O’Tiramisù
~adapted from Williams-Sonoma: Dessert, by Abigail Johnson Dodge

Cake:
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Syrup:
(These proportions are doubled to allow for a properly soaked cake)
1 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream (or dark rum)
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder (can be found in coffee aisle of grocery stores)

Cream filling:
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish cream (or dark rum)
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/2 (4 oz.) cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate curls for garnish
Unsweetened cocoa powder for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Cake:
In a bowl, whisk the dry ingredients.
In a different bowl, with a mixer at medium-high speed, beat the eggs for about 3 minutes, until pale and thick. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue beating until tripled in volume and very thick, about 3 more minutes.
Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients, and fold with a rubber spatula until gently blended.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Let cool 15 minutes, run a knife around the inside of the pan, invert the cake, remove the pan, and let the cake cool completely.

Syrup:
Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and stir in the Bailey’s and the espresso powder. Set aside to cool.

Cream Filling:
The filling is made in the top of a double-broiler. (If you don’t have a double-broiler, like me, set a metal bowl on top of a saucepan with barely-simmering water. Make sure the water does not boil.) Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, Bailey’s, and espresso powder.
Use a hand-held mixer to to beat the mixture for 6 minutes, until very thick. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Using the mixer on high speed, beat the cream until stiff peaks form when the beaters are lifted.

When the yolk mixture is cooled to room temperature, add the mascarpone and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Using the rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream.

Assembly (Whew! You’re almost there!):
Cut the cake horizontally into 3 layers.
Put one layer back into the springform pan. (Or, remove the bottom of the springform pan, close the ring, and set the ring onto a serving plate. Place one layer inside the ring. With this way, I can’t assure you that the syrup won’t leak out from under the ring.)
Brush with some of the syrup, so the cake is soggy and saturated.
Scoop one third of the cream filling and spread evenly.
Place another cake layer on top of the filling, brush with syrup, and spread with filling.
Place the third layer of cake on top, brush with syrup, and spread the remaining filling on top.
Gently tap the pan against the counter to settle its contents, then cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 6 hours or up to overnight (FYI- it’s still delicious if ou can’t wait that long.)

When ready to serve, remove sides of the springform pan. Garnish with chocolate curls, then dust with cocoa powder. Slice and serve. Watch out for little, bitter, impy leprechauns who might be trying to trip you and ruin your O’Tiramisù experience.

Coconut Panna Cotta and Mango

Ingredients:

* Panna Cotta
1 c heavy cream
1 c coconut milk
1 tsp gelatin
4T sugar

* Mango sauce
1 small mango - peeled and cubed
1/2 c boling water
1/4 c sugar


Preparation:

To make the panna cotta:

1. Combine the cream and coconut milk in a medium saucepan. Sir until it combined.

2. Srinkle the gelatin on the cream and coconut mixture. Let stand 10 minutes, then stir well.

3. Add the sugar and bring the cream and coconut milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat while stiring it continuously until the gelatin and sugar have completely dissoved.

4. Remove and tansfer the mixture to the individual serving bowls or ramekins set in an ice water bath until they cooled off.

5. Transfer to the refrigerator and refrigerate overnight. If you want to serve them sooner, increase the gelatin to 1 1/2 tsp and refrigerate at least 4 hours.


To make the mango sauce:

1. Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved completely.

2. Remove from heat, let it cool, then add the cubed mangoes and puree in a blender.

3. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

4. To serve the panna cotta renverse', unmold the panna cotta by running a paring knife around the edge and inverting the ramekin onto a plate. Spoon the mango sauce over the plated panna cotta and serve.

Blackberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 C fresh blackberries
- 1/2 + 1/4 C sugar, divided
- 1/2 + 1/4 C whole milk
- 1 + 1/4 C heavy cream
- 1 + 1/2 t pure vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, combine the blackberries with 1/2 C of the sugar. Stir gently and allow the berries to macerate in the sugar for 2 hrs (pic 1). Mash or puree the berries. ( pic 2)
2. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved (pic 3), about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, and strain in the pureed berries, vanilla and mix well (pic 4,5,6)
3. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into the freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes (pic 7). The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture (pic 8). Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15' before serving. (pic 6)

Finger Tiramisu
Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs, separating whites and yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup espresso or strong coffee
- 2 Tbsp. Rhum or Cognac or Brandy
- 8 oz. BelGioioso Mascarpone (pic 1)
- 1/8 cup freshly grated Valhorana dark chocolate or cocoa
- 20 ladyfingers - Savoyardi (pic 7) are best as they are drier and don't get too soggy.
Makes 10 Finger Tiramisu

Preparation:
1- Combine 3 egg yolks, 1 Tbsp. espresso, sugar and Rhum in large mixing bowl. (pic 2) Beat 2-3 minutes. If concerned about raw egg, place the bowl over a bain marie while beating the egg.
2- Add BelGioioso Mascarpone (3) and beat 3-5 minutes or until consistency is smooth (pic 4).
3- In another bowl, combine 3 egg whites and a pinch of sugar (pic 4). Beat until mixture forms stiff peaks. Gently fold into Mascarpone mixture (pic 5). Tip: Fold the 1/2 of egg white in first, and adjust accordingly. Lesser is better than too much egg white which causes the mixture to run :)
4- Pour rest of espresso into flat dish (pic 6), dip one side of each Ladyfinger (sugared side pic 7), and layer on bottom of dish. Keep the ladyfingers slightly separated if you want to serve them individually.
5- Spread 1/2 Mascarpone mixture and sprinkle with cocoa then continue with a second layer of ladyfingers and finish with a Mascarpone layer and chocolate sprinkle (pic 9,10).
6- Refrigerate at least 3-4 hour before serving, overnight is better.

Glazed Sweet Potato Chunks

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, (10 oz or 300g) washed
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 tsp mirin
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp black sesame for garnish

• Place sweet potatoes in a medium pan and cover with water
• Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium, cook till tender when pierced with a fork (15 mins)
• Drain and set aside to cool
• Peel potatoes thickly with a knife, removing skin and about 2 mm of flesh
• Cut into bite sized pieces
• Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat
• Add sweet potatoes and stir-fry until surface just starts to color (3 to 4 mins)
• Add mirin, vinegar, soy sauce and honey and cook till liquid is reduced and starts to form a caramel glaze around surface of potatoes (1 min)
• Remove from heat, sprinkle with black sesame seeds and serve as a snack or side dish

Soba Noodles Platter

This recipe serves 4 to 5.

Ingredients:

• 280ml (1.125 cup or 9 oz) fresh or 250ml (1 cup or 8 oz) dried Soba noodles

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 250ml (1 cup) water
• 250ml (1 cup) creamy peanut butter or almond butter
• 2 tablespoons Maggi Taste of Asia cooking soy sauce
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Maggi Taste of Asia chilli garlic sauce
• 60ml (1/4 cup) chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons lime juice

Ingredients for Topping:

• 125ml (1/2 cup) bean sprouts
• 125ml (1/2 cup) shredded cucumber
• 60ml (1/4 cup) shredded carrot
• 60ml (1/4 cup) shredded honey ham
• 60ml (1/4 cup) thinly sliced flavoured baked tofu, or extra-firm tofu
• 60ml (1/4 cup) shredded smoked salmon

Method:

1. Prepare noodles according to package directions. Rinse in cold water and drain. Set aside.
2. Place water, peanut butter, soy sauce and chilli garlic sauce in small saucepan; heat over low fire, stirring until smooth. Stir in basil, oil and lime juice. Taste sauce and adjust for heat level. Pour into serving bowl to cool.
3. Arrange noodles, bowl of sauce and toppings on large serving plate. Each diner mixes sauce with noodles and chooses toppings as to their liking. Serve cold.

Sesame Chicken Skewers

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 125ml (1/2 cup) Maggi Taste of Asia cooking soy sauce
• 125ml (1/2 cup) sake (rice wine)
• 80ml (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon Maggi instant chicken flavour bouillon
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 (about 1 lb total) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 12 to 15 (6 inch) skewers
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) (optional)

Method:

1. Combine soy sauce, sake, sugar, garlic, ginger, bouillon and oil in medium bowl; reserve 80ml (1/3 cup).
2. Add chicken to remaining marinade; toss to coat. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
3. Preheat griller or broiler.
4. Thread chicken into skewers. Discard marinade.
5. Grill or broil chicken, turning and basting with reserved marinade, for 10 to 15 minutes or until no longer pink.
6. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro before serving.

Note: If you are using wooden skewers, soak skewers in water for 30 minutes before threading

Egg Tart

Mee Goreng

Change to: servings US Metric

500	g fresh hokkien noodles
50	ml oil
100	g deep fried tofu
1	teaspoon curry powder
1	medium onion, choppede
1	ripe tomato, diced
1	tablespoon hot chili sauce
4	tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2	tablespoons light soy sauce
2	eggs, lightly beaten
1	stalk spring onions, sliced
1	large green chilies, deseeded and sliced
2	cucumbers, chopped

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• Lighter Fare One-Dish Meal
  
  
• Malaysian One-Dish Meal
  
  

1. Put the noodles into a colander and rinse under warm running water, or separate according to instructions. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a wok. Add curry powder and onion and stir-fry over medium heat until soft, about 4 minute.
3. Add the noodles, tomato, chilli sauce, tomato sauce and soy sauce and stir-fry over medium heat for 3 min, mixing well.
4. Pour over the beaten egg and leave to set for a min or so, then mix in with the noodles.
5. Add the tofu.
6. Add the spring onions, cucumber and chilli.
7. Serve with additional tomato and chilli sauce, and cucumber slices on the side, if desired.

