White Chocolate and Macadamia Biscotti

I have been loving the TV show Italian Food Safari and saw them make delicious looking biscotti, and although I have been meaning to make this recipe for ages, I just haven't got round to it. So as a little homemade Christmas gift I baked a batch for Camaryn and stored them in an old sweetshop style jar.

The biscotti are beautifully crispy and the lemon zest adds a delicate flavour to it. Absolutely scrummy, will me baking more of these for sure. At the same time I was making these I had my Christmas cake in the oven and it worked very well together as they were baked at the same temperature. My only disappointment was that I was in Halls Head and the beach and sea were calling to me. I did get there in the end.

The Recipe - White Chocolate and Macadamia Biscotti

180g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

230g caster sugar (superfine)

3 eggs at room temperature

finely grated zest of 3 lemons

1tsp natural vanilla extract

200g white chocolate, chopped

120g macadamia nut halves

375g all purpose flour

1tsp baking powder

The Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk with a fork until well combined. Stir in the chocolate and macadamia nuts.
3. In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder. Add this to the butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to form a soft and slightly sticky dough.
4. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions. transfer to a lightly floured surface and shape into a 5x20cm log. 
5. place on prepared trays and flatten slightly. The logs should be well separated to allow room (7cm) for spreading during baking.
6. Bake swapping the trays half way through for 30-35 minutes or until the logs are firm to touch and are just cooked through. Set aside to cool on trays.
7. Reduce the oven temperature to 150 degrees C. Use a sharp knife to cut the logs diagonally into 1cm thick slices.
8. Spread the slices well apart on the trays and bake for 20 minutes turning the biscotti over half way. They should be crisp and just starting to colour. Allow to cool on the trays.

The biscotti will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

The Best Yule Tide Log Ever

As it's Christmas Eve and we are going to a friends for Christmas day I have decided to make a Yule Log to take with us. This recipe I found last year and could hardly believe how delicious it was - I certainly did not want to share it with anyone. So I am making it again this year with a slight twist as I am using gluten free flour so Keeley will be able to eat it.

The recipe is from Mary Codogan, I have copied the recipe below, you can also view it here. Thanks to Daphne for lending me her pan and oven to cook this in. :)

The Recipe - Mary Codogan's Chocolate Yule Log

Butter, for greasing

5 eggs

140g light muscovado sugar

100g self-raising flour

25g good quality cocoa powder

caster sugar, for dusting
For the icing and filling

285ml/9½fl oz carton double cream

450g fondant chocolate , such as Lindt Lindor

icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter and line the base and sides of a 30 x 35cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment. 
2. Separate the eggs, putting them into two large mixing bowls. Add the sugar and 2 tbsp water to the egg yolks. Using an electric whisk or tabletop mixer, whisk the sugar and yolks for about 5 mins until the mixture is light in colour and thick enough to leave a trail when the whisk blades are lifted. Sift in the flour and cocoa, then fold in lightly, using the whisk blades or a large metal spoon.
3.  Using a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until they are stiff, then fold into the cake mixture in three batches, again using the blades to preserve as much air as possible. 
4. Pour the mixture evenly over the prepared tin, then carefully spread to the edges. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cake feels firm to the touch. Put a large sheet of baking parchment on the work surface and sprinkle lightly with caster sugar. Turn the cake out onto the parchment and peel off the lining paper. Cover with a clean tea towel, then leave to cool completely. Trim a little cake from all the edges, then score along the edge of one of the long sides of the cake and roll up from there, using the paper to help you, rolling the paper inside the cake.
5.  To make the icing and filling, bring the cream to the boil in a small pan, remove from the heat, then break in 400g of the chocolate. Stir until it is melted and smooth. Leave to cool, then chill until it is spreadable, about 1 hr. Chop the remaining chocolate, spoon a third of the icing into a bowl, then stir them together to make the filling. 
6. Carefully unroll the cake, then spread all the filling over to within 2cm of the edges. Roll up the cake again using the paper to help you, then set on a board. 
7. Cut a thick diagonal slice off one end of the cake. Transfer the larger piece of cake to a board or flat serving plate. Spread a little icing over cut side of the small piece of cake and fix it to the large roll to make a stump (as photo). Spread remaining icing over the cake, then dust with icing sugar to serve.

One thing to note about this recipe is that the icing and filling gets quite soft when the weather is hot like it is today, as soon as I had covered the log I whipped it back into the fridge to allow it to set a little before dusting or serving.

Miechey's Amazing Chocolate Gluten Free Brownies

I stumbled upon a Nigel Slater brownie recipe a couple of years ago - it had promises of being as thick as Glastonbury mud and I have never looked back since. I have adapted his recipe to make it gluten free and it is delicious, once you have tried this recipe you will never stray from it. I have since tried many more but always with regret at the end result - nothing comes even close.

I am baking these brownies as part of a Christmas gift to Keeley who is gluten free and her husband Tom who have kindly invited me and Andy over to spend Christmas day with them.

