Sydney Food Bloggers Christmas Picnic 2012

Photo from Simon (http://theheartoffood.com/)

It was that time of year again when infamous bloggers Grab Your Fork and Chocolatesuze organised one of the biggest Sydney Food Bloggers Picnic. The picnic is literally composed of food bloogers from the Sydney region, who all bring a dish or a drink and have the chance to meet fellow bloggers. It was great to meet new bloggers, and put faces to already known blogs. 

A highlight would have to be the EVIL Secret Santa, allowing the opportunity to steal someone else's gift. As soon as you steal, you are in for a ride. The Secret Santa definitely allowed us to put faces to bloggers and to see who the evil ones are!

The array of food

This time, I was supposed to make gelatin free marshmallows, but that was a fail result of goo, so as a last resort I had to quickly make some chocolate cheesecake brownie.

Jasmie Tea Creme Brulee tarts: http://www.excusemewaiter.com/

Assorted sandwiches

Red Velvet mini-cakes, and dates wrapped in prosciutto http://www.ragingcravings.com/

http://cookingcrusade.com/

Thai chicken in crispy wonton: http://www.thestickyandsweet.com/

Lovely themed cake for the #sydfbxmas2012: http://oh-ayana.livejournal.com/

A cute pig cake from hello happy, purchased by: http://www.jenishungry.blogspot.com.au/

Rissoles and Kroket (http://irenesgettingfat.blogspot.com.au/)

One of the picnics, Vietnamese rice paper rolls: http://www.angielivestoeat.blogspot.com.au/

Awesome pop up bar appears again!! http://www.simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.com.au/

  

The cutest of all the desserts,oreo turkeys! http://www.gucciandgyoza.blogspot.com.au/

Dessert plate, including spiced cookies http://loveswah.com/ and rhubarb meringue tarts by http://www.muppyat.blogspot.com.au/

The pool of gifts!

Trying to steal a gift, and Simon (http://theheartoffood.com/) hoping someone steals his cup

After I tried to steal a gummy bear jelly mould, I decided to pick a new gift which was a macaron timer (which in the end also got stolen from me, and in the end, I ended up with a pizza stone =D)

Chocolate suze won the jelly bear mould, before it was taken from her, and she got another gift she wanted.

Good food, good times!

Mango-Raspberry Rekorderlig Cupcake Launch @ Sparkle Cupcakery, Surry Hills

 Two of my favourite things have now been combined, Rekorderlig Cider and cupcakes. Rekorderlig has teamed up with  Sparkle Cupcakery  to introduce a limited edition Mango-Raspberry Cupcake. The cupcake uses fresh summer ingredients of raspberries and mango for a tastey sweet treat. The inspiration for the Mango-Raspberry cupcake was to create the perfect summer cupcake. 

I was one of the lucky few who were invited by Rekordelig Cider to attend there cupcake launch party hosted on 13th November 2012 at ther Surry Hills store. According to Rekorderlig-Cider Australia the cupcakes were a sell out on opening day (14th). The cupcakes will be available between 14th- 30th November 2012. The stores providing the cupcakes are in Surry Hills, Martin Place and David Jones Sparkle Cupcakery Stores.

Complementary Mango-Raspberry Rekorderlig Cider

 Sparkle Cupcakery display cabinets

  

Mini versions of the cupcakes

Sparkle Cupcakery Menu

Now, to the wonderfully tasting cupcakes! There is a perfect balance between the buttercream frosting and the cupcake itself. The bits of raspberry infused throughout the cupcake provide the taste of summer. I found the mango flavour hard to detect, but a friend of mine was able to detect it straight away. I personally have tried to make Apple Rekorderlig cupcakes, but they didn't turn out quite right. I hope they provide the secret recipe to the delightful Mango-Raspberry Rekorderlig Cupcake.

This was my first time trying Sparkle Cupcakes, and I will definitely be coming back to try other cupcakes that are on their menu. A thank you goes out to Rekorderlig Cider for the invitation.

Good food, good times!

BEWARE! Halloween Cupcakes

I know this post is a few days late, and Halloween is over, but for anyone who needs some ideas for next year, details are now here to read and see! =D. Halloween is slowly becoming a popular celebration in Australia (mainly due to American TV show influences), but it is definitely a fun new way to creatively bake. Last year my sister hosted a Halloween Party, but this year with no party, I still wanted to experiment with some Halloween themed cupcakes.