Mee Goreng Singapore Style

Serves 1

You need:

50g lamb loin
10g beansprouts
Handful of chinese green vegetables
1 egg
1 tomato
200g Hokkien noodles
1 clove chopped garlic
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chilli paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
pepper
1 teaspoon dark soya sauce

Method:

1. Heat oil in wok
2. Add garlic
3. Add 1 whole egg
4. Add lamb
5. Add tomato and chinese vegetables
6. Add Hokkien noodles
7. Stir fry for 10 minutes
8. Add tomato sauce and chilli paste
9. Stir fry for 5 minutes
10. Add salt, pepper and dark soya sauce
11. Fry for 2 minutes
12. Put on a plate and garnish with shredded shallots

Char Koay Teow

Recipe for Char Koay Teow

INGREDIENTS

• 400 gm koay teow (flat rice noodles)
• 250 gm bean sprouts
• 4-8 stalks chives - cut into 2cm lengths
• 250 gm vegetable oil or lard - cut into cubes
• 6 eggs
• 300 gm prawns - shelled
• 3 garlic cloves - chopped
• 3 tsp ground chillies or sambal olek
• 3 tsp light soy sauce
• 3 tsp dark soy sauce
• Pepper to taste

HINT: Wok must be on high heat. To make it a truly authentic dish, cook and serve each dish individually. Use enough oil so the noodles won't stick but not too much or the char koay teow becomes greasy. You can also add 'kecep manis' or sweet soy sauce for added favour.

Makes about 6 servings. You can add in any vegetables of your choice, I find choi sum tastes best.

Prepare garlic oil:

• Heat oil or lard, add garlic and remove only when fragrant
• Set wok aside for frying

Prepare noodles:

• Heat 2 tsp garlic oil (see above)
• Add prawns or/and vegetables, chillie - set aside
• Add garlic oil, noodles, soy sauce
• Mix in prawns or/and vegetables and beansprouts
• Push mixture to edge of wok, add a little oil in centre, break eggs, fry and then mix everything together
• Garnish with chives and pepper
• Serve immediately & hot

Indian Mee Goreng (Indian-Style Fried Noodles)

This recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

• 500g (1 lb) mee (fresh yellow noodles)
• 60ml (1/4 cup) oil
• 100g (3 1/3 oz) tau kwa (pressed beancurd), diced
• 12 curry leaves, minced (optional)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 ripe tomato, diced
• 1 tablespoon bottled sweet chilli sauce
• 3 tablespoons bottled tomato ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 potato, boiled, peeled and diced
• 1 spring onion, sliced (optional)
• 1 finger-length chilli, sliced
• 1 cucumber, sliced (optional)

Method:

1. Place the noodles in a colander and rinse well under running water. Drain thoroughly and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat and stir-fry the tau kwa (pressed beancurd) until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
3. Add the curry leaves, if using, and onion to the wok and stir-fry over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the drained noodles, tomato, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup and soy sauce, and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
4. Add the beaten egg and allow to set, then mix well with all the ingredients in the wok. Add the potato and tau kwa (pressed beancurd) and stir-fry just enough to heat through, about 1 minute. Add the spring onion, and mix well. Transfer to a large serving dish and scatter the sliced chillies on top. Serve hot with small sauce bowls of tomato and chilli sauce, and freshly sliced cucumber on the side.

Egg Tarts

Ingredients crust:
125g butter at room temperature
225g flour
1 egg white (leftover from the egg filling)
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
Sift the flour and then rub in the butter with your fingers till crumb-like.
Add egg and vanilla essence.
Then knead it to form dough.
Take a portion out of the dough, flatten it with a rolling pin.
Cut out in round shape, and press it into the tart moulds, using your fingers to push up the sides and evenly into the zig-zag shapes.
Preheat oven to 180C.
Bake the tart crust for 10mins.

Meanwhile get ready the egg filling:
80ml (1/3 C) water
80ml (1/3 C)ml fresh/UHT milk
4 tbsp sugar or to taste (depending on your milk sweetness)
juice from 1 lemon slice (1 tbsp lemon juice)
4 egg yolks and 3 egg whites

Method:
Put water and milk into saucepan and heat it till nearly boiled.
Then add in sugar and whisk it till dissolved.
Add the lemon juice and remove from stove, set aside to cool.
Beat the eats lightly and filter it through a sieve.
Combine the eggs with the prepare sugar and milk water, set aside.
Pour egg mixture into crust and bake at 180C for about 10 - 15mins.
Once cool enough, remove it from the cases with thongs (I just used my hands), it will dislodge easily
Place on the cooling rack.
Devour it while still slightly warm and be surprised how wonderful it is.

Makes 12 egg tarts

What Does 1 Cup Of .... Weigh?

What Does 1 Cup Of .... Weigh?

We use a metric (250ml) cup.

1 cup almond meal	110g
1 cup whole almonds	168g
1 cup uncooked arborio rice	228g
1 cup dry breadcrumbs	115g
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed	226g
1 cup caster sugar	225g
1 cup grated cheddar cheese, firmly packed	100g
1 cup small chocolate buttons	190g
1 cup cocoa powder	112g
1 cup desiccated coconut	80g
1 cup cornflour	150g
1 cup flour (plain or self-raising)	150g
1 cup jam (strawberry conserve)	340g
1 cup medium-sized marshmallows	96g
1 cup frozen peas	128g
1 cup pecan halves	130g
1 cup raisins	180g
1 cup frozen raspberries	130g
1 cup uncooked rice, medium grain	228g
1 cup rice bubbles	32g
1 cup rolled oats	92g
1 cup sour cream	250g
1 cup sugar	220g
1 cup sugar, caster	225g
1 cup sugar, icing	140g
1 cup walnut pieces	124g
1 cup water	250g

exclusively food

Beer Batter Recipe

This recipe produces a light, crisp, golden batter. Rather than using beer as the only liquid component of the batter, we use a combination of beer and soda water for a milder flavour. We serve our beer battered fish with lemon wedges and tartare sauce.

Serves 4.

112g (3/4 cup) self-raising flour
38g (1/4 cup) cornflour
110ml (5 1/2 tablespoons) cold beer
110ml (5 1/2 tablespoons) cold soda water

Sift the flours together into a large bowl. Gradually whisk in beer and soda water to form a thin batter. Leave batter to stand in the refrigerator for about an hour. Stir before using.

About 800g boneless, skinless fish fillets (we used snapper)
About 1/2 cup plain flour
Oil, for deep-frying

You can deep-fry the fish in a deep fryer, or a medium or large saucepan. We use a medium saucepan so that we don't need to use as much oil. If you are using a saucepan, fill it about one third full - the oil level will rise quite a bit once the fish is added and it starts bubbling. We use 750ml of oil.

Cut fish fillets into pieces if desired. Coat fish with flour.

Heat oil to 180 degrees Celsius in a deep fryer or saucepan over medium-high heat. If you don't have a deep-fry thermometer, you can use a small piece of bread to indicate the oil temperature. The oil has reached the correct temperature when the bread takes 30 seconds to turn golden brown.

Dip fish in batter, removing excess batter by gently wiping fish against the side of the bowl. Lower fish into hot oil (if you are using a saucepan, do this slowly so that the fish doesn’t fall to the bottom and stick). Fry fish in batches so as not to overcrowd the fryer or saucepan. Fry until golden brown, turning once during cooking.

Drain cooked fish on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

Chicken Casserole Recipe

This tasty chicken casserole consists of tender chicken pieces in a creamy bacon, mushroom and white wine sauce. We serve it with creamy mashed potato, steamed green vegetables, and crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Serves 4-5.

15ml (3 teaspoons) oil
1kg skinless chicken pieces (we have used a combination of breasts, thighs, drumsticks, wings)
100g bacon, chopped (we used shortcut bacon pieces and removed excess fat and rind)
1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g button mushrooms, halved
18g (1 1/2 tablespoons) plain flour
10ml (2 teaspoons) tomato paste
125ml (1/2 cup) white wine
312ml (1 1/4 cups) chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
62ml (1/4 cup) thickened cream
Chopped parsley, to garnish

Heat oil in large, heavy-based frying pan or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan and brown pieces on all sides (this should take about 10 minutes). Don’t overcrowd the pan when frying; if necessary, fry the chicken in two or more batches.



Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add some more oil to the pan if needed. Add bacon, onion and carrot to the pan and cook, stirring, until onion has softened (about 2 minutes).



Add garlic, mushrooms, flour and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes.

Gradually stir in wine and chicken stock. Continue stirring until mixture simmers. Add bay leaf, salt and pepper.

Return chicken to the pan and reduce the heat. Cover pan (have the steam vent on the lid open) and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until chicken is tender and sauce has reduced. You may need to remove the lid for the last 10-15 minutes of the cooking time if the sauce has not reduced enough. Stir casserole occasionally during cooking.



Just before serving, stir in cream, bring casserole to the simmer, and then turn off the heat. Remove bay leaf and place chicken on serving plates. Spoon over sauce and sprinkle with parsley.

Store any leftover casserole in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Crepe Recipe

This is our favourite recipe for crepes. It makes tender, delicate crepes that are suitable for sweet or savoury fillings.

Makes 8 crepes (18cm diameter).

2 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
75g (1/2 cup) plain flour
188ml (3/4 cup) milk
Oil or butter, for greasing pan

Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl. Add half the flour and whisk or stir until the mixture is smooth. Add remaining flour and mix well to form a smooth paste. Add milk gradually, whisking or stirring between each addition to make a smooth batter.

Chicken Crepe Recipe

Tender crepes are filled with chicken in a creamy sauce and finished with golden melted cheese.

This recipe makes enough filling for about eight 18cm diameter crepes. We use poached chicken in the filling (see instructions below) but any type of cooked chicken could be used.

If desired, the filled crepes can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for a few hours before baking.

Crepes
8 crepes (we use this crepe recipe).

Chicken Filling
130g (1/2 cup) condensed cream of chicken soup
50g (2 1/2 tablespoons) mayonnaise
50ml (2 1/2 tablespoons) thickened cream
1 teaspoon curry powder
30g (1 1/2 tablespoons) grated onion
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper
400g (about 2 1/2 cups, lightly packed) cooked chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces

Topping
120g (1 rounded cup, firmly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese
84ml (1/3 cup) thickened cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Combine soup, mayonnaise, cream, curry powder, onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in chicken.