The Recipe - Miechey's Amazing Chocolate Brownies

300g caster sugar

250g butter

250g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or higher)

3 eggs + 1 yolk

60g coconut flour

60g cocoa powder

50g white chocolate

The Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease and line a rectangular tin.
2. Melt 200g dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, once melted remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. Beat the sugar and butter together until light and creamy. Add the eggs a little at a time until well mixed.
4. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the butter mixture and mix well.
5. Chop the remaining dark and white chocolate into gravel sized pieces. Poor the melted chocolate an chocolate chips into the mixture and mix thoroughly.
6. Poor the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30-45 minutes. It should still have a slight wobble and the crumbs should be moist but not wet when you insert a skewer.
7. Allow to cool in the tin, cut into squares and chill.

Delicious Scottish Shortbread

As it was Camaryn's last day at the office before she left us for 303 I decided to make her some good bye shortbread and boy did it turn out great. I have made a few recipes in my time and this is by far the best recipe ever. It was delicious and produced a fantastic crunch when you bit into it.

The Recipe - Scots' Shortbread with Ground Rice (Stephenie Alexander - The Kitchen Companion)
250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g caster sugar (i used granulated in the mixture to give extra crunch)
250g plain flour
125g ground rice  or rice flour

The Method

1. Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
3. Mix flour and ground rice in a bowl, and then mix into the creamed mixture until just combined. Do not over mix.
4. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and press to combine. Lightly roll out the dough to a thickness of 1.5-2cm . Cut into fingers (or 4 x 12 rounds using shortbread moulds) and prick with a fork. transfer to baking trays and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Bake shortbread for 15-20 minutes until just starting to colour. It will feel a bit soft, cool completely on a wire rack, sprinkle with extra caster sugar then serve.

Trying to be Sugar Free - Honey Sweetened Rhubarb Muffins

I am trying to make myself uber healthy and give sugar the boot for 80% of my week. I almost can't bring myself to write that with all the fantastically amazing sweet things out there to bake, but it must be done. Sugar puts stress on your body and so if I can save myself to special occasions then thats progress in my eye's. Below if the first attempted recipe which is sweetened naturally and it turned out pretty nice, although they should be eaten on the day as they get a bit wet from the rhubarb.


The Recipe - Honey Sweetened Rhubarb Muffins
250g honey
100ml low fat yogurt
1 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 cup oat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
340g rhubarb

The Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, grease and line a muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine honey, yogurt, butter, vanilla, egg and milk in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl whisk flours, salt, baking soda and powder together.
4. Add the dry mix to the honey mix and stir until just combined. Fold in the rhubarb
5. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then turn out to a wire rack

I found this at: www.grouprecipes.com/116616/honey---rhubarb-muffins.html

Christmas Party Blondies

For my Christmas party this year at work it was decided upon to go to point walter for a picnic and as nothing sweet had been ordered I put it upon myself to make us something sweet. I made blondies and brownies, below is the recipe for the blondies which were the favourite of the day and very moreish.

The Recipe - Cranberry, Pine Nut and White Chocolate Blondies (Kitchen Aid The Cookbook)
100g White Chocolate
100g butter
125g sugar
seeds from one vanilla pod
2 eggs
60g flour
25g pine nuts
75g white chocolate chips
50g dried cranberries

The Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line an 18cm square baking tin with baking paper.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bain marie. Stir until smooth and then remove from the heat.
3. Whisk the sugar, vanilla seeds and eggs in an electric mixer until pale and thick. Gradually add in the melted chocolate and butter.
4. Sift the flour into the mixing bowl and mix until combined. Stir in the pine nuts, chocolate chips and dried cranberries (I didn't have any pine nuts so didn't use or substitute them)
5.  Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes or until firm to touch. Cool in the tin before turning out and cutting into squares.

Andy's Birthday Cake - Coconut and White Chocolate Mud Cake

I have some what neglected my blog recently which I regret, but I have still been baking and have some great recipes which I'll put up shortly. I'm currently on a two week break from work over Christmas and as Andy has to work, I fear more baking shenanigans will be had.

So it's Andy's Birthday tomorrow and although he has suggested not making a Birthday cake, I did manage to get out of him that he wanted something with white chocolate and fruit, so here is my second attempt at this rather scrummy sounding recipe. My first attempt ended badly - I burnt it, but that was many months ago.

The Recipe Coconut and White Chocolate Mud Cake (Coles Christmas Mag 2009)
200g butter
180g white chocolate
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup plain flour
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Apricot filling
825g apricot halves, drained
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup caster sugar

Icing
125g butter softened
3/4 cup pure icing sugar
125g white chocolate, melted

The Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C or 140 degrees for a fan oven. Grease and line a 20cm square cake pan with non-stick baking paper. (I used a round one as I don't own a square one)
2. Heat butter, chocolate, sour cream and sugar in a saucepan, stirring until melted and well combined. Cool for 10 minutes, add the egg sand vanilla and mix well.
3. Sift both flowers into a large mixing bowl. Add coconut. Add 1/4 of the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Continue to add a 1/4 of the mixture at a time until the mixture is well combined. Fill prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
4. Meanwhile make the apricot filling: Combine the apricots and lemon juice in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add sugar stir and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove, stir and cook for 5 minutes more. Refrigerate until cold.
5. To make the icing: Using electric beaters beat butter and icing sugar together until pale and creamy. Stir in the melted chocolate until combined.
6. Split the cake, spread a little of the icing and apricot filling over the base, sandwich the cakes together. Spread icing over the tops and sides. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

Hot and Sour Cucumber with Sticky Mushroom Noodles

I'd been staring at this recipe for a while, the mushrooms in the picture looked so tasty an knowing Andy doesn't particularly like mushrooms I couldn't not make this dish. It turned out scrummy which was a good thing as Andy refused to eat it.

