A Special Spring Christening
Posted: October 16, 2013 Filed under: Getting Married | Tags: cake, christening, katering, menu Leave a commentAt one of our favourite Sydney locations, the lovely Nubia from Katering celebrated the christening of her son Romeo.
Set amongst beautiful Callan Park in Balmain, Nubia picked some of her favourite Katering bites for a day of celebration and feasting with family and friends.
Upon arrival at the historic Callan Park grounds, guests were offered canapés including garlic prawns with chorizo, smoked salmon on dill blini with horseradish, crème fraiche and salmon roe, steamed Peking duck crepes, mini Yorkshire puddings with caramelised onions and rare roasted beef fillet and shiitake mushroom dumplings with chilli jam.
Snapper fillets with wedges of kumera potato provided something more substantial as family and friends mingled and the Katering chefs tended to the lamb on the spit. Basted with rosemary, lemon and garlic oil the lamb was served with crunchy potatoes and avocado salad.
The Katering pastry chef created a beautiful croquembouche held together with sweet, delicate toffee that was filled with vanilla bean custard. Mini-desserts of vanilla bean panacotta, pavlova, crème caramels, rocky road and chocolate coated strawberries added the final sweet touch.
As the afternoon sun began to set, family and friends danced to beautiful Latin music as a hot Sydney spring day came to an end.
Photos by Renee Pinto photography
An afternoon tea In Style
Posted: August 12, 2013 Filed under: Getting Married | Tags: afternoon tea, cake, champagne, In Style, katering, martini Leave a comment
When Ellie Aitken, the designer behind the luxurious label Aitken & Co, hosted an afternoon tea for seven of her closest friends, she turned to our own Kate White to create something beautifully modern in a relaxed setting.
Featured in this month’s In Style magazine, Kate put together a menu that was fresh and seasonal yet exuded a feel that was both homely and personal.
Held at Ellie’s beautiful home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, guests were served champagne, French martinis and canapés that included salmon gravlax, mushroom tarts and a delicious Hummingbird cake.
Why not spend an afternoon baking with Katering’s traditional Hummingbird cake receipe below.
Hummingbird cake
3 x 20cm. round cake tins are needed for this recipe
375g plain flour
500g caster sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bi-carbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon or garam masala
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 x 225g can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups (about 4 large) mashed ripe bananas
fresh flowers, to decorate, optional
Cream cheese icing
125g soft butter, chopped
250g cream cheese, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
500g icing sugar
Heat oven to 180C.
For cake, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and vegetable oil, stirring until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat. Stir in vanilla, crushed pineapple and bananas.
Spoon the cake batter evenly between 3 x 20cm. well greased and floured cake tins. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a cake skewer comes out clean. Rest cakes in the tins for 10 minutes then turn onto a wire rack to cool.
For icing, beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla together. Gradually beat in icing sugar (adding a little milk if necessary). Alternatively, process butter, cream cheese and vanilla briefly in a food processor. Add icing sugar and process briefly until combined.
Spread a thin layer of icing on tops of two cakes and place one on top of the other. Top with remaining cake and spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake.
Decorate with fresh flowers, if desired.
Serves 8-10
K A T E R I N G 