tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46278467407247426392011-12-15T08:57:23.727+02:00Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-19535449719568741092009-06-03T15:33:00.004+02:002009-06-03T16:24:25.647+02:00

Wow these past couple of months have been crazy but fun. All the party and wedding planning that I've been doing recently has left me flustered with not much time for my blog. I've been baking up a storm but have never had the time to post. I don't know how much time I'll have over the next 3 months to sit down and write but I've missed my blog so much and will definitely make some time for it.

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-49676069595974166272009-04-20T10:52:00.009+02:002009-04-20T12:41:39.365+02:00

This past month has been one hectic month with very little room left for me to breath. Earlier in the month we celebrated the 7th birthday of my niece Tiana. She selected a Barbie Princess theme for her upcoming birthday and then it was all systems go.I took on a lot, as usual, which left me trying to recover for over a week but it was all well worth it. The party was a great success and Tiana

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-17921190859816262142009-03-24T09:53:00.004+02:002009-03-24T12:19:44.980+02:00

A couple of weeks ago I walked into the kitchen and all I could smell was bananas. The bananas that we had were beginning to ripen too and the aroma that they were giving off made me long for some sought of banana cake. I settled on banana bread. I took out my flour and…. no wait… hold that thought.A few days prior to that I was visiting my SIL and she asked me to make a chocolate cake. Anyone

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-20191374977585839032009-03-02T07:47:00.008+02:002009-03-02T15:44:16.948+02:00

When I saw the challenge for February I was rather excited, so excited that I finished it 4 days after it had been posted. It was a long wait for posting day and when the day came I was busy helping my brother move so I didn't even have enough time to turn my laptop on. It was disappointing for me since I couldn't wait to share my experiences from the challenge with the rest of you.As I said I

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-41289856918765471872009-02-20T08:56:00.007+02:002009-02-20T10:49:27.255+02:00

Red velvet cake is not as popular in South Africa as it is in America. In fact the first time I heard of red velvet cake was a couple of years ago. My brother Jason, who had never baked a cake before, decided he was going to spoil me with a home made cake. He fervently sifted through a recipe book looking for the perfect cake to bake. His eyes settled on a strange red looking cake with cooked

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-3244972502204947702009-02-16T10:57:00.005+02:002009-02-16T12:27:47.425+02:00

It's been a really long time since I've been in the kitchen and with all the hot humid summer days who can blame me. It seems summer gets hotter and hotter each year. I started getting serious withdrawal syndromes and that’s when I knew it was time for me to brave the summer heat and get back to doing what I love. With that I took my bowls off the shelf, dusted my web entangled whisk, dug deep

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-33528883306698759472008-11-29T22:05:00.004+02:002008-11-29T22:18:19.956+02:00

...like nectar from heaven. We all imagine heaven and what it would be like; well the heaven I imagine in my mind has streets of gold and rivers of caramel running through chocolate capped mountains. There's something about eating Caramel that makes you feel like a kid again no matter what your age...I know I do. I always always lose all inhibition when getting my caramel fix. Whether it's

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-20280891790228380122008-10-29T14:49:00.009+02:002008-10-31T10:38:11.878+02:00

Wow..what can I say about this pizza crust. It was more than what I expected it to be and then some. The crust baked up perfectly. Crisp on the outside but tender on the inside. It made me look (and feel) like a gourmet chef. Everyone that had the pizza raved about it.Because of the nature of my blog I had initially decided to make a dessert pizza but then I thought that it would be such a waste

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-40525811299450973002008-10-23T11:06:00.002+02:002008-10-23T11:08:51.119+02:00

Tartine BrowniesOriginally uploaded by uqbar!So I finally decided to make something from the Tartine recipe book which I purchased recently. There are so many good things in the book it was hard for me to choose what to make first.I settled on the brownies cause I love chocolate and their require very little time to make compared to other things in the book. I have decided to leave the more

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-80048265463710618862008-10-16T11:02:00.008+02:002008-10-21T08:00:03.591+02:00

The first time I heard of Tartine Bakery, a high end pastry shop in San Francisco, was when I saw their book on Amazon.com.I was attracted to the Tartine book by its cover and decided to buy it after having searched inside the book.When I received the book a few days ago I was so glad that I had chosen it from the many choices. I have yet to try a recipe only because I can't make up my mind which

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-3125480111046459812008-10-13T11:33:00.003+02:002008-10-13T14:21:02.331+02:00

Let them eat cake...the words spoken by a queen of France, commonly associated with the legendary Marie Antoinette, upon hearing that the peasants complained that there wasn't enough bread to go around. I recently discovered that the "cake" she was referring to was in fact brioche - "S’ils n’ont plus de pain, qu’ils mangent de la brioche" which is translated to "If they have no bread, let them

