Easy Pastry

 Now I will admit I avoid making pastry at all costs, but if I can't buy Careme pastry then I am forced to make my own so I know what ingredients go in and no nasties.

I found this recipe on the internet thanks Rosemary Molloy, I think it is similar to Maggie Beer's sour cream puff pastry and benefit was I had all the ingredients on hand.  It did not make a lot of pastry but sufficient for me to top my chicken pie with.

Ingredients

I cup plain flour

1 Pinch salt

1 Teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup cold salted butter diced

1/4 cup full fat greek yoghurt

Method

In the bowl of a food processor, whisk together flour and sugar and salt

then add butter and pulse.

Mix until you have coarse crumbs add greek yoghurt and pulse again.

Press together and tip onto a lightly floured baord

Gently knead or press together to form a disc.

Wrap in plastic wrap or greaseproof paper and pop in the fridge.

When ready to use, remove from fridge and let it warm up a little (not too much)

Using a rolling pin roll out to desired thickness.

Top pie and cook in oven until golden and cooked through.

Deleciously easy

Mamma Marmalade

Hawaiian Bread

 If you are looking to pimp up your banana bread, this is delicious.  Great for a snack with tea or coffee or ideal in school lunch boxes. Luckily, I had some fresh pineapple on hand but works well with drained tinned pineapple. No sourdough discard, don't worry, just substitute with another egg and another banana. This recipe comes from Pantrymama my inspiration for using my sourdough discard.

Ingredients

200g overripe bananas (I keep mine in the freezer, look disgusting but work a treat)  approx 2 medium

1 egg

5g vanilla extract

80g butter (melted salted or unsalted)

100g sourdough starter or discard

100g brown sugar

50g white sugar

200g Plain flour

12g baking powder

2g salt

Half teaspoon cinnamon

40g unsweetened coconut flakes

70g roughly chopped macadamia nuts

100g pineapple pieces

Topping

20g roughly chopped macadamia nuts

20g unsweetened coconut flakes

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius

Grease a loaf pan with butter

In a bowl, mash bananas with a fork 

Beat egg and vanilla and add to banana

Add melted butter and sourdough discard, whisk until combined

Add brown and white sugar, whisk

In a seperate bowl, mix plain flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, macadamia nuts and coconut flakes, mix all ingredients until well combined

Now add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, along with pineapple pieces, stir until just combined

Pour batter into tin and top with extra coconut and nuts

Bake for around 1 hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean

Cool completely before slicing

Freezers well as an entire cake

Delish

Mamma Marmalade

Sharing memories and chocolate cake

Our world at the moment could benefit from more kindness. Mamma Marmalade kindly gifted me a hamper of goodies including her Beloved Mother's Chocolate cake recipe This recipe is very special to her family because it was a regular favourite when her Grandchildren visited.  I was touched to receive this gift and made it with my own Grandchildren in loving memory of a very special and generous woman I I hope you enjoy making and enjoying - recipes shared are so very special .....  Love.

Super Easy Chocolate cake 

1  1/3 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon Bicarbonate Soda

1 cup Cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk   OR

OR 1/3 cup milk, 2/3 cup greek yoghurt 

2 eggs beaten

125 gram butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

My add ins ... handful sultanas or chocbits

Method

Preheat oven 180 C   or  170C fanforced

Prepare 6cm deep, 20cm cake tin

Sift flour, bicarb and cocoa powder into large mixing bowl

Stir in sugar

Combine the buttermilk,  eggs and cooled butter then add to the dry ingredients 

Bake 40 to 45 minutes and allow to cool

ALSO

makes 12 mini muffins  , bake 11 minutes 

AND   13 muffins,   bake 19 -20  minutes 

OPTIONAL 

When cake has cooled…  CHOCOLATE  ICING

1  1/3 cups sifted icing sugar

1  1/2  tablespoons cocoa powder

Mixed with 20 gram softened butter 

Decorate with 125 gram blueberries 

Lemon Pudding

 It must be that time of year again in Australia when it is finally cooling down enough to think about eating pudding. BUT to eat pudding one must make the pudding.  Dietary concerns mean that we are looking for a recipe that is not over loaded with sugar.  Plus spray free lemons are in abundance in the garden, making lemon zest and lemon juice that bit more doable.

