Mmm Cake

Happy last day of July! There are now only 5 months left in the year – wow!

Today I follow up on a promise I made several weeks ago and share my favourite carrot cake recipe. This is a BIG cake and my go-to for a café style cake. You can make it as two cakes – ice one and freeze the other, or as one big cake. I made one last night to take to a community café and iced it this morning with every intention to photograph it for this. However, I ended up being pushed for time, and completely forgot about taking any pictures. And there weren’t any leftovers either.

What I like about this cake is that it’s pretty much fail proof. Some of the preparation takes a little bit of time, but it’s absolutely worth it. The oil makes it really moist and it’s full of carrot, apple and pineapple, so that must make it kind of healthy right? This is the recipe I used when I made mini carrot cakes in the straight-sided mini cake tin (check out the review here). My sister made these again last week, but reduced the cooking time, gaining a much better result in the tin – there wasn’t so much of a ‘crust’ so I'll willing to give them another chance.

Carrot Cake

420g (2 cups) castor sugar

315 ml (1 ¼ cups) canola oil

2 tsp vanilla essence

2 tsp grated lemon rind

3 eggs (lightly beaten)

270g (2 cups) carrots (peeled and grated)

195g (1 cup) apple (peeled and grated)

250g (1 cup) unsweetened crushed pineapple (drained)

65 ml (1/4 cup) pineapple juice (juice from the crushed pineapple)

40g (1/2 cup) desiccated coconut

420g (3 cups) flour

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celcius. Spray and line with baking paper two 8-inch round cake tins or one 10-inch cake tin. Ensure they’re at least 7.5cm deep
2. In a large bowl whisk together sugar, oil, vanilla and lemon rind with a hand whisk. Do not use an electric mixer as you will create too much air.
3. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in carrot, apple, pineapple, pineapple juice and coconut.
4. Sift dry ingredients, add to bowl and gently fold in.
5. Pour batter into prepared tin/s and bake for approximately 1 hour for the large cake or approximately 40 minutes for the smaller tins or until a cake skewer comes out clean, and the cake bounces back when prodded.
6. Allow cake/s to cool in tin for 10 minutes, then remove from tin and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Ice with your favorite cream cheese icing recipe. I quite like a citrus cream cheese icing for this cake. I use the cream cheese icing recipe here and add the juice and rind of half a lemon.

Carrot cake recipe is adapted from Ruth Pretty Cooking at Springfield.

Enjoy!

H xo

High Teas in Auckland

I realized this week that this blog has changed a lot from what I originally hoped it would be. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I realized that what I really wanted to do was have one place where you can find where the majority of the high teas in Auckland city were and if they were any good. Now this has turned into something a whole lot bigger than I originally anticipated, and my research has located around 20 different high tea locations in Auckland! (And this seems to be always increasing). So I’ve decided that a start at least is to list all of the locations that I know of for high tea in Auckland with appropriate links so you at least have one place where everything is compiled.

And here it is. I’ll keep it updated under the ‘High Tea Reviews’ tab to make it easier to find. The locations are varied, from hotels to historical houses to cafes, there is a high tea that will suit everyone’s taste and budget.

North Shore

Peace and Plenty Inn

Stafford Villa

Takapuna Beach Café and Store (download the menu to see this one)

The Tea Lady

South Auckland

Agave

Fisher House

West Auckland

Auckland’s Waitakere Estate

The Alberton 

The Brigham Café

Central Auckland

Britomart Country Club

Cornwall Park Restaurant

Cotter House

Nostalgia (previously Prohibition)

Parnells on the Rose Garden

Stamford Plaza

The Heritage Hotel

The Langham Hotel

The Orbit

Zarbos 

This list is certainly not conclusive, as I am sure that there are some that I have missed. Feel free to add your comments to the selection and add any that I may be missing.

Please note all high teas require that you book in advance.

Twinings High Tea

Yesterday afternoon I had a delightful high tea at The Langham, in Auckland City. It wasn’t your typical high tea at The Langham however, as it was one hosted by MindFood and Twinings of London as a PR event for the release of their new tea ‘New Zealand Earl Grey’. High tea was served in Barolo Restaurant rather than The Winery because of this. I’m told though that the high tea delicacies served were similar to those served at the Langham’s Tiffin Afternoon Tea (their version of the high tea).

 

I have not been to The Langham for high tea since February 2011, but since then their impeccable service has not changed. The wait staff were very attentive without being intrusive, refilling water glasses and ensuring that everyone had plenty of tea. The Langham really seem to have the service aspect of high tea down to a fine art. I am continually impressed. Although this is not an official review, they get a 5 out of 5 for service.

The event was hosted by Stephen Twining and Matt Greenwood of Twinings, who made a witty pair, they were both informative and entertaining. Stephen Twining and Matt Greenwood came and spoke to the individual tables, and actually sat down and had conversation with us. We sat at a table of 6; I had come with two other dining companions. I really enjoyed the company of the people at our table - high tea seems to facilitate good conversation.

