Helping Aspiring Bakers Everywhere With Online Cakes

Watch all the cooking competitions, but if your own secret (or not-so-secret) are aspirations to being a great cook or baker, tuning into the following can only help. 

Image by jwalsh via Flickr

Some of us watched “The Great Australian Bake Off” in rapt attention because we are sweet demons. Some of us may have been accused of salivating in front of the screen in the way a teenage boy looks at Margot Robbie or a teenage girl looks at Liam Hemsworth. Nonetheless, all we can imagine is sampling the delights. Then again, there are those who tune into TGABO and other cooking competitions because they adore the drama, the emotional outbursts, the…epic fails.

But there’s a strong minority of viewers whose emotions and intentions are geared more towards their own spirit of the game. Meaning, sure, you’re happy Nancy Ho and her 22-year-old self and her signature white chocolate mud cake with sour cream and white chocolate ganache won the whole kit and caboodle. But there’s a side of you, one that you might not want to voice, for fear of reprisal: you know you could do well on the show. You’re not entirely sure you’d win (that’s a whole combination of elements, all falling into rightful places), but you would be a fierce competitor. If you could just get a little help to prep you… luckily, there are well-established and highly regarded services like Planet Cake offering online cakes Sydney and world-wide (all you need is the Internet) with courses that will push you towards your goal of master baker.

Get motivated by keeping up with the best and brightest Australian television has to offer chefs, cooks and bakers – and anyone who just likes a good TV show. Here are some shows you must tune into:

MasterChef Australia

We couldn’t write about TV cooking shows/cooking competitions without mentioning the juggernaut that is MasterChef. Since it first aired in 2009, the Logie Award-winning series captivated Aussies everywhere. And, in the interest of transparency, it elevated the original inspiration, Britain’s MasterChef.  When a “mere” I.T. office manager (38-year-old Julie Goodwin) won the first seasons, audiences were addicted. The drama only increased when second-season winner Adam Liaw took the prize over next-best competitor Callum by the tiny margin of seven points! Four more seasons only garnered more viewers. The second series final became the third-highest rated show of all time. The show was so profoundly successful that it sparked spin-off fever (“Celebrity MasterChef Australia,” “Junior MasterChef Australia,” “MasterChef Australia All-Stars,” and “MasterChef Australia: The Professionals.”)

Planet Cake TV

No matter how many steps your favourite on-air baker or chef goes through on one of their television shows, you’ re going to need better and more thorough directions. That’s where Planet Cake TV comes in. The online cake decorating school allows anyone who has Internet the opportunity to bake and decorate like a professional. Planet Cake has the distinction of its uniquely decorated cakes, so this is definitely a situation where they know what their doing. Subscriptions are available monthly and annually and members have access to all Planet Cake TV courses and the new tutorials, which debut monthly.

My Kitchen Rules

What can we say? We love a good cooking competition show and “My Kitchen Rules” certainly qualifies. We love the “grace-under-pressure” moments, especially “Rapid Cook-Off,” “Showdown” and “Sudden Death,” because if you’re rooting for a chef, and as the time seems to speed up, it’s effectively emotional and stressful. At my house, we refer to the series as “Amazing Race in the Kitchen.”  The “Video Diary” is dubbed “Top Model in the Kitchen.” The results (food cooked) on “My Kitchen Rules” are consistently out-of-the-box and are interesting and lively. Yes, the show has borrowed from others, but they borrowed the best and the show is very strong.

Given the success of the aforementioned series, it’s likely you’re already watching these shows. If not, it’s definitely the right time to try it out. You’ll feel honoured and supported.

Sheila's Strawberry Cake Recipe

One of my favorite fruits, probably my favorite fruit is strawberries. When they aren't in season they can be really expensive or not very sweet. I am also a really busy mom and I don't always have time to devote in the kitchen to make a dessert. I had to come up with something easy and delicious. Something my super picky kiddo would also enjoy. He gets sick of the same old desserts. So I thought about things we used to make growing up and I remembered what I called Strawberry Cake.  Now you can put strawberries on shortcakes, which I am not really a fan of. You can put strawberries on Angel Food Cake, while I love Angel Food Cake, I think it is perfect as is. I wanted to share with you my two ingredient Strawberry Cake Recipe.





