Chocolate Mud Cupcakes

Ingredients -

• 300g plain chocolate chips (I used squares of chocolate from a block of cooking chocolate)
• 300g unsalted butter
• 5 eggs
• 115g caster sugar
• 115g self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder, for dusting

Method -

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and place 12 paper baking cases in a muffin tin.
2. In medium bowl set over pan of gently simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring well. Leave to cool a little.
3. Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until pale and thick. Fold the flour into the egg mixture and then stir in the melted chocolate and butter until well blended.
4. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 20 minutes. Cupcakes will be soft and gooey in texture and appearance. Remove tin from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and serve swiftly, dusted with cocoa powder.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Miniature cupcakes!

I used miniature cupcakes using the baby blue spotted cups (oh-so-cute!). Using miniature cups, you can make almost 30 mini ones. Just fill them up 3/4 full as they grow and can erupt in the oven if filled to high but you can always pick on the overflowing corners…nom nom.

Enjoy!

I first met Kate Spade (her work at least) on someone’s feet a couple of years ago. I remember the pair of shoes as being super fun and colorful.

When I visited New York, Kate Spade was everywhere and for Christmas, it had “Live colorfully” banners strewn all over the windows….just how I remembered the brand.

Since then I’ve fallen with all things Kate Spade. From home ware to accessories.

Some finds:

Perfect for those emergency moments when a card from the petrol station won’t cut it. (Don’t judge me if you receive one of these from me)…I just think they are so cute. Simple yet cool. I love the colours and the phrases are short and sweet (won’t spoil them here) but there is one for every occasion.

I bought myself a leopard print phone case for my iPhone with little splashes of colour…though this one is looking rather attractive.

Finally, I got a 2012 planner from Kate Spade and I just love the prints in them.

2012

If you enjoy color and a bit of fun, check out her range here.

So it’s Sunday. Weather was wet in the morning but it’s sunny now…but no, too lazy to go for a wander. Instead it’s housework time.

Christmas tree down: check (well just the ornaments and lights…so half check) yay!

So I thought why not make something sweet to enjoy with a cup of tea and a good book (oh dear, already planning ahead for some couch lounging activities).

I swear puff pastry is one of the best inventions for any cook. I make so much with it…stuff it with chicken, sausages, mushrooms, tuna…and now for something sweet, a square of milk chocolate

Easy peeeeaaasssyyyy:

1. Cut your puff pastry into half horizontally and then 4 vertically so you have 8 rectangular strips. (Do this to as many pieces of puff pastry as you need)

2. From a block of chocolate, cut up into squares. I use one square per rectangular puff pastry.

3. Fold puff pastry in half over the chocolate and seal using a fork along the sides.

4. Place in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes or until golden brown (ooop there goes my bell – so 10 minutes was perfect).

5. Flip the puff pieces over and bake for another 5-7 minutes.

6. Enjoy the golden brown goodness.

I must say I don’t think it’s all that different (just yet). We’ve finally had a chance for just us two now that all the relatives have gone (but at the same time the house feel so so lonely) and the only routine I’ve managed to achieve is cooking at home (2 nights out of the 3 in the new year – pretty good effort ).

Melbourne has been extremely hot the last few days and this I feel, slows things down … a lot. Maybe it’s the festive season lingering on just that tad bit longer or maybe it’s just me getting lazy from my summer break. I don’t seem to be fitting much in a day. So to make myself (and show my husband) that I am doing something at home, I try to cook

Tonight was calamari on pasta…

Calamari Pasta

Pretty easy thing to put together (perfect for this lazy episode I’m experiencing).

Calamari – wash and dry with paper towel. Then in a zip lock bag, mix plain flour, salt and pepper (or any other seasoning you like…I quite like lemon and pepper). Pour in the calamari and fling the bag around until evenly covered. Heat a pan with some oil and fry away until golden brown.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can have it with rocket salad, some mayo, vinegar..or on pasta!

Nom nom!

In January we had our engagement party after the Christmas break and in December we had our wedding just before the Christmas break. A beautiful start and end to 2011 and I couldn’t ask for more.

Wedding flowers

We had the perfect wedding. Perfect weather, beautiful friends and family and everything flowed just perfectly (minus the part where we couldn’t find the wedding bands and my wedding shoes…but that’s ok!)

The last two weeks post wedding has been filled with food, family, more food and..more food. My Italian bridesmaid said to me this evening, “To my grandmother, food equals love”. I think this is also definitely the case for us Chinese. But it’s such a warming feeling – who could ever say no to good food (I bet you I won’t be saying this when I’m at the gym tomorrow!)

Despite all the craziness of having 50 relatives visiting from overseas, planning a wedding, knee surgery, travelling and moving house, it has been one epic 2011. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Thank you again to everyone who made our December so spectacular. 2012 marks a start to many new things for me and I hope that everyone’s dreams and wishes come true

Love,

Uey

Located opposite Central Park, we decided to pay the famous museum a visit on Veteran’s Day (11.11.11) which wasn’t such a smart idea because streets in the city were being blocked off for their annual parade making it awfully difficult to catch a cab. Having said that, we were lucky enough to be driven by an old American man who seemed to have a liking towards Australian girls.

Side note: On the 11th minute on the 11th hour on 11.11.11, we were eating at Shake Shack (awesome burger and fries) – must try!

Anyhow, we made it there (eventually)…and when I think Guggenheim, I think of the episode of SATC where SJP finds out its closed and gets caught in the rain…then her skirt goes flying up…then she meets a cute guy, rambles, then he gets scared and walks away.

But there is sooo much more to the Guggenheim than that episode (clearly, otherwise it wouldn’t be so famous!).

While we were visiting, there was an exhibition by Maurizio Cattelan. I had some photos on my iPhone that I wanted to share, until I saw this video (totally puts my pics to shame). And the amazing thing about the Guggenheim is that as you walk up the spiral, you see a different side of the exhibit. Epic.

We enjoyed their famous burger and an awesome simple salad…

[Sorry I think my blog is also having some post holiday blues..it's not letting me post up any photos...but if you want to see some old ones, please have a look here]..haha so it’s not photos of yummy food..but something else just as appetising

Anyways… after some burgers, salads and deserts… the Queen of wedding gowns walks in!

VERA WANG!

If this isn’t a good omen for my upcoming wedding, I don’t know what is!

So if you’re visiting LA, I would say this is one restaurant to visit. Hopefully you’ll have a celebrity sighting too!