Peppermint Slice

Jared and I went to Clare to stay with my parents for the weekend. Mum had a cookbook of Blue Ribbon Winning recipes! The prize winner from every country town in South Australia had featured. I chose the Blue Ribbon Peppermint Slice to recreate. And it tastes sensational. I can see why it received first place. I gave Jared a piece on the drive home from Clare and he said, "in all seriousness, this is quite possibly the best slice I've ever eaten!" I cant help but agree.

Since making the slice and deciding to buy the cookbook I found it in I have discovered the author has her own blog! The Blue Ribbon Cookbook. Check it out!

I also brought the slice to work and fed it to a friend of Jared's and this is the feedback I received: "have just eaten the slice. However the word eaten really doesn’t sum it up. It was more of a whole cuisine experience or a culinary journey. For god sake don’t ever make it again as Jared can’t possibly exercise more than he already does and he will make Jabba the hut look like a supermodel after 6 months of that. Of course I’ll be running again soon and could probably get away with a piece that size every 3rd day. Thanks".


I had to double the filling and I also used 75g more chocolate than in the recipe. The recipe below is what I did.

Base
125g butter
200ml sweetened condensed milk
250g milk biscuits
1 rounded tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup desiccated coconut

Filling
2 cups icing sugar mixture
80g butter melted
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon peppermint essence
3 drops green food colouring (optional)

Topping
200g dark cooking chocolate
30g copha

To make the base, melt the butter and condensed milk in a saucepan. Crush the biscuits and mix with the cocoa and coconut. Pour over the butter and condensed milk mixture and mix well. Press the mixture into a slice pan (about 20 x 30cm) lined with baking paper. Place in the fridge and chill well for an hour.

To make the filling mix together the icing sugar, butter, milk, peppermint and food colouring. Spread evenly over the chilled biscuits mixture and put it back into the fridge to set.

To make the topping, melt together the chocolate and copha. Spread the chocolate evenly over the filling and allow it to set before cutting the slice into squares.

E.

Chocolate Brownies

This is a Jamie Oliver recipe for brownies that are on the dessert menu at Fifteen. They look amazing in his cook book so I baked them on a cold Sunday afternoon as dessert after a Roast Lamb lunch.

When they first came out I thought they were a failure because I'd taken them out too early. The entire centre was still really runny. It was more like a runny pudding when we ate it. I was so disappointed, although the flavour was UNREAL. I left them out over night and in the morning it had set! Exactly the way it was supposed to. I had perfect chocolate brownies. The entire tray was eaten within hours. I'll absolutely be baking these again. Such a decadent, moreish treat. And the orange zested creme fraiche was a sensational addition and created such a good balance between the rich chocolate and zesty sour tasting cream.


250g unsalted butter
200g best-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) broken up
150g chopped nuts (I used hazelnuts)
80g coco powder
65g plain flour sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
350g caster sugar
4 large eggs
zest of one orange
250ml creme fraiche

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a 30cm rectangular baking tin with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the nuts. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate and nut mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.

Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray; and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don't want to overcook them so, you don't want a skewer to come out clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche mixed with some orange zest.


E.

Pioneer Womans Chocolate Cake

Another cake, I apologise! I shall try to make something different soon. However, this cake is fantastic! It comes from one of my personal favourite sites -
Pioneer Woman.

As you can imagine, we have had plenty of visitors coming to meet our gorgeous baby boy. I managed to throw this cake together without a special trip to the store or too much trouble. We got lots of pieces of cake an 'mmm's this is so good' which is exactly what we needed. Chocolate cakes are often dry I find, not this one, soft and moist.

Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt:
225grams butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 180C degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 200grams butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
350grams icing sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Sathya-rating ****

July Daring Bakers Challenge - Hazelnut gateau with praline butttercream

Its that time of the month for us to share our July Daring Bakers challenge with you! Yay. I love it when we get to share it, as it means the hard work is over and we get to find out soon what our next challenge is… Something without buttercream I hope!

July’s challenge, a hazelnut gateau with praline buttercream, was set by Melecotte and was awesome! Everyone loved it. I think this and the Danish Braid we did last month are my favorites so far.

I struggled with this challenge though. I think I went in too confident (as we as Daring Bakers have completed the genoise and buttercream a few times now). The cake part went fine, the glaze went fine, but the buttercream, (the blooming buttercream) wouldn’t work for me! The first attempt was lumpy as I tried to cut corners by not creaming the butter before adding it to the egg mix, so I started again. This time I followed the instructions to the letter and it just wouldn’t come together, it looked like it was curdled. But, I just kept on beating and it came together perfectly in the end. Sometimes you just gotta keep on beating. Thank goodness, as it was the best part. How could you go wrong with praline though, I ask you!

