Orange Syrup Pound Cake Recipe

orange syrup pound cake recipe
This is orange syrup pound cake recipe isn’t mine – let’s get that out of the way! Nope, not mine, it’s from NZ Masterchef judge Ray McVinnie and it’s a recipe I’ve made regularly for close to 15 years.   It’s a proper ‘grown ups’ cake, although a 13 month old came for lunch recently and he scoffed it. So I guess it’s really a cake for all ages!

Ray’s base recipe uses lemons, but my orange tree is still going bananas, so I substituted the lemons for oranges and in the syrup I reduced the sugar content as the orange juice brings additional sweetness. I’ve made this using limes too: YUM.   I wrote a post a recipe a few months back that was quite similar to this one (I guess I like oranges!) but this recipe is much simpler and quicker, especially if you are lucky enough to own a cake mixer. Katie (My-Kitchen-Aid-Cake-Mixer) does a beautiful job of this for me, it’s a doddle and the cake itself only takes about 6 minutes to make. Besides, you’ve gotta love a cake that has batter requiring five ingredients (keeps the purists happy). (more…)

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Caroline

Playing hair and beauty with Caroline is my idea of a perfect activity. She does my hair (she’s a super talented hairdresser). Then I wave my makeup brushes around getting creative.  All of this while drinking great coffee, listening to good beats, with great conversation to boot.  On this particular day, following Caroline hiding the silver in my hair, it was my turn to play makeup. We thought we’d go for a slightly different look – I was keen to try out any look that would take Caroline out of her reported comfort zone of neutral colours. Caroline kindly gave me free reign to do whatever look I liked! So, I went for a smokey eye using pinky/plummy and burgundy tones. We were both rapt with the look.  Here’s the products used: (more…)

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How to fix a broken eyeshadow or blush!

imageI was mortified when I dropped my MAC eyeshadow on the floor (it was the colour ‘Brun’, in case you are interested).  At NZ$38 a pop, it was an amateur mistake. Unfortunately it was an eyeshadow I used every day (not on my eyes, by the way, on my brows, it’s my favourite brow powder).

But I’d heard that broken eyeshadows/blushers can be fixed and I was up for that!  So, after a five minute investment of time on You Tube to witness this first hand, I bolted to the chemist to buy some rubbing alcohol ($6) and presto – my eyeshadow is (almost) as good as new.  To be honest, the colour now it’s fixed is slightly lighter, but it works just fine. I’m rapt.

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Winter Quinoa Salad with Roast Pumpkin

This recipe is inspired by Taste Cornucopia in Hastings, an organic cafe which never ceases to wow me with their food. They always have an incredible array of salads, packed with stuff that’s only good for you – and my favourite is their quinoa salad. I’ve had this salad for lunch at least once a fortnight for the last three and a half years and I think I’ve finally figured out how to make it almost as good as theirs! This is a fantastic winter salad.

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Chicken Teriyaki recipe

chicken teriyaki recipeWe had this for dinner tonight and Hot Hubby said ‘you’ve gotta blog that’ – it’s been one of his favourite meals for at least the last decade! This meal is so easy to make, utterly scrummy and easily rivals any teriyaki dish I’ve had in an authentic Japanese restaurant.   If you’ve purchased store-made teriyaki sauce in the past, you won’t anymore when you see how easy this is!  On that note, I do recommend you double the recipe for the sauce and store the remaining half in a jar the fridge – it keeps well for months and bonus: You’ve got some on hand ready to go next time (or use as a stirfry sauce… Yum).

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Muesli (for Hot Husbands)

I wouldn’t exactly say I’m the most domesticated wife in the world, but I do, without fail, make this muesli for Hubby every second Sunday.  I’ve tried lots of muesli recipes over the years, but this our favourite based on taste and nutrition: It’s low in oil and sugar.   (more…)

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