Elephant Cupcakes

I've noticed that as I've become busier in other areas of my life, I've found less time and less inspiration to challenge my baking skills. I've tended to bake old favourites which I know are easy enough that there's pretty much guaranteed success.

But I know that it's good to occasionally push the boundaries and do something new, so when Cake Decorating Store offered to send me some surprise baking goodies with the challenge to whip something up with them, I said, 'Challenge accepted!'

When the package arrived, I opened it and saw some cute jungle animal cookie cutters, an edible ink pen, and a packet of coloured fondant.

So many options, so many choices! I gave some thought to what I could do with the materials and remembered that L's birthday was coming up. She loves elephants so I stole a bit of inspiration from the back of the cookie cutter package and decided to make some little blue elephants out of the fondant, and attach them to the top of cupcakes.

I'd never worked with fondant before so I read up on how to handle it, how to blend colours and how to roll it out. It turned out to be easier than I expected, though I found out the hard way that it can be quite brittle once it's dry and crack if you're not careful! I also learned that I needed to keep the fondant wrapped well when not using it, otherwise it will dry out and become difficult to work with.

While the toppers looked great, I've never really liked the taste of fondant so the cupcakes themselves were the real star for me. I made some lemon cupcakes with a vanilla buttercream icing and gently pressed the cupcakes toppers on the icing. I loved the zesty flavour of the lemon cupcakes, but most importantly, the birthday girl loved them too!

Redfern Asado at The Norfolk, Surry Hills

I've been to the Norfolk a couple of times before - once for crab and once for tacos - but when we get there on a Sunday afternoon there's a very different vibe. It's dead quiet on the inside of the pub, but follow the smell of meat and the sound of people talking and you'll find yourself in a lush beer garden out the back.

Here is where Chef Jamie works his magic with the meat every Sunday from noon, when the Redfern Asado kicks off. There are all kinds of meats in the counter, including heaving slabs of beef and pork ribs and an impressive looking beer can chicken standing tall and upright, with glistening skin.

Beer can chicken

Asado translates to 'barbecue' in several South American countries, where it refers to the barbecuing of meats as well as the actual event of attending a barbecue. It usually involves grilling a range of meats over a charcoal-fuelled open fire for long period of time, resulting in slow-cooked meat with a smoky flavour from the coals.

Asado menu

The meats at Redfern Asado are sold by weight and priced per 100g, and all served with coca cola rice, beans and flour tortillas.

Keep it saucy...

There's also (literally) buckets of sauce to go with your meat feast. There's a choice of salsa rojo, a red tomato-based sauce with a bit of a spicy kick, or a vibrant fresh green chimmichurri made with garlic and herbs. Both are great with the meats, and it's really up to personal preference whether you use one or both!

Meat platter!