These individual lemon delicious puddings hit the spot, just add a little cream or ice cream and you have a "light as a feather" tangy pudding. Thanks Better Homes and Garden magazine.

Ingredients

1/2 cup caster sugar

Finely grated zest of one lemon

40 g butter melted

3 organic/free range eggs (room temperature), separated

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup SR flour

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Grease 6 x 1 cup capacity dishes (I used teacups)

Place a tea towel on the base of a large roasting pan and then place greased cups on that

Combine sugar and lemon zest in a bowl and massage with your fingers for lemon oils to be released and infuse the sugar

Add melted butter, egg yolks and salt, whisk until smooth

Add flour, lemon juice and vanilla, whisk again.

Slowly add milk, whisking until combined and then set aside

In a very clean bowl whisk egg whites with electric beaters until soft peaks form

With a large whisk fold into lemon mixture in three batches

Pour into cups carefully 

Pour in boiling water around the cups in the roasting dish until it is halfway up the sides of the cups

Bake in the oven for 20 -25 minutes or until a metal skewer comes out clean

Delish (excuse the pun)

Teddy in a blanket

 I am always on the lookout for any ideas for my grandchildren. Social media does come up with some great ideas. Like this one 

Ingredients

2 sheets of shop bought puff pastry

Packet of tiny teddy biscuits

1 or 2 Lindt chocolate blocks

Method

Defrost puff pastry 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Cut puff pastry into long squares, place one piece of chocolate near the top, place a tiny teddy on top and then bring up puff pastry to cover half of tiny teddy.

Cook in the oven till golden, cool and enjoy

Mamma Marmalade

Hot Cross Buns

 Hot Cross Buns is a bake not undertaken lightly.  Each year you promise yourself you will give them another try - after previous attempt 6 years ago, were more akin to rock cakes than fluffy Easter buns.  But as the day approaches you get far too busy to contemplate attempting to bake any, so you pick up a 6 pack at the local farmer's market as a good substitute.

But this year you convince yourself that you will give it a try, after all you are more knowledgeable with all that sourdough bread making that you have done. You know the feel of a good dough.  Ok let's try this, oh no they yeast went out of date last week, never mind.

I thank "Recipe Tin Eats" for the recipe, much easier than the one in the Delicious Magazine this month.  To break up the prep time I made to shaping of buns after initial rise then I popped in the fridge overnight, next morning brought out to room temperature and did second rise before baking and glazing.

My family all agreed they tasted delicious and were my best ever.  Encouraged for next year.

Not the prettiest of Easter buns

Ingredients

Buns

3 teaspoons of instant dry yeast (best if before date :) )

1/2 cup of caster sugar

1 1/2 cups warm milk (just to body temperature if too hot it will kill the yeast)

4 1/4 cups bread flour - I ended up adding at least another 1/2 cup as the mixture looked to wet

2 teaspoons of cinnamon powder

2 teaspoons of all spice powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sultanas and currants

1 - 2 oranges, zest only

50 g melted butter, cooled

1 egg at room temperature

Crosses

1/2 cup plain flour

5 Tablespoons water

Glaze

1 Tablespoon apricot jam - I only had strawberry

2 teaspoons water

Method

Place flour, yeast, sugar, all spice, cinnamon and salt into bowl of a stand mixer.

Give a short mix with dough hook attachment.

Add melted cooled butter, milk, egg, sultanas and zest.

Mix for approximately 5 minutes until a smooth elastic dough forms (I added my extra flour to achieve this) until dough forms a ball and comes away from the side of the bowl.

Remove from stand mixer and cover with an apiwrap or tea towel until dough has risen and doubled in size. This can take anywhere from 1/2 hour to 2 hours.

Line a 9 x 13" tray with baking parchment.

Remove apiwrap or tea towel cover and punch down.

Dust work surface with flour - roll dough into a log shape and cut 12 pieces.

Take one at a time and roll into a ball by pressing down with your palm and then gather into a ball and roll, place on tray.