I made this cake for my youngest sister, Sals birthday and she loved it, which is the only person I really cared about. I packed ¾ of the cake up for her and she took it to work and she tells me everyone there loved it too and thought she’d bought it! That’s a compliment in my books. Or maybe not! Haha. Anyway, the recipe is to follow and if you want to look at what my fellow DB members got up to have a look here.

Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream
From Great Cakes by Carol Walter

1 Filbert Gateau
1 recipe sugar syrup, flavored with dark rum
1 recipe Praline Buttercream
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 recipe Apricot Glaze
1 recipe Ganache Glaze, prepared just before using
3 tablespoons filberts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Filbert Gateau

Because of the amount of nuts in the recipe, this preparation is different from a classic genoise.

1 ½ cups hazelnuts, toasted/skinned
2/3 cup cake flour, unsifted
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar, divided ¼ & ¾ cups
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
5 lg. egg whites
¼ cup warm, clarified butter (100 – 110 degrees)

Position rack in the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 180C. Grease and flour a 25.5cm X 6cm round cake pan.

Using a food processor, process nuts, cake flour, and cornstarch for about 30 seconds. Then, pulse the mixture about 10 times to get a fine, powdery mixture. You’ll know the nuts are ready when they begin to gather together around the sides of the bowl. While you want to make sure there aren’t any large pieces, don’t over-process. Set aside.

Put the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, and beat until thick and light in color, about 3-4 minutes on med-high speed. Slowly, add ¾ cup of sugar. It is best to do so by adding a tablespoon at a time, taking about 3 minutes for this step. When finished, the mixture should be ribbony. Blend in the vanilla and grated lemon rind. Remove and set aside.

Place egg whites in a large, clean bowl of the electric mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed, until soft peaks. Increase to med-high speed and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, over 15-20 seconds or so. Continue to beat for another ½ minute.
Add the yolk mixture to the whites and whisk for 1 minute.

Pour the warm butter in a liquid measure cup (or a spouted container). * It must be a deep bottom bowl and work must be fast.* Put the nut meal in a mesh strainer (or use your hand – working quickly) and sprinkle it in about 2 tablespoons at a time – folding it carefully for about 40 folds. Be sure to exclude any large chunks/pieces of nuts. Again, work quickly and carefully as to not deflate the mixture. When all but about 2 Tbsp. of nut meal remain, quickly and steadily pour the warm butter over the batter. Then, with the remaining nut meal, fold the batter to incorporate, about 13 or so folds.

With a rubber spatula, transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula or back of a spoon. **If collected butter remains at the bottom of the bowl, do not add it to the batter! It will impede the cake rising while baking.

Tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when it is springy to the touch and it separates itself from the side of the pan. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack sprayed with nonstick coating, removing the pan. Cool the cake completely.

*If not using the cake right away, wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap, then in a plastic bag, then in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If freezing, wrap in foil, then the bag and use within 2-3 months.

Sugar Syrup
Makes 1 cup, good for one 10-inch cake – split into 3 layers

1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp. dark rum or orange flavored liqueur

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the liqueur. Cool slightly before using on the cake. *Can be made in advance.

Praline Buttercream
1 recipe Swiss Buttercream
1/3 cup praline paste
1 ½ - 2 Tbsp. Jamaican rum (optional)

Blend ½ cup buttercream into the paste, then add to the remaining buttercream. Whip briefly on med-low speed to combine. Blend in rum.

Swiss Buttercream
4 lg. egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly firm
1 ½ -2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or liqueur of your choice
1 tsp. vanilla

Place the egg whites in a lg/ bowl of a electric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until the whites are foamy and they begin to thicken (just before the soft peak stage). Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of simmering water, making sure the bowl is not touching the water. Then, whisk in the sugar by adding 1-2 tablespoon of sugar at a time over a minutes time. Continue beating 2-3 minutes or until the whites are warm (about 120 degrees) and the sugar is dissolved. The mixture should look thick and like whipped marshmallows.
Remove from pan and with either the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and sugar on med-high until its a thick, cool meringue – about 5-7 minutes. *Do not overbeat*. Set aside.

Place the butter in a separate clean mixing bowl and, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter at medium speed for 40-60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy. *Do not overbeat or the butter will become toooooo soft.*

On med-low speed, blend the meringue into the butter, about 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, over 1 minute. Add the liqueur and vanilla and mix for 30-45 seconds longer, until thick and creamy.

