Leftover Roast Wrap

There is nothing better than having a roast for dinner one night and then having leftovers for lunch the next day. On Monday night I made a beef roast for dinner with roast pumpkin, potatoes, onion, carrot, sweet potato and capsicum. So when it came time for lunch on Tuesday dad and I wanted something a bit out of the ordinary. It is amazing what you come up with you're hungry. 

I used a multi-grain wrap and sprinkled cheese on it and then placed it in the microwave for 20 seconds. I smashed the leftover roast potato, sweet potato, carrot and pumpkin into a paste and spread it over the cheese. I then heated up some meat before I placed it in the wrap. I then cut up some fresh tomato and capsicum and place it on top. Not only was it very filling it was also very healthy and yummy! 

I love wraps because they are so versatile and they can be a complete balanced meal that if you are successful in doing this you can hold it in one hand. However, if you are like me and no matter what you do you always make a mess when eating a wrap then its a yummy and messy lunch but so worth every bite! 

Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake

As promised here is my boyfriends second cake for the family party we had one Sunday. Sorry it is so late, with final assignments and exams looming next week my week has been more of a trying to get everything done than anything else but in 13 days I am  free!! Until next year at least. No one every warns you how mentally exhausting university is I guess that may be because my holidays were actually spent on prac so I haven't had a holiday since summer. 

Summer to me is sitting in the backyard in the heat with family and friends having a few drinks, eating good food (and lots of it). That's what the party on Sunday was like it was even complete with a summer storm and a few food comas. 

My main problem with this cake was the fact that every single shop I went to (3 different supermarkets) didn't have the ingredients I needed. So instead I had to settle for a packet mix chocolate cake (Duncan Hines in this case) and OMG! Chocolate Mousse. That day was not my day apparently and there wasn't enough time to go somewhere else. But it still worked perfectly and tasted great plus you always know a packet mix is going to give good results. 

First I made the packet mix,  I always make sure to sett the time 10 minutes before it says that way you can get it exactly the way you want it. I also always make sure to go by feel if I feel it needs more milk I add it sometimes you just need to trust your instincts. I didn't quite follow the directions it said to separate the mixture into two separate pans instead I used my trust (seriously old) cake pan. It was my great grandma's and my grandma gave it to me one day because I always said I wanted it. It is one of those ones that has a really high side so that you can have a big cake all in one pan. The reason I did this is because I only have the one pan in that size so instead of have two cakes I sliced the one cake in half. 

Once it was completely cooled I used both packets of the OMG! Chocolate Mousse and spread a thick layer on the top of the bottom layer and placed the other one on top. It was then covered in chocolate icing on the top allowing it to drip down the sides giving it the 'naked cake' look. I also decided to crush up some meringues (check my lemon meringue tart for the recipe  http://alittlebakersaddiction.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/spring-bbq.html) for the top of the cake just to break up the chocolate colour. 

Chocolate Icing Recipe 

Ingredients

•  4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee 
• 4 tablespoons softened butter 
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups icing sugar 
• Milk (adjust to the consistency you want) 

Method 

1. Using an electric mixer combine all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. 

Watermelon Cake

So yesterday was my boyfriends birthday and we had dinner at mine with his sister to celebrate. Wednesdays are massive for me i have a full day of uni and work I knew I had to preplan this cake. My original plan did not work, so I had to come up with something pretty quickly.

My original plan was a standard round layer cake nothing too crazy because I didn't have enough time to do what I would have wanted. However, for some reason my usual cake recipe didn't rise at all it was so flat and I didn't have time to make another one (I won't give the recipe until I figure out what went wrong). I decided I would cut it in half and do a layer of icing in the middle to hold it together and I would have to come up with something that was a semi circle. That is when I came up with the idea to do a watermelon cake. 

Tuesday during the day I made the cake so there was plenty of time for it to cool and then I could do the middle layer later in the day. This mean that it would stay in place because it had the right amount of time so it wouldn't move when I did the crumb coating. A crumb coating is the layer that you put on thinly before you actually decorate the cake so you don't get any crumbs in the icing. When I first started cake decorating I never knew this and it made my life so much easier when I read about this is a cake decorating magazine. 

