Easy Royal Icing Easter Eggs

I had so much fun with the swirled icing effect in my last decorating project, that I decided to try it again for these cuties. Very simple, and I had the best time making them! First of all, you need some royal icing. Traditionally, royal icing is made with raw egg white whipped with icing sugar. But as I've never been comfortable using raw whites, I use either meringue powder or egg white powder instead.

When I first came to Sydney and started searching for meringue powder, I found that Wilton (which is perhaps the most popular brand) was quite expensive here, and also not widely available. A bit of Googling put me onto a local Aussie product called Pavlova Magic, which is about a third of the cost of Wilton's meringue powder and easily available at every supermarket. So that's what I've been using, and the icing turns out quite well.

If you search the Net, there are several different recipes for royal icing, most of which yield huge quantities. I adapted my recipe from this delightful site, and toned it down to produce about one to one and half cups of icing. You can scale this up, as per your requirements.

Royal Icing Recipe

2 tsp meringue powder
3 tbsp water
Pinch of cream of tartar (optional)
1 1/2 - 2 cups sifted icing sugar
Few drops clear vanilla extract* (or other flavour of your choice)

Firstly, all your equipment must be scrupulously clean; traces of grease or any other impurity spells doom for this icing.

If using handheld electric beaters, lightly whisk the meringue powder and water together. Then whisk the cream of tartar, if using (this acts as a stabilizer; some folks use it, some don't ... I do, because it's available, but don't worry if you can't get it). Then add the sugar a cup at a time, and the extract.

If using a stand mixer, you can mix everything together straight away. Either way, you need to beat it on low speed till the mixture forms stiff peaks.

This makes your basic icing, which can then be thinned down with more water to different consistencies. To store, transfer icing to an airtight container, preferably a glass one, and keep in the fridge. It will last you a couple of weeks, at least. The sugar and water tend to separate over time, so you'll need to re-whip the icing before using.

* If you want pure white icing, use clear extracts. Regular vanilla extract will still get you white icing, but it'll be an off-white.
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To make these Easter eggs, you'll need piping consistency icing (like toothpaste), which is best kept in a piping bag with a small round tip (like Wilton #2), and flood icing (like honey) in plain white, and in the colours of your choice. For the flood icing, I didn't bother with piping bags. I spoon the base icing in, and I keep a bunch of these tiny plastic containers handy for when I need different colours in small quantities (and where details aren't really important). You also need some toothpicks, one per colour, and some extras for swirling, and a damp paper towel to clean them. Lastly, your work surface: you need a template of egg shapes, which you can either draw or print; put the template on a baking tray, place a sheet of parchment paper over the template and you're good to go.

1. Outline the egg with the piping icing. Fill in with the flood icing. Get a blob of coloured icing on the blunt edge of a toothpick and drag across the white icing. Add the colours in any order.

2. Using a separate toothpick, start at the bottom and drag the pointed edge up and around the inside of the egg, ending at the middle. Clean off the tip.

3. You can go from the outside inwards, or start at the middle and work your way outwards, till you've swirled your way through and distorted the original lines.

4. On this egg, I used horizontal lines again, but instead of swirling them up and down, I moved the toothpick sideways for a different effect. Feel free to experiment here.

Once you've made as many eggs as you want, leave them on the parchment paper on the tray to dry out overnight, or at least 8-10 hours. Once they're fully dry, gently peel the paper away from one corner and you'll be able to lift the eggs clean off. You can store these eggs (or any royal icing shape for that matter) in an airtight container pretty much indefinitely. They last for ages and won't spoil.

Use them to add an Easter touch to cakes & cupcakes.

Keep Calm & Carry On Cookies

A few days ago, I gave my driving test. The evening before the test, I was desperately thinking of ways to soothe my jittery nerves when it came to me: Keep Calm & Carry On. I'd been seeing this everywhere of late, online, on t-shirts, on trays & mugs too. I repeated it a few times, and found that it worked: I started feeling calmer. To carry the positivity forward, I began thinking of what I'd bake to celebrate passing the test. After racking my brains, I thought, why don't I just cookie up my new mantra (with the emphasis on 'car', because well, that's how my sense of humour works!)

At that time though, I'd no idea how important this quote would turn out to be. The test was a harrowing experience, more so because it was my second attempt and to top it off, I messed up bigtime straight out of the gate. I think it was just the grace of God and this mantra that helped me hold it together for the rest of the test.