Refrigerate 10-15 minutes before using.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or can be frozen for up to 6 months. If freezing, store in 2 16-oz. plastic containers and thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for several hours.

Praline Paste
1 cup (4 ½ oz.) Hazelnuts, toasted/skinless
2/3 cup Sugar
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and lightly butter.

Put the sugar in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Heat on low flame for about 10-20 min until the sugar melts around the edges. Do not stir the sugar. Swirl the pan if necessary to prevent the melted sugar from burning. Brush the sides of the pan with water to remove sugar crystals. If the sugar in the center does not melt, stir briefly. When the sugar is completely melted and caramel in color, remove from heat. (160C) Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon and separate the clusters. Return to low heat and stir to coat the nuts on all sides. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. **Remember – extremely hot mixture.** Then onto the parchment lined sheet and spread as evenly as possible. As it cools, it will harden into brittle. Break the candied nuts into pieces and place them in the food processor. Pulse into a medium-fine crunch or process until the brittle turns into a powder. To make paste, process for several minutes. Store in an airtight container and store in a cook dry place. Do not refrigerate.

Apricot Glaze
Good for one 10-inch cake

2/3 cup thick apricot preserves
1 Tbsp. water

In a small, yet heavy saucepan, bring the water and preserves to a slow boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. If the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the saucepan, add water as needed.

Remove from heat and, using a strainer, press the mixture through the mesh and discard any remnants. With a pastry brush, apply the glaze onto the cake while the cake is still warm. If the glaze is too thick, thin to a preferred consistency with drops of water.

Ganache Glaze
Makes about 1 cup, enough to cover the top and sides of a 9 or 10 inch layer or tube cake

**Ganache can take on many forms. While warm – great fudge sauce. While cool or lukewarm – semisweet glaze. Slightly chilled – can be whipped into a filling/frosting. Cold & solid – the base of candied chocolate truffles.

6 oz. (good) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, like Lindt
6 oz. (¾ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier, Cointreay, or dark Jamaican rum (optional)
¾ tsp. vanilla
½ - 1 tsp. hot water, if needed

Blend vanilla and liqueur/rum together and set aside.

Break the chocolate into 1-inch pieces and place in the basket of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Heat the cream and corn syrup in a saucepan, on low, until it reached a gentle boil. Once to the gently boil, immediately and carefully pour over the chocolate. Leave it alone for one minute, then slowly stir and mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the cream. Carefully blend in vanilla mixture. If the surface seems oily, add ½ - 1 tsp hot water. The glaze will thicken, but should still be pourable. If it doesn’t thicken, refrigerate for about 5 minutes, but make sure it doesn’t get too cold!

Assembling Cake

Cut a cardboard disk slightly smaller than the cake. Divide the cake into 3 layers and place the first layer top-side down on the disk. Using a pastry brush, moisten the layer with 3-4 Tbsp. of warm sugar syrup. Measure out 1 cup of praline buttercream and set aside.

Spread the bottom layer with a ¼-inch thickness of the remaining buttercream. Cover with ½ of the whipped cream, leaving ¼-inch border around the edge of the cake. Place the middle layer over the first, brush with sugar syrup, spreading with buttercream. Cover with the remaining whipped cream.

Moisten the cut side of the third layer with additional sugar syrup and place cut side down on the cake. Gently, press the sides of the cake to align the layers. Refrigerate to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Lift the cake by sliding your palm under the cardboard. Holding a serrated or very sharp night with an 8-ich blade held parallel to the sides of the cake, trim the sides so that they are perfectly straight. Cut a slight bevel at the top to help the glaze drip over the edge. Brush the top and sides of the cake with warm apricot glaze, sealing the cut areas completely. Chill while you prepare the ganache.

Place a rack over a large shallow pan to catch the ganache drippings. Remove the gateau from the refrigerator and put it the rack. With a metal spatula in hand, and holding the saucepan about 10 inches above the cake, pour the ganache onto the cake’s center. Move the spatula over the top of the ganache about 4 times to get a smooth and mirror-like appearance. The ganache should cover the top and run down the sides of the cake. When the ganache has been poured and is coating the cake, lift one side of the rack and bang it once on the counter to help spread the ganache evenly and break any air bubbles. (Work fast before setting starts.) Patch any bare spots on the sides with a smaller spatula, but do not touch the top after the “bang”. Let the cake stand at least 15 minutes to set after glazing.

