Pita Bread

Love me some pita bread freshly done - yum yum .. This is easy and tastes delicious. Whenever I make these, they go in 5 minutes - I am lucky if I am left one!!!!


Ingredients
1 cup of warm water
1 pk dry yeast
2 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp veg oil
1 tsp dry mixed herbs

Method

• Add your dry yeast to the warm water and let stand for about 5 minutes, or until it's 'frothy'
• In a large mixer, add the flour, salt, oil, herbs. Mix. Then add your yeast mixture and knead into a dough. 
• Place dough in an oiled bowl and place some cling wrap directly onto the dough - leave in a warm place for around an hour and let rise.
• Roll out into flat mounds and add a bit of butter to a hot pan - pan fry your bread.
• When it starts to bubble a little, flip over and repeat.

Mocha cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and mocha sauce

I needed something sweet - so I combined 2 of my favourite things .. Chocolate and Coffee ..
Once these were made and ready, they didn't last the hour! At least I got one in before I had to leave for work!

Ingredients .. (Cupcakes) 

• 1 cup of plain flour
• 1 cup of caster sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup of butter - melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp of vanilla paste
• 3 tbl instant coffee
• 1/2 cup strong hot coffee

Mocha Sauce

• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/3 cup good quality dark chocolate
• 4 tbs heavy thick cream
• 6 tbs icing sugar
• 2 tbs water .. 
• 2 tsp instant coffee

Chocolate Buttercream

• 1 cup of butter at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 2/3 cup of melted and cooled milk chocolate

Method ..

Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, salt.

In a seperate bowl, combine eggs, vanilla and butter.

Add to dry ingredients and beat on medium for a couple of minutes

Add instant coffee and the made up 1/2 cup coffee

Pour batter into cupcake cases in a muffin tin.

Bake at 180 for 18 minutes

Cool completely on wire racks 

Meanwhile make the buttercream.

Whip the butter on medium for around 5 minutes

Reduce the speed to low and add the icing sugar

Back to medium speed, add the chocolate and coffee and vanilla - beat for about 2 minutes.

decorate your cupcakes with the buttercream and store in the freezer for around 10 minutes.

Meanwhile make the mocha sauce.

Heat cream in a medium pot, do not boil.
Once warmed, take off heat and stir through your chocolate, coffee, cocoa and icing sugar .. stir until it has a pouring consistancy. =) 

Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara

Here's the question .. Cream or no Cream? 

Traditionally carbonara requires NO cream, however, I think it tastes better with cream - so I do add it.

It's totally up to the individual whether they want to add it or not, so if you aren't for cream just omit it from the recipe. 

Ingredients

1 pack of spaghetti (follow instructions on packet) 

50g butter

2 Tbs of Olive oil

2 garlic cloves - crushed

150g bacon or panchetta, cut into small chunks

1/4 cup good white wine

5 eggs

150g Parmesan cheese or Pecorino, grated.

150ml thickened cream

Small bunch of fresh parsley chopped finely

salt/pepper

Method

Cook the spaghetti according to instructions (pot of salted water and oil) 

In a large pan, melt the butter and cook the bacon or panchetta and garlic until crispy (drain on paper towel) 

Add the wine to the same pan and let it evaporate a bit. Put aside.

Lightly beat the eggs with the cream, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside

When the pasta is ready - drain - then add the cream mixture, mix through. Put into the pan with the wine and add the bacon - stir through until warm. 

Serve

Aussie Style - Pumpkin Pie

It's nearing that time of year again .. Christmas ...
Every year my eldest son asks me to make him a pumpkin pie, so of course I do, then once it's on the table, it's by pure luck anyone but my eldest  gets a slice!

I know pumpkin pie isn't traditional down here in Aus - but neither is Halloween, and we love Halloween! We can 'borrow' the American's pumpkin pie and they can 'borrow' the good old Aussie Lamington! =)

I always make my own pastry unless it's puff (that's just easier to buy) so in this recipe, I make a cinnamon sweet shortcrust. Have a go at making your own, I think it's well worth the effort and the end result tastes better!

If you aren't confident in making your own pastry just grab some store bought shortcrust pastry.

PASTRY

• 3 cups of plain flour
• 190g unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 2 tbls cinnamon
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbls chilled water

METHOD

In a food processor, process the flour, cinnamon, butter and sugar until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the egg yolks and the water and process until a dough.

Take out the dough on knead on a lightly floured surface.

Roll into a ball, wrap in cling wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Take out your dough from the fridge and put between two sheets of baking paper and with a rolling pin roll out until even and smooth. 

Grab a flan tin and grease and line with baking paper - gently put your pastry in until it fits snug in the flan tin. 

Put some baking paper on top, and fill with baking weights. Bake for 15 minutes at 180C  - once done, take out, take away the weights and baking paper and further bake for another 5 minutes. 

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PUMPKIN PIE INGREDIENTS

2 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin pureed in the food processor.
1 1/2 cups thickened cream

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs plus the yolk from a third egg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp cardamom 

1/2 tsp of lemon juice

METHOD

Pre-heat your oven to 220C

Mix sugars, salt, spices  - whisk the eggs and add

Stir in the pumpkin puree

Stir in the cream and the lemon juice

Whisk together until well combined.

Pour into your prepared pastry shell

Bake at 220C for 20 minutes

Turn the oven down to 180C and bake for a further 40 minutes. 

Stick a skewer in the middle of the pie and if it comes out clean, then it's ready.

Serve with some whipped cream. 

