What you will need:

Pre-made uncooked frozen tart case or you can make your own
250 grams cream cheese
1 cup thickened cream
1 egg
3/4 icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
500 grams frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 Tablespoons water

White Chocolate Ganache
150 grams white chocolate
80mL Cream

What to do:

Preheat the oven to moderate.
Partially cook your base until it starts to become slightly firm. (About 8 minutes)
Remove base from oven and allow to cool while you make the filling.
In a large bowl whip the cream cheese until soft and all the lumps are gone.
Add in the cream and continue to beat until fluffy
Add in the egg and vanilla and continue to beat.
Gradually sift in the icing sugar and beat until combined.
Arrange 350 grams of your berries in the bottom of the tart case and cover with the cream cheese filling.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the filling thickens.
Allow the tart to cool and fully set in the refrigerator.
In a saucepan combine the caster sugar, berries and water. Cook until the berries loose their structure and the sugar is fully dissolved.
Using a sieve remove any of the seeds and lumps. You should end up with a bright light syrup.
Reheat the syrup in the saucepan again so it thickens. About 2 minutes.
Swirl the syrup onto the top of the tart. You will have extra for serving.

Make the White Chocolate Ganache Cream

Melt the white chocolate in a saucepan or heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water.
Stirring occassionally with a metal spoon.
In a bowl beat the cream until light and fluffy.
Add in the melted white chocolate and beat until well combined.
Serve with the chilled tart.

Serves about 8.

Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, and Strawberries in a Graham Cracker Crust (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some pies take two crusts.  And there are days when making up a full crust is just a bit more than what you want to do.  Luckily, many fruit, especially berries, can cook well in a tart or a crumb crust.

We’re blessed in this area.  About the time the strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are done, blueberries and Himalayan blackberries come into season.  And right after them, apples and pears.

If you are blessed enough to be around berries, especially blackberries – my favorite, you can whip up a crumb crust (the fun way to make a pie) at a moment’s notice.  And treat yourself to a great dessert at the drop of a hat.

Typically, crumb crusts call for cake or cookie crumbs to be used, which is all fine and dandy, but how often do you have a quarter box of vanilla wafers or a couple packs of graham crackers hanging around?

I save the heels from loaves of bread for just such an occasion.  You can just throw them in the freezer until you need them then dry them in a slow (275 – 300 degree) oven.  (Make sure the bread crumbs are dry or you’ll have a chewy pie crust).  I use a blender to grind them up but you could use a food processor or just a rolling pin and a paper bag to keep them from flying when you beat them.

Bread Crumb Crust:

1 1/2 C Bread Crumbs

1/4 C Powdered Sugar

6 TBSP melted butter.

Mix together, reserve 1/4 C and pat rest into a pie pan.  Bake 15 minutes at  350 degrees.  Remove from oven and let cool on rack.

Once the crust has been removed, raise the oven to 450 degrees.

Mix four cups of berries with 2/3 C sugar (more or less).  Set aside.

Mix 2 TBSP cornstarch with 1/4 C fruit juice or water.  Mix gently with berries and sugar mixture, let stand 15 minutes.

Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon to berries, mix gently and add to pie shell.  Dot with 1 – 2 TBSP of butter.  Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top.

Bake at 450 for ten minutes then lower heat to 350 and continue to bake for 40 minutes more.

There ya have it!  Pie!  (and a way to use up bread heels).  How ’bout that?

If you want a regular crust and an easy, no hassle, way to make it — see “Boiling Water Pie Crust.”

If you enjoyed my cranberry-apple crisp, then you are gonna love this recipe. This dessert requires mixed berries,frozen or fresh. Mixed berries are hard to come across where I live. Raspberries are unheard of so I make due with what I have. I used frozen strawberries,blueberries, and cherries. You can add blackberries if you have. Adding pears to these assorted berries gives this cobbler some substance.  This dessert  is not only delicious but it is healthy as well. Serve this hot accompanied with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnish with a fresh mint leaf (which I didn’t think to do at that moment. Oh well). Using basic ingredients, this dessert is very simple to prepare. I, however, must note that I did incorporate grounded walnuts in my flour mixture. If you have a nut allergy, you can use oatmeal or just leave out the nuts altogether but I particularly enjoy that extra crunch the nuts give to the cobbler. If you have whole walnuts in hand, just pulverize them in a food processor.

For this recipe, you will need:

1. 3 cups of mixed berries, frozen or fresh
2. 4 medium ripe pears cored,peeled, and sliced
3. 1 cup of whole wheat flour
4. 1/4 cup of canola oil
5. 1/4 cup of brown sugar
6. 1/2 cup of grounded walnuts
7. 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch baking dish. In a bowl of a mixer, combine flour,oil,sugar,walnuts, and cinnamon. Beat until mixture resembles coarse meal. Divide crumb mixture in 2. Spread the first batch all over the bottom of the pan. In another bowl, combine mixed berries and pears. Sprinkle with a dash of sugar and lemon juice and lightly toss. Pour berry mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top of the berry mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes uncovered. Serve.

Yields 8 servings

Berry Seedy:

Ingredients:

1 cup of unsweetened almond milk or soy milk

4 cups of lettuce(any lettuce will do)

1 cup of frozen mixed berries

1 tbsp. of flaxseed or flaxseed oil

***You may put your favorite sweetener if you want it sweet.

Blend everything! And enjoy!

Mixed berries: gooseberries, raspberries, lingonberries!

One does not have to eat different kinds of berry separately – one can just as well mix them! Sweet berries (e.g. raspberries, gooseberries) go quite well with sour berries (e.g. lingonberries, red-currants). Gooseberries (Ribes Uva-Crispa), raspberries (Rubus Idaeus) och lingonberries (Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea) – all of which can be readily found in nature right now! – make for an interesting combination of flavours.

Yummy!

In close-up.

Served with Falköpings Vaniljfil/Falköping’s Vanilla-Flavoured Fil, of course!

Read my previous blog post about berries! Contains more berries, tips & pictures!

I am feeling Springy. Yes, it is not even close to September but I think I may have caught the totally-clichéd-but-much-loved Spring fever. Admittedly I am not running around cleaning the house (because honestly, spring cleaning is what?) but I am certainly drifting off into daydreams of flowers, puppies and rainbows.

