Fran’s Fantastic Fudge

Last weekend Simon and I headed down to New Plymouth to visit Courtenay, Shane and Max and also Simon’s family.  We had a great time catching up with everyone and were treated to lots of delicious food; we actually left with a boot load full of fruit and veg generously given to us by Simon’s Great Aunty Pat – thank you!  Simon spent the afternoon of ANZAC day in the kitchen using some of the stuff we were given.  We now have passion fruit curd, stewed rhubarb and sweet chilli jam - and we still have pumpkins, avocados and more chillies to use up!

While we were visiting we tried some of this beautiful fudge made by Simon’s second cousin Frances.  We liked it so much that we popped in and got the recipe off her before we left and we made some once we got home.  It’s pretty simple to make too (which I think makes it kind of dangerous) - you just put everything in the microwave.

100g butter, cubed
¼ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla, or 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon rum essence
4 cups sifted icing sugar
½ cup cocoa
½ – 1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Place the butter, milk, vanilla, sifted icing sugar and cocoa into a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 2 minutes, then beat until smooth.  Pour into a loaf tin lined with greaseproof paper.  Refrigerate until cold.  Cut into pieces before serving.

Thank you Frances for sharing the recipe with us and thank you so much to everyone for the hospitality we were provided with while we visited.  We look forward to seeing you all when we head down to Taranaki again in another couple of months :)

Coca-Cola Cupcakes

These have been doing the rounds on the internet lately which reminded me that I printed this pdf from the Coca-Cola website back in 2009, most of the recipes floating around are this one or slightly altered versions of it. They are yummy, moist and not as sweet as I’d imagined a Coca-Cola cupcake to be. It makes quite a few cupcakes so I actually halved the recipe below and still managed to get 20 cupcakes!

Ingredients:2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups small marshmallows
115 grams butter
½ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup Coca-Cola
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line muffin trays with 24(+) cupcake papers.
In a bowl, sift sugar and flour. Add marsh- mallows.
In saucepan, mix butter, oil, cocoa, and Coca-Cola. Bring to a boil and pour over dry
ingredients; blend well.
Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to batter along with eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well.
Fill each cupcake case to the ¾ mark, or there about.
Bake for 15 minutes or until they bounce back to the touch.

 

In terms of frosting there are plenty of suggestions out there ranging from vanilla buttercream to salted peanut. I tried to stick as true to the original recipe as possible but the icing it suggested would not work for frosting cupcakes. I used nearly all the same components to make a Coca-Cola buttercream but wasn’t overly happy with the result and think it can be improved in the future, I think the problem was adding the Coke in the place of water or milk – it kind of split the buttercream so would suggest to anyone else wanting a cola taste to their frosting to use cola essence instead. If you decide to try out the recipe please leave us a comment and let us know what frosting you opted for and how you think it went.


To decorate I added little coke bottle lollies I picked up at the supermarket from the pick and mix.

I think I will probably try out the recipe and make Coca-Cola cake and the frosting the recipe suggests as I am a sucker for pecans!

Lunchbox Bakes - Kumara and Bacon Savoury Slice

This is a really tasty slice and is easy to make.  It’ll go down a treat if you’re having a few people over for lunch or it would be great for dinner in summer with a simple salad.  I used golden kumara in mine, but I think after trying it that your typical red variety would taste better.  If you are not from New Zealand, you probably know kumara as ‘sweet potatoes’.  However, in New Zealand we call them kumara, which is their Maori name.  If you want some info about kumara history and the different varieties, the Kaipara Kumara website is a good quick read.

Serves 6 – 8

400g (2 medium) kumara (sweet potatoes) peeled and cut into chunks (I used orange kumara, but I reckon your typical red variety would taste better)
4 rashers rindless bacon, chopped coarsely
6 large eggs
½ cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 small tomatoes, sliced

Preheat oven to 200°C.  Line a 17cm x 27cm slice tin with baking paper, leaving an overhang on all sides.
Cook the kumara in boiling salted water for 5 minutes or until just tender.  Drain and set aside.  At the same time, cook the bacon in a frying pan for about 5 minutes to brown.  Remove to cool.
Place the eggs and milk in a bowl and whisk to combine.  Stir in the kumara, bacon, cheese and parsley.  Season well with the salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.  Arrange the sliced tomatoes over the top.  Bake for 35 minutes or until set.  Cut into squares and serve warm or cold.