Wednesday night just after work and about 5 minutes before they arrived I started on the crumb coating and then the icing. I started with a white crumb coating and then the 'rind' (I don't know what else to call it). I then used the green icing to do the skin of the watermelon and finally I used the red icing for the flesh. To get the seeds I used the chocolate icing I used for the filling and shaped it using a skewer. To get the darker strips in the skin I used a skewer and dipped it in green food dye and then ran it up the sides to get the desired look. 

Chocolate Icing Filling Recipe 
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence 
• 10 tablespoons icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons softened butter 
• milk (adjust to the consistency you want) 

Method   

1. Combine all ingredients to get a buttercream consistency. 

Vanilla Buttercream Icing Recipe 

Ingredients

• 50g softened butter
• 1 cup icing sugar 
• Vanilla essence (adjust to taste)   
• 1 tablespoon milk 

Method

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in the bowl until pale (this will make it easier to colour and icing whiter). 
2. Gradually add icing sugar and milk. 
3. Add vanilla essence and adjust to taste (remember it is very strong so only add a little at a time). 
4. Colour icing as you wanted prefer. 

 I have planned another cake for him for his friends and family party (keep in tune for that one). 

Avocado and Cucumber Salad

So this afternoon before work I decided I wanted something slightly different for dinner even though the Chicken Enchiladas were thawed. Only 2 of us eat meat at my dads place (my dad and I) so I on Monday nights when I cook I usually have lots of veggies and/or salad and then a little bit of meat for my dad and I. I eat more veggies than meat anyway so its not too much of a big deal. 

I looked what we had in the fridge... Wednesday is shopping day so by Monday after a weekend of friends around there isn't usually much. I found that apart from the salad veggies I had already put aside for a garden salad I had an avocado and lots of baby cucumbers. So I came up with my own little salad (which I just realised I forgot to take a photo of so please forgive me) that had been inspired by a few different recipes online. 

Ingredients

• Avocado 
• 1/8 of an onion
• 4 baby cucumbers 
• Feta 
• Lemon Juice
• El Taro Chili and Lime sauce 
• 1/12 teaspoon of garlic
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (if it needs to be thinned out) 

Method  

1. Chop onion, avocado and cucumber and combine in a bowl. 
2. Crumble some feta (adjust to your taste) between your fingers and mix into the onion, avocado and cucumber mixture. 
3. To make the dressing in a small cup combine lemon juice, chili and lime sauce and garlic an mix together. (Add apple cider vinegar if needed to thin it out). 
4. Combine the dressing and vegetable mixture together.
5. Serve immediately.

What are some salad's you enjoy?

Product Review: Phillips Air Fryer

The Phillips Air Fryer is amazing! 

We bought the Phillips Air Fryer HD9220 a few years ago to make a healthy version of chips, however since buying it we have realised that it is way more versatile than we first thought. I make wedges from scratch, coutons for a salads, cook steaks, chicken kievs', meat pies, sausage rolls, those packets of yum cha and doughnuts. Basically I have found that most things (especially things that you can put in the oven)  can be thrown in there. Apparently you can do a cake - personally I am a bit skeptical but I am willing to give ti a try.

 Of course a steak is always better on the BBQ but sometimes that's the last thing that you want to be worrying about, so you heat it up chuck the chips and the steak it and it cooks it all in one go! 

I am going to give you guys a pros and cons list because I LOVE pros and cons lists! Also I think it helps break it down so you guys don't have to read a 7 page review that you are going to get bored reading when you really want something that makes it easy to make a decision. 

Pros

• Quick 
• Oven Baked wedges in the oven can take up to 30 minutes to get crispy from frozen but in the Air Fryer its much quicker at around 15-20 minutes depending how you like you're wedges. 
• Easy 
• Preheat to the temperature you want. Put the food in and every now and then pull it out and toss the food to ensure an even heat distribution. 
• Healthier 
• Who doesn't like fried foods? Personally after a while I get a stomach ache from too much oil. With the Phillips Air Fryer you don't need to add any oil so it makes it a much healthier alternative. 
• Easy Cleaning 
• The non-stick coating means that it is much easier to clean. Pull out the frying basket and the dish and throw it in the dishwasher. 
• If you've left it longer than you would admit to I have found if you put water and dish washing liquid in the dish and heat it for 15 - 20 minutes it takes the hard to clean stuff off. 

