Yes, my cinnamon addiction is showing again. Many moons ago I blogged cinnamon donuts but since buying a mini donut pan on our trip to San Fran last year I’ve been going baked donut crazy!
I found a wonderful recipe on Tidy Mom’s site and reduced the sugar and upped the maple syrup. If you can’t get your hands on maple syrup I’d suggest switching it for something else – maybe golden syrup. Imitation anything – yet especially syrup – is grim and pointless. Continue reading
Oh Donna, let me the count the ways in which your baking recipes make my heart flutter… Actually, that would take far too long because Ms Hay’s cakes, tarts and muffin recipes always work. Devotees would note that I am Donna hay’s biggest cheerleader and this super simple recipe is yet another winner. Continue reading
If you’re reading this in the northern hemisphere the title of this post may seem nonsensical. Australia readers [and maybe New Zealanders] will get it: this cake pays homage to a biscuit that many of us grew up with. Made by Arnotts it is plain vanilla bickie with puffy pink marshmallow topping and a river of raspberry jam down the centre. The whole creation is then sprinkled with desiccated coconut. Sickly? A bit. To children of a certain generation they were the ultimate in lunchbox treats.
With Australia Day looming Miss8 and I decided to do a riff on this old fav, using cake instead of cookie, as the base. 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
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.
My fondness for cinnamon is probably obvious to devotees of this site. I believe it is the ingredient that is the most bewitching in many baked goods. Using a vanilla cupcake recipe from my beloved Australian Women’s Weekly ‘Quick Mix Cakes’ book I played around until I had the perfect marriage of choc, cinnamon, and vanilla – the holy trinity. Feel free to add even more cinnamon for a richer taste.
I blogged the salted caramel sauce a while back. Find the recipe here: https://thehungrymum.com/2012/04/10/nigella-lawsons-fast-and-easy-salted-caramel-sauce/
Gather:
125g butter, chopped, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cup self-raising flour
¼ cup sifted cocoa
1 heaped tablespoon cinnamon
2 eggs
½ cup milk
¾ cup caster sugar [I normally take a few heaped spoonfuls out]
Let’s get to it:
Preheat oven to 180C and line cupcake pan with wrappers.
Beat all ingredients in bowl of electric mixer with paddle attachment on low until combined.
Increase speed and beat until batter changes colour and is smooth.
Drop into cases until three quarters full, then bake 15-20 mins [depending on your oven – check at 15 minutes with a skewer].
Turn on wire rack to cool.
When completely cold spread with salted caramel sauce. 
So I have come late to the pumpkin party but boy am I an enthusiastic participant!
I have always loved pumpkin but in Australia it is eaten primarily as a savoury dish. I only discovered its use in baking from the many, MANY cooking blogs I follow. You may have noticed I have a recipe for pumpkin pie on my blog [sooo very delicious] but as canned pumpkin isn’t readily available here it means chopping/cooking/mashing pumpkin before you can even contemplate baking with it.
We recently returned from a US holiday, where we visited Disneyland [oh! So much happiness], San Fran [can I please move there?] and Hawaii. I dragged my poor family to every supermarket we passed [and many others that we had to make long-winded detours for] in order to stock up on baking provisions that aren’t available here in Australia. The legendary graham crackers. Pumpkin spice kisses. Hersey bars. And tins of pumpkin.
I couldn’t wait to get home and start baking with my imported loot and the first thing I made was Tartlette’s pumpkin semifreddo. Oh, what a revelation! Silky, creamy, and pumpkiny. Devine. All I did was change some of the spices to mixed spice & increase the cinnamon because I’m all about the cinnamon. Here’s her recipe: http://www.tarteletteblog.com/2009/11/recipe-pumkin-semifreddo-with-side-of.html
Then, as I had leftover pumpkin, I made a batch of Baked By Rachel’s pumpkin snickerdoodles. Without exaggeration I would rate these as some of the best bickies [or cookies, to speak in the parlance] I have ever made. Here’s the original: http://www.bakedbyrachel.com/2012/10/pumpkin-snickerdoodle-cookies/comment-page-1/#comment-94230
I served the two together because – well, why the hell not.
