churro waffles

My eating habits range from supermodel yoga enthusiast -
Hello raw green veggie juices.

To hungry unsupervised child in a candy store -
Hello cookies for breakfast and M&M's for dinner.

My baking skills (and subsequently, my pantry contents) enable me to have a thought like
"I feel like waffles"
And then be back in bed eating waffles 20 minutes later,
Without the need to leave the house,
Or (perhaps more importantly) put any pants on.

These waffles are a winner,
Because I don't drink milk at home,
And this recipe (unlike many others) is milk-free.
So once again - A celebration of not having to leave the house or put on pants for a trip to the supermarket.

Sometimes in life, you have to celebrate the little things.

I recommend you do it with these waffles.

C H U R R O   W A F F L E S

1 cup plain flour

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

1 cup water

1.5 tbsp cinnamon

4 tbsp sugar

Turn on the waffle iron to pre-heat.

Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and set aside.

In a saucepan, over low heat, combined water, sugar, salt, and butter.

Stir until butter has melted and sugar dissolved -make sure the mixture doesn't boil.

Remove pan from heat and whisk in flour until dough forms.

Return mix to low heat and use spatula to fold dough and cook dough until it leaves a film of flour on sides of pan.

Remove dough from pan and divide into equal portions.

Spray waffle iron with cooking spray and cook portions for 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown.

Coat hot waffles in cinnamon/sugar mixture while hot.

Serve.
Eat.
Die of happiness.


xx

the retrograde cake

I've said it before; And I'll say it again - 

I   E A T   M Y   F E E L I N G S

and they taste

D E L I C I O U S !

Hands up if you agree it's been a strange few weeks...

Let's blame Mercury.

Apparently it's been in retrograde.

Although, even though it's not something I follow closely, 

I swear, it seems to be in retrograde an awful lot lately...

Never fear though! It's over now.

*phew*

But if you are still feeling a little down,

I've got just the thing for you - 

F E R R E R O   C A K E

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Grease cake tin. Heat oven to 180 C.

In a large mixing bowl - stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. 
Beat on medium speed for one minute.

Stir in boiling water (the batter will be really runny).

Fill cake tin with batter.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes.

Allow to cool. 

Dress up with Ferrero Rochers.

xx

a little apple pie

For those days when you just need a little warmth. 

A little comfort. 

A little love.

A   L I T T L E   A P P L E   P I E

"We must have a pie.

Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie."

                                                        -- David Mamet

T H E   P A S T R Y

1 3/4 plain flour

1/2 cup self raising flour

1 pinch of salt

185g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon chilled water

1 tablespoon milk

Sift flours and pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl.

Add butter and rub lightly into flour with your fingertips, 

until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Stir through sugar.

Add lightly beaten egg, and chilled water.

Knead together as dough forms.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Once chilled - Roll pastry out on a floured workbench ready to assemble.

T H E   F I L L I N G

1kg peeled & cored granny smith apples; cut into cubes

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice, caster sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

T H E   A S S E M B L Y

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk whisked together

raw sugar for sprinkling

Roll out pastry to line individual pie trays.

Fill with apple mixture.

Add small piece of butter.

Cover with rolled out pastry to create a lid.

Brush with egg/milk wash

Sprinkle with raw sugar.

B A K E

On 200C for 30mins;

Then reduce heat to 160C and bake until golden.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

xx

the best kind of tart

A little bit of sweet; 

A little bit of sour.

When life (or that lemon tree you have been dutifully watering for the past 18 months) gives you lemons -

M A K E   L E M O N   M E R I N G U E   T A R T S

Who doesn't love a tart?!

The kind of lemon tarts that give you that buttery tart base crunch;

And tangy lemon curd perfection;

Topped with sweet marshmallowey meringue caramelised just a little bit from the quick flash of a blow torch flame.

ahhhh...

T H E   T A R T   C A S E S

125g chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

30g caster sugar

200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons chilled water

Combine dry ingrediants (flour, sugar, salt) in a bowl.

Using finger tips - gently rub butter into the dry mix until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Slowly add water, rubbing together until it forms a rough dough. 

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead to form a smooth firm dough. 

Flatten the dough into an inch thick

Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

THEN

Roll out the dough and cut round disks to line your pre-oiled tart cases.

Bake at 180C for 10 minutes or until golden.

