Spiced Apple No-bake Marshmallow Slice

 I used to make a version of this slice with a chocolate base and vanilla marshmallow top when I was about 12. It was the first recipe I ever learned without my mum's help, but I only vaguely remember how that recipe went.

For a more grown-up Halloween treat, I decided to do a bit of a twist on this family favourite.

You'll need 

One 250g packet of spice cookies, I used gluten-free gingernuts, you could alternatively use plain vanilla biscuits and some of your favourite spices

25g Butter substitute

25g Coconut oil

2 Egg whites

180g White sugar

20g Brown sugar

1/2 Cup Apple juice, split in half

1 Tbsp gelatine

Cinnamon sugar (made with powdered sugar)

1/4 tsp Vanilla bean paste

To start off with, whip up a quick no-bake base.

Crush the cookies and melt the coconut oil and butter substitute

Pour the butter into the crushed cookies and mix well, the mixture should form a ball when compressed.

Pour the mixture into a square baking tin lined with baking paper and press down firmly with the back of a spoon to compress

Place the base in the fridge to chill while you make the marshmallow

Mix the gelatin and the first half of the apple juice together and leave to sit at room temperature, it will become fairly firm while you wait

Place the sugars, the other half of the apple juice and the vanilla into a saucepan with a candy thermometer clipped to the side (if you don't have a candy thermometer you are looking for the sugar syrup to reach soft ball stage, when dropped in some ice water, a small amount of the mixture should form a soft ball within a moment)

Slowly heat the mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved, then, bring to the boil until the mixture reaches 120C or the soft ball stage.

Once the sugar has dissolved, start whipping the egg whites, you want them to be at soft peaks by the time your sugar syrup is ready.

Slowly drizzle the sugar syrup into the egg white, still beating the mixture as you go

Microwave the gelatin mixture from earlier for 15 seconds or until it has melted and add that too.

If you're wanting the slimy Halloween look, add a little bit of leaf green food colouring at this stage as well.

Continue beating on a medium speed until the mixture has cooled significantly but is still warm to the touch. Pour the marshmallow onto the prepared base and chill for 2-3 hours or until completely set.

Once the marshmallow has set, remove from the pan and cut with a sharp, lightly oiled knife into 12-16 slices. You could then either sprinkle over the cinnamon/powdered sugar mixture or to get these creepy spiders, I simply used a stencil, oiled lightly on the back to stop it sticking and sprinkled the sugar through that.

Enjoy :)

Wedding Cake Tasting - Day Three: Decorating

If you haven't seen the first to posts in this series, read them first. Day One here and Day Two here

So prepare for the photo loaded post, just a reminder, these are the photos the bride took on her cell phone because I lost all mine, so apologies for the weird framing (these were reference pics to help her decide on the design she wanted), under each design, I'll give a quick description of how I did each one.

Wedding Cake Tasting - Day Two: Fillings, Ganache and Dairy Free White Modelling Chocolate

If you haven't read part one, check that out here first

The fillings for the cakes were just Dairy-Free Swiss Meringue Buttercream with amped-up flavours. At the end of this post I will let you know which flavours the bride ended up choosing.

The bride really likes my Swiss-Meringue buttercream and originally wanted cupcakes topped with it, however, those of you who have transported this recipe will know, it doesn't handle the heat of the inside of the car on a hot summer afternoon. With the wedding being in late January (right in the middle of summer here in NZ) I can't risk showing up with a plate of melted mess.

The best compromise we could come up with was mini cakes with the buttercream as a filling instead of a topping, that way it wouldn't get direct sunlight and be ruined.

The cakes were filled with a swiss-meringue filling, dammed with chocolate ganache and covered in dairy-free modelling chocolate or royal icing

Wedding Cake Tasting - Day One: The Cakes

Why hello again, it's been a while, and for that I am profoundly sorry.

Apparently step one of doing a wedding cake tasting is take a bunch of pictures of the cakes you made and then, while you transfer said pictures to your computer your cat jumps up on to the keyboard and presses something, I don't know what, and deletes EVERYTHING. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

Luckily, the bride had some trouble making up her mind about the decorations she wanted so there will be photos! (Thank goodness)

Individual Vegan Chocolate and Custard Tarts

I was experimenting the other day with condensed milk substitutes for making creamy caramel, this one certainly doesn't make caramel, it thickens far too quickly however once it had cooled it had the exact same flavour and texture that I remember from custard squares.

I don't know about other people but in our house a single custard square was always accompanied by a single sally lunn and a couple of chocolate eclairs all cut up into little pieces and shared between family after a couple of sausage rolls and a pizza bread also cut up into little pieces on sunny Sunday afternoons.

Gluten and Dairy Free Ice-cream Sundae Cups

Summer is coming!
I almost can't believe it, the sun made me want to go to the beach instead of to work. So in honour of more sunny days to come try this quick and easy homemade ice-cream sundae in an edible chocolate cup

Pause? Maybe

Hi guys.

Just a quick update this week letting you know my regular Sunday posting schedule might be a little bit erratic over the next 3 or 4 weeks as I am performing in "Curtains" the musical while having a full time job and also studying so yeah. Come see it if you're in the area

Thanks :)