Lentil and Vegetable stuffed roasted Sweet Potato Boats

At Easter, entertaining is easier with recipes you can prepare ahead of time.  This makes a filling vegetarian meal with some of our leftover spiced Lentil Salad  (a fabulous Belinda Jeffery's recipe already featured on our blog - so versatile and delish! )  http://feedyourinnercook.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/red-lentil-fragrant-spiced-salad-with.html

All I did was match it with another wonderful Belinda Jeffery's recipe for roasted Kumara (or Sweet Potato) boats.  Belinda Jeffery lives in Northern New South Wales and her Australian cookbooks are filled with delicious, nutritious, seasonal food ideas - fresh and fabulous - so inspirational - love them!   https://belindajeffery.com.au/

Best wishes for a Happy Easter with family, friends, good simple food and no stress!  No chocolate either!  Cheers!  Colleen

Preparation   2 hours (sweet potato cooks in oven for 1 - 1/2 hours) so not really hard work
Cooking        30 minutes
Feeds           4   or more depending on how many sweet potatoes you cook

Ingredients
some Red Lentil spiced salad (refer above link)
3 - 4 sweet potatoes  medium to large size- peeled.  Cook as many as you need.
1 eggplant    medium/large

added options  (amounts depend on how many sweet potatoes you need to fill
dried chilli flakes
red capsicum strips drained and chopped  (or fresh finely sliced)
green beans - diced
baby spinach leaves
Parsley, mint etc - chopped
salt and pepper to taste
may need extra curry powder or cumin - to your taste

topping options
pine nuts
pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
diced fetta cheese

Method
Preheat oven to 180 celsius.
Place peeled and lightly oiled sweet potatoes on a foil/baking paper lined oven tray (that has a slight lip).  Do the same with the eggplant ensuring you have pierced eggplant several times with a fork.
Pierce the sweet potatoes a couple of times with a strong skewer.
Eggplant will only need 50min to an hour.  Check and remove when soft.
Bake sweet potatoes for 1 - 1 1/2 hours until cooked.  Check with a skewer.
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
Using a spoon scoop out much of the cooked sweet potato - leaving a casing to hold the stuffing - will look a bit like a boat
In a large bowl - combine the scooped out sweet potato, lentil salad mix, mushed eggplant, spinach leaves, capsicum etc with salt, pepper and optional herbs and spices.  Taste and adjust to your preference.
Spoon into the sweet potato casing boats generously.
Top with pine nuts or pepitas and optional Fetta.
Bake in 180 celsius oven until warm and golden on top.
Serve with green salad etc.

Optional to do ahead ready to assemble later on
lentil salad
roasting the sweet potatoes and eggplant
scooping out and refilling the sweet potato boats.

Enjoy ! Colleen

Flourless Lime Cake

Looking for a cake that is both Gluten Free and Dairy Free, then here it is. The texture is light and fluffy more like a souffle consistency.  Ideal with fresh cream and your choice of berry coulis.

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated into 4 yolks and 4 whites, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons of Lime zest

1/2 cup of sugar, measure 1/4 cup and another 1/4 cup
1 1/2 cups finely ground almond flour/meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1 teaspoon of white or cider vinegar
Pinch of salt

Method

Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

Grease and place baking paper in the bottom of a 9 inch springform tin.

Beat egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar and lime zest in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth.

In a separate bowl whisk almond meal, baking powder and cardamon.
Add the almond mixture to the egg mixture and combine.

In an electric mixer beat the egg whites until stiff when bubbles appear add the salt and vinegar, this will help maintain better structure.

Gradually add the sugar a small amount at a time, whilst continuing to beat the whites until soft peaks form.

Fold the beaten egg whites into the almond mixture with a large metal spoon try to incorporate whilst still keeping the mixture light.

Once well combined pour batter into prepared tin.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Run a knife around the cake and remove from the tin.

