Tasty Tuesday.... Blackforest Pavlova

 There are days as a blogger and baker that things just do not go to plan. Sometimes you are rushed, stressed, busy and are pushing to get things prepared, cooked and iced quickly, photographed, photoshopped, recipe written, blog post written and uploaded in a short space of time. I had a wonderful vision of how I wanted this recipe to turn out, be decorated and photographed.... but to my perfectionist eye I feel that it all fell a little flat in terms of execution. So forgive me for the lack lustre pictures this dessert presents.... I just had one of those days! You know?

 I had visions of a nicely shaped pavlova - nice and high and thick, lavishly spread with chocolate mousse and spread nicely with cherries. I think it was the pavalova base that let me down. It was my fault however, I was being stingy and only made a half a pavalova recipe... that's what you get for being stingy people - a pavlova that looks like a flat pie. However there is a redeeming quality in this dessert.... it tasted AMAZING! The combination of flavours worked just perfectly even if it looks a little lack lustre in the photos. Deliciously soft and pillowy pavlova with a creamy chocolate mousse finished with a sweet and slightly tart cherry sauce on top! Yum

There is another piece of good news for the lactose & gluten intolerant sufferers.... this dessert YOU can EAT! Yup how good is that! I was very excited when I came up with this recipe because I suffer with dairy intolerance and have never thoroughly enjoyed a fully prepared pavlova with lashings of topping. I always got the "uniced" piece with a few pieces of fruit to go with it. No lashings of cream for me and I just feel like I missed out everytime. Not this time!

This Blackforest Pavlova would be perfect to add to your christmas menu. It has a slight drizzle of whisky in the cherry sauce and it adds a nice "festive" cheer to the whole dessert. Serve it chilled on a hot humid and sticky christmas day and your guests will thank you for it... possible several times with there mouths full beacuse it's so good.

Now a word of warning - when you read the recipe ingredients for the chocolate mousse below you will see the main ingredient to be avocado. Don't freak out! Honestly you will not know that the mousse is made of avocado once you whiz it up. It is delicious - try not to lick the bowl once you've finished. I would avoid telling guests of this fact until after they've tasted and raved how good it is. They'll never believe you!

If your not into the avacado thing and your can have dairy, simply whip up 300ml of cream and add to that 1/4 cup of sifted cocoa powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 cup of melted chocolate, mix to combine. Chill and replace instead of the chocolate mousse.

 

Blackforest Pavlova

Pavlova Base Recipe Here

Cherry Sauce:
1 x 680g jar morello cherries
3 Tablespoon caster sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp cornflour
2 -3 tbsp Whisky or Brandy *Optional*
  
Chocolate Mousse:
 2 cups avocado flesh (approx 4 medium avocados), pitted and scooped out
1/3 cup almond milk
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate, melted ( I used Rice Milk Chocolate)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted



Method:

Prepare and bake the pavlova base. Cool completely.

Drain the cherries, reserving 250ml of the juice. Reserve 10 cherries to decorate. Place the remaining cherries and reserved liquid into a saucepan. Add sugar and cornflour. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring until the mixture boils and thickens. Transfer to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill.


In a electric blender or food processor place the avocado, almond milk, maple syrup, salt, extract and cocoa powder. Blend/process until the ingredients have combined to form a smooth and creamy mousse. Add the melted chocolate and process again to combine. Transfer to a bowl and refridgerate to chill.

Place the pavlova base onto a serving platter or cake stand. Carefully place the chocolate mousse mixture on top of the pavlova and gently spread evenly over the pavlova. Next place the thickened cherry sauce over the chocolate mousse and arrange the reserved cherries around the top of the pavlova. Finish with a grating of white or dark chocolate. Cut into wedges to serve.

*can be made a day ahead - store in an airtight container in the fridge

I am linking this up to:

I will be linking this recipe up to the Great Australian Pavlova Blog Hop which will be happening on the 27th of November 2011. Make sure you pop over and check out all the other delightful pavlova recipes!