Cover and pop in the fridge till morning.  If baking that day leave on the counter for another 45 minutes.

Next morning bring buns from fridge and let rise for 1 - 2 hours

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Crosses: mix flour and water until sticky paste (adjust consistency, mine was a little too runny as you can see from the photograph).  Spoon into a small ziplock bag and snip the corner off to make a piping bag.

Pipe crosses onto the buns.

Pop in the oven

Mix jam and water for glaze.

Cook for approximately 22 minutes or until tops of buns are a deep golden brown.

Remove buns from oven, pop on wire rack and glaze.

Delicious

Mamma Marmalade

Christmas gifts to make and give - Chocolate Bark

 It's beginning to look like Christmas! This phrase can either excite or terrify you. For some of us, the lead up to Christmas can start in November (Look away now my friend Kim :) )

This recipe is not quite a recipe but more like a list of ingredients to choose from.

Ingredients & Method

Finely chop your preferred assortment of toppings:

Smarties, marshmallow, biscuit, glace ginger, crumble meringue, glace orange peel, honeycomb, sprinkles, pretzels ...... the list goes on.

Place two blocks of Lindt 90% Cocoa (or your choice) on a baking paper lined oven tray,

Place in a slow oven apprx 160 degrees Celsius until chocolate starts to melt.

Remove from oven and combine by dragging a metal skewer through the melted chocolate.

Then creatively or haphazardly sprinkle toppings over the chocolate. Leave to cool.

Pop in the fridge until firm, then break into pieces and place into cellophane gift bags or jars.

Decorate with Christmas cheer and give to those you love or need to :) 

Ideal teacher gift.

As I live in the sub tropics I store my bags in the fridge.

Ho Ho Ho

Mamma Marmalade

Pumpkin Scones

 I must admit that I do scroll through Instagram when I am bored, when a neighbour posted a picture of her pumpkin scones I was up for the challenge.  You see it's been years since I have made them and they looked delicious. So one chilly morning in Northern New South Wales I cranked up the little bench top oven (my trusty SMEG met it's demise in the February floods) and I must admit the results were delicious.  Recipe is the famous Lady Florence Bjelke- Petersen's

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 Teaspoon salt

1 Egg

1 cup mashed pumpkin, cooked and cooled (not too wet)

2 cups self raising flour 

Flour for dusting

Method

Preheat oven to 225 degrees Celsius

With electric hand beaters, beat butter, sugar and salt.

Add egg, then pumpkin and stir in the flour until just combined.

Turn out on to a floured board, bring together and gently roll until the disk is about an inch or 2.5 cm thick. Using a floured cutter, cut and place on a greased tray or dish, the trimmings left over can be combined together to make the final scones.

Bake for 15-20 minutes on the top oven shelf.

Serve with butter.

Delicious

Mamma Marmalade

Paris Brest

 Our family Sunday monthly lunch for June was French themed, for dessert I chose to make a Paris Brest, they look impressive but are relatively easy to make. Apparently it was created and named for a stage of the famous cycling race "Le Tour de France".  Never let facts get in the way of a tasty desert. Why not give it a try.

Ingredients

112g strong flour (I used normal plain flour)

80ml water

60ml milk

Pinch of salt

Pinch of caster sugar

55g unsalted butter

3 medium organic/free range eggs, lightly beaten

1 egg for egg wash

Handful of flaked  almonds

Thickened cream, whipped for filling 

Icing sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius

Line a baking sheet with baking paper, draw a circle about the size of a small dinner plate, turn the paper over

Put the water, mil, salt, sugar and butter in a saucepan and bring slowly to the boil over a medium heat, until the butter has just melted

When the water is bubbling, remove quickly from the heat, tip in the flour and beat vigorously until it forms a dough the leaves the side of the pan clean.

Return to the heat and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes, to "cook out" the flour

Leave to cool slightly, then gradually stir in the eggs, beating between each addition until the dough is smooth and glossy.

Either place in a piping bag and pipe over the circle drawn and then pipe another circle inside the one already piped.

I placed the mixture on the paper with a spoon and spatula as I did not have a piping bag, worked  out fine.

