{Happy Anniversary!} Blueberry and Nectarine Pie

I'm back from my amazing adventure around Sweden and Norway and will be sharing all of that with you in a few posts! After so long out of the kitchen I was excited to get baking again.

Today is a very special day. On this day 35 years ago, two amazing people got married. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! You have always been loving and supportive parents. It is so inspirational to see a love like yours going strong after all these years and three children.

{My Favourite Breakfast} Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

As we near the end of February, I'm finding it harder and harder to keep on that healthy eating band wagon. Mostly it's because the healthy food isn't quite as exciting as a beautiful piece of, say, Snicker's Chocolate Cake or Milo cupcakes with condensed milk icing...mmm...oh yes!

{Happy Valentine's Day} Red Velvet Tower

Happy Valentine's day to all of you out there! My third and last post of this year's Valentine's series is a red velvet tower. This red velvet cake is extra chocolatey with a whole half cup of cocoa powder. That's exactly what you need on Valentine's Day: something red and chocolatey and delicious!

{Valentine's Day} Macarons with Marshmallow Buttercream Filling

Welcome to the second post of my Valentine's series; last week I shared a recipe for delicious dark chocolate cupcakes with a berry buttercream. This week I decided to take on the dreaded macaron! I have made macarons successfully before, and had a bit less luck this time around. Macarons are known for being particularly finicky little treats. Too much moisture, not enough moisture, oven too hot, oven too cold, overmix batter or undermix batter and these biscuit flop completely. I made a relatively large number of these before I turned out with some that I was willing to photograph.

The key to remember here, is that even the flop ones taste good sandwiched together. Most importantly of all: remember to have fun as you go along!

I used the macaron recipe from Brave Tart; Stella also gives tons of tips about macarons. The marshmallow buttercream is from i am baker. I used both recipes as is.

{I Love You Berry Much} Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Berry Buttercream

With less than two weeks to go until Valentine's Day, I am sure many of you are looking for ideas on celebrating the day. Last week I talked about our romantic getaway at Hillsnek Safaris. This week I'm going to give you  the first of three ideas to win your way into your partners stomach with food. The best way to go as far as I'm concerned!

{Romantic Getaway} Hillsnek Safaris

We were lucky enough to spend two nights at the amazing Hillsnek Safaris in the middle of December. From the moment we arrived there we two things that we knew without a doubt: 1) we were in for a really special few days and 2) we were not going to be hungry, no matter how hard we tried! I did my best to narrow down the number of photos I used, but it was tough!

They advise that you arrive around lunch time, however we got a bit lost on the way and arrived around three. Make sure you check the directions before you leave and don't rely on their mobile site! We were just in time to make the afternoon game drive, but as we had been in the car for around seven hours that day, we decided to skip the drive and spend some time relaxing around the pool. We were treated to a delicious high tea with home made iced tea and lemonade.

{A New Favourite} Lemon Curd

I was introduced to lemon curd on a recent trip to Hillsnek safaris (read more about that here!) . I never thought my favourite tastes would venture far from chocolate. I strongly believe that fruit salad is not a dessert, it's a breakfast! So I never thought a fruity dessert would leave such a mark on my tastebuds. But helloooo lemon curd!

{Holding on to Summer} Angel Food Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

I was shocked this week to walk into the shops and find that in a matter of a week, all the New Year's and Christmas decorations have been replaced by hearts and cupid. We're not even half way through January! I feel like capitalism is wishing my life away. Valentine's Day means we're creeping toward the end of summer and I refuse to let go of summer and these beautiful summer sunsets just yet!

Don't worry, there'll be love and Valentine's Day inspiration on this page. Just not today. Not yet. So today I'm sharing with you a perfect summer cake. The cake is so light and fluffy it's like eating air! And even better there's no butter in it, so you can eat it and stick to those New Year's resolutions. You'll just need to replace the buttercream and lemon curd with some fresh berries.