Happy baking

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Dining Room Makeover + Winner

 There has been a few exciting things happening around here at the Whimsical Wife headquarters. One of them is finishing of the kitchen and dining room area's with the finishing touches such as light fittings, curtains and a paint job on my dining room table. Those who follow The Whimsical Wife on  facebook may of seen this on one of my status updates. Those who know me personally thought I had lost it well and truly... who paints a perfectly good dining room setting? Well... ME!

I looked around at what it would cost to purchase a new dining room setting in the French Provincial style that I adore.... and the price tag was about $2500 for a eight seater dining room setting similar to what we already have. There was no way I could afford or want to pay that much, so hubby and I decided we would paint it (well I would do the painting). I got the courage to actually paint my table after reading Lacey at A Fruitful Life's post on her table makeover! 

I was terrified applying the first coat of paint on the table... "what the heck am I doing", I thought. If I wreck this I have a whole lot of work ahead of me to fix it..... and thankfully I didn't wreck it! Phew. The table was really straight forward and easy to paint. I did it in an afternoon, much to my impatient delight. You see I am not a patient person when it comes to completing a project. I get a vision of the end product and get really excited and can't wait to get to the finished product asap! It's my visionary self that gets me into trouble when it comes to my projects and makeovers. After I saw the finished product of the table I was VERY eager to get the chairs finished and the final picture taken ASAP! Well.... lets just say the chairs took a LOT longer than the table. I had to sand, undercoat and paint each chair twice and there were a lot of nooks and crannies on these chairs to paint as opposed to the table. I had eight chairs to get through... hmmm impatience began to reign.

On one particular hot, humid day I had off last week I tried to push through as many chairs as I could that day. I ended up completing four chairs that day... which now have to be redone! You see that hot day turned the paint into glug on the brush I was using and I later found out using a paint brush was not the best thing to paint the chairs with... a small paint roller was. So I ended up with four chairs with really bad paint brush marks on them... much to my perfectionist digust! The other four chairs look great, I learnt my lesson halfway through unfortunatley. 

So lessons learnt - 

1. Don't rush - BE PATIENT

2. Use a paint roller when painting furniture, it gives a much smoother finish. 

3. Don't paint in the heat of the day, the paint can dry to quickly leaving a bad finish.

4. Always undercoat! - This was a lesson learnt when I painted my TV Cabinet.

I am really happy with the overall finish of the setting and how it has completely changed the feel of the room. You may or may not of noticed the new light also hanging above the table in the after photo's. We purchased it from Bunnings. We also installed downlights and a feature light in the kitchen.

Balmain 5 Light Chandelier from Bunnings

Feature Light in the Kitchen

My dear mum also whipped the cutest cafe curtain for our kitchen window to finish off the window just perfectly. We used canvas drop cloth material for the curtains, which I also used for my Wingback chair slipcovers.  She whipped them up in an evening and I think she just did the best job. Love you mum xxoo

 We really went to town last week finishing the kitchen/dining room up. We had a good reason for this crazy working bee.  The Whimsical Wife... aka Me (+  my kitchen) is getting featured in the February edition (In shops on the 18th of January) of Australian Good Taste magazine. How exciting is that??? We had the photo shoot on monday just gone, which was a surreal but FUN experience. Jacqui & Guy from the Good Taste team flew & drove all the way from Sydney to photograph and interview little old me. (They did also have another story to do in Boonah) It was a very special experience and they were both SO very lovely. I had a great afternoon with them and can't wait to see the feature next year!

Speaking of Australian Good Taste... I will also announce the winner of the Entertain! Book giveaway......

Congratulations Kirrily on your win... if you can email your postal address to diaryofwhimsicalwife{at}gmail.com so I can get your prize posted to you.