Cons

• The size 
• The size that we have was is great for about 3 - 4 people but any more than that and you would probably struggle.
• Because it is a bit bulky it makes it a lot harder to store. Living in an apartment with limited storage also does not help! But because we use it so often space was a sacrifice we were willing to make. 

Would I buy it again?

Yes, 100% yes. It had made cooking much easier and more convenient plus lunches are a breeze! 

Wedges Recipe (serves 2)

This is the recipe I use when I need a snack or when we have friends over and I feel like putting a bit more effort in than the standard frozen wedges. 

Ingredients

• 3 potatoes 
• Dried Oregano  
• Dried Basil 
• Seasoning Salt 
• Oil 

Method 

1. Preheat Air Fryer for 10 minutes. 
2. Chop potatoes into desired length and width.
3. Combine oil, salts and herbs in a mixing both.
4. Combine the oil mixture and the raw potato. 
5. Put in air fryer for 10 - 20 minutes tossing every now and then until desired crispiness is achieved. 

What do you cook in yours? And what do you think about it?

Lemon Curd Tart

On Saturday night we had some family friends over for dinner I made a Lemon Curd Tart and served it with some yummy vanilla bean ice cream, you could also serve it with cream, berries or a combination. I love a good lemon curd. Ever since I went to a small country town to visit family and the women of the church baked an afternoon tea, I have wanted to try lemon curd again. Nobody knows how to cook better than country women, the vanilla sponge with homemade jam and fresh cream and strawberries was amazing, however my little cousin and I loved the mini lemon curd tarts. 

I had not thinking moment when I put the pasty in the oven. I don't have pie weights so I used rice to hold the crust in shape, but I did not think to put baking paper inbetween the rice and the pastry. This meant that the pastry had hardened rice in the base of it so I had to use a spoon and scrape and scoop it out of the pastry. Luckily I had my boyfriend with me so we got a good laugh out of it and worked on it together. It left a very pretty pattern on the base of it shame I had to cover it up with the lemon curd. I was also very lucky that we got all of the rice out I wasn't 100% sure but if someone had a piece of rice in theirs they didn't say anything. 

You can add lime to make it a lemon lime curd tart or make it just a lime curd tart. Adjust it to what you have in your house and to your preferences. 

This recipe lets you make a pastry base from scratch, if you want to use a biscuit base that would work fine too. 

Ingredients

Curd 

• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 4 lemons (zest and juice) 
• 4 large egg yolks beaten 
• 225g butter 
• 3/4 cup caster sugar 

Pastry 

• 100g butter cubed 
• 1 1/3 cups plain flour 
• 1/4 cup caster sugar 
• 1 egg beaten 

Method  

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. 
2. Grease a loose bottomed tart tin.
3. To make the pastry, use your fingers to rub the butter, flour and sugar together then add the egg yolks with a teaspoon of cold water to bind. (If you need more water add sparingly)
4. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in cling wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
5. Roll dough out onto a floured surface and line the tart tin press into place and trim the edged. 
6. Prick the pastry with a fork and line with baking paper and fill with pie weights or rice. 
7. Bake for 10 minutes and then remove the baking paper filled with pie weights/rice and cook for 5-8 minutes to crisp.
8. Dissolve the cornflour in the lemon juice and put in a saucepan with the rest of the ingredients.
9. Stir constantly over a medium heat to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar. after about 6 or 7 minutes the mixture should begin to thicken,
10. Continue until it starts to bubble amd has thickened (it should easily coat the back of your wooden spoon) spoon it into the pastry case and level with the palette knife or the back of the wooden spoon. 
11. Leave to cool completely. I put mine in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours. 

