Lemon Tarts

In my second year of university, a good friend and I took on the roles of co-presidents for the University of Auckland Dessert Club. We were off to a shaky start as we were appointed these roles by the ex-president, rather than by vote of the members and committee. Initially were were reluctant to step into these heavy shoes as we had close to no experience of running events, let alone running a waning club with 500 members. But after knowing all but one of the members from the previous committee planned to stay on, with merely a few short weeks to get ourselves sorted, we decided to accept our roles. 

So off we went to recruit people from amongst our friends who we thought had potential and would assist us in building up the club. We borrowed money from my dad, worked day and night in getting membership cards designed and printed, hunted down the Auckland University Student Association people day after day to get the logistics and accounts sorted, we held many meetings to plan out events that we wanted to hold throughout the year and finally, we debut as a revived club during Orientation Week. O' week was a chance for us to regain the club's reputation. Everyday, rain or shine (and back then we didn't have enough funds to get a gazebo yet), we were one of the first clubs to set up and one of the last to pack up. We talked to almost every single person that walked past the stall, selling to them the plans we had for the club, listing them the sponsors we have and bribing them with chocolate frogs and Chupa Chups (unlike other clubs who only gave out yucky cheap artificially coloured lollies!)to get people to sign up. At the end of the two weeks, we managed to recruit a record number of members - about 600 people! You can imagine how exhilarated we were, and how dry our mouths must've been, talking to so many people. 

We ran many events that year. We started off with the Dessert Club orientation, pulling strings from friends to get us cheap Dunkin Donuts. Then there was Gelato night which was a success. Who doesn't love cheap gelato? And the new sponsor that we got, then known as Paradiso, now known as iStorm were incredibly generous, giving us half priced gelato and free hiring of their store space! Easter hunt got members running around campus solving clues and puzzles. But then there was movie day, which flopped like a hot air balloon punched with holes. We over estimated the numbers that were coming and ordered about 500 custard puffs and swiss rolls. We even hired a cotton candy machine. About 10 people turned up to that event. We gave away as many custard puffs and swiss rolls as we could, which were of course received with big smiles. We even bribed the security guard because apparently it is against the rules to eat in lecture theaters (which we hired out for movie screening). But we were still left with 400 puffs and rolls. In the end we resolved to selling them cheap around campus. We made a huge loss that day but thank goodness for kind-hearted people! Because we only used up a meager handful of candy, the cotton candy guy told us we didn't need to pay for it. But after that event, we learned something new - always have sign ups and sell tickets to confirm the numbers coming and always check the calendar when planning events. That weekend was bad timing as most people had tests! 

It was always difficult getting sign ups to events. Once we had to postpone our soiree because we didn't have enough sign ups. But then at the end of the year, we managed to tick off a whole list of cool events we did, such as pie eating competition, amazing race, chocolate give away, etc. And we finished off with a successful end of year party - the food was amazing, the venue was great (free pool! As in like billiards pool, not swimming pool, although that would've been awesome too) and people had loads of fun. 

I decided to stay on Dessert Club for the following two years, gaining more members and experience each year. The last year of being in the club, I stepped down into the role of web manager. It was the most successful year for Dessert Club. We had great events like Maid Cafe, Kapiti Quiz Night, Easter amazing race, the annual Gelato Night, annual eating competition, cupcake fundraising, cupcake decoration class, etc. We built our relationship with other clubs like Photosoc, the Cosplay Club and Auckland University Snow Club by having collaboration events and supplying desserts. We were even asked by the University of Auckland to feature as one of the clubs showcasing extra-curricular life on Courses and Careers Day. It was great. But these three years on Dessert Club, I've gained much more than just experience. Many friendships were forged. And it was these years that really cemented my passion for baking, food and catering. Boy all those days and nights baking and preparing food for events, they were incredibly difficult at times, having to juggle both studies and club responsibilities, but I loved every minute of it. There were moments when we were thinking why did we take on such a huge task, for example when we were sitting outside at our stall trying to sell tickets to events, with the cold brittle wind blasting on our backs and the IC people refused to let us set up inside. Or when committee members pulled out and we were left with 3 people to run the whole club. There were really stressful nights when I had very little sleep, with my mind like a roll of film running through everything that still needed to be done. But even in those moments, the thought of regret or quitting never crossed my mind. In fact, if you asked me what was the single best thing that happened to me in university, I would've told you, Dessert Club. 