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Tasty Tuesday - Dairy Free Rumballs

I've held up posting any Christmas related recipes until now. I didn't want to bombard you too early with Christmas cheer. I know I hate it when Christmas carols start playing early in the shops and Christmas decorations come out after the september school holidays. It's just plain madness. Anyway I hope you will forgive me for posting this recipe late in November because it is something you will want to make... especially if you have a dairy intolerance/allergy such as myself.

 

 You won't know how excited I was when I finally cracked how to make dairy free rumballs. For four years I have not been able to eat any of these delicous balls of chocolate and rum because of the condensed milk and milk powder that they contained. I have been researching over the years an alternative to condensed milk and milk powder that will still give the same effect and flavour to these yule tide favourites. Recently I discovered you can purchase soy condensed milk but unfortuantly I am allergic to soy so I still had to come up with an alternative, however if your fine with soy simply use this in replacement of the "condensed milk" I have in the recipe below.

For the milk powder I replaced it with coconut cream powder which I found in the Asian section of the IGA supermarket. I wasn't able to find it in woolworths so if your searching for it look in IGA near the tinned coconut milks. I would love to hear any feedback from those who made it - good and bad! So dairy free sufferers make sure you whip a batch of these up and have an extra Merry Christmas! There is a possibility of gluten intolerant people also making these by simply replacing the flour in the sweet biscuit base with gluten free SR flour. Let me know if the gluten free version turns out if you make it that way!

 {Download & Print Recipe}

Dairy Free Rumballs

Makes approx 32

Ingredients:

Condensed Milk:

4 cups rice or soy milk

¾ cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch salt

Sweet Biscuit Base: *Or use Arnott’s Nice Biscuits*

5 tbsp nuttelex (or other dairy free spread)

1 egg

Pinch salt

1 cup sugar

2 cup spelt flour

¼ tsp Bicarb soda

Rumball Mix:

220g sweet biscuit base (above) *or use Arnott’s Nice Biscuits*

2 tbsp cocoa

½ cup coconut

½ cup coconut cream powder *available in the Asian section of IGA supermarket*

400ml condensed rice/soy milk (above)

3-4 tbsp Rum

Extra coconut for rolling

Method:

1.Condensed Milk

In a medium saucepan add the soy or rice milk and sugar. Cook over a medium –low heat, stirring constantly, until the volume of the liquid has reduced to a thick and syrupy liquid similar to condensed milk. This may take between 25-35 minutes. Cool and pour into a container and cool overnight in fridge.

2.Sweet Biscuit Base

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line and grease a slice tray.

In an electric mixer bowl place the sugar and butter and beat until pale and creamy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Sift the flour, and salt and mix slowly until it forms soft dough. Place in dough into slice tray and spread out evenly. Bake in over for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.

3.Rumball Mix

In an electric blender or food processor, place the sweet biscuit base and blend until a fine bread crumb consistency is formed. Place biscuit crumbs into a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined and firm dough is formed. If the mixture is still a bit runny add some more coconut or leftover sweet biscuit base.

Place a ½ cup of extra coconut into a bowl.  Roll mixture into balls and place into extra coconut rolling until covered. Repeat until all mixture is used. Place rum balls into freezer and remove 5 min prior to serving.

These rumballs are best served chilled to keep their firmness.

Mmm try stopping at one... I know I couldn't!

Also don't forget the Australian Good Taste ENTERTAIN! giveaway.... entries close wednesday the 23thd November! Be in it to win it! Simply leave a comment on the post to win.

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Christmas Is Coming, Don't Panic - Part II: Menu Planning & Giveaway

If you read my post last week about getting organised for Christmas you are now well aware of how close it is. If you've still got you head stuck in the sand well I'm sorry to say it's time to remove said head from the sand and start looking around.... Christmas is coming, whether you like it or not! 

However it's not time to panic, not at all. It's time to get organised and be stress free in the lead up to Christmas. My last post I talked about organising a budget for Christmas and setting up a Christmas club account to place money into over the year. So once you have your finances organised it's now onto the food planning side of things.