After I got back home (and got over the shock of actually passing!), I threw myself into baking; the other project to follow here shortly. These are regular chocolate sugar cookies, recipe from Glorious Treats. To decorate these, I used royal icing and two methods. I filled the red ones and left them to dry overnight before piping the text and white outline.

For the others, I used a technique that's called 'wet-on-wet' icing, which is as the name suggests: you pipe one colour over the base colour while the latter is still wet so that it blends in with the base instead of being raised above. With wet-on-wet icing, you can do one of my favourite things, which is to swirl the icing around with a toothpick.

1. Outline the cookie as desired (you can leave out the inner lines, if you wish; I was just trying out a different pattern).
2. Fill in one section (or entire cookie), and immediately pipe lines over.
3. Take a clean toothpick and drag it down through the icing from top to bottom.
4. Wipe off any icing on the toothpick and now drag across the icing in the opposite direction.

Keep going this way till you've finished that section (or the entire cookie). Remember to clean the toothpick on a damp paper towel after every swipe.

For a different effect, try piping one circle, or two concentric circles, and then dragging in and out with a toothpick. That's what I did for the flower cookies on this platter.

Even though you have to work quickly here to finish swiping before the icing starts hardening, I still find this a relaxing style of decoration. I'm always awed by how just a few simple strokes with a humble toothpick can create such lovely, swirly magic. Especially after coming through a stressful experience, decorating these cookies was the perfect way to unwind.

Chocolate Flowerpots: Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Grass & Flower Cookie Pops

Sometimes, ideas spark when you get a new toy and want to play with it. In this case, the 'toy' in question was the Wilton tip # 233, which is most commonly used for piping grass (or hair). So when we'd planned to invite a bunch of guests for an informal meal, I thought a platter of flowerpots would be great for dessert.

All the recipes used here for the cupcakes, cookies and frosting are from Glorious Treats. The only major change is that I decided to make mini-cupcakes instead of regulars. Now, I don't remember exactly how many minis this recipe yields as I did snack on a couple as soon as they were ready (who wouldn't!), but it was more than 40.

For the flowers, you could just plop some sugar ones over once you've piped the grass, but I decided to try my hand at cookie pops. Apparently the sticks used for cookie pops are different from those used for cake pops. Since I didn't have any of the former, and also since I had mini cupcakes, I thought using toothpicks would be better. I painted them green with some diluted food colouring (and a paintbrush reserved only for decorating purposes!), and let them dry before using.

When making pops, it's safer if the cookies are a little thicker than usual, so they don't break during the popping process. I used my smallest flower cutter here. Once the shapes are cut, hold the cookie in one hand and with the other insert the toothpick. Think screwdriver here; you need to slowly rotate the toothpick applying gentle pressure till it's in about 1 cm. Check the back of the cookie and gently smooth over any breaks. Also, you must be sure to put the blunt side of the toothpicks into the cookies, to avoid any nasty pokes when biting into them.

Once all the cookie pops are ready, bake as usual depending on the size. I was quite apprehensive about how they would turn out as they seemed very fragile when I'd placed them on the tray, but surprisingly (and happily!) they're quite sturdy when they're baked. I had also made slightly bigger flower cookies (no pops), and leaf cookies just to strew about in the platter.

To decorate, I used royal icing in several colours. Just on a whim though, I decided to try decorating these cookies without any specialist equipment. I used a teaspoon to pour flood consistency icing on the cookies, spreading it out with a toothpick. Let this dry fully for a few hours. Then, for the petals, I blobbed icing with the blunt edge of a toothpick and then pulled it into shape with the sharp end.

I think they turned out alright for the most part, barring a few unsightly blobs here and there. So you definitely need piping bags and a selection of tips for consistent, professional work and to achieve various effects (like the grass and this basketweave). But even if you don't have this equipment for whatever reason, don't let that stop you from decorating sweets. It is still possible to make cuties like these with common kitchen items and imagination!

Eggplant Parmigiana

As a child, I was a painfully fussy eater, especially when it came to vegetables. Things like okra, karela (bitter gourd) and broccoli I don't eat to this day. Eggplants were on this list of no-nos too, till my mother introduced me to grilled eggplant slices in pita wraps. For whatever reason, that preparation helped me overcome my aubergine aversion. Now, eggplants are a regular feature in my kitchen, cooked in several different ways. My absolute favourite way to have eggplant, however, is alla parmigiana.