To garnish the cake, fit a 12 – 14-inch pastry bag with a #114 large leaf tip. Fill the bag with the reserved praline cream. Stating ½ inch from the outer edge of the cake, position the pastry tube at a 90 degree angle with the top almost touching the top of the cake. Apply pressure to the pastry bag, moving it slightly toward the center of the cake. As the buttercream flows on the cake, reverse the movement backward toward the edge of the cake and finish by pulling the bag again to the center. Stop applying pressure and press the bag downward, then quickly pull the tip up to break the flow of frosting. Repeat, making 12 leaves evenly spaced around the surface of the cake.

Make a second row of leaves on the top of the first row, moving the pastry bag about ¾ inch closer to the center. The leaves should overlap. Make a 3rd row, moving closer and closer to the center. Add a 4th row if you have the room. But, leave a 2-inch space in the center for a chopped filbert garnish. Refrigerate uncovered for 3-4 hours to allow the cake to set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator at least 3 hours before serving.

Leftover cake can be covered with foil and kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.



Sathya-rating ****

Chunky Chocolate Mudcake

Now, here is a nice and easy deliciously rich, dense and moist chocolate cake. I used this as a dessert for a dinner party served with blueberries and strawberries, dessert wine and espressos. Perfect!

The recipe needs 300g of dark chocolate, but I only had 200 grams. The recipe says to melt 200g for the batter and sprinkle the further 100g at the end, so I just used white chocolate for the last 100grams. At the time of making it I was disappointed with myself I hadn’t taken care to have the right ingredients but in the end it worked out great as it looked and tasted special.

200g butter, chopped
300g dark chocolate
¼ cup hot water
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup self-raising flour
icing sugar, to serve

Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a deep cake pan and line with baking paper.

Start by melting the butter, 200g of the chopped chocolate and hot water together gently until smooth. To this add the cocoa and stir. Stir in vanilla, caster sugar and eggs.

Add the sifted flour to the chocolate mixture and stir gently.

Pour half the batter into cake pan and sprinkle half the remaining chopped chocolate over batter.
Top with rest of the batter and finish with the last of the chopped chocolate.

Bake cake for 55 - 60 minutes (until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging).

Allow cake to cool completely in pan. Serve dusted with icing sugar and mixed berries.

S

Homemade Bounty Chocolates

After using the coconut to decorate the mango cheesecake I made recently, I had a ¾’s left over and decided to try to make these gorgeous chocolates with fresh coconut. I have left the recipe as I found it as I think it would work better with desiccated coconut. Everyone loved them when they were served and they looked great but I think the fresh coconut made the mix a little too wet and therefore hard to handle. I just dipped them in the chocolate for a second coating! They’re very easy and a huge success compared to chocolates I have made in the past.

200 gram unsweetened desiccated coconut
100 ml double cream
70 gram icing sugar
70 gram unsalted butter
200 gram dark chocolate

In a bowl, combine coconut with icing sugar. Heat cream and butter on low heat until the butter has melted. Mix well with the coconut and icing sugar off the heat.

Form small balls, approx 1 tbsp, with your hands. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and allow to firm in the fridge for at least an hour.

Melt the chocolate and dip each coconut ball in the warm melted chocolate and cover it completely. Allow all excess chocolate to drip back in the bowl and return the chocolate covered coconut ball to the baking paper lined tray. Cover all the balls with chocolate and return to the fridge for approx 30 minute and serve.

S

Melanie's Chocolate Cake

A
We moved around a lot when I was a kid. To be fair, as an adult I haven't really stopped. This has its up and down sides as you can probably imagine.

A huge positive is the number of wonderful people who have influenced my life and my character along the way, some of which I didn't realise until years later. Recently I have been back in touch with one such individual, Melanie. We were dear friends in the first few years I was in highschool, I moved away and we lost touch. I've really enjoyed the reading what shes now doing with her life and where its taken her, its comforting to read someone's familiar style with a new twist.

I have 2 clear memories of hanging out at her house, one was her gorgeous cat and the other was Melanie's Chocolate Cake. I hadn't made it for years and attempted it on the weekend and it was just as easy and as tasty as I remember.

Ah ye, BTW, ignore my decorating skills, it was my first real attempt. I have some practicing to do!

1 1/3 cup self raising flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp bi-carb soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 oz butter
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Grease tin and pre-heat oven 180C.

All dry ingredients together in a bowl and add milk, vanilla and butter and beat for 2 minutes.

Add all the eggs and beat for a further 2 minutes.

Bake for 25-40 minutes.
S

Mostaccioli

Something rather odd occurred yesterday. I was released from the office early. This is the type of news I don’t need to be told twice, so I scurried out the door and was home 2 hours earlier than usual. I decided to bake and found this wonderful recipe for chocolate cookies in my pile of “to do” recipes. Everyone who’s tasted them loves them and they weren’t difficult to make. I’d never done glazed cookies before, I think it’s a nice touch.

