Basic Boiled Bagel - the best way to re-enter the wonderful world of carbs!

So I have a friend. Well, actually I have a few friends, but this story is about one in particular. Her name is Steff. And she likes to drink rum. I like to call her SteffRum.

So SteffRum enjoys lighting a rocket up under my ass, pushing me into doing things that I wouldn’t normally do. Like donating blood. I hate needles, but 2010 is all about overcoming my fears. And SteffRum helps me with this. Ironically, she was the one who passed out after donating blood, not me, but that’s a whole other story and a whole other post.

Recently she convinced me to give up carbs. Seriously. You might now be contemplating leaving this blog forever, vowing never to return because how on earth can someone who writes about cakes actually give up carbs? And you raise a very valid point. We were allowed one free day a week. But needless to say, we didn't last as long as we first hoped.

Once it all came crashing down, throwing myself back into the world of carbs was fun, fun, fun! Something you may not know about me is I am a reformed vegetarian. Two years ago I was re-entering the world of meat, that was also fun, fun, fun. I still can’t step foot in a butcher, though.

Re-entering meat world, I started with spag and meatballs. Re-entering carb world, I started with bagels.

I love bagels. I love plain bagels. I love blueberry bagels. I love cream cheese on my bagels. I love smoked salmon on my bagel. I could go on and on. MummyB also loves bagels. Reckon that’s where I get it from.

For those who are interested, here is a tiny bit of history about the bagel. They originated in Poland in the 16^th century. Any good American sit-com will emphasise the country’s love of bagels, which were first brought to the USA by immigrating Jews. Fascinating, huh.

In essence, bagels are boiled bread. ‘Sounds complex’ you might think. Well, you are wrong. The only time consuming part of the process is waiting for the dough to rise. And even then, you don’t have to do anything, you just leave it be. I think that’s the beauty of baking. With baking you don’t necessarily need to rush, you need to give it time. I couldn’t handle being in a commercial kitchen, people yelling at you to get an order cooked and served quick smart! No thanks, I’ll just stick to cakes.

Basic Boiled Bagels

3 ¼ Cups of bread flour

Pinch of salt

3 grams of yeast

270ml warm water

Tablespoon of sugar

Half tbs olive oil

Extra Olive oil and Sugar 
Bicarb soda

Egg wash

Mix flour, salt and yeast together in one bowl. Stir water, olive oil and sugar together until sugar dissolves.

Mix liquid mixture into flour mixture.

On a clean surface knead dough. Tip – do not over knead your dough. You will end up with tough, chewy bagels. Dough is ready for rising once it is silky smooth, and stretches. If your dough rips, keep kneading. You should also be able to make a thumb indent into the dough without it retracting.

Place the dough in a well oiled bowl and leave to rise for an hour, or until it has doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, divide into 10 smaller balls of dough, then shape into bagels.

Leave bagels to rise for another 15-20 minutes on some baking papaer.

While bagels are rising for the second time, boil water with a pinch of sugar and 1 ½  tablespoon of bicarb soda (I used a wok).

Place bagels two at a time in the water, and boil for a minute or so. They will almost double in size.

Place boiled bagels on a tray lined with baking paper. Egg wash bagels and then bake in a pre heated oven (180 fan forced) for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Chocolate pasta - Reality or fantasy?

The Boy and I recently celebrated seven glorious years together. “But KayB, you are so young and virile to have had such a long relationship” you might be thinking. Well, yeah. I am young, still. Virile? I do like to think I wear the pants in my/our relationship! So, yes. You are correct. But basically, we are high school sweethearts. Cuteness, huh! And check out what he got me!

I frickin’ love Russian dolls, and these are super cute. Hehe, check out the doll on her head full of cheese. Wicked.

Not only did I score some super sweet culinary presents for our anniversary, but it was also a great excuse to have a mini break. Off to Narooma we voyaged! 

Narooma is about 5 hours south of Sydney, and if you’ve ever ventured down the gorgeous south coast of NSW, then you’ll know all about the quaint little country towns that you must stop at along your roadtrip. And the best part about these quaint little towns - the lolly shops! Whoooo! 

Browsing the shelves of the Old Time Lolly Shop Mogo, there is all the usuals that you’d expect. Boiled lollies, chocolate coated honeycomb, licorice bullets, toffee apples, HOLY S**T, IS THAT CHOCOLATE PASTA!!!?? Yup. It is. 

A month later, research for this article completed, and I have discovered that chocolate pasta isn't all that unusual. There are plenty of recipes online for chocolate pasta. Intriguing..