Lightly brush top with egg wash and sprinkle on flaked almonds.

Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes then reduce oven to 180 degrees and cook for a further 10 minutes until risen and golden.

Once baked, remove from the oven and slice the ring horizontally and return to the oven to dry out for approximately 3-4 minutes.

Store in an air tight container until ready to serve.

Just before serving, fill with whipped cream and sprinkle icing sugar through a sieve on the top.

Enjoy.

Mamma Marmalade

Soda Bread

 It was Mother's day 2022 and I know it's a day I should be relaxing and reading a book but I find cooking relaxing. So after a wonderful visit from my children and grandchildren I whipped up this quick Irish Soda Bread (thanks to recipetineats).  It is really easy, just ensure you have the ingredients in the pantry, no Buttermilk, no problem just add a little lemon juice or vinegar to some full cream milk.   I was trying to take a photo of the crumb to show you the texture, but maybe a little bit of butter got in the way. :)

Ingredients

2 cups white, plain flour

1 3/4 cups wholemeal flour

3 Tablespoons extra flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons, bi carb soda

1 1/2 Teaspoons salt

2 cups buttermilk

Method

Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius

Line baking tray with baking paper

Combine flours (not the extra flour), bi carb and salt in a bowl, whisk to distribute

Add buttermilk and stir until it is too hard to stir anymore.

Sprinkle the extra flour onto a clean work surface, tip dough out and incorporate more flour if needed

Knead for no more than 8 times, just bringing the dough together into a ball

Transfer to the lined baking tray, shape into a disk and cut a cross on the surface

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and then turn oven down to 200 degrees

Bake a further 20 minutes or until the base sounds hollow when tapped, mine took only 15 minutes

Transfer to a rack and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing (if you can manage it)

Now you can have bread anytime you like.

Mamma Marmalade

Creme Catalan

 This Sunday is planned to be our monthly family lunch (unless Covid interferes).  This one will have a Spanish theme. Choosing various Tapas, then Paella and Chicken stew, dessert is Creme Catalan.  So after some You Tube viewing I have chosen this recipe.  For a trial, it went well, even bought myself a new "flame thrower" aka brulee torch.

The lunch was a resounding success, the menu even tempted a son and daughter in law to pop in from Melbourne.

 

Ingredients

8 egg yolks (free range or organic)

3/4 cup caster sugar

4 cups milk

1/4 cornflour + 1 Tablespoon

2 cinnamon quills

8 pieces of lemon peel

Extra caster sugar for bruleeing

Method

Combine cornflour with a little of the milk to make a smooth slurry.

Place remainder of milk, cinnamon and lemon peel in a medium saucepan.  Heat over medium heat for 10 minutes, do not let it boil. 

With a whisk, beat egg yolks and sugar until lighter in colour, fluffy and you can't see sugar grains.

Take the milk off the heat and stir in cornflour slurry, stir until all combined.

Drain milk over a sieve to remove lemon peel and cinnamon quills.

Let cool for 5 minutes before returning to saucepan and then add egg mixture.  

You must stay stirring this mixture until it turns to custard.  Once done, you will be able to run your finger through the custard on the back of a wooden spoon and it will stay separated.

Pour into small ramekins. Cool

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve sprinkle sugar on top of custard and using a small kitchen blow torch, brulee the top.

Serve and enjoy.

Mamma Marmalade

Ginger Cake from "A Generous Helping" Queensland Flood Fundraiser cookbook

Our hearts break for those affected by the cruel floods being experienced in Queensland and New South Wales.  After 2011  ABC Radio Queensland published a collection of shared community recipes as a fundraiser called "A Generous Helping".  Our little blog is about sharing and  "A Generous Helping" cookbook embodies that ethos so powerfully.  Baking a cake won't wipe the mud from people's homes but sharing a slice with a cuppa might raise someone's spirits and bring a moment of respite from the devastation all around.  Various community groups are mobilising #BakedRelief campaigns and that can be a way we can assist the affected homeowners and volunteer cleaners.  Wherever you are, our thoughts and love go out to you.  💔  Colleen 

This simple delicious recipe from the cookbook is by #AlisonAlexander.  

