Choc chip slice and change

I usually dislike change. I like adventures, but I am all for stability. Which is why moving has kind of thrown me off a little bit. Not having access to internet, for example, has resulted in very few posts recently. Not having access to a camera (I used to use my dad’s) means that even I do bake, I can’t show you. Not having an entirely set up kitchen yet means that my baking has slowed.

To top all of this off, the beautiful rustic table that I bought for our dining room didn’t fit through our door (insert crying face here), so we’re borrowing one from my brother’s generous girlfriend (who has been coming up lots recently!)

All of these things are different to what I am used to!!

What I do like about change though, is that it is a catalyst for experimentation. Lacking a cake tin, I opted to go back to my parent’s house and use their kitchen and camera. I was also equipped with their fabulous house warming present to the Boy and I, the Country Women’s Association Cook Book. Aren’t parents fantastic? Continue reading “Choc chip slice and change”

Chocolate raspberry muffins and familiarity

Chocolate and raspberries are such a familiar combination. One of those things that I always fall back to when I need a fail-proof result. The sweet and tart notes of the raspberries, mixed with the sophistication of the dark chocolate turn out perfect, comforting little bites of homely muffins.

I always have raspberries in my freezer. They’re an easy way to jazz up a dessert, they’re a great addition to a smoothie, and I happily munch on them straight from the freezer sometimes. Actually, the reason I whipped up this recipe was because I needed to finish off my freezer stockpile. Continue reading “Chocolate raspberry muffins and familiarity”

Roasted cauliflower soup and immunity boosters

I mentioned in my last post that my brother’s girlfriend wasn’t well. She’s starting to get better, and I kind of want to claim her recovery.

I made her super muffins (packed with antioxidants and vitamin C) and this soup, which only contains ingredients aimed at boosting the immune system. There are no sugar or dairy products in here, just hearty vegetables and delicious spices. I hate to get all informative, but I so rarely post “healthy” things that I get excited when there are actual benefits (other than deliciousness) to my recipes.

Cauliflower, the star ingredient, is packed full of vitamin C to aid your recovery. It makes up the bulk of the soup, and the gentle roasting gives it a beautiful taste. Cauliflower is also anti-inflammatory. Continue reading “Roasted cauliflower soup and immunity boosters”

Blueberry cranberry muffins and colds

It’s probably not hard to see that I love cooking. One of the things that I love about cooking is the sharing aspect. I love nothing more than foisting food upon my loved ones. So when somebody that I love is unwell, I turn to food for the solution.

My brother’s girlfriend currently has a terrible cold, so I made her an immunity-boosting soup and these muffins.

They’re packed full of blueberries and cranberries, which have antioxidants, vitamin C by the bucket load.

Lemon zest is great for eradicating toxins in the body. I realise that the sugar is probably counteracting the eradication slightly, but when you’re sick you need comfort food. We can’t be good all the time, right?

You’re doing your body a favour by eating one of these little muffins. Go on, make a batch.

Blueberry cranberry muffins

Makes 24

1 cup frozen blueberries
¾ cup dried cranberries
2 tbsp water
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
100g butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
2 ½ tsp bicarb

Topping:

1 tbsp lemon zest, grated
1/3 cup sugar

Put ½ a cup of the blueberries and ¼ cup of the cranberries into a small saucepan with the water and one tablespoon of the sugar. Heat the mixture over a low-medium heat, stirring constantly and squishing the berries as you go. Keep on the heat for 5-8 minutes, until the water has mostly evaporated and you’re left with a small amount of syrup. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. If you want a berry pulp, grab a fork and mash the berries further – I kept lots of whole large chunks in mine, but you can make them whatever consistency you like.

Cream together your butter and sugar, then add in the vanilla and eggs. Mix well. Mix in the bicarb, then gently fold in the remaining blueberries and cranberries so that their colour doesn’t bleed into the mixture.

Mix together your sugar and lemon zest for the topping. Set this to one side.

Spoon into cupcake cases, then top with 1 tsp of your blueberry cranberry mixture, then sprinkle a generous teaspoon of the lemon sugar topping over the mixture. When the sugar topping bakes, it should caramelise slightly to create a satisfyingly crunchy coating for the top of the muffin.

Bake at 180° for 25-28 minutes.

If you’re after a healthy beverage to go with these super muffins, try a lemon tea. Enjoy!

Simple butter cake, boyish birthdays and partying dinosaurs!

Who knew that dinosaurs liked to get festive? Or that they suited party hats so perfectly? After this weekend’s birthday party shoot, I want to top every cake henceforth with dinosaurs in festive hats.

My favourite was the Brontosaurus, who struck a mean pose.

