Oh how I love frills

I will be trying this Lisa Brown dress on this weekend. Fingers crossed it suits me. It is from her Free Spirit 2010/11 Collection.

It is made with silk cotton which is my favourite fabric. So versatile and wearable to my school and kindy drop offs and pick ups! So justifiable! And I may just wear a red flower in my hair or pin a red flower brooch somewhere. So if you see me prancing round in this number, be sure to say Hi!

More Red and More Frills

I found these photos on dustjacket attic .




These are a couple of photos from an editorial for Vogue Germany Dec 08 entitled "Wie Germalt".
Photographer - Alexi Lubomirski
Fashion editor - Christiane Arp
Model - Julia Stegner.

Click on the link above to view the rest of the photos in the editorial.

Red and Frills

Valentino. Who else?
Net-a-porter

Inspiration Thursday - Red

I am having a Red moment. It may be in preparation for the Valentino exhibition.
I have had this picture forever. How beautiful is this dress? It is a design by a very young Roland Mouret.
Red and Frills.

Carrot Cookie Sandwiches with Feathers, Frills and Pearls

These are absolutely delicious even without the filling and very easy to make.

I found the recipe in a Winter Coles magazine but I believe it is a copy from a Martha Stewart cookbook.



Ingredients

* 250 g butter room temperature
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1 tsp vanilla essence
* 2 cups plain flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp nutmeg
* 1 1/2 cups carrot finely grated
* 1 cup rolled oats
* 1 cup sultanas
* 2 eggs

Filling

* 250 g spreadable cream cheese
* 1/2 cup pure icing sugar
* 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Using electric beaters, beat butter, brown sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Sift dry ingredients over butter mixture and gently fold together until combined. Add carrot, oats and sultanas and mix well. Cover and chill for 1 hr until firm.
2. Preheat oven to 180 °C or 160 °C fan. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
3. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls. Place on prepared trays allowing room for spreading. Flatten slightly with a spatula. Bake for 15 mins until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
4. Make Filling: using an electric mixer, beat all ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth. Spread filling onto half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Feather Jewelled Collar

I picked up one of my new feather collars at the end of last week.
This is how it started.
Because the feathers are so long it turned out to be a half collar half cape.
It is very similar to the other one but there are some differences. Not only is it smaller to fit snugly round the neck but there is no black and white spot feather trim and I have added a torquoise frill.

Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce

I recently made these Profiteroles with chocolate sauce
from the Real Living Magazine July 2010 Issue.


I made my own custard (with custard powder) as I don't like the store bought variety.

Sooooooo easy and just DELICIOUS. One of my favourites!

INGREDIENTS

Makes 24
Prep time 30 mins
Cooking time 35 mins
Resting time 10 mins

Choux pastry
75g butter, chopped
½ cup water
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp caster sugar
Pinch salt
¾ cup plain flour, sieved
3 eggs

Chocolate sauce
75g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped roughly
½ cup cream
½ tbsp butter

Pastry cream
300ml thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1½ cups packaged thick custard

METHOD

1. Make profiteroles Preheat oven to 210°C (190°C fan-forced). Line baking tray with baking paper.


2. In saucepan over medium heat, bring butter, water, milk, sugar and salt to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 min until dough comes away from sides of pan. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.


3. Using wooden spoon, beat eggs into dough mix one at a time, ensuring the first is fully incorporated before adding the next. Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 1cm nozzle and pipe onto lined tray in 3cm balls, leaving a few centimeters between each ball to allow them to puff. Wet your finger with water and gently press down peaks of each profiterole for a rounder result.


4. Bake for 25 mins, turn oven off and allow to rest for 10 mins or until golden, puffed and cooked through. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Poke a hole in base of each profiterole big enough to accommodate 3mm piping bag nozzle. Profiteroles can be prepared to this stage a day ahead before cooling completely and storing overnight in airtight container. Simply heat them in 200°C oven (180°C fan-forced) for 3 mins to slightly re-crisp outside just before filling with pastry cream.


5. Make chocolate sauce In small saucepan over low heat combine chocolate, cream and butter. Heat for 5 mins, stirring continuously until chocolate is melted and sauce is combined. Remove from heat and set aside. This can also be prepared a day ahead up to this point, and covered and refrigerated. When ready to serve, gently reheat over low heat until warm and glossy.


6. Make pastry cream In bowl place thickened cream and vanilla and beat until thickened. Add custard and beat to just combine. Spoon into piping bag fitted with 3mm nozzle.


7. Fill each profiterole with pastry cream through hole made earlier. Place 4 profiteroles on each serving plate and drizzle with warm chocolate sauce. Serve. Bon appétit!