Making moulds

Amazing mold putty, wow I love this stuff, although rather pricey it does go quite far, it is non toxic and easy to work with and makes fantastic little moulds.

No special equipment required - only thing is you must be organised because you get about 2 minutes to work with it.

Ideally make your original out of fimo clay, or get something interesting that you want to make a mould from.

 I don't weigh the 2 parts of the putty I just get an equal quantity of each part (white and yellow)  and quickly work them together - I mean quickly, no time to get interrupted - you have about 1 minute so work fast. 

So once it is evenly mixed together you roll it into a nice neat ball, again do this fast, very fast.

Now you are ready to make the mould, press the putty over your original object, start in the middle of the object and work the putty over the entire object, pressing down gently but properly to ensure you get in all the details. Don't play around too much - just push it on and leave it - if there are thinner areas you can just apply more putty later. Just leave it for lets say 30 minutes to be safe. Go away and do something else, do not be tempted to check it out or anything, just leave it alone.

After 30 minutes you can touch it - it should be ready to 'unmould' your original and walla your mould is made and ready to use. If you will be using it for food - wash the  mould first.



Fondant spider



NOTE - The putty does come with full instructions, that you should read through first.

You can use the moulds to make a variety of things including edible items like chocolates, fondant decorations, ice, as well as baked things (it can withstand temperatures of up to 395 deg F - although I haven't tried it yet). Ensure that the item you are making the mould from has be thoroughly cleaned before you begin.

Be creative and have fun xx 

Maple Mud Cupcakes



Cinnamon and sugar, maple , cinnamon maple and pecan maple



I got this recipe from the lovely Rachael who's a cupcake queen and proud owner of  www.plushnlushcupcakes.com.au. These are so delish and so moreish, I never knew I could eat so many cupcakes in one  sitting....and take my advice do not let anyone else try them,  if you are feeling generous get over it because sharing here is just not an option. Now  you can halve this recipe but I wouldn't recommend it, unless it's for sever health issues, I recommend you do the whole batch, eat the whole lot -perhaps over a 2 day period and then bake some more.

Maple Mud Cupcakes 

250g unsalted butter cubed

200g White Chocolate

1 1/3 cup of firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup of maple syrup

1 1/3 cup full cream milk

2 cups of plain flour (sifted)

2/3 cup Self raising flour (sifted)

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 140 degC. Line 2 12 hole muffin trays.

2. Stir butter, chocolate, brown sugar, maple syrup and milk in a saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool for about 15 min.

3 Whisk sifted flours into chocolate mixture then whisk in eggs one at a time.

4. Fill cases with mixture to approx 3/4 full. Bake for about 30 min.

Maple Butter cream

500g unsalted butter softened

800g icing sugar

3 - 4 tbs maple syrup. ( depending on how strong you want the taste)

Beat butter and icing sugar with an electric mixer for about 8 minutes until light and fluffy then add maple syrup and beat for a further 30 seconds.

I only made half the quantity of icing as I had eaten half the MINI cupcakes while they were cooling down - a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar is lovely on these. I also topped the frosted/iced cupcakes with chopped pecan nuts or a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Push up Tubes

Oh I love these containers, they are designed as ice cream containers but their uses in the portable sweet food industry are endless(oh I am sure you can put savoury things in these but I just do sweet). Filled with layers of cake, cookies, mousse, jelly, fruit and of course ice cream are just some of the things you can fill them with. The quality is fantastic and they are completely reusable which is always a bonus for a container. Due to the fact that these are see through creating pretty layers is in my opinion a must, and if you want to go the extra mile you can bling up the container too, pop a personal label on and it makes the perfect little gift.

The size of these are approximately 8cm high and 5cm diameter, so I would say a single portion. These come in 4 parts and you need to assemble them. I have found that taking off/leaving off the handle is convenient when working with them. Alternatively if you have some sort of stand/cookie cooling rack to place them in so they stand upright works great too. You can of course buy the correct stands for these babies.

Ensure that you have the push part at the bottom before filling - if you fill layers and pull down as you work it will smear on the inside of your container and wont look as nice. Same goes for filling these to the top, there is a little bit of space in the lid but if you over fill you will squash the top and yes it will ruin the visual effect - however they will still be delish to eat.

 There are many ways of filling these tubes, but I will share a little bit of what I do with them.



Coconut biscuit, cream caramel layers

 For Ice cream
Make your own ice cream or like me - using bought vanilla ice cream add crushed berries, caramel, crushed cookies, chocolate bits or anything you like - create your own flavor.
Using a large piping tip and bag Pipe your ice cream into the containers - decorate the top, pop the lid on and place in the freezer.

For mini cupcakes
I have found that 2 iced mini cupcakes fit in these perfectly.
When I fill these I make sure the push up is at the bottom of the container, pop in a mini cupcake, then using a piping bag and tip of your choice pipe the icing, place the second cupcake on top and pipe more icing, decorate as desired. pop the lid on and you're done - remember be aware of the the space on top so that you don't end up squashing the icing - although it will still taste delish.