Divide filling evenly among eight crepes (about one rounded 1/4 cup of filling per crepe).



Place the filling on the bottom half of the crepe and form the filling into a log shape. Fold in the sides of the crepe.




Roll crepe up to enclose filling.

Place filled crepes close together, seam side down in a baking dish.



Sprinkle with grated cheese and drizzle with cream.



Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbling and crepes are heated through. Serve hot.


Poached Chicken
This method of cooking produces moist, tender chicken.

1.5kg chicken, fresh or defrosted
1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper

Rinse inside the chicken with cold tap water. Cut off any excess fat around the cavity of the chicken. Place chicken, breast side down, in a large saucepan. Add onion, salt, pepper, and enough water to just cover the chicken.

Place saucepan over high heat, cover, and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce heat so that the water is simmering. Simmer for about 1 hour or until chicken is cooked. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside for 15 minutes.

Remove chicken from poaching liquid, place in a covered container and refrigerate until cool enough to handle (about 40 minutes).

Remove skin and bones from meat. Weigh out 400g of meat for the crepe filling.

Chicken Kiev Recipe

Slice open one of these tender, breaded chicken breasts and a melted garlic and herb butter oozes from the centre. This chicken Kiev is easy but impressive!

Serves 4.

4 chicken breast fillets (ours were about 180g each)
120g butter, slightly softened
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, chives or other herbs
2 eggs
About 2 tablespoons milk
About 1/3 cup plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
About 1 1/4 cups breadcrumbs
Oil for deep-frying

Trim any fat or sinew from the chicken breasts. Place each breast between freezer bags or baking paper and pound using the flat side of a meat mallet to about 1/2cm (1/4 inch) thickness. Don't pound the chicken too forcefully as any tears in the chicken could allow the butter to escape when the Kiev is cooking.

Place butter and garlic in a food processor and process until well combined. Alternatively, place butter and garlic in a bowl and mash together using a fork. Stir herbs into butter. Divide butter mixture into four equal portions. Form each portion of butter into a log shape.

Each piece of flattened chicken should be approximately rectangular in shape. Place a piece of chicken in front of you with the shortest side furthest away. Place a portion of butter near the edge of the side closest to you.



Folding the sides in as you go, roll each piece of chicken away from you to completely enclose butter.



Place on plate, seam side down, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Combine eggs and milk in a small bowl. Coat chicken in flour then shake to remove any excess flour. Dip in egg mixture, then coat with breadcrumbs. Dip in egg again and add another coat of breadcrumbs (this is to ensure the chicken is completely enclosed by the crumb coating).

Heat oil in a large saucepan (we half filled our saucepan with vegetable oil), or a deep fryer. Fry 2-4 Kievs at a time, depending on the size of your saucepan/fryer. Ours took about 8 minutes to cook through. If your Kievs are well browned in only a couple of minutes, remove them from the oil so they don't burn, and finish cooking them on a tray in a moderately hot oven until cooked through. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Chicken Parmigiana Recipe

This recipe is a family favourite. The tomato sauce and crumbed, uncooked chicken can be prepared in advance but it is best to cook the chicken and assemble the dish just before it goes into the oven.

Serves 6.

Tomato Sauce
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
About 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
410g can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in heavy based pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes without browning. Add tomatoes, basil and brown sugar and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce has reached the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Puree mixture in a blender or food processor.

Crumbed Chicken
400g skinless chicken breast fillets or tenderloins
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
50g plain flour
200g breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

Trim any fat from chicken. If using chicken breasts, cut them in half horizontally. Cover chicken with cling film or baking paper and lightly pound with the flat side of meat mallet to flatten.

Whisk eggs and milk together in a bowl. Dip chicken in flour and shake to remove excess. Dip into egg and milk mixture.



Then dip in breadcrumbs and press firmly to ensure crumbs adhere.




Heat oil in heavy based frying pan and fry chicken in batches until golden brown and cooked through.



Drain on paper towel.

Cheese Topping
1/2 cup grated tasty cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place cooked chicken in a large baking dish and spread with sauce. Sprinkle with cheeses and bake at 180 degrees Celsius until cheese is melted and golden.

Chicken Pie Recipe

A golden shortcrust and puff pastry case encloses tender pieces of chicken in a creamy bacon and white wine sauce.

We use a medium leek in this recipe.

Makes 3 single-serve pies.

1 tablespoon (20ml) oil
400g skinless chicken breast or thigh fillets, chopped into bite-sized chunks
100g shortcut bacon, finely diced
90g (3/4 cup, lightly packed) finely chopped leek
1 medium clove garlic, peeled and crushed
20g (1 tablespoon) butter
1 tablespoon (12g) plain flour
1/3 cup (84ml) chicken stock
1/3 cup (84ml) white wine
1/3 cup (84ml) cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
20g (1/3 cup, loosely packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese
1-2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
2-3 sheets shortcrust pastry, thawed (if preferred, puff pastry can be used instead of shortcrust)

Heat oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan or frying pan over high heat. Add chicken, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 6-7 minutes, or until lightly browned. If necessary, cook the chicken in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add bacon, leek, and garlic to saucepan, and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, or until leek has softened and bacon is cooked. Set mixture aside with chicken.



Over medium-low heat, add butter to saucepan and allow butter to melt. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute (mixture should bubble but not brown).



Add stock, wine, and cream, stirring continuously. Increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to boil, stirring continuously. Reduce heat to low and simmer for two minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and remove from heat.

Add chicken, bacon, leek, garlic, and cheese to saucepan. Stir to combine then set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan-forced). If you are not using a fan-forced oven, adjust the oven rack to the lowest position; the pastry base will brown and crisp better if it is close to the bottom element.

Grease three non-stick individual pie tins. We use pie tins that are about 2cm deep, about 7.5cm across the base, and about 12.5cm across the top (including the rim).

Invert pie tins on puff pastry and cut around the tins to form the lids of the pies. Set lids aside.

Invert pie tins on shortcrust (or puff) pastry and cut circles about 1.5cm from the edges of the tins.



Ease shortcrust pastry circles into pie tins, making sure there are no air bubbles under the pastry. Trim overhanging pastry with a sharp knife.

Divide chicken mixture evenly among pastry bases.



Brush edges of shortcrust and puff pastry with water and cover pies with puff pastry lids. Firmly press edges of pastry together with a fork.



Using a sharp knife, cut a small cross in the top of each pie.

Place pies on a baking tray (the tray makes it easy to remove pies from the oven and will catch any sauce that may overflow). Bake pies for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot.

Chilli Prawns Recipe

These prawns are coated with a spicy sweet and sour sauce. We served them with boiled udon noodles.

Serves 4.

3 garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 small chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped
500g green prawns, peeled and deveined (approximately 30 prawns)
200g grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
6 spring onions
3 teaspoons cornflour
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 1/2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
3 teaspoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons white vinegar
3 teaspoons sherry
2 tablespoons oil

Finely slice the white and pale green part of the spring onions. Slice some of the green part on the diagonal to decorate the finished dish.

In a small bowl, mix cornflour and water until smooth. Add sugar, sweet chilli sauce, tomato sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and sherry.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in large frying pan or wok over high heat. Add prawns and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, or until just cooked through. Remove prawns from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium, add remaining tablespoon of oil to pan and stir-fry spring onion, garlic and chilli for 1 minute. Don't allow the garlic to brown too much, or it will have a bitter flavour.

Add tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add the combined sauces and simmer, stirring, until sauce thickens (about 30 seconds).

Return prawns to the pan to heat through.



Serve with noodles and garnish with reserved spring onion.

Fish Cakes Recipe

This recipe makes about six salmon patties. We served them topped with mayonnaise and chopped dill. You will need about 2 medium potatoes for this recipe.

130g cooked potato (boiled, steamed or microwaved)
210g tin salmon (this should yield about 130g of salmon meat)
1 tablespoon (20ml) mayonnaise
2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
1 large egg yolk (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
3 teaspoons grated onion
Salt and pepper

Coating
1 egg
1 tablespoon (20ml) milk
About 2 tablespoons (25g) plain flour
Rounded 1/2 cup (50g) dry breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon (20ml) oil, for frying

Roughly mash cooked potato and allow to cool.



Remove skin and bones from salmon and flake into large pieces.

Place salmon, potato, mayonnaise, parsley, egg yolk, onion, salt and pepper into a bowl.



Gently stir ingredients to combine.

Refrigerate mixture for about 30 minutes to firm up.

Place egg and milk into a small bowl and beat together with a fork.

Shape cooled mixture into about six balls and lightly coat with each ball with flour.



Roll a ball in egg and milk mixture then coat with breadcrumbs, flattening the ball slightly to form a patty shape. Repeat with remaining balls.



Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook patties over medium heat for a few minutes on each side, until patties are golden brown and cooked through.

Ham and Potato Bake Recipe

Layers of potato, ham and cheese are bound together by a quiche-like egg and cream mixture. This potato bake cuts well and can be served hot or cold, as a side dish or with a salad as a light meal.

600g (about 3 large) potatoes
75g (1 cup) grated tasty cheddar cheese
45g (1/2 cup) grated parmesan cheese
150g shaved ham, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, grated
4 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
250ml (1 cup) cream
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Thoroughly grease a 19cm or 20cm diameter springform tin. Line the base of the tin with baking paper (if your tin is not non-stick, line the sides of the tin also).

Peel and halve potatoes. Boil potatoes until tender, drain. Allow potatoes to cool then cut into 1cm thick slices.

Combine cheeses in a bowl.

Cover the base of the prepared tin with a layer of potato slices. Season with salt and pepper.



Top with half the ham and onion. Sprinkle with about one third of the combined cheeses. Continue layering ingredients (seasoning each layer of potatoes), finishing with a layer of cheese.



Use a whisk or fork to beat the eggs and cream until well combined. Gently pour the mixture over ingredients in tin.





Bake for about 50-60 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the egg mixture has set. Cover the bake with aluminium foil if the top begins to overbrown before the egg mixture has set.



