TASTY TREATS

March 17, 2014 | Written by Katie | Photos by Katie

This weekend I was lucky enough to co-host a tiny high-tea full of tasty treats! Lexi and I spent some quality time baking in order to create some delicately sweet and savoury delights. What better way to celebrate a birthday than with an intimate lunch time affair full of bite sized bits of happiness. 

All of the recipes that Lexi had pre-prepared were so simple. Simple enough that most of my time was spent whisking, texting and licking the bowl. 

My favourite recipe was for the mini flourless lemon curd tarts, genius! I've included the recipe because they were too tasty not to share.

The thing I love about this recipe is that you can cook the tarts the night before and fill them with lemon curd when they're ready to eat. Lemon flavoured anything is my absolute favourite so I can't complain when there's left over curd in the fridge. 

Ingredients: 

Tart

2 cups blanched almond flour

1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt 

2 tablespoons coconut oil 

1 egg

Lemon Curd

2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

3/4 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup chilled unsalted butter 

zest and juice of 2 lemons

Method:

Tart

Grease a mini 24 piece muffin tray. Combine everything in a bowl and whisk until it forms a ball. Break the mixture into small amounts and flatten in the tray. Cook at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Place tarts in a container until the following morning or wait until they've cooled to serve.

Lemon Curd

Whisk whole eggs, yolks and sugar in a saucepan until smooth, then place pan over a low heat. Add butter, juice and zest and whisk continuously until thickened. Strain in to a jar. Our mix filled two small jam jars. Lemon curd can keep, if covered, in the fridge for two weeks. But really will it last that long?

**When you're ready to serve fill the tarts with lemon curd and hey presto you have delicious flourless lemon curd tarts!**

We had a few mishaps along the way, ie. a tray of burnt scones, but the lunch itself was gorgeous. I ran with the overall theme and gifted another skull porcelain plate (relevant) and a print of my new illustration. 

Nothing makes me happier than tiny food because in all honesty doesn't it feel like you're eating less? High tea, where it's acceptable to gorge as long as you're napkin is printed with floral. Perfect Sunday.

DIY PORCELAIN PLATE

March 10, 2014 | Written by Katie | Artwork & photos by Katie

My latest creative pursuit comes in the form of decorative porcelain plates! 

I have seen these babies just about every where on Pinterest (clearly I spend too much time on Pinterest). 

Once again I was trying to create an innovative gift idea, this time for my sister, that was different to what I usually create for Lunacandy. 

As I had to search through several blogs to get a simplified/australian idea of materials and methods I thought I would let you in on my process.

Have a read yourself of the post by Craftaholics Anonymous and distinguish the facts.  It's also great to have a read about everyone else's experience. Based on reading the article I'm considering trying out Pebeo Porcelain Fine Tip Markers. They are a little bit more expensive but have great reviews!

Another note on the crockery, according to ALL blogs, the cheaper the better as there is less glaze to work with. I went with antique store because I loved the pre-existing floral pattern. A great example of what you can do with a plain white plate is by Nervard Yerkanian that I found on Behance.

Nervard Yerkanian Porcelain Plate (Behance)

Materials:

- Plate & Teacup: I realised after I bought two pieces from Treasures 4 You in Stones Corner that I had in fact bought a plate and teacup, rather than a teacup and saucer. 

- Sharpie: There was a lot of discussion that the Sharpie you use also has to be oil-based. To be honest I used the one that I had at home and it worked fine.

- Oven: You need access to a conventional or fan forced oven. Once you have finished your design you need to bake your creation!

Once you have the materials then you can begin creating!

- Wipe down/clean your porcelain to ensure there is no residue/dust/price stickers.

- Get drawing! People suggest stencils however I went free hand. There were a few mess ups but I covered them up (almost)

- Once completed place your plate in the oven when cold and then turn it on to 220 Degrees. I let the oven heat up to the required temperature and then let it bake for 30-40 minutes.

- Turn the oven off after the specified time and allow it to sit in the oven until it cools. When the plate cooled I wiped it with a chux wipe and no colour lifted.

- As this was a gift I don't know how many times you could wipe it before the colour lifts but others suggest it lasts forever (obviously a dish washer is not a good choice).

I plan to make more porcelain pretties as soon as I get the chance. Next time I think I shall trawl the vintage stores for a bit longer to see what treasures I can find! 

I love that this project allows you to create any design, from a personalised plate to an art deco piece.  

Happy crafting!