This Is Halloween (The Perfect Buttercream)

A Thank You Cake

In South Africa, Halloween is only beginning to become big.  Parties have been held but I doubt it's been as big a scale as in America.  At least, not that I am aware of.  This year we decided to host a Halloween party, and it turned out even better than we dared hope.  We had people from all walks of life and all times of our lives here.  I even reconnected with an old co-belly dancing student.  We haven't seen each other in about 4 years (I think Hubby and my wedding was the last time we saw her), yet somehow she got hold of the invite and decided to come.  Still as gorgeous as ever.

One Slice Please

Obviously with Halloween, there has to be all manner of spooky snacks, and typical of me, why buy when you can bake.  But before I continue with what I made, let us backtrack to Friday night.  We had a bunch of people over to help with decorations and setup, and I decided on cupcakes, so obviously I had to bake those a bit in advance.  And there was batter left.  A lot of batter.  So as a thank you, I made a small cake that we had around midnight.  You read correctly, cake, with a lot of buttercream, at midnight.

On the topic of buttercream, I still find the best recipe to be the Walton's recipe, which is the one I've been using since my mother taught me about cake decorating in primary school:

Halloween Cupcakes

1 cup of Butter (250g)

4 cups of Icing Sugar (500g)

1 tbsp Milk (15ml)

Cream the butter, and slowly add bit by bit of the icing sugar.  Thin a bit with milk if needed.

Back to the cupcakes, I decided to take inspiration from Instagram, and attempt to decorate them to look like a brain with a shard of glass in it.  Tip number 1:  Get the correct piping tip.  I didn't have that, and I think the cupcakes came out looking more like clumps of worms.  Either way, they were a hit, and not one was left at the end of the night.

A Golden 21st

I have never been modest over my brownies.  Honestly, anyone that has tasted them will understand why not.  They are moist, fudgey and oh so chocolatey.  So of course, when it was Husband's cousin's 21st birthday on Saturday, I decided on point 99 that I would like to take something with.  Froggie didn't even think to ask me to bake a cake (but I can forgive her as she only though about it too late and didn't want to inconvenience me by rushing me for one), so I decided to do a platter of brownie fingers with chocolate ganache.

Since it is the middle of the month, and I had a good amount of stock, I decided to take 10 brownies, slice each in three, stack them lavishly and cover them in ganache.  Typical of my style, I couldn't leave it at that, as it was too boring for a 21st, so the gold dust went with.  When Froggie saw the finished platter she nearly swooned, and the first thing she asked was:  "Why so lavish?"  I think I gave her a blank look and asked "What's lavish about it?"  I never do anything plain, at least not when I'm doing food for an event, so what seems lavish to others, seems pretty normal to me.

Unbelievably, I was worried there wouldn't be enough brownies for everyone, yet with all the sugar in the ganache, there were surprisingly a few pieces left.  At least, there were a few left before we went to bed, but I have no idea how many were left by Sunday afternoon when Husband and I drove back home.  This year seems to be on a good note as I still have the 21st up and coming in December.  And with the guests there, I might just be getting more requests for cakes.  One can always dream, and I prefer to dream of cakes.  Now if only my dreams would co-operate at night.

Breakfast Menu Launched

So a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that everyone needs to keep an eye on what we're doing at Tiffany's as things are going to change and become more interesting.  That day has finally arrived.  Tiffany's doesn't only do baked treats to tease and tantalise, but we've now begun a breakfast menu.  My hope is for this to only be the first one of a number of breakfasts in the future that we'll be offering.

Yoghurt & Berry Bowl

My Facebook Sister (the one that gave me the name of Tiffany) came over for breakfast quite a while ago and the topic of hosting breakfasts came up that day.  This was the second time Husband and I had them over for breakfast, and each time I tend to pull out the stops.  Since then I have been playing with the idea, and on the 17th of September, Graphix and Sculpty came over for breakfast to help me decide if I should continue with the menu I compiled.

Baked Oats with Raisins and Cream

Firstly I need to ask, why should breakfast be a one plate affair?  In history we can see the French had a dinner menu of about 16 courses.  Talk about a long meal.  Even today, the typical French dinner can be 5 courses long.  Granted, they do tend to eat a salad as a course on its own, but why not break down a meal in multiple courses and experience a wider variety of food in one sitting?

