Oh. My. Blog.

A blinding flash of inspiration and the desperate need to use the remaining lemon curd led to this:

Little Gingernut, Superwine cookie cups filled with the delicious lemony loveliness. I don't mind boasting ... These were so good it's ridiculous. So good that even my harshest critic (read: wife) was impressed.

The base is just 100 grams of about a half and half mix of the biscuits blasted and mixed with about 45g melted butter then pressed into a mini muffin tray lined with plastic wrap. Chill the little buggers and fill with good lemon curd.

Serve with whipped cream and/or berries. And a good, big dollop of smug self-satisfaction.

Fail

You think that just because you have good intentions, everything's going to hum along nicely?

Doubt it.

I grabbed a bag of frozen blueberries from the frozen section at the supermarket thinking that a batch of muffins for the neighbours would be a good way of lifting spirits after a tough week. When I got home I realized those blueberries were actually boysenberries.

Shouldn't matter, right? Berries are berries? The recipe will still work, surely?

Nope. Wrong. Uh-uh.

Muffin fail. Instead of cheering up the neighbours, I ended up making the kids miserable by adding stodgy, purple bricks to their lunch boxes.

There's a lesson here somewhere. You'll have to figure out what it is.

Curds and wahay!

A quick one:

Pancakes and lemon curd. You have to do this.

These are the pancakes:
3/4 Cup standard flour.
1 good teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
1 egg (whisked)
2/3 - 3/4 Cup whole milk
30 grams melted butter.

That mixture only makes 4 - 6 pancakes, but that's enough for my son and I for breakfast. Throw it all and and whisk.When you're cooking here are a couple of tips to make sure they come out perfectly every time:

1. The pan has to be medium - hot. Chuck some butter in. If the butter bubbles and cooks straight away, that's cook. If the butter goes brown or black straight away, that's bad.
2. Go with a smaller pan rather than a bigger one. All cooktops are a bit uneven and a smaller pan gives you a better chance at the pancakes coming out uniform.
3. Use a ladle to put the mixture in your pan. That way you can measure you much is going in and get them near enough to the same size. It's tidier too.
4. Flip the pancakes when they bubble on top.

When they're done, smear them in lemon curd. It'll make you moan. In a good way.

Steve loves Louise

I'm like Frankenstein, but without the screaming. The evil genius, that is - not the monster.

The kitchen is my lab and today I created something that, when it came out of the oven, looked so perfect I nearly cried out, 'It's alive!'

Okay - I just read those two lines back and it sounds like I really rate myself. So let me cut to the chase:

I made a Louise slice and instead of using jam I used lemon curd. Lemon Louise, oh how I love her. This was an idea that occurred to me a few weeks back and finally I've done something about it. There's a little lemon in the base and the sual coconut in the meringue and it all works perfectly.

Tips:
1. You could blast the base together in a food processor, but I find it just as quick and easy in a bowl. And it saves on dishes cos you have to use a bowl anyway.

2. Softened the butter, but don't melt it. The easiest way to do that is by zapping it in the microwave on the lowest possible setting for a minute or two.

3. I use dessicated coconut, which is a lot finer. I like the lightness it gives the meringue. But you can use the shredded stuff for a more rustic effect.

Hers is better than mine

When I'm not baking I work at the Breeze radio station in Wellington, NZ. This morning my job and my serious addiction overlapped when I chatted on air with Alice, the most recent evictee on Chelsea NZ's Hottest Home Baker.


Alice Arndell

 I was slightly put out when I read in the Dom Post this morning that Alice does a baking blog. Even worse, when I checked it out ... it's good. Like, really good. So much better than mine I feel embarrassed. A sporting analogy would be: she's, say, Dan Carter. Packed with skill and finesse and style and class. And I'm, well, me.

She bakes better, she blogs better.

Chicks. Can't trust 'em. they'll be taking over the whole baking world soon.

I got the Hankering

I remember apple crumble as being the most delicious treat in the world when I was in my teens. It was something that every good restaurant had on their dessert menu. Fine places like Pizza Hut and Cobb'n'Co, for example.

And I probably haven't eaten it since I was 17.

For some reason, today I got The Hankering. Are you familiar with The Hankering? It's that 'I gotta have it, nothing else can happen till I do' feeling. It sometimes sits at the back of your mind for days until finally you have to do something about it.

I decided not to wait for days.

Much like myself, I discovered, the humble crumble has grown up. Now you put nuts and spice and other stuff in it. This recipe is one I made up this afternoon, based on a little research, what I had in the pantry and the fact that I like a little tang in the apples. I reckon you'll like it. I had seconds ... and thirds.

Points with the Missus

It's a genius plan.

Except I'm not the genius, she is. My wife is a high school teacher and every now and then she tells her kids she'll bring in some baking, which is where I come in. The last time that promise was made we had some lemons left in the bowl and I made these lemon muffins as minis with a dollop of lemony icing on top.

Obviously I did quality checking before handing them over for the students. WOW! They pack a lemony punch.

My wife used them as a bribe; a 'work hard, get a muffin' sort of thing. The kids loved them, so she was happy and I earned points for being a good husband. Everyone wins.

See? Genius. Next time I figured I'd go with brownies. That way they'd be brownie points. Mmmm?