"Mia" Babycakes

I've taken a liking to baking with pecans lately and thought what else could I combine it with. Looking through some favourite recipes I stumbled upon this one by Bea which sounded delish. So I used the pecans instead of walnuts which is in the original recipe and having no such luck in getting quinoa flour anywhere, I decided on a wheat and rice flour combination. I found some dark red plums at my local fruit store but as they weren't as soft as I wanted them to be, in case of tartness, I decided to add abit of sugar in the stewing process.

When they came out of the oven they looked like little baby cakes, cute, adorable and soft. I instantly thought of my little niece Mia, so I just had to name them " Mia Babycakes ".

A suprisingly moist cake with equally surprising flavours. I asked hubs what he tasted. He said " nutty, sweet, chocolaty flavours". There wasn't even any chocolate in them! I thought they had an unsual "maple" flavour through them and with the plums which weren't tart at all, a lovely combination indeed. If ever there was a "Hansel & Gretel " flavoured cake this would be it I think.

I guess we'll have to wait abit for Mia to go from her feeds to solids before she can do a taste test. But I have a feeling she'll like them!

Petit Banana and Pecan Cakes with Cream Cheese frosting topped with a caramelised banana disc

This post is dedicated to my Mums delish Banana Cake recipe. Its a fairly simple recipe but yields a very moist and light cake, packed full of banana flavour. Point though, you must use ripened bananas.

As I said its simply yummy but I wanted to try it with Pecans. So I toasted a handful in the oven, roughly chopped and tossed in at the last minute. It was a match made in heaven. The flavour can only be described as " nutty caramel ". Along with the vanilla cream cheese frosting and caramelised banana discs one can only describe these little lovelies as scrumptious!

My beautiful Niece...

Hi all, not my normal post today but I just had to share this photo of my pretty as a button niece. She was born first of Spring and we are all hopelessly in love with her. I sent her a new best friend also named "Mia" the other day from this gorgeous online store. They have so many beautiful things for little bubs it was hard to resist buying just the one!

Petit Hazelnut and Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Sorry about the long break in between posts. Hubs and I are on a rather ardious diet which almost deletes all things sweet. However, of course one must take whisk and bowl in hand when a special occasion comes along such was the case this weekend. A girlfriend of mine whom I haven't seen in ages popped in for a visit.

You may have noticed the use of cupcake liners in this post. I had made the decision not to use them as where I live, decent liners are few and far between. That was the main reason for my not using them with all my cakes prior to this. However when transporting the sweet darlings it can get rather precarious therefore I'm giving them a go. Tried some basic white mini liners with this recipe. I have to say, although simple, they are rather cute.

This is a moist nutty hazelnut cake recipe with a zing of lemon zest. A rather unusual combination but which I think works. The lemon tang in the cake compliments the sweet and tart raspberries on top. Whilst the hazelnut flavour goes beautifully with the dark chocolate ganache.

Mini Chocolate and Pistachio Cakes with Apricot Ganache Frosting infused with Passion-fruit

I experimented with another method in creating the 2 layers. I wanted it to look like a chocolate cake from the outside and only show a pistachio centre once you bite into it. I also added another twist to the flavours. I opted not to add orange zest to the cakes but passionfruit into the chocolate ganache. This was an idea I borrowed from Pierre Herme. I was quite happy with the results.

Mini Chocolate and Pistachio Cakes with Apricot Ganache Frosting

Been having more than my share of pistachio and chocolate gelati lately due to the summer weather of course. Remembering that I still had a few batches of pistachio paste left in the freezer I was in the mood for the same flavours in a cake recipe.

These mini cakes became a juxtaposition of flavours. The pistachio imparts a light nutty texture which plays wonderfully against the dark fullness of the chocolate. For the frosting I decided on a composition of dark bitter-sweet chocolate ganache topped with a single cube of apricot which was steeped in lemon juice and hint of honey. The sweet tartness of the apricot contrasts the very decadent chocolate ganache.

This combination brought just the right balance of sweetness and tangy tartness to the palate. Quite a delight.

Summer Trio of Petit Fours ...

Summer is well and truly here and our household has been packed with the wonderful fruits of the season. Coming from a country that is pretty much "summer" most of the year to a climate that is quite the opposite, one feels very fortunate when the days are hot and breezy. Therefore, I decided to turn these summertime fruits into a Trio of Petit Fours ... tangy citrus fruits with plump sweet berries, to inaugurate the brilliant weather of course!

Petit Almond and Ricotta Raspberry Lemon Cakes with Citrus Frosting and Tuile

I love the taste that almond and ricotta gives to a cake. A wonderfully rich but fluffy texture with nutty flavours. The addition of lemon zest and raspberries plays refreshingly well along side this. I picked raspberries as I love their deep red colour but blueberries would work equally well, especially with the lemon. With a dollop of lemon cream cheese frosting I wanted to add just a bit more prettiness to these little cakes. Citrus Tuiles came to mind. I had some left over orange and lemon zest which was perfect.

These little morsels are versatile as they can be dressed down for afternoon tea or dressed up for after dinner petit fours.

Hubs did mention they were like a "birthday cake in one" ...

Petit Orange and Poppy Seed Cakes with Citrus Frosting and Tuile

These are my favourite cakes in the world and so rather then baking a whole cake why not in Petit Four size. So here they are. Topped with an Orange flavoured cream cheese frosting with a shard of Citrus Tuile.

yummy ...

Petit Orange and Ricotta Cakes

The last addition to our Summer Trio is a traditional pound cake recipe with a sweet and buttery flavour. The addition of orange zest gave it just the right tangy punch. This can of course be substituted with lemon. Sweet and Simple ...