Valentines Day // Mini Honey Yogurt Cakes

 

So, tomorrow is Valentines Day! I plan on painting my nails tonight with red glitter nail polish in celebration. Apart from that, I don't have too many exciting plans. I have pulled a mini lamb roast out of the freezer though & I think these mini honey yoghurt cakes will be a nice accompaniment for pudding.

 

I got the idea for these from my Mum - I went to visit my family in Dunedin last weekend & Mum had made this amazing lemon yoghurt cake for afternoon tea - it was so tasty!

 

I changed the lemon juice to honey, added some vanilla paste & baked these in baking paper lined ramekins. They came out as cute little moist cakes which I dressed up with rose syrup & chopped pistachios with some yoghurt on the side (middle eastern inspiration is my favourite!)

 

The recipe is so easy, so I hope you give these a go!

 

 

Mini Honey Yogurt Cakes

3/4 C White Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 C Oil (I used extra virgin olive oil but canola is good too)

1/4 t Salt

1/2 C Yoghurt (Greek or plain unsweetened)

1 1/2 T Liquid Honey

1/2 t Vanilla Paste (or 1 t vanilla)

1 C Self Raising Flour

 

Heat oven to 180 degrees celsius & grease & line the sides & bases of 6 small ramekins (or a cheesecake tray with removable bases)

Mix sugar, eggs, oil & salt with an electric beater or whisk until thick.

Mix in yoghurt, honey & vanilla paste.

Fold n flour until just mixed.

Scoop into tins (the mixture is quite runny - I used an ice cream scoop)

Bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees, then drop the oven temperature to 150 degrees & continue cooking the cakes for approximately 15-20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Serve with rose syrup poured over (or more honey) plain yoghurt & chopped pistachios.

 

Serves 6

 

**To make a lemon version, omit the honey & vanilla paste & add 1 1/2 T lemon juice & the grated rind of 1 lemon. Serve with yoghurt & blueberries.

 

These are so yummy & stay good for 2-3 days (if they last that long!) I really want to go out & find a cheesecake tray now so I can make a whole heap of them...

 

What do you have planned for Valentines Day?

 

Kc



Roadtrip // Exploring Bluff

 

The weather lately has been magnificent. The end of January  and most of February tends to be fairly settled here in New Zealand. The temperatures all week have been in the mid to late 20's which is highly unusual for Invercargill! I decided to FINALLY get off my butt and do some site seeing.

 

 I filled up the car and headed down the coast to  Bluff-a small coastal town at the bottom of New Zealand. I had visited it once, on my 1st day at my current job. I'd glimpsed a cool-looking 2nd hand store which I was keen to check out.

 

 

I stopped across the road from the 2nd hand store and  ventured across the road to take a look.  It's filled with vintage glass, bottles, cigarette tins and boat paintings, plus old rusted tools and books! I found a pretty silver bib necklace for $10 which l decided would look perfect with my many dresses.

 

 

 

After I'd taken in the sites of the main drag (a 5 minute walk) I walked backed to a pub I'd seen earlier, where I ordered mini spring rolls and coffee and sat at a picnic table outside. Unfortunately while I was eating my lunch the Sandflies were eating me! l had to go ask at the bar if they had any bug spray (nope!) then run down to the 4 Square to buy some.

 

 

 

I wanted to have a look in the Maritime museum, but was too itches so headed home. It  was a fun trip though and I enjoyed using my camera after a bit of a break!

  

 

What are your plans for the weekend? How's the weather where you are?

 

Kc

Recipe Post // Blueberry Pancakes

I kind of treat baking as an experiment. I know some people say you should follow the recipe to the letter - but there's so many variables! I quite often change recipes slightly to get a better result, or just make them up from scratch - like this one!

One of my favourite cafes in Dunedin makes amazing pancakes. Like, plate sized pancakes! Filled with chopped fruit (watermelon, apples, bananas, grapes...whatever is available) and yoghurt. Capers was always the first stop for a tasty hungover breakfast on a Sunday morning when I was a student. 

