Year of the Rabbit

Well a few weeks back it was all very busy celebrating Chinese New Year. It is the year of the Rabbit and another pair of paper-cut creations have made the way from my cutting board and onto my shelf and to Geoff's family home. They are becoming a very nice way to count the years I've known this wonderful man. 

My new in-laws always throw a big party at their place and I have already established my part in the traditions. Everyone always brings a plate of food and I am permanently assigned now to a contribution to the dessert table. This year I chose this Lime and Coconut Layer Cake because its all fluffy and white like a rabbit. It is layers of sponge brushed with malibu and sandwiched together with lime curd with creme fraiche. To coat it is an Italian Meringue with flaked coconut. It seemed to go down very well with the crowd. The long day full of food culminates in a round of Mahjong, my annual dalliance with this addictive game. 

Happy New Year of the Tiger

Well Feb 14 heralded the Chinese New Year which this year is the Year of the Tiger. 

Since I was invited to my first Chinese New Years Dinner I have been making paper cut outs of the animal from this lovely copper card I have piles of. I make two at a time, one  for his family and one for me to keep. The first year was the pig and since then there has been a rat a cow and now a tiger.

In the first year I just traced over a papercut out from a reference book I had but since then I have been slowly adapting the designs. This year is my most original piece. I took from the book the basic outline of the tiger though changed the bottom of it to grasses as I didn't like the original design of wheels. I also didn't like the way the original design just had lots of flowers and odd circular cuts. I threw all of that out and went for a striking zigzag style instead. 

Lots of fine cutting with a scalpel later and I have my brand new tiger to add to the collection...

The other tradition is that everyone must bring a plate and I've designated myself quite firmly now amongst the dessert ranks (I don't dare compete with the chinese dishes). This year it was a lemon yoghurt sponge cake with marsala poached prunes, morello cherries and fresh berries.

A year of nesting

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This weekend I celebrated a year of having left the nest. Saturday started off simply enough with a walk down to the Kings Cross Markets for breakfast and some stops at the fruit and veg, deli, supermarket aisles. On the way back, the cake shop had miniature croquemboche's for sale so this was perfect, a little tower of decadence to carry carefully home and enjoy on the balcony in the afternoon. There was also a little mini bottle of Möet that I had been saving for an occasion and so this too was shared. A simple celebration but quite fine and dandy indeed. 

On Sunday I had my Grandmother over for afternoon but as usual forgot to photograph my creations. I made leaf shaped honey and lavendar madeline cakes, crackers with english cloth bound cheddar cheese, another with a lovely soft french chevre with Italian proscuitto and a broadbean and mint purree with pork and fennel salami. I also made these cute little cupcakes that are inspired by the concept of a fruit custard tart. You make the basic vanilla cupcake recipe, scoop out a bit in a centre, fill with custard (home made from scratch, no powder involved) and then topped with some fruits (strawberries, blueberries and golden kiwi fruit) and glazed with a little melted strawberry and vanilla jam. I was running late though and rushing at the end to have everything laid out so the doorbell rang before I could photoshoot it. All I had left was two dodgy ones at the end of the day to remind me of the occasion. Everything else was demolished.