The Recipe - Hot and Sour Cucumber with Sticky Mushroom Noodles from Donna Hay
60ml cup rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp dried chili flakes

1. 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

2 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled, deseeded and sliced (I use normal ones)
1 tbsp sesame oil
100g namenko mushrooms (I used a mixture of hon shimenji, button and shitake)
125ml oyster sauce
125ml chicken or vegetable stock
270g green tea soba noodles, cooked
1 cup mint leaves
3 green onions, thinly sliced

The Method

1. Place the vinegar, lime juice, chilli, sesame seeds and cucumber in a bowl and mix well to combine, set aside.
2. heat the oil in a large non stick pan over a high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes or until soft.
3. Add the oyster sauce, stock and noodles and cook for a further 1 minute or until noodles are coated in sauce.
4. Place the noodles in a dish, top with the cucumber, mint and onions and serve.

Lamintons for Breakfast

I haven't felt much like baking this past week since having my wisdom tooth removed. It's not been  great week, but at least the weekend is now fast approaching.

As I was up at an ungodly hour and unable to go to the gym I decided to try my hand at baking some lamingtons, I have never made then before and love coconut and love cake, so this seemed like a great choice. My recipe was for lamington wedges, instead o the usual square, I think I'll make the squares next time as the wedges were difficult to keep whole.

The recipe I have used came from two different books as the book I was using for the lamingtons said to use a ready made sponge, so I had to bake one of those first.

The Recipe - Sponge Cake from Stephanie Alexander's The Kitchen Companion
5 eggs at room temperature
150g plain flour plus extra for dusting
60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees, butter a 24cm cake time and dust with flour.
2. Whisk up the eggs and sugar in a bowl until thick and mousse like.
3. Sift the flour on top of the egg mixture and fold in with a large metal spoon.
4. Trickle the melted butter down the side of the pan and fold in using a large metal spoon.
5. Poor the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden and springy to touch. place on a wire rack to cool.

For The lamingtons from Chocolate Indulgence Book
40g Cocoa powder
250g icing sugar
125ml bolling water
30g unsalted butter
180g shredded coconut

Method

1. Trim the top and sides from the cake and cut into wedges.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
3. Add the butter to the boiling water and stir until melted, pour mixture into icing sugar and stir until combined.
4. Spread the coconut out onto a large plate.
5. Dip the sponge into the icing, shake off any extra icing and place onto the coconut. Roll over until each side has a good coating and pace on a wire rack

For a first try these turned out really tasty, a light and springy sponge cake helped soak up the chocolate icing and gather  good helping of coconut. Not bad for a first try.

Chocolate Buns

Another recipe from my Hotel Chocolat book, there is a whole section specifically for chocolate breakfast foods so being prepared for once I made chocolate bread rolls. You need to make the dough the night before hence why being prepared is important, so Friday night as I had no plans I diligently made the dough and left it in the fridge over night. I was surprised at how hard the dough felt and was wondering if I would be having tough bread for breakfast.

The recipe states its a pre world war II recipe and looks a little like pan au chocolat but with bread instead of flakey pastry. I grated my chocolate rather than cut it and used a combination of 70% dark and Belgium white chocolate as I had no milk or low 50% dark chocolate. They turned out petty tasty and warmed up the next day still tasted fab. I think I'll be making these again soon!!

The Recipe - Sue Lawrence's Chocolate Bread Rolls
625g strong plain flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast
30g butter, cut into cubes
30g caster sugar
340ml skimmed milk, warmed, plus extra to glaze
110-140g dark chocolate (50-60% cocoa) or good quality mil chocolate

The Method

1. Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Rub in the butter, then stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre.
2. Add enough warm milk to mix into a fairly firm dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for 10 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate over night to prove.
3. The next morning, knock back the dough with your fists, then divide into 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a 10x15cm rectangle.
4. place the chopped chocolate in the centre of the rectangle  and roll up like a Swiss roll.
5. Place on a greased baking tray, cover loosely and leave to rise in a warm place for 30-40minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 240 degrees and bake fro 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cook on a wire rack for 5 minutes and then eat whilst warm.

Sticky Date Pudding with Toffee Sauce

Another recipe which has been calling me from the pages o a beautiful Donna Hay magazine. I was never a fan of dates until I moved to Australia and find them a good substitute in cakes with little sugar. This recipe both easy to make and delicious worked well and would be perfect on  cold gloomy day (not that I get many of those in Perth!).