The Christmas menu can sometimes be turned into a HUGE deal, a traditional hot roast meal with all the trimmings can be quite overwhelming especially if it's left up to one person.  Plus trying to cook a hot meal on a humid, hot, 40 degree Christmas day really isn't fun for anyone! However if that's your tradition then go for it, just remember to turn the air con on!

Some of you may think that I am mad already talking and planning the Christmas menu. If you want a stress free Christmas I implore you to start thinking and planning now. Sit down with your family and talk about what foods you would like, drinks and dessert. Use this handy menu planner I made up especially for you guys to use for your Christmas menu planning. If you have quite a large family coming for Christmas divvy up the menu among the members so everyone is in charge of making something, reducing the stress on the hostess and making it an enjoyable day for everyone. I had added an column for this in the menu planner below.

{Download & Print Here}

One reason for planning your menu now is to give you a head start by buying a little bit each week in your weekly grocery shop, reducing that last minute rush shop on Christmas Eve. Scour the supermarket catalogues and pick up your main meats and high priced items on sale where you can and freezing/storing them for Christmas. Prawns are a biggy in our family and we find that we can get more for our money by getting them when they're on special a few weeks before. We place them in the freezer and defrost them on the day by placing them in a bag in a bowl of iced, salted water.

A sneak peak of our family Christmas Menu is below. We have a variety of main meal food items because my sister-in-laws family from Holland is coming to have an "aussie" Christmas with us. We thought a variety of foods would be nice for them to try.

If your into making Christmas sweets now would be the time to plan and bake those as well. I generally  make our Christmas fruit cake back in July. This gives it time to mature and develop a rich flavour. I give it a "bath" in alcohol every couple of months to keep it moist and make it tasty! However not all of us are quite fanatically organised to have made there Christmas cake that early. I would recommend sitting down and planning what you want to make and writing a list of ingredients and make one to two things a week until completed. Most goodies can be frozen or stored in a dark cupboard.

So I hope that has helped some in your Menu Planning for Christmas, if your stuck for ideas of what to have for your Christmas meal then I have a great giveaway which will just fix that problem. Australian Good Taste has released a wonderful "mook" (magazine/book) filled with every imaginable menu you could think of. This helped me in my Christmas planning and would be a great asset to any hostess.

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Instore Now

You can pick up a copy of Entertain! in store at Woolworths supermarkets nationally (RRP $9.95).

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To celebrate the release of ENTERTAIN! I have a copy to giveaway to one of my lucky readers. All you have to do is visit me on Facebook or become a follower (right hand side) of the blog and.....

Leave a comment on why you need this magazine!

 Entries Close Wednesday 23rd November 12pm.
The winner will be announced next Thursdary 24th November.

 (Australian Residents Only)

Happy menu planning......

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Tasty Tuesday..... Mango, Macadamia & Passionfruit Iceblocks

 It feels like I was only complaining last week that it was still cold here in Toowoomba. All of a sudden the temperature has slowly risen to a comfortable and summery level. I sighed with relief that winter was final past us and we could start enjoying some bright and warm, sunny days. I probably will be complaining in a few weeks for a cool respite but in the mean time I have been relishing this warmer weather.

Summer for me is all about being outside and enjoying the sunshine, long walks in the beautiful mornings mornings and I love going for a swim to invigorate me for the day to come. It's also about shorts, flowy dresses and singlet tops. Summer foods for me is about tantilizing tropical fruits such as mangoes, stone fruits and watermelon. Fresh crisp salads, BBQ's on the deck and a cold glass of chardonnay watching the sunset.

But the best thing of all about summer is eating an ice block after a hot and sticky, humid day. In the cool of the evening, sitting on the deck licking your way througha delicious mango and passionfruit iceblock is heaven on a stick. I fondly remember the bubble-O-bill iceblocks as a child. I loved the bubble gum nose at the end! As I got older I fell in love with the macadamia cornetto until the day I got diagnosed as being lactose intolerant. Not a happy day because now icecream (among other things) was off the bill! In the early years of my diagnosis I didn't know what other options of "ice cream" that I could eat apart from the water iceblocks. I found mango sorbet and fell in love with it and recently found coconut icecream. So the market is slowly coming up with dairy alternatives which is a nice change!