Fairy Floss (Cotton Candy) frozen Cheesecake

I like giving myself a bit of a challenge and I thought this cheesecake would be difficult, but it was eesy peesy.
The challenge comes later today when I get started on the Xmas Macaron's ...
This cheesecake is going to the son's Xmas party on the weekend, the one I have been invited to but have to do most the cooking for!!

INGREDIENTS

• 200g pkts of classic Tim Tams x 2
• 250g pkt cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 300ml thickened cream
• 250g mascarpone
• Pink food colouring
• handful red glace cherries, finely chopped
• 2 bags of strawberry flavoured fairy floss - plus extra to decorate.

METHOD

1. Lightly grease a 7.5 deep loaf pan and line the bottom and sides with baking paper.
2. Process one packet of Tim Tams in the food processor until finely crushed. Press firmly into lined pan with the back of a spoon. Place in the fridge.
3. Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Beat the cream in a separate bowl until almost whipped. 
4. Fold the mascarpone into the cream cheese mixture. Fold in the cream, until combined.
5. Tint with a drop of food colouring.
6. Fold in the cherries. 
7. Fold in the fairy floss
8. Spread the mixture over the biscuit base - smooth - Freeze overnight.
9. Once fully frozen, decorate with the extra Tim tams (grated) and fairy floss.

Vegan Chocolate Beetroot Cake

This weekend coming up is full of Christmas parties with both sides of my family. Which means lots of cooking and baking for me to take food to these parties .. Especially the one at my son's house, he has invited us over for Christmas lunch but I have to make most of the food! How does that work? lol

The first Christmas party I am off to is at my MIL's on Saturday - besides my husband being a vegan, his older brother is also! Which means double the work for me ... as long as they enjoy what I make them, then the double work is no problem!

Last year I made them a vegan pumpkin pie - this year I went a little different and have made them a Vegan Chocolate Beetroot Cake ...

Who knew that beetroot and chocolate went so well together - but then again, chocolate goes well with most things!

So if you want to give this a go, it's quite easy ..


INGREDIENTS

• 2 Large beetroots, skin on, grated
• 1 extra beetroot - sliced thinly
• 3 cups of plain flour
• 2 cups of caster sugar
• 6 tbls cocoa
• 2 tsps baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups of water
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbls white vinegar
• 2 tbls vanilla paste
• Half a packet of glazed cherries

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 190 C
Grease and flour a large springform cake tin or bundt cake pan

Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt cinnamon, sugar in a large bowl

Add a well in the centre and pour in the water, oil, vinegar, vanilla and beat with a whisk until smooth - add the grated beetroot and make sure the mixture is well combined.

Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. 

In the meantime make some vegan buttercream 

1/3 cup soy milk

2 Tbls Nuttelex

1/2 cup cocoa

In the electric mixer, cream the nuttelex, add the other ingredients and beat until creamy. 

Once your cake is done, let it cool on a wire rack and meanwhile while you are waiting, get your beetroot chips ready.
Deep fry your sliced beetroot chips until crispy - place on a paper towel to drain the excess oil. 

Time to now buttercream your cake, top with some glazed cherries and the beetroot chips.

I think it's almost Christmas!

It's that time of year again and the madness of cooking lots of Christmas goodies begins.

I was racking my brain as to what to give some family and friends as part of their presents - so I just made some little Gingerbread Christmas Tree's ..

This is a little time consuming but well worth the end result.
I started making the dough at around 8 in the morning - finished the baking process by 2 pm  - went to work and got home around 9.30 pm - looked at them and thought I would finish them tomorrow ... Got up around 2 am to grab a drink and thought 'Bugger it - I will do the rest now!" finished them at 5 am!! lol

But they are done, ready to be wrapped in some pretty cellophane with ribbon .. =D

So if you have some patience then give this a go ..


INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 cups Plain flour - 
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp Bicarbonate Soda
• 3 Tsps Ground Ginger
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Cardamom 
• 150g Soft Butter
• 1 Cup Honey or Golden syrup
• 1 Egg
• 1 Eggwhite
• 1 1/2 Cups sifted icing sugar
• 1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice

METHOD

Sift flour, baking soda, bicarb soda, ginger and cardamom together.
Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy.
Add Honey / Golden Syrup and egg - Beat until well combined.
On a low speed, beat in sifted ingredients until well combined and turns into a dough.
Divide the dough in half and wrap in cling wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Note; If Dough is too dry (crumbles) add a tablespoon of milk.

Roll out dough halves between baking paper, around 4mm thick.
Get a large, medium and small star cookie cutter and cut out 27 large stars.
If any dough is left over, start cutting out 45 medium stars, you will start using the other half of the dough by now. With the remaining dough cut out 9 small stars.

With the large stars bake in the oven at 180 C for 7 - 8 minutes. Put on a rack to cool
With the medium stars, bake for about 5-7 minutes. Put on a rack to cool
With the small stars, bake for about 5 minutes. Put on a rack to cool

Once you have all your stars, it's time to make some royal icing.

In an electric mixer, add the egg white and beat until glossy, add the lemon juice and continue to beat.
Little by little add the sifted icing sugar and keep beating until you have a nice smooth glossy icing.

Divide the royal icing in two
Put a bit of green food colouring in one half of the royal icing.

Get two piping bags with a small nozzle

Fill one up with the green royal icing and the other with the white royal icing.

Start with a large star and blob a bit of green icing on each point. Then blob a bit of white icing in the middle of the star. (The white icing is the glue that holds it together)

Start stacking 3 large stars at offset angles, then continue with 5 medium stars and finish with one small star.

Keep continuing until you have 9 little trees.

I then sifted some icing sugar over the trees to make it look a bit snowy ..

Ok I know I suck at tying bows lol