Deliciously moist and light this sponge with it's sweet dates and creamy butterscotch sauce was heaven on the lips!!

The Recipe - Donna Hay's Sticky Date Pudding wit Toffee Sauce
210g chopped fresh dates (i used dried ones)
250ml boiling water
1 ts bicarb of soda
100g butter, chopped
130g brown sugar (i used 100g)
2 eggs
150g self raising flour, sifted
icing sugar for dusting
for the sauce
150g butter, chopped
250ml single cream
260g brown sugar

The Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the dates, boiling water and bicarb in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Place the date mixture, butter and sugar in owl and beat until well combined. Add the egg and flour and beat until just combined.
3. Pour the mixture into 6 lightly greased ramekins. bake for 25 minutes or until cooked.
4. For the sauce, place the butter, cream and sugar in a pan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boiled and cook for 8-10 minutes or until slightly thickened.
5. Dust the puddings with icing sugar and serve with the toffee sauce.

Absolutely scrummy, can't wait to cook this again :)

Chocolate Cinnamon Kisses

After having a long week of baking everything from my Donna Hay recipe's I decided it was time to stray back to my normal sweet tooth goodies. This one from a chocolate bought for me from the lovely girls at work for my Birthday!! 


The recipe is pretty easy to follow, I had a minor disaster when piping my biscuits, my bag split and I had to empty all the contents and use a different bag which was very VERY messy. Plus the baking time in my minute oven was much less than the recipe stated, but perhaps that's because as per usual I got a little over excited and missed the step where you are supposed to put the biscuits in the fridge for 20 minutes!! Ho hum, didn't do them any harm, only cooked them quicker.

The Recipe - Cinnamon Chocolate Kisses
250g unsalted butter, softened
85g icing sugar
155g plain flour
40g cornflour
30g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2tsp ground cinnamon
for the chocolate ganache
80ml (whipping) cream
120g dark chocolate, finely chopped

The Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Line two baking trays with baking powder.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl using electric beaters until pale and fluffy.
3. Sift in the flour, cornflour, cocoa and cinnamon and beat until just combined. Spoon the mixture into a pipping bag fitted with 1cm nozzle. Pipe 3cm stars, about 2cm apart onto the papered trays. Place the trays in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
4. Bake swapping the trays halfway through cooking for 20 minutes, or until just cooked through. Allow the biscuits to cool on the trays.
5. Meanwhile make the chocolate ganache, heat the cream in a small saucepan until almost simmering.
6. Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl and pour onto the hot cream. Stand for 1 minute and then stir until the chocolate has melted. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the ganache is a thick spreadable consistency.
7. Spread the base of half of the base of the biscuits and sandwich together with the remaining biscuits.
8. These kisses will keep, stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Cinnamon Brioche Scrolls

I've always wondered how you make brioche and then in the Spring edition of Donna Hay as this base recipe and a series of options to turn the dough into cinnamon scrolls, muffins, chocolate swirl or tarts. So here was my first attempt, and it as a lesson to remind me to read the recipe before I start to make it. This recipe requires 2-3 hours of initial rising time followed by 1 further hour. it was safe to say as I made this after work one day that I didn't have enough time for it to rise sufficiently - so to help it along its way i ended up putting the dough in a glass bowl covered with cling wrap and putting it on my belly under my top whilst i watched a  movie.

The Recipe - Donna hay's brioche
1 x 8g sachet dried yeast
1 tbsp luke warm water
55g caster sugar
3/4 tsp sea salt flakes
2 tbsp lukewarm milk
250g double OO flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
225g butter, chopped and softened
1 egg extra, lightly beaten
for the scrolls
55g caster sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
11/2 tbsp demerara sugar

The Method

1. place the yeast and water in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubble appear on the surface.
2. Combine the sugar salt and milk in a separate bowl.Place the flour, yeast mixture and egg in a bowl of an electric mixer and using a dough hook beat on slow for 1 minute. Increase speed to high add the milk mixture and beat on high for 10 minutes or until the dough comes away fro the sides of the bowl.
3. With the motor running gradually add the butter and beat for 6-7 minutes or until glossy and elastic.
4. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm pace for 2-3 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. this forms the basic brioche dough.
5. place the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well to combine.
6. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle 45cm x 25cm. sprinkle with the sugar mixture ad starting from the longest edge, roll to enclose filling.
7. using a sharp knife, trim the edges and cut into 14 pieces. Places the scrolls side by side in a lightly greased 20cm springform cake tin. Cove with a clean damp cloth and set aside for 1 hour. (i did this part in the oven do didn't get a very good rise)
8. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, brush the dough with the egg and sprinkle with demerera sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, loosely cover with aluminium foil and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until golden. Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

this recipe turned out well, think I will try the chocolate version next time though and make it on the weekend when I have plenty of time to let it rise properly!!

Roasted Chicken and Pumpkin with Pesto dressing

After heading home and wanting something easy to cook I decided upon Donna Hay's Roasted Chicken and Pumpkin with Pesto dressing which was absolutely amazing, a definite winner, perhaps it was the pesto - I love pesto and would happily eat it with anything, but combined with the sweet pumpkin and moist chicken was a winner!!