It works well cooked in one pan or in 4 small pans and keeps for a few days in an airtight container.

 

Preparation     10 minutes

Baking             35 – 45 minutes. 

 Makes            1  x  30x20cm cake      OR   4   x    7x13cm cakes

Ingredients

½ cup or 125 gram butter – melted  (do this first)

2 ¾ cups (390 gram) Self-Raising Flour

1 teaspoon Bicarb of Soda

4 teaspoons ground Ginger

3 - 6 slices glace ginger – finely sliced  (Optional – for a deeper ginger flavour)

3/4 cup pitted dates - chopped

½ cup Dark Brown Sugar  (Dark Brown has a stronger flavour than regular Brown Sugar)

¾ cup  (260 gram) Golden Syrup

1 egg – lightly whisked prior to adding

1 cup warm water

 

Method

Melt butter first

Preheat oven to 155 - 160 ˚C (fan forced) and prepare medium depth rectangular tray approx. 24 x 30 cm and line with baking paper.   OR  4 x  7x13cm small tins

Place all ingredients in Food Processor. Pulse until combined but do not over-process or the flour will become tough.

Pour batter into prepared tin.  If using the mini tins pop them onto an oven tray for easy retrieval later.  

Bake approx. 35 – 45 minutes.  Check at 35 minutes. May need to turn tray.  Mini tins took 30-35 minutes.

Cake will be cooked when a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tray before cooling completely on a cake rack.

 Cake keeps for a few days  in airtight container.  Wrap small cakes individually and store in airtight container in fridge if necessary for a few days.

Optional

Top with icing when cake is cool  or   lightly dust with icing sugar or maple sugar and a dash of nutmeg.

                               Sharing with love..... Colleen

Lemon and Green Apple Tart

Friend's birthdays are a wonderful excuse to make and share something that is a bit special.  This tart cleverly combines the zingy tartness of grated green apple and sharp lemon.  It does include sugar but I find it cuts into 8 slices and is a rare indulgence. The original recipe is by   Sally Wise , an Australian cookbook author based in Tasmania.   Not too difficult to make, I have made a rectangular tart as well as regular round tin, and transports well if you keep it in

the tart tin.  Enjoy!  Colleen

  

 

Preparation        30 minutes

Baking                30 - 40 minutes

Cooling               15 minutes or more

Serves                8 

Ingredients   

1 1/2 sweet shortcrust Pastry Sheets thawed -  OR  Careme shortcrust Pastry (definitely worth using here)

1 large granny smith green apple - peeled, cored and grated

2 extra large eggs - at room temperature

1 cup sugar - no lumps

2 tablespoons butter melted - allow to cool a bit before using

2 tablespoons lemon juice   - allow approx 1 lemon as you use the zest too

zest of 1 lemon

tiny pixie pinch of ground cardamom     (optional)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Icing sugar for dusting afterwards   

Method

Preheat oven to 190 ℃ fanforced  (my oven 180 fanforced)

Grease thoroughly  a rectangular tart tin with removable base  OR  18-20 cm pie dish 

Line the tin with the pastry, trimming to fit and lightly press to make a smooth base. 

Refrigerate the pastry in tin until ready to use.

Whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, zest. ground cardamom and cooled melted butter in a bowl until smooth.  I used stand-mixer.

Retrieve the pastry tin from fridge. 

You might want to place the tin on a flat scone tray to help placing in and out of oven.

Carefully pour the lemon filling into pastry case.

Sprinkle the grated apple over the filling evenly.  It will sink in by itself.

Sprinkle with the ground cinnamon

Bake for 10 minutes THEN reduce oven temperature to 150 ℃ and continue baking for approx 20 - 30 minutes until filling is set.  Check at 20 minutes. Depends on tin, I sometimes need 30min.

Remove from oven and leave to cool in tin for at least 15 minutes. Best to leave 30 minutes.

Carefully remove from tin (if using removable base)  dust with a smidge of sifted icing sugar and serve.  I find 8 slices is fine.  Can be served warm or cool.