I’m back home and thinking there is a good chance I will have to spread the amazingness that is chocolate pasta. Dinner turned into dessert, equals amazing, right? I enlist the aid of by two besties, Moon and BecFace, to help me pass judgement over this dinner/dessert wonder.

After a quick hot chocolate and the unanimous decision that cold custard would be the best accompaniment, we’re boiling the water. BecFace and I nibble on a dry piece of pasta, far too eager to wait until it’s ready. BecFace is anxious with anticipation as the pasta boils, bouncing around in the kitchen. Moon, however is a little more apprehensive. Perhaps it’s because her wisdom teeth are causing her grief this particular day, or perhaps she somehow already knew what judgement we would be passing down upon the dessert pasta.

Out comes the pasta, on goes the custard and into our mouth’s it goes. 

Hmmm. Ok? Ahh well..

If you shut your eyes, clear everything from your mind and concentrate on dulling all your other senses so your sense of taste is heightened, then yes I guess you could argue that the taste of coco slightly comes through. Otherwise it just tastes like plain old, regular pasta. Perfectly al dente pasta, but just pasta none the less. 

I was disappointed, BecFace was shattered, Moon was.. well, actually she wasn’t too traumatised by the whole experience. 

Even Miss LuckyB spat it out. And hey, I love pasta, I ain’t one to be hating on the pasta. But this seriously just tasted like regular pasta with custard on it. Moon and I actually couldn’t even finish the bowl. On the plus side, I guess you could also argue that we’d just discovered a cheap dessert option for students/dole bludgers. Buy yourself a cheap bag of no frills pasta and whack some custard on it! But at $9.95 for a 250gram bag of chocolate pasta, it just isn't worth it!

Old Time Lolly Shop Mogo

Opposite Fire Station, 

1 Tomakin Rd, Mogo

NSW, 2563

(02) 4474 4121

The luckiest girl and her delicious, sweet raspberry cheesecake brownie slice.

The luckiest. I’m not just referencing an amazing Ben Fold’s song. Possibly his best piece of music. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then get yourself onto iTunes and do yourself a favour. Better yet, hit me up for a mixed CD. I make rad mixed CDs.

When not making mixed CDs, I can be seen smacking myself around the head, just to make sure I’m not just dreaming. I have an amazing boyfriend, fantastic family and two of the bestest girlfriends you could ever ask for. Can one person be so lucky?

I also have an amazing job. I’ve been very lucky so far in my career - I’ve worked with some amazing people, doing things I’d never have dreamt of. Shockingly, some of these things even involve food!

Here are three of my most favourite career highlights over the last year.. 

Getting a one on one crash course with Sally Wise, author and regular on ABC Local Radio, on everything jams, preserves, chutneys and lemon cordial.

Enjoying a freshly cook lunch thanks to, and along side Poh, host of Poh’s Kitchen and runner up MasterChef Series One.

Briefly meeting Valli Little, Food Director for delicious. magazine, while munching on her breakfast frittata and tortes.

Pretty damn lucky, I reckon. But I don’t take any of it for granted. You never should.

Valli Little has to be one of my most significant influences in the kitchen. As Food Director of delicious. each month she edits/tests/develops/creates all of the recipes and food content in the magazine. And each month when the new edition of delicious. hits shelves I find myself pouring through it for at least a week, highlighting and marking recipes that I’m keen to try. 

But most recently, it was a copy of the brand new delicious ‘mook’ that hit my desk (a ‘mook’ is a hybrid of a magazine and a book), delicious. sweet. 

Ohhh wow. I’ve given several of Valli’s dessert recipes a good crack in recent times, most notably her raspberry swirl cheesecakes (I can't count the amount of times I’ve cooked these! So easy and so frickin’ tasty!!).

So I start flicking through my new found bible, but there really isn't any point marking which recipes I want to try, because I want to try them all! But its the Raspberry Cheesecake Brownie Slice that catches my eye. 

Again, these are super easy to make. And ridiculously good. Seriously, you may never want to eat any other type of slice again because nothing will compare.  The recipe says it will make about 15 brownies, but I managed to get 24 out of mine. And all 24 got sucked down. They were absolutely delightful straight out of the oven, but just as good the next day while picnicking in the national park. MummyB even finished off the last one with a side of warm custard. Yum-frickin-oh!

You can find the recipe on taste.com (just one of my 'online' bibles). Check out the recipe here. I highly recommend!

The perfect pavlova - Donna Hay style, and the return of MasterChef!

Did you see the first episode of MasterChef, series 2? It was amazing! The top 50 amateur chefs in the country battling it out for a coveted spot in the top 24. There was tears, cussing, sweaty arm pits and more tears. Brilliant TV.