                 
For cake

Bake your desired cake in a brownie pan or any other pan - the idea is that you are baking layers of cake that you will be cutting into little circles. Once the cake is baked and cooled you can begin cutting out your circles, if you like you can level your cake, that way all you circles of cake will be the same thickness. If I have baked a beautifully risen cake I cut out my circles then halve them so that they are not too thick. I use a 4.5cm circle cutter, but you can use the container to cut out your circles too. So same principle, layers of cake and filling all the way to the top. Done

For cookies
Remember cookies do not have the same texture of cake so they can't be just squeezed in to these containers - they must be the right size - cookies can scratch the sides of the containers and well as I have said the visual appearance of these is rather important - so cut the cookies the correct size - smaller is better in this case.
So cut your desired cookie using a 4cm round cutter - if your cookie recipe spreads a lot while baking take this into account - your baked cookie should not be bigger than about 4.5cm. Decorate your cookies as desired, once dried you can fill the containers. Now when I fill the containers with cookies I do things a bit differently, I push the inner part up so it's near the top of the container and as I fill I gradually pull it down.

Just for fun
Layer of sweets/lollies/candy
Layer of cookie
Topped with a mini cupcake

Perfect party treat!!

I hope that you have got some inspiration here, there are so many incredible things that you can do with these to create a personal, delicious treat.

Happy baking and creating.

Christmas in July

Just a reminder that July is almost over so if you want a chance at getting this little gift just post a comment and you'll go into the draw.
Happy Baking

Christmas in July - sweet gift

Finally I am giving something away! Ti's the season to be silly, it's rather chilly and there's nothing like gift giving and this does not rhyme at all so let me just get down to the basics.

I have been looking and thinking for quite sometime for something sweet and something small, that can be safely mailed anywhere and finally I found it - so if you'd like the chance to win this sweet little gift that I got sent from the USA all you have to do is let me know you are interested. Post a comment, a quick hello and you will be in the running - that's it - sweet and simple.

I suppose you might need to know what it is - well it's called My Little Cupcake - it's the sweetest little cake pop mold. For those who don't know what  to do with it - it has a recipe and full instructions on the box. And if you really need some ideas or inspiration there are hundreds of talented sweet creators on the Internet, or have a look at some of my favorite inspiring creators on my face book page.

www.mylittlecupcakepop

Good luck.

The winner will be randomly drawn and lets give it a week so entries close 30 July 2011, all welcome to enter.

This is my little cupcake pop mold and the cake pops my two boys made using it, so much fun.

Caramel Nut Slice



Caramel Walnut Slice


Soft biscuit base, chewy caramel, crunchy nuts.....yum.
I came across this recipe with another one very similar, both had been torn out of magazines and popped in my to try some day recipe file.  I chose this one mainly because it was easier and didn't require any 'touching' - yes I am a baker who doesn't really like to have my hands in the food . Originally this recipe called for macadamia nuts, I didn't have any so I used walnuts instead and I would say that almost any nuts would work, I will definitely be trying this one again with other nuts.
Well, there was almost none left to take photos - saying that - I did save 2 pieces for the sake of science to try the next day and can confirm that this was still delish the next day and am sure would stay nice but would recommend storage in an airtight container. I would say that this would also be lovely to serve warm with some whipped cream.

Ingredients
BASE
1 egg
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil
2/3 cup (100g) plain flour, sifted
1/4 cup (35g) self-raising flour, sifted
TOPPING
1 cup (220g) brown sugar
175g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
250g unsalted nuts coarsely chopped (macadamias, pecans, walnuts or almonds)

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease and line an 18 x 28cm slice pan.
Beat the egg and caster sugar together until thick and pale. Add oil and beat until well combined. Fold in the combined sifted flours. Spoon into prepared pan and spread to cover the base evenly. Bake for 20 minutes, until puffed and light golden.
While the base is baking prepare the topping. Place the brown sugar, butter and syrup in a saucepan  on low heat. Stir for about 5 minutes, until the butter melts and sugar dissolves. Simmer, without stirring for 10 minutes, until it's caramelised, take off heat and add the nuts.
Pour the topping over the base and quickly spread evenly.
Bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until the topping is golden.
Allow to cool in the pan, slice and enjoy.

Push up Tubes

Just couldn't help fill at least one - cookies and cream ice cream - the others are completely naked

Presentation and packaging all in one.

Wow I am loving these, the uses are endless, they are fully washable, recyclable - (and I do love to recycle) and wo.ho. they are portable! I have been having sleepless nights thinking about these - I know it's crazy but there are just so many things you can do with them, just limited to your imagination and it's size.

Well yes they are actually ice cream containers, but cookies, cupcakes, slices, sweets, mousse, jelly, cake balls well anything as long as it fits, and aren't they just the perfect little thank you gift, add a tag or a label and walla the sweetest little gift. The lid seals nicely making it so perfectly portable - fantastic for school, markets, parties or a day out with the kids.
They measure 7cm high with space on the top for a little creative addition and have a diameter of about 4.5cm.
Oh I have been baking and cutting lots of little round things. So yes my round cutters have been my most used items in the last few weeks.
Looking forward to sharing some of my 'experiments' with you!