Blueberry Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate Honey Ganache

I wasn't going to post about this cake. To be honest, I'm a bit embarrassed about the way that it turned out. I know people make mistakes with cooking all the time. The above picture makes it look okay, but it looked worse in real life. But really, this blog isn't about gaining perfection (no matter how nice that would be!), it's about trying out new things, or new recipes anyway and posting about my experiences.

I'm not sure exactly what happened - whether there were too many blueberries, or whether the blueberries all sunk to the bottom of the tin for some reason, or whether I had the wrong size/shape tin - but half of the cake ended up sticking to the tin and falling apart. I managed to put it back together, but it wasn't very pretty. Not like the pictures from the blog I got the recipe from - Raspberri Cupcakes. But I must say, it tasted delicious! The cake was moist and lemony and the chocolate honey ganache was very rich and sweet.

The cake was for my sister's baby shower my family was throwing for her. When I say baby shower though, it's very low key and just our immediate family. It's become a little tradition for our family, since none of us sisters are really into the big events that baby showers can turn into these days. Although I must admit the food that usually comes with those events is so adorable. Anyway, I wanted to make something a bit special especially since it's my sister's first. And she deserves it, just for being my amazing, beautiful big sis!

If I was going to point out one thing I'd change about the cake it would probably be to omit the ganache the next time I make it. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but despite all the sweet things I love to make, I'm not actually that much of a sweet tooth and I found the ganache to be a little too sweet for me. I think it was just me though - everyone else enjoyed it. :)

Blueberry Buttermilk Cake with Milk Chocolate Honey Ganache
165g softened butter
200g caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Rind of 1 lemon
200g plain flour
100g self-raising flour
1/3 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
230ml buttermilk
125g bluberries, fresh or frozen

Ganache
200ml cream
200g milk chocolate
6 tbsp honey
Blueberries to decorate (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition, then add vanilla and lemon rind.
3. In a seperate bowl sift together the flours and bicarbonate of soda with a pinch of salt. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the flour mixture and then half of the buttermilk. Repeat with the other half of the flour and buttermilk.
4. Add the blueberries to the mixture, and gently stir in by hand until just combined.
5. Pour the mixture into your prepared cake tin making sure the top is smooth and then bake for 45-50 minutes (or until cake is golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean). Cool in the tin for approximately 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cake rack and cool completely.
6. To prepare the chocolate honey ganache - in a small saucepan over medium heat bring the cream and honey just to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate to the hot mixture. Leave for a minute to allow chocolate to melt, then stir until the mixture is smooth.
7. Set the ganache aside to cool completely and then chill it in the fridge until cold and thick.

8. To serve, pour the ganache over the top of the cake and decorate with fresh blueberries (if you wish). Serve immediately.

Hmm....do you think someone went a touch overboard with the ganache? Oops! There was a lot of it though - couldn't let it go to waste ;)

Recipe Source:

Blueberry Buttermilk Cake and Chocolate Honey Ganache recipe from

Raspberri Cupcakes

Individual Meringues with Lime Cream and Blueberries

Usually at Christmas I have free reign of what I cook, and I usually try to make something a little different, that my family might not have tried before. One year I baked a pumpkin pie, which for a lot of people out there is a regular addition to the Christmas or Thanksgiving feast, but for my family was the first time they'd tried pumpkin in a dessert form. Last year I cooked my first turkey which was a challenge for me, and also the first time my family had had a proper turkey (and not just the breast) served up at the dinner table. This year, though, my sister asked me to make a caramel cheesecake and some mini meringues with cream. I was more than happy to make both - I'd never actually made either before - but still didn't think either was that different, especially the meringues. So when I found this recipe for meringues with lime cream I jumped at the chance to make my meringues that little bit different and a little more special for Christmas. The addition of the lime curd to the cream made for a decadent treat, that was not only popular at our Christmas, but that would make a fantastic dessert for over the summer months.

Ingredients:

Individual meringue cups - I used premade ones

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup caster sugar

6 tbsp lime juice

60g unsalted butter, cut into small squares

1 tsp grated lime zest

1 cup heavy cream

1. Set a sieve over a bowl and set aside. In a medium sized saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until blended. Stir in the lime juice and butter, and cook over medium heat, whisking consistantly, until the mixture turns opaque and thickens enough to leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon when you draw your finger across it. 

2. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately strain the custard through the sieve, pressing it through with a rubber spatula. 

3. Stir in the lime zest. Set the mixture aside while you whip the cream. Or, if you're not ready to serve the meringues, refrigerate the mixture, covered, until ready to use.

4. Shortly before serving, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream until medium-firm peaks form. Place the bowl of whipped cream in the refrigerator. 