Mamma Marmalade

Slow Cooker Red Wine Beef and Dumplings

As Autumn tries to take hold in our semi-tropical climate it will be soon time to dust off the slow cooker and makes some comfort food with minimum effort. Great for the working parents or new mums the slow cooker is the gift that delivers delicious food, effortlessly. 

Beef with Red Wine and Cheesy Dumplings

Ingredients

1kg stewing beef, I always prefer chuck steak, diced
2 Tablespoons plain flour for dusting
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 large brown onions, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 cup of Red Wine
2 cups of liquid Beef stock
3 Bay leaves

Dumplings

125g Self Raising Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
60g Butter
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary
100ml of milk or enough to obtain correct consistency
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Method

Tip flour into a large bowl season with salt and pepper. Dredge the beef in the flour.
Heat Olive Oil in a large frying pan and working in batches, brown the beef.
Add beef to the slow cooker
Pour the wine into the frying pan to deg-laze, scrape contents into the slow cooker.
Add onions, garlic, carrots and bay leaves.
Add the stock and cook on low for 7-8 hours

Dumplings

Rub butter and flour together with fingertips until it resembles moist breadcrumbs. Stir in rosemary.
Gently combine the mild and cheese to form a light scone dough.

Form into golf ball sized balls and place them directly on top of the stew, leaving room for the dumplings to expand.  Replace the lid and cook for another 30 minutes on high until the dumplings have puffed up and are cooked.

Note:

Frying off the beef adds extra flavour but if short on time it is still equally nice just to combine all the ingredients (apart from dumplings) in the slow cooker together.

If you don't have a slow cooker, bake in the oven in a covered casserole dish for 3 hours on low.

Mamma Marmalade

Crunchy Green Cabbage Salad with Asian dressing

Most Aussies would have had a tasty salad favourite made with a packet of Crunchy Fried Noodles - so here is my updated, healthier version - still crunchy because of the celery, snow peas, radish and nuts, but without any longlife oil or additives.  I like to use toasted Pine Nuts but toasted almonds would be great too.   
If you want to serve as a main meal - a little sliced beef or chicken  or juicy cooked prawns tossed through is an easy option - very versatile 
Just be sure to wait until immediately before serving before adding the dressing and nuts.                 Enjoy!   Colleen

Crunchy Asian Salad by Feed Your Inner Cook

Preparation
15 - 20 minutes to shred veggies and prepare dressing
2 minutes final assembly

Ingredients
1/2  Wombok (Chinese cabbage)  or regular cabbage - finely shredded
1/2  red onion - very finely sliced
4 shallots (long green stalk/spring onions) - sliced
red capsicum - finely sliced
3 radishes - finely sliced
3 stalks celery - sliced
2 carrots - finely sliced or use a julienne shredder
handful Snow peas - sliced
Coriander / parsley / mint  - shredded
Options: finely sliced red chilli or shake dried chilli flakes

Dressing
1 1/2 tablespoons White Vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons Castor Sugar (finer, dissolves faster)
3 teaspoons Soy Sauce
Shake ground white pepper to taste  OR use a little ground Sichuan pepper
1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/4 cup Rice Bran Oil  (or Light Olive Oil  - which means lighter flavour NOT less calories)
Taste and adjust to your preference 

Nuts
good handful toasted -  pine nuts or roughly chopped almonds.  Reserve separately until ready to serve the salad

Method
Combine and mix all the sliced and shredded vegetables in a large serving bowl or platter with a lip.

Pour all the dressing ingredients into a jar with good screw cap.  Shake really well to combine ensuring sugar is dissolved.  
Taste and adjust if needed.  
Keep dressing in lidded jar until ready to serve.

When ready to serve:
Shake the dressing again and pour some over the salad, gently toss to combine and add a little more dressing if needed.  
Scatter the nuts over the salad
Garnish with chilli and a few herb leaves if desired.
      Enjoy!  Colleen

Lime Pickle

What to do with an abundance of early season Limes? Make a delicious Lime Pickle, just like my friend  Granny Smith 😙

Ingredients

15 organic limes, washed and cut into small cubes
10 small green chillies (I used red) sliced lengthwise, if you like it hot include the seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon Olive oil
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin or fennel seeds
1 teaspoon onion or nigella seeds
1 teaspoon hot chilli powder
5 cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Method

Put the diced limes, chillies, turmeric and salt in a large glass or ceramic bowl.
Combine the ingredients well and leave overnight at room temperature.