Pumpkin semifreddo
Gather:
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons (25gr) sugar
2 tablespoons water
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup tinned pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon mixed spice
Let’s get to it:
Spray a loaf tin with non-stick spray then line with plastic wrap, allowing for overhang.
Using whisk attachment in a stand mixer beat cream to soft peak stage then put in fridge.
Place honey, sugar, and water in heavy saucepan, stir, then bring to a boil over medium heat until it reaches 114C on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.
In a clean bowl beat the egg yolks for a few seconds, then slowly but steadily pour in the hot honey mix. Don’t muck around – the honey mix will begin to solidify if you wait. Whip until the mix is airy and fluffy and incorporated.
Fold one third of chilled cream in, then beat the rest in along with pumpkin and spices.
Gently scrape into loaf tin, cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer overnight.
Pumpkin snickerdoodles
Gather:
225g butter, diced, at room temp
1 egg
2 ¾ cup plain flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup caster sugar ( I reduced the original recipe)
¾ cup pumpkin puree
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon vanilla
sugar mix:
¼ cup caster sugar
2 tablespoon cinnamon
Stir together in small bowl
Let’s get to it:
Grease and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy then add egg, vanilla and pumpkin (do not over-mix).
Sift dry ingredients into a medium bowl and add to butter bowl, mixing until everything is combined.
Place in fridge for around an hour, then preheat oven to 180C.
Using your hands make golfball-sized biscuits, then dip into sugar mix.
Place on tray then gently squash down with a fork (I tried skipping this step and they came out too fluffy and big).
Bake 12-ish minutes; allow to cool on tray for a minute then place on wire rack to cool completely.
Have I told you about the amazing book Lily Vanilli’s Sweet Tooth? Subtitled ‘recipes and tips from a modern artisan bakery’ it is an incredible collection of fantastical baked goods with gorgeous photos to match. I was sent a review copy in my day job as a journalist and I couldn’t wait to get this book into my kitchen to try out the recipes. If you have a loved one who is into baking, buy them this book. Continue reading
I need a 12-step program for my cooking magazine addiction. My knees go weak and pulse races when I peruse racks of glossy mags full of pages of gorgeously styles food. Even though I spend hours each week on food blogs and Pinterest and have so, so many recipes squirrelled away I can’t resist the lure of a new food magazine. Continue reading
A confession before we continue: I did not make this luscious looking creation. Rather, The Hungry Dad and Miss7 whipped it up for a family lunch at my mum’s house recently. I’m lucky – I married a man who is a great cook and our first born also loves cooking (especially desserts!).
They chose this recipe from my ever-present copy of Australian Women’s Weekly ‘Bake.’
It is no exaggeration to say this pie was the hit of the lunch – everyone was full of compliments for my hubby and daughter. So proud!
GATHER:
½ cup cornflour
1 cup caster sugar
½ cup lemon juice
1 ¼ cups water
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
60g butter, diced
3 eggs, separated
½ cup caster sugar, extra
pastry
1 ½ cups plain flour
1 tablespoon icing sugar
140g cold butter, diced
1 egg yolk
Approx 2 tablespoons iced water
LET’S GET TO IT:
Make pastry:
Process flour, icing sugar and butter until crumbly. Add yolk and enough iced water to process until it all comes together. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge for 30 mins.
Tart:
Grease 24cm round loose-bottomed fluted flan tin. Roll out pastry between sheets of baking paper until large enough to line tin. Carefully ease into pan, using rolling pin as guide. Gently press into base and sides, trim edges, then place in fridge for 30 mins.
Preheat oven to 220C.
Place dough-lined tin on oven tray and line with baking paper, fill with baking weights and bake for 10 minutes. Remove weights and paper and bake another 10 minutes. Cool, turn oven off.
Combine cornflour and sugar in medium pan and slowly stir in juice and water until smooth. Cook, stirring, over high heat until mixture boils and thickens.
Reduce heat and simmer while stirring for one minute.
Remove from heat and stir in rind, butter and yolks. Allow to cool.
Spread filling into case and bake preheat oven to 220C.
Beat egg whites in bowl of electric mixer until soft peaks form and gradually add extra sugar, beating until sugar dissolves (it shouldn’t feel grainy).
Spread meringue mixture on top of tart and bake for 2 minutes / until golden.
Serve cold with cream or ice cream.
the hungry mum 