This recipe came from The Canadian Baker website, and called for walnuts, which I didn’t have, so I used hazelnuts instead, which worked great.

¼ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 ¼ cups plain flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

Glaze
1 ¼ cups icing sugar
¼ cup brewed coffee
½ tsp vanilla

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and add the egg.

In another bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and salt.

Add this half of this dry mix to the butter mix with a little milk and beat well. Add the rest of the dry mix and milk and mix again.

Add the chocolate chips and hazelnuts and cover and pop into the fridge for 2 hours till firm.

After 2 hours preheat the oven to 180C and line your baking sheets with baking paper.

Roll 1 tbsp of the mixture into balls and place onto the tray an inch apart.

Bake for about 12 minutes (until tops begin to crack). If you used 2 trays, and remember swap the trays from top to bottom of the oven at the half way point.

Allow the cookies too completely before glazing.

For the glaze whisk together sugar, coffee and vanilla and drizzle 1 tablespoon on each cooled cookie and allow to set.
S

Chocolate Stuffed Donuts

One of the first food blogs I discovered and became addicted too was by Heidi over at 101cookbooks. I love the style, look and feel she oozes from her gorgeous site.

I check her site religiously in anticipation what she has discovered next and this recipe is one I have been holding out to make.

The perfect opportunity arose on the weekend. Last year I went to a music festival called Splendour in the Grass with a few friends. One of the highlights was the discovery of donuts stuffed with chocolate. Hot spongy dough with cinnamon sugar and oozing rich chocolate in the middle. Heaven if you ask me!! I couldn’t join the trip to Splendour this time around, but talk of chocolate donuts was back. A few of my darling friends who went this year came over for dinner on the weekend, so I grasped the opportunity and made donuts.

Tony loves working with dough, kneading especially, so I think we were a little cocky, as we’d had some huge successes with yeast lately. This time, not so much. We couldn’t get them to rise. Much.

We tried everything.

After many hours, and a cranked up heater they rose and were eaten with glee.

1 1/3 cups warm milk
1 packet active dry yeast
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
5 cups flour
Pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 large block of dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in a bowl. Stir in the yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Make sure the milk isn't too hot as it can kill the yeast.

Add the butter and sugar into the remaining cup of warm milk and add it to the yeast mixture. Stir in the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt until the flour is incorporated.

Knead the dough until it is supple and smooth, not sticky. Shape into a ball and put into oiled bowl and cover and put in a warm place. Let rise for an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Next, pull off small pieces and flatten a little with your thumb, pop a piece of chocolate into the dough and close it over itself and pinch to seal the edges. Roll them a little to make them round and place a tray lined with baking paper. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Bake in a 190C/375F oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes - start checking around 8. While the doughnuts are baking, place the butter in a medium bowl. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two. Dip each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugar bowl. Eat immediately if not sooner.

S

Daring Bakers August Daring Baker Challenge: Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart

Liz is away for a wedding at the moment and has kindly asked me to try and articulate our experience with the tart…

So here we are at our second Daring Bakers Challenge. This one was right up our alley. Caramel and Chocolate. Mm mmm!

August was a crazy month so we both knew we’d be putting this off till the end of the month. I had one weekend free when I knew I could do. I got everything I needed a few days in advance. Then Liz had the brilliant idea that we should do it together as I was flying home the following weekend. Having already bought all the ingredient I tried to think of something else I could create with the ingredients, but I kept worrying that DB members would notice and think I was cheating or something.

On the weekend I had planned to do this my boyfriend, Tony, spent the whole weekend pulling apart his computer, and I have to say, wasn’t great company. So by Sunday, I was itching to make the tart. My original plan was not to tell anyone, but being me, I did.

I followed what all the other DB members struggled with and the consensus was the caramel. I took special note to get extra sugar and how to do the wet method. When it came to the day I thought I’d have a go at the real way, according to the recipe but thought I’d fail. I kept the heat on medium and stirred throughout and was successful! I couldn’t believe it. Me – making caramel the hard way! I even managed it twice. Tony grunted when I tried to explain the sheer beauty of what I had done. I know this is terribly dumb of me, but I never knew sugar did that.

Everything went perfectly for me. Everyone who tasted it loved it.

So, this past weekend I was in Adelaide. I was on a tight schedule but made the tart a priority. Not hard, seeing as it also meant Liz and I got to hang out in the kitchen too.

This baking episode didn’t go so well. I think there may have been a few things that went against us, including a few too many wines before we got started.

