Meringues

Meringues are so easy and cute to make. These weren't as marshmallowy as I would have liked. Maybe a bit less time in the oven would have been good.

All you need to make them is three egg whites and 180g white sugar.
I use this little dish to separate the egg whites from the yolks. It has a little gap in the side to let the whites escape.


Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Add the sugar a little at a time. I added a tablespoon to start with, then added the rest in three parts.

Beat until thick and glossy.

Fill a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle with meringue.

Pipe small meringues onto a paper lined tray. Bake for 80 to 85 minutes in a 110 degree C oven. Mine were a bit smaller than in the picture with the recipe, so they could have done with a bit less time in the oven.

Cute! This recipe is from the book Afternoon Tea by frankie magazine, which is a compilation of recipes that are perfect for afternoon tea. Enjoy!

Matryoshka tea towel and Pink measuring cups!

I love matryoshka dolls! Thanks to my mum for buying me pretty pink measuring cups and a matryoshka doll tea towel!

Millefoglie con Crema Chantilly

Millefoglie is like an Italian version of a vanilla slice. It is basically sheets of puff pastry cut into squares with custard/cream sandwiched in the middle. It is absolutely delicious! I made it with my Italian class a couple of weeks ago and then made it the next weekend.

Here's what you will need to make it (for 4 people):

500ml of milk, 5 eggs, 100g caster sugar, 45g cornflour, finely grated rind of a lemon, 100g fresh cream, pinch of salt, vanilla essence, puff pastry sheets (about 2)

First up add about 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence to the milk in a medium sized pot.

Add the pinch of salt

and the lemon rind.

Bring the milk to the boil.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs (just the yolks),


the sugar,

and the cornflour.

Whisk it with a fork to form a paste.

Add the egg mixture to the hot milk and return to a moderate heat.


Stir constantly until thick and until there are no lumps.

Put the custard in a bowl and refrigerate until cool.

Meanwhile, cut the pastry sheets in half, then cut the halves into thirds.

Place on a baking tray and prick with a fork.


Sprinkle pastry squares with sugar. Bake at 200 degrees (C) until golden.


Meanwhile, while the pastry is cooking and the custard is in the fridge, whip the cream to soft peaks.

When the custard is cool add the whipped cream.

To assemble: Place one pastry square onto a plate and dollop some custard on top.

Place another pastry square on top of the custard.

Then place another dollop of custard on top and another pastry square.

Then sprinkle with icing sugar. You could also put some berries on top and in between the layers.

Buon appetito!

Cheese Scones

These cheese scones are perfect with a hot bowl of soup. We ate ours with homemade pumpkin soup and it was delicious. They have a pinch of cayenne pepper in them which gives the scones a lovely flavour. The recipe is from The Australian Women's Weekly Easy Baking cookbook.

You will need: 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour (I used wholemeal), 50g butter, 1/3 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese, 1/3 cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper and 3/4 cup buttermilk.

Sift the flour into a large bowl.



Rub in the chopped butter.

Stir in the cheddar cheese,

half the parmesan cheese,

and about a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

I didn't measure it though :)

Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture.

Use a knife to cut in the buttermilk to make a soft, sticky dough.

Knead dough lightly until smooth and press into an even 2cm thickness.

Use a 5.5cm cutter (or the rim of a glass) to cut as many rounds from the dough as possible.

Place scones side by side in a greased 20cm round cake pan. Sprinkle on remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for about 20 mins in a 200 degree oven.

Yum! Enjoy :)