Allow to cool.

T H E   L E M O N   F I L L I N G

50g (1/3 cup) cornflour

125ml (1/2 cup) water

250ml (1 cup) fresh lemon juice

215g (1 cup) caster sugar

60g butter, coarsely chopped

4 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)

Combine the cornflour, water, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. 

Use a balloon whisk to stir over medium heat for 4 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens. 

Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for a further 1 minute. 

Remove from heat. 

Whisk in butter and egg yolks. 

Transfer to a bowl. 

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 3 hours or until cooled completely.

T H E   M E R I N G U E 

4 egg whites (left over from the Lemon Filling process)

1 cup caster sugar

Use an electric beater to beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form. 

Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 tablespoonful at a time until the mixture is thick and glossy.

T H E   A S S E M B L E Y

(to create little tarts of delicious)

Fill cooked tart cases with cooled lemon filling.

Pipe meringue over lemon filling on each tart.

Use a kitchen blow torch to gently brown the meringue.

Let's Blow Torch These Babies

I'm not gonna lie - I love any excuse to play with fire...

But if you don't have a blow torch on hand, popping these in the oven to turn golden brown will also work a treat. 

(Not as fun.. but still delicious!)

Love At First Bite

xx

best. cheesecake. ever.

I made a cheesecake with  O N E   K I L O  of cream cheese

It was so amazing I don't even want to write about it.

I can describe it in one word  -  H E A V Y !

Besides, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?!

M A R S   B A R   C H E E S E C A K E

310g chocolate biscuits

150g butter, melted

4tbsp brown sugar

40g butter, extra

3 cups cream

3 tsp gelatine

½ cup water

1kg cream cheese, chopped, softened

1 cup caster sugar

10x mars bars, finely chopped

B I S C U I T   B A S E

Process biscuits until fine. Transfer biscuits to a medium bowl, stir in butter. Press mixture evenly over base of 20cm springform pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

B U T T E R S C O T C H   S A U C E

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, 40g butter and 4 tablespoons of the cream. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes.

C H E E S E C A K E

In a small heatproof jug, sprinkle gelatine over the water. Stand jug in a small saucepan of simmering water. Stir until dissolved.

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and caster sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. In a small bowl, beat remaining cream with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Stir slightly warm gelatine mixture into cream cheese mixture with half of the chopped Mars Bars; then fold in whipped cream.

A S S E M B L E

Pour 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture onto the biscuit base in pan. Drizzle over 2/3 of the butterscotch sauce. Swirl the mixture to distribute the butterscotch sauce. Repeat the process with remaining cream cheese mixture, butterscotch sauce.

Refrigerate for 5 hours or until set. 

xx

caramel walnut pancakes

You tell me - Is this picture worth 1,000 words?

caramel walnut pancakes

I'll give you four -  

Butter; Brown Sugar; Cream.

That's all you need to make a basic yet incredibly delicious caramel.

What was that?

"Thanks for interrupting the endless New Years Diet posts with this sugar-laden dessert"

You're welcome!

Serve these caramel walnuts on pancakes as I have done;

Pour over generous scoops of vanilla bean ice-cream;

Or eat by the spoonful from the saucepan.

Whatever makes you happy. The diet can start tomorrow...

xx

cheaters strudel

Last week I craved comfort food. And I happened to have some apples in the fruit bowl.

Apple pie seemed like too much effort, so instead I made a 'cheaters' version of apple strudel.

I call it the 'cheaters' version because I used store-bought puff pastry, which is not my usual style.

But none the less, my first attempt at strudel was delicious (although, as it turns out, not so photogenic*)


C H E A T E R S   A P P L E   S T R U D E L

Cheaters Apple Strudel

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 tablespoon plain flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons raisins (optional)
4 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg
Slivered almonds, for sprinkling

Icing sugar, to dust

Preheat oven to 190°C. Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Add apples (raisons are optional). Toss to coat.

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place the pastry on a lightly floured sheet of non-stick baking paper. Dust the pastry lightly with flour. Spoon the apple mixture over the bottom half of the pastry. Roll the pastry into a large log. 

Place, seam side down, on the baking tray. Tuck the ends under the roll.

Combine the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush with the egg mixture. Cut several 2cm-long slits, 2cm apart, into the top of the roll. Sprinkle with slivered almonds.

