Custard Sponge Cake

Sponge Cake,,,,,the very words are enough to make me run for the hills.  I remember my Mum always said that the perfect sponge cake was hard to achieve and I should just stick to normal cakes if I wanted a success.  I don't know why, but these words that she said to me way back when I first started to bake things, way back when I was an early teen, stayed with me and I just never bothered with a sponge cake.  I would try my hand at any other cake, but nope not a sponge.

So when I came across this recipe last month, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and give it a go (after all it is just a cake for goodness sake! lol).  So I decided that for Hubby's birthday, he would get a sponge cake.  With my Mum's words still echoing in my head, I told him to grab a pavlova from the Cheesecake Shop on his way home from work,,,just in case my sponge was inedible!

I needn't have worried.  This cake was definitely edible and in fact quite yummy.  It probably could have been a little bit lighter and fluffier but I had Stinky helping me make her Dad's cake this year and the mixture did get a little overwhipped, but considering this, the cake was quite light and fluffy.  I am going to try making it again,,,,,this time without my helper lol,,,,,and see just how light and fluffy I can get it.

Here is the link for the recipe:  Custard Sponge Cake

Go on and give it a go, you won't be sorry!!

The decorated result

 

Straight out of the oven,,,,to say I was ecstatic was an understatement lol

Armenian Nutmeg Cake

A few weeks ago (shows how behind I am in blogging recipes doesn't it lol), I was after something a little different.  Hubby and I are dieting so we shouldn't be eating cake but I just wanted a taste of something sweet (you know, just a slither of sweetness!) and I needed something for the kid's lunchboxes for school.

I saw this recipe in my folder and thought it sounded a little different so I would give it a go and it was really quite nice.  It doesn't have a really strong flavour so the kids liked it too.  It is just that little bit different to your standard cakes.  I love the little two tone effect it has!

ARMENIAN NUTMEG CAKE

1 cup Self Raising Flour

70 grams Butter, roughly chopped

1 cup Plain Flour

1 teaspoon Bicarb Soda

1 teaspoon Nutmeg

1 cup Milk

2 cups Brown Sugar, firmly packed

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Lightly grease shallow tin 15cm x 20cms (or round tin lol)

Sift flours and nutmeg into large mixing bowl

Stir through the sugar

Rub in the butter until mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs

Spread one third of crumb mixture over the base of the cake tin and press down lightly

Dissolve the bicarb soda in the milk and add to remaining crumb mixture

Add beaten egg and mix well

Pour into the tin

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and top is brown

Allow to stand in tin for 10 minutes before turning out

 

HOT CROSS COOKIES - An Easter Treat!

I know this recipe is a little late in the scheme of things, but what can I say lol.  It was a brand new recipe to me right before Easter and I made them on the Easter weekend.  Naturally it has been school holidays since then and I am a little behind in my blogging.

This recipe is really quite yummy and was pretty simple to prepare as well.  I liked how there was nothing fancy in them.....perfect for those long weekend cooking sessions when the shops aren't open!

I have quite a few kids that don't like sultanas so these weren't an all round hit in my house but for those of us that do like sultanas,,,they were delicious.

HOT CROSS COOKIES 

(Recipe borrowed from the Sunday Mail Newspaper in Adelaide - Food with Donna Hay section)

125 grams butter, softened

1 cup (175 grams) brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

2 1/2 cups (375 grams) self raising flour, sifted

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1/3 cup (80ml) milk

1/2 cup (80 grams) sultanas

Icing

1 cup (160 grams) icing sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon boiling water

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy.

Gradually add the eggs and vanilla, beating well after each addition.

Add lemon rind, flour, cinnamon, mixed spice, milk and sultanas, and beat until a smooth dough forms.

Roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls and place on lightly greased baking tays lined with non stick baking paper.  

Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Allow to cool on trays.

To make the icing:

Place the icing sugar and water in a bowl and mix until a paste forms.

Place the mixture in a piping bag (I used a snap lock bag with the corner snipped off) fitted with a 3mm nozzle and draw a cross on each cookie.

Allow to dry on wire rack.

Enjoy at any time of the year!!!!

