These cupcakes are very pretty, very classy and would be perfect at high tea with some mini sandwiches and tiny fruit tarts. Except in that instance, it would probably be considered rude to eat them all.

The coffee cupcake recipe comes from my tried and true Crabapple Bakery cookbook – one of the original pioneers of the cupcake food fashion fad. It’s fluffy, soft, and deliciously light, though pairing coffee cupcake with coffee icing doesn’t appeal to me. For aesthetic purposes mainly. Coffee coloured cupcakes with coffee coloured frosting seems like a missed opportunity to make something a bit beautiful.

Plus, I have an ulterior motive.

We have to make a short film for class about our special place.

And, considering it’s only worth 6% of my final grade, I thought I’d feed a couple of birds with one cupcake and make some fresh new content for my wee blog.

So my special place is the kitchen. Don’t laugh. It’s better than boring shots of the back yard.

I have done next to no moving image stuff, so my plan was to use short quick cuts so that my shaky hand and amateurish focus-pulling isn’t thrown into light.

So take a look. It’s only 60 seconds.

Coffee Cupcakes with Baileys Buttercream - Makes 12

Prep time: 15 mins  Cook time: 18-20 mins

• 100g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3/4 cup self-raising flour
• 1 tbs instant coffee powder
• 2 tbs boiling water
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

• 50g butter, softened
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 3 tbs Baileys Cream Liqueur

Preheat the oven to 180c and line a twelve hole muffin tray with appropriately coloured cupcake liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for a few minutes until smooth and silky. Add the sugar, and cream for a further three minutes, til the mixture becomes light coloured and fluffy, and the sugar has almost disolved.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute after each new addition until the mixture becomes voluptuous and moussey in texture. Add in the vanilla, and beat to combine.

In a separate bowl, dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and set aside.

Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift half of the flour onto the butter mixture, and fold in using a rubber spatula. Pour the coffee in, and fold that in too, finishing off with the last half of the flour and the baking powder. Be sure to only fold it until the mixture is just combined – overbeating will toughen your cuppies.

Finally, gently fold in the walnuts.

Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases, and bake in the oven for 18-20 mins, or until the tops are brown and springy and a skewer comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack before frosting.

To make the frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, half of the icing sugar and baileys, gradually adding the remaining icing sugar until the desired consistency is reached.

Place in a piping bag, and pipe upward spirals of frosting on the cooled cupcakes.

These little babies are pretty deluxe. Delicious dense lemony vanilla muffin, punctuated with berries, topped with a crunchy delicious stresuel topping.

Perfect comfort fare when paired with a cup of something warm on a wintery stormy morning.

Now, I must apologise for my lack of updates. I mean, it’s been 10 days since I last posted. And I don’t want you to think I’m not cooking – I am, but the winter nights get dark so early that by the time I’ve completed a delicious dinner, it’s far to dark for a decent photograph.

So it’s my daytime cooking that gets pushed into the spotlight in the winter, and seeing as I’m at uni during the day, stuff like muffins and slices take a bit of a back seat.

What’s more, I’ve had an unpleasant snuffle for the past wee while.

It’s because winter’s finally landed. It’s been freezing, and everyone’s getting sick. At work, at university, on the bus… it’s a constant chorus of coughs and sniffs and snuffles. Or which I am a contributor. Luckily, I got a free flu jab from my old work before I left, so I cashed it in at a local community doctor, which will hopefully stop any particularly nasty bugs getting in my system this winter.

But if they do, I’ll just do more baking. Muffins: the untold cure for the common cold!

Lemon and Blueberry Muffins - Makes 14

Prep time: 15 mins  Cook time: 25mins

• 100g softened butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• zest and juice of one large lemon
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen) + 3 tbs flour

• 20g butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tbs flour
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1/4 cup raw sugar (or something with similarly large grains)

Preheat the oven to 180c and line 14 muffin holes with appropriately coloured liners.

First prepare the topping by mixing the 20g cooled butter, 2 tbs of flour and sugar and 1/4 cup of raw sugar in a small bowl, until it’s crumbly and about the texture of couscous. If you find it’s to wet, add more sugar. To dry? Add a tiny bit more softened butter. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – about 3 minites. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until voluptuous and moussey.

Mix in the vanilla essence, lemon zest and lemon juice.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and fold in the flour and baking powder by hand. The mixture should be quite thick.