To celebrate the feelings of Spring which make me

1. Overwhelmed with happiness
2. Forget to do my schoolwork
3. Daydream all day
4. Have a greater appetite

I would like to share with you a dessert which is light but delicious, heaven for the palate no matter who the artist is (ugh, those savouries can be snobs though ) and looks so gorgeous! Oh, and has Spring written all over it.

Sounds too good right?

Without further ado, I bring Spring into your mouth accompanied by vanilla ice cream tohave a party in the mouth celebrating berries, mint and freshness with a dessert so tempting, one piece will not be enough!

Oh, oh and just before I forget, it is actually not very sweet so go ahead and take another piece. Ok fine, finish it off
And for all you soon to be Autumn dwellers, soften some apples with butter and apple, drizzle with caramel sauce and you have made an, as you say, fall version of this Spring dessert

I have sweetened, richened (yep it is a word now!) and made this cobbler recipe more into the decadent dessert it is as opposed to something low-cal and edible for breakfast… though if you eat my version for breakfast no hard feelings

Maple Berry Coconut Skillet Cobbler

Adapted from: How Sweet Eats

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

Filling

• 3 tbs butter
• 6 cups mixed frozen berries (not thawed!)
  
• 2 tbs white sugar

Cobbler Crust

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour (or use half oats as well)
• 1/2 cup sweetened desiccated coconut
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 56g butter, softened to room temperature and cubed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbs strawberry (or coconut or vanilla) essence

Drizzle + Serving

• Maple syrup
• Fresh mint
• Vanilla ice cream
  

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C
2. In a bowl, place mixed berries and sugar, stirring and let sugar dissolve into the fruits for 1/2 hour
   
3. Heat a large iron cast skillet (oven-safe) on medium heat and add in butter, letting it melt until nutty and browned – add in immediately the berries and stir into the butter until soft (3-4 minutes) – take off heat
   
4. In a large bowl, combine flour, coconut, baking soda & powderm spices and brown sugar
   
5. Using your hands (since a fork works horribly, as you can see I tried!), work the butter and cut into the flour mixture till you have llittle pebble like crumbles strewn through
   
6. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk and essence
   
7. Gently stir together with a wooden spoon till the dough comes together
   
8. Spoon and pat down globs of dough on top of the berry mixture evenly till most is covered
   
9. Drizzle maple syrup generously all over pastry
   
10. Place skillet on a baking tray and cover handle in foil
11. Bake at 220 degrees C for 15-20 minutes, before turning the heat down to 180 degrees C and baking for an extra 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown
    
12. Serve with ice cream, extra maple syrup and fresh mint

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And so comes to an end my early dedication to the beauties of Spring, keeping my mind of Jack Frost and his crazy cold touch in Australia right now

Before I go, I would like to acknowledge  The Versatile Blog Award I have received from the awesome blogger at A Pug In The Kitchen – Her pugs are sooo adorable, it is true but the main reason to visit
my friend’s blog is because of her sunny disposition and fantastic cooking skills! Thank you so much

So rules of this award are:

• Thank the blogger who gave it you (can’t believe that is a rule, it is human instinct!)
• Link back to said blogger
• Tell 7 things about yourself
• Pass on to 15 other bloggers
• Tell chosen bloggers and make their day

Because I am constantly telling you my life stories because of these award, I am skipping that part but awarding out? I can do that

Congrats to these nominees:

• Allen @ Cook! Bake! Share!
• Becky @ Baker Becky
• Susan @ Savoring Time In The Kitchen
• Peter @ Feed Your Soul
• John @ Kitchen Riffs
• Charlie @ Hotly Spiced
• On The Homefront And Beyond
• Amy @ Fearless Homemaker
• Emily @ Life On Food
• Hannah @ BitterSweet
• Barb @ Profiteroles And Ponytails
• Debra @ Eliot Eats
• Betsy @ Bits And Breadcrumbs
• Sawson @ Chef In Disguise
• Cathleen @ A Taste Of Madness

MIXED BERRIES VANILLA ICE CREAM
(inspired by so many things that I can’t pinpoint one)
make 2

1/2 tub vanilla ice cream
5-6 heaping tablespoonful of mixed berries
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
couple of biscuits, preferably the chewy type with strong flavor such as orange or ginger biscuits

• In a small pot, add in the mixed berries (even if they are still frozen), the lemon juice and the honey. Over small fire, boil them about 2-3 minutes. Mashed the berries a little bit with the back of your spoon. You would want to still be able to see and bite the fruits. Transfer into a bowl.
• Place 2 scoops of ice cream into the same bowl and leave it in room temperature until the ice cream has thawed a little bit.
• Mix the ice cream with the berries, making sure the vanilla ice cream is stained with berries evenly.
• Using a (small) glass (preferably a plastic one), scoop in the plain vanilla ice cream 2/3 through. Then add in the mixed berries vanilla ice cream to the rim.
• Put them into freezer until serving time.
• To plate it: with the aid of warm towels (or simply wash your hands with warm water), release/ dislocate the ice cream off its mold.
• Once the ice cream is releasable, top the glass with biscuit and a serving plate, and turn it upside down. Voila!
• Garnish with fruits and melted chocolate, if you like.

And if you’re particularly genius, like me (ahem), create a Pisa leaning tower. C’mon, I challenge you.

White chocolate ‘berrymisu’

We have one word … YUMMY!!

This is definitely one to pull out for those girly evenings!

And it’s pretty easy too!

Ingredients (serves 8)

*************************************************************************
Update: Check out Kelli’s awesome National Can It Forward Day Post! Her e-book sounds fantastic!

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In everything we do, anything we take part of, there is always one defining moment where you finish it, stand tall and say ‘I’m proud of myself.’

You could be the worst at it in the world, for example, someone you may know sucks at football, but even then, said anonymous person scored a goal for the first time – ultimate defining moment of pride

Of course, as in everything in the world, we have our extremists. At one level, we have those who look in the mirror like they have won an Oscar because they emptied the dishwasher.  On the other end, we have those who might create cars that run on orange juice instead of guzzling petrol yet still look in the mirror and go ‘You don’t do enough!’