Sheila's Strawberry Cake Recipe:

1 pound cake or slices of pound cake.  I think it's brilliant they sell it sliced. Coming from someone who never would finish a loaf.

1 container of frozen strawberries in the juice.

Defrost both the strawberries and the pound cake. Cut a slice or two of pound cake and top with a few spoonfuls of strawberries. Don't forget the extra juice.

You can top with whipped cream if you would like and enjoy.

Macaroni and Cheese made in a New Way!

Now that it is getting warmer, I know a lot of people don’t want to use their ovens and stoves because it heats up their home. People who don’t have central air like my bestie, Brandy is one of them, especially stick to sandwiches in the summer. I came up with a genius way to make Mac and Cheese. I know what you are thinking, in the microwave. It’s gross in the microwave, trust me I know.  It’s not the microwave however. It’s in an electric skillet. They are such an amazing invention, and I love mine. Our oven and stove are having issues at the moment and Noah really wanted mac and cheese. 

So, it dawned on me, after making what my best friend calls poor man grilled cheese with toast and the microwave. I could use my electric skillet. It was sitting on my counter. In my defense, it had been a long five days at this point.  I was curious how making Mac and cheese in the electric skillet would turn out.  I carefully measured six cups of water per the instructions on the Kraft Mac and Cheese box. I have honestly only measured water a few times for mac and cheese in my life. I didn’t want to over fill or get the electric skillet wet before using. The other times were probably in Home Ec or Foods class because I am convinced that the teachers know exactly to a science what 6 cups of water look like. I wouldn’t want to get points off of my grades. Cooking is one of my passions and I can’t fail at that ever. It’s not allowed.  Here’s how I made it.

Mac and Cheese in an Electric Skillet

6 cups of water

1 box Kraft Mac and Cheese

4 tablespoons butter

¼ cup milk

Turn on the electric skillet to 350 degrees. Carefully place 6 cups of water in the electric skillet. Bring water to a boil. It doesn’t take as long in the electric skillet unless you have a super fast stove that boils water in 90 seconds.

Pour in Macaroni and cook for 7 and a half minutes.

Drain macaroni

I then poured the macaroni in a Tupperware bowl and add the butter and let it melt.

Add the cheese mix and the milk and stir until completely mixed.

Enjoy!

This would be great if you are in a hotel room or at college too.

It tastes and looks exactly like I made it on the stove.

Hibachi Shrimp Recipe

It is no secret that my favorite food is Japanese. I don't like sushi though. I used to love to go to Japanese Steakhouses. I still love to go to them but haven't been to one since I was in New Hampshire in December 2011. The one I went to was not very good at all, but I didn't get sick so that is good. I did have a good time even though it was loud and not very Japanese steakhouse like.  I love Hibachi Shrimp. It's not really a secret how it is made as they make it right in front of you. I don't know why I paid so much for so long when it is so much cheaper to make at home. I love the Japanese Onion soup so that may be part of it.  I also know how to make that at home too and you get tons of it.  I wanted to share how to make the shrimp.  Hopefully they won't come after me with knives or throw me in an onion volcano. 

Hibachi Shrimp

One pound of raw tailess shrimp
A big spoon of garlic butter
Soy sauce

Three ingredients that's all.

Prep the shrimp by cutting them in pieces. Place the butter in the skillet. I always use an electric skillet add the shrimp and cook through. Add soy sauce and finish cooking and Voila you have the same hibachi shrimp and tons of it, just like the Japanese steak houses make.

You're Welcome.

