Buttermilk biscuits

Ever since my trip to America, I have been so obsessed with eating buttermilk biscuits, I have tried various recipes but this was the one that worked for me and it was so easy to make.

Buttermilk biscuits are kind of like what us Aussies call a buttermilk scone but they do have their differences, buttermilk scones for example often require sugar and self raising flour, whereas buttermilk biscuits contain no sugar and require the use of plain flour and baking powder. I do feel like buttermilk biscuits taste lighter than buttermilk scones.

This recipe that I found for buttermilk biscuits was so simple to make and unlike most recipes, it did not require vegetable shortening. I also didn’t find the kneading process complicated, because I hate kneading scone dough. 

The buttermilk biscuits only took 13 minutes to bake in the oven and they looked so deliciously fresh out of the oven. 

The buttermilk biscuits tasted lighter than buttermilk scones, they were also very fluffy too. I broke tradition and instead of spreading jam and cream on my buttermilk scone, I spread it with my favourite supermarket butter Mainland Organic Butter . 

I am so pleased that I was able to successfully make my own buttermilk biscuits, it was definitely one of my baking goals.

Buttermilk biscuits recipe*

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup canola oil

2 cups of plain flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

3 teaspoons of baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. In a small bowl mix the buttermilk and canola oil. In a larger bowl sift the plain flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the buttermilk/oil mixture to the dry ingredients until combined. Shape into a ball, place on floured surface and knead 4-5 times. Roll out the dough flat with a floured rolling pin, with a cookie cutter, cut out the biscuits. Place them 3 centimetres apart on a baking sheet. Bake on the centre rack in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until light brown.

*recipe by Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods. 

Work place friendly: Chocolate Microwave Cake

 I wanted to make my own cake for one at work, but I wanted minimal fuss and I didn’t want to carry my scales or measuring cup. I decided to do my own conversions so I can make it at work.

I still used the recipe Moistest Chocolate microwave cake but I did some tiny conversions, I pre prepared all the dry ingredients and put them into zip lock bags and I placed the oil into a lock and lock container. With the ingredients conversion for the milk I used 5 tablespoons of milk instead of 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoons, I also added a variety of different chocolates into the mixture. I finished off the cake with a huge dollop of Gippsland Dairy pure double cream. We had no big cups or whisk at work, I mixed the ingredients in small bowls with a spoon and microwaved the cake in the same bowl.

My 5 recipients loved the cake so much, they said it was so moist and indulgent. I myself was surprised how EASY it was to make at work, it must’ve taken 3 minutes max. You really do not need to buy the White Wings cake in a cup, it’s better to do it yourself with better quality ingredients. 

I’ve decided that every Friday will be chocolate microwave cake day! This is such a dangerous thing!!! 

Deep fried chocolate brownie from Hux Grill

Yes.. You read it right.. DEEP FRIED CHOCOLATE BROWNIE!!!!! I ate one tonight and it was seriously one the best desserts that I have ever eaten. 

Tonight Hubs, toddler and I decided to go out for dinner, our first option was the Char Char food truck, but the line was way too long, so Hubs suggested we try Hux Grill. 

When I read the menu, I skipped straight to the desserts section and when I read about the dessert deep fried chocolate brownie, I seriously thought that I might be hallucinating. Hubs asked what I wanted to order for dinner, I said that brownie and he said order some real food lol. 

The real food was great, but I am skipping to the subject of the deep fried chocolate brownie because I am all about the desserts.

The deep fried chocolate brownie comes with caramel macadamia nut ice cream, berry coulis and pistachio, honestly when you read these components on the menu, it just sounds so sickly sweet but surprisingly it isn’t.  

The deep fried chocolate brownie was crunchy on the outside, yet moist and fudgy on the inside, the ice cream was deliciously creamy and the macadamia nuts added  a nice crunch, the berry coulis and pistachio like crumbs were simple but complimented the dish nicely. Overall the dessert was surprisingly not too sweet or sickly, it was just perfect and almost tasted strangely refreshing after the meaty meal. 

Hubs and I were huge fans of Hux Grill and we definitely will be back soon, I am looking forward to eating more desserts off the menu. 

Click on the link for information about Hux Grill 

Flour Drum

Every time I see a photo of a new delicious cake on Instagram, it makes me want to eat it, so when Simon’s Food Favourites posted a photo of Flour Drum’s creme brûlée lamington, I knew I had to have one. 

As you all know, I am obsessed with cake and I am especially obsessed with lamingtons, I honestly have not had a decent lamington in ages, I did try one famous Sydney based one but I’m just not a fan because I do not like raspberries. 

I managed to drive down to Newtown with my toddler and I met my mum and dad there on Tuesday morning, I kind of got lost because my Google Maps was not working properly so I couldn’t find the cafe. (I know how to get to Newtown though).  After much frustration, I located the cafe and was lucky enough to get parking right outside, I opted to make a quick pop in visit to get the lamington take away because my parents were dying to get home. 

Flower Drum is actually located near Alice Street, which is on the opposite end of King Street heading towards the direction of the Princes Highway, but still located in Newtown.

When I arrived inside the cafe, I made an immediate bee line for the creme brûlée lamington and I noticed that there was only enough for three slices left, I ended up deciding to buy the whole three slices. 

Sorry about the bad photo.. There was not much natural light and I didn’t have much time..

The creme brûlée lamington looked so beautiful, I just couldn’t wait to try some.

I ended up eating some before I ate lunch, because I couldn’t wait to try some. I really liked the creme brûlée lamington, although it was a tad too sweet for me, I loved that it was incredibly moist and so delicious. 