If you’re using frozen blueberries, in a separate bowl, coat them in the 3 tbs of flour. Remove with a slotted spoon (or your fingers) to avoid adding the excess flour at the bottom, and add to the muffin batter. Stir them in gently.

Pop a big dollop of the batter into each of the prepared muffin cases, and top with a rounded tsp of the streusel topping. Bake in the oven for 22-26 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean and they’re slightly golden around the edges.

Let them cool for a few minites before tucking in.

Recipe ever so slightly adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Either way, these are ridiculously easy. No bake, and ready in about 10 minutes if you don’t mind slightly sticky icing. The perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea in the afternoon. What’s even better is you probably have most of the ingredients begging to be used up in the back of your pantry – some vanilla wine cookies or similar, half a can of condensed milk, a bit of butter, and some instant coffee (I’m not relying on you having the walnuts as well – but one ingredient out of the whole recipe isn’t bad, right?).

For the last week or so I’ve been down at my batch (holiday home) on Lake Taupo. Unfortunately that brilliant sun I was raving about a few weeks past has turned north, and the cold weather is starting to bite. I had my electric blanket on – a commodity I simply can’t live without, because cold beds are simply the worst of all things – and about five heavy woolen blankets over the top. I’m wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts and shoes with socks on.

Oh, and my umbrella broke in the first windy-stormy-crazy-blustery attack of the season.

It’s an omen for a bad winter.

That being said, it’s still a nice shiny day outside my window this morning. Perfect weather for dog walking without getting sticky and sweaty after the first fifty meters. But I’m reaching here. I hate winter – always have, always will and I cannot wait for summer to roll round the corner again. Bring on November… or, more realistically, January. That’s only 9 months away.

Back on track with this slice though. It’s simple, classy and deceptively easy. When your guests bite into it, they’ll have no idea you whipped it up a quarter of an hour pior.

Because it sets reasonably hard, it’s also good for gift giving, though it will get a bit sticky if it warms up.

Coffee and Walnut Slice  – Makes 20-30 bars, depending on how big you cut them.

Prep time: 10 mins

• 125g butter
• 1/2 400g can sweetened condensed milk
• 250g milk arrowroot/vanilla wine cookies
• 2/3 cup roughly chopped walnuts

• 15g butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp instant coffee powder mixed with 2 tbs boiling water

Line a 16x26cm slice tin with baking paper.

In a food processor or similar whizzing instrument, blitz most of the cookies until they form a smooth meal. Take the reserved few, and break them up into pea-sized bits, tipping the whole lot into a large mixing bowl with the chopped walnuts.

In a small saucepan over a medium-low heat, melt together the butter and condensed milk until you have a lukewarm, consistant mixture. Pour this into the dry ingredients, mixing together until everything is equally coated and you don’t have any dry spots.

Press firmly into the slice tin, smoothing the surface with the back of a spoon and place in the freezer while you prepare the icing. (If you don’t want to prepare the icing immediately, place in the fridge.)

To make the icing, combine the butter, icing sugar and coffee into a smooth, spreadable buttercream. Too wet? Add more icing sugar. Too dry? Add more coffee.

Spread over the slice, and cllow to chill in the fridge for an hour (or the freezer for a few minutes if you’re in a hurry) before digging in.

The addition of some wholemeal flour makes this a pretty good breakfast option. Wholemeal flour keeps you going for longer, and the yogurt gives you a good dose of protein - especially if you’ve made it yourself. We bought an EasyYo maker about a year ago, and haven’t bought any packet yogurt since. For $2.50 you get a litre of delicious, creamy low-fat greek that you can pop in the maker today, and it’ll be ready for consumption tomorrow. In terms of kitchen gadgetry, I cannot recommend them enough.

Even if you think you don’t eat much yogurt, you’ll find yourself subbing it in, I promise you. It makes fantastic sauces, and you can nearly always use it as a substitute for sour cream, or use it instead of copious amounts of butter in your baking.

Honestly, you wont regret it.

So this half of the semester is over – and I’m officially on break. Though I still have uni work to do, as well as a bunch of commissions and two jobs (at present, though not for much longer!) We’re planning to go down to our holiday home at Lake Taupo for a week or so, and the lack of internet there will force me to get a lot of that designey work done. Still, break is break and I can sleep in and leave my hair down and not scuff my boots on the long work into the city.

