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3 cups Greek plain yogurt
3 cups SR flour

Mix and roll into a ball and the roll out into a rectangle upon a well floured surface.

Paint melted butter on rectangle, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and with floured hands, roll up tightly.  Cut into 5cm discs and place right side up, separated in baking dish.  Baste with melted butter.

Bake till brown, perhaps cover with baking paper towards the end.

Allow to cool and then spread icing made from icing mixture, vanilla and warm water. 

Can be made savoury by filling with tomato paste, herbs and cheese or vegemite or cheese etc.

Stirring Weekend.

Making my first Christmas cake.  I used Kirsty Allsopp's recipe with a few tweaks... dry ginger beer instead of apple cider, lots of brandy added as well, lime zest only and now basting the top every day with more brandy.  I also followed a tip I found on the internet where you spread the cake batter without the fruit into the base to prevent the  burnt fruit on the top of the cake. 

Milk Tart.

This milk tart was made by 15 year old daughter for a school assessment.  We used my Ouma's recipe.  The filling is similar to this recipe and we made the base which was in her recipe.  Lovely how the taste of food can bring back memories.

Pecan Cake.

Divine!
Thankyou Sydney Morning Herald, Good Food section.

165g brown sugar
80g cubed butter
125mL milk.

Heat the above three.  Do not boil.  Cool.  Add 1 egg and 90g chopped pecans, 150g SR flour and mix.

Bake 35 minutes at 160 degrees.

Ice with 185g icing sugar, 2T golden syrup and 3t water.

Almond Flan.

Grind 200g almonds or brazil nuts

Cream 125g butter with 2/3 cup brown sugar
Add some vanilla.
Add 2 eggs, one at a time and beat well after each one.
Add 2/3 cup rice flour and then add the ground nuts and some nutmeg.

Push sliced fruit onto the top, I used tinned pears.

Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for about 40minutes.

Recipe taken from Country Style.

Valentines Day.

14 year old daughter ices a cake every year.  We thought of Grandpa as we ate the butter cream icing.

Herman Delivers.

The starter mix was quite large today; a belated day 10 as I forgot to 'feed' the mixture on day 9.  

I baked a marble chocolate cake, 2 lemon drizzle bar cakes and at least 18 lemon drizzle cupcakes. 

Herman Has Arrived.

Thankyou Mrs N, my portion of Herman German cake starter arrived today.  Day one!

Eggs, Sugar, Butter and Cocoa Doth a Brownie Maketh.

Pierre Roelofs Better than Brownie Chocolate Cake.
8 eggs
700g dark, soft brown sugar
pinch of salt
280g butter
200g good quality (Dutch processed) cocoa powder.

Line a 23cm x 30cm tin with baking paper
Preheat oven 130degrees celcius.
Warm the eggs and brown sugar over a simmering water and whisk until light and fluffy (10 min by machine). Add salt.  Using the thermomix, I set it to 50 degrees, speed 3.  I did not need the full 10 minutes.
Melt the butter and cocoa powder.  Gently fold them into the egg mixture.  Keeping the mixture as aerated as possible.  In thermomix speak; I took the egg/sugar mix out of the jug.  Put in the butter and cocoa and set it to 90 degrees, speed 3, 3 minutes.  I then poured in the egg/sugar mixture.
Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about 45minutes.  Turn the tin occasionally until firm and evenly cooked.

This recipe is from the Sydney Morning Herald.

This Weekend.

A lot of time spent in the kitchen yesterday: banana bread, passionfruit slice and chicken soup.
I love seeing our children's artwork and the above piece was done by 9 year old daughter.
The aim this week is to plant sweet peas.  The garden bed needs to be prepared (ie weeded and composted soil added to the garden bed).  Husband E will build a trellis.

Passionfruit Slice:

Bake a base of your choice.  This time I made a shortbread base, but next time I might try a coconut/flour type of base which I have used for choc/caramel slice in the past.
For the topping, mix a can of condensed milk, a small can of passionfruit and 3T of lemon juice.
Pour over the baked base and bake till set.
Refrigerate.  It is quite rich!

Gingerbread: First Batch.

We ran out of golden syrup; but honey worked well.  7 year old daughter enjoyed making and icing this batch.  I have promised each child that they can make a batch.... We will try two different recipes.  This recipe was from the thermomix community... the thermomix did well to knead the dough.

Delicious Fruit Slice.

Delicious slice:

Mrs Atkins' Fruit Slice... given to me by Mrs P. S.