The Recipe - Roasted Chicken and Pumpkin with Pesto dressing by Donna Hay Autumn 2010
500g jap pumpkin, cut into wedges (I used butternut squash as I feel it has a nicer taste)
350g chat (baby) potatoes, halved (I used Royal Blues as I find these my favourites over here)
1 red onion, chopped
olive oil, for drizzling
2 x 200g chicken breast fillets
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
for the pesto
1 cup chopped basil leaves
2 tbsp chopped toasted pine nuts
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
125ml olive oil
sea salt
cracked black pepper

The Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Place the pumpkin, potato and onion on a baking tray and drizzle with oil and toss to combine. Roast for 15 minutes
2. Drizzle the chicken with oil, add to the tray and roast for a further 12-15 minutes or until chicken is golden and cooked through.
3. Meanwhile make the pesto. Place the basil leaves, pine nuts, crushed garlic and finely grated Parmesan, lemon rind, olive oil, sea salt, cracked black pepper and salt in a bowl. Use 1/4 of this recipe with 1 tbsp white wine.
4. Slice the chicken and place on the plate with the pumpkin, onions and potatoes and spoon over the dressing.

Wowwe was this delicious, can't wait to have it again and the addition of the lemon rind to the pesto was a really tasty addition to the pesto - I think I will add this to my usual pesto recipe.

Beehivee Cupcakes

This recipe from the cover of the Spring edition of Donna Hay makes my mouth water, these delicious and pretty cupcakes just look divine and I have been dying to try the recipe out since I picked up the magazine. This weekend I could wait no longer, so had to try it out.

The Recipe - Donna Hay's Beehive Cupcakes
125g butter, softened
165g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp honey
2 eggs
185g plain flour sifted
1 tsp baking powder
125ml milk
for the meringue icing
220g caster sugar
60ml water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3 egg whites
yellow sanding sugar to serve

The Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Place butter, sugar, vanilla and honey in a bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat until well combined.
2. Add the flour, baking powder and milk and beat until just combined.
3. Spoon the mixture into 12 x 1/2 cup/125m muffin tins lined with paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
4. To make the meringue icing, place the sugar water and cream of tartar in a pan over a high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Place the egg whites in a bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft peaks form. While the mixture is running gradually add the sugar mixture and beat until thick and glossy.
6. To assemble the cupcakes use a 3cm round cookie cutter to cut round the centre of each cupcake. Fill a pipping bag with a 1cm plain nozzle and pipe into the centre and top in a swirling action to form a beehive shape.
7. top the icing with wings and drizzle with sugar.

My attempts weren't too shabby, and i was really pleased with the taste, as usual I couldn't help myself and added a handful o dessicated coconut to the mixture as i love coconut. The cupcakes were dense and moist and left me wanting more. The icing made them very pretty if not a little difficult to eat without getting messy, but hey that's part of the fun.

They didn't look as pretty the next day though, so be sure to ice them the day you want to serve them.

Cucumber Tabouleh with Tomatoes and Feta

I've been a bit lapse at doing my Donna Hay everyday as I've  been pretty busy the last few days. I made this recipe over the weekend and loved it. Fresh and flavoursome with a fragrant bite from the parsley and lemon juice. The mix of the salty feta and sweet cherry tomatoes really lifted this dish. Scrummy!!

The Recipe - Donna Hay Cucumber Tabouleh with Tomatoes and Feta
1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/ 2 cup chopped curly parsley
1/4 cup chopped mint
150g crumbled feta
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
2 tbsp olive oil plus extra
1 clove garlic crushed
2tsp sumac (I didn't have any of this so left this out)
1 tbsp lemon juice
250g truss baby roma tomatoes
sea salt and cracked black pepper

The Method

1. Place the cucumber, parsley, mint, feta, lemon rind, olive oil, sumac, garlic and lemon juice in a bowl and toss until well combined.
2. place the tomatoes on a plate with some tabouleh, sprinkle with olive oil and serve.

Creamy Asparagus and Lemon Pasta

I was really excited about cooking today's dish - I absolutely love pasta and this dish not only looked gorgeous sounded fantastic. Sadly fantastic was not how this dish tasted, perhaps it was how I put it together but for once I hardly strayed from the recipe.

The Recipe - Creamy Asparagus and Lemon Pasta
400g linguine
340g asparagus cut lengthways
1tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic crushed
1 cup/240ml sour cream
1/2 cup/125ml lemon juice
1/3 cup/80ml chicken stock
sea salt and cracked black pepper
1/4 cup/20g finely grated parsley
3/4 cup basil leaves

The Method

1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 10-12 minutes.
2. Add the asparagus and cook for a further 2 minutes or until the asparagus is tender and the pasta al dente. Drain and return to the pan to keep warm
3. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.Add the oil and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the sour cream, lemon juice and chicken stock, salt  and pepper and mix until well combined.
4. Add the pasta and asparagus to the pan with the parmesan and basil and mix to combine.
5. Top the pasta with parmesan to serve.

I think the issue with this dish for me was it was a little bit too lemony, the creamy sour cream was nice but the combination with the lemon juice was just a bit too much.