Custard Cherry Cookies

Wow, it has been so long since I have had a chance to share any recipes, I just can' believe how fast this year is going.  I must admit I have been sticking to my failsafe recipes lately and forgetting to photograph the dishes lol,,,,,not something I should forget to do considering the main aim of this blog is to create a recipe file of the kid's favourite recipes right???  Right!

But life is life and it moves so fast that I tend to cook, the kid's make the said dishes disappear at the speed of light and then I think "Darn I really should have grabbed a photo of that".  Aaah well such is life.  I will try to keep a camera at the ready more often,,,,,notice I said "try"!!!

Sweet dishes are something that I usually do get the chance to take photos of and I love to try out new sweet things.  Sweets are one thing that I usually find at least a couple of the kids will like regardless of what I make. I like making cakes and biscuits due to the simple fact that they at least last a couple of days at least.

This is a recipe I found a few years ago in a magazine (don't ask me which one, I have no idea lol).  Straight away I was reminded of my Mum making these when I was a kid.  I loved them back then and my kids loved them too.  I found them a little too "dry" for my taste now, but one mouthful was all it took to take me back to munching on these out on the big back verandah when I was about 8 or 9 years old.   I remember I used to eat the biscuit all the way around and save the bit with the cherry for the last bite!

My kids gave these the thumbs up, with most of them even eating the cherry which surprised me considering they all generally screw their noses up at glace cherries!

CUSTARD CHERRY BISCUITS

250 grams unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature

1/2 Cup icing sugar, sifted

2 Cups plain flour, sifted

1/2 cup custard powder, sifted

Glace cherries, halved - 1/2 a cherry per biscuit

Preheat oven to a moderate 180 degrees (I used 160 degrees in my fan forced oven)

Lightly grease and line 2 baking trays

In a large bowl, using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until pale and creamy.

Gradually fold in the flour and custard powder combined.

Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls.

Arrange on prepared trays, leaving space between each biscuit to allow for spreading.

Flatten lightly with a fork.

Press cherry halves, cut side down onto each biscuit.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden.

Cool on trays.

*  These biscuits will be soft when removed from oven but will harden on cooling  *

Fried Rice

Just to prove that we aren't all about sweets in this house, we tried out a new Fried Rice recipe a few days ago that I definitely think is worth sharing.  I don't usually attempt fried rice as I have never been able to get it to taste as good as the Chinese restaurants do and I don't normally enjoy it.  This one however, we all loved and the best bit is that it tastes equally good cold!

 

We used a recipe out of "Wok & Stirfry", a book given to us by Buddha's best friend's mum and dad for Christmas.  His friend's mum is Asian and Buddha loves going to their house and always comes home telling us of yummy food that he has eaten there.  I have asked her for several of her recipes,,,,maybe this gift was a hint to stop asking her for recipes?? lol

 

Anyway, finally we got around to trying one of the recipes and oh boy I am so glad we did.  The book calls this Chicken Fried Rice, but since I was cooking chicken anyway, I left the chicken out and added in diced bacon instead.

CHICKEN FRIED RICE

Small knob of butter

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 tablespoon oil

6 spring onions, chopped

450 grams cooked chicken, cubed (I used bacon pieces)

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 carrots, diced

1 celery stick, diced

1 red pepper, deseeded and diced

175 grams peas

100 grams canned sweetcorn, drained

275 grams cooked, long grain rice

Heat the butter in a small heavy based frying pan and add the beaten egg.

Swirl the egg until it covers the base of the pan.

Cook until the egg has set and is cooked through, then turn out onto a plate.

Cut the omelette into strips.

Heat a wok over medium heat then add the oil.

Add the spring onions and fry till soft, then add the chicken/bacon and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and stir fry for 5-6 minutes.

Stir in the carrots, celery, red pepper, peas and sweetcorn and stir fry for 5 minutes.

Add the rice and stir thoroughly.

Finally add in the omelette strips and remaining soy sauce.

Serve immediately

This was more or less a tripled recipe - I was serving 6 plus I made enough for left overs so the kids could  have it for a quick dinner the following night, plus Buddha had it for school lunch for 2 days as well.