Remove from oven and set aside for 5-10 minutes before removing from tin. Cut into wedges to serve

Hot Spinach Dip Recipe

We serve this cheesy, garlicky spinach dip with pieces of warm crusty bread.

Makes about 1 2/3 cups of dip.

90g baby spinach leaves
80g cream cheese, softened
100g grated cheddar cheese
100g grated Parmesan cheese
100g mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large eschallot/green onion, chopped (use white and green parts)
1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar
Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan-forced).


90g of baby spinach leaves

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process on medium to low speed until ingredients are combined and spinach is chopped.



Transfer mixture to an ovenproof serving dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until dip is hot in the centre and bubbling around the edges. Serve hot.

Individual Fish Pies Recipe

Lift the golden, flaky puff pastry lid of these fish pies to reveal moist, tender chunks of fish and slices of leek in a creamy lemon and white wine sauce.

We have used both snapper and flathead in this recipe. The fish we purchased was not skinned and still contained bones; we bought 800g to yield the 700g of skinless, boneless fish needed for this recipe.

Makes 4 individual pies.

40g (2 tablespoons) butter
1 large leek, white and pale green part finely sliced (about 160g of sliced leek)
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons (40ml) white wine
2 tablespoons (40ml) lemon juice
2/3 cup (160ml) thickened cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
700g white fish fillets (without skin or bones) cut into bite-sized pieces
24g (1/3 cup) grated parmesan cheese
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped parley
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed (we use sheets that measure about 25cm by 25cm)

Preheat oven to 210 degrees Celsius (190 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add leek and cook for a few minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. If the leek starts to brown before it has softened, reduce the heat to low.

Add flour to pan and cook over medium heat, stirring, for about one minute.

Stir in white wine and lemon juice. Add cream and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce simmers and thickens. Season with salt and pepper.

Add fish pieces, parmesan cheese and parsley and stir gently until just combined. Remove from heat. The filling may seem a little dry at this stage, but the fish will release a lot of moisture as it cooks in the oven.

We used four 1 cup (250ml) capacity ramekins (small ovenproof dishes) for our pies. Using an upturned ramekin as a guide, cut four pie lids from the pastry sheets, cutting about 1cm larger than the ramekin.



Cut 2cm wide strips of pastry to form borders around the ramekins. Brush the edges of the ramekins with water and press the pastry strips around the rims of the ramekins (see photo below).



Divide filling mixture evenly between dishes.



Brush pastry borders with water and place lids on top of pies. Cut away excess pastry using a sharp knife.



Firm down edges of pastry with fingers or a fork. Cut a 2cm cross in the pastry lids with a sharp knife.

Place ramekins on an oven tray to catch any sauce that might overflow when the pies are cooking. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden and fish is cooked.

Kidney Bean Dip Recipe

We serve this thick and spicy bean dip hot, topped with grated tasty cheese and diced tomato. Corn chips are our preferred accompaniment. This dip can also be used as an ingredient in nachos.

The bacon can be omitted to make this dip suitable for vegetarians.

1 x 420g tin kidney beans, drained
100g peeled and roughly chopped onion
120g roughly chopped red capsicum (seeds removed)
100g roughly chopped shortcut bacon (or bacon rashers with the fat removed)
40ml (2 tablespoons) hot sweet chilli sauce, or to taste
250ml (1 cup) water

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan.



Cover saucepan and bring mixture to the simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove lid from saucepan and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened and liquid has reduced but not completely evaporated (this should take about 30 minutes).



Allow mixture to cool for about 30 minutes, then blend or process until fairly smooth.



Refrigerate or freeze dip in an airtight container until required, or reheat immediately for serving.

Heat dip in a saucepan or in the microwave and pour into a serving bowl. If it is too thick after heating, stir in a small amount of water until it reaches the desired consistency. Top with grated cheese and diced tomato. Serve with corn chips.

Lamb and Potato Pie Recipe

This pie has a crisp bread case, a filling of chopped roast lamb in a tomato sauce, and a creamy mashed potato and golden, melted cheese topping. We like to serve it with vegetables or a salad. Vegetables could be added to the filling, if desired.

The pie can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to cook. If cooked straight from the fridge, you will probably need to increase the cooking time.

Serves 4-6.

540g peeled potatoes, halved or quartered
35g butter
70ml (3 1/2 tablespoons) milk
Salt
60g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) grated tasty cheese

Boil potato in a large saucepan until tender, drain. Mash potato with butter and milk until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt and set aside until required.

20g butter
100g finely chopped onion (one small onion)
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock, or one chicken stock cube in 250ml water
40ml (2 tablespoons) tomato sauce
30ml (1 1/2 tablespoons) Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
400g chopped roast lamb
6-7 slices white bread (toast/thick slice)
Extra butter, to butter bread

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

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion has softened. Add flour and stir over heat for about one minute. Stir in tomato paste. Add half the stock and stir until mixture is smooth. Repeat with remaining stock. Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper and stir until mixture starts to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes, stirring occasionally.



Remove from heat and stir in chopped lamb. Set aside until required.

Generously butter bread on one side. Line the base and sides of a 2.6 litre ovenproof dish with bread (buttered side down).



You will probably need to cut the bread so that it fits into the dish snugly and completely covers the base and sides of the dish.



Pour meat filling over bread and spread evenly.



Top with mashed potato.



Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake for about 40 minutes, until the bread case and the top of the pie are golden.

Lemon Butter Sauce Recipe

This rich, creamy lemon sauce is delicious served with fish.

Serves 4.

1/3 cup white wine
1/2 cup thickened cream
20g butter (if you are using unsalted butter, add salt to taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Place wine in a small saucepan; simmer over low to medium heat until reduced by half. Add cream and simmer gently until mixture reaches a sauce-like consistency. Add butter, lemon juice and parsley and stir until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. If the sauce is a little thin, simmer, stirring constantly, until it reaches the desired consistency. If the sauce is too thick and/or separated, add a little water (one teaspoon at a time) and stir or whisk vigorously until sauce is fixed. Serve immediately.



A shorter simmering time produces a sauce with a thinner consistency and lighter colour.
Transfer crepe batter into a container with a pouring spout to make it easier to pour the batter into the pan. Leave batter to stand for 30 minutes before using. If preparing batter more than 30 minutes in advance, cover and store in the refrigerator until required.

After at least 30 minutes standing time, stir the batter before using. If your batter is lumpy at this stage, you can pass it through a fine sieve to remove the lumps.

Lightly grease a non-stick pan with a diameter of at least 18cm. Place pan over medium or medium-high heat.

When pan is hot, pour about two tablespoons of batter into the pan and quickly swirl the pan to produce a crepe with a diameter of about 18cm. If you find that the batter is a little too thick to produce a thin, even crepe, add a dash of extra milk to the batter.

Cook until the top of the crepe loses its shiny, wet appearance and the underside is lightly browned. Loosen edges of crepe with a spatula. Flip crepe and cook the other side until it has begun to colour. Remove cooked crepe from pan and place crepe on a plate.

Lightly grease pan before cooking next crepe. Stack cooked crepes on plate. After cooking the first couple of crepes, you may need to reduce the heat slightly if the pan starts to get too hot.

Use crepes immediately, or cover and refrigerate until required.

Potato Pancakes Recipe

These potato pancakes are shallow fried until golden and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Makes about nine (9cm diameter) pancakes.

1 small onion
625g potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes)
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
28g (2 tablespoons) self-raising flour
Salt and pepper
Oil, for pan-frying

Peel onion and grate into a small bowl.

Peel and grate potatoes into a large bowl. Remove excess moisture from potato by firmly squeezing handfuls of grated potato over the kitchen sink.

Add onion, egg, flour, pepper and a generous amount of salt to the potato and stir well to combine.



Heat oil in a heavy-based, non-stick pan over medium to medium-high heat. Drop scant 1/4 cups of mixture into pan and flatten slightly.



Cook pancakes for about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through. Adjust the heat if the pancakes are browning too quickly or too slowly.

If you are cooking the pancakes in batches, you can place the cooked pancakes on a baking tray in a warm oven while cooking the remaining pancakes.

Drain pancakes on paper towels and serve.

Potato Salad Recipe

The bacon can be omitted from this salad to make it suitable for vegetarians.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

550g small potatoes, washed
120g (about 4 pieces) short-cut bacon, finely diced
3 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
2-3 green onions (green shallots), finely chopped
188g (3/4 cup) good quality mayonnaise
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Place unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan. Add enough water to cover potatoes. Cover saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a medium boil and cook until potatoes are just tender (you should be able to pierce the potatoes with a knife and meet no resistance). Drain potatoes and cool to room temperature.

In a small frying pan or saucepan, fry bacon over medium heat until cooked and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

Remove skin from potatoes, if desired. Chop potatoes into bite sized pieces. Chop eggs.



Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir gently to combine. If you like, you can reserve some of the bacon or green onions to sprinkle over the salad before serving.

The salad can be served immediately, or refrigerated until cold. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.


How to hard-boil eggs

Place eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Cover saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from heat, drain eggs and cover with cold water to stop further cooking of the eggs.

Prawn and Tomato Pasta Recipe

Serves 2.

450g Roma tomatoes
200g fresh fettuccine (or other pasta)
3 teaspoons oil
About 16 medium green prawns, peeled and deveined
2 spring onions/shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup white wine
Salt & pepper
1/3 cup cream
2 teaspoons finely shredded fresh basil, and extra whole leaves for decoration
Cracked black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese

Remove cores from tomatoes and cut a cross in the skin opposite the stem end of each tomato. Place tomatoes in a saucepan of boiling water for 10-15 seconds, or until skin starts to lift. Remove from saucepan and place in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. Peel and chop.

Cook pasta according to directions on packet and keep warm.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a heavy based pan over medium heat; add prawns. Fry until prawns are nearly cooked through. Remove prawns from pan and set aside.

Add shallots and garlic to pan with remaining oil and cook for 1-2 minutes, without browning. Add chopped tomato, wine and salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes until tomato is soft. Add cream and basil. Simmer for 2 minutes.

