Cupcakes on Pitt @ Chatswood

I've had Cupcakes on Pitt a couple of times before and have always been a bit unimpressed with them. The words dry and cloyingly sweet come to mind. I have a feeling they are mass produced in a factory. And I'm not making that up - I remember reading it somewhere.

I was at Chatswood Westfield when I saw a man carrying a box of cupcakes. I recognized they were from Cupcakes on Pitt and for whatever reason unknown to me, I just HAD to go and get some. Even though I'd previously not really liked them that much.

So the boyfriend and I navigated our way to the cupcake shop and they had a delicious little display of cupcakes. That's one thing that I must say, I've always found their cupcakes to be very cute. I noticed they had added macarons to their selection of baked treats.

I settled on a strawberry cupcake, a chocolate cupcake, a peppermint macaron and a vanilla macaron.

I think the cupcakes are adorable, and the flavour is fine......if not a little sweet......but the cupcake? Dry. And the buttercream has a mouth feel as though it's been made with shortening.....you know that greasy feel?? Anyway, they were ok, and I'm not complaining cause I just really wanted a cupcake/sugar fix, and that's what I got.

The macarons (which btw they spell as macaroons......it's a massive pet hate of mine) weren't that fantastic either. REALLY hard, and chewy and the cream in the middle had the same kind of feel to it as the cupcakes. The mint one had no flavouring in the actual 'biscuit' part of it, just the cream. And the vanilla didn't have any lovely bean flecks or anything. So it was a bit underwhelming. Boyfriend saw the look on my face when I took a bite and didn't even bother with tasting it himself.

So overall, good for a cupcake/sugar fix? Yes. I think these would be a hit with kids because they aren't as fussy as adults when it comes to things like cupcakes. But if you want something better quality, I'd go elsewhere.

Cupcakes on Pitt
Shop 221A
Westfield Chatswood 2067

Snickerdoodles

I've always thought snickerdoodle was a really weird name for a cookie. There are several theories behind the origin of the name - some say it's derived from a German word - Schneckennudeln, which means "snail noodles." Other people say it didn't come from anywhere and it's just a made up name. Whatever, as long as it involves cinnamon, and sugar, I'm sold.

The cookies are fabulous. It kinda reminds me of a cinnamon tea cake, but in cookie form. They're really easy to make - simple ingredients, roll em in to balls, roll em in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and bake for 10 mins. Super simple!! And let me tell you, they didn't even last a day.......whoops!!

Recipe:

110g butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon
5 tsp sugar (I used caster sugar and I think I made a mistake in doing so - I think it's meant to be normal sugar)

In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter & sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and egg and beat until incorporated. Slowly add sifted flour & baking powder and mix until the dough comes together.

Turn out on to a lightly floured board and roll in to a log. Cut off slices about 2cm thick. Shape in to balls and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Place on a baking tray lined with paper and press the balls flat with the bottom of a glass. I think I didn't press mine thin enough - I think these cookies are meant to be quite thin. They still tasted awesome though!!

Bake at 170 for about 8 - 10 mins. When you take them out of the oven, let them sit on the tray for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Srsly yum!!

World Cup Cookies

So I went shopping yesterday, and I wandered in to House without actually intending to buy anything - $30 dollars later I had picked up a couple of things that I absolutely, postively could not survive without (teehee!!) along with an Australia shaped cookie cutter.

As soon as I saw it I thought "Yes. World Cup cookies".

Unfortunately, as I'm sure you all know now, Germany won 4 - 0.

Tim Cahill definitely did not deserve that red card at all.

Hold on.....I'm talking about soccer as though I like it?! I don't actually, I couldn't care less and I find it a boring game as I do most sports......but......it's the World Cup......and it's my country!! So really, I like it by association.

So I guess these are a bit of a waste now.......but they do taste good.......so as long as they get eaten, that's all that matters I suppose!!

3 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
225g butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 170 degrees.

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Refrigerate for about half an hour. 


Roll between 2 sheets of baking paper (it saves it getting stuck to your rolling pin, and your work surface too - ingenious!!) and cut out your shapes. Place on cookie trays lined with baking paper and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

And then decorate with your royal icing - I'd love to provide a recipe but all I do is add pure icing sugar to egg white and keep adding until it looks good to me. Sorry!!

Holy Communion

This weekend I made 50 cupcakes and a cake for a woman I used to work with. It was her son's first holy communion:

Prime Restaurant, GPO Building, Sydney

It's my boyfriends birthday coming up, and because it falls on a weekday, I decided to take him out on the Saturday before so we could thoroughly enjoy our night out. And that we did!!

I took him to Prime restaurant in the GPO Building in Martin Place - I'd heard several good things and read a stack of excellent reviews about the place. And I'd been craving a good steak lately, and you can't go wrong with a restaurant that has won Sydney's Best Steak Restaurant 10 years running!!

Prime is set down on the bottom level of the GPO Building amongst several trendy bars, delicious looking restaurants and even a cheese and wine bar. We approach the door of the restaurant and can see all their awards on the wall outside - it's quite impressive.

