#BakefestDXB

Does anyone actually eat cupcakes like this? (I don't).

I haven't blogged in ages and I miss it entirely! I actually miss cooking and baking for the PURPOSE of blogging about it, and I miss spending ages taking photographs of my food, and I miss writing these posts and reading your lovely comments. Mostly, I miss reading through all your blogs and getting inspired by each and every post. The creativity, innovation, talent, and love that goes into each of your posts is just phenomenal and I quite love being part of an international community of food bloggers. I feel as if we all share something special and can relate to each other in a way not many other people can!

I also miss taking part in all the amazing blog challenges that go on every month- the creativity in them is wonderful and the best part is the round-ups where we see all the pictures!

My awesome new invention of serving cupcakes in drinking glasses.

Attempting food photography

I've been baking and cooking quite a bit recently- I had a couple of dinner parties and one afternoon gathering that kept me busy in the kitchen. And today, I took part in Round 2 of #BakefestDXB which you might remember from an earlier blog post.  The event was lots of fun with a few familiar faces from last time and lots of new ones.

My dessert table.

I made raspberry cream sandwiches, chocolate shortbread drops, a three toned pink layer cake, vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, and some mini cupcakes (made from left over batter and frosting!) -That's why I love mini cupcakes so much.

You can find the recipe for my raspberry cream sandwiches here. I made them early this year and they were a huge success. The cream is made out of pureed raspberries and white chocolate and the cookies have vanilla beans in them (which, in my opinion, make ALL the difference).

And here's the recipe for the vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting.

Oh, and GUESS WHAT? My mixer broke. Again. The new one. So all of this I made by hand. I also made risotto yesterday after baking the cupcakes so my arms got one hell of a workout. It's a handheld Kenwood electric mixer- just like my old one.. very basic, no fancy attachments or anything.. and now the whisks just won't move.. I think it's the icing sugar. The last one stopped working as I was making frosting. And my cute mechanical sifter also gets jammed with icing sugar! SIGH.

Anyways, here are some pictures from the event. As you can tell (I hope you can- it's not too subtle!), I went on a pink theme. Mainly because Spontaneous Euphoria (both the catering business and the blog) are pink. And also because I had been coming across lots of pink dessert tables recently and was just INSPIRED.

 

Taste of Dubai

I had a wonderful time at Taste of Dubai this past weekend!

Trying out all the different restaurants was super-fun! I also took part in the BBC Good Food charity bake sale by baking these little chocolate shortbread drops. My cousin gave me the best (and easiest) idea on how to package these little things. Just wrap them in a little clingwrap and tie with a ribbon.

All of us at our foodie group were also blogger supporters (http://www.tasteofdubaifestival.com/home/supporters/).

So I saw this toy and really wanted it. No matter what. Yes, I can act like I'm five years old when I want to. To get it, you had to get the ball in the basket twice in a row. I tried four times. And didn't get it in at all. Anyways that toy was adorable. And I still want it. In case you're wondering, it's the orange monkey thing. Not Mario.

The staff at Certo saw me taking pictures of the decadent white chocolate mousse and starting posing for pictures.

My cousin's cheese manakeesh from Al Nafoorah and my lamb tagine from Almaz by Momo's.

The decadent white chocolate and passion fruit mousse.

Thursday night. Extremely crowded.

I'm not one to use prepared mixes but these were VERY creative! I was so tempted to buy one. Chocolate chip mix, oatmeal and raisin cookie mix, brownie mix.. And all the ingredients look like they're there!

I think this was India Palace's stand... or was it?

Dessssssssssssertttt.
The picture didn't turn out right but this place looked magical! Walking on this little path, you'd see fairy lights, little stalls, and lots of people. It reminded me of a festival in a Shakespearean play.

Alhambra.
Dim-sums!

My beautiful cousin Sahar with dynamite shrimp from PF Changs.

P.F. Changs!

Almaz- Momo

Rib Room

SUSHI! Which sadly I did not have.

The Ultra Candlelit Dinner

I decided to have a small dinner gathering last Friday. I missed setting the table, choosing a theme, deciding on a menu, and cooking a million things. The last time I did it was in August. There's nothing like sitting down to a good homecooked meal with a bunch of people you love. And especially when that meal has been cooked by you. There's something so fulfilling about feeding those you care for. There's nothing to compare.

Aaanyways, everyone asked me to just make three dishes.. Two main courses and one dessert. I said OK, but secretly made seven things... that's just me. I don't know why. I can never just cook ONE thing. Well, I do, sometimes.. for a quick dinner... but most times I cannot.

I chose to make leek, rice, and parmesan frittatas and basil pesto and semi dried tomato crostini for starters. Then, I made seven-vegetable tagine with couscous and roast chicken with dumplings for main course. For dessert, I had fruit salad with orange sugar syrup and rich chocolate mousse.

The recipes were all fairly simple. I loved the main courses the best.

For the roast chicken with dumplings, all you had to do was chop up some potatoes and carrots and put them in a roasting tin with some pieces of chicken breast. Of course, don't forget to season. Making the dumplings are fairly easy, too. Fry some onion with butter. Once softened, put in a bowl and add a cup of breadcrumbs, add as many eggs as needed to make the mixture a dough that will be easily shaped into round balls.

The tagine was also just as easy to make. Chop some zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, parsnips, capsicum, fennel, and eggplant and toss together in a roasting tin with some freshly cracked pepper and sea salt. Add some cumin seeds and let the whole thing cook in the oven for about one hour on medium heat. For the sauce, heat some canned crushed tomatoes, add some freshly squeezed orange juice and cranberry juice. Place the couscous in a large bowl and fill with boiling water, cover with a plate. After 3-4 minutes, fluff with a fork, add lemon juice, raisins, and chopped dried apricots.

The crostini was VERY easy.. just because instead of guacamole on the ciabatta bread, I spread basil pesto. What happened to the guacamole? Well, it never happened. This was my second attempt at making guacamole.. and it never works with me! Very irritating. I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I placed one semi dried tomato on each crostini (is the singular crostino?) and ta-da, it was done! .. sans guacamole.

For the table decor, I didn't use any flowers. Very rare for me not to do so since I'm always using roses and carnations in pinks and reds.. ( like here and here and here) Instead, my centerpiece was candles. Lots and lots of them. All over the table, actually. It was made possible because instead of placing all the dishes on the table family style, I brought the courses out one by one with the food already arranged on a plate. Fun.

I don't think my photographs captured the candles that well, but they looked magical.