Category Archives: Baking

mars bar brownie

14 Sunday Aug 2011

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This is incredibly delicious!
400 g butter, chopped
400 g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups caster sugar
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 x 60 g Mars Bars, chilled & chopped

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Grease a 4cm deep, 22 cm x 28 cm base pan. Line bottom and two sides with non-stick baking paper.

Combine butter and chocolate in large heatproof microwave safe bowl. Microwave uncovered on Medium High for 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute, or until almost melted. Add cocoa and whisk until smooth.

Add sugar and mix well. Add one third of egg and stir to combine. Repeat with remaining egg. Sift the flour over chocolate mixture . Stir gently until just combined.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle Mars Bar over batter and press in slightly. Bake for 60-65 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging.

Cool completely in pan (this is the hardest part of the entire recipe! It requires great self control not to devour it immediately) then cut into squares. Very nice on its own, or served slightly warm with whipped cream.

Enjoy!

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lemon bars

04 Thursday Aug 2011

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HIGHLY addictive! But oh, so good!

Crust
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup icing sugar (plus more for dusting)

Topping
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan

To make crust:

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and icing sugar
  • Cut in butter until combined and crumbly.
  • Press mixture into bottom of pan.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

To make topping:

  • While crust is baking, prepare topping.
  • In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
  • Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
  • Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes.
  • When cool, dust with icing sugar and refrigerate.
  • Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!

rolled oat chocolate chip cookies

05 Tuesday Jul 2011

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In a word… Scrumptious!

ChocChip Cookies

2 ½ Cups  Rolled Oats

2  Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1   tsp   Baking Powder
½ tsp  salt
1  Cup Butter (cubed and softened)
1  Cup Brown Sugar
1  Cup Sugar
1  tbsp Vanilla extract
2  Eggs
3  Cups Chocolate Chips

Preheat Oven to 180®C. Prepare trays with baking paper.

Place small amounts of oats into food processor until they turn to a fine powder.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a separate bowl.

Place butter, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla in a bowl or electric mixer and beat till blended. Add eggs and mix together.

Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture and stir till just blended. Add powdered rolled oats and stir till blended.

Add chocolate chips and stir in. The mixture will be stiff.

Roll into small balls and place on baking trays about 5cm apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

Remove from baking trays to cool then store in airtight container.

Enjoy!

monte carlo biscuits

05 Thursday Aug 2010

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So delicious when freshly made. More delicious a day later when the biscuits soften and they are like a soft sandwich cake… So good! Make them this weekend, and then see if you can save some for the next day. I bet you cant!

Ingredients

375 g butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 beaten eggs
2 ½ cups self raising flour
1 ¼ cups plain flour
2 cups dessicated coconut
Raspberry Jam

Vanilla cream

125 g butter
1 ½ cups icing sugar, sifted
1tsp vanilla extract
4 tsp milk or cream

Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.

Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then add eggs and vanilla.

Stir in sifted flours and the coconut with the butter mixture until thoroughly combined.

Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on lightly greased oven trays. Flatten with a fork.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.

Place on wire rack to cool.

For the filling, cream the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, then the milk or cream. Beat well.

Spread half of the biscuits with jam, and the other half with the vanilla cream. Sandwich together lightly.

snickerdoodles

30 Friday Jul 2010

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I have had this recipe in my recipe file for ages. Why didn’t I make them earlier? They are delicious!

Ingredients
220 g softened butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

For rolling cookies
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Cream together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until really soft and creamy.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, and then add slowly to the wet ingredients.

Roll teaspoonfuls of cookie dough into balls and then roll in the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Place balls of dough well spaced on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 6-8 minutes. The cookies should flatten out and crack on the surface.

Enjoy!

hot cross buns

31 Wednesday Mar 2010

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It’s that time of year. But in my book, any time of year is fine for these babies. I make them all year round. I just dont put crosses on them if it’s not Easter because a) I’m too lazy, and b) …well actually a) pretty much covers it!