Chewy Chocolate Brownie,,,,,a winner with the Kids!

 Can you believe I have never, not ever in my life, baked Chocolate Brownies?????  I can't.  I remember when I was a kid, growing up reading books based in America and reading about Chocolate Brownies and thinking they must truly be the most divine things ever put on the planet.  I have been a mum for over 17 years now but still, I never baked Chocolate Brownies.  I have never wanted to make the packet variety, they never seemed like the real deal.

Finally in my stash of recipes I came across a "Chewy Chocolate Brownie" recipe.  This recipe I have probably had for a good 10 or more years, but I have never made it, don't ask me why.  Finally last week, I decided to give it a go.  I needed something quick to whip up that would be good with icecream for dessert that night, but also be good enough to keep a couple of days and be used for school lunchboxes.  This did both those things very well.  I didn't get to taste it myself as Hubby and I are on a diet and I was being very well behaved lol, but the kids all loved it and want me to bake another batch this coming weekend, so it must have been pretty good.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

125 grams Butter, melted

2 cups Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Cocoa

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

2 Eggs

1 cup SR Flour

1/2 cup Pecan Nuts, finely chopped (I used Almonds)

Mix the melted butter and sugar, sift in dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Add the remaining ingredients, combine well.

Put into  a greased and floured (or baking paper lined) pan and cook for 30 minutes at 180 degrees.

Cut up into small squares and serve with cream/icecream or they are equally great as a lunch box treat on their own.

 

ANZAC BISCUITS

It has been so long since I last posted a recipe, I just don't know where the year is going!!!  I have a little catching up to do.  I haven't been doing a lot of cooking, well cooking yes, but trying out new recipes or making cooking anything really inspiring or noteworthy, no.  I have decided to go away from the "step by step" photography for my blog.  I will on occasion do it, but generally this will just be the photos of the end result and the recipe, along with a little of my rambling on of course lol.  I made this decision primarily because I am just too lazy and also because my camera isn't that great and I found myself taking ages to get a decent photo, particularly when trying to photograph flour/sugar, batters etc, so it has been put in the too hard basket and I will leave that for the professional bloggers/photographers of this world lol.

Anyway, back to my Anzac Biscuits.  Anything Anzac is Buddha's favourite sweet treat.  He loves Anzac biscuits, slices and cakes.  Usually I whip up a batch of Anzac Slice because it is so quick and easy.  I don't make biscuits that often because they take so much more time, especially in my oven where I can only really use one shelf for baking as the lower shelves will result in burnt offerings!

But this time I had a "new to me" recipe for these biscuits and, well a new recipe just has to be tried out using the recipe for the purpose it was designed for I think.  I couldn't make this into a slice, it had to start out as biscuits!

They were yummy too.  This batch didn't last long in my house,,,,,even the batch that were a little over cooked got eaten, that always means they must have been good!!

ANZAC BISCUITS

2 cups Plain Flour

1 cup Sugar

2 cups Rolled Oats

1 1/2 cups Coconut

3 tablespoons Golden Syrup

250 grams Butter

3 teaspoons Bicarb Soda

4 tablespoons boiling water

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Mix flour, sugar, oats and coconut together in a large bowl.

Melt the butter with the golden syrup - you can use a microwave or stove.

Heat until the butter is melted and the mixture bubbles.

Dissolve the bicarb soda in boiling water.

Add to the butter mixture.

Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients.

Mix and roll into small balls.

Place on greased trays, allowing room to spread.

Bake for approx 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Chocolate Cereal Crumb Slice

I have been so slack in the cooking department lately.  My brain hasn't been able to get past the quick and easy food that I have been making for years.  No new recipes have been cooked, which is pretty sad really.  Now that school is back, I hope to regain my cooking mojo and start working through my cookbooks again.

This recipe was selected for its super fast making time and the fact that I had everything on hand last Saturday morning lol.  I desperately needed something for this week's lunchboxes and wanted to try something new at the same time.  This recipe filled those requirements.

The kids loved this, well all except Buddha cuz he don't like chocolate lol.  You can add dried fruit to it as well if you like but since I didn't have any on hand, I left it out.