Spinach Roulade with Sausage Fry

This is what I've attempted in compiling this menu.  Instead of keeping it boring, I've gone the opposite route to give a variety of food.  Smooth yoghurt, crunchy baked oats, flavourful and savoury meat, and sweet muffins.  Does that sound good?  If I look at the faces of our guests, you bet your ass it is.  My main concern was what to charge for the meal.  Even though it can be cheap going for breakfast at a typical chain restaurant, I still put in time and effort, and I do not obtain everything premade.

Chai Latte Muffin with Spiced Cream

Now I'm not saying that all restaurants get everything premade, but with a bigger team it is a lot easier.  Where you would have 3-6 people in a restaurant working together, I have to do everything on my own.  Even so, I think I've pulled together a rather interesting menu for going at it solo.  And yes, this meal is available for the public.

With renovations (hopefully) starting at our house soon, it could get difficult to entertain people at our place, at least for a while.  If bookings are made before then, I could see my way to hosting the breakfast at our place.  I do however offer the option of traveling to the client's home for the breakfast.  If needed I'm willing to bring cutlery and crockery.  Obviously I will charge for traveling, but the meal per person will be R135.  Due to preparation issues, the numbers I would cook for are either 4, 6 or 8.  Should you require a different amount charges will be made round up to the next servings offered.

In time, I hope to develop menus that could be offered to other numbers of clients, but for now, this is the only one in my repertoire.

Let Her Have Cake

A Sample for the Client

Okay, so I didn't actually throw cake at anyone to let her "have it", but I was approached in the first week of launching Tiffany's in CT to prepare a 21st birthday cake.  Of course you can imagine my excitement at that prospect.  Yes, it will be quite a bit of work, but I'm sure I'm up to the challenge.  In preparation for the big event, even though it is only at the end of December, I decided to prepare a sample cake for the client to see if she would be happy with what I would be able to deliver.

The Home Cake and the Sample

Naturally, as I've never used my own recipes for multi tier cakes, I had to test and see what amount of batter I would need for my pans.  The balance of the batter I then proceeded to use for the bigger of the two pans.  It came out a little flatter than I thought, but at least now I know what amount of batter I will need come December.

Even though the big cake didn't come out as high as I hoped it would, the taste was still amazing, and the client was also quite happy with the sample cake I delivered.  My biggest concern when I began this cake was if I'd still be able to ice a cake like I used to seven years ago when I was still working professionally as a chef.  Clearly, I needn't have worried about that.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take a bite out of my slice of cake.

Remember the Pyramids?

Five Flavours in Five Shapes

Chocolate... I could just swim in it and drink liters of the stuff.  I honestly get the movie Chocolat.  Stuff church and lent and everything that prohibits pleasure.  I'd also be the lead woman of that movie and pedal my chocolate to the village.  Guess that's what I'm currently doing to Cape Town.  The Aztecs knew what they were doing when they began having it.  But back to my kitchen, I found new chocolate moulds in a variety of shapes, so I can finally release my chocolate range.  And here they are.

From Growing Up to First Steps

Order #1 to Courier to Mpumalanga

I know a child has to take its first steps before it can grow up, but in this instance Tiffany's first steps are the two biggish orders I had to deal with this weekend.  I find it amazing how after a single week of operating, I already have 2 big orders.  Not only that, the support at work (my day job) has been amazing.  I never expected things to take off this well, so quickly, but the orders speak for themselves.  Now were only waiting on a few possible big contracts.

Tiffany's in CT - Growing Up At Last

Before anyone gets excited, I am not opening a restaurant.  That's just too much work.  But Tiffany's is growing.  A couple of weeks ago, we had breakfast with my "sister" (the one who named me all those years ago as Tiffany).  Husband and I have spoken numerous times about my doing more with my chef degree than cooking for us at home, and there are a few ideas in the pipeline, but I'm not revealing all yet.

As it happened though, we decided to create a logo for Tiffany's so I can move forward and do more with the name.  That day has finally arrived.  Graphix finalised my logo last week, actually on the same Thursday that my previous blog was released, but I decided to keep it quiet for a day or two.  Below is the beautiful logo:

A House Warming Promise

My old college recipe file

Many many months ago, I made a promise to Borat and Latin Hips, the day they move into their new place and invite us for a house warming, I will make them a Greek Coconut Tart.  I haven't made this since college days (as in more than a decade ago, since I graduated in 2005).  Damn, I'm getting old.