Click to find out more info on Lunchbox Bakes.

Red Velvet Cake

One of my first posts on BMTB was about Red Velvet Cake.  Since making it for the first time just over two years ago it has become a favourite amongst my friends and family.  It was Shane’s birthday yesterday and his birthday cake request was for – you guessed it – Red Velvet Cake!  I haven’t changed much from Bakerella’s recipe but will share with you my way of doing things as my first post was just pictures on my attempt and a link to the Bakerella site.

Ingredients:
2½ cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1½ tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1½ cups oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
50ml liquid red food colouring (less if using gel colouring)

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease two 20cm cake pans.
Lightly whisk eggs in a medium-large bowl. Add remaining liquid ingredients and mix together with whisk or whisk attachment on an electric mixer until blended. Set aside.
(Yes, it is shockingly red! BUT you do need to add all 50mls of food colouring otherwise you will end up with a rusty/brownish coloured cake. If using gel colouring add a teaspoon to start and go from there.)
Place all the dry ingredients in another mixing bowl and stir together to combine with another wire whisk.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Mix on medium-high with an electric mixer for about a minute or until completely combined.
Pour into cake pans and then drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
After 15-30 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
Then make the frosting.

To make the delicious cream cheese frosting frosting you will need:
250 grams cream cheese, room temperature
200 grams butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
5 cups icing sugar

Sift icing sugar and set aside.
Beat cream cheese and butter on high until creamy.  Add vanilla.
Then, add the sugar in batches.  I add two cups the first time and mix before scraping down the sides of the bowl and adding one cup at a time after that.
Place one of your cakes on a cake stand or serving plate and evenly cover the top with frosting.  Place your other cake on top and frost the rest.

A few more tips:
To ensure that your cake sits flat level each of your cakes, this is best done with a serrated knife.
To keep crumbs out of your frosting do a ‘crumb coat’ this is a thinner layer of frosting that acts like a glue keeping crumbs in one place.  The crumb coat needs to be dry to the touch before you put the final layer of icing on.  I was a little over eager to get my cake finished and my crumb coat wasn’t completely dry when I put my final layer of frosting on.  If you don’t have time or are just too eager to dig in and eat your cake you can flag the crumb coating.

If you haven’t tried red velvet cake yet, you must!  If you have, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

How to make Candied Lemon Peel

Making candied lemon peel is pretty easy.  Adjust the quantities below depending on how much you want to make.  I halved the ingredients listed below to make the candied peel to go on top of my Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins and I still had a reasonable amount left over.  You could use this recipe to candy the peel of other citrus fruits too.

You will need:
3 lemons
2 cups water
2 cups white sugar, or as needed

Remove the rind from the fruit.  There are two ways of doing this:

1. Cut lemons into slices and remove the fruit pulp. Scrape off as much of the white inner layer as you can, this part is bitter. A spoon or butter knife will work well.  This results in the circles of rind you can see in the picture above.

2. Use a vegetable peeler and peel off the skin, then cut it into thin strips.  This method is a lot quicker and the strips still have a pretty curl to them once they have been candied. 

Bring water to a boil in a small pan and add lemon peels.  Boil for about 5 minutes, until tender.  Remove peels from water and stir in sugar. Return to a boil, add peels and boil for about 15-20 minutes until the peels translucent.  Stir regularly as the mixture can burn.  Taste a piece of the peel – if it is bitter tasting, change the water and sugar so you have a fresh pot and re-boil the peel.  Continue to do this until you are satisfied with the flavour.  Drain and allow to dry before storing.  Liquid may be reserved and used as lemon simple syrup.

I sprinkled a little bit of sugar on my candied peels before using them to top my Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These were delicious – they didn’t last long at my house!  I wanted to make them after trying a Lemon Poppy Seed muffin at a cafe.  The muffin was nice, but it wasn’t anything special; just a plain muffin.  I jazzed mine up a bit which made them super cute and taste just that much more amazing.