After three years of running the club, I decided to move on. I felt as though I was ripping my baby from myself. A baby that I nurtured, cared, built. But it was time to venture on other journeys. This past year without Dessert Club, I felt both liberated and lost. It felt so weird having free time! Though I was thankful I could use that time to develop other skills. Occasionally though, I missed the planning and brainstorming of events, and our ritual of debriefing at Momotea after events. I suppose that's one of the reasons I started this blog - to fill that void, to have something to look forward to and to develop my skills. But several weeks ago, the committee this year asked if Peter and I would help them cater for their soiree. Without even a second's hesitation, we agreed. So, off we went again to plan the menu. We spent a day buying and sourcing ingredients, utensils, cutlery and plates. Then we spent another two days baking and cooking. It was so nostalgic! Peter and I laboured away, making five types of dessert - tiramisu, apple crumble pie, lemon tarts, chocolate mousse and salted caramel drizzled cronuts, and Peter prepped all the dishes for the mains. Everything was made from scratch, except for the Savoiardi. We were exhausted! But it was so satisfying for me. It felt great, making food for people, seeing their reactions when they saw how amazing the dessert platters looked and hearing great feedback. My only regret was that I didn't have time to snap some photos of the finished products, but here are a few snapshots of the dessert that I managed to take.

Mini lemon tarts with cream cheese icing (scroll down for recipe)

Cinnamony apple crumble tart

Cronuts, proofing!

As promised, here is the lemon tart recipe! 

[Lemon Tart]
Recipe makes 12 tarts

Pastry
Same as the one I used to make the apple, rhubarb and strawberry galette

Filling
Zest from 3 lemons
1/2 cup of lemon juice 
1/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup raw sugar, blended 
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs
Pinch of salt
Splash of milk

Icing (optional)
200g cream cheese, softened, room temperature 
50ml cream
3 tbsp raw sugar, blended
1 tsp vanilla essence
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Prepare pastry as instructed. 
2. Line 12 tart cases with pastry. Prick bottom of pastry with fork. Blind bake at 180C for about 8-10 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Combine lemon, flour and sugar together and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Whisk together eggs, vanilla and salt. 
5. Combine the egg mixture, lemon mixture and splash of milk. 
6. Pour into the baked tart cases and bake at 150C for about 10 minutes. 
7. Remove tart from oven and cool.
8. For the icing, beat together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add cream and beat on slow initially, then increase speed and beat until well combined and light. Add the lemon and beat until combined. Pipe onto the cooled lemon tarts. Chill.
9. Serve cold. 

Filling recipe adapted from Butter Baking.

Apple, rhubarb and strawberry galette

These past few days we've been fortunate enough to be graced by the sun's glorious rays. It's as if the sun is teasing us, like an ice cream man handing out free samples of the delicious treat that won't be out until a few months later. But all the kids are happy and all the adults feel like kids again. Nobody's complaining (except about the seemingly eternal wait) and we're all making the most of it. But I'm afraid I've been feeling to indulgent, almost tricking myself to believe that it is the summer holidays again. I even picked up a book that's been on my bedside since March, neglected due to other more pressing matters. I realised, leisure reading is such a luxury. But I should do more of it. Take a breath in between the articles over articles that my head's been swimming in. I should make it a point to read every night before bed, even if it is just one page. 

I took a stroll at the park two days ago. The sun glaring down in between the scattered curtain of clouds traveling by. Only then did I realise spring has truly arrived at our doorstep. The flowers are so beautiful, red and yellow and white and blue and all the colours in between, shamelessly exhibiting themselves in this breathtaking gallery, fishing for compliments and praises. All these efflorescence that I know not the name of. They're here to shine and I gladly give them my attention. 

There's truly something in the air in spring. Something promising. Something exciting. Something sweet. Something that makes me want to spring up from my chair, hop out from the cave that's been my home for the wintering months. It's like fireflies that have been hibernating awaking one by one, and all flying in a circle around me, then guiding me towards the door, towards the warmth. Haha I don't even know if fireflies hibernate, or if they fly towards the light. It seems more possible that they fly in the opposite direction of light. But you know what I mean I'm sure, these magic dusts in the air, playfully pulling me. 