So back to the tart, I never had a chance to buy the ingredients beforehand, as Husband had a market in Wellington (thank heaven we slept over at Froggie's place) on Friday and Saturday.  The reason I mention that is I got my hands on 4 different types of smoked salt (thank you Ronel) at that market, so all I can say is:  "Watch this space."  Interesting recipes are coming in the future.  And yes, she did say I'm allowed to mention her by name.  You can find her facebook link here.

A Last Visit

Firstly, I have to say, the day this blog was written was 21 January 2017.  The reason I didn't publish it then, is I wasn't sure if I would ever want to.

Today we went to visit a friend that has Cancer.  Not just any type, but terminal.  It is difficult, to say the least when you go visit someone you know might only live for a few more months, or even weeks.  You always hope you can see that friend again, but the truth is, there are no guarantees.  What do you take to a friend in this instance for a visit?

The Turkish Breakfast That Should Have Started It All

It has finally happened.  The Turkish breakfast I've been wanting to host since last year actually saw the light in April (yes, I know this blog is a bit late, but I was busy).  Baron Laphroaig and his wife, Dr. Pain, joined Husband and I, after a very difficult time in finding the perfect date, for this divine breakfast.  Most of you know that I love to experiment with weird and wonderful recipes, but I wasn't sure how some of these dishes would go down.  I had nothing to worry about in the end as everyone loved everything.

The Breakfast Table

I Was A Busy Person, Possibly (and Another Recipe)

Busy being the operative word, this past weekend I had a field day in the kitchen.  Amazing how creative one can get after 4 weeks of, you know, THAT word.  I decided that I am going to prep for a relaxed week where Husband and I can eat what we want, at least to a degree.  So Saturday rolled around, and the first thing I decided on was a fresh bread for the week as I have been dying to try the Aubergine Pickles (which has my approval, so here is the recipe) with Chilli Jam (which by the way, was gorgeous for lunch, especially as I added a few slices of Gouda which has been in the freezer for the past month).  The perfect sandwich for a Monday at the office.

That Thing Our Grannies Did? Oh Right, Preserves (With a Recipe)

I never thought I would see the day when I would take to the bottle.  Now wait a minute, I'm not becoming an alcoholic, oh no.  I'm referring to preserves.  In my earlier youth (as I'm really not past my youth, at least not for the next 60 years), I never thought I would get into preserves.  I always saw it as a time consuming process and it's so much easier to buy those items.

My first bout of "preserving" was when our Bishop's Hat Chilli plant gave a fair amount of chillies last year.  I came across a Chilli Jam recipe, that I wanted to try for an evening of entertainment we had planned for the same day.  What better accompaniment for a cheese platter than chilli jam, and as it is a Nigella recipe I didn't think it could be difficult.  Oh my word, what an epic royal mess.  Right there I decided to hell with preserving.  What threw me was the use of pectin, which was a, rather expensive, and b, caused me to lose 2/3rds of my jam mixture due to the pectin messing around and causing horrible gooey lumps in the jam.

I Can't Believe I'm On One

I know it's been a long time since my last blog, but bear with me.  There's a valid reason for that.  Husband and I have been on... well, let me spell it, as I shudder to say it.  D.  I.  E.  T.  I have been overweight since forever, and with Husband having found out his cholesterol is WAAAAAY to high, I decided to... THAT word, with him.  Unfortunately, by this afternoon I was having withdrawal symptoms from my kitchen.  Yes, I can get creative with food, and keeping Husband happy with dinner is difficult with the boring foods given on this... plan, however, I think I did quite well the last two weeks.

Pasta Incaciata (No, That's Not a Swearword)

Aubergines, eggplant, brinjals, whatever you want to call them, I have to think of more ways to prepare them.  Our aubergine plant is going crazy.  We've probably harvested close to twenty, there's six more on the bush almost ready to harvest, and a whole lot of flowers.  Fried aubergines is just not cutting it anymore.  This is what lead to the wonderful swearword:  INCACIATA.


I know it sounds like a spell from Harry Potter, but I promise you, this is a wonderful dish to make ahead for the next night.  We would've had this on Tuesday night (the 21st), but I overestimated the amount of pasta needed, meaning we had the leftover pasta for dinner on Tuesday, and the incaciata for dinner yesterday.  I promise you, it isn't as complicated as it sounds.

Egg Free What?!?!?