Makes 12

150g butter
¾ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
rind and juice of 2 lemons
125g sour cream
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powders
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons poppy seeds

To decorate (optional):
3 – 4 tablespoons lemon curd
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
¼ cup candied lemon peel (recipe will be up on Wednesday)

Icing:
1 ¾ cup icing sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a 12 hole standard muffin tin with paper cases.
Cream the butter and sugar, then stir in the remaining ingredients until just combined.  Spoon into the prepared muffin cases evenly and bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tray for 5 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack.

So, there you have it.  You could just eat these little babies now, or…

You could decorate them…

Once cool, inject each muffin with lemon curd.
Mix the butter, lemon zest and vanilla together until all lumps are gone.  Add the milk and quickly cream it into the butter mixture.  Mix in the sugar half a cup at a time and then cream on high for 2 minutes.  Mix in the lemon juice.  Pipe or spread the icing evenly over the cupcakes.
Sprinkle the tops with some extra poppy seeds and place 3 – 4 pieces of candied lemon peel on top.

What do you reckon?  Much better.

Gooey Caramel ANZAC Slice

I came across this recipe in the April copy of ‘Food’ magazine but ended up adapting it a little bit, it is ‘Mmmmmm’ delicious and something a little different to your traditional ANZAC biscuit.

Ingredients:
Base:
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup brown sugar
150g butter, melted
Caramel:
395g can of condensed milk
2 tablespoons golden syrup
50g butter
Topping:
⅓ cup each – shredded coconut, rolled oats, brown sugar
50g melted butter

Method:
Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a 25cm x 15cm slice tin with baking paper.
Combine the flour, baking powder and brown sugar in a bowl, add the melted butter and stir well until combined then press mixture evenly into the prepared tin to form the base. Bake for about 10 minutes until pale golden and just set.
Remove from the oven and place your tin on a cooling rack while you make your caramel.
To make the caramel melt together the condensed milk, golden syrup and butter in the microwave, I gave mine four zaps of 40 seconds each, stirring between each interval.
Your caramel is ready when it is golden and thickened. To take the guess work out of using the microwave you could use a double boiler to combine your caramel ingredients.
Set aside to cool for 5 minutes while making the topping.
To make the topping combine coconut, oats, soft brown sugar. Pour over the melted butter and stir well to ensure the dry mix is evenly coated in butter.
Pour the caramel over the warm par-baked slice and carefully spread over topping mixture pressing into the caramel lightly. Bake the slice for a further 10-15 minutes until golden.
Leave to cool completely before cutting into squares.

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”
- Laurence Binyon

Remember to buy a poppy as a mark of respect and gratitude to all the men (and women) who have served to protect our way of life for ANZAC day on April 25th.

Lunchbox Bakes – Courgette Cakes

These are pretty yummy – I’ve eaten a few already today.  If you’re going to give them a go, make sure your muffin tin is well greased or make cups for them out of baking paper so they come out of the pan nice and easy; mine stuck a bit.

Makes 12

400g (approximately 4 medium sized) courgettes (zucchini)
Olive oil, for frying
3 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
¾ cup cream
½ cup fresh grated parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 210°C.  Grease or line a 12-hole standard muffin tin.
Thinly slice the courgettes.  Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the courgettes in batches over a high heat until brown on both sides.  Remove to cool, then divide the courgettes between the muffin holes, reserving half a cup for topping.
Place eggs in a bowl and lightly beat.  Beat in the cream, parsley and parmesan, then season with the salt and pepper.
Pour the egg mixture over the courgettes, dividing the mixture evenly into each muffin hole.  Arrange the reserved courgette slices over the top.  Bake for 25 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown and set.

Made something for your lunchbox?  Let us know and take part in Lunchbox Bakes :)

Birds Nest Cookies

An Easter recipe just in time… These cookies are cute and easy to make!