I have wanted to do a themed birthday party for a long time now. When I was given some adorable cupcake wrappers by Illume Design, I knew what my theme would be – DINOSAURS!! The milo cupcake recipe accompanying this cake will be up later in the week. (Illume Design also supplied the gorgeous chevron party plates.)

I very rarely do manly posts. Without even thinking, I drift towards florals and polka dots and tea pots. Browsing through previous blog posts, one might suggest that I don’t actually own anything monochrome or beige.

I promise that I do! Continue reading “Simple butter cake, boyish birthdays and partying dinosaurs!”

Carrot, ginger and cumin soup and yearning

As the weather cools down, my body yearns for swaddling clothes and hearty meals. I fulfilled both of these desires over the weekend – dressed in a big jumper and flannelette pyjama pants, I concocted this glorious soup.

It’s the kind of soup that you need good, crusty bread with. The kind of soup that tantalises you with its smells as it bubbles away. It turns out that this is the kind of soup that converts non-soup eaters into soup devourers! My younger brother initially refused the offer of soup because he’s “not a fan,” but he ended up converting after watching everyone else consumer theirs eagerly.

The cumin and ginger make this soup really sing. I’ve never been tempted by a carrot soup, I always thought they sounded bland, but this soup is a game changer! It’s thick and hearty and flavoursome, attributes which make any soup a winner in my books.

Carrot and ginger soup

Serves six

3 cups carrot, chopped
1 brown onion, roughly diced
1 cup sweet potato, roughly diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp ginger, minced
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Pop the carrots, onion and sweet potato into a heavy-bottomed pan with 2tbsp of olive oil over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir them regularly to stop them from burning.

When the veggies are soft, add in the ginger and garlic and cook for a further two minutes.
Add in your salt and pepper, followed by the stock, and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 45 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by about a quarter. You can simmer the soup for a shorter amount of time if you prefer a thinner soup.

Serve straight from the stove top with a dollop of sour cream.

Chocolate chip biscuits and requests

I was recently asked by a regular reader if I had a good chocolate chip biscuit recipe. A chunky, chewy, good old-fashioned type of biscuit.

And I didn’t! What kind of blogger doesn’t have a basic choc chip biscuit recipe?!

I have several types of biscuit recipes (there’s dark chocolate caramel popcorn, perfect chocolate, boyfriend, Anzac, gluten free choc chip, speculoos and salted caramel just to name a few), but no basic choc chip ones.

So I’m setting out to amend this.

These biccies are soft and chewy, with sweet, caramel undertones as a result of the brown sugar. A word of warning – these biscuits puff up beautifully, creating a smooth, even top of the biscuit, so if you want chocolate chunks poking out of the top of your biscuit, maybe place them into the rolled balls just before you put them in the oven.

Traditional choc chip biscuits

200g butter
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp cornflour
2 cups plain flour
¼ cup choc chips
100g milk chocolate, roughly chopped

Cream the room temperature butter together with both types of sugar. Add in the egg and beat well before mixing in the vanilla and cornflour.

Add in the flour one cup at a time and mix at a medium speed. The mixture will become quite dry. Once all of the flour is mixed in, shape the mixture into a ball, wrap it in cling film and pop into the fridge for 20 minutes.

I never used to refrigerate my biscuit dough, but it really makes a difference to the end result. It also makes rolling the balls less greasy because the butter firms up whilst in the fridge.

Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper (I used my silicone baking mat from House, which I’m slightly in love with.)

Once your dough is chilled, scoop a tablespoon off the mixture and roll it into a ball. Repeat until you’ve finished the mixture, then pop into the oven for 13-15 minutes. Rotate half way through the baking process if they over-brown.

The biscuits that were part of the photo shoot were eaten so quickly by The Boy and my brothers that I didn’t get a shot of how jam-packed with chocolate these little biccies are. You can see the chocolatey goodness in my breakfast biscuit Instagram post though!

Anzac day and passionfruit mint cocktails

I’ve already posted an Anzac biscuit recipe. It’s my dad’s recipe and they are delicious. He’s in the kitchen making them as I type. The smell of melted butter combined with the oats and brown sugar is such a simple delight. The mixture is to die for, raw or baked.

Instead of posting another Anzac-based recipe, however, I’m sharing a cocktail today. Sharing a drink with friends is so deeply ingrained in the Australian culture, that I’m pretty sure my entire long weekend consists of pub catch ups.

This cocktail is a far cry from the usual macho feel of Anzac day, where beer and two up are king, but it’s a gorgeous way to brighten up your rainy Anzac day. I also got most of my ingredients from my farm visit last weekend, so this cocktail is a little celebration of Australia in a glass.

With fresh, zesty flavours, it’s also pretty delicious. Enjoy your Anzac day!

