Regular readers will know that The Hungry Dad recently raided his mum’s lemon tree for my baking pleasure. Our lemon bowl is still plentiful but another recent visit to mum-in-law’s house resulted in yet more lemons coming home with us. Continue reading
Winter is well and truly here in Australia. I am probably the only person in Sydney cheering for the cooler weather. I am not a fan of the heat and humidity but am absolutely pro-boots, coats, scarves, heaters and all the other trappings of winter. Winter also allows me to indulge in some of my favourite foods: soups and puddings. Continue reading
My love of baking is legendary but what you may not know about me is that I love politics. Before you click ‘unfollow’, hear me out: I’m not going to share my politics with you, nor bore you with stats. I just find elections exciting and the democratic process fascinating. Plus there’s always a cake stall for which I undertake a marathon baking effort. Continue reading
Winter is here! I think I am the only person in Sydney celebrating the cold snap – most of my friends look at me aghast when I tell them how much I adore the cooler weather.
Boots. Scarves. Coats – fashion is so much more chic when the temperature falls. Another thing that it is better in winter than summer – desserts. In the heat you are really limited to ice-cream, fruit or anything else that requires minimal time in the hot kitchen. Come winter and the kitchen is exactly where I want to be, making cakes, baking brownies and stirring home-made custard. And self-saucing puddings.
Self-saucing puddings are just magic – a simple pudding is topped with a sprinkle of sugar and cocoa then doused with boiling water, which results in a deep, rich sauce.
Growing up we used to make self-saucing puddings in winter all the time and we would all be adamant that we wanted equal quantities pudding and sauce.
My friends from Australian Macadamias recently sent me a massive bag of their delicious macadamias to bake with and I have been going nuts in the kitchen #heHeHe
These delicious nuts are indigenous to Australia and are full of flavour and go perfectly with chocolate. I have loved creating recipes to show off their freshness and taste.
This chocolate macadamia self-saucing pudding is full of flavour. The crunch of the nuts are a perfect foil to the soft, squishy filling of the pudding.
Just a warning – you will want seconds…
Serve with double cream or vanilla ice-cream.
GATHER:
1 cup self-raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
80g butter, melted, cooled
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
50 grams unsalted macadamias
Sauce:
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/4 cups boiling water
LET’S GET TO IT:
Spray a two litre size glass or ceramic dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 180C and fill the kettle.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, cocoa and sugar.
In a small jug whisk together the egg, butter and milk then whisk into the dry mix. Use a silver spoon to stir together until combined then sprinkle in the macadamias.
Pour batter into dish. Boil the kettle.
Combine the susauce sugar and cocoa together then sprinkle evenly over the top of the pudding. Carefully pour the boiling water evenly over the top then place in oven.
Bake for 30-35 minutes – the top will spring back when it is cooked. Don’t use the inserted skewer trick to test this recipe as the pudding will be wet from the sauce.
Serve immediately.
Did somebody say sweet tooth? Sugar cravings? Salty and sweet in one dessert? I got you covered with this decadent yet easy tart. Continue reading
If you have been playing along at home you will know that we are the proud owners of many kilograms of lemons that The Hungry Dad picked from his mum’s lemon tree. I have been busy coming up with ways to work their citrusy goodness into all manner of baking. This is not a difficult task, as I am utterly in love with lemon cakes/tarts/biscuits/cookies… Continue reading
Hands up if you don’t love chocolate mousse? [Peers around to see no hands raised]. Just as I thought. I personally love it but am often put off by the thought of making it as it always appears so faffy. Continue reading
I love coconut in all of its forms – freshly cracked, desiccated in cakes, served alongside spicy curries in a sambal, and especially coconut milk. Continue reading
I go through so very many eggs every week. Aside from eating them lots – as a vegetarian they are one of my main sources of protein – readers will know that I bake like a woman possessed, and most cakes, custards, brownies etc contain plenty of eggs. Continue reading
I love lemon! And it just so happens that the Hungry Dad conducted a raid on my mother-in-law’s lemon tree recently, meaning our lemon bowl doth overflow. We will be taking Beyonce’s advice and making lemonade and I have already turned these luscious citrus fruits into a swoon-worthy pudding, and these beautiful lemon poppyseed cupcakes.
I had some lemon curd in the fridge so I decided to add a creamy, lemony filling to each cake to really make these cupcakes pack a lemon punch.
I have a feeling I will be making these again very soon – this batch vanished in the blink of an eye when I shared them with my work colleagues in exchange for a donation to MSF.
They are fast and simple to make, and you can freeze the un-filled cakes for a few weeks if you need to.
GATHER:
185 grams diced butter at room temperature
Grated rind of one large or two smaller lemons
3 eggs
2 cups self-raising flour
¾ cup of milk
20g poppy seeds
¾ cup caster sugar
170 grams lemon curd
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 12-hole cupcake pan with wrappers..
Place all ingredients, except the seeds and curd, into the bowl of an electric mixer and blend on low speed until combined.
Increase speed of mixer and mix until mixture is smooth.
Stir in seeds with a spoon.
Pour into cupcake wrappers
Bake for 26-ish minutes/until a skewer comes out clean.
Set aside to cool completely, then use a small sharp knife to cut a circle out of the middle of each cake. Do not cut down to the bottom. Set piece aside, add a tablespoon of curd then gently replace cake core.
the hungry mum 