Puree tomato mixture in a blender or processor, return to pan and add prawns. Simmer until prawns are cooked through and sauce has thickened. Add pasta to pan and stir to combine.

Serve with cracked black pepper and Parmesan cheese.

Prawn Cocktail Recipe

A bed of crisp iceberg lettuce is topped with diced tomato and avocado, cold cooked prawns and a creamy cocktail sauce. We prefer to use medium prawns in this recipe - they are more tender than large prawns and less annoying to peel than small ones.

Serves 4 as an entree.

500g medium cooked prawns
A few leaves of iceberg lettuce
1 medium (about 155g) tomato
1 small avocado
Lemon slices, for serving

Prepare cocktail sauce (see recipe below). Cover and refrigerate.

Peel and devein prawns. We reserved four unpeeled prawns to garnish the cocktails.

Finely shred lettuce leaves (you will need about 1 cup of loosely packed shredded lettuce). Divide lettuce between four serving glasses or dishes. Dice tomato and avocado and divide between glasses.

Arrange prawns on top of each salad and drizzle with cocktail sauce.

Decorate each cocktail with a slice of lemon and an unpeeled prawn, if desired. Serve immediately.

Cocktail Sauce Recipe
124g (1/2 cup) mayonnaise
45ml (2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) sweet chilli sauce
15ml (3 teaspoons) tomato sauce
15ml (3 teaspoons) lemon juice
15ml (3 teaspoons) gherkin relish

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Prawn Pizza Recipe

Pizza Base Recipe (makes 2 small-medium pizza bases)
3.5g (about 1 1/8 teaspoons) dry yeast
350g strong flour (bread flour)
1 teaspoon salt
210ml water

Mix yeast, flour and salt in a large bowl. Add water and mix. You may need to add a little extra water if the dough is too dry. Knead dough for about 7 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place dough into an oiled bowl; turn dough to coat with oil and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Put bowl in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Divide dough in half and press out onto oiled trays.



Pizza Sauce Recipe

This recipe makes enough sauce for at least 2 pizzas

1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
400g tin crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Salt and pepper

Cook the onion in the oil over low heat until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened (about 20 minutes).

Prawn Topping

This is enough topping for two pizzas

About 2 cups grated cheese (we used a combination of mozzarella, tasty and Parmesan cheese)
About 30 green prawns, peeled and deveined

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Celsius (220 degrees C for a fan-forced oven). Spread pizza sauce over bases. Top with prawns.



Sprinkle with cheese.



Cook until cheese is bubbly and prawns are cooked though.

Quiche Lorraine Recipe

Shortcrust Pastry
120g cold butter
220g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour
1 large egg, separated (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons (20-30ml) cold water

Place butter and flour in a food processor and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.



Add egg yolk (reserve the egg white) and water and process until mixture starts to clump together.



Remove pastry from processor and shape into a disk. Cover with cling wrap, or place in a freezer bag, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place pastry disk between two sheets of baking paper. Roll out pastry to fit a 24cm pie dish. Remove baking paper and gently ease pastry into dish. Using a sharp knife, trim any pastry overhanging the sides of the dish. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Line pastry case with baking paper, greaseproof paper or aluminium foil and fill with pastry weights, dry rice or dry beans. Bake pastry case for 15 minutes. Remove weights and paper/foil and brush pastry with the reserved egg white. Return to oven and bake for a further 10 minutes. Set pastry aside while making filling.

Filling
1 teaspoon oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
220g shortcut bacon (rind removed)
5 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1/2 cup (125ml) thickened cream
Salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
110g grated tasty cheddar cheese

Heat oil in a frying pan or saucepan over medium heat and cook onion until softened but not brown, about 2-3 minutes. Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Remove onion and bacon from pan and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Increase oven temperature to 170 degrees Celsius.

Place eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk ingredients together until well combined.

Sprinkle cooled bacon and onion mixture over pastry case. Top with grated cheese. Gently pour egg mixture over the grated cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until quiche is set and lightly browned.

Quiche with Cream Cheese Pastry

This quiche has a tender cream cheese pastry and a rich ham and cheese filling. The pastry is made in a food processor and pressed into the pie plate (no rolling out required). Other ingredients, such as sliced mushrooms, corn kernels or tomato slices could be added to the filling. We serve this quiche hot or warm, with a salad.

125g cream cheese
125g butter, chopped
190g (1 1/4 cups) plain flour
160g shaved leg ham, finely chopped
150g (1 1/2 cups, firmly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese
5 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
62ml (1/4 cup) cream
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place cream cheese and butter in a food processor and beat on low speed until mixture is smooth and creamy.



Scrape down sides of processor. Add flour and process just until mixture comes together and forms a mass on one side of the processor.

Grease a 24cm diameter pie plate and line the base with a circle of baking paper. Using your fingers, press the pastry over the base and sides of the pie plate.



Refrigerate while preparing filling.

Adjust the oven rack to the lowest shelf position. Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius (not fan forced).

Using a fork or whisk, beat eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl until combined.

Sprinkle about half the grated cheese over the base of the pastry case. Sprinkle with half the chopped onion and cover with the chopped ham. Sprinkle with the remaining onion and cheese. Pour over the egg mixture.



Place quiche on the lowest shelf in the oven (being close to the bottom element will help brown the pastry base) and cook for about 50 minutes, or until the filling is golden and set. Set aside for five minutes to firm up before slicing. Store any leftover quiche in the refrigerator. Suitable to reheat.

Roast Vegetable Lasagne Recipe

Roasted vegetables are layered with tender pasta and a creamy cheese sauce and finished with bubbly, melted cheese. This rich vegetarian dish is just as delicious when reheated.

Serves 6-8.

950g mixed vegetables (we used pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini, mushroom and eggplant)
2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons sundried tomato pesto
660g canned crushed tomatoes
About 100g fresh lasagne sheets
100g (1 cup, firmly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese

Peel and slice vegetables and place in a large bowl. Season vegetables with salt and pepper, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and toss to coat with oil.

Place pumpkin and sweet potato on a baking tray or dish and roast at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Turn vegetables over and roast for a further 5-10 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and roast for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. (Turn the vegetables once during cooking.)

While vegetables are roasting, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft (about 2-3 minutes). Add garlic and pesto and cook for another minute. Stir in crushed tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes, until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in roasted vegetables.

Spoon half the vegetable mixture into 2.5 litre casserole dish. Top with a layer of lasagne sheets. Spread with half the cheese sauce. Repeat the layers, finishing with cheese sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.

Cheese Sauce
80g butter
50g plain flour
2 1/2 cups (625ml) milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir flour into melted butter and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until sauce is smooth. Continue cooking until sauce bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Roasted Vegetable Frittata Recipe

We used pumpkin, potato, sweet potato, onion, mushrooms and peas in this frittata. However, any combination of roasted vegetables could be used. If you are using leftover, cooked vegetables, you will need about two cups of diced vegetables.

If you are using a frypan with an ovenproof handle, you can cook the top of the frittata under a grill (rather than flipping it over in the pan).

The frittata can be served hot or cold. It is suitable to reheat.

Serves 3.

220g pumpkin (we used butternut pumpkin)
220g potato
220g sweet potato
25ml (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) oil
1 small red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
70g (about 6 small) mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, separated, unpeeled
44g (1/3 cup) frozen peas
4 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
44g (1/2 cup) grated parmesan cheese
40ml (2 tablespoons) cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra 1/2 teaspoon oil, for pan

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Peel pumpkin, potato and sweet potato and cut into bite-sized chunks. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with one tablespoon of oil and toss to coat with oil.



Bake for 30 minutes.

Add chopped onion, chopped mushroom and garlic to tray and drizzle with one teaspoon of oil. Toss with other vegetables. Continue baking for 20-25 minutes, until all the vegetables are cooked through.

Remove garlic from its skin, place in a medium bowl and mash with a fork. Add eggs, parmesan cheese, cream, salt and pepper to bowl. Whisk, or beat with a fork, until combined.

Heat extra 1/2 teaspoon oil in a 26cm diameter (measured across the top) frying pan over medium heat. Cover base of pan with vegetables.



Pour egg mixture over vegetables.

Cook the frittata for about 11-13 minutes, until it is golden brown on the bottom. Periodically check the underside of the frittata to ensure it is not browning too quickly. If it is, reduce the heat. During the cooking time, we use an egg slice to gently pull small areas of the cooked egg mixture aside, allowing uncooked (runny) egg mixture to flow to the bottom of the pan.



When it is cooked on the underside, run an egg slice around the edge of the frittata to loosen. Slide out onto a plate. Invert frying pan over frittata and hold the plate with one hand and the frying pan with the other. Keep the plate and frying pan together as you flip the frying pan back over. The frittata should now be cooked side up in the pan.

Cook for a further 3-5 minutes, or until cooked through and golden on both sides. Slide frittata out of frying pan onto a plate, slice and serve or refrigerate until required.

Salmon Bites Recipe

These little salmon bites are a great hot finger food for a party. They have a creamy salmon filling and a crisp, buttery bread case. The salmon filling could also be used to fill vol-au-vent cases.

The cases can be made the day before serving and stored in an airtight container until required. The flavoured white sauce can also be made the day before serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and stir in the salmon just before filling the cases.

Makes about 24.

Bread Cases
About 12 slices good-quality white bread (use a fairly wide/tall loaf so that you are able to cut 2 rounds from each slice, otherwise you'll need about 24 slices of bread)
About 50g butter, melted

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius (170 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Cut rounds from bread using a 6cm diameter scone cutter. (The bread offcuts can be used to make breadcrumbs.)



Flatten the rounds slightly by rolling over them with the side of a glass or a rolling pin.

Brush one side of each bread round with melted butter. Ease the rounds, buttered side down, into the holes of a mini muffin pan. We used a mini muffin pan with holes that measured 4 1/2cm across the top (1 tablespoon capacity).



Bake cases until crisp, about 10-15 minutes.

