I have a bit of a fixation with cream cheese of late. I just cannot get enough of baking recipes that use this creamy, unctuous ingredient. I also love pairing cream cheese with savoury ingredients – I am looking at you, smoked salmon – but when there is a block of cream cheese within arm`s reach I WILL turn it into a sweet treat. Continue reading
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
I found myself with a hankering to make scones on the weekend. I made a batch of traditional scones before I had a light bulb moment: tray bake. With chocolate. And dried cherries. And coconut. Continue reading
Growing up my dad worked for Nestle, which means we had a plethora of items to keep any sweet-tooth person happy. Of all the treats dad would bring home my favourite was always Milo, a malted milk product that we would ladle into mugs of milk, or eat straight from the jar. Continue reading
Our friends Brett and Sarah recently had a baby and I was busting to meet her. My immune system, however, had other ideas and decided to deal me a large helping of Evil Flu. Continue reading
The saying ‘better than sex’ is thrown around a lot in relation to certain foods. This pie – served as squares – with the addition of whiskey caramel sauce, may not be better than sex but it sure is up there with some of the best PG-rated times you’ll ever have. Continue reading
I admit: chocolate peppermint is my least favourite flavour combo. I know, I know – I can hear your howls of protests from here. This unorthodox position has lead to at least two people questioning the fact that we could possibly be friends. On the plus side, I am the best person to share a box of choc with, as I will insist that you have the peppermint filling. No really – it is all yours…
These squares, or slice as we Antipodeans call it, are chock full of pepperminty pleasure. You can, of course, adjust the mintiness by adding more or less flavouring. Continue reading
Nothing says fresh and zingy like passionfruit. Those who know me know that I have a dislike of fruit bordering on the pathological but for some reason I do enjoy passionfruit in baked goods. Misses 6 and 8 are my opposite – they adore fresh fruit, but actively dislike passionfruit in baked goods. Sigh. Continue reading
I was unaware of the tarty deliciousness of lemon bars until about a week ago. I had seen umpteen recipes on international blogs but it wasn’t until my mother-in-law presented me with a bucket filled to the brim with lemons from her tree that I decided to make them.
Hello, tastebuds. Continue reading
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.
the hungry mum 