And I can sit at home and eat strawberry and peach loaf. Mhmmm.

Peach and Strawberry Loaf - Makes 1 loaf

Prep time: 10 mins  Cook time: 60-70mins

• 100g butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 100g low fat greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup milk mixed with 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 can sliced peaches, drained and diced

Preheat the oven to 180c, and line a large loaf tin with non-stick baking paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment  cream the butter and sugar for about three minuets  or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until the mixture billows out in a lovely mousey consistency.

Add in the vanilla, and remove the bowl from the mixer.

In a sperate bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add half of this dry mixture to the creamed mix, folding it in to just combine. Add half of the buttermilk and yogurt, and repeat. You want to be really gentle with this, so that your baking soda and buttermilk don’t get all excited before you get them in the oven.

Finally, fold in the strawberries and peaches.

Pop in the prepared tin, and smooth the surface.

Bake in the oven for 60-70 mins, or until there’s a crack along the top, the loaf springs back lightly when touched and a skewer comes out completely clean.

Allow to cool in the tin, then remove to an airtight container.

Perfect base, courtesy of Jamie Oliver (but a smaller version from his original 8 pizza write-up that used a kg of flour) and a quick, easy pizza sauce that’ll take your favourite toppings to the next level. No more gluggy tomato paste straight out of the can.

Don’t fret if you’re not a bread-maker – pizza bases are forgiving and easy. There’s only five ingredients, and you essentially bung them all together after letting the yeast foam, give them a quick knead, forget about it for an hour and viola – you’ve made pizza. You can make the dough up to three days beforehand and keep it in the fridge, or divide the dough into pizza-portions and freeze for future use. Easy peasy.

I handed in my notice at work yesterday, so in two weeks time I will have officially moved on from Auckland’s busiest department store, will have to hand over my badge and locker key and will have officially moved into my new job.

At a bra store.

I had my first day there on saturday – I’m going to possibly be sneaking in a couple of shifts and work two jobs in the next couple of weeks.

It was really time for a change. People came into my old work because they had to buy things, not because they wanted to. And typically they knew exactly what they needed and weren’t in the mood to engage. You get a lot of harassed mums and snarky old people, and it was draining and slow paced and I would stand there watching the clock.

Yes, time for a change.

On the plus side, we purchased our flights to thailand. It’s real. We’re going. Albeit in seven months time, but still – it’s tangible.

So pizza seems like a perfect celebratory meal.

I wont even bother writing down toppings, because it’s entirely personal taste… I am personally a fan of anything with chicken, especially BBQ chicken and bacon and chicken, cranberry and brie. YUM.

This recipe is equipped to take any toppings. If you like, you could add a squirt of bbq or sweet chilli sauce to the pizza sauce itself to boost the flavour if it’s appropriate, but a spiral over the top should be more than enough.

Perfect Pizza - Makes 4 pizzas

Prep time: 10 mins + 1 hour rising time  Cook time: 35mins

• 1 tbs instant dry yeast (1 8g packet)
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 350ml warm (body temperature) water
• 500g high-grade flour

• 150g tomato paste
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 tbs grated parmesan
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
• salt to taste

In a small bowl, mix together the warm water, honey and olive oil. Sprinkle over the yeast, and set aside to foam up for 5-10mins. If the yeast appears to be ‘trapped’ in the oil on the surface of the water, give it a quick little stir.

Pop the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer, and make a well in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture into the well, and gradually mix the flour in, starting in the centre and working out. At the end, you may hand to get in there with your hands.

Don’t be alarmed if there appear to be little dry bits at this stage – those will knead out. Once you’ve pulled everything together in a ragged dough ball, fit the dough hook to the mixer and knead for 5-8 mins our until you have a very smooth, elastic, beautiful ball of dough.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and spray the inside with cooking spray. Replace the dough inside, cover with a damp tea towel, and place in a warm place (such as the airing cupboard) for an hour, or until doubled in size.

While the dough is doing it’s thing, prepare the pizza sauce. Mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least an hour, to let the flavours mix and mingle.

Once the dough has risen, remove from the bowl and punch it down, then divide into four portions. You can use it now, keep it in the fridge for up to three days, or stick ‘em in the freezer.

When you’re ready to use them, roll them out to about 7mm thick and let them sit for 15-20 mins while you preheat the oven to 180c. Spread with the pizza sauce, top with your favourite toppings and bake in the oven for 25-35 mins or until the cheese is bubbling and everyone’s hungry.