5. If the lime mixture has not been refrigerated, set the bowl containing the lime mixture in a large bowl filled about one third of the way with ice water. Stir the mixture frequently until it is slightly cooler than room temperature, about 10 minutes.

6. Fold a large spoonful of the whipped cream into the lime base to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining cream.

7. Spoon the lime cream into the meringue cups, dividing it evenly. Top each meringue with berries of your choice (I used blueberries).

Recipe Source:

Cookstr's recipe for

Individual Meringue Cups with Lime Cream and Fresh Berries

Individual Meringue Cups with Lime Cream and Blueberries Ingredients: Individual meringue cups - I used premade ones 4 large egg yolks 1/2 cup caster sugar 6 tbsp lime juice 60g unsalted butter, cut into small squares 1 tsp grated lime zest 1 cup heavy cream Method: 1. Set a sieve over a bowl and set aside. In a medium sized saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until blended. Stir in the lime juice and butter, and cook over medium heat, whisking consistantly, until the mixture turns opaque and thickens enough to leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon when you draw your finger across it.  2. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately strain the custard through the sieve, pressing it through with a rubber spatula.  3. Stir in the lime zest. Set the mixture aside while you whip the cream. Or, if you're not ready to serve the meringues, refrigerate the mixture, covered, until ready to use. 4. Shortly before serving, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream until medium-firm peaks form. Place the bowl of whipped cream in the refrigerator.  5. If the lime mixture has not been refrigerated, set the bowl containing the lime mixture in a large bowl filled about one third of the way with ice water. Stir the mixture frequently until it is slightly cooler than room temperature, about 10 minutes. 6. Fold a large spoonful of the whipped cream into the lime base to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining cream. 7. Spoon the lime cream into the meringue cups, dividing it evenly. Top each meringue with berries of your choice (I used blueberries).

Blueberry Muffins

Last weekend my beautiful sister and niece decided to come over for lunch and she wanted to take some photos of me cooking. My sister is a fantastic photographer, has taken courses in it and, in my opinion, should definitely be earning money from it. You can see some of her photos over at her blog No Frills Mum!

I decided for the photo shoot I'd make some blueberry muffins. Blueberries would have to be one of my favourite fruits. I could just eat them all the time! Unfortunately though, I live in Australia where blueberries are very expensive. Well, too expensive to be making pies full of them or a lot of other recipes that involve blueberries. So you might be able to understand how excited I was when I went to explore a new supermarket that's opened up here in Melbourne, called La Manna, and found that they had 1kg of blueberries for $8.99! Now, I'm not exactly sure how much blueberries are in America, but to buy a 250g punnett here in Australia it's usually at least $4.

Ingredients:
6 tbsp butter, room temp
3 cups, plus 2 tbsp plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
1 3/4 cups blueberries

1. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees celcius. Butter large or small muffin tins, and set aside.

2. In a large bowl sift together flour and baking powder and put aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, egg yolks and vanilla; mix until well combined.

4. Reduce speed to low; alternate adding flour mixture and milk to the mixer, beginning and ending with the flour. Remove bowl from mixer, gently fold in berries by hand.

5. Divide batter among muffin tins; sprinkle generously with sugar.

6. Bake until light golden, in colour; about 45 minutes for large muffins and about 30 minutes for small muffins. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Oh and then eat, of course!

Recipe Source:
Blueberry Muffin recipe
from the Martha Stewart website.
And thanks to A from No Frills Mum for the photos!

Oh and did I mention that while I was cooking I kept being distracted by this gorgeous little girl (my niece Ruby)?! I just love to watch her toddle around and play - she's mesmerising! And she's just always so busy, so it's always fun to watch her do her thing.

And, despite the fact I haven't asked her permission to do this - a photo of my sister snapping away with her awesome camera. Excuse the quality - I took it with my phone which clearly can't compare to my sister's SLR. (Want!!)

Blueberry Muffins Ingredients: 6 tbsp butter, room temp 3 cups, plus 2 tbsp plain flour 3 tsp baking powder 1 1/4 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling 1 large egg 2 egg yolks 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup milk 1 3/4 cups blueberries Method: 1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Butter large or small muffin tins, and set aside. 2. In a large bowl sift together flour and baking powder and put aside. 3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, egg yolks and vanilla; mix until well combined. 4. Reduce speed to low; alternate adding flour mixture and milk to the mixer, beginning and ending with the flour. Remove bowl from mixer, gently fold in berries by hand. 5. Divide batter among muffin tins; sprinkle generously with sugar. 6. Bake until light golden, in colour; about 45 minutes for large muffins and about 30 minutes for small muffins. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.