RECIPE: Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl

"Peanut butter [is] the pâté of childhood"

Florence Fabricant, NY Times

So I mentioned in my last blog post that I was hoping to try lots of new recipes and learn some new skills, but while going out into the magical world of the internet to find some exciting new ideas, I was really underwhelmed by the number of recipes that came without photos! I'm a big photo person (clearly) and apprehensive about trying a recipe that doesn't give me some idea of what I'll end up with...

Maybe that explains why I got into reading cook books instead of text books :)

Either way, it inspired me to start sharing some of the recipes I DO use, so that hopefully someone else who has my debilitating photo-less phobia can find some peace!

This recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl I actually found (embarrassingly) while trying to find recipes for a bake sale for Christchurch, and it was the only thing I already had all the ingredients for! Plus it's pretty, and delicious, and easy, and it combines chocolate and peanut butter, arguably one of the best combinations in the world - sorry Nicole, and Matt, this one's for Katie and Jayne!!

The cake itself was a caramel mud cake with a really rich chocolate ganache that I made for my good friend Katie for her birthday - it's important to note that I once made a very sweet - and very experimental - peanut-butter-cream-cheese-chocolate-slice-concoction for Katie at work, and she literally ate the whole thing... *sugar overload at the thought*

Needless to say, this was perfect for her :)

Warning : the recipe kinda suggests making this as a slice, but it is REALLY really sweet. I used half the recipe in the same size pan to make the slabs for the side of the cake - and even then it's very sweet! Love how it turned out though - and it went surprisingly well with caramel mud cake! (but then what doesn't :))

Enjoy it!!! it's absolutely delicious, and really addictive! I promise I'll look into some caramel options for those with an (unhealthy) aversion to the peanut butter :)

I recommend using blocks of chocolate (Cadbury, Dream, Lindt) instead of cooking chocolate for this - it's important that you like the taste of the chocolate since it's pretty much the main component!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl

360g white chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup (140g) smooth peanut butter

400g dark chocolate, chopped (I use milk, but it doesn't really matter)

1) Grease 20cm x 30cm lamington pan; line base and sides with baking paper extending 5cm above edges of pan (important, otherwise you can't get it out! trust me!)

2) Stir white chocolate in small heatproof bowl over small saucepan of simmering water until smooth; cool 5 minutes. Add peanut butter, stir until smooth

3) Stir dark chocolate in small heatproof bowl (blah blah - you know how to melt chocolate - I do it in the microwave in 20 second blasts!)

4) Drop alternate spoonfuls into pan. Gently shake the pan to level the mixture. Pull a skewer backwards and forwards to create marbled effect

5) stand at room temperature for 2 hours until set

Easy as pie! Though I recommend running lines gently through it with a knife after about an hour to make cutting slices easier later

Let me know if you try it and love it!

Katie - a very happy birthday! hope you're feeling better

- B xx

Too much caramel mud cake.

Excess caramel mud cake doesn't sound like it would be that bad (if at all), but it represents a complete melt-down in Becsville. Let me elaborate.

In a whirlwind month (and a bit) my life has kinda turned upside down. Or maybe I have? or maybe nothing's changed and I'm just unsettled... who really knows! Either way. In the last month-and-a-bit I have:

- Applied for at least a zillion jobs. And then at least 300 more

- Been offered 7 of them. All in the same week. Within 48 hours actually. Maybe even less...

- Had more than one contract in my hot little hands at one time and had to make big adult-like decisions (yuck)

- Baked 175 cupcakes to sell/auction/raffle for Christchurch after their earthquake (plus cookies, cakes, truffles, rice crispy thingys... you get where I'm going with this)

- Done a babyshower, 5th birthday cake, hens night cake, cupcakes and a prize cake

- Celebrated a 90th birthday, a wedding, Valentines Day, St Patricks Day, and an anniversary

- Mourned the death of my car Scarlet - prematurely, since a month later I'm still driving her

- Had (still have) tonsilitis that was maybe strep throat, maybe glandular fever, currently just annoying...

And then the crux of my eventful month-and-a-bit? In my special Becs kinda way I totally ignored the dates on an upcoming cake raffle, and went ahead and made a ridiculously decadent two tiered caramel mud cake.

Two weeks early.

SIGH.

Luckily I have a boyfriend who can help me out in crisis situations like these.

I don't know about you, but I get way more done when I'm BUSY. Not just kinda busy - ridiculously-strenuously-no-free-time kinda busy, multiple jobs busy. I'm hoping in the next few weeks things will get a teeny tiny bit more structure and routine, and I can start wishing I had free time again.

In case you hadn't noticed though, my blog has been suffering. Poor wee blog, used to have so many pretty photos and tasty goodies. I haven't even been reading OTHER blogs recently for inspiration! (SHOCK HORROR)

So enough is enough, back into the reading and following and being inspired, and definitely back to the kitchen (with a whisk. And a camera. And my taste buds). My plan is to try and make something new every week. A new dessert, new meal, new design for a cake... something. Something I can PHOTOGRAPH, since I love that too. Plus it's fun. And it means I can blog every week (she says hopefully) which is also part of my magical new plan.

So there's me. My fresh start, new beginning, happy ending, however you wish to look at it. And as you may have noticed, I found a really good use for one of the excess Caramel mud cakes! a good excuse to try my hand at buttercream icing roses as seen at I am Baker. Easier than they look!

