waste not want not.............

Last weekend I had another recipe in the Sydney Saturday Daily Telegraph

here it is below for anyone that missed out

Xx Siobhan Rogers

This has been my latest mum mantra in our house, The amount of waste my kids create is unbearable so I have had a crack down lately. Its not just the grocery money but the waste of our resources and the effort that goes into producing.

I always seem to have stale bread.

One of the best uses for my stale bread (other than bread crumbs) is little individual bread and butter puddings.

They are very slap bang together, the kids love making them and more importantly eating them.

You can fancy them up with custard or icecream or just eat them warm with a cup of tea.

Use any bread you like, seeded, wholemeal, sourdough, brioche, crossants – any bread will work.

For Easter I like to use Italian Panatone or hot cross buns.

For this batch I used

½ a stale white bread bagette and two Italian rock hard crunchy bread rolls cut into slices and butter for spreading onto the bread

Wet Mix

mix all of this together in a bowl and let it sit for 5 or more minutes

600ml poring cream

½ cup caster sugar

1 vanilla bean cut in half and seeds scraped

5 eggs lightly beaten

pour the wet mix into the bowl of stale bread.

Let it sit until all the liquid is soaked into the bread, add in the chocolate chips.

Line your individual tins and spoon in your bread mixture half way, then dollop a little jam and continue adding the bread mixture until the tins are full.

Leave the tins full of the wet bread mixture to sit for a little and let the batter settle.

At this stage you could refrigerate until you are ready to bake them - you could prepare to this stage a day ahead if you wanted.

Bake in a medium oven 180c fan forced for 30/40 minutes or until golden on top and set.

They are best eaten fresh ! and warm from the oven.

Recipe Ingredients

For this batch I used

½ a stale white bread bagette and two Italian rock hard crunchy bread rolls cut into slices

butter for spreading onto bread

Strawberry jam

Dark Chocolate chips

Wet Mix

mix all of this together in a bowl and let it sit for 5 or more minutes

600ml poring cream

½ cup caster sugar

1 vanilla bean cut in half and seeds scraped

5 eggs lightly beaten

spread a little butter onto the bread slices on one side and place the buttered bread into the wet mix

Let the bread and wet mix sit for at least an hour and mix it up every now and then to make sure all the bread is soaking up the cream and egg mixture.

Mix in the chocolate chips to the bread mix

Once the bread has soaked up all the liquid, line some patty cake cases with baking paper, I used two different shaped pans – you can use anything.

Using a spoon - spoon in the bread mix to your individual tins, filling half way. Add in a little spoonful of jam and continue to spoon in the bread mix until the tin is full. Let the mixture sit for 10/15 minutes to settle.

Set the oven to 180c fan forced oven and bake for 30- 40 minutes or until golden on top and the mixture looks set.

The individual puddings are lovely warm or cold and a lovely treat.

Instead of Choc chips and Jam you could use sultanas, add a little orange zest or use fresh fruit in season such as fresh Figs or Raspberries.

Happy Cake Day

Hi All 

Here is the Recipe from the Sydney - saturday Daily Telegraph

Chocolate Sponge layer cake

An impressive layer cake to serve up at any occasion!

The chocolate sponge is a good go to recipe for kids to make, its simple and light and great for any occasion. 

I used fresh cream and burnt salted caramel for the filling as it’s the kids favourite at the moment. 

Anything can be used for the filling like jam with fresh cream, nutella with fresh cream or even a butter cream icing. 

The choices are endless. For the outside I have used a swiss meringue because it is very forgiving when you are trying to ice the outside of a big cake and perfect when kids are decorating. My miss 8 who is by no means a cooking oficionado (I promise she really isn’t) decorated this cake, again you could do a butter cream icing.

*Chocolate Sponge Cake with burnt salted caramel and fresh whipped cream in the middle and Swiss meringue on the outside.

Ingredients and Directions

Chocolate Sponge

4 eggs

1 cup of caster sugar

30g butter

3 tablespoons of cocoa

4 tablespoons of boiling water

1 ¼ cups of self raising flour

Grease and line two 8 inch round high sided cake tins.

Set oven to 150c fan forced

Beat eggs together in your electric mixer, gradually adding sugar beat until pale and fluffy and sugar has dissolved.

In a separate bowl put the cocoa, butter and boiling water together, mix until a chocolate smooth paste forms.

Fold the chocolate paste into the egg mixture.

Sift flour into the wet mix and fold until combined – try not to over mix as all the air will come out.