These first four days of mid-semester break, I've allowed myself to be pulled. How wonderful it was, to spend the half a day plonked on a park bench feeding myself the most tart lemon tarts ever (recipe coming soon!). How wonderful it was to be plonked a park bench without freezing to death! How soul nurturing it was to spend the day stirring the pot of pumpkin soup; to be caressed by the rice flour in my palms as I transferred it into a second pot that is filled with grated turnips; to sing along my sister the songs of Little Mermaid and be transported instantly ten, fifteen years back; and to fold the sides of a pastry origami containing ruby jewels of juicy sweet fruits. 

I suppose I should share this pastry plate of red gem with you! It was the first time I baked with rhubarb and what made it more special was that these stunning stalks were from my own garden! Ok, I admit, I didn't plant it, I wasn't the one that nurtured it, and I only knew about it when my mum told me to make something from it, but still! But oh, it's got such a lovely tang. It is true. You food people know it. It does go beautifully with strawberries and apple. And of course I added a squeeze plus more of lemon juice to it! (I seem to be adding lemon juice and zest to everything these days!) I devoured this glorious galette with some Greek yoghurt and it was delicious. Here's the recipe :)

[Apple, rhubarb and strawberry galette]

Pastry
80g butter
45g raw sugar, blended
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla essence
zest of 1 lemon
165g unbleached all purpose flour
pinch of salt 
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp cold water 

Filling
8 little stalks of rhubarb, chopped 
2 medium apples, diced
a handful of strawberries 
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp golden syrup 
1 tbsp cornstarch 

1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. 
2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until well mixed. 
3. Add the lemon zest and mix well. 
4. Add the flour and salt and beat on lowest speed until it begins to come together. 
5. Add in the water and continue beating gently until the dough comes together. Jude Blereau said the dough should be 'firm but not hard, soft but not moist'. 
6. Form into a ball and flatten. 
7. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

8. Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking tray.
9. Roll out dough into a disc about 3mm thick. Place on a baking tray.
10. Combine all ingredients for the filling. 
11. Pile filling onto the middle of the disc. Fold the sides of the pastry up. Take care not to fold the pastry over itself as this will make the pastry too thick and it will not cook properly. 
12. Sprinkle the pastry with raw sugar.
13. Bake for about 15 minutes. Then turn down the temperature to 180C and bake for a further 30 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on it and if the pastry is browning too quickly, reduce the temperature of your oven. 
14. Serve, with a generous dollop of Greek yoghurt. 

Recipe adapted from Wholefood Baking by Jude Blereau (So in love with this book!!)

Lemon yoghurt cake

                  

Being a vegetarian for me is not difficult.  Especially when my family is mostly vegetarian and my dad makes the most delicious vegetarian dishes ever. There are many more plant based food out there, so many more delicious choices that you can choose from to feel deprived of the few meat selection that we don't eat. A trip to the morning market will leave you filled with such joy from seeing the colourful produce. 

Eating out is of course a different matter. Majority of the restaurants have menus that are dominated by the meat selection.  Although there has been an increase in awareness of special diets consumers and most restaurants do have a few dishes to accommodate vegetarians but it is still that isn't it? To accommodate rather than to celebrate. But anyway, I am not that picky. Even though I would love to see the veg scene in Auckland expand, I am glad that at least most restaurants do offer vegetarian options. And if they don't, most places are more than happy to omit the protein part of the dish if you ask nicely. I mean, it saves them money. 

Over the past week I have been tied down by tests and assignments. One assignment in particular was especially difficult for me to do. It is about meat. Just my luck. We had to discuss the reactions of myoglobin, which is the main protein in meat responsible for meat colour, which also translates as meat quality in most consumers' eyes. After 4 weeks of procrastination, and a final week of forcing myself to research and write, I managed to squeeze out about 4000 words. (So glad that the lecturer said to NOT write 6000 words but rather to ere on the halfway mark as he's got a pile of thesis to go through alongside our assignments.) By about an hour before the deadline, I've truly had enough. I have tried my best in writing about something I am passionately against. I felt saddened by some facts that I read. Like wow, global meat consumption increased by a whopping 600% since 1950. How many kgs of meat are people eating per year? How many animals are being killed each day just so humans could enjoy the taste of it for a curt few seconds/minutes? Why must human build our enjoyment on others' suffering? 