Tip:

When rolling the pastry out if you lay baking paper or cling wrap on the bench and the flour it. It makes the transfer and clean up a lot easier. 

Also cover the top of the pastry or the rolling pin with cling wrap to prevent extra clean up. 

Enjoy!

Exciting News

So exciting news for me. I live in an apartment so I no longer have a garden which is more of an issue to my cat who used to love lying under the palm trees or by the pool in the backyard.

I always wanted to grow a vegetable garden, my Pa's love of gardening rubbed off on me however unlike him I am not at all good at it. He tried to teach me over the 18 years I had with him and I could grow weeds, sunflowers and sometimes flowers I had planted in the little garden that he had made more me. His garden however was amazing; covered in the most beautiful and the most amazing smelling roses, the best cherry tomatoes, mandarins, persimmons (I didn't eat the persimmons but my family loved them), passionfruit, pumpkin, carrots... you name it he grew it!  Not only was my green thumb not so green but with a range of cats in the neighbourhood my parents told me it would be pointless having a vegetable garden, I think that they secretly didn't actually want one they wanted the garden to look pretty instead. 

The change to an apartment with a balcony was a bit of an issue when thinking about a vegetable or herb garden. I especially wanted one of those vertical gardens that I originally saw on The Block (Yes I am a Block-a-holic or a Blockhead). However that would require drilling into the structure of the building (which is a big no-no). So unfortunately that idea didn't last and mum didn't like the idea of pots on the balcony so I came up with a new idea.  

This idea was taking the podium where there is a grass area, seating area and pool just for this apartment building to share, and put a herb garden in there so that everyone could benefit from it. Best part of this is that the gardeners would plant and maintain it and it would allow anyone to go plant what they wanted or just potter around tending to the garden. Which would also mean I wouldn't kill it! It was taken to the committee of the building last night and got approved! I was so excited. 

So now there is a lot of baking to be done with fresh herbs which I am so so happy about. There is nothing better than cooking with fresh herbs but the hardest part is maintaining it or actually putting it together. 

This is the list that I put together for the committee to approve:

• Mint 
• Parsely 
• Basil 
• Chives
• Corriander 
• Chilli 
• Oregano 
• Rosemary 
• Dill 

Do you have any other suggestions that I could add? 

If you live in an apartment complex pitch the idea to the committee, you might be surprised! I also added the cost of the plants and where to get it. 

Bathurst Weekend

So who doesn't love a hot weekend with one of the biggest car races n Australian TV? The Bathurst 1000 weekend had finally arrived. Ever since I was little my dad would put on Bathurst from Friday night right until Sunday afternoon all I heard all weekend was "shhhh!!!" and the sound of V8 supercars going past really fast. 

Brocky was a household name and someone who was admired in our house and it was inevitable when he died that the cardboard cut out would be brought from the garage into the living room each Bathurst race. Congratulations to Craig Lowndes and Steve Richo for winning such an amazing race. 

Oh and most importantly HOLDEN WON!!!

Now onto baking. Bathurst weekend has always meant easy dinners and takeout. One of my all time favourites was homemade pizza, it became a Sunday night tradition for many years of my childhood. So here is the recipe that has slowly been developed over a number of years in my household, of course pizza is done to your own taste and you can chop and change as much of this as you want. The age old debate pineapple on pizza will most likely come up. My opinion on this: how can you not have a pizza with pineapple on it!? It adds sweetness and its soooo yummy! This debate between my friends can sometimes get nasty and last time we made pizzas it was like a war was developing, we had sides and everything!

In the picture I actually made my own dough however usually we buy the pre-made bases from Coles or Woolies or just use the wraps that are in the house. 

Toppings 

• Tomato sauce/pizza sauce 
• Cheese (grated)
• Tomato (sliced)
• Pineapple (chucks)
• Onion (sliced)
• Capsicum (sliced)
• Ham (sliced)
• Bacon (small pieces) 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. 
2. Place the base on a baking tray covered in baking paper.
3. Spread over sauce (you can use; tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, pizza sauce, sweet chilli sauce, etc). 
4. Sprinkle a light layer of cheese over the sauce layer.
5. Add desired toppings. 
6. Bacon: you can either pre-cook the bacon in a fry pan on the stove or you can just throw it on the pizza and let the oven do the work. 
7. Final layer of cheese. 
8. Place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes (keep an eye on this because depending what you have on your pizza it may take longer or shorter). 
9. Enjoy! 