And just when you didn’t think it could get any better, in walks the dessert queen herself - Donna Hay. Then she whips out a perfect pavlova, and I go weak at the knees.


I frickin’ love Pavlova! Gooey marshmallow goodness topped with cream and fruit - Yum yum! I’ve never even thought of making a pavlova, because every birthday without fail, a pavlova is placed in front of me with candles stuck all over it. There has never been a need for me to make one. Except for now.

(Check it out - Me and my birthday pavlova!)

I had to have a Donna Hay Pavlova. I neeeeeded it! Ok, so I wasn't going to get one made by Donna herself (obviously!), but I could give her recipe a good damn crack.

There were two attempts this weekend. The first seemed to be going well, until I pulled it out of my oven and the top cracked. Then an attempt to move it proved too difficult and the whole top collapsed! Bugger.


On to attempt number two. More successful, but still a bit off the perfect Donna Hay pavlova. The outside was crisp and crunchy, and the inside gooey and delicious! Just a little bit more time needed to refine my sugar-adding techniques and cooling method to stop the cracks. But not bad overall.. I even had one of my Kiwi friends come back in for seconds because it was that good!

Speaking of Kiwi’s, here’s a bit of history about the pavlova. If you have a New Zealander as a friend (and let’s face it, we all do because they are great to have around for an occasional verbal beat down! Usually involving sheep..), chances are you’ve debated about the origin of the pavlova. Well, turns out us Aussie’s can’t claim this glorious dessert. Research shows a New Zealand chef in Wellington created the dessert and named it after Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova during her visit to the land of the long white cloud in 1962. Shame. But that isn’t gonna stop me eating it!


Classic Pavlova


4 egg whites
1 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 teaspoons white vinegar
Cream and fruit to decorate


Pre heat your oven to 130 degrees celsius (fan forced). Line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
In an electric mixer beat egg whites to a stiff peak.
Slowly beat in sugar, one teaspoon at a time. Make sure sugar has completely dissolved. Keep beating until egg white mixture is very stiff and glossy.
Mix in cornflour and vinegar until combined.
Spoon mixture onto prepared baking tray, forming a circle shape (approx. 18cm diameter) and built up until all mixture is used.
Place in oven and turn oven down to 110 degrees celsius. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Leave pavlova in oven until completely cooled.
Serve with cream and fruit.


Tips and Tricks
 - Eggs must be a room temperature.
 - You must add sugar gradually! Ensure sugar has dissolved before adding more. The   process of adding all the sugar took me 20 plus minutes. If the sugar hasn't dissolved completely it will weigh your pavlova down and it will collapse.
 - Make sure your mixer is clean. Any trace of fats or oils will make the pavlova collapse.
 - If you cool your pavlova too quickly it will crack. Hence why you need to leave it in the oven.
 - If you have a temperamental oven, the slower the better! Cook your pavlova at a low temperature for a longer time period.

Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day!

And now for a KayB’s Public Service Announcement..



Everyone loves something for free. My favourite holiday of the calendar year is 7-Eleven day, because you get to stuff yourself stupid with slurpee upon slurpee upon slurpee..

And it seems I have discovered what I’m sure will become my second favourite holiday. Free Cone Day!

After many years, patiently waiting, Ben and Jerry’s hit our shores last year with their flagship store in Manly. Loyal Ben and Jerry’s converts have been flocking to the Scoop Store ever since to get their ice cream fix, and as a thank you our Manly shop will now be taking part in the international phenomenon that is FREE CONE DAY!

It’s a pretty simple concept. As the slogan states, you get free ice cream! Free Cone Day takes place around the end of March/beginning of April all over the world. This year’s Australian Free Cone Day is April 20th from 1pm -8pm.

If you haven’t experienced the delight that is Ben and Jerry’s, I suggest you use Free Cone Day as a fabulous excuse to get your first fix. After many hours debating with work colleagues about the most outstanding flavour, we have finally come up with two recommendations for this year’s Free Cone Day...
Chunky Monkey and Phish Food, both standout classics (and and and.. Peanut Cookie-burra Dough! Who doesn’t love food with a comical name!).

See details below, and enjoy!

Free Cone Day

Tuesday April 20th, 2010. 1pm-8pm

Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop, 25-27 South Steyne, Manly

http://www.benandjerry.com.au/

Peanut Butter and Bacon Cookies - The perfect beer food

I think boys are hard to bake for. Sure, most of them enjoy sweets – my boy goes gooey for a mud cake, for example. But generally speaking, if you put a batch of pink cupcakes with elegant fondant flowers in front of a male, there is no way you’re going to get the same ‘ooooh’ and ‘ahhhhhh’ reaction as you would from a female.