Flour Drum also has two other lamingtons, Jaffa and Tiramisu, I definitely want to try those two flavours.

I really want to come back and hopefully have the chance to sit down and enjoy some food and another lamington. 

Click on this link for information about Flour Drum

Bibelot

I have been searching for the perfect chocolate for a while, so my friend suggested I visit Bibelot to try their chocolate.

This year I visited Bibelot twice, I had planned to try not only their chocolate but their cakes too, but unfortunately on both visits I didn’t get the chance to do so because on both occasions I was sick (sigh what are the odds!?)  I did however buy a lot of their chocolate.

On my first visit I bought a variety of their chocolate bars, I spent half hour trying to decide which ones to buy, but they all looked so delicious. 

I know this sounds really boring, but the milk chocolate version was my favourite, it could be the fact that it is made with my favourite chocolate Valrhona. The milk chocolate was so smooth and silky, it just melts in your mouth when you eat it. The milk chocolate is also not too sweet like some brands of milk chocolate and I felt like Scooby Doo does when he eats a Scooby snack, just so amazing and so in love.

On my second visit I ended up buying tonnes of the milk chocolate bars and also some salted caramels. The salted caramels were actually soft and chewy in texture and not hard as I had imagined, they tasted so buttery and slightly salty, and in hindsight I wish I bought more salted caramels because they tasted so damn good. 

Hopefully one day I can go back to Bibelot and try their cakes, because they just look so damn good. How will I eat regular chocolate ever again? 

I really should move to Melbourne. 

Click on this link for more information about Bibelot 

Butter toffee popcorn

Today is quite possibly the worst day in a long time, the rain is so heavy outside, so we are confined to staying at home.. Actually I was going to go to the Cake bake and sweets show but our roof was leaking from the heavy rain.

Today I was laying on the couch in my pyjamas until midday Googling recipe ideas, but not feeling inspired to bake anything, later this afternoon I found a recipe for butter toffee popcorn so I decide to give the recipe a go.

My lovely husband had already made the popcorn, so all I had to do was make the sauce. Making the butter toffee sauce was so easy and all I had to do was pour the sauce over the popcorn and let it cool down.

When the popcorn cooled down I ate some and I was already addicted, the butter toffee popcorn tasted so buttery and sweet with a caramelised toffee flavour. So good!

 I ate a whole bowl of the popcorn.. Opps

I actually would have made more but I accidentally dropped the bowl of popcorn on the floor! Damn..

I think I should go on a sugar detox starting tomorrow.

Click on this link for the recipe Butter toffee popcorn

The moistest chocolate microwave mud cake ever!

Sometimes I want chocolate cake, but I want it now and not in 30 minutes, thankfully I discovered microwave mug cakes. 

I really love baking, but quite honestly I cannot be bothered baking a big batch of cakes, especially considering my husband doesn’t eat cake, so these cake recipes for one have been heaven to me. 

I have tried a few microwave mug cake recipes in the past and I just found the cakes to be too dry or spongy, so this  evening I went searching on the Internet for a new microwave mug cake recipe and my eyes were immediately drawn to this recipe called the moistest chocolate microwave mug cake, the word moistest obviously won me over, so I decided to give the recipe a go. 

The chocolate microwave mug cake was way too easy to make, I ended up using Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder and Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips and I decided not to add the Nutella in the end. I also cooked the cake for a lot less because my microwave is 1100 watts, so the cake only took one minute to cook. 

I was so impressed with how lovely the microwave chocolate cake turned out, the chocolate cake tasted so deliciously moist and not too sweet, I was really just so impressed with the texture, it was like a chocolate brownie. I think next time I may add the Nutella to see how it tastes.

I just read on the bottom of blog that she also has one for a vanilla cake too, this is so dangerous! Lol..

Click on this link for the recipe for The moistest chocolate microwave mug cake ever 

 

Dr Marty’s Crumpets

Nothing beats a delicious toasted crumpet with melted butter and vegemite  and for many years I have been eating Golden Crumpets from the supermarket because I was too lazy to make my own, whilst in Melbourne I discovered Dr Marty’s Crumpets. 

I had heard so many great things about Dr Marty’s Crumpets, so when I went to Melbourne I went searching to find out where I could buy the crumpets. I discovered that Dr Marty’s Crumpets could be bought from several grocers, market stalls or picking them up directly from the supplier, I decided to look for them at the markets and luckily I found the last packet at Bill’s Farm (clearly fate lol).

When I got back to my hotel, I made the difficult decision not to open up the crumpet packet and instead go to Koko Black who I noticed serves Dr Marty’s Crumpets with French butter and jam. 

When I arrived at Koko Black the staff member advised that I could order the crumpets with either raspberry cocoa nib jam or hazelnut spread, I opted for the hazelnut spread. 

The Dr Marty’s Crumpets were so delicious, the crumpets were a lot more fluffier and slightly more spongy in texture than the usual supermarket crumpet, the crumpets just tasted so much better than the supermarket version. 

When I got home back to Sydney that evening I toasted one of the crumpets and they just tasted so great that I regretted not buying more when I was in Melbourne, honestly how can I ever eat a supermarket crumpet ever again! 

Luckily you can order Dr Marty’s crumpets at Koko Black in Sydney and I’m sure there must be other places too, I think it is time do some research. 

Once you try Dr Marty’s Crumpets, you’ll never want to eat a boring old supermarket crumpet ever again!!! Life changing crumpets!

Click on the link below for further information about Dr Marty’s Crumpets:

Dr Marty’s Crumpets