Divide the mixture evenly between the two cake tins and bake for 30-35minutes.

The sponge is cooked when it springs back after lightly touching.

Remove from the tins and let them cool on a wire rack.

300ml Thickened Cream

Beat cream

Burnt Salted Caramel

*this is an adult step as the caramel is extremely hot

2 cups of white sugar

200grams Butter cut into cubes

1 cup of thickened cream

1 tablespoon sea salt flakes or to taste

Pour the sugar into a heavy based saucepan and cook on medium heat until the sugar starts to melt, use a small whisk to mix the hot sugar in the pan so that it cooks evenly.

Continue cooking until the caramel reaches a temperature of about 175c or until it is a deep amber colour, at this point it can burn very quickly.

When the caramel is the right colour and just before it is burnt take it off the heat and add in the butter whisking till the butter melts. Add in the cream and whisk till all combine.

Let the caramel cool in the pan and then pour into jars or bowls, let it cool to room temperature and the refridgerate until needed.

Swiss Meringue

10 egg whites

2 ½ cups caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

use the bowl of your electric mixer and place the egg whites and sugar in it, place the mixing bowl over a pan with water in it (double boiler) and slowly whisk the eggs until they reach a *temperature of  70c

*this cooks the eggs whites and also makes the meringue stable

Once the mixture is hot enough put it into the mixer and beat the egg whites until they are cool – around 10/15 minutes. Put the swiss meringue aside until you are ready to use it.

Cake assembly

Find a flat plate that will fit the cake and place the bottom of the cake on the plate, I put my cake down with the flat side up (Its up to you and makes no real difference).

Spread the burnt salted caramel (or flavour of your choice) onto the cake and then top that with the fresh whipped cream, drizzle more of the caramel on top of the cream.

Place the other cake on top and double check that it looks level – it doesn’t have to be perfect, you just don’t want it to be the leaning tower of Pisa and the top slide off.

Meringue Icing

I use a palette knife when decorating cakes but anything flat will do like a spatula.

Do the sides first and then the top, make swirls or flatten to your desired effect and try not to eat to much as you go…

Let me know how you go and enjoy 

Siobhan Rogers Xx

my new book due in store April 2015

available at most bookstores

see my previous post for links 

and what !?

One thing at a time ! Thats what I keep telling myself, I am only one person and only have two hands!

Trying to start up something on your own entails a fair share of blood sweat and tears. 

I spent the first half of last year finishing off my book manuscript and projects to hand into my editor, Its hard to believe this time last year I was knee deep in 22 quilts and pattern writing.....

and

Now its available for pre order !!!

I did a quick google and these are all in the first page search

AMAZON  US based Store

Book Depository UK based Store

Interweave Store US based Store

Page after Page NC, USA

Booktopia Australia

Angus & Robertson Australia

Kinokuniya Australia

Can Do Books Australia

The Australian distributor is
Capricorn Link

Please let me know if you have seen it somewhere else! 

If you would like your local shop or Book store to stock my book - ask them to get it in :) 

The second half of the year was dedicated to setting up my website

siobhanrogers.com.au

I wanted a space where everything was in one spot. The blog, contact info, My Media work, workshops, exhibitions (coming soon), The book and of course my shop for patterns quilts etc.

Id love to know what you think of it.

I also had the opportunity to create projects, style, photograph and write for local Sydney paper The Daily Telegraph. Below are some of the stories I created.

Then later in the year 2014 -  just when I thought I would get into blogging again, I was commissioned for a few more magazine stories............. Some exciting (for me!) Magazines with my projects coming out through out this year 

Let me know how you go with the pre orders of my book! 

and If you know or see another retailer that has it in stock or will be getting it in - Let me know and I will eventually get a stockists list together !

Siobhan Rogers Xx

and then I did this

Gosh forgive my tardy-ness

The last year on the blog has been scant to say the least.

I have spent the last 18 months working on a book with Interweave - Its due in stores April 2015 in the US

which is very exciting.

I have also done a fair bit of magazine work which you will see over the next 6 months and another job for Spotlight Australia - due Oct in store.

Teaching patchwork classes

 Launching my website

siobhanrogers.com.au

 writing some stories for the Saturday Daily Telegraph in Sydney

and running my household..... 

 here is the story I did last week (Saturday 13th Sept 2015) for the Daily Telegraph.

I have a few things to blog/ update you all with...... 

and if your after a daily dose of colour and what I am up to??? 

I am on Facebook

and 

Instagram

Xx Siobhan