Cake

Given how much I like my food, it’s surprising that I still haven’t done a food related post.  I watch the Food channel a lot, and I especially love baking and dessert related shows like Ace of Cakes…mmmm…cake.  I would say I have more of a salt tooth than sweet, but I like making sweet treats more because they seem to make other people so happy!  As I said last time, one of my favourite things to do in the winter is bake, and I usually find time to make something on the weekend.  There’s something really comforting about baking – it’s generally pretty easy, and at the end of the day, anything is bound to taste good with enough butter and sugar!

If you’re not a confident baker you should still try the recipe below, you can basically make it in one bowl and it will only take about 15 minutes to prepare (with about 20-25 minutes baking time).  Plus it's super adaptable (see variant suggestions at the bottom).  Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

Ingredients:

150g butter

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ¼ cups sugar

3 eggs

½ cup flour

½ tsp baking powder

Few grinds of salt (optional)

Oil spray/baking paper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C.

2. Chop 150g butter into large cubes and melt. Either do this on low heat on the stovetop, watching carefully and stirring often OR in microwave on medium heat, 20 seconds at a time.

3. Stir ¾ cup pure cocoa powder into the melted butter until there are no lumps and it resembles velvety melted chocolate.  DON’T taste it. Trust me.

4. In a large mixing bowl, pour 1¼ cups sugar and 3 eggs. Beat with a hand beater or an electric one until pale and quite fluffy.

5. Add the cocoa/butter mixture to the larger bowl and gently fold through until everything is just combined.

6. Sift in ½ cup of plain flour and the ½ teaspoon baking powder. Fold through again until just combined.

7. Optional:  Add ¼ tsp or a few grinds of salt.  This sounds weird but makes the chocolate flavour way more delicious.  Just make sure you mix this in thoroughly!

8. Line a shallow brownie tin (approx 20cm square by 4cm high) with baking paper, or spray with oil.

9. Pour mixture in and spread flat with a spatula.

10. Bake in oven for approximately 20-25minutes or until a knife/skewer comes out  cleanly and the brownie no longer wobbles when you shake the tin gently.

Leave to cool before turning out (otherwise the brownie will fall to pieces and that would be a tragedy).

I recommend keeping in an airtight container and only cutting off pieces as you eat them.  Cutting it all up at once means that it can go stale more quickly.

Enjoy, and if you feel adventurous try adding some (or all!)of these to the completed plain brownie mixture:

Nuts:  I highly recommend a big tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter and some roasted peanuts, but macadamias are really good too.

Chocolate chunks: Whatever your favourite chocolate is...white chocolate is good!

Coffee:  Dilute 2 tsp of instant coffee in 2 tsp of hot water. Add to the plain brownie mix.  This amount won’t make the brownie taste like coffee, but it will intensify the chocolate to a dark chocolate flavour brownie.  I do this one nearly every time.

Alcohol: Try adding a couple of teaspoons of bourbon. (Chocolate chunks with this would be awesome too) YUM.

 Last but not least...add spoonfuls of soft pre-made caramel (eg Highlander Caramel) as a middle layer to the brownie and on top before cooking.

Something about Winter

Even though I usually dread winter, once it rolls around it never takes me long to appreciate all the lovely things that go hand in hand with frosty weather.  Of course I love the clothes - big warm coats, cute hats, bright tights and comfy boots.  But I'm more of a homebody than anything, and in winter I have no guilt whatsoever about spending most of my time inside reading, watching TV, baking, and drinking lots of tea!  And if I do go out, it's all about movies with friends and comforting pub food (and beer!).

But my favourite aspect of winter is the weather.  I love the way it transforms the city into a dreamy hazy place lit up by pale clear sun.  So during my walk to work over a few mornings  this week, rather than striding along head down like usual, I took the time to stop and take some photos.  I am in no way a photographer but I love my city so much at this time of year that I really wanted to share.

 

Thanks Nana

 

Most of my vintage items are those that I have selected myself, however there are a few items around my house that I inherited.  For some reason I never thought of these as vintage, because they were always in my life and not "second-hand".  However I realised the other day that all the lovely things I got when my dear Nana passed away are now technically vintage.  I also realised how much I love them all. The joyful thing about these treasures is that I use them all the time, so as well as being beautiful they are also practical, and I think of Nana every time I use them. I loved my Nana and it's really nice that I have a few little pieces of her life to remind me...  

x

Patterns of Compulsion

I usually go through phases of being in love with a certain style of fabric or clothing.  For a long time it was florals, and while they will always hold a place in my heart, at the moment I am a bit addicted to paisley. 

It's currently autumn here and lots of the latest styles have an air of the 1970's about them, long flowing skirts and paisley included.  I love it, because even though it's cold, the styles conjure up images of hazy hot summer days and nostalgic elegance.  The combination of colours in a paisley pattern means that it will match with just about any other item of clothing, and that can only be a good thing.

The intricate designs and colours hold so much fascination with me that I've even attempted to draw them.  Not only that, but I actually had more paisley around my house than I first thought. Seems it's been wriggling it's way to the forefront without me even noticing.

Anyone else out there who loves paisley as much as I do? No? Oh well, all the more for me...

Judge Me By My Cover

 

Books are always on my list of loved vintage items, but my infatuation with dresses means they are often overlooked.  Occasionally though, I will spy something that reminds me how much I like them.  One of the genres I really enjoy collecting and reading is spooky storybooks. They quite often contain an excellent tale or two, and the worn look of a vintage book usually adds to the feeling of creepiness and horror...

Of course, I also love books with vintage fashion in them. The above lovely sewing book enthralls me with fascinating and forgotten techniques, and also provides a few giggles with the outdated language and advice.  

Most of all though, I just love the familiar, comfortable look of old books.  Their worn covers,  yellow pages, and handwritten notes remind me that someone else once loved them too. I like the fact that they have survived all these years and now I get to keep them safe...all while they make my shelves look pretty.