Heat the oil in a large stainless steel saucepan, add the fenugreek, cumin seeds, onion seeds, chilli powder and ginger.
Gently cook stirring continuously for 2-3 minutes.
Add the lime and chilli mixture and combine well.
Cook gently for about 20 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken and soften.
Sprinkle in the sugar and stir until it dissolves.
Add the vinegar and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes.

Allow to cool a little, then ladle into warm sterilised jars.
Press the pickle down into the jars to remove air gaps and ensure that the limes sit in the sauce.
Store in a cool, dark place.
Allow the flavours to mature for 1 month (if you can wait that long)
Refrigerate after opening.

Mamma Marmalade or should that be Mamma Pickle?

Curry Brown Rice and Tuna Salad

I recently experimented with the Curry Brown Rice Salad recipe from my wonderful friend Karen by adding flaked tuna and serving it (just) warmed for dinner - it was a big hit and even tastier the next day for lunch.  Packed with Vegetables, it is gluten free (depending  curry powder brand) fresh and crunchy. Vary the veggies and change it to suit your tastes.

Either way, be sure to add this hearty, delicious Rice Salad to your menu!  
                            Enjoy!  Colleen      (thanks Karen!)

Curry Rice Salad Feed Your Inner Cook

Preparation  :  30-35 minutes to cook BROWN rice.    Refrigerate overnight if possible

                        15 minutes to chop veggies and dress the salad.

Serves:            enough for 4 as a meal.   Excellent as a side  or party portions

Ingredients

1 cup UNCOOKED brown rice should give you approx 3 cups cooked BROWN rice - we use Brown rice for it's lovely nutty flavour and holds the dressing well

add your favourites - we recommend

1 red apple - cored and finely diced.  Leave the skin ON

2 shallots - sliced

handful sultanas or currants

finely diced Red Capsicum and Green if you like

Sliced celery

Grated or shredded carrot

handful corn kernels
Small zuchinni - diced

handful peas

fresh herbs - parsley etc 
Garnish:  optional - toasted sesame seeds, toasted pepitas, shredded herbs

Dressing  - Please note - you may not use all the dressing - depends on rice

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar (or white vinegar is okay)

Depending on your taste   2 teaspoons or 1 tablespoon curry powder (we like Keen's for this recipe- easy to find)

Dollop of nice honey 

1 Garlic clove crushed

Salt and Pepper to taste.

dried chilli flakes (optional)

1 large tin good quality Tuna drained - in chunky flakes

Method.

cook the Brown rice according to packet directions. I like the absorption method.

Whilst the rice is cooking - combine the dressing ingredients in a screwtop jar. 

Shake it well. Taste the dressing - may need to add a touch more vinegar etc.

When rice is cooked, add the sultanas or currants.  

Pour about half the dressing over the rice.  Fork it through and refrigerate covered.

A few hours later, or preferably the next day - 
warm the rice in a splash of oil in a frypan (not too hot)

stir through all your diced and sliced vegetables and fork to combine.
Gently stir through the flaked tuna.

Taste. 

Add some more of the shaken dressing if needed and adjust Salt and pepper if needed.
Remove and heat and serve in a large platter.

Serve garnished with toasted sesame seeds, pepitas or shredded herbs.

Enjoy!  Colleen (thanks Karen!)

Karen's Curry Brown Rice Salad - a celebration of colours, flavours and goodness

My wonderful friend Karen came to my rescue and brought this fabulous Curry Brown Rice Salad to a function I was hosting.  Served cold - we popped it into little cups and presented it with tiny spoons for guests to enjoy during the party.  Karen's version is vegetarian and gluten free (depending on curry powder brand). It is fresh, crunchy and so so tasty - everyone wanted more!  Vary the veggies and change it to suit your tastes.

