Jan 31st, 2010
by Jamieanne.
One of the many things that I love about Australia is its native wildlife – kangaroos, emus, koalas, echidnas, bandicoots, wallabies, cockatoos and much more. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing some of these animals in their natural habitats while driving through the Outback in 1999 and 2002, and every day I hear the sound of cockatoos screeching past our windows. Australia is such a beautiful place with so many interesting and extreme places. I’m so glad to be living here.
Being a foodie, I also really love Australia’s native herbs and spices, such as wattleseed, lemon myrtle, mountain pepper and bush tomato, to name a few. I’ve never cooked with any of these native spices before but now that I’m here for good I would really love to experience these herbs and spices that you can only find in Australia.
Luckily, my husband grows a variety of plants in the garden, including a lemon myrtle tree. He picked some leaves from the tree earlier this week for my first experiment in baking with Australian native spices.
I thought I’d have to wait weeks for the leaves to dry, but I found a very helpful post from Simple Daily Recipes on how to dry basil in the microwave. It looked so easy and quick that I decided to try this on the lemon myrtle leaves.
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Posted in: Cupcakes, Frosting.
Tagged: australia · coconut · cream cheese · Cupcakes · Frosting · lemon myrtle
Jan 20th, 2010
by Jamieanne.
I have long been eyeing Bangerang Bake Shop’s cupcakes-in-a-jar. They always looked so appealing – a large cupcake filled and frosted with creamy frosting and smooshed into a cute little jar with a ribbon! I made a goal that one of the things I had to try before I left the US was a Bangerang Bake Shop cupcake.
I placed my order in October for a Chocolate Chip Off The Ol’ Block, and a Banana Butterscotch Bad Boy. I was so excited to try them, but unfortunately there was a problem with the shipment and I did not receive it in the specified time frame of 2-3 days. I emailed customer service, and also phoned the post office. Apparently the shipment had not been scanned from the sender’s post office, so tracking was telling me that it wasn’t even in transit yet.
Bangerang Bake Shop was so kind and reshipped my order about a week later, but surprise, my first order arrived before the second did! I was a little wary about their freshness, as it had been a week since these cupcakes were shipped. I put them in the refrigerator and hoped for the best. A couple of days later, my second order arrived in the specified time frame. Now I had four Bangerang cupcakes-in-a-jar!
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Posted in: Bakery Reviews.
Tagged: Bakery Reviews · banana · bangerang · butterscotch · chocolate chip · Cupcakes · review
Jan 9th, 2010
by Jamieanne.
Today has been a really hot day in Sydney; the temperature has reached nearly 95F. It’s a good thing I did all my baking yesterday, when it wasn’t so hot! We did do our taste-testing today, however. To our Cupcake Hero throw-down contestants, I congratulate you again, as well as commend you for your efforts in making these cupcakes. Both of them have extra steps that makes them both extra special.
For our vote-winner, the batica from Sugar Plum of Vanillastrawberryfields, we are required to use a fresh coconut and grate it down (which is a bit of work!) and then to let the cake batter sit for at least four hours. The recipe was a little hard to understand, mainly because it’s not made in a traditional manner, but this is what made it special. What we liked about it is that it is very unique and traditional. It was definitely a moist cake with a lovely coconut flavor. 2 out of my 5 taste-testers preferred Sugar Plum’s batica.
For our competitor, the coconut rough cupcake from Catie of Catie’s Cakes & Cookies, the extra steps were the preparation of the chocolate-coconut nests and the coconut malibu truffles. Making these two particular things is not an easy task when it is so hot; a lot of refrigeration was necessary! When all was done and everyone had messy fingers!, the taste-testers really liked the chocolate-coconut nests and the gooey-ness of the truffles. This is what made these cupcakes so special. So special in fact, that 3 out of my 5 taste-testers preferred Catie’s coconut rough cupcakes.
This means that our winner in the throwdown by just one vote is Catie of Catie’s Cakes & Cookies!
Congratulations Catie!
Once again, I want to also congratulate you again Sugar Plum and everyone else who entered their coconut cupcakes!
Cupcake Hero will now return to I Heart Cuppycakes, so stay tuned over there to see what the next Cupcake Hero theme ingredient will be. :)
Posted in: Cupcake Hero.
Tagged: coconut · Cupcake Hero · winner
Jan 6th, 2010
by Jamieanne.
As we’re waiting for the final verdict on December’s Cupcake Hero challenge, I thought I’d post about these cupcakes that my daughter and I made shortly before we left the US. What makes these cupcakes extra special is that they were completely made up by my 4-year-old daughter.
One night as I was putting her to bed she told me she wanted to make her own cupcake. I asked her what kind of cupcake did she want to make. She said she wanted a vanilla cake, pink raspberry frosting, a cherry on top and a piece of white chocolate. I promised her I’d help her make them.
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Posted in: Cupcakes, Frosting.
Tagged: buttercream · Cupcakes · Frosting · raspberry · vanilla
Jan 3rd, 2010
by Jamieanne.
Thank you to everyone who cast their vote for December’s Cupcake Hero! A total of 71 people voted and the winner, with 44% of the votes, is the Batica from Sugar Plum of Vanillastrawberryspringfields! Congrats to Sugar Plum for receiving the winning number of votes!
However, as you all know, it’s not over yet. Sugar Plum’s cupcake must first enter a throwdown with the cupcake of my choosing. My taste-testers will then decide whose coconut cupcake will win December’s challenge. So whose cupcake have I chosen?
The Coconut Rough Cupcakes from Catie of Catie’s Cakes & Cookies! Congrats, Catie!
Thanks again and congrats to everyone who entered the coconut Cupcake Hero challenge, all the cupcakes look amazing and delicious!
Stay tuned, I hope to announce the winner within the coming week!
Posted in: Cupcake Hero.
Tagged: Cupcake Hero · throwdown