Before I can go into detail with a statement from Zumba that nearly had me in a seisure I have to mentioun our garden.  As mentioned previously, we grow our own herbs, but we also have a few other food producing trees (if you can call an aubergine bush, a variety of 3 chilli bushes, a blue berry bush, and a pomegranate bush as a few others).  Our aubergine bush has been in overdrive during January, as to date, we have harvested a total of 9 HUGE aubergines, and there's a whole lot more baby aubergines.  Can you say happy plant?

Sitting Down for Tea - A Lost Art

I like the older traditions.  There, I said it.  Many of our friends are mildly surprised when they come over for tea the first time, especially if it happens to be on a weekend when I have time. I enjoy putting out the teacups, making a big pot of tea, and having the sugar bowl and milk pitcher on the side.  I never planned to host a tea, but it happened that way by pure chance.

Garden Party

Let's be honest.  A garden party is a good excuse to have wine with friends.  Our back garden has been revamped, and it looks amazing.  Just ask any of the friends that were here last night.  And we finally found a range of wine glasses we like.  No, not the normal ones (and definitely no the overpriced ones) but decent glasses that are available in the bigger sizes for red wine.  Red wine just tastes so much better in a bigger glass.  And of course, in typical Tiffany's fashion, I couldn't let the table stand bare of snacks from my side.  The interesting part is I planned the snacks under the impression today (21 January) is the Chinese New Year, however, it is only on the 28th.

It Came, It Finally Came!!!

Yes, after being almost 2 weeks overdue, my Turkish tea pot has finally arrived.  Isn't she a beauty?  Sad it may be, but I just had to use it today.  I so badly wanted to have a Turkish meal with the first pot ever brewed, but I don't have the patience to wait, so stuff it.  And how how glad I was for it.  I absolutely LOVE Turkish tea.

Turkish Food Without the Tea

Here we go with a last blog before work starts again.  Unfortunately all good things (holiday in this instance) must come to an end, however, that allows new good things to begin (that thing that I call work, so that means a day of ignoring the phone, drinking coffee and catching up with my colleagues.

I spent a good chunk of the 29th preparing Turkish snacks for when my Turkish Tea Pot arrives, so everything was kept in the freezer, ready for baking, thawing and serving.  As my pot still hasn't arrived, I decided to serve the snacks with coffee when our friends, Zumba and her husband Cum Bubble, came over for a long overdue visit.

Late Night Flowers

Husband and I have numerous friends and acquaintances, yet I can honestly say our best friends at this point, that we see regularly, would be his cousin (Lippietjies) and the fiance (Spongy).  Now the funny thing is, we met them about 5 years ago, and somehow, Husband and Lippietjies, and Spongy and I just grew into a strong group of friends.

To make this story even more interesting, Lippietjies and Husband's mothers were friends way back in the day before he was even born, and Lippietjies was friends with his older sister (let's call her Froggie).  Seems this world is rather small, as Lippietjies and Husband are also cousins from his mom's sister's side.

Baklava and Gezelligheid

There is a wonderful Dutch word called "Gezelligheid".  I am semi quoting from Nicole, from the blog The Dutch Table.  Not only are there wonderful recipes for Dutch foods, but also rich insights into the culture.  "Gezelligheid" is a word that few people who aren't Dutch, or in my opinion Afrikaans as well, would find easy to understand.  It is a feeling, a mood that is set when the right people or situation develops or evolves.

Tonight's blog came about with a meeting by my husband and a colleague/friend of his/ours, let's call her Mushroom (an inside joke).  While discussing whatever they needed to discuss the question of something to drink arose.  Without batting an eyelid, Mushroom asked "Is Tiffany's Chai on offer?"  For those that haven't tasted it yet, I've even had an Indian lady tell me that my Chai was on par with what she's had in India.  Unfortunately, I didn't have all the ingredients, but as I'm an avid supporter of The Tea Merchant, I happen to have a tin of Goa Chai, which will do in a pinch.

Dark Hazel Chocolate

I have to admit something.  I Hate, with a capital H, bad coffee and tea.  There is such an amazing world out there filled with wonderful beans and leaves that I almost want to burst into tears when I get served a cup of dishwater.  Thank heavens all my friends and colleagues feel the same way, and if you ever visit my office, the receptionist simply HAS to make you a cup of coffee.

My husband and I have a tradition that came into being because of myself.  On weekends (as I have the time then) we start the morning with coffee made from freshly ground coffee beans.  The beans we usually stock are:  Hazelnut, Kahlua and Vanilla.  These beans we buy at Peacock, then our normal unflavoured bean is from Ferndale, the German Emporium.  Dark roast of course as that's the best for a good espresso.