Be sure to add this hearty, delicious Rice Salad to your menu!  
                        Enjoy!  Colleen   (thanks Karen!)

Curry Rice Salad Feed Your Inner Cook

Preparation  :  30-35 minutes to cook BROWN rice.    Refrigerate overnight if possible

                        15 minutes to chop veggies and dress the salad.

Serves:            enough for 4 as a meal.   Excellent as a side  or party portions

Ingredients

1 cup UNCOOKED brown rice should give you approx 3 cups cooked BROWN rice - we use Brown rice for it's lovely nutty flavour and holds the dressing well

add your favourites - we recommend

1 red apple - cored and finely diced.  Leave the skin ON

2 shallots - sliced

handful sultanas or currants

finely diced Red Capsicum and Green if you like

Sliced celery

Grated or shredded carrot

handful corn kernels
Small zuchinni diced

handful peas

fresh herbs - parsley etc 
Garnish:  optional - toasted sesame seeds, toasted pepitas, shredded herbs

Dressing  - Please note - you may not use all the dressing - depends on rice

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar (or white vinegar is okay)

Depending on your taste   2 teaspoons or 1 tablespoon curry powder (we like Keen's for this recipe- easy to find)

Dollop of nice honey 

1 Garlic clove crushed

Salt and Pepper to taste.

dried chilli flakes (optional)

Method.

cook the Brown rice according to packet directions. I like the absorption method.

Whilst the rice is cooking - combine the dressing ingredients in a screwtop jar. 

Shake it well. Taste the dressing - may need to add a touch more vinegar etc.

When rice is cooked, add the sultanas or currants.  

Pour about half the dressing over the rice.  Fork it through and refrigerate covered.

A few hours later, or preferably the next morning

stir through all your diced and sliced vegetables and fork to combine.

Taste.

Add some more of the shaken dressing if needed and adjust Salt and pepper if needed.

Serve garnished with toasted sesame seeds, pepitas or shredded herbs.

Enjoy!  Colleen (thanks Karen!)

Spicy Mango Sauce

This Mango sauce goes wonderfully well on crumbed chicken, prawns, fish or pork.  Handy to keep in your repertoire as it elevates the dishes to a tasty new level. You can add the chilli to your preferred amount.










Ingredients

3/4 cup finely minced mango refer Tip below
1/4 cup rice vinegar
Juice from 1 lime
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 red chilli finely chopped

Garnish
1 tablespoon shredded mint or fresh coriander

Method

Combine finely sliced mango, rice vinegar, lime juice, crushed garlic, red chilli, hot chilli paste (sambal oelek) in a bowl until well combined.

Cover and chill for 30 minutes to let flavour combine.

Top with shredded mint or coriander.



Tip

For a better consistency it is best not to use a food processor or blender to puree the mango.
Simply remove the skin from the mango, then using a vegetable peeler, peel slices off the mango until you reach the seed.  Then with a sharp knife and chopping motion, cut into a pulp consistency.

Mamma Marmalade

Stewed Spiced Apples

Simple flavours are so delicious.  There is something so comforting about the aroma and flavour of spiced soft stewed apples.  I like to serve these as a fruity spoonful alongside my Custard Pudding Cake or just on their own - unfussy but good.  It is so easy to add variety – a few sultanas or maybe a few toasted almond chunks. Change the spices or add a splash of brandy or Calvados.  Simple. Nostalgic. Home cooking.    Enjoy!  Colleen

Spiced Stewed Apples by Feed Your Inner Cook

Preparation     5 minutes

Cooking            Allow 20 – 40 minutes.  Time will vary depending on apple variety used.  

Ingredients

7 - 8 medium large apples.  I like to use 3 Granny Smiths and Royal Gala for the rest.  Use the apples you enjoy – golden delicious are great too.  