Char-Grilled Chicken with Ginger Noodles

I had a craving for noodles today and Donna Hay's Char-grilled chicken with ginger noodles certainly scratched that itch. The only problem was I was a little heavy-handed with the chilli for my liking.

The Recipe - Char-Grilled Chicken with Ginger Noodles from Donna Hay Oct/Nov 2010
4 x 200g chicken breast fillets, skin on and trimmed
vegetable oil, for brushing
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
5cm piece (25g) ginger, thinly sliced
1/4 cup (60ml) oyster sauce
1/4 cup (60ml) chicken stock
440g udon noodles, cooked
1 cup coriander leaves
5 green onions, thinly sliced
lime wedges to serve

The Method

1. Heat a char-grill pan or barbecue over high heat.
2. Brush the chicken with oil and cook skin-side down for 7 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
3. Heat a wok or large frying pan over a high heat until hot. Add the sesame oil, garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the oyster sauce, chicken stock and noodles and cook, tossing the noodles to coat for 2 minutes.
5. Divide the noodles between 4 bowls and top with chicken, coriander and green onion. Serve with lime wedges.

Prosciutto and Sage Veal with Parmesan Polenta

After a full day at work followed by an hour and a half yoga class I rushed home to make one of Donna Hay's Speedy Dinners and was delighted to find how quick easy and delicious this dish reall was.


The Recipe - Prosciutto and Sage Veal with Parmesan Polenta from Donna Hay Oct/Nov2010
1 cup/250ml chicken stock
2 1/2 cups/625ml milk
1 cup/170g instant polenta
1/2 cup/40g finely grated parmesan
sea salt and cracked black pepper
4 x 100g veal schnitzel steaks
12 sage leaves (i used thyme as I didn't have any sage)
4 slices prosciutto
olive oil for brushing
baby spinach leaves and extra olive oil to suit

The Method

1. Place the stock and milk in a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta and cook, stirring for 4 minutes or until thickened. Stir through the parmesan.
2. Top each schnitzel with 3 leaves of sage, wrap with proscuitto and brush with a little oil.
3. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Cook the veal for 1 minute each side or until golden.
4. Divide the polenta between 4 plates, top with the veal steaks and serve with baby spinach.

I was pleasantly surprised at how simple and yet tasty this recipe was. I loved the parmesan polenta and would happily have this again and the sage and prosciutto wrapped veal was succulent, juicy and tender.

Every Day is a Donna Hay Day - Buttermilk and Vanilla Panna Cotta

Since moving to Australia I have been buying the Donna Hay magazines, beautifully photographed delicious looking dishes and I have tried cooking or rather baking several of them I decided there is so many tasty recipes I am missing trying. So last week I made a decision to make a Donna hay recipe every day and this is the start of my week.

The recipe - Buttermilk And Vanilla Panna Cotta
1tsp powdered gelatine
2 tbsp water
1 cup/250ml buttermilk
1 cup/250ml single pouring cream
1/2 cup/80g icing sugar
1 vanilla bean split and seeds scraped out
fresh raspberries to serve

The Method

1. Place the gelatine and water in a bowland set aside for 5 minutes to absorb.
2. Place the  buttermilk, cream, icing sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the gelatine and cook stirring for 2-3 minutes or until dissolved. Strain and allow to cool completely. Poor into four 1/2 capacity moulds and chill for 2 hours or until set.
3. Turn gently out onto a plate and serve with raspberries, I used strawberries which were quite sharp and went perfectly with this dish.

Unfortunately I did something wrong and my panna cotta did not fully set, it turned out into a low mould which slowly sank into a mess on the plate. Tasted delicious all the same.

Chocolate Banoffee Cupcakes

The lovely ladies at work were giving me suggestions yesterday as to what to use my over-ripe bananas for. Camaryn wanted Banoffee pie where as Alice wanted Banana Cake, so I thought I would come to a sit on the shelf decision and combine both of those to make these banoffee cupcakes. I made them this morning before 6am!! Nothing like an early morning baking session, far better than an early trip to the gym!

I had spent at least an hour last nice searching for a recipe and come across nothing I fancied and then this morning I came across this recipe from kittens in the Kitchen http://kittensinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2008/09/banana-cupcakes-with-chocolate-goo.html

The Recipe - Choclate Banoffee Cupcakes from Kittens in the Kitchen
3 ripe bananas
1 cup plain white flour
0.5 cups wholewheat flour
0.5 cup soft brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
6 tbsp groundnut oil
6 tbsp yogurt
1 tbsp honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the 'frosting'...
1 tin condensed milk
150g plain chocolate
1 tbsp butter
pinch saltPreheat oven to 165c.

The Mehtod
Prepare the Batter...

1. Sift together the flours, baking powder and baking soda, then mix in the salt.
2. Whisk together the oil and sugar, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mash up the bananas with a fork and add to the egg mixture along with the vanilla extract.
3. Add a third of the flour mix, then a third of the yogurt and mix until just moistened. Repeat until flour and yogurt finished!
4. Line muffin tray with cases, and divide the mixture between them.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of one.