Passionfruit mint fizz:

Makes 4 cocktails

8 passionfruit
5cm chunk of ginger
2 small lemons, juice and zest
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups water
White rum
2 cups soda water or lemonade

Slice the skin off your ginger, then score it lightly to ensure it releases lots of flavour. Pop the ginger in a heavy based, medium-sized saucepan with the passionfruit pulp and seeds, juice and zest of the lemons, sugar, and water.

Put the mixture of a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Set to one side to cool. You should end up with about 2 cups of syrup, which will make four cocktails.

When the syrup is cooled, pour about ¼ cup into a tumbler, add 30ml (or more) or rum and top up with soda water or lemonade. You can always omit the alcohol and serve it as a home made cordial if you please.

Enjoy!

Crabapple crumble pie and the long weekend

The Easter long weekend was delightful – I over-ate, explored some amazing woods, gained two sausage dog friends briefly, and experimented with recipes.

The over-eating was partly the fault of the Easter bunny, who is super generous every year. The rest of the over-eating was simply because I was in great company, and there is no better way to bring people together than a meal. Continue reading “Crabapple crumble pie and the long weekend”

Vanilla fig tart and a grown up Easter

I’ve only realised how delightful figs are in the past 18 months or so.

I never used to trust figs because they’re so squidgy and unusually coloured and lacking a core. It’s kind of funny, because those things now make them perfect fodder for my baking. They’re downright beautiful – I searched Pinterest for recipe inspiration and ended up “oohing” and “aahing” at how photogenic such an unassuming fruit could be.

They’re adorable little sacks of beauty.

Figs can be pretty expensive in Sydney, but I found a pack on special (yay!) I wanted to keep the figs as close to natural as possible and pick other flavours that would highlight their sweetness. Vanilla and blueberry make perfect partners in crime for fig.

The great thing about these tarts is that they are a perfect “grown up” option for Easter. If you’re not a big fan of chocolate eggs (I don’t understand you, but I do know you exist), a humble tart like this is a great alternative for an Easter treat. These little tarts are completely customisable – top them with whatever you want! I

Fig and blueberry tart

Makes 24

2 cups plain flour
135g butter
½ cup sugar
4 egg yolks
3 tbsp water

Vanilla crème patissiere

2 egg yolks
6 tbsp corn flour
¼ cup sugar
2 cups milk
4 tbsp butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)

Toppings:

2 figs
100g blueberries

Rub together your plain flour and butter until they resemble bread crumbs. Add in the sugar and mix, then mix in the egg yolks. Make sure you mix thoroughly so that you don’t have mottled pastry. Add in the water, one tablespoon at a time – it may take slightly more or less than three tablespoons to achieve a cohesive dough.

Press your dough together in a ball, cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for 15 mins.

Preheat your oven to 200°C and grab your dough from the fridge. Grease a 12 hole cupcake tin. Roll out your chilled dough to 4-5mm thickness and use a scone cutter to cute circles big enough to fit in the cupcake tin and create a small edge.

Prick each tart with a fork and pop them into the oven for 15 minutes.

While the tarts are in the oven, make a start on the crème patissiere. Bring the milk, butter and vanilla to a boil in a medium saucepan. Make sure you stir the mixture constantly to avoid burning the milk. Once it’s come to a boil, turn off the heat and set the mixture to one side.

Mix the egg yolks with the sugar and cornflour in a large bowl until you have a thick paste. This mixture does the same job that store-bought custard powder does. Grab your hot milk and pour it into the egg mixture in small increments (this tempers the mixture and ensures that it won’t separate later, if you pour all the hot milk in at once, you risk burning or cooking the egg mixture), mixing well after each addition.

Once all of the milk is mixed in, you should have a warm, silky mixture. Pour it back into the milk pan and whisk it over a very low heat. Timing is crucial at this point, because you want to thicken the mixture. Whisking constantly to encourage air into the mixture, make sure you pay attention to the texture of the mixture – once the mixture reaches the consistency of soft serve ice cream, take it off the heat and keep whisking. If you leave it on the heat any longer, it will over-cook and start to look like scrambled eggs!* The residual heat in the mixture will cook the crème patissiere further, so whisk for a good five minutes before spooning it into the tart cases.

Set in the fridge for ten minutes to cool, then top with whatever Easter-appropriate toppings you like, get creative. If you prefer Easter eggs or chocolate and blueberries on your tarts, try that instead – they’ll still look great and taste delicious!

*If you do happen to over-cook the mixture, add a generous dash cold milk and whisk into the mixture until you achieve a smooth crème patissiere.

Completely unrelated to figs or tarts, here is a gratuitous photo of Norman napping. He got so impatient of waiting for the crumbs as I baked the pastry shells that he snuck up onto the lounge and had a sneak sleep.