Most people though, are average, in the middle, and these are the people who get to have The Proud Moment.

A little kid gets centre stage at a ballet concert for the first time after 2 years of dancing. The Proud Moment.

A guy who grew up earning his living moves to the city. Proud Moment.

Adult gets promotion after 1 year. Proud Moment.

Retired and finally time to go on a cruise holiday. Proud Moment.

We all have them, multiple times and each time tastes sweeter than the last no matter which order you take it in.

Today I had my Proud Moment, my first one since I started blogging, perhaps even the first one since I stepped into the kitchen. My grandparents asked me to make a birthday cake for their friend, who had a huge 80th birthday party coming up.

How could I say no? It was my holidays, I have a huge line of ‘party’ fancy recipes to be made and apparently, this friend used to be my paediatrician, so for all the years I don’t remember seeing him, I may as well say thank you

I was looking through my recipes but wanted to make something a little extra special, a little more than just a bundt cake, any single layer cake for that matter. That was when I found this recipe over at a favourite blog, Not Quite Nigella. It was far from simple, had great flavours, I had a mixed bag of berries lying in the freezer and when I looked at it, I just wanted to die, it was so pretty.

Pretty good reasons to make it no?

This cake took me a total of three days to make. I spread it out quite a bit and could easily have done it in two. I did every component and enjoyed every minute! It was involving, not frustrating though, and I tried a little of each part (the cake was crumby, I had excess frosting – so bite me )

1. The cake – very moist and delicious bursts of berries, I think just the cake in itself would be a perfect teacake except for the fact it has so many… less-good-for-you ingredients
2. The cream cheese frosting – Cream cheese and vanilla are an unbeatable combo in my book so this icing rocks my socks
3. The whipped cream – Perfect. Just so perfect.

When I saw my finished result, I could not stop grinning. It was one of the happiest cake results, no, the happiest cake result of my life and I want to make many more cakes like this. Today, I experienced my Proud Moment in the kitchen

Will you tell me about when you all experienced yours?

Read the recipe but you won’t weep my friends – I promise

**I will be posting cross sections shots which my grandpa has promised to take at the party so hopefully those will be going up on Monday - Update: Here are some cross section photos!

Next time I will mash in the berries to make the layers more defined

Mixed Berries & Coconut Layer Cake

Adapted from: Not Quite Nigella (I changed the method and some ingredients as well as increased it to be better for a 9 inch springform as opposed to 8 inch)

Makes: 3x 23cm layered cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 315g butter, room temperature
  
• 2 cups caster sugar
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups plain flour (sifted twice with baking powder) – if you have access, I really think cake flour would work well in this cake
• 5 tsp baking powder (I lowered this amount because that way the cake does not rise so no trimming required )
• 2 tbs strawberry essence
  
• 1 tsp coconut essence
• 1 1/4 cups desiccated coconut (sweetened)
• 2/3 + 1/6 cups full coconut cream (melt it a little in microwave) or coconut milk
• 200g frozen mixed berries, coated in flour

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 180g butter, room temperature
• 360 cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 tbs vanilla essence (I did not want to over-coconut the cake taste )
• 7 cups icing mixture

Decoration

• 2 types of jam – I used raspberry and blueberry
• Whipped Cream – homemade recipe here
  
• Shredded coconut (toast it is desired)
• Strawberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease well and line three 9-inch/23cm springform cake tins with baking paper
   
2. Beat butter and sugars together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy
3. Beat in the eggs and the essence
   
4. Stir in gently half the sifted flour, baking powder and desiccated coconut
   
5. Stir in all of the coconut cream/milk
6. Fold in the remaining dry ingredients and stir until a smooth batter forms (it will be sticky!)
7. Gently mix in the berries (Lorraine’s cake was reddish so I am guessing her berries thawed quickly into the cake. To have the same effect, roughly mash the berries as they are being mixed to leave colour traces behind)
   
8. Place spoonfuls of the batter evenly into each tin and smooth top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean (**Note”: The baking may be a little uneven as with mine if you put all of the tins in together – after 20 minutes keep a constant watch of which cake is fully baked as timing differs)
   
   
9. Let tins cool for 10 minutes before unmolding the cakes, removing any paper and letting them fully cool on a wire rack (1-2 hours)
10. While the cake is cooling make the icing. Beat butter, cheese and essence until light and fluffy
11. One cup at a time, beat in icing sugar until well combined (refrigerate if not using and let come to room temperature to use again, whipping it a little to get back consistency)
12. Place the smoothest side (the bottom) up of one of the cakes on the bottom of the serving dish (or box). Spread with cream cheese frosting.
    
13. Spread generous dollops of jam on top.
    
14. Place the second cake on top, bottom/smooth side up. Repeat and place third layer on top.
    
15. Do a thin crumb coat of the cake using 1/4 of the icing in the bowl. Use a palate knife to create a thin coating used to pick up any stray crumbs (or in my case berry juice). Refrigerate for an hour.
    
    

    Ugh… not so pretty

16. Do a final thick coating of frosting on top which is smooth. Using your hands press shredded coconut to the sides of the cake, covering up all signs of the cake underneath the frosting (a.k.a be generous!)
    
17. Decorate with whipped cream and fresh berries as desired

To make this post even happier, I would like to pass on some more awards I have happily recently received from many wonderful bloggers

Firstly, a new blogger buddy of mine, Andrea, from Glad Hungry Mom, passed on the Illuminating Blogger Award to me – that is too sweet my friend, thank you very much
If you haven’t checked out her blog then what are you waiting for! Life involving beauty, food and more, she blogs it all

For this award, I would like to nominate these bloggers

• The Lady 8 Home
• Savoring Time In The Kitchen
• The Foodie Affair
• The German Foodie

Second, fabulous Minnie @ The Lady 8 Home and Becky from Baking And Cooking, A Tale Of Two Loves awarded me with the Addictive Blog Award – *gushes*
Thanks guys! Both these bloggers have beautiful styles of writing and recipes which make my mouth water every. single. time. So seriously check them out

To see the requirements, check out this post since I luckily recently received this award

My nominees for this award are:

• Glam Hungry Mom
• Cindy’s Recipes And Writings
• Cooking’s Good Vegetarian Cafe
• Art Of Natural Living

Congratulations and have a wonderful weekend everyone

For July 4th, I decided to skip baking a traditional flag cake and the non-traditional hidden flag cake, even though Pinterest was flooded with them (as Deb from smitten kitchen duly noted). Besides my housemate ended up baking one and our kitchen is definitely not big enough for two flag cakes. So instead, I decided to bake berry cupcakes since I had a tub of expiring sour cream and a bag of frozen berries sitting in the freezer.