These little delights are dairy free, low in sugar and so yummy try stopping at one. If you don't have popsicle moulds simply place the mixture into disposable plastic cups and place a paddle pop stick into the mixture when it has firmed up in the freezer for a while. The possibilites are endless of what other combinations you can make with this recipe, strawberries and white chocolate, chocolate and caramel... mmm the list could go on.

Mango, Macadamia & Passionfruit Popsicles

 {Download & Print Recipe}

Makes 6 popsicles 

Ingredients:

400ml organic coconut milk

¼ cup sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp coconut essence

½ tsp vanilla essence

400g mango, fresh or tinned

Pulp of 2 x medium passionfruit

¼ cup macadamia, finely chopped *optional*

Method:

Place the mango into a blender and blend until smooth. Fill ¼ of the popsicle moulds with the mango mixture, set aside the remaining mango mixture for the ice cream. Place the popsicle moulds in the freezer to firm the mango mixture up.

In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Add the coconut milk to the egg mixture and whisk until combined.

Transfer coconut mixture to a sauce pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly for about 8- 10 minutes until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not let the mixture boil as this will curdle the egg. Remove from heat and add the essence, remaining mango mixture, passionfruit and macadamias.

* If you have an ice cream maker transfer contents of the saucepan to a bowl and chill until cold. Process mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions and then transfer to the popsicle moulds to freeze in the freezer.

*If you don’t have an ice cream maker, transfer the contents of the saucepan to a bowl and place into the freezer. Every 30-50 minutes remove the mixture and give it a good stir. Repeat this process 4 -5 times. By doing this it will stop ice-crystals forming and your ice cream will not be one big ice block. Once your custard has a firmer, ice cream consistency place into the popsicle mould and freeze overnight.

What's your favourite summertime treat?

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Christmas Is Coming, Don't Panic... + Winner!

I have tried to put off talking about Christmas up until now but unfortunately I can no longer ignore the  Christmas freight train coming our way in 44 days to be exactly. So without putting you in a Christmas frenzy I thought I would gently ease you into thinking about it! That's if you already haven't started thinking about it!

Over the weekend my family sat down and organised our Christmas menu and picked out our secret Santa's. It probably sounds a little premature in organising it but it gives us time to organise and the things we have to make, write out our secret Santa present lists and buy Christmas presents. I think the key to a stress less Christmas is being organised and staying on budget!

{source}

Budget for Christmas you say... yes a budget is VERY important. I found the best thing for me was to open a "Christmas account" with my local bank. I calculated Christmas present costs, approximate food costs, a few extra dollars for any unknown extras and Christmas holiday costs if we were going away for that year. I divided it to a fortnightly price and set up an automatic transfer to the Christmas account. The great thing (or bad thing) about the Christmas account is you are unable to touch it until the 1st of December!  It is a bit late to start one for this year but I encourage you to go and open one today planning for next year. It saves the worry of trying to find the money at the end of the year, generally after all the big bills have come! Does that sound familiar?

{source}

Anyway over the next couple of weeks I hope to give some helpful tips and ideas that will help you get through the silly season and hopefully be a little more prepared, organised and relaxed facing christmas.

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It's time to announce the winners of our Cut Out The Crap cookbook giveaways.

There were lots of comments for this giveaway, which was great to see. I thank Collette once again for being so generous in giving three of her cookbooks away. If you didn't win a cookbook today I urge you to still go out and buy a copy of the book for yourself or for a christmas present for someone near and dear!

Winners are:

Congratulations to all! If you can email me your address's to diaryofwhimsicalwife{at}gmail.com so i can send out your prize.

Until next week... have a great weekend!

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