Apple shortcake is another classic kiwi afternoon treat – though it’s traditionally cut into bars. And while there’s nothing wrong with bars, there’s something hugely satisfying about cutting a big fat wedge out of something.

Something just like this.

But before we get into the photo and the recipe, I have to get something off my chest.

I’m just finishing up the last of an animation assignment for uni – and animation is something I know a thing or two about. I devoted an entire year of full-time study and an eight thousand dollar price tag to it. So I was quite pleased to have a chance to stretch my wings and implement some of those skills.

Unfortunately, the tutor for the assignment has never animated anything in his life, though he is quite happy with his ground-level knowledge, and is content to stay at that level. Which is fine… save for the fact that he’s teaching it.

It’s incredibly frustrating to pay someone to teach you bad technique… especially when you know that it’s bad technique  and have to sit there and smile and try and pretend that you’re not dying on the inside. I understand that in that big ol’ ‘real world’ that everyone keeps talking about, we’re going to run into characters designed to make your life hell.
I can only hope they’re paying me, and not the other way around.

The perfect excuse for a comforting cuddle apple pie shortcake, yes?

What’s especially nice about it is that the cake takes an hour to bake, so you can pop it in the oven as you start dinner, and it’ll be hot and ready once dessert time rolls around.

Apple Pie Shortcake – Serves 8

Prep time: 20 mins + chilling time  Cook time: 1 hour

• 100g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups flour

• 4 big ol’ cooking apples. Granny smith are nice, but use what you’ve got on hand.
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 5 tbs brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp of sugar mixed with 1/4 cinnamon, to sprinkle

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment  cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – about three minuets.

Beat in the egg, lemon juice and salt for a further minute or so. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, roll up your sleeves and work in the flour and baking powder until you get a soft dough. (About the consistency of cookie dough).

Pop it in a plastic bag and place in the fridge for at least two hours, or until you’re ready to make the pie.

Line a small (9 in or 22cm) cake tin with non-stick baking paper, and preheat the oven to 180C.

Peel, core and chop the apples into one cm thick wedges. Toss them with the lemon juice, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until you have a smooth juicy mixture. Set aside.

Chop the dough in half, and line the pan with half of the dough, working it up the edges. Evenly disperse the apple mixture in the centre, and roll out the second half of the dough as a lid. Drape it over the top, crimping it in at the edges. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Pop in the oven, and bake for 1 hour and the pastry is golden. If it browns too quickly, tent it with foil.

Serve in fat wedges with whipped cream.

And it’s traditionally braided.

Annnd I botched the braiding.

But damn, the bread is yummy on the inside – chewy, fluffy, moist and heartwarming. You just have to forgive my attempt at the traditional presentation… because obviously, it didn’t work very well. I shouldn’t have tried my hand at 6 rope braiding!

However, I refuse to call this a failed recipe. Because it tastes good. And that is ultimately what food is about.

Especially when the weather starts to turn south. We had our first real cold snap last night – it was only five degrees and we were shocked abruptly out of our shorts. At about eleven thirty at night, our breath was making foggy puffs of mist following every word. Yeah. That cold.

However, it does mean – as Annabel and I have been saying for weeks – that we can start to wear winter clothes. Big jumpers, jeans, boots, hats… those sort of things. A small silver lining, but hey, we need something.

We’ve been making this challah into french toast, which is a really fantastic way to eat it. Dose it in a little more egg, fry it up, drizzle it with maple syrup.

Wintery heaven.

Challah Bread with Orange and Cranberries - Makes one large or two small braided loaves

Prep time: 2 hours 15 mins  Cook time: 35mins

• 2 tbs caster sugar
• 2 tbs honey
• 300ml warm water
• 1 tbs active dry yeast
• 4 tbs olive oil
• 700g high-grade flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sultanas
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• zest of an orange
• 1 egg and 1 tsp light corn syrup, for glazing

Combine the sugar, honey and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle over the yeast, and leave it to stand for about ten minutes until it froths and foams.

Add in the eggs, oil, sultanas, cranberries and orange zest.

Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook, and plop in about 500g of the high grade flour. Knead it with the dough hook on a low speed and gradually add the remaining flour. Knead for a further eight minuets or so, until you get a smooth, elastic ball of dough.