Anyway, after I handed in the assignment, I headed straight home. As I passed my front lawn, I noticed the daisies have sprung up, white and yellow in the sea of green. That sight cleared my mind. I just love how strongly survival driven plants are. Just a few days of heavy rain and the soil have moistened enough for these plants to shoot out. Odd as it is for daisies to bloom in August, signaling the premature arrival of spring, I felt comforted by the thought that the season of growth is upon us. 

I am also glad that the winter fruits are still in full bloom! Our lemon tree in our backyard's been having a field day (month). So much yellow!!! So much happiness!! So much earthy satisfaction and pure joy just looking at them!! I love lemons. They're like laughter growing on a tree. That vibrant colour just blows away any dark clouds in your mind. So. In celebration of winter's gifts and early spring, I made a comforting lemony lemon cake :) 

[Lemon Yoghurt Cake]

280g flour (I used 200g unbleached AP flour + 40g wholemeal flour + 40g almond meal. The almond meal makes it much moister)

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

140g raw sugar, blended

1 tsp raw honey

1 tsp vanilla

zest of 2 lemons

juice of 2 lemons 

250ml natural yoghurt

120ml olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line an 8 inch cake tin. 

2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 

3. Beat together eggs, sugar and honey until thick and pale. 

4. Add the vanilla, zest and juice of lemon. Beat until well incorporated. 

5. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. 

6. Stir together olive oil and yoghurt until well mixed. Add to the cake mixture. Stir until just combined.

7. Pour into the lined cake tin and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean, cake is well coloured and firm but slightly bouncy to the touch. 

8. Remove from oven and cool in tin for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the tin and cooling on a wire rack. 

9. Serve as is or with a dollop of yoghurt. 

Pretty Pot of Pink

Yoghurt. The trendy food. Over the past few years, Auckland has finally been bitten by the yoghurt bug. There are so many yoghurt stores in the CBD now that you'd have a hard time picking which one to go (that is, if you haven't tried them all and don't know which one is the best - yep that's me.) I remember only a few years back, there was only one yoghurt store in town. But to be frank, one was enough. Yogoberry! They served the best frozen yoghurt - creamy, refreshing, smooth, slight tang, not overly sugarified, yum! And even better, you can get their yoghurt in a cone, in a cup, with loads of fruits and sauce toppings, whizz it up in a smoothie, OR - the one that most people opt for, paired with freshly made waffles with loads of fruits and sauces. Delish much? Heck yeah. And what makes this store even more amazing is that it is manned (or shall i say wo-manned) by the Korean lady owner, who is friken amazing - taking orders, making all these food for a store full of people all by herself. 

Ok, I didn't mean to spend a whole paragraph advertising for Yogoberry. Couldn't help it though! It was that amazing and still is. I do however want to try some other yoghurt stores in town, espesh this one called White and Co. So many people have posted photos of their fro-yo which made me crave them for weeks, though i haven't even had them. But the thing is, their store is located quite some distance from uni and because it's not on-the-way-from-uni-to-my-bus-stop so if i want to get there, I have to take a big detour. And with test and assignment season fully in swing, me don't exactly have the time for that. 

So. Solution. Make my own. And here it is! 
I don't exactly have a recipe for it, since I pretty much just chucked everything in the blender. Bit of natural yoghurt, few frozen strawberries (ones that we hand-picked ourselves many moons back! Oh how i miss summer...), some honey AND a special ingredient, flaxseed or linseed oil. You can pretty much make it to your liking. Add any fruit that you have at hand, any form or sweetener in your pantry - agave, golden syrup, red sugar, whatever floats your boat. and the best part about that is, you can really taste the fruit - not some artificial flavouring from some store bought ones!

Anyway, before I run off (well, not literally) to continue writing my assignment, let me briefly tell you about flaxseed oil. And yoghurt. And cottage cheese. 

