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. 

Welcome Back

Hello again,

I have disappeared from this blog for a long time! I guess that's what happens between finishing Year 12 (HSC) and starting university. It has been a very busy period of time since my last post, with assignments, family, study and of course baking!

I have done a lot of baking as you can imagine, however I am now back to A Little Bakers Addiction and I am going to try my very best to post once a week with tips, tricks, ideas and recipes.

A bit about me:
I am a university student studying primary education.
I am passionate about a lot of things in my life; animals, baking, friends, family, education.
I love summer and summer is the best time for me to start baking, this is the time where all my friends and I start having BBQ's and spending the day by the pool together.
I love organizing: highlighters, events, rooms of the house; pretty much anythind and everything!
Also I am a "Pinterest" Addict, between finding pretty weddings dresses, recipes and heaps of good hints and tips I could spend hours and hours on that site! What a great way to procrastinate doing an assignment (which is actually what I am doing right now by writing this blog!)

If you are interested here is my Pinterest. 
https://www.pinterest.com/wonderstruckkel/

Any queries just send me an email.

Cya soon

Kelli xx