Now make the frosting

1. Put the condensed milk into a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Gently bring to the boil and cook gently for 5 minutes.
2. Break up the chocolate and add to the milk. Melt it up until you have a gorgeous gooey chocolatey mess.
3. Add the butter and stir gently until combined.
4. Let it cool a bit, then smear on top of cooled cupcakes.

Wedding Cake Attempt 2 - The Ultimate Chocolate Cake

The weekend is here again and I'm back to baking and the purpose today is a birthday cake. I can cook a thousand cakes for no purpose at all and they will all end out perfact, delicious and wonderful and the time I actually want the cake to be great hell no!! It just aint going to happen.


So it's 11:45pm and I have just put my second cake in the oven. The first one had gone perfect until I had started talking to my very good friend on spark and forget my cake was in the oven. The cake wasn't burnt to a cinder but did end up very cooked and very hard. I think if I threw it at a window it would definitely break the glass!!


Even Andy my other half thought it was solid and suggested I bake another cake, so right now, I am in my nighty with my apron on waiting for a cake which is going to take at least another hour to cook. I can't even use the excuse that its a new recipe, because nope, I've made this one before with excellent results.


Anyhows, thats enough of my trials and tribulations - here is the recipe, it is taken from Hotel Chocolate 101 Best Chocolate Recipes.


The Recipe - Angela Nilsens - Ultimate Chocolate Cake
200g butter, plus extra to grease
200g dark chocolate (about 60% cocoa solids) in pieces
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
125ml cold water
85g self raising flour
85g plain flour
1/4 tsp bicarb of soda
200g light muscavado sugar
200g golden caster sugar
25g cocoa powder
3 medium eggs
75ml buttermilk


Ganache
200g good-quality dark chocolate , as above
284ml carton double cream (pouring type)
2 tbsp golden caster sugar 

The Method

1. Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/ gas 3. Break the chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan. Tip in the butter, then mix the coffee granules into 125ml/4fl oz cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat. Or melt in the microwave on Medium for about 5 minutes, stirring half way through. 
2. While the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the buttermilk. 
3. Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25- 1 hour 30 minutes - if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a bit). Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4.  When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three. Make the ganache: chop the chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan, add the sugar, and heat until it is about to boil. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
5. Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smoothing to cover with a palette knife. Decorate with grated chocolate or a pile of chocolate curls. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.

You can also find this recipe at http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3092/ultimate-chocolate-cake . I played around with using a white chocolate ganache as well as the one in this recipe, both work really well and taste delicious.

Chocolate Wedding Cake Attempt 1

For my Australian wedding I am looking at making my own wedding cake so will be trying out a series of chocolate cake recipes until I find the cake most suitable for me. It has to be rich dense and fudgey and to be honest I am not so sure where to start. Before I attack my own recipe books I plan to have a good search and find some decent recipes online.


The first one I plan on trying is one from the BBC Good Food Website http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4577/wedding-cake--rich-dark-chocolate-cake It sounds right up my alley, I don't have a 30cm pan and there is no way one would fit in my oven anyhow so I will be halving this recipe and using a 20cm pan. 


The Recipe - Attempt Number 1 - Chocolate Wedding Cake from BBC Good Food website
650g unsalted butter
650g plain chocolate (70% cocoa)
100ml very strong coffee- espresso is ideal
3 tsp vanilla essence
650g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
950g light soft brown sugar
10 eggs
2 x 284ml/9.5 fl oz soured cream

The Method

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the biggest bowl you have. Add the sugar, breaking down any lumps with your fingertips if necessary. Beat the eggs and soured cream together in a jug or bowl and pour into the flour mix. Pour in the melted chocolate mix as well, then stir with a wooden spoon until you have a thick, even chocolaty batter.
3. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 2½ hrs - don't open the oven door before 2 hrs is up, as this will cause the cake to sink. Once cooked, leave in the tin to cool completely. The unfilled cake will keep for up to four days, wrapped as before, or frozen for a month.
4. to decorate and fill this cake I made a simple white chocolate ganache by bringing 100ml cream to almost boiling point and pouring it over 220g white chocolate. Once the chocolate was smooth, Iet it cool before using it to fill and top the cake

The height on this cake was awesome, if it had rose anymore it would have spilled over the top of the paper, which wouldn't have been good. Once cool, I took of the cracked top (the recipe had mentioned to not open the over for 2 hours or the cake would crack), sliced it in half and filled it with the ganache. the cake inside was light chocolatey and rich looking, and once filled gave off a beautiful aroma.

So I took half of this cake into work and asked people to rate it out of ten, here is how it scored:
Camaryn:  10
Alice: 8
Lynton: 7
Scott: 7.5
Me: 7
A total of 49.5, not bad!!

Monkey Business Perhaps?

Last week whilst having breakfast in Cranked in Leederville I spotted upon their menu a breakfast item called monkey business. The description was something like 'Toasted banana bread with raspberries and almonds served with a ricotta, yogurt and vanilla topping.