Creaming the butter and sugar

Now, I’m not sure if these exactly classify as cupcakes since they looked like muffins. I like to think they were cupcakes since I creamed the butter and sugar and added each egg one at a time. Usually, I think of muffins as  the “mix the wet ingredients, mix the dry ingredients, and then add the dry to the wet” kind of recipe whereas cupcakes are more of the “cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, then alternately add the flour and milk” type. It makes sense since creaming the butter and sugar lightens the batter and makes the final product more fluffy. This is probably why muffins are much denser than cupcakes. But don’t quote me, I’m no expert on cupcakes or muffins. I usually just do what the recipe tells me.

Mixing in the frozen berries

The original recipe was for lemon cream cupcakes, but I modified it by adding in frozen mixed berries at the end. No need to thaw the berries, in fact that’ll result in berry juice instead of actual berries. Also, try not to mix the berries too much since that’ll break them up.

All ready for the oven

I noticed that while baking in the oven, the cupcakes rose quite a bit and then deflated after I took them out. Not sure how to prevent deflation yet. I remember seeing a tip on Pinterest about baking them at a lower temperature, but I have yet to try that.

Since I hate to waste leftovers, I frosted the cupcakes with leftover lime buttercream frosting (the one from the margarita cupcakes). These cupcakes are pretty sweet already and didn’t really need the frosting. So I’d recommend just sifting some powdered sugar on top instead of frosting them (especially with old frosting). Plus, without the frosting, you’ll be able to see the bright colors of the cupcakes!

Unfrosted cupcake vs. Frosted cupcake

(And you can paint your nails red to match them… not like I intentionally did that…    Or you can just patriotically paint your nails!)

I brought these cupcake/muffins to a Fourth of July BBQ and they were devoured pretty quickly. What’s nice about this recipe is that it’s not just strictly for a special holiday, like those flag cakes. You can make these muffin/cupcakes for any kind of party/BBQ or even for breakfast or dessert!

Mixed Berry Cupcakes/Muffins
Adapted from allrecipes

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
Zest from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream
1 bag of frozen mixed berries (or whatever berries you want)

1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
3. Mix in the lemon zest and vanilla.
4. Combine the dry ingredients.
5. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream to the creamed butter mixture.
6. Fold in the frozen berries.
7. Fill a paper-lined muffin tin with batter (each one 1/2 or 3/4 full of batter).
8. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.
9. Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
10. Sift powdered sugar on top or frost with your favorite frosting (a lemon buttercream or cream cheese frosting would go well with these cupcakes).
11. Paint your nails to match the berries in the cupcakes and enjoy!

Place sliced Pears in bowl and pour Watermelon Vinaigrette over, toss to incorporate, set aside.

When ready to serve salad, toss Mixed Greens, Pear, Cherry Pomegranate Sauce and Mixed Berries in salad bowl.  Top with Feta Cheese and Candied Walnuts.

We were sitting so close!!!

There was so much atmosphere in the air, the stadium was totally packed and I legit lost my voice after screaming so much for the team! Yep, true I do not watch every rugby union game ever and yes, I do not get the sign language of the ref, but who cares because it just so so soo much fun!

But as much as I would love to talk about the green and gold spirit and the fact that Wales lost all three test matches against us (but whose counting? ), I do not think you are here to hear about that. I will admit though, grudgingly, that Wales lost only by 2-3 points each game but hey, loss is a loss no?
Better luck next time (what a lie, I will still be rooting for Australia!)

Let’s get to the knitty-gritty shall we then? (Gosh, that phrase is so old fashioned!)
Of course, pre-game, we had to have a lunch. Specifically a lunch so heavy and delicious it would blow our minds. And we did. How we did.

And tha is where the shades came out, and the notepad and pen (a.k.a my phone) discreetly was placed on the table.

So where did my daddy, my brother, et moi go?

Bavarian Bier Cafe. Located at Fox Studios (since the game was at Moore Park). We have been before pre-blogging. We loved it before pre-blogging. But I think we loved it even more this time

I honestly think this was one of the most fun lunches I have ever had with my family. Would you like to hear about, see some (lots) of shots? Ok, let’s begin then

As I said before, the sun was shining and the world was looking bright when my daddy and I met my brother and then walked down to the restaurant. The ambience inside was awesome, huge beer mugs on display (can you believe 1 L mugs?!), an accordian player bugging pestering visiting every table, and the smell of saukerat and sausages was heavy. You already know I love the smell of frying meat right despite the fact I don’t want to eat it right?

Now the fun begins…
You see, my brother, the lucky bugger, just finished his exams and now has a 3 week break. He is a total non-drinker, the occasional alcohol once in a blue moon, but today, he decided he wanted to celebrate and let loose by having one beer. And where is a better place to get one than Bavarian Bier cafe right? Especially considering it is authentically German cuisine

Check out their labels!

He looked over the menu, pondered and decided to get one called the Five Bier something or another. Underneath, there was a bitterness scale and since five was the highest number, and he loves bitter taste, he got that one. Check out what came…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…

Sucker

As if he, the non drinker would drink the whole 5 biers right? 200ml each, that is 1L of bier right there! Anyway, he just decided to try a little of each, taking the most of the opportunity. Boy, did he make the most of the opportunity though as you shall see…

Me, I was a little modest underage girl who got her orange juice while envious of the pretty beer colour around me but WOW, was it delicious. Never have I had a juice in which the flavour was so concentrated and almost thick! It was delicious!

Feels a little pathetic sitting in a bier restaurant drinking juice…

My dad went for the simple Jack Daniels and Coke, sticking to a classic.

Sorry for the blurriness but my brother and daddy were clinking glasses

Anyway, next came out Freshly Baked Bavarian Bier Pretzel w/ butter ($3.50). The pretzel to beat all pretzels with a thick slab of butter of creamy delicious taste. Soft, doughy and perfectly salted, it was beautifully browned and just almost indescribably wonderful in taste, as the pictures show

Perfection, absolute!