How to Make Mashed Potatoes from the Box Taste Homemade

I love mashed potatoes. I don't have enough time all the time to make them from scratch. I have a really good ranch mashed potato recipe to share with you some time. We have mashed potatoes almost every week depending on our menu. Like many others I use the boxed kind for the convenience. For some reason I don't follow the directions on the box.  I realized that I make them wrong, however I still do it because it tastes really good. I like thicker mashed potatoes personally. I used to eat Salisbury steak TV dinners but never ate the mashed potatoes. They are not too good in my opinion. I am pretty weird though. I still don't eat them.  I have perfected my boxed mashed potato recipe. It's really good too. Trust me!

How to make boxed mashed potatoes taste like homemade every time. 

This makes four servings which is like really like three.

1 and 1/4 cup water
2/3 cups of milk
A stick of butter cut in half.
Potato flakes ( I don't really measure them. I just as much as it takes to get the consistency you like)

Combine half a stick of butter with the water and milk and bring to a boil on high heat. As soon as it starts to rise take it off the heat and add the flakes. Combine and then add the remaining half of stick of butter and salt and pepper to taste.

I know you aren't really suppose to boil milk but it doesn't burn or anything in this recipe.

How to make Peanut Butter Shells

When you think of making candy it seems like a really involved process. I made a ton of delicious peanut butter shells. When I say shells I mean seashells. I have a shell mold. Of course I do. Are you new? Noah loves shells and sea life. After my infamous Crisis Cooking with Sheila episode and trying every easy method to make these darn shells. I figured out that a spoon works the best. I used one of Noah's toddler spoons. It made it easier for control purposes. I tried the pastry bag. It wasted too much of the goodie. I tried a squirt bottle. It was impossible. So lets just say when I finished them I was not making them with love anymore. I was extremely frustrated and angry. So, use a spoon. It will save you hours of grumpiness.  Here is my recipe. It has two ingredients. It sounds like it would take a long time to set but it doesn't. Like twenty minutes in the fridge.

Sheila's peanut butter shells

Reese's peanut butter chips
Shortening

Combine half a bag of Reese's chips with a teaspoon of shortening. Microwave it for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 17 seconds and stir until melted. Carefully fill the molds. Carefully drop them on the counter.

Refrigerate  for twenty minutes until hard pop them out and do it again.
I figured out that two bags makes six trays of shells as long as you aren't sloppy.

It's a beautiful and yummy treat for anyone who likes peanut butter.

OH! NUTS Review and Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars Recipe

One of my favorite things to do during the month of December is my family’s traditional holiday baking.  We buy tons of supplies including many bags of chocolate chips, Flour, Sugar, and nuts. Good nuts can be hard to find. They are also really expensive to buy. I love all kinds of nuts. My two favorite are Pecans and Walnuts.  I had the opportunity to work with OH! NUTS. OH! NUTS sells all kinds of nuts from walnuts to pistachios, even Hazelnuts. They also sell chocolate and candy. They have great prices too.  Everything is so fresh, you don’t have to wonder how long it has been sitting on the shelf at the grocery store.  I was asked to share a recipe with you guys using an OH! NUTS product. Even though I received both Walnuts and Pecans, I decided to be different and not use Pecans.  I used things I had in my home and created a delicious masterpiece.  It was odd making a dish without buying any ingredients because usually there are some special items. I had chocolate chips and caramels in my cabinet. This is my recipe.

Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars

14 ounces of Caramels unwrapped

2 cups of flour

1 and ½ cups of Brown Sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of Butter (softened)

1 cup OH! NUTS Chopped Walnuts

1/3 cup milk

2 cups oatmeal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

12 ounce bag of Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan. Heat caramels and milk in a 2 quart pan over low heat until smooth.  It does take a while for them to melt.

Mix the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, baking soda, salt and egg in a large mixing bowl. Stir in butter with a fork or hands.  Press half of the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle on chocolate chips and walnuts. Drizzle the caramel. I just used a big spoon.  Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top and bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

Cool completely and enjoy!

OH! NUTS provided me with nuts to help me create my recipe. All thoughts and opinions are my own.