Bake for 35 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack lined with baking paper for 30 minutes to cool (if you can wait that long..) Dust with icing sugar and serve.

xx

[*Disclaimer : I may or may not have made, photographed, and eaten these after a glass (or two) of bubbles]

The Healing Tart

We had a family dinner last night - a casual affair to celebrate the success of my Aunty's surgery last week; plus two of my cousins were around for the weekend (a rare event since we're now all in our 20's).

Usually, I'm not huge on the 'Sunday Night Family Dinner' as I'd much prefer to have a quiet couch night after a hectic weekend; but as it was a 'special occasion' I whipped up a little dessert.

C H O C O L A T E ,   C A R A M E L   A N D   H A Z E L N U T   T A R T

Chocolate, Caramel & Hazelnut Tart

Admittedly it only looked pretty until we served it up; at which point it turned into a gooey mess of chocolatey goodness.

This tart is the beginning of my new self-imposed challenge - 

Bake something I've never baked before.

After this post about baking the same cakes, biscuits, desserts all the time, I decided to step outside my normal repertoire of recipes and try something different.

I started with this Chocolate Tart - because chocolate is always a winner.

Ingredients

150g (1 cup) plain flour

60g (1/3 cup) icing sugar mixture

30g (1/4 cup) almond meal

125g chilled unsalted butter, coarsely chopped

1 egg yolk

1 x 100g pkt ground hazelnuts

160g (1 cup, lightly packed) brown sugar

350ml pouring cream

90g unsalted butter, extra, chopped

2 x 100g pkts good-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped

Cocoa powder, to dust

How ?

Step 1

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place the flour, icing sugar, almond meal and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and process until the mixture just comes together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until just smooth. Shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Step 2

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 4mm-thick disc. Line a round 3.5cm-deep, 22cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry and trim any excess. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

Step 3

Line the pastry with non-stick baking paper. Fill with pastry weights or rice. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Remove paper and pastry weights or rice. Bake for 6 minutes or until light golden. Set aside to cool slightly. Sprinkle with the hazelnuts.

Step 4

Place the brown sugar, 150ml of cream and extra butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 6 minutes or until the caramel thickens. Pour over the pastry base. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool.

Step 5

Heat 200ml cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate and stir until smooth. Pour over the caramel. Use the back of a tablespoon to smooth the surface. Place in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours to chill.

Step 6

Dust the tart with cocoa powder and cut into wedges. Serve at room temperature.

According to my Aunty - this Tart is just what the Doctor ordered...

xx

Shh.. It's a National Secret

Until yesterday, I had never eaten Sticky Date Pudding.

Actually, I'd never tried dates either.

So now that I have, I'm convinced this little dessert is part of a National Secret.

Because of course - after I announced that I'd baked this unassuming pudding, everyone suddenly admits to me that it's their favourite. And they love it. And how could I possibly never have tried it?!

OK people.. I'm on to you all now.

This dessert is my new favourite.

It. Was. Delicious!


S T I C K Y   D A T E   P U D D I N G

Sticky Date Pudding

That right there is the very definition of food porn.

125g pitted dates, chopped
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup boiling water
80g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup self raising flour
pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Place dates and baking soda in a bowl, pour over the boiling water and stand for 20 minutes.
Cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar until pale, light and fluffy.
Add the egg and beat well. 
With a metal spoon or spatula, fold through the date water mixture and the flour until well combined.
Spoon into 7-8 muffin cups and bake for 30-35 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.
Cool in tin for five minutes before turning it out and cooling on a wire rack.


Butterscotch Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
150ml whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
30g salted butter

To make the butterscotch sauce, combine all the ingredients in a heavy based saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
When boiled, reduce heat to low and simmer for a few minutes until darkened and thickened.
To serve, prick the warm cake all over with a skewer and pour about a third of the butterscotch sauce all over the cake and allow to soak for ten minutes before serving.

A National Secret EXPOSED!

YUM!

xx

Meet Me at Max's

I visited my sister Bree in Canberra a few weeks ago.

And I learnt 3 things...

One :

It's damn cold in there in winter. Incredibly cold.

Like - "If I'm experiencing this kind of cold, there might as well be fun snow to play in".. 

But there is no snow. Just cold. Really frosty, alpine-style cold.