CHOCOLATE CEREAL CRUMB SLICE

2 cups of dried cereal crumbs (I used the crumbs from the Vita Brits)

1 cup of Flour (any flour will do)

1/2 cup Coconut

2/3 cup Sugar (brown or white)

1 cup of Chocolate Chips (I used some Nestle Chocolate Melts)

1/2 cup of any Dried Fruit (I left this out)

120 grams melted butter or margarine

1-2 tablespoons Milk

Melt the butter in microwave or on stove top.

Add all other ingredients and enough milk to get a slightly moist consistency.

Mix well.

Press into a lined lamington tin and bake in moderate oven for about 30 minutes.

You can ice it if you like but it really doesn't need it.

Trust me, its good!!!

Sausage Casserole

This is a new to me recipe and one that I have no idea where it came from.  Somewhere in cyberland is my guess.  I have to say though that it smelt really yummy as it was cooking and it tasted pretty darn good too.  All the kids enjoyed it, even the Jayman who doesn't usually like any type of sausage bake type of meal.

While this recipe certainly doesn't rate high on the "healthy" eating register, it is certainly a wonderful winter warming recipe.  The smell that filters through the house is just delicious and reminds me of cold winter days lazing around the house drinking hot chocolates and reading books lol.  The fact that I have chosen the middle of summer to try this recipe out is a whole different story but thats beside the point lol.

This is a cross between a Shepherds Pie and a Devilled Sausage type of meal I would say.  I made a big batch as I wanted left overs for lunches the next day (the joy of school holidays lol) but you can cut it down accordingly.  I will definitely be making this again but I think next time I will only use one packet of the french onion soup mix and as thought it made it just a little salty, but I will taste test the sauce mix before I mix it together and can easily add another packet if need be :-)

This recipe is based on the size of serve that I made.  This size was baked in my large baking tray and fed 5 for dinner with seconds and then there were 6 serves left over for lunch the following day.

SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

Potatoes (use your own judgement, you need enough to make mashed potato to cover your chosen baking dish)

Milk to mash the potatoes

Butter to mash the potatoes

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Brown Onions, sliced

1.5 kgs Sausages 

Frozen mixed veggies of your liking (use as much or as little as you like)

1/2 cup Tomato Sauce

1/2 cup BBQ Sauce

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 x 35gram packets of French Onion Soup Mix

2 Tablespoons Plain Flour

Grated Cheese to top

Dice potatoes and place in saucepan with cold water.

Bring to boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until tender.

Drain.

Add butter and milk and any seasoning you may like.

Mash until smooth.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius

Heat oil in deep frying pay over medium heat.

Add onion and cook for 3 minutes or until browned.

Chop the sausages into bite sized pieces.

Add to frying pan and cook, stirring occasionally.

Add in the mixed veggies, continuing to stir occasionally.

Whisk tomato sauce, bbq sauce, Worcestershire sauce, soup mix, flour and 1 1/2 cups of water together in a jug.

Stir the sauce mix into the sausages and bring to the boil.

Spoon the mixture into a large casserole dish or baking tray.

Top with the mashed potato.

Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes in oven.

Enjoy with salad and a bread roll 

 (No meal like this can possibly be served with out a little bread roll according to my boys lol)

Boiled Fruit Cake - My Mum's recipe

This recipe is very dear to me.  My Mum made this countless times and it is one of the only recipes I got her to actually write down for me.  I am so glad I did!

I'm not a huge fruit cake lover but I have always eaten my Mum's fruit cakes.  I used to call them the Fruit cake for people who don't like Fruit Cake lol.  Even my Hubby likes this cake and he doesn't usually eat Fruit Cake at all.  Stinky and Buddha don't usually like anything with sultanas in it but both quite like this cake.

This is the cake that I got my mum to make for my first wedding.  She was determined that wedding cake should be a fruit cake,,,,,back then I hated all fruit cakes except hers and used to hate wedding cakes.  I didn't even want fruit cake for the wedding but she insisted so I compromised and said that if she made the cake then I would have fruit cake.  Lol I won that battle!

