Áras an Uachtaráin

Apologies for the major hiatus this month. You would think that finishing my Master's thesis (and college altogether) would bring some serenity but every day this month has been jam-packed! I've been to Northern Ireland for a residential camp, I've had job interviews, presented a paper based on my thesis at the International Committee of the Red Cross annual conference, and oh, I just visited the President, as you do... 

Since I was a member of Team Ireland at the First Aid Convention of Europe last summer, I was invited to attend a reception at Áras an Uachtaráin. (This also entailed wearing a not-so-flattering uniform, you've been warned!)

What exactly do you eat at the Áras? Well to start with a mini-pint of Guinness, a glass of wine, or orange juice cleanses the palette before aperitifs. The savoury nibbles were delicately assembled from bruscetta to miniature cones filled with pesto and olives to curry marinaded chicken on skewers. Everything was painstakingly arranged and presented on an artist's easel (very cute!)

I'll be honest, I didn't have many aperitifs- there were desserts to be had!Miniature scones were stuffed with clotted cream and a sheath of raspberry- afternoon tea at it's best!

Wafer-thin vanilla pod speckled shortbread was cut into leaf shapes. Wow! Definitely the best shortbread I have ever tasted!! It was so delicate but packed a serious punch- sublime!

My personal favourite had to be the teeny chocolate cups, piped full of chocoalte mousse, sprinkled with glittered lustre dust. So intricate and decadent!

Obviously tea was had (it is Ireland after all) in pristine fine bone China cups with the Irish Harp gilt on the edge, also emblazoned upon the napkins.

Here's a great shot with my sister and President Michael D. Higgins!

Cadbury's Mallows with Turkish

My dad is a huge fan of Turkish Delight! He's not much of a chocolate-lover but can always make room for some Turkish! I love the Cadbury's bar too, it always reminds me of Willy Wonka for some reason- how does the jelly not melt? ;) We're also fans of teacakes in our house, second to Turkish Delight Jacobs' Chocolate Kimberleys often appeared at Christmas or Father's Day.

When I saw this new product I knew I had to try it out!

Unfortunately it's not actual Turkish Delight in the teacake but a 'flavoured jam'- disappointing I'm sure you'll agree! The chocolate-flavoured biscuit was a little too chocolatey for my taste, but the marshmallow and Cadbury's chocolate coating was delicious! 

Everyone seemed to like these, but I still have a hankering for the plain Jane Milka Melo-Cakes!

Have you tried the Cadbury's Mallows with Turkish yet? Let me know in the comments box below! 

Stay sweet! x

Scottish Haul

You may have seen my post on Biscoff or Lotus Spread a while back? In my excitement to feature the glorious spread I failed to mention all of the other goodies my family brought back from Scotland. I've been so busy with my Master's thesis I haven't had a chance to test many of these out but I'll update this when I have a proper review for you all.

In an attempt to lessen the damage to our health, they picked up Natural Red Food Colouring. In my book, anything that can make baking a little easier on the body is a good thing! Find this in Morrison's. 

I love these pastel icing pens. I've used my primary coloured Dr. Oetker ones to death, as you probably realised here and here! There's a beautiful pale pink shade that's so unusual and would be great for a princess themed event. Again, find these in Morrison's.

Sainsbury's loaf liners are a god-send! Instead of greasing a tin or fiddling with baking parchment snipping the corners so it will sink into a loaf tin, whip out one of these bad boys! Exactly like a cupcake liner they are perfect for all loaves... In particular banana bread.

"Cake Angels" sprinkles is a fab pack. Not only are there chocolate jimmies and chocolate-flavoured sprinkles the pack also contains milk chocolate and white chocolate chips. The latter of which are impossible to source in Ireland! As you probably figured when I substituted them here. These ones are from Morrison's but check out the Sainsbury's selection!

Paterson's Shortbread wasn't used for any fancy recipe... My apologies! Thesis stress meant it could only be used for one purpose- comfort food. Shortbread is one of my all-time favourite biscuits and I'm too intimidated to attempt to make it myself... Mostly because my thighs will explode if I find a great recipe! ;) This brand was delicious but not as good as my favourite airplane cookie- Campbell's Shortbread.

Have you found any great products abroad that you wish you could find at home? Let me know in the comments box below!

Stay sweet! x

Something a Little Different....

This week I'm going to try something a little different. Aside from baking, I love finding new products or tasting delicious food locally! Prepare yourself for some hauls, like this one last Christmas... Don't worry I have some great autumnal recipes coming soon! ;)

I love Disney- movies and merchandise, but especially treats! I've never been to Disneyland (it's on my bucket list!) but I love the idea of bringing a piece of fantasy into food.

This new magazine series from EagleMoss is just the thing for sugarcraft Disney aficionados. The magazine itself is well-written, has great content that is suitable for both kids and adults and bonus points, each week you get great kitchen gear! This Mickey Mouse Cookie Cutter and Embosser would be great for presents and a little red lustre dust over these Winnie the Pooh stencils would instantly breathe magic into simple cupcakes.

The equipment seems to be great quality and the products to come with the next few issues look fab (even if some of them would be easily made at home, such as the cupcake and cake surrounds).

Personally, I think I would be inclined to purchase an issue if the freebie was reusable as although the recipes are great that could be due to clever branding such as "Bullseye's Brownies" and "Minnie's Chocolate Crunch". With so many recipes online at the moment, quality becomes paramount when it comes to cookbooks so many would probably prefer a Disney cookbook rather than a magazine series- however kids will probably go crazy for this series!