To those of you out there who have patiently twiddled their thumbs (whilst going about your normal lives) in my blogging absence - thank you! I promise there are many more updates to come, including a Strawberry Shortcake cake which I THINK is my favourite yet!

- B xx

Valentine's Day range out now!

So - as per my last post - we had a fantastic Breakfast at Tiffanys themed party - photos are gorgeous, food was delicious, Birthday girl was very pleased. BUT, I have submitted the photos to Amy Atlas with all my fingers and toes crossed that they will be featured there! which means I can't share the photos - YET. I have got an album of the photos up on the Stiletto Studio facebook page so head on over and become a fan if you'd like to take a look in the meantime!

That being said, it is now (in New Zealand at least) officially FEBRUARY! Seems like just yesterday I put the Christmas party photos up... but now it is well and truly time to start thinking about Valentine's Day! So I decided to put together a range of sweet Valentine's Day treats, and see how they went!

The whole range is available (Wellington only at this stage I'm afraid! although the truffles may be courier-able within NZ) with details on my facebook page or website, so head on over and have a look!! I'm considering having a deal of some kind to generate some more interest. Maybe a free cake or cupcakes for the person who refers the most orders? We shall see! Less than two weeks to go, so I'll get onto that!

A few sneak peak photos of the range are below - the teddy bears are my favourites! What's yours?

- B xx

Polka Dot Peanut

Whoops, it's now OVER a month since I last updated - so much for my new years resolution!

Seriously though, it's been a crazy month - I spent two glorious weeks in the land of Melbourne, a week on the sandy sunny shores of Waiterere Beach, and then another two weeks job hunting, planning, enrolling in a Diploma of Photography, trying to suss out a business plan for Stiletto Studio, and just plain trying to get settled for 2011.

So here we are! With a brief update on the best (food related) parts of my month away from blogland, some cute cute photos of one of my favourite Christmas presents, and a teeny tiny taster of what's to come.

Before all that though - remember Kates 1st Birthday cake? Well I got the cutest little photo in my inbox the other day:

Isn't she adorable!! Looking a little stunned/overwhelmed to be honest, but then that IS a lot of food for a teeny tiny someone! Thanks so much to Belinda for the photo, and your continued support!

Now roll back a few weeks, and imagine your heart skipping a beat when you open a special Christmas box to discover THIS glorious view:

Yes. Chocolate and strawberry macarons from LINDT.

Oh. My. Word.

Amy, my heart is yours forever.

And I'm proud to say, THIS little beauty was actually DINNER! :

Healthiest dinner ever. Thanks Pancake Parlour!

Last but not least, a tower of love made by my very clever cousin Jess:

I'm not even generally a fan of gingerbread, but THIS one was delicious. Pretty sure I ate at least half that tree. Just taking one for the team.

And now, a very special Christmas present. This was a request that I made to my very clever sister Trina from Musical Butterfly.

APRON I said!

But not just any apron.

This one needs CUPCAKES - because really, don't all aprons need cupcakes?

And POLKA dots I said, because I have the perfect shoes to wear with it!

Ruffles and lace and pockets - Oh my!

Are you ready to see it yet?

In it's full-length glory?

Here we go...

Drum-roll please....

TA DA!!!!

Gorgeous, no? I'm sure she would want me to point out that she HAND STITCHED the cupcakes on. And yet still she sometimes wonders how I have the patience for detailing cakes? Who knows. We're obviously a patient pair.

Polka dotted goodness like this desires admiration, no? Let's admire from all angles

Pretty Pockets

Polka Dot booooows!

My red spatula. See, now I match!

I think this is the "should I decorate the cupcakes, or just EAT them....?" face

And see! the shoes :D

And my new recipe book from mum and dad - perfect!

Thank you Trina!!! I promise I won't get it dirty in the kitchen (eek!!!) xxxx

I had planned to now show a sneak peak photo of what's coming up on Saturday, a Breakfast at Tiffanys themed tea party for Trinas birthday! but then I realised - she'll be reading this! and what I was going to share is a SURPRISE! So alas, I shall leave you in suspense, and promise full disclosure after the party :) It does involve a lot of little blue boxes though....!

How was everyone elses Christmas/holidays/January? Can you believe creme eggs are already in stores!!!!

- B xx

Kates 1st Birthday cake

As is usually the way, things don't always turn out the way you planned. I had initially thought Stiletto Studio would mostly do parties and dessert tables, but it turns out the most popular thing - at least starting out - is cakes! So I taught myself how to make them, how to tier them, how to cover them in fondant, and voila! Now cakes are what I advertise the most (and let's be honest, what I EAT the most... :))

This is undeniably my favourite cake so far. I planned it over a few months, but as is usually the way with me, didn't really know how it would turn out until the day. Luckily, cute little 1 year old Kate LOVED it! What a cutie pie.

There were three parts to it - the main feature was a two tiered mud cake, plus vanilla cupcakes, and a sponge "smash cake". The smash cake was rainbow colours, since I figured that'd look all cute and mushy if it really WASH smashed

Plus y'know, it looks purdy :)

Started well, didn't drop anything, didn't have a break down, didn't run OUT of anything, even the icing went on the way I told it to! I'll let the photos tell the story:

Happy Birthday to Kate!

This week I'm working on some mini cupcakes for Kates mum, then a book club party, Christmas picnic night out, and a late Thanksgiving party the weekend after!

- B xx