Then came out the big guns.

I ordered the the Roasted Vegetable Fettucini w/ Rocket, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Fresh Chili ($23), considering it is their only main vegetarian meal. Where do I begin? The smell was enticing, there was a huge, generous pile of beautiful fettucini, not drenched but more flavoured in chili and olive oil, lying on a bed of rocket surrounded by roasted capsicum, onions, tomatoes and all topped with  melted shavings of swiss cheese, I believe. I could not finish it given the size but I am regretting that now as I want to eat this again and again and again – Winner dish!

My daddy and brother are all ‘Schnitzels FTW (for the win)’, supporting it almost as much as they support Aussie Rugby teams
Daddy ordered the Pan-Fried Chicken Schnitzel w/ a side of Kipfler Potato Salad ($27.50). The dish came served with a mayo dressing, lemon and rocket salad on the side and had beautiful presentation. The ecstasy on my dad’s face told me how perfectly fried the chicken was, apparently being soft on the inside but deliciously crunchy on the outside. And a beautiful brown too, no uneven colour! The Kipler Potato (also known as ‘German Finger Potatoes’) salad, which I also tried, was creamy but with a zesty citrusy kick and the perfect side to any meal. It also looked totally devourable.

How’s my brother going. What 3 down already? Must not be thinking and just drinking
Anyhow, getting back to his meal, he chose the Swiss Schnitzel (Chicken Schnitzel with Swiss Cheese, Double Smoked Leg Ham and Kipfler Potato Salad) ($29.50). Quoting him, although you can’t know how much to trust him considering his alcohol intake already , ‘The cheese made it!’ It did look deliciously melty over a huge piece of chicken. Similar to dad’s dish, this had the same sides and was fantastic in texture, taste and serving, though whether the grin on my brother’s face was from the alcohol or the food, we will never know

Samples all, drinks two full hehehehe… can’t help himself can he

They also ordered a side of Sauerkraut and Speck* ($7.90) which according to my brother, was quite tasty but it just did not work very well as an additional side with either chicken dish.
*Speck = A delicatessen smoked juniper-flavoured ham from Northern Italy

By now we are feeling pretty stuffed but the dessert here is not optional. Whoever bypasses it, I put shame on your name! My brother, ahem, did bypass dessert, saying he would take a little from my dad and me (ahem, a little rude no? ) but if I be honest with you, I think it was the fact that he did not want to get interrupted from his drinks, of which he only had basically 1 left, poor baby

Dad decided to get the Apple Strudel with Homemade Vanilla Anglaise (served with real vanilla bean ice cream) ($12). This leaves you speechless. The custard is silky smooth, with specks of real vanilla bean in it and a beautiful strong flavour. It goes perfectly with the flaky sweet pastry of the strudel, filled with apples cooked to perfection and spiced with hints of brown sugar sweetness coming through but not being overbearing. The ice cream just tops the dessert off perfectly. It deserves to be so much more than a measly $12!

Sorry for the ‘blueness’ of the photos, we were in the shade

Since we have already been to this restaurant before and I got the apple strudel last time, I went for the Chocolate Delice w/ Summer Berries and Roasted Almond Ice Cream ($12). I had no idea what the ‘Chocolate Delice’ was but what came out was a small, intensely chocolatey looking cake which after one bite, tasted like either a very light cheesecake or a very dense mousse. In other words, heaven. It was paired with a fudgy biscuit base and topped with a smooth ganache which made this ‘delice’ indeed! The summer berry coulis was strongly liquored flavoured (it is a wonder my brother did not lap that up too ) but paired well with the cake. I was a little disappointed by the roasted almond ice cream which was lacking a strong almond-y flavour and was not sweet enough, therefore was slightly bland. I was more than happy to concentrate on cake though

Polite eating…

Real eating…

My brother slammed down his last beer glass, pointed at us with a shaky finger and drawled out something unintelligble. Jokes, jokes, but I must say he could not answer my maths question fast enough!

At the end of the meal, my dad summed up everything:

“You’re drunk on alcohol (brother), you’re drunk on joy (me) and I’m fat!” – fitting no?

Ironically, the coffee was for daddy and not my brother – Apparently, he doesn’t drink coffee but OBVIOUSLY, things change do they not dear drunkard, I mean, brother?

Afterwards, the world was being seen in black spots because I was so dozey but onwards we went to the game where we ate nothing (surprised no? ), where my brother taught me how to bet and we made a whopping $13 by betting that $5 at  $2.60 that Australia would be beat Wales (which of course, we did ) and basically, had a whopper of a time!!!!

General Overview

The Goods

• Fabulously sexy waiter + awesome accents all round – that and fast, efficient service considering how busy they were
• Generosity – everything was so so generous in size, serving, ingredients – my brother’s beer tray had little indents where the mug was to catch dripping beer because they fill the glasses way up!
• Attention to presentation and detail – the desserts came with little apple pieces to act as freshners after a meal – too cute!

The Bads

• On the menu, some things (not the beer, that was my brother’s fault ), should have been more clearly explained such as what a ‘chocolate delice’ actually is and some uncommon dishes (like speck)

Rating: 9/10 – coming from a vegetarian!

Website: http://www.bavarianbiercafe.com/home/
Menus: http://www.bavarianbiercafe.com/food_and_drink/

Address & Contact:
Entertainment Quarter (Fox Studios)
212 Bent St
Moore Park NSW 2021

Number: 9361 3833

Booking: Recommended

*****************************************************************************
For some light relief and total and utter detoxing, I decided to make a Lemonade. But pfft, who makes just lemonade? Everyone in the Northern Hemisphere is getting stuck into the beautifully coloured, exotic drinks so even though it is freezing 5 degrees C here, with the heaters on, I would so drink this drink

My whole family drank and enjoyed it, it was the perfect refreshment even in the cold
This is a quick recipe which is definitely a keeper!

Enjoy!