{New Year's Resolution} Skinny Choc Chip Peanut Butter Muffins

Happy New Year bakers! I know that 2014 is going to be an exciting year for us all. I have lots of things lined up for the blog, including a new home for LiveDreamBake! I've been working on it for months now and am very excited to share it with you! Make sure you're subscribed to the mailing list so you don't miss any updates.

Along with a new year come lots of new year's resolutions. Generally these have to do with being healthier in some way. I thought I'd share with you a recipe to help you on this front. These muffins are one of my go-to post gym snacks. I adapted the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. They're light and fluffy and have only a very subtle banana taste. They're also so easy to make you don't even need a mixer!

{Happy New Year} 2013 in Review

As this year draws to an end, I find myself reflecting on the year that has been. I am sure many of you are finding yourselves in the same position. For me it has been a busy year and a bit of a wild roller coaster. now I'm not going to focus on the doom and gloom parts of my year, except to say that those parts are the parts that we learn the most from. So it's important to take some time to look back on the hard times and even failures to see what we can learn from them.

In January of this year I started my little baking blog. It's so exiting to look back at my first posts and see how much I've grown over the year: in baking, photography and writing. I also have a stronger sense of the type of baking that really brings me joy: creating delicious cakes and watch the way they light up the faces of the people I share them with.

Ok, enough of the soppy, deep stuff. Let's get into the cake! Here are some of my favourite baked goods over the last year.


January: Naughty Nautical Cupcakes
These I baked for a themed bachelorette party. I was so happy with how all the toppers turned out!

{Christmas Eve} Dark Chocolate Truffle Gingerbread Cupcakes with Chocolate Bourbon Buttercream

This is my second Christmas post for the year. If you missed it, make sure you try out this home-made eggnog recipe I posted yesterday; I am an eggnog convert! These are seriously the most decadent and delicious cupcakes. They’re perfect for the Christmas season, but I can’t say I’ll be able to hold out and only have these once a year! A delicious gingerbread cupcake with a Lint dark chocolate truffle filling and a chocolate Bourbon buttercream. I mean, come on!

{Getting in the Christmas Mood} Eggnog

I've been somewhat MIA for the last few months. Aside from things just being crazy busy in general, I've also been working on a really exciting project that I will be sharing with you all in January. Keep your eyes peeled for more developments!

Due to the general craziness and of course the very sad passing of a man who has been monumental in recent South African history, the Christmas spirit has somewhat eluded me this year. With only a few short days left to go until the big day, however, I am determined to rectify this! I even went today and stocked up on tinsel, candy canes and all sorts of Christmassy items.

Starting now, with eggnog. Eggnog isn't as much of a thing in South Africa as it is in the States: we don't get eggnog in the stores and most of the people I've spoken to have never tried it. For years I've been curious about this drink that seems to be the centrepiece of the American Christmas festivities. Michelle of Brown Eyed Baker recently posted a recipe for old-fashioned eggnog and it's been on my mind ever since then. Subsequently a number of other recipes have been popping up. So now I HAVE to try it. This is the year.

{Remembering Mandela} Rainbow Cake

On 5 December 2013 South Africa lost one of the greatest leaders of our time. Nelson Mandela was a man who forever changed the course of South African history and was a true South African hero. He, like many of his time, lived through such terrible times and endured so much, but came out of it a better man. Madiba did not have any hatred for the people who had put him through so much; after leaving Robben Island he said: "As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison". 

(Photo from Liberty Voice)

Happy Thanksgiving! Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies

In South Africa, we don't celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. However I really like the concept of taking one day off to appreciate all the amazing things we have in our lives. Although things may not always be perfect, that doesn't mean we should lose sight of the great people around us and special things happening in our lives.

I found this quote online, that I believe is from Gerard Way:

What are you thankful for in your life? I would love to hear!

