Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Lavender Cupcakes

Last weekend Tom and I decided to go for a drive through the Barossa Valley, including areas like Lyndoch, Tanunda, etc. While we were there we stopped in at the Lavender Farm just outside of Lyndoch. It was very pretty with abotu 80 different kinds of lavender, but I think we have to go back in a few months when more of the flowers are blossoming.

Anyway, while we were there we went into their little gift shop that had pretty much lavender everything. There was dried lavender, lavender massage oil, lavender candles, lavender moisturiser, lavender jelly (which of course Tom bought) and then I saw it... lavender tea! I had been searching for it a few months ago to try and make lavender cupcakes and had no luck. I was so excited that I made the cupcakes the next day!

The taste is a bit confusing, you would think that they would taste like a perfume being lavender but they didnt. They were like eating a vanilla cupcake with a slight aroma of lavender. Quite fluffy and moist too! Of course I had to add the lavender icing and a few lavender flowers, I think I mainly like them because they're so purple!

Here they are...






Thursday, September 8, 2011

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

Doesn't the title including chocolate cheesecake just suck you in!? A close friend of ours has gone and left us for a few months to gallivant around through Europe and the US, so we of course had a going away party for him! When I was first talking to him about said party I told him I would make any dessert he wanted for it! Being a cheese lover he chose chocolate cheesecake. It was a big hit everyone loved it, it was so creamy and basically like chocolate mousse on top of a bed of crushed chocolate biscuits so yummy! Anyway it was such a hit that I ended up making it again the next weekend for a friend's birthday party, and this time remembered to take photos of it! I even added some whipped cream and blueberries for garnish!

Enjoy...