Inside, the low lighting, heritage listed sandstone and "New York Style" interior give the restaurant an intimate feel. We are amongst the first to arrive for the evening, but even as the night wares on and it gets quite busy, I never really felt like there was anyone else in there but us.

The 'candles' on each table is a nice touch.

Upon being seated, we were presented with fresh, warm, crusty sourdough with butter. At perfect room temperature. I can't stand it when you're given butter and it rips your bread because it's unspreadable!! I could smell the sourness coming from the bread - it was so delicious, everything a sourdough should be. Soft, warm, crunchy crust, a smooth sour flavour. It was just delicious.

The menu

French Onion Soup - $16

I went with french onion soup with three cheese crouton for entree. It was packed full of onion, and was slightly sweet as though the onion had been caramelised. Not watery at all, and quite rich from the cheese - oh the cheese!! It had SO much cheese in there, and I'm quite a big fan of that, but it was almost too much. And I will mention that there is absolutely no dainty way to eat cheesy french onion soup. Cue cheese strings hanging from my chin. How embarassing. 

Cured assiette of air dried wagyu and kurobuta pork prosciutto served with pickled vegetable & onion marmalade - $28

Aaren ordered the above - I tried a small mouthfull of the wagyu and it was perfect - salty, smooth and a wonderful flavour. Aaren tells me the richness of the meat was perfect, and that the vegetables that it was served with were cooked perfectly. 

For mains I ordered:

Pan fried wagyu hanger steak (170g) with potato puree, asparagus, daicon radish & pepper sauce - $36

As this plate was set down in front of my, my mouth literally started to water. The smell was just divine. The steak was perfectly cooked to my liking, tender, rich (marble score 7+) not a hint of chewiness about it. I'm actually really fussy with steak and only really eat it about once or twice a year. For me to actually want more is a rare occurance. I didn't want this to end!! The potato puree was smooth, buttery, slightly salted and matched perfectly with the crunchyness of the radish & asparagus. 

Chargrilled loin of sashimi tuna with ragout of roasted capsicum, black olive tapenade & celery leaf beignet - $39. 

Trust my boyfriend to order tuna at a steak restaurant!! The tuna was perfectly cooked - seared on the outside, beautifully pink on the inside. Aaren said it was beautifully fresh, soft & melt in your mouth. The roasted capcisum & black olive perfectly complemented the flavour and freshness of the tuna.

Bailey's souffle with honeycomb ice cream - $16.50

I really REALLY wanted us to order something different for the dessert - unfortunately we both had our heart set on the souffle. As willing as I am to share, I wanted the majority of it to myself and was only willing to offer Aaren a taste of it. And he was feeling likewise. So we both ordered it. 

Let me tell you, it was the right decision. The souffle was perfectly cooked, light & fluffy with a strong, smooth bailey's flavour in every mouthful. The icecream was served on a bed of honeycomb and was beautifully creamy with a hint of natural honey flavour coming through. Delicious. 

There will definitely be a next time at this restaurant. Service was absolutely brilliant, atmosphere was private, intimate and non invasive and they have a wonderfully extensive wine list too.

Prime Restaurant

GPO Building

1 Martin Place

Sydney 

http://www.gposydney.com/Prime-15.html

Meet My Bookshelf

I bought a new bookshelf last weekend, because my cookbooks were occupying every shelf space possible in the kitchen, loungeroom & spareroom. Now I've condensed it all on to this bookshelf. And serveral cupboards in the kitchen:

Out of all the books on my shelf, this is the one that I'm most excited about at the moment:

This book has the most delicious looking pastries and breads in it. Observe:

A lovely friend of mine lent me this book and I think I'd like to make the lemon curd tarts first. They look deliciously creamy!! Infact, I might make them tomorrow.

Here's another book that I'm looking foward to making stuff from:

My sister bought me this for my birthday - I fell in love with it instantly. Just from looking at the cover, it's such a beautiful book, and there's even more beautiful recipes in it. Here's one that I am itching to make:

Peach Jelly Roll?? Yes please.

Fig, mascarpone & honey cake. OMG. Look at those figs. Yum yum yum. YUM.

Pear, honey & polenta cake. I love the way those thinly sliced pears look on top of the cake.

I'm looking forward to sharing these treats with you soon!! But I think that my next post will be about tonight's dinner.

I'm taking my boyfriend out for his birthday to Prime (voted Sydney's best steak restaurant from 2000 - 2009). I'm really excited, and actually a bit nervous, because I always feel a bit odd getting my camera out and photographing my food. I feel like people are staring at me. And thinking I'm a fruit loop. And granted, I am......but I don't need them staring!! So I hope its not too weird for me. Anyway, I'm sure the dinner will be delicious, and in the mean time, check out their website - the menu looks fab.

Mickey Mouse Army

An order of cupcakes I did for my boyfriends work colleague:

 Mickey Mouse Army!!

Nothing exciting really - 12 vanilla, 12 chocolate, sprinkles and all that jazz!!