Which brings me to Number Two :

People in Canberra look sad.

[Refer to Number One]

I would be sad if I had to live in such a cold boring place too...

And Three :

MAX BRENNER

This was Canberra's one redeeming quality.

It is chocolate heaven.

A cozy, cafe-style of heaven.

If I lived in Canberra, you might just find me drowning my sorrows in chocolatey-goodness Every.Single.Day.

Max Brenner

We shared a few dishes because we couldn't decide.

Waffles? Sure.

Banana crepes? Yes please!

Extra melted chocolate? Why not?!?

oh, and a mug of super creamy hot chocolate too. Thanks :)

Here's a snippet of their menu -

It was all dee-licious.

And the best news?

They have stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.. So I won't have to go back to Canberra for my chocolate fix!

xx

Triple Chocolate Mousse Tart

I have some serious catching up to do..

I have been baking enough to feed a small army but sadly my blogging mojo is not on the same level as my baking.

I have already mentioned my tendency to spend time in the kitchen when I am stressed/emotional. And there has been no shortage of either in the past few weeks - which has resulted in me experimenting with some new recipes; including this one - A triple chocolate mousse tart.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Tart

I seem to have diverted from standard cupcakes and I must admit that new desserts and sweets are a fun new challenge.

This tart was a popular dessert at a recent family gathering - it may have won more thumbs up than the traditional pavlova...

It was rich on it's own so I would suggest serving with a dollop of cream or vanilla bean icecream if you feel like indulging.

Here you go - 

Ingredients

Chocolate Base

• 250g plain chocolate biscuits

• 1 tablespoon plain flour

• 125g butter, melted

• cocoa powder, to serve

Chocolate ganache

• 100g dark chocolate, chopped

• 1/2 cup thickened cream

Chocolate mousse

• 200g dark chocolate, chopped

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 600ml thickened cream

Method

Grease a pan. Line base with baking paper. 

Place biscuits and flour in a processor. Process until finely chopped. 

Add butter. Process until combined. 

Press mixture evenly over base of prepared pan. 

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make chocolate ganache: Place chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. 

Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. 

Pour over biscuit base. 

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.

Meanwhile, make chocolate mousse: Place chocolate, vanilla and half the cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. 

Remove from heat. 

Cool for 15 minutes. 

Using an electric mixer, beat remaining cream until soft peaks form. 

Fold chocolate mixture into cream.

Gently pour over ganache layer.

Refrigerate overnight.

Dust with cocoa.

Serve.

xx

Pie for Nan

My Nan has been in and out of hospital for months.

It is incredibly sad to watch her suffer from one ailment to the next. 

It is equally as difficult to watch her attempt to eat the disgraceful excuse for food that some hospital kitchens serve to their patients.

When I visit I always take a treat - If I'm short on time it might be a vanilla slice from my bakery of choice, or perhaps a fruit tart from my favourite stall in the Central Markets. If I've got time to prepare something at home it's often melting moments or a cake made with love.

Yesterday I made a Lemon Meringue Pie to take with me on my visit.

Rustic Lemon Meringue Pie

Before you get started - 

Grease pie tin;

Preheat oven to 240 degrees

For the Pastry

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tbsp icing sugar

140g butter

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp water

Combine flour and icing sugar; Using fingers - rub in butter until crumbly;

Add yolk and water;

Knead until smooth dough forms

Cover and place in fridge for 30 minutes

then...

Roll pastry into tin;

Blind bake in oven for 15 minutes;

Then bake for a further 10 minutes;

And cool.

For the Lemon Curd

1/2 cup cornflour

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 1/4 cup water

60g butter

3 egg yolks

To make the filling -

Combine cornflour and sugar in saucepan;

Add juice and water and stir until smooth;

Cook stirring over high heat until mixture boils and thickens;

Remove from heat and stir in butter and yolks;

Return to heat and cook for further 10 minutes.

For the Meringue

1/2 cup caster sugar

4 egg whites

To make meringue - 

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form;

Gradually add sugar;

Beat until sugar dissolves.

Then assemble - 

Spread lemon curd over base;

Cover with meringue;

Bake for 2-5 minutes until top begins to brown.

Cool.

Serve.

Nan loved it. And so did the nurses on duty who also indulged in a slice.

xx