Bit less than ¼ cup sugar

Splash of water

Pinch of ground cinnamon or ground cloves

2 teaspoon good quality honey

Options – splash Brandy, few sultanas, chopped roasted almonds (Unsalted)

Method

Peel the apples then halve and remove core.

Cut apples into pieces.  I usually cut each half in half then those pieces into thirds.  Good to have different sized chunks so some with go mushy and others keep a bit of texture.

Place the apple chunks into a large saucepan.

Add a splash of water (start with about 1/8 of a cup) can add more if needed later.

Gently heat the apples and stir regularly.

Continue cooking and stir the apples so heated evenly.

Cover with a lid so apples cook and steam in their own juices.

Check regularly and stir until apple softens. If too watery, remove lid to allow evaporation.

Add a pinch of spice and the honey and stir through.

Taste and add a little more if needed.

Add any optional extras that you may wish to mix through.

Allow to cool a little.  Can be served warm or at room temperature.

                                                 Enjoy!   Colleen

New Year's Goals 2018

Happy New Year ! Now that we are several weeks into 2018 you may need a little help with some tasty recipe ideas to support those goals of "eating more vegetables" or "eating healthier".  Just to keep you motivated and inspired we at FYIC have looked through the archives for some of our most popular recipes.  Why not give some of these a try.

Fregola & Zucchini Salad

Coronation Cauliflower

Smoked Paprika Pumpkin Soup

Vegetable Patties

Roast Vegetable Couscous

Feeling back on track

Mamma Marmalade

Cherry Pie

I guess you can tell which ingredient is in season, second blog to feature this tasty fruit. We had the wonderful bounty of 4 members of the family working for the same company and each received a box of gorgeous Australian cherries as their Christmas bonus. After distributing as many to friends and family we still had some leftover, they were too delicious to waste. So after spending half an hour pipping the little deep red Christmas baubles, they were ready to bake in to a pie. Thanks to Jamie Oliver for the inspiration.

Ingredients

600 g pitted cherries
30 g butter
1 lemon
1 Tablespoon plain flour
1 1/2 Tablespoon cornflour
150 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large free range/organic egg
6 Tablespoons milk

Pastry

255 g cold butter, diced
500 g plain flour (extra for dusting)
150 g icing sugar
6 large free range/organic egg yolks

Method

Pastry
Combine in the food processor, butter, flour and icing sugar, whizz until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time and wiz, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of chilled water until the mixture becomes a ball.
Knead on a lightly floured board for 30 seconds. Divide into 2 and wrap in plastic warp and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
Lightly grease a 22 cm pie dish with butter.
Remove one of the pastry dough's from the fridge and and roll out on a lightly floured surface to form a 30 cm circle approximately 4 - 7 mm thick.
Chill the pastry case whilst making the filling.

Filling
Preheat oven to Celsius 200 degrees
Place pipped cherries in a bowl with lemon zest and juice, flour, cornflour, sugar and vanilla extract. Mix well. Leave at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Remove pie dish form the fridge and spoon filling into pastry shell, Dot with diced butter.
Roll out remaining pastry, drape over the rolling pin and place on top of the pie. Press edges together to seal.
Cut 3 slashes on the top to let hot air escape during cooking. Beat the egg with milk and brush over the pastry.
Bake for 10 minutes then lower the heat to 180 degrees Celsius for an additional 40 minutes or until browned.

Serve with Ice cream or cream.