My case in point – some time ago now, while discussing the engagement cake I had made for the groom, I asked him how many pieces of the cake he had eaten. To my utmost horror he had only had one piece, declaring that cake and beer just don’t mix well. He had a point. It was then decided that I must develop the perfect desert/cake/cupcake/baked item to match with a beer.

Sure, there have been a few trials and close contenders. Take the Luther burger, for example. Although I’m yet to come across any of my friends who have actually attempted this monstrosity! But finally, I think I may have found it.

Behold, the peanut butter and bacon cookie.

I recently went through the delightful process of having my wisdom teeth removed. I won’t glam it up for those of you potentially in line for this surgical procedure. It sucks. The worst. Ever. Tell your dentist to shove it. No, don’t do that! I’m sure he/she wont appreciate that. But on the plus side I now have these two gaping holes in the back of my mouth where I can easily store leftover food for later consumption. Ewww gross.

Anyway, after two weeks on the lounge feeling very sorry for myself, and very anxious from a lack of baking, I decided to ease back into it with this very simple recipe. And I thought they would be a delightful treat for my little bro, my partner in crime, JayB, to say thanks for taking care of me/getting me slupees/feeding me mashed potato and gravy, while I was withering away on the lounge.

Peanut Butter and Bacon Cookie

Makes 6 to 8 large cookies

½ cup good quality crunchy peanut butter

½ cup sugar (1/4 brown sugar & ¼ granulated sugar)

½ egg

2 rashers of bacon, diced.

½ teaspoon baking powder

*Optional - ¼ cup wholemeal flour*

Preheat fan forced oven to 175 degrees C.

Slice bacon into small cubes. Fry to your liking and drain well.

Using an electric mixer combine sugar and peanut butter, then slowly add in egg and baking powder (add flour at this stage if using). Mix for approximately 1-2 minutes, or until well combined.

Stir in bacon. Roll mixture into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Press down on ball with your thumb or fork to flatten slightly.

Bake for 10 minutes. Leave to cool on tray for at least 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack or plate.

NOTE: Drain bacon VERY well on paper towel after frying. The combination of bacon and peanut butter means these cookies can become very oily when mixing. These are not typically crunchy cookies, they are more like a soft ‘subway’ cookie. If you prefer more crunch then add flour, increase amount to your liking.

If you haven’t eaten them all straight out of the oven, then I suggest storing these in the fridge if you plan to make ahead of time. Zap in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.

Just incase you were wondering, JayB loved the cookies. And he is a very hard man to please, he doesn't really like sweets (crazy, I know! Pretty sure he must be adopted).

...And just a little something for all of those lined up to have their wisdom teeth out anytime soon.

This photo pretty much sums up the whole experience. "F**k you world, I have a frozen sanitary pad around my balloon size face and I don't want to talk about it." Good luck to y'all!

Happy birthday, Wild Thing!!

It’s my party and I’ll make cake if I want too.

And make cake I did! I’m lucky enough to share my birthday with one of my best friends, Moon. She is exactly one year older than me, and therefore one year wiser than me. She is the most supportive, inspirational person I know. She is constantly bringing out the best in people and always puts others before herself. But as wise and gracious as Moon is, she is also a kid at heart. I’ve lost count of how many times she has seen the Where The Wild Things Are movie. It's one of her favourite children's books. She even made herself a super rad Max costume for Halloween last year.

See, super rad!

So, a Max cake it was! When it comes to cake decorating, I’ve decided to go back to the basics. I made a simple butter cake with a buttercream filling and icing (note: this is probably toooooo much butter for one cake). But the idea was to get the buttercream icing as smooth and even as possible, and practice my piping techniques.

I piped the Max outline in black royal icing the week before our birthday. After the outline had dried I used a flooding technique (using thinned/watered down royal icing to ‘flood’ the outlines with colour).

I put two layers of blue buttercream icing on the cake, a thin crumb coat on the Friday afternoon and a second, thicker layer Friday evening after the crumb coat had hardened in the fridge for 3 hours (ideally you should leave the icing to harden over night).

Saturday morning I added the final touches. A green pearl border and the classic line from Where the Wild Things Are, “LET THE WILD RUMPUS START!”. I practiced the text piping a few times before piping freehand on the cake. I was then able to place Max gently on the cake (his tail did snap off, but considering I was very concerned he might actually snap into several pieces, this didn't upset me one bit. I just tucked the tail underneath!).

Happy birthday to my gorgeous Moon. May the wild rumpus continue for many, many more years to come!