I hope this recipe continues to get passed down from generation to generation in my family.

BOILED FRUIT CAKE

225 grams Butter or Margarine

1 cup Sugar

1 packet Mixed Fruit

1 packet Glace Cherries

2 teaspoons Mixed Spice

1 teaspoon Carb Soda

1 cup Water

2 Eggs

2 tablespoons Treacle

1 cup Plain Flour

1 cup Self Raising Flour

Place all ingredients from Butter/Margarine through to Water into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

Allow to cool

Fold beaten eggs into the above mix.

Add Flours and Treacle and mix well so it is thoroughly combined (just use a wooden spoon to do this, no mixer required)

Pour mixture into a well greased/lined tin and cook at 160 degrees Celsius for approximately 1 1/2 hours.

This cake keeps well and is lovely and moist with a lovely light flavour.

Christmas Wreath - or anytime you feel like something really quick to whip up lol

This is one of my children's favourites.  It is something they all eat and agree on (which is a rarity believe me!).  I always make on at Christmas time hence the name, but I have been known to whip one up at any time of the year and just change the decorations a little.

Here is the one I made this Christmas,,,,sorry for the lack of photos of it cut into serving size lol.

So easy and simple to whip up.

CHRISTMAS WREATH

2 packets of Butter Snap biscuits (these are my kid's favourite but I sometimes use Ginger Snaps as they are nice and hard and give it a whole new flavour, yummy)

600ml thickened cream

Vanilla Essence

Castor Sugar

Lollies to decorate

Simply whip the cream until nice and thick.

Whip in a dash of Vanilla and a sprinkling of castor sugar (taste test and add as much sugar/vanilla until the taste is right for you.

Then it is simply a matter of assembling the wreath.

Simply put a dab of cream on a biscuit and then continue to do this, building your biscuits into a wreath shape.

Cover the whole thing in cream and then decorate to your liking with lollies.

Allow to rest in the fridge for a few hours to allow the biscuits to soften and absorb the cream a little .

Slice and serve with a scoop of icecream or just simply on its own.

White Christmas

This year my Christmas baking is turning into a very last minute type of event,,,,I hate that but I guess sometimes you have to just go with the flow in today's busy world.

On Monday Stinky, Shortstuff and I made up a batch of White Christmas.  Personally I like it with sultanas in it but due to 3 out of the 6 kids hating sultanas we decided to leave them out :(

So if my pictures look like something is missing, you are right lol.  If it wasn't for the fact that if I made another batch with the sultanas in it I would end up eating the majority of it, I would be in the kitchen right now mixing it lol.

So here we have it, our family's White Christmas!  (I apologise for the picture,,,my camera is doing strange things lately!)

WHITE CHRISTMAS

(Recipe is from "The Complete Step-by-Step Christmas Cookbook")

1 cup Dessicated Coconut

1 cup Full Cream Powdered Milk

1 cup Pure Icing Sugar, sifted

1/4 cup Raisins  (I usually use sultanas instead)

1/4 cup Glace Cherries, chopped

1/4 cup chopped Glace Pineapple

1/4 cup Mixed Peel

2 cups Rice Bubbles

250 grams Copha

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

Place all ingredients (except Copha and vanilla essence) in a large mixing bowl.

Place copha and vanilla essence in a heavy-based saucepan, and heat gently until the Copha melts.

Stir into the dry ingredients.

Continue stirring until well combined.

Press the mixture into a lightly greased lamington tin.

Smooth the top with a spatula.

Chill until firm and cut into fingers.

Store any leftovers in a covered container in the fridge.

Best used within 3-4 days.

Cheese and Bacon Rounds - so easy to make

Okay, school holidays are upon us and lunches for the kids tend to stretch the brain a little in this house, none of them wanting the same type of things they take for school lunches.  So in the interest of easy things to make that you can whip up in about ten minutes and the kids actually love, I discovered this recipe.  Sure it has cheese and bacon and its not super healthy, but as a quick little lunch it is great.