Very Yum!
Mamma Marmalade

Cherry Panettone Trifle - Christmas leftover magic

I love Christmas leftovers.  Nothing is ever wasted.  This dessert is great to share before Christmas but also makes use of delicious leftovers for bring-a-plate days over the New Year gathering festivities.
                                                    Enjoy!  Colleen

                                     Cherry PanettoneTrifle by Feed Your Inner Cook 


Serves                      I made enough for 10 
Prep, construction    15 minutes prep then 10 minutes construction
Cooking                    None but need to allow 8 hours for jelly to set and a few hours at least for trifle to chill and moosh together

Ingredients
Leftover Panettone  - I had about 4-5 inches of the wide round disc left.  Tear into chunks to make 2 layers.
400gm tin (approx) sliced peaches in natural juice - well drained (reserve juice)
a couple of tablespoons Sweet Sherry or Fruit Juice (from peaches) to moisten the panettone
2 jelly packets. I prefer the natural colour type.  Set as directed but use 1/2 cup less water.
Custard - maybe 500 ml (?) I always seem to have leftover Christmas custard
Cherries - lots :  some for middle and a handful for garnish.  remove the Pits for the layered cherries.  A cherry pitter is a great investment if you see one on sale - lasts for years
Whipped Cream - whip with some sifted icing sugar and reserve for topping
flaked almonds for garnish - toasted
few mint leaves - optional

Method
place a layer of panettone in base of glass trifle bowl.  Drizzle with 1/2 the juice/sherry
layer with 1/2 the peach slices, 1/2 the jelly chunks, 1/2 the custard and all the pitted cherries.
Repeat with remaining panettone, juice/sherry, peaches, jelly and custard
Top with the whipped cream
Garnish with reserved cherries, toasted almond flakes and mint leaves.
Allow to chill - preferably overnight
                            Enjoy!  Colleen

Leftover Turkey Pasta

Now that the Christmas feast is over, and you can't seem to face any more cold meats and salad try this simple dish of transforming any left over roast chicken or turkey into a tasty pasta dinner. This is a very easy dish, which is just what holiday dinners are all about.

Ingredients

Good quality dried fettuccine or spaghetti
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
Olive Oil
1 small onion finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tablespoon of bottle capsicum strips drained or sun dried tomato strips
Leftover chicken or turkey, shredded
1 Tablespoon cream
Dash of white wine
Grated Parmesan
Salt and Pepper'


Method

Cook pasta according to instructions on the packet, drain.

In a large frying pan, saute the sliced onions in some olive oil.  When softened add the crushed garlic.
Add tomato paste and stir to "cook off"
Add the capsicum or sun dried tomato strips, cream and wine, stirring to combine.
Add chicken or turkey and combine gently, heat through for 5 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add required amount of cooked pasta to the pan.
Serve topped with grated Parmesan.

Mamma Marmalade

Christmas greetings for 2017

2017 has been a year full of very special family moments for the Feed Your Inner Cook team.  Family is always our focus and foundation so the happy family events this year have enriched our lives – of course the dinner table is cente stage for family gatherings and celebrations.  This year, between us, we celebrated travel adventures, engagements, weddings, University graduations, study accolades and business achievements and eagerly awaiting the birth of the first grandbaby. 

Meals shared, give us time to connect with each other – whether a feast or a sandwich – sharing and caring matter most.  We treasure these moments because things change so quickly – no one knows what tomorrow brings or where in this world family members might be in a year’s time.

Now, Santa is on his way .. even took time out to have a surf … 

We thank you for supporting our little blog and we wish you a Very Happy Christmas and New Year. 

Whether your family is close by or afar – we hope that you have Happiness and Peace during this Festive Season with serenity and good health in the Year Ahead.

A friend who is very unwell was so kind and surprised me with these towels she had crocheted – I am truly grateful for such generosity of time and spirit. 

Thank you D so so much - I wish I could wave a magic wand for you. 

So,

It has been a very intense year - take the opportunity to pause, reflect and then listen to David Cassidy "Cherish" album and hug those dear to you. 

 Happy Christmas

Almond custard pudding cake

Picnics such as the Diner en Blanc event, present challenges with dessert choice.  It needs to be delicious, portable, sturdy and not requiring cooking or being kept really cold. 

I used to make it yeeeeaaaaars ago ... and have tweaked it our way.  Very Retro !

The tea-cake/dessert with a soft cooked custard centre and crunchy almond topping is perfect for picnics/gatherings  – a great favourite especially when served with stewed apples and custard.    

