Firstly let me apologise for the [lack] of photos. I made this obscenely rich passionfruit semi-freddo to serve to some friends who came over yesterday. Between setting up all the desserts and ensuring everyone had a plate and making sure things didn’t melt the photo thing pretty much didn’t happen.
Use your imagination – cool, rich ice cream studded with swirls of passionfruit, itself sunshine in a mouthful. Don’t you just want some right now? Continue reading
Merle Parrish is a legend in Australian baking circles – not only has she been baking [and winning] at country shows since a teenager but she has endeared herself as a judge on MasterChef Australia.
I received a copy of Merle’s Country Show Baking And Other Favourites in my day job as a journalist at The Leader newspaper, where I review cookbooks as part of My Hungry column.
I instantly loved the book as it is crammed full of nostalgic baking recipes. Continue reading
So I was trawling Twitter one day in lieu of doing some chores and found a cookie swap hosted by the creative types at Real Housemoms, {I love} My Disorganised Life, and White Lights on Wednesdays. This had my name all over it so I jumped on board!
To me Christmas is all about the baking. Well, that’s not entirely true. There’s also the spirit of the season, the wonderment of the day as seen through children’s eyes etc etc but what really gets me excited, and flicking through cookbooks in anticipation, is the bounty of baking that awaits.
Like lots of people have a plethora of Chrissy events to attend, which means finding new recipes to road test.
I had looked at this recipe for a few years after it appeared in issue 42 [Jan 2009] and decided this was going to be the year I made Donna Hay’s chocolate candy cane cookies. Candy canes, in my books, are ghastly – sticky and fragile and far too sweet. Even my kids’ school has banned them yet here I was, buying and bringing these sugar-packed morsels into my home.
Getting to smash them into smithereens was quite satisfying, though…
If, like me, candy canes aren’t your thing, feel free to omit them and enjoy these chunky, chocky cookies unadorned.
GATHER:
110g softened butter, diced
¾ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon best quality vanilla
1 cup plain flour
¼ cup cocoa, sifted
½ teaspoon bicarb soda
120g dark chocolate, melted
250g dark chocolate, extra, roughly chopped
About 5 candy canes, smashed into little pieces
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 160C and line two baking trays with non-stick paper.
Beat sugar and butter in bowl of electric mixer for 8-10 minutes, until creamy and light.
Add egg, vanilla and beat until combined.
Scrap down sides then add flour, bicarb, and melted chocolate until just combined.
Fold through extra chopped chocolate.
Roll tablespoons [I used heaped teaspoons] into rounds, place on tray and gently flatten. Sprinkle over the chopped candy canes.
Bake 10-15 minutes, depending on size of bickie.
Not only is Madeline the name of some of our very best friend’s daughters, but also the name of a delightfully light sweet morsel.
So, the salty/sweet taste craze is a winner in my books. My first toe-in-the-water test was Nigella’s uber-good salted caramel sauce which I believe to be the answer to most of life’s ills.
These cookies were next. The crunch of the pretzel. The sweetness of the caramel. The softness of the cookie. The sighs of goodness…
Continue reading
Baking with lemon creates such a lovely fresh smell throughout your kitchen that you’ll wonder why you ever bake anything else. This super simple cake is just delish for morning tea, and is perfect with a liberal dusting of icing sugar. The recipe is from my stand-by AWW Quick Mix Cakes book, and all I did was reduce the amount of sugar from the suggested one cup.
Gather:
125g butter at room temp, diced
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
2 eggs
¾ cup caster sugar
1 ½ cups self-raising flour
¾ cup plain yogurt
Let’s get to it:
Preheat oven to 170C and grease and line a 14cmx21cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Put all ingredients into bowl of electric mixer and beat until light and changed in colour.
Scrape into pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before cooling completely on wire rack.
Serve as is, or make up a simple icing by mixing 2/3 cup sifted icing sugar with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and enough water to make a pouring consistency. Sprinkle over extra lemon zest.
I love making slices and from my wide experience, people love eating them. Cutting them isn’t as faffy as cutting a cake, and a piece of slice is usually more exciting than a bickie. Continue reading
At the library recently, I place where I love to hang out, I found the quirkily titled ‘The Cookiepedia’ by Stacy Adimando. This bible to cookies inspired me no end and the first recipe I road-tested was what the author called lemon chewies with honey.
Baking with lemons produces such a wonderful aroma, and I think the smell of baking is sometimes better than eating the end product 🙂 Continue reading
Firstly – an apology for the lack of photos with this post. I’ve been baking like a mad woman in the last few weeks for various Christmas-related events and even though I intend to photograph as I go for my blog it hasn’t turned out this way.
Sigh.
First up, a super easy Christmas ice cream pudding that I’ve been making for many, many years. I have no idea where the original recipe comes from but it is embarrassingly easy.
This is so simple and a perfect dessert for Christmas Day in Sydney, which is, without fail, a squillion degrees. I made nine desserts for my mother-in-law’s Christmas lunch on the weekend and this was the first thing to vanish.
GATHER:
2 litres best quality vanilla ice cream, softened
1 cup mixture of sultanas, currants and raisins
Good splash of rum
¼ cup glace cherries, chopped
2 tablespoons cinnamon
LET’S GET TO IT:
Soak the dried fruit [but not the glace cherries] in rum and leave overnight.
Line a 2-litre pudding basin with cling wrap, leaving overhang.
Working quickly tip the softened ice cream into a large bowl and stir in rum-soaked fruit, cinnamon and cherries.
If desired place some home-made chocolates [see below] in the base of the pudding basin, then add ice cream. Smooth the top then fold over the overhanging cling wrap. Wrap in foil and freeze overnight.
Home made Christmas chocolates
I found a similar idea for these little chocs online and Christmas-afied them using red and green Christmas sprinkles from a baking store. Simply line two mini muffin pans with mini liners. Place 150g your choice of chocolate with a splash of canola oil in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and glossy. Pour chocolate into mini pans until bottom is covered and then a bit more. Sprinkle over Christmas sprinkles and place in fridge for a few hours until firm. Remove and discard wrappers.
Miss 7 and I made these for her to hand out to her class. We bundled a few up in cellophane bags for all of her classmates. I should have taken a photo…
the hungry mum 