Ok, so enough with all the deep stuff. For the last month or so the bloggosphere has been FLOODED with pumpkin recipes in every shape and form. I got to the stage that if I saw another pumpkin recipe I thought I would have a break-down. But then I saw pumpkin in the shops and got really excited; we seldom see pumpkin around these parts. Suddenly I felt the need to join in this orange vegetable craze!

{Cape Town} The Roundhouse

It's been a little while since my last post and all I can do is offer my sincerest apologies for that. It seems the end of year panic has set in in both my work life and personal life. It feels as though our weekend in Cape Town was a lifetime ago! But never fear, I took pictures to document the experience (albeit with my iPhone - pardon the quality). This post also turned out a bit long, so hopefully that should make up for it!

The next part of our trip that I wanted to share with you is a very special evening my boyfriend and I spent at The Roundhouse. This restaurant sits on the slopes of Lion's Head, overlooking Camps Bay. The building has a long history and has been used for many purposes from a guardhouse for the Dutch East India Company in 1786 to a hunting lodge for Lord Somerset in the eighteen hundreds to the beautiful fine dining "epicurean" restaurant it is today. The Roundhouse follows a philosophy of exceptional hospitality, which is evident from you step foot on the path leading up to the restaurant doors. Our every need was catered for throughout the evening and the staff were professional, but friendly; happily explaining to us some of the culinary terms that were a bit beyond our comprehension.

We had booked the evening as a somewhat delayed celebration of our eight year anniversary. It was the perfect location for the celebration! Even our menu had been customised for us! We enjoyed an amazing four course meal with wine pairings. As each wine is served, the sommelier explains the wine flavours and the combination of that wine with the food course.

Cape Town: The Old Biscuit Mill

When I shared with you the delicious Chocolate Pinotage cupcakes that I made for my birthday, I promised that I would share some more information on the long weekend we spent in Cape Town towards the end of September.  Cape Town is probably my favourite city in South Africa: a coastal city with beautiful beaches, an hour or two's drive from wine farms, whale watching and penguins. And the biggest draw: it has many of the top restaurants in South Africa. This will be the first of a few posts sharing all the eating and sight-seeing we did in our short visit.

I had been in Cape Town for work during the week and my boyfriend flew down on Friday evening. He arrived rather grumpy and exhausted after his flight was rather significantly delayed and the weather that evening was rainy and windy and miserable! However, nothing a good night of sleep wouldn't fix.

These Are a Few of My Favourite Things!

Wow its been a CRAZY few weeks. Tons of deadlines at work, a horrible bug that knocked me down harder than a taxi on Jan Smuts (for the foreigners...think bus on a free way), my birthday (YAY!) and then a trip to Cape Town for work followed by a long weekend of fun, food and whale watching!

We had so much great food in Cape Town, I've decided to write a few posts on some of it. Cape Town really is an amazing city! But more of that to come...

Shana Tova! Decorated Cookies

This week was the celebration of the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashana. While I myself am not Jewish, my boyfriend and his family are. This year I wanted to venture away from the typical platter of dried fruit nuts and chocolate when it came to gifts.

Snickers Marshmallow Cookies aka "Little Bites of Heaven"

OMG these cookies are DELICIOUS! Cookie dough with bits of melted marshmallow, chocolate chips and Snickers bars. The caramel from the Snickers also melts a bit and oozes out...so good. When I asked my taste-testers for a name for these cookies, Little Bites of Heaven was decided on. If you get one of these bad boys fresh out of the oven you'll know why.

Do you see the gooey marshmallow? And that little piece of melted caramel? And all the chocolate chips in the dough? Now that's a cookie :)

Ahoy There Matey's! Treasure Chest Cake

Last weekend, the cutest kid I know turned four. This special occasion was celebrated with a pirate themed birthday party. Now, every party needs cake and this pirate themed party needed a treasure chest cake. When I was first asked to do this, I thought "you must be out of your mind! I can't do that!". As it turns out I was wrong.

After a brief period of panic and some Googling, I had a bit of an idea where I wanted to go.