






My Once Upon A Time Pastry Blog
THAT COCKROACH!
By Lana D.
…
The first time I saw it
it was wriggling from side to side
like a fish moth,
quite out of character,
snuggling under my glass bread board
going about its business
oblivious
of me
watching over it,
my soft bare feet growing wings
as white as the tiles
on the kitchen floor.
..
In the following mornings
I felt that cockroach’s
beady black eyes
watching me
from the shadows
of my toaster,
its new shiny chrome home –
there’d be no more
marmalade on toast
for breakfast
with tea
for me.
.
Imagine my surprise
to find that cockroach
investigating what I was making for dinner tonight,
come to visit,
my favourite pet,
sauntering along the edge of the stove
as if it was
my honoured guest.
Brave, yet oblivious
of that age-old law:
To be a curious cockroach
is a fatal flaw
: |
Quiches are so convenient for brunches or lunches. You can prepare them ahead of time and most people seem to enjoy them. Here is the recipe for a cherry tomato quiche I baked a few weeks ago, since I’ve been ordered to whip one up for our family get-together tomorrow (‘You HAVE to make that tomato quiche again!’ said my sister Gablicious). It’s in the oven as I write (oh, the smells coming from the kitchen at this late hour!).
What’s great about quiches is that once you know how to make a pastry base and savoury custard, you can play with different fillings, experiment.
For a large tart:
Serve with a crisp green salad and enjoy!
I have used this baked cheesecake recipe for several functions, including my own birthday party.
It ALWAYS goes down well with everybody! You can use your imagination for the toppings – I love using whole fresh strawberries on top (dusted with icing sugar). You could also serve it plain, why not?!
Ingredients:
Method
Allow your cheesecake to cool before serving.
Ohhhhhh, baguettes… a reminder of the simple life… with the best French wine and cheese, of course! If you’re new to baking bread, please do refer to my comprehensive explanation (step by step with photos) here.
INGREDIENTS:
HOW TO PREPARE THE BAGUETTE DOUGH – STEP BY STEP:
HOW TO SHAPE THE BAGUETTE DOUGH – STEP BY STEP
FINALLY
PS. This bread is also great with nothing more than butter and honey. In which case forget the wine and have a cup of tea!
I thought I’d make a friendly dinasaur cake for my showpiece (part of the requirements for the Patisserie exam) but my grandmother suggested I work on a Christmas theme instead (we’d just made a Christmas cake together). The idea of a snowman cake popped into my head, based on the fact that plastic icing is as ‘white as snow’ as it is.
Having no particular detail in mind and no references at hand, it sure turned out to be a bit of an adventure! I started with a couple of blobs of plastic icing and one thing led to another so that the snowman evolved into snowmen with snow cake & snow candle on snow blanket on snow cake (ENOUGH!!) …
If you’d like to make a similar cake, start with a Christmas https://whippingitup.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/my-grandmothers-traditional-christmas-cake/(or other) cake base and cover it with marzipan https://whippingitup.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/how-to-make-marzipan/:
Merry Christmas!
Stollen is a most satisfying Christmas bread made of sweet dough, marzipan and mixed fruit and nuts. It makes a fabulous Christmas gift.
The bread will last for a good few months if wrapped in a sealed plastic bag (not cling-wrap) so you can make it ahead of time. Adding rum or whiskey will give extra flavour as well as extend the shelf life.
The dough is rolled into a rectangular shape. The marzipan is rolled out and placed on top of the dough (cut to the same size). It is then sprinkled with mixed fruit and nuts etc. The bread is then rolled into the traditional Stollen shape and left to prove before it is baked and sprinkled with a generous amount of icing sugar.
PREPARE SWEET DOUGH
Ingredients:
Method:
PREPARE MARZIPAN
Search ‘how to make marzipan’ on my blog
PREPARE FRUIT AND NUT MIX
Combine the following ingredients in a bowl:
PREPARE STOLLEN
Wrap in transparent plastic (once cool) and seal with sticky tape before placing in another transparent bag (or whatever packaging you prefer)… finish with ribbons and a home-made card for a personal Christmas gift that looks, smells and tastes a treat!