There is my quick, easy, yummy and healthy dinner that everyone will love!

Creme Brulee Cheesecake

A few years ago I made a friend a creme brulee cheesecake for her birthday. She doesn't really like cake (yes I always tease her because of this) but loves cheesecake and I wanted to do something different rather than your standard cheesecake. I generally don't like doing things that are the norm or standard I like putting my own twist on things. 

From memory I used a standard cheesecake recipe but instead of putting a berry coulis on the top I did a layer of brown sugar and used my blow torch to get the toffee top on it. That was a great idea, The toffee layer gave it a crunch and a sweetness that isn't usually expected. I'm personally not a massive fan of cheesecake but I did enjoy this one. 

Whilst I don't remember what exact recipe I used back then I have recently used a Martha Stewart cheesecake recipe which is amazing! I mean what Martha Stewart recipe isn't?!

Here is the link for it 

http://www.marthastewart.com/858246/no-bake-cheesecake

Ingredients

• 2 packs of biscuits (Arnott's or Graham Crackers)
• 1 3/8 stick of unsalted butter 
• 2 tablespoons of sugar 
• 454 g cream cheese at room temperature (I use Philadelphia)
• 1 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk   
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

I use this one because it uses simple quality ingredients that makes for an easy but complex tasting cheesecake. It also is a no bake so you shove it in the fridge however that does mean you need to plan to do it at least the night before so it has time to set. 

In Australia we don't have Graham Crackers so instead I usually use whatever Arnott's plain biscuits that I can find in the house. My theory is if you buy the good biscuits that you enjoy you are going to enjoy the crust as well. The crust can make or break a slice, cheesecake or anything that has a biscuit base. 

Enjoy with a side of fruit, cream or ice cream or all of them. 

Dessert Ideas for Summer

So whilst it is only Spring, it feels like summer for a long weekend. Today it is going to be 35 degrees and tomorrow 37 degrees! Perfect weather for a long weekend by the pool with a few friends and a BBQ (which is exactly what I am doing Sunday and Monday). 

I haven't done any baking this week because first week back at uni after a two week break has been a little hectic! So I thought I would post some of my favourite ideas that won't melt for a quick BBQ that started out of no where. 

One of the worst things that can happen here, you spend all this time on a fabulous dessert only to have it melt right before your eyes. Or you have a whole group of people turn up for an impromptu BBQ and you need a dessert but have no clue what to make or whats in the house. 

Here are some of my favourite dessert ideas 

• Lamingtons
• Pavlova 
• Eton Mess 
• Apple Berry Crumble with Ice Cream (Just don't take the ice cream out of the freezer too soon other wise your crumble will be swimming in a sea of creamy, frothy cold milk)
• Upside Down Cake 
• Fruit Platter 
• Lemon Tart 
• Ice Cream Cake (you know those ones from Coles that you used to have at Maccas Birthday Parties?) 
• Raspberry Ice with Cream or Ice Cream
• Ice Cream Sandwiches 
• Lemon Meringue Pie 
• Lemon Meringue Ice Creame (My favourite) 
• Sara Lee shove in the oven dessert

Here is the Eton Mess that I made for a BBQ

What is your favourite dessert for summer?

Cheese and Vegemite Scrolls

I love cheese and Vegemite scrolls! When I see them at Bakers Delight I have to bribe myself not to buy one then and there. I have always wanted to make them but never could be bothered however today I had some uni work that I needed to do and didn't want to do it. 

I know that many people don't like Vegemite however I love it and this recipe can be substituted to put pizza scrolls, sweet chilli and cheese scrolls, what ever you like. 