Knowing Liz as I do, I tried to hang back and not get too involved. Firstly because, of the 2 of us, she is the whiz with baking etc and secondly, as I know how much it infuriates her when people get involved. I read the recipe, and mentioned what I did the weekend before.

Liz had made the pastry and baked that part before I arrived. I had told her in advance that I had far too much so she should halve it. Liz was unsure where she went wrong, but it didn’t come together nicely, but managed to press it all in and once it baked it was fine.

The caramel went perfectly as well.

Liz used thick/double cream for the mousse. Having followed my strict instructions to have everything out to room temperature I think the cream had gone sour as when Liz whipped the cream within a few seconds it was thick like butter. Maybe that’s just what thick/double cream does… Can anyone advise me?

Unfortunately when Liz got home later that night the mousse part looked like butter. Liz scraped the mousse off and re-did this part with whipping and cream and it worked! Here are her the photos she quickly sent me before she left.

So, all in all it was a lot of fun. We got to hang out in the kitchen together, which is rare these days and my confidence is building in baking.

The recipe is as follows.

½ lb (250 g) chocolate shortbread pastry (see recipe below)

1 ½ cups white sugar

1 cup thick cream or crème fraiche

¼ cup butter

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

2 ½ tablespoons flour

1 ¼ cups whipping cream (to us Aussie’s, that’s thickened)

250 g milk chocolate

Pastry:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons icing sugar

½ cup ground hazelnuts

2 level teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 eggs

4 ½ cups plain flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder

A day ahead -in a mixing bowl of a food processor, cream the butter.

Add the icing sugar, the ground hazelnuts, and the cinnamon, and mix together.

Add the eggs, one by one, mixing constantly.

Sift in the flour, the baking powder, and the cocoa powder, and mix well.

Form a ball with the dough, cover in plastic wrap, and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 °F (160 °C) and take all needed ingredients out of fridge to come to room temperature.

Line the baking pan with the chocolate shortbread pastry and blind bake for 15 minutes.
In a saucepan, caramelize 1 cup of white sugar using the dry method until it turns a golden caramel colour. Incorporate the double cream or crème fraiche and then add butter. Mix thoroughly. Set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat the whole eggs with the extra egg yolk, and add the the flour.
Pour this into the cream-caramel mixture and mix thoroughly.

Spread it out in the tart shell and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

For the mousse: beat the whipping cream until stiff.

Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave or in a bain-marie, and fold it gently into the whipped cream.

Pour the chocolate mousse over the cooled caramel mixture, smoothing it with a spatula. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.
Toffee to decorate: melt ½ cup white sugar in a saucepan until it reaches an amber colour. Pour it onto waxed paper laid out on a flat surface. Leave to cool. Break it into small fragments and stick them lightly into the top of the tart.

S

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Surprise

Here's my weekend baking people. Be warned, they are very rich but oh so damn fine.

Everyone's going nuts for them and then the sugar high hits. Wow. They were a little fiddly, but fun, now I'm gaining a little confidence in the baking department but the flavour and the texture of these babies are all worth it!

I had too many bananas and was sick of making banana bread and found this recipe here http://www.cupcakeblog.com/ The recipes here are gorgeous. What an art! My choice was easy compared to some of the other amazing concoctions Chockylit has come up with.

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter Filling
1/3 packed brown sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 egg, lightly beaten

Cupcakes
220 grams (11 tbs) unsalted butter
400 grams (14 ounces) dark chocolate
1 1/3 cup of caster sugar
4 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup mashed banana (1 banana)

Caramel Icing
2 tbs butter
4 tablespoons cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180C.

Start with the peanut butter filling - mix the brown sugar, peanut butter and egg together and put aside.

Now, for the cupcakes. Melt the butter and the chocolate over bainmarie.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and the sugar. Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and mix to combine.

Add the melted chocolate and butter mixture and mix. Add the mashed banana and mix.

Fill the cupcake patty pan one third full with this mixture and then dollop one teaspoon of the peanut butter surprise on top. Then top this with another third of the chocolate cupcake mix.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool.

To make the caramel icing, its best to have everything ready as I noticed it set very quickly.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the cream and brown sugar and stir to combine.

Boil vigorously for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and mix in 1/2 a cup of the icing sugar. Cool slightly and add the other 1.2 cup of icing sugar.

Quickly spoon onto cupcakes and you're done!

S

Walnut Brownie Bites

I read this recipe and thought that it sounded right up my alley! I made these little brownies in no time and they smelt so good! According to the boy (yes I'm still on this diet) they are biscuity and crunchy outside and gooey and chewy inside, with a nice hit of caramel and walnuts! He and his workmates loved them! Thats what I like to hear!!

