Showing Tag: " alessandra" (Show all posts)

Frances makes ciabatta

Posted by Bake Club on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, In : savoury

I had such success with a loaf of ciabatta this weekend I made another one the day after. The recipe is from Alessandra Zecchini’s Savour (New Holland, 2006). Such an easy recipe and I didn’t even get my hands doughy.

300ml warm water

2 tsp active yeast granules

¼ tsp sugar

300g flour

pinch salt

Place water in bowl with yeast and sugar. After yeast starts to bubble, about 5 mins, add flour and salt and mix into a dough. (It is very sticky and runny so I just use a...

Frances gets into the Xmas spirit – meringue wreaths

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, December 6, 2011, In : sweets

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 ...

Fondant flower-making workshop

Posted by Frances Chan on Sunday, December 4, 2011, In : food blog

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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Frances makes Alessandra’s balsamic onion bread

Posted by Bake Club on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, In : bread

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...

Frances makes Alessandra’s corn loaf

Posted by Bake Club on Saturday, July 9, 2011, In : savoury

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...

Dark chocolate and feijoa cake by Frances

Posted by Bake Club on Monday, May 23, 2011, In : big cakes

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...

Alessandra's cute calissons and fab frittata

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, December 23, 2010, In : small cakes

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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Alessandra's amazing photo shoot - cupcakes and cookies galore!

Posted by Bake Club on Sunday, October 31, 2010, In : food blog

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.

Alessandra's vegan cupcakes with coconut butter

Posted by Bake Club on Thursday, August 12, 2010, In : small cakes

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...