For this recipe I did use my Theormomix again, I use it when making dough as it is so much easier than doing it by hand and I would be crazy to have it an not use it. However you can use these ingredients and quantities and use your standard process of making dough which or you can use the process from a previous post of mine:

http://alittlebakersaddiction.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/herb-garlic-and-cheese-pull-apart.html

I wasn't actually planning on making the dough from scratch. I had a packet of puff pastry waiting to be used in the fridge. However, this proved to be an issue because it was kept in the fridge and not the freezer like the packet says it was covered in mould. The package looked completely fine but once I got it out of the cardboard I soon realised it may have been a better idea to follow the storage instructions than I thought. 

Ingredients

Dough 

• 500g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons yeast 
• 20g oil
• 300mL warm water 

Filling 

• Vegemite 
• Cheese - grated 
• Any other fillings that you would like

Method  

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. 
2. Combine yeast and water in the mixing bowl and mix speed 1/2 mins/37 degrees. 
3. Add flour, salt, sugar and oil knead 6 minutes/Interval setting. 
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and shape into a round ball.
5. Place dough into an oiled bowl in a warm dry area (I used the dining table) and cover with a tea towel for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 
6. Roll dough into a square shape to your desired thickness. 
7. Spread Vegemite over the dough and cut into strips of desired thickness. I did strips of about 5 cm. 
8. Sprinkle grated cheese over the Vegemite and roll from one end to the other. 
9. Place on a baking tray and sprinkle with cheese. 
10. Place in oven for 10 - 20 minutes depending on the size of your scrolls.  
11. Enjoy! 

Herb, Garlic and Cheese Pull Apart

I found a recipe for cheese and garlic pull apart bread on Pinterest ages ago and thought that it looked absolutely amazing. So when my friends wanted to come over for a BBQ today I was wondering what I could cook that was different and I immediately thought of this recipe. I desperately wanted to try it but never had a reason. Plus I knew that I had all the ingredients in the house and it would be easy.

I never used to think bread was easy to make, however, when we got the Thermomix I decided to try it again and found that it was so much easier without all the kneading! The thing does it all by itself, it makes life so much easier. The only thing I dislike about the Thermomix and making bread is that the dough gets stuck in the blade below. I had to pull apart the bottom of it and pull the blades out to get all the dough I could, off.

The biggest issue I had with this recipe was that while the dough was resting I didn't oil or flour the bowl (BIG mistake). I know I should know better but it was one of those I can't be bothered moments. But I paid for it an hour later when it came time to take it out of the bowl. It was completely stuck and I needed to re-knead the dough and cover the outside surface with flour so I could put it all together.

The other issue I had was because I used a spring foam pan the liquid butter actually seeped out and went all though the oven! So next time I will not use that pan. 

Ingredients 

Filling

• 100g butter 
• 4 teaspoons garlic or 4 clove of garlic crushed
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup tasty cheese (grated) 
• 1 teaspoon dried/fresh parsley 
• 1 teaspoon dried/fresh oregano 
• 1 teaspoon dried/fresh basil 

Bread

• 2 teaspoons yeast 
• 330mL water 
• 4 1/2 cups plain flour 
• 3 tablespoon oil 
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar  

Method 

Bread Non-Thermomix Way 

1. Combine water and yeast in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stir constantly for 2 minutes or until dissolved. 
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, oil, salt, sugar and yeast mixture. 
3. Turn out until a floured surface and knead until a soft dough consistency forms. 
4. Shape into a round ball and put in an oiled bowl. 
5. Place the bowl of dough in a warm dry area (I used the dining table) and cover with a tea towel for 1 hour. 

Bread Thermomix Way 

1. Place water and yeast into mixing bowl and mix on speed 1/ 2 mins/ 37 degrees. 
2. Add flour, sugar, oil, salt, sugar. 
3. Knead 6 mins/ Interval setting, 
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and shape into a round bowl. 
5. Place dough into an oiled bowl in a warm dry areas (I used the dining table) and cover with a tea towel for 1 hour.

