dressing up (boo!) but I had to make something Halloween-themed to eat. I decided on chocolate cupcakes, filled with chocolate ganache, and finished with whipped ganache and a meringue ghost. Talk about chocolate overload! This is seriously one of the best cupcake recipes I’ve made, the cupcakes are so rich but not overly sweet, thanks to the ganache. And the meringue ghost makes a cute addition. You can either ‘paint’ the eyes on the ghosts with melted chocolate or by using an edible gel pen. The pen would be the easiest way, but I went with the melted chocolate & a toothpick as it’s what I had on hand. I hope you all have a scarily good Halloween! 🙂
S’mores Cake
Today is National S’mores Day, so what better day than to share with you the S’mores cake I made last weekend for a friend’s birthday. This girl loves anything chocolate, so when i asked her what kind of cake she would like this year, she first replied ‘something chocolate’. Then a few minutes later she sent a text saying ‘Actually, can you make a s’mores cake???’ The funny thing is, I had planned to make a s’mores cake back in June for my boyfriend’s birthday, but I didn’t have some of the necessary equipment (you will need a blow torch!) and I was short on time. I ended up making a chocolate cookie dough bundt cake, which didn’t require any decorating time.
Cherry Pie
Cherries are one of my favorite summer fruits; as soon as they come into season I always make sure I have them in my fridge. So it goes without saying that cherry pie is my favorite of all fruit pies. This recipe is all from-scratch, and trust me, it’s worth it! I used to be intimidated by making my own pie crust from scratch, I thought the whole process was too involved and tricky. After doing it several times, and improving each time, I realized it’s actually very easy, you just need to understand the golden rule of keeping all the ingredients cold. Only use as much water as you need for mixing the dough. It also pays to make some room in your freezer for the pie, so you can put it in there 10 minutes before putting it in the oven. This will ensure that the crust stays intact and the sides don’t droop.
Matcha Coconut Energy Balls
Matcha and Coconut are two of my favorite things. It was only a matter of time before I put the two together to create a satisfying treat. These energy balls are raw vegan, and come together in a matter of minutes. Matcha ( a special form of green tea from Japan) has many health benefits and also gives you a boost thanks to the caffeine. Matcha is made from high quality tea and the leaves are ground down into a fine powder. Because whole leaves are injected, this makes Matcha a more potent source of nutrients than green tea. It is rich in antioxidants that can help prevent cancer and heart disease, and can help to regulate sugar levels in the body.
Black Sesame & Chia Seed Granola
I grew up in New Zealand eating toasted muesli with milk for breakfast. I never liked the untoasted kind, it just didn’t taste as good to me. As far as I know, we didn’t have granola, that was more of an American thing (which I didn’t discover until adulthood). Both muesli and granola are made with nuts,…
Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns are a staple at my house during Easter. My Mum is a big fan of them, however it wasn’t until I became an adult that I got a liking for them. I was one of those children that used to turn my nose up at anything with raisins in it. I’d eat the raisins by themselves, but if they were in a muffin, I wouldn’t touch it. How times have changed! Now I can’t get enough of cinnamon raisin bread and hot cross buns.