So, I experimented. I had to have a go at making these at home! After multiple attempts (and a few fails!) this is my recipe. They turn out like giant pikelets, kind of cake-like in texture. I hope you'll give them a try on a lazy Sunday morning one weekend!

Blueberry Pancakes

 50g Butter, melted
1 1/2 C Plain Flour
1 Egg
 1/4 C Sugar
1 C Milk
3 t Baking Powder
Blueberries

Melt butter in a bowl in the microwave. 
Add all the other ingredients and whisk/beat with an electric mixer unti all combined. 
Heat a frying pan & grease with a touch of butter.
Scoop 1/3 C lots of batter into the pan and spread out slightly until about 7mm thick. Drop 5 or so blueberries on top of the pancake. 
When the pancake starts to bubble and turn matt, flip it over.

I stack mine up with Greek yoghurt and sliced bananas inbetween, sift over some icing sugar and then douse the whole thing in maple syrup. YUM!!

I hope you enjoy my pancake recipe! What is your favourite weekend breakfast meal to make?

Outfit Post // Going Aztec

 Velvet Blazer - Temt in Melbourne, T-shirt w a tail - Cotton On, Aztec Skirt - Kmart,  

Black Fringe Boots - Butterfly Hospice Shop, Dunedin

It has been a while! I can't even use the excuse of being ridiculously busy, it's been the complete opposite. The last few weekends have been spent lounging on the couch, relaxing by the lake in Cromwell and hanging with my family in Dunedin.

But anyway, I finally have an outfit post for you! I wore this to work about Wednesday last week. Usually I stick to black and white for work. Even though I don't always wear the most office-friendly outfits, I try to stick with this colour scheme to at least keep it a little bit tidy!

The velvet blazer is a well-worn favourite. It makes an appearance at least twice a week in my work outfits! I bought it in Melbourne in May and it's been a great investment. The Aztec patterned skirt was a cheap buy from Kmart last Summer, I can't wait to wear it again during the warmer weather as a comfortable alternative to shorts!

Oh and the boots! These boots caught my eye at the Hospice shop in Dunedin last weekend. They are a size 7 (I'm usually a 5 or 6) so I almost didn't try them on....but I did! And they fitted me perfectly! Plus they were only $5. I can't wait to wear them in Summer, I feel like I need to find a music festival to attend just so I can dance around in the dust with them!

Have you found any amazing items lately? Especially ones you can't wait to wear for the new seasons we're heading into?

Business Time // Southern Crafters Market

A couple of weeks ago I had a stall at one of the biggest markets down South - The Southern Crafters Market. It was held in the Velodrome which was pretty cool! I spent the 2 weeks before the market getting everything ready - planning my cupcake flavours, practising my stall set up and buying all the little bits and pieces I needed for the weekend. 

I was up the Friday night before the market until 4am baking and decorating cupcakes and then 2am the Saturday night! It was well worth it though, I managed to sell everything I made and I ran out of business cards and price lists to give to people. I got some awesome feedback about my stall set up too, so even though I was a bit of a Zombie by the end of it I was feeling pretty happy!!

I'm loving the community feel of the markets down here, everyone is so friendly and helpful (I'm always running out of change and asking people to swap me all their coins!)

I hope you've all been having a good month or so, I'm hoping to be able to fit some outfit posts in soon now that it's almost spring and the days are getting longer!

Outfit Post // Leopard to the Max

Denim jacket - Recycle Boutique, Leopard Maxi Skirt - Cotton On,  

Black Wedges - The Warehouse, Turqouise Earrings - Diva

Ahhh patience - sometimes it pays to be patient! I saw this maxi skirt at Cotton On a few months ago, at the time I didn't want to spend $40 on it, so I waited....and picked it up the other day for $10. Bargain! 

I love clothes that can be worn in multiple seasons. I can't wait to eventually go travelling (I've been meaning to since I left polytech, that was 5 years ago now!) and I'm forever buying clothes I can imagine wearing in far off places like wandering through markets in Morocco or drinking coffee in a cafe in Paris. I can't wait to wear this skirt in summer with a bright singlet top and some strappy sandals!

Hopefully soon I'll get a chance to post some of my work outfits, not just my weekend ones! There's a bit of difference between the two. Hope you're having a great start to your week!