                                     Enjoy!  Colleen

Coffee and Honey Cake - from your pantry, simple and delish

This recipe makes use of simple ingredients from your pantry and fridge, nothing complicated or fussy.  Also it incorporates custard powder which seems to linger at the back of the pantry. It is an easy to transport, no nuts or seeds, no icing flavoursome cake. Cooking in a ring pan speeds up the cooking time and makes it easy to cut and serve.  I used a local bush honey and would recommend avoiding any very strong honeys such as leatherwood etc as the flavour would overpower the coffee.  The coffee is not too strong and the honey/coffee combination is almost a deep caramel flavour, great warm or cooled.  Enjoy!  Colleen

Preparation   15 minutes

Cooking         35 - 40 minutes

Ingredients

3 teaspoons instant dry coffee granules 

1 tablespoon hot water

125 gram butter - small cubed and room temperature, not melted

1/2 cup brown sugar - loosely packed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup honey      (not a strong flavour honey)

2 eggs - lightly beaten

1 cup Self Raising Flour

1/4 cup Custard Powder

dusting of icing sugar to serve - optional

Method

Preheat oven to 170℃ fan forced

Prepare and grease well a 20 -22cm ring pan

Dissolve coffee granules in hot water in a cup - no lumps

Cream the butter and sugar in bowl of mixmaster until pale and creamy

Add the vanilla, coffee water and milk

Add honey and beat well

Incorporate the eggs and beat until combined

Sift in the SR Flour and custard powder and mix to combine.  Do not overwork the flour.

Pour batter into prepared ring pan and bake 35 - 40 minutes.  Check after 30 minutes and turn pan if necessary.

Cake is cooked when inserted skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cook in pan on cake rack for 5 minutes.

Then remove from pan by inverting onto cake rack and back up again.

Cake can be eaten slightly warm or when cooled down.

Optional Dust with icing sugar

Enjoy!   Colleen

Gingerbread

 It's that time of year that we look for Christmas baking traditions to share with the ones we love.  The added benefit is that family and friends get to enjoy home baked sweet treats.   I have to confess that I have never made Gingerbread before, but now I have 3 grandchildren I thought the time had come.  So with my granddaughters and my great nieces we whipped up 2 batches.  It kept the older girls entertained for hours decorating the shapes.  This dough is very forgiving which is ideal when having children involved.

Ingredients

100g salted butter

3 Tablespoons golden syrup

100g brown sugar

1/2 Teaspoon bicarb of soda

1 Tablespoon ground ginger

1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

225g plain flour

Method

Heat butter, syrup and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl combine, bicarb, ginger, cinnamon and flour, mix to combine.

Pour in the buttery syrup mixture into the flour, stir to combine, then use your hands to bring the dough together.  The dough will be soft but will firm up in the fridge.

Using 2 sheets of baking paper place the dough on one sheet cover with the other and using a rolling pin roll out to a thickness of 1/2 cm.  

Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius

Line another baking sheet with baking paper.

Remove dough from fridge, using cookie cutters, cut out shapes and place on new baking sheet.

Dough off cuts can be pressed together and rerolled and cut with shapes.

Bake for 10 -12 minutes depending on thickness and size.

Cool and then decorate.

Mamma Marmalade

Healthy muffins

Wednesday's are Gigi day. I get to babysit my 14 month old granddaughter. So I try and have the fridge packed with an array of home cooking to tempt the very specific pallet of this toddler (which changes weekly).  Sweet treats are a very now again option.  Belinda Jefferey's granola muffins are my go to, as they have very little sugar and I can pack in some healthy additions.  Why not give these easy muffins a try. They freeze very well.  And my taste tester has no complaints.  I have to make sure the remaining muffins are out of sight to avoid a confrontation :)

  

Ingredients

2 cups of muesli or granola

1 cup plain flour

2 scant teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup natural sultanas or dried cranberries

2 free range eggs

1/4 cup (55g) rapadura or brown sugar

150ml light olive oil

300ml buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, pepitas for topping

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius

Line a 12 hole large muffin tin with paper cases.

Place granola, flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt into a food processor. Whiz to combine, tip into a large mixing bowl and add the dried fruit.