Mixed Berries Lemonade
Adapted from: Made In Mel’s Kitchen

Serves: 5-6

Ingredients

Lemonade

• 1 cup + 2 tbs boiling water
  
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 3 1/2 – 4 cups chilled water
• 1 cup lemon juice (if you want fresh, use around 8 small lemons)
  
• 2 tsp strawberry essence
• 1 cup fresh mixed berry sauce

Mixed Berry Sauce

• 2 cups frozen mixed berries, thawed (make sure juice is retained)
  
• 1 tbs fresh orange juice (or lime, or lemon)
• 1 tbs caster sugar
• 2 tbs cold water

Method

For Sauce

1. Place all ingredients (including retained juice) into a food processor and blend until smooth
   
2. Strain mixture into a bowl to get rid of lumps

For Lemonade

1. In a large jug, mix hot water and sugar until sugar dissolves
   
2. Stir in lemon juice and cold water
   
3. Add strawberry essence and mix into berry sauce
4. Stir berry sauce through the lemonade
   
5. Refrigerate till serving, covered by plastic wrap, decorate with lemon wedges and strawberries

Notes

• Serving in chilled glasses makes for a more refreshing drink
  
• The essence is optional but I love it
• Use a wooden spoon to stir the lemonade before serving each time and do not refrigerate in any steel pitcher because, according to my mum, it reacts and um… stuff (this is why I am not taking chemistry!)
  
• If you find the drink to be too sweet, add chilled water in, 1 tbs at a time until desired sweetness
• Place a couple of mint leaves in the jug to give a… um… minty freshness

*****************************************************************************
After a long post, I was want to conclude it. Next time I will be posting, I will be free so see you all in 4 days time. Only 4 days

Before I leave, I would like to thank Sally @ Catpurrology and Lisa @ La Vie Eclectique for awarding me the Blog On Fire Award (cool name no? ) – I will be properly passing these awards on in my next post!

Also, ironically enough, one of my history assignments is to make and blog about an ancient mystery
If any of you are into some Indian myths and legends, check out my temporary blog here:

http://thearyancontroversy.wordpress.com/

Toodles for now, see you when I am all free

The garden area was really overgrown with thigh high weeds that sprouted and I haven’t been able to breath through just my nose, or stop sneezing. In our family photo albums, we often point out the unfortunate mouth breathers, eternally frozen with mouth agape and usually looking fairly dorky.

The weed whacking was done by 8 yesterday evening. He did it right after eating gyros.

Why the weeknight yard work? It’s rural here and getting dryer by the day: fire danger is high where we live and a defensible space around the house is preferable. Overgrown bushes, rampant weeds, dead dry branches are just fuel we don’t want and can’t afford.

And then, there are ticks. If you never encountered one, you’re blessed. I’ve heard the “oh, you can just pull those little suckers out!” Pffft! I am one of those “lucky” first timers who’s tick was left with whatever nasty head parts inside her skin from a botched clinic removal, had a granuloma form and never heal for a month, and then finally get a recommendation for a dermatologist who had to cut away more tissue and stitch it up, finally healing but looking like I have a mini caterpillar under my skin. I have good reason to loathe and fear ticks. We have a lot of ticks here!

Anyway, a clear cut yard gave me the courage to get into my garden and have a look around. I saw that the deer got to one of my tomato plants through my deer-net teepee. (Why do I bother?) The squashes are blossoming nicely as are the lettuces and herbs. I also picked a nice carrot for breakfast!

Yup. This variety is ball-shaped. Pretty darn cute, huh? It’s called a Round Romeo and it’s sweet in flavor. I ate it with my morning shake: beet juice with mixed berries, flaxseed oil and SP powders.

I also took an allergy pill. I’m determined to clean the patio a bit and sweep before it gets hot. We have a dust blower, but that just gets weed debris into my garden beds. Who thought of that dumb device? Let’s not get rid of it! Just blow it that way so it’s someone else’s problem..

BTW. I realized that my hubby wasn’t putting away his t-shirts for some reason. He didn’t have room and he couldn’t find whatever color he wanted to wear. I figured out a solution for him.

I folded everything as small as I could but made it so the design on the front showed when placed in the drawer. I don’t know why I was taught to lay everything flat but I can’t ever find something when excavating layer by layer. I’ve noticed he only removes a few T-shirts anyway, so maybe he can get rid of some!

Berry, Spinach and Mandarin Smoothie

Ingredients (quantities as desired)
-Mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
-Mandarin or orange
-Fresh baby spinach leaves
-1/2 cup milk

Method
-Add ingredients to blender and BLEND until desired consistency is reached.

So simple, quick and delicious

Whats your favourite smoothie combo?

Happy blending

DISCLAIMER: This is the first dessert/pastry recipe I have created all on my own. It may have some kinks, as my experience in the kitchen has been 90% savory dishes, but all in all this turned out well. I have had issues in the past with pie crusts being too dry and breaking up when I attempted to plate them, so I made this a really wet dough. It works very well for the tarts in this dish, but I wouldn’t use it in an honest to God pie as it would be too difficult to work with. But in this recipe, DO NOT FEAR THE WET DOUGH! Just refrigerate it a good 4 hours before making the tarts, and you will be fine.

*This recipe is for 1 regular sized tart and 12 mini-tarts (as in the photos), but the dough and filling mixture can also be used for 2 tarts, or 24 mini-tarts. Whatever blows your skirt up.

Now, on with the recipe:

CRUST:

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour.

*Use pastry flour if you’re fancy. I am not. It has a lower gluten content though, so you may want to just do what I say.

1 cup shortening, cut into small chunks/cubes.

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup ice water.

*If you disobey and use regular tap water, your dough will be too warm and will not form correctly.

1/2 cup apricot preserves

2 tbsp Cognac (this is optional, but I’ve found it’s good to have an excuse for all the booze in my house if there is a judgmental friend over visiting. “Oh, the Cognac? That’s for dessert recipes!” See?)

PREP: Dump the 2 cups of flour into the food processor. Make sure the blade is in the food processor before doing this, unless you want people nearby to hear you cursing in the kitchen. I would use the actual blade as well, as I don’t think the plastic mixing blades that come with most processors pulse the way I like. Dump in the sugar and salt and pulse a few times until mixed. Then add the shortening, and pulse again until it forms a course grain. [NOTE: You can do this by hand of you don't have a food processor, but you need to be very very careful that you are only mixing the shortening into the flour with your fingertips. The rest of your hand will be too hot, melting the shortening, and ruining the dough.]