The high tea, well, what can I say? The Langham, I believe, probably offer one of the largest high tea selections. Of particular note were the rum and raisin scones, the smoked salmon mousse on brioche, the macadamia nut macaroon and the mulled wine-spiced opera cake (which tasted like tiramisu to me?). In my opinion, The Langham probably does one of the best ‘sweet’ tiers of any high tea that I’ve been too. The savouries were ok.

One cannot forget the tea, as that is what this afternoon was all about. The following Twinings blends were served throughout the afternoon to accompany the high tea: Twinings English Breakfast, Twinings New Zealand Breakfast, Twinings Green Tea and Cranberry and Twinings New Zealand Earl Grey. My favourite of the afternoon was probably the Green Tea and Cranberry variety. It had a distinct cranberry flavor without being overly sweet and was brewed beautifully as the green tea was not bitter at all. Although I am usually more partial to a black tea, green teas lately are becoming a new favourite. Trivia fact from the afternoon, apparently tea served without milk is less than one calorie! Twinings New Zealand Earl Grey, the new tea, was good, quite fragrant, and I preferred this one with milk.

Overall, it was a fantastic afternoon.

High Tea Etiquette

As I so often say, high tea is really about the experience, rather than one single element. That said, I thought I should do some research into the proper etiquette of a high tea.

I was surprised on beginning my search that there are actually quite a few resources out there on afternoon tea etiquette (ok, this is the internet, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised). I had heard this in the past, but high tea is not the proper term for the afternoon tea we know it as today. However, I think that like many other words, meanings over time have changed and so I still consider it appropriate to call it ‘high tea’.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I direct you instead to an interesting article on high tea etiquette that I found in my searches.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/EllenEaston/EtiquetteFauxPas.htm

 

I leave you with a quote from the author of the above article: 

“Afternoon tea was created to foster friendship.  May your afternoons always be filled with good tea and good friends.”

H xo

GrabOne - Britomart Country Club 2 for 1 - Today Only

Another GrabOne deal. Be in quick - they sell out really fast!

http://www.grabone.co.nz/auckland/britomart-country-club-3

Enjoy!

H xo

Marshmallow Goodness

Growing up in New Zealand, my favourite store bought biscuit was by far the Mallowpuff. How can you resist the amazing combination of marshmallow, biscuit and chocolate? It’s so good. I guess that’s why I love s’mores as well. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the s’more, you are missing out! Traditionally made around a campfire, it consists of a fire melted marshmallow sandwiched between two chocolate biscuits (Chocolate Girl Guide Biscuits to be precise). In the US I believe they use graham crackers and Hersheys chocolate rather than chocolate biscuits.

I was flicking through another recipe book from the library when I came across ‘Marshmallow Teacakes’. To me, it looked just like a homemade Mallowpuff. I was excited to say the least, and had dreams of miniature high tea Mallowpuffs. So when I finally had some extra time to test out the recipe I jumped at the chance.

My final product was not as aesthetically pleasing as the recipe book, but I am pleased to say, they were quite good. I changed the recipe slightly to suit what I wanted to do and my own tastes. Next time I might use a milk chocolate as the dark chocolate was quite a strong flavour (but it is also a lot sweeter).

Marshmallow Teacakes

Biscuit base:

110g plain flour

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

60g butter, softened

60g castor sugar

2 egg yolks (save the whites for the marshmallow)

½ tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp milk

Marshmallow filling:

2 egg whites

100g castor sugar

1tbsp golden syrup, plus 1 tsp

Pinch of salt

½ tsp vanilla essence

Chocolate topping:

200g 70% cocoa chocolate

1.     Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2.     Sift first four ingredients of the biscuit base together in a bowl and set aside.

3.     In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla essence and mix well. Beat in milk. Add flour mixture and mix with a spoon until combined (don’t over-mix).

4.     Place small balls of biscuit dough onto baking tray – I had about 18, but it depends on how big/small you want to make them. I would squish them down slightly with a fork as they don't spread very much. Bake for about 10 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges (cooking time will vary depending on the size of your biscuits). Remove from oven and allow to cool.

5.     While the biscuits are cooling, put all of the marshmallow filling ingredients into a saucepan. (The original recipe suggests using a double boiler, but I found it easier to do it straight in the saucepan – you just have to be extra careful it doesn’t catch!). Whisk continuously by hand until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture becomes frothy and slightly opaque (10ish minutes). Remove from heat and beat with an electric handmixer until the mixture is the consistency of meringue. Once it is white and thick and holds it shape it is ready to go. Put the filling into a piping bag fitted with a large plain round tip (I used the Wilton 12 Round Tip).

6.     Pipe generous amounts of marshmallow onto each biscuit and put aside to set.

7.     Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave for 30 second bursts on medium, stirring between each time. You do not need to fully melt the chocolate in the microwave, you will find that once it is half melted you are able to just stir it until smooth.

