This is my super simple Prize Winning Blue Ribbon Chocolate Cake recipe, this amazing recipe helped me win heaps of first prize ribbons at the Royal Melbourne Show & various Country Shows too.  It's the perfect recipe for a large cake or cupcakes, it's soft,  moist & keeps for a week, I actually thinks it better a day or 2 after its been baked.


Blue Ribbon Chocolate Cake Recipe
Oven Temp 160 C (325 F)
24cm round - Cooking time 1hr
24 cup cakes - Cooking time 25-30min

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee
2/3 cup coco powder
185gm butter softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups of castor sugar
3 eggs (60’s)
1 cup of water

Prepare you cake tin or cup cake trays
Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together slowly to combine all the ingredients then slowly turn the speed up to high beat on high until mixture is pale & has doubled in volume.
Pour mixture in to cake tin or fill cupcake liners 3/4 full
Place in the oven and bake for required time or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

Let me know what you think :)
♥Kerri

Recipe - Mains - Stuffed Pasta with fetta & spinach

A little while ago I made this stuffed pasta, it's a little bit fiddly but well worth the effort.

Stuffed Pasta with Fetta & Spinach.
Serves 4. Prep time 30min. Cooking time: 30min. Oven Temp 200C. 2.5ltr rectangular ovenproof dish
20 jumbo pasta shells
2 x 400gm cans of tomatoes
2 teaspoons of crushed garlic or 2 garlic cloves crushed
180gm fresh spinach chopped
300gm fresh ricotta
125gm fetta crumbled
1 egg
1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese

1:Preheat oven.
2:Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Place a clean tea towel on a baking tray.
3:In a large bowl break up the the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, stir in 1 teaspoon of garlic. Spread the crushed tomatoes on the bottom of the ovenproof dish.
4:Cook pasta in batches for about 8min or until just tender (don't over cook or they will fall a part). When pasta is cooked use a slotted spoon to take it out, put it into a colander to drain refresh with cold water to stop the cooking. Transfer to the prepared baking tray.
5:Combine spinach, fetta, ricotta, 1 teaspoon of garlic & egg in a bowl. Season with salt & pepper.
6: Spoon the mixture into the pasta shells & a range them in the dish.
7: Sprinkle cheese over the filled pasta shells.
8: Bake for 30min or until sauce is bubbling & the cheese is golden. Stand for 5 min. Then serve with a salad & bread.

*Large pasta shells are available from Italian grocers, delis & some supermarkets.

Enjoy
♥ Kerri

Our New Vintage Market Cart

Our New vintage market cart is finally finished, after months of work, drawing up designs, discussing what was needed, how it was going to work & all the things that go in to bringing an idea to life. It was finally unveiled Sunday 4 of August at Confetti Fair Melbourne & the response was overwhelming. There were lots of oohs & ahhs  about how amazing it looks but also the fact that it can be taken apart to be stored flat.
Our gorgeous vintage market carts are made here in our workshop in The Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, Australia. They are about the same size as 4ft trestle table, which makes them perfect for creating a WOW  factor in small spaces. The vintage market cart also makes a great drinks cart to go along side a big table. The canopy & upright poles are removable too.  The canopy comes in lots of different colour/pattern choices.
If you would like information the Vintage Market Cart or purchase one please contact me at info@vintagesewandso.com.au, it's also listed in the store too just click here

♥ Kerri

Thai Chicken Oven Risotto

The original recipe for Thai Chicken Risotto is from Valli Little I found it in Delicious March 2012 see pretty picture above.
My version came about with the things I had in the pantry & fridge. Plus I can't eat onions so they don't go in anything I make.