With the lid on, slowly pour in the ice water while pulsing. You can just set it on low if you’re not coordinated, but if you overwork the gluten in the flour, your dough will be chewy instead of flaky. When the water is mixed and forms a doughy texture, dump out the mix onto plastic wrap.

*This is NOT going to look like typical pastry dough. It will not form a uniform ball like you usually see, and it will feel wet and messy when you pull it out of the processor. Don’t worry. It is supposed to look like this. Everything will be okay. Just divide the dough into 2 balls and wrap in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

When the dough has been chilled, you are ready to begin. Preheat the oven to 400. Then start on the filling. For safety sake, leave the dough in the fridge until the very last minute so it stays as firm as possible.

FILLING:

16 oz strawberries, sliced

6 oz blueberries

6 oz raspberries

6 oz blackberries

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

A couple of dashes of cinnamon. Nothing more.

*You can change up the proportions for the berries if you like; I just happen to like a dominant strawberry flavor. I would also definitely use fresh fruit. Frozen won’t work at all. You would have to let the frozen fruit thaw first, and then it would be a big mushy mess. Thawed blueberries also tend to turn everything purple, and your fruits would not retain their individual colors when mixed. Just get fresh, okay? It’s all in season right now anyway.

In a really big bowl (remember that 5 cups of fruit are going into this), whisk the flour, sugar, and cinnamon together. Sprinkle in the vanilla and whisk some more. The vanilla will form little gross droplet-looking things in the flour/sugar mixture, but don’t get all bent out of shape about it. It will taste fine in the end. Now toss in the berries until they are well coated in the sugar/flour mixture.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Spray your pie dish (regular tart) and 12-cup muffin tin (mini tarts) with cooking spray or rub them down with butter, whatever you prefer. Then flour the inside of the pie dish and muffin tins. I usually see this with cake recipes, but found that it works really well with pies and tarts as well. It makes it much easier to remove the pie/tarts later.

In a small saucepan, smash the apricot preserves through a strainer. Set heat to low and whisk in cognac until warm. Set aside.

With one ball of dough, pinch of 1 inch balls of dough and roll them in your hand until they form smooth balls <snicker>. Then carefully flatten out the balls until they form discs slightly larger than the bottom of the muffin tin cups. Gently lay the dough into the muffin tins and gently push the sides up about 1/4 inch. Repeat until all tins are full. 1/2 the dough mixture will fill the 12 muffin tins. If you push too hard, the crust will be stuck to the bottom and it will be hell trying to get the tarts out later.

With the other ball of dough, lay it out on a lightly floured surface and gently press out until you have a disc slightly larger than the bottom of your pie tin. Do not attempt to use a rolling pin; the dough is too wet for that. Just press out into a disc and then set the disc into the pie tin. The sides should only come up about 1/2 inch. Gently press into the dish so it’s uniform. If you’re fancy, you can make little marks around the edges of the crust. Polk all around the bottom of the pie tin with a fork. If you don’t, the whole thing will swell up in your oven and be ruined, and you will have wasted your time.

Once the doughs are all nestled in their pans, get a pastry brush and coat the dough with a light glazing of the apricot jam/cognac mixture. Set both pans in the oven for about 12 minutes, to set the dough and allow the apricot jam to solidify. This provides a coating so the dough doesn’t get all soggy and nasty, and also provides a nice flavor.

[BONUS: You will have jam/cognac mixture leftover. Save it. It would make an awesome glaze for chicken or pork.]

After the crusts have cooked slightly, remove them from the oven and turn the heat down to 350. Let the crusts cool, for 10-15 minutes.

Once the crust is cooled, spoon the berry mixture–roughly a large soup spoon or 2 tbsp–into each of the muffin cups. The fruit mixture should only come up to about the top of the muffin cup. Don’t overfill. Once the mini-tarts are filled in the muffin cups, dump the rest of the mixture into the regular pie tin.

*If you’re fancy–which I am clearly not–you may wish to do a better job arranging the berries. I didn’t bother with this but may attempt it next time.

Throw the tins into the oven and cook around 25 minutes. At this point the crust should be a nice golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to cool at least 20-30 minutes, and enjoy. Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt makes an excellent add-on.

Another healthy smoothie recipe!

I love fruit smoothies, especially now, when I’m fighting off the tail end of a cough/cold variety.

They have great benefits including antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, probiotics (if you add yogurt!) and plus, they taste delicious!

This one is pretty simple, but packs in a lot of beneficial ingredients for the skin as well as the body health.

Ingredients: 

• Blueberries (1-2 handfuls)
• Strawberries (1-2 handfuls)
• 2 Bananas
• 2 Tbs. Plain Greek Yogurt
• 2 Tbs. Goji Berries soaked in 2 tbs. hot water to soften
• Splash of Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1/4-1/2 Ice or Water (Ice is more of a frozen smoothie treat while water is more of the Naked Juice type smoothie)

Directions:

All I did was cut up the strawberries and bananas before blending, put everything in the blender, blended until thoroughly mixed and enjoy! That’s it!

Health & Beauty Benefits:

• Goji Berries – High in minerals, vitamins, carotenoids (beta-carotene), and fatty acids, goji berries can be especially noted for their high content of vitamin C, vitamin B2 (Riboflavin),  Iron, and Selenium. These are best bought organically as conventional types have high instances of pesticide and insecticide residue.
• Strawberries – An excellent source of vitamin C and flavonoids, strawberries are a great source of vitamins and minerals. Plus, they taste delicious and their vitamin C content helps with dullness in the complexion and acne! Best bought organically due to pesticide residues.
• Blueberries – A great source of phytochemicals and antioxidants, blueberries are known to reduce the risk of certain cancers and inflammation (which causes many diseases in the first place!). They also contain high levels of resveratrol which is well known in the skin care world for its anti aging benefits.
• Bananas – A great source of vitamin B6 and soluble fiber, bananas help balance insulin levels (blood sugar) and keep you feeling full. They also have a decent amount of vitamin C, manganese and potassium which are all great for a healthy body and high immunity as well as healthy, clear skin.
• Plain Greek Yogurt (Fage 2%) – Low in fat and sugar, but high in protein (2X that of regular yogurt), Greek yogurt is great for helping you stay fuller longer because of this high protein content. Aside from that, it also is a good source of calcium and live active cultures which promote healthy gut bacteria for digesting foods in the body.
• Almond Milk – A great alternative to cow’s milk, almond milk can be bought in store or made easily by soaking almonds in water for 24 hours and then blending them to create a milky consistency. They are a great source of protein, fatty acids, and vitamin E as well as rich in B vitamins, fiber, and phytosterols. They may be helpful in lowering bad cholesterol and risk of certain cancers as well as improving the complexion and may also have an effect on lowering the risk of heart disease. Those will nut allergies should not use almond milk! Please use another variety such as soy, rice or cow’s milk!