CHEESE AND BACON ROUNDS

(Recipe taken from That's Life Cookbook - Reader Recipes - Recipe was submitted by Nicole Pisani of Doveton, Victoria)

200 grams diced bacon

2 cups grated tasty cheese

3 spring/green onions, sliced

1 cup Self Raising Flour

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons french/seeded mustard

Preheat oven to 200 degrees (180 degrees for fan forced).

Grease and line a baking tray.

Place bacon, cheese, onion and flour in a large bowl and mix making sure the flour completely covers all ingredients.

Combine milk, egg and mustard in a small bowl/jug.

 

Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined

 

Spoon tablespoons of the mixture onto the lined tray.

 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to cool on wire rack.

Carrot Cake with Lemon Icing

This cake came about because I had 1 lonely lemon sitting in my fridge.  I made this cake with Hubby in mind as he loves carrot cake but I decided to get the kids to taste it before I told them what it was.  For some reason the thought of vegetables living in our cake still makes a couple of the younger kids frown and screw their noses up, they think its just not right lol.  So they get to taste it first from now on and then I will reveal what it is.  Shortstuff still didn't like it, (That fact still won't stop me from continuing to try different carrot cake recipes though!).

The rest of the Gang found the cake pretty good.  It cuts well and the lemon icing just gives it that little bit of zing.  I found it held together well for lunch boxes too which is always a bonus.   I had a request for plain icing next time I make it but Hubby and I thought the lemon icing suited it to a tee....maybe I will ice it in half lemon and half plain lol.

CARROT CAKE WITH LEMON ICING

125 grams unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

grated rind of 1 orange

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of allspice

pinch of cinnamon

2 eggs

3/4 cup grated carrot

60 grams chopped raw almonds

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

up to 1/4 cup warm water

cooking spray

1 cup icing sugar

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Beat butter until mixed well.

Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

Add orange zest, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and mix well.

Add the eggs, one at a time, continually beating.

Add carrot, almonds, baking powder, salt and flour.

Mix well with wooden spoon and add water, little by little, until a smooth consistency is reached. 

DO NOT OVER BEAT!

Spoon mixture into a sprayed springform cake tin and cook in oven for about 35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Place on cake rack to cool for about 10 minutes.

To make the icing, mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice.

Pour over the cake when ready to serve.

CHOCOLATE SELF SAUCING PUDDING - SO EASY TO MAKE!

Okay, I know this is a naughty recipe but it is one that I need to share.  It is a recipe that I have been making for about 20 years now.  I haven't met anyone that has tried it and hasn't liked it,,, (well except for my  chocolate hating son that is lol).

This is quite a rich chocolate recipe and you certainly don't need a huge serve.  I usually serve up one big spoonful per person with a generous scoop of icecream.  The icecream tones down the richness of it and makes it oh so good!!!

Come on, give it a go, just once, it is pretty cheap to make and you don't even need eggs which is perfect if you are like me and frequently run out lol.  Sometimes I even just mix it straight in the casserole dish it is going to bake in (as I did this time), I didn't bother to grease the dish, I just threw the ingredients in and mixed them up.  Some days I have seen enough dishes and I like to cheat and cut down as much as humanly possible!

This recipe was  one I ripped out of a "That's Life" magazine many moons ago.  It was submitted by a Victorian lady by the name of Lauren Handcock, she mentioned she had made it countless times and I can proudly say that I have too.  It is so fast and simple to whip up and can easily be doubled to cater for extras.

CHOCOLATE SELF SAUCING PUDDING

PUDDING

60 grams Butter

1/2 cup Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

3/4 cup Castor Sugar

1 cup Self Raising Flour

1/4 cup Cocoa

SAUCE

2 tablespoons Cocoa

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 cups Hot Water

Preheat oven to a 180 degrees.

Lightly grease a shallow 4 cup casserole dish with butter (I have been known to skip this and it hasn't caused any problems :-)   )

Heat the butter and milk over a low heat.

Stir until the butter melts, add the Vanilla and mix well.

Sift the Sugar, Flour and Cocoa into a bowl.

Add the butter/milk mixture and beat well with a wooden spoon.

Pour mixture into prepared dish.

Sprinkle cocoa and brown sugar over the surface of the mixture.