What it is, is simply layers of three key components: eggplant slices, tomato sauce and cheese, baked together. If you scour the Net, you'll find that there is no one definitive recipe; people put their own spin on the three basic ingredients, so you can confidently adapt this to your taste and the available ingredients, and be assured of success.

I'm starting off with the recipe for the tomato sauce. I make this basic sauce almost every week, to go over pasta, or even to dip pita bread or chapati in. I play around with the herb & spice combinations all the time, as the same flavours too often gets boring. So again, flavour it the way you like. I've used pepper and chilli here to give the dish some zing; leave it out entirely or up the quantities if you want real heat. This sauce can be made ahead of time and will keep in the fridge for a week.

Basic Tomato Sauce
2 x 400g cans chopped tomato (which I then roughly pureed)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, finely minced (works out to 2 tsp)
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano (or basil)
1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
Salt, to taste
Olive oil, for cooking

1. Put a heavy-bottomed saucepan on low heat, pour about 3-4 tbsp olive oil and immediately add the minced garlic. I got this tip from Nigella: you want the garlic to heat gently along with the oil and release its flavours without it going brown and bitter.
2. Once the garlic starts sizzling lightly, add the pepper and chilli flakes.
3. Add the chopped onion and raise the heat to medium; saute till the onions are translucent.
4. Add the tomatoes, then the salt and oregano and stir.
5. Turn the heat back down to low and simmer covered for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn't catch.
6. Turn off the heat, and let it cool uncovered. Check the seasoning, and add more if required.

Note: To make the sauce more nutritious, you can add chopped carrot and celery after adding the onions and saute till they're softened; then add the tomato. If you want a completely smooth sauce, puree the whole thing after it's cooked .... fussy kids wouldn't even realise they were eating carrot & celery!

Eggplant Parmigiana
2 eggplants
1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
The tomato sauce (described above)
100g grated parmesan (or cheddar; use more or less as per your preference) 
Olive oil, for cooking
Salt, to taste

1. Wash, dry and trim the stalk and base of the eggplants; then cut into 1 cm thick slices.
2. Mix the salt and chilli powder together and sprinkle over the eggplant slices.
3. Heat about 3-4 tbsp olive oil in a skillet, and when it's good and hot, start frying the eggplant slices on both sides till golden brown. Set aside on a plate.
4. Once all the slices have been fried, you can begin layering. In an oven-safe dish, start with a layer of tomato sauce, topped with eggplant slices and then a sprinkling of the cheese, followed by more sauce, eggplant and so on. You should end with the tomato sauce topped with a generous layer of cheese. With this quantity and the dish I used (a glass baking dish, roughly 6 1/2" x 10"), I got 3 layers.
5. Pop the dish into a preheated oven and bake at 190C for 30 minutes, till the cheese is golden.

Note: To cut down on calories, you can omit the cheese in the inner layers, reserving it only for the top.  

Eggplant Parmigiana can be served hot or cold, as a side to a meaty main, or as the main itself, with pasta or salad. 

Chocolate Lovers' Cupcake

Before I get on with this post I must take a moment to bow down in gratitude .... just for being alive, for the universe aligning itself to get me this recipe, and for being able to prepare and savour these magnificent cupcakes. A tad over-the-top? Make it, and then decide.

Knowing my love for baking, a friend lent me this book: The Crabapple Bakery Cupcake Cookbook by Jennifer Graham. They're a Melbourne-based business, and currently supply to cafes and markets in that city. (Guess what's on my to-do list if ever I make it to Melbourne?) I'm so glad I got my hands on this book, because every single recipe I've tried from it has been fabulous, and this gorgeous chocolate cupcake tops them all. In fact, I'll even go so far as to say that it's the best cupcake I've ever had.

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes

(Makes 12 regular cupcakes)

175 g butter

225 g dark cooking chocolate, chopped

1 1/4 cups caster sugar

3/4 cup almond meal

1 cup cocoa

5 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 140C. Line muffin tray with cupcake cases.

2. Combine butter, chocolate and caster sugar in a heavy-based saucepan over low heat. Mix continuously with a flat-bottomed wooden spoon until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly.

3. Sift the almond meal and cocoa into a bowl. Add the chocolate mixture and beat for 1 minute on low speed till thoroughly combined.

