I am utterly enamoured with my mini donut baking pan. The holes are teeny tiny, resulting in a fairy-sized morsel that it irresistible. Whenever the baking urge strikes I often start with the pan and work backwards, searching for a worthy recipe. I have now found my ‘go to’ recipe for mini chocolate donuts, thanks to the lovely blog mysanfranciscokitchen.com
Despite being Sydney born and bred I am a winter gal through and through. The cool air, the fabulous clothes and the amazing winter fare is my kind of lifestyle. Forget frolicking at the beach or being burnt to a crisp – give me the great indoors, a fire and some cookbooks and I’m in hog heaven.
Of all the winter foods my favourite to cook and eat must be puddings. Despite not having an overly sweet tooth I am always drawn to puddings: self-saucing, gooey, oozy numbers are what the cold weather is all about. Wand when it comes to a hearty dessert to make you happy to be alive it is hard to go past a bread and butter pud.
Australian blogger and writer Kate Gibbs’ recipe for choc raspberry bread and butter pudding, from her book After Toast, had my name on it: I had a stale loaf of chunky white bread and due to shopping miscommunication about 8 litres of milk in the fridge.
I made a few tweaks including the amount of eggs and milk and omitting jam that was used on the bread slices.
GATHER:
8 thick slices of good quality white bread
Enough butter to generously butter bread with
150g fresh or frozen raspberries
1/3 cup dark choc bits / buttons/ roughly chopped chocolate
3 eggs
2 cups milk
Good splash best quality vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar plus extra for sprinkling
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180C .
Cut bread into small rectangles or triangles then butter each piece on one side.
Arrange in shallow ovenproof dish and scatter with half the raspberries and all of the chocolate. Cover with remaining bread.
In a large jug whisk eggs until frothy then beat in milk, vanilla and cinnamon.
Pour over bread and scatter over remaining berries.
Stand for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle over the extra sugar, cover with baking paper and bake for 20 minutes. Remove paper and bake for another 15.
Serve warm.
It is so cold in Sydney at the moment that I’m spending most of my time in the kitchen baking. Standing in front of a lovely warm oven is the best way to while a way a bit of time. The downside is I’m burning through flour, milk, eggs and butter at a rate of knots! Oh well…
Recently I flicked through some of my so-huge-it-needs-to-be-culled cookbook collection and landed on a recipe from The Australian Women’s Weekly book, The Baking Collection. This marvellous book is, as they say in certain circles, all thriller – no filler. Page after page of tempting bakes to make and I could think of no happier way to spend a day than creating some of these treats.
I chose the recipe for raspberry and walnut slice, though I used ground almonds instead of ground walnuts. I think any ground nut [or nut meal] would work here so feel free to experiment. The recipe called for ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon but I am such a lover of this scented spice that I just freehanded a massive amount.
GATHER:
150g butter, diced and softened
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 ¾ cup plain flour
at least one teaspoon ground cinnamon [more if you prefer]
½ cup ground almonds
300g frozen raspberries
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a 20cm x 30cm rectangular slice pan.
In bowl of electric mixer beat butter and icing sugar until pale [you may need to scrape down sides of bowl a few times]
Stir in sifted flour, cinnamon and nut meal until mixture is crumble [do not over-mix].
Set aside one cup of crumble mix, then place the rest of the crumble mix in the pan and use the base of a glass to firmly pat down. Sprinkle over raspberries, then sprinkle over remaining mix.
Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden.
Inhale – the smell is amazing.
Allow to cool in tin before slicing into squares.
I have written before about how lucky I am to receive copious of amounts of cookbooks to review in my day job as a journalist. It seems every blogger and his dog has a book these days and some tomes are waaaay better than others. Putting my professional impartiality to one side for a moment I must confess that the books I enjoy reviewing the most are those published by the venerable Australian Women’s Weekly. I have been using their books for decades, as have my mum and nana. Their recipes always work and recently their books have undergone a stylish transformation. Continue reading
How much squee can one dessert hold? While scientists furiously debate the matter I’ll make a punt on saying – lots. I made these oh-so-adorable desserts at a recent family gathering, where I did my usual over-the-top baking trick.
I just couldn’t resist this treat – it was so fun and as it was quick to make [using my pastry cheat] I could dedicate my time to the [many] other bakes I was presenting.
Anything on sticks has instant appeal but these little pies would be perfect presented sans stick. They are the perfect little size for a high tea or even a lunch box treat.
I bought mini paddle pop sticks for this as I had my doubts about putting plastic lollypop sticks in the oven.
I was inspired by this recipe from http://www.cookingchanneltv.com but I cheated all the way. I used frozen shortcrust pastry (home-made pastry would inevitably taste better but to quote that hilarious meme, ain’t nobody got time for that) and shop-bought jam instead of all the from scratch options.
Gather:
2 sheets thawed sweet-crust pastry sheets
Favourite jam / preserves [I used berry]
Caster sugar
Let’s get to it:
Preheat oven to 180C and line two baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.
Use a hear-shaped biscuit / cookie cutter to cut out small hearts. Place half on the baking tray.
Place a small dollop of jam into the centre of each half – do not overfill if they will explode during baking.
Place a stick into each pop then place another heart on top. Use fork to firmly press done edges, then sprinkle with caster sugar.
Bake for 11-18 minutes, depending on the size of your hearts. Allow cooling before serving.
PS – these kept for quite a few days in a sealed contained in a dark, cool place.
Easter is one of my favourite times of year. You get to catch up with friends and family, eat delicious food and watch the kid’s faces as they hunt for eggs. And, like Christmas, you get to go completely over the top with your baking. Or is that just me?
