Sweet Treats: Cupcakes

Cupcakes are most definitely the 'in' thing right now and can be found worldwide. The great thing about these treats is that there are hundreds of flavours out there to try!

Whenever I come across a bakery or tune in to 'DC Cupcakes', I am inspired and attempt to ice my own cupcakes they way they ice theirs. Unfortunately, mine never turn out the same so I shall be sticking to the classic icing sugar and lemon juice method for now.

Pintrest has recently become the centre of my world and I came across some pictures of some amazing cupcake designs! I have never seen anything like it. I also discovered some of my own images that I had taken whilst in Saigon at 'Fly Cupcakes' which is a tiny store (30x10m!) that sells amazing cupcakes, but the extraordinary thing is that they actually bake the cupcakes in the actual shop. Behind the counter. I don't think I have ever seen anything like it, only in Saigon, eh?

{I apologise for the reflection in the glass}

{Candyfloss flavoured, Green tea and White chocolate and Lime cupcakes}

{Top: Rum Raisin, Cherry, Vanilla cranberry and Queen velvet}

{Bottom: Lavender, Green tea and Chocolate with a Berry icing}

{Oreo, Pistachio and Orange}

{Rum Raisin, Cherry Creamcheese, Vanilla Creamcheese and Chocolate Lava}

{Pintrest: Lemon Meringue cupcake}

{Pintrest: Smore cupcake}

{Pintrest: Strawberry with strawberry buttercream}

Wow, my mouth is watering just thinking of all the yummy delights! I'm just hoping that I have destroyed any of your dieting ideas! A treat once in a while is often well deserved.

Ciao bellas!

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Vietnamese Cuisine for Beginners

I was recently in Vietnam and was fortunate enough to attend a fabulous cooking class at 'Saigon Cooking Class'. We were taught by a local chef and learned how to make spring rolls with dipping sauce, beef noodle curry and banana blossom salad with a dressing.
I have been privileged to experience a large variety of Asian foods and have attended several cooking classes in Thailand, but there is a large difference between their cooking despite them being neighbouring countries.
One thing that particularly surprised me was the combination of the sweet, sour and spicy flavours into one dish as well as the different textures!

{The amazing spice rack on display at the cookery school}

{The initial ingredients for the spring rolls includes sliced taro root, oyster mushrooms, minced pork and sliced carrots}

{The final product! The spring rolls were assembled and then wrapped in a medium thickness rice paper; fried in peanut oil for 5-8 minutes. The dipping sauce consists of chili, fish sauce, lemon juice, pepper and rice vinegar to taste}

{The ingredients for the banana blossom salad which include chicken breast (pre-boiled), green capsicum, onion, kaffir lime leaf and basil}

{This has to be one of the biggest chilis ever! We used it for a garnish after sculpting it into the shape of a flower}

{The banana blossom. Apparently the best kind (according to the chef) is the kind from Vietnam, but it can be found in Asian supermarkets or Wet markets. Banana blossom is what is formed beneath the little bananas before they start growing!}

{The final salad. The external 'petal' from the banana blossom used as a dish. The rest of the banana blossom sliced finely and mixed into the salad. The chef recommends cabbage if you are unable to find banana blossom.
The dressing used involved the same ingredients as the dipping sauce for the soy sauce but not rice vinegar.}

{The dry beef noodle soup consisting of raw beef tenderloin, cooked beef muscle, spring onions, coriander, basil leaves, kaffir lime and cooked rice noodles}

{To complete the meal, add beef stock made from the bones and boiled for 3 hours. Serve with Hoi Sin sauce which can be found in every Asian supermarket.}

It was such an amazing experience to attend the cooking class and I really was provided an insight into the making of traditional Vietnamese cuisine.
Now that I have tasted the original direct from Saigon, I shall never be able to eat take-away again!

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28/07/2012

Ellie Update: Vietnam

Hi everyone!

As you well know, I am currently in Vietnam! However, I have been unable to update my blog as often as I would have liked because blogspot is blocked here, which means I have to use proxy servers that are seriously slow!

So as I don't really want to spend ages on the internet due to costs, I decided to just post some of the pictures I have been taking around the country!