Mini Gelato Cones

"Tiny sugar cones filled with mango, raspberry, hazelnut, vanilla, mint and chocolate gelato generously dipped in delicious chocolate coating."

New York Crumb Cake

"This is for those of you who, like me, don't particularly like the "apple" in their Apple Pie but loooove the crumble/crust! Serve a warm slab of New York Crumb Cake together with some vanilla ice cream and you'll be in "Crumb Heaven" guaranteed."

New York Crumb Cake

2 Tbsp. canola oil
4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/2 c milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 325 f. Lightly coat a 9 by 12 1/2 inch baking pan with canola oil and dust with flour. Shake off excess.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 1/2 c. of flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and set aside.
3. In a second bowl, whisk together egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla. Using a spatula, fold flour mixture(above) into egg mixture.

4. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and set aside.

5. In a medium bowl, combine remaining 2 1/2 c. flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over flour mixture and toss with a spatula until large crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs over batter.
bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes then roatate the pan and cook another 10 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

6. Transfer baking pan to rack to cool. Dust with confectioners sugar. Using a serated knife, cut into 3-inch squares.

Spoiled Rotten Eggs

"Laying hens on Fryar's Kangaroo Island free range farm are never locked in sheds. Mobile sheds provide hens with shelter,nesting boxes & timber rails for roosting. Hens are free to range over pasture at all times."......Hey, when can we move in???

Joaquin's Birthday Cake

"I made this uber yummy version of Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake for Waxy's birthday...and yes, even the sugar crystal decor is from scratch too!"

Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake

2 1/4 c cake flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c vegetable oil
6 large eggs, separated
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c water

1.Preheat oven to 32o. Sift together 3/4 c sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add 3/4 c water, oil, egg yolks and vanilla. Beat til smooth.
2.In separate bowl, whisk egg whites with remaining 3/4 c. sugar until stiff peaks form.
3. Fold in egg yolk mixture to egg whites in 2 batches. Pour in a 10 inch tube pan and bake for aprox 1 hour.

Coffee Crunch

Oil for greasing baking pan
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c strong brewed coffee
1/4 c light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon baking soda

1. Lightly coat a shallow baking pan with oil.
2.Combine all ingredients EXCEPT for baking soda in a saucepan over medium heat.
3. Cook until just below the hard crack stage (310 on candy thermometer).
4. Remove from heat for 10 seconds then sprinkle baking soda over sugar syrup. whisk to combine and then pour onto baking pan. Let cool 30 minutes or til dry.
5. When ready to use, tap the crunch with a spoon and crumble over cake.

Coffee Frosting

1 1/2 c heavy cream
1/4 c strong brewed coffee
3 Tbsp. superfine sugar

1. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form then add coffee and sugar. Serve immediately.

LOVE AT FIRST BITE: Got Milk?

Nothing says yummy to my tummy like a freshly baked batch of still warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. Chewy, crunchy, cakey, with nuts, without nuts, raisin studded, oatmeal flecked,semi-sweet, white chocolate..the list goes on and on and so does my love affair with this gastronomic delight. My personal preference is a light golden brown chewy cookie with crisp edges dotted with premium semi-sweet chocolate chips and some oatmeal thrown in for good measure...it gives me the illusion that I'm eating something wholesome rather than sinfull! And so the search for my ultimate chocolate chip cookie began. Four years and at least 50 cookie recipes later(not to mention a dozen or so diasters!), I was able to tweak and come up with what I refer to as "My Precious." It all starts with the freshest and best quality ingredients you can find, specially with the butter as this goes rancid over time or with exposure to heat. Butter also has the tendency to absorb odours from the fridge giving it a slightly "off" taste and smell, so be sure to wrap or store it properly. If you intend to add oatmeal to your cookies, I recommend using rolled or old fashioned oats as opposed to instant or quick cooking as the former gives the cookie beautiful texture and a toothsome mouthfeel. Popping the cookie batter in the fridge for 20 minutes before baking produces an evenly baked cookie with good structure. Another handy rule of thumb is baking 8-10 minutes for a chewy cookie and 12-14 minutes for a crispier one. Whew, all this cookie talk is making me hungry, I'd better go and whip me up a batch...got milk, anyone?

Cookie Monster Chocolate Cake

"This is the first cake I fell in love with. Moist dark chocolate butter cake with a custard filling and liberally iced with rich fudgy chocolate icing. what's not to like?!"

Cupcakes

"White Mountain Frosting Cupcakes inspired by New York's famous Magnolia Bakery."

LOVE AT FIRST BITE: Sinfully Decadent Waffles

"Freshly made whole egg Belgian Waffles with 2 kinds of bananas(fresh and caramelized), generous helpings of Vanilla Buttermilk ice cream liberally dotted with Valhrona chocolate crumble ,chocolate sprinkles and a dusting of cinnamon."