8.     Spoon the chocolate over each marshmallow cover biscuit. Let the chocolate set completely before serving (can take up to an hour). Eat on the same day as making (but this shouldn’t be a problem). This may seem rather quick, but when I ate one of the last ones only two days after making them, the biscuit had started to become a little soggy with the marshmallow, and it tasted a little old.

Recipe adapted from  Peyton and Byrne: British Baking.

This recipe is fairly labour intensive, but I enjoyed making them as marshmallow is not usually something that I make. It's definitely on the list to remake.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Cupcakes, although not included in your traditional high tea, have gained huge popularity over the past couple of years. I consider myself to be a bit of cupcake purist – there is nothing I like better than a vanilla cupcake with a swirl of buttercream on top. One thing I really dislike is a beautiful looking cupcake where the cake is dry – it’s a bit of a disappointment. One of my favourite cupcake shops is Petal in New Market. The cupcakes are delicious; they’re so moist and almost melt in your mouth and offer a variety of flavours.

This is my go-to recipe for vanilla cupcakes. I like it because it’s really hard to get wrong and you can mix everything in one bowl.

Vanilla Cup Cakes

 

Ingredients

5 oz (150g) Butter - softened

5 oz (150g) superfine (castor) sugar

6 oz (175g) self-raising flour

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1.         Pre-heat the oven to 180oC.

2.         Line a 12 cup cake pan, with cup cake papers.

3.         Crack the eggs into a cup and beat lightly with a fork.

4.         Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.

5.         Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes, until light and creamy.

6.         Divide the mixture evenly between the cake cases.

7.         Bake for 18-20 minutes until risen and firm to touch.

8.         Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

9.         Allow to cool fully before icing with a buttercream icing.

Credit to one of my friends who sent me this recipe probably four years ago now. It’s from a website but I have no idea which one now…

Chai Lattes

On cold days like these there is nothing I like better than a hot drink and curling up next to the fire at home. One of my favourite hot drinks is a chai latte, and I am currently loving the Chai Latte made by Lipton. All you have to do is add hot water and stir and you have a hot, creamy drink to sip. Some people would say that it’s a bit sweet, but I like a sweet chai. Now I know this isn’t tea, but my ultimate high tea would probably involve a chai latte and/or a citrus green tea.

I recently found a recipe for Chai Latte cupcakes, which I will be attempting soon – will let you know how it goes. I’m quite excited because it combines two of my favourite things – chai lattes and cupcakes.

I spent the last weekend down in Wellington, which apart from being freezing, was fabulous. There are some very cool shops in Wellington and I spent a lot of time wondering around different shops, from op shops to boutiques. I found some gorgeous costume earrings at a shop on the end of Willis Street (I think it was called Retro Room?), which were very ‘high tea’ elegant to me. It’s amazing what you can find when you stop shopping at chain stores. We stayed at the James Cook Hotel in central Wellington, which happens to offer high tea. Given time constraints and the reasons that we were in Wellington there wasn’t any time to check this out, but while we were having lunch at the restaurant I saw high tea being served by the windows on the 16^th floor. Presentation appeared fairly standard and I wasn’t so sure about the atmosphere, it didn’t seem as engaging as some of the other places that I’ve been to. Further trips to Wellington are in order to scope out the high teas (and shopping!).

Keep warm! Til next time,

H

Friday is the day before Saturday

Another Friday has come around, I'm so excited for the weekend. Saw this article online this week about a high tea challenge that is coming up, sponsored by Dilmah. I imagine we'll hear more about it in the future. Coming up on the blog soon, I'm going to a high tea sponsored by Twinings at the Langham. Also hoping to check out Britomart Country Club high tea soon too. Also, watch out for some more recipes in the next couple of weeks.

http://www.voxy.co.nz/lifestyle/professional-challenge-put-real-high-tea/5/128267

Have a fabulous weekend.

H xo

Mini Cake Baking Tin

Recently, I have discovered an easy way to make mini cakes (not cupcakes). After a trip to the UK, my Mum came home talking about loose bottomed, straight-sided mini cake tins. I hadn’t really heard of them myself, but investigated online and found them at Milly’s Kitchen. As Mother’s Day was coming up at the time, I forwarded the link to my brother, who bought one for Mum. Given my love of baking, I jumped at the chance to test it out, and so made mini carrot cakes. They looked really cute, especially when iced. I guess the only thing I didn’t like was that they had too much ‘edge’ on the cake. I don’t know about you, but the edge of a cake is the part I like the least. I’m looking forward to making mini-cheesecakes in the tin though – the loose bottom will make it super easy (I hope).

I’ll share my carrot cake recipe in the future – it’s one of my favourites, always moist and tasty and pretty much a never fail (unlike my sponge cake experiences). I’m still unsure of my opinion on this cake tin – is it just another baking ‘knick knack’ or does it have genuine usefulness in the kitchen? It still has novelty value with me however, so I’ll keep experimenting with it for now. If you have any ideas of what to make in it, feel free to share them. I’m always up for a baking/high tea challenge.

H xo

Mini carrot cakes