 

The Cupcake Files // Candy Floss Cupcakes

Since I moved to Invercargill I had been thinking about having a cupcake stall at a local market. At least once a week for the last few months I've been coming up with & trialling new cupcake flavours. I thought I would share some of them on my blog, because it is a big part of my life now and this blog is a little slice of my life, right?

I have decided not to share my exact cupcake recipe. I know that seems kind of mean, but I have adapted one I found & turned it into my own recipe which produces the type of cupcake I want to be known for. I've learnt some tips though that I'll share;

1. Don't over mix! It's the same idea as muffins, if you over mix they will be dry & tough.

2. You don't have to bake a filling into the cupcake. Cook it, scoop out the centre & fill with jam, frosting, curd or cream - yum!

3. An ice cream scoop is your friend - you will end up with evenly sized cupcakes - uniform is good!

So these are my candy floss cupcakes. All you have to do is...

a) Make up a basic vanilla cupcake mix. 

b) Before baking add approx 2 cups of candy floss - pulled into small tufts. Gently fold through -  don't mix until whole batter is pink, just until you have swirls of pink through it.

c) Bake cupcakes as per recipe.

d) Frost with candy floss frosting detailed below.

Candy Floss Frosting

115g Butter, softened

1 t Vanilla

60ml Milk

500g Icing Sugar
1 C Candy Floss

Add butter, vanilla & half of icing sugar to a bowl. Place candy floss in a separate bowl & pour milk over - this will melt it. Add candy floss milk to other frosting ingredients & beat until fluffy. Add remaining icing sugar & beat through. Fill a piping bag with frosting & pipe onto cupcakes. I used a 2D tip for these cupcakes.

I recently made some of these for a 7 year olds birthday party! I sprinkled them with a little edible glitter to give them some sparkle. What do you think?

 

Outfit Post // Grey Skies & Skeleton Leaves

Grey & Black Dress - The Warehouse, Fleece Lined Tights - Razzamatazz, Ankle Boots - Cotton On, Grey Scarf - Uproar (H & J Smith), Leaf Skeleton Earrings - Gift
 

So with a new job comes a slight change in wardrobe. I've gone from a Retail Salesperson where I got to wear what ever I wanted basically, to a corporate environment where I'm still trying to figure out the dress code.

I've had a thing for long sleeved dresses for awhile. My first was a black one with sequins all over it - the perfect NY's or birthday dress. This one is a recent purchase - I love the pattern, it's a good length & I can layer a singlet & tights under it. The boots were a good find in Melbourne a month ago - not too high & still pretty comfortable after a full day of wearing them.

I'm loving all the leaf-covered things that have been around this Autumn. I actually got given my earrings a couple of years ago but have been wearing them no-stop lately. My scarf was a purchase from my last job & it also has a leaf pattern on the bottom bit.

What have you been wearing all autumn? Or if it's Spring where you are - are you pulling out all your flower-patterned dresses?

Life Lately // The End of Something & New Beginnings

So I had a pretty crappy start to my week. For a start I hit a kitty while driving home from Dunedin to Invercargill. The poor thing had no chance and the plastic cover that sits above my wheel came off too! So I had a little cry on the side of the road & my Dad came and checked my car was ok to drive home. Argh!

On Monday I found out work had dried up on the architectural draughting front and it was time to find a new job. So I've spent the last couple of days handing out my CV all over town. Fingers crossed for good news soon!

Well now I've got the crappy bit out of the way. But there is always a silver lining! (a 'sparkley' lining??) I've been working on my packaging & flavour ideas for my cupcakes. I've been getting a few orders lately so that's been great & I've been getting a bit of pocket money! Today I had a meeting with a guy from the council to talk about what I need to do if I sell cupcakes at markets. He was really friendly and helpful so I'm feeling excited about what I could get up to there! You can check out all my flavour ideas on my Facebook page for Sequin Corner!

I hope you have all had a great week so far, hopefully by next week I will have heard back from a few places about jobs and will possibly have some interviews lined up. Positive thinking is the way to go!