This smoothie is great for a lot of reasons, but the main reasons I love it are that it includes  a healthy dose of antioxidants (especially the high content vitamin C from goji berries!) and also includes fiber from the bananas as well as probiotics from the yogurt. The bananas help to cancel out the strange odd flavor of the goji berries which, unfortunately, I don’t much like. This actually tastes a lot like a strawberry banana smoothie with a little something more in the flavor department! It is great for skin, but also great for health and diet. The high amount of vitamins, especially vitamin C, are very beneficial for immunity (fighting off diseases and illnesses), combating skin breakouts as well as skin aging and dullness (glowing complexion anyone?) and for overall health and vitality.

It makes for a great dessert or breakfast or any time snack!

Do you guys enjoy these healthy recipe posts or is there something you would prefer?

Please give me your feedback in the comments below!

Stay Beautiful

&

I’ll Talk To You Soon : ]

So, last night I was all about making the best smoothie recipes, especially green smoothies because I want to make sure I get all the greens and nutrients I need throughout the day for energy and immunity.

I adapted my own version of the Green Berry Smoothie I found over at JoyofSmoothies.

First off, I used organic frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries and blueberries mix). I used the whole pack that I had, but I think it was about 1-2 cups so it’s up to you how many you want to toss in. I love berries so yep!

If you want to or have them on hand, you can opt for fresh berries of your choice, but this is just what I had on hand.

Also, if you use fresh, you may need to use more ice/water than I did.

Next I added about 1.5-2 handfuls of fresh organic spinach leaves.

What surprised me about this smoothie is the fact that I cannot taste the spinach AT ALL.

I am not sure whether it’s because I used a lot of berries to balance it or what, but its awesome!

The last thing I added was 2 bananas which really added a bit of sweetness to the smoothie and helped to counteract any bitterness from the berries.

Ingredients:

• 1/2-1 Bag Organic Frozen Mixed Berries (1-2 Cups Fresh with 1 Cup Crushed Ice)
• 1-2 Handfuls of Organic Fresh Spinach
• 2 Bananas (Fresh or frozen; if frozen, try to freeze your own and use overripe ones as they are the sweetest!)

Directions:

• Blend your berries first if you’re using the frozen kind, otherwise the order won’t matter. I spent a bit of time blending my berries first to break apart the pieces of frozen fruit that stuck together. 
• After the berries are blended, add the spinach and blend.
• Lastly, add your bananas in little chunks. I just broke them apart with my hand. This made blending a lot faster than if they were whole. 
• That’s it!

Or is this just me?

For some reason, I have to switch my toothpaste up on almost a weekly basis. Not necessarily change complete brands but at least flavors of toothpaste. When I don’t, I’m left with a not 100% clean or fresh feeling after I brush my teeth and that is 100% unacceptable!

I’ve been switching between two different Crest flavors since being in Korea and it has been doing the trick; however, I won’t lie and say I am not looking forward to a brand switch as well when I get back home!

Workout

The start of the FINAL week of Body Revolution!!! Phase 3, Workout 11. Only one more time with this awfully brutal chest and shoulder workout. I’m not counting down or anything…noooo.

Breakfast

A big bowl of oatmeal topped with honey and mixed frozen berries was this morning’s post torture workout fuel.

I love how once the berries are mixed in, they color the oatmeal.

Funfetti oatmeal!!

Question:

Do you experience the same issues with toothpaste as I do?

Mixed Berry Muffins
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup frozen berries (not defrosted)

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then yogurt and cinnamon. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift half of dry ingredients over batter. Mix until combined. Sift remaining dry ingredients into batter and mix just until the flour disappears. Gently fold in your berries. The dough will be quite thick, closer to a cookie dough, which is why an ice cream scoop is a great tool to fill your muffin cups. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester comes out clean. Let cool on rack.

Smitten Kitchen mentions that this recipe makes 9 to 10 muffins. We ended up making 12. I prefer them smaller. The total baking time was the same though.

Best part about this recipe? The frozen berries. We almost always have a bag of Trader Joe’s frozen berries in our freezer. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries. In the past, I’ve tried using frozen berries instead of fresh berries in baking… not good. I guess the trick is not defrosting them. When you mix the berries in, the batter turns into this weird, purple-gray color. Not the most appetizing, but that color disappears once you bake them. (That yucky color is the reason I didn’t take any photos.)

We didn’t have lemons available, so we skipped the lemon zest in the Smitten Kitchen recipe and added some cinnamon instead. Next time, I’ll try this recipe with vanilla yogurt instead of plain yogurt and maybe Splenda instead of sugar. Might even add more berries!

With all these manifestations of the scone, don’t expect this to be the only scone recipe to ever be presented on Too Many Ingredients.

This is a light and fluffy biscuit that pairs perfectly with tea and has the tang of fresh blueberries and the flavorful zing of orange zest.

Mixed Berry Scones~Makes 8 Scones

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, sifted
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1 cup mixed berries — fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.
• Zest of 1 orange (1-2 tablespoons)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sanding sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. In a large bowl combine the sifted flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. Chop the cubed butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Carefully fold in the berries and orange zest.
5. Add the heavy cream and stir gently just until the dough is incorporated.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a log about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide.
7. Cut the log into 4 equal squares. Cut the squares in half diagonally forming the final shape of the scones.
8. Place the scones on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
9. Sprinkle the tops with sanding sugar.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned on the edges.
11. Serve warm if possible.