Birthday Cake Diary

A big fat 30th birthday cake for Gabz! 6 layers this was my attempt at Martin boetz' s black forest cake (recipe on food safari website food safari. Yum!!!







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Above white choc mousse and sponge layer cake for Biss's bday.

40th bday cake for Al ....
Jaffa swirl chocolate cheesecake with mandarin liqueur syrup oranges & strawberries



Coconut cake with mango pannacotta filling ...for lindy's birthday.... Recipe def needs some tweaking .



not sure if this is a biorthday cake but it is a yum looking choc banoffee pie....and i wouldn't complain if i got it for my birthday!!! hint hint Biss!!! :)

Mango, Macadamia and White Chocolate Ice-cream

Yum Yum Yum!  This recipe was inspired by an  Annabel Langbein recipe. This is the EASIEST and most DELECTABLE ice-cream recipe EVER! You wont need an ice-cream machine for this one - give this one a go for a treat in summer...

Prepare...
2 mangoes, flesh removed and chopped
2 cups of raw macadamias chopped
200 grams of white chocolate melted (or you can put half melted and half as is for crunch and texture)
Line 2 loaf tins with baking paper

Ice Cream Base; Remember Three Bowels Three Ingredients

Ingredients

3 eggs separated

Castor sugar

2 cups chilled cream

Method

1) Place egg yolks in one bowl and egg whites in the other.

2) Add 5 tablespoons of sugar to egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. Set aside.

3) Add 5 tablespoons of sugar to the egg yolks and lightly whisk and add 2 tablespoons of boiling water, beat until pale and ribbony (until it holds figure 8)

4)  Whip 2 cups chilled cream

5) Combine all of the above ingredients from each of the three bowls folding the mixture gently with a big fat spoon. Be careful not to over fold - fold until all the ingredients are just mixed.

Now fold through the mango, macadamias and melted white chocolate and pour into the two loaf tins lined with baking paper. Place in the freezer and freeze for 4 hours. It should keep for a while too :)

Ba's Spanish Tortilla

This is a great dish to make ahead for a party or BBQ. It is delish and you can vary the ingredients to whatever you might have handy. Due to this fact is a fairly loose recipe. But don't let this scare you it is a fool-proof dish to make and simple to remember, and to master.

This dish is gluten-free, can also be adapted to be dairy free, salicylate free, vego ...or not. Here is the most basic recipe, if you read through you will find some other flavour combo ideas.

I hope you enjoy!

Ba's Spanish Tortilla




for a  24cm frying pan (approximately)

5 x Potatoes washed (and peeled if necessary) and sliced 1/2 to 1cm thick

12 x eggs (ALWAYS use free range and organic if possible)

2 x Sweet potato washed and sliced 1/2 to 1cm thick

3 x Onions sliced into rings

2 x Handfuls of Herbs of your choice ( i like parsley and dill)

Olive oil or butter

cheese of any sort you fancy (optional)

finely chopped garlic (optional)

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius. In a large bowl place the potatoes coat with some olive oil season with salt and pepper and roastin oven until cooked....but don't over cook, they need to hold their shape to hold the tortilla together.

While potatoes are in the oven saute the onions with a little butter or olive oil in frying pan until soft and golden ( and garlic if desired).

Whisk eggs in the bowl until fluffy.

Add the potatoes (make sure they are cooled before adding to the bowl) the onion &  most (but not all) of the herbs. stir to mix evenly.

Clean the frying pan and if it truly is non-stick you are good to go. I however always spray the pan lightly with a spray oil and then also cut a circle of baking paper and cover the base of the pan.

Pour the mix into the frying pan, press down gently to assure the potato slices are mostly lying horizontal. and sprinkle with the remainder of the herbs, put a few thin slices of cheese on top of the herbs if you wish. this just melts and browns nicely, but is absolutely optional.

cook on stove until it steams a bit and smells delish...move to under grill to cook the top a bit, switch between stove top and oven until when tested with a skewer or knife shows no liquid pockets. If you prefer you can cook the whole thing in the oven however this makes a drier tortilla.

......................

I highly suggest adding different flavour combinations to the tortilla. here are a few suggestions

* chutney, roast capsicum and feta (add all ingredients into the bowl with the egg , onion and potato )

* asparagus, brie, whole grain mustard and basil

* caramelised red onion jam, prosciutto and goats cheese

* dill, a little bocconcini and capers..then after cooked, leave to cool and then layer the top with smoked salmon and dollops of lemon and dill seasoned sour cream to serve.

* corn, roast capsicum, chilli chutney & parsley

* queso manchego, jamon iberico & chilli & parsley

* roast zucchini, feta and dill with a little ricotta

there are so many others feel free to experiment!!

yours in yumminess

Ba xx