In the food processor combing the eggs, rapadura, oil, buttermilk and vanilla and whiz.  

Make a well in the dried ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir to combine but don't over beat.

Let the mixture sit for a minute to have the granola swell a little.

Scoop/spoon mixture evenly between the paper cases.

Sprinkle with chosen topping.

Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Let cool in the tin and then remove to a wire rack.

Enjoy

Mamma Gigi (Marmalade)

Limoncello Amaretti Biscuits

Quick, easy, delicious, gluten-free and dairy free. This is a great recipe to have on standby and if you hide the biscuits from Wilbur in an airtight container they will have 5 days or maybe more.  Silvia Colloca made these recently on Adam Liaw's TV show and suggested an option I am keen to try soon - swap the almond meal for hazelnut;  use frangelico instead of limoncello; and switch out lemon zest to orange instead.  Sounds yummy and Wilbur volunteers to taste-test.  I make these biscuits a bit smaller than suggested which yields about 30-32.   I have also included a 'halved' ingredient list if you only want to make about a dozen or so, although it is just as easy to make a full batch - they seem to disappear very quickly!  Enjoy!  Colleen

  

Preparation   15 - 20 minutes 

Makes            30 - 32 two bite biscuits   OR   Halved option makes 14 - 16

Cooking        10 - 12 minutes

Ingredients  for full recipe 

300 gram almond meal - rub out any lumps

250 gram caster sugar

2 egg whites - lightly beaten

2 tablespoons Limoncello

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

extra sifted icing sugar for rolling/dusting

OR  OPTION  - HALVED INGREDIENT LIST

150 gram almond meal - rub out any lumps
125 gram caster sugar
1 egg white - lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Limoncello
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
extra sifted icing sugar for rolling/dusting

METHOD

Preheat oven to 175 - 180 ℃ and prepare 2 flat non-sided trays with baking paper

Sift a little icing sugar into a shallow bowl (about saucer width) and set aside.

Use a large mixing bowl to combine the nut meal and caster sugar.

Add in the lightly beaten egg whites, limoncello and lemon zest.  Use your hands to quickly combine - will feel like wet clumpy sand.

Pinch off small amounts and roll into walnut sized ball shapes.  I pop them all on one tray.

Then lightly roll each ball into the sifted icing sugar and place on 2 trays leaving space between each biscuit.  Leave as balls.

Bake approx 10 - 12 minutes until tops slightly 'crack' and base is firm.

Remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

Store in airtight container.

Enjoy!  Colleen

Jelly Cake - Happy 90th Birthday Eric

This is how the story goes, my father is going to turn 90 this month. A wonderful and very special achievement.  He is don't forget, a Leo and so when he sent me a newspaper article on cake recipes I did not misinterpret the message that he would like a home baked cake.  Now as regular followers of FYIC will have noticed, baking is definitely not my strong point.  Colleen my fellow blogger has probably accounted for 90% of the recipes that get the tag "Baking".   So I did my best and chose what I thought was the easiest of the cake recipes he sent me.  It is a put everything in a bowl and mix recipe.  What could go wrong you say?  Well for starters the reference to "softened butter" I left it on the bench overnight but even in sub tropical Brisbane it is still cold enough not to get your butter soft enough to incorporate in a one bowl mix everything together. So why would a few lumps of butter in the mixture cause issue, surely they will melt in the oven. Yes they did but it took longer to cook the cake and the outsides were a little dry. (Maybe perfect for trifle).  Then added to the mix I got my 89 year old mother who suffers from Dementia to help me decorate it.  It was a heart warming experience and I am blessed to have them both in my life.

Ingredients

125g butter, softened

1/2 packet jelly crystals

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup plain flour

Strawberries and whipped cream to decorate

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.

Beat for 3 minutes using an electric mixer.

Bake in a greased loaf tin for 35-40 minutes

When cool turn out on to a wire rack.

When completely cold, decorate with cream and strawberries.