Life Lately // A Concert, Cupcakes & a Vege Shed

I had great fun up in Cromwell for the Winery Tour concert! It rained on us the whole way as we travelled up there, then as we arrived the sun came out and the temperature zoomed up a few degrees! I had a great night eating some AMAZING pizza being sold at the venue plus gluten free cupcakes I made & took with me, drinking a couple of glasses of Olssens Winery Pinot Gris and dancing on my picnic blanket to Gin Wigmore. Man she is amazing live!

On the way home today we stopped in Arrowtown for a pie from the Bakery (they make awesome gourmet pies!) and I dragged my friend to the Remarkables Sweet Shop so I could get some fudge (I convinced her to buy some too!!) Can you see all my trips end up revolving around food?

We also stopped at the Vege Shed in the Athol Valley. The woman running the place was so lovely! I found a super cute cupcake-related necklace which her daughter had made and I had to buy it. She then came and sat outside with me and my friends and we had a great chat about cupcakes, blueberries and her business. She was really supportive of my little cake business and gave me some great tips! It’s so nice meeting people who get all excited about my business idea and offer up tips from their own experience. After we left my brain was going a hundred miles an hour thinking of what my next step could be!

**Photos all from the Vege Shed because I was having too much fun to remember to take photos at other points of the trip...

Today is also February 22^nd here in New Zealand – a year ago today at 12:51pm there was a devastating earthquake in Christchurch, a city 5 hours away from my hometown of Dunedin. 185 people died and the city is still receiving aftershocks and dealing with the cleanup. Although my friends and I missed 12:51pm by 10 minutes – we had our own little 1 minute of silence at 1pm in the car between Arrowtown & Queenstown to remember those who were lost. Kia Kaha Christchurch – Stand strong. 

Outfit Post // Rock 'n' Roll & Concert Ready

Black Cut-out Dress - Jay Jays, Hat - Kmart, Leather Mocs - Windsor Secondhand Store

I’ve been itching to get out of the house at lunch times lately; I’ve been suffering a bit of cabin fever! I’ve been visiting my favourite op shops in Invercargill and picking up some pretty sweet bargains.

Black Cut-out Dress - Jay Jays, Purple Check Scarf - Golden Centre Mall, 

 Leather Mocs - Windsor Secondhand Store

My first find was the jacket below – I managed to time it right as the shop assistant told me it had just been put on the rack that morning. I thought I got a pretty good deal with it only being $18 and in great condition.

My next find was these leather moccasins – I found them in a little shop in Windsor, sitting in the corner of a window display. $6 – and great condition, plus they’re Pulp shoes (carried by Hannahs) so they’re fairly good quality!

Jacket - Savemart, Black cut-out Dress - Jay Jays, Leopard Print Tights - Kmart, Leather Mocs - Windsor Secondhand Store

So this post involves a few slightly different outfits – these are the items I’m packing to take to Cromwell with me tomorrow (when I go to the winery concert) When I pack for a weekend away, I always have a few neutral items which I can mix & match, plus a few coloured pieces. My neutrals are always grey & black, that’s what I have lots of and that’s what I feel comfortable wearing. I usually pick one other colour – usually blue, purple or red. This time I’m going with purple with the scarf & a purple cardigan (which I forgot to photograph!) Whenever I go away I always have a “travelling” outfit, it usually always involves tights, a long t-shirt and floaty cardigan that doubles as a blanket, plus a triangle scarf if it’s cold!

Grey Cardigan - Supre, Black T-shirt - Postie +, Leopard Print Tights - Kmart, Leather Mocs - Windsor Secondhand Store

What I wear to the concert will depend on the weather (the forecast is rain at the moment!) but I’d love to wear the dress and hat and add the tights, scarf & jacket if it gets colder later on. Otherwise it will most likely be tights, cardigan and a rain jacket! (Hopefully not!)

 Here is me being pigeon-toed - I actually stand  like this sometimes, I don't even realise I'm doing it!

I’m looking forward to a little mid-week holiday, listening to some good music and possibly enjoying some sunshine!

Do you have any exciting plans this week? What concerts have you been to lately?