Filling

1. Combine herbs, Parmesan and garlic. 
2. Melt butter. 
3. Combine butter and herbs mixture.

Bread and Filling

1. Grease a round baking pan (I used a spring foam one as I thought it would be easier to get out of the pan) 

2. Roll dough into balls. I did random sizes and I had my boyfriend help so his were a lot bigger than mine. 

3. Coat dough balls  in the filling. 

4. Line butter coated dough balls in the pan. 

5. Sprinkle cheese inbetween layers and on top and pour remaining butter mixture. 

6. Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes and serve warm. 

Enjoy! 

Breakfast Smoothie

Most mornings I start with a breakfast smoothie, I am usually hungry but can't be bother to prepare and then eat something while I am running around doing makeup, choosing outfits or even sometimes just relaxing. 

I have a Thermomix (which I love and hate but that is for another post) and I make my smoothie in that but before I had a Thermomix I used a standard blender. 

Here is my breakfast smoothie recipe. 

Ingredients

• Dairy Farmers Thick and Creamy Yogurt (I use Blueberry or Strawberry but you can use any one of them) 
• Handful of frozen raspberries or frozen berries 
• 1 banana  
• 1 orange
• 1 snack pack SPC peaches with mango nectar 

I also add and take out fruits and incidents if I have or don't have them in the house. I have added kiwi fruit, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, mango. 

So get creative use this one or make your own! 

Method

1. Throw all the ingredients in the Thermomix or the blender. 
2. Blend on low for 1 minute speed up to a high speed setting for 2 -3 minutes or when the consistency is right. 
3. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy! 

Peach Upside Down Cake

Today I did a twist on a pineapple upside down cake and changed it to a peach upside down cake. I have used this recipe before and used apricots instead. With an upside down cake they are very versatile and you can use almost any fruit you prefer.

I was making it as a dessert for a BBQ dinner for a few friends. Although we were hoping for that 30 degree weather we didn't quite get it instead we got rain, rain and more rain. Muddy paw prints on the tiles after we had vacuumed left the dogs in a bit of trouble. Usually they jump in the fountain and then run inside the house but this time they decided to run out in the muddy grass.

I chose to a an upside down cake because it is simple and versatile cake which meant I could make it easily and have it set by the time dessert came around.

Ingredients

• Peaches (I used canned for this recipe but if you prefer you can definitely use fresh) 
• 3/4 cup butter 
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 
• 1 1/4 cup self raising flour 
• Pinch of salt 
• 1/2 cup milk 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease the pan (I used a bundt pan for this one but you can use whatever pan you choose). 
2. Melt 1/4 cup of butter and pour into the pan. Sprinkle a handful of brown sugar into the pan on top of the butter. Arrange the peach slices in a single layer around the pan. 
3. In a large bowl cream the remaining butter an sugar together until light and fluffy. 
4. Add egg and vanilla essence and beat until combined. 
5. Add milk and flour alternatively beating after each addition until combined. If you feel like you need to add extra milk do it. 
6. Spoon mixture over the peaches 
7. Bake at 180 degrees C for 40 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
8. Cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate. 
9. Serve warm or cool.

This is how I arranged the peaches:

Chocolate Mud Cake

Who doesn't love chocolate?

I never used to, people thought that I was crazy for not liking it however it was a very good thing as it meant that I didn't WANT to eat it. Now I have to convince myself not to eat it!

I made this chocolate mud cake with a salted caramel middle and a chocolate ganache icing for my boyfriends Nanna's birthday. It was a simple yet extremely yummy cake!

The biggest problem I had with this cake was the icing. It was a warm day so the ganache did not set as fast as I wanted it to (note to self: no ganache on a warm day!).

There are two ways you can do this cake:

Sometimes there is just no time left (or you want to keep your sanity)  to make cake from scratch, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a packet mix! So many people think that packet mixes are a cheats way... yes in a way they are but they are also a  lifesaver because otherwise those people would not get their dessert!

The Simple/running out of time way
You will need

• 1 packet mix of chocolate mud cake (my favourites are Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker) 
• 2 cups icing sugar 
• 1/2 cup butter 
• Pinch of salt
• Caramel topping/sauce 
• 1 block of chocolate 
• 1 small jar of thickened cream (around 220mL) 

To make the cake 

• Follow the instructions on the pack mix! 