Happy 90th Birthday Dad 

Mamma Marmalade

Toddler Chef Eggbeater Pancakes

My Grandson discovered my manual rotary eggbeater and was enthralled. It was taken for rides in his little car, included in construction play and held during story time. So I needed to find an easy recipe where he could really whip up a storm and then eat the results!  

This is a simplified very young child-friendly recipe - no salt, sugar or butter in the main batter mixture. The finished pancakes can be made thinner than usual thick pancakes because the key attraction is the eggbeater and the final honey flourish! 

Usually you don't want to over-beat pancake and pikelet mixes because it toughens the gluten but the point of this recipe is to use minimal ingredients and encourage participation and learning cooking skills.  Nana doesn't indulge him with sweet treats - blueberries are the treat of choice in my home - but I do permit a tiny drizzle of fresh honey, sliced banana or a dash of raspberry jam on these homemade pancakes as there is no other sugar in the batter.

Of course, always supervise children closely and keep little fingers and clothes away from stovetops during cooking and while hot objects are around.

Enjoy!  Nana Colleen

   

Tip  - get all equipment and ingredients out before starting.  Have a damp handtowel and cleanup rag on standby. And a just-damp towel under a bowl can help keep bowl in place during enthusiastic mixing

Preparation    5 minutes or as long as they want!  

Plus 30 minutes batter rest time (if possible - good delayed gratification practice if toddler amenable)  They love watching the countdown on the timer!

Cooking          a few minutes per pancake

Serves             makes 3 - 4 small size pancakes

Ingredients

1 egg

3/4  cup Self Raising Flour  (OR  plain would be okay for this recipe)

75 ml water  (1/3rd cup)

75 ml milk    (1/3rd cup)

tiny shake cinnamon

teaspoon softened butter to grease pan

Method

Allow toddler to help measure out the ingredients and place necessary utensils on bench

Combine the water and milk in an easy-pour jug, approx 500 ml size so you can re-use to pour batter into pan later

Beat the egg until light and fluffy in a deep bowl - using the eggbeater!

Pour the water and milk into the beaten egg and beat again - using the eggbeater!

Sift the flour and cinnamon into another deep bowl

Make a little well in base of flour and gradually add the eggy milk - let them use the eggbeater  but not too much this time - until just combined and batter smooth. Pour batter back into the jug used previously to make pouring into pan easier.

Pop batter aside covered with a tea-towel. Let toddler set the timer for 30 minutes - if possible - even 5 minutes will be okay.  They love pushing the buttons and watching the countdown!

Warm pan and melt a tiny amount of butter.  Pour approx 1/third or 1/quarter into the pan depending on how many pancakes you want to make. This is a fairly runny mixture.

Cook on one side until starts to bubble (approx 2 - 3 minutes depending on thickness)

Flip over and cook other side ( approx 2 minutes)

Remove and pop onto serving plate.

Cooking remaining batter as above.

Serve with a drizzle of honey, sliced bananas or a dash of jam.

Let them help tidy up afterwards too!

Enjoy!   Nana Colleen 

Janelle's bliss balls

 I stumbled upon this recipe whilst looking for healthy snack ideas for my daughter in law who has a newborn and a toddler.  Great for snacking on when time is at a premium and you need a sweet fix but not necessarily a sugar high. 

    

Ingredients

I cup rolled oats (not instant)

1 Tablespoon of ground flax seed and 3 Tablespoons warm water

1/4 cup roasted almond butter

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

3 soft Medjool dates, pitted (or substitute 2 additional Tablespoons of Maple syrup)

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cups chopped pecans

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Method

In a frypan toast the oats over a low heat until just browned at the edges.  Toasting the oats makes them more digestable.  

In a small bowl combine flaxseeds and warm water, set aside for about 5 minutes until it thickens.

In a food processor combine almond butter, maple syrup, dates, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Add flaxseed mixture and blend until smooth.

Add the pecans, pulse to combine, Add the oats and coconut, pulse to combine. Add the choc chips and pulse until evenly incorporated.

Using wet hands roll the mixture into balls and chill until firm (at least 30 minutes).  If the mixture is too sticky to roll, place in the refrigerator for several minutes before attempting to roll into balls again.

Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Guaranteed delidous

Mamma Marmalade

bliss