What about you? Have you purchased the magazine? What are your thoughts on the idea?

Stay sweet! x

Creator of After Eight Mints Passes Away

It's funny how you never relate chocolate to its creator- unless it's a well marketed artisan product or bought at a farmer's market. The Lindt Choclatiers ad  definitely raised the profile of the truffles, but the floppy gild-embroidery hats definitely conjure up images of luxury.

Today I read that Brian Sollit, the man behind not only After Eight mints, but also the Yorkie bar (another favourite of mine, even though 'IT'S NOT FOR GIRLS!'), the Lion Bar and Matchsticks. His first job in the factory, at age fifteen  was piping Black Magic chocolates (which I also love!) This article is a great account of the man's life and he really seems like a man everyone would wish to know.

Another article speaks of childhood memories of After Eight mints. I know I was always a huge fan! Even to this day I tear both sides of the envelopes carefully so I won't rip the flimsy tissue paper to get a flat rectangle of dark tissue. I love folding up the wrapper to make some poor oragami too... At the risk of sounding like a fetish, I love the peppermint scent on those dark papers.Yum yum yum! I love the textured top of the mint, compared to the precise branded bottom. This treat has everything you could wish for!

For St. Patrick's Day I featured my After Eight Cupcakes, so in honour of Brian Sollit, here they are again.

Sunflower Cake

It was my mom's birthday a few weeks ago and instead of the usual buttercream icing and HAPPY BIRTHDAY scrawled with an unsteady hand I wanted to create something a little more special than my previous cakes...
This sunflower cake was the answer! 

It looks complicated but really, it was tedious moreso than difficult. I've broken it down into the different elements below so you can re-create the look yourself.

1. Covering the cake

After crumb coating the cake (covering with a thin layer of buttercream) I allowed it to stand. I then rolled out white fondant and covered the cake.

    2. The Petals

I rolled out yellow fondant and used a large tumbler and a champagne flute to cut a large circle and a smaller one within the first. I removed the smaller circle and using an ordinary table knife cut out the petals freehand. (I'm sure there's an easier way of doing this, but it worked for me!) I did this twice so I would have loads of petals at my disposal.

The petals should be shaped like the image below [which I found on Google Images, credit to owner] so if you have a shaky hand you could use this as a template.

    3. The Stamen (Middle)

For this, I used the tumbler to cut a disc from rolled brown (chocolate flavoured!) fondant. I poked holes in it with a flower tool I had, but a toothpick/cocktail stick would work just as well. This added some texture to the stamen.

   4. The Grass

I rolled some green fondant and cut out a long rectangle. I then cut a zig-zag line down the middle of the rectangle, without cutting through the rectangle outline. I separated these and voila, two strips of grass!

Adhering these pieces was easy, I just dabbed some buttercream onto the cake. I placed all of the petals in a circle (overlapping some to add texture) and placed the stamen in the centre.

To make the cake shine I took a pastry brush and rubbed some vodka over the different elements. As always, I finished the cake by piping "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" with gold piping gel from International Home of Cooking in Brussels.

I hope you enjoyed going behind the scenes in my latest foray into the world of fondant! Apologies for the lack of photos, I was under pressure to produce this! ;) But was it tasty? What do you think?...

Fancy hosting a sunflower-themed party? This fab dessert table will definitely inspire you!

I guess this cake is really a last hurrah of summer. Today for the pulsating All-Ireland Hurling Final I made a lovely Autumn cake that I'll share with you soon... Just in time for the replay! REBELS ABU!!! (For the non-Irish check this out!)

Stay sweet! x

Thin Mints

If you thought the Week of Cookies had already peaked with homemade Oreos, take a look at these beauts!

I was always mystified by these American Girl Scout cookies so I took the plunge and baked some up! Think of an After Eight mint, in cookie form. *salivates* These are decadent, and reminiscent of the After Eight Cupcakes I featured here for St. Patrick's Day!

The best part is these are made with cookies, left over from yesterday's post sans buttercream. 

I got this chocolate in ALDI for 89c if I remember correctly? It's fab! Great for melting down, tastes amazing and not overtly bitter like some high cocoa chocolate!

Some recipes advised using a fork to dip the cookies into chocolate (by resting on the fork like rice, not spearing the cookies) but I found it easier to dip one cookie in, slather it up and rub off the excess chocolate onto another cookie! Messy and yummy! Definitely fun to do with kids!

All you need is... 
Single homemade Oreo cookies *without buttercream*
1 bar of 74% cocoa solids chocolate
Peppermint essence

1. Melt chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, stirring often (or over a double boiler if you prefer).
2. Add in 1/4tsp peppermint essence, stir, taste.
3. Add in more peppermint if you wish. *Be careful!! This is deceivingly potent!*
4. Dip in your cookies, covering with chocolate on both sides and allow to dry on wax paper.
5. Enjoy!

So, that's the end of the Week of Cookies here on Milis! I can't wait to do something similar next year! Again, if you missed any posts you can find the link below.

• Week of Cookies featuring tips, Nutella Pillow Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Nutella 3 Ingredient Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies.
• Jammy Dodger Hearts
• Vanilla Chocolate Swirl Cookies
• Scrumptious Oat-Rolled Cookies
• Marshmallow Malteser Cookies
• Ory's Oreos

Which are your favourites? Let me know in the comments box! :) 

Stay sweet! x