June | 2012 | Lisa Likes Stuff

I discovered a new favourite cupcake. It’s delicious. I’m going to make it many, many more times. And it’s the best of everything – caramel mud cake. So here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

125g butter, chopped coarsely
100g white eating chocolate, chopped coarsely
2/3 cup (150g) firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (90g) golden syrup
2/3 cup (160ml) milk
1 cup (150g) plain flour
1/3 cup (50g) self-raising flour
1 egg

Frosting
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) water
2 egg whites

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C/15°C fan-forced. Line muffin tray.

2. Combine butter, chocolate, saucepan; stir over low heat, until smooth. Transfer mixture to medium bowl; cool 15 minutes.

3. Whisk sifted flours into chocolate mixture, then egg. Divide mixture among cases.

4. Bake about 30 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.

5. Frosting: Combine sugar and the water in small saucepan; stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Boil, uncovered, without stirring about 5 minutes or until syrup reaches 116°C on a candy termometer. Syrup should be thick but not coloured. Removed from heat, allow bubbles to subside. Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form. While mixer is operating, add hot syrup in thin stream; beat on high speed about 10 minutes or until mixture is thick and cool.

The original recipe didn’t actually put this cupcake with the cloud frosting, but I wanted to try something different. You could probably put whatever icing you want on them.

I have a bone to pick with you Aucklanders. It’s to do with driving. Driving through red lights. Yes, that’s right. Aucklanders are notorious for running red lights.

Especially after the little green man telling me it’s okay to walk has appeared. On a daily basis, I begin to walk across the road because that little green man tells me to and at least three cars will still come through the intersection.

Sometimes I don’t even bother beginning to walk until he’s started flashing red.

Seriously.

In fact, today, I was about to start crossing the road, because the green man had said I could and three more cars went through.

Now, I might live on a ridiculous intersection, I will admit. It has five roads all coming to an apex. Yet people don’t seem to stop on the red.

At this particular intersection I have to cross twice. Once on Taharoto and then on Fred Thomas. Rather ridiculous, but in order to be safe and not get run over, I choose to use the crossings. (Even though sometimes that might not keep me safe.)

Sometimes when I am crossing Taharoto, cars coming from Fred Thomas and on to Taharoto decide, yes that green light and the cars next to me, mean I can go too.

EHHHH. WRONG.

You’re on a red arrow, buddy. You’re turning left into Taharoto, you’re not going straight through like the others. Which means that while I’m crossing the road, you’re on a red and shouldn’t be coming at me!

But it is not just this intersection that I have a problem with.

I was walking to the mall the other day and was crossing into the block where the mall is situated (my little green man had winked at me), three cars went through a red light. While a cop was sitting right there. I’m pretty sure he saw them too. Yet he did nothing.

Nothing.

What has our world come to?

Cops don’t stop red light runners, motorist don’t respect pedestrians, and people think the coloured lights mean nothing.

I means seriously people. This is what causes accidents. In fact, there was an accident at the very intersection by our apartment building the other night. Police, ambo and fire all turned up. The horn was blaring, etc, etc. I don’t think anyone was seriously injured, but I bet you, someone was running a red light.

The penalty for running a red light in New Zealand is a $150 fine and 20 demerit points, according to the AA website. Which the AA says is too low compared to the high potential danger

Disclaimer: I may use the word “seriously” too much in this post.

Disclaimer 2: I may also watch too much Grey’s Anatomy.