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-40990053810316457202008-10-02T07:15:00.007+02:002008-10-02T13:04:55.140+02:00

...Well not actually. Hands up if you love Cinnabon. It was love of at first bite for me. I fell in love with the delicate bun, the sweet spicy cinnamon filling and the decadent cream cheese that enrobes every delicious cinnabon.After having tasted every single variant I asked the sales lady at our local (the one and only) Cinnabon store if she could add chocolate sauce to the Caramel Pecanbon

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-89896111076668405482008-09-22T08:21:00.004+02:002008-09-22T10:09:28.396+02:00

I've been wanting to try croissants for a long time now but have always been afraid to try. I searched and found a recipe on La Cerise. I was even more excited try these when I noticed that it was a recipe by Pierre Herme. I decided to give it a try and they didn't quite turn out the way I expected I was happy with the outcome.Mixing the dough was easier than I expected. My dough was a tad bit

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-88241319643214218832008-09-17T09:54:00.012+02:002008-09-17T15:09:42.719+02:00

Ever since my niece's mom bought her the first set in the strawberry shortcake collection I have been promising to bake with her but never got the time. Finally I decided to make time with her this past weekend.Her set included a plate, mini tart pan and a mini rolling pin all of which she wanted to use. It was tough deciding what tart to make since I didn't want to choose one that would be too

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-74995134754653293352008-09-16T09:24:00.006+02:002008-09-17T13:39:56.334+02:00

I've been wanting to try an apple cake for a very long time. I like the taste of apple pie but always find myself picking out the chunks of apple since I'm not a fan of cooked apples. Because you can't make apple pie without apples I thought that making an apple cake would be the next best thing for me to try.With hundreds of recipes to choose from I settled on the Double Apple Cake from the book

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-35570806996236908352008-09-16T08:45:00.006+02:002008-09-17T13:55:45.762+02:00

The first time I heard of apple butter was a few days ago when looking through some recipes. I remember wondering if it was an apple flavoured butter sought of like garlic butter. I was about to put the recipe away when I decided to google apple butter and discovered that I could in fact make it myself. I was surprised to see that it look more like jam (jelly) rather than butter. Once I found a

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-61895362612761642822008-08-31T16:41:00.008+02:002008-09-22T10:09:08.398+02:00

...from the great man himselfI was excited to become a member of the Daring Bakers and couldn't wait to start my first challenge. When I finally saw what the challenge was, I was a bit disappointed because I have made eclairs so many times before and was looking forward to trying something new. My disappointment quickly changed though when I saw that the recipe was one of Pierre Hermé's. I love

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-40805956293624872352008-08-29T09:12:00.007+02:002008-09-17T14:39:07.343+02:00

...A firm South African favouriteCrunchies were a staple for me growing up. Everybody I knew who sold sweets out of their homes or at schools sold crunchies. Everytime I make these I am overwhelmed by feelings of nostalgia. I remember begging my mother every day after school for 20c for popcorn and 50c for my daily crunchie fix. Wow... it seems like centuries ago and yet I still love these.I

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-3393736054123799732008-08-08T06:53:00.006+02:002008-09-17T14:43:12.173+02:00

I promised a few of my friends last week that I will put together a black forest cake. I love black forest cake but for some reason I've never made one before. I wasn't going to take any shortcuts with this one and was going to include every bit of goodness that a black forest cake is known for right down to kirsch soaked cherries. When I got home though it was another story. You see people have

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-21429349833479945802008-07-23T08:29:00.006+02:002008-09-17T14:43:45.960+02:00

Yesterday when I got home from work I had a strong desire to be in the kitchen baking up something good and since I didn't have to cook any supper I had all the time I needed. I opened the cupboard and the first two things I saw was a packet of chopped almonds and a bag of icing sugar. A light went off in my head and suddently I had a vision of macarons.I have yet to try these sweet treats mostly

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-20627643972579125662008-07-16T08:06:00.009+02:002008-09-17T14:44:34.165+02:00

Last night I was really wishing for a good treat but being so tired from all the late nights I decided that I need a quick and easy treat that I could enjoy. I thought about what I was wishing for.....something with nuts and chocolate. I thought about making the pecan slices that my sister-in-law goes gaga over but then that would require too much effort for my tired self. I then thought about a

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-68481110001967092552008-07-11T13:54:00.005+02:002008-07-11T13:59:28.373+02:00

I am thrilled to share with you that my niece Azariah was born at 3.78kgs today just a few short hours ago. I can't wait to meet her.Congratulations to Timothy and Kristy. Enjoy your new bundle of joy.Lot's of love to you Azariah and may you have a beautiful life.xoxoxo