Carefully pour the hot water over the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes in the preheated oven.  (If you double the mixture as I have here, add an extra 15-20 minutes cooking time)  (Also if you double the mixture use a bigger casserole dish than I did lol,,,, mine made a bit of a mess in the oven whoops!,,,,I don't usually double the mix when I make it and I forgot to use the larger dish!!!!)

Instead of icecream, it also tastes great if you sprinkle the pudding with a little icing sugar and accompany it with a dollop of cream topped with a light sprinkle of cinnamon,,,,,YUM!

The single recipe will easily serve 4 people a fairly large serving.  I doubled the recipe this time when I made it as I wanted left overs but out of this casserole dish I have 9 serves of the size you see with the icecream.

BAKED CUSTARD CREAM

 
This recipe intrigued me with its name.  I love custard, creamy smooth custard, oh yum!!!  Baked custards always remind me of my Mum's Baked Custard and her Bread and Butter Puddings.  Sadly I don't have her recipe and every time I have attempted to make a Baked Custard it just never works out.  That is probably why I had never up to this point attempted this recipe.  Years of failures took away my confidence.

Well finally, I bit the bullet and gave this recipe a go, and I have to say, it is pretty yummy.  While it doesn't have the same sweetness as my Dear Old Mum's custard, it is smooth, oh so smooth!  It actually worked, I just couldn't believe it!  It is a bit more work than a normal baked custard but the fact that it worked made it a winner lol.

I had a little bit left in the big bowl and I couldn't resist finishing it off when the kids were at school the next day (No the "little bit left" isn't what you see pictured in the white bowl lol, it truly was only a spoonful or so left in the bowl when I attacked it :-)    ). 
So if you like really smooth custard that isn't sickly sweet, give this recipe a go.  The egg white gives it a slight crustiness on top and just adds another texture to it.

BAKED CUSTARD CREAM

30 grams Butter

3 tablespoons Castor Sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 tablespoon Plain Flour

1 tablespoon Self Raising Flour

2 cups Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add sifted flours, combine well.

Put milk in a small saucepan, stir over low heat until the milk reaches simmering point.

Remove the milk from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Gradually beat the milk into the creamed butter/sugar mixture, beating all the time, mix well.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Gently fold the egg whites into the custard mixture.

Pour the custard into a lightly greased ovenproof dish.

Place into a large baking dish with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the dish containing the custard.

Bake in moderate oven for approximately 50-60 minutes or until the custard is firm

Serves 4-6

CARROT AND PINEAPPLE CAKE - THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

Okay,,,,I think I have found a rival cake for my Anzac Cake.  I tried this cake on the weekend and it is simply yummo!!!  The best part about it is that even though I have a few kids that hate carrots and a couple that absolutely despise pineapple,,,,,,they ALL agreed tht this cake is beautiful!!!!

This mix made enough mixture for 2 log tins and 6 cupcake sized muffins.  The kids have been having a slice in their lunchboxes all week and they have already said that they want me to make another one for next week  (but now I am on a carrot cake roll and next week I want to try another recipe lol!!)

CARROT AND PINEAPPLE CAKE

CAKE

3 Cups Self Raising Flour

2 Cups Caster Sugar

1 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Crushed Pineapple (undrained)

1 cup chopped Walnuts (I used Almonds)

2 cups shredded Carrot

4 Eggs

1 cup Oil

1 cup Cold Water

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

ICING

90 grams softened Cream Cheese

1/2 cup softened Butter or Margarine

4 cups Icing Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

2-3 teaspoons grated orange rind (I left this out because I didnt' have an orange)

About 3 tablespoons Orange Juice

In a large bowl (this makes alot of mixture so make sure it is a very large bowl!), mix all the cake ingredients together.

Beat together well with a spoon until well mixed.

Grease and flour 2 loaf tins or one 10 inch square tin.

Bake in a moderate oven for 90 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in tins before turning out.

ICING

Beat all ingredients until the mixture is fluffy and of spreading consistency.

If necessary, stir in a little additional orange juice, 1 teaspoon at a time.

Don't tell the kids what is in the cake until after they have tried it lol!!!  

(I know I am such a mean mother :-)    )