Tag: Baking

Love Local – Meet The Creative Mastermind Behind Sugar & Paper Parties

Love Local – Meet The Creative Mastermind Behind Sugar & Paper Parties

Posted on by Rebecca

Sometimes in life you have that one friend that completely takes your breath away in all that they do. Since meeting Liezl more than 2 years ago her talents have literally left me speechless on more than one occassion. She has supported and helped me with my blog on numerous occassions from a design point of view, is a photographer extraordinaire and more recently has launched a baking and design business Sugar & Paper.

As we kick off 2019’s “Love Local” Series, she was a no brainer to be the first to feature. I’ve showcased her skill a few times on my instagram page, but I really wanted to get more insight into how she has grown Sugar & Paper Parties and what her plans are for the year ahead. Be warned, this post will leave you drooling, not only does her baking look too good to eat, but it’s literally the most flavourful I have ever tasted too. I use Liezl for my boys parties and everyone always asks who made the cake! All of her details are at the end of the post to order. Youre welcome 🙂

For now, over to Liezl:

Tell me more about yourself and what you currently do?
I am a born and bred KZN girl and grew up on the south coast but moved inland to finish my
schooling. I have been married to Michael for almost 12 years, and have two children,
Amelia (6) and Diego (3.5). I am a freelance Graphic Designer, Party Planner and now,
baker 🙂

How did “Sugar & Paper Parties” come about?
I have done freelance Graphic Design since 2013, but having always loved parties and
baking, last year I decided to start my party planning business, Sugar & Paper. I call myself
“a celebration enthusiast” – I can conceptualise, design, coordinate and style your event,
and even bake the tasty treats. A one-stop-shop of good taste!

What did you study – was it in this field or something different?
I studied Graphic Design at Tech for 3 years.

What was your first job and how did you progress to this?
I have always been a Graphic Designer and when I was pregnant for the first time, I had all
intentions to go back to full-time graphic design work once our baby was born. But then
Amelia came along and I realised that I just could not leave her with a stranger and return to
work. So, I decided to stay at home with her and become a WAHM.

What have been the highlights of starting your own business?
The highlights so far have been the positive feedback from clients, their genuine happiness
drives me.

What’s the best part of your job?
Being able to dedicate my time to my children when they need me, while still having a creative
outlet.

What is the most challenging part?
Obviously making sure you have enough clientele to cover your expenses. I am very
fortunate to have a supportive husband, who keeps us afloat most months. But I am really
proud to contribute financially when I can.

Describe a typical day in your life.
A typical day is that of most Moms – get the kids up and ready for school (while half-sleeping myself
as I always go to bed way too late!) Amelia and Diego attend school half-day, so I try get most
work done during the day (design-wise) and spend the afternoons with my kids, running
errands, etc. I also work at night once they are asleep and I’ve finished all the household
stuff (I’mnot the best domestic but I do try!)

What are the “secrets” to your success?
I don’t think I have any secrets to success just yet – ask me in a year’s time 🙂

How do you balance having a family (being an amazing mum and wife) and starting your own
business?
It can be difficult at times, as a small business is like another child and demands just as much
attention! Fortunately, my kids are a bit older now so play well on their own together if I am very
busy (although that does often seem to end up with more mess than I’d expect!) I do sometimes
have to bake and source party paraphernalia with my tiny business partners in tow! They
don’t mind as they enjoy it and I try involve them in small ways, like baking extra cookies for them to decorate while I am busy. The juggle between being an entrepreneur, wife and
mom…and still being yourself too, is a challenge but I’m hoping 2019 is my year to master it!

What is your dream for Sugar and Paper?
I hope to build Sugar & Paper into a brand that people will immediately think of when it comes to
parties. Right now, I seemed to have slid more into the cookie side of my talents, but hope that I will
be able to become ever more involved in the design side too.

Any tips for people wanting to take the leap and start their own business?
It’s a scary endeavour but you will never look back!

Please show me how the hell you make your cookies so incredibly perfect ? 🙂 🙂 🙂 Will you give
lessons one day?
I’ve been asked by numerous people if I’d host lessons on cookies! 🙂 Cookies are finicky and a lot of
cookiers will agree that everything we do comes down to personal preference so for me, it would be
a difficult thing to “teach”. Also, I am a bit of a control freak, so may have to sit on my hands in order
not to cut in and just décorate everyone’s cookies for them ha ha

You can visit my websites www.sugarandpaper.co.za (Party Planning) and
www.lastveigas.com (Graphic Design), follow my instagram feed @sugarandpaperparties.
Otherwise, I can be contacted on hello@sugarandpaper.co.za for party stuff,
hello@lastveigas.com for design work, or call me 0732881013.