I think the ingredient that got me sucked in was the Rolos! Each brownie has a rolo in the middle of it! Melted and oozing! Can't really beat that...

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped finely

80g butter

150g dark eating chocolate, chopped

1 egg, beaten lightly

1/3 cup plain flour

1/4 sour cream

3 x 50g packets Rolos

Preheat oven to moderate. Lighly greast two non stick 12 hole mini muffin trays, divide walnuts between holes.

Melt butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan, stir over low heat, without boiling until mixture is smooth. Cool to just warm.

Stir sugar and egg into mixture, then the sifted flour and cream; spoon mixture into prepared pan. Press one Rolo into the centre of each quantity of mixture. Spread mixture so that the Rolo is completely enclosed.

Bake in a moderate oven for about fifteen minutes. Using a sharp pointed knife, loosen the sides of the brownies from pan, stand for ten minutes. Remove brownies gently from pan.

Makes 24. These treats are best served while warm!

E.

Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Another recipe taken from a fellow blog. I saw the name and I was sold. I decided to use large chunks of chocolate. You can buy Plastowie chocolate in a box that is already broken up. The pieces are quite large. The recipe I took this from appeared to use small chocolate chips but I thought, why not go the whole hog and make it really ooze and drip with chocolate... and my word they do!

Once again I am unable to say what they taste like due to this diet. Dang! But the boyf ate 4 in a row if thats anything to go by. Ive also sent a batch with him to his brother's house and I think I can safely assume the plate will come home licked clean...

I think these and a huge glass of cold milk would be slice of heaven...

1 cup butter, soft
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup (unsweetened) cocoa powder
2 cups dark or semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix until smooth.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Working with the mixer on a low speed, gradually incorporate flour mixture into butter mixture until well combined and no streaks of flour remain.

Stir in chocolate chunks. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough (approx 1″ balls) onto trays lined with baking paper. Bake for 11 minutes at 180C, until set and just firm at the edges. Cookies should still appear moist. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

E.

Malteser Slice

I found this recipe online and so many different sites featured it and HIGHLY reccommended it! The thing I love about a slice is that it can take as little as two minutes to make, but they create so much happiness! I havent had one of these as I'm currently on a diet :-( but I was told they are "delectable" by my boyfriend...

225g Maltesers
225g Digestives, finely crushed
3 tablespoons Golden Syrup
100g butter
200g good quality cooking milk chocolate

Line the base of a tray and preheat the oven to 180C.

Melt the butter, golden syrup and chocolate together. (In the microwave will do, 3 minutes on medium, stirring every minute). Stir it together well and quickly add the maltesers and the biscuits. Place in fridge until set. Cut into squares.

E.

Chocolate Petits Fours

My girlfriend at work, Marika, pointed this recipe out to me and said "look how easy it is!" and by golly was she right! It literally took two minutes! As the recipe suggests. And tastes so decadent! Very quick and easy and impressive if you were to get a last minute invite to a dinner! They are very rich so really just ONE with a liquer coffee would be sufficient! They're like little blocks of chocolate ganache! mmm

200g 70%-cocoa dark chocolate, broken into pieces

200ml thickened cream

20g butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Place chocolate, cream and butter in a heatproof, microwave safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on MEDIUM for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until almost melted. Add vanilla and stir until smooth.

Line base and sides of a 4cm deep, 7cm x 25cm bar pan with baking paper, allowing 2cm overhang at both ends. Spoon chocolate mixture into the pan. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into small squares and dust thickly with cocoa.

E.

Orange Chocolate Cupcakes

When I saw this recipe I thought it was the prefect little thank you for my tagine.

Somehow this made 24. I think they might have been intended to be more muffin-like than cupcake-like. However, with 24 more people enjoyed them as we took some to work.

Jaffa's are an old time lolly here in Australia, I don't think you can get them overseas? They're a orange chocolate inside an orange candy shell.

260g plain flour
1/4 cup (55g) cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
80g Terry's orange chocolate, chopped
250g tub light sour cream
60g unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup (60ml) milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup Jaffas, crushed + extra to decorate

200g good-quality dark cooking chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (60ml) thickened cream

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Line 12 muffin pans with paper cases.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder.

Add the sugar and chocolate.

In a separate bowl whisk together the sour cream, melted butter, milk and eggs together.

Add the wet mix to the dry mix and mix until just combined. Try not to over mix.

Put the mixture into the pattypans and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested.

Cool allow to cool in the muffin-pan.

Melt chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until chocolate melts.