Salmon Filling
1 x 210g tin salmon, drained
25g butter
1 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
188ml (3/4 cup) milk
3 shallots (spring onions), finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
Extra parsley, for decoration

Remove skin and bones from the salmon and break it into small chunks.



Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture bubbles.



Remove from heat.

Add about one third of the milk at a time, stirring until mixture is well combined and as smooth a possible before adding the next third. When all the milk is added, return to medium heat and stir continuously until mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat. If something has gone wrong and your white sauce is lumpy at this stage, try passing it through a fine sieve.

Add shallots, salt, pepper, paprika, mustard, lemon juice and parsley to white sauce.



Stir until combined. Add the salmon and mix gently.

Fill the cooked bread cases with the salmon mixture. Bake at 190 degrees Celsius (170 degrees Celsius fan-forced) for about 7-10 minutes, until hot. Top with parsley sprigs and serve immediately.

Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

This hearty pie has a base of minced meat, diced carrot and peas in a tomato-based sauce. The meat layer is topped with creamy mashed potato and golden melted cheese.

We have used 1kg of fresh beef mince in the filling but you could use about 800g of chopped roast beef or lamb. The filling could also be varied to include other vegetables (e.g., mushrooms or corn kernels) and herbs such as rosemary or oregano.

The pie can be assembled a day ahead and refrigerated until required. If you are baking the pie straight from the refrigerator, increase the cooking time and reduce the oven temperature by about 20 degrees so that the topping doesn't overbrown before the centre is hot.

Serves 4-6.

Meat Layer
20ml (1 tablespoon) oil
1 large (200g) onion, diced
1 large (165g) carrot, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 kg raw minced lamb or beef (or 800g chopped cooked meat)
60ml (3 tablespoons) tomato paste
12g (1 tablespoon) plain flour
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock (or 1 cup water and 1 chicken stock cube)
40ml (2 tablespoons) Worcestershire sauce
400g-410g tin crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
128g (1 cup) fresh or frozen peas
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Heat oil in a large heavy based pan or saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables have softened.

If you are using raw meat, increase heat to high and add mince. Cook, stirring, until meat has browned and most of the liquid from the meat has evaporated. If you are using meat that is already cooked, add the chopped meat to the vegetables and continue to the next step.

Over medium heat, add tomato paste and flour to meat mixture and cook for one minute. Add stock, Worcestershire sauce, crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until liquid has reduced, stirring occasionally.



Preheat oven to 210 degrees Celsius (190 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Stir peas and parsley into meat mixture and pour into a 2.5 litre ovenproof dish.

Top filling with mashed potato. Use a fork to create peaks in potato and sprinkle with cheese.



If the dish you are using is quite full, sit it on a baking tray in case any of the sauce overflows while baking. Bake pie for about 20 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is golden brown.

Mashed Potato Topping
1 kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
50g (2 1/2 tablespoons) butter
Salt, to taste
About 125ml (1/2 cup) milk (the amount needed will vary, depending on the type of potatoes used)
100g (1 cup, firmly packed) grated cheese (we used a combination of mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan)

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Cover saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to medium heat and boil gently until potatoes are soft.

Drain potatoes and mash with butter, salt and milk.

Steak Diane and Potato Gratin Recipe

This recipe makes quite a strongly flavoured sauce, so a little extra cream could be added if you prefer a milder flavour. Have all of the sauce ingredients measured out before starting the sauce, as you need to work quickly.

We accompany the steaks with individual potato gratins: layers of potato, onion and cheese, drizzled with cream and baked until the potato is tender and cheese is golden.

Serves 2.

Steak Diane
2 fillet or rump steaks (about 160g-180g each)
2 teaspoons (10ml) oil
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons (40ml) brandy
20g (1 tablespoon) butter
2 tablespoons (40ml) Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon (5ml) Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon (5ml) lemon juice
3 tablespoons (60ml) cream
Chopped chives or parsley, to garnish

Place steaks in a large freezer bag to prevent the meat juices spraying when pounding. Pound steaks with the flat side of a meat mallet until about 3/4cm thick. Discard freezer bag.

Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook steaks over medium-high heat until done to your liking. Remove pan from heat. Remove steaks to a plate and season them with salt and pepper. Loosely cover steaks with foil and set aside.

Place pan over medium heat and add brandy, butter, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, lemon juice and cream. Stir until well combined and then simmer until the sauce reaches the desired consistency, stirring occasionally.

Return steaks and any juices to pan. Reheat steaks if necessary, and turn to coat in sauce. Place a steak and a potato gratin on each serving plate, pour sauce over steaks and garnish with herbs.


Individual Potato Gratin Recipe
250g potatoes (about 2 small potatoes)
Salt and pepper
30g peeled and very thinly sliced onion
30g (1/2 cup, very loosely packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese
62ml (1/4 cup) cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. For this recipe, we don't find it necessary to use a lower temperature for a fan-forced oven.

Lightly grease two 1-cup capacity ramekins. Cut 2 strips of baking paper approximately 3cm wide and long enough to extend along the base and up over the sides of each ramekin (these strips are used to lift the cooked gratins out of the ramekins). Place one strip of baking paper across the base of each ramekin. Then line the base of each ramekin with baking paper.

Peel potatoes and slice very thinly. Line the base of each ramekin with a layer of potato slices (using about 1/4 of the potato). Season potato with salt and pepper. Top potato slices with about 1/3 of the onion. Divide the grated cheese into two equal portions. Reserve one portion for sprinkling on top of the gratins. Use about 1/3 of the remaining cheese portion to sprinkle over the onion. Continue this layering process, finishing with the reserved cheese. Drizzle the cream over the gratins.

Cover each ramekin with greaseproof paper (make sure the paper isn't resting on the cheese, or the melted cheese topping will lift off when you remove the paper). Bake for about 55 minutes, or until the potato is tender when tested with a skewer or sharp knife, and the cheese is golden.

Run a sharp knife around the inside of each ramekin to loosen the gratins. Lift gratins, using baking paper strips as handles, onto warm serving plates. Holding the flat blade of a knife against the side of the gratin facing you, gently pull the baking paper out from under the gratin.

Sweet Potato Patties Recipe

Cooked rice adds texture to these sweet potato and cumin flavoured patties. We like to serve them with sweet chilli sauce and a salad. They could also be used to make veggie burgers.

Makes 8 patties.

18g (1/3 cup) fresh breadcrumbs
50g (1/4 cup) rice
250g peeled and roughly chopped sweet potato (kumara)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup frozen mixed corn kernels and baby peas
30g (1/3 cup) grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 large egg yolk (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon oil, for frying
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

To make the breadcrumbs, place some day-old bread in a food processor and process to make fine crumbs.

Cook rice in boiling water according to the directions on the package. Drain well.

Boil, steam or microwave sweet potato until tender.

In a large bowl, roughly mash the cooked sweet potato with a fork.



Add the breadcrumbs, rice, onion, pea and corn mix, parmesan, cumin, garlic, egg yolk, parsley, salt and pepper and stir until just combined.



Form mixture into eight patties.



Heat oil in a heavy based, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook patties for about four minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.

Serve patties hot. Cooked patties can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in the oven or microwave before serving.

Tempura Prawns Recipe

This quick and easy recipe makes a light, crisp batter that would also be suitable for fish or vegetables.

Tempura Batter
1/2 cup (75g) cornflour
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup (188ml) cold soda water

Uncooked king prawns (the above recipe should make enough batter for up to 1.5kg of medium king prawns)
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Sift flours together in a medium bowl. Add egg and soda water and mix until just combined (it is okay if the batter is a little lumpy). Allow batter to stand for a few minutes.

Shell and devein prawns. We left the tails on for presentation purposes.



Heat oil in a large saucepan or wok. Dip each prawn in the batter and allow excess to drain away. Deep-fry prawns until batter is very lightly browned and prawns have turned pink and are cooked through. (It is best to fry the prawns in batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan.)

Vegetable and Chickpea Patties Recipe

These patties have a nutty, curried chickpea flavour and chunky texture. They make great use of leftover vegetables. We used our patties to make veggie burgers (toasted Turkish bread, chickpea patty, hummus and salad).

Makes 6 large patties.

36g (3 tablespoons) sesame seeds
1 tablespoon (20ml) oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 medium (about 140g) zucchini, grated
400g can chickpeas, drained
2 slices bread (we used two slices of multigrain sandwich bread)
2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1 large egg yolk (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste
3 cups (about 465g) diced, cooked vegetables (we used boiled potato, pumpkin, sweet potato)
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (we used parsley)
Extra oil, for pan-frying patties

Place sesame seeds in baking dish or tray and bake at 190 degrees Celsius (170 degrees Celsius fan-forced) for about 5-10 minutes, or until just starting to colour. Set aside to cool.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan or saucepan over medium heat. Gently fry onion, stirring occasionally, until softened. Reduce heat to low, add garlic and zucchini. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5-7 minutes, until the zucchini is no longer releasing moisture.

Drain onion and zucchini mixture on paper towels, pressing down lightly to remove any excess liquid that could make the patties watery.

Place chickpeas, bread, peanut butter, egg yolk and curry powder in a food processor and process on low speed, until mixture forms a dry paste.



Place chickpea mixture, onion and zucchini mixture, diced vegetables, herbs and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Mix gently, trying not to break up the vegetables. Form mixture into six large patties and refrigerate for at least 20-30 minutes to firm up.



When ready to cook patties, heat extra oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Cook patties for about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Serve hot.

Apple Pie Recipe

This pie has a very tender pastry and a sweet, moist apple filling. It can be served hot, warm or cold. We dusted our pie with icing sugar and served it with sweetened, whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.

Apple Filling
5 large apples
58g (3 tablespoons) sugar (depending on the sweetness of the apples)
40ml (2 tablespoons) water

Peel and core apples. Chop apples into eighths then cut each eighth in half.



