Next Level Chocolate Mousse Cake

I'm going to do a bit of boasting here... I make a pretty fantastic chocolate mousse cake... No lies... It is AMAZING!!  It comprises plenty of egg yolks, chocolate and cream; so it has got to be super delicious... And good for you 😉

Almond and Chocolate Chip Biscotti

When you are looking for something a little more glamorous and rusks don't quite fit the bill, these hot beverage dippers are just the thing.  Actually, they were traditionally dipped in dessert wine or sweet wine, for example, Vin Santo, which is a style of Italian dessert wine.  The nutty almond or hazelnut flavours are an ideal compliment to sweeter wines that have aged a while

Carrot cake cupcakes with ginger cream cheese frosting

On Saturday, a bride-to-be and her fiancé came for a cake tasting.  The two of them are very keen on carrot cake, and they also wanted me to incorporate some ginger in the cake in whatever way i can.  So, with a bit of time on my hands, i experimented with a few different combinations....

AMAZING Diabetic-Friendly Cream Cheese Frosting

On Wednesday, we had our monthly book club session - highlight of my month!! I made a red velvet cake for the dessert, but had a few restrictions to adhere to.  Three of the ladies are gluten-intolerant and one of the ladies is a diabetic.  The gluten-free part has become a breeze these days, with gluten-free pre-mixes readily available.  The sugar-free part, when it comes to cake, and especially icing, is  a little more challenging.  I have been fortunate enough to come across this site and have subsequently ordered a 20 kg bag of agave sugar for any 'sugar-free' baking that needs to be done!  

Ham and Pea Soup

Yesterday, in celebration of this beautiful season of Spring starting, i made garishly bright iced sugar biscuits, but today all i can think about is soup.  It is cloudy and raining, raining, raining.  It feels like the middle of July, not the beginning of October!  So, to warm the cockles of my heart... well, my stomach really... the prior is the responsibility of my husband, and my cat... i made pea and ham soup, or ham and pea soup.  Being of the rather carnivorous variety of homo sapiens, we like our meat, so when i make a soup like this, it is HAM and pea soup!

It is a super easy recipe, but not really one for making on a whim as one needs to soak the peas for six hours before getting the soup cooking.

Lingerie Cupcakes

 Bachelorette Cupcake Toppers

These vanilla cupcakes with amarula and white chocolate ganache are perfect for a bachelorette party when topped with these cute and fun lingerie toppers.  Here is the how-to: 

Experiments in Shortbread

I've never made shortbread and have always been a little hesitant to try as it seems to be one of those things that have got to perfectly meet with the expectations of the person consuming it or else you might as well not bother.  Coming from a German and Dutch background, my childhood memories are somewhat void of shortbread experiences.  Ask me about zimtsterne or baumkuchen and i can wax lyrical for hours... shortbread not so much...