Well, we all believe that cancer cannot be cured right? Wrong. Dr Budwig, who hailed from Germany spent many many years studying this simple combination of cottage cheese (or yoghurt, because it has the same active compound) and flaxseed oil. And she found that if you blend the two together (in a particular proportion), they make the perfect solution to counter and fight those Nazi-fied cancer cells, tame them and make them into good cells again! Now, we all know that cancer cells are merely good cells gone bad, caused by lack of love, lack of care, lots of abuse and fouling. In a nutshell, it is karma. You've abused your temple and now it's all dirty and full of junk and holes and broken pipes and lots of pests and horrifying stuff. So how do you cure yourself of cancer? Obviously, the thing to do is to clean up your temple. Like truly, make it spotless and holy and serene. Dr Budwig's cottage cheese and flaxseed diet is like a super powerful detergent. So it speeds up the cleaning process. Now of course, I'm not making any claims about this miracle diet. Because I believe however great something is, it still depends on the individual, like their history, karma, how vigorously they've actually turned a new page in their life, how much effort they are putting in to heal themselves, etc. Also, it's not just about change in diet. There are many many other factors like the spiritual aspect of it, emotional side, like letting go of anger and greed and all the attachments, etc. Once you're free of all these pollution which are mostly created by yourself, your temple will then be tranquil. 

Haha, from yoghurt to temple. How'd that happen? 

Anyway, happy whizzing. 

PS. If you have time, you could whiz this up and chuck it in the freezer or ice cream machine and wait a few hours before consuming it and then you'll really have some homemade froyo! Coz obviously this is just yo. Minus its fro.

PPS. If you wanna know more about the cottage cheese + flaxseed oil diet, Google Dr Johanna Budwig. 

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Almond, coconut and chocolate cookies (Gluten Free)

It's Friday afternoon and there's an abundance of soaked shoes, icy nose, numb fingers and upturned umbrellas. On the other side of the window, my life is also saturated with the same sort. You know that situation that you're in where you just have too many things on your list that you couldn't bring yourself to doing any of it? Yeah, that happened. And of course, there are the many things that popped up that HAD to be done instead of sitting down, with a cup of tea, some snacks, in front of my laptop, with 8 hours ahead of me to write my essay. I'm the biggest pro at procrastinating I tell ya. Even in the wake of exam, I could STILL be browsing blogs. 

Anyway, seeing that my test IS next Monday (ie. two and a half days away - gasp) and I DO have TWO assignments due (which includes one which I have TRIED - honestly, I have - many many times to write but after literally 3 weeks, my word count still remains at 23, which constitutes of my title and subheadings - whoop! At least I've done that?)in a week, I think I REALLY HAVE TO sit down with a cup of tea, some snacks, in front of my computer and just start writing the damn 6000 words on myoglobin. I swear though, there was something blocking me from writing that assignment. EVERY SINGLE TIME I tried to start wri- ok, I'll stop. 

Ok, I promise I'll start writing it, after I finish this blog post. This cookie is sort of a marriage between THIS HOTTY by Top with Cinnamon and THIS BEAUTY from Sprouted Kitchen. Like, these people - Izy, Sara and Hugh are so talented (and hardworking). I just get so inspired everyday. And of course all the other amazing blogs out there like My Darling Lemon Thyme, Local Milk, Happyolks, Not without Salt just to name a few, are what kept my passion for food burning. Argh everything just looks so delicious and the photos! They make them look so effortless. A-mazing. Really. I have to say thank you to these guys for doing what they do, for continuously making such delicious food and for sharing them. In all honesty, this is probably what kept me from writing that 6000 word essay haha. Maybe.

Well before I rant on for too long, here's the recipe.


Almond, coconut and chocolate cookies (Gluten Free)

3 tbsp olive oil
Any herb (I used what I found in my garden, which was sage and... some really fragrant herb with cute leaves that i unfortunately don't know the name of >.<)
1 1/4 cups almond meal 
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup raw sugar (blended)
1/4 chopped dark chocolate 
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla 

1. In a clean (make sure it is clean! as oil easily absorbs flavour) saucepan, add in the oil and herbs. Cook on low-medium heat for several minutes, until fragrant. Remove herbs and cool oil before using. 
2. Combine all the other dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. 
3. Beat egg and vanilla together until thick (homogenized and doubled in volume). Drizzle in the cooled oil while beating continuously until well incorporated. 
4. Mix into the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. The recipe said refrigerate for at least half an hour, although I skipped this step. 
5. Shape into balls, approximately 1 tablespoonful of dough each. Place on tray then flatten slightly.
6. Bake in preheated to 180C oven for about 8-10 minutes, until slightly golden brown. 
7. Cool before serving! 