Place apples in a large saucepan with sugar and water. Cover and bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer until apples are just tender. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Pastry
120g butter
40g (2 tablespoons) caster sugar
130g (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons) plain flour
70g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour
1 large egg yolk (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1 tablespoon (20ml) lemon juice
Extra caster sugar, for sprinkling on top of pie

Process butter, sugar and flours in a food processor until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and lemon juice and process until mixture forms a ball.

Divide pastry into 2 pieces making one slightly larger than the other. Shape each piece of pastry into a disc, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees fan-forced). Lightly grease a 22cm diameter pie plate.

Roll out the larger piece of pastry between two sheets of baking paper until it is large enough to line the pie plate. Line base and sides of pie plate with pastry. Spoon apple filling into pastry case.

Roll out remaining pastry between two sheets of baking paper to fit top of pie and place over apple filling. Press edges of pastry together. Sprinkle pie with caster sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees fan-forced), then reduce heat to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees fan-forced) and cook for a further 18 to 22 minutes, until pastry is golden.

Chocolate Cake Recipe

This moist chocolate cake is covered in a soft, smooth ganache. We served the cake with sweetened whipped cream and mint leaves.

125g butter
100g dark chocolate
155ml (1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons) water
12g (1 1/2 tablespoons) cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
168g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
125g (1/2 cup + 1/3 cup) self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Celsius fan-forced). Grease sides and line base of a 20cm diameter round tin.

Place butter, chocolate, water, cocoa, coffee powder and sugar in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally and remove from heat when chocolate and butter have melted. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Add vanilla and egg to chocolate mixture. Using hand-held electric beaters, beat until combined. Add flour and beat for 1-2 minutes, until mixture is smooth.



Pour mixture into prepared tin.



Bake for about 45-50 minutes. When the cake is ready, a skewer or sharp knife inserted into the centre should come out clean, or with moist crumbs (not gooey batter) attached.

Cool cake in tin on a wire rack. When cooled, remove from tin and spread with ganache. Store cake in an airtight container. We store this cake in the refrigerator, but bring it to room temperature before serving.

Ganache Recipe
60g milk chocolate
65g dark chocolate
50ml (2 1/2 tablespoons) thickened cream

Place ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. When chocolate has melted, remove from heat and stir until smooth. Allow ganache to cool to a spreadable consistency before using.

Chocolate Mud Cake Recipe

This is a soft, dense mud cake with a rich ganache icing. We serve the cake on its own, or with cream and ice cream. Slices of the cake can be microwaved before serving, to melt the ganache and form a chocolate sauce.

We used a combination of milk and dark chocolate in both the cake and ganache. You can use all dark chocolate for a richer chocolate flavour.

250g chocolate (we used 125g dark chocolate and 125g milk chocolate)
250g butter
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
188mL (3/4 cup) water
155g (1 cup) self-raising flour
170g (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) plain flour
30g (1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons) cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
550g caster sugar
4 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
2 tablespoons (40ml) oil (we use peanut oil, but any mild-flavoured oil could be used)
125mL (1/2 cup) buttermilk

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (not fan-forced).

Grease the sides and base of a deep 23cm or 24cm diameter springform pan. Line base and sides of tin with baking paper, extending the paper a few centimetres above the top rim of the pan.

In a large saucepan, stir chocolate, butter, coffee powder and water together over low heat until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Sift the flours, cocoa powder and soda into a large bowl and stir in caster sugar.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, oil and buttermilk. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Add the chocolate mixture to the other ingredients in a three batches, stirring well after each addition. Stir until mixture is smooth and well combined.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes (24cm pan) or 1 hour and 30 minutes (23cm pan). Insert a knife or skewer into the centre of the cake to test whether it is cooked through. If the knife/skewer comes out clean, the cake is ready. If not, return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 5-10 minutes before testing the cake again.

When cooked through, remove cake from oven, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to cool in the pan.

When the cake has cooled to room temperature, remove from the pan and turn it upside down to give a flat surface for icing.

Ganache Recipe
300g chocolate (we used 150g milk chocolate and 150g dark chocolate)
60g butter
62ml (1/4 cup) thickened cream

Place chocolate, butter and cream in a medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate and butter are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to a spreadable consistency.

Spread ganache over cake using a palette knife or flat bladed knife.

We store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature before serving.



The following photo was submitted by Silvana C. Silvana made and decorated this large chocolate mud cake for her niece's 21st birthday. The stars were made by a cake decorator and finished by dipping in melted chocolate. White and dark chocolate panels were placed around the sides of the cake and it was finished with a bow.



Ingredients: Double the above quantities
Pan size: 12 inch (30.5cm) square
Baking time and temperature: 1 hour and 45 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius (not fan-forced), covered with baking paper.

Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe

A rich, soft and moist cake.

100g butter
150g dark chocolate
4 large eggs
Pinch of salt
185g caster sugar
200g almond meal

Line a 20cm springform tin with baking paper. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Melt butter and chocolate together over low heat. Set aside to cool.

Separate eggs and beat whites with a pinch of salt and about one third of the sugar until whites form soft peaks.



In a separate bowl, beat yolks with remaining sugar until light and creamy.



Fold yolk mixture into chocolate mixture.



Then fold in almond meal, then egg whites.

Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake for about 55 minutes. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs (not batter) attached.

Remove cake from oven and cover with a clean tea towel. Allow to cool in tin.

We served wedges of the cake with whipped cream and raspberries.

Chocolate Caramel Slice Recipe

Compared to this well-known version of chocolate caramel slice, our slice has a greater ratio of caramel to base. To achieve this, we make the caramel using the standard one tin of condensed milk but make a thinner base. We also like the caramel layer to be thicker (in height), so we bake the slice in a smaller tin.

Base
85g butter, melted
112g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
56g (2/3 cup) desiccated coconut
100g (2/3 cup) self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Grease a 20cm square cake tin and line with baking paper.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Press into prepared cake tin.



Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned and slightly risen.



Set base aside to cool for about 10-20 minutes (while making caramel). Leave oven on.

Caramel Filling
30g butter
40ml (2 tablespoons) golden syrup
395g (1 tin) sweetened condensed milk

Place butter and golden syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When butter has melted, add condensed milk. Stir constantly over medium heat for about 9-12 minutes, until caramel thickens.



Gently spread caramel evenly over base. Return to oven for a further 10-12 minutes (a 1/2cm border of lightly browned caramel should form around the edges of the slice).



Allow slice to cool to room temperature.

Topping
150g milk or dark chocolate, melted (we used Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate)

We melted the chocolate in a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Spread melted chocolate over caramel.

Refrigerate slice until chocolate is just set, about 20-30 minutes. Remove slice from tin and cut into squares. We use a hot, dry knife to cut the slice (fill a tall glass with hot water, dip knife in water for a few seconds, and wipe dry with a clean tea towel).

Store slice in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

The following photo was submitted by Paul. Thanks Paul!

Mocha Cheesecake Slice Recipe

A rich, creamy coffee and chocolate flavoured cheesecake topped with sweetened whipped cream and grated chocolate. You could leave out the coffee powder to make a chocolate cheesecake slice.

Base
200g Nice biscuits, finely crushed
94g butter

Filling
60ml (3 tablespoons) water
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
100g dark chocolate
250g cream cheese, softened
112g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)

Topping
250ml (1 cup) thickened cream
1 1/2 tablespoons (26g) caster sugar
Grated or shaved chocolate, for decoration

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

You will need a 20cm square tin or baking dish for this recipe. Line tin or dish with baking paper, if desired.

We use a food processor to crush the biscuits. We place the biscuits and unmelted butter in the food processor and process until the biscuits are finely crushed and the butter is incorporated.

If you use a different method to crush the biscuits (blender, rolling pin, etc.) place the biscuit crumbs in a bowl. Melt the butter and stir into the biscuit crumbs.

Firmly press the biscuit and butter mixture into the base of the dish/tin and set aside.



Place water, coffee powder, and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in a food processor or electric mixer. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides and base of the bowl a couple of times. When the cream cheese mixture is smooth, add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.



Add the cooled chocolate mixture and beat until combined.

Pour cheesecake mixture over the base and bake for about 22-27 minutes. The slice will still be wobbly in the middle but will set as it cools. Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until cheesecake is cold.

For topping, whip cream and sugar together until thick. Top cold cheesecake with cream and sprinkle with chocolate. Cut into bars to serve.

Store any remaining cheesecake in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

These cupcakes are very quick and easy to make. An electric mixer is not required and the batter can be made in the saucepan that the chocolate is melted in. The cupcakes are moist and best eaten on the day they are made.

You will need a double cream with 60% milk fat for this recipe.

Makes 14.

100g dark chocolate (we used Cadbury Old Gold)
15g (1 1/2 tablespoons) cocoa
40ml (2 tablespoons) milk
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
2 large eggs (minimum weight 59g)
160g double cream (60% milk fat)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon (12g) plain flour
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a muffin tin with 14 large paper or foil patty cases (we used Multix brand cases).

Place chocolate, cocoa, milk and caster sugar in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature (don't be tempted to use the chocolate mixture when warm: it will melt the cream).

Stir eggs into cooled chocolate mixture. Add cream and vanilla and stir until just combined. Stir in plain flour and half of the self-raising flour. When mixture is smooth, stir in remaining flour until just combined.

Divide batter evenly between the 14 cases. Each case should be about half full (don't overfill the cases or your cupcakes will overflow).



Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in tin.



Ice cooled cakes with chocolate ganache and decorate as desired.


Milk Chocolate Ganache

This recipe makes a ganache that is firm at room temperature.

220g milk chocolate (we used Cadbury Milk Chocolate)
90g double cream (60% milk fat)

Melt chocolate and cream over low heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Allow ganache to cool and thicken before icing cupcakes.


Decorations
Cadbury Flake chocolate bar (break or cut the Flake into short lengths and use the point of a knife to break each length into slivers)
Strawberries
Whipped cream
Icing sugar, for dusting




Double Cream with 60% milk fat

Chocolate Mud Cupcake Recipe

These moist, dense chocolate mud cupcakes are topped with a smooth, creamy milk chocolate ganache. We have added chocolate heart decorations for Valentine's Day.