Ingredients:
Cookies:
215 grams butter, room temperature
½  cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

Icing:
10 grams butter
½ - ¾ cup icing sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons cocoa
hot water

Topping:
Coconut
A few drops food colouring
Small Easter eggs

Method:
Pre- heat your oven to 180°C. Line two baking sheets with baking paper, and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar.
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and cocoa powder.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix on low speed just until a stiff dough forms, about 2 minutes.  Transfer dough to a piece of plastic wrap, wrap tightly, and chill until firm, about 30 minutes. 
On a lightly floured surface, roll out chilled dough to a ½cm thickness.  Using a round cookie cutter, cut out cookies; place them on lined baking sheets.  Chill cookies until firm, about 20 minutes.
Bake cookies until set, about 12 - 15 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
While cookies cool make icing and colour your coconut by putting a few drops of food colouring in a plastic bag and rub coconut around to colour evenly.
Once cookies are cool place coconut on a tray, ice cookies with chocolate icing and dip in coconut.
Place 2 - 4 mini eggs on top of each ‘nest’.

Happy Easter from Courtenay and Melissa xox

Lunchbox Bakes – Ham, Cheese and Broccoli Quiche

This is my first attempt at a quiche.  I didn’t really like eating quiche as a kid, I suppose it is because the usually have onions in them.*  Ick.  However, this one was quick and easy to make and it tastes delicious.  It smelt amazing while it was baking and looked pretty impressive when I took it out of the oven.  Simon and I have been eating it cold as a part of our lunches this week. 

1 sheet pre-made savoury short crust pastry
1 ½ cups cooked ham (either cubed or shaved and sliced)
1 ½ cups cheese, grated
1 cup broccoli florets, chopped (if using frozen broccoli make sure it is thawed and well drained)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon mild mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Line a 22cm tart tin with the pastry.
Layer ham, cheese and thawed broccoli on top of the pastry.  In medium bowl, beat all remaining ingredients (eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper) until well blended.  Pour over broccoli.
Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean.  Let stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.  Cut into wedges.

Remember, you too can take part in Lunchbox Bakes – just flick us an email to bmtbblog@gmail.com.  You can read more about this event on the Lunchbox Bakes page.

*Courtenay and I hate onions.  We probably hate them more passionately than we love baking.

Anzac Biscuits

It’s now April, which means Anzac Day is coming up, so I decided to try out baking some Anzac biscuits.  If you’re not from New Zealand or Australia you might be wondering what ‘Anzac’ is and the significance of these biscuits.  ‘Anzac’ stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps and each year on the 25th of April we have ‘Anzac Day’ where we acknowledge the sacrifice of all those who have died in warfare, and the contribution and suffering of all those who have served.  Anzac Day marks the landings at Gallipoli in Turkey, made during World War One on the 25th April in 1915.  Anzac Day has been a public holiday in New Zealand since 1921.

Anzac biscuits are said to have been sent by wives to soldiers abroad because the ingredients do not spoil easily and the biscuits kept well during naval transportation.  Traditionally they don’t have chocolate on them, but I had some in the pantry I wanted to use up :)

Makes approx. 24

1 cup flour
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 cups rolled oats
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons boiling water
1 cup chocolate, melted (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Place the flour, caster sugar, coconut and oats in a bowl and stir to combine.  Make a well in the centre.
Place the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan and stir until the butter is melted.
Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water.  Add the butter mixture and the dissolved baking soda to the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
Roll heaped teaspoon amounts of the mixture into balls and press onto the prepared baking trays, allowing space for biscuits to spread while cooking.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until firm and golden brown.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.  If desired, dip one half of each biscuit into melted chocolate and allow to set before serving.

I’ve just realised as I’m typing up this post, that the teaspoon in the photo above has a picture of the Auckland War Memorial Museum on it – how fitting :)

Easter Baking Ideas

Easter is fast approaching so why not make some themed baking?  Here’s some ideas that we’ve tried out in the past:

Easter egg cupcakes – these cupcakes are decorated with mini Easter eggs and have a caramel one hidden inside them – Yum!

You could always whip up a batch of your favourite cupcakes and get creative with how you decorate them.  The ones in the picture above have Easter egg sprinkles and chocolate bunnies.  You could really get creative and make little fondant characters like bunnies or birds, or make pretty coloured eggs.

Another idea is to make a batch of cookies in Easter shapes and ice them.  The cookies pictured above have been iced using royal icing.  If using royal icing seems a little scary, a simple recipe you could use is the one that we made Christmas Cookies from - simply change the shape and colours to suit your Easter theme.  This would make a great holiday activity for kids, who will have heaps of fun decorating their biscuits.

Happy Easter!