To make the filling

• Using an electric mixer combine salt, icing sugar and batter.
• Mix in the caramel sauce, adjust to taste. 

To make the icing 

• I followed Martha Stewart's recipe
• http://www.marthastewart.com/865175/ganache 

Cake from scratch way:

To make the cake

• Once again for this cake I used a Martha Stewart recipe 
• http://www.marthastewart.com/333219/dark-chocolate-cake-with-ganache-frostin

To make the filling 

• Using an electric mixer combine salt, icing sugar and batter.
• Mix in the caramel sauce, adjust to taste

To make the icing 

• I followed Martha Stewart's recipe
• http://www.marthastewart.com/865175/ganache

The way that I decorated this cake was to use Caramel Jersey's and just did a rough job on the icing with my favouite palette knife. Sometimes the simple cake designs are the best way to go, for this cake I didn't plan it out before hand it was one of those times that I got into the kitchen and just decided what I was going to do when inspiration struck. 

The best part of left over chocolate ganache (which i had) was that you can take advantage of it. I had some strawberries sitting in the fridge so I dipped the strawberries in the leftover chocolate ganache. 

Happy baking. 

Spring BBQ!

This weekend my friendship group had our first Spring BBQ. It was a beautiful 27 degrees C, much better than we have been getting lately! As usual I offered to bring dessert just because I love taking desserts places. 

Because it so warm I decided that something that brought a freshness to the air would be good. I adapted a recipe from a lemon curd tart to a lemon, passionfruit and lime curd tart with a meringue kiss on top. Here is the final result:

Because all of my friends love meringue I actually used the leftover meringue and took a tuppaware full of it that rather quickly got eaten (along with the Malteasers and M&M's we found). I enjoy adapting recipes to make them my own, needless to say when you do that sometimes you don't get the results or ease of which you intended. 

For the tart I got rid of the pastry base, mostly because i didn't have the time to make the pastry perfect. Instead I made a biscuit base and just put it on the bottom of the patty pan as otherwise it would not hold its shape. In hindsight I think it is worth the time making the pastry the biscuit base was lovely but it was a bit heavy for the tart and it crumbled very easily. 

For the curd part of the tart I adapted the recipe I was using to include lime juice and passionfruit pulp. Next time I add the passionfruit in I think I need to add more passionfruit than lemon and lime as they tended to hide the passionfruit. 

The meringue I used a basic meringue recipe and do what I usually do when I make meringue. I left them the over to cook at the low temperature for 1 hour and a half and then turned off the oven and left them in the oven to completely cool down over night. This allows for them to stabilize but also to get that yummy soft gooey inside.

Here is the recipe 
Base 

Ingredients 

• 1 cup self raising flour 
• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 1 cup melted butter 
• 1 cup desiccated coconut 

Method 

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
• Add all ingredients and mix until well combined.  
• Line muffin pan with patty cases and press biscuit mix firmly onto the bottom making sure that it is even.
• Place in oven and bake for 5-10 minutes until golden. 

Curd
This recipe was actually gotten from the taste website 
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/20071/lemon+lime+curd+tarts

I added 1/4 cup of passionfruit pulp. If you don't have any passionfruits you can do what I did and use the passionfruit in a can (I usually have a few of these lying around the house).
Also you can use the lemon and lime juice from bottle if you don't have any lemons or limes it still works really well. 

Meringue 

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• pinch of salt 
• 1 cup of caster sugar 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 

Method

• Preheat oven to 120 degrees C.
• Line baking tray and spray with a light coating of oil. 
• In a mix master combine all ingredients and beat on high until stiff peaks form. 
• Use a piping bag or spoon shape the meringue on the trays (because I made kisses I has about 6 trays in total).
• Place meringues in the oven and drop the temperature to 90 degrees C. 
• Leave in for an hour and a half. Then turn the oven off completely and leave till the oven cools down (3-4 hours) or (what I personally do) leave in the oven overnight.

Happy baking everyone.