Pull it off the dough hook, and rub it with a little oil – just to grease it up a little. Replace it back in the bowl and cover with a dampened tea towel, and pop the whole thing in a nice warm place – such as an airing cupboard – for an hour, or until doubled in size.

Remove, punch down the dough, replace the tea towel, and give it a second rise for about 45 minuets.

Once it’s had it’s second proof, you can braid the dough as you see fit. There are plenty of video tutorials out there – anywhere from three to ten strand braids. Poke back in any cranberries or sultanas that try to escape. If you prefer, you can make two small loaves.

Place your finished braid on a lined baking tray, cover it again with the damp tea towel and let it rise for a final 30 mins while you preheat the oven to 180C.

Before popping in the oven, brush with the beaten egg and corn syrup, and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like. Bake for 35 mins, or until golden on the outside. It’s important not to overbake it.

Allow to cool before slicing and placing in an airtight container.

The secret?

Coconut cream.

A couple of tablespoons of in the frosting, and a little more in the cake, heralds a soft, fluffy, authentic coconut flavour without the need for tablespoons of metalic tasting coconut essence. Perfect for birthdays, parties, or just eating in general.

The ‘cream’ in your can of coconut cream is the thick bit on the top, so it’s important not to shake the can before opening. This recipe will leave you with about 1/2 can left over, which is perfect for thai curries later in the week.

I made these for my friend’s birthdays – luckily, within a week of each other. Half went to Emma, who has since been pestering me for the recipe, and the rest are going to Annabel tonight.

How, you ask?

The freezer is the answer.

Because buttercream is totally, 100% freezable. Forget throwing away half the batch when you totally overestimate your cake’s capacity for frosting: pop it in a plastic bag, stick it in the freezer and it’ll be ready when you want it – simply stick it in the fridge the night before, and bring to room temperature before baking.

Cupcakes themselves are equally freezable – again, just stick ‘em in the fridge the night before, and bring them to room temperature in the morning to avoid soggy cake.

As with any frozen thing though, there’s no back and forth. Once it’s defrosted, you have to use it – there’s no re-freezing.

Anyway – these cuppies are definitely worth your time. You could spice them up witha  bit of maibu, but I personally love them as they are. A little slice of the holidays in the middle of your working week.

Pineapple Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream – Makes 18 cupcakes

Prep time: 10 mins  Cook time: 18-22 mins

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• dash of salt
• 100g butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut cream (the runny bit) diluted with 1/2 cup water
• 440g can chopped pineapple peices, drained
• 2/3 cup desiccated coconut

• 100g butter, softened
• 1/4 cup reserved coconut cream (the thick bit on the top)
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp coconut essence
• dash of salt

Preheat the oven to 180c, and line 18 muffin holes with cupcake cases.

Take your can of coconut cream, and open without shaking. Using a spoon, remove 1/4 cup of the dense, creamy portion at the top of the can, and reserve for the frosting.

Take 1/2 cup of the remaining runny coconut cream, and dilute it with 1/2 cup of water. Set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, comine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Again, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars for 2-3 mins, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 min after each new addition, or until the mixture turns billowy and slightly moussey in texture.

Add a third of the flour mixture, and mix on a low speed until just combined. Pour in half of the diluted coconut cream, again, mixing until just incorporated. Repeat the process, finishing with the last third of the dry mixture.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and fold in the coconut and pineapple pieces.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling to about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 mins, or until lightly coloured and springy when touched.

Cool for at least 30 mins before frosting.

To prepare the frosting, beat the butter and coconut cream until creamy and well combined – about 2 mins. Add in half the icing sugar, and beat for about 3 mins, until it reaches a billowy, stiff texture.

Add in the vanilla and coconut essences with a dash of salt, turn the mixer back on and gradually add in the remaining icing sugar, until you get a firm frosting with a smooth finish.

If you find the frosting is too thin, add more icicing sugar. Too thick? Add a splash of milk.

YES.

I cannot get enough of it.

This is a super deluxe creamy number, with a rich coffee flavour, studded with caramel candy peices, and it melts away to nothing in your mouth. You cannot imagine anything better. Honestly. It’s so good. I was sneaking little spoonfuls out of the ice cream maker.

Honestly. Cross my heart. It’s dreamy.

I don’t actually like coffee that much. I wouldn’t drink a cup of it (even if I could) but I like the flavour in desserts. Tirimisu, cake, ice cream… to me, coffee flavour is at it’s best when it’s served as something solid and sweet, not wet and bitter. So don’t pass this off if you’re not a natural coffee fan. It’s on a totally different level.

