Cotter & the Coffee Fairy

School holidays have come to end. Sniff!

I've loved having Harry at home and I must confess, I've enjoyed a break from the daily school run. We braved the grey skies and rounded off the hols with a bbq breakfast at Cotter Dam.

 

Canberra is ablaze with Autumn colour and Cotter was blanketed in gold.

 

 

Can I just say how GREAT it is to be dressing in layers again. Hello scarves and jackets and beanies!!!

 

 

The picnic grounds at Cotter have some stunning locals. Love a bbq at the best of times but most of all when there's a bit of a chill in the air.

 

 

I made the cardinal sin of forgetting to pack the milk to make our coffees and lo and behold, just as I'd resigned myself to a caffeine free breakfast, a vision on four wheels rocked up in the carpark.

Thank you Coffee Fairy!!!

 

 

It seemed too good to be true but sure enough, Our Dream Cafe came to the rescue. Couldn't quite believe a mobile cafe was all the way out at Cotter!

 

 

Canberrans...if you want a caffeine hit at your next function, give this guy a bell. I highly recommend him! It was really, really great coffee! Totally made our breakfast! After our little feast we went for a stroll along the creek.

 

 

There was a lot of rock plonking and exploring and general chit chat.

 

 

Love spending time with dear friends in such a beautiful spot. Am determined to get out and about a lot more this year. How was your weekend, long or otherwise?

 

xx Em

 

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Sweet treat

Happy Friday Peeps!

It's been a trying week...I'm rather glad that the weekend is almost here. I honestly couldn't lift the pram in and out of the car one more time, or chase the toddler through the corridors of the hospital again this week. My body is putting up the white flag and begging me to slow down to a halt. Skin is now peeling away in sheets and I'm hurting, a lot. Sorry to place such a pretty picture in your head. Ick! Ok enough of that...here's to the weekend and the chance to wind down, put the feet up and breathe!

 

I promised the lovely Marta from Petite Raisin (do check out her blog, its so gorgeous!) that I would share the caramel cupcake recipe.

(This is a blend of two recipes...purely because I needed to improvise, my chocolate stash was a bit pathetically low at the time and I only had caramel chocolate chips. This is the original recipe from Taste.

Caramel Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

• Ingredients

• 100g caramel chocolate chips
• 1 cup (250ml) water
• 125g butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups (255g) brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup (75) plain flour
• 1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder

Coffee Buttercream

• 1 cup of sifted pure icing sugar
• 90grams softened butter

• 1 teaspoon coffee essence

1. Step 1

   Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 18 x 1/3-cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans with paper cases.

2. Step 2

   Combine the chocolate and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3. Step 3

   Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, until just combined. Add the flours and cocoa powder and stir until just combined. Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Spoon evenly among the lined muffin pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

4. Step 4

   For Buttercream beat butter and icing sugar together, add coffee essence and beat until smooth. Spread over completely cooled cakes. Enjoy!

Soooo good with a flat white and your favourite magazine!

xxx

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