I like my easter buns with fruit, not this modern day chocolate chip nonsense. I have made them with chocolate chips (use cocoa instead of spices, and choc chips instead of fruit) but I am so over chocolate, and they just dont taste right with butter. Hot X Buns NEED butter. It’s the law. Seriously.

If you want to have them for breakfast, just set your alarm clock two hours earlier and slave away in the kitchen while everyone else slumbers. OR you can make the dough the day before. After the dough has risen and you punch it down, you can then put the dough in the fridge (or shape it into the buns and place on a tray first). Just bring it out in the morning and place in a warm spot for half an hour before placing in the oven.

Also this recipe has the method for using a mixer… but my mixer is too gutless for heavy dough mixtures so I do it by hand. Just knead away for 5 minutes adding flour to stop dough sticking.

Finally, if there are three hungry teenage boys (and many more hangers-on) in the house, you may need to wear protective body armour when these come out of the oven.

makes 18

Dough
1 sachet dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
60 gm melted butter
1 1/4 cup luke warm milk
3/4 cup water
4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons ground spices (for example, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)
2 tablespoons sugar, extra
2 tablespoons powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried fruit (sultanas, currants, mixed peel – you choose)

Crosses
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup water

Glaze
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon gelatin

Method


Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl and allow to stand in a warm place until mixture begins to froth. (about 10 mins).

Insert dough hooks into the mixer. place sifted dry ingredients, including fruit into a large mixing bowl. On low speed, gradually add yeast mixture, scrape down sides with rubber spatula. Knead on medium speed for 4 mins. Continue the kneading process until all ingredients are well mixed and the dough forms a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top of dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (approx 1 hr).

Preheat oven to 220.C

Punch down dough and fold sides to the centre and turn dough over. remove the dough from the bowl and place onto a well floured surface. lightly knead the dough with the palm of your hands until smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 18 equal portion and shape into round smooth balls. Grease oven tray. position dough balls closely together on the tray. Cover for about 10-15 mins.

For the crosses, combine the flour and water to form a batter and pipe crosses on the tops of the buns.

Bake for about 20-25 mins until golden brown.

Whilst the buns are baking prepare the glaze. Place the water, sugar and gelatin into a small pot and stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved, approx 2 minutes. Glaze buns while they are still hot.

chocolate chocolate chip cookies

27 Saturday Mar 2010

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Chocolate fix anyone? These will do the trick.

250g butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. of table salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy. Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Add baking soda, salt, cocoa powder), and flour until cookie batter is well combined. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick.

Drop batter in clumps (about two tablespoons full) onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until tops of cookies are slightly firm to the touch. You still want the cookies to be soft in the middle so they are gooey and chewy when you eat them. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes. Pick up the baking paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving.

Follow all instructions again from beginning to make a second batch because they were so good that there aren’t any left!!!

spiced carrot cake

03 Sunday Jan 2010

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Today I made this particular carrot cake for three very good reasons.

  1. I dont have any white sugar in the house.
  2. I have a tub of sour cream that needs to be used pronto.
  3. I haven’t made carrot cake for at least a week month year.

This carrot cake is a lighter one. I don’t mean light in calories though… light in texture.

I used to have a very good recipe for a microwave carrot cake that had a whole tin of crushed pineapple in it. Unfortunately, when I sold my microwave before leaving Australia I gave them the instruction book with it… which had the recipe inside! I have recently been given a couple of similar recipes but I have to test them first.

Probably multiple times.

Then I will phone Jenny. (Have you phoned Jenny yet?)

Here we go…

Preheat your oven to 160 C. Grease a 22 cm round tin and line with non-stick baking paper

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups grated carrot
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil

Sift flour and spices into a bowl. Stir in the brown sugar and break up any clumps. Add grated carrot.

In another bowl mix eggs, sour cream and oil until combined.

Add wet ingredients to the flour and carrot mixture and mix until well combined.

Spoon into prepared tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Cover with your favorite cream cheese frosting and devour!

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting