Baking is one of my passions and has been since I learnt the basics from Mum as a little girl. For Mum's 50th birthday I hosted a High Tea with all kinds of yummy treats, and after baking for almost 11 hours (including a little sleep in between) the menu was as follows:
Sandwich Points
Egg and Lettuce (v)
Chicken, Avocado, Lettuce and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Veggie Delight (v)
. . .
Mini Quiches
Tomato, parmesan and pancetta
Mushroom and Sun-dried Tomato (v)
. . .
Scone Time
Date Scones with Strawberry Jam and Cream (v)
Pumpkin Scones with Apricot Jam (v)
Sweeteners
Lemon Meringue Slice
Chocolate Fudge Brownie with Macadamia Nuts
Melting Moments with Passionfruit Vanilla Custard
Passionfruit Lemon Cup Cakes with White Chocolate Icing
. . .
Beverages
Fruit Punch
Selection of Hot and Iced Teas
Espresso Coffee
I would not advise creating a menu such as this solo - I was lucky enough to have some fantastic helpers. One thing I would advise is to use recipes you've tried and tested! I attempted all these recipes for the first time, except for the simple sandwiches and quiches... I do love a baking challenge. Everything was delicious but my favourite for taste and simpleness are the melting moments which I created a passionfruit custard variation from the basic recipe in my trusty Women's Weekly Bake cook book. Here it is:
Passionfruit Custard Melting Moments
makes 25
Ingredients
250g butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 icing sugar
1 cup custard powder
1 cup plain flower
1 tbsp icing sugar extra
Passionfruit Custard
1 tbsp custard powder
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup passionfruit pulp
Method
1. preheat oven to 160⁰C. Grease oven trays; line with baking paper
2. make passionfruit custard: blend custard powder and sugar with milk in small saucepan; stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens; remove from heat; stir in passionfruit; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
3. meanwhile beat butter, vanilla and sifted icing sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in sifted custard powder in two batches.
4. with floured hands roll rounded teaspoons of mixture into balls. Place about 5cm apart on oven trays; flatten slightly with floured fork.
5. bake biscuits about 15minutes. Stand on trays 5 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool
6. just before serving sandwich biscuits with a little passionfruit custard
Voila! You can use any type of fruit in the custard, for example berry compote or stewed mango.
If anyone would like any of the other recipes in the above menu please comment on this post and I'd be happy to share more.