Set aside for 1-2 hours to thicken slightly, I just put it in the fridge for a 10 minutes and it thickened nicely.

Spread muffins with the ganache and sprinkle with crushed Jaffas to decorate.

S

Toffee & Chocolate Blondies

I found this recipe on another blog and as soon as I saw the photograph I fell in love. It looked so enticing. And the real thing was even better than I expected. I served it warm with a big dollop of whipped cream on the side.

The recipe from the Desert Candy blog I took it from, asked for American chocolate coated toffee bars. Being in Australia I decided to use Fantales! And I am so pleased that i did.

The thing I love about these blondies is that it can be served warm with whipped cream as a dessert or cold with a coffee as a delicious afternoon treat.

6 tbl butter, softened

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 tbl instant espresso

1 tbl hot water

2 eggs

1 tbl vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped chocolate

1/2 cup chopped Fantales

3 tbl Kahlua

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Grease and flour an 8” square baking pan (I lined mine with foil, then grease the foil)

Dissolve the espresso in the hot water in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the espresso and the vanilla.

Beat in the eggs one at a time.

Fold in the flour mixture, stirring just until any streaks disappear.

Stir in the chocolate and fantales.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

As soon as you remove them from the oven, use a pastry brush to brush the Kahlua all over the top of the blondies.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

E.

Mars Bar Cake/Slice

Dinner with friends on the weekend was curry. I always struggle what to make for dessert after an Indian meal, so I threw a few choices over to Stacy and she chose the Mars Bar cake.

We used this recipe, but found we need a lot more rice bubbles than the recipe and added marshmallows along the pretence of the Great American Treat – Rice Krispy Treat. I was going to add the marshmallows through at the end for colour and texture but then learnt about this American Treat and we tried it this way.

This one goes out especially to you, Dad, I thought of you a lot.

When we were kids and we had to go somewhere in Dads car there was regularly a Mars Bar wrapper. We'd yell and scream that it wasn’t fair that he had one and insist he buy us one. Sometimes it worked haha.

This is rich and sticky and oh, so very, very bad for you but damn it was good!

6 Mars bars
6 oz/170 grams butter
6oz/170 grams rice bubbles
Handful of marshmallows

In a heatproof bowl break up the Mars bars into pieces.


Add the butter and marshmallows in pieces to the Mars bar and melt together in a microwave or bain-marie style in the stove top (pot of simmering water, and bowl over the top).

Mix the butter, Mars bars and marshmallows together until smooth.

Add the rice bubbles and make sure they’re all covered well.

Put mixture in a buttered dish and pat down.

Refrigerate until set.

Cut into squares and serve.

You can find the original from http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/

S

Baileys Chocolate Waffles

Laura and I made these for her sister’s birthday. The chocolate mixture tasted delicious and I hear they were a great hit at the
birthday lunch. They really were very easy for such a great looking and delicious dessert! Very 80's, but very yummy!

260g dark Belgium chocolate
2/3 cup thickened cream
2 tbsp castor sugar
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
25ml Baileys Irish Cream
Waffle ice cream cones

Strawberries

Depending on the size of the cone you want, break away the top of the ice cream cone. Melt 100g chocolate and dip the waffle cones in them. Leave to set. Once they're set, place them in shot glasses to help them stand up straight.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form.

Whip the egg whites with half the sugar until stiff peaks form.

Whip the egg yolks with half the sugar until thick and fluffy.

Melt the remaining 160g chocolate and stir in the Baileys Irish Cream. Remove from the heat immediately.

Fold into that about 1/3 of the whipped cream.

Fold the egg yolk mixture into the chocolate mixture.

Then alternatively fold in a spoon of egg whites, then a spoon of cream until its smooth and glossy.

Place the chocolate mix in the freezer for around 5 to 10 minutes until it is a little more set and easier to pipe into the cones.

Place half a strawberry in the bottom of the waffle cones and pipe the chocolate mixture over the top. Decorate with strawberries.

E.

Rocky Road

Ive never actually made Rocky Road before but it couldnt be any simpler and it tastes really yum!

250g pink and while marshmallows, halved

1 cup unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped

100g glace cherries, halved

1 cup shredded coconut

350g dark chocolate, chopped

Line the base of a shallow 20cm square cake tin with baking paper or foil, leaving it to hang over two sides. Mix togther the marshmallows, peanuts, cherries and shredded coconut.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Half fill a pan with the water and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and place the bowl over the pan, making sure it is not sitting in the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted.

Add the chocolate to the marshmallow mixture and mix. Press evenly into the tin. Refrigerate for several hours, or until set. Lift out and cut into small pieces. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

E.