Knife coat hooks for your inner Dexter
Published 16 May 2009If “blood”-stained bathmats and shower curtains aren’t your thing, maybe these would be a less provocative conversation-starter:
I love that these knife coat hooks are listed as “easy to install”, I guess that “freaks out your guests” is just too obvious to mention in the product description!
They’re by Tianyi Chiang and available from UK-based Bouf for £15.00 plus £10.00 shipping to Australia.
Milestone
Published 15 May 2009This week I paid off the loan I took out before my Great 2007/8 Expedition to the Northern Hemisphere.
I’ve busted my chops with double repayments and every spare dollar going into paying that loan off. And now I’ve paid it off in half the time of the loan period.
Chuffed with myself.
Problem is that having paid the loan off is another marker that my trip really is behind me.
My arrival at Heathrow:
The night of most of us girls in the same pub in London where I got to dance with a Billy Ocean-wannabe:
Even though our group dynamics have changed since then, I’ll never forget how amazing my trip was. How amazing my girls are.
And once I’ve paid off my car loan, I can start saving for my next trip :o))
High
Published 14 May 2009Elvis has rediscovered the catnip-infused scratch box on the loungeroom floor:
Doesn’t he look “special?”
Suddenly it’s very hard to tell we have a red rug underneath all those nommed bits of cardboard.
Special mention to the blue bucket in the background of the pic on the left; my bucket that sits at the bottom of my leaky loungeroom wall a.k.a. The Water Feature. I know mentioning this will mean it won’t happen, but there’s a chance The Water Feature might get repaired on the weekend… almost 2 years after the wall first started leaking.
Tim Tam Cupcakes: now live!
Published 5 May 2009My Tim Tim cupcake recipe is online now over at That’s Noice.
I have to admit my test batch doesn’t look that pretty, but there’s definite potential!
Tim Tam Cupcakes!
Published 5 May 2009
This is an adapation of the Cookies’n'Cream (i.e. Oreo) cupcake recipe from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. As delish as the cupcakes were, I wanted to try an Aussie version, and what better iconic Australian bikkie to use but the humble Tim Tam?
Ingredients for cake mixture (makes 12-18, depending on your preferred cupcake size)
250g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g sugar (I assume castor!)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
180ml single cream
½ packet Tim Tams (or more/less, to taste)
Ingredients for cream cheese frosting
180g white chocolate, broken into pieces
180g cream cheese, cut into pieces
185g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
½ packet Tim Tams (or more/less, to taste)
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 180°c
- Mix flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and single cream and beat until batter is smooth. Fold in crushed Tim Tams
- Spoon batter into cupcake papers, to about ⅔ full
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool
(I didn’t have cream, so used milk; while not bad, I’d suggest you stick with cream in this recipe – it really does make a difference)
Cream cheese frosting
- In a large bowl over simmering water melt white chocolate until smooth and creamy. It should be just warm to the touch
- Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate and beat again until smooth
- Use frosting immediately or it will harden
- Sprinkle crushed Tim Tams immediately, while frosting is still soft
(I was feeling brave and just used melted white chocolate mixed in with crushed Tim Tams, hence the ugly-looking finished product. Follow the frosting recipe properly and you’ll have a much better result!)
Given the nature of Tim Tams, the flavour isn’t very strong when in cupcake form. But I think increasing the Tim Tam quantities slightly would help that along, and what’s not to love about the idea of a Tim Tam cupcake? When I took this test batch to work, you should have seen everyone’s eyes light up at the mention of them! You have to try them, at the very least :)
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