GIVEAWAY:

Sugar & Paper Parties and In these Stilettos are giving away a box of “Mixed Love” for Valentines Day! The perfect box of cookies to spoil yourself (or a loved one if you can bear to share.)

All you have to do is make sure you are following @sugarandpaperparties on instagram (Ill check) and @IntheseStilettos and comment on the pic on my feed.

Winner will be announed via Instagram on Sunday 10 February 2019

Baking with the Boys – Lemon and Blueberry Bundt Cake

Baking with the Boys – Lemon and Blueberry Bundt Cake

Posted on by Rebecca

The Boys and I love baking together. Actually I think its more like I enjoy baking and they love sampling, but never the less its an activity we always do together. They love to pour, measure and mix and I cherish the time we have together to do it.

I have to admit though when it comes to baking with them I often use pre-mixes as its easier for the kids to do and they can almost entirely make a cake from start to finish by themselves. The sense of pride they have when taking out a perfectly formed cake from the oven is the cutest thing to watch. Pillsbury has been one of my favourite pre-mixes to use, since I was about 14! My only wish is that their ready made croissant and sugar cookie doughs were avaliable in South Africa. I have memories of living in the states, waking up to the smell of freshly baked croissants in the house all thanks to Pillsbury. It would make my weekends that much easier if I could chuck some into the oven here!

I digress, lets talk afternoon snacks. The 3 o’clock slump in our household is a real thing. The boys are often in and out of the kitchen no less than 5 times searching for snacks. This Lemon and Blueberry Bundt cake is the perfect activity to do after school, and will be ready just in time for tea! Adding in fresh fruit takes a little of the “guilt” out for me and It also makes sure that hubby has some cake for his after dinner tea which he loves so much.

Heres how we made it:

Lemon and Blueberry Bundt Cake

 Ingredients

1 x Box Pillsbury French Vanilla Cake Mix

3 eggs, Oil and Water as per box

1 cup Blueberries

Zest of One Lemon (and a squeeze of Juice)

Fresh mint to garnish

One tub Pillsbury Lemon flavoured frosting

Method:

Mix Cake mix as per instructions on box. Add in the zest of one lemon and a little squeeze of juice.

Fold in one cup of blueberries.

Pour into Bundt pan and bake until done.

Once cooled, beat up the Lemon flavoured frosting until light, I added a dash of fresh cream to thin it out a little. Garnish with fresh blueberries, lemon slices and mint.

Enjoy!

 

Note: To be perfectly honest I wasn’t entirely sure about the “Lemon Flavoured Icing” as traditionally artificial lemon can have quite a sharp taste. However, this was DELICIOUS and ALL of my family commented on how “yummy” the icing was, from my 4 year old who typically avoids icing, to my husband, who considers himself quite the food critic! I will definitely be buying this one again, what a pleasant surprise.

Cadburys’ Inspired Desserts Perfect For The Festive Season

Cadburys’ Inspired Desserts Perfect For The Festive Season

Posted on by Rebecca

I spent an evening a little while back with the Cadburys’ Team at The Cookery, on a cooking class to highlight the #CashInYourCravings campaign that was running. Like we need an excuse to indulge?

“The Cookery”, is an interactive cooking studio run by The Secret Jozi Chef, and one I have been absolutely dying to visit. It hosts fun social classes for students during the week as well as interactive chef’s table events. Perfect for girls night out or a date night with your beau. I was surrounded by luxury with state of the art Whirlpool and KitchenAid appliances and the attention to detail with the décor is absolutely on point. Keep scrolling because I’m sharing two of my favourite recipes.

We each draw a “chocolate” to select our team, I drew a PS I love you bar, which happens to be one of my favourites. There were 4 teams, each cooking three dishes that made up the menu for the night, under the supervision of Chef Emilio. The focus of the evening was of course, was cashing in on our cravings with some indulgent food such as butter sage gnocchi (yes I made Gnocchi), mushroom risotto as well as delectable desserts all made with Cadburys favourite chocolate bars, in this case, PS Chocolate Ice Cream and 5-star brownies; perfect for a Christmas day dessert.