125 g butter
1 cup brown sugar (use less next time)
1 egg
225g mixed vine fruit
150g self raising flour

Melt butter, add sugar and melt further.  Add egg, fruit and flour.  I used the thermomix and made sure to use the reverse blade button so we did not end up with mushed fruit.

Press into 28cm x 18cm baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes (was longer for my oven).

I iced it with lime icing; limes from Mrs N.

A New Helper.

There is a place for many helpers!  The slow cooker for my soup recipe and the insert to cook huge batches of bolognaise on the stove top.
The pressure cooker to make chicken/noodle soup and delicious corned beef...
Introducing the Thermomix, I have made vegetable stock, chopped celery, choc caramel slice and pesto.  The chocolate was grated from squares to what looks like cocoa powder in 5 seconds.  The pesto was made with leftover basil from the stock..... I am enjoying cooking again....

Amish Friendship Bread.

This book by Darien Gee, has the added interest in being based around Amish Friendship Bread starter and recipes.  I am considering starting this as it could be fun.  I am not sure that it could work for us; as it is not gluten free and I don't think that too much gluten in our diets is a good thing.  I have found a gluten free recipe though.  The other problem is that most of the recipes call for instant pudding to be added to the starter which I don't like either.  Again, there are alternatives about.  So a bit of trial and error no doubt.  This might be my little hobby this term as Winter continues.
I will post recipes/links and methods as I use them.

Not Enough Milk For Baking.

We were gathering with husband E's family today; probably 21 children in total and I wanted to take something for afternoon tea... I did not have a lot of milk though.  11 year old daughter found this recipe in her recipe book "Kids' Cookbook".

Chocolate Slice:

250g butter
1 cup caster sugar
3T cocoa
1 egg
2 cups dessicated coconut
2 cups corn flakes, crushed
2 cups plain flour
2t baking powder
1t vanilla essence.

Melt butter, add sugar/cocoa, then egg.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Spread in lamington tin and bake 20min at 180 degrees.

I doubled the recipe and then used 2 cups of SR flour instead (ie less flour, the mix seemed to be just right at that point).  I also added 2 more eggs.

Next time, I won't put the corn flakes in as it had a salty/cereal sort of taste.

Thankyou Neil Perry....

for your inspriation, I found this recipe of yours in a Good Weekend from 2012.  I tweaked it a bit as I am lazy.... tweaks in italics....

Blueberry and Lemon Cake:

350g icing sugar mixture
90 SR flour
180g almond meal
finely grated zest of two lemons
7 egg whites (I used the whole egg)
185g butter, melted
30mL milk
160g frozen blueberries

Sift icing sugar mixture and flour.  Stir in almond meal and lemon zest until well combined.

In another bowl whisk egg whites, until broken down.  Add egg whites, melted butter, milk and 100g of frozen blueberries to the almond mixture.  Stir until just combined.

Spread cake mixture into prepared cake tin.  Scatter over remaining blueberries.  Gently press them into the mixture slightly.

Bake at 180 degrees for about an hour.  Test, it may need longer (esp if you used the whole egg like I did...)

Egg and Milk Free Chocolate Fudge Cake.

3 cups flour
One and half cups caster sugar
3T cocoa
1 cup water
1T white vinegar
half a cup vegetable oil


Add the ingredients in this order,  mix well to get rid of lumps.  Bake at 180 degrees for half an hour.

This recipe came from 11 year old daughter's kids' cookbook.

Attic 24 Choc Chip Cookies.

Attic 24 Choc Chip Cookies:

200g butter
150g brown sugar,  whip together

Add 4T golden syrup
350g Self Raising Flour
choc chips (and we added caramel drops as well)

Bake 180 degrees for 10minutes.

So very good.

Chocolate Cookies with Cream Cheese.

I have a favourite, rich chocolate chip biscuit recipe here.  Last week while in a waiting room, I read an issue of Real Living (March 2012).  There was a picture of rich chocolate biscuits with a cream cheese icing mixture in the middle.  I knew that I had a pot of cream cheese icing in the fridge and had wanted to use it.... so added it to some of our biscuits.  I am lactose intolerant, so I had a bite only this morning to 'test' them.  They are good!

Ginger Biscuits.

Ginger cookies baked by 11 year old daughter.  She always does things with such flare; she bundled them up in lovely bags so that each of us had a stash for a few days.  Later the children had some with caramel on them.