Just add raspberries and I'm in!! What was delivered to be was two huge slices if you could call them that they were so thick, that looked heavy but were utterly delicious. The ricotta topping freshened up the already moist, fruit and nutty bread. There was too much for just me, this is the type of bread to share with a friend.

I have been thinking about this bread ever since and so have tried to amend a recipe to produce something similar. I used a Simple Banana Cake recipe from Stephanie Alexander's 'The Cooks Companion'.

The Recipe - Banana Cake with Raspberry and Almonds
125g softened unsalted butter
11/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana
few drops of pure vanilla extract
250g plain flour
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup of butter milk or 1/2 cup milk with 1 tsp lemon juice
1 hand dessicated coconut
1-2 hands frozen raspberries
1-2 hand toasted almonds

The Method

1. Butter and flour a 22cm square cake tin (I used a loaf tin), then line the base with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs banana and sugar.
3. Sift the dry ingredients and add to the mixture, alternating with buttermilk.
4. Stir in the toasted almonds, coconut and raspberries until just combines.
5. Spoon into a tin and bake for 1 hour or until a fine skewer  inserted comes out clean.

Savory Muffins - Chorizo and Piquillo Muffins

My other half is always on my case to bake more savory items, there is some crazy notion in his head that if its savory its not half as bad for you. I suppose with a lot less sugar if any the savory dish does have that going for it, but usually sugar is replaced by cheese!!


So hungover and half awake on a Saturday morning I've been searching for a savory muffin recipe which sounds interesting. I have come accross the 'Cook Almost Anything Once' blog which had a recipe which took my fancy and low and behold I had pretty much all of the ingredients to make (if not with a minor substitution).


The Recipe - Chorizo and Piquilla Muffins from Cook Almost Anything Once
220 grams self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
150 grams potato, grated and squeezed to remove any excess moisture
120 grams chorizo, sliced
50 grams piquillo peppers, diced
100 grams Manchego, grated
1 egg
100mls milk, approx
fresh parsley, chopped

The Method

Prepare the chorizo:
You can either dice or slice the chorizo, in these I've used slices. Sauté the chorizo until crisp, then drain on paper towels to remove any excess fat. Cool before using.

Sift the flour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Add in the potato and toss it through the flour so it's evenly distributed. Next, add in the chorizo, pepper and manchego, being careful not to break them too much as you stir.

Whisk the egg and milk together and pour this into the dry ingredients - sprinkle over the parsley and then fold until the mixture has just incorporated.

Divide the mixture into 6 muffin cases, filling them about three-quarters full.

Bake in a preheated 170°C oven until golden and cooked through - about 20-30 minutes.

Recipe Taken from: http://cookalmostanything.blogspot.com/

I used a hot and spicy chorizo purchased from Re-Store an Italian Deli on  oxford Street, I substituted the piquillo peppers with a standard red capsicum and used a vintage cheddar instead of the manchego. The muffins were light with  delicous crispy topping and very yummy. Another successful recipe, although I think using the piquillo peppers would have given it a sweeter tatse.

Zucchini and Lemon Cake with Sugar Frosting

I've been wanting to try my hand at a courgette (sorry zucchini) and lemon cake for ages, but have always been tempted with other things or not had the correct ingredients available. Well this week I set off to make such a cake, my first hurdle was finding the correct recipe. I wanted a cake which wold be fresh with plenty of lemon and has the kind of topping which crunches under your bite.

Nothing, I cold find really was just what I was looking for and then I stumbled upon David Lebovitz blog and decided to use his recipe as my base. In fact it was not his recipe but one he had adapted from Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the babbo kitchen.

The Recipe - Zucchini Cake with Crunchy Lemon Glaze from David lebovitz
For the cake:
1 cup (135g) almonds, pecans, or walnuts, toasted (I used walnuts)
2 cups (280g) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 3/4 (350g) cups sugar (I reduced this to 270g as I tought it looked like it might be a little too sweet)1 cup (250ml) extra-virgin olive oil (I used 50% olive oil, 50% walnut oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (300g) finely grated zucchini
For the lemon glaze:
1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
1 cup (140g) powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
I also added the zest of a lemon to the cake mixture for extra zing

The Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease a 10 cup (2.5l) bundt or tube cake pan* with non-stick spray or butter, dust with flour, then tap out any excess.
2. Pulse the nuts in a food processor until finely chopped.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, 1 3/4 cup (350g) sugar, and olive oil for 3 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Stop and scrape down the sides of the mixer, then add the vanilla.
5. Mix in the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the mixer bowl to make sure everything is mixed in well, then beat on medium speed for 30 seconds.
6. Stir in the chopped nuts and zucchini, this is when I add the lemon zest as well.
7. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, smooth the top, then bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan.
8. During the last few minutes of the cake baking, make the glaze by whisking together the lemon juice, 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar, and powdered sugar.
9. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a cooling rack. Brush the glaze over the cake with a pastry brush and let the cake cool completely. 

This cake was amazing and everyone loved it. Fresh, moist and with a delicious crunchy glaze. I will definitely be making this cake again  and with all that zucchini I can also kid myself that this cake is healthy, surely it must count towards my five a day :)