Right now I’m just starting to properly plan for our trip to thailand at the end of the year. We’ve managed to score some pretty inexpensive flights (comparatively) through our university student status – but that’s only a sliver of the work. I need to find us cheap places to stay that are close to the rail links to avoid expensive taxi fares, try to work out the most cost efficient and time efficient way to get from Bankok to Chiang Mai to Ko Chang to Phuket and Phi Phi to Ko Chang. And then find an ethical place to ride an elephant.

And I know we’re only going in November, but I can’t help being super excited. 8 months isn’t that long, right? South East Asian culture has always attracted me: I love the noisy people, I love the climate, I love the colours and I love the food.

And we’re going to hit it for three weeks.

Unfortunately, owing to the early full moon in november, we miss out on the beautiful Thai lantern festival, where they send the beautiful floats down the river and the giant lanterns into the sky. It’s on the 16th. We arrive on the 20th. Bummer.

Though, if you’ve got some thailand travel tips to share, I’d love to hear them. Pop ‘em in the comment box or send them to me through the contact form.

Anyway, this ice cream.

OHMYGOD.

It’s so good. If you have an ice cream maker, stick the bowl in the freezer and make this. Now.

Toffee Coffee Ice Cream - Makes 1L

Prep time: 20mins

• 1 tbs instant coffee
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbs cornflour/cornstarch
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 150g chocolate covered caramels, chopped

In a medium sized saucepan, combine the coffee, salt, cornflour and sugar. Gradually add the milk and cream, whisking constantly to avoid any lumps.

Heat the mixture over a medium-high heat, whisking constantly until the whole thing thickens up. This should take about 10 mins or so – once it begins to bubble gently, it’s almost done. It will expand in size as it heats up, so make sure you have a decent sized pot.

Remove from heat, and in a large mixing bowl, quickly whisk together the egg yolk and vanilla. Set a fine sieve over the top of the yolk mixture, and pour a little of the coffee mixture through, whisking it quickly into the egg. You want to temper the egg yolk to it doesn’t scramble.

Pour a little more of the coffee mixture through the sieve  and give it another whisk, then pour the rest of the mixture through. It’s important it all goes through the sieve: it’ll make the ice cream extra smooth and creamy.

Pop the mixture in the frozen bowl of an ice cream maker, and churn to manufactures instructions. Pour into a freezer proof container, and stir through the caramels.

Stick back in the freezer to firm up. Or for as long as you can resist it.

Recipe courtesy of Baked Bree

A family friend was nice enough to pass along her old ice cream machine, and this was the christening batch. Ice cream is something I’ve always wanted to make, but without the machine  it’s a bit of a mission… and I wasn’t willing to put the time in for a potentially sub-standard frozen treat.

But now everything’s changed.

And I foresee plenty of deluxe desserts on the horizon – tirimisu ice cream, anyone?

Anyway, this was the most convient for me – we had no cream, so traditional ice cream was off the cards, though we did have a can of coconut cream in the back of the cupboard, and a bag of fresh limes in the fruit bowl. So I pulled this together.

The addition of water is what forms the small ice crystals that give it the sorbet texture – which is lovely and fresh with the lime taste… which, thankfully, is not lip-puckering. I’m not a big sour fan: I like the taste of lemon, and I like the taste of lime, I just don’t like that tongue twisting, eye-watering, sinus-clearing slap of sourness that comes with them. If that is your cup of tea though, simply up the lime content –  though you do risk overwhelming the coconut flavour.

Unfortunately, my new frosty frozen mixer was a little hesitant to come out of hibernation, and refused to churn  past 15 mins. However, this was enough to get a fairly delicious result – though I imagine the texture would have been slightly better had it been able to whirl around for a wee bit longer.

Coconut and Lime Sorbet - Makes roughly 1L

Prep time: 5 mins

• 1 (425ml, 15oz) can coconut cream
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• zest of two limes, juice of one
• 1/3 cup water

In a small saucepan over a low heat, warm the cream, sugar and water together until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, and add in the lime juice and zest.

Chill the mixture in the freezer for an hour or so, then pop in your ice cream maker and churn according to manufactures instructions.

Bring the ice cream out about 10 mins before you want to serve it, in order for it to soften slightly.