Add a tiny splash of Brandy or Calvados apple liqueur if you want to …. Enjoy! Colleen

almond custard cake by Feed Your Inner Cook 

almond custard cake by Feed Your Inner Cook 

almond custard cake by Feed Your Inner Cook 

           

Preparation            20 minutes

Cooking                  10 minutes custard.  Then    30 – 35 minutes cake plus cooling time

Serves                     6 – 8

Ingredients

Cake

1/3 cup castor sugar

125 gram butter – softened

1 egg

¼ cup custard powder - sifted

¾ cup Self Raising Flour - sifted

Custard centre

1 ½ tablespoons custard powder

1 ½ tablespoons castor sugar

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract

30 gram butter – softened

Optional – dash brandy or similar

Or optional – tiny pinch of ground cinnamon or nutmeg

Topping

Handful flaked almonds

Couple of pinches Castor sugar and ground cinnamon (optional) to sprinkle on top

Method

Line a  18-19 cm springform cake tin on base and sides with baking paper.

Preheat oven to 190 C or 180 Fan forced

Custard

Blend sugar, custard powder and milk in a saucepan.  Whisk/stir well to ensure no lumps and well combined. 

Carefully heat – stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens.  Happens very quickly.

Remove from heat.  Stir through the softened butter and vanilla and ground spice.

Cover with lid and then pour into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap – prevents a ‘skin’ forming on custard.  Changing the container helps with heat loss faster.

Allow to cool to room temperature.  Whisk/stir to ensure no lumps.

Cake

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy with electric mixer or by hand.

Add the egg and mix well.

By hand, stir in the custard powder and flour until just blended well.

Halve the mixture (roughly is ok) and using your fingers, dot small balls of cake batter onto lined base.  Gently push together so it forms a complete layer.

Spread the cooled custard mixture on top of cake layer – almost to the edges. 

With the remaining half of the cake batter – gently dot and spread balls of cake batter to cover the cake. 

Sprinkle flaked almonds over the top, then sprinkle lightly with castor sugar/cinnamon.

Bake approx. 30 -35 minutes.  Custard will still be slightly soft in centre and cake should be cooked, and almonds pale golden.

Cool in tin.

Refrigerate if required but allow to return to room temperature before serving.  

Or serve slightly warmed if desired. 

Delicious with side of stewed apples, custard or cream.

almond custard cake by Feed Your Inner Cook 

                                           

  Enjoy! Colleen 

Mango Coconut Puddings

Simple, summery, yummy.  Mangoes and coconuts are the flavours of Queensland summers. This recipe is easy to make the night before - pop in the fridge and your guests will love it - not too sweet and the fresh mango is the star. Enjoy ! Colleen

Mango Coconut Pudding by Feed Your Inner Cook

Preparation                 5 minutes
Cooking             15 - 20 minutes
Cooling                       6 hours or overnight 
Serves                        4 -6 depending on cup size.

Ingredients

500 ml water
100 gram castor sugar
15 gram powdered gelatine
1 1/2 tablespoons cool water
125 ml (1/2 cup)  Evaporated Milk
65 ml (1/4 cup)  Coconut Milk

250 gram fresh mango flesh - pureed (about 2 medium/large mangoes)
1 mango additional for cubes / garnish on top of dessert
handful raspberries or strawberries and mint leaves - optional for garnish

Method

Bring the water and sugar in a boil in a saucepan. Then simmer until sugar fully dissolved.
Remove from heat.
In a small cup, dissolve the gelatine in the cool water, whisking until fully dissolved.
Whisk the gelatine mixture into the sugar water and whisk well until completely dissolved.
Allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes.

Combine the pureed mangoes and both the milks together in a deep bowl or large jug.
Stir in the gelatine mixture until combined and mix feels smooth.
Pour into small cups or jelly moulds.
Chill for 6 hours or overnight in refrigerator.
Serve with additional fruit, mint leaves to garnish.

Mango Coconut Pudding by Feed Your Inner Cook

                                                  Enjoy!  Colleen