At one of my jobs they like to decorate their offices with Christmas decorations. This is mainly because there’s a decorating competition at ACP Media and prizes to be won. Anyway, my contribution was these meringue wreaths from Alessandra Zecchini and Arantxa Zecchini Dowling’s book Party Food for Girls.

She says the recipe contains lots of sugar as the meringues are designed to be long-lasting Xmas decorations. They will keep for weeks. I haven’t done much icing in ...

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Really enjoyed making these fondant flowers at a Slow Food Waitakere event hosted by Alessandra Zecchini at her lovely Oratia home on 22 Nov. Only 5 of us altogether but we had a great time chatting away and learning new skills with icing. My first attempts were the big yellow and pink roses, then we fine-tuned our petals till we could make mini versions. Then Alessandra showed us how to make real teeny flower buds and leaves, which look great as a trio.
Yellow and white fondant is available f...
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This made a yummy half-time snack during the All Blacks’ whipping of the Wallabies in the RWC semifinal (20-6)!

It comes from Alessandra Zecchini’s book Savour.

Dough
250 ml warm water
2 1/2 tsp active yeast granules
1/4 tsp sugar
500 g high-grade flour
pinch salt

Filling
1 med red onion
20 g butter
pinch salt
1 tsp Aceto Balsamic di Modena (aged 12 yrs, if you have it)
1 tsp sugar (to add if you are not using real balsamico)

Put warm water, yeast and sugar in large bowl, and set as...

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Congratulations Alessandra and Arantxa on your beautiful new book, Party Food for Girls! I was most delighted to attend the launch on the top floor of Lopdell House in Titirangi on Thursday. What a sight to enter the room and see a central table laden with expertly baked and decorated treats as featured in the book.




There were also tray and trays of delicious and healthy savoury snacks doing the rounds - corn chips and salsa, rice balls with Japanese herbs, crostini with hummus, tomatoes and ...
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Alessandra does a corn loaf with sultanas in her book Savour. I did a savoury version with cheese and gluten-free flour. Turned out to be a good firm loaf that cut easily. The slices toasted well too.

 

250ml warm water
2 tsp active yeast granules
¼ tsp sugar
200g flour (I used gluten-free mix)
100g fine ground cornmeal
pinch salt
1 c grated cheese

Place warm water in large bowl, add yeast and sugar and set aside. When yeast starts to bubble, add cornmeal, flour and salt...

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This is my attempt at Alessandra Zecchini's chocolate and fig cake. She used fresh figs, which looked beautiful and pinky, but I didn't have any on hand. The feijoas aren't so aesthetically pleasing but it still tasted good; the tart feijoa contrasts well with the chocolate.

250 g bar of Whittaker's Dark Ghana Chocolate
100 g butter
3 eggs, whites beaten into stiff peaks
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
3 tbs self raising flour
10 feijoas peeled and cut in half

Melt chocolat...

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We were very lucky to have pro chef and food writer Alessandra and her family join us at our second Bake Club meet. She made gorgeous calissons (marzipan-like ground almond bites), petit fours (sponge dipped in chocolate, topped with raspberries) and a super soft spongey frittata with homegrown zucchini and zucchini flowers. Step-by-step pics and more info on her blog here. Yep, she definitely deserved her Bake Club badge!
Bake Club is going through a gluten free phase at the moment so we real...
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Bake Club was very excited to go along to a photo shoot for Alessandra Zecchini's new book. We cannot reveal the name or any recipes but look at some of her colourful creations! What inspirational baking and icing skills. We'll let you know when the book is published.








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Alessandra was inspired to make these cupcakes when she was given a jar of delicious coconut butter.

150 ml melted coconut butter

100 g raw cane sugar
 200 g self-rising flour

150 ml water

few drops of pure vanilla essence

Cherry jam

Using an electric beater mix the still warm and melted coconut butter with the sugar, then add the self rising flour and water, making sure that you don't get any lumps. Finally add a few drops of vanilla and divide the batter into 12 cupcake cases. Top each cupcake wit...

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