Serves 6 (only if no one wants seconds & trust me everyone will want seconds)

1 tbs oil
500gm skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cut into 2cm pieces.
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 cups (330gm) arborio rice
1/4 cup (75gm) Thai green curry paste
2 1/2 cups (750ml) water 
2 tsp chicken stock powder
1 275ml can Coconut Cream or Milk
2 tbs fish sauce
1 med Carrot grated
1/4 red capsicum finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180C
Heat oil in flameproof casserole pan over med-high heat.
In batches cook the chicken until browned (2-3min)
Remove chicken from the pan & set aside.
Reduce heat to medium & add the garlic, cook for 2 mins until soft.
Add the rice & curry paste, cook stirring the rice for 1 min.
Return the chicken to the rice, add the carrot & capsicum, water & stock powder.
Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid & cook in the oven for 25min.
Remove from the oven, stir in the coconut cream & fish sauce, then cover & stand for 10min
Top with chopped cucumber & spinach (that's what I had)
Coriander & slices of lime would be nice too.

This is what it looks like before it goes in the oven.


Do let me know what you think.
♥Kerri

Rhubarb, Blueberry & Apple Crumble

Rhubarb, Blueberry & Apple Crumble

I love crumble of any kind really but this one has to be my fave at the moment.
I think its the colour is so in your face & the taste is pretty good too :)

It's really easy to make & you can make them ahead of time & pop them in the fridge.

Recipe
Pouched Fruit
I bunch of Rhubarb washed with the leaves removed cut into 2cm pieces
2 apples (I used Granny Smiths but any kind will do)
1/2  punnet of Blueberries
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of water.  

Crumble Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1  teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
60gm butter
100gm plain flour
 Oven 200 c
Method
Remove leaves from rhubarb & wash stems, then cut into 2cm pieces.
Peel, core & chop apples into chunks.
Put the rhubarb, apples,  sugar & water into heavy based pot with the lid on & cooked over a medium heat for 5min, then stir, cook for a few more minutes until the apple is soft the rhubarb will have cooked to a soft puree. Remove from the heat.
While the fruit is cooking, crumble butter into the flour with your fingers to making small pea sized pieces then mix sugar, cinnamon & baking powder with butter & flour crumble. 
Spoon poached fruit into 6 cup sized oven proof bowls or 1 large oven proof dish scatter blueberries over the top  & sprinkle crumble over it all then bake until golden  ( small bowls approx 15min, large dish approx 30min).
Serve with cream or ice-cream or both.
Enjoy ♥
Kerri.

fruit puree

crumble on poached fruit

just out of the oven

Super Cool Blackboard Signs

I have had these timber signs sitting in storage for awhile, so on the long weekend (Melbourne Cup Day), I brought some paint & turned them into things of wonder. Super Cool Blackboard Signs or Chalkboard signs for you guys in the US.

Awesome Blackboard signs

Sweet wood burnt bow design

How cute would this look on the Cake Table

 

These are my Favorites

So you really need to have one of these, well you can they will be available in my store Vintage Sew and So very soon but in very limited numbers.
♥Kerri

Brownies stuffed with Oreos & Peanut Butter

My darling daughter found a picture of Oreo & peanut butter stuffed Brownies on FaceBook yesterday, so we had to make them.
It's not the best photo but you get the idea.

Oreo, peanut butter stuffed Brownie

We used my tried & true Brownie recipe. It's not as rich as some recipes that I have, so it great for this as it's super rich with the Oreo & peanut butter.

Brownie                   Oven 170C.
250gm butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups plain flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven.
Place butter, sugars & vanilla into the bowl of an electric mixer & beat until light & fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beat well.
Sift the flour, baking powder & cocoa over the mixture & fold through.
Place patty pans in a 1/2 cup 12 hole muffin tray, spoon a tablespoon of mixture into the patty pan. Spread one Oreo with peanut butter then top with an other Oreo to make a sandwich. Lightly press the Oreo sandwich into the brownie mixture, top with a small amount of brownie mixture.
Bake for 15-18min 
Cool in the tray.

We only had 1/2 packet of Oreos so we made peanut butter stuffed Brownies & a loaf pan too. The loaf pan brownie is in the freezer for later.

Peanut butter stuffed brownie

Enjoy ♥ Kerri