The Halloween cupcakes were inspired by one of my new favourite YouTube channels; MyCupcakeaddiction. The best thing about this channel is that it is Australian based, so all the products she uses in her tutorials are generally available at a local Woolworths or Coles. She posted up a few Halloween themed desserts, but I chose the cupcakes.

Jack-o-Lantern cupcakes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSx1cRQLI74&feature=BFa&list=PLQ27MnDUZPYbtxS67cKLcnk7BeTtLD2NK

Ghost Cupcakes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5vP4bP1IT4&feature=BFa&list=PLQ27MnDUZPYbtxS67cKLcnk7BeTtLD2NK

Buttercream Recipe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_xqvYCfrpU

The tutorials were simple and straight forward. I did slightly alter what she did by using black fondant for the pumpkins facial features instead of black liquorice. Furthermore, I used a WHITE writing fudge tube instead of chocolate to stick on the ghostly eyes (aka mini m&ms). To colour the buttercream I used orange, and a bit of red colour paste to get a lovely pumpkin/blood orange colour.

For the cupcake recipe, I used my NEW go to Vanilla Cupcake Recipe. The recipe makes 24 large cupcakes, so you have to tweak it a little. I made 36 standard cupcakes which was  1.25 of the recipe. If you make one batch of the batter, you get roughly 30 standard cupcakes.

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Guided by (http://magdelinelum.com/i-like-to-bake/)

Ingredients
4 eggs
200g softened butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups of self raising flour (sifted)
1 1/2 cups of caster sugar (2 cups MAX)
250ml full cream milk

Method:
1. Preheat over to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Using an electric mixer (or hand held mixer) cream the butter and sugar together until dissolved.
3. Add the eggs in one at a time, ensuring each egg is fully combined before adding in the next.
4. Add the flour and milk alternately and gently fold into the batter using a spatula.
5. Divide the mixture between the cupcake liners (filling each about half - 2/3 of the way)
6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Sorry, bad quality iPod touch

Underneath the ghost sheets

OoOoOo Ghostsssss

Jack-o-lanterns

I received a lot of positive feedback from the cupcakes, and to all those who tried them I am glad you enjoyed them. 

Good food, good times!

Rekorderlig Garden and Night Noodle Market 2012

The last and all time favourite of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival was the Night Noodle Markets. The Night Noodles market occurred October 3-5, 8-12, 15-19, 2012. The event involves Hyde park coming alive with crowds of people enjoying food (most Asian inspired) and a great night outdoors. The Night Noodle Markets is supposed to provide the feel of an Asian food stall market, where each stand provides something new and different for you to try.

My highlight of the event was the Rekorderlig Cider Stand/Garden. I have been to the Night Noodle Market 3 years in a row, and the Rekorderlig Garden was a fantastic new introduction to the event. The Rekorderlig garden was aimed to create a chilled, relaxed and comfortable environment where people could enjoy food and drinks. There was great music, and Rekorderlig branded bean bags, along with Rekorderlig picnic blankets for those who bought 4+ ciders in one transaction. The garden allowed for an upbeat atmosphere to enjoy the Night Noodle Markets.

For those who aren't sure what Rekorderlig Cider is, it is a Swedish Cider that was established in the late 90s. It is becoming one of the more popular beverages of choice, where flavours include, winter fruits, strawberry & lime, apple, pear and strawberry & mango. Exciting news of a new flavour of orange & ginger will soon be available. Rekorderlig will be continuing there garden at the Taste of Melbourne Festival, and Margaret River Gourmet Escape. I hope Rekorderlig will be at next years Night Noodle Market.

Now to the food...

Malay Village Roti

Seafood Soba and chicken terayaki from Mizuya

Pulled pork hot dog with kimchi mayonnaise and salad from Eat Art Truck

Steamed pork buns from New Shanghai and young coconut

Vegetarian Pad See Ewe form Spanthai

Dumplings from Din Tai Fung

Cream and fruit filled pancakes, mango and cream 

Glutinous rice balls with assorted fillings, red bean, custard, mango,

melon, strawberry and taro

Real fruit fillings!

Churros!!

All the food was delicious. When you go to Night Noodle Market with a bunch of friends you can all buy different things and try each others food, which makes the event even better. Looking forward to next years Night Noodle Market.

Good food, good times!