Russian Honey Layered Cake - Medovik

It was one of my friend's birthday about 2 months ago but due to an unexpected unfortunate event, he's had to cancel his birthday party and fly back to Taiwan. Two months down the track and we thought we'd throw him a surprise birthday dinner celebration. 

It wasn't hard coming up with what cake to make. There are three things that he absolutely loves (well, eating) and goes mental when any of it comes into his line of vision - bread, meat and honey. So what to make this bread meat honey monster? The answer is obviously a honey flavoured cake made of bread, with meat sandwiched in between, or featuring in any part of the cake. Being the vegetarian and animal lover that I am, of course I discounted the meat fraction of the cake. And not having copious amount of time to spend making this cake, I regretfully took away the bread portion too. 

The second thing that came onto my screen when I googled honey cake was this recipe. The layers look beautiful and the ingredients are those found in my pantry, so I went with it. 

This cake is much more simple to make than I expected. The results are impressive too. Especially when you cut out the first slice of the cake and nobody expected to see that multitude of UNIFORM layering. Expect some oohs and ahs if you serve this at a dinner party. To make sure the cake pleased the honey bear, I added an extra tablespoon of honey in both the cake and icing. 

This cake is basically a blank canvas and you can paint it with whatever flavour you like. You could replace the honey with other ingredients like maple syrup or golden syrup, or add cocoa powder or chocolate into it, or give it some tang with some citrus zest, or boost the good oil content and crunchiness of the cake by adding some nuts. You could even spike it with whatever booze you have lying around and give it that extra dimension of flavour. 

[Russian honey layered cake - Medovik]

Cake
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
50g butter
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp vinegar
3 cups flour (I ran out of plain flour so I used a mixture of wholemeal flour, semolina and ground almond)

Icing
300ml cream
1/2 can condensed milk - caramelised
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
zest of 1 lemon 
2 tbsp sour cream

Prepare the condensed milk first, as this will take the longest.
1. Put the can of condensed milk in a pot. Cover the can with water.
2. Bring to boil, then turn to medium heat to simmer for 2 hours.
3. Turn off the heat and let the can sit in the water for about 10 minutes.
4. Remove can from pot and let it cool to room temperature before opening. [THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! If you open the can immediately, it will explode all over you.]

Cake
1. Beat eggs and sugar together until thick (approx. 3 minutes). 
2. In a bain marie, melt butter.(If you are improvising with a bowl and a pan, make sure the bowl does not touch the water).
3. Add honey. 
4. Add beaten eggs and sugar. Stir with a whisk until fully incorporated, (about 2 minutes). Make sure the water is only simmering, as boiling water will cook the eggs. 
5. Add the baking soda and vinegar. Stir. The mixture will bubble and double in size.
6. Remove from heat. Gradually add in the flour and mix in with a spoon or spatula. 
7. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 1 minute.
8. Divide the dough into 6. On a baking tray lined with silicon pad or baking paper, roll a piece of the dough out thinly. Place a flat plat or base of a spring-form cake tin on the rolled out dough and cut around it to make a circle. Bake for approximately 5 minutes until golden.
9. Repeat this 6 times. 
10. Bake the off-cuts for approximately 8 minutes or until crunchy. 
11. Cool all cake pieces. 

Icing
1. Beat cream and caramelised condensed milk on medium setting until incorporated.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium setting until well mixed.
3. Beat on high speed so the mixture thickens and becomes more stiff. 

Putting it all together
1. Place icing in between each layer of cake. Make sure the cake is stacked straightly. 
2. Cover the sides and top of the cake with icing. Spread evenly. Refrigerate to harden the icing. 
3. Break the off-cuts of the cake into small pieces. Use this to decorate the cake. 
4. Leave cake for at least 6 hours or overnight so the cake absorbs the icing and soften. 
5. Serve.

Recipe adapted from leascooking.blogspot.co.nz