4. The original recipe in the book was for 24 cupcakes which I've halved. It said to add the eggs two at a time, beating after each addition till just combined. I added the eggs in three additions of 2, 2 and then the last egg and vanilla extract together. Over-beating will make the cupcakes crack during baking.

5. Divide the batter between the cupcake cases. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or till a skewer inserted comes out clean*. Remove cupcakes from the tray and let cool fully on a wire rack before frosting.

* In the book, the cupcakes were baked in foil cases with a baking time of 30 minutes; it said that with paper cases, it'd take longer. In my oven, with paper cases, these took the entire 45 minutes. So please check on the cupcakes according to the cases you use.

Buttercream Frosting 

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups icing sugar, approx
1 tsp vanilla extract (or flavouring of choice)
2-3 tbsp milk or heavy cream

1. With electric beaters (or in a stand mixer), cream butter to get it smooth. Add sifted icing sugar a cup at a time, and work in gently before turning beaters on. Beat till all the sugar is incorporated.
2. Add vanilla extract and milk a little at a time just till you get the frosting to a soft peak consistency, so that it'll hold its shape for piping swirls. But don't worry even if you happen to add too much milk; you can always thicken the frosting back with more sugar.   

3. Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large star or round nozzle and pipe the frosting on to the cupcakes. Top with sprinkles or flowers of your choice. 

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Now I tried to be as careful as I could to not over-beat the cupcakes. The tops still ended up cracking. Not the end of the world. At first bite, they still tasted like heaven, and that was just without the buttercream. With it, it ascended to a whole new level. It really was an emotional moment for me, to have finally found the perfect chocolate cupcake.

I'm also a big believer in make-it-ahead-of-time food, that gives you plenty of breathing room to get dishes ready without rushing like crazy. This way, you enjoy the process as much as the result. That's why I was delighted to read that this cupcake keeps for 1 week, unfrosted. One more reason to love this recipe!

I have to say though, that if you like your cupcakes light and fluffy, this is not the cupcake for you. I cut one in half to illustrate:

This is at the other end of the spectrum from light and fluffy. Look how gorgeously gooey, how decadently dense it is! Pure bliss if you're as choco-crazy as I am. Again, I am so immensely glad I found this recipe. Definitely not your everyday thing, this is truly worthy of any special occasion.

Basket of Roses: Mini-Sponge Cake with Buttercream

Do you know how sometimes things you've seen as a child can leave a lasting impression on your mind? For me, some of those things are the pictures from my mother's cake decorating books. My mother is an avid baker. She baked and decorated most of the birthday and special occasion cakes in our house. She didn't have the benefit of classes; what she did have were these gorgeous books my father would get, and she learned from those.

As a child, I would pore over those books, the pictures of one stunning cake after another holding me in thrall. One of the images that has gripped my imagination all through the years is that of a basket cake with chocolates on top. Attempting something similar was on my to-do list for a long time. And I finally got the opportunity for our anniversary a few days ago.

The cake itself is a simple sponge cake. I prefer using this type of light, fat-free cake, especially when it's going to be smothered in luscious buttercream, so that it's not too rich overall. I cut out two rectangles from a regular 9" cake for my 'mini-cake'. (If you're a smart one like my sister, you might wonder why I didn't just bake a rectangular cake; answer: I don't own a rectangle pan!) And why a 'mini' cake? Simply because this was the first time I was trying basketweave piping; I've learned the hard way, to start small when you try something new.

Sponge Cake (adapted from Taste.Com)

25g cornflour
25g plain flour
25g self-raising flour
2 large eggs, at room temperature
75g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 9" round cake tin with parchment paper. Sift the flours together three times (the original recipe includes a pinch of salt, which I omitted; add if you prefer).
2. Using electric beaters, beat eggs and sugar on medium-high for 6 minutes, or till pale and tripled in volume.
3. Sift flour mixture over egg mixture in small batches, and carefully fold with a metal spoon. Be gentle with the sifting and folding, so that the air that has been incorporated in step 2 is not knocked out. Fold in till the flour is just combined.
4. Pour the batter carefully into the tin. A great tip from Taste.com was to spin the tin gently to level the batter. Bake for 20 minutes, or till the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides and springs back when gently touched. It's really important with sponges to know your oven, as over-baking can result in a dry cake, instead of a light, fluffy one. My oven is hotter, so I took the cake out at about 18 minutes.
5. Turn the cake onto a wire rack, and peel away the parchment paper. Leave to cool.