I’m going to share the dessert recipes from the evening with you, because they really are too good not to try and so darn easy to do at home. Who on earth would have thought that I would ever attempt my own home made ice cream? This PS Ice cream is the best thing I have ever tasted and is definitely on the menu for a family feast in December. So here they are my top two recipes from the night (everything I tasted that night was on point but I have to leave you with some incentive to book a class).

 

CHOCOLATE BOX BROWNIES

Ingredients

240g butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

150g brown sugar

200g white sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

150g all purpose flour

120g good quality, unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

270g roughly chopped chocolate or large chocolate chips  (We used chopped up Cadbury 5-Star and Crunchies for this)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 175°C then line a 7×11 inch baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl combine melted butter, oil and both sugars.

Add the eggs, vanilla and salt then whisk for about one minute until evenly combined and light in color.

Over the same bowl sift in the flour and cocoa powder.

Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until JUST combined (do NOT over mix).

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then smooth the top.

Generously top with the chocolate chunks, gently pressing them into the batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the centre of the brownies no longer jiggles and is JUST set to the touch.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before removing from the baking tray and slicing into 16 brownies.

Enjoy

 

PS I Love you Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients

300g PS Chocolate

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cups heavy cream

6 large egg yolks

5 tablespoons granulated sugar (add an extra tablespoon if using bitter chocolate)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tsp vanilla powder (fresh vanilla pods)

1 cup cream

Directions

Place the chocolate in a blender.

Whisk the milk, 1 cup cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula and almost boiling, 5 to 6 minutes. Basically making a custard, and it’s absolutely OK if it splits bit, it’s all going in the blender!

Immediately pour the milk mixture over the chocolate in the blender.

Cover and hold the lid with a thick kitchen towel; blend until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.

Transfer to a bowl cover and set aside to cool completely in the fridge. (We placed a bowl in an ice tray)

Once the mixture is cold, whip the remaining cup of cream and fold it through the chocolate mixture.

IF YOU HAVE AN ICE CREAM MIXER – Add the mixture to your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions

IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN ICE CREAM MIXER – Pop it in a container in the freezer to set. You can go in and mix it every 30 minutes but according to Chef Emilio for this recipe you don’t have too.

There you have it. Two simple recipes to add to your Christmas table this festive season. You will be blown away by the Ice-cream, I promise, Its sweet, rich but not too rich, creamy with a little crunch of wafer. The best thing I’ve tasted this year! Thank you Cadbury South Africa for this awesome treat night.

Let me know if you try these recipes 🙂

Milk Tart Recipe

Milk Tart Recipe

Posted on by Rebecca

One thing South Africa certainly has down is some of the best “comfort” desserts. From Milk Tart to koeksisters and Malva Pudding we sure know how to make our tummies very very happy.

If a dessert has a National Day created for it, you know it has to be pretty exceptional. Yesterday, February 27th, was National Milk Tart Day in South Africa. Being a sucker for all things celebratory, of course I had to make one.

I have to admit I haven’t made a milk tart at home for probably close to 5 years, I haven’t needed to as there are so many good ones readily available. My Favorites are from Woolworths and “Upper Crust” bakery in Fordsburg.

When the craving does strike however, this recipe is pretty full proof. After so many years it still came out perfectly!

Ingredients:

For the base: 
500g (2 cups) of cake flour

65g butter

2 teaspoon baking powder

125ml sugar

1 egg

Pinch of salt

For the filling: 

4 cups of full cream milk

3 eggs

1 cup of Castor Sugar

Two Cinnamon sticks

2.5 tsps cornflour

2.5 tablespoons cake wheat flour

1 tsp vanilla essence

60g butter

 

 

METHOD

Base:
1) Cream the butter & sugar until pale, add egg and beat well.
2) Add all the ingredients until it comes together
3) Tip out into a well buttered tart pan and press into the pan to form a base. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius until lightly golden brown.

Filling:
1) Boil milk together with a few cinnamon sticks.
2) Beat eggs well, add sugar, corn flour, cake flour, salt & add to milk mixture.
3) Mix together and bring to a gentle boil until mixture thickens.
4) Add the butter & vanilla essence to the mixture. Pour onto base & dust with cinnamon powder.
5) Place in the fridge to set

Once it has set grab a cup of tea and enjoy this yummiest piece of heaven on a plate! Everyone always has different variations of Milk Tart, how do you make yours?