Makes 7.

110g dark chocolate
70g milk chocolate
120g butter
100ml (5 tablespoons) water
2 teaspoons (10ml) whisky
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
75g (1/3 cup) sugar
1 large egg
80g (1/2 cup) plain flour
20g (1 1/2 tablespoons) self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (fan-forced). Line a patty tin with seven patty cases that measure 5cm across the base.

Place dark and milk chocolate, butter, water, whisky, coffee power, and sugar in a large saucepan.



Stir over low heat until chocolate and butter have just melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

When mixture has cooled, stir in egg. Gradually stir in flours.

Divide mixture evenly between cases.



Bake for about 25 minutes. A skewer or knife inserted into the centre of a cake should come out clean.




Allow cakes to cool in tin.


Milk Chocolate Ganache
100g milk chocolate
2 tablespoons (40ml) thickened cream

Place chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring occasionally. When chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Spread ganache over cooled cupcakes.


Chocolate Hearts
Approximately 80g white compound chocolate (White Melts)
Cochineal, optional
24 gauge foil-covered florist's wire
Small, heart shaped cutter/s (ours measured 1.5cm and 2.5cm across the widest part of the heart)

Melt chocolate in a microwave or in a small saucepan over very low heat. Stir cochineal into the melted chocolate, drop by drop, until the desired colour is obtained.

Place a piece of baking paper on a smooth, flat surface like a chopping board. Spread the melted chocolate onto the baking paper and allow to set at room temperature (if it is a very hot day, refrigerate the chocolate until just set).

Use a small heart cutter to cut hearts from the chocolate.



Gently push the chocolate heart out of the cutter using a rounded tool/the handle of a teaspoon etc.



Twist about 17cm of foil-covered wire around the handle of a wooden spoon or a pen.



Leave about 1cm of the wire straight at each end. Rest one end of the wire on the back of a chocolate heart and press the wire into the heart.



Insert the other end of the wire into an iced cupcake.

Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding Recipe

These chocolate puddings are soft and dense. A rich chocolate sauce containing chunks of chocolate develops underneath the puddings. We dust our puddings with icing sugar and serve them with ice cream and/or whipped cream.

We have made the pudding batter and sauce mixture up to one hour before baking. You can fill the ramekins with batter ahead of time, but pour the sauce mixture over the puddings just before baking. Serve them as soon as they are removed from the oven - over time the sauce absorbs into the puddings.

Serves 6.

90g butter
120g dark chocolate
250ml (1 cup) milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
60g (1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon) caster sugar
125g (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) self-raising flour
60g milk or dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease six ramekins or ovenproof cups with at least 190ml capacities.

Melt butter and 120g chocolate over low heat. Cool to room temperature. Add milk, eggs and vanilla to chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Add sugar and flour and stir until mixture is smooth. Divide mixture evenly between ramekins or cups.



Sprinkle batter with 60g chopped chocolate.

Gently pour sauce mixture over batter, dividing evenly between cups or ramekins. We poured the sauce mixture over the back of a spoon to avoid disturbing the batter too much.



Place ramekins/cups on a baking tray (to catch any overflow) and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Sauce Mixture
185g (scant 1 cup) brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
250ml (1 cup) boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sauce ingredients in a jug with a spout. Stir until cocoa and sugar have dissolved.

Chocolate Slice Recipe

This moist chocolate coconut slice is quick and easy to make.

100g butter
60g dark chocolate
90g (1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon, lightly packed) brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla essence)
80g (1 cup) desiccated coconut
50g (1/3 cup) self-raising flour
75g (1/2 cup) plain flour
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
2 teaspoons coconut, for sprinkling on top of slice

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced). Grease and/or line a 20cm square cake tin.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. When mixture is smooth, remove from heat and stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Add coconut and flours and stir to combine. Add egg and mix well (the mixture should be quite wet/sticky at this stage).



Press mixture into prepared pan.



Bake for about 20-24 minutes (make the icing while the slice is baking). To test whether the slice is ready, lightly press on the edge and on the centre of the slice. The edges should feel firm, while the centre will still feel soft and give way slightly.



Remove from oven and spread with chocolate icing while slice is still hot. Sprinkle with extra coconut.

Allow slice to cool in tin. When cooled, cut slice into squares and store in an airtight container. Suitable to freeze.

Chocolate Icing
100g (2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) icing sugar
8g (1 tablespoon) cocoa powder
20ml (1 tablespoon) milk
5g (1 teaspoon) butter, softened

Sift icing sugar and cocoa together into a small bowl. Add milk and butter, and stir until icing is smooth.

Chocolate Torte Recipe

This delicious torte has a meringue-like crust and a soft, moist centre. We dusted the torte with icing sugar and served it with raspberry coulis, whipped cream and strawberries.

270g dark chocolate (we used Cadbury Old Gold)
75g butter or margarine
2 teaspoons instant coffee
100ml (5 metric tablespoons) warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs, separated
70g (scant 1/2 cup) plain flour
150g (2/3 cup) caster sugar

Preheat oven to 165 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 20cm diameter springform tin.

Melt chocolate and butter in a large saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. When mixture is smooth, remove from heat. Dissolve coffee in the warm water and add to butter and chocolate mixture along with the vanilla. Stir to combine and set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl, add egg yolks and mix well. Fold in flour.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggwhites until soft peaks form.



Continue beating, gradually adding the sugar. Beat until the mixture is thick and the sugar has dissolved.



Gently fold half of the eggwhite mixture into the chocolate mixture. Repeat with remaining eggwhite mixture.



Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Leave torte in tin and set aside for 1 1/2 hours covered with a clean tea towel. Remove torte from tin, cut into wedges and serve.

Unbaked Lemon Cheesecake Recipe

The following recipe for lemon cheesecake was given to Debbie by her grandmother. It makes a very soft, creamy cheesecake.

Base
250g plain sweet biscuits (we use Arnotts Nice, or shortbread biscuits like Scotch Fingers)
120g butter, melted (if you use shortbread biscuits less butter will be required)

Filling
125g cream cheese, softened
395g (1 tin) sweetened condensed milk
125ml (1/2 cup) fresh lemon juice

Topping
250ml (1 cup) cream, sweetened with sugar to taste and whipped until thick

Place biscuits in a food processor and process until finely crushed. Add melted butter and process until well combined. Press mixture into a 23cm pie plate (or something of similar size - we sometimes use a rectangular dish if we want to serve small bars of the cheesecake to a larger number of people). Place in fridge to chill while making filling.

Beat cream cheese in an electric mixer until completely smooth and creamy. Stop the machine occasionally and use a spatula to scrape down the side and base of the bowl. With mixer running, gradually drizzle in condensed milk (stop to scrape the bowl down occasionally). Add lemon juice and beat until combined. If your filling is a little lumpy at this stage you can pass it through a fine strainer. Pour filling over base and refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours.

Top with sweetened whipped cream before serving.

Hot Chocolate Sauce Recipe

We served this quick and easy sauce with squares of macadamia brownies and scoops of vanilla ice cream. The finishing touch was a swirly chocolate decoration.

3/4 cup (185ml) thickened cream
125g chocolate (we used a combination of dark and milk chocolate)

Warm chocolate and cream in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. When chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, remove from heat and pour over dessert. Any extra sauce can be stored in the freezer and melted over low heat before serving.

Lemonade Scone Recipe

This very quick and easy recipe produces lovely light scones. They are best served hot from the oven.

Makes about 12-14 scones.

325g (2 cups + 2 tablespoons) self-raising flour
167ml (2/3 cup) cold lemonade
167ml (2/3 cup) thickened cream

Preheat oven to 225 degrees Celsius (205 degrees Celsius fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Sift flour into a large bowl. Combine lemonade and cream in a medium bowl. Add lemonade and cream mixture to flour and gently fold ingredients together until just combined (don't over mix the dough as this will produce tough scones). The dough should be fairly soft and sticky.

Place dough on a lightly floured bench, form into a round and press out to about 3.5cm thickness. Cut scones using a floured 5cm diameter cutter. We find that using a quick, firm motion to cut the scones gives a them better shape and makes them less likely to stick to the cutter. Form the offcuts into another round and cut some more scones.

Place scones close together on the tray, so they are just touching. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until pale golden and cooked through.

If you like your scones to have a soft crust, cover them with a clean tea towel for one minute after removing from the oven. Serve hot with jam and whipped cream.

Mini Baked Cheesecakes Recipe

These rich, creamy individual cheesecakes are quick and easy to serve because there is no cutting involved. They could be served with fruit, ice cream, and/or whipped cream.

For the above photo, we drizzled the serving plate with raspberry sauce, then positioned the cheesecake and topped it with raspberries and a dusting of icing sugar.

Makes 10 individual cheesecakes.

Base
150g Nice biscuits
70g butter, melted

Filling
250g cream cheese, softened
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
20ml (1 tablespoon) lemon juice
100ml (5 tablespoons) thickened cream

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

Line 10 holes of a muffin pan (1/3 cup capacity holes) with patty/muffin cases. We use paper-lined foil cases that measured 8cm across the top and 5cm across the base.

Finely crush biscuits in a food processor or blender. If you are using a food processor, you can add the melted butter to the biscuit crumbs and process until well combined. If you are using a blender, it is probably easier to tip the biscuit crumbs into a bowl and then stir in the butter.

Divide biscuit mixture evenly among cases (about one firmly packed tablespoon of biscuit mixture per case). Firmly press mixture down with the back of a teaspoon until smooth. Set bases aside while making the filling.



Beat cream cheese and caster sugar in an electric mixer or food processor. Stop the machine a couple of times to scrape down the sides and base of the bowl. When the mixture is completely smooth and creamy, add egg and beat until combined. Add lemon juice and cream and beat until well combined. Divide mixture evenly among cases.

Bake cheesecakes for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes.

Remove cheesecakes from pan, place in an airtight container and refrigerate. Cheesecakes are ready to serve when they are cold and set. Remove cases before serving.

Cheesecakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. They are suitable to freeze.