Buttercream Frosting / Filling (adapted from Wilton)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups icing sugar, approx
1 tsp vanilla extract (or flavouring of choice)
2-3 tbsp milk or heavy cream

1. With electric beaters (or in a stand mixer), cream butter to get it smooth. Add icing sugar a cup at a time, and work in gently before turning beaters on so that you don't get a snowstorm of sugar in your face.

2. Add milk and extract and beat to combine. The amount of milk you add depends on what the buttercream is for. If it is to cover a cake, you might need more than 3 tbsp to get a spreading consistency. If it is for piping, different types of consistencies are needed for different patterns. I make a sort of master batch of stiff buttercream (like you need to pipe roses), and then take out smaller amounts and add enough milk to get thinner consistencies. I find it easier to add milk to thin down buttercream, than to add sugar to thicken it, but that's me. Store the buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge.

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I actually made the cake a few days before I needed it, cut out my rectangles and wrapped each first in parchment paper and then in cling film, and stuck them in the freezer. I haven't worked with thawed cakes, and wanted to see how they turned out. Pretty well, in fact. I just took them out of the freezer, unwrapped and left them to reach room temperature before decorating.

Once at room temperature, sandwich the two layers with buttercream. Then apply a crumb coat - which is simply a thin layer of buttercream all over the cake to seal in the crumbs, so that they don't get into your final icing. Refrigerate the cake till the buttercream has set. Then transfer to your serving platter before beginning the basketweave.

For the basketweave effect, Wilton's instructions are pretty straightforward; I followed it exactly. And once I got into the rhythm of it, it turned out to be quite easy. The only hitch in the process is that as you pipe, the warmth of your hands warms up the buttercream, making it droop instead of holding its shape; so you'll need to periodically chill the piping bag. Ideally, two bags would be best, so that you can work with the other while the first is cooling down and so on.

For the top, I just dolloped some green buttercream and spread it over. I had wanted to pipe leaves as well, but a bad back got in the way.

For the roses, while I did use the Wilton method, the written instructions left me hesitant. Youtube was more helpful. Of all the rose-making videos I watched, I found this one to be the most complete.  You can make buttercream roses and place them on the cake immediately. I made mine out of royal icing; once they've air-dried for a couple of days, store them in an airtight container and they last almost indefinitely. I prefer doing this as you can have the flowers ready weeks in advance.

I loved this because most of the elements - the flowers, the cake and the frosting - can be made well ahead of time. Even the crumb-coated cake will sit well in the fridge for a day. That leaves you with only the piping work for the day before you need the cake. This would be a lovely cake to gift someone special .... just imagine, a basket of roses that's entirely edible!

Easy Chocolate Chip Mini-muffins

Post the festive season baking / decorating frenzy, I had thought to take a break for a few days. But sure enough, once a 'few days' had passed, I felt the urge to get the oven up and running again. Since we'd just come through the richness of all the Christmas sweets, I had to pick something that would appease my conscience as well as satisfy my tastebuds. When that's the case, I find that muffins are usually the answer.

I love muffins for their effortlessness. Just a few simple steps get you warm yumminess in minutes, perfect when you really want some baked goodies but can't be bothered to go to a lot of trouble. After searching the net for recipes, I chose to tweak a Nestle regular muffin recipe to get the mini-muffins. The added attraction for this particular recipe was that it had the lowest amount of fat, just two tablespoons - that's the conscience appeased!

These are also great picnic snacks, very easy to carry and munch when you're out, about and on the move. I ended up taking a boxful of these mini-muffins to a play date at a nearby park, where they were enjoyed by the kids and us bigger kids in disguise.

Easy Chocolate Chip Mini-Muffins

(Makes 36)

1 1/4 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp melted butter (I substituted canola oil here)
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 - 3/4 cup chocolate chips (depending on how chocolatey you want them)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Prepare mini-muffin trays by greasing, or lining with cases. I always use the cases.
2. Sift the flour into a bowl; add the sugar and chocolate chips.
3. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl; you don't need beaters, just use a whisk, or even a fork.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the flour, mix gently till just combined.
5. Spoon the batter into the cases to about 1/2 cm from the top, to leave room for the muffins to rise.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or till a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Turn the muffins out onto wire racks to cool. Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container. These are best consumed in day or two.