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-47811857928725678272008-07-10T13:32:00.017+02:002008-09-17T14:45:56.025+02:00

Eiffel TowerImage source: flickr I have had my mind on Paris a lot lately. It is my dream to go there and I know one day I will. You might be wondering why I love Paris so much especially since I haven't even been there. Simple...it's gastronomic heaven. What do I like about Paris the most.......uh let me see......their fine food and especially their pastries and desserts. Though I haven't

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-42118276807153937582008-07-10T09:58:00.012+02:002008-09-22T10:08:12.034+02:00

I remember eating Danish pastries growing up. I used to always the enjoy them - the light flaky pastry and the delicious custard fillings. I'ts been years since I've had a good Danish pastry so when I found myself looking at all the Danish braids on the blogs that I read from time to time I decided it was time to make my very one Danish braid. The thought of working with dough - especially

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-27280765802689909012008-07-08T09:31:00.005+02:002008-09-22T10:10:24.293+02:00

So when I was asked to make some pastries for today I thought no problem. With a full-time job there's not much time for baking during the week but with careful planning I thought that I could pull it off in no time. After all I've seen Nigella whip up some wonderful dishes in no time. So I planned and prepared but what do you know I still ended up sleeping at midnight and that was just

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-40323544642104014132008-07-04T09:41:00.012+02:002008-09-17T14:46:53.064+02:00

It's been a hectic week for me and even though I did make the popcorn 2 nights ago I wasn't completely satisfied cause I went home to discover that I only had microwave popcorn. Don't get me wrong I love microwave popcorn but I don't like to use it when making caramel popcorn. I find the caramel to heavy for the light popcorn. I decided to make it anyway but because I was so tired and rushed I

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-19271284856727858022008-07-01T08:43:00.007+02:002008-09-17T14:47:18.544+02:00

So winters come full blown and all you want to do is cuddle up on the couch with a plate of your favourite comfort food. I love popcorn anytime of the year but during winter I like to indulge in caramel popcorn. I've been wanting to make this for a long time but never got around to doing it so when I found these videos on ehow.com I thought I will give these a try tonight. The nice thingk about

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-88329030637723759942008-06-04T09:25:00.008+02:002008-09-17T14:50:04.413+02:00

I'ts winter and there's nothing better than warming your self with a decadent cup of hot chocolate. This winter you might want to forget about the stuff you get in a tin at the supermarket and try making you a cup of your very own sinfully rich hot chocolate. Now's not the time to be worrying about calories (at least on the day you will be making this). Pair this off with the chocolate biscuits I

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-70936080321142538332008-06-04T08:31:00.008+02:002008-09-17T14:47:53.737+02:00

What could be better than biscuits covered in chocolate with a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winters day. Every winter I make these and I can't get enough of them. Because I love chocolate so much I decided that I would like to try the chocolate version. I'm going to keep myself busy making these this coming weekend.Don't make too many though otherwise you won't be able to keep your hand out of

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-37750060444997437302008-05-27T07:13:00.011+02:002008-09-17T14:49:37.462+02:00

Anybody who knows me knows that I have a weakness for chocolate. It's funny cause my love for chocolate started only a few years ago. There's something about eating chocolate that hits you in all the right places. It's no wonder it's the first thing many of reach for when we need our spirits lifted. If you've never had premium chocolate like Lindt or Callebaut then you can't really say that

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-46305330243634415692008-05-26T07:49:00.005+02:002008-09-17T14:48:26.476+02:00

I spent the whole day in the kitchen on Saturday baking a few of my favourite desserts. These included Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart and a decadent chocolate cake layered with a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate mousse and then draped in chocolate ganache. I forgot to buy flour for the cake so I used a cake mix that I had in the cupboard (very disappointing). I really enjoyed the peppermint crisp

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-45795203952650978762008-05-23T14:40:00.004+02:002008-09-17T14:49:00.048+02:00

It's been a long long time since I've made these but I still remember the warm fuzzy feeling I got after eating one of these out of the oven. Having been the first chocolate chip cookie recipe that I'd sampled I swore then and there that it will be the last. Crisp around the edges, soft and chewy in the centre, I had to practically chain my hands to keep myself from going back for more. I ate so

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4627846740724742639.post-77205534927481802762008-05-23T13:12:00.000+02:002008-05-23T14:38:30.694+02:00

Anyone who knows me knows me for my semi-sweet tooth. I say semi because I don't always go gaga over sweet stuff but I have to have my weekly fix. I am a reformed chocaholic but still love to indulge in chocolates occassionaly. Most of what I make or most of what I eat (desserts) has to include chocolate cause then it's just too boring for me. I decided to start this blog so that I can share and

Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09544814687762835865noreply@blogger.com2