As I write this I am preparing to host an Easter Sunday brunch for family. My mum offered to host but all I could think was – some of the desserts aren’t moveable! So we’ll be having everyone here! Amongst my trifles and tarts and bundt cakes I realised I hadn’t hit the chocolate target so I obviously I had to rectify that.
Gather:
55 grams butter
85 grams dark chocolate, chopped
55 grams milk chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs
¼ cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Enough candy-coated mini chocolate eggs to decorate the biscuits [I used two per biscuit]
Let’s get to it:
Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter and chopped chocolate over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. With a metal spoon stir in the eggs, sugars, and vanilla extract. Stir in flour and baking powder.
Using a heaped teaspoon place batter onto the sheet and decorate with two candy-coated eggs. Allow room for them to spread.
Bake for between 7-11 minutes, until just set [you want them to be moist].
Leave on tray for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack.
I receive umpteen cookbooks to review in my day job at the Fairfax community paper where I work. It is one of the highlights of my job and I love reading through them and seeing what brilliant cooking minds are coming up with. Some books are incredible, some mediocre but the ones that stand out are the books that have that something extra. Continue reading
You’d think by now I would have learnt my lesson regarding taking photos of my baked goods but nope – I still tend to bake then serve the item to friends before I’ve had a chance to take any photos.
Such was the situation with this ooey, gooey, decadent pie. When The Hungry Mum family descended upon America last year we hit many a supermarket, stocking up on all manner of baking goods unavailable in Australia. One of my fav purchases was ginormous marshmallows, the kind of which simply aren’t seen in the Antipodes. I’d been stashing them away, waiting for the perfect recipe and it soon presented itself. Thanks to Sally’s Baking Addiction and her delectable s’mores brownie pie my packet of behemoth marshmallows got cracked open. See her fab recipe here: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/05/06/smores-brownie-pie/
I made this for a recent gathering of friends and managed to snap a few pics before it was cooked. Afterwards was a blur of people almost charging each other over in order to get a slice. As this desert is so rich a teeny sliver goes a long way.
I do also have a box of the legendary graham crackers which this recipe called for but decided to keep these for another day. I used plain sweet bickies so didn’t need the sugar as called for in the original recipe used. I also reduced the amount of sugar in the brownie as I knew the marshmallows would make the pie very sweet.
In any case this was such a hit that I reckon I’ll be called upon again to serve this delish creation.
GATHER:
*Crust
10 plain biscuits [such as Marie], snapped in half
90grams melted butter
Place biscuits in bowl of food processor and wizz until it looks like big crumbs. Add butter and combine until it resembles wet sand. Press into a glass pie dish and place in fridge while you prepare the brownie filling.
*brownies
150g diced butter
¾ cup caster sugar
¾ cup sifted cocoa powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
½ cup plain flour
25 large marshmallows
LET’S GET TO IT:
Melt butter, sugar and cocoa in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds at a time until melted and smooth when stirred. It will look gritty. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
Stir in vanilla, then eggs, one at a time.
Add flour, gently stirring, until fully incorporated. Ensure you don’t overbeat.
Tip into pie crust and use a spatula to level the top.
Bake for about 25 minutes, then remove from oven and neatly decoare the top with marshmallows. Bake for a nother two minutes but watch closely to ensure it doesn’t burn.
Allow to cool before serving.
A recent excursion to Bilpin in NSW introduced me to the exquisiteness of fresh apples. When I say fresh, I mean picked from the tree moments before eating. I am guilty of popping into the supermarket on my lunchbreak to stock up on apples for my daughters’ lunchboxes but after trying these amazingly fresh apples I won’t be doing that again.
I was lucky enough to be invited recently on an ‘apple adventure’ day in Bilpin, a pretty little hamlet outside of Sydney, by the lovely Belly Rumbles. Check out her blog here: http://bellyrumbles.com/
Isn’t it great?
Anyway a group of food bloggers did a tour of an orchard, where it was all systems go in the packing sheds.
Then we visited a pick your own orchard, which was so much fun. We were given delightful little straw baskets to fill with produce, and I felt quite relaxed and happy as I chose the most wonderful apples from the tree.
The difference between freshly picked Australian apples and the often floury, picked-months-ago-and-kept-in-cold-storage numbers from the supermarket couldn’t be more stark.
Greengrocer 1, big chains 0.
I used some of these beauties to create an easy apple ice-cream by the fabulous Donna Hay. The Hungry Dad declared it one of the best he’s ever had, which is strong praise indeed.
The best thing is, you don’t even need an ice cream maker – pretty cool, huh?
GATHER:
2 cups grated apples [Donna specified Granny Smiths but I used red delicious]
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
3 eggs
2 egg yolks, extra
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup caster sugar [I reduced Donna’s quantity of 1 cup]
2 cups pouring cream
crumble
½ cup slow cooking rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
100g chilled butter, chopped
2 generous shakes of cinnamon and allspice
LET’S GET TO IT:
Place apple, cinnamon, lemon zest and juice in a non-metallic bowl, toss and set aside.
In a large ceramic or glass bowl put eggs, extra yolks, vanilla and sugar and place over a pan of simmering water.
Using hand-held electric beaters whip for six to eight minutes, until pale and thick.
Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Place cream in bowl of electric mixer and whip until stiff peaks form. Using a big silver spoon gently fold in the egg mixture, stirring until incorporated.
Gently fold in apple.
Pour into two litre metal cake tine, cover with foil and freeze overnight.
Serve, then top with crumble.
crumble:
Place flour, sugar and oats in a bowl and rub in butter until it is the texture of lumpy sand. Sprinkle over a dash of cinnamon and allspice